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

In the main hall of Liu Feng's government office.

Shen Yi and Shen Dan looked at the tea on the table, which had gone cold, and were about to lash out at the servants in the mansion, but Shen Dan stopped them with a stern look. Shen Yi cursed inwardly, "That Liu Feng is so rude. My Shen family is a prominent clan in Shangyong. We wanted to do everything in our power to help Liu Feng, but we were met with such indifference."

Shen Dan, however, was well aware of the situation. In his view, the enemy's true strength and weaknesses had been revealed. The current situation was that the Shen family wanted to take advantage of Liu Feng's campaign against Cao Cao to rise to power. Naturally, Liu Feng had to put on airs, which was in line with his current status and situation.

Just then, hurried footsteps finally sounded outside the hall.

Liu Feng, fully armed with a long sword at his waist, strode into the hall and immediately bowed to Shen Dan and Shen Yi to apologize.

"Oh dear. My apologies, my utmost apologies. I've kept Prefect Shen and Grand Commandant Shen waiting. It's true that I've been busy with military affairs. Prefect Shen may not know, but that scoundrel Meng Da is truly hateful. Although he nominally commands four thousand elite troops, he only has about three thousand soldiers under his command. We're short of armor, weapons, provisions, and warhorses. Military affairs are so complicated that I'm really at my wit's end!"

Shen Dan hurriedly stood up and said, "Not at all. My brother and I are well aware of the Deputy General's busy military affairs. We have come today to report something to the General."

"Oh? What brings you here? Prefect Shen, please speak freely!"

"Since our surrender, my brother and I have been greatly trusted and respected by the King of Hanzhong and the Deputy General, who have allowed us to retain our former positions. The people of Shangyong have also been treated without any wrongdoing. We are deeply grateful for the King of Hanzhong's great virtue and have been unworthy to serve as the Prefect and Grand Commandant of Shangyong, yet we have no way to repay him. We wish to mobilize the able-bodied men of our village and our entire clan to follow the Deputy General on this expedition against Cao Cao. We are willing to sacrifice our lives, even unto death!"

Liu Feng's eyes flickered, and he pondered, "Is this really true? I'm afraid Prefect Shen still has doubts in his heart, and is only doing this because of the circumstances. Although I am unworthy, I dare not force him to do something against his will, and let the Shen family's children be imprisoned and caught in the turmoil of war."

"Deputy General, you are mistaken! As the saying goes, the rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every citizen. My brother and I have been favored by the Han Dynasty for generations, and all the sons of Shangyong are subjects of the Han. How can we sit idly by and watch the nation crumble and treacherous villains rise to power? General, there is no need for further words. Shen Shi is willing to lead three thousand strong soldiers to accompany you in your campaign against Cao Cao and to achieve merit. Furthermore, as you have mentioned, the camp is still lacking in armor and weapons. Shen Shi has some wealth and is willing to offer you five hundred sets of armor, two hundred warhorses, and three thousand shi of grain. This will alleviate your worries, Deputy General, and I urge you not to refuse."

What a generous gift! Five hundred sets of armor and two hundred warhorses. Liu Feng knew that the Shen family had been entrenched in Shangyong for decades and that their wealth was certainly no less than that of the Luo and Kou families, but he never expected that Shen Dan would be able to present such a lavish gift.

It's important to know that iron smelting technology was underdeveloped in ancient times, making armor a rare commodity. The main force of the Han army at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty wore iron armor called "Tongxiu Kai," which resembled a short-sleeved shirt in later times. Because it was relatively easy to produce, it became standard issue for the main force of the Han army. "Liangdang Kai," on the other hand, consisted of two large pieces of iron armor, front and back, connected by buckles at the shoulders, offering significantly greater protection. It was only issued to cavalry or elite troops.

With the Fengzi Battalion newly established, Shen Dan has already sent five hundred sets of armor, which will undoubtedly elevate the Fengzi Battalion's combat strength to a new level!

