With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 181, Dividing the Forces to Cross the River

Guo Jia deeply resonated with Cao Cao's lament, saying, "My lord, as you know, I also went to Ji Province at the beginning, intending to join Yuan Shao. Just as you said, Yuan Shao is indeed famous throughout the land, and many people are attracted by his glamorous appearance. Not only me, but Wenruo was also by Yuan Shao's side at the beginning."

Cao Cao nodded. His two top strategists had initially chosen Yuan Shao as their advisor.

Cao Cao harbored some envy towards Yuan Shao.

Most scholars would choose Yuan Shao as their first choice, as Yuan Shao's advantages were too obvious compared to Cao Cao.

With status, position, good reputation, and good temperament, one's future is bright!
Changing the subject, Guo Jia continued, "But I didn't stay by Yuan Shao's side for long before I left, because Yuan Shao was not a wise ruler. He was good at planning but indecisive, fierce in appearance but cowardly in reality, and had no opinions of his own. He always hesitated and looked back before acting. No matter how great his reputation or how strong his power was, he would hardly achieve great things."

"Your Excellency appoints the virtuous and capable, and has great ambitions. In terms of both ambition and talent, you far surpass Yuan Shao. More importantly, Your Excellency is decisive and resolute in your actions. Sometimes, when faced with a problem, it is not necessary to choose the best solution. Rather, once an opportunity arises, you must make a decision immediately and not miss the opportunity."

Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao seriously as he said this, "My lord never hesitates when it comes to matters. Just for this reason, you are a hundred times better than Yuan Shao!"

Cao Cao laughed heartily. Seeing that Yuan's army was about to cross the river, he had to temporarily stop his conversation with Guo Jia. He immediately summoned a personal guard and ordered, "Send word to Xiahou Yuan that once Yuan's army reaches the middle of the river, attack immediately!"

The messenger received the order and rushed off, while thousands of Cao Cao's archers strode forward, their cold arrows aimed directly at the center of the river.

Before long, the assembled catapult vehicle slowly advanced forward, entering the pre-selected position according to its firing range.

Piles of stones were also brought over by Cao's soldiers, ready to be thrown by the trebuchets at any time.

Under Liu Ye's command, the subsequent trebuchets are also being assembled at an accelerated pace.

This is the quality that Guo Jia most highly regarded in Cao Cao!
Opportunities are fleeting; rather than procrastinating, it's better to seize the moment and act decisively.

Whenever Yuan Shao encountered a problem, he would always gather a large group of people together. At first glance, it seemed that he was very fair and allowed everyone to express their opinions. Everyone had a chance to speak, but the more people offered suggestions, the more likely they were to have different opinions.

You say east, he says west; you say attack, he says defend. In such situations, Yuan Shao often finds himself in a dilemma, making decisions based entirely on personal preference. As a result, he makes a series of foolish moves, letting opportunities slip away.

The battle was about to begin, and the more critical the moment, the calmer Cao Cao became. He said to Guo Jia, "Fengxiao, although Yuan Shao has more than 200,000 troops, don't worry, it won't be so easy for him to cross the river!"

Guo Jia nodded vigorously, "On this point, I am just as certain as you are, my lord!"

"Then who do you think is more decisive, me or His Majesty?"

Cao Cao often liked to compare himself with Liu Xie. After asking the question, he stared intently at Guo Jia, not missing any subtle changes in Guo Jia's expression.

Guo Jia frowned slightly. "This is indeed a difficult question to answer. His Majesty's several counterattacks are enough to show that he will not hesitate once an opportunity arises. But if we have to compare them, I think that our lord is more decisive. His Majesty is gentle and kind, and this personality trait will more or less influence his decision-making!"

As the two were talking, Yuan Shao's vanguard had already arrived in the middle of the river on bamboo rafts. Tens of thousands of Yuan soldiers were densely packed, almost covering the river surface, a huge, dark mass. But the more this scene was presented, the more Cao Cao's fighting spirit was aroused.

He enjoyed challenges; if the opponent was too weak, Cao Cao found it uninteresting.

Xiahou Yuan, mounted on his horse, gazed ahead, his broadsword raised high above his head. His eyes suddenly turned icy cold. Then, he slashed the sword through the air and brought it down forcefully, shouting, "Attack!"

In an instant, countless arrows were quickly drawn back to full strength, the bowstrings twanging loudly. Swish, swish, swish, countless arrows shot into the air with astonishing speed, and then fell all at once on the heads of Yuan's soldiers.

