Traveling back in time to Liu Feng, starting with rescuing soldier Guan Yu.

Chapter 107 Night Raid on Yiyang City?

Li Yi personally led 5,000 soldiers as the vanguard, traveling in 30 warships down the Xiang River. The oars cut through the water, producing a rhythmic creaking sound that sounded particularly deep in the night.

He was a capable lieutenant under Zhu Ran, and had followed Zhu Ran in dealing with the Shu Han navy in the Jiangxia area for many years, and was very familiar with the hydrology of the Xiang River.

Having been appointed as the vanguard of the entire army, Zhu Ran gave him only eight words of command: "Speed ​​is of the essence in war; take Yiyang."

The Eastern Wu fleet stopped sailing about twenty miles east of Yiyang City.

Li Yi's warship then turned into an unnamed tributary on the banks of the Xiang River. The banks of the tributary were covered with reeds, and more than thirty warships were hidden among them, leaving no trace on the river surface.

Li Yi then ordered 500 soldiers to remain on the warships, while he led the main force to sneak towards Yiyang City under the cover of dusk.

Yiyang City is located at the confluence of the Zi River and the Xiang River.

Due to the constant warfare at the end of the Han Dynasty, Yiyang, located north of Dongting Lake, was frequently harassed by bandits such as the Yiyang rebels throughout history, hence the city walls were often reinforced and newly built.

The city wall was nearly three zhang high, with rammed earth walls covered with blue bricks and a thick foundation. To the east of the city was the Xiangjiang River ferry crossing, and to the west was the Zishui River wharf, giving it a strategic location at the crossroads of land and water.

Li Yi lay prone behind a mound outside the city and looked out into the distance. He saw sparse lights on the city walls, banners fluttering in the night wind, and the figures of sentries appearing and disappearing behind the crenellations.

The city gates were already tightly closed, and the drawbridge was suspended high above the ground.

There were several villages and a few houses outside the city, but now they were deserted. Not even the barking of dogs or the crowing of roosters could be heard. It was clear that the soldiers in the city had moved all the people into the city in advance, preparing for a scorched-earth policy.

"General Li, the defenses of Yiyang are very tight," the adjutant beside him said in a low voice.

Li Yi nodded, his gaze fixed on the crenellations of the city wall, secretly calculating the frequency of patrols by sentries behind them.

A moment later, Li Yi led his troops back to the riverbank, and then ordered several skilled scouts to disguise themselves as fleeing farmers and sneak up to the city wall under cover of night to investigate.

About two hours later, the scouts began to report back, but the pieced-together intelligence made Li Yi frown.

"The garrison in Yiyang City numbered about eight hundred, mostly local soldiers, and were not fully armed. However, the city walls were high and thick, the four gates were tightly closed, and the patrols and interrogations were very strict. All the people who originally farmed outside the city had moved inside, and not a single grain of food was left outside the city."

Among the scouts, one who was particularly shrewd, capable, and eloquent spoke.

"My men also tried to sneak into the city, but the guards were very strict and it was difficult to succeed. However, there is a watchman outside the south gate who is a local of Yiyang City and his accent matches ours. My men have secretly bribed him with gold and silver and arranged for him to meet us at midnight tonight."

Li Yi frowned even more deeply.

He didn't take the eight hundred county soldiers in the city seriously, but the city wall was a tough nut to crack. If he launched a daytime attack, the defenders would be positioned on higher ground, waiting in ambush, and even if he managed to capture it, he would suffer heavy losses.

The warships of Eastern Wu were powerful weapons in naval warfare, but they couldn't sail up to the city walls.

It would be better to have spies open the city gates at night, allowing thousands of people to rush in. Within half an hour, the eight hundred county soldiers in the city would be crushed into dust.

Li Yi pondered for a moment, then looked up at the sky. He saw that the moon was hidden behind the clouds, and the night was dark and windy—perfect weather for a raid on the city!

"Pass down the order. The entire army shall have a full meal and depart at midnight. All men and horses shall be gagged and their hooves covered, and no fires shall be lit. Proceed to the east gate of the city. Wait for the spies inside the city to sneak in and open the gate before lighting a fire as a signal."

Li Yi paused slightly, a cold smile playing on his lips, "If we take Yiyang tonight, we'll hold a welcome banquet for General Zhu in the city tomorrow."

Around midnight, the night watchmen in Yiyang City rang the third watch.

The clouds obscured the stars and moon, and the area outside the city was pitch black.

The lights on the arrow tower of the east gate of the city gradually went out, and several patrolling soldiers wrapped in felt blankets leaned against the crenellations, dozing off. Inside the city gate, beside the winch, only an old soldier sat on a stone stool, dozing, his snores low.

-

Everything seemed the same as usual.

In a dark alley at the foot of the city wall, two spies who had infiltrated beforehand were silently making their way to the winch inside the east gate.

They each pulled a short knife from their robes, the blades gleaming coldly in the darkness. They exchanged a glance and simultaneously darted out of the alleyway.

The spy pounced on the old soldier who was dozing by the winch. He moved with lightning speed, covering his mouth with his left hand and stabbing his heart with a short knife between his ribs.

The old soldier's eyes widened, he twitched twice, and then stopped moving.

Inside the city gate, the winch was exposed to the darkness, its chains stained with fresh blood. A spy took a tinderbox from his pocket and waved it three times on the city wall.

In the darkness far outside the city, Li Yi saw a faint flash of light on the city wall and pointed his ring-pommel sword forward.

