Yao Ping frowned and said: "But is this possible? I have been there for a long time in Niu Shou Town. The terrain is steep and difficult for large forces to cross the river!" Liu Feng said: "The steep terrain of Niu Shou Town is indeed not conducive for large troops to cross the river, but it is not absolutely You can't cross the river, it's just a lot more difficult!" He looked at Cao Yong and said: "Commander, the other party is trying to attack the east and attack the west! They deliberately prepare to attack with great fanfare in front of us, but in fact the real killer is in Niu Shou Town! We must deal with it as soon as possible , otherwise if the one hundred thousand troops crossing Niushou Town would be wedged in like a huge wedge, that would be very bad!"
Cao Yong snorted coldly, "I won't let them succeed! Since they gave us a move to attack the east and attack the west, then we will use one move to defeat the enemy!" Then he said to Liu Feng: "Sir, I would like to trouble you to sit in Xiangyang for me!" Liu Feng clasped his fists and agreed. Cao Yong then said to Yao Ping: "Immediately assemble a hundred thousand troops and wait, and follow me to attack after nightfall!" Yao Zhong clasped his fists in agreement and ran down.
Liu Feng curiously asked Wu Jie: "Commander, what are you going to do?" Cao Yong pointed to Niushou Town on the sand table and said: "Since the Yanyun Army wants to sneak across from here, I will command a hundred thousand troops to wait here. !" Liu Feng nodded and said: "If we can wipe out Yan Yun's army of 100,000 in one fell swoop, the situation of our army will be greatly improved!"
Cao Yong looked at the sand table and frowned and said: "Although the enemy is attacking from the east and west, Xiangyang cannot take it lightly. We cannot be careless about that Yang Peng!" Liu Feng nodded, clasped his fists and said: "Commander, don't worry! Since that's the case! The Yanyun Army's main attack direction is in Niushou Town. Even if there is any action here, I can definitely deal with it and there will be no problem!" Wu Jie nodded.
After nightfall that day, Cao Yong personally commanded an army of 100,000 people and quietly left Xiangyang and headed towards Niushou Town in the west. In the early morning, the army arrived near Niushou Town. Cao Yong ordered the army to stop and sent out scouts to investigate the situation in Niushou Town. Soon after, the scout reported back: "Commander Qi, there are indeed traces of the Yanyun Army brigade on the other side of Niu Shou Town!"
Cao Yong asked: "Is there any Yanyun Army here?" The scout shook his head and said: "There is no trace of Yanyun Army on the shore here." Cao Yong murmured: "They should still be preparing materials for building a pontoon bridge." Then he said to Cao Yong Said: "The army will advance immediately and ambush in the mountains and forests on the shore." Yao Ping clasped his fists in agreement, raised his right hand and waved forward. When the ordering soldier saw this, he immediately waved the order flag. When the entire army saw the order flag, they took action.
An hour later, the army entered the mountains and forests by the river and ambush. Cao Yong and Yao Zhong only took more than a hundred soldiers to the forest on the mountain closest to the river. The group of people looked towards the other side under the cover of the trees, and saw that there were indeed longing figures on the other side of the river, and the tents were lined up in layers.
Yao Ping frowned and said, "They are really here!"
Cao Yong said: "They thought we wouldn't know that they would sneak across the Han River from Niu Shou Town, that's why they did this! In fact, if we hadn't deployed spies in Jiangbei, I would never have thought that they would actually want to cross the Han River from Niu Shou Town. Stay here to sneak across the Han River!"
Yao Ping sighed: "It is said that the King of Yan is as cunning as a fox, and he is indeed well-deserved!" Cao Yong said: "He can rise in the sixteen states of Yanyun and then sweep the world, so he is naturally superior! Just with the courage of an ordinary man, that is It's absolutely impossible!" Yao Ping nodded and asked: "Commander, do you want to send someone to sneak to the other side to find out the situation?"
Cao Yong shook his head and said: "That's not necessary! And if you do this accidentally, your army's intentions will be exposed! Now our army has understood their plot, but they are still in the dark. Our army has occupied Advantage, this is a great opportunity to defeat them, but we cannot fail!" Yao Zhong nodded.
