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

Everything east of Jiguan Pass belongs to the Han people.

The Wei army did not send a single soldier, let alone so many cavalry, east of Jiguan Pass.

Without a doubt, the force that arrived must be Han cavalry.

Why would a cavalry force suddenly attack Jiguan when hundreds of thousands of Han troops were clearly attacking Huguan, Jingxingguan, and Pingcheng?
Did the spies in Hanoi not give any prior warning?

"What's going on? What exactly is happening?"

Xiahou Wei stared at the approaching Han cavalry, momentarily bewildered and astonished.

Under the city.

Hou Cheng, who was "beating someone," also realized something was wrong and discovered that the Han army was attacking.

As a former general of Lü Bu, although his official rank was not as high as that of Xiahou Wei, a second-generation rich kid, his combat experience far surpassed that of Xiahou Wei.

Upon seeing this formation, Hou Cheng immediately realized that the Han army was about to launch a surprise attack on Jiguan Pass, intending to invade Hedong Commandery.

"General Xiahou, this must be a surprise attack by the Han army, intending to take advantage of our weakness to attack Jiguan Pass!"

"What are you standing there for? Immediately order the city gates to be closed!"

Hou Cheng turned around and roared at Xiahou Wei on the city wall.

Xiahou Wei, who was in a daze, suddenly awoke and shouted:
"The Han army is attacking! Close the city gates! Close the city gates immediately!"

"All troops, charge the city walls to defend against the enemy! Charge the city walls to defend against the enemy!"

Suddenly, the sound of gongs rang out from the city wall.

The bewildered Wei soldiers hastily grabbed their weapons and rushed towards the city wall.

Hou Cheng also retreated to the city gate and ordered the guards to close the east gate immediately.

The situation suddenly changed, and the salt merchants who were crowding in front of the city gate waiting to enter the city were thrown into chaos, rushing towards Jiguan City.

The city gate was blocked by the crowd and could not be closed for a short time.

Hou Cheng felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this, and hastily brandished his sword and shouted:

"Get out of my way! All of you, get back! Anyone who dares to break into the city again will be killed without mercy!"

The salt merchants were thrown into chaos. Who would listen to his threats? They still tried to flood into the city regardless of the consequences.

Hou Cheng was furious and swung his knife, killing several salt merchants in succession.

The Wei soldiers guarding the gates on the left and right also reacted at this moment, and began to swing their swords and slash at the salt merchants like madmen.

Under such a threat of slaughter, the salt merchants were finally intimidated and dared not rush into the city. Instead, they began to scatter and flee for their lives.

Only one group of people remained in place, refusing to flee with the crowd.

One of them mounted his horse, spear in hand, and shouted:
"Brothers, that's enough! Move in and seize the door!"

Upon receiving the order, the dozens of followers revealed their concealed weapons and removed the cloth clothing they were wearing.

Dozens of salt merchants were transformed into fully armed soldiers in the blink of an eye.

The sudden change completely stunned the Wei soldiers guarding the gate, who were momentarily speechless.

"Kill me——"

Zhuge Dan brandished his spear, spurred his horse, and charged toward the city gate.

With a swift movement, several stunned Wei soldiers were stabbed to the ground before they could react.

Dozens of Han soldiers disguised as salt merchants rushed forward and pounced on the city gate.

"They're Han soldiers! They're Han soldiers disguised as salt merchants trying to seize the gate!"

"Quickly, quickly gather troops to reinforce us!"

Hou Cheng suddenly woke up with a start, and screamed in a hoarse voice.

It's too late.

Several Han soldiers came towards them and fired a barrage of arrows.

The terrain inside the city gate was narrow, and at this time, the rising sun pierced the eyes with its light, making it impossible to see the incoming arrows.

Upon hearing the twang of the bowstring, Hou Cheng knew that a cold arrow was coming, and he could only instinctively swing his sword to deflect it.

"puff!"

But a sharp arrow pierced through his sword stance and struck Hou Cheng squarely in the shoulder.

"Ah~~"

Hou Cheng let out a muffled groan, his body swaying as he nearly fell from his horse. Just as he was struck by the arrow, Zhuge Dan spurred his horse forward, spear in hand, and arrived like lightning.

