Before they knew it, it was dawn. Gan Ning led the troops in front, followed by Guan Yu. After walking for a while, they saw thick smoke billowing from the direction of the camp, filling the entire sky.
When they got closer to the camp, everyone's face changed drastically and they were stunned. The sun had risen in the east, but the sky above was covered with dark clouds, which made people feel depressed.
"Military Advisor!" Gan Ning roared and rushed into the camp first. He knew Liu Qi's importance to Zhuge Liang. If anything happened to him, how would he explain it in the future
Guan Yu's face had turned purple and black at this time. He was repeatedly teased by Jia Xu and had also put Zhuge Liang in danger. As a general, he had even greater responsibilities.
By this time the entire camp was on fire, with thick smoke billowing and no way to enter. All that could be heard was the sound of firewood crackling and occasional screams.
Gan Ning and Guan Yu were so anxious that they went around in circles but did not see anyone escaping. Instead, they found many corpses of Cao's soldiers, all of whom had black mouths and noses and died of suffocation.
Su Fei led his troops closer to check and asked in confusion, "Why can't we see our own troops?"
"Could they all have been burned to death in the camp?" Gan Ning dismounted from his horse and saw that Cao's army was everywhere outside the camp. His heart sank to the bottom.
Guan Yu and others stood at the camp gate, looking at the billowing smoke. The three armies were silent, and everyone had mixed feelings.
The destruction of all the baggage in the camp was the least of the problems. It would be cruel to think that Zhuge Liang and others were surrounded by Cao's army and burned to death in the camp.
Just as they were silent, a group of cavalrymen suddenly arrived from a distance. It was Xiahou Lan who led the troops and asked in surprise, "Why are you still here, my lord?"
Guan Yu didn't bother to answer and asked hurriedly: "How is the situation of the military advisor?"
Xiahou Lan replied, "The military advisor has taken Kunyang overnight, but I don't see you coming to join us, so I've been ordered to look for you everywhere."
"What?" Guan Yu's eyes suddenly widened, his hair and beard flying, and he asked in a trembling voice: "Military Advisor, is he... is he okay?"
Xiahou Lan smiled and said, "The military advisor had already seen through Jia Xu's plan and expected Zhang Liao to use the same trick again, so he set up a battle array in the camp and burned countless Cao troops to death."
"That's great, hahaha!" Gan Ning jumped up happily and laughed, "Wolong really lives up to his reputation."
When the Jingzhou army heard that Zhuge Liang was safe and sound, they took the opportunity to seize Kunyang and cheered.
Guan Yu leaned on the Qinglong sword, stroked his beard, looked up to the sky and sighed, his eyes were moist. Fortunately, everything was under the control of Zhuge Liang. Although he lost Red Hare, the door to the Central Plains had been officially opened.
"Father!" Guan Ping thought Guan Yu was angry, so he stepped forward and whispered, "The military advisor may not have expected that we would be ambushed..."
Guan Yu waved his hand and said, "No need to explain, this is all my father's fault, it has nothing to do with the military advisor!"
Guan Ping was stunned, and when he looked at Guan Yu again, he suddenly found that his temperament seemed different from before. He was less fierce, but gave people a feeling of being deep and unfathomable.
Xiahou Lan urged everyone to meet up in Kunyang. Gan Ning also came to comfort him, saying, "Although Red Hare is dead, it saved your life, so it is a worthy death. It's my fault for being too reckless. I will give you one someday."
Guan Yu collected his thoughts, stroked his beard and said, "Back then, Cao Cao offered me a horse to win me over. If it wasn't for the purpose of searching for my brother, I would never have accepted it. Now that my brother is dead, I have returned to Xuchang. Red Hare died here. This must be God's will!"
Gan Ning laughed and said, "Your Excellency is a man of great righteousness, and you have always been clear about gratitude and resentment. Now you are even more free and easy. This kind of temperament seems to be someone who has been through the martial arts world."
"It is hard to be a man without experiencing poverty, and it is hard to be naive without experiencing setbacks!"
Guan Yu stroked his beard and sighed. What Liu Qi said back then was now appropriate for him.
