The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 28 The Night Battle Without Lights
Miwei turned his head upon hearing this.

Pan Jun stood with his hands behind his back and sighed slightly:

"Of course, I can't do that either."

"People like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who can defeat ten thousand men, are rare and hard to come by."

Miwei is aware of this.

But didn't Old Deng previously boast that he was capable of defeating ten thousand men?

What's going on now?

"If you were to face a warrior like Guan Yu or Zhang Fei on the battlefield, a match for ten thousand men, how would you respond?"

Pan Jun sneered repeatedly upon hearing this.

It seemed to mock Mi Wei's tactic of goading him as too naive.

But after laughing, seeing that Mi Wei still looked like a curious child, he couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"General Guan's might shakes the land; how could I possibly be his match?"

"However, if I were Lü Meng, I would not be easily swayed by Guan Ping's surprise attack."

"On the contrary, we should take advantage of Guan Ping's sudden turn and have the soldiers quickly retreat to the river embankment to regroup and defend against his next attack and the one after that."

Mi Wei: "Sir, are you imitating Marquis Huaiyin (Han Xin) by deploying your troops with their backs to the river to boost morale, putting yourself in a do-or-die situation?"

"Carrying water on your back...where did you learn this twisted logic from?"

Pan Jun was taken aback and said irritably.

That would naturally be the "gaming master" from his previous life.

Mi Wei muttered a curse inwardly, when Pan Jun explained:
"As I just said, in all battle formations, movement should be sparse and fighting should be dense."

"Since ancient times, infantry could only rely on a tight military formation to defend against cavalry on flat ground."

"Although Sun Bin of Qi proposed an emergency tactic of using chariots as a barrier to resist enemy attacks, the essence was still to form a tight formation."

"Conversely, cavalry would have a hard time breaking through a dense formation of troops equipped with shields, spears, bows, and crossbows."

"Especially when you are outnumbered, it is difficult to get out once you break through."

Mi Wei suddenly realized and said:

"No wonder General Guan didn't charge straight into the enemy formation when he first came up. Instead, he harassed the enemy with several rounds of mounted archery before launching a full-scale attack once the enemy formation was loosened."

“That’s exactly right, look!” Pan Jun pointed to the river embankment.

As he had predicted, the enemy forces left only a small force in front to defend against Guan Ping's second assault.

Most of them retreated slightly later to the riverbank, where they regrouped into a dense, dark mass.

Miwei finally figured it out and pondered for a moment:
"I understand what you mean, sir."

“The river embankment is a man-made structure and is relatively flat.”

"When the soldiers retreated to the bottom of the dike, even without the supervision of military officers, they would instinctively form neat square formations according to the shape of the dike."

"Furthermore, Lu Meng's navy is also positioned behind the dike, and the archers on the ships can provide cover for our own army formation by launching projectiles... As for shooting down those who desert in the face of battle, that goes without saying."

As they spoke, Guan Ping had already broken up the small group of enemy troops that had deliberately left behind.

However, faced with the tightly packed formation that had regrouped below the river embankment, they hesitated and could not move forward.

Ultimately, they could only retreat to the area between the two rear forts to cover the last batch of soldiers entering the city.

Afterwards, it returned north, raising dust.

Mi Wei knew that this was not because Guan Ping was afraid of fighting.

Rather, it means that these eight hundred cavalrymen are the only mobile force on the Jiangling side, and they cannot be wasted.

In any case, with Guan Ping's retreat, the enemy finally gained a foothold on the shore.

Fortunately, darkness finally fell, and the enemy, presumably wanting to repair the ferry crossing on the north bank of the river, did not continue their advance.

Both sides temporarily cease hostilities.

In today's battle, judging from the situation, Lü Meng successfully landed, which can be considered as achieving the basic tactical objective.

However, none of the three defensive strongholds on the Jiangling side, especially the two garrisons of Mamu and Lingxi on the shore, were lost.

It can still effectively delay the enemy's advance to the walls of Jiangling City.

So it can't be considered a complete failure.

It was a close call, I suppose.

But how long can this "draw" last?
……

"In the end, we were outnumbered and outgunned!"

"If we cannot stop Lü Meng's army from crossing the river, things will become very difficult."

That night, Guan Xing came to discuss the matter with Mi Wei.

