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

Chapter 109 The Breaking Flying Army Has Arrived

Guan Ping cut down a Wu army captain and looked back to see that the fire had spread from upstream to midstream, and seven or eight warships were already engulfed in flames.

Li Yi desperately shouted commands to his soldiers to resist from the flagship, but the fire was too fierce. Several warships had oil canisters for siege warfare in their cabins, which were ignited and exploded, blowing the entire ship into pieces.

The river was covered with burning ship planks and Wu soldiers who had fallen into the water, and cries for help and screams of agony were mixed together.

"withdraw!"

Seeing that the fire had spread, Guan Ping stopped fighting and led a hundred warriors back to the shore along the way they had come.

By the time Wu Jun had regained his footing and Li Yi led his personal guards to the shore, Guan Ping had already led his men and disappeared into the river mist, leaving behind only a towering blaze of fire and seven burning warships.

That night, Guan Ping burned seven Wu army ships and killed hundreds of Wu soldiers.

At dawn, Guan Ping led his warriors back to Yiyang City. Of the hundred men who went out of the city, eighty-seven returned, and thirteen had died in battle.

When the defenders in the city learned that Wu's naval camp had been burned, their morale soared, and cheers from the city walls were deafening.

Guan Ping slammed his long sword against the city wall, gazing at the Wu army's naval camp on the opposite bank in the distance, his face showing no arrogance.

He knew that Li Yi would not retreat so easily; an even fiercer offensive was yet to come.

All he could do was stay there until reinforcements arrived.

Li Yi, his face ashen, tallied the losses in the naval camp. Seven ships had been burned, hundreds of soldiers had died, and even more devastating was the loss of morale. Last night's night raid had utterly terrified the Wu soldiers.

The wounded soldiers groaned in the cabin, and several captains hung their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. The deck was littered with charred planks and the remains of overturned braziers, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of tung oil.

At daybreak, Li Yi ordered the entire army to retreat ten miles, anchoring all warships in the deep waters of the opposite bank of the Xiang River. Each day, during the siege, soldiers had to first cross the river in small boats to the ferry crossing on the west bank before they could form ranks and launch their attack.

The pace of the siege has been greatly slowed down. A small city that could have been captured in two or three days has now been dragged on for two whole days with no progress.

Two days later, Zhu Ran led the main force of his navy to Yiyang Ferry. More than two hundred warships sailed down the Xiang River in a mighty procession. The towering ships stood like mountains, and the battering rams and crossbows on the sides of the ships gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

The continuous white sails obscure the river surface, and from the city of Yiyang, the Xiang River seems to have become a flowing white mountain range.

Zhu Ran sat atop the flagship and saw the "Guan" banner still fluttering in the wind atop Yiyang city. He also saw the seven burned wrecks of warships stranded on the riverbank, their charred keels particularly glaring in the morning light. His brows furrowed instantly.

He originally thought that Li Yi's 5,000 men would be enough to capture Yiyang before the Shu army could send reinforcements, but unexpectedly, not only did he fail to capture it, he also lost many warships.

Zhu Ran summoned Li Yi to the flagship to inquire about the situation. After a moment of silence, he did not punish him, but simply waved his hand: "General Li, the failure to capture the city a few days ago was not your fault. I had dealings with Guan Ping when I was in Jiangling. He grew up in Guan Yu's army and is no ordinary opponent. Now that my army has arrived, there is no need to entangle with him any longer. Issue the order: the entire army will land and launch a full-scale attack on the city."

After Zhu Ran arrived, the intensity of Wu Jun's siege suddenly increased.

More than two hundred warships lined up on the opposite bank of the Xiang River, and crossbows on the ships rained down arrows at the city walls, riddling the blue bricks with holes.

Unlike Li Yi, who deployed only 1,000 men in rotation upon landing, Wu's army deployed 3,000 men at once, from the east...

They launched a fierce attack from both the south and north gates simultaneously.

Zhu Ran's army was well-disciplined and his siege tactics were highly organized. The front-line swordsmen and shieldmen held up large shields for cover, while the rear-line archers fired volleys at the city walls from behind the shield wall. The battering rams slowly approached the city gate under the cover of shields, while the siege ladders circled around from both sides, attempting to climb the city walls at their weakest points.

The shouts of battle from below the city walls were deafening, and the sound of war drums came from the river, echoing across the surrounding area.

Guan Ping stood on the arrow tower on the east side of the city, his long sword held horizontally in front of his knees, his face calm and composed.

Since Zhu Ran's main force arrived, he has not left the city wall. From morning till night, he has always stood behind the battlements to personally supervise the battle.

The soldiers guarding the city wall had already rotated three shifts. Each shift of soldiers who went off to rest were so exhausted that they collapsed at the foot of the city wall, falling asleep before they could even take off their armor.

Guan Ping, however, did not close his eyes. His voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible, but he still stood at the forefront of the battlements, holding the command flag.

Oil poured down from the city walls, arrows flew through the air like locusts, soldiers fell one after another, and new recruits took their place.

At the height of Wu's offensive, more than a dozen siege ladders were simultaneously erected on the east wall of the city. Wu soldiers, holding shields, climbed the ladders, while the county soldiers on the city walls swung their swords and hacked at the ladders.

A county soldier was cut down to the ground. Guan Ping personally stepped forward to fill the gap, and with a horizontal slash of his long sword, he cleaved a Wu army captain who had just climbed onto the ramparts, along with his shield, off the city wall.

Blood splattered on half of Guan Ping's face, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. He just looked at another group of Wu soldiers swarming forward and ordered the archers behind him to fire arrows.

