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

"Is this plan to raid the grain depot on the north bank yet another of your terrible ideas?"

Zhao Yun stared coldly at Jiang Xu, his tone full of sarcasm.

"Do you think your petty tricks can fool the Grand Marshal's discerning eyes? Your little schemes are nothing but a clumsy performance by a clown in front of him!"

"You're just showing off your limited skills in front of an expert, utterly foolish! Trying to outsmart the Grand Marshal with these petty tricks is truly overestimating your abilities!"

Zhao Yun's words, which were both deadly and psychologically damaging, were like a heavy hammer blow, instantly shattering Jiang Xu's confidence.

Jiang Xu's previously composed gaze was now filled with astonishment.

"And that plan to ambush San Pass was also incredibly clumsy in Grand Marshal Xiao's eyes. Jiang Xu, with your pathetic wisdom, you still want to show off your skills in front of the Grand Marshal? It's truly like throwing an egg against a rock, overestimating your own abilities!"

Every sarcastic remark from Zhao Yun was like a sharp dagger, piercing deeply into Jiang Xu's heart.

Jiang Xu felt his legs go weak, and the body he had just straightened up fell heavily to his knees again with a thud.

The truth was like a heavy mountain, crushing him completely and leaving him powerless to continue.

"My plan... was completely seen through by Xiao He?"

Jiang Xu muttered to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief and deep despair.

"I forgot, Xiao He is a military genius, otherwise how could he have seen through all my plans so easily?"

"How stupid I was! To try and outwit a military genius was like an ant trying to move an elephant—utterly ridiculous..."

Jiang Xu's gaze was vacant, as if his soul had been ripped from his body.

"I'm telling you this so you can die knowing why, Jiang Xu, today is your death day!"

Zhao Yun stopped wasting words, a resolute glint in his eyes. He raised his blood-red spear high, like a streak of crimson lightning, carrying boundless killing intent, aiming straight for Jiang Xu's life.

Jiang Xu suddenly snapped out of his daze of extreme fear and cried out urgently:

"General Zhao, General Zhao... please spare my life!"

He knelt before Zhao Yun, pleading incessantly, his forehead pressed against the ground, as if this would allow him to escape his impending death.

Zhao Yun's gaze was as firm as iron, unwavering in the slightest.

The blood spear slashed down like a bolt of lightning.

With a "crack," Jiang Xu's head fell to the ground, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Zhao Yun, expressionless, hung Jiang Xu's head high, then looked up and scanned his surroundings.

All that could be seen were the thousand Wei cavalrymen, many of whom had died or been wounded. The north bank was already stained dark red with blood, and corpses lay everywhere.

The attacking Wei soldiers were almost completely wiped out, with only a handful of survivors remaining.

"Xu Zhi, let's see how you defend the city from now on?"

Zhao Yun glanced in the direction of Ji City, smiled coldly, and then shouted:

"Quickly report the victory to the Grand Marshal, saying that we have annihilated the enemy who attacked our supplies!"

……

At the north gate of Jicheng, Xu Zhi stood atop the city tower like a statue, gazing towards the north bank.

The soldiers guarding the city were also greatly encouraged by the possibility of good news coming from the north bank. They straightened their backs and their eyes were full of anticipation.

On the north bank, in the direction of the Han camp, flames were blazing, illuminating half the sky.

In Xu Zhi's view, the fire meant that the sneak attack was successful and that the Han army's food supplies had been successfully burned.

This was undoubtedly great news for him, as it meant that the Han army would have to withdraw due to insufficient supplies.

Xu Zhi was smug and excited, and before he knew it, the east was already turning white.

Xu Zhi figured that Jiang Xu should be returning victorious by now, so he had his men prepare a celebration banquet in advance, just waiting for the triumphant army to return so they could celebrate properly.

"General, troops are approaching!"

Just then, the guard beside him suddenly pointed outside the city and shouted loudly.

Xu Zhi quickly looked up and saw a cloud of dust rolling in from a distance.

His heart leaped with joy, thinking that the surprise attack troops must have returned victorious. "Send the order: open the city gates immediately, lower the drawbridge, and I will personally go to welcome them!"

Xu Zhi laughed excitedly and gave a loud order.

He couldn't wait to go down from the city wall and come to the city gate to wait for the triumphant army to arrive.

As he waited, Xu Zhi's smile gradually faded.

He discovered that the returning army was not the five thousand men he had expected, but only a few hundred cavalrymen.

The cavalrymen's banners were in disarray, their helmets and armor were scattered, and they were all in a sorry state, clearly a scene of a crushing defeat!
Xu Zhi felt a sudden panic, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.

Finally, the hundred defeated cavalrymen arrived at the city gate in fear and trepidation.

Yin Feng dismounted and knelt before Xu Zhi, weeping and wailing:
"General Xu, we have been defeated; our entire army has been wiped out!"

These words struck Xu Zhi like a thunderbolt.

He felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, lost his balance, stumbled back several steps, and almost fell to the ground.

"General Xu!"

Upon seeing this, Yin Feng quickly jumped up and helped Xu Zhi up.

Xu Zhi pushed Yin Feng away, leaned on the city gate, and gasped for breath.

After a long time.

Xu Zhi slowly opened his eyes, and his expression gradually returned to calm.

He grabbed Yin Feng and roared:
"What happened? How could you suffer such a crushing defeat? How were you all wiped out? Explain yourself!"

Yin Feng, with a bitter face and a sorrowful expression, said:

"We successfully left the city, crossed the river on the ice, and launched a strong attack on the Han camp on the north bank."

At first, our attack went smoothly, and it looked like we were about to break through the enemy camp.

"But at that moment, the Han army used their grain and fodder to set up a wall of fire, which completely blocked our attack route, and we could not get close at all."

"In that short time, the Han cavalry suddenly attacked from all directions, more than 20,000 iron cavalry! How can we resist them?"

"General Jiang Xu and I saw that the situation was not good, so we hurriedly led the cavalry to fight our way out, but we had not gone far when we were intercepted by Zhao Yun."

"We were utterly vulnerable. Almost all of our thousand cavalrymen were wiped out, and General Jiang is nowhere to be found. Only I and a hundred or so riders managed to break through and return alive..."

Yin Feng recounted the whole story with lingering fear.

The truth has finally come to light.

Xu Zhi finally realized the seriousness of the matter.

He realized that there were capable people in the Han army's grain camp, and most importantly, Xiao He had seen through Jiang Xu's plan to raid the grain camp.

That's why they quickly dispatched troops to cross the river and rescue the grain camp on the north bank.

"Why? Why are Jiang Xu's schemes repeatedly exposed? Why is that?"

Xu Zhi looked up at the sky and asked sadly.

"General Xu, General Jiang said that Xiao He must have seen through his plan, and he even said that he brought this humiliation upon himself!"

Yin Feng said with a bitter face.

Xu Zhi shuddered and suddenly woke up.

The terror of Xiao He surged into his mind like a tidal wave.

From the time he began following Cao Pi, every confrontation with Xiao He ended in a crushing defeat, right up to this day.

Cao Pi never won any of the strategic battles against Xiao He!

If Cao Pi was like this, what about himself?
Isn't the defeat at Sanguan the best proof of this?
"Alas, I should have known that Jiang Xu was no match for Xiao He. Xiao He was a military genius!"

"I shouldn't have used Jiang Xu's plan. Now we've lost a lot of troops. What are we going to do?"

Xu Zhi beat his chest and stamped his feet, crying out in grief, his heart filled with endless sorrow, anger, and remorse. (End of Chapter)