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

Chapter 123 Liu Feng's Pre-prepared Trap

The night was as dark as ink, completely enveloping the Wu army camp outside Linxiang City. A few scattered lights flickered in the wind, the night patrol's gong sounded weakly, and the sentries, holding their spears, leaned against the camp wall and dozed off. The exhaustion from days of bloody battles finally overwhelmed all vigilance at this moment.

The cooks' stoves had long since died down, with only a few wisps of smoke drifting weakly over the fire. Low, hoarse groans could be heard from the wounded soldiers' camp from time to time. The army medics were too exhausted to stand, and half-pounded herbs lay scattered beside the stone mortar.

Sun Quan sat in his central command tent, the lamplight on his desk casting flickering shadows on his weary face. Before him lay a list of casualties for the day, recently delivered by Han Dang; after three days of siege, the number of dead and wounded had approached ten thousand.

What troubled him even more was the critical shortage of military rations. News of the supply convoy being intercepted and killed by Shamoke had spread throughout the camp, and the soldiers were discussing it amongst themselves.

He rubbed his temples, about to get up to change and rest, when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.

"My lord!" A guard lifted the curtain and entered, holding a silk scroll in his hands, his face pale. "An urgent military report from General Lu Xun."

Sun Quan took the silk scroll and unfolded it. Lu Xun's handwriting was more hurried than usual, but it still maintained its proper structure.

"My lord has been besieging the city for days, and the soldiers are exhausted and supplies are running low. Looking at the map, Linxiang City is bordered by Mount Mufu to the east and the Xiang River and Dongting Lake to the west. My lord has led a large army deep into the city, leaving the flanks vulnerable. If Liu Feng were to launch a surprise attack with his elite troops at this time, there would be unforeseen circumstances. I earnestly request that my lord temporarily lift the siege and retreat to Baqiu to plan for future actions."

Sun Quan slammed the silk scroll on the table and sneered, "Lu Boyan is being held up by Zhang Fei at Yiling and is unaware of the battle situation here. Liu Feng was shot by my nephew's arrow and his life hangs in the balance. He's hiding in the city and doesn't even dare to open the city gates. What makes him think he can raid my camp?"

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from the east of the camp. The sound was extremely thin and high-pitched, piercing the night sky with a teeth-grinding vibrato.

Sun Quan suddenly raised his head, his pupils reflecting the falling flame.

The second and third whistling arrows rose into the air one after another, each accompanied by a teeth-grinding tremor.

After a brief silence, the entire Wu army camp suddenly erupted into chaos. The sentries were jolted awake from their slumber, the squad leaders shouted and beat the drums, and the soldiers jumped out of their sleep and grabbed at the weapon racks in a frantic rush. Armor was not put on in time, and swords and spears were scattered all over the ground.

The first to storm the eastern side of the camp were Deng Ai's three thousand militia. They had rested for two nights and a day in the west of the city, and now everyone was in high spirits. They had coated their blades with ink to prevent glare, and were lightly armed, carrying only short swords and tinderboxes.

Deng Ai personally led the way, his gaze sweeping over the outer fence of the camp and accurately locking onto the weakest section of the eastern wall.

As soon as Wu Jun, a platoon leader on night duty, peeked out from behind the fence, a crossbow pierced his throat, and he fell to the ground with a muffled groan.

The militia surged over the fence like a tidal wave, firing crossbows in rapid succession and wielding daggers. One tent after another was set ablaze, the dry tarpaulins igniting instantly and bursting into flames in the night wind.

The soldiers guarding the camp had just been awakened from their sleep. Some were cut down before they could even put on their armor, while others rushed out of their tents barefoot, carrying knives, only to be met head-on by the militia's blades.

Kou Wei led his troops in from the right flank, oblivious to the fact that the bandage on his left arm was soaked in blood, charging ahead with his sword. The veteran soldiers of Wancheng Camp, like tigers among sheep, advanced with swords and shields, overturning one Wu army tent after another on the right flank.

The simultaneous attacks from both flanks were effective, plunging the Wu army camp into brief chaos. However, Sun Quan, being a seasoned ruler of Jiangdong, quickly recovered from his initial shock and issued a stern order: Zhu Huan would lead three thousand elite troops to the east to intercept Deng Ai, while Quan Cong would lead archers to the right flank to suppress Kou Wei.

Han Dang personally took command of the central army and rallied the disorganized troops. Yu Jin was also summoned from the rear camp and ordered to lead his surrendered soldiers to seal the breach in the camp.

Wu Jun was, after all, a battle-hardened army, and the officers and soldiers reacted swiftly. After the initial chaos, the soldiers of each battalion began to orderly retreat towards the center, with shield bearers in front and archers behind, and the formation gradually stabilized.

