Chapter 145 Liu Wu arrives in Xiangfan! The war begins!
Chapter 145: Liu Wu arrives in Xiangfan! The war begins!
The jade belt of the world is called Han;
It originates in Da'an and flows east to the Yangtze River.

The Han River is a major tributary of the Yangtze River. It runs through Hanzhong, with surging waves and thousands of streams. After turning at Xiangfan, it flows south into the Yangtze River, rushing for more than 3,000 miles!
It was the transition between summer and autumn, the sun was golden and the fields were emerald green.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose from the south with a huge sound.

It was an army marching along the official road along the Han River.

They are heading north!

Flags fluttered and troops marched in an endless stream, extending southward along the Han River, with almost no end in sight.

This is a force of no less than 10,000 people.

At this time, their front army was less than a hundred miles away from the two twin cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng.

Central Army Office,
The big flag with the Chinese character "Wei" flutters in the wind...

"Drive!~"

A general rode out on horseback, accompanied by dozens of cavalrymen.

After a while, we stopped at the bank of the Han River and dismounted...

Wei Yan slowly walked to the edge of the Han River, his eyes shining with brilliance. Looking at the surging Han River, he, Wei Wenchang, couldn't stop his heart from surging!
The land of Xiangfan,

He Wei Yan is back!

Wei Yan was stationed in Xiangfan for many years. When Liu Biao died, Wei Yan was asked by Liu Wu to open the city and welcome Liu Bei into Fancheng, but he was nearly killed by Wen Pin.

This is the shame of Wei Yan's life!
But now Wen Pin is dead, killed by Liu Wu himself.

Liu Bei has become a lost dog!

Cai Mao, who had ordered his execution, was beheaded by Cao Cao early in the Battle of Chibi.

What about Wei Yan?
He is now independent and is the most powerful general under Liu Wu. He is now heading north to Xiangfan!
Liu Wu had already said in the letter that after taking Xiangfan, Wei Yan would be the commander-in-chief of Xiangfan and lead the army of northern Jing!
"The water level is higher than in previous years..." This was the nth time Wei Yan had come to investigate the hydrology along the way.

Starting from Jiangling, the further north they explored, the more consistent their conclusions were with Wei Yan's.

There is a high probability that Xiangfan will experience a major flood this year.

Wei Yan wiped his hands and looked back at the troops that were accompanying him northwards. These were 10,000 elite infantrymen drawn from the 30,000 soldiers in the two cities of Jiangling and Gong'an.

Think of it as the pioneer heading north!!
As for the navy of Jingzhou, it had also set out long ago. However, it had to depart from Xiling, advance eastward for more than 300 miles, enter the Han River through Jiangling, and then go upstream to the north, so it was slower.

The hydrological survey is completed.

Wei Yan rode his horse back to the camp. He looked towards Xiangfan in the distance and felt a lot of emotion.

He knows what will happen next!
Originally, it was just a small talk of his own experience, which he wrote on the official document sent to Xiling. Unexpectedly, it attracted Liu Wu's attention...

It became the key to the Battle of Xiangfan!

This shows how much Liu Wu values ​​Wei Yan...

On the banks of the Han River, Wei Wenchang spurred his horse and whipped his whip: "Pass my military order, set up camp fifty miles away from Xiangyang!!"

……

……

The Han River flows eastward day and night without stopping.

On the north bank of the Han River, Fancheng,
The whole city was under martial law and soldiers were everywhere.

All the generals of Cao's army gathered in the county magistrate's mansion.

Cao Ren paced in the hall with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed, and the anxiety in his eyes could not be suppressed no matter what...

Fancheng and Xiangyang stand across the river, and the two cities are collectively called Xiangfan, which controls the north-south passage. No matter whether it is the northern expedition or the southern expedition, Xiangfan must be passed through! It is indeed the gateway to the Central Plains and a strategic location for military strategists.

Cao Mengde handed over Xiangfan to Cao Ren, which was really a great trust in him.

how...

Liu Zilie is coming to kill us!

"Huh!~" Cao Ren took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself down.

A general nearby couldn't help but console him:

"General, why are you so worried? Xiangfan is a big city in the world, with high walls and huge fortresses. Even if Liu Zilie is really the reincarnation of King Xiang, what can he do?"

