Chapter 266: Lu Su helps, Lü Bu is warm Dongguan, in later generations, is a mysterious small town somewhere in the south, which became famous for a crackdown. But during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dongguan was not in the south, but in Xuzhou, one of the important towns in Langya County. The reason why Lu Bu asked Zang Ba to station troops in Dongguan instead of Ju County in the east was because Dongguan was located on the Yishui waterway. Going south along the Yishui River, passing Dong'an and Yangdu, you can directly reach Kaiyang, the capital of Langya County. Lu Bu asked Zang Ba to block here to prevent Yuan Tan from going south and launching a surprise attack on Donghai County by water. But he never expected that Zang Ba would suddenly rebel, so that the terrain of Dongguan actually became a help to his advance. After listening to Xu Shu's advice, Zang Ba led his army of more than 20,000 people including Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others and sailed southward. Within a few days, Zang Ba successively captured Dong'an, Yangdu and Kaiyang counties and took control of the Yishui waterway. Afterwards, he led 500 cavalrymen with Sun Guan as the vanguard, marching more than 80 miles a day, suddenly attacked Xiangben, and brazenly killed their way into Donghai County.

At the same time, Yan Jun and others in the west received the news from Xu Shu and led more than 10,000 soldiers to launch a surprise attack on Xiao County. In just one day, they captured Xiao County, the gateway to Xuzhou, and then headed towards Pengcheng. The sudden arrival of these two armies almost shook the entire Xia Pi, and really scared Chen Gong who stayed behind in Xia Pi! Chen Gong had expected Xu Shu's troops to march eastward, because Liu Bei would definitely let Xu Shu share the pressure when facing Jiujiang. But Chen Gong did not expect that Zang Ba, the Taishan bandit with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would suddenly rebel. Because although Zang Ba was born a bandit, he was famous for his loyalty in Xuzhou! He naturally didn't know that Zang Ba had already been in contact with Liu Bei, but he felt that Zang Ba would not be easily moved by Liu Bei. At least they shouldn't move so quickly, like now, Zang Ba sent troops almost not long after Lu Bu attacked Liu Bei. Faced with this situation, Chen Gong did not even need Chen Deng's advice. On the day he received the news, he told the generals Wei Xu and Wei Yue who stayed behind in Xiapi: "Now that Marquis Wen is leading his troops south, Zang Ba and Xu Shu are moving together. It is obvious that they are not coming separately. The two families must be connected." "Zang Ba is a man of great military ability. The garrison troops in Tan County are less than 4,000." "If we allow this man to take Tan County, we will probably be trapped to death in Xia Pi City." "I hope the two generals will quickly send one of them to join me in the fight northwards, otherwise it might be disastrous!" In fact, the capital of Xuzhou has always been Tan County, and the Xuzhou City in the novel is this place. But both Lu Bu and Liu Bei placed their capital in Xia Pi in order to guard against Yuan Shu. However, although the focus is different, it cannot change the fact that Tan County is the largest city in Donghai County! Judging from the situation at that time, with Liu Bei marching into Pengcheng and Zang Ba capturing Langya, the territory they actually controlled was further reduced. As long as Tan County is captured again, Lu Bu will only have the territory of Pi State left. That's why Chen Gong directly told the two of them that Tan County must not fall and they must defend it personally! In response to Chen Gong's proposal, the two brothers Wei Yue and Wei Xu discussed and decided to let Wei Yue lead 15,000 soldiers and horses to follow Chen Gong north. Then, a military report was sent to Lu Bu in the form of an urgent report of 800 miles. On the other side, at this time in Guangling, coincidentally, a troop of soldiers was also marching towards East City. This army was exactly the one under Lei Xu of Guangling, but there were two more people in this army - Gan Ning and Zhao Yun! This is what happened, and it all started with the order Qin Zhen gave to Jiang Gan that day. It is said that Qin Zhen made a plan in Lishan that day and ordered Xu Sheng to send a letter to Jiang Gan to go south as an envoy.

