"How magnificent!" Lü Qian laughed and said, "We are in a high place, and we are rushing down the mountain like a broken bamboo. What can a common man do? General, there is no need to go deep into the enemy camp. Just shoot arrows outside the camp to feint an attack and lure Zhuge Liang to send troops to rescue. Then you can retreat to the river bank, and I will lead the troops to support you."
The two men made a decision on the plan, and at 10:15 in the morning, Cao's troops in the camp rushed out together. Lu Qian went to the river from the north, and Mao Hui rushed down from the mountain and headed straight for the Jingzhou army camp.
The whole mountain was filled with shouts and cries of killing. Mao Hui knew that Zhuge Liang was full of tricks, so he immediately ordered his soldiers on a hillside to charge into the camp and observe the situation.
I saw the troops in the front charging straight ahead without encountering any obstacles. They were coming down the mountain at an extremely fast speed. While I was wondering, most of the soldiers had already rushed into the village.
In a blink of an eye, a fire broke out in the village. Soldiers rushed everywhere, but there was no movement in the camp. The personal guards came back to report that the Jingzhou soldiers had already retreated and this was an empty camp.
"Oh no, let's go to the river quickly!" Although he had won a great victory, Mao Hui was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly ordered a retreat.
As soon as the horn was sounded, Cao's army had not yet retreated, but it lured out an ambush behind the mountain, and the Jingzhou soldiers rushed down from halfway up the mountain.
Mao Hui was shocked and did not bother to call his troops. He rode away. An army in front blocked his way. Under the light of the fire, a general shouted in a deep voice: "Huo Jun is here. Those who surrender will not be killed!"
"Kill them!" Mao Hui raised his sword and roared, ordering his personal soldiers to go forward. They took advantage of the chaos in the dark night, cut a bloody path and rushed to the shore.
At this time, Lu Qian had led his troops to the shore. Under the hazy moonlight, he saw that the riverbed was exposed, with only a few pools of water, which was just enough for crossing the river.
Cao's army rushed forward, but after walking for a while, someone shouted. It turned out that there was water flowing here all year round, and there was a lot of silt in the river. Some soldiers fell into it and were swallowed up in the blink of an eye.
Lü Qian was greatly alarmed and divided his men into several teams. He ordered the vanguard to explore the way and carry stones to pave the way across the river.
Lu Qian went to the other side first to command the support. The riverbed was filled with dark figures, stones and weapons clashing, and soldiers shouting and yelling, making it very noisy.
Suddenly, he saw the sky in the distance turn red, and Lu Qian knew that Mao Hui's attack on the camp was successful and the Jingzhou soldiers would catch up soon, so he urged the soldiers to cross the river as soon as possible.
Just as the front army reached the shore, a white light suddenly surged from upstream. The raging waves approached in an instant. Lu Qian's heart sank and he shouted, "Hurry up and get ashore!"
But it was too late. The river water that had been accumulated for two days rushed in, with a greater force than ever before. The Cao army was swept into it, and screams were heard everywhere.
Lü Qian stamped his feet and cursed, "Another trick of Zhuge Liang."
There were only a thousand or so Cao soldiers who came ashore in a panic. They were shocked by the scene and could only watch their companions being washed away, but they were powerless to do anything.
There were still some soldiers stranded on the other side of the river. What made Lu Qian even more worried was that Mao Hui's retreat was cut off and the other half of his troops would undoubtedly die.
"Ah--" Just when he was anxious, he suddenly heard a shrill scream behind him, followed by chaos. Cavalry came from nowhere, and dozens of Cao's soldiers crowded on the shore were rushed into the water.
"Gan Ning is here!" The Cao army on the shore was in chaos, and saw the leading general dressed in red, fleeing in all directions.
"There is an ambush, hurry up!" Lu Qian was completely desperate and hurriedly mounted his horse to lead his troops to retreat.
Mao Hui fled to the riverside, but heard the sound of waves like thunder and figures wandering on the shore. Many Cao soldiers were lingering here.
"Where did the flood come from?" Mao Hui was horrified and called someone over to ask, "Where is General Lu to meet us?"
The Cao soldier answered with a crying voice, and only then did he know that just as Lü Qian had led his troops across the river, a torrent suddenly rushed down from upstream, and most of the soldiers were washed away. There were ambushes from the north bank, but they were all killed and dispersed.
