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

Yi Jing.

On the Yi River, the sound of drums shook the heavens and the battle flags blotted out the sun.

On the river stretching for more than ten miles, thousands of boats and rafts carrying tens of thousands of Chu soldiers were rushing toward the north bank of the Yi River.

The Yi River is almost entirely covered by boats and rafts.

Inside the Yijing Fortress.

Cao Cao was pacing back and forth, leaning on his cane, his aged face filled with anxiety.

He was waiting for Gao Lan and Xiahou Chong's battle report.

Whether the two men could succeed in their raid on the grain supply was directly related to whether they could drive the landing Chu army off Bohai, and even more so to whether the fire that had just started in their backyard could be extinguished in time.

If they win, there is still a chance for the war in Youzhou to turn around.

If defeated, Youzhou would be turned upside down by the Chu army, and the Yijing defense line he had painstakingly built would be rendered useless.

“Our army has four thousand iron cavalry, and Gao Lan is a famous general from Hebei. As long as he doesn’t fall into the Chu army’s ambush, I predict he will succeed in this battle.”

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, perhaps good news is already on its way."

Seeing that Cao Cao was anxious and uneasy, Sima Yi confidently stepped forward to comfort him.

Cao Cao's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

At this moment, Jia Xu coughed lightly and said:

"The outcome of the battle in Youzhou is still unknown at this moment, but I believe that Liu Bei will not give us the chance to wait for the result."

Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately became alert, turning his gaze to Jia Xu.

Jia Xu raised his hand and pointed south:
"Liu Bei must have already heard the news that the Chu army captured Gukou and successfully landed in Youzhou."

"With Xiao He's intelligence, it should not be difficult for him to deduce that we have been forced to withdraw troops, especially cavalry, to the north to intercept the Chu army that has landed."

"If my calculations are correct, then Xiao He will surely ask Liu Bei to mobilize his entire army and take the opportunity to force a crossing of the Yi River."

Cao Cao shivered and suddenly woke up.

At this time, a fire broke out in the rear, and Yi Jing's army's morale was severely damaged, with the soldiers already in a state of mental instability.

Moreover, the crucial four thousand iron cavalry were not in Yijing at this time, and were forced to be transferred north.

At this moment, if Liu Bei's 300,000-strong army were to take advantage of the situation and forcefully cross the Yi River, he might not be able to withstand it.

"Big Ear Thief——"

"Report——"

Before Cao Cao could finish speaking, the Tiger Guards rushed in, shouting:
"Your Majesty, the Chu army on the south bank has mobilized its entire force, poised to launch a full-scale assault on the Yi River!"

Cao Cao's expression changed instantly, and he looked sharply at Jia Xu.

That old jinx was right; Liu Bei was indeed going to take advantage of the situation to cross the river!

"Immediately issue the order: all troops must assemble on the north bank and stop the Chu army from crossing the river at all costs!"

Cao Cao let out a hysterical shout and rushed out, leaning on his cane, taking three steps at a time.

Stumbling and falling all the way to the top of Yijing City Tower.

Looking south, Cao Cao and all the ministers of Wei gasped in shock.

The southern bank was already densely packed with Chu troops, stretching as far as the eye could see, their imposing presence overwhelming.

Tens of thousands of Chu soldiers had boarded boats and rafts and began their assault on the north bank.

Even a blind man could see from this formation that the Chu army had come out in full force to force a crossing of the Yi River.

Cao Cao felt a chill run down his spine.

The Yijing defense line, to be precise, consists of two lines.

Using the Yi River as a barrier, a simple fortification was constructed along the north bank to prevent the Chu army from crossing the river.

The second line of defense was a wall that stretched for more than ten miles, with the Yijing Fortress at its core.

Once the first line of defense fails, the Chu army can cross the "natural barrier" of the Yi River and advance to the foot of the Yijing fortress.

The situation was different then.

To put it bluntly, Yijing Fortress is just a castle.

No matter how sturdy this castle is, can it be as sturdy as Ye City or Liyang?

Even those two fortified cities could only hold out for less than six months at most.

Winter has not yet arrived. If the Chu army crosses the river ahead of time, they will have at least two to three months to launch a fierce attack on the Yijing fortress before the severe cold arrives.

Can he and his more than 80,000 soldiers hold out for two or three months?
Cao Cao was uncertain.

Therefore, the safest strategy is to block the Chu army outside the first line of defense, preventing Liu Bei's 300,000-strong army from crossing the Yi River!

"The entire army is mobilized, at all costs, to prevent the Chu army from landing!"

Cao Cao pointed his cane at the Chu army's ships and rafts, and once again let out a hysterical shout.

Generals Zhang He, Song Xian, Wen Hui, Xiahou Wei, Wang Ling, and others led their troops out of the fortified positions and rushed to the riverbank defense line.

"Fire arrows! Fire arrows! Stop the Chu army from landing!"

As the leader of all the generals, Zhang He brandished his long sword and pointed at the Chu army's boats and rafts on the river.

The Wei archers hurriedly drew their bows and nocked arrows, launching an attack on the Chu army on the river.

Arrows flew like locusts, covering the sky and the earth.

On the boat.

