Chapter 146: Land and sea advance, the army encircles! Xiangyang is doomed!

Chapter 146: The army advances by land and sea, encircling Xiangyang! Xiangyang is doomed!

Wow! ~
The rain came in torrents.

On both sides of the Han River, everything as far as the eye can see is white, and the surrounding scenery cannot be seen at all.

in heavy rain,
Facing the violent storm, Xiangyang City stood like a towering giant on the south bank of the Han River.

When Liu Biao was in charge of Jingxiang, this place was the seat of Jingzhou.

It is located in the middle reaches of the Han River, southwest of Tongbai Mountain, northwest of Dahong Mountain, southeast of Wudang Mountain, and northeast of Jingshan Mountain Range. It can be said that it is "surrounded by mountains and run through by a river"!
Moreover, this place connects to Ru and Luo in the north, Qin and Shu in the west, Jing and Chu in the south, and Wu and Yue in the east... It is indeed the most important transportation hub for all the heroes in the world today.

In Xiangyang City, inside the county magistrate’s residence.

A soaking wet scout was reporting military intelligence: "Wei Yan's 10,000 troops have already set up camp. It's raining heavily. We see that Wei Yan's camp seems to be quite lax in its defense."

"The heavy rain came suddenly, and we hadn't set up camp yet..."

When the scout finished speaking, all the generals who were discussing matters in the mansion were excited:
"Wei Yan has only 10,000 soldiers. Now that it is raining heavily, the defense of his camp is lax. We will take advantage of the situation and attack him. We will surely defeat him!"

"It has been raining continuously, and bows and arrows are useless! They also have no way to properly store their food and fodder, so they will suffer heavy losses. Their morale has already weakened before the battle even begins. We have a great chance of winning this battle."

"According to common sense, heavy rain is not conducive to marching and fighting. Wei Yan must not want to send troops at this time. I think he also thinks that we are unwilling to send troops! We will do the opposite and catch him off guard."

"This opportunity is rare. This is a chance God has given us to defeat the enemy!"

"General Lu Chang's plan is very sound..."

It was no big secret that Liu Zilie wanted to use his troops in Xiangfan.

Today, Wei Yan's army appeared fifty miles away from Xiangyang, and the defenders in the city were all shocked. Wei Yan was originally a general of Jingxiang and had a great reputation.

Later, he helped Liu Wu capture Cao Cao alive and easily take Jiangling. Wei Yan's name was also well known in Cao's army.

But after finding out that Wei Yan had only 10,000 soldiers under his command, the generals defending Xiangyang all breathed a sigh of relief, and their original anxiety turned into indifference.

Ten thousand soldiers come to attack Xiangyang?
Are you kidding me?
Either Liu Wu or Wei Yan lost his mind, it's really ridiculous...

At this moment, all the generals in the hall were talking about it. They all wished they could go out of the city and fight Wei Yan right away, as if Wei Yan's 10,000 troops were military merit that they could pick up for free at any time.

Behind the main desk in the hall, a tall figure stroked his beard and said nothing.

It was the current Xiangyang garrison commander, the Zhangling governor and Yindeng Ting Hou Lu Chang, who intended to take advantage of the heavy rain to launch a surprise attack on Wei Yan.

crackle~
The oil lamps burst with noise.

Although it was daytime, the rain was pouring down and the lights were already on in the dim hall.

The flickering lights made Lu Chang's expression flicker...

He was originally from Jingzhou and was also a general in the army during Liu Biao's period.

After Liu Biao's death, Cao Cao went south.

Seeing that Liu Biao's two sons were fighting for Jingzhou and almost leaving their bodies to die, Lü Chang became disheartened and surrendered to Cao Cao.

He was appointed as Wumeng Duwei, Lijie Zhonglang Jiang, and Bi General, and was granted the title of Guannei Hou.

Later, Lü Chang followed Cao Mengde south and led troops in Jiangdong. Although Cao's army was defeated, Lü Chang's troops were calm and composed in the retreat, and they advanced and retreated in moderation. They protected Cao Cao and returned to the north without any danger, which won Cao Cao's praise.

