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

Inside the government hall.

Xiao He sat upright in the seat of honor, shook his head slightly, and a bitter smile appeared on his face:
"Yide's eagerness to pursue Cao Pi this time is clearly driven by greed for military achievements."

He knew Zhang Fei's temperament and character all too well.

At this moment, Ma Su stepped forward, his brows slightly furrowed, and said:

"If Cao Pi retreats all the way to Zhangye, the pressure on our supply lines will be unbearable. Zhangye is located in a remote area with rugged roads, making it difficult to transport supplies."

"If Cao Pi occupies a favorable position to obstruct us, the consequences will be unimaginable. However, if General Yide can catch up with Cao Pi and annihilate him in one fell swoop, that would be the best thing."

Xiao He nodded slightly after hearing this, his eyes showing a hint of approval:
“You Chang is absolutely right. If Yide can annihilate Cao Pi ahead of time, it will be a great thing to eliminate a major hidden danger for our Han Dynasty.”

He paused, then seemed to say something:
"With Zhang Fei's abilities, if he could catch up with Cao Pi, he should have a good chance of annihilating him."

Just then, Lu Xun, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect:

"Grand Marshal, I believe we should immediately dispatch cavalry northwards to reinforce General Yide!"

As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes immediately turned to Lu Xun.

Most people's eyes revealed a dismissive expression.

In their view, Cao Pi had only about 20,000 troops, while Zhang Fei had 40,000.

How could Cao Pi pose a threat to Zhang Fei?
Moreover, if Cao Pi were defending the city, he might have been able to hold out for a while thanks to the city's fortifications. But now Cao Pi is on the run, and Zhang Fei should be able to catch up with ease.

Judging from Lu Xun's words, it seemed that Zhang Fei might still be defeated by Cao Pi, which was naturally hard for them to understand.

Gan Ning chuckled easily, saying nonchalantly:
"General of the Flying Cavalry can deal with Cao Pi with ease. I think you are overthinking it, Lu Boyan."

Lu Xun remained unmoved by the doubts of the crowd, and calmly replied:

"Under Cao Pi's command, there was also a strategist like Cheng Gongying, who was wise and resourceful and good at devising plans, as well as a fierce general like Xu Huang."

"Moreover, I've heard that Hu Zun, the prefect of Wuwei, is quite intelligent. If it were a normal confrontation, General Yide would certainly be fine."

"But now General Yide is eager to make merit and hastily eliminate Cao Pi, so he is likely to be less vigilant."

"You should know that General Yide only has about 20,000 more troops than Cao Pi, and does not have an absolute advantage. That is why Xun asked the Grand Marshal to send more light cavalry to reinforce General Yide."

"First, we should send someone to remind General Yide not to advance rashly and to avoid falling into Cao Pi's trap. Second, having cavalry gives us an advantage. Even if Cao Pi uses trickery, we can still defeat him!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao He suddenly realized what was happening. His relaxed nerves instantly tensed up, and a sense of vigilance welled up in his heart.

Thinking of this, he immediately waved his hand and said:
"Very well, very well, as Boyan says. Deng Ai, Guan Xing, and Guan Suo, the three of you will lead 20,000 cavalry north to aid Yide!"

The order was given, and the three generals accepted it.

...

Night quietly fell outside Luan Bird City.

The city walls of Luan Bird City are brightly lit.

The soldiers on night duty stood spiritedly atop the city wall.

This very morning, Zhang Fei's 40,000-strong army surged into Luan Bird City like a tidal wave.

Just like the cities he had conquered before, Cao Pi fled in panic under the powerful offensive of the Han army, abandoning the city.

The city was instantly deserted.

Zhang Fei led his troops into the city. Looking at the empty city, he secretly planned his next pursuit.

After a moment's thought, they decided to rest there for one night before continuing their northward pursuit, as the soldiers were exhausted from continuous marches and battles and needed time to recover their strength.

Ma Dai, however, remained calm and dared not slacken his guard in the slightest, reminding him:
"General of the Flying Cavalry, Cao Pi still has strategists and generals under his command, and he should not be underestimated. We must be cautious."

Reminded by Ma Dai, Zhang Fei realized that he couldn't be too careless.

After careful consideration, it was decided to deploy a total of seven thousand people to guard the city and ensure its safety.

...

As night fell, the soldiers in the city, having endured a day of travel, had all fallen asleep and drifted into dreams.

The soldiers guarding the city walls remained on high alert, their eyes fixed on the outside of the city, not daring to relax their guard in the slightest.

As the moon sank in the west, all was quiet outside the city.

