The news of the meteor horse had already reached Linzi. Xu Sheng and Ding Feng were still not satisfied, and Tai Shi Xiang was a young and inexperienced man, so they all asked for orders to fight.
Zhou Yu said, "To the west of Qingzhou is Mount Tai, where the mountains are high and the roads are dangerous. We only have Qingzhou. Even if we defeat the enemy, we cannot advance alone. If Xiahou Dun defends the dangerous place, the two armies will face each other again. Next year, the Wei army can recruit troops from Hebei, and we will be attacked from both sides."
Taishi Ci nodded and said, "What the commander said is very true. Now that General Liu has arrived in Hefei, I am afraid that the morale of the army is still uncertain. Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun to take Qingzhou in order to eliminate future troubles and fight Huainan again. But we cannot fight him yet. If we can lure the enemy deep into our territory, defeat Xiahou Dun, and then go south to support General Liu, that will be the best long-term strategy."
Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Ziyi and I agree. General Liu still needs time to stabilize the morale of his troops. I am going to deal with Xiahou Dun first and defeat him slowly, making him unable to fight again. Then I will go south to join General Liu. Cao Cao will surely be intimidated."
Xu Sheng said anxiously: "The Wei army is coming aggressively. There is no place to defend after crossing the Zibo River. We must be on guard."
"I have my own arrangements!" Zhou Yu smiled slightly.
So he arranged a plan and ordered Xu Sheng and Ding Feng to lead an army each to meet the enemy, Taishi Xiang to block the river bank, and leave Taishi Ci to discuss the strategy against the enemy.
Ding led his troops to the west bank and ordered the soldiers to prepare the boats. Soon, they saw a group of cavalry galloping over, with their horses' hooves trampling the snow, making the whole place misty, as if it was snowing heavily again.
Soon the Wei army was approaching. The cavalrymen all had rough features, broad foreheads and high noses, and their necks were protected by animal skin hats. They were obviously Hu soldiers. The leading general was big and strong, with a striking rosacea embedded in his thick beard, which became even more red and eye-catching in the cold wind.
Ding Feng held his gun horizontally and asked sternly, "Are you the reinforcements that Cao thief invited?"
Seeing Ding Feng's short stature, Yuwen Xie became even more disdainful. He shook the weapon in his hand and said in a humming voice, "Little boy from Dongwu, can you withstand my axe?"
His weapon was a double-edged axe, which was shaped like a horseshoe crab, with a blade at the front and a spear head extending from the middle. It was surrounded by iron nails and could be used for both chopping and stabbing. It weighed sixty kilograms and he once won the title of Xianbei warrior with this weapon.
"You are just a bunch of cowards, you dare to shout here? Prepare to die!" Ding Feng smiled coldly, urged his horse and charged out with his spear.
Yuwen Crab rode forward and slashed at Ding Feng. The two rows of spikes made a sharp sound of breaking wind. Ding Feng did not dare to fight head-on, so he put away his gun and dodged, then stabbed again with his backhand.
Yuwen Xie relied on his height and strength, turned the axe and used it horizontally as a shield. Amidst a loud bang, sparks flew off the axe.
The two horses passed each other, and Yuwen Xie circled his horse to chase them. Ding Feng brandished his spear and fought with him, but after only four or five rounds, his arms became numb from the shock of the axe, and he could not sit still on the horse. Unable to defend himself, he turned his horse and ran away.
"Hahaha, they are indeed rats from Jiangdong, vulnerable to a single blow. Chase them!" Yuwen Crab laughed and chased after them relentlessly with his axe raised.
The Xianbei army cheered loudly, urging their horses and brandishing their swords to attack, which was the wolf pack tactic they often used on the grassland.
Ding Feng rushed to the shore and saw that the soldiers were in chaos and Yuwen Crab was chasing them closely. He did not dare to dismount and urged his horse to escape upstream.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Wu's army jumped off the river bank and got on the boat, waving their weapons together. The boat rushed out on the ice and the scene was in chaos.
The Xianbei army was all overjoyed. They chased to the shore and without stopping, they jumped into the river on their horses, whistling and preparing to chase and kill.
Boom—
The next moment, there was a sound of screaming and neighing on the river. The war horses could not stand on the ice and slipped and fell one after another. People and horses were thrown to the ground, and the people and horses were crowded together, with countless casualties.