Huang Zhong stood tall and imposing, like a mountain, at the bow of the ship.

Faced with a hail of arrows, Huang Zhong neither dodged nor evaded, his long sword flashing like the wind, deflecting all the incoming arrows.

"Shields up to block arrows! Archers, counterattack!" "All boats and rafts, do not slow down! Speed ​​up and reach the north shore!"

Huang Zhong blocked the arrows while shouting loudly.

The Chu soldiers on each boat and raft raised their large shields to fend off the rain of arrows falling from the sky.

The archers began to fight back.

Thousands upon thousands of arrows rose from the Yi River and whistled towards the north bank.

Screams rose and fell, echoing across the shore and the water.

Every moment, soldiers from both armies, struck by arrows, would fall to the ground or onto ships.

at last.

The first wave of over a hundred Chu army ships and rafts finally made it to the north bank of the river.

The veteran general Huang Zhong was the first to jump off the boat, wielding his long sword to defend himself and cover the soldiers behind him as they disembarked.

Despite the dense rain of arrows, Huang Zhong blocked them all.

More than thirty soldiers all climbed onto the north bank and quickly formed a small formation.

At the same time, the Chu soldiers on each boat and raft rushed off and formed a battle formation.

The smaller formations drew closer together and then merged into a larger formation.

In less than a quarter of an hour, nearly 20,000 Chu troops had landed and formed dozens of military formations, standing like an impregnable fortress on the riverbank.

Cao Cao was so anxious that he repeatedly struck the ground with his cane, but he was helpless.

The disadvantage of not having cavalry became apparent at this point.

With his four thousand iron cavalry at his disposal, he could easily order them to sweep along the riverbank, crushing any soldiers who disembarked before they could establish a firm foothold.

If deployed properly, four thousand light cavalry would be enough to control a ten-mile-long battle line, preventing a single Chu soldier from landing.

But unfortunately, the cavalry were nowhere to be found.

Without cavalry, the only option was to send infantry forward to block the Chu army from landing with their own flesh and blood.

Cao Cao, however, did not have the courage.

He lacked confidence in his soldiers, and did not believe that they could defeat the Chu soldiers who had landed, given their low morale and overwhelming numerical superiority.

If they lose, it will be a complete rout, and the first line of defense will be breached without a fight.

Cao Cao dared not take any risks and could only order his soldiers to cower in their fortifications, watching helplessly as the Chu army continuously landed and formed ranks.

"Young warriors of Great Chu, follow me, and break through the enemy's defenses—"

Huang Zhong mounted his horse and pointed his long sword at the fortifications ahead.

Tens of thousands of Chu troops landed and surged toward the Wei army's defenses like a tidal wave.

In the blink of an eye, the military formations crashed into the coastal defenses.

The Chu army's broadswords slashed wildly at the Wei army's wooden palisade, and the soldiers, supporting each other, fearlessly climbed up the low wall blocking their path...

Faced with the Chu army's fierce offensive, the Wei army's first line of defense was as flimsy as paper, and was riddled with holes in the blink of an eye.

The rout begins.

Along the ten-mile-long defensive line, the morale of the Wei army collapsed, and they abandoned their positions and scattered towards the second Yijing fortress.

"Don't retreat! Block the Chu invaders! Block them for me!"

Zhang He roared and killed several retreating soldiers in an attempt to suppress the rout.

"Boom~~"

With a loud cracking sound, the low wall in front of them could not withstand the onslaught of the Chu army and collapsed with a crash.

An old general rode his horse through the dust and fog, crashing into the terrified and retreating Wei soldiers like a war god.

With a flick of his longsword, the Wei soldiers were slaughtered like ants, their heads reaped in an instant.

"Zhang He, you coward, dare to fight me!"

Huang Zhong stepped over the corpses of Wei soldiers, locked onto Zhang He's location at a glance, and charged forward on horseback.

"Huang...Huang Zhong?"

Zhang He's expression suddenly changed drastically, and a chill ran down his spine.

Huang Zhong, the greatest veteran general of his time, was a reincarnation of Lian Po.

His martial arts skills were said to be comparable to those of the Magnificent Bearded Man, and his power was unstoppable!

With the defenses breached and the soldiers routed, how could Zhang He dare to fight again against such a formidable opponent?
"King Wei, I have done my utmost; it is not that I am unwilling to fight to the death..."

Terrified, Zhang He sighed helplessly, turned his horse around, and fled in panic.

With the top general from outside the Wei clan having fled, the Wei army dared not put up any more resistance and collapsed at the mere sight of them.

On the north bank, countless flags bearing the character "Chu" have been raised along the ten-mile-long riverbank.

"You bunch of useless cowards, afraid of death, how can you collapse without a fight?"

Cao Cao, standing on the city wall, looked at his easily defeated soldiers and cursed them with hatred in his teeth.

Just as he was feeling angry and helpless, one of the guards stumbled and climbed up the city wall.

"Your Majesty, Yongnu has an urgent report."

"Our light cavalry of Youyan was defeated by the Chu army. Almost all four thousand soldiers were wiped out, and generals Gao Lan and Xiahou Chong were killed by the enemy!"

A bolt from the blue, a deafening roar.

Cao Cao froze. (End of Chapter)