Chapter 170

“Supreme General, Xu Huang has turned the direction of his army towards Nanyang Commandery. Should we also change our route?”

Within Guan Yu’s army, Xi Jin, a commander leading a unit and also serving as the General of Yangwu, asked this question.

Excluding the semi-independent Yao Hua, Xi Jin was a figure who could be considered one of Guan Yu’s right-hand men, alongside Zhao Lu, who was handling the affairs of the Supreme General’s office.

Zhao Lu was bringing up naval forces, siege weapons, food supplies, and reserve troops, so currently, Xi Jin was second only to Guan Yu.

Of course, this excluded Guan Yu’s son, Guan Ping, who held the rank of 3rd-grade Boguk General, one rank higher than Xi Jin’s 4th-grade position, and served as Guan Yu’s deputy.

In response to Xi Jin’s question, Guan Yu stroked his beard and fell into deep thought.

‘Is Xu Huang planning to hold out in Nanyang Commandery and buy as much time as possible?’

It was unlikely that Xu Huang would leave Wancheng unattended without any measures. He must have sent messengers to Sima Yi and Zhang Pei in Luoyang to request reinforcements.

If they fought in Nanyang Commandery, they could neutralize the siege weapons being transported by river while also stretching Guan Yu’s army’s movements, buying more time.

Even if Guan Yu ignored Xu Huang and attacked Wancheng, the remaining forces in Wancheng could hold out while Xu Huang attacked Guan Yu from the outside, creating a two-front strategy.

It was similar to how, in the original history, while Zhao Yun held out in Yangfan, General Bang Deok of the White Horse Army harassed Guan Yu.

‘Playing petty tricks, huh, big brother.’

Guan Yu unfolded the paper and brush he always carried with him and immediately began writing.

After finishing the letter to Xu Huang, Guan Yu handed it to Guan Ping and gave his orders.

“Select a messenger to deliver this to Xu Gongming. And on the way, have them procure women’s clothing from the villages and deliver it along with the letter.”

“Women’s clothing, you say?”

“Yes. Preferably the most flamboyant ones.”

The meaning behind sending women’s clothing as a gift was self-explanatory.

The letter Guan Yu wrote also subtly mocked and provoked Xu Huang while pretending to reminisce about their past friendship.

It was a blatant provocation.

‘Even if big brother doesn’t respond to the provocation, it’s worth a try just to boost morale.’

By taking a step back, Xu Huang had handed the initiative to Guan Yu. He was waiting to see how Guan Yu would act before responding, a strategy of countering after the opponent makes the first move.

In this situation, Guan Yu provoked Xu Huang, who was trying to retreat, to gain the upper hand in morale.

The messenger Guan Yu sent quickly rushed to Xu Huang’s camp. In the populous Nanyang Commandery, where half the world was women, procuring women’s clothing was a simple task.

The messenger, carrying a beautifully dyed pink women’s dress, first handed over Guan Yu’s letter to Xu Huang.

[My foolish brother, I, Guan Yu, send my regards to you, big brother… I thought that after all these years of friendship, we knew each other well, but lately, I’ve begun to doubt that. The big brother I knew was a hero among heroes, but now it seems only a coward afraid of the battlefield remains, leaving a void in this younger brother’s heart…]

As Guan Yu’s letter shifted from formal greetings to mockery and ridicule, Xu Huang’s expression remained unchanged.

In fact, he even smiled slightly as he read every last word without missing a single character. After putting down Guan Yu’s letter, Xu Huang looked at the messenger and said.

“Is this all?”

“…That’s…this is also to be delivered…”

“Bring it here.”

A subordinate took the box from the messenger and opened it. Inside, of course, was the women’s clothing. The atmosphere in the room grew tense with uncomfortable murmurs.

However, Xu Huang, the one who had received the provocative letter and the gift of women’s clothing, remained completely at ease.

“It seems my younger brother is quite anxious.”

Unlike Xu Huang’s calm demeanor, his officers were seething with anger and humiliation.

“General, we must properly punish that arrogant Guan Yu!”

“Exactly, General. Just give the order. That fool still thinks he’s the hero of the Guandu Battle. I’ll personally cut off that insolent man’s head and bring it to you!”

Despite the officers’ faces turning red with anger, Xu Huang calmly calmed them down. He then instructed them to carefully keep the letter and the women’s clothing Guan Yu had sent, and turned his gaze back to the messenger.

“Tell my younger brother that I received his gift well. Next time, this older brother will send a gift. I won’t write a separate reply. Instead, go and tell him this: this is a matter of state.”

As it was a matter of state, he could not act based on personal emotions.

Xu Huang had turned Guan Yu’s provocation into nothing.

“You may go now.”

The messenger, eager to escape the precarious situation, quickly bowed to Xu Huang and immediately returned to the main camp.

Upon hearing Xu Huang’s response from the messenger, Guan Yu chuckled and muttered to himself.

“Xu Gongming. Truly, you are worthy of being called my big brother.”

If Xu Huang had brought up the seriousness of state affairs, Guan Yu would also set aside personal feelings and proceed with a sense of duty.

“Ignore Xu Gongming. We will continue our advance and take Wancheng.”

The siege weapons were ready. How many troops could possibly remain in Wancheng after Xu Huang’s main force had withdrawn?

By quickly capturing Wancheng and converting the siege weapons into defensive weapons, there would be no need to worry even if Xu Huang or Zhang Pei came.

Guan Yu also had plenty of food. If they held out in Wancheng and waited for Zhang Fei from Guanzhong and Chang-ran from Xiang Province to arrive, it would be as if Cao Wei had handed Wancheng over to them.

‘I’ll show them that their complacent handling was a mistake.’