After the loss of Red Hare in this battle, he was between life and death and finally realized that he was no longer the brave general he used to be. It would be impossible for him to make a name for himself with his common courage.
After asking Guan Ping, Xiahou Lan learned that Guan Yu was almost tricked by Zhu Ling. He was shocked and hurriedly asked, "Are you injured?"
"It's just a minor wound..." Guan Yu lifted up his battle robe and was about to say it was insignificant, but suddenly his face changed drastically: "Oh no, this arrow is poisonous!"
When everyone hurried forward to take a look, they saw that Guan Yu had been hit by an arrow in his left arm, but in order not to affect the morale of the army, he quietly broke the arrow shaft and covered his shoulder with his battle robe so that no one noticed.
"Go and invite Hua Tuo here quickly!" Gan Ning made a prompt decision and sent people to Xiangyang.
Guan Yu then felt his arm go numb and frowned slightly, but signaled to everyone not to worry. He ordered Zhou Cang to take people to bury Red Hare on the hill, and then rushed back to Kunyang with everyone.
When they crossed the Wushui River and arrived at Kunyang, the flags on the city wall had already been changed. Zhuge Liang heard the news and went out of the city to greet them. He hurriedly asked, "How is your injury?"
"It's okay for now!" Guan Yu waved his hand.
Zhuge Liang bowed deeply and said, "Although I expected Zhang Liao to send out all his elite troops to seize the main camp, I took the opportunity to counterattack Kunyang. I thought that there were no more generals in Cao's camp, and with the courage of you and General Gan, you can protect yourself. But I didn't expect Jia Xu to come up with another vicious plan and plot against you generals. I almost killed you. Please forgive me."
Guan Yu hurried forward to support Zhuge Liang, and sighed: "The old villain Jia Xu knew that I was going to show off my ability, so I fell into his trap. This is my fault, and has nothing to do with the military advisor and Xingba. It can be regarded as a lesson learned!"
Gan Ning praised from the sidelines: "This scene is comparable to the reconciliation between generals and ministers!"
Seeing that black blood was flowing from Guan Yu's arm, Zhuge Liang hurried to the government office to ask a doctor for treatment. He cut open Guan Yu's armor and saw the arrowhead had penetrated deep into the bone. He pulled it out, cleaned the wound, and washed with two large basins of black water.
Guan Yu's purple face turned gray and his eyes became dull. He no longer dared to seek treatment. He quickly bandaged him up and helped him down to rest, waiting for Hua Tuo to come and treat him.
Guan Ping clenched his fist and said, "Jia Xu actually used poison arrows. I swear to kill the old thief!"
Gan Ning gritted his teeth and cursed: "Jia Xu is such a ruthless villain, he wants to put us to death!"
Although Kunyang was captured by clever means, Guan Yu was injured and could not advance for the time being. Zhuge Liang ordered each camp to strengthen the defense, deploy troops at Wushui, connect with Mobei, and then make plans.
All the generals went to prepare themselves, and Zhuge Liang rarely showed a serious expression. He sat in the hall, holding a feather fan, without saying a word, with a deep look in his eyes.
Jia Xu made two desperate attempts to get rid of himself and even tried to kill Guan Yu. Such scheming is really terrifying.
Xiahou Lan said angrily: "If this old villain is not removed, he will become a threat to us. It is better to send the Yanfeng Battalion to sneak into Xuchang and kill this old villain to eliminate the trouble forever."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "Jia Xu is good at planning. He plans for himself first and must have ways to protect himself. This person is very scheming and thoughtful. It is difficult for the assassin to succeed and his efforts will be in vain."
Xiahou Lan said worriedly, "When Cao Cao attacked Wancheng, Cao Ang and Dian Wei were killed because of him. Now he has put you and the military advisor in danger twice. If this old villain is not removed, it will be a big problem!"
Zhuge Liang stood up, walked to the door with his hands behind his back, and faced the cold wind to calm himself down. Jia Xu was the first formidable opponent he had ever met. He was like a snake in a hole, seemingly calm but actually harboring murderous intent. If he was not careful, he would be killed.
After thinking for a long time, Zhuge Liang said: "Please ask General Gan to come here quickly. I have something important to tell you!"