Just then, a whistling arrow suddenly rose from the mountains and forests southwest of Yiyang City.

The whistling arrow shot straight into the sky with a sharp cry, particularly jarring in the twilight. Immediately afterwards, a large number of banners surged out from the mountains and forests; the Breaking Sword Flying Army had arrived.

More than four thousand elite troops surged out of the mountain path like a flood. The general in the lead was Ding Feng, who was wearing black armor and holding a ring-pommel sword.

After receiving Guan Yinping's message in Linyuan, Ding Feng traveled day and night.

Guan Yinping told him that Guan Ping had gone to Yiyang ahead of him, and he knew that the situation was more critical than he had expected. The Po Shuo Flying Army marched rapidly from Lin Yuan, hardly stopping to rest along the way.

On the way, they met a guide sent by Xi Zhen, who said that the sound of war drums could be heard from the direction of Yiyang. Ding Feng urged the soldiers to speed up their advance. By the time they reached the outskirts of Yiyang, it was almost dusk. The soldiers were drenched in sweat, but their formation remained intact.

Ding Feng did not rush to provide support immediately.

He reined in his horse and gazed in the direction of Yiyang City for a long time.

Smoke billowed from the walls of Yiyang, but the banner bearing the character "Guan" remained firmly planted on the eastern watchtower. Across the Xiang River, the Wu army's naval camp was brightly lit, but the Wu troops attacking the city were clearly exhausted. Zhu Ran had launched a fierce attack that lasted for most of the day, and the Wu soldiers had been rotated countless times. Even the militiamen carrying the ladders were too tired to straighten their backs.

There is a nearly two-mile-long open mudflat between the attacking troops and the riverside fortress, which is the only way for Wu's army to retreat and reorganize.

Ding Feng withdrew his gaze, a cold smile appearing on his lips.

Exhausted soldiers who have been besieging the city all day are the best prey.

"Order the entire army to form ranks. Raise your spears!"

Ding Feng waved his command flag downwards, and four thousand Po Shuo Flying Army soldiers quietly deployed their formation in the twilight.

These Yi soldiers from the Yidu mountains were skilled at traversing mountains and valleys, and under Ding Feng's leadership, they were able to command them with ease.

They made no drumming, no horn blowing; they simply surged silently from the mountains to the southwest, like a silent black wave crashing against the back of the Wu army.

Wu Jun's attacking troops were ordered to withdraw and return to their ships.

They attacked Yiyang City for a whole day, and their physical strength was at its limit. Their swords were dull and their arrows were exhausted. Many soldiers could no longer even hold their shields steadily.

Just as Wu Jun was retreating in disarray on the mudflats toward the riverbank, Po Shuo Fei Jun suddenly attacked from behind.

Ding Feng took the lead, his ring-pommel sword flashing like lightning in the twilight, and with one strike he cut down a captain in the rear of the Wu army.

Four thousand barbarian soldiers surged forward like a hornet's nest exploding. The Wu army was already exhausted and caught off guard, and the rear guard was quickly scattered.

On the mudflats, the fleeing soldiers desperately squeezed onto the boats, causing the gangplanks to overturn and many to be pushed into the water and drown.

Zhu Ran, seeing this scene from his flagship, changed his expression and hurriedly ordered the naval crossbowmen to fire a barrage of arrows towards the shore for cover. However, it was already dark and the distance was far, so most of the arrows missed their mark.

Ding Feng did not linger in battle.

He led his men in a charge into the rear of Wu's army, killing hundreds and capturing more than ten siege battering rams and ladders. By the time Zhu Ran's naval crossbows could barely reach them, Ding Feng had already waved his flag to retreat and quickly moved towards the west gate of Yiyang City. Four thousand Poshuo Flying Army soldiers carried the captured spoils and filed into the city through the west gate.

Guan Ping stood at the city gate, watching the figure covered in blood stride towards him, a long-lost smile appearing on his face.

Ding Feng walked up to Guan Ping, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands above his head, and bowed his head. His voice was rough and remorseful: "Young General Guan, before I left, I received orders from the General of the Rear Army to rush to the aid of Yiyang day and night. I was ultimately a step too late, causing Young General Guan to fight bitterly here for many days. I am willing to accept military punishment."

Guan Ping reached out and helped him up, squeezing his arm tightly.

Guan Ping looked at Ding Feng's face, blackened by gunpowder smoke, and said solemnly, "Chengyuan, you did the right thing. You didn't rush over to provide support, but patiently waited until the Wu army was exhausted after a day of attacking the city before launching a surprise attack from behind. Otherwise, the four thousand men you brought would have suffered heavy casualties if they had rashly run into Zhu Ran's main naval force. You did the right thing; on the battlefield, on-the-spot decision-making is more important than following orders."

Ding Feng looked up and saw the sincerity on Guan Ping's face, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense all the way, finally settled down.

That night, the atmosphere in Yiyang City was quite different from the previous few days. After the four thousand elite troops of the Poshuo Flying Army entered the city, the city's defense force suddenly increased to more than five thousand. Moreover, the Poshuo Flying Army consisted of veterans who had experienced the mountain battles of Yidu, and their combat effectiveness was far superior to that of the county troops.

In the arrow tower on the east side of the city, Guan Ping and Ding Feng stood side by side, gazing at the continuous lights of the Wu army's naval camp on the opposite bank of the Xiang River.

A breeze swept across Guan Ping's tired yet resolute face. He remained silent for a moment, then suddenly turned to Ding Feng and said, "Zhu Ran's main force has arrived; this is just the beginning."