Liu Feng approached Shen Dan, bowed deeply, and said, "Prefect Shen is so wise and righteous that it would be disrespectful to refuse. I have no choice but to accept your offer. When we launch our northern expedition to the Central Plains and achieve great merit, I will certainly not forget the great contributions of the Shen family and will report this to the King of Hanzhong in detail."

After the three finished their conversation, they agreed to join forces in three days and vowed to launch a campaign against Cao Cao.

Shangyong City.

Liu Feng stood on the city wall, gazing at the river flowing like a jade ribbon to the northwest. The locals of Shangyong often called it the "Du River." As an important tributary of the Han River, the Du River encircled the west and north of Shangyong City, forming part of its moat. Because of this river, Shangyong was easy to defend and difficult to attack, serving as a bridgehead and frontline against the Cao Wei troops stationed in Nanxiang and Nanyang counties to the northeast.

A hundred li to the northeast lies the territory of Nanxiang County, where there is a city called "Duyang". It is bordered by the Du River to the south and Wudang Mountain to the north, and more than a thousand elite Cao troops are stationed in the city.

Liu Feng calculated the strength of his allied forces. Apart from the five thousand troops stationed in various parts of Shangyong, he brought almost all his combat soldiers and veterans. In addition to the one thousand combat soldiers reorganized from Meng Da, there were nearly four thousand local strongmen mobilized by the Shen brothers and three thousand former retainers under Liu Feng's command, bringing the total strength to about eight thousand men.

It must be said that, as a transmigrator with a good education in mathematics, geography, and engineering, and having integrated the original owner's previous military experience, Liu Feng had little problem leading an army of nearly ten thousand men in marching and setting up camp. However, he was somewhat apprehensive about commanding these troops in battle formations and even attacking cities and seizing territories.

The reason why they dared to choose to go through Nanxiang County, cross the Han River, and enter the Xiangfan battlefield was firstly because of the intelligence provided by Shen Dan, that the prefect of Nanxiang County, Fu Fang, intended to surrender the city. This is a piece of information that can be verified by history: when Guan Yu was making a name for himself in the Battle of Xiangfan, the prefect of Nanxiang, Fu Fang, did indeed surrender to Guan Yu, and was later killed by Xu Huang under the walls of Xiangyang.

Secondly, Liu Feng and his soldiers also needed to experience several small-scale, low-intensity battles to at least hone their nerves and courage. Otherwise, if this allied force, with nearly half of its men being new recruits, were directly thrown into the Jingzhou battlefield to confront the all-star lineup of the Sun-Cao alliance, they would surely perish! Liu Feng was aware of this self-awareness.

"Deputy General, the scouts ahead report that the garrison of Duyang City is in chaos upon learning of our army's arrival. The soldiers have fled overnight, and Zhao Heng, the garrison commander of Duyang, has led several hundred remaining soldiers to abandon the city and flee north." Grand Commandant Shen Yi, fully armored, strode up the city wall to report to Liu Feng.

The world is a giant makeshift operation...

However, this also shows that the complete annihilation of Cao Cao's elite field army under Yu Jin's command by Guan Yu dealt a huge blow to the morale of Cao Cao's generals.

"Oh? How fast is the enemy marching? Can they catch up?" Liu Feng asked.

"That scoundrel Zhao Heng has clearly looted a lot of grain and valuables in Duyang City. Scouts report that several hundred Cao soldiers are pushing dozens of oxcarts, along with Zhao Heng's family. They're marching at a snail's pace!"

Liu Feng glanced at Shen Yi, sensing the excitement in his voice, and said in a deep voice, "Grand Commandant Shen, convey my order! Concentrate all the light cavalry, under the command of Commandant Kou and Grand Commandant Shen, to intercept and kill Zhao Heng. Order Zi Rong and Prefect Shen to oversee the rear guard and take over the defense of Duyang!"

"Yes, General."

...

Zhao Heng, mounted on his horse, frequently looked back. "Faster, faster," he said urgently, his whip pounding against the saddle.

The scout had come running back from the southeast. The horse was foaming at the mouth, and the scout tumbled off the saddle, scrambling to his feet and lunging at Zhao Heng's horse. "General—ride, ride, ride..." he stammered, his face covered in a mixture of dirt and sweat.