The night seemed to be passing peacefully, and the soldiers on duty finally relaxed and began to yawn.

They were completely unaware that in the dense forest not far away, pairs of eyes were watching them intently.

Inside the dense forest, Cao Pi stood on his horse, sword at his side, his expression revealing a fierce intent as he stared intently at the city wall.

Behind him, the Wei soldiers gripped their swords and spears tightly, eager to fight.

They had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"Your Majesty, that's about enough."

At this moment, Hu Zun's voice rang out from behind:
"This is the most exhausted moment for the Han army. Let's make our move. After a night of guarding, the Han soldiers are physically and mentally exhausted. Launching a surprise attack now will greatly increase the success rate."

Cao Pi glanced at the Han army again. By the light of the fire, he saw that the Han soldiers were yawning, and some had even fallen asleep leaning against the city wall.

He knew that the time before dawn was when people were most tired, so this was the perfect time to launch a surprise attack.

Taking a deep breath, Cao Pi's face was filled with murderous intent, and he shouted:

"By my order, proceed according to plan!"

...

Inside the granary of Luan Bird City.

The first rays of sunlight in the early morning pierced through the gaps in the heavy warehouse door, casting a few faint rays of light.

Ma Dai arrived here early in the morning. He paced back and forth with a focused expression, meticulously counting the grain and fodder.

Inside the grain depot, rows of neatly stacked sacks of grain exuded a faint aroma of cereal.

Ma Dai's gaze slowly swept over the grain sacks, his heart filled with both undisguised delight and a hint of suspicion.

He was secretly pleased that Cao Pi had left behind nearly 30,000 bushels of grain when he withdrew.

This was undoubtedly a timely help for the Han army, which had just captured Luan Bird City and whose supplies had not yet been fully replenished.

With this batch of supplies, the pressure of transporting supplies in the rear can be greatly reduced, so that the soldiers on the front line do not have to worry about food shortages.

What puzzled him was that Cao Pi couldn't possibly be unaware of the importance of provisions. Even if the evacuation was hasty, according to common sense, the provisions should at least have been burned to prevent future troubles, rather than being left so easily to the enemy.

Something's not right... there's definitely something fishy going on here.

Ma Dai frowned and muttered to himself.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to a tattered grain sack.

The opening of this grain sack had a rather large crack, but strangely, not a single grain of rice leaked out.

A sense of foreboding washed over Ma Dai.

He walked quickly to the grain sack, squatted down, and carefully reached his hand into the sack to feel around.

His expression turned serious the moment his hand touched the contents of the bag.

"Dry wood?"

Ma Dai stared at the stone chips in his hand, muttering to himself in confusion.

The grain sack wasn't filled with grain, but with firewood.

what on earth is it?

"Tear open all these grain sacks!" Ma Dai's heart tightened, and he immediately shouted.

Upon hearing the order, the soldiers on both sides quickly punctured more than ten grain sacks.

As the grain sack was cut open, its contents were revealed: it was filled with dry firewood.

Ma Dai gripped a handful of dry firewood tightly, his face growing increasingly suspicious.

Why are dried goods filled in the grain bags?
"Fire attack!"

A terrifying thought flashed through Ma Dai's mind in an instant.

"Luan Bird City is a trap; Cao Pi is preparing to launch a fire attack!"

Ma Dai suddenly realized the sinister intentions of Cao Pi.

Clearly, Cao Pi deliberately left this firewood with the intention of burning down Luan Bird City.

So, besides this granary, Cao Pi must have hidden flammable materials all over the city, just waiting for the right moment to start a raging fire.

At this time, Cao Pi had most likely already secretly approached the outskirts of Luan Bird City, lying in wait, preparing to launch this fire attack.

Only in this way could Cao Pi, with his relatively weak forces, unexpectedly defeat the large Han army and achieve the strategic goal of defeating the strong with the weak.

"Quickly prepare the horses and go see General Yide!"

Ma Dai had no time to think. He knew the situation was extremely critical, and every second of delay could lead to irreversible consequences.

So he immediately ran off.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Fei was woken up ahead of time and stood in front of Ma Dai, still sleepy-eyed.

Without even taking a breath, Ma Dai revealed the suspicious points he had discovered and the Wei army's intention to launch a fire attack.

"Cao Pi actually harbored such a vicious plan?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei gasped in shock, his expression instantly changing to one of astonishment.

"Cheng Gongying and Hu Zun are both quite intelligent; this must be their idea!"

Ma Dai guessed this and hurriedly said:

"General Yide, the Wei army may launch a fire attack at any time. Let's get out of the city quickly! If we delay any longer, the entire city will be engulfed in flames, and then we will have no chance of escape!"