Cao Yong ordered: "Pass the order, all armies will ambush according to the previous plan. No fire is allowed to cook, only the dry food brought!" "Yes!" Time passed gradually, but there was no movement from the Yan Yun army on the opposite side. . Yao Ping couldn't help but become impatient, and asked Wu Jie: "Commander, why is there still no movement from Yanyun? Is there something wrong?" At this time, Cao Yong was reading a book of "Spring and Autumn", and Yao listened. Ping said calmly: "Don't worry, it's not easy for them to raise enough materials to build a pontoon on the spot! If my estimate is correct, they will definitely take action after nightfall today!"
At night, Yanyun really took action and began to build a pontoon bridge by the light of the moonlight and torches. The officer in charge of the supervisor immediately reported the situation to Cao Yong. Cao Yong immediately came to the mountain beside the river and looked across the river. He saw that the light of the torches illuminated the bank of the river into daylight. There were longing figures on the other side, and Yan Yun's army was building a pontoon bridge.
Cao Yong watched for more than half an hour, then turned to Yao Ping and said: "They are building it very fast. They will be able to complete it in the early morning! Send the order, all the troops should take time to rest and prepare to ambush the enemy in the early morning!" Yao Ping clasped his fists and promised. , ran down.
Everything was exactly as Cao Yong expected. In the early morning, when the sky was dark, Yan Yunjun's pontoon bridge had been built.
All the officers and soldiers of the Song Army took their positions, eyes wide open, waiting for Yan Yun's army to cross the river. However, what surprised everyone was that although the pontoon bridge had been built, Yan Yunjun did not cross the river. A quarter of an hour passed, half an hour passed, and an hour passed. The sun had risen and the mist gradually dispersed. Go, but the Yan Yun army on the opposite side still has no intention of crossing the river.
Cao Yong and others felt very strange when they saw this situation, and they couldn't figure out what kind of medicine the other party was selling in the gourd. Wu Jie thought that the other side was deliberately using this method to test whether there was an ambush on the other side, so he strictly ordered all troops not to move rashly, and anyone who disobeyed the order would be killed.
At this moment, the sound of rapid horse hooves came from behind Song Jun. Cao Yong and others turned around and saw a messenger from their own side flying towards them. Turning to Xiangyang, in the early hours of the morning, the garrison officers and soldiers were all immersed in sleep. Even the sentry in charge of guarding could not help but peck his head.
One of the sentries stretched a lot, shook his dizzy head, walked to a remote place, put down his long gun, unzipped his pants and started to relieve himself, with a happy expression on his face. At this moment, he inadvertently saw something approaching on the mist-shrouded water. The sentry felt strange, muttered something, pulled up his trousers, and looked at it with wide eyes. A gust of wind blew across the water, blowing away the mist. The sentry immediately saw numerous bamboo raft boats approaching covering the river! The sentry's eyes widened in shock, and when he realized what he was doing, he ran towards his post on the ground, shouting as he ran: "No! Yan Yun's army is coming!..." A shrill cry cut through the silence. The sky looks particularly harsh! The soldiers of the Song Army woke up one after another from their dreams and discovered the array of boats covering the river. They were all horrified, and then the shrill alarm bell rang loudly!
Liu Feng rushed up to the city gate tower immediately and was shocked when he saw the array of boats covering the sky and the river. He couldn't help but murmured: "What's going on?" Then he felt a shiver in his heart and said to himself: "No! We have been tricked. ! This side is not a suspect at all, this side is clearly the real main direction of attack!" After Yan Nian read this, he immediately sent a message to Wu Jie who was ambushing in the direction of Niushou Town. He then gathered troops and horses and personally led them out of the city to prepare to intercept Yan Yun's army. , but they didn’t dare to get too close to the water to avoid being attacked by the opponent’s artillery fire!
Seeing Yan Yun's army begin to land, Liu Feng secretly said: 'Now! ' Turning to a general, he said: "General Deng, lead your troops to attack immediately! Spread out a little to avoid too much casualties from the opponent's artillery fire!" General Deng clasped his fists and agreed, and immediately led his eight thousand troops to attack. The Yan Yun army that had just landed launched a charge! At this moment, the Yanyun cannon on the other side let out a thunderous roar. The charging Song Army soldiers were startled, and then they felt a strong storm sweeping in. The scene was suddenly filled with dust and scattered limbs. The soldiers of the Song Army were frightened, but when they saw General Deng leading the way, they couldn't help but muster up the courage to continue roaring and charging!
