Chapter 28: Guan Er Ye Takes a Risk and Uses a Scheme

  Guan Yu ordered the troops to rest and have a good meal. Meanwhile, he took this opportunity to carefully examine the terrain of Iron Lock Pass.

  Guan Er Ye had arrived at the foot of Tie Suo Guan. It was almost noon, and Guan Er Ye ordered the whole army to take out the buns distributed by the cooking class in the morning and eat them. He also told them that if they didn't enter Hu Jia Ba, they wouldn't have dinner, but if they did, they would drink wine and eat meat! Guan Er Ye also made it clear that he wouldn't make an exception for himself. The buns were big, about the size of a large palm, and two of them were enough to fill one's stomach. The soldiers quickly ate their two buns, but some of the Yi Zhou army weren't full yet. They had a rule where each person would always carry three days' worth of dry rations with them at all times, which was usually salted meat that wouldn't spoil easily and tasted good. Guan Er Ye also ate some salted meat to fill his stomach. Then he ordered the army to rest for a short while before launching an attack on Tie Suo Guan.

  Tie Suo Guan was located at the confluence of Cao Tang He and Yangtze River, where a large stone plate lay flat, with two rusty iron pillars standing upright, about 6.4 feet high. This was the famous "Iron Lock Pass" relic. Qutang had always been a strategic location for military operations, and in ancient times, whoever controlled it could seal off the entire eastern Sichuan region. The saying went: "Iron Lock Pass is like a horizontal lock on the river, with two iron pillars standing upright on both banks, forming a bridge to ward off enemies."

  After Liu Bei's victory over Han Zhong Jun, Zhang Lu became increasingly worried that Liu Bei's Yi Zhou army would come and destroy him. Following the advice of his strategist Yan Pu, Zhang Lu ordered his men to set up seven large iron chains across the river at Bai Di Cheng, each 277.5 feet long, with 5,110 links, and six iron pillars, each 6.7 inches thick, to seal off the pass. The iron pillars would remain intact for thousands of years, and even now, on the rocks beside them, one could still see the three large characters "Iron Lock Pass" inscribed by Zhang Lu himself.

  The terrain of Tieguan Pass has always been a strategic location, and in ancient times, as long as there was a lock across the river, it could seal off the throat of Eastern Sichuan. "Iron Locks Across the River Mountain, spanning the river with two banks, building boats into bridges, setting up beds on top to defend against bandits." Zhang Lu had also thought of defending against Liu Bei's invasion at Baidi City, where he set up seven iron locks across the river, each 277.5 feet long and 5,110 strands thick, as well as iron pillars, each 6.7 feet tall, to seal off the pass. The existing Kui Gate Iron Pillar was set up by Zhang Lu on the rock beside the pillar, and Yan Zhi also said that the Iron Lock Pass cut off the river mountain, spanning across both banks of the river, if they had time to build boats into bridges and place them on top of the riverbed to defend against bandits. Liu Bei would not have succeeded! This was Zhang Lu's purpose in building the Iron Lock Pass, which became an important pass for him to defend against Liu Bei, and after its completion, it became a checkpoint where merchants had to pay taxes. After the construction of the Iron Lock Pass, Zhang Lu gained a lot of wealth, becoming an important source of funding for him in Hanzhong. However, today it is indeed an important location for the decisive battle between Guan Yu's Yizhou army and the other forces, and the Iron Lock Pass must be famous in history, becoming a key location for the two armies to contend for in Hanzhong!

  The iron lock is horizontal across the river and mountain, spanning both banks. A boat was made into a bridge, and a bed was laid on top to defend against bandits. The purpose of building the Iron Lock Pass was very clear, it was for defense against external enemies. After its completion, Yang Song, a military strategist under Zhang Lu's command, suggested that it become a checkpoint, and merchants traveling through would have to pay taxes. Indeed, Yang Song had his redeeming qualities, as the Iron Lock Pass not only became a barrier to protect Hanzhong but also an important source of income for the region. His strategic intentions were obvious, and now Guan Yu was surrounding the mountain stronghold, engaging in a battle of wits with Zhang Lu's general, Shen Huai. Shen Huai, also known as Yi Jihou, was originally a powerful clan leader between Xiping and Shangyong. He and his brother, Shen Yi, were renowned for their bravery and martial prowess in Shangyong. The Shen family was a prominent household in the region, with unparalleled prestige and influence. Locals relied on the Shen family's protection, and Shen Huai could be said to be the locals' patron deity. For thirty years, the Shen brothers dominated the two counties of Shangyong and Xicheng, and they could be considered regional lords. However, they looked down upon Zhang Lu, who had a large army in Hanzhong. After repeated discussions, they feared that if they didn't submit to Zhang Lu, he would attack, and their territories would fall. Thus, the Shen brothers reluctantly surrendered to Zhang Lu, who then dispatched Shen Huai with 20,000 troops to garrison the Iron Lock Pass. Zhang Lu's plan was to engage Guan Yu in a decisive battle at the pass. However, he didn't expect that Guan Yu would be so bold as to attempt to capture the Iron Lock Pass with less than 20,000 troops!

