My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 666 The Battle Reaches a White-Hot Point
Although Liu Feng rejected the suggestion to transfer Gan Ning's troops as reinforcements, Gan Ning himself took the initiative.

Of the 6,000 men in his unit, the 4,000 marines were the most skilled fighters. Unlike their colleagues, these men were the main force in naval combat, capable of boarding ships and protecting their own vessels.

Gan Ning surprisingly dispatched all four thousand men at once. One thousand were on each flank, while two thousand were stationed in the center, making it a full-scale attack.

With the arrival of reinforcements on both flanks, Liao Hua, Xi Zhen, and others, who were already heavily surrounded, immediately felt a relief from the pressure. In particular, Xi Zhen's troops, positioned on the right flank, faintly heard the shouts of battle from the outside, and their spirits were immediately lifted.

It turns out that after Xi Zhen charged into battle, his troops were led by his younger brother Xi Hong.

At this time, although the battle on the front lines was difficult, Xi Hong still managed to gather two hundred men in an attempt to rescue Xi Zhen.

Only two hundred men, unless they were Liu Feng's top elite troops, equipped with iron armor, and led by fierce generals such as Taishi Ci, Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, and Huang Zhong, would have any chance of breaking through the encirclement.

However, Xi Hong couldn't even meet one requirement, and he couldn't even gather a few suits of armor. How could he possibly break through the enemy's encirclement?

If it weren't for the fact that Liao Hua and Xi Zhen's elite troops were still alive and fighting fiercely inside, holding back the main force of Cao Cao's army, even Xi Hong's two hundred men would probably have been trapped and surrounded by the enemy.

Just when Xi Hong was almost in despair, Gan Ning's reinforcements arrived.

Xi Hong was overjoyed and grabbed the general who came to his aid.

"General, just focus on the rescue. Our troops will cover the north. You can proceed with your mission without worry."

Xi Hong's words were directed at the reinforcements of Cao Cao's army in the north. The vanguard of both sides had already clashed, and the battle had entered a fierce stage.

If Liu Feng and Gan Ning were able to act opportunistically and send reinforcements, how could Cao Ang and Sima Yi sit idly by?

In fact, Cao Cao's reinforcements had already set off, only half an hour later than the Left Guard Army.

Niu Jin and Chang Diao both led their elite troops as the vanguard, prioritizing reinforcements to the flanks, intending to cooperate with Jia Xin and Yin Shu's elite troops to eliminate Liao Hua and Xi Zhen first.

Gan Ning's reinforcements arrived first, but Niu Jin and Chang Diao's reinforcements had also set off from their main camp and would arrive at the battlefield within half an hour at most.

That's why Xi Hong said those words.

The general who came to Gan Ning's aid was Gan Ning's cousin, Gan Hui, courtesy name Xingfu. He was from the same hometown as Gan Ning, Linjiang in Ba County, and was five years younger than Gan Ning. Since his youth, he had followed Gan Ning to gather young men as leaders. They made a living by boating in the Yangtze River basin and were skilled in naval warfare, scouting, and ship repair. He was a core member of Gan Ning's early Jinfan gang.

Because of his exceptional swimming skills, he had covered Gan Ning's retreat on several occasions when intercepting goods on the river, and personally sank the pursuing troops' ships, earning the deep trust of Gan Ning and the Jin Fan crew.

Gan Hui arrived just in time with a thousand reinforcements. After hearing Xi Hong's words, he turned and ordered, "Where is Yan Gang?"

The burly man immediately responded, "This humble servant is here."

Yan Gang, a member of a collateral branch of the Yan family of Linjiang, is also a key member of the Jin Fan gang. After Gan Ning's rebellion failed, he fled eastward to Jingzhou. Now he has accumulated merits under Gan Ning and risen to the rank of Qu Junhou. He is a capable general under Gan Hui.

Gan Hui waved his hand and said, "You shall select two garrisons from your own troops and place them under the command of Commander Xi."

After Yan Gang accepted the order, he pointed out the two capable subordinates in the garrison and walked up to Xi Hong, clasped his hands in a fist and asked for instructions: "I have two hundred men under my command, awaiting your command, Sima."

Xi Hong first nodded to Yan Gang, then walked to Gan Ning's side and explained in detail the situation they had previously discovered, especially the two weak points, which were of utmost importance.

Gan Hui listened patiently and then began to plan the attack based on Xi Hong's intelligence. Xi Hong, along with Yan Gang and over a hundred men, formed a line to the north to cover the flank of Gan Hui's forces, allowing them to advance with full force.

As soon as Gan Hui finished making arrangements, he immediately launched an attack.

Although Gan Ning's troops were a navy, they were truly capable of both land and sea warfare. Gan Hui even personally led his personal guards to the front lines.

This wasn't because Gan Hui was inherently warlike or fond of fighting, but rather because he keenly realized that this might be their last chance. If they missed this opportunity, rescuing Xi Zhen's troops would come at a much greater cost and with far greater losses.

