Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 222 Digging up a river's water, unleashing the wrath of a great river

However, when Xing Daorong wielded his pear blossom axe and came ashore, the anticipated enemy attack while the enemy was crossing the river did not occur.

At this time, the Jingzhou camp was still debating whether to order all the ambush troops to come out and wipe out this river-crossing force.

As Zhuge Jin previously analyzed, when Yuan's army only sent 8,000 men to cross the river, the Jingzhou troops found themselves in a dilemma.

If they fought, they would expose their position and get caught in the middle of the battle. At this point, they were attacked by Yuan's reinforcements and suffered a major defeat.

But if we don't fight, the idea of ​​striking while the enemy is crossing the river becomes a joke.

While everyone was hesitating, they saw that Xing Daorong, seeing that no one was coming to attack him, actually led his men to dig deep trenches, build fortifications, and set up a temporary camp.

Upon seeing this, the people of Jingzhou could no longer contain themselves, and Chen Ying hurriedly persuaded Sun Quan.

"General Sun, we must not hesitate any longer and miss the opportunity to win the battle."

If we allow these people to complete their riverside camp, Yuan's army will have no obstacles in crossing the river. Our forces are mostly convicts, and we fear we will be unable to resist them.

However, before he could finish speaking, Paulon retorted.

"We must not miss the opportunity to win the battle; who does not know this?"

The problem is that Yuan's army has only sent out a mere 8,000 men so far, while the remaining 90,000 troops have yet to make a move.

If they secretly cross the river from another location and launch a surprise attack on us while we are out in ambush and caught in the middle of the battle, how should we deal with it?
Moreover, we have an army of 100,000, lying in ambush here for many days, only to be defeated by a mere 8,000 enemy soldiers? Wouldn't that be laughable?

"This"

Chen Ying was speechless when asked the question, and could only look at Sun Quan, "In any case, we cannot waste time here and let the enemy make full preparations. I hope the general will make a decision soon."

Make a decision sooner rather than later?

At this moment, Sun Quan had no decisiveness whatsoever.
In his mind, given his past tacit understanding with Zhou Yu, and the fact that his intention to attack while the enemy was crossing the river was so obvious, shouldn't Zhou Yu take the initiative to cooperate and send tens of thousands of Yuan troops over first, so that he could, as always, defeat his army and show off his power?

Why are there only 8,000 people? Why is this different from the previous tactics of inflating kill counts and stats?

Could it be that Gongjin is worried that his teeth aren't good enough and he won't be able to eat too much at once? Is he planning to send eight thousand at a time and feed him in small bites?

That's impossible!
The feeling that his opponent, who used to fight him evenly with his feet, had suddenly switched to using his hands, and that it was as if the opponent had changed completely, stirred up a strong sense of unease in him.

what happened?

Could it be that Gongjin's covert cooperation with me in those previous battles was too obvious and got discovered?
Could it be that he has already been captured by that old scoundrel Yuan Shu?

Looking across at Yuan Shu's camp on the opposite bank, the silence was palpable, yet it resembled a colossal beast that devoured hearts, reminding Sun Quan of the fear he had felt when facing Yuan Shu directly several times.

That figure, seated high on the platform, shrouded in mist, has always been like this, appearing and disappearing, making it impossible to see clearly. And it is precisely this elusiveness that is most terrifying.

Yes!

Sun Quan remembered!

They only sent eight thousand men, and the feeling of not being able to see their purpose clearly was extremely unsettling.

It's the feeling of facing Yuan Shu head-on!
Zhou Yu is in trouble.

Sun Quan didn't know what had happened in Yuan's camp, but he knew that his opponent had indeed changed, and had become that treacherous dragon of chaos who had been entrenched in the Huainan region!
Once he realized this, the blue-eyed, purple-bearded boy took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

At that moment, he no longer felt the superiority that came from having Zhou Yu as an inside man on the other side, which led to his successive victories. Instead, he respectfully bowed to Kuai Yue.

"Now that things have come to this, I wonder if my teacher has any advice for me?"

Kuai Yue stroked his long beard, frowned in deep thought, and said, "Yuan Jun's move is like fishing."

They're simply using these 8,000 men as bait to draw our attention, so we can cross the river and land elsewhere, or wait until we've deployed all our ambush troops and are engaged in battle before launching a frontal assault.

Or perhaps a combination of both, which must be guarded against.

He analyzed the situation and devised a plan.

"The best course of action now is to send more soldiers to patrol the Han River on horseback in case Yuan's army crosses the river. If they are discovered, we should immediately dispatch a large army to intercept and kill them."

Secondly, we cannot ignore these eight thousand men in front of us, otherwise, once they build a city at the bridgehead for crossing the river, we may find it difficult to intercept Yuan's army.

However, dealing with Yuan's army's surprise attack or river crossing and strong assault while our ambush troops are out engaged in battle is not difficult.

Yuan Jun can divide his troops, and so can we!
The enemy force is only eight thousand strong. Zhongmou, you only need to send General Chen Ying's 20,000 troops out to ambush them, and that will be enough to wipe them out.

