My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 666: Sweeping away the remnants of the storm, the problem is solved
Guan Yu’s landing point was only a dozen miles away from Cao Ren’s camp.

Moreover, Cao Ren had a large number of troops and a vast garrison. The westernmost outer troop under his command was only seven or eight miles away from Guan Yu.

So when he learned that Cao Ren had ordered part of his troops to cross the Han River by boat and retreat to the north, Guan Yu decisively set out, crossed the river and launched a forced march in pursuit. After running for only half an hour, he encountered Cao Ren's troops.

Cao's army originally stationed nearly 100,000 troops on the south bank of the Han River in order to first annihilate Gao Shun and then seek a decisive battle with Guan Yu's main force - this did not include the garrison left in Xiangyang City, nor did it include the necessary troops to stay in the Xianshan camp.

This time, Guan Yu's flood killed 20,000 to 30,000 Cao's troops, and caused several thousand to flee back to Xiangyang City. There were still 50,000 to 60,000 Cao Ren's troops left in the encirclement.

Xu Huang and Guo Jia did not send enough small boats from Fancheng to carry so many people at once. They ferried people across two or three times, and only carried 10,000 people each time.

Although Cao's navy from other directions could also come to reinforce, they were farther away and had no time to get the news or arrive in time. For example, the Cao's navy that stayed in Xiangyang City was farther away from the battlefield than Chen Dao's chariot troops. When they arrived, Chen Dao had already intercepted them.

Therefore, Xu Huang had just helped Cao Ren evacuate 20,000 to 30,000 people. Chen Dao's cavalry troops followed the Yuliangzhou waterway and entered the main stream of the Han River between Xiang and Fan. Guan Yu's land forces also arrived at the front of Cao Ren's rear guard troops at almost the same time.

When Guan Yu arrived, Cao Ren himself had already boarded the boat. On the Han River, he looked back at Guan Yu's flag and was secretly shocked. He did not expect Guan Yu to arrive so quickly.

"Guan Yu was very perceptive. He immediately guessed that Feng Xiao was trying to persuade me to abandon Xiangyang and retreat to Fancheng on the north bank. Then he dared to cross the river and pursue my rear army.

Fortunately, I left Wen Ze behind to cover the retreat, and divided my troops to break out in the direction of Xiangyang to cover up the situation, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."

Even though he was thinking this, Cao Ren could not muster the courage to turn back and fight to the death. He just ordered his men to row the boats faster and quickly flee to the north bank, trying to save as many time as possible to escape.

At the same time, on the south bank of the Han River, the confrontation between Yu Jin and Guan Yu soon broke out.

Yu Jin was ordered to lead the rear troops to retreat to Xiangyang and cover the main force. Seeing Guan Yu's arrival, Yu Jin had to bite the bullet and turn back to fight.

Moreover, Guan Yu took the initiative to cross the Yuliangzhou waterway and attacked, and before the battle he even forced a march of ten miles and crossed a river.

This more or less allowed Yu Jin to rest and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, slightly narrowing the physical fitness gap between the soldiers on both sides.

Although Guan Yu's army was in high spirits and eager to fight, physically speaking, the soldiers felt a little weak in their limbs and their physical strength was declining.

Seeing Guan Yu coming towards him, Yu Jin decisively led his troops in a counterattack, which even scared Guan Yu for a while.

Of course, Yu Jin was not stupid. He only commanded his troops to launch a counterattack, but he himself did not dare to lead the charge.

Are you kidding? Guan Yu is leading the team on the other side. Who among the Cao army generals dares to lead the charge? Guan Yu has been famous for thirteen years. Everyone in the world knows Guan Yu's bravery.

(Note: This "13-year fame" is counted from the time when Guan Yu defeated Ji Ling and Liu Xun in Huaiyin. Before that, Guan Yu had no record of defeating more than 10,000 enemies, and they were all small fights.)
"Yu Wen Ze actually still has the strength to counterattack? This is really unexpected! Well done!" After his initial haste and surprise, Guan Yu quickly became excited, went to the front line in person, galloped on his horse, and urged his troops to attack with all their might.

"The Cao bandits are at the end of their rope! Sooner or later we will drive these enemy troops into the river. Generals, you must fight hard and move forward!"

Guan Yu's troops rushed forward with all their might, and soon they were entangled with Yu Jin's troops in a desperate battle.

The number of troops left at Yu Jin's disposal was similar to that of Guan Yu, but as they were retreating, low morale was inevitable.

When Yu Jin just organized the counterattack, because the previous batch of fleets had just left the shore with full loads, there were no boats on the river beach for the waiting Cao army to escape, so they had to fight to the death.