"That's right! Fancheng has 20,000 defenders, Xiangyang has 10,000 defenders, a total of 30,000 troops defending the city. Xiangfan is as solid as a rock. Why should we be afraid of Liu Zilie?"

"General Zixiao has already asked Prime Minister Cao for help. When the time comes, we can surround Liu Zilie from both inside and outside the city. Maybe we can capture him at the gate of the city."

"If Liu Zilie wants to be interested in Xiangfan, haha, it's wishful thinking!"

The generals were discussing the matter, but Cao Ren became more and more annoyed.

These people have never fought with Liu Zilie, so how could they understand Liu Zilie's... unscrupulousness!
Under Xiling City,

Liu Zilie led a hundred cavalrymen, galloping and charging in front of him.

He had almost no ability to fight back and was captured alive by the other party!

Outside Jiangling City, he woke up again and again, but was knocked unconscious again and again.

In the Xiling dungeon, he had to pretend to be crazy and stupid in order to survive.

And the arrow that shot through his shoulder on the top of Xiangyang City...

Those scenes flowed through Cao Ren's mind like running water, and finally converged into that young, indifferent face...

It’s Liu Zilie!

Cao Ren shuddered violently, and a chill ran through his body.

He suffered losses again and again in front of Liu Wu. Cao Ren still cannot forget the feeling of despair of being unable to fight back. Liu Wu has almost become his shadow...

Cao Ren sighed: "Alas! I hope Prime Minister Cao's rescue can arrive before Liu Zilie."

Liu Zilie has now occupied southern Jing and gathered all the troops under Liu Bei. It is estimated that he now has 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers and horses.

Eighty to ninety thousand soldiers and horses!
Liu Zilie is a lunatic. If he goes crazy and makes a desperate move, sending all his troops to Xiangfan before Prime Minister Cao's reinforcements arrive, I'm afraid...

Cao Ren felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

"Report!"

A scout rushed into the hall and said, "We have found Liu Zilie's army. The enemy has about 10,000 soldiers!"

"We have now arrived outside Xiangyang City."

Ten thousand soldiers and horses?
Ten thousand soldiers!
Cao Ren was stunned where he was. He suddenly laughed: "Ha, hahahaha... OK, OK, Liu Zilie, ah Liu Zilie, he is still so arrogant!"

"How ridiculous!"

"Ten thousand men? He actually only sent ten thousand men to attack Xiangfan?"

All of the general Tianren's previous worries were now almost gone.

Where is this place?
This is the area of ​​Xiangfan, one of the two gateway cities guarding the Central Plains. It is Xiangfan, where 30,000 troops are stationed to defend the city!
Liu Zilie actually thought that he could capture Xiangfan with only 10,000 men?
"Liu Zilie has only won a few battles. Has he lost his mind after occupying the four counties in southern Jing?"

The surrounding generals also joined in the fun:

"Although Liu Zilie is brave, he has little experience. I think the largest city he has conquered is Jiangling City. How could he know how magnificent Xiangfan and Xiangfan are?"

"It is not necessarily a good thing for young people to succeed too early. Just like Liu Zilie, he dared to attack Xiangfan with only 10,000 men. He is truly ignorant and fearless!"

"Haha, Liu Zilie is famous for trampling on our Cao army, this time I will make him pay double!"

"Does he still think that this Xiangfan City is Xiling, which he broke into with his halberd?"

Cao Ren said sarcastically, "Doesn't he like to smash the city gates? I will let him smash the gates of Fancheng. If he has the ability, he can use a hundred halberds, a thousand halberds, or ten thousand halberds! I will also let him smash them!"

"It depends on whether he has the ability to break open the gate of Fancheng!"

As soon as the words fell, the generals around him burst into laughter.

"General Zixiao!" A deputy general stood up and said, "Liu Zilie's army has just arrived in Xiangfan. Why don't we take advantage of the situation and kill him while he is still unstable?"

"In this way, we will surely achieve great success."

Should we take advantage of the situation and kill Liu Zilie while he is still unstable?
Cao Ren admitted that he was somewhat tempted, but he still shook his head: "No, Liu Zilie is not only brave, but also treacherous and cunning... It is better to be more cautious."

