Cheng Xi was horrified when he saw this and shouted, "Li Xue, Li Xue—"
The lieutenant general hurriedly said: "Don't worry, my lord. Our army is three times larger than the enemy. We should immediately form a battle formation to resist the enemy and defeat them with all our strength."
"Yes, yes, yes, we have the advantage, what should we be afraid of?" Cheng Xi suddenly came to his senses, and hurriedly ordered the formation to be formed, waiting for Generals Li Xue and Wang Cheng to come and meet up to defeat the enemy together.
At this time, Li Xue had just retreated from the camp, and Ding Feng happened to arrive. He hurriedly fought with him, but was killed in just three rounds. He was in a panic, seeing so many gun shadows that he could not tell the real ones from the fake ones. He was like a completely different person from before, and he was immediately shocked.
Although he was a new general, he was after all a veteran with many years of fighting. He found out that he was no match for Ding Feng, so he shouted angrily and swung his sword with all his might, hoping to retreat while the enemy was trying to defend himself.
Unexpectedly, Ding Feng had already secured victory. He only raised the tip of his gun slightly, and the broadsword was deflected by the opponent's gun. The gun tip was like a poisonous snake coming out of a hole, and instantly pierced into the chest.
Li Xue immediately trembled, spitting blood, and gritted his teeth and said, "You... cheated..."
Ding Feng snorted coldly, and seeing that Cao's army was in chaos and fleeing, he led his troops straight to the central army to capture Cheng Xi.
This was the first time that Wang Cheng led the troops alone. He was in high spirits and rushed straight to the central army tent. When he saw several straw men standing in the tent, he realized that he had been tricked. When he turned back hurriedly, Xu Sheng had already arrived from the east.
"Hehe, you dare to come and die?" Wang Cheng was secretly happy and thought to himself that he was very lucky.
He unexpectedly encountered this defeated general in the chaos of the army. If he killed him, even if he was defeated, he would still have accomplished a great feat. He changed his mind and stopped running away. He rushed straight towards Xu Sheng and cut him in half with his sword.
Flames were flying in the camp. Under the flickering fire, Xu Sheng was seen with a sneer on his face. His horse galloped over and he also slashed with a sword.
A cold light came towards him, and Wang Cheng's sword collided with it, sparks flew, and the huge force recoiled, causing it to fly out of his hand, and he couldn't help but exclaim.
Wang Cheng's eyes widened as he stared blankly at the cold light approaching him. Then he saw fireworks flying and spinning in front of him, and then they turned dim.
Xu Sheng beheaded the enemy general with a single blow, then led his troops into the chaotic Cao army, charging back and forth and killing everyone, unstoppable.
Cheng Xi was commanding his troops to form a battle array in front of the battlefield, waiting for the two generals to join forces for a counterattack, but what he saw was the defeated army fleeing back. When he heard that Li Xue was killed and Wang Cheng's life or death was unknown, he knew that something was wrong. Seeing the Wu army approaching, he hurriedly ordered a retreat.
Ding Feng took the lead and rushed straight into the chaotic army, instantly dispersing Cao's army in the middle. Cheng Xi fled in a panic, and his men and horses were in chaos. They were surrounded and intercepted by Wu's army, with countless casualties.
As the east gradually brightened, Cheng Xi fled to Anqiu with his personal followers and the remaining soldiers. With the pursuers constantly behind him, he hurriedly ordered people to open the city gates, fled into the city and closed the four gates tightly, and he no longer cared about the other defeated troops.
Soon Zhou Yu arrived with a large army and ordered the city of Anqiu to be surrounded on all sides. Troops were stationed all around the city, but they simply surrounded the city without attacking.
Xu Sheng was puzzled and asked, "The commander-in-chief pretended to be weak and lured the enemy deep into his territory. Now that the main force of Cao's army has been destroyed, why didn't he take the opportunity to attack the city and kill Cheng Xi to eliminate the threat forever?"
Zhou Yu said with a smile: "The threat to Qingzhou is not Cheng Xi. He does not know the art of war and is not worth worrying about. Tian Yu has been a general for many years and is experienced in battle. He is a formidable enemy!"
Xu Sheng was unconcerned: "Beihai has only a few thousand defenders. If Cheng Xi is killed, the army will be in chaos. If we unite with the Liaodong army, it will not be difficult to capture the city."
Zhou Yu said: "Gongsun Kang and his son are far away and unyielding. They are fickle and cannot be trusted. If I could only defeat Cheng Xi, why would I have to go to such great lengths?"
Xu Sheng said: "I wonder what the Grand Commander's plan is all about?"
