amaotonovel Chapter 307 He Qi was recognized as soon as he returned to Kuaiji
Chapter 307 He Qi was recognized as soon as he returned to Kuaiji
Guan Yu was so angry at the messenger's words that he glared and puffed out his beard. His real intention was to find out what Guan Xing's plans were for the upcoming battle, since the battle report didn't mention them. He was worried that Guan Xing might act recklessly, and that he might become arrogant after winning a battle, and be killed by Lu Xun if he wasn't careful.
As it turned out, this kid was even more arrogant than Guan Yu, and actually wanted him to wear down the Wei army and coordinate with him.
You brat, are you really getting cocky, or do you think your old man can't even lift a knife anymore?
Guan Yu asked impatiently, "Anything else?"
The messenger said weakly, "Is there any food? My brothers and I haven't eaten all day."
The messenger couldn't have been a single person; they came with an entire squad, but only this squad leader was brought before Guan Yu.
Guan Yu was speechless at the soldier's honesty and instructed Xin Fei, "Take this young brother down for a meal. Serve him the best food and wine, and after the meal, let him sleep in a separate tent."
This is a hero who delivered the message, so it must be treated well.
"Yes..." Xin Fei left with the messenger, and returned half an hour later, excitedly asking, "My lord, now we don't have to worry about the Wu army anymore. Our plan needs to be changed. What do you intend to do?"
Guan Yu had been pondering this question and had already made up his mind. Upon hearing this, he immediately decided, "Order the army to retreat fifty li. According to An Guo's idea, we should first wear down the Wei army, and at the same time let the Wei army out of the city to train our troops. These soldiers need to be trained well."
He was always concerned about the combat quality of his soldiers, so after learning that there was nothing to worry about after Guan Xing's victory, he temporarily decided not to fight the Wei army head-on. Instead, he planned to lure the Wei army into the wilderness and use the daily small-scale battles with the Wei army to train his own soldiers.
Once the soldiers are trained and Guan Xing has defeated Lu Xun and come up from Poyang Lake, I will launch a full-scale attack to keep Cao Ren permanently within Danyang territory.
Guan Yu instructed Xin Fei to arrange the withdrawal of troops, and then showed Guan Xing's victory report to Zhu Zhi, Zhang Cheng, and other surrendered Wu generals.
As expected, Zhu Zhi, Zhang Cheng, and others were all stunned after reading the letter. Their first reaction after regaining their senses was that Sun Quan was doomed. Even Han Dang and Xu Sheng had died in battle. What hope did Sun Quan have left?
Forget it, from now on I'll just stick with General Guan and the King of Hanzhong, and stop thinking about all that nonsense.
Guan Xing's battle report reassured the surrendered Wu generals, which played a significant role in stabilizing the morale of Guan Yu's army.
Subsequently, Guan Yu led the Han army in an orderly retreat, with the main force leaving first and Guan Yu personally covering the rear, ensuring that Cao Ren had no chance to launch a sneak attack.
When the news reached Danyang Shicheng, Cao Ren and Zhang Liao were all stunned. They had not yet received news of Han Dang and Xu Sheng's deaths in battle, and did not know Guan Yu's intention to withdraw his troops. Therefore, they dared not pursue him rashly and could only watch Guan Yu leave calmly.
While Cao Ren and Zhang Liao were bewildered by Guan Yu's withdrawal, someone else was so excited he almost shouted out loud – that was He Qi, whom Lu Xun had sent to sabotage the rear.
After receiving the order, He Qi did not dare to cross the Huangwu Mountains, which were defended by Han troops. Instead, he headed north along the Anhui-Jiangxi Corridor, intending to detour through Jianye and head south to Kuaiji.
But that damned Guan Yu guarded it too tightly. The area south of Danyang and even the Liyang area was full of Han army outposts, so He Qi couldn't get through at all. He could only enter Danyang City to ask Cao Ren for a meal.
Now that the Han army had withdrawn, He Qi was extremely anxious and dared not delay any longer. He bid farewell to Cao Ren and set off immediately.
He Qi was a native of Jiangdong and knew many side roads. Without the Han army blocking his way, he moved very quickly and entered the territory of Yuhang in just five days.
The journey from Danyang to Yuhang is 500 li. He Qi had to walk about 100 li per day on average. Although he only had more than 20 personal guards and no supplies, the journey was not difficult. However, after five days, he was exhausted.
