Fierce Battle!
Under normal circumstances, Lu Meng's thirty thousand troops could have swept through Nan Commandery. After all, Guan Yu had taken most of his men to Fancheng, leaving only five thousand in Jiangling City.
Another five thousand had been left in the direction of Gong'an.
If those men joined forces and defended Jiangling City, attacking it would be difficult. But if they were divided, things would be much easier.
For example, with only five thousand men in Jiangling City, Lu Meng could take it by force with his thirty thousand troops. He would suffer heavy losses, but he could still capture the city.
After all, a city wall that large could only hold so many defenders.
So timing was crucial. He had to cut off communication between the two sides before Fu Shiren could bring his army back to Jiangling.
But Lu Meng was baffled. His army had just taken a roundabout route and crossed the Xia River when a scout hurried over to report, "General, a camp is blocking the road ahead. Should we go around it?"
Lu Meng was stunned. Three months earlier, when there had been heavy rain, he had personally led men to inspect the surrounding terrain, just in case.
It was already November, long past the flood season. There should have been no problem getting thirty thousand troops through this area.
Besides, the marshland route to Jiangling City was sparsely populated. Since when had a camp sprung up there?
Lu Meng felt that someone had seen through his entire plan, so he immediately asked, "How large is it? How many men are there?"
The scout promptly replied, "General, the camp lies between the Yangtze and the Xia River. We didn't see many people there, mostly laborers. There are some soldiers, but their armor looks