People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 530 Cooperation
In the Wu-Shu camp in Xiangyang, although the main force of the coalition forces had already withdrawn from here to more important battlefields, a sufficiently strict vigilance was still maintained here.

Liao Hua and Deng Dang, who were left behind by Wu and Shu to guard the place, worked diligently every day to strengthen the camp's defenses and observe the enemy situation, thus ensuring the stability of Xiangyang.

The retreat of the main force of the Wu-Shu coalition army naturally could not be concealed from the Yellow Turbans on the other side of the river, and the intensity of their attacks in the following days increased visibly.

However, with a garrison camp on the other side of the river and harassment from enemy naval forces all around, it was too difficult to complete the river crossing operation.

The so-called 100,000-strong army of the Yellow Turbans was mostly a decoration. After successfully carrying out strategic deception on Wu and Shu, these 100,000 civilian troops had completed their mission. Now most of them have been sent back to ensure production in the rear.

In fact, the Yellow Turbans' current military strength is only the 30,000-odd Huainan troops originally led by Lu Meng.

The main force of the Yellow Turban Navy plus the 30,000 Huainan troops were the entire strength of the Yellow Turbans in the Xiangyang battlefield. It seemed that they were doing quite well and were not much different in strength from the enemy on the other side. However, the Yangtze River that lay before them was a huge obstacle for the Yellow Turbans. If they tried to force their way across the river and were attacked by the enemy halfway across the river, one could imagine how miserable the defeat would end.

Lu Meng's military qualities were fully up to standard, so he would naturally not make such a low-level mistake. However, in this way, there seemed to be no way out of the impasse in Xiangyang. After that, the Yellow Turbans repeatedly launched exploratory attacks to cross the river, but in the end they were all repelled by Liao Hua and Deng Dang.

If the situation continues like this, with Deng Dang and Liao Hua in charge of Xiangyang, it seems that no accidents will occur.

However, Lu Meng on the Yellow Turban side was not panicked at all. He still looked relaxed and determined to win every day, as if he had great confidence in winning this battle.

This made Ma Yan, the commander of the Yellow Turban navy, very confused. He was worrying about the war situation every day and his hair was falling out, but how come Lu Meng looked like nothing happened?
He didn't know where Lu Meng's confidence came from. Even when he asked him directly during discussions on military plans, Lu Meng would just give a mysterious smile and perfunctorily answer the question.

This kind of reaction always made Ma Yan feel that Lu Meng seemed to be hiding something from him, but since Lu Meng didn't say anything, he could only guess on his own.

Even his colleague Ma Yan did not know the source of Lu Meng's confidence. Instead, someone in the Wu and Shu camps on the other side of the river knew it. That person was Deng Dang, a general of the Wu army in the Xiangyang battlefield.

After the main forces of Wu and Shu withdrew, Deng Dang and Liao Hua stabilized the situation. The two sides jointly led their troops to take charge of the defense of the camp. After more than ten days of efforts, they repelled the Yellow Turban attacks several times and basically achieved stability in Xiangyang. This also allowed the Wu and Shu armies to completely gain mutual trust.

At least Liao Hua was very happy to have Deng Dang to help him share the pressure. As an ordinary general, he was still very nervous about handing over such an important place as Xiangyang to Liao Hua. If it weren't for Deng Dang, Xiangyang might not be so stable today.

After fighting together for so many days, Liao Hua is now fully confident that he can cooperate with Deng Dang to keep Xiangyang.

There was just one problem that Liao Hua had not thought about: he wanted to cooperate with Deng Dang, but Deng Dang might not want to cooperate with him.

The cloud of war loomed over Xiangyang. Although the atmosphere in the Wu and Shu camps was not particularly bad, it was not much better either. Although the Wu and Shu armies were now combined into one camp, they were still distributed separately. Deng Dang was seen not at the front line observing the enemy situation, but talking privately with someone in a secluded place in the camp.

"The list you provided is quite accurate. I contacted them based on it and they quickly accepted my decision." Deng Dang said this and looked at the Yellow Turban spies meaningfully: "How do you know that these people are willing to cooperate with the plan?"

The Yellow Turban spy smiled slightly and said, "I have been lurking under the general for a long time, so I have observed all the generals under him. I can judge their tendencies through their daily words, temperaments and behaviors. Facts have proved that there are quite a few people in the Wu army who are sympathetic to the Xuanxia policy. They just lack opportunities, and you, general, are the best opportunity."

When Deng Dang heard this, he felt a chill in his heart when he thought about the fact that he had a spy lurking under his command for such a long time: "There should be more than one spies like you in the Wu and Shu armies." The Yellow Turban spy raised his eyebrows and did not answer, but this was enough to explain everything.

Deng Dang fell even more silent. He seemed to be able to imagine the scene where, when the main force of the Wu-Shu coalition was at a disadvantage on the front battlefield, large numbers of soldiers and even generals took the lead in surrendering to the Yellow Turbans.

It does not take any sophisticated means to mobilize the soldiers of the Wu-Shu coalition. Xuan Xia's policies are the sweetest honey in the eyes of the Wu-Shu soldiers. It only takes someone to add fuel to the fire and it is easy to lead people to change their hearts.

Even the generals of Wu and Shu would easily give up struggling and choose to obey after realizing that the situation was not right.

The people's hearts have long been dispersed. This battle was doomed to be lost from the beginning.
After sighing in his heart, Deng Dang shook off the messy thoughts in his mind and looked at the Yellow Turban spies again: "Just the few people I have confirmed are enough to ensure that the Wu army can be controlled. When you attack with all your strength next time, I will cooperate at the critical moment and help my brother-in-law capture the city of Xiangyang!"

The advantage of being the commander-in-chief of the Wu army is that Deng Dang has the power to deploy the army.

Those middle and lower-level generals who have been won over can be arranged in one place, while those who are not sure whether they are willing to surrender will be quietly arranged to the edge to prevent them from noticing something wrong and exposing the secret in advance.

There are only more than 10,000 Wu troops left here. After reaching a consensus with some key generals, the remaining few are not enough to affect the overall situation. After all, now it is up to them to take the initiative to turn against the enemy, rather than passively surrender when they cannot win. This is not something that Deng Dang can decide alone. Without a plan, nothing can be accomplished.

Now that he was finally confident, Deng Dang no longer had any hesitation. He just waited for the Yellow Turbans to launch a real war, and that would be the time for him to play a role.

In this turbulent and magnificent era, I, Deng Dang, can actually stir up some waves.
Perhaps the heavens responded to what Deng Dang was thinking at this moment. Suddenly, a horn sounded in the distant camp, followed by the voice of a messenger shouting: "The Yellow Turbans are attacking, all troops on alert!"

Deng Dang was stunned for a moment, then he exchanged glances with the Yellow Turban spy.

The Yellow Turban spy's expression also became more serious: "It seems that the time has come. It's up to you now. General Lu Meng is waiting for you on the other side of the river!"

Deng Dang took a deep breath, his expression gradually became serious, and his hand grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist: "I know what to do."

After saying that, Deng Dang turned and left, leading a group of soldiers to a distant platform. This time, he would command the army to fight there as usual.

And just like before, Liao Hua had already arrived at the platform before him.

Seeing Deng Dang arrive, Liao Hua turned around and nodded at him with a serious expression.

"The Yellow Turbans' offensive seems to be very fierce. It seems that we must work together with General Deng again to repel the enemy and secure our territory!"

(End of this chapter)