  At this time, Shen Dan had already seen Guan Yu's army on the Iron Lock Pass. Although Guan Yu's army was well-hidden, Shen Dan had long been prepared! However, Shen Dan did not know that at this time, 2,000 of Guan Yu's soldiers had infiltrated his Iron Lock Pass and were preparing to take the pass by force. Meanwhile, Shen Dan's 20,000 soldiers were secretly planning how to engage in a decisive battle with Guan Yu's army led by Liu Bei. The Iron Lock Pass would be an important barrier to resist Liu Bei's entry into Shu. This point was well-known to Shen Dan! But Shen Dan thought that even if he defeated this branch of Guan Yu's army, Liu Bei would certainly come again with a large force from the Iron Lock Pass. The military prestige of Liu Bei's army had long been known to Shen Dan! He knew he was no match for Liu Bei's army. If he really made an enemy of Liu Bei's army again, he would not have a good outcome in the future, given Liu Bei's past behavior! So Shen Dan thought and thought, and at the entrance of Qutang Gorge, he erected two iron pillars with the inscription "General Shen Dan, Defender of the Pass" and hung seven iron chains across the river, 925 meters long, blocking the Yangtze River. He wanted to tell Guan Yu that the garrison of the Iron Lock Pass was sufficient, and it would be better for him to take a detour.

  He believed that even if Guan Yu's army, led by Liu Bei, had more than enough military strength to capture the Iron Lock Pass and take over Hanzhong, it was still a pipe dream. He thought to himself, "With such a natural barrier in my hands, I don't need to worry about their army, which is only about ten times larger than mine." However, he didn't know that Guan Yu's goal couldn't be blocked by the Iron Lock Pass. The iron pillars of the lock on the river were destined not to complete their mission of resisting Liu Bei's army and taking over Hanzhong, but they would still remain as an "ancient relic" for tens of thousands of years.

  But at this time, Guan Er Ye was also at a loss for what to do with the Iron Lock Pass. The terrain was so treacherous that even if his 2,000 troops managed to infiltrate, taking the pass would inevitably come at a great cost. Looking up at the Iron Lock Pass, he saw the words "Shen Yan" written by General Shen Yi, and Guan Er Ye understood that the pass had a similar military strength to his own, with a great general stationed there. Moreover, the Iron Lock Pass was so heavily fortified that taking it would be extremely difficult! After some thought, Guan Er Ye came up with a plan. He wanted to sneak into the Iron Lock Pass, after all, he still had 2,000 troops inside!

  Guan Yu summoned all the company commanders and two battalion commanders to discuss military affairs in his camp. More than a dozen people were present, but none of them had any ideas. It wasn't until after noon that Guan Yu revealed his plan, which left all the officers stunned. They couldn't believe their commander was so bold, and one by one, they knelt down on the ground to express their disagreement with Guan Yu's proposal to infiltrate the city and join forces with the 2,000 soldiers. Guan Yu said, "The Iron Lock Pass is indeed difficult to break through. If we can't break through the pass, our army won't be able to take Hujiaba directly, and if we don't take Hujiaba, it will be hard for us to defeat Yang Ren's 100,000-strong army in Hanzhong. There's no other way but this to break through the Iron Lock Pass and capture Hujiaba, and then we can defeat Yang Ren's 100,000-strong Han army!"

  Then Guan Yu and the generals agreed to use wolf smoke as a signal, and as soon as the wolf smoke rose, the whole army would quickly capture Iron Lock Pass! If by dusk the wolf smoke had not risen, and General Guan did not return to his camp, he would be in grave danger. Then General Guan also told the generals that if anything happened to him, after Li Yu captured Iron Lock Pass, they should burn incense and make three offerings of clean water, and perform twenty-four bows, which would be a way of telling General Guan. In this way, General Guan's spirit in heaven could rest in peace! The people were reluctant to part with General Guan, but he had made up his mind and it was impossible to change it again. They could only follow orders and execute them!