The Song army passed through the Yanyun Army's artillery blockade, fought together with the Yanyun Army that had landed, and charged with all their strength. The officers and soldiers of the Yanyun Army risked their lives to fight back. On the battlefield, swords flashed and blood flew. The two sides were fighting inextricably. At this time, because the Song army was already entangled with the Yanyun army, the Yanyun artillery on the north bank had to stop bombarding. The cannons on the city wall of the Song Army did not bombard it, because the landing site of the Yanyun Army was outside the range of the cannons on the city wall, and the cannons on the city wall were simply out of reach!
Liu Feng was very anxious when he saw that his eight thousand soldiers could not defeat the opponent's less than two thousand soldiers and horses, and immediately ordered another general to lead ten thousand soldiers and horses to support. Ten thousand Song troops rushed to the battlefield. The Yanyun Army's artillery fire appeared again, causing a lot of casualties to the Song troops. However, at this time, the Song troops showed a respectable fighting will and even risked their lives to pass through. Overcame the artillery fire blockade and joined the battlefield. After all, Yan Yun's army only has less than 2,000 people, and those who have just landed are only over 2,000. Facing the opponent's nearly 20,000 troops, one against ten, although Yan Yun's army is unparalleled in bravery, it gradually cannot withstand it. .
At this time, many other Yanyun troops landed at other nearby locations. Liu Feng immediately dispatched troops to intercept, and in an instant all the troops and horses in his hands were dispatched. Seeing the soldiers of both sides fighting fiercely on the shore, the Song Army's strength was several times that of the Yanyun Army that landed ashore, but it could not defeat the Yanyun Army. As more and more Yanyun Army landed, the situation began to gradually turn against the Song Army. !
Just when Liu Feng was anxious, another alarm came. It turned out that another large Yanyun force had landed from the downstream direction. Liu Feng was shocked. He had no troops to send at this time, and there were only five or six thousand soldiers and horses left to guard Xiangyang City. If Yan Yun's army took the opportunity to attack the city, the consequences would be disastrous! Liu Feng instantly weighed the pros and cons and made a decisive decision, ordering all armies to abandon the battle and retreat to Xiangyang.
The Song troops broke away from the battle one after another and retreated into Xiangyang City. Yang Peng saw from a distance that the Song army retreated into the city decisively, nodded, and ordered: "Call Xiang Danian and Duan Zhixian not to rush to attack the city, expand the bridgehead, and build a pontoon bridge to receive the army across the river!" The messenger agreed and immediately ordered his men. The messenger went down to deliver the order.
The Song army retreated into the city in a hurry and closed the four gates tightly. They couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then I saw Yan Yun's army expanding the bridgehead position, quickly building a pontoon bridge, and then the army rolled across the river. I felt helpless in my heart, and they all expected the commander to quickly lead the army to return reinforcements.
After Yanyun's army successfully crossed the Han River, they did not surround Xiangyang, but camped on the western outskirts of the city. The camp was backed by green mountains and stretched for more than ten miles.
Cao Yong received a report from the messenger sent by Liu Feng and learned that Yan Yun's army suddenly launched a fierce attack from the front of Xiangyang. The situation was very critical, and he couldn't help being shocked. Then he understood and said with anger and admiration: "What a King Yan, I have fallen into his trick!" He immediately did not dare to delay any longer, leaving only five thousand soldiers and horses to defend the local area, while he led the rest of the troops. One hundred thousand troops rushed to Xiangyang's aid.
The military situation was like a fire, and a hundred thousand troops were galloping towards Xiangyang. In the afternoon, the army arrived at Qingshui Town between Niushou Town and Xiangyang. Qingshui Town is a small town surrounded by mountains and rivers. A clear stream meanders in the middle and is surrounded by green mountains. The scenery is very pleasant. Qingshui Town was originally very peaceful, but with the arrival of one hundred thousand Song troops, the peaceful atmosphere was instantly broken and became noisy. The army did not stop here and passed directly through the town. At this time, the forward troops of the army had already arrived between the two mountains in front.
Dong dong dong dong... Suddenly there was a huge sound of war drums from the front, shaking the earth and the earth one after another. Cao Yong, who was marching under the banner of the Central Military Commander, was startled. He quickly reined in his horse and looked forward. He saw that an army in heavy armor suddenly appeared between the two mountains and blocked the way. At the same time, On the two mountains, arrows flew down like a torrential rain. There was a commotion among our own soldiers, who were retreating in a hurry!
