When the fighting in Shouchun was in full swing, Lu Meng led his elite troops and sneaked north in a merchant ship. He bribed officials along the coast, avoided ship inspections, and sneaked into Donghai County from the coast.
The Wu army marched westward in batches and joined forces at Yilu Mountain. This time they only brought two young generals, Ling Tong and Zhu Ran. The three of them were excited as they were about to attack the city.
Lü Meng said, "This surprise attack on Donghai is intended to capture Xuzhou. We will respond to the Grand Commander in the north and meet the lord's army in the south. It may be difficult to defend Tan County alone. We also need to take Houqiu, which can not only resist Cao's army in Xiapi, but also retreat to Guangling. Which of the two generals dares to take on this important task?"
Zhu Ran clasped his fists and said, "I have been studying with the lord, and we have learned a lot in the past two years. It will be easy for me to conquer Houqiu."
Lü Meng was also worried that Ling Tong was too reckless, so he nodded and said, "Let Yifeng defend the city, and I can concentrate on taking Donghai. After taking the city, we just need to hold on and not leave. We will be fine. Don't rush into battle. If we lose this place, not only will all our efforts be wasted, but our retreat will also be cut off!"
Zhu Ran clasped his fists and said, "General, rest assured. Unless the lord comes in person, I will never leave the city."
Lu Meng then divided his troops into a thousand and ordered Zhu Ran to put on Cao's army uniform and armor and disguise himself as reinforcements from Xia Pi to capture the city. Houqiu was only a small city with not many defenders, so they would not be too suspicious. As long as the city was opened, they could be captured.
After Zhu Ran left, Ling Tong said, "I can also change into Cao's armor and sneak into Tan County."
Lü Meng said, "Tan County has 20,000 defenders. We have no external support. If we rush into the city, we will be in danger! We can only take the weapons in the army by wits, not by force."
Ling Tong asked: "General, what good plan do you have?"
Lü Meng said: "Although Tan County has many soldiers, there is no general to lead them. I have already made a plan. Gong Ji will lead the troops first and act according to my instructions."
Ling Tong took orders and led 500 elite cavalry to rush to Tan County in Donghai first. Lu Meng led the rest of the troops to follow in an effort to intimidate the Cao army defenders into surrendering.
The Wu army approached the city. The defenders saw it from afar and immediately beat drums and rang gongs to warn the enemy. Fu Fang, the governor of Donghai County, hurried to the top of the city to check the enemy situation.
Captain Fu Shuo said with a smile: "Don't worry, brother. There are only a few hundred soldiers from the Eastern Wu. They must be attacking from the coast. There is nothing to worry about."
Fu Fang twirled his beard and looked around the city. He saw a general riding out on his horse, standing under the moat, holding his sword, and shouting, "Cao Cao is already a lost dog. Why don't you surrender now?"
Fu Shuo was furious and said, "How dare you, Jiangdong rat, underestimate the people of the Central Plains? I will definitely kill this villain on the spot."
Fu Fang frowned and said, "Hundreds of Wu soldiers dared to go deep into the enemy's territory. I'm afraid they have something to rely on. We must not underestimate the enemy."
Fu Shuo said proudly: "It's just a small force, isn't it a merit delivered to my door? This is exactly the reward for helping my brother to rise, and I can't miss it."
While Fu Fang was still hesitating, Fu Shuo had already gone down to the city to inspect the troops and ordered them to open the city gates and set up battle formations to engage in battle against the Wu army.
Since taking office as the governor of Donghai County for three years, Fu Fang had made arrangements with people at all levels and should have been promoted to the governor of Xuzhou. After some experience, he could have entered the court and was on the verge of achieving success and bringing honor to his family.
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao was defeated at Ruxu and the Wu army counterattacked Huainan. Cao Ren was transferred to supervise the troops in Xuzhou and concurrently serve as the governor. However, he was not promoted for a long time. The two brothers were anxious and helpless. Seeing the opportunity to make meritorious service was right in front of them, how could they resist
Fu Shuo held his spear high and shouted, "I am Fu Shuo, and I never kill nameless people. Anyone who comes here must reveal their name!"
"The plan was made by Jiangdong Ling Tong that night!" Ling Tong smiled coldly: "I think you are just a nobody."
Fu Shuo was furious and urged his horse to fight Ling Tong. Fu Fang on the city wall watched the battle nervously and ordered his men to beat drums to cheer them on and test the strength of the Wu army first.