Jiang Gan immediately put his utmost effort into this task! Because he is not a doer. Although he is handsome and eloquent, he has no special talents. Ever since he was commissioned by Liu Bei to go south last time, he has tasted the sweetness of being an envoy. First of all, this job is not difficult to do. Talking is what he is best at. Secondly, diplomatic missions have always been very important and allow one to show up in front of leaders. You know, there are at least 800 officials under Liu Bei's command, if not 1,000, not counting the petty officials in the counties and prefectures. With such a huge base, if you want to catch Liu Bei's eye by working hard to achieve political achievements, it will take at least several years or even more than ten years. But it’s different when you’re on a diplomatic mission. When your leader asks you to go, you can show off in front of him once you’ve completed the mission. So it would be fine if there was no such job, but once it was given to him, he had to complete it! Not to mention that this time Qin Zhen pointed out that if he could convince Lei Xu, he would be credited with the greatest achievement. Therefore, after receiving Qin Zhen's order, Jiang Gan went all the way south, took a boat via Chaohu Lake and entered the Yangtze River. According to Jiang Gan's original idea, he would take a boat directly to the east and complete the mission after arriving in Guangling. As a result, they encountered Lu Su and Gan Ning's patrol fleet halfway. Since Qin Zhen sent three military reports in succession, Lu Su and Gan Ning also knew that Qin Zhen was going to take action against Xuzhou. Seeing Jiang Gan on the diplomatic mission, Lu Su knew that Jiang Gan was most likely going to persuade Lei Xu. At that time, Lu Su had not yet received Liu Bei's military order to provide support, but when he knew that Jiang Gan was going to leave alone, he still persuaded Jiang Gan. In general, he felt that it would be difficult for Jiang Gan to accomplish anything if he went on the mission alone! There are three main reasons for this: first, Lei Xu is not Taishi Ci, and he has no contact with them, so it is difficult to convince him with empty words; Second, Jiang Gan's mission only had Qin Zhen's verbal order, without any written document, which was not formal enough; Thirdly, Lei Xu had been independent from Yuan Shu for a year after all, and it would be difficult to persuade him to take on the position of a colonel! In general, the benefits you offer are not enough. Lei Xu has no relationship with you, so why would he listen to you and work for you? It must be said that Lu Su was a man who understood human nature. As soon as he said this, Jiang Gan immediately realized the problem. But even though he knew these problems, he had no way to solve them. After all, Qin Zhen was far away in Zhongli, and he himself did not have enough authority. In desperation, he had to seek help from the rather unfamiliar naval commander Lu Su. Lu Su also loved to make friends with wise men. Seeing that Jiang Gan couldn't think of a solution, he said to Jiang Gan: "Don't worry, sir. I also know that the military advisor is heading north. We are colleagues, and I will lend a helping hand to you!" As he said this, he gave Jiang Gan an idea. Lei Xu is a bully who only bullies the weak and fears the strong. Since we don't have enough authority, we should just march in and force him to submit! To put it simply, they would rush into Guangling without saying hello, seize one or two cities, and intimidate Lei Xu first. Anyway, Lei Xu doesn't even dare to touch the more than 10,000 soldiers of Chen Deng in Guangling, so he may not dare to turn against us. Then when Lei Xu takes the initiative to send an envoy to ask the reason, Jiang Gan will go to explain the pros and cons and accept the surrender of Lei Xu's troops. When Jiang Gan heard this, he said hesitantly, "That's not a good idea. Then let's do it this way!" At this time, Taishi Ci was attacking Jiangcheng County and his troops could not be mobilized, so Lu Su asked Gan Ning to lead 2,000 troops to launch a surprise attack on Guangling. Since Gan Ning was promoted to the deputy admiral of the navy, he has gained both face and wealth. However, this man is born restless. It is not enough to just have status. He also wants to make achievements and help fight in the war! So after Lu Su gave the order, Gan Ning led two thousand people and attacked into Guangling.