  Guan Yu finished dressing up and rushed to the small path on the mountain. Along the way, he thought to himself: How many soldiers are there in Iron Lock Pass now? But if I still can't capture this pass by nightfall today, and the battle drags on until tomorrow, then I'll have no choice but to follow Ji Yi's words and rely on the natural defenses of Iron Lock Pass to defend it. Even if Yang has 100,000 soldiers, with such a strong defensive position in hand, what is there for me, Guan Yu, to fear? It's just that my younger brother Li You's plan to surround and capture Hanzhong will be ruined because of this! Alas, this is also an unavoidable move! Ji Yi's intelligence was wrong, I thought there were only 5,000 defenders, but unexpectedly Zhang Lu had sent 20,000 more soldiers to reinforce this pass! I used only half a day to capture Zhangjiaping and Gaozhai Pass, how could I have delayed? No way! In such a short time, how could the reinforcements arrive so quickly? Guan Yu didn't know that actually, before he even captured Ningqiang County, Shen Dan's troops had already set out. It turned out that Zhang Lu saw the rich taxes of Iron Lock Pass and was afraid someone would cause trouble, so he sent soldiers to reinforce it! He was worried about future uncertainties! But unexpectedly, they arrived right at the critical moment when Guan Yu was about to capture Iron Lock Pass! In fact, Shen Dan had only arrived for less than two days! Otherwise, do you think they could fly or that Zhang Lu could predict the future? It's just that Zhang Lu made a lucky guess!

  Here is the translation:

  Guan Yu was currently alone, dressed as a traveling merchant, carrying his Green Dragon Crescent Blade. He quietly left the camp and headed towards the back of Iron Lock Pass, thinking that he would find another route to get there. After all, the soldiers guarding the pass had already seen his troops, so it was impossible to go through the front gate.

  Guan Yu rode his horse for about ten miles before seeing a mountain road with dense trees on both sides. This was where the enemy soldiers came and went. Guan Yu saw this and steeled himself, leading his horse up the mountain step by step. He looked around cautiously, but there were no guards or pedestrians.

  As he walked to the middle of the mountain, he saw flags fluttering in the wind and piles of logs at the entrance of the enemy camp. Guan Yu thought to himself: "If I, Guan Yu, were to go up through the front, I would be afraid of being rolled down by the logs, which would not be good. It's better for me to hide my tracks and walk up from the side of the forest, so they won't see me."

  Just as Guan Yu was thinking this, he heard the sound of wheels rolling up the mountain. He looked down and saw a man wearing a smoke-colored hat, dressed in a worn-out straight robe, with a pale face, thick eyebrows, and piercing eyes. The man had a few strands of whiskers on his cheeks and was about 40-50 years old. He was pushing a wheelbarrow up the mountain.

  Guan Yu thought to himself that this must be an enemy soldier sent by their general, but he didn't know what was in the wheelbarrow - goods or treasure? He hid behind a large tree on the left side and peeked out to see what the man would do. The man pushed the wheelbarrow up to the middle of the mountain, where Guan Yu was hiding, and looked around cautiously.

  Suddenly, Xue Rengui jumped out from behind the tree and grabbed the man's collar, pulling him down to the ground. He kicked the man in the waist and pulled out his sword, ready to strike. The man was terrified and cried out: "Ah! General, spare my life! I'm just a poor citizen trying to make a living, I don't do anything against the law. Why do you want to kill me?"

  Guan Yu scolded the man: "Shut up! Don't be afraid, I'll ask you some questions. What's your name and where are you from? You said you're just a citizen trying to make a living, but are you one of Zhang Lu's soldiers? Where did you come from, and what's in the wheelbarrow? Tell me everything, and I'll spare your life!"

  The man replied: "General, my name is Mao Er, also known as Second Dog. I live with my wife in a village seven miles west of Iron Lock Pass. We run an archery shop to make a living. To be honest, General, our bows and arrows are famous around here. One of Zhang Lu's generals, Shen Yi, has been asking me to deliver 40 fine bows to him, but I've been busy with orders from other customers because of the war in Yizhou. This general wanted his order urgently, so I had to put aside my other work and focus on his order for the past two days. That's why I'm delivering these 50 bows today."

  Guan Yu was overjoyed when he heard this...