"What a great Zhuge Liang! He actually predicted it again." Mao Hui was terrified. The pursuers were already behind him and he had no way to advance or retreat.
Just as they were hastily preparing to meet the enemy, suddenly another enemy army came from upstream. It was already bright in the sky, and the soldiers of Jingzhou were seen flanking them from both sides, full of murderous intent.
Seeing that it was Chen Dao downstream, Mao Hui was no match for him, so he urged his horse to break out upstream, thinking that the man must be a general who went to intercept the river. As long as he killed this man, he could escape in the chaos.
The two horses crossed, and both men rushed forward with their swords. Mao Hui's arm shook violently, and the sword flew out of his hand. He exclaimed, "Who are you?"
"It's Yang Ling from Changsha!" Yang Ling was eager to kill the general and win merit, so he made a strong attack and swung his sword backhandedly. Before Mao Hui could beg for mercy, he beheaded him.
Cao's army was in complete chaos and was blocked on the river bank with nowhere to go, so they threw down their weapons and surrendered.
Lü Qian fled back to Xingyang with hundreds of remaining soldiers. Xin Pi was shocked when he heard the news and hurried out of the mansion to meet them. Seeing that the soldiers and horses were in a mess, he quickly asked about the military situation.
"We've fallen into someone else's trap again!" Lu Qian sighed dejectedly, ordered the soldiers to go back and rest, and returned to the government office while speaking.
"Alas, I didn't expect Kong Ming to be so smart. It's hard to guard against him." Xin Pi looked solemn after hearing this and said, "The prince has moved his civil and military officials to Yecheng. Zhang Liao can't take care of himself, so he has no choice but to ask for help from Hebei."
While they were discussing, Gan Ning had already led his troops to the city and shouted at the defenders to open the city gates and surrender.
Lü Qian was filled with resentment after his defeat. Upon hearing the news, he was furious and said, "Gan Ning is too much of a bully. I will fight him to the death."
Xin Pi said, "General, you have been defeated repeatedly. Gan Ning must have underestimated the enemy! The enemy ambushed all night and chased us all the way. The soldiers must be exhausted. Such arrogant soldiers will surely be defeated. Don't worry about them for now. Lead the troops to attack them tonight. You can win a great victory and stabilize the morale of the army."
"Your Excellency's advice is brilliant!" Lu Qian was delighted. He went back to the camp to have a rest and then went to rob the camp in the second half of the night.
At four o'clock the next morning, Lu Qian led the Xingyang defenders, rushed out from the south gate and headed straight for Gan Ning's camp.
Although the Jingzhou soldiers had strict military discipline, they were only deploying their troops as usual. They were on guard and killing the enemy day and night. The soldiers were already exhausted. Gan Ning also thought that Lu Qian's defeated generals would not dare to fight again after returning to the city with a disastrous defeat, so he relaxed his vigilance.
Most of the campfires in the camp were extinguished, and the patrolling soldiers were taking a nap in the sheltered place. At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the camp, and Lu Qian led his troops to the front of the camp.
The soldiers of Jingzhou panicked and rushed to meet the enemy. Before the sparse rain of arrows had ended, Cao's army had moved the deer horns away. Lu Qian took the lead and rushed into the camp, killing and setting fire everywhere.
Gan Ning was awakened from his sleep and was furious when he heard that Cao's army was attacking the camp. He immediately put on his armor and went out to meet them. He saw shouting and killing everywhere and half of the camp was on fire. He had no choice but to order his troops to abandon the camp and retreat.
"Gan Ning, you thief, watch out for the arrows!" When Lu Qian saw Gan Ning in the chaos of the army, he did not engage in a fight with him, but shot three arrows in a row on his horse.
"You bastard, you dare to fight me?" Gan Ning dodged the arrows, urged his horse and rushed forward with his sword in hand.
The battle was successful, and Lu Qian finally vented his anger. He laughed loudly, ordered his soldiers to shoot arrows to force Gan Ning back, and then led his troops back to the city.
Gan Ning gathered his defeated troops and watched the camp being burned down. Fortunately, he was only the vanguard and did not carry any baggage, so the loss was not serious. He retreated his troops not far away to rest and wait for Zhuge Liang's army.
Soon Chen Daoxian led his troops to the scene. Seeing the ashes in front of him, he asked in surprise, "What happened?"
"I was careless!" Gan Ning sighed and said with a wry smile, "I fished all day, but got bitten by a turtle."