With their provisions exhausted, He Qi and the others were too tired and hungry to stay that night. Since they had returned to Kuaiji and were no longer worried about Guan Yu discovering and pursuing them, they decided to find a local family to stay overnight.
He Qi was also worried about being discovered by the officials appointed by Guan Xing, so he did not dare to look for a house near the official road. Instead, he looked for a house in a relatively remote area. He scanned the surrounding area and saw that the nearest house was several miles away. He was not worried about being seen by strangers, so he pushed open the dilapidated courtyard gate and went in.
Upon entering the courtyard, they found a young man in his late twenties playing chess with an elderly man who looked to be over fifty. Judging from their posture, they seemed to be father and son. So, they stepped forward and tentatively asked, "Sir, we are merchants from Jianye. It's getting late and we're hungry, so we'd like to have a meal here and stay the night. Is that alright? Don't worry, we're willing to pay."
Upon hearing this, the father and son turned their heads at the same time. The moment the young man saw He Qi's face, his pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly lowered his head to look at the chessboard.
Fortunately, He Qi's attention was focused on the old man, and he didn't notice the young man's unusual behavior.
Seeing the old man pressing on the chessboard as he was about to stand up, the young man quickly got up and went to help him. Only then did He Qi realize that the old man's left leg was only half a leg, and he had no legs below the knee.
He Qi asked in surprise, "Old man, were you a soldier?"
The old man nodded and said, "Yes, this leg was injured when I followed Lord Wu (Sun Ce) to fight against Yan Baihu. My two sons died in the Battle of Red Cliffs with Grand Commander Zhou Yu. Now only two sons are left. My youngest son went back to his wife's home. This is my third son."
"By the way, you said you wanted to stay overnight, right? That's fine, but we don't have enough rooms in our house, so some of you might have to sleep in the woodshed."
He Qi smiled and said, "No problem, as long as we have a place to stay."
The old man said, "Alright, you can rest in the yard first. I'll go to the woodshed and tidy it up for you; it's too messy inside."
After saying that, he leaned on his cane and led his son toward the woodshed. Before leaving, he called out to the kitchen, "Honey, we have guests. Cook more rice; there are more than twenty people."
The old man, who had difficulty moving around, finally managed to get to the woodshed with his son's help after a long struggle. As soon as he closed the door, the young man leaned close to his father and whispered, "Father, this man is not some worthless merchant at all, but He Qi, the head of the He family of Shanyin."
The old man replied in a low voice, "Nonsense, I injured this leg when I was fighting against the Shanyue with He Qi. How could I not recognize my own general? What you said about Yan Baihu being injured was a lie. That happened in the fifth year of Jian'an, when you were still young."
Seeing that his father also recognized He Qi, the young man was immediately relieved and quickly said, "He Qi is definitely coming back at this time to cause trouble. I need to inform my village chief as soon as possible so that he can report to Prefect Xie Chong and take precautions."
The young man's name was Yu Gang. He was one of the thousands of soldiers who were released after Guan Xingda's reorganization. He did not want to come back, but his father's disability was worrying, so he chose to retire and go home.
Upon returning home, I learned that each member of the family had been allocated two mu of land. Although there was no income yet and the situation was not much better than before, at least there was hope.
Before they could even begin to dream about the future, He Qi returned. It was obvious what He Qi was coming back for; Yu Gang would never allow He Qi to return to Kuaiji and take back his family's land.
So the first thing I wanted to do when I saw He Qi was to go and inform the village chief. Many of his fellow villagers had retired from the army with him, and his village chief lived only five or six miles away from his home, so he could make a round trip in a quarter of an hour.
The old man said, "We must send a message, but we can't go now. Who is He Qi? How could he not be wary of us sending a message?"
"If I'm not mistaken, there are definitely He Qi's personal guards watching us from the front and back of our house. If you dare to step out of this door, our whole family will be wiped out immediately."
He was a veteran who had followed He Qi, so he naturally knew what kind of person He Qi was.
Yu Gang asked, "Then what should we do?"
The old man replied, "For now, pretend you know nothing. It's not too late to send the message after we send He Qi away tomorrow morning. But remember, you must act well and don't give anything away so He Qi doesn't notice anything. Otherwise, you might get our family killed before the message is even delivered, understand?"
Yu Gang nodded emphatically and said, "Yes!"