After the war, he was promoted to the position of Grand Administrator of Zhangling and given the title of Marquis of Yinde Ting!
Lü Chang had spent half his life under Liu Biao, but he was only a general. However, since he started working for Cao Cao, he was promoted repeatedly, and was given the title of marquis and appointed as a governor...

Lu Chang sighed in his heart, saying that it was no exaggeration to say that Prime Minister Cao was very kind to him.

Now Prime Minister Cao trusts me more and more, and even lets me guard Xiangyang City.

But now,
Xiangyang City encountered a powerful enemy, and Liu Zilie sent troops to take Xiangfan!

Liu Zilie's name had long been famous among the generals of Cao's army.

Behead Xiahou Dun.

Kill Wen Zhongye.

Defeated Xu Zhongkang.

Captured Cao Zixiao twice!
Capture Prime Minister Cao alive!
Prime Minister Cao was forced to cede more than 30 counties in the north of the Yangtze River in order to save his own life! !
With such a powerful enemy invading, how could Lu Chang dare to underestimate him?
"Although there are only Wei Yan's ten thousand men coming to attack Xiangyang this time..." Lu Chang's voice slowly echoed in the hall, and the generals instantly fell silent.

"But looking at Liu Wu, he is cunning and deep, there is no way he would send only these ten thousand soldiers, there must be other troops following behind!"

"Xiangyang City is high. Although we are defending Xiangyang and are not afraid of Liu Zilie's attack on the city, we cannot watch Liu Zilie's subsequent army besiege the city."

"If we take advantage of the rain tonight and defeat Wei Yan's 10,000 men first, we will surely dampen Liu Zilie's spirit and stop him from attacking the city later."

"I have sent a letter to General Cao Zixiao on the other side of the river. If General Zixiao agrees, we can launch a surprise attack tonight. Wei Yan's 10,000 soldiers will surely be defeated!"

Lu Chang has always been steady. Even though it was raining heavily and Wei Yan's army was in an unfavorable situation, he did not act rashly and lead his generals to rush out of the city.

This concerns the battle situation in Xiangfan. Cao Ren is the commander-in-chief of Xiangfan. How can he make decisions on his own on such an important matter?

The generals in the hall were silent. They naturally understood the logic behind this. If Cao Ren did not allow it, who would dare to send troops on their own?
"General!"

A soldier hurried into the hall: "General Fancheng Zixiao has replied!"

coming!

Wow! ~
All the generals stood up suddenly and looked eagerly at the bamboo slips in the soldier's hand.

Whether we can accomplish great success tonight depends entirely on this bamboo slip.

Tap tap tap! ~
Lu Chang quickly got down from the main seat, took the bamboo slip, opened it, and glanced at it:
[From General Lu himself...]

[The night attack plan is feasible! But the Prime Minister and I have ordered us to do our best to protect Xiangfan. Liu Zilie is treacherous and cunning, so the general should focus on protecting Xiangyang.]

[For this battle, Xiangyang can send out a maximum of 5,000 troops. Regardless of victory or defeat, we must not linger on. I hope the general will remain as steady as before...]

Cao Zixiao agreed to send troops to Xiangyang!

Lu Chang took a deep breath and held up the bamboo slips: "General Zixiao has an order! Tonight, Xiangyang will send 5,000 troops to attack Wei Yan's camp at night!!"

……

boom! ~
The Han River is vast and its waves are surging.

Heavy rain washed both banks, and the surface of the river turned muddy and yellow, like a yellow dragon roaring eastward!

As time went by, the rain gradually subsided.

The sky on both sides of the Han River gradually darkened.

It’s night…

Xiangyang City, inside the city.

Wow! ~
A large number of soldiers wearing armor and holding weapons gathered in the city.

The dense footsteps flattened the water pond in the city.

The sound of the overlapping armor leaves almost covered up the sound of rain falling to the ground!

