My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

That's right, the general leading the attack was Zhang Liao.

At this moment, Liu Bei and Xiao He were high up on the watchtower, overlooking the entire battle.

The moment Xu Yi led his troops out of the city, Liu Bei spotted him with his binoculars and ordered Zhao Yun to lead his troops to wait at the point where the Wei army had breached the wall.

When the Wei army was routed, Liu Bei decisively ordered Zhang Liao, who was already waiting in the north, to lead his cavalry to intercept them along the inner side of the earthen wall.

Zhang Liao and his three thousand iron cavalry arrived at just the right time.

Xu Yi, already terrified, dared not fight Zhang Liao and could only frantically whip his horse to gallop away.

The more than 10,000 Wei soldiers were like frightened birds, and they collapsed at the mere sight of the enemy.

But how can two legs outrun four legs?

In an instant, the Tiger Cavalry surged forward like a raging torrent.

Overturn, pierce, shred...

The Wei army was slaughtered in droves, like vegetables being chopped into pieces.

Zhang Liao rode ahead, his long sword flashing wildly, sweeping through the Wei army and cutting them in half.

What followed was a one-sided massacre.

The Chu cavalry charged left and right, and in an instant, they scattered the 10,000 Wei soldiers, leaving them in a state of utter chaos and howling.

Xu Yi's mental state collapsed.

As the son of the tiger-like Xu Chu, he no longer cared about the lives of his soldiers and only cared about fleeing for his life.

Chu cavalrymen kept attacking from all directions, blocking his path and slowing his advance.

"You brat surnamed Xu, where do you think you're going!"

A thunderous roar resounded.

Zhang Liao spurred his horse, sword in hand, and charged towards Xu Yi through the blood-soaked path, his bloodshot eyes gleaming like knives.

"Traitor~~"

Xu Yi had no choice but to grit his teeth and swing his sword backhand.

Zhang Liao scoffed dismissively, his long sword billowing up a cloud of blood mist as he unleashed a powerful and sweeping slash.

"Bang!"

A deafening roar shook the heavens, sending dust flying everywhere.

This crushing blow sent Xu Yi's longsword flying out of his hand, nearly slipping out of his grasp.

The overwhelming force made his chest tighten and his internal organs churn.

Zhang Liao gave Xu Yi no chance to breathe, and the second, third, and fourth blows came down like a storm.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Yi was enveloped by layers upon layers of iron curtains.

Although Zhang Liao's martial arts skills were not as good as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's, he was still among the top in the world.

Although Xu Yi was the son of Xu Chu, he clearly did not inherit his father's formidable martial arts skills.

Within a few moves, Xu Yi was overwhelmed by Zhang Liao's fierce and relentless attacks, leaving him in a state of disarray.

Xu Yi's courage had been shattered; he knew that if he continued fighting, he would surely lose his life to Zhang Liao.

So, while desperately resisting, his eyes darted around, searching for an escape route.

To dare to be distracted when facing Zhang Liao is suicidal...

Zhang Liao found an opening in his sword technique, his tiger arm veins bulged, and his sword technique suddenly changed, slashing down diagonally like lightning.

"Click~~"

There was a loud tearing sound.

A piercing scream.

Xu Yi's shoulder was severed by Zhang Liao with a single stroke, leaving it as if covered in mud.

Xu Yi crashed to the ground, rolling around in agony, his face contorted with despair and indignation.

"Zhang Liao, you traitor, you, you—"

Before the curse uttered through gritted teeth could be finished, Xu Yi's body stiffened, and her wide-open eyes froze in a moment of resentment and anger.

Xu Yi was beheaded.

With their commander dead, the morale of the Wei army plummeted, and they scattered and fled like ants in a collapsed nest.

Zhang Liao charged into the enemy ranks without stopping, and with a swift stroke of his blade, he unleashed another flurry of carnage.

The iron cavalry blocked their path, and behind them, Zhao Yun led the main force of the Chu army, pouring in like a tide through the gap and rushing towards the Chu army.

Under the combined attack of infantry and cavalry, ten thousand Wei soldiers were slaughtered until they cried out in agony.

Outside the east gate of Ye City, blood flowed like a river…

Finally, with almost the entire army wiped out, the remaining less than two hundred Wei soldiers fled towards the east gate of Ye City.

The east is turning white; dawn is approaching.

On the city wall, Cao Chong, Chen Tai, Xin Pi, and others were still shading their eyes with their hands, eagerly looking towards the Chu camp.

They could clearly see those streaks of fire.

The deafening shouts of battle, the sound of war drums, and the neighing of warhorses could all be heard clearly.

The intensity of the battle can be imagined from this.

"Judging from this situation, Xu Yi has a high chance of success in this battle. Perhaps he has already received the king's supply convoy and is preparing to retreat to Ye City."

Xinpi's brows gradually relaxed, and he became optimistic again.

Chen Tai's previously solemn and ashen expression was also softening.

Only Cao Chong's expression remained solemn:

"The outcome is still uncertain, and now is not the time to be optimistic." "Everyone, please remember that Liu Bei has Xiao He by his side. We must not relax our vigilance in the slightest until the very last moment."