Although Deng Ai and Kou Wei's flanking attacks were successful, they did not penetrate deep into the camp. They only set fires and engaged in battles around the perimeter of the camp, causing chaos in the Wu army's formation.

Sun Quan stood in front of the central command tent, looking at the flames rising on the east and west sides, a cold smile appearing on his lips. Liu Feng had indeed sent men to raid the camp, but with just these two flanking forces, he thought he could shake his 100,000-strong army?

Just as Sun Quan was about to order a full-scale counterattack, his gaze inadvertently swept over the gate of the camp, which he had seized from Liu Feng. The gate, walls, arrow towers, and fences—all the fortifications he had once admired—burned fiercely like dry wood meeting a raging fire the moment the torches thrown by the righteous army touched them.

The flames didn't spread from the surface of the stockade wall, but rather shot outwards from inside the wood, as if the wood itself were the best fuel. The rolling flames, like a giant python devouring its prey in the night wind, quickly engulfed the entire section of the stockade wall.

The seeds of disaster buried deep within the stockade walls finally sprouted their true sharpness. During the construction, Ma Liang ordered his men to repeatedly soak the pine trees in tung oil. In the days of siege, Han Dang lost thousands of men in front of the stockade but could not break through the defenders' lines. The smoke and noise of the fierce battle numbed the Wu army's vigilance, and no one noticed the faint scent of tung oil floating in the firelight.

At that moment, the fire ignited instantly upon contact with the oil, and the scorching heat forced the Wu soldiers on and below the stockade walls to retreat repeatedly. Thick smoke, carrying burning embers, shot into the air, obscuring the moonlight, and the entire camp was engulfed in flames in an instant.

Amidst this sea of ​​fire, the north gate of Linxiang City swung open. Liu Feng personally led the Fengzi Battalion's iron cavalry out of the main gate. His Zhaoye Jade Lion Horse flashed like a white lightning bolt in the firelight. On horseback, Liu Feng wore black armor and a crimson robe, his spear held horizontally in front of the saddle. The bandages under his ribs revealed faint traces of blood beneath his armor, but his eyes shone brighter than the firelight.

Behind him were eight hundred heavily armored cavalrymen, their horseshoes pounding the rammed earth with a dull, thunderous roar.

This cavalry force had not shown itself since Sun Huan's night raid, having been conserving its strength and waiting for this moment.

Eight hundred iron cavalrymen, like a red-hot iron rod piercing solidified lard, passed through the main gate of the Wu army camp.

Yu Jin's surrendered soldiers inside the camp gate were hastily forming ranks when they were rammed head-on by the iron cavalry, and their formation was instantly shattered.

The shield shattered into pieces, and the spears sparked as they pierced the iron armor but could not penetrate it. The cavalrymen used the momentum of their horses to pin the surrendered soldiers, armor and all, to the ground and drag them for several feet.

Yu Jin neighed and shouted on horseback, trying to rally his remaining troops, but his voice was drowned out by the thunder of iron hooves and the screams of his soldiers, and almost no one heard him.

The firelight reflected on his aged face, and his cloudy eyes churned with indescribable emotions—his surrendered soldiers, after being used as human shields for several days, finally collapsed completely that night.

Many people threw down their weapons and fled into the darkness. The executioners swung their swords and cut down a number of them, but many more disappeared into the night without looking back.

Quan Cong led his archers back hastily to reinforce, but the night was dark and the firelight was blinding, so the archers could not see friend from foe at all, and most of their arrows missed their mark.

Liu Feng led his iron cavalry, charging left and right through the camp, causing tents to collapse and flames to soar into the sky wherever they went. He saw the large banner with the character "Sun" fluttering in the firelight in front of the central army tent in the distance, and a cold smile appeared on his lips. He spurred his horse straight towards the central army.

As Sun Quan was escorted out of the central command tent by his personal guards, his face was ashen. He gazed at the flames and fleeing soldiers all around him, at the great banner that was beginning to burn in the raging fire, and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly at his waist.

Three days of bloody battle, an army of 100,000, all turned into this sea of ​​fire.

Han Dang spurred his horse and charged towards Sun Quan, dismounting and kneeling on one knee. His white beard trembled slightly in the night wind: "My lord! The camp is no longer defensible! I have ordered all units to fight and retreat, and to assemble at the ferry crossing to the north!"

Sun Quan paused for a moment, glanced back at the camp ablaze with flames, then at the "Han" banner still fluttering in the wind atop Linxiang City, and finally uttered two words through gritted teeth: "Withdraw."

>