In one fell swoop, they captured Jiangdu, an important town in Guangling, and defeated 3,000 troops led by Zhang Duo and others under Lei Xu. This move was like Zang Ba's surprise attack on Donghai County, and it scared Lei Xu enough! Because since Liu Bei's rise, Lei Xu has been squeezed into Guangling County, with no way out to the east, west, south or north. As Liu Bei moved south, the navy was moving back and forth on the river all day long, and it was impossible for him to say that he was not afraid. But he has tens of thousands of troops under his command, so no one cares about him now, and he is too lazy to take the initiative to join anyone. Seeing that Liu Bei's navy's attention was only on the south, Lei Xu didn't care. As a result, Gan Ning's sudden move made him think that Liu Bei was going to launch a large-scale military attack against him! In panic, he sent an envoy to ask if there was any misunderstanding as Lu Su had predicted. He also said that he had long heard of Lord Xuande's name but had never met him in person. Could it be that he had done something to offend Lord Xuande? Of course, he didn't know that Qin Zhen had his eyes on him. He just felt that it must be his subordinates who were blind and offended Liu Bei. As long as we can get clear answers and deal with the person causing the trouble, we can resolve this incident. However, when he sent an envoy over, Lu Su said that there was no misunderstanding and that he was the one who was going to be beaten! Because now Lu Bu is attacking Jiujiang County, Guangling is located in Xuzhou, which is also within our attack range. You have a large army in Guangling, most likely you have some connection with Lu Bu. Just go back and clean your neck and wait! In fact, they don't have the spare energy to fight Lei Xu now, but Lu Su's attitude seems to be that he is determined to destroy Lei Xu. When the messenger saw this, he was terrified and returned to tell Lei Xu what Lu Su had said. When Lei Xu heard this, he felt so aggrieved that his back teeth were almost broken. He was just entrenched in Guangling, Xuzhou, and it really had nothing to do with him following Lu Bu. If Liu Bei's power was not strong enough, he might have directly turned against Lu Su. But now Liu Bei had an army of over 100,000 and had an unclear relationship with Chen Deng, so he did not dare to conflict with Liu Bei. In desperation, Lei Xu sent an envoy to see Lu Su again, stating that he had absolutely nothing to do with Lu Bu. Seeing this, Lu Su still pretended not to agree. Jiang Gan then jumped out and played the good guy, expressing Qin Zhen's thoughts. When the messenger heard that there was no need to fight, he brought Jiang Gan to Guangling to meet Lei Xu. After being beaten by Lu Su, Lei Xu also faced the reality. Facing Jiang Gan's recruitment, he expressed his willingness to surrender, but he didn't know whether Liu Bei was willing to accept him! Therefore, Jiang Gan asked someone to ask Liu Bei what official title should be given to Lei Xu. Originally according to Qin Zhen's expectation, Lei Xu would only be assigned the rank of colonel. But after Liu Bei received the news from Jiang Gan, when he heard that Lei Xu had tens of thousands of troops, he waved his hand and appointed Lei Xu as a minor general. Although a deputy general is not as good as a general of miscellaneous titles, he is still below a lieutenant general and above a colonel. Lei Xu was overjoyed to receive such an appointment and joined Liu Bei's army. At the same time, Liu Bei ordered Zhao Yun and Gan Ning to go north to help, so the two generals and Lei Xu led more than 10,000 soldiers and horses northward. Since Guangling does not have Yishui as a route of advance like Langya, Lei Xu and others are not as fast as Zang Ba.

However, according to the time, it was Jiang Gan who arrived in Guangling first, so when Chen Gong sent the letter, everyone had also arrived in Dongcheng. The defending general Li Feng had only 3,000 soldiers and horses, so he was naturally shocked when he saw an army of tens of thousands suddenly approaching from the east. In panic, he hurriedly sent the news that enemy troops appeared in the east city to Lu Bu. At this moment, under the city of Shouchun, the towering city walls were already stained red with blood. Under the setting sun, Lu Bu once again launched a fierce attack on Shouchun! I saw Lu Bu riding on his Red Hare, holding a long sword, his eyes red, and shouting: "My men, there are not many soldiers left in Shouchun City. Today is the day to capture the city!" With his order, the soldiers under his command formed into dozens of teams and rushed towards Shouchun like ants. But at this moment, as the bows and crossbows on the city wall protruded, a large number of arrows were shot at Lu Bu's army. Qin Song watched this from the side and hurried forward to Lu Bu and said: "General, we can't attack anymore. If we continue to attack like this, it will be hard to achieve any results!" But when Lu Bu saw this, he pushed Qin Song away and shouted: "Attack, attack. The first person to reach the city will be rewarded with a hundred gold coins, a thousand pieces of cloth, and a thousand servants. Kill them with me!" With his loud shout, the forces under his command rushed towards the city. At this moment, the gate of Shouchun City creaked open, and hundreds of soldiers rushed out and fought with Lu Bu's siege team. When Lu Bu saw this, he gnashed his teeth in hatred and prepared to lead his troops forward to attack. But at this moment, his general Hou Cheng came forward with an anxious look on his face and said: "Marquis Wen, something terrible has happened. Qin Zhen has led his troops to attack our rear!" (End of this chapter)