Disregarding Xu Huang’s army, which had retreated to Nanyang Commandery, Guan Yu marched straight towards Wancheng. Upon arriving at Wancheng, it was immediately apparent that the troops defending the city walls were significantly fewer than expected.

They wouldn’t even need the grand siege weapons like catapults, battering rams, or scaling ladders. A single cloud ladder would be enough to breach the walls.

“This is simple. We’ll have dinner in Wancheng’s official residence tonight.”

As Guan Yu boasted, it didn’t take long to capture Wancheng.

Although they couldn’t take Wancheng in a single day as initially claimed, by the next day, they had seized the walls and opened the gates. Guan Yu, leading the vanguard, charged into Wancheng and took control of the city.

While the world had gradually forgotten Guan Yu’s fame, in Xingbu, where he had once shown his prowess, Guan Yu was still the greatest warrior under heaven.

The moment Guan Yu set foot in Wancheng, the people immediately prostrated themselves and submitted to the Han army’s control, while the Wei soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered.

Guan Yu, looking at them with satisfaction, quickly moved on to post-battle arrangements. He brought the siege weapons into Wancheng, comforted the people, and began deploying troops for defense.

While touring the walls to boost morale and commend the soldiers’ efforts, Guan Yu soon noticed something unusual.

His expertise in fortifications allowed him to detect a critical flaw.

It was a fatal weakness that sent chills down his spine.

‘The walls are weak. Upon closer inspection, they don’t even match the foundation. If this is the case…the walls will collapse as soon as we dig beneath them.’

They couldn’t have built the city like this from the start, so this must have been an intentional vulnerability created later.

The deliberate weakening was done from within the city, not from the outside. There was only one person who could have orchestrated this.

Xu Huang. He hadn’t lost Wancheng to Guan Yu; he had trapped Guan Yu in Wancheng.

‘Empty Fort Strategy!’

The 32nd of the 36 Stratagems.

There are two ways to use the Empty Fort Strategy: one is to leave the city empty and deceive the enemy, and the other is to lure the enemy into an empty city and surround them for annihilation.

Guan Yu had fallen victim to the latter.

As Guan Yu, having discovered the issue with the walls, returned to the official residence to ponder countermeasures, Guan Ping rushed in with a panicked expression.

“Supreme General! Supreme General!”

“General Guan, remain calm. I’ve told you repeatedly that losing composure in wartime is as dangerous as anything.”

Guan Ping, confirming that only Guan Yu, Xi Jin, and Zhao Lu were present, urgently exclaimed.

“Sima Yi has already entered Nanyang Commandery!”

“What did you say?”

Even Guan Yu couldn’t help but frown at this news.

“How could he be so fast…?”

“Even if he was prepared, the distance from Luoyang to here is…!”

Zhao Lu and Xi Jin were also shocked by Sima Yi’s unbelievable speed. But that wasn’t all.

“Xu Huang, who was in Nanyang Commandery, has divided his forces and blocked Wuguan and Shangyong! And Zhang Pei has passed Pingdi County!”

“He went to Pingdi County instead of Biyang County?”

It was much easier to enter Nanyang Commandery from Jiangxia Commandery via Biyang County than Pingdi County, as the roads were wider.

But Zhang Pei coming through Pingdi County, which was further south than Biyang County, indicated an intention to avoid Guan Yu’s scouts and firmly cut off Guan Yu’s path from below.

To the north was Sima Yi, and to the south was Zhang Pei.

Xu Huang had blocked the routes to Guanzhong and Hanzhong, which were Han territory.

Even if they requested reinforcements, it would be a long journey through Xiang Province to Yizhou. By the time reinforcements could be gathered, the battle in Xingbu would already be over.

“Supreme General, we are surrounded!”

Wancheng had trapped Guan Yu, and they were closing in from all sides.

A defensive battle was out of the question. The walls they had tampered with would easily collapse, exposing Guan Yu’s troops inside.

Wancheng was not a shield to protect them but a cage to trap them.

Guan Yu’s miscalculation lay with Sima Yi.

Even if Zhang Pei had turned towards Xingbu, Guan Yu was confident he could retreat. But with Sima Yi here, the situation was different.

‘Wancheng and Luoyang are 800 li apart. To arrive here in just a few days… Is Sima Yi’s command truly that exceptional?’

In the original history, when Meng Da of Shangyong was plotting to betray Wei, Sima Yi, stationed in Wancheng, covered the 1200 li to Shangyong in just eight days.

A rapid march comparable to the Lanling Army, which had a majority of cavalry. Even Zhuge Liang couldn’t help but be impressed by Sima Yi’s speed.

Meng Da’s foolish actions played a part, but if Zhuge Liang had anticipated Sima Yi’s swiftness, he would have sent a stronger signal to Meng Da.

Guan Yu deeply regretted underestimating Sima Yi.

“Sima Yi… Fine. I underestimated you. But you also underestimated me. I am Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang. Did you think your flimsy net could hold me? I beheaded Yan Liang at this age.”

Holding out in Wancheng was now impossible. It was too late to repair the walls with the enemy so close.

If they were attacked while attempting repairs, it could lead to a worse situation than not repairing them at all.

Thus, Guan Yu decided to abandon Wancheng.

“Supreme General, shall we break through Zhang Pei and return to Yangfan? If we go down through Yuxu…”

“Do you think they haven’t anticipated that? If they block the river route at Yuxu and set fire to rafts, we’ll be in trouble.”

Instead, Guan Yu’s gaze turned northward.

“If Sima Yi has come out, there must be few troops left in Luoyang.”

Sima Yi’s marching speed was astonishing, but it must have also required significant physical exertion from his troops.

Guan Yu made his decision.

“There will be no retreat. We will advance north and head to Luoyang.”