Cao Yong was a veteran on the battlefield. When he saw such a scene, he immediately understood what was going on. He was startled and looked around quickly. At this moment, thunderous drums sounded from all around, and along with bursts of thrilling shouts, countless flags appeared in sight.
Cao Yong frowned and immediately shouted: "The whole army is in formation! Get ready to fight!"
At this moment, the ground shook, and a loud rumble came from the rear left. Cao Yong quickly followed the sound and saw 20,000 Yanyun warriors sweeping in like a strong wind. Wu Jie's eyes narrowed. The Song army yelled and hurriedly formed their formation, but before the formation was ready, 20,000 Yanyun war cavalry crashed into the middle of the Song army like a violent wind! At that moment, only the wind and lingering clouds could be seen. The soldiers of the Song Army were in pieces under the impact of Yan Yun's cavalry, and they were unable to organize an effective defense. The archers of the Song Army hurriedly released a wave of arrows, but the rain of arrows was also Just some ripples in the cavalry wave!
The situation is already critical for the Song Army! Cao Yong's personal soldiers and heavy armored infantry roared to meet Yanyun's cavalry and fought back desperately! Seeing this, the other officers and soldiers of the Song Army couldn't help but surge up, shouting and rushing forward to fight. The scene was in chaos, and soldiers from both sides were mixed together and fighting fiercely! The Yan Yun Army's iron hoof blades killed the Song Army's corpses with blood, and the desperate Song Army kept knocking Yan Yun's warriors to the ground! Everyone's eyes were red with blood, like crazy beasts, waving their weapons desperately, blood flying in the sky like rain!
Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, a Yanyun war cavalry appeared. They appeared behind the Song army, with iron hooves rushing and smoke rising! When Cao Yong saw this scene, his expression changed drastically!
In the blink of an eye, the Yanyun war cavalry rushed from behind and crashed into the middle of the Song army. The Song army was fighting fiercely with the Yanyun war cavalry in front of them. Unable to resist, Yan Yun's cavalry chopped them down one after another like harvesting wheat, driving into the depths! The Song army panicked. At this time, Yan Yunzhan, who was facing the front, took advantage of the opportunity to kill fiercely. The Song army could no longer resist and was defeated like a mountain! …
Cao Yong led thousands of defeated soldiers and fled into Xiangyang. Liu Feng and others were stunned when they saw that out of the 100,000-strong army, only a few thousand remnant soldiers came back. In the camp hall, Cao Yong was sitting on the commander's seat with a depressed look on his face, and everyone below Liu Feng was frowning. Liu Feng couldn't help but sigh: "This is really an amazing strategy! We have all been plotted by King Yan! What is false is true, and what is true is false. But this time, King Yan is false, true is true, it is completely unexpected. Exceeded our expectations!”
Cao Yong said angrily: "This is all my fault! If I hadn't fallen into his scheme, I wouldn't have suffered such a disastrous defeat, causing the Han River defense line to fall and the entire 100,000-strong army to be annihilated!"
Liu Feng said: "You can't blame the commander for this! Yang Peng's strategy is really too clever! He can't deceive ordinary people, but he can hide the wisdom of extraordinary people! It's like when Zhuge Liang set up an ambush for Cao Cao, and Cao Cao thought Zhuge Liang's The real thing is false, the false word is real', but he didn't expect that Zhuge Liang was 'real is real, and false word is false'. As a result, Cao Mengde, the first hero, was fooled, and the scene today is just like before! The commander did not do anything What's wrong, it's just that King Yan is too clever!"
Cao Yong nodded in agreement and sighed: "This Yang Peng is indeed an unparalleled hero! No wonder he swept the entire Central Plains in just a few years!" He shook his head and said to the generals: "Okay, let's let the past pass. Don’t think about it! What we should consider now is how to deal with the current situation! You all tell us, what should we do now?”
Everyone looked at each other, and Lord Lu, the magistrate of Xiangyang, said with a frightened expression: "The Yanyun army has crossed the Han River. Our army has suffered heavy losses. I am afraid that Xiangyang can no longer be defended!" Several generals nodded in agreement, all looking frightened. A worried look.
Cao Yong was unhappy, looked at Liu Feng, and asked, "Mr. Liu, what do you say?"
