Cheng Xi led 30,000 elite troops to Anqiu and saw that the Wu army was already ready for battle. Although the soldiers were small, they were well disciplined. Under the scorching sun, their armor was bright and their flags were fluttering.
The first general was wearing a white robe and soft armor, with an imposing manner. From a distance, he had an air of looking down on the world. It was guessed that it was Zhou Yu, so he signaled his deputy general Li Xue to step forward and challenge him.
Li Xue was a general under Cheng Xiong. He was a brave man and knew that this was the time to perform meritorious deeds. He rode out on his horse and shouted, "Where is Xu Sheng? Come and die!"
Xu Sheng came out to fight, and the two fought for more than ten rounds without a clear winner. Cheng Xi frowned and asked, "Why did Xu Sheng kill my brother in one blow?"
The lieutenant general said, "General Cheng must have underestimated the enemy. In my opinion, the troops of Jiangdong are no better than this."
Cheng Xi shook his head slowly: "Zhou Yu came from a long way to charge into battle, and there can be no mistakes. The people he sent must be elite. My brother died in battle, I'm afraid he was not strong enough. This shows that I am nepotism, which hurts others and myself."
The lieutenant general was surprised and asked, "Why do you say that, Lord?"
Cheng Xi sighed, "If I hadn't promoted Cheng Xiong too much and selected capable people from the army to serve, the army led by Li Xue wouldn't have been defeated, and my brother wouldn't have died."
The lieutenant general could not help but look at Cheng Xi differently, clasping his fists and saying, "Your Excellency's opinion is brilliant!"
The fighting had lasted for more than thirty rounds. Cheng Xi had developed a talent for Li Xue and was preparing to promote him. He ordered the troops to retreat, but Li Xue dared to put in the effort and rode back to the battlefield after showing off a flaw.
"Don't run, traitor!" Xu Sheng shouted and rode his horse to chase him. Cheng Xi ordered the archers on both wings to force him back.
Xu Sheng stepped aside and laughed, "Is there no one in the north who can fight?"
All the generals in Cao's camp were furious. One of them shouted and rushed out with his spear towards Xu Sheng. Cheng Xi looked and saw that it was Wang Cheng, the commander of the left camp.
Wang Cheng was Yang Yong's deputy general. Seeing Li Xue's victory, he was also eager to make a contribution. His main general was killed in the battle, and it was the time for him to be promoted, so he rushed out to kill the general without asking for orders.
Wang Cheng's spear skills were sharp, and he defeated Xu Sheng in a few moves. He stabbed Xu Sheng's robe with one spear, and with a sizzling sound, half of the red robe flew into the air.
Ding Feng in the Wu army formation rushed out and caught Wang Cheng. The two fought for more than ten rounds. It was Wang Cheng who gained the upper hand and killed Ding Feng without him having the strength to fight back.
Cheng Xi was so surprised that he pulled his beard and gasped: "Ah, I didn't expect there are so many talents among our army. How can we not use people wisely?"
The lieutenant general was also in doubt and said, "There have been many heroes in Qingdai since ancient times. Your Excellency has always focused on people's livelihood and governance, and neglected military affairs. Although he was praised by the people, he buried the talent of a great general. Fortunately, it is not too late!"
"Cheng Xiong has misled me!" Cheng Xi sighed, twirling his beard and smiling, "With such talents in our army, why should we fear Zhou Lang?"
Li Xuesheng was very happy for a while, his face was red, he clasped his fists and said: "Don't worry, my lord, I am here to avenge General Cheng and take Zhou Yu's head as a reward."
"What a great statement!" Cheng Xi's confidence increased a little more, and he was looking forward to the fight on the field even more.
In the past, he had handed over military affairs to Cheng Xiong, but he did not expect that he would suppress his subordinates in this way. His sadness over the death of his cousin instantly turned into anger, and he felt that Cheng Xiong's death was just right.
While he was observing, he suddenly heard Wang Cheng's loud shout, which made Ding Feng stagger on the horse's back. He stabbed Ding Feng several times with all his might, forcing Ding Feng to be in danger and he turned his horse and ran away.
"It's time!" Cheng Xi was in high spirits, drew his sword and shouted: "Beat the drum, kill—"
Upon hearing the order, Li Xue rode out on his horse, and the three armies of Cao's army set out at the same time, following closely behind him and attacking him.
Xu Sheng was coming to support Ding Feng, but when he saw Cao's army charging towards him, he hurriedly retreated. Zhou Yu saw that the situation was not good and quickly ordered a retreat.