Five thousand elite soldiers from Xiangyang City lined up in battle array, blending into the dark night as they slowly approached the closed city gates.

boom! ~
With a dull sound, the gate of Xiangyang city burst open.

The door is open!
The heartbeats of all the Xiangyang soldiers suddenly quickened.

As long as you leave the city,
They can go straight to Wei Yan’s camp and launch a surprise attack on the rainy night!

As soon as Wei Yan arrived in Xiangyang, it rained heavily, making the camp unstable and the morale of the army low. If they attack Wei Yan's camp tonight, they will surely achieve great success!

To dampen Liu Zilie's fighting spirit!

Tap tap tap! ~
The footsteps of the soldiers became more and more rapid.

As we got closer and closer to the city gate...

On the tower,
Lü Chang held onto the battlements, and with the help of torches on both sides of the road, he could vaguely see the five thousand soldiers rushing forward in the darkness, like a surging river tide, rushing out of the city. His expression was solemn...

tonight,

He could not go with the five thousand soldiers to attack the camp. After all, he was the garrison commander of Xiangyang and had a huge responsibility, so he had to stay in the city of Xiangyang.

But these troops are enough to take action.

Five thousand soldiers attacked in the rainy night. Even if they were discovered by Wei Yan, the enemy was too panicked to fight back.

Even if he couldn't completely defeat Wei Yan's 10,000-man army in one battle, he could at least inflict heavy losses on Wei Yan and make Liu Wu lose face and suffer a big loss...

Snap Snap Snap! ~
The cool rain hit Lu Chang's face, but his face was getting hotter and hotter.

Let Liu Wu lose face...

This thought kept circling in Lu Chang's mind!

General Zixiao was captured by Liu Wu twice.

Outside Xiling City, more than 30 generals of Cao's army were like a piece of thin paper in front of Liu Wu and were completely vulnerable.

Prime Minister Cao was even captured alive by Liu Wu and brought back to the city in front of tens of thousands of troops!

Xiling and Jiangling, which were originally strategic locations of Cao's army, were occupied by Liu Wu, and Hefei and other counties in the north of the Yangtze River were forced to cede them to Liu Wu!
without any exaggeration,

Cao Jun had already lost all his dignity in front of Liu Wu...

Many generals of Cao's army were also terrified when they saw Liu Wu...

If the soldiers under my command can defeat Wei Yan tonight!
The soldiers under his command can help Prime Minister Cao and the generals of Cao’s army regain face from Liu Wu!

Then Lu Chang will surely be valued by Prime Minister Cao again, and his position in the army will surely rise further, and he may even become Prime Minister Cao's true confidant.

Lu Chang knew very well that although Prime Minister Cao was quite kind to him and had shown great favor to him, he had never been one of Prime Minister Cao's truly trusted generals.

He could neither always be by Prime Minister Cao's side nor had he any real chance to take on some of the important tasks assigned by Prime Minister Cao.

If what happens tonight is accomplished, it will restore face for Prime Minister Cao and even the entire Cao army.

I might be like the Five Elite Generals and be favored by Prime Minister Cao...

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

He turned to go down the tower.
The peripheral vision swept across the Han River outside the city...

suddenly,

He was stunned: "What is that?!"

call! ~
In the strong wind,
A dazzling light suddenly appeared above the river.

Densely packed torches gathered together, like a fire dragon with bared fangs and claws, going upstream against the river!

The fire dragon followed the Han River and was getting closer and closer to Xiangyang City. Lu Chang stared blankly at the fire dragon on the river. He saw it clearly.

He finally saw clearly.

Tower battleship!

The warships covered with torches almost lit up the pitch-black river surface!
That tall ship,

They were like giant beasts swimming across the Han River in the dark night.

It's like a row of hills, stretching across the Han River between Xiangyang and Fancheng!

By the light of the torches, one could see a huge ship in the lead with a large banner hanging on it with a huge word "Liu" written on it.

Now the situation in Jingnan has changed a lot, and it is unknown whether Liu Bei is alive or dead.

On both sides of the river, the only powerful navy qualified to fight under the Liu character banner was that young man...

