How could a mere country bumpkin like Xiao Fang possibly match wits against Kuai Yue? Let's give Young Master Zhang a wonderful surprise!

To use five thousand troops to annihilate a force three times their size, while simultaneously evacuating all soldiers and civilians and abandoning Rang County?

Wei Yan's mind raced, yet he could not figure out what trick his fellow townsman and strategist was playing.

"Could the strategist have another brilliant plan?"

"Forgive my dullness, Military Strategist, but I pray you will enlighten me."

Wei Yan had to cup his hands and bow, his eyes burning with urgent inquiry.

Xiao Fang stopped keeping him in suspense and motioned for Wei Yan to lean in closer, slowly detailing his strategy.

The doubt and curiosity on Wei Yan's face gradually melted away, replaced instantly by a deep expression of astonishment.

"To conquer, one must first abandon. Wenchang, do you understand now?"

Xiao Fang remained unhurried, pouring himself a cup of wine.

The fog in Wei Yan's eyes parted as if he were seeing the moon through the clouds. He hastily took the wine jug, filled Xiao Fang's cup, and exclaimed in admiration:

"With Strategist Jinglüe here, how could Kuai Yue ever dare call himself the number one strategist in Jingxiang!"

"The strategist's plan is truly untethered and otherworldly—a divine stroke of genius!"

Nearby, Hu Che'er and Gong Du both wore curious and puzzled expressions.

Even Zhuge Liang flicked his eyes with conjecture, unable to guess what marvelous and eccentric strategy his brother-in-law had devised for Wei Yan.

Drinking his final cup of wine, Xiao Fang stood up and said:

"Then let us act swiftly and execute the plan accordingly. I reckon that at the latest by tomorrow, that diversionary enemy force will be at our city gates."

Wei Yan readily accepted the command.

...

The next day, afternoon.

The fifteen-thousand-strong Jingzhou army marched majestically northward along the Rang River, arriving southwest of Rangyang.

"Pass down the order: the main army is to immediately surround the city, set up camp, and seal off Rang County so not even a drop of water can leak through!"

Sitting on his horse, Zhang Yun pointed his riding crop toward the silhouette of Rang County and issued the command.

Upon hearing this, Wen Pin hurriedly reminded him:

"General Zhang, our army has just arrived, and we have yet to scout the enemy's situation in Rang County. It is inadvisable to press directly against the city and set up camp."

"In my humble opinion, it would be better to first make camp seven miles to the southwest of the city, dispatch scouts widely to investigate the strength and reality within a ten-mile radius of Rang County, and only then proceed to camp and besiege the city."

Zhang Yun's brow furrowed slightly; naturally, he felt displeased by Wen Pin's finger-pointing.

Thus, he raised his riding crop and dismissively said:

"That scoundrel Wei Yan has no more than three thousand troops. Would he dare divide his forces and sally forth from the city?"

"Zhongye, I believe you are simply making unnecessary trouble."

With a solemn expression, Wen Pin earnestly reminded him once more:

"When Cai Deshun previously launched a sneak attack on Yuyang, that same Wei Yan divided his forces to set an ambush outside the city, resulting in Cai Deshun's demise and the near-total destruction of five thousand troops."

"General Zhang, Wei Yan is a man who cannot be underestimated."

"Furthermore, under Liu Bei's command, there are individuals of extraordinary intellect like Xiao Fang. We must all the more guard against underestimating the enemy."

Zhang Yun was "educated" to the point of speechlessness. With a twitch of his mouth, he reluctantly issued the order for the scouts to deploy.

Several squads of scouts were immediately dispatched, scouring the area around the city to unearth military intelligence.

The fifteen thousand Jingzhou soldiers arrayed themselves in formation right where they stood.

At dusk, the scouts returned one after another, bringing back a piece of news that shocked both Zhang Yun and Wen Pin:

Rang County was empty!

Not only was there no trace of Liu Bei's army in the surrounding area, but even the entire ramparts of Rang County were completely vacant, lacking a single shadow of the enemy forces.

"Could that scoundrel Wei Yan have fled without a fight out of fear of our army's might?"

After a brief moment of shock, Zhang Yun speculated thus.

Wen Pin, however, wore a puzzled expression.

Logically speaking, Rang County was a vital strategic town north of Xiangyang, second only to Xinye.

How could Wei Yan dare act on his own authority and flee without a fight from such a crucial location?

It must have been an order from Liu Bei commanding Wei Yan to abandon the city and retreat northward.

The only explanation that could force Liu Bei to make such a resolute decision was that he had seen through Kuai Yue's feint of attacking the east while striking the west, proactively abandoning Rang County and consolidating his forces to fall back and defend Yuyang.

Under Liu Bei's command, who else could possibly see through Kuai Yue's stratagem?

"Xiao Fang!"

"Only this man could see through Imperial Advisor Kuai's scheme!"

"This Xiao Jinglüe truly possesses extraordinary intellect."

Wen Pin voiced his inner conjecture, his tone and expression failing to conceal his admiration.

Zhang Yun suddenly came to his senses, a flush of annoyance sweeping across his face as he gnashed his teeth and said:

"How can this rustic bumpkin, a person of lowly birth, possess such tactical genius?"

"Kuai Yidu's plan could hardly be called anything less than exquisite; how could it be so easily seen through by him?"

Sighing, Wen Pin replied:

"I am merely guessing. As for whether it was indeed that Xiao Fang who saw through Imperial Advisor Kuai's plan, it cannot yet be definitively determined."

"However, since the enemy has abandoned the city and fled, Imperial Advisor Kuai's strategy of using Rang County as bait to lure Liu Bei's main force forward has essentially come to naught."

"General Zhang, let us hold our position and dispatch men to ask the Lord for instructions before making our next move."