The remaining 80,000 men will remain hidden and in ambush. At that time, whether Yuan's army crosses the river from another direction or lures out the ambush troops, we will seize the opportunity to cross and land.

We can all calmly deploy our troops to deal with this."

Sun Quan agreed wholeheartedly upon hearing this.

"What the teacher said is exactly what Quan wanted to say!"

He immediately ordered Chen Ying, who was lying in ambush on the left, to lead 20,000 troops out to surround Xing Daorong.

In an instant, drums and horns sounded on the north bank of the Han River, and the ambush troops rushed out.

Unexpectedly, Xing Daorong, despite this, feigned composure and appeared to have been prepared. He then loudly laughed at Chen Ying, who had led the ambush troops out to attack, and said:

"Chen Ying, you little brat, you've fallen for my trap! You're going to die today!"

After he finished speaking, eight thousand men charged towards Chen Ying's troops under the Fengtian banner he waved, displaying great momentum.

Chen Ying had heard the analysis from the people of Jingzhou and had long suspected that Yuan Jun's move was a trap, but he didn't know where the trap lay.

Seeing this scene so astonishingly, how could one doubt that there was something else going on?
They were so frightened by Xing Daorong that they dared not make any rash moves.

But to everyone's surprise, the ambush that he feared Yuan's army might launch from nowhere never appeared.

Instead, Xing Daorong, who was in front of him, had already led his soldiers to charge towards him, wielding the pear blossom axe, which weighed over a hundred pounds, with great force.

"You, Chen Ying, your Grandpa Xing is here! Do you dare to fight me?"

Chen Ying: "!!!"

A person's name is like a tree's shadow. Guiyang County is right next to Lingling County, and he had often heard of the great name of General Xing Daorong of Lingling.

Caught off guard, Xing Daorong rushed in. Just looking at the ridiculously large pear blossom-shaped axe, he already had the urge to retreat and hurriedly ordered his soldiers to block it.

The Fengtian Army under Xing Daorong's command already admired Xing Daorong's great name. Now, seeing that General Xing was indeed as brave as rumored, killing the enemy general so much that he dared not fight, their morale soared.

In contrast, Chen Ying's forces consisted of convicts who had been forcibly conscripted. Although they surrounded and fought the Fengtian army with their numerical advantage, they were unable to gain an absolute advantage and achieve a quick victory in a short period of time.

Seeing Chen Ying running around in panic because of him, Xing Daorong was amused!

Good! We've caught a coward, this round is in the bag.

This was Xing Daorong's battle strategy in making a name for himself as a general in Lingling: first, accumulate a wave of prestige, then intimidate the enemy, thereby defeating them, and his own prestige would also increase!
This is precisely the invincible power of Xing Daorong, who became stronger and stronger with each battle, and whose reputation grew ever greater.

Unfortunately, the enemy general was not only Chen Ying, and the enemy army was far more than 20,000 men.

This has intimidated the coward. He can hold on for a while, but if it drags on, he will surely be defeated.

It should be noted that his Fengtian Army was not much stronger than the enemy's, otherwise, he would not have been able to persuade them to surrender so easily.

Therefore, while brandishing his large axe and continuing to shout and intimidate Chen Ying, Xing Daorong could only hope that the reinforcements promised by Yuan Gong would arrive on the battlefield as soon as possible. He himself didn't know how long he could maintain this tactic of intimidation.

Chen Ying's side was being chased and attacked by Xing Daorong. Twenty thousand men had come out to fight, but they still couldn't defeat the mere eight thousand men for a while. This scene made the people of Jingzhou look at each other in bewilderment.

"This"

After a slight hesitation, Bao Long decided to defend his longtime comrade.

"General Xing Daorong truly lives up to his reputation as the number one general in Jingzhou. He fought against 20,000 with only 8,000 men and held his own. His strength is terrifying."

Yes, it's not that Chen Ying was too weak, but rather that his reputation was well-deserved; it must be that Xing Daorong, the number one general in Jingzhou, was too strong.

Everyone: "."

However, even with 20,000 men, Chen Ying still failed to capture Xing Daorong, and Sun Quan couldn't help but look at Kuai Yue again.

Before he could ask a question, Kuai Yue had already sighed.

"Xing Daorong's abilities have been used by the traitor Yuan, which is a great threat to Jingzhou."

The only option now is to send more troops to eliminate them as soon as possible, thus forcing Yuan's army to make further moves.

The principle is that if the enemy doesn't move, we don't move. Their biggest challenge at this moment is that they don't know what Yuan's army's purpose and intentions are.
Only by swallowing up Xing Daorong's troops and forcing Yuan's army to make further moves can we deal with the situation.

Sun Quan nodded and then instructed Bao Long, "Please lead 20,000 men to attack from the right flank, cooperate with General Chen, and make sure to defeat Xing Daorong."

"General, rest assured. I have cooperated with General Chen for many years. When we join forces against the enemy, we will not be afraid of Xing Daorong."

As Bao Long followed orders and charged into the fray, before anyone could see how he joined forces with Chen Ying to defeat Xing Daorong...

Then a fast horseman came to report, and the soldiers on it looked panicked. It was the same scout who had been sent out earlier to find out whether Yuan's army had found another way to cross the Han River.

