I, Zhou Cang, am the number one tank in the Three Kingdoms.

That night, Chen Dao led his cavalry to ambush Zhao Yun in the reeds on the east side of his camp.

After inspecting all the horses and soldiers' equipment, Chen Dao gathered the village chiefs together.

By the dim moonlight, Chen Dao scanned their faces and said, "Before we set off, General Zilong specifically instructed me to charge back and forth without stopping. Do you all remember that?"

The village chiefs nodded.

Chen Dao nodded and said, "At that time, the troops are in chaos and it is difficult to distinguish friend from foe. You should have everyone stick these reeds on their helmets so that they can be identified by them when they charge into battle."

After saying this, Chen Dao broke off a reed and stuck it on his helmet as an example for everyone.

"Did you see clearly? Go quickly!"

After dismissing the village chiefs, Chen Dao held his breath and stared intently at the direction of the main camp.

At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Cao Ren led his troops out of the small gate of Yan County and headed straight for Zhao Yun's camp.

As he approached the camp gate, he saw that the camp was dimly lit, with two or three patrols of soldiers wandering around, and no one guarding the watchtower. He was secretly pleased.

As they approached the camp gate, Cao Ren brandished his sword and shouted, "Kill!" He then led his cavalry into the camp.

The soldiers on night patrol immediately scattered in all directions, shouting, "Cao Cao's army is coming! Cao Cao's army is coming!"

Cao Renchong, who was at the forefront, thought his plan had succeeded and spurred his horse to charge into the camp.

Suddenly, a cannon fired from behind the camp, and flames erupted all around. As Cao Ren looked around, he saw a large number of torches being thrown into the camp from the earthen walls, igniting the ignition sources and turning the camp into a sea of ​​red light in an instant.

Cao Ren realized he had fallen into a trap and panicked, shouting, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!" However, the vanguard charged too fiercely, and the rearguard had no time to react, still surging into the camp.

"Fire!" Zhao Yun shouted without hesitation. Hundreds of archers emerged from the earthen wall in turn, and the soldiers hidden on the arrow tower also raised their bows and arrows to shoot at the live targets in the camp.

Cao's army was thrown into chaos. Countless soldiers on the outermost ring were shot to death, and screams filled the air.

Surrounded by his personal guards, Cao Ren hurriedly turned his horse around and rode back, when he heard a loud shout behind him—

"Zhao Zilong of Changshan, I've been waiting for you!" Zhao Yun, dressed in silver and riding a white horse, carrying a long spear, charged straight at Cao Ren.

Upon seeing Zhao Yun's posture, Cao Ren turned and rode away without the slightest hesitation.

In the chaos, Cao's cavalry charged directly into their own rear guard, and the infantry trampled each other, with nowhere to escape.

The area at the camp gate became increasingly crowded and chaotic. In the midst of the rout, a large number of infantrymen were pushed directly into the trenches, quickly filling them up.

Seeing that his retreat was blocked and Zhao Yun was attacking from behind, Cao Ren felt as if the sky had fallen and all he could see were the corpses of his own soldiers. He muttered, "My life is over!"

"General Cao Ren!" "General Cao Ren!"

Hearing the shouts, Cao Ren looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yue Jin at the camp gate, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other, leading his soldiers to forcefully break through a gap, and waving at him.

Just as he was about to rush towards the gap, Zhao Yun had already attacked from behind. Cao Ren had no intention of fighting. He parried a couple of times, but Zhao Yun stabbed him in the thigh with his spear, and he almost fell off his horse.

Cao Ren was able to escape in pain only because his personal guards rushed forward and blocked Zhao Yun.

After personally cutting down five or six soldiers who were trying to escape through the gap, Yue Jin finally saw Cao Ren, wounded, rush out.

"Go! Go!" Yue Jin shouted, slapping Cao Ren's warhorse hard. He threw down his shield, quickly mounted his horse, and charged out.

Le Jin, protecting Cao Ren, and the remaining soldiers had only run less than a hundred paces north when they heard a loud shout—

"Cao Ren, don't run! Chen Dao is here!" Turning around, a large group of cavalrymen with reeds in their hair suddenly rushed out from the east road, the leader carrying a large axe, heading straight for Cao Ren.

