Snowflakes are flying, the north wind is howling, the sky and the earth are vast, and the end of the year is approaching.
Liu Qi took over as the governor of Jiangdong. There was a mutiny in the territory, so Zhang Fei went to Jiangxia to provide support. Guan Yu also kept his troops in the Central Plains on hold for the time being just in case.
On this day, he was drinking wine around the fire with Zhuge Liang and discussing the affairs of the Spring and Autumn Period when suddenly a messenger arrived with a secret letter and two boxes of pineapple cakes.
Zhuge Liang opened the letter and read it. Guan Yu opened the brocade box and saw the golden cake. He couldn't help but wriggle his appetite. He took a bite and nodded frequently: "I have heard that Jiangdong pineapple cake is a must-try. I didn't dare to taste it before, but today I finally got my wish!"
Zhuge Liang read the letter and said, "Your Excellency is going to be ill."
"Hmm?" Guan Yu opened his eyes slightly, frowning: "Could it be that this pastry is also poisonous?"
"It's not about this." Zhuge Liang shook his head and smiled, handed the letter to Guan Yu, and took a piece to taste it himself.
In the letter, Liu Qi explained the battle situation in Huainan and said everything was under control. He told them not to worry about things in the south of the Yangtze River and to wait for an opportunity to seize Yuzhou. Next year, he would advance from two directions and recover the Central Plains.
After reading the letter, Guan Yu stroked his beard and said, "I have been recuperating for several months, and my injuries have healed early. I am conserving my energy and strength to serve the rejuvenation of the country. Now is the time to kill the enemy and make achievements. How can I be sick?"
Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "My lord, you have personally come to Huainan to appease the Jiangdong army, and Cao Cao has also come to Xuzhou, which shows your trust in Zhang Liao. Now our army is stationed in Guandu, Yingchuan, and Kunyang, and although we have formed a siege on Xuchang, Zhang Liao is a good commander and has a well-organized army. We need a good plan to deal with this emergency."
Guan Yu understood and asked, "Military Advisor, do you want me to feign illness?"
"That's right!" Zhuge Liang said, "Although you and Zhang Liao serve different masters, they are close friends and know each other well. He is wary of me and will naturally be on guard at all times, so there is no chance for us to take advantage of him."
"Wenyuan is a contemporary hero, but he has failed to gain his master twice!" Guan Yu sighed and asked in confusion, "But Zhang Liao is cautious by nature. Even if I feign illness, I am afraid it will be difficult to get him to relax his vigilance."
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and smiled faintly, "Your Excellency fought against Lü Bu at Hulao Pass and killed Yan Liang and Wen Chou in Cao's camp. Your reputation was greatly enhanced and most people in Cao's camp witnessed it with their own eyes. Now your Excellency's army is approaching the Central Plains, like a tiger lying in front of us. Everyone is trembling with fear. The only one they fear is Yun Chang."
Guan Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, waved his hands and said with a smile: "These are all old things, let's not talk about them!"
Zhuge Liang added: "The Wei army has long known that Yunchang is a martial arts master, and they are intimidated by his might and dare not act rashly. It is like a taut string. Now you have resigned on the pretext of illness to slow down the Wei army. Once the string is loosened, morale will drop and it will be difficult to concentrate. Even if Zhang Liao is the only one on guard, others will surely be careless. How can we not be defeated?"
Guan Yu stroked his beard and said, "I have been in the army for more than 30 years, wearing armor and fighting with sharp weapons. Even when I was seriously injured, I never retreated a single step. How could I have thought that I would retreat under the pretext of illness in a decisive battle?"
Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "Famous generals in ancient times all won by their wisdom. Although Overlord was brave, how could he break through an ambush from all sides? Today, the Wei army only knows Yunchang's bravery, but not Yunchang's wisdom. After this battle, the world knows that you are both wise and brave, comparable to Bai Qi and Wu Han!"
Guan Yu was greatly pleased to hear this, and he stroked his beard and laughed, saying, "It all depends on the military advisor's plan. If I were Wu Han, Kong Ming would be Deng Yu!"
Zhuge Liang paused for a moment with the fan in his hand, and said, "Cao is far away in Xuzhou now, and has no time to care about the Central Plains. Once Zhang Liao is defeated, there will not be many soldiers guarding the Central Plains, and we can take advantage of this opportunity to defeat him."
"Military advisor, this is a really good plan." Guan Yu was delighted and clasped his fists and said, "I would like to hear more about it."
That night, there was suddenly a commotion in the central army camp, with lights on. Guan Ping, Zhou Cang and others rushed out of the tent, calling for a doctor, and everyone in the camp was shocked.