Lu Chang's face turned pale: "Yes, it's the Jingzhou navy!"

"It's Liu Wu! Liu Wu is here!!"

Liu Wu deployed his troops on the river, and then there was Wei Yan...

Wei Yan?

not good!

Lu Chang turned around suddenly and saw that half of the 5,000 soldiers in the city had already rushed out of the city gate.

If Wei Yan and Liu Wu attacked Xiangyang from both sides...

With a trembling voice, Lu Chang shouted loudly, "Withdraw the troops and return to the city!"

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!!"

……

Wow! ~
Amidst the violent storm, the navy of Jingzhou rampaged across the Han River.

The big banner with the word "Liu" on it fluttered freely in the wind and rain, announcing its arrival to both sides of the Han River.

Pa pa pa pa pa~
The rain is like beans.

Hit the deck of the ship.

It also hit the umbrella canopy standing under the great banner.

"My lord! It's raining heavily outside, let's go back to the cabin first." The guard holding an umbrella whispered to the young figure in front of him.

Liu Wu waved his hand: "It's okay."

call! ~
The sound of wind and rain was loud,

The waves rolled endlessly, roaring and whistling, wreaking havoc with the power of heaven and earth.

The imposing Jingzhou navy continued to sail forward leisurely, braving the wind and waves...

Wherever the warships went, all the rough waves were crushed away silently.

The night was dark, but one could still faintly see the outlines of two giant twin cities facing each other across the river ahead.

Liu Wu's gaze slowly alternated between the outlines of the two huge cities.

The land of Xiangfan,

This is the place called Xiangfan.

As long as Xiangfan is captured, the gateway to the Central Plains will be wide open, and the country will be almost flat and undefended!
The army can then go north to occupy Nanyang, then go north to bypass Pingdingshan, which is now Cao Mengde’s old nest Xudu.

In the original historical trajectory, Liu Wu's second uncle flooded seven armies, and before the two cities of Xiangfan were captured, Cao Cao was frightened so much that he almost moved the emperor and all the officials to Yecheng for self-protection.

It is hard to say whether Second Uncle Guan can once again dominate China.

Anyway, Liu Wu is leading 25,000 naval forces from Jingzhou, and has already reached the Han River, eyeing the two cities of Xiangfan!
Liu Wu's thoughts were racing.

He recalled the conversation he had with Jian Yong outside Xiling City after meeting Sun Quan that day.

At that time, Liu Wu first mentioned to Jian Yong that he wanted to lead 10,000 soldiers to the north, and Jian Yong said that Cao Mengde might not agree...

But right now, does it matter whether Cao Mengde agrees or not?
on deck,
Liu Wu stood between the outlines of the two large cities and muttered to himself, "Prime Minister Cao, now it is not up to you."

……

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

"General Lu Chang has ordered all soldiers to return to the city immediately, immediately return to the city!"

"Close the city gate! Close the city gate quickly!"

Da da da! ~
The sound of anxious horse hooves echoed in the city.

More than ten messengers galloped on horseback in Xiangyang City against the wind and rain, rushing towards the five thousand soldiers who had already left the city.

what's the situation?
The soldiers preparing for a night attack looked confused.

Some of the soldiers who had already left the city had a look of surprise in their eyes.

Didn’t General Cao Ren allow us to leave the city and attack Wei Yan tonight?
How come...

You're about to win a big victory, and you just give it up?
Xilulu! ~
Several messengers on horseback rushed out of the city and stopped their horses.

Seeing that the five thousand soldiers were finally stopped, the messenger captain breathed a sigh of relief: "General Lu Chang has ordered that the situation has changed tonight..."

"All soldiers, return to the city immediately!"

"Close the gates and defend the city!"

There was silence in the county magistrate's mansion.

Only the messenger was delivering the order: "The five thousand soldiers who attacked at night have all been stopped and brought back."

"The city gates are closed, and the guards on the city walls have been ordered to double their strength!"

Hearing that the five thousand soldiers had returned, Lu Chang's tense nerves finally relaxed: "Go down."

