Seeing that Xiahou Jie seemed to underestimate the enemy, Gan Ning suddenly came up with an idea. This was the first battle of the Jinfan Army's siege, so naturally they had to fight well.
In a flash, Gan Ning exerted force with his arms, turned the sword sharply, and the helmet on the tip of the sword hit Xiahou Jie.
Xiahou Jie thought he was sure to win, but he didn't expect the opponent to use such a strange trick. The helmet hit him in the face, so he quickly leaned over to avoid it, and his moves became a mess.
Gan Ning shouted loudly and struck out with his broadsword to meet the spear. With a clang, Xiahou Jie's weapon flew out.
At this time, the mounts were still sprinting and the two horses passed each other. Gan Ning reached out and grabbed Xiahou Jie's robe belt, pulled him off the horse's back, and raised him high with one hand.
"Ah... you're despicable, sneak attack—"
Xiahou Jie panicked and struggled and screamed.
Gan Ning ignored all this, raised his sword and shouted, "Kill!" and rode his horse straight to the city gate.
The Jinfan Army in the rear had been ready for action. When they saw their boss win, they immediately urged their horses forward and rushed towards the city gate.
Han Hao, who was on the city wall, was also at a loss when he saw this. Xiahou Jie was being carried by the enemy and rushed towards him. For a moment, he didn't know how to give orders.
While they were hesitating, Gan Ning had already rushed to the city gate. Seeing that their commander had been captured, Cao's army became hesitant and retreated one after another.
Gan Ning swung his sword with one hand and shouted at Xiahou Jie with the other.
The Jinfan Army took advantage of the chaos to rush into the city gate and rushed in. The defenders were defeated and fled in all directions. Han Hao saw that the situation was hopeless, sighed and fled from the north gate.
Gan Ning led his troops straight to the government office, killed Cao's army, put Xiahou Jie on the ground, and snorted coldly: "Boy, do you think I am brave enough?"
But Xiahou Jie was lying on the ground, motionless. His personal guard kicked him over and laughed, "Boss, this kid was so scared that he vomited bile."
"Gan is not a bloodthirsty person. I wanted to give you a chance to live, but you are useless!"
Gan Ning sneered and ordered his men to carry him out and report his achievement and receive the reward later.
The eight hundred Jinfan troops captured Ye County. Cao's troops in the city fled in panic, and the people had already fled. However, there was a batch of newly arrived food and fodder in the treasury, and the harvest was quite good.
An hour later, Zhang Fei arrived with his troops and was surprised to see that Gan Ning had already captured Ye County. How could it be so easy to capture a city
Gan Ning laughed and said, "This guard is a coward, how can he not be defeated?"
Zhang Fei looked at Xiahou Jie lying in the weeds, with green bile still on the corner of his mouth, and said disdainfully: "This kind of spoiled brat, I can scare him to death with just a roar."
"Tsk—" Gan Ning curled his lips in disdain and turned back to the mansion, "Your hoarse voice, are you trying to kill someone?"
"Xingba, do you believe that I have the Lion's Roar skill?" Zhang Fei chased Gan Ning, "Xingba, if Xiaobawang drinks one person to death, it's nothing. I can drink a group of people to death."
"It seems you're still hungover and your alcohol tolerance is far worse than mine!"
"You don't believe it?" Zhang Fei's eyes widened. "Listen to my explanation, hiccup~"
Before he finished speaking, he burped. He had drunk too much last night and his stomach was still reeking of alcohol.
Gan Ning laughed loudly, and Zhang Fei looked embarrassed. "It was just an accident!"
When the victory report reached Bowang, Liu Qi was meeting with Yu Jin. He asked with a smile, "What do you think, General, if I take advantage of the victory and march straight to the Central Plains?"
Yu Jin shook his head and said, "Although you have won two great victories, you used clever tactics to win both times. Cao Cao has over a million men under his command, and he is full of talented people. If we send troops into the Central Plains, it will be like a stream flowing into the sea, and it will be difficult to cause any waves."
"General, you are right!" Liu Qi nodded and said, "I have heard that you are good at training soldiers and keeping them in good order. We have captured many new soldiers and are in need of trainers. You should go to Wancheng to train the soldiers and horses for future use."
Seeing that Liu Qi respected his ideas, Yu Jin happily clasped his fists and said, "I will do my best."
This most trusted general among Cao Cao's five generals surrendered early, which was much more decent than having his seven armies flooded by Guan Yu.