Previously, Zhou Yu ordered him and Ding Feng to pretend to be defeated by Cao's generals. They were blocked by Cao's army in the city and insulted. They were all very angry. They pretended to be defeated and retreated to Weishui. They ran back and forth and delayed the opportunity to fight. It was really incredible.
Zhou Yu looked at the top of Anqiu City and said calmly: "I want to occupy Qingzhou alone."
Xu Sheng asked: "The Liaodong army has occupied Donglai County and may not give it up easily. If we turn against them, Xiahou Dun's army will arrive soon and our army may not be able to hold on alone."
Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Don't worry, General. I have already made a plan. Liu Yi is now confronting Tian Yu. When I heard that Cheng Xi was defeated, something must have happened. This is the time for me to take Qingzhou."
Before Xu Sheng could ask more questions, Ding Feng also led his troops to join them. They won a great victory in this battle, killing more than 10,000 Cao soldiers, seizing countless supplies, and taking more than 3,000 prisoners, who were temporarily detained in the camp for custody, awaiting their fate.
Zhou Yu ordered Xu Sheng to challenge Cheng Xi to surrender, and ordered Ding Feng to select elite soldiers to rest early, as he had other important matters to arrange after dark.
Cheng Xi returned to the government office in shock. Only then did he realize that what Tian Yu said was true. He sighed and said, "I regret not listening to General Tian. Now I am trapped in a small town without any reinforcements. What should I do?"
The lieutenant general said, "Although Anqiu is small, it still has enough food and grass. You only need to hold on for a few days, and General Xiahou will surely arrive. We can defeat the enemy with the help of both inside and outside forces."
Cheng Xi forced himself to cheer up and ordered the camps to reorganize their troops to defend the city. The defenders came to report that the Wu army was shouting outside the city, asking him to open the city and surrender.
Cheng Xi was furious and said, "How can I, a dignified Han official, surrender to a Wu dog?"
…
The defeated army fled back to Beihai and there was panic in the city. Tian Yu sighed when he heard the news. Although this outcome was within his expectations, he still felt heavy-hearted when he really faced it.
Tian Pengzu said, "Zhou Yu is indeed worthy of his reputation, and Governor Cheng is just as father expected. Now he has been defeated by a trick and his main force has been lost. What countermeasures do you have, father?"
Tian Yu's face was as gloomy as water, and he said, "Cheng Xi's army was defeated, and Liu Yi is worried that Wu's army will come to take Beihai, so he will definitely attack the city with all his strength. It's a good time to act according to the plan."
Tian Pengzu finally realized the crisis and frowned, saying, "Zhou Yu is good at using troops. If we wait for the Wu army to arrive, I'm afraid we will be trapped in the city and Qingzhou will be lost. It's better to retreat to Leping first."
Tian Yu shook his head and said, "The Liaodong army is just outside the city, watching closely. If we retreat now, Liu Yi will surely lead his troops to attack us. Not only will we not be able to protect ourselves, but we will also be annihilated and lose Qingzhou."
Tian Pengzu said anxiously: "General Xiahou has not arrived yet, Beihai has few soldiers, and the situation is critical. Now the people in the city are shaken and morale is low. If father does not retreat to the rear and is trapped in the city, who will take charge of Qingzhou?"
"Humph, I said it before, if Cheng Xi is defeated, Liu Yi will also be defeated!"
Tian Yu took a deep breath and said slowly: "If we want to protect Qingzhou, Beihai must not be lost. Now we have to defeat the Liaodong army first, so that we can deal with Dongwu and hold on until help comes."
Tian Pengzu recalled what Tian Yu had said before, and hurriedly asked, "Liu Yi is quite good at commanding troops. The Liaodong army has more than 20,000 soldiers. How can father defeat Liu Yi's army?"
Tian Yu tightly gripped the hilt of his sword and said resolutely: "As the saying goes, one must be in danger before he can survive! Since Liu Yi is eager to enter the city, I can just take advantage of his trick. As long as we kill him and eliminate the main force of the Liaodong Army, the Wu Army will not have to worry about us."
Tian Pengzu was startled when he heard this, and clasped his fists and said, "Father, what's your brilliant plan?"
Tian Yu ordered: "Immediately issue a notice to reassure the people, telling them to hide in their houses and not to go out without permission. The defenders will put up flags all over the city to bluff. At dawn, I will go out of the city to lure the enemy and pretend to retreat. Liu Yi will chase him into the city. You just follow my plan and act accordingly."
Tian Pengzu was shocked. He didn't expect Tian Yu to withdraw from Beihai City. He clasped his fists and said, "Father, just give me your orders."