Chapter 236 241, Kill Lu Xun!
There is still an hour until dawn.
Jiangdong military camp, the central military tent.
Lu Xun, who is only 36 years old this year, got up early, put on his outer robe, held an oil lamp, and looked at the map spread out on the table.
Although nothing was marked on the map, in Lu Xun's eyes, a big net to strangle Guan Yu had basically taken shape.
Fu Shiren, who was stationed in Gong'an, had already surrendered. Mi Fang in Jiangling was short of troops and had something on him that Jiangdong had a hold over him, so he would most likely surrender as well. Calculating the time, Governor Lu was probably already celebrating his victory in Jiangling.
Jiang Qin had also led the navy into the Mian River and blocked the waterway, making it impossible for Guan Yu to use the navy to transport troops and quickly return to Nanjun for support.
As long as Zigui and other cities were captured, Guan Yu's way back to Yizhou would be completely blocked.
In addition, with Cao's army to the north and nowhere to go east, Guan Yu could be said to be trapped in a trap and was on the verge of defeat.
"Guan Yu already has a shortage of food and grass, and he has just received 30,000 prisoners of war. Given his personality, he will not kill the prisoners to reduce the burden. This way, the food and grass gap will be even greater... Now that Nanjun has been captured by Governor Lu, and I have captured Zigui and other cities, Guan Yu's foundation in the three counties of Jingzhou will be uprooted, and his retreat will be lost. His food supply will be completely cut off. Even if he still has tens of thousands of troops under his command, he will collapse without a fight!"
Lu Xun's heart was burning with anger when he thought that Guan Yu, who was regarded as a god of war in his time, was about to be captured in this tight net.
"It's not easy..."
Looking forward to the glorious achievement of taking Jingzhou and capturing Guan Yu, Lu Xun couldn't help but feel filled with emotion.
This battle was indeed not easy.
Before Guan Yu's Northern Expedition, Ma Liang was ordered to go to Jiangdong to meet Sun Quan.
Sun Quan entertained Ma Liang with great hospitality and treated him with great courtesy, emphasizing the alliance between the two sides to fight against Cao Cao, which made the Yizhou side firmly believe in Jiangdong's attitude of resisting Cao.
And since he took over as the commander-in-chief, Lu Meng has been extra attentive to Guan Yu and constantly showed his goodwill to him.
When Lu Meng was "seriously ill" and "unable to manage affairs", Lu Xun nominally succeeded him as the governor. After arriving in Lukou, he immediately wrote a letter to Guan Yu, praising Guan Yu's achievements and virtues, expressing his respect and admiration for Guan Yu, and stating that he would never be an enemy of Guan Yu.
Under the paralysis of the cooperation between the emperor and his ministers, Guan Yu finally became convinced of the attitude of the Jiangdong allies and transferred all the troops in the rear to the Xiangfan front, leaving the rear empty. After the Jiangdong army sneaked across the Yangtze River defense line, they marched straight in with great momentum and encountered almost no obstruction.
The city of Zigui was also empty. According to intelligence, there were only one or two hundred weak troops left in the city. Although Zigui's wealthy families, such as Wen Bu and Deng Kai, spent all their wealth to recruit thousands of Yi soldiers to defend the city, how could such a motley crowd recruited on short notice withstand the attack of tens of thousands of Jiangdong's elite troops?
It was already dusk when they arrived at Zigui yesterday, and it was too late to attack the city, so the Jiangdong Army set up camp under the city to rest.
If they had arrived in the morning and launched the offensive in the afternoon, they would have captured Zigui before sunset yesterday.
But Lu Xun was not in a hurry.
Let the soldiers have a good rest for a night, recharge their batteries, and prepare various siege equipment. Then tomorrow they can attack Zigui, which is guarded by only a motley crowd, and still take it down with a small cost.
Although victory was imminent, Lu Xun felt a sense of worry in his heart.
"My lord personally paralyzed the envoy and gambled his reputation. Commander Lu and I also did not hesitate to flatter Guan Yu... If we cannot win this battle, take Jingzhou, and capture and kill Guan Yu, then Jiangdong will really become a laughing stock of the world..."
After frowning and muttering to himself for a few words, Lu Xun suddenly relaxed his brows and smiled to himself:
"I am so young, and I am still a little uneasy when I am about to win the battle...."
When I was feeling emotional.
His ears suddenly moved slightly, as if he heard some strange noises.
Lu Xun's expression became serious. He concentrated his ears and listened carefully for a while. Suddenly, his face darkened. He strode to the front of the tent, lifted the curtain and looked out. In the distance, he saw flames rising into the sky in the direction of the rear camp. At the same time, a fire dragon was rushing towards the center of the camp from the rear camp at an incredible speed. Wherever it passed, broken limbs could be seen flying in the sky!
"A thief actually attacked at night?"
Lu Xun frowned, feeling something was wrong.
Although he did not think that the mob in Zigui City was capable of organizing a night attack, he was not careless and had already made preparations to prevent a night attack.
However, the focus of the deployment was on the front and two wings of the camp facing Zigui City. Although the rear camp had certain preparations, they were far less strict than the front and two wings.
