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

Yi Jing.

Inside the royal tent, a small banquet was underway.

Cao Cao, sitting on the throne, was radiant with a long-lost smile, drinking wine from a large bowl and cutting large chunks of meat.

This is the third "victory celebration banquet" in ten days.

What they were celebrating was, of course, their high regard for Xiahou Chong's achievement in thwarting the Chu army's attempt to cross the river downstream.

In that battle, the two generals actually killed only four or five hundred Chu soldiers.

Afterwards, the two discussed it and decided to multiply the number of enemies killed several times, claiming that they had killed over a thousand Chu soldiers on the shore and driven them into the Yi River where they drowned, totaling four thousand Chu soldiers annihilated.

Four thousand soldiers were but a drop in the ocean compared to the more than three hundred thousand Chu troops.

For the State of Wei, however, this was an unprecedented victory in many years.

After all, this was Cao Cao's first victory over Liu Bei in more than a decade, which was of great significance.

Cao Cao was overjoyed and immediately issued an edict to promote Gao Lan and Xiahou Chong to higher ranks and titles.

To boost morale, Cao Cao publicized the victory in the army and held a series of celebratory banquets to celebrate the first major victory in ten years.

Gao Lan and Xiahou Chong were naturally the main characters at this victory celebration banquet.

"Your Majesty, I request permission to lead my Youyan Iron Cavalry across the Yi River to raid the Chu army's supply lines. We are sure to achieve some success and boost the morale of our troops!"

After a few drinks, Gao Lan's confidence swelled, and he immediately volunteered for the challenge.

Not to be outdone, Xiahou Chong also volunteered for battle.

Cao Cao's eyes lit up, and he was about to readily grant their request to fight.

Before he could finish speaking, Sima Yi interrupted, saying:
"Your Majesty, if General Gao and General Xiahou lead our iron cavalry south to raid grain supplies, they will surely achieve some success."

"However, I believe that our most important task at present is to prevent the Chu army from crossing the Yi River again. This is of utmost importance."

"It would be best to leave these four thousand light cavalry in Yijing, ready to be deployed at any time to intercept the Chu invaders."

Cao Cao's words were cut off by Sima Yi, and he suddenly calmed down a bit.

Sima Yi's reminder was correct.

He had tried robbing grain before, but with little success.

The reason is simple: the number of cavalry is limited, and even if they succeed a few times, it won't make a difference.

Moreover, Liu Bei could also send out cavalry to counter him with cavalry.

In this situation, rather than sending these precious four thousand light cavalry from Youyan to rob grain, it would be better to prioritize blocking the Chu army's attempt to cross the border.

“Ziguan, Zhongda is right. Your four thousand Youyan cavalry are of great importance and should not be moved lightly.”

Cao Cao weighed the pros and cons and then smiled as he suppressed Gao Lan's eagerness to fight.

Gao Lan had no choice but to suppress his fighting spirit, but his mood was slightly affected.

Seeing this, Sima Yi chuckled and comforted him:
"General Gao, do not worry. Sooner or later, your iron cavalry will march south and utterly defeat the Chu invaders."

"As long as we can delay the crossing of the Great Ears bandits until winter, when Youzhou is freezing cold, the Chu bandits will not be able to withstand the severe cold and will surely freeze to death or suffer frostbite, and their morale will collapse."

"When the big-eared bandit is forced to retreat, Your Majesty will surely take advantage of the situation to turn defense into offense and pursue the big-eared bandit."

"At that time, you four thousand Youyan Iron Cavalry will naturally be the vanguard, and you will have plenty of opportunities to have a good, satisfying battle!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lan's expression brightened, and he laughed heartily.
"If that's the case, then I'll wait for the day when Your Majesty turns defense into offense, and I will surely behead that big-eared traitor for Your Majesty!"

These outrageous words left all the ministers speechless.

Good heavens, Gao Lan, you're really arrogant beyond belief.

They actually wanted to cut off Liu Bei's head?
The last person to make such a harsh statement is probably already buried with grass as tall as a person.

The ministers secretly shook their heads, all feeling that Gao Lan's arrogance had gone too far.

Cao Cao laughed heartily, raised his cup, and said:

"I am greatly comforted by your ambition and lofty aspirations."

"Come, let's drink this cup to the brim! I await the day you behead that big-eared thief for me!"

Cao Cao tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

The ministers looked at Cao Cao with astonishment, wondering if their king was drunk or if he had drunk fake wine, as he was also spouting wild words along with Gao Lan.

Don't you have any idea about the current strength of our Wei Kingdom?
It would be good enough if you could hold the Yijing defense line and wait for Liu Bei to retreat. You still want to kill Liu Bei?
Gao Lan laughed heartily and raised his cup to drink it all.

at this time.