"Yes!"

The messenger had already left, and the Xiangyang generals gathered in the hall were still sitting in their seats in a daze.

Their armor was dripping with water,

Just before the messenger handed over the order, they had just come down from the top of the city wall, and the scene they had just seen on the top of the city wall seemed to keep flashing before their eyes...

The dark surface of the river was illuminated by the fire dragon formed by countless torches!
Countless warships, with their bows and sterns linked together, were pressing towards Xiangyang and Fancheng in the face of the fierce wind and rain...

That’s the Jingzhou navy!

That is the Jingzhou navy belonging to Liu Wu!
They thought that at most Liu Wu would lead a large army, with Wei Yan as the vanguard, to attack Xiangfan from the road.

But who could have thought that Liu Wu would actually mobilize the navy of Jingzhou!

The Jingzhou navy originally had more than 20,000 people. When Liu Wu attacked Gong'an, these 20,000 navy soldiers surrendered to Liu Wu without firing a single arrow or sword. In other words...

The navy on the Han River has at least 20,000 people!

Wei Yan led 10,000 soldiers and attacked Fancheng from land...

Liu Wu personally led 20,000 naval forces and advanced on Xiangfan from the Yangtze River...

Is Liu Zilie really going to fight a big battle in Xiangfan? !
Many generals looked unhappy and no longer had the confidence they had when they talked about the night attack on Wei Yan.

"General Lu Chang." A deputy general finally couldn't help but said, "Now that Liu Zilie's army is approaching, what can we do?"

All the generals' eyes were on Lu Chang...

Xiangyang is a big city. If there are only Wei Yan's 10,000 soldiers, they are naturally not afraid. If Liu Wu leads a large army to attack from the road, they are not afraid with the support of Fancheng behind.

But now,
Wei Yan is advancing on land, and the navy of Jingzhou behind him is obviously intending to cut off Xiangfan on the Han River so that they can support each other. In this way... the situation has changed.

"No problem!" As the garrison commander of Xiangyang, Lü Chang was more worried than the other generals present, but his face remained calm as usual: "I think General Zixiao in Fancheng has also seen the Jingzhou navy."

"I have sent people across the river to discuss this matter with General Zixiao on the other side. It won't be long before there is a result..."

Will there be results?

What will happen?
Many generals began to have doubts. Once the navy of Jingzhou cut off Xiangfan, what could General Zixiao do?

Such questions can only be thought about in one's mind, and no one dares to actually ask them.

Lu Chang was still trying to calm people down: "The Jingzhou navy has not yet reached the area between the two cities. Wei Yan is still fifty miles away from us..."

"Scouts report urgently!" A hurried voice interrupted Lu Chang's consolation. A soldier rushed into the hall: "Scouts report urgently, Wei Yan will move out overnight!"

"Ten thousand troops are approaching Xiangyang in the rain!!"

……

call! ~
Wow! ~
The wind was howling and the rain was pouring.

In the dark rainy night, a dull roar was heard from afar.

The sound was getting louder and louder.
The large shadow that blended into the night was like a giant beast hidden in the darkness, heading towards Xiangyang.

"Quick! Quick!"

"Don't stop! Tell the brothers behind you not to stop!"

"Push forward! Keep pushing forward!!"

Amid the shouts of the captains and generals, more than ten thousand soldiers made their way through the heavy rain.

The dense footsteps rushed past,

The silt, which had been softened by the heavy rain, sank more than a foot in an instant!
The vision of all the soldiers had already become blurred. They could not see further away and could only see the figures in front of them.

At the forefront of the 10,000-strong army, Wei Yan was riding his horse.

He wiped the rain off his face and just stared at the vague outline of the big city in front of him.

That is Fancheng.

That's their goal.

I guess Zilie's navy is already on the Han River at this moment, right?
"Xiangfan!" Wei Yan gritted his teeth and said, "Zi Lie is going to shock China this time. How can I, Wei Wenchang, miss such a feat?!"

　There is one more chapter, a little later, before one o'clock.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)