ebookland Chapter 378 Liu Zan Deceives Zhuge Jin
Chapter 378 Liu Zan Deceives Zhuge Jin
When Liu Zan saw Zhuge Jin, it was as if he had seen a long-lost relative. He cried his heart out, more heartbroken than if his own father had died, and his tears and snot covered Zhuge Jin.
Zhuge Jin, disregarding her distress over the clothes, patted his shoulder and comforted him, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. You should focus on recovering from your injuries; nothing else matters."
After saying this, he ordered his men to carry Liu Zan back to the county government office, find a military doctor to treat his injuries, and notify the kitchen to prepare a meal for him.
After more than half an hour of this, Zhuge Jin watched as Liu Zan drank three bowls of millet porridge before asking, "What exactly happened that day? How did you suddenly get surrounded and annihilated by Guan Xing? And how did you escape the Han army's encirclement?"
He had wanted to ask these questions when he first met Liu Zan, but Liu Zan's condition at the time was not suitable for asking, so he wisely refrained from doing so. Now that Liu Zan has recovered, it is natural to talk about serious matters.
Although they faced a bandit army several times their size that day, the bandit army had not yet formed an encirclement. If they had been faster, they could have escaped the encirclement before the bandit army could encircle them. Even if they could not escape, they could have forced a breakout. In that case, even if they lost more than half of their troops, they would not have been completely wiped out. So how did Liu Zan's army end up being wiped out?
Liu Zan burst into tears again at the mention of this, grabbing Zhuge Jin's wrist and saying with heartbreaking grief, "After you left that day, I turned back to the official road, intending to break through the bandit army's blockade and circle around to the rear of the bandit army. I planned to take advantage of the gap when the bandit army and Guan Xing were moving towards Yu Han to attack Pan Zhang's camp and rescue Pan Zhang's army, which had been captured by Guan Xing."
Zhuge Jin's eyes lit up, and his eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance. This was a great idea! At that time, Guan Xing had just defeated Pan Zhang and had not yet had time to reform the surrendered soldiers. He certainly wouldn't bring the surrendered soldiers to encircle and annihilate him. In other words, Pan Zhang's army was all obediently staying in the camp at that time, and they were very likely to surrender immediately upon seeing Liu Zan.
If this move had succeeded, why would they have bothered defending Yuhan City? They could have just led tens of thousands of Wu troops to fight Guan Xing head-on. But the problem is that it failed. Otherwise, Liu Zan wouldn't have fled back in such a sorry state.
Thinking of the glory of rescuing Pan Zhang's army, and then looking at Liu Zan's current sorry state, the stark contrast filled Zhuge Jin with regret. He asked with a pained expression, "What happened next? Why didn't it succeed?"
Liu Zan smiled bitterly: "At that time, I had already rushed up the official road and defeated Bi Kui, which can be considered as breaking through the bandit army's encirclement and escaping to safety. However, it took too long. As soon as the battle ended, Ning Huan led tens of thousands of bandit troops and Guan Xing's Han army pressed towards us at the same time."
"The main problem is that Guan Xing, that bastard, ran like a madman, seemingly without any fear of running away. After catching up with us, he bit us like a wild dog and wouldn't let go. Our soldiers had been on a long march for several days and had just experienced a fierce battle, so we simply couldn't outrun him."
"Later, morale collapsed, and my personal guards covered my retreat, but Guan Xing led his army to continue the pursuit. My personal guards..."
His voice choked with emotion, and he could no longer continue. Most of those soldiers were his beloved family and friends.
Seeing him cry uncontrollably, Zhuge Jin could only pat his shoulder to comfort him again. At the same time, the testimonies of the Wu soldiers who had escaped from the battlefield came to mind. After comparing them, he found that there were not many discrepancies and had no doubts.
Liu Zan continued, "Although my personal guards tried their best to stop me, I was almost caught by that bastard Guan Xing. Fortunately, it was already late, and I unknowingly escaped into a paddy field, which allowed me to avoid Guan Xing and escape through the mud. After dawn, I collapsed by the roadside and was rescued by nearby villagers. I slept for three days before waking up. After waking up, I immediately came back to see you. Although I was extremely anxious, I was unable to run quickly due to my injuries, so..."
Zhuge Jin patted his shoulder to show her understanding and patiently comforted him, "It's good that you're back. I'm relieved to see you alive."