These Cao troops were fighting like trapped beasts, pouncing and biting like desperate dogs, and Guan Yu's offensive was unable to make a breakthrough for a while.

Even though Guan Yu's army was better equipped and had better combat qualities, and was able to achieve a better casualty exchange ratio in the battle, it was ultimately a tough battle and was not worth celebrating.

Fortunately, Guan Yu was sharp-sighted and quickly realized this after observing the situation on the battlefield.

He ordered his troops to rest temporarily after a wave of offensives.

Several of his generals were so angry that they came to Guan Yu to ask for battle and asked why he suddenly stopped the offensive.

Guan Yu just pointed at the Han River calmly and analyzed: "Yu Jin's basic skills in commanding the army are still solid. In such a difficult situation, he can still make Cao's army maintain military discipline and fight to the death. He is a worthy opponent.

Cao Ren had just had hundreds of small boats leave the shore and head north. Judging from the size of the fleet and the size of the boats, it was likely that they could carry 10,000 people. The crossing to the Han River was about three miles long, or six miles round trip, and it would take half an hour to make a trip.

Now the Cao bandits on the shore have no way to retreat, and they are fighting like mad dogs to survive. This desperate fight is not a good opportunity for our army to advance. Wait another quarter of an hour, when the fleet on the north shore comes back to pick up people, we will move forward together, and the enemy army will be in chaos. By then, even if Yu Jin is an iron-clad soldier, he will not be able to restrain his troops' will to survive! "

Upon hearing this, all the generals thought it made sense and did not insist any further. Instead, they let the troops that were rotating out take a quarter of an hour to rest in preparation for the next battle.

……

In contrast, after discovering that Guan Yu's army had stopped its offensive and retreated slightly, most of the Cao army generals who were still left on the south bank of the Han River breathed a sigh of relief.

They all felt that General Yu was indeed a master at finding victory in defeat, and his resilience was truly extraordinary, as he was able to defeat Guan Yu in this way!

Only Yu Jin himself couldn't feel relaxed at all.

His face was as gloomy as iron, and his knuckles were tightly gripping the hilt of his sword, almost causing veins on the back of his hand to bulge.

Yu Jin knew clearly: "Guan Yu is planning to wait for our fleet to return and wait for the next batch of soldiers to retreat before launching a full-scale attack. He will take advantage of the opportunity when everyone in our army is trying to escape first and drive our army into the Han River and drown them!"

Unfortunately, even though he knew it, he was helpless and could only watch it all happen slowly.

What else could he do? Launch a desperate counterattack against Guan Yu, and then try to break through Guan Yu's defense line from land and break out?

He could only think about this kind of thing. He knew that with his own strength and the remaining troops at hand, it was impossible to do it.

In other words, even if he succeeded, with only 30,000 people left, his losses would definitely be more than 20,000.

Moreover, those who broke out still remained on the south bank of the Han River and could only retreat to Xiangyang City.

In Cao Ren's plan, Xiangyang City was already a pawn that was abandoned to delay the war. It would be useless to leave more soldiers in the future. On the contrary, if there were too many people eating up the food, it would affect the duration of the defense.

Therefore, Yu Jin could only wait even though he knew he was waiting to die.

Because waiting to die would at least ensure that one third of the remaining people could escape back to the north shore. If they could hold out for a little longer, the number of people who could escape successfully could be even greater.

After Guan Yu's army temporarily retreated, Yu Jin not only had no intention of advancing, but instead ordered his soldiers to dig trenches on the river beach and push all the carts and bags that could be found and discarded in the camp to the outside as cover to delay Guan Yu's subsequent attack.

After a quarter of an hour of hard work, the defense line was finally hastily established. The fleet sent by Xu Huang from the north bank also finally arrived safely, docked and began to receive the next batch of retreating troops.

Yu Jin nervously controlled the troops and personally inspected and enforced military discipline while shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Each army must guard their positions! No action is allowed without military orders! Those who act without authorization will be punished by military law! Only troops that have received the order to retreat can board the ship!"

Yu Jin's military orders were strict, and a considerable number of troops were still frightened. There were also some timid people who wanted to jump into the river to escape, so Yu Jin personally led the military law team to search and kill along the coast. If they encountered anyone who jumped into the river to escape, they would be beheaded on the spot.

Some of them escaped far away, jumping into the Han River and swam several feet away, out of reach of swords and spears, so Yu Jin ordered his men to shoot them with arrows.

Even if they managed to avoid the rain of arrows, the soldiers on the ship would not allow deserters who swam over to board the ship, and anyone who dared to cling to the side of the ship would have their hands chopped off.