Zhao Heng saw it before he could finish reporting.

From the southeastern hilltop, a thin black line stretched up like dark clouds pressing down on a city—it was cavalry, over four hundred riders, advancing silently without flags or horns. The sound of hooves was initially scattered, rustling like rain pattering on withered lotus leaves, but it quickly coalesced into a deep, rumbling thunder, causing even the ground to tremble slightly.

Zhao Heng's face turned pale instantly.

"Form ranks! Form ranks!" he yelled hoarsely, his voice shrill and piercing. "Infantry forward! Shieldbearers in front! Spears up!"

Cao's soldiers pushed and shoved in the middle in a chaotic manner. The officers swung the backs of their swords at them, kicking and cursing, and finally managed to gather the crowd into a square formation. There were only a few shields, which were stuck crookedly in the ground. There were still more than a hundred spears, but the hands holding them up were shaking, and the spear tips were pointing unevenly, like a row of teeth of different lengths.

The formation was not yet complete.

Liu Feng could see everything clearly from his horse. He did not slow down, and the more than four hundred riders crossed the hilltop in an orderly line. The horses had begun to gallop, their manes flattened by the wind.

Liu Feng held the reins in his left hand and carried a long spear in his right, the shaft resting across the horse's neck, the red tassel on the spear tip stretched into a straight line by the wind. He glanced at the half-formed square below—the gaps between the shields were wide enough for a chariot to squeeze through, and the spearmen were too close together, the spear tips of the rear rank almost piercing the back of the heads of those in front.

The military instincts hidden within Liu Feng made him react instantly. He did not charge head-on. This is the most basic principle of cavalry – no one would use the frontal charge of cavalry to crash into an infantry spear formation, even an unformed one.

He slightly tilted the reins with his right hand, and the entire cavalry followed suit, turning like a giant hand tracing an arc across a sand table. Over four hundred riders swept past directly in front of Cao Cao's army formation, at a distance of about two hundred paces. The dust kicked up by the horses' hooves blotted out the sky, and the figures on horseback appeared and disappeared in the dust. Someone in Cao Cao's army couldn't resist firing arrows; a few scattered arrows flew out, but didn't even touch a horse's hair, landing limply in the dust.

Liu Feng led his cavalry in a half-circle around the front of the square formation, heading straight for the right flank, a position most easily overlooked when the formation was in place. When a threat appeared on the flank, the front ranks had to turn around, and the rear ranks had to adjust their spears; the entire formation had to complete a ninety-degree turn in a few breaths—but four hundred warhorses wouldn't give them those few breaths.

Liu Feng straightened up slightly on his horse, twirling his long spear in a flourish, and the four hundred-plus riders accelerated simultaneously.

The last fifty steps.

The sound of hooves pounding the ground had become a continuous roar, drowning out even shouts. White breaths billowed from the horses' nostrils, their eyes wide open, the iron visors gleaming coldly in the twilight. The cavalrymen crouched low on their backs, lances tucked under their armpits, the butts of the lances pressed against the saddle's rear end, their entire bodies and horses becoming one.

Hit.

Four hundred warhorses, like a moving wall, crashed into Cao Cao's army formation from the side. Shields were knocked away by the horses' chests, spears pierced horses' bodies, spears pierced men's bodies, and spears were broken by the force of the horses' impact. All sorts of sounds mingled together, crisp, muffled, and sharp, like a pot of exploding beans.

The Cao army infantry in the front row were knocked backward, crashing down on those behind them, and the formation collapsed layer by layer towards the center.

Horses charged through the ranks of soldiers, their iron hooves trampling over fallen bodies, the sound of bones cracking echoing beneath their hooves. The cavalrymen released their lances—those lances had already pierced more than one person's body and could not be pulled out—and drew their ring-pommel swords from their waists, leaning down from their horses to slash, the blades flashing in the twilight, each flash raising a cloud of blood.

Cao's army formation has collapsed.