My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 667 Invading Fandunqiu

"Although Shubi is still young, he is well-versed in military strategy and possesses considerable tactical acumen. In this battle, he observed the enemy with remarkable clarity and astute judgment, choosing not to attack the enemy's fortified positions but instead using light troops to outflank and swiftly attack their flanks and rear. Furthermore, he anticipated the enemy's moves and broke through the encirclement with lightning speed before Cao Cao's reinforcements arrived, joining forces with General Liao Hua's troops. Shubi deserves credit for this victory."

After Sun Yi successfully rescued Liao Hua's troops, Liu Feng's expression visibly relaxed, and he immediately began to praise him.

Listening to Liu Feng's praise, Sun Quan's face showed envy, and he also felt a little annoyed and regretful.

Actually, he had wanted to volunteer earlier, but he was too late and Sun Yi beat him to it.

This is actually quite normal. When Sun Ce surrendered, Sun Quan had already come of age, while Sun Yi was still a child. This was a significant turning point.

If Liu Feng hadn't spared the Sun family, Sun Quan would most likely have died alongside Sun Ce, while Sun Yi would have had a much higher chance of surviving.

Secondly, Sun Quan and Sun Yi had completely different personalities.

Sun Yi's personality is more like Sun Ce's. He has a fiery temper, is straightforward, likes military affairs, and dislikes politics. He is a low-end version of Sun Ce, lacking Sun Ce's strengths but even more so in terms of weaknesses.

Sun Quan's personality differed from that of Sun Ce and Sun Yi, but only in some aspects.

The difference lies in the fact that Sun Quan possessed a natural political talent, but the three brothers were identical in their youth in terms of frivolity and bravery.

Sun Quan's personality was a huge arc; he was like two different people in his youth and old age. In his youth, Sun Quan was not lacking in courage and was almost as arrogant and conceited as Sun Ce.

During the first and second Battles of Hefei, Sun Quan personally led the troops on the front lines, even covering the rear. Regardless of his military capabilities, Sun Quan at this stage was certainly not lacking in courage. Furthermore, Sun Quan had a fondness for tiger hunting and frequently hunted in Jiangdong, including the famous incident of shooting a tiger on horseback.

The tiger was startled and became extremely ferocious. It turned around and pounced on Sun Quan's mount, scratching at the saddle with its sharp claws. If it weren't for the quick reaction of the guard Zhang Shi, who used his halberd to strike the tiger and force it to retreat, and Sun Quan himself remaining calm and fearless, drawing his bow and shooting at the tiger, he might have ended up in the tiger's mouth.

Even after this incident, Sun Quan remained enthusiastic about hunting tigers, demonstrating that his inherent frivolity and recklessness stemmed from the same lineage as Sun Jian, Sun Ce, and Sun Yi.

Therefore, it was reasonable for Sun Quan to request to fight at this time, and it was also normal for him to have concerns and not be as decisive as Sun Yi.

However, Sun Quan was different from Sun Yi. Although Sun Quan was also brave and adventurous, his political talent was quite high. Although he had just begun to show his talent, he had already made remarkable progress.

Previously, Sun Quan had been sent to serve as a county magistrate by Liu Feng, and then recalled to his side. He was extremely cautious and walked on thin ice.

However, since offering his advice at the beginning of the year, Liu Feng's attitude towards Sun Quan has changed, and he has also frequently sought Sun Quan's opinion.

This undoubtedly caused a change in Sun Quan's mind, making him more anxious and insecure. He wanted to gain more favor and attention from Liu Feng, but he was also worried that his words and actions might affect Liu Feng's opinion of him.

It was precisely because of this difference that Sun Yi was able to volunteer for battle immediately, while Sun Quan had more time to consider his options. Now, seeing his younger brother being highly praised by Liu Feng, while he himself had missed a great opportunity due to his caution, Sun Quan felt a slight pang of jealousy amidst his joy.

However, Sun Quan was unaware that even if he volunteered, Liu Feng would choose Sun Yi over him.

Liu Feng was already well aware of Sun Quan's military prowess, so he could only politely decline to participate.

After successfully rescuing Liao Hua and Xi Zhen's troops, the fierce battle between the two sides came to an end.

This does not mean that both sides have ceased hostilities, but rather that they are redeploying their troops and reorganizing to prepare for the upcoming major battle.

On the Left Curtain Army side, Liao Hua and Xi Zhen's troops retreated to the second line, and Gan Ning's troops stepped forward to take over their battle line. Meanwhile, Sun Yi and Zhou Jun's troops had been assigned by Liu Feng to Gan Ning for unified command.

As a result, the number of Left Army troops on the front line increased to more than 6,000.