Under the strict authority, attempts to escape have been more or less blocked.

However, this can only be achieved without external pressure.

As Guan Yu's army on the opposite side keenly captured this situation and launched another charge, the situation was completely different.

Even though Yu Jin had seized the time to dig trenches and pile up carts and baggage to form a temporary defense line, Cao's army was still in obvious chaos when Guan Yu's troops rushed forward. Guan Yu's troops shouted various slogans to persuade them to surrender, and while charging, they also hit the morale of Cao's army.

It was nothing more than shouting, "The Cao bandits are doomed. Only 30,000 of our 100,000-man army have been killed! If you don't surrender, you will surely die!"

Or, "Yu Jin, you've been sold out by Cao Ren! Why are your brothers risking their lives for Cao Ren?"

"These bastards even killed their own people who jumped into the river to escape. The only way to survive is to surrender to the general!"

Guan Yu's method of attacking people's hearts was very effective.

Yu Jin was originally struggling to hold out, but he managed to hold out for an incense stick of time and barely allowed more than 10,000 people to squeeze onto the boat. However, as the number of soldiers on the shore decreased, the resistance became weaker and weaker.

When the abandoned soldiers saw that their friendly troops had all run away, the speed of the avalanche in their hearts accelerated uncontrollably.

Thousands of abandoned Cao's soldiers dropped their weapons and knelt down in surrender during the fighting, and Yu Jin's desperate efforts to stop them were of no avail.

Finally, Yu Jin's trusted general held him tightly and urged him: "General, don't be reckless! Have you forgotten that General Cao entrusted the important task of Xiangyang to me? You'd better get on board quickly. There are only a dozen ships left to be filled. It's enough to repay General Cao if we can hold on until now!"

When Yu Jin thought about it, he realized that this was indeed the truth and couldn't help but burst into tears. He turned around and hurriedly boarded the boat with his generals and trusted elite soldiers.

As Yu Jin boarded the ship and retreated.

The morale of the last 10,000 or so Cao troops left on the shore completely collapsed.

Yu Jin has already withdrawn, why are we still fighting?

In just a stick of incense, the remaining Cao troops were swept away by Guan Yu and completely annihilated, with thousands killed. Thousands were driven into the Han River and drowned, and thousands more laid down their arms, surrendered, and were captured.

……

The last ten thousand Cao troops abandoned in the camp by Cao Ren and Yu Jin were all destroyed.

At the eastern end of the battlefield, in the direction of Yuliangzhou Water Fort, the 5,000 Cao troops responsible for blocking Gao Shun and Guan Ping soon reached their final moment.

This unit was indeed brave and elite, and after all, they relied on the advantageous terrain to hold their camp, making it difficult to be breached for a while. Therefore, they dragged on until the friendly forces in the west were completely wiped out by Guan Yu, and these 5,000 people were not defeated by Gao Shun.

Of course, if Gao Shun was willing to sacrifice human lives at all costs, he would definitely be able to defeat the enemy with his ability to command offensive operations and the combat effectiveness of the "New Formation".

Gao Shun just felt that there was no need for this. These enemies were too well-equipped and their fighting spirit was too strong, so there was no need to waste lives.

Now, the beach landing site on the bank of the Han River had been cleared by Guan Yu, and the last retreat route of Cao's army had been cut off. Gao Shun knew that the enemy was in a desperate situation, so he sent people to persuade them to surrender.

However, Chang Diao was very stubborn: "General Cao promised that all our families will be compensated as if they died in battle, and we will be rewarded generously. I have been well taken care of by General Cao for more than ten years, and today is the time to do my best. Don't expect me to surrender!"

Guan Ping, who was standing beside Gao Shun, was also indignant after hearing the other party's arrogant words, and was about to kill the other party with a knife. However, Gao Shun held him back, saying that there was no rush, as they had already waited until this moment, and they could completely cooperate in the attack and wait for the front and back attacks.

After a few more cups of tea, Guan Yu's main force in the west gradually moved towards this direction, forming a complete encirclement of Cao's army in the water stronghold.

Guan Ping then led the "New Formation" given to him by Gao Shun and launched the final general offensive. While attacking, he shouted slogans of persuasion to surrender, so that the Cao army soldiers would recognize the situation and realize that it was this stubborn Cao general who was hindering everyone's hope of survival.

Guan Yu on the other side also dispatched his troops to launch a pincer attack at the same time to support his son's final attack.

However, when the time came, Guan Yu still showed a little selfishness as is human nature.