But now, the front and wings of the camp were not attacked, but the attack came from the rear of the camp...
In the darkest hour before dawn, how could a group of hastily recruited and almost undisciplined rabble accomplish this by bypassing the heavily guarded army camp and launching a night attack from the rear camp?
Looking at the speed of the "fire dragon" advancing from behind and the damage it caused wherever it passed, Lu Xun absolutely did not believe that the barbarian soldiers recruited by several major clans in Zigui City could achieve this.
"Where on earth did this army come from?"
At this time, alarm bells were ringing everywhere in the camp. The Jiangdong army, who were ready for battle at any time, responded quickly, rushing out of the tents, some organizing firefighting, some waiting in battle formation, and some led by brave generals to block the advancing enemy.
Although the Jiangdong army reacted quickly and did not immediately burst into chaos, the fire dragon was still unstoppable, and chaos ensued wherever it passed. The army camps that had originally taken the initiative to fight or were ready for battle began to disperse before they even received the attack.
Lu Xun didn't know why this happened. He just felt that the enemy army was advancing too fast, while his own army was in too much chaos.
Just when he was wondering, a general came on horseback to the central military tent and reported the battle situation to Lu Xun.
"General, the attackers are not numerous, only about 500, but they are all heavily armored and extremely powerful, and they are on par with Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Especially the two leading generals, almost no one can match them..."
The general was sweating profusely and looked terrified:
"The leading female general claims to be Guan Feng, the daughter of Guan Yu. The other general in white robe is as fierce as Zhao Zilong. And, and..."
"And what?" Lu Xun frowned.
"and……"
The warrior knelt on one knee, his eyes full of fear:
"They also brought the heads of Commander Lu, General Pan and others... I saw them with my own eyes, they are indeed the heads of Commander Lu Meng, General Pan Zhang and others!"
"..."
Hearing this, Lu Xun's pupils suddenly dilated. Even though he pursed his lips tightly, the corners of his lips couldn't help but twitch violently twice.
He finally understood why his own troops, which had been quick to react and well-organized, suddenly collapsed so quickly for no apparent reason.
At this time, many Jiangdong generals had already rushed to the central army tent to ask for countermeasures. After hearing the general's report, the generals were suddenly in an uproar. Everyone was shocked and their eyes were full of horror.
"What? Commander Lu and General Pan both died in battle?"
"Then the Jiangling attack would be a great defeat, wouldn't it? How is this possible?" "Could it be that Guan Yu has returned?"
"It's possible! Didn't the commander of the night attack claim to be Guan Yu's daughter? Guan Yu's daughter personally led the troops to attack the camp, so Guan Yu's army is probably not far away!"
"It's impossible! How could Guan Yu suddenly come to Zigui? Even though he is a master of cavalry, infantry, and navy, and even though he is extremely brave, he can't fly!"
"If Guan Yu hadn't come back to fight, how could Commander Lu and General Pan have died? It must have been Guan Yu's army that suddenly came back to fight, and joined forces with the Jiangling defenders to defeat Commander Lu's army, and then rushed to Zigui without stopping and attacked our army at night!"
Although this speculation seems absurd, even if Guan Yu had the Red Hare and could move around at incredible speed, his subordinates did not have this ability to move around. It was impossible for them to leave the Cao army confronting him and quickly return to Jiangling from the front line of Xiangfan, and then quickly kill to Zigui.
But no matter how impossible it was, the heads of Lu Meng, Pan Zhang and others, as well as the elite troops led by Guan Yu's daughter who were charging into the camp, all confirmed this outrageous speculation.
Seeing that the morale of the generals was unsettled and the army was about to fall into chaos, the general who came to report the news shouted in panic:
"General, Commander Lu and his men have been defeated! Commander Lu and his generals have died in battle, and the army that attacked Jiangling has probably been completely defeated! Our army has now penetrated deep into enemy territory and has become an isolated force..."
A fierce light flashed in Lu Xun's eyes. He suddenly drew out his sword and slashed at the general who brought the news.
The sword was extremely sharp, as fast as lightning, and the sword energy was terrifying. Before the general who reported the news could react, the head had already flown high into the air. The headless body shook twice and fell to the ground.
Lu Xun held the sword in one hand and grabbed the falling head with the other. He glanced at the generals and said sternly:
"If anyone talks nonsense again and disrupts the morale of our army, there will be such a beast as this!"
Lu Xun was young and lacked military experience. He was able to lead an army independently only because he was favored by Sun Quan. Many senior generals looked down on him.
But at this time when people's hearts were in turmoil, Lu Xun was decisive and killed people. He suddenly drew his sword and killed people. His swordsmanship was so sharp and clean that it immediately shocked a group of generals.
He held the bloody head in his hand, glanced at the generals coldly, and said in a deep voice:
"General Lu will not be defeated and killed easily. Even if he fails to capture Jiangling, he will be able to retreat safely. The heads of the so-called General Lu, General Pan and others must be forged! This is a trick of the enemy army to disrupt our army's morale!"