Zhang Fei was about to give the order when he suddenly remembered something, and he turned around sharply:

"That doesn't make sense. Even if Cao Pi intended to launch a fire attack, how would he ignite the flammable materials in the city?"

"You think you can set the whole city ablaze just by launching a few rockets? That seems unlikely. Luan Bird City is so big, and the range and power of rockets are limited. How could they possibly cause such a large-scale fire in such a short time?"

Zhang Fei's question stumped Ma Dai.

Ma Dai was speechless for a moment. He had only focused on discovering the hidden dangers of fire attack, but had not yet carefully considered the specific methods the Wei army would use to ignite the fire.

"My father is right. It is impossible for a few rockets to set the whole city ablaze."

Zhang Bao chimed in, offering his analysis:

"If the Wei army wants to launch a fire attack, it needs to be coordinated from both inside and outside to succeed. However, when the Wei army withdrew, the city was empty. How can the Wei army launch a fire attack from both inside and outside?"

Both of them turned their gazes to Ma Dai, waiting for his explanation.

"This……"

Ma Dai was at a loss for words and was filled with doubt.

Just as he was racking his brains, suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

A guard rushed in, his face filled with terror, and cried out:
"General of the Cavalry, a fire has broken out in the east of the city!"

Zhang Fei's expression changed drastically. Without thinking, he shouted:
"Quickly, come with me outside and take a look!"

The three of them ran outside.

Looking eastward, one could indeed see flames soaring into the sky in the east of the city, the raging fire like angry dragons, wantonly devouring everything around them.

Thick smoke billowed, blocking out the sky and the sun.

At the same time, fires broke out almost simultaneously in four directions of Luan Bird City.

"Fire attack! The Wei army has launched a fire attack!"

Ma Dai pointed at the firelight and shouted.

"What's going on? Why are there fires all over the city? Could it be that the Wei army has infiltrated Luan Bird City?"

Zhang Fei exclaimed, his eyes revealing disbelief.

"impossible!"

Zhang Bao shook his head violently and said sternly:

"My four gates are heavily guarded, with soldiers patrolling and protecting them. How could the Wei army possibly sneak into the city and set it on fire? Unless, of course, the Wei army has grown wings!"

At this moment, Ma Dai and Zhang Fei frowned, their faces full of confusion and bewilderment.

The towering flames and the constant shouts of battle left them momentarily at a loss.

Ma Dai was extremely anxious, large beads of sweat rolling down his face. He said urgently:

"What's the use of thinking about this now? The situation is extremely critical. General, the most important thing is to wake up the soldiers and retreat immediately, otherwise we will all be burned to death in this city, and then it will be too late!"

Zhang Fei, who was still immersed in his previous confusion, was suddenly awakened by Ma Dai's urgent shout.

His eyes widened, and he shouted:

"Order all soldiers to immediately evacuate Luan Bird City—"

The orders were issued swiftly, like a gust of wind.

In an instant, alarms blared throughout Luan Bird City, their sharp sirens shattering the tranquility of the night.

The Han soldiers were startled awake, their eyes still heavy with sleep, their faces filled with confusion and panic.

They didn't understand why the alarm suddenly went off, nor did they know where this unexpected disaster came from.

But at this moment, they couldn't care less about anything else and could only panic and follow the crowd to retreat out of the city.

In an instant, chaos erupted within Luan Bird City.

Just then, shouts of battle arose from all sides, as if countless Wei soldiers were surging into Luan Bird City like a tidal wave.

"Kill the Han dogs!"

The shouts of the Wei army instantly filled the entire city.

The will of the Han army crumbled at this moment.

Faced with this sudden fire attack and shouts of battle, their morale was thrown into chaos. They no longer cared about formations or discipline and rushed out of the city in a frenzy.

The fire was relatively weakest in the south direction.

Zhang Fei and the Han army all converged on the south gate, like a tide, crowding towards the seemingly safe city gate.

The crowd jostled and pushed each other at the narrow city gate, with people occasionally being pushed to the ground and letting out painful screams.

But at this moment, no one cared about the safety of others; everyone was only thinking about escaping the city that was about to be engulfed by fire as soon as possible.

At this moment, within the dense forest outside the West Gate, an endless killing intent lurked beneath the silence.

Cao Pi and his Wei army were quietly lying in ambush there, their eyes fixed on the burning Luan Bird City.

When they saw the city gates wide open and the Han army pouring out of the west gate like headless flies, the Wei army's elation reached its peak at that moment. (End of this chapter)