Tiger Guard rushed in, reporting that Xiahou Ba had arrived in Yijing and that there was an extremely urgent military intelligence report.

Cao Cao's laughter stopped abruptly, and his heart skipped a beat.

Wasn't my nephew supposed to be assigned to guard Gukou?
Why did Yi Jing suddenly appear?
Could it be…? A sense of foreboding welled up in Cao Cao's heart, and he hurriedly shouted:
"Quickly, summon Xiahou Ba!"

The tent fell silent.

Apart from Gao Lan and Xiahou Chong, Sima Yi, Zhang He, and the others all changed their expressions and became tense.

A moment.

Xiahou Ba, covered in dust and dirt, stumbled in and knelt before the tent.

"Your Majesty, the Chu army launched a surprise attack on Gukou, and I was unable to defend it; Gukou has fallen!"

a bolt from the blue.

Like a bolt from the blue, it boomed in the tent, striking everyone's heads.

All the ministers were shocked, their faces changing in horror.

Cao Cao was so startled that his hand trembled, and most of the wine in his cup spilled out.

"What...what did you say? I didn't hear you clearly. Say it again!"

Cao Cao slammed his wine cup on the table, grabbed his cane and shakily propped himself up, then excitedly demanded an explanation.

Xiahou Ba kowtowed once and had no choice but to say:
"The Chu navy suddenly appeared off the coast of Gukou, and tens of thousands of Chu troops landed and launched a surprise attack on our city of Gukou."

"My troops are too few. Although we fought to the death, we could not resist. We had no choice but to abandon the city and break out to report to Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, the Chu army has landed in Youzhou, and now they are probably heading north along the Gu River to take Ji County."

"Your Majesty must quickly send troops to intercept the Chu army. If Ji County is lost any later, Youzhou will be finished!"

Xiahou Ba truthfully recounts the details of the Battle of Gukou.

However, he concealed the fact that he had fallen into a trap and abandoned the city.

You still have to save face, right?

The ministers were all dumbfounded.

Their astonished expressions were as if they had heard a fairy tale.

"A surprise attack from the sea by the Chu traitors?"

Cao Cao's eyes were full of doubt, and his gaze shot sharply to Sima Yi:

"Didn't I deploy spies along the coast of Ji Province to monitor the near sea? If the Chu bandits were to launch a surprise attack from the sea, why didn't the spies give any warning?"

Sima Yi was completely bewildered and shook his head blankly:
"I can't understand it either. Logically, once the Chu army enters the Bohai Sea, our coastal spies should have given warnings, but now..."

Sima Yi was momentarily speechless.

"Could it be that the Chu army's warships are not heading north along the coastline, but rather crossing the Bohai Sea from Qingzhou and heading straight for Gukou?"

Jia Xu, who had remained silent until now, suddenly offered this startling conjecture.

The tent fell silent instantly.

Everyone turned to look at Jia Xu, their eyes seeming as if Jia Xu had made some utterly absurd conjecture.

"That's impossible. The sea is unpredictable, and warships can capsize at any time. How could the Chu pirates dare to sail so far from the coastline?"

"Furthermore, even if the big-eared thief dared to take such a risk, how could the Chu army's warships accurately locate the port on the vast ocean where directions are uncertain?"

Sima Yi immediately rejected Jia Xu's guess, his tone and eyes resolute.

Jia Xu was speechless, unable to understand.

Cao Cao slammed his cane on the ground and roared:
"How exactly did that big-eared scoundrel's navy manage to sneak past my spies and appear out of nowhere like divine soldiers on the sea off Gukou?"

"Could it be that the Chu army's warships have grown wings and turned into spaceships, able to fly directly to Gukou?"

Sima Yi was also speechless.

Although he denied Jia Xu's conjecture, he was unable to provide Cao Cao with a reasonable explanation.

Immediately, surprise and speculation arose in the tent, and everyone racked their brains to come up with an explanation.

"Your Majesty, no matter how the Chu army managed to deceive us and reach Gukou, the fall of Gukou is now a foregone conclusion."

"If the Chu army marches north along the Gu River and captures Ji County, the entire Youzhou will be in chaos."

"My backyard is on fire, and I'm attacked from both sides. Even if Yijing is as impregnable as a fortress, it's just a facade!"

Zhang He, his voice stern and his expression fierce, cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to take remedial action and defend Ji County!"

Cao Cao shivered, suddenly snapping back to reality. He began pounding the ground with his cane, shouting excitedly:
"You're right, if Ji County falls, all is lost!"

"I will personally lead the army back to Yuyang, I will annihilate the Chu army that has landed, and I will drive them all back into the sea~~" (End of Chapter)