Having said that, Lu Xun also knew that the enemy force was very powerful in the night attack. They were led by Guan Yu's daughter, there was a general who was known to be so fierce that he could chase Zhao Yun, and there were heads of Lu Meng and others paving the way. It was inevitable that the army would be in disarray.
The most important thing is that Lu Meng's army might have suffered a great defeat, and Lu Xun's army might have become an isolated force.
If Guan Yu's army was really nearby, if a decision was not made quickly, the entire army might be wiped out.
"Pass on my order! All the generals return to their respective units and lead the troops to evacuate the camp. When you evacuate, light more torches to enhance your momentum."
Lu Xun quickly arranged the evacuation order, ordering all the generals to retreat to the riverside and retreat to Jiangdong on the navy warships.
If you encounter an enemy, you don't have to fight to the death, just run away if you can. If you can't run away, you must try your best to resist until the friendly forces successfully evacuate.
Seeing that he was calm and composed, and that everything was arranged in an orderly manner, the anxious hearts of the generals gradually calmed down. One general asked:
"What about you, General? When will you evacuate?"
Lu Xun said in a deep voice:
"As the commander, I will lead my troops to cover the rear! Don't worry, as long as I am alive, the enemy army will never have the chance to pursue you. You also need to do your best to bring our Jiangdong men back to Jiangdong!"
"General!"
The generals were deeply moved, but no one offered to cover his retreat. They just bowed deeply and returned to their respective camps to prepare for the withdrawal as Lu Xun had arranged.
After all, Lu Xun was too inexperienced and lacked prestige. Although he remained calm in the face of danger and displayed swift and powerful tactics and the demeanor of a great general, it was still impossible for him to make other generals willing to cover his rear or even die for him.
Lu Xun was well aware of this, but as things had come to this point, as the commander-in-chief, he had no choice but to personally guard the rear.
If he personally guarded the rear, the army might be able to evacuate in an orderly manner.
If he retreated first, the morale of the other generals would be unsettled, and they would surely rush to escape.
By then, the retreat would inevitably turn into the rout of the entire army, and the losses would be incalculable. Even if Lu Xun could return to Jiangdong alive, how could he face Sun Quan, who trusted him highly and did not look down on him because of his young age and entrusted him with important tasks?
After watching the generals leave coldly, Lu Xun's personal guards transferred all his troops to the vicinity of the central military tent, started a fire, and lit a large number of torches, illuminating the area around the central military tent to attract the enemy to attack.
However, the enemy seemed to have already known the location of his central military tent. After breaking into the rear camp, their goal all the way seemed to be heading straight for his central military tent.
Lu Xun also felt a little strange.
Even if Lu Xun was not an unknown figure in Jiangdong, his reputation was very limited. This was even the first time he led a large army alone. Why didn't Guan Yu's army divide its forces to sweep the entire camp, expand their advantage in the chaos, and annihilate a large number of Jiangdong's active forces, but instead gathered the troops in one place, with a clear goal of hitting the middle army directly?
Logically, with Lu Xun's current reputation, even if he was beheaded, it would not cause an irreparable and devastating blow to the morale of the entire army like Lu Meng's death in battle.
The Jiangdong generals would probably just ignore his death in battle and laugh at him, saying that a young man who relied on his lord's favor to rise to power is indeed not capable of taking on such a heavy responsibility.
Just as Lu Xun was puzzled, the night attack team, which was charging forward wildly and unstoppable, had already arrived near the central army tent. Lu Xun could clearly see the slender and agile young girl general wearing red armor and holding a long sword, as well as a cloth-clad warrior holding an iron spear, wearing white clothes as white as snow, with no blood on his body.
Behind the two men, there were several heavily-armored soldiers holding high their spears, on the tips of which were heads of people who had died with their eyes open. They were the heads of Lu Meng, Pan Zhang and others.
After seeing those heads with his own eyes, Lu Xun closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
He knew that Jiangdong's attack on Jingzhou had indeed ended in failure and the situation was hopeless.
But soon, he opened his eyes again, a look of determination appeared in his eyes, and he waved his sword towards the enemy who was rushing towards him and had already engaged in close combat with his own troops, and shouted:
"Kill the enemy!"
Lu Xun did not retreat a single step, but faced the enemy head-on, shouting "kill the enemy!". The morale of his own troops was greatly boosted, and they risked their lives to fight hard to stop the enemy.
But the same thing goes, in this kind of face-to-face close combat with cold weapons, no matter how high the morale is, it will be of no avail in the face of absolute strength.
In just a moment, Lu Xun's main force collapsed.
Guan Feng even killed his way through the enemy's formation and went straight for Lu Xun.
"Lu Xun, accept your fate!"
Lu Xun did not retreat, but swung his sword forward. The sword light was like a star rain in the sky, and the sword energy was like the huge waves of the Yangtze River.
Unfortunately, when Guan Feng slashed with his sword, the sword light and star rain withered one after another, and the sword energy was split into two. The sharp sword light was like a bamboo breaking, easily breaking Lu Xun's sword force, and then swept past his neck.
In terms of personal martial arts, Lu Xun is far inferior to Lu Meng, who was born as a general.
[The second chapter is done, please give me a monthly ticket! ]
(End of this chapter)
