Guan Yu's forged request for reinforcements had been drafted with Lu Xiang's help, and with the commandery governor's seal and Yuan Shang's seal on it, even a fake became real!
What was more, the attack had been sudden and swift, taking Nanpi in less than two hours from start to finish. The news had been sealed off completely, and the other cities had no idea what had happened.
As soon as they received the request for reinforcements, they naturally hastily mobilized their troops and headed toward Nanpi.
Never mind that they had been instructed beforehand not to send troops lightly to rescue other cities, to prevent the enemy from surrounding a point and striking the reinforcements. But this was Nanpi that was under siege, and Yuan Shang was inside. If something happened to him, then following orders would become a crime. In such circumstances, who would dare drag their feet?
The closest city to Nanpi was Dongguang, to the southwest. As soon as he received the message, Zhai Lu, the defending commander of Dongguang, immediately mustered three thousand troops and hurried toward Nanpi. He proceeded cautiously all the way, and thankfully encountered no ambushes before reaching the vicinity of Nanpi. Zhai Lu let out a long sigh of relief.
When he arrived near Nanpi, Guan Yu happened to be directing an assault on the south gate. The two sides fought back and forth amid earth-shaking battle cries, locked in fierce combat. The south gate looked as though it might collapse at any moment, frightening Zhai Lu into immediately leading his troops to threaten Guan Yu's flank. He withdrew only after Guan Yu pulled his troops back.
Taking advantage of the gap while Guan Yu had withdrawn and had no time to deal with him, Zhai Lu cleverly led his troops