Although Sun Quan was injured and fell off his horse, he refused to retreat to recuperate. In the evening, he personally inspected the camps. All the Wu soldiers were excited and willing to die for them.
Lu Su warned his generals that Cao's army might take advantage of the opportunity to raid the camp when they saw that the Marquis of Wu was injured, so he told all the generals to return to the camp and be sure to take strict precautions. The vanguard troops were to be on the alert at all times just in case.
As expected, Cao's army came out of the city at three o'clock in the morning. Han Dang and Huang Gai guarded the east and west gates respectively and killed and repelled the enemy. Everyone in the camp cursed and determined to attack the city with all their might after daybreak.
Lü Fan, Zhu Huan, Jia Hua and other generals were guarding the central army. They were going to split up to rescue the Cao army, but Lü Fan said, "Cao's army left the city late at night, and we don't know their true strength. We should each do our job and not cause chaos among ourselves."
Sure enough, the sound of killing stopped soon after, and the generals prepared to rest. Lu Fan said, "The Cao army retreated after a short fight and has not yet left the south gate. I am afraid they intend to stay in the main camp. The two generals must not be careless."
Jia Hua said disdainfully: "Cao's army was defeated when they attacked the side camp, how dare they attack our central camp? I think they are just trying to tire out the troops, they dare not really come."
Zhu Huan said, "Warfare is all about deception! I think what General Lu said makes sense. Cao Ren is trapped in the city and is likely to make a desperate move, following Zhang Liao's example and attacking the center directly. No matter how cunning he is, as long as we, the generals, are vigilant, we can be safe."
Although Jia Hua agreed verbally, he did not take it seriously in his heart. How could he alarm the enemy and let them raid the camp again
However, he was mainly responsible for protecting Sun Quan's safety and only needed to guard the camp tent. The guards were usually on high alert and there was no need to give specific orders.
Lü Fan was patrolling the camp, while Zhu Huan was guarding the central army. Not long after they sat down in the tent, they heard shouts of killing from the camp gate. Sure enough, Cao's army rushed out from the south gate, and the shouts were like the tide, with great momentum.
Zhu Huan sat in his tent without moving, and his personal soldiers rushed in, saying in panic: "General, something bad has happened, Zhang Zhang Zhang... Liao is coming—"
"What?" Zhu Huan stood up suddenly, grabbed his spear, took two steps and suddenly stopped, saying in a deep voice: "This must be a trick of Cao's army. Tell all camps not to panic."
The guards said anxiously, "The front troops saw that it was Zhang Liao and have already rushed to the central camp."
"Zhang Liao is far away in Xuchang, and he has no time to take care of himself, so how can he come to Shouchun?"
Zhu Huan's eyes were slightly cold, he picked up his gun and walked out of the tent, mounted his horse and looked around the camp. He saw flames rising to the sky and figures rushing around in the front camp, and he didn't know how many Cao troops there were.
The deputy general's entourage had already been on full alert. Seeing that Zhu Huan did not move, they urged him, "I'm afraid the front camp will be lost. Why don't you go to rescue them?"
Zhu Huan said: "General Lu has already dispatched the front camp, and no one has been sent to report the situation. We can resist on our own, so there is no need to act rashly."
The shouts and drums in the Wu army camp shook the sky, waking up Sun Quan from his sleep. He vaguely heard "Liao Lai Liao Lai..."
He suddenly became panic-stricken and jumped up from the bed, tearing the wound and screaming in pain.
Jia Hua heard this outside the tent and hurried in to report: "Cao's army has attacked the camp. Generals Lu and Zhu have already prepared for it. My lord, don't worry."
The personal soldiers lit the lights and saw Sun Quan sitting blankly beside the bed, his hair and beard disheveled, blood pouring from his shoulder, soaking his clothes, and they hurriedly called for a doctor to treat him.
Sun Quan managed to calm himself down and asked, "But is Zhang Wenyuan coming?"
Jia Hua replied: "Everyone in the army is shouting Zhang Liao, and we don't know if he is real or not, but the central army is stable, so there is no need to be afraid."
"Why should I be afraid of Zhang Liao?" Sun Quan felt relieved. He stood up and pushed the doctor away, saying in a deep voice, "I am about to go out to fight the thief Zhang Liao to the death!"
Jia Hua clasped his fists and said, "Zhang Liao succeeded in his last sneak attack. If he dares to come again this time, I will kill him. Why bother the lord to come in person?"
"Well, that makes sense!" Sun Quan nodded slightly, signaling everyone to step back and let the doctor treat the wounds.
After Jia Hua and the others left the tent, Sun Quan's face was horrified with pain, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Quickly get the Ma Fei San!"