With the force of thunder and lightning, he thrust his silver spear straight at Hou Cheng's chest.

Hou Cheng's martial arts skills were inferior, and he wouldn't have been at a disadvantage against Zhuge Dan.

But now, having been struck by an arrow and with his eyes blinded by the sunlight, he was caught off guard and had no time to parry with his sword.

"puff--"

Another muffled sound.

Blood splattered.

Hou Cheng's chest had been pierced by Zhuge Dan's blood spear!
Hou Cheng, who had been shot, let out a shrill scream, spitting out blood, and collapsed to the ground.

One strike to kill the enemy!
The Wei soldiers who were still fighting desperately inside the city gates saw Hou Cheng beheaded, and their remaining fighting spirit collapsed instantly, and they scattered in disarray.

Zhuge Dan stood with his spear drawn, riding his horse beneath the city gate, and shouted:
"Hold the city gates and signal to the Grand Marshal!"

Dozens of elite Han soldiers, each capable of fighting a single enemy, stood in formation with swords drawn, blocking the city gate.

A plume of smoke rose into the sky outside the city gate.

A few hundred steps away.

More than 7,000 Han infantry and cavalry are heading towards Jiguan Pass.

"Grand Marshal, the smoke signals have risen! Zhuge Dan has successfully seized the gate!"

Wenqin pointed towards Jiguan and shouted excitedly.

Xiao He smiled and pointed with his riding whip:
"Wenqin, what are we waiting for? Lead three thousand light cavalry and charge forward at full speed to capture Jiguan Pass in one fell swoop!"

Wen Qin readily accepted the order and pointed his spear forward:
"Han soldiers, follow me into the enemy city and capture Jiguan Pass in one fell swoop!"

Three thousand Han cavalrymen galloped like the wind, sweeping up towards Jiguan City like a torrent.

Above the fortress.

Xiahou Wei was still ordering the Wei soldiers to climb the city walls and prepare for battle.

The sounds of fierce fighting below the city gate caught his attention, and a glance down revealed that the city gate was still open.

"That useless Hou Cheng, how come the Han cavalry is about to charge in before he's even closed the city gates!"

Xiahou Wei was furious and cursed through gritted teeth.

Left with no other choice, he had to take his sword and leave the city, intending to personally oversee the troops in closing the city gates.

just.

When Xiahou Wei rushed down from the city wall, he was stunned.

The soldiers defending the city fled into the city like stray dogs.

At the city gate, they were stopped by dozens of Han soldiers.

"What...what's going on?"

Xiahou Wei was completely bewildered, as if he had seen a ghost.

Soon, a fleeing captain cried out:

"General Xiahou, the Han army, disguised as salt merchants, launched a sudden attack and captured the city gate."

"General Hou was caught completely off guard and killed by a Han general!"

Xiahou Wei's mind went blank for a moment, his body swayed, and he almost lost his balance, falling off his horse in shock.

All that had happened flashed before his eyes like lightning, and at this moment, he finally woke up with a start.

This Han cavalry force did not arrive suddenly, but rather came prepared.

Knowing that a large number of salt merchants would pass through Jiguan every morning, they disguised their elite soldiers among the salt merchants.

The purpose was simply to suddenly block the city gates when the cavalry attacked, thus buying time for the cavalry to break in.

Why would the Han army go to such great lengths to capture this small Ji Pass?

There is only one reason:
The Han army wanted to enter Hedong through Jiguan Pass, cut off the connection between Bingzhou and Yongzhou in one fell swoop, and then the main force of the Han army could change course and enter Hedong, attack Jinyang from south to north, and then take over the entire Bingzhou!
The true strategy of the Han army in conquering Bingzhou was to move from south to north, not from east to west!

Cao Cao fell for the trap!
Startled awake, Xiahou Wei broke out in a cold sweat and screamed in terror:

"Quickly, go and report to the Emperor! The Han army is going to attack Hedong! We have fallen for the big-eared traitor's deceptive scheme!"

"Hurry, hurry up—" (End of Chapter)