And that was indeed the case. In the short time it took to exchange intelligence and allocate troops, Cao Cao's reinforcements were already less than four hundred paces from the battlefield.

Gan Hui knew he only had one chance, so he went all out from the start, taking out all sixty large crossbows and immediately unleashing a rain of hundreds of arrows.

This short battle line of just over ten meters was directly subjected to the firepower of hundreds of powerful bows and crossbows, which is equivalent to the firepower density of two hundred heavy cannons per kilometer in later times.

In just three or four breaths, a large swath of Cao Cao's army was overturned like wheat. Even though these Cao Cao soldiers all had shields, they could not block such powerful arrows at such close range.

The steel arrowheads pierced directly through the leather-covered wooden shields, embedding themselves in the back. Many arrows weren't even stopped by the shields, piercing right through the Cao soldiers.

"Follow me to break the formation."

Gan Hui roared and charged forward: "The Left Army is mighty!"

"The Left Guard Army is mighty! They have annihilated the traitor Cao!"

Gan's troops followed closely behind, unwavering and unstoppable.

The two sides immediately engaged in fierce combat, their armor clashing against each other, and their swords, hammers, and axes flashing with cold light.

In just the first engagement, Cao Cao's encirclement was shaken.

When Xi Zhen saw this, she was overjoyed and immediately mustered her remaining courage to boost morale.

"Reinforcements have arrived! Gentlemen, why don't you charge out with me!"

As soon as Xi Zhen finished speaking, the response was overwhelming. The soldiers of the Left Army, whose morale had just been somewhat low, were once again invigorated. They followed Xi Zhen like wolves and tigers as they broke out of the encirclement.

In an instant, the battle between the two armies became even more brutal, so fierce that the sun and moon seemed to lose their light.

Severed limbs and broken bodies were scattered all over the ground, and blood soaked through battle robes.

Some brave warriors, even with broken legs, still crawled forward, desperately clinging to the shins of enemy soldiers to create opportunities for their comrades; some warriors, even with broken arms, still charged at the enemy, biting their throats with their teeth.

The battle cries and shouts of battle mingled on the battlefield, and broken spears and halberds were scattered across the open field.

Every step forward meant stepping over corpses, and every step back meant facing a bloody blade.

Finally, Cao Jun could not hold on any longer and retreated to the flanks. Gan Hui and Xi Zhen immediately felt the pressure ease and could see the enemy.

Xi Zhen immediately clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for coming to my rescue, General. I will never forget this kindness and will repay it with all my might!" Gan Hui waved his hand and said with a cold expression: "General, there is no need for such formalities. This place is still dangerous. We can talk later."

Xi Zhen naturally knew this, but Gan Hui had saved her life, and if she couldn't thank him immediately, would she still be human?
Gan Hui and Xi Zhen met up. Xi Zhen's troops retreated first, while Gan Hui personally covered the rear. For a time, Cao's army dared not pursue them.

Gan Hui and Xi Zhen successfully broke through the encirclement, while Xi Hong and Yan Gang to their north were under immense pressure. Cao's reinforcements also arrived on the battlefield, splitting into several routes, one of which was to attack their defensive line.

Fortunately, Gan Hui had successfully rescued Xi Zhen, and at this moment, the reinforcements sent by Liu Feng had also arrived, and the Left Army was beginning to catch up with Cao Cao's army in terms of troop strength.

Even with reinforcements, Cao Cao's army's numerical advantage was not as great as it had been at the start of the battle. This was partly due to the heavy losses suffered by Yin Shu and Jia Xin's armies, and partly due to Gan Ning's early deployment to reinforce the front lines.

After Gan Hui rescued Xi Zhen, he sent his troops to meet Xi Hong and Yan Gang. The Left Guard troops fought and retreated, eventually returning to their own lines. Cao Cao's army, demoralized, was unable to pursue them any further.

Unlike the right wing, which is operating smoothly, the situation on the left wing is much worse.

Liao Hua's troops were slightly stronger than Xi Zhen's, but Liao Hua didn't have a good deputy like Xi Hong.

After he charged into battle, things went well at first, but when he was surrounded, Liao Hua's troops began to waver.

If it weren't for the timely arrival of Du Kui, the deputy general sent by Gan Ning, who reorganized Liao Hua's troops and stabilized the situation, this side would likely have collapsed.

Although Du Kui managed to stabilize the battle lines, it also took him a considerable amount of time.

This meant that by the time Du Kui set out to rescue Liao Hua, Cao Cao's reinforcements had already arrived.

On one hand, Cao Jun launched a fierce attack on Liao Hua's troops, hoping to eliminate them as soon as possible. On the other hand, he reinforced the southern defense line to resist Du Kui, buying time for the rear to deal with Liao Hua.

As a result, the fighting on the left wing was even more intense than on the right wing, with blood flowing like rivers. For every step Du Kui took, he had to pay with two or three corpses of the Left Guards. Moreover, Liao Hua's troops inside were already out of arrows and supplies.