In fact, the best thing to do at this time is to send someone to find the villagers who rescued Liu Zan to verify Liu Zan's testimony. However, Zhuge Jin did not intend to do so. Firstly, he had never suspected Liu Zan. Secondly, the scouts reported that Guan Xing had already set off and would arrive in Yuhan City in two days at most. In such a short time, the scouts might not be able to make a round trip, and there would be no time to verify the testimony.
Liu Zan, suppressing his grief, said, "In this battle, Guan Xing not only annihilated Pan Zhang but also captured four thousand of our men. After that, he will definitely target Peng Qi. Once he seizes Peng Qi's bandit army, Guan Xing will have forty or fifty thousand troops. His next target will definitely be Yu Han. General, what should we do?"
Zhuge Jin sighed, "It's not that they've already arrived; the scouts have reported that Guan Xing has led his troops away from Pan Zhang's camp, and they'll be at the city gates by tomorrow at the latest..."
He then laid out his plans for returning to the city to Liu Zan, who was overjoyed upon hearing them.
Guan Xing guessed correctly. Zhuge Jin had indeed made preparations to burn the grain, and had even transported dry grass and firewood to the vicinity of the granary. A single fire could instantly reduce the grain to ashes. But since it hadn't burned yet, there was still hope for its preservation.
Although Liu Zan was overjoyed inside, he remained outwardly calm and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's burn it quickly, otherwise it will be too late when Guan Xing arrives."
This was obviously sarcastic, intended to gauge Zhuge Jin's reaction and his determination to burn the grain.
Therefore, while speaking, Liu Zan was also secretly observing Zhuge Jin's expression, trying to see through Zhuge Jin's inner thoughts.
Zhuge Jin never dreamed that Liu Zan would become Guan Xing's spy infiltrated into his inner circle, so he was completely unprepared and said with a wry smile, "After all, that's grain. It would be too much of a waste to burn it rashly. So I'm thinking of waiting for the transport team to come back so we can transport it again before burning it. Judging by the time, the transport team should be back in about three to five days."
"Another, more important reason is that burning grain would seriously affect morale. If the soldiers saw that the grain was being burned, they would think that I was afraid of Guan Xing and would be cowardly before the battle even started. In that case, there would be no need to fight; they would just surrender or flee the city to save their lives."
The main reason is the impact on morale. The Han army hasn't even arrived yet and you're already preparing to burn our supplies and run away. What are we supposed to do? Shouldn't we also prepare a way out for ourselves in advance?
Therefore, the grain and fodder could not be burned in advance; they could only be burned when Guan Xing attacked and it was truly impossible to hold the position and when preparations for retreat were underway.
Liu Zan's eyes lit up with a sudden idea. He frowned and said, "Burning the grain is indeed unwise, but not burning it is not an option either. General, how about this? While we still have time, let's transport the grain to a cave outside the city and hide it there. We can hide as much as we can, and then burn the rest in front of Guan Xing when he attacks the city. This will make Guan Xing think that we have burned all the grain, and thus he will give up his idea of taking our grain."
"If we are forced to retreat into the mountains because we cannot withstand Guan Xing's fierce attack, we can use this batch of grain to deal with Guan Xing. In addition, if the Grand Commander is defeated by the Han army and retreats, this batch of grain can also solve our immediate problem."
While offering his advice, Liu Zan secretly resolved to seize the task of transporting the grain, thereby figuring out the location of the hidden grain. This way, when Guan Xing arrived, he could hand over the hidden grain intact to Guan Xing.
With this batch of grain, Guan Xing could easily make his way to Damo.
As for the remaining provisions, let's leave it to fate. If we can keep them, great; if not, so be it. One shouldn't be too greedy. Keeping some is already a stroke of luck. We can't have it all.
Zhuge Jin, unsuspecting, stroked his beard and pondered, "That's a good idea, but where can we hide it to ensure Guan Xing won't find it?"
Liu Zan hastily volunteered, "Leave it to me. I'm familiar with the terrain of Shengjing Mountain and Longhu Mountain. I guarantee Guan Xing won't be able to find us."
Zhuge Jin asked worriedly, "Of course you can go, but you're still injured. Can your body handle it?"
Liu Zan patted his chest and assured him, "General, don't worry, I'm fine. Besides, so many of my brothers died at Guan Xing's hands. I would feel uneasy if I didn't do something."
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Jin no longer doubted him and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you."