I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 311 Hebei's Sky Collapse

Yuan Shao has launched an attack.

The number of infantrymen in Hebei was not large, only about 100,000.

However, these 100,000 soldiers were just like the soldiers Liu Miao had previously recruited to Langya; they were all fully armed and protected by armor.

Liu Miao was able to enable his soldiers to do this because he reformed the land and military systems, allowing soldiers to provide their own armor.

However, Yuan Shao never implemented any reforms.

In other words, this army of 100,000 was entirely funded by Yuan Shao himself, a professional army that only engaged in warfare and did not engage in farming!

In addition, Yuan Shao mobilized a full 10,000 cavalrymen to the Central Plains battlefield.

If Liu Miao and Cao Cao were able to barely hold their own against Yuan Shao on all fronts in terms of infantry, they were completely outmatched in terms of cavalry.

"Ten thousand cavalrymen, if they were really allowed to run on this plain, no one could resist them."

Cao Cao also devised a strategy: "Do not let Yuan Shao's army cross the river!"

The natural barrier of the Yellow River was Cao Cao's only advantage at this time!
Yuan Shao, on the other side, knew this as well.

The Yellow River, the Pu River, the Honggou River, and the Ying River.

As long as we can cross these four rivers, we can defeat Cao Cao and take over the Central Plains!
After Yuan Shao personally arrived in Liyang, he ordered Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Chunyu Qiong to surround Baima and capture the ferry crossing to support the army's crossing of the river.

Yuan Shao's imprisonment of Tian Feng before the war made all the generals silent and extremely afraid of Yuan Shao. Only Ju Shou once again advised Yuan Shao: "Yan Liang is narrow-minded. Although he is brave, he should not be allowed to serve as a general on his own!"

However, Yan Liang performed exceptionally well in the last battle to quell Gongsun Zan, so Yuan Shao still allowed Yan Liang to lead the troops alone.

When Cao Cao learned that Yan Liang had led his troops to Baima, he consulted his advisors: "Yan Liang is a famous general in Hebei. If he is allowed to remain stationed in Baima, it may be detrimental to our army!"

At this time, Xun You, Xun Yu's cousin, advised Cao Cao: "Yuan Shao has mobilized a large army, and it seems that he wants to conquer the Central Plains in one battle."

"In this situation, what Yuan Shao fears most is that something might go wrong, causing his army to collapse and be routed. In that case, it would be better to feign crossing the river at Yanjin, making it appear as if we are attacking the rear of Yuan's army, thus luring Yuan Shao to divide his forces at Yanjin. Then, we can advance lightly and swiftly, raid Baima, and catch him off guard!"

Cao Cao gladly adopted Xun You's plan, raised his own banner, and personally went to Yan Jin.

As expected, Yuan Jun believed Cao Cao was about to launch a surprise attack on their rear, and rushed to reinforce Yan Jin. This left Yan Liang, who was left guarding Baima, exposed to Cao Cao's military might!

"Yun Chang!"

Cao Cao turned his head slightly and looked at Guan Yu.

"In this battle, you will be the vanguard. You must kill Yan Liang at Baima!"

Since Guan Yu was captured last time, Cao Cao not only did not hold a grudge against him for Liu Bei's actions, but also treated him with great courtesy, appointing Guan Yu as the second non-Cao Cao general after Yu Jin!
Guan Yu naturally remembered Cao Cao's kindness, and most importantly, Cao Cao did not make things difficult for Liu Bei's family, which made Guan Yu even more grateful to Cao Cao.

Upon hearing Cao Cao's instructions, Guan Yu immediately cupped his hands and said, "Rest assured, Minister! I will go and take Yan Liang's head right away!"

Guan Yu led a thousand axemen, without heavy armor, baggage, or provisions, traveling light and quickly for dozens of miles, until he reached the vicinity of Baima.

Yan Liang only heard of Cao Cao's army's presence when Guan Yu was within ten miles of him, and immediately rushed to meet them in battle.

Guan Yu spotted Yan Liang's banner and observed Yuan's army formation. Seeing that their formation was chaotic, he immediately handed over the troops to his deputy to attack, while he himself had already aimed at Yan Liang.

The lieutenant advised, "I've never heard of anyone single-handedly breaking into enemy lines, taking the head of their general, and returning safely! Why would you do such a thing, General?"

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and said, "I cannot serve my country, I cannot assist my brother, and I cannot kill enemy generals. What use is my life if I am spared?"

"If I can use this crippled body to kill Yan Liang for Cao Cao, then I will have repaid his kindness!"

After Guan Yu finished speaking, he spurred his horse and charged towards Yan Liang's direction!
The armor Guan Yu wore and the broadsword in his hand were gifts from Liu Miao, and they were exceptionally sturdy!

Even when Yuan's soldiers spotted Guan Yu and shot arrows at him, the arrows were easily blocked by his armor and could not harm Guan Yu in the slightest.

Guan Yu had spent half his life fighting and was an excellent horseman. With his agility and skill, he actually managed to open a passage in Yuan's army formation all by himself!

Yan Liang, who had been focused on dealing with the situation head-on, was terrified when he saw a burly, red-faced man charging towards him with unparalleled bravery: "You..."

With just one word, Guan Yu's broadsword sliced ​​across Yan Liang's neck, severing his head!
"Yan Liang is dead! You worthless cowards, who among you still dares to come up and die?"

Guan Yu's battle roar brought a moment of silence to the battlefield.

At this time, Cao Cao also led his army to Baima. When he saw that Guan Yu had appeared alone in the Yuan army's formation and had already killed Yan Liang, he was so shocked that he could not speak.

