"Skilled in the art of war, adept at laying out camps and formations, and with a knack for using terrain to his advantage, it could be said he’s quite the strategist." Guan Yu stroked his proudest beard and slightly opened his eyes. After being tormented by Chen Xi for over a year, he had learned to speak eloquently.
"Among the other two from the Four Pillars of Hebei, Yuan Benchu’s decision to station these men here is indeed appropriate. Moreover, placing Ju Gongyu in Bohai is quite fitting. However, now that Ju Gongyu has shifted his focus to the north, he has given us an opportunity to exploit," Guo Jia said with a smile.
"Then that is good," Guan Yu said, touching his beard and nodding.
The next day, Guan Yu appointed Wei Yan and Guan Ping as the vanguard and feigned an attack on Leling.
Speaking of Wei Yan, who had recently escorted Jian Yong and Liu Yan back from Jingzhou, he had been living comfortably these days. During his time studying martial arts in Jingzhou, he had always wanted to make a name for himself, but being a young lad of eighteen or nineteen, even with martial skills and understanding of leading troops, there were few who were willing to employ him; a centurion was Wei Yan’s position.
Add to that, Wei Yan had a rather proud nature and didn’t get along with most people from Jingzhou. Under such circumstances, while it could be called training, anyone with sense knew that it would be impossible for him to stand out under those Jingzhou noble families within a decade or two.
Once he realized this, Wei Yan felt extremely disappointed. At the same time, he saw Liu Bei’s Talent Recruitment Order posted in Jingzhou, which sparked the idea in him to have a look in Qingzhou.
However, due to various affairs and his failure to persuade his comrades to join him, Wei Yan was delayed for more than half a year before finally arriving in Qingzhou with Jian Yong and Liu Yan, right after Xiangyang fell to Lyu Bu and freed him of his ties.
Jian Yong was a person of wit and humor. While his abilities were mediocre, his good point lay in not being jealous of others. Through casual conversation along the way, he realized Wei Yan was indeed talented, if only a bit too proud, not very sociable, not very articulate, and had a reddish complexion...
Have you noticed? These traits are practically the spitting image of Guan Yu. Honestly, if Jian Yong hadn’t known that Guan Yu was certainly incapable of fathering an eighteen or nineteen-year-old son at the age of twenty-eight or twenty-nine, he would have thought Wei Yan might be Guan Yu’s real son! They were so alike. If Guan Ping resembled him in form, this guy was the very essence of Guan Yu. Thus, without a second thought, Jian Yong wrote a letter of recommendation for Wei Yan to join Guan Yu.
This was fate smiling upon him. Holding Jian Yong’s letter of recommendation, Wei Yan found his way to Guan Yu. Not to mention the compatibility between Guo Jia and Guan Yu, just consider the first encounter between Guan Yu and Wei Yan!
The two seemed destined to meet. Guan Yu was extremely impressed with Wei Yan. To some extent, these two fellows had matching personalities. Upon witnessing Guan Yu’s majestic presence, Wei Yan instantly transferred his admiration from Huang Zhong to this superior who bore an uncanny resemblance to him.
Guan Yu did not promote Wei Yan right away, though he held him in high esteem. He simply put Wei Yan and his son together for training—today, they would go to Qingzhou to save the people, and tomorrow, they would capture some bandits. Within a short month, Guan Yu’s satisfaction with Wei Yan had already surpassed that for his own son.
Guan Yu had never thought he would one day find a young man so much like himself. Had he not been sure he had never been to Jingzhou and confirmed Wei Yan’s background was clean, Guan Yu occasionally wondered if Wei Yan could be a result of some romantic debt he had unknowingly incurred. So uncannily similar they were, like two people cut from the same cloth...
Although Guan Yu knew Wei Yan wasn’t his son, their likeness in nature meant he treated Wei Yan far better. It was very much like taking a junior account under his wing for power-leveling.