Xin Pi and Chen Tai verbally agreed, but secretly exchanged glances, their eyes still filled with confidence.

Cao Chong's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he pointed at the Chu camp, saying:
"George, Xuanbo, have you noticed anything unusual in the enemy camp?!"

Is there something amiss in the enemy camp?

The two men looked closely at the Chu camp, their blank gazes turning to Cao Chong.

"If I can successfully set fire to the enemy camp within 800 meters, the fire can only spread in two directions."

"First, it got out of control and kept spreading, the fire got worse and worse until it burned down the entire enemy camp."

"Secondly, if my inside man is suppressed, then the Chu army should be able to control the fire soon, and the number of fires should decrease."

“But look closely, the starting point of the fire in the enemy camp has never changed from the beginning until now. Don’t you find that suspicious?”

Xin Pi and Chen Tai were both intelligent and resourceful men, and after Cao Chong's reminder, they immediately saw through the trick.

"Young Master Cang Shu is right. The fire at the Chu camp is indeed suspicious. Could it be..."

Xin Pi suddenly realized something, and his expression changed abruptly.

Chen Tai shuddered and blurted out in surprise:
"Young master, do you mean to imply that the fire in the Chu camp was not set by my inside agent, but by Liu Bei himself?"

"Only in this way can the fire in the enemy camp remain unchanged from the beginning until now?"

Cao Chong remained silent, tacitly agreeing with what Chen Tai had said.

The two men stiffened, their expressions changed drastically, and cold sweat instantly beaded on their foreheads.

If the fire in the Chu camp was set by Liu Bei, it means that Liu Bei already knew about Chen Tai's plan.

Those eight hundred inside agents may have already been controlled by Liu Bei.

Liu Bei then turned the tables on them, deliberately setting fire to lure them into launching a surprise attack on the Chu camp!

Liu Bei must have already deployed a large force, waiting for them to come to their doom!

"Young Master Cangshu, Xu Yi and over ten thousand soldiers are in danger. We must immediately issue an order to recall them!"

Chen Tai suddenly realized what was happening and cried out in a trembling voice.

At this point, he realized that his plan had most likely failed.

However, he did not refuse to accept the facts or deceive himself in order to save face.

Cao Chong shuddered.

Xu Yi took away 17,000 soldiers, nearly half of the city's garrison.

If they were to fall into the Chu army's inescapable trap, the sky would fall.

"Quickly, send someone to summon Xu Yi back to me immediately, and tell him to withdraw those 17,000 soldiers at all costs—"

Cao Chong shouted in a hoarse voice.

The words trailed off.

Hundreds of Wei soldiers outside the city fled back in panic, like startled birds.

Those who returned were Xu Yi's troops.

Cao Chong felt a chill run down his spine and hastily ordered the city gates to be opened, letting the defeated soldiers into the city.

A moment later, several officers knelt down in front of Cao Chong.

"Reporting to the young master, General Xu led us to break through the Chu army's earthen wall, but unexpectedly, tens of thousands of Chu soldiers were already waiting outside the wall. Our army was caught off guard and had no choice but to retreat."

"Who would have thought that just as we crossed the breach, that traitor Zhang Liao led his Chu cavalry to attack, General Xu was killed by him, and our entire army was wiped out, with only a few of us escaping back~~"

Cao Chong's mind went blank for a moment, his legs went weak, and he staggered back half a step.

Xinpi's knees buckled, and he collapsed to his knees, only managing to keep from kneeling by grabbing onto the battlements.

Chen Tai's mouth gaped open, his eyes widened, and his face froze in astonishment.

Upon hearing this devastating news, the Wei soldiers on both sides were instantly thrown into an uproar and plunged into a state of utter terror.

"My plan failed? It was Xiao He again who saw through my scheme?"

"This, this, this..."

Chen Tai muttered to himself, his face as pale as paper, his mind in complete disarray.

"Chen Xuanbo!"

Xin Pi Ze Ze stamped her foot, glaring resentfully at Chen Tai:

"Your plan not only failed to solve our food shortage problem, but also resulted in the loss of 17,000 troops and the loss of our great general Xu Yi!"

"We've been defeated to such an extent that I fear Ye City will fall to Liu Bei before our army runs out of supplies!"

Chen Tai felt ashamed.

Faced with Xinpi's complaints, he felt both ashamed and helpless, and was speechless for a moment.

In an instant, Chen Tai became the target of everyone's criticism, with everyone around him expressing their grievances.

"enough!"

Cao Chong slammed his hand on the battlement, interrupting the crowd's complaints, and said in a sorrowful voice:
"I've said it before, with Xiao He around, there's no such thing as a truly foolproof plan in this world!"

"Chen Xuanbo's plan failed because of the will of Heaven; what does it have to do with him!"

Sinpi was speechless.

The people around him were rendered speechless by Cao Chong's retort, and could only stomp their feet and sigh inwardly.

Cao Chong, trembling, arrived at the battlements, gazed at the Chu camp bathed in the rising sun, and sighed deeply:

"Could it be that the fate of our Great Wei has truly run its course?"

"Am I, Cao Chong, truly powerless to reverse the tide, destined to die in this Ye City?" (End of Chapter)