As the Jingzhou army launched several northern expeditions, Cao Pi moved the capital to Yecheng. The morale of Cao's army was extremely low, the people of the Central Plains were terrified, and it even affected the Xuzhou and Qingzhou fronts in the east.
Cao Ren confronted Sun Quan's army in Huainan, with Sima Yi as his military advisor. The two armies fought several times, with both sides winning and losing. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yu launched a surprise attack on Qingzhou by water, and Xiahou Dun hurriedly led his troops north to rescue.
Since Cao Cao pacified the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, although the country has been stable, more than 100,000 Qingzhou soldiers participated in the war, the country was desolate, development was extremely slow, and the military force was empty. It was attacked from Liaodong and Eastern Wu, and Donglai County was completely lost in half a month.
Liu Yi, the Liaodong general, once ruled Donglai for several years and served as the governor of Yingzhou. He was later expelled from the country by Cao's army. This time he made a comeback, contacted his old subordinates, and made rapid progress.
Zhou Yu led the navy northward by sea, attacked Chengyang County in the southern part of Qingzhou from Laoshan, stationed troops in Gaomi, and cooperated with the Liaodong army in the north to attack Beihai together.
Fortunately, Beihai Governor Tian Yu was an experienced military commander. He withdrew the garrisons from Jiaodong and other places and deployed all his strength to defend Beihai, thus stabilizing the situation. The garrison calmed the people and waited for reinforcements to arrive.
It turned out that when Cao Cao was on a northern expedition against the Wuhuan, the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, including Xu He and Sima Ju, killed Jinan King Liu Yun and rebelled. Xiahou Yuan led his troops to quell the rebellion. Cao Cao saw that Tian Yu was capable of garrisoning the border, so he appointed him as the governor of Beihai and ordered him to lead the Qingzhou troops to garrison Qingzhou.
Cheng Xi, the governor of Qingzhou, led his troops to Beihai and discussed with Tian Yu to divide the troops into two groups, each leading an army to repel the enemy.
Tian Yuyan said: "Zhou Yu is a Jiangdong hero, both civil and military, and well versed in military tactics. We should not rush into the enemy."
Cheng Xi sneered, "If you don't meet the enemy when a large army invades your territory, aren't you just sitting there waiting to be killed? If Governor Tian doesn't dare to fight the Wu army, just hand it over to me, and you go deal with Liu Yi, how about that?"
Tian Yu advised: "The court has received a letter that the prince has sent people to Liaodong to convey a message, conferring an official title on Gongsun Kang in order to alienate Dongwu. We should not send troops at this time, otherwise the two will surely unite."
Cheng Xi was furious and said, "I am the governor of Qingzhou, and my duty is to protect the territory. The Prime Minister ordered you to lead the army to guard the city, but you are so cowardly and afraid of fighting. How can you help the court?"
It turned out that Cheng Xi had always been dissatisfied with Tian Yu's supervision of Qingzhou's military affairs as the prefect, and the two had been secretly at odds. This time he led the troops here to defeat the enemy and establish his prestige, so that Cao Pi could see his strength and thus take full control of Qingzhou's troops.
Seeing Tian Yu hesitant and afraid to go to war was exactly what Cao Cao wanted. Although Tian Yu was highly regarded by Cao Cao, there were rumors in the court that Cao Cao was seriously ill and was on a northern expedition, and he might never return. Now that Cao Pi was in power, if Tian Yu did not make any achievements, he would never get ahead.
Tian Yu was still trying to persuade him, but Cheng Xi didn't take it seriously. He sent his troops south to fight Zhou Yu, hoping to establish his authority in one battle and attract Cao Pi's attention.
Zhou Yu is well-known in Jiangdong and is also a famous general today. He has half the credit for the foundation of Jiangdong. It is said that he is a man of great strategies. If he can be defeated, he will surely become famous in one battle.
Cheng Xi led his troops south and set up camp at Weishui, where he discussed strategies to defeat the enemy with Generals Cheng Xiong and Yang Yong.
Cheng Xiyan said: "People say that Zhou Lang of Jiangdong is a man of both civil and military talents, well versed in military tactics, and a natural genius. We need to be cautious when fighting him. What good strategies do you two have?"
Cheng Xiong laughed and said, "Although Zhou Yu was good at commanding troops in Jiangdong, he only relied on the Jiangdong navy. He was only familiar with naval warfare, but not land warfare. Now that he has come from afar in the north, he must be uncomfortable with the climate and water. What is there to be afraid of?"
Yang Yong nodded and said, "General Cheng is right. Zhou Yu's surprise attack on the East Sea was very effective, but he is isolated and cannot be allowed to gain a foothold. We have 10,000 elite cavalrymen, and we will surely be unstoppable against the Jiangdong navy."