At this time, the shouts and cries of killing were deafening outside the tent. Cao's army, relying on Zhang Liao's reputation, charged all the way. Although Lu Fan led his troops to stop them, the Wu army was afraid before the battle and most of them retreated and the morale of the army was in panic.
The person Cao Ren chose to lead the troops was a captain of a thousand men, who was usually brave in battle. This time, he was appointed to lead the troops with the intention of rewarding them for their meritorious service. The soldiers under his command were all elite, and if they could kill Sun Quan, they would surely become famous in one battle, so they all fought bravely.
As soon as they rushed past the front camp, they saw an enemy general standing in front of them, blocking the road. He drew his sword and shouted coldly, "Zhang Liao is here, why don't you surrender quickly?"
"You are just a pretender. Look at my gun!" Zhu Huan laughed, urged his horse forward, brandished his gun, and rushed forward.
The two horses crossed, and in just three moves, the enemy general was knocked off his horse. Zhu Huan raised his spear and shouted, "Zhang Liao is dead, kill him!"
When the Wu army saw that Zhu Huan had really stabbed Zhang Liao to death, they were all excited and roared loudly. The defenders beat drums and rang gongs with all their might, and the entire army charged towards the chaotic Cao army.
At the same time, Lu Fan also led his troops to the scene from behind. The two groups of troops attacked from the front and back, surrounded Cao's army, fired arrows at will, and the soldiers rushed forward and killed all the enemy troops.
Zhu Huan led his troops to the foot of the city. In the light of the fire, he saw Cao's army standing on the top of the city wall. He shouted, "Old thief Cao Ren, you have been captured by Liu Qi and have no face to fight the enemy. You even used Zhang Liao's name to form a battle array. Do you know the word shame?"
Cao Ren was feeling sad over the massacre of his soldiers who had left the city. When he heard Zhu Huan's words, he flew into a rage and was ready to go down the city to fight him.
Sima Yi hurried out from the arrow tower to dissuade him: "This is Wu Gou's way of provoking the general. General, don't get angry."
Cao Ren said angrily: "The boy is arrogant. I cannot relieve my hatred unless I kill him."
Sima Yi said: "The governor's body is the most important thing for Xuzhou. The safety of the Central Plains is at stake. Why should he bother with a general? Since ancient times, victors have been victorious and losers have been defeated. Only by withstanding the anger for a while can one achieve great success. Sun Quan has run out of tricks. Something will happen within a few months."
Cao Ren took a deep breath, told Niu Jin and others to guard the city carefully, ignored Zhu Huan's shouting and went back to the government office to rest.
Seeing that Cao's army did not dare to fight, Zhu Huan led his troops back and went to the central army tent to meet Sun Quan and report the battle. Sun Quan praised Zhu Huan for his wisdom and courage and promoted him to General Fenwu.
Before they knew it, it was dawn. Generals Huang Gai, Han Dang and others came to the central army to discuss matters, and they all requested to attack Shouchun again.
Sun Quan looked defeated, but he mustered up his courage and said, "The Cao army has risked their lives to leave the city, which shows that they are no longer able to defend the city. If you keep up the good work, the city will be captured soon."
While they were assigning the tasks, Sun Yu suddenly sent someone to report that the Lujiang troops were ambushed by Cao's army when they passed through Jiashi, and they suffered a crushing defeat and retreated to Shiting.
All the generals were saddened when they heard this. Seeing that Cao Ren was prepared, Lu Fan and others asked Sun Quan to withdraw his troops.
The fierce fighting in the past few days was just to buy time for the Lujiang troops, but now they have been discovered by Cao's army. Shouchun is as solid as a rock. If the battle continues, not only will the people be resentful, but the army will also be restless and their morale will soon collapse like ice and snow.
Sun Quan, however, remained calm and did not blame Sun Yu. Instead, he appeased him with kind words and ordered him to continue to send reinforcements to Shiting, repair barracks and military camps, store up food and fodder to tie down Cao's army and wait for the right opportunity to act.
Lu Fan advised: "The Lujiang troops have failed to advance, and we are only wasting our manpower by attacking the city. Recently, the people of Huainan are very resentful. Why don't you withdraw your troops to rest, appease the people, and regroup before fighting again?"
Sun Quan stroked his beard and smiled, "Haven't you heard that if you lose something in one place, you can gain something in another? Although Sun Yu's army was defeated, Zhou Tai's navy will surely win. I have my own plan to capture Cao Ren. You can just do your job."
Seeing that Sun Quan had no intention of retreating, the generals had no choice but to make preparations and attack Shouchun again half an hour later.