"How do we know that these 10,000 people are not his vanguard? Aren't they baits to lure us out of the city? We are entrusted with the important task of defending the city by Prime Minister Cao, and we must not act rashly."

Liu Zilie is not a reckless man.

This guy is not only brave and terrifying, but also full of conspiracy and tricks...

After he led a hundred cavalrymen to capture me alive, he actually rushed directly to the city of Jiangling, using me as a shield. More than a hundred people controlled the entire Jiangling overnight, and then threw Jiangling into the hands of Liu Xuande.

Let Liu Da'er willingly become the scapegoat and help him tie down Prime Minister Cao's 50,000 troops!
This cunning,

This is so bold,

It still makes me feel cold when I think about it.

Who can be sure that the 10,000 soldiers today are not his trick? It is always better to be safe when dealing with people like Liu Zilie...

"General!" A soldier strode into the tent. "Scouts report that General Yu Jin has arrived with 30,000 troops, and they are still a hundred miles away from Fancheng!"

Yu Jin is here?

The Prime Minister’s reinforcements have arrived!
"Good!" Cao Ren heaved a long sigh of relief, and the last trace of worry in his heart finally dissipated completely. Yu Jin's 30,000 troops, plus Xiangfan's 30,000 defenders, a total of 60,000!
Sixty thousand against ten thousand, our side still managed to defend the city.

Liu Wu will definitely lose this time!

At worst, there will be no problem in defending Xiangfan. If 60,000 people defend the city, they are still no match for Liu Zilie's 10,000 people. In that case, he might as well jump off the city wall with the defenders.

Thinking of the shame of being captured alive by Liu Wu.

Thinking that Liu Wu was using him as a tool to deceive and open Jiangling City.

Thinking that he was a famous general, he had to act crazy and stupid in the dungeon...

Being whipped!

Shot by an arrow!

All these things were shames brought upon himself by Liu Zilie.

Cao Ren gritted his teeth and said, "Liu Zilie! This time, I, Cao Zixiao, will avenge my previous humiliation!"

He turned around abruptly: "Prepare the horse!"

As he spoke, Cao Ren strode out of the mansion, full of vigor and enthusiasm: "I want to go out of the city and personally welcome General Yu Jin..."

"In this battle, we will definitely defeat Liu Zilie and make the Prime Minister very happy!!"

……

……

Drive!
Drive!
It's almost dusk.

Hundreds of cavalrymen came galloping from the direction of Fancheng and ran for more than fifty miles to the northwest before stopping.

Cao Ren reined in his horse and stood still.

A large area of ​​tents appeared before his eyes, densely covering the ground.

This reinforcement army that came from afar had been marching for a whole day and had now set up camp and was preparing to make a fire and cook.

Seeing the reinforcements, Cao Ren felt relieved. He whipped his whip and said, "Hurry up and tell them that the Xiangfan commanders Cao Ren and Cao Zixiao are here!"

Immediately, a soldier rushed in to pass on the message.

You should know that in Cao's camp, Cao Ren's name is still quite famous.

Zhou Yu, who had made a great success at the Battle of Red Cliff, was defeated by him.

It was he who guarded Jiangling in the past, and he is also the commander-in-chief of Xiangfan now, which shows how much Cao Mengde values ​​him.

Although he was captured alive by Liu Wu a few years ago, which damaged his reputation a little, the entire Cao camp was defeated by Liu Wu in the Battle of Xiling at that time, so it was nothing in comparison.

not to mention!
This treatment of capturing the leader by thousands of troops...

The only one who could enjoy the same treatment as Cao Ren was Prime Minister Cao Cao...

Other generals were either crippled or beheaded on the spot, but Cao Ren was the only one captured alive like Cao Cao. What does this mean?
Anyway, ever since Cao Ren followed Cao Cao out of the Xiling dungeon, his status in Cao's camp has risen dramatically, and everyone has to look up to him, Cao Zixiao.

After all, this person is as worthy of being captured alive by Liu Wu as Prime Minister Cao!

Moreover, Cao Ren was captured by Liu Wu twice...

Not much time,

A rider came out of the camp to meet him.
"General Zixiao!"

He is one of the five best generals under Cao Mengde and the main general of this support force, Yu Jin.

"General Yu Jin, I, Cao Ren, have finally seen you!"

"General Zixiao, please enter the camp..."