The Cao army on the opposite side did the same. Niu Jin and Chang Diao replaced Jia Xin and Yin Shu as the first-line troops, while Jia Xin and Yin Shu, after being replaced to the second line, took the time to rest and reorganize their troops.

The atmosphere in Cao Cao's main camp was far less relaxed than that on Liu Feng's side.

The opportunity had been so excellent, yet they had failed to seize it, which greatly angered Cao Ang and Sima Yi. However, they couldn't very well blame the frontline generals, since it was Yin Shu and Jia Xin who had created that opportunity. If they were to truly reprimand the two for this, it would not only be seen as being overly harsh on them, but it would also undermine the morale of the troops on the front lines.

Cao Ang was getting impatient. He turned to Sima Yi and asked, "Zhongda, should we allocate more troops to strengthen the vanguard?"

"No."

Although Sima Yi was also anxious, he flatly rejected Cao Ang's suggestion.

"My lord, the battlefield is currently too narrow. Even with thousands of troops, it is difficult to make full use of our strengths. If we add more troops, they will only pile up in front of the enemy lines, which will only deplete the morale of our soldiers and will not help the overall battle. Instead, it will weaken our army and exhaust our soldiers."

Cao Ang was still unwilling to give up and asked again, "If we had sent several hundred more elite soldiers to guard the key points, how could that young general's light troops have outflanked us, broken our formation, and rescued Liao Hua?"

Sima Yi shook his head, his expression serious: "Our initial deployment was already sufficient in terms of troop strength. However, the generals and officers of the vanguard were only focused on engaging the enemy in front, neglecting the defense of the flanks. This allowed the enemy general to take advantage of the situation and maneuver around us. This was a mistake in the deployment, not a lack of troops. If we continue to send more troops, it will only damage our morale, while the enemy on the left flank will be well-rested and ready to fight. Although the situation may not be clear at first, we will surely fall into their trap after a long battle. At that time, we may lose all our advantage and be controlled by them."

Although Cao Ang was still slightly unwilling, reason told him that Sima Yi was right, so he could only reluctantly shut up and adopt Sima Yi's advice.

However, Cao Ang's attention was soon drawn to the changes at the front, and he could no longer pay attention to these things.

There was a brief moment of calm between the two sides' battle lines. Just as the bugle calls of both armies resounded through the sky and the battle in the central area was about to break out again, a huge cheer suddenly came from the east.

Liu Feng and Cao Ang's expressions changed, and they both climbed up to look to the right.

A large breach was suddenly seen in Cao Cao's camp on the right flank of Fandun Hill, and a steady stream of black-clad soldiers from the Left Guard were pouring in.

Rewinding to the beginning, after Wen Ping's rockets hit the wooden fence, they suddenly burst into flames.

Immediately afterwards, the catapults continuously hurled leather sacks filled with black liquid onto the wooden fence, then shot them open with crossbow bolts, causing the black liquid to flow out and burn even hotter upon contact with sparks.

Upon seeing this, Shi Huan felt a pang of anxiety and immediately ordered the area to be filled with sand.

They quickly discovered that the sandbags had caused heavy casualties, but had little effect on the flames. Because of the black liquid, the flames clung to the entire wooden fence, and the sandbags only suppressed the flames on the ground surface, while the flames on the ground quickly seeped out from the gaps in the sandbags.

To extinguish the fire with sand, sandbags would have to be piled over the wooden fence, but this would actually give the Zuo Mu army a passage to climb the stockade.

Left with no other choice, Shi Huan had to adjust his tactics, retreating the giant shield wagons and then using the terrain to set up a second line of defense.

In this way, although Cao Cao's army had a backup defense line, the strongest wooden palisade defense line was essentially abandoned.

Sure enough, without the sand to obstruct it, the flames burned even more fiercely, and the wooden fence kept crackling and popping. In just fifteen minutes, it was burned to charcoal.

At this moment, Zuo Mujun used the hook rope to pull hard in multiple places and completely pulled down the entire row of wooden fences.

With a loud crash, a section of the wooden fence, more than ten meters long, collapsed, revealing the camp inside.

Under Wen Ping's command, the Zuo Mu army did not charge immediately, because Wen Ping knew very well that such a camp could not be protected by only one layer of walls.

A rash charge would only expose one's own soldiers to enemy crossfire.

Even if the Left Army is well-equipped, it will still suffer heavy losses under such firepower.

Just as Wen Ping had predicted, Shi Huan had already deployed four hundred archers inside, setting up a net on the giant shield wagons. He was waiting for the Left Guard Army to rush into the breach, be blocked in front by the giant shield wagons, and be unable to retreat behind due to the reinforcements from his own side.