Arrows rained down mercilessly. Because there were so many Yuan soldiers, it was not even necessary to aim; it was not easy to miss.

Cao's archers shouted in unison, their longbows bending rapidly as arrows whistled out, heading straight for Yuan's soldiers who were crossing the river.

Yuan Bing was crossing the river, making movement very difficult, and dodging was extremely challenging.

One by one, they were struck by arrows, their screams echoing. Some of the Yuan soldiers, their bodies contorted in agony as they fell into the river, crying out in terror. Others were killed instantly by a single arrow. More and more fell into the water, splashing up sprays that quickly turned the river a deep crimson.

A dense rain of arrows filled the sky, obscuring half the heavens. The Yuan soldiers crossing the river were brought to a standstill. The arrows were so dense that with each step forward, the range of the arrows would shorten, and the number of casualties would increase.

Before long, Liu Ye's trebuchet began to prove its power.

Archers could use the raised earthen mounds to shoot arrows from a high vantage point, with a range exceeding one hundred meters, while trebuchets could reach two or three hundred meters.

Boom boom boom!
Like thunderclaps exploding in mid-air, one after another huge black shadow flew across the sky and mercilessly fell towards Yuan Bing.

The ear-piercing roar carried far and wide; even Yuan Shao, who was quite far away, could hear the booming sound, and the ground beneath his feet trembled.

The Yuan soldiers crossing the river had nowhere to hide; their numbers were too dense, making them all easy targets.

With so many people, it's hard to hit them off target no matter how you throw stones, and it's hard to shoot them off target no matter how you shoot arrows.

Yuan's soldiers plummeted into hell, their screams echoing as Cao Cao witnessed scene after scene of carnage.

With a loud thud, the flying stone struck a soldier on the head, instantly splattering blood as his head was smashed open like a watermelon.

With tremendous force, the stone landed on the raft, breaking another plank and causing the already flimsy raft to creak and groan, as if it were about to fall apart at any moment.

Some stones flew directly across the river and crashed into the crowd of Yuan's soldiers on the bank, causing them to panic and run around in all directions.

With a series of loud bangs, the stone projectiles launched by the trebuchets soared into the sky, drawing terrifying arcs as they hurtled towards Yuan's soldiers.

Screams, wails, and groans mingled together, blood and flesh flew everywhere, a truly gruesome sight.

Even the Yuan soldiers who hadn't quite died after falling into the water weren't safe. Under the relentless bombardment of the trebuchets, they had nowhere to hide. They were hit by stones in the water, their heads exploding completely. Soon, the water was covered with corpses.

Boom boom boom!
The boulders roared and the attacks continued. Cao Cao was also shocked by the power of the trebuchets and couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty was truly farsighted, having already improved the trebuchets before the war even began."

Guo Jia nodded in praise, "Indeed, Your Majesty always has ingenious ideas and brings a refreshing performance. This trebuchet can be used for both attacking and defending."

With bows and arrows combined, and trebuchets firing in unison, the dense barrage of arrows could attack indiscriminately, while the powerful trebuchets unleashed a devastating barrage. The combined force was terrifying.

Although they were only a hundred or two meters away from the south bank, the distance seemed like an insurmountable chasm. Xiahou Yuan personally commanded the attack, which continued wave after wave. The mournful cries filled the entire world. Countless Yuan soldiers were killed or wounded. Many rafts and bamboo rafts were also smashed and dismembered on the spot by the continuous bombardment of flying stones.

More and more people are falling into the water, and more and more bodies are appearing in the water.

Guo Jia laughed and said, "The Thunder Chariots are only half assembled. Once they are all assembled, there will be a full thousand of them, and their power will double. The effect is simply unimaginable."

Under the protection of Chunyu Qiong and others, Yuan Shao retreated far away, thinking he could easily cross the river. Unexpectedly, this was the situation he was in.

Ju Shou found an arrow tower, disregarded the danger, climbed up, and looked across the river. He finally got a clear look at the true form of the trebuchet.

It was quite different from the old-fashioned catapults, but the principle was the same. It was larger and more robustly designed. Hundreds of them were lined up densely on the south bank, which shocked Ju Shou.

Ju Shou hurriedly descended from the arrow tower and approached Yuan Shao, saying, "My lord, there are hundreds of catapults on the other side of the river. You have seen their power; they are twice as powerful as the original catapults, with a longer range and greater lethality."

Yuan Shao was momentarily flustered and frowned, saying, "Then how should we deal with this? Should we temporarily stop crossing the river?"