"it is good!"

At that moment, the two riders rode side by side and headed straight into the center of the army.

In a moment,

Inside the central army tent, a map of Xiangfan territory had been hung high.

Yu Jin: "General Zixiao, is Liu Zilie really coming to attack Xiangfan?"

When the Battle of Xiling broke out, Yu Jin and his men were fighting Liu Bei in Jiangling. The fight was so brutal that both sides suffered heavy losses.

Later, when the troops were withdrawn, Yu Jin was truly astonished when he heard about Liu Zilie's feat of leading thousands of troops to capture the king and destroying half of Cao's camp.

But I still don’t quite believe it!
After all, even Lu Bu couldn't do this, unless King Xiang from hundreds of years ago crawled out from underground...

Therefore, Yu Jin has always been extremely curious.

Although the war is imminent and he will have to face the rumored Liu Wu and Liu Zilie, Yu Jin actually felt a little bit of anticipation in his heart.

Cao Ren said, "At this moment, Liu Wu has a troop of 10,000 men and has arrived outside Xiangyang City."

"I guess it's just a vanguard..."

"All the generals in Xiangfan wanted to send troops to attack them while they were still unstable, but I did not agree."

"Because these 10,000 soldiers outside Xiangyang City are most likely the vanguard, but we cannot rule out the possibility that they are the main force."

Yu Jin was shocked when he heard this: "How is it possible that only 10,000 men can attack Xiangfan? How dare Liu Wu?!"

Cao Ren shook his head, and he was deeply touched: "No one in Cao Ying knows Liu Wu better than me."

The past is hard to recall, but it can’t help but come to mind again and again.

He was captured alive by Liu Wu in the first unexpected encounter. His men tied up Lu Xun and then exchanged him from Liu Wu.

Later, after losing the bet, Cao Ren broke his oath and attacked Xiling. Before he could react, he was captured by Liu Wu.

Then he pretended to be crazy for several months and was tied to a horse and tossed back and forth.

Then he spent his days in the dungeon in Xiling City like years, until he met his first cellmate Cao Mengde, and was finally freed!

"Yu Jin, no one in this world knows Liu Wu better than me!" Cao Ren said it again with absolute certainty.

It was completely dark.
The candlelight emitted a faint glow, swaying gently inside the tent.

"His military power is unmatched in the world. His military strategy is to use the army's momentum! He is as still as a mountain, but once he is deployed, his aggression is like fire and difficult to control. His momentum is like an arrow shot from a bow, directly causing the collapse!"

"Not only that, he is also good at using tricks. His wisdom is no less than that of Crouching Dragon and Phoenix..."

"The most important thing is that this person is extremely cunning. When he was in Jiangling..."

"... is the best at winning people's hearts. He is even better than Liu Xuande. Just like Gan Ning, he was originally a great general from Jiangdong. He became famous in the Battle of Red Cliffs, but now he is willing to be a running dog..."

Cao Ren poured out his heart, and Yu Jin felt his scalp tingling.

Is that human being?
It is simply a ghost that makes people wonder, it is simply a demon that seduces people...

da~
A faint voice came from above my head.

Perhaps because he had been listening to Cao Ren's ghost stories for a long time, Yu Jin's nerves were a little tense. He shivered violently, stood up quickly, and his face turned pale.

"what sound?!"

da~
It rang again.

Cao Ren also stood up and looked up at the ceiling of the tent.

da~
Ta da~
The noise continues...

da da da da~
da da da da~
More and more dense, more and more dense...

Yu Jin let out a long sigh: "It turns out it's raining."

……

……

"Wen Chang's judgment is correct."

"It's raining..." On the deck of the main ship, Liu Wu stood with his hands behind his back.

His bright eyes seemed to have extended along the surging Han River, penetrating time and space, and witnessing the two twin cities of Xiangfan.

Turning around, Liu Wu returned to the main cabin.

It's raining.

The water level of the Han River has begun to rise...

The big flag was hoisted on the main ship, and in the wind and rain, the huge Jingzhou navy advanced forward, fearlessly.

Countless ships went upstream in the rain.

Big ships! Huge oars! Banners covering the sky! Stretching for dozens of miles...

as if,

The entire Han River should be filled up.

　It’s gone today, this chapter is four thousand five.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)