When the enemy is caught in a dilemma, that is the opportunity for Cao Cao's army to reap the greatest victory.

However, after the wooden fence was destroyed, the Zuo Mu army did not manage to enter the camp for a long time. As time passed, Shi Huan's face kept showing surprise and doubt.

Shi Huan was standing on the top of a high building, trying to look out of the camp.

Although the fire had been extinguished, the thick smoke still lingered in the air, making it impossible for him to see the situation on the other side for the time being.

Just as Shi Huan was about to send out scouts to investigate, another whooshing sound came, and seven or eight leather bags were thrown in, hitting the giant shield cart directly in front of the breach.

"not good!"

Shi Huan was immediately alarmed and hurriedly ordered, "Send word immediately to have the giant shield wagon retreat."

Shi Huan had realized that the Left Guard Army not only did not charge into the camp, but also guessed Cao Cao's army's backup plan and wanted to repeat the same trick of breaking through the camp's walls.

However, the Left Army's catapults had already closed in and were firing again, and by then it was too late to retreat.

Accompanying the black leather bag were hundreds of rockets, including more than ten ballista bolts, and many more bow and crossbow bolts. These arrows flew haphazardly through the air, but a few always managed to land on the black liquid and ignite it.

Shi Huan was both surprised and anxious, never expecting that his two seemingly impregnable defenses would be breached by the opponent in just half an hour.

Now Shi Huan only has the last inner wall left, but this inner wall is far less tall and sturdy than the outer wall, and the area it protects is smaller. Originally designed, the inner wall was intended to protect the wounded and logistical supplies, making it a small outpost.

If the outer wall is breached, troops can be calmly and safely assembled for a counterattack under the protection of the inner wall. They can even rely on the remaining outer wall and the giant shield wagons to annihilate the enemy troops that have broken into the camp in one fell swoop.

The outer wall has indeed been breached, but the breach is astonishingly large, stretching over twenty meters, and even the giant shield wagon has been mostly burned.

Such a large-scale breach allowed the Left Guard Army to advance at will. The inner wall, without the support of the outer wall, had lost most of its counterattack capability. Moreover, given the nature of the inner wall, it was difficult to defend alone, and even if one wanted to, the inner camp could not accommodate four thousand Cao troops.

Shi Huan had no choice but to organize his armored soldiers to assemble behind the giant shield chariot, awaiting close-quarters combat. Only when both sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat would the Left Guard Army's firepower advantage be limited.

After the giant shield wagons that had been set ablaze were completely burned, Wen Ping's troops waited for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to allow the smoke to dissipate somewhat before slowly emerging from the gap in the outer wall and appearing in Cao Cao's sight.

Wen took the lead and stepped into the camp of Fandunqiu first, with a wet burlap sack tied around his face.

The Left Army behind him, shouting "Victory!", marched into Fandun Hill in an endless stream and began to form ranks behind Wenze.

"Gentlemen, General Zuo said before the battle that whoever breaks through this camp will receive the greatest credit."

Wen rested his long-handled battle axe on his shoulder, turned around and shouted to his trusted armored soldiers behind him, "Now that we are about to defeat the enemy, the credit will be mine!"

"With the enemy about to be defeated, I will be the one to claim the greatest credit!"

The soldiers behind Wen Ze shouted in unison, their eyes red as they looked at Cao's army opposite them, as if they were recognizing the merits of each of their actions.

"Gentlemen, General Cao has entrusted us with the important task of guarding this camp, as we are the elite troops."

On the other side, Shi Huan had already sent out his trusted general Mu Li, who shouted loudly, "If we cannot hold this camp, how will we have the face to go back and see the General, see General Cao, see the General again?"

"The Left Army is nothing more than a head and two shoulders. They die the same way if their heads are chopped off, and they are injured the same way if their arms are chopped off."

Muli shouted at the top of his lungs, "Today, I will fight alongside you all! The Han army is mighty!"

The next moment, two elite armies, both shouting the might of the Han army, launched a fearless charge towards each other.

The distance of several dozen steps flashed by, and then the fully armed armored warriors clashed violently together. In the first round alone, many of them were knocked unconscious and coughed up blood.

The brutal and intense melee combat went straight to its climax from the start. Both sides fought fiercely, with soldiers constantly being cut down. The lightly wounded would get up and continue fighting, while the seriously wounded would draw their short weapons to attack the shins of the enemy soldiers.

Judging from the situation, Cao's army was gaining a slight advantage. After all, they still had the remaining giant shield wagons to provide cover. Archers stood on the giant shield wagons to provide close-range fire support from a high position. Moreover, their wounded and exhausted soldiers were easier to rotate than those of the Left Guard Army.

(End of this chapter)