Outside the city of Tan County, drums were beating loudly as two men fought in front of the battle line. It was Fu Shuo's first time facing the enemy and he was in high spirits. His spear was elusive and after more than ten rounds, he killed Ling Tong so badly that he was in a panic and unable to defend himself.
"It turns out it was just a sneak attack by a small team!" Fu Fang was overjoyed upon seeing this, and looked forward to Fu Shuo eliminating the enemy in one fell swoop so that he could report the credit.
Just as he was waiting, he suddenly heard dust flying in the distance and flags fluttering. A large group of troops were approaching rapidly. Fu Fang was shocked and quickly sounded the horn to call back his troops.
Fu Shuo was just about to take advantage of the victory to kill the enemy, but upon hearing the order, he had no choice but to retreat back to the city. He complained, "I was just about to defeat the enemy and make a contribution, why did you sound the horn?"
Fu Fang pointed to the distance, his expression solemn: "The enemy's main force has arrived, but there is no news from the East China Sea. Where did they come from?"
Fu Shuo walked quickly to the top of the city wall and saw thousands of Wu soldiers approaching the city. One general urged his horse to the city wall and shouted, "Lü Meng from Jiangdong is here. Who dares to come out of the city to fight?"
Fu Shuo clenched his fist and said, "Humph, Lu Meng, you dare to be so arrogant, wait and see me fight again."
Fu Fang shook his head and said, "Thousands of Wu soldiers have entered the country, but no one in the country has reported it. I'm afraid there must be a trick. Lu Meng is a famous general in Jiangdong, so there is no need to fight him. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. First send someone to find out the truth, and then think of a way to defeat the enemy."
Fu Shuo had no choice but to lead his troops to defend the city. He also sent people to inquire about the news in Donghai County to find out where this Wu army came from.
The Wu army shouted for a while, but saw that no one came out of the city and it was getting late, so they retreated three miles and set up camp. They sent people to cut wood and make weapons in preparation for attacking Tan County.
After dinner, Fu Fang summoned all the generals to the government office and said to them, "I don't know where the Wu army came from, but according to the scouts, there is no large army behind us. These 3,000 isolated troops have penetrated deep into the enemy's territory, which is truly a gift from heaven. You will be rewarded when you have made contributions!"
Fu Shuo was overjoyed and clasped his fists, saying, "Just give us your orders, my Lord. We will do whatever it takes to get what we want!"
Fu Fangyan said, "The Wu army is sneaking in. They are short of baggage and food, their camp is crude, and their soldiers are exhausted. If we go to support them tonight, we will surely win a great victory. The Grand Commander is currently fighting the enemy in Shouchun, and it is a good time to use people. If he hears the news from us, he will surely make use of you."
Everyone was delighted and immediately returned to the camp to prepare. Fu Shuo led the team to go out of the city to rob the camp. Right now Cao's camp was in need of a general to command the troops and there were many vacancies. As long as they killed the enemies and made meritorious service, they would be promoted immediately.
At four o'clock in the morning, when the soldiers had finished their meals, Fu Shuo personally led five thousand elite soldiers to the Wu army camp. He also divided them into three teams, each with two thousand men, to encircle and annihilate the Wu army.
It was a chilly early autumn night. When Fu Shuo's troops arrived at the enemy camp, he sent scouts to observe closely. As expected, the enemy was completely unprepared, so he immediately ordered his men and horses to rush into the camp.
The soldiers had prepared hay torches and rushed into the village and set fires everywhere. Amid shouting, the fire spread with the night wind. In a blink of an eye, the flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the sky.
When the three groups of troops ambushed outside the camp saw the signal, they immediately surrounded the Wu army camp and attacked from the nearest camp gate.
Fu Shuo led the way, passing several large camps and rushing to the front of the central army tent. He opened the tent with a spear, looked up to the sky and laughed: "Lü Meng, little boy, where... Huh? F—"
Under the firelight, he saw a straw man standing in the tent. His heart sank immediately and he shouted, "There is an ambush, retreat quickly!"
Before he finished speaking, he heard the neighing of horses outside the camp. Cao's army was still looting weapons and supplies amid the smoke and fire. When they heard the drumbeats, they thought it was their own troops lying in ambush outside and did not take it seriously.
Suddenly, countless arrows fell from the sky, mixed with many rockets, and shot towards Cao's army. The camp nearby also caught fire, surrounding them in the fire.