"General Wei, are we just going over to challenge them? The General has left the decision to us," Guan Ping said to Wei Yan beside him.
"Let’s start with a challenge, spreading our troops out to make them seem disorganized. When I lure the enemy at night, Tanzhi, how about you lie in wait outside as reinforcements?" Wei Yan turned his head to speak to Guan Ping, his gaze toward Guan Ping now resembling that of a brother.
"In that case, I’ll handle the encampment, and Wen Chang, you station yourself outside." Guan Ping understood immediately, clearly seeing that Wei Yan intended to bestow upon him an opportunity for merit.
"No need, no need, perhaps the enemy won’t even come for a sneak attack, and I’ll just end up squatting all night for nothing, drenched in dew. So, you’d better be the one waiting outside," Wei Yan waved his hand as he spoke.
Guan Ping sighed. Fortunately, it was him; he knew what kind of man his buddy was. If it were any other commander, they would definitely be displeased with Wei Yan’s words.
"If that’s the case, then I’ll take position outside the camp," Guan Ping said helplessly. Wei Yan was a good person, but he just didn’t know how to speak; any good news could turn infuriating coming from him.
Inside Leling City, Zhang He and Gao Lan sat together discussing how to deal with Guan Yu’s impending attack. They didn’t know much about Guan Yu. From the last attack on Bohai, they only knew that he was an exceptionally skilled fighter and Liu Bei’s second brother, but as for his command in battle, that was unclear, as so far, Guan Yu hadn’t made any remarkable military achievements, each of which had been overshadowed by the radiance of Chen Xi.
"Report!" A messenger shouted as he rushed in.
"What’s the military report?" Zhang He asked, turning his head.
"The enemy vanguard led by Guan Yu has reached about thirty miles from Leling City, numbering roughly five thousand. Guan Yu’s main force is still a hundred miles behind, advancing toward this area. The enemy vanguard is led by Guan Yu’s eldest son, Guan Ping, along with Wei Yan from Yiyang," the messenger read out the detailed military report.
"You may withdraw," Zhang He signaled for the messenger to leave.
"Jun Yi, do you think we should gobble up Guan Yu’s vanguard?" Gao Lan asked while staring at Zhang He. Since the last time Guan Yu captured them, both had been on the lookout for an opportunity to let Guan Yu truly experience their rage.
"Though Guan Yu’s forces are not many, Taishi Ci’s forces from Licheng and those of Zang Ba are considerable. And there’s also quite a number of Tuntian Soldiers left by Zhao Zilong. If we go to war, I fear Guan Yu will mobilize a large army to press down on Leling!" Instead of directly addressing whether to fight or not, Zhang He spoke about the situation of the opposing forces.
"We’ll boost morale by taking out Guan Yu’s vanguard. Even if Guan Yu brings in a large army, we’ll be confident enough to hold Leling. There are certain vulnerabilities in Bohai’s defenses right now; we can’t put more pressure on the rear," Gao Lan stated firmly. With Ju Shou’s forces pressing Youzhou, the defense in Bohai Commandery had weakened somewhat, but it had left Zhang He and Gao Lan to defend Qingzhou.
"If that’s the case, let’s dispatch troops to probe the enemy. Never mind, I should be the one to go out and probe; you stay behind to defend Leling. Scouts alone can’t be entirely trusted; we’ll make further considerations after seeing with our own eyes," Zhang He too approved of Gao Lan’s suggestion and then prudently proposed to go out and probe himself.
After all, a prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat. War is a test of morale; as long as Leling’s spirits are high, and Guan Yu’s vanguard, having been beaten, has low morale, the defense will be much easier. Moreover, with winter approaching, Guan Yu would be forced to retreat at the first snowfall, which would be far easier for Bohai than defeating Guan Yu.
"Alright, then Jun Yi will go out to probe, and I’ll stay behind to guard Leling," Gao Lan nodded and said. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian ), and cast monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)