"Yun, Yun Chang is truly a celestial being!!!"

Fortunately, Cao Cao reacted quickly and immediately shouted, "Yan Liang is dead! Do not surrender!"

At the same time, generals such as Cao Ren, Cao Chun, and Xiahou Yuan also led their troops into the battlefield to carry out a final annihilation of the Yuan army that had lost its fighting spirit!

Guan Yu emerged unharmed from Yuan Shao's army, tossing a severed head to Cao Cao: "This is Yan Liang's head! Please examine it, Lord Cao!" Cao Cao didn't even glance at Yan Liang's head on the ground, and quickly went forward to personally help Guan Yu dismount: "Yun Chang's might! Truly divine and valiant!"

At this moment, Cao Cao's eyes seemed to sparkle with stars as he looked at Guan Yu!
If Guan Yu hadn't killed Yan Liang, Cao Cao would never have been able to achieve victory so easily!
If the delay goes on too long and reinforcements from Yuan's army arrive, all our previous efforts will be in vain!

At this moment, Cao Cao had only one thought regarding Guan Yu—

"How can this man be so handsome?"

Cao Cao can only be thankful that Liu Bei didn't kidnap Guan Yu back then!

"Yun Chang, please rest for now. Leave the rest to me!"

Cao Ren and his generals will soon completely defeat Yuan's army here and lift the siege of Baima!
At this time, Yuan's troops arrived one after another to provide support. Cao Cao saw that Baima was not suitable for defense and immediately and decisively abandoned this hard-won ferry crossing, choosing to return to the south to defend.

The river is the widest, but it also means that there are many boats on the river and the terrain is wide, so it is not actually suitable for Cao Cao, who was already at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, to defend.

Therefore, Cao Cao did not initially choose the Yellow River as his main defensive focus.

Cao Cao built all of his defensive fortifications at Guandu!

As mentioned before, Yuan Shao's ambition to conquer the Central Plains was essentially a matter of crossing several rivers in succession.

The Yellow River, the Pu River, the Honggou River, and the Ying River.

However, in reality, the upper reaches of the Pu River and the Honggou Canal are connected, and then they diverge at a certain place.

And that place, of course, is Guandu!

In other words, as long as Guandu is captured, Yuan Shao will be able to break through both the Pu River and Honggou defense lines at the same time!
In addition, Yuan Shao suddenly launched a full-scale attack with great momentum, clearly aiming for a quick victory!

Thus, Guandu became the only answer for both sides!
However, Cao Cao was still unwilling to leave the land between Guandu and the Yellow River to Yuan's army, and so quickly fell into a disadvantageous situation of full-scale defense.

Cao Cao was thinking about how to delay Yuan Shao's advance as much as possible in this area, and how to deplete Yuan's army's strength to the greatest extent possible!
"What a pity. If only we could dig a hole in the river and let its waters stop Yuan Shao."

Even for Cao Cao, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before quickly disappearing.

So frustrating!

Cao Cao estimated that such an idea was probably unprecedented and would never be repeated!

"Such a heinous act should not be something a human being could do."

Moreover, the downstream provinces of Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Huainan were all Cao Cao's base of operations. Cao Cao dared not imagine what kind of uproar would ensue if he really did this!
At that point, let alone others, even Xun Yu might not be able to resist killing Cao Cao out of loyalty to his own family!
Cao Cao erased the idea of ​​"digging up the river" from his mind and began to think of a new plan.

No matter how hard Cao Cao racked his brains, he couldn't figure out what else he could do in this narrow territory. He could only order his soldiers to relocate all the people south of the Pu River to clear the land and prevent Yuan's army from receiving supplies and support.

Just as Cao's army was transporting supplies, someone suddenly reported that Wen Chou was leading cavalry to pursue them.

How many soldiers does Yuan Jun have?

"There seem to be several hundred."

Cao Cao was itching to go: "Let's go scout again!"

"There seem to be a thousand!"

Cao Cao hesitated: "Investigate again!"

"The enemy cavalry is endless, stretching as far as the eye can see!"

Cao Cao immediately became dejected: "Come back! Forbid the scouts from going out to explore again!"

Cao Cao was about to retreat, but Xun You's strategy made him stop.

Cao Cao ordered the money and grain being transported to be scattered on the ground, and then forbade his soldiers from riding horses, only to pretend to be in a panic in front of them.

When Wen Chou pursued them to this place, he saw from afar that Cao Cao's soldiers were only about the height of a person, so he assumed that Cao Cao had no cavalry and lowered his guard.

When Wen Chou's cavalry saw the valuables that Cao Cao had thrown down, they scattered and began to pick them up.

Some of Cao Cao's soldiers, seeing that Wen Chou's cavalry was too numerous, became frightened and wanted to mount their horses and flee, but Cao Cao firmly held their hands down: "This is precisely our strategy to lure the enemy! How can we leave?"

It wasn't until Cao Cao saw that Yuan's cavalry were scattered very sparsely that he mounted his warhorse and personally led his soldiers to attack Wen Chou!
Cao Cao charged incredibly fast! With only six hundred men, he caught Yuan's army of several thousand cavalry off guard and arrived right in front of Wen Chou!

Before Wen Chou could speak, he was killed by Guan Yu amidst the chaos of battle. Seeing this, the other Yuan soldiers also hastily fled north once again.

No one expected that the seemingly invincible Yuan army would lose two generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou, in just a few days!
Many Hebei officials were stunned when they heard the news!
Is the sky in Hebei about to collapse?

(End of this chapter)