"Capture Zhou Yu alive and you'll be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!" Cheng Xi was so excited that he wanted to charge forward himself and ordered his soldiers to shout in unison to cheer for the front army.
The Wu army retreated in a panic, their formation in disarray. Wang Cheng chased Ding Feng and Xu Sheng, while Li Xue stared at Zhou Yu and shouted, "The one in the white robe is Zhou Yu!"
Zhou Yu fled in panic. When he heard Cao's army shouting, he took off his military uniform. His helmet fell to the ground in panic and fell into the dust. Then he retreated back to the city under the escort of Wu's army.
Xu Sheng and Ding Feng fought hard to protect the Wu army's retreat. Arrows were shot down from the top of the city wall. The Cao army chased to the edge of the moat and was shot back by the arrows.
Li Xue picked up Zhou Yu's battle robe, Wang Cheng grabbed his helmet, and Cao's army scrambled to grab the weapons left behind by Wu's army, and they returned with a great victory.
When Cheng Xi saw the two generals returning with supplies, he went forward to greet them personally. The Cao army was all delighted and their morale was greatly boosted.
Li Xue clasped his fists and said, "It's a pity that we didn't catch Zhou Yu. We only got back the helmet tassel."
Wang Cheng also said: "This is Zhou Yu's battle robe. Next time we fight, I will capture Zhou Lang."
Cheng Xi laughed and said, "Tian Yu was timid before the battle. In my opinion, Zhou Yu is no better than him."
The military officer praised: "The Lord has personally come out to fight and has won a great victory. Let's see who in Qingzhou will not be convinced!"
Cheng Xi took Zhou Yu's silver and gold helmet, looked at it again and again, and was very proud. If it was true as Tian Yu said, how could they have such a great victory by hiding in the city
He immediately issued an order to promote the two captains Li Xue and Wang Cheng to the rank of generals, to command the Qingzhou troops, and to select elite officers from the army, with the most capable ones given priority, and to promote talents as quickly as possible.
Li Xuesheng was promoted to general, full of energy and enthusiasm, and said, "Tomorrow I will lead the troops to attack the city and capture Zhou Yu alive."
Cheng Xi agreed with this and ordered his troops to camp outside Anqiu City, cook on the spot and prepare weapons for the entire army to attack the city. He also ordered his men to send Zhou Yu's battle robe to Beihai to show off the victory to Tian Yu.
Tian Yu was defending against the Liaodong Army at this time. Liu Yi challenged him to a fight several times, but Tian Yu ignored him and ordered the three armies to defend the city to the death and no one was allowed to leave the city without the general's order.
At dusk, the enemy's attack had just been repelled and Cheng Xi's confidants arrived in the city. Tian Yu saw Zhou Yu's battle robe and asked about the battle in the front army, and he couldn't help frowning.
The eldest son Tian Pengzu was puzzled and said, "Cheng Shizhong won the first battle and helped the army's prestige. If he can repel the Wu army, Liu Yi will be alone and there is no need to worry. Why is father not happy but worried?"
Tian Yu shook his head and said, "Zhou Yu is well versed in military tactics. He must be leading elite troops to the north this time. How could he be easily defeated by a weak general? Previously, Cheng Xiong was killed, but today he was defeated. I'm afraid there must be something fishy going on."
Tian Pengzu hesitated to speak, rewarded the envoy generously, and sent him away before saying, "Father, you don't know that Cheng Xiong is jealous of talented people. He relies on being the brother of Governor Cheng. There are rumors in the army that he often suppresses his subordinates, fearing that someone will surpass him. This time, Wang and Li have made great contributions, which shows that the rumors are true. There are dozens of counties in Qingzhou, so there must be heroes."
Tian Yu sighed and frowned, saying, "This must be Zhou Yu's trick. It's a pity that Cheng Xi is jealous of my power and is unwilling to fight the enemy together. I think he will be defeated if he is attacked by Zhou Yu's army. If the two armies attack, Beihai will be in danger. I must first try to defeat Liu Yi so that I can calmly fight the enemy and wait for General Xiahou."
Tian Pengzu asked: "The Liaodong army has 30,000 soldiers and horses. Liu Yi's attack is fierce. The defenders in the city are less than 8,000, and there are only 5,000 elite soldiers. How can we defeat the enemy?"
Tian Yu thought for a long time and said, "The enemy's attack on the city has failed. Liu Yi will come to fight again tomorrow. I will go out of the city to fight the enemy. I have my own countermeasures."