"Report! General, retreat immediately! Retreat immediately!!!"

"What's wrong? Tell me slowly!"
However, Yuan Jun took the opportunity to find another place to cross the river and had already landed and attacked.

"Don't panic, we have a plan for this. At worst, we can take refuge in the deep trenches and fortifications we built earlier, which will be enough to repel the enemy."

Despite Sun Quan's reassurance, the soldiers' fear remained unchanged. They shouted at the top of their lungs, their cries of panic and helplessness sounding like a conscious person waking up a group of dreamers.

"escape!
Run away!
The flood is coming!

The Dragon King is furious!!!

Dragon King?
What the hell?

Aren't we all fighting Yuan Jun right now? I sent you to scout out the enemy's situation, how did you manage to find out about the Dragon King?

While everyone was at a loss, only Kuai Yue rushed to Sun Quan like a madman, grabbed his collar tightly, and looked ferocious.

"Water attack? Form ranks in the low-lying areas along the river!"

Why are you deploying your troops here? And yet you haven't even sent troops to patrol upstream daily to guard against a water attack?

"What do you mean by 'lining up in a low-lying area along the river'? It's because Yuan's army has set up camp on the opposite bank. We'll attack them from here while they're halfway across the river to intercept and kill them."

"Teacher, isn't this a plan we've already discussed?"

Sun Quan stared blankly at Kuai Yue.

This is a mistake that only someone like him, who has never truly served as a commander-in-chief and has never led an army of 100,000 men into battle, would make.

Sun Quan's previous army numbered only a little over a thousand men, and he never had to worry about such matters, because no one would use the waters of the great river to deal with his mere thousand-plus men.

After he became the commander of 100,000 men, he was majestic with his blue eyes and purple beard, and he commanded with ease when he took the stage, in addition to the glorious achievements he had made before.

Even Kuai Yue couldn't possibly inquire into every single detail of the orders and arrangements Sun Quan made each day.

Ultimately, these strategists and subordinate generals only answer when the commander-in-chief asks you a question or gives you an order. How could they possibly boss the commander around and instruct him on every little detail about how to lead troops into battle?
Therefore, it's impossible for anyone to imagine that Yuan's army might use water attacks.

Even if they had thought of it, no one would have imagined that Sun Quan, who was touted as a genius soldier who could do as many as possible, would be completely unprepared for this.

Only when they heard the scout's message did everyone truly panic.

At this point, no one cared about waiting for Sun Quan's order anymore; they quickly ran while shouting to their soldiers to run with them.

The remaining 60,000 troops were thrown into chaos, with countless soldiers trampling for their lives.

Only Kuai Yue slumped to the ground in vain, staring blankly at Sun Quan before him, and gave a bitter laugh.

"Talking about war on paper will exhaust your army; so that's how it is!"

The person Yuan Shu truly 'feared' was not Huang Zhong at all, but you, Sun Quan!
So it turns out he'd been plotting against me all along; I was already caught in his trap without even realizing it.

As he spoke, he looked towards Yuan Ying's direction, and almost burst into tears.

"Lord Yuan! I am completely convinced! I am willing to personally go to Xiangyang to persuade our lord to surrender Jingzhou. I beg you!"

I'm begging you!

"My Kuai family has painstakingly built up our business in Jingzhou and Xiangyang over many years. Are we to let it all be destroyed in an instant?"

Water and fire are merciless; when the Dragon King is enraged, floods rage for miles around!

He wasn't afraid of personal death, nor was he afraid of facing Yuan Jun's army of 100,000. But when he thought of the flood that would turn his family's thousand-year-old legacy into a swamp, he was truly terrified.

But Yuan Shu never heard his words.

At this point, Sun Quan understood what was about to happen. Xing Daorong, the eight thousand soldiers, the crossing of the river to fight—it was all an illusion, a deception to attract their attention.

Attack while the enemy is crossing the river?

Don't be ridiculous!

Yuan Shu had no intention of crossing the river; instead, he intended to seize the entire river and unleash the Dragon King's wrath.

Having figured this out, Sun Quan quickly led over a fast horse and pulled Kuai Yue onto it.

"Teacher, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. How can we surrender to that old scoundrel Yuan Shu?"

"Don't be afraid. We may suffer defeat after defeat, but we will never be discouraged by temporary setbacks. Once we escape and regroup, we will fight that traitor Yuan again."

Looking at the students who still remembered to pull him along as they ran, Kuai Yue didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Silly child, don't you understand? You are Yuan Shao's favorite opponent. He probably wishes you could lead the armies of all the warlords and fight against him one by one.

The chaos in Sun Quan's camp immediately terrified Xing Daorong, Chen Ying, and Bao Long, who were fighting on the shore.

Xing Daorong was already on the verge of defeat and death, surrounded and attacked by the two men who lacked martial ethics and led an army of 40,000.

Upon seeing this, he immediately had a flash of inspiration and burst into laughter.

"I warned you long ago that you had fallen into my trap, but you were unaware of it. Now it's too late for regrets!"

Chen Ying and Bao Long: "!!!"

(End of this chapter)