Zhang Yun's expression, however, turned gloomy.

He had originally hoped to seize the opportunity of besieging Rang County to win massive glory and make a name for himself.

Never had he expected that Wei Yan would simply abandon the city and flee, letting a ready-made achievement slip right through his fingers like that?

After rolling his eyes a few times, Zhang Yun said:

"Pass down the order: the entire army is to immediately seize Rang County."

"Then, send a victory report to my uncle, stating that once our army's forces arrived before the city walls, we frightened that dog Wei Yan into fleeing in panic, whereupon our army captured Rang County."

Wen Pin abruptly turned his head to look at this nephew of Liu Biao.

Frightening Wei Yan away by pressing upon the city gates versus Wei Yan fleeing before the army even arrived—these were two entirely different concepts.

The former brought merit; the latter brought none.

Zhang Yun was falsifying military reports, manufacturing credit for himself where none existed.

"General Zhang, reporting to the Lord in such a manner... is hardly appropriate..."

Wen Pin was forced to voice his doubts.

Zhang Yun, however, remained unconcerned and laughed coldly:

"What is inappropriate about it? In the end, we recovered Rang County anyway. As for how it was recovered, why must you split hairs over the details, Zhongye?"

"I am doing this to secure a share of the credit for both of us before my uncle."

With a frown, Wen Pin prepared to speak further.

Without giving him the chance, Zhang Yun waved his riding crop:

"Since Zhongye has no objections, it is settled. Pass down the order: the entire army enters the city!"

Before Wen Pin could open his mouth, Zhang Yun had already whipped his horse and galloped away.

Helpless, Wen Pin could only shake his head and sigh.

Thus, by evening, the fifteen thousand Jingzhou soldiers successfully entered and garrisoned Rang County.

Zhang Yun and Wen Pin ascended the north gate tower, gazing out into the distance where they could vaguely see numerous baggage trains scattered along the northward highway, bearing witness to the defenders' hurried retreat.

"That dog Wei Yan fled in such a panic; clearly, it was not a planned and prepared withdrawal."

"I reckon it was certainly not that Xiao Fang who saw through Kuai Yidu's scheme, but merely that fellow surnamed Wei acting on his own accord and fleeing out of fear of battle."

"Zhongye, you still overestimate the tactical genius of that rustic bumpkin Xiao Fang."

Pointing his riding crop outside the city, Zhang Yun sneered with sarcastic amusement.

Naturally, Wen Pin could perceive the underlying sarcasm directed at him in Zhang Yun's words.

Swallowing hard, Wen Pin still felt his mind clouded with doubt, and he retorted:

"Since that Wei Yan fled in a panic, why did he bother taking the entire city's populace with him? Does General Zhang not find this action suspicious?"

Zhang Yun was momentarily stunned, then casually replied:

"Nanyang is devastated. Isn't that big-eared thief promoting some agricultural colony system, and isn't he precisely in need of population?"

"He couldn't bear to leave these thousand-odd households of citizens to us and took them all along instead—is that not entirely reasonable? Why make such a fuss over nothing?"

Wen Pin was left speechless. Faced with Zhang Yun's seemingly far-fetched explanation, he found himself momentarily without a retort.

After a long while, Wen Pin could only swallow hard, cup his hands, and say:

"Even so, in my opinion, we must not lower our guard."

"I request that General Zhang issue an order to deploy sufficient troops at all four gates to keep watch, preventing that Wei Yan from seizing the night to kill his way back."

"The interior of the city must also be thoroughly searched to prevent the enemy from leaving behind secret agents."

"I've heard that when Liu Bei previously captured Wan City, he relied precisely on agents who had infiltrated the city, coordinating from within and without to assault and break the city gates."

"With that precedent before us, we must guard against..."

Finding this chatter tedious, Zhang Yun waved his hand to interrupt:

"Zhongye, I have no need for you to teach me these things."

"You know that I have extensive battle experience, but I too have thoroughly studied military strategy since childhood; how could I not know what you are talking about?"

Rebuffed, Wen Pin wore an awkward expression, uncertain how to respond.

Although Zhang Yun had rebuffed Wen Pin verbally, his actions remained pragmatic as he followed Wen Pin's advice and deployed night-watch arrangements.

Nearly five thousand Jingzhou soldiers were assigned to keep watch at the four gates.

At the same time, over a thousand troops were dispatched to search house-to-house near the city gates to prevent Wei Yan from leaving hidden collaborators inside the city.

Unawares, night had fallen.

After the Jingzhou soldiers finished cooking their evening meal, they all retired to sleep.

To the northwest of the city.

Rafts made of bamboo, however, utilized the cover of night to float down the Rang River and land west of Rang County.

The five thousand Liu Bei soldiers, having left only to return, stepped foot once more inside Rang County.

"Military Strategist Jinglüe, just as you anticipated, the enemy guards are extremely vigilant, clearly guarding against our army launching a night counterattack and ambushing Rang County!"

Wei Yan pointed his long saber toward the brightly lit west gate of Rang County.

By the firelight, one could clearly see sentries posted every five paces and guards every ten paces, maintaining a remarkably strict watch.

"It seems there must be a renowned general commanding the Jingzhou forces. Is it Huang Zhong?"

"The timeline doesn't match; Huang Zhong should still be in Southern Jing at present. It must be Wen Pin..."

Counting on his fingers, Xiao Fang muttered to himself.

Beside him, Wei Yan remained utterly bewildered by these words.

"Never mind, regardless of who is in command, they must all settle their accounts here tonight."

Bothered no further with calculating, Xiao Fang raised his head to gaze at Rang County and pointed his riding crop into the distance:

"The time is right, Wenchang, let's make our move."

"Tonight, we set Rang County ablaze!"