Although Cheng Xi boasted in front of Tian Yu, he was still a little afraid of Zhou Yu. After listening to the two generals' words, his confidence increased immediately. He nodded and said, "What the two generals said makes sense. In the past, the prime minister went to the south and was defeated at Ruxu because he was not used to the local climate. Now that Zhou Lang has come across the sea, Qingzhou will be the place where he will be buried."
Cheng Xiong laughed and said, "If it weren't for Sun Ce's courage, how could Zhou Yu have achieved anything? He was defeated by the Prime Minister in the Battle of Huainan, which shows that he is just a name. Now that the country is in crisis, we should serve the country and defeat Zhou Yu, and we will surely achieve success and fame. If you are valued, I will definitely transfer you to the Central Plains to fight against famous generals like Guan Yu, so that we can show our ability as brothers."
Cheng Xi smiled brightly and said in a loud voice: "My brother has been in the army for nearly ten years. Fortunately, the Prime Minister promoted him and gave him a place to use his talents. Now is the time to repay the favor and we need to use all our strength."
Cheng Xiong clasped his fists and said, "I have heard that Zhou Yu is a proud person. He must have underestimated the enemy when he went north this time. I am willing to lead 5,000 elite soldiers to test the strength of the Wu army first and defeat their vanguard first to boost morale."
"This is exactly what I want. It will let Tian Yu know the bravery of our army." Cheng Xi was overjoyed, so he ordered Cheng Xiong and Yang Yong to lead 5,000 troops to fight the enemy.
At this time, Zhou Yu was sending Xu Sheng and Ding Feng as vanguards to Beihai. As soon as their troops arrived in Anqiu, scouts reported that Cao's army was coming to fight.
Xu Sheng sneered and said, "I thought that the Cao army in Qingzhou were all cowards who feared fighting. Now that someone has finally come to fight, I will let him know the bravery of the men of Jiangdong."
Ding Fengyan said: "Knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in every battle. If you don't know the enemy's strength, you must not be careless."
Xu Sheng laughed and said, "We are heading north to the Central Plains to expand our territory. We should use offense as defense. With me here, it will not be difficult to defeat the enemy."
Ding Feng was filled with heroic spirit when he heard this. He clasped his fists and said, "Today is the day to kill the enemy and make merit. I am willing to be the vanguard."
Xu Shengyan said: "In these years in Chaisang, I have received a lot of advice from the Grand Commander, and I have also learned a lot about military tactics. We have come from afar, so we don't have to be afraid of fighting, but we can't attack by force. We need to win by wits: We will fight the enemy later, and I will fight with the enemy first. Chengyuan will lead his troops to attack Cao's rear, and attack from the front and back. Taking advantage of the situation, we will advance and Cao's army will be defeated!"
"General, that's a good idea!" Ding Feng had always been a brave warrior. After hearing what Xu Sheng said, he suddenly realized something and said, "During the Battle of Ruxu, Liu Qi often said that a general should make plans rather than be brave. I have benefited a lot from this."
Xu Sheng smiled proudly and said, "Liu Qi is invincible in Guanzhong. We will follow the Grand Commander across the sea to the north and we must not fall behind him. This land of Qingxu will surely become the territory of our Great Wu."
The two men had agreed that when Cao's army arrived at the city, Xu Sheng would lead the army out of the city to meet the enemy, while Ding Feng would scout the rear and act according to the situation.
The Wu army formed a battle array, and Xu Sheng rode out first, shouting, "The Cao thief has fled far to the north of the desert, and the Cao family is already at the end of its strength. Why don't you surrender early?"
Cheng Xiong was observing the Wu army's movements on horseback. Seeing Xu Sheng's arrogance, he could not help but get furious. He rode out and shouted, "You Jiangdong rats should only live in peace in the south of the Yangtze River. How can you covet the Central Plains? I will not kill nameless people. Tell me your name."
Xu Sheng smiled coldly and said, "I am Xu Sheng from Donghai! Cao is a traitor and he is a traitor. Everyone has the right to kill him. I am returning home in glory. Today, I will kill you first to thank my ancestors."
"So you are a man who has left his hometown. Today I will teach you about heroes in the Central Plains!" Cheng Xiong was eager to kill the enemy and make merit, so he urged his horse to fight Xu Sheng.
Xu Sheng didn't know how strong Cheng Xiong was, so he gave Ding Feng a look, telling him to be ready to attack at any time. He rode his horse to fight, and the two horses crossed. With just one blow, he killed Cheng Xiong off his horse. Xu Sheng held up his sword and was stunned: "That's it?"