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

Inside Sanguan City, a scene of bustling activity and tension unfolded.

Outside the city, laborers were working tirelessly, carrying and pushing loads of grain into the city, one cartload at a time.

On the city wall, the Han soldiers were already in full battle array, ready for action.

Huo Jun stood at the west gate, sword in hand, his eyes like two cold blades, scanning the busy soldiers inside and outside the city.

"Will Cao Pi really come on the ice?"

Huo Jun frowned slightly, a hint of doubt rising in his heart.

Thinking of this, Huo Jun slowly took out the order from his pocket and read it carefully again.

That was an urgent military order delivered by Zhang Fei on horseback last night.

The imperial edict clearly stated Xiao He's conjecture:
Cao Pi will lead a large army to launch a surprise attack on San Pass while the Wei River is frozen.

In his order, Zhang Fei clearly instructed Huo Jun to hold San Pass firmly, protect the grain supplies, and await the arrival of reinforcements.

Huo Jun knew the weight of this order; it was not just a piece of paper, but the life-and-death entrustment of countless soldiers.

Upon receiving the order, he did not hesitate to conscript laborers to move the grain and fodder from outside the city into the city.

They raced against time, working against the clock all night long.

Even with such efforts, 100,000 bushels of grain and fodder have yet to be moved into the city.

"General Huo, look!"

Just then, the deputy general's anxious voice broke the tense atmosphere, pointing towards the Wei River:
There seems to be some unusual activity on the Wei River!

Huo Jun quickly put away the imperial edict and looked up towards the Wei River.

Beneath the hazy morning mist, dark shadows could be vaguely seen slowly surging towards the Wei River, gradually drawing closer.

Soon, banners embroidered with the character "Wei" came into Huo Jun's view.

As expected, the Wei army traversed the frozen Wei River, sweeping towards Sanguan City like a surging tide.

"The Grand Marshal's prediction was absolutely correct; Cao Pi really did come on the ice!"

Huo Jun's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately shouted:

"Quickly set fire to the remaining grain and fodder, leaving nothing for the Wei army! All troops, retreat to San Pass immediately, raise the drawbridge, and close the city gates!"

As Huo Jun gave the order, the command flag waved rapidly, and a sharp gong suddenly rang out.

The laborers who were carrying grain and fodder did not hesitate to drop the grain sacks in their hands and rushed into the city like a tidal wave.

The Han soldiers in charge of supervising the work quickly lit torches and set fire to the grain camp and the remaining grain.

In an instant, flames shot up into the sky and thick smoke billowed.

With a series of heavy creaking sounds, the city gate slowly closed and the drawbridge was slowly raised.

Sanguan City was thus sealed off, temporarily blocking the Wei army's attack.

Huo Jun led his troops in full battle array, his eyes scanning the Wei army below the city, already prepared to defend to the death.

The five thousand soldiers around him were all elite troops, each one in high spirits and fully prepared to face this fierce battle.

South direction.

Cao Pi's vanguard army has successfully landed and quickly rushed to the walls of Sanguan.

When he saw the fire burning in the grain camp outside the city and the tightly closed gates of Sanguan City, his brows furrowed.

He had originally envisioned this battle as a perfect surprise attack.

He thought he could catch Guan Han's army off guard and defeat them unexpectedly.

Before the Han army could close the city gates, he could lead his army into the city, fight a quick battle, burn the supplies, and then retreat.

This was his ideal scenario.

Secondly, the Han army was able to close the city gates in time, but the grain and fodder could not be moved into the city in time and were left for them.

Because the Wei army was traveling light, they only brought a few days' worth of dry rations.

If they can obtain supplies from outside the city, they can confidently besiege Sanguan City and strive to take it within four days.

Even if the outcome is only four days later, he is confident that he will eventually break through the city gates.

However, reality shattered his expectations. The current situation is that the Han army not only closed the city gates, but also decisively burned the grain and fodder outside the city.

The best and second-best expectations all vanished into thin air.

This means that the Wei army can only rely on the existing dry rations to take down the fortified Sanguan city in front of them.

"Your Majesty, something seems amiss."

Just then, Han De anxiously reminded him:

"Judging from the garrison's formation, it seems they were warned in advance and made ample preparations for defending the city?"

This reminder struck a chord with Cao Pi.

His repeated experiences of being taken advantage of led him to a sinister thought:

Could it be that Xiao He, having anticipated his surprise attack on Sanguan, had taken precautions in advance?
Just as Cao Pi was feeling uneasy, the Wei soldiers behind him surged onto the north bank like a tide and rushed towards Sanguan City.

At this point, he was in a bind!

The situation left him no room for hesitation or retreat.

Cao Pi took a deep breath to calm himself, then said sternly:

"Things have come to this point, so there's no use in being suspicious. In any case, the garrison in Sanguan City only numbers a few thousand, so they are not a threat."

"By my order, surround the city on all sides and conquer it within three days!"

These encouraging and inspiring words instantly ignited the fighting spirit of the Wei soldiers.

Soon, the Wei army landed and completely surrounded Sanguan City.

Immediately afterwards, Han De and others began to urge their troops to launch a fierce attack on Sanguan City.

A battle of offense and defense ensued.

The siege ladders leaned against the city wall, and the Wei soldiers scrambled to climb them, like a pack of hungry beasts eager to pounce on their prey.

In an instant, the city walls were covered with Wei soldiers.

Beneath the city walls, Wei archers and crossbowmen frantically shot down the Han soldiers on the city walls.

Arrows shot towards the city walls.

The Wei army's offensive was extremely fierce.

However, they overlooked an important factor:

The one guarding the city was Huo Jun.

Those were the mighty gatekeepers of the Han Dynasty.

Back then, with only two thousand men, they held off Cao Cao's hundreds of thousands of troops for months in Fancheng.

You think you, Cao Pi, can take over his San Pass with such a small force?
Under Huo Jun's command, the Han army's defenses were impenetrable.

Stones rained down on the Wei soldiers like meteors, logs rolled down like giant pillars, crushing them to pieces, and arrows shot out like lightning, knocking them to the ground.

The Han army's counterattacks were like a raging storm, causing the Wei army's attacks to fail time and time again.

The Wei army launched a fierce attack for two days, but no one was able to breach the walls of Sanguan Pass.

Repeated defeats gradually wore down the morale of the Wei army, and they began to show signs of fatigue.

On the fourth day, at dusk.

Cao Pi stood at the forefront, staring intently at the battle, his face ashen, his eyes filled with anger and helplessness, like a volcano about to erupt.

"Your Majesty, Huo Jun of the Han army is truly formidable; he managed to hold off an attack from an army ten times our size."

Han De's expression was grave, and his tone was anxious as he said:

"If this continues, it will be difficult for us to take Sanguan City within four days."

The generals all nodded, clearly no longer having much confidence in taking Sanguan Pass.

"Huo Jun, Huo Jun..."

Cao Pi gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, his eyes revealing a hint of helplessness and anger. (End of Chapter)