The next day, news came that Guan Yu's arrow wound on his arm had relapsed and the wound had burst. Due to the cold weather, he caught a cold and was bedridden. He hurried back to Xiangyang on horseback to ask Hua Tuo to come and treat him.
Three days later Hua Tuo rushed to the camp, but was helpless for the whole morning. It turned out that the remaining poison had not been eliminated, and now his entire arm was invaded by the poison and he could no longer use any strength. He had no choice but to return to Xiangyang, have his arm amputated and recuperate.
When the news came out, there was an uproar in the camp, and all the soldiers cursed Hua Tuo, blaming the old man for wanting to show off, thinking that he was a great doctor, and doing the bone scraping to treat poison, which ruined General Guan's life as a hero.
"I said at the beginning that scraping bones to treat poison was unreliable. Look, it turned out to be true."
"If you want to treat poison, you should prescribe an antidote. If you don't have the ability, don't try to be brave. Isn't that harmful?"
"What a lousy miracle doctor! He harmed General Guan. I'm going to cut off one of his arms too."
…
The soldiers in each camp were extremely indignant. Some of the hot-tempered ones gathered together and rushed to the central army, shouting that they wanted to find Hua Tuo to avenge Guan Yu.
Guan Yu knew he was incapable of commanding troops, so he wrote a letter of resignation and asked his military advisor Zhuge Liang to take over military affairs temporarily. He then drove back to Xiangyang to recuperate, escorted by Guan Ping and Zhou Cang.
While Zhuge Liang was restraining his soldiers and enforcing strict military discipline, he transferred the old general Huang Zhong back from Nanyang who was on vacation overnight, and asked Xu Shu to transfer generals from Luoyang to lead the troops to fill the vacancies in the army.
Changing commanders in the middle of a battle is a big taboo in the military, let alone a military soul like Guan Yu. In recent days, the morale of the military camp in Jingzhou has been unstable and low.
When the news reached Xuchang, the Wei army cheered loudly and felt relieved. The invisible pressure in everyone's heart disappeared, and it seemed that even this winter day had become a little warmer.
Zhang Hu rushed into the tent and shouted, "Father, great news! Guan Yu's old illness has relapsed and he has returned to Xiangyang to recuperate."
Zhang Liao frowned slightly, but his expression became more cautious: "Have you seen it clearly? Are you sure it is Guan Yu himself?"
"It's absolutely true!" Zhang Hu nodded excitedly and said, "Their convoy passed through Ye County yesterday. I saw it with my own eyes while mixed in the crowd. I guess they must have arrived in Nanyang by now."
Hou Cheng laughed and said, "Guan Yu was very brave, but he ended up with a broken arm. I wonder how he can fight with only one hand."
Zhang Hu urged, "Now that only Zhuge Liang is left to lead the troops, a mere boy like you will not be able to convince the people. This is a golden opportunity from heaven. Why don't we take advantage of it to counterattack and recapture Yingchuan?"
Zhang Liao, however, showed no sign of joy. He frowned and said, "Since Yunchang entered the Central Plains, he has been training his troops and horses every day, eyeing Xuchang covetously. He suddenly fell ill. I am afraid there must be something fishy going on."
Zhang Hu said anxiously: "I saw this with my own eyes, could it be false?"
"What you see may not be the truth!" Zhang Liao said, "If Guan Yu pretends to be sick and slows down our army's morale, we will fall into his trap if we rush to attack."
Hou Chengyan said: "General, you worry too much. Even if Guan Yu feigns illness, he is so arrogant to leave the central army. The morale of the Jingzhou army is unstable. How can Zhuge Liang command it? We will seize the opportunity to attack, and he will be too busy to take care of himself. We can take back Yuzhou in one fell swoop."
Although Zhang Liao was somewhat tempted, he still felt that this matter was strange. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Has Zhuge Liang made any move?"
Zhang Hu sneered, "Zhuge Liang is just a scholar, how can he know how to command troops? He is in a hurry to recruit generals from all over the place. If father doesn't send troops, it will be too late."
Zhang Liao stood up and walked outside the tent. He saw that the Jingzhou army was in neat formation opposite Guandu Camp, just like in the past. He said to all the generals, "Guan Yu is a veteran of the battlefield, and Zhuge Liang is full of tricks. Even if he really resigns due to injury, won't the camp be prepared? Not only should we not go out lightly at this time, but each camp must be doubly careful to prevent enemy attacks."
Zhang Hu was about to miss the opportunity, and suddenly remembered someone. He hurriedly said, "Father, Xiahou Mao brought back a man from Jingzhou before. His name is Zhang Wei. He is now in Xuchang to guard Xiahou's property. This man knows the people in Xiangyang well and has collected a lot of intelligence for Xiahou Mao. Why not ask him to find out the news?"