Liu Qi knew Yu Jin's abilities well. Whether in history or now, he was forced to act in accordance with the situation.
His choice, which was different from Pound's, was laughed at by later generations, and he eventually died of grief and anger.
But Liu Qi felt that this was just a game for the winner.
Since ancient times, victors have been kings and losers have been bandits. If Liu Bei could revive the Han Dynasty, future generations' evaluation of Jin would probably be very different.
While Bowang celebrated the victory with a banquet and actively prepared for war, Xuchang was filled with gloom and sorrow.
When Cao Cao heard that his front army had been defeated again, he screamed and fainted. Xiahou Dun knelt outside the mansion for the whole morning.
Everyone in the Prime Minister's Mansion was trembling with fear, fearing that they would make a mistake and bring about a fatal disaster.
Cao Cao woke up in the afternoon, and when he opened his eyes he roared, "Liu Qi, you little bastard, you've bullied me too much!"
Cao Chun heard this outside the door, pushed the door open and asked, "Is the Prime Minister feeling better?"
"My head doesn't hurt anymore!" Cao Cao tore off the towel on his head, got up from the bed, and ordered, "Send the message to the tent. I want to personally attack Liu Qi and conquer Jingzhou."
Cao Chun hurriedly ordered his men to change their clothes, and went out to pass the message, summoning civil and military officials to discuss matters.
Cao Cao came into the hall, his face as gloomy as water. He looked at Xiahou Dun who was kneeling on the ground like a beggar, his expression uncertain. No one dared to breathe.
After a long while, Cao Cao said, "Victory and defeat are common in the military. Yuan Rang must make up for his crime with meritorious service!"
"Thank you, Prime Minister!" Xiahou Dun felt as if he had been pardoned. He got up tremblingly, sweating profusely.
Cao Cao waved his hand to signal him to go down and rest, and asked, "What is Sun Quan's reply to the matter of sending troops?"
Cheng Yu replied, "The bandits in various parts of Dongwu have not been pacified for long, and Sun Quan is still mobilizing troops to rest and reorganize. He has ordered Zhou Yu to train the navy in Chaisang, and they will capture Jiangxia soon."
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "What's going on in Guiyang?"
Cheng Yu said: "Zhao Fan is timid and cautious. He dare not start a rebellion rashly and is still hesitant."
"You cowardly coward!" Cao Cao slammed the table and said in a deep voice, "Zhao Fan is not fit for important positions. I intend to personally lead an expedition against Liu Qi, capture Liu Biao and his son alive, and take Jingzhou in one fell swoop."
Xun Yu advised: "Liu Qi endured humiliation and rose to the sky. This man is unfathomable. He also has Xu Shu and others as his counselors. The Prime Minister should not underestimate the enemy."
Cao Cao stroked his beard and smiled, "Although Xu Shu has strategies, I don't know the art of war. I see Xu Shu as nothing more than a blade of grass. There is no need to be afraid of him. I will capture him in one battle."
While they were discussing, a scout suddenly came to report that Liu Qi had once again sent troops to attack Ye County and stationed troops there to spy on the Central Plains.
Everyone was shocked. Even Xun Yu dared to persuade them this time. If Liu Qi took another step forward, he would attack into Runan. If he didn't send troops, Xuchang would be in danger!
Jiang Ji said: "Liu Qi is coming in the name of Liu Bei with great force, and with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as his assistants, he is like a tiger with wings. I am afraid that the people in the court will be unsettled. It would be better to move the emperor to Yecheng as a foolproof plan."
"How dare you!" Cao Cao slammed the table in anger. "Liu Qi is a sick man, no more than a dog or a pig, and yet he asks me to move the capital. Won't I be laughed at by the world?"
If it was Liu Bei who made a comeback, Cao Cao might have had this concern, but Cao Cao didn't care because Liu Qi won two battles by chance. If the capital was moved, wouldn't it mean that he was afraid of a sick man
General Cao Hong stepped out and said, "How dare Liu Qi be so arrogant? He is indeed a villain who has achieved success. I am willing to be the vanguard and capture Nanyang."
Cao Cao nodded and said, "The reason for the previous defeat was that the two generals underestimated the enemy and lacked a military advisor. Zhongde and Zilian will join Cao Ren to attack Ye County first and then besiege Bowang. If Liu Qi retreats, do not pursue him rashly. Wait until my army arrives and then discuss it."
Cao Hong and Cheng Yu followed the order and rushed to the Mopo camp to capture Ye County together with Cao Ren.