Liu Feng frowned and said: "The current situation is indeed very unfavorable for us, but it is not at the end of the road! There are still 60,000 to 70,000 defenders in the city. Xiangyang City has a wide river and plenty of food, grass and weapons. Although Yan Yun's army is strong, But it is not easy to conquer Xiangyang! In addition, Junzhou, Gucheng, Yicheng, and our army of 200,000 troops can support Xiangyang at any time. We can still fight against the Yanyun army. Let’s talk now Victory or defeat, it’s too early!”
Cao Yong praised: "Well said! It's too early to say victory or defeat now!" He glanced at everyone and said, "Ten thousand steps back, even if we really reach the end of the mountain, I will never retreat!" Everyone said It was a surprise. Cao Yong said categorically: "As the saying goes, 'You eat the emperor's salary and bear the emperor's worries', and there is also a saying, 'Be loyal to others when you are entrusted by others.' Since Your Majesty has entrusted Jiangbei to me, and since I have been entrusted by others, I will We have no choice, we must defend Jiangbei to the death! If we don’t succeed, we will be benevolent. Even if we die, we will never back down!” The generals were greatly moved and clasped their fists together and said: “Since the commander-in-chief will defend Jiangbei to the death, the general will also follow you to the death. Handsome, I won’t give up even if I die!”
Cao Yong was greatly relieved and said loudly: "Okay! We will live and die together!" Lu Zhifu and other civil officials also said quickly: "We are also willing to follow the commander to the death!" Cao Yong nodded, and then said to the generals: "You guys Take turns guarding the city gates and walls, don't slack off!" The generals clasped their fists and promised. Cao Yong then said to Magistrate Lu: "Master Magistrate, I leave this job of appeasing the people to you! There must be no commotion in the city!" Magistrate Lu agreed.
Cao Yong glanced at everyone and said: "If you have nothing to do, please retreat." Everyone accepted the promise and filed out, except Liu Feng who stayed where he was.
After everyone retreated, Cao Yong couldn't help but sigh. Liu Feng said: "Commander, the current situation is very critical. Do you suggest that we abandon Junzhou, Gucheng and Yicheng and concentrate all our troops in Xiangyang?" Wu Jie thought for a while, frowned and shook his head, "No! Then How could a person like Yang Peng not expect that we would mobilize soldiers and horses from the three cities to come back for reinforcements? The scouts of the Yanyun Army must be monitoring the situation in the three cities day and night. As long as the defenders of the three cities leave, they will ambush them halfway! Yanyun's cavalry dominates the world, and our army is all infantry. If we are on the march, no matter how vigilant we are, we will not be able to withstand the surprise attack of Yanyun's cavalry! The result will inevitably be the end of the entire army being annihilated!"
Liu Feng felt that what the commander said was reasonable, and frowned: "But if this happens, our troops will be scattered, won't they be defeated by the opponent one by one?" Cao Yong thought for a moment and said: "For the current plan, we can only ask the court to think of something." We have a way to mobilize troops for reinforcements!" He glanced at the worried Liu Feng and said, "It is impossible for the Yanyun Army to attack Xiangyang in a short period of time, so there is no need to worry too much!" Liu Feng nodded.
The monarchs and ministers of the imperial court were looking forward to good news from the front line day and night. On this day, military reports finally came from the front line, and the monarchs and ministers were all excited. Zhao Heng received the military report from the eunuch and couldn't wait to open it and read it. All the ministers stared at Zhao Heng's cheeks, eager to hear Zhao Heng tell the good news about the front line. Zhao Heng's expression suddenly changed, his hands trembled and he exclaimed: "This, this is impossible!"
The ministers looked at each other, with a bad premonition rising in their hearts. Taishi Huang Cong hurriedly asked: "Your Majesty, what is the situation on the front line?" Zhao Heng swallowed, glanced at the ministers with fearful eyes, and trembled Said: "Our army has been defeated again. The losses are not small. Yanyun's army has broken through the Han River. Xiangyang is in danger!"
Although the ministers had expected it, when they heard the news, they still couldn't help but feel panic in their hearts. The hall immediately became noisy, and the officials were talking about it. Suddenly the Minister of Punishment came out and said angrily: "Your Majesty, Zhao Heng has betrayed your kindness and failed again and again, causing the traitor to become rampant. He must be severely punished!" Many ministers echoed, looking like they share the same hatred with the enemy, among which the most excited one was The reporter even shouted that Zhao Heng would be executed. Zhao Heng's fear instantly turned into resentment towards Zhao Heng, and he couldn't help but feel murderous intent in his heart.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