Yuwen Xie was watching Ding Feng chasing him. When he heard the people behind him shouting and the horses neighing, he turned around and his face changed drastically. He shouted angrily, "What a bunch of idiots! How can a horse cross the river like this?"
They live in the northern desert all year round. In winter, the rivers freeze over and when they cross the ice, the narrow roads are covered with mud and sand. In the wide roads, they have to wrap the horses' feet with linen and animal skins to prevent slipping. How could they rush in like that
Seeing that the Wu soldiers on the other side of the river were already shooting arrows, Yuwen Xie had no choice but to abandon Ding Feng and return to command his troops. In the blink of an eye, four or five hundred cavalrymen fell on the ice, unable to struggle.
The soldiers who rushed into the river were already dizzy and dazed. Some of them had their heads broken and their brains splattered on the spot. They were then shot by a hail of arrows from the Wu army and were almost all killed or wounded.
Yuwen Xie was so angry that his eyes turned red. He ordered his soldiers to carry sand and pave the road on the ice. At this time, the Wu army had already retreated, leaving only wounded soldiers on the ground.
The Xianbei army crossed the river and continued to pursue the enemy until they reached the city of Linzi. They shouted curses and called for a fight. They had clearly won, but instead lost men and horses. They had no place to vent their anger, so they ordered their soldiers to curse together.
Wu's army could not bear the humiliation, so Xu Sheng went out of the city to fight again. He was defeated by Yuwen Xie in more than ten rounds and returned to the city in a panic. Zhou Yu stood on the top of the city with a gloomy face, but he could do nothing.
In the afternoon, Xiahou Dun arrived with his troops. Upon hearing that although hundreds of men had been killed, Ding Feng and Xu Sheng were no match for Yuwen Xie, he was overjoyed and rewarded Yuwen Xie handsomely.
Seeing that Linzi City was wrapped in ice, as if it was wearing a very thick layer of armor and it was difficult to attack the city for the time being, he ordered his troops to retreat to the river bank to set up camp and discuss countermeasures.
The generals celebrated their success in their tents. Xiahou Dun asked, "Zhou Yu poured water to build the city, which makes it difficult to attack quickly. Do you have any good ideas?"
Zhong Jin said: "Ice and snow melt when they meet fire. We can order people to prepare more firewood and trees and pile them under the city tomorrow. This will not only melt the ice, but also smoke the Wu army and demoralize them."
Yuwen Crab laughed and said, "This is a good idea. We will hunt in the mountains. If there are wild animals hiding in their dens, we can use smoke to force them out. Zhou Yu will not be able to escape this time."
“Even if we can’t burn the Wu army to death, we will roast them to death.” Xiahou Dun was overjoyed and divided his troops to cut down trees in the surrounding area overnight.
The next morning, the Wei army surrounded Linzi City. The soldiers carried trees and piled them up like a mountain under the city, and then set them on fire with kerosene and firewood.
The fire was raging and black smoke was rising into the sky, surrounding the entire city. It was pitch black and oppressive. Soon the ice melted and the river water spread in all directions. The Wei army had to retreat.
The fire burned for most of the day. Xiahou Dun stared at the smoke with one eye from a distance. He could not see the situation on the city wall clearly, but was startled by the image in front of him.
It turned out that although the ice on the city wall had melted, the water spread all around. In this season when water freezes into ice, the ground soon froze again, making it impossible to attack the city. So they had to order the soldiers to prepare sand and soil to pave the road.
After a night of fighting, the Wei army was exhausted and went to bed early. In the second half of the night, there was a sudden drum sound from the left camp. It turned out that the Wu army was attacking the camp, so they hurriedly went to fight.
Xiahou Dun personally rushed to the left camp and saw that it was Ding Feng who launched a surprise attack. He went forward to fight with him. After fighting for a few rounds, he saw a big fire in the northwest direction of the right camp.
It was almost dawn and the northwest wind was blowing hard. The fire spread quickly and formed a sea of fire. The entire camp was on fire. The flames shot straight up to the sky, illuminating the sky red, and the fire was no less intense than during the day.
"Xiahou Dun, I'll return the fire to you!" Ding Feng laughed and led his troops to retreat.
Xiahou Dun could not help but think of the time when Liu Qi played tricks on him in the Battle of Bowang, and he was furious: "You rats from Jiangdong, you only know how to attack by surprise. It's a pity that you are not Zhang Fei or Zhao Yun. I swear to avenge you!"