"General, hurry!" Yue Jin shouted to Cao Ren, then turned his horse around and charged toward Chen Dao!

"Le Jin is here! How dare you be so rude!" Le Jin roared, holding his knife in both hands, blocking Chen Dao's powerful axe blow.

The cavalry behind Chen Dao didn't stop at all, and directly charged into the fleeing soldiers, slaughtering them as they went, like cutting leeks.

After fighting for four or five rounds, Yue Jin felt his arms go numb and dared not fight any longer. Taking advantage of the moment when Chen Dao missed with his axe, he squeezed his legs against his horse's belly and galloped north again.

Chen Dao did not pursue them. Instead, he caught up with his own men and ordered his cavalry to turn back and intercept the defeated army once again.

After Zhao Yun led his elite troops to sweep away the defeated soldiers in the camp like a whirlwind, he led his men on horseback at full speed toward the city walls of Yan County.

Just as Cao Ren and Yue Jin reached the drawbridge and were about to rush forward, a shout of "Fire!" came from the city tower, and a hail of arrows rained down. Zhao Yun had no choice but to rein in the horses.

Li Dian, who was on the city wall, saw everything clearly. He handed a torch to the soldier next to him, drew his bow, aimed at Zhao Yun, and shot, but Zhao Yun deflected it with his spear.

There were also a few dozen slower, defeated soldiers who were blocked by arrows from the city walls. They could only watch helplessly as the drawbridge rose, with no hope of escape. They simply threw down their weapons and knelt on the ground to surrender.

Chen Dao led his cavalry to the city walls and called out to Zhao Yun, "General, let's return to camp."

Zhao Yun nodded and said, "Take the prisoners with you, and I will cover the rear."

After returning to camp at dawn, a headcount of the soldiers revealed that fewer than two hundred had been killed or wounded, and the camp was littered with the corpses of Cao Cao's troops.

Zhao Yun frowned as he watched the soldiers in the camp busy moving corpses.

Chen Dao cupped his hands and said, "General, you have won a great victory in this battle and have also wounded Cao Ren. I believe Cao's army will not dare to advance recklessly."

Zhao Yun nodded slightly, his brows still furrowed, and said to Chen Dao, "However, our army's provisions are insufficient to hold out for long. Not counting the return journey, I'm afraid we can only last for three days at most."

Chen Dao remained silent for a long while before saying, "The city still needs to stockpile enough food for defense, but I'm afraid we don't have enough..."

Zhao Yun interrupted Chen Dao: "I know that this battle is not enough to repel Cao Cao's army. We two should find a better strategy to defeat the enemy. Let's report this battle to Yide and the strategist so that they can prepare."

Chen nodded, and the two fell into a long silence.

After Cao Ren fled back to the city, he lay on his couch and summoned Li Dian and Yue Jin to discuss matters.

Li Dian remained silent upon seeing the bandages wrapped around Cao Ren's leg.

Cao Ren lowered his eyes, looking ashamed, and said, "I did not heed Man Cheng's advice, which led to this defeat. If it weren't for Wen Qian's desperate fight, I fear I would have died in the enemy camp!"

Li Dian hurriedly knelt down and said, "General, you flatter me. Victory and defeat are unpredictable. Even though we have suffered this defeat, our army is still intact, and we can still fight back."

Cao Ren nodded, then looked at Yue Jin: "Wenqian saved my life in this battle, I thank you again!" He then stood up to perform a deep bow.

Le Jin hurriedly stepped forward and helped Cao Ren back to his bed, saying, "This is my duty. General, you are injured, so please do not act rashly."

Cao Ren sighed and said, "The Prime Minister ordered us to win quickly and eliminate Liu Bei, but we have suffered this defeat so soon after arriving here. What advice do you two generals have for us after this battle?"

Le Jin said, "In my humble opinion, why don't we rest for a few days before making further plans?"

Li Dian asked, "General, did you manage to ascertain the true situation during your raid on the camp?"

Cao Ren then came to his senses, carefully considering the entire process, and muttered to himself, "In the chaos, I didn't see clearly, but based on my judgment..."

As Cao Ren spoke, he looked at Yue Jin, who then said, "The number of enemy soldiers is probably far from ten thousand."

"Exactly!"

After speaking, Cao Ren propped himself up with one hand while sitting, his gaze wandering as he fell into thought.