Wu Jun suddenly rose from the darkness and silently advanced towards the city gate.

When the vanguard arrived outside the city gate, the winch had already begun to turn, and the heavy iron chain slowly tightened on the winch, emitting a dull metallic scraping sound.

Suddenly, someone shouted from inside the arrow tower.

It was a squad leader who had just finished his shift and was dozing off against the stairs.

He suddenly heard the sound of the city gate winch turning. At first, he thought he was dreaming, but the more he listened, the more real it seemed. Instinctively, he leaned out and looked down.

Just then, a sliver of moonlight peeked through the clouds, illuminating the corpse lying in a pool of blood beneath the winch.

The squad leader's pupils contracted, and he roared at the top of his lungs while banging on the gong.

The piercing sound of gongs exploded above the city walls, startling the county soldiers on night watch from behind the battlements. Shouts and footsteps instantly blended together.

The vanguard of Wu's army, which was advancing towards the city gate from outside the city, also heard the sound of gongs at the same time.

Knowing that the ambush had been exposed, the captain in charge abandoned his concealment, pointed his long sword forward, and charged towards the city gate.

The soldiers guarding the city walls also noticed the large number of troops surging in from the darkness, and the sounds of horns and gongs rang out simultaneously above the city walls.

Archers in the eastern arrow tower peered out from the crenellations and rained down arrows on the Wu army below.

Li Yi's vanguard had already reached the city gate.

Although the winch was discovered, the bolts had already been pulled open more than halfway, and the city gate was teetering on the brink of collapse under the combined ramming and pushing of the Wu army.

The soldiers on the city wall desperately threw stones and boiling oil down. The oil cans shattered in front of the city gate and were set ablaze by torches, burning several Wu soldiers at the forefront into flames.

However, Wu Jun was outnumbered and outmatched. The front rank held shields and held off the rain of arrows, while the rear rank had already carried the battering ram to the city gate.

A thick battering ram slammed into the city gate, sending a dull thud through the air and splinters of wood falling from the inside. Several soldiers desperately braced themselves against the gate with their shoulders, but the impact of the battering ram was too great, each strike sending them staggering backward.

Li Yi's expression turned solemn, knowing that there was no turning back now.

He waved for the second wave of Wu soldiers to follow, and shouted sternly, "Whoever reaches the top first will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold!"

The Wu soldiers shouted in unison and charged toward the city gate passageway.

There were only eight hundred soldiers guarding Yiyang City. After they were divided to guard the four gates, there were no more than two hundred soldiers on each city wall. When the archers fired the fourth round, the arrows began to run out, and the stones and boiling oil were almost gone.

Just as the East Gate was about to collapse, a sharp and loud horn suddenly rang out from the darkness in the distance.

The bugle call was not a signal from Eastern Wu; its sound was deep and powerful, carrying a penetrating force. Immediately afterward, the sound of horses' hooves rolled in from the east like muffled thunder, and a black general's banner suddenly rose from the darkness, embroidered with a large character "关" (Guan).

Guan Ping charged ahead into the flank of the Wu army, followed by over a thousand troops whom he had personally trained for more than a month. Each of them held a long sword and charged into the Wu army's formation like tigers among sheep.

After receiving the order, Guan Ping traveled day and night, covering more than 300 li in less than two days.

As it turned out, Guan Ping's judgment was entirely correct; Zhu Ran had indeed made the first move.

Just as Li Yi was stealing the city, Guan Ping's vanguard had already arrived five miles outside Yiyang City.

Guan Ping heard the shouts of battle coming from the city wall from afar, and immediately ordered the entire army to advance at full speed, sneaking along the city wall toward the east gate.

Warhorses were not able to maneuver freely in the narrow alleys of the city walls, while foot soldiers were more agile.

Under Guan Ping's command, the more than 1,000 troops were divided into three teams: the left team cut off the Wu army's rear along the city wall, the right team climbed the city wall to support the defenders, and the middle team followed him to break through the gap in the east gate.

This was a tactic learned from following Liu Feng in battle for a long time; it was not simply about charging into battle, but about dividing and encircling in a layered manner.

Guan Ping took the lead, his long sword flashing an arc in the night.

As soon as Wu Jun's garrison commander raised his shield to block, he was cleaved in two along with his shield by a single blow.

Blood splattered on half of his face, but Guan Ping didn't stop. He turned around and with a backhand slash, cut another Wu soldier who was trying to sneak up from the side in half.

His swordsmanship was bold and sweeping, each strike carrying the power to split mountains and shatter rocks.

Li Yi's flank was almost instantly torn open by this sudden attack.

The morale of the soldiers defending the city wall was greatly boosted when they saw the reinforcements arrive.

The county soldiers, who had retreated to the corner of the city wall, mustered their courage again and swung their swords to cut down several Wu soldiers who had climbed onto the battlements.

The left flank of the Wu army flanked the city walls, surrounding the battering ram. The Wu soldiers carrying the battering rams had barely turned to fight when they were riddled with bullets by the dense spear formation.

Seeing that his flanks were being attacked and his battering ram was surrounded, Li Yi knew that it was impossible to steal the city tonight.

Although he had a large army, it was divided into several parts, and the narrow terrain below the city made it impossible for him to maneuver effectively.

He gritted his teeth, swung his sword to slash back two Han soldiers who charged at him, and roared, "Withdraw! Return to the ships!"