He had already fired all the crossbow bolts in his hand, and the large yellow crossbow had been smashed to prevent it from falling into the hands of Cao Cao's army. The escape route was completely blocked by Cao Cao's soldiers. Although he could see Du Kui's left-wing army flag in the distance, he still could not break through.

The turning point in the battle was Sun Yi. When he arrived, Du Kui was charging fiercely into Cao Cao's lines.

Sun Yi rejected the suggestion of Liu Feng's personal guard commander and did not immediately join the battle to reinforce Du Kui. Instead, he chose to boldly flank from behind.

Sun Yi discovered that Cao Cao's forces were mainly concentrated in the south, while the north was somewhat undefended, and the flanks were not extended due to insufficient troops, which gave him an opportunity to infiltrate.

Next, Sun Yi led Liu Feng's personal guards to lie low and bypass the fierce battleground. They then infiltrated the right flank of Cao Cao's army and, in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, successfully circled around to the north of Cao Cao's army.

In fact, many of Cao Cao's troops saw Sun Yi's army marching, but due to the intensity of the battle, they could not see clearly, and some even mistook Sun Yi's troops for their own reinforcements.

After Sun Yi's troops circled around to the rear of Cao Cao's army, they suddenly launched a fierce attack. Cao Cao's army was caught off guard and Sun Yi broke through.

Sun Yi easily broke through Cao Cao's encirclement and successfully joined Liao Hua.

With the addition of these 500 fresh troops, the morale of Liao Hua's troops was immediately boosted.

Before the advent of modern warfare, morale almost represented the fighting power of an army. Without morale, even an army with an average strength of 100 men would only become prey for civilian laborers. With high morale, even inferior forces could often achieve miraculous victories.

Sun Yi's brilliant move almost reversed the course of the battlefield.

While Liao Hua's troops were greatly encouraged, the morale of Cao Cao's army, which was surrounded on all sides, plummeted.

Despite suffering heavy casualties, Cao Cao's army is still fighting fiercely, determined to eliminate Liao Hua as soon as possible. Sun Yi's arrival and joining the attack shattered Cao Cao's dreams.

Liao Hua's original force of 400 men has been reduced to nearly half in the battle, leaving only about 200 men still capable of fighting.

Cao Cao's army couldn't even take down those two hundred-odd men, and now they have five hundred well-equipped elite troops under Sun Yi. Not to mention Cao Cao's soldiers, even his officers are starting to despair.

Cao's army was greatly demoralized and lost its spirit. Sun Yi made a decisive move and did not choose to open a gap in the north. Instead, he used his own troops as the vanguard to replace Liao Hua's troops and headed directly south.

As Sun Yi predicted, Cao Cao's army was clearly exhausted and could only hold out for a few dozen breaths before it began to retreat to the flanks.

Sun Yi did not pursue them, but instead protected Liao Hua's troops and charged out, retreating back to their main camp with Du Kui's support.

This battle, though it seemed long, actually lasted only half an hour, yet both sides suffered considerable casualties.

Liao Hua and Xi Zhen each led four hundred elite troops into battle, but only slightly more than half of them returned alive, including many seriously wounded, with almost everyone sustaining injuries.

The reinforcements also suffered heavy casualties. Due to the high intensity of the battle, Gan Ning's troops under Gan Hui and Du Kui lost more than 120 men and were wounded more than 280 men, which was almost equivalent to the direct loss of an entire Qu army.

This doesn't even include casualties on the main battlefield; the Left Army suffered at least a thousand casualties.

While the Left Guard Army suffered heavy casualties, Cao Cao's army was no less devastated, and perhaps even more so.

After all, the flanks of Yin Shu and Jia Xin had been destroyed by Liao Hua and Xi Zhen, which was not a ploy to lure the enemy, but a real and crushing defeat.

Although the subsequent counter-encirclement was successful, the casualties were also heavy, with the number of dead and wounded even exceeding that of the Left Army.

In summary, Cao Cao's army suffered losses of over two thousand men, more than double that of the Left Guard Army. Moreover, the Cao Cao army lost its own elite troops, not Liu Zhang's Shu army or Zhang Lu's Hanzhong army.

According to this figure, it seems that the Left Army should have won, but in reality, it cannot be calculated that way.

Because the battlefield was within Cao Cao's lines, the Left Guard Army only broke through the encirclement and left the battlefield still under Cao Cao's control. Therefore, the corpses, armor, and weapons left on the battlefield were all collected by Cao Cao's army.

In this battle, the Left Guard Army lost at least two or three hundred sets of iron armor and hundreds of various long and short weapons, suffering considerable losses.

From this perspective, the failure seems to resemble that of the Left Curtain Army.

It can only be said that this was a lose-lose battle with no winners, comparable to a Pyrrhic victory, where both sides were losers.

However, the war is still ongoing, and whoever can learn from the lessons and make timely improvements is likely to have the last laugh.

On the main battlefield of the Left Army, Liu Feng had been watching the battle situation until Sun Yi detoured north, at which point he finally showed a slight smile.

(End of this chapter)