He instructed the general in charge of the attack, "Just a little show of force, waving flags and shouting, will distract the enemy and shake their resolve. There's no need to attack too hard. At this point, Ping'er is more than enough to defeat the enemy."

The generals understood the commander's intention and knew that the commander wanted to give his son the final credit for ending the battle. However, Guan Ping had indeed worked diligently in this battle and personally got involved in several tough battles with Gao Shun, so he deserved it.

The generals under Guan Yu had just arrived at the battlefield. How could they possibly pick the peaches that the young general had been growing for a long time?
From any perspective, they should play supporting roles.

Under the pincer attack from both the east and the west, Chang Diao's last few thousand men quickly collapsed and fled and surrendered.

Chang Diao was still wielding a sword to resist, but Guan Ping and a team of cavalrymen rode up to him and killed him.

After just a few moves, Guan Ping bravely wielded the Qinglong Sword, knocked the enemy general's weapon away, killed him with one blow, beheaded him and gave an order, and the rest of the troops surrendered.

After killing the enemy general, Guan Ping finally breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the two armies joining forces, he carried Chang Diao's head and rode his horse to his father's army in the west with high spirits.

When he found Guan Yu, he dismounted and rushed forward, presenting the head to his father: "I have fulfilled my mission and killed the enemy. Please verify my accomplishment, father."

Guan Yu was riding on the Red Hare (Red Hare was brought along by Gao Shun when he fled Xu Du and transferred Lu Bu's family), full of vigor and energy, his beard almost blown up into the sky by his heavy breathing.

Fortunately, it was a stormy day and the wind was strong, so even without blowing, the beard was still fluttering, so no outsiders could notice anything.

But Guan Yu was afraid that his son would become proud, so even though he was proud in his heart, he still had to warn him: "I have told you many times, there are no fathers and sons in the army! From now on, you must call yourself a junior general!"

Guan Ping quickly changed his words and said, "I would like General Wei to verify our achievements! We have also had Zhang Yun's head captured during the previous attack on the stronghold pickled in salt and will bring it over later."

Zhang Yun was killed eight days ago when Guan Ping broke through the water fort that originally belonged to Cai Mao.

In order to prevent this kind of head used for commemoration from rotting over time, it is best to dehydrate and pickle it with quicklime.

But Gao Shun's troops had been fighting at the front these days and had not moved. They could not find quicklime in the water fort, so they had to use salt in a hurry.

Guan Yu was not very interested in these heads. After all, the credit had already been given to him and they could not escape, so it did not matter whether he saw them or not.

He said to Guan Ping and Gao Shun who had just arrived on horseback, "Don't worry about this. Today's battle is not over yet. Let's wait and see if Shuzhi can do his best to defeat the enemy. The rest of the celebration will be discussed after this matter is over."

Gao Shun and Guan Ping were confused, so Guan Yu pointed north in the direction of the Han River and gave a brief explanation:
Although the battle on the shore had ended, Chen Dao, with a navy of six to seven thousand men, rode on small boats to intercept the retreating Cao army on the river.

Chen Dao should have just arrived not long ago. He was unable to intercept the previous waves, so he might as well stop as many as he can in this last wave.

After the introduction, Guan Yu frowned and looked forward to it: "If we can capture Yu Jin, it will be a pleasant surprise. But Shu Zhi's troops are not many, so we can't be too harsh on him.

Guo Rang brought a large ship larger than a warship, but the draft was too deep to take the Yuliangzhou waterway, and he had to take a detour. He probably couldn't catch up. Alas, who would have thought that Cao Ren would be so decisive and immediately change his course and retreat to Fancheng just after our army cut off his retreat to Xiangyang."

After hearing the whole story, Gao Shun hurried to comfort Guan Yu, saying that this was not something that could be changed by human power, and that the pre-war planning by Situ and General Wei had been good enough.

After all, after the water attack, due to the impact of the flood, Guan Yu’s navy would definitely be washed to the south side of the Yuliangzhou waterway. If the large ships wanted to get back to the north side, it would take most of a day.

This is a natural law and an objective fact, and has nothing to do with whether the strategist has thought about it in advance.

No matter how smart Zhuge Jin was, it was impossible for him to suddenly increase the speed of ships of that era upstream by three times in a flood and allow Tian Yu to catch up with the decisive battle.

So there is no need to regret about things that are destined not to be obtained.

Guan Yu thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. As the person in charge, he wanted too much, but Gao Shun, as an outsider, had a clearer view.

Guan Yu stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Let's wait and see how Shuzhi can stop the enemy. After all, he only has a small boat, and I have taken care of him, so he doesn't have to fight too hard."

(End of this chapter)