"My brother's idea is to take advantage of the cover of night, and since the enemy has just landed and is not yet firmly established, to go out and burn their boats, or at least burn down the ferry crossing that has been repaired!"

"As long as he can't repair the ferry crossing, he won't be able to bypass the sandbar and transport troops smoothly... and that will give us a better chance of winning!"

Although Mi Wei had studied under Pan Jun for a few days, he was still capable of defeating ten thousand men.

But the art of military campaigns cannot be mastered in just a few days.

Therefore, I decisively listened to the expert and said:
"Is there anything I can do to assist you, Lord Guan?" "I knew you were a decisive person!" Guan Xing was overjoyed.

"I have already made arrangements for the night raid outside the city, but I still need you, Marquis of Liu, to be stationed on the city wall and guard the city gate for me... I don't trust anyone else to do it!"

Well, they're not even going to act anymore, they're just using Zhang Liang as a substitute.

Miwei was speechless, but too lazy to explain:

"Is simply guarding the city gates enough?"

Guan Xing: "Besides this, I also need Lord Mi to control the golden drums and flags for me."

"Lord Mi, you have a high vantage point on the city wall and a wide view. If there is any unusual movement in the enemy camp, please immediately use candles and drums to warn them!"

"If not, please remain silent until I succeed, then I will send someone out of the city to meet you."

After speaking, he untied the pouch containing his official seal.

He handed the crudely made Qu Junhou seal to Mi Wei.

"This item is temporarily lent to Lord Deer for the purpose of troop deployment!"

Mi Wei accepted it solemnly.

……

It was early October, and the moonlight was dim.

Under Mi Wei's watchful eye, Guan Xing led a thousand elite troops out of the city in the dark, and then quickly split into two groups.

One of the teams, led by Guan Xing himself, headed straight for Mamukou in the southwest.

The other one heads diagonally southeast towards Jiangjinkou.

That is, the same waterway that Mi Wei used when he led his men to "ambush" Gong'an County.

But unlike back then, it was just a group of deaf and blind soldiers.

Ahead lies a real enemy outpost.

Therefore, Guan and Xing's troops did not move quickly in order to minimize the disturbance of their march.

They lingered outside the city for almost half an hour before finally disappearing into the night.

At this time, there was no unusual activity in the enemy camp.

Only scattered campfires dotted the landscape, outlining a vast expanse stretching for miles, echoing the Milky Way in the sky.

If it weren't for the life-or-death battlefield, it would be considered a magnificent night scene.

After waiting for nearly another hour, there was movement from the southeast.

It was initially a bright color that was different from ordinary campfires.

Then the bright color rapidly expanded along the riverbank, soon reaching a point where it seemed to soar into the sky.

"It seems they've succeeded at Jiangjinkou..."

Mi Wei muttered to himself, and the tension that had been hanging over him all night finally eased a little.

The enemy forces on the eastern route landed downstream this afternoon.

All in all, the emergency repairs only took an afternoon and a little over the night.

The ferry crossing was definitely not yet formed.

At this moment, this fire is enough to make all their previous efforts go to waste.

At least until tomorrow, the enemy will not be able to launch a large-scale landing at this crossing.

Compared to the successful attack on the east flank, the movements on the west flank were somewhat strange.

Fifteen minutes after the fire started on the east side, there was movement in the southwest.

Instead of a towering flame, there was a sound like muffled thunder.

Miwei spent the afternoon observing the battlefield and quickly realized that the sound of war drums signaling a large-scale troop movement by the enemy was the sound of war drums.

"Has Guan Xing been discovered? Or has he fallen into an ambush?"

Mi Wei was momentarily surprised and uncertain, then turned to ask Jiao Zhong, who had come to the city with him that night.

But the latter, like him, was completely clueless.

After all, the battlefield was too far away and pitch black.

They couldn't see what was happening, nor could they contact anyone in time.

We can only passively wait for the outcome.

This is also the unfortunate reality of night fighting.

The darkness is both cover and an obstacle.

After waiting for about 15 minutes, the one that went to burn the censer at Jiangjinkou returned safely.

Mi Wei dared not delay and immediately sent Jiao Zhong out of the city to meet him.

After Jiao Zhong confirmed the results of the battle, Mi Wei hurriedly asked:
"what's the situation?"

Jiao Zhong's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying:
"Tonight we've probably fallen into Lü Meng's trap!"

(End of this chapter)