Ju Shou pondered for a long time before saying, "I suggest that the troops be divided and not all concentrated in one place. Whether upstream or downstream, as long as some soldiers can cross the river smoothly, Cao Cao's army will inevitably panic, and the pressure of crossing the river head-on will be greatly reduced."

Xu You also agreed to divide the troops, and Yuan Shao immediately nodded in agreement.

However, Ju Shou was clever, and Guo Jia was not stupid either.

Yuan Shao divided his troops to cross the river. Yuan Shao's strategist Guo Yuan chose a low-lying area downstream and led three thousand men to successfully reach the south bank. However, before Guo Yuan could even catch his breath in celebration, a deafening battle cry suddenly erupted from the dense forest on the bank, and countless cold arrows shot down mercilessly.

Arrows rained down like a storm, and screams erupted around Guo Yuan as he watched helplessly as his deputy was pierced through the neck by an arrow.

"There's an ambush!"

"We've been fooled!"

The rain of arrows continued relentlessly, and before the panicked Yuan soldiers could even see who was ambushing them, hundreds had been killed or wounded.

"Kill!"

General Yue Jin roared and, like a tiger descending the mountain, led his men out of the bushes.

With his large, round eyes wide open, Yue Jin charged swiftly into the enemy ranks, cleaving one of Yuan soldiers in two with a single stroke. Before the blood on his blade could even drip off, he decisively moved on to the next man.

Le Jin was unstoppable, and the soldiers he brought were all elite troops. The men roared and shouted battle cries as they charged madly at the panicked Yuan soldiers, giving them a heavy blow.

Guo Yuan was merely a strategist. Seeing that Yue Jin and his men were as fierce as wolves and tigers, and that Yuan's soldiers had suffered heavy casualties in the blink of an eye, Guo Yuan was terrified. He hurriedly turned around and led his men back.

Le Jin killed more than a thousand enemies with only a few dozen casualties.

Upstream, Yuan Shao dispatched his general Yan Rou, who was skilled in archery and horsemanship and had superb martial arts skills. He considered himself very clever and chose to do so at night, hoping to sneak up to the south bank and launch a surprise attack on Cao Cao's army from behind without anyone noticing.

Yan Rou also led three thousand men. The night fog was thick, and the river surface in early autumn was hazy. The darkness provided excellent cover.

Yan Rou led her people to quietly approach the south bank. When they were still dozens of meters away from the shore, a splash suddenly appeared next to a raft, and then a head popped out of the water.

Yuan Bing on the raft cried out in alarm. Before they could figure out what was happening, the raft was overturned by a sudden force.

"oops…"

No fewer than four or five of Yuan's soldiers fell into the water, churning and splashing around. Some of them couldn't swim and struggled wildly, flailing their arms and legs in terror.

Someone was shouting for help, but the more they shouted, the more water they drank, with bubbles coming out of their mouths.

A faint ray of moonlight shone through the sky, but it was still difficult to see clearly.

"There's someone in the water!" someone exclaimed.

Beneath the raft, water began to surge and splash, and one head after another emerged.

The leader, carrying a large knife, was half-naked, revealing a muscular physique; he was none other than Gan Ning of Jinfan.

Soon, torches were lit on the shore, and Chen Gong accompanied Liu Xie, with Zhao Yun and Lü Bu also nearby.

Liu Xie looked at Chen Gong and praised him, "Gongtai, you and Guo Jia have the same idea. You both think that Yuan Shao will divide his troops. Le Jin went downstream, while we chose to go upstream. With us here, none of them will be able to get over."

Chen Gong was always steady in his actions, unlike Guo Jia who was quick-witted.

Guo Jia will likely come up with a solution in a very short time, while Chen Gong will need to take a little longer.

Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Zhou Yu, and Zhuge Liang were all top-notch strategists, and Chen Gong was slightly inferior to them.

Seeing figures appear on the shore, Yan Rou and her group panicked even more. "Oh no, they were prepared!"

"You should take care of yourself first." Gan Ning laughed and jumped from the water onto Yan Rou's raft.

Yan Rou's raft was only slightly larger than the others, and not very sturdy. Gan Ning was barefoot and covered in water, but he laughed heartily.

Because he is Jin Fan Gan Ning, whose swimming skills are top-notch.

The brothers who followed him back then were all good swimmers. People only knew that Gan Ning was very good at fighting on land, but in fact, he was even better in the water!
As soon as he landed, Gan Ning laughed and jumped up, then landed again and jumped up again.

Gan Ning possessed astonishing strength, leaping several times in succession, and soon the raft could no longer support him.

(End of this chapter)