After the third watch that night, suddenly there was a loud sound of drums in Ye County, and the favorable wind echoed in the valley.
Tensions immediately rose in the camp of Cao's army, and the entire army was on alert. Cao Hong and other generals were on alert in the camp.
But after waiting for a long time, no enemy troops came to attack, and everything fell into silence again. Cao Hong cursed angrily: "The old trick is repeated again!"
Cheng Yu said: "There is no reason to rob the camp with great fanfare. This will definitely be a strategy to tire out the troops. The general should be calm and impatient."
Han Hao said: "Liu Qi's use of troops is unpredictable. This bluff may come again, so you need to be careful."
Cheng Yu stroked his beard and said: "You can order the sergeants to defend in batches. The front camp will be on guard and the back camp will rest. We can attack the city tomorrow."
In the dark night, Cao Hong did not dare to go out rashly. He ordered someone to send a message to Cao Ren, asking him to arrange for the soldiers to rest, and if there was danger, he would send someone for help.
Han Hao had already suffered a defeat and did not dare to be careless. He personally asked for orders to patrol the camp and sent scouts to closely monitor the movements ahead.
Half an hour later, the surrounding fields were silent. Suddenly, torches were lit on the mountain road ahead, and shouts of death approached the front of the camp.
Han Hao was frightened. He beat drums to warn the enemy and the entire battalion defended the enemy. When Cao's army was all in formation, bows and arrows ready to meet the enemy, the fire on the road went out and everything returned to silence.
Cao Hong rushed to the camp and saw that the fire disappeared. He was furious. Cheng Yu persuaded him to return to the camp and ordered all camps to be more careful and stay alert.
After a while, the sound of drums was heard in the distance again, which startled the defenders to get up one after another. After three or four times of this, the soldiers became a little slack and all fell asleep.
Cheng Yu, on the other hand, became nervous. The enemy's repeated harassment was most likely to prepare for the attack on the camp, so he simply stopped resting and waited at the camp gate himself.
Until the east turned white and there was no one on the road ahead, it was actually a false alarm. When the troops were guarded again, they were all in low spirits and had no morale. Cheng Yu secretly sighed in his heart.
Han Hao said: "This is a strategy to exhaust the troops. Liu Qi knows that Ye County cannot defend it, so we are not allowed to attack the city with all our strength."
Cheng Yu stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then sneered: "Liu Qi's troops are only tens of thousands. I have a hundred thousand elite soldiers. We only need to send them out in batches. Even using tactics is in vain."
When the two returned to the camp, they saw Cao Hong sleeping on the desk. They woke him up and cursed Liu Qi for being despicable with two dark circles under his eyes and red eyes.
Cheng Yu advised: "General, calm down and move the front army to the rear camp to rest. General Cao Ren will command the siege first, and then come back in the afternoon to take over. The city can be broken in one day."
Cao Hong was exhausted, so he had to exchange with Cao Ren and move the front camp and the ambushed soldiers to the back camp to rest.
Cao Ren led his troops to Ye County and saw that the Jingzhou army had dug trenches outside the city overnight and diverted water from the Li River to form a defense line. There were five earthen hills from east to west, with archery towers built on them and crossbowmen in full array.
Zhang Fei immediately guarded the river bank with his spear and shouted: "General Cao, we meet again, do you dare to fight to the death?"
Cao Ren saw that there was only a wooden bridge on the river, and it was guarded by Zhang Fei's troops. Knowing that fighting was futile, he ordered the soldiers to prepare sandbags, wood and rocks to fill the river.
Niu Jinyan said: "Liu Qi diverted water from the Li River. If he fills the river channel, the water will spread and the troops and horses will be unable to move forward. The water upstream must be blocked first before filling with soil."
Cao Ren believed this and ordered Niu Jin to lead three thousand troops to block the water mouth, while the remaining soldiers and horses filled the river with soil.
Cao Ren stepped forward with infantry to hold down the position, and the crossbowmen hid behind them. They fired arrows at the mountain. The two armies fired at each other. Cao Ren carried stones and sandbags like ants and threw them into the river.
The drums of the two armies were beating loudly, and the Jingzhou soldiers were condescending and had the upper hand. Cao's soldiers kept falling, but they were so numerous that they went forward one after another and simply threw the corpses of their companions into the river.
The river channel was originally dug overnight and was not very deep. The river channel was filled up after losing more than a thousand people. However, the water in the upper reaches did not stop and spread instead. Cao Ren was not allowed to retreat temporarily.
Just when he was complaining about Niu Jin's procrastination in doing things, he saw Niu Jin retreating in embarrassment with the remaining soldiers, and reported: "There are soldiers guarding the mouth of the river. The general will divide his troops to attack. Who knows that there are ambushes upstream..."
"Trash, bastard!" Cao Ren was furious and ordered Wang Shuang to guard the central army and personally led troops to block the mouth of the river.
Not long after Cao Ren left the central army, suddenly there was a loud drum beat on the opposite side, and Niu Jin sent an order to form a defensive formation. However, he saw ambush troops coming out of the mountains on both sides, Zhao Yun on the left and Gan Ning on the right, like fierce tigers descending the mountain.
The two wings of Cao's army were cut into two sections, and their formation was completely in chaos. Niu Jin could not restrain him, and he knew that he was not the opponent of the second general, so he fled in panic among the chaotic army.
Zhao Yun and Gan Ning led their troops back and forth to rush and kill, as if they were in an uninhabited country. They only killed blood into a river, and bones were everywhere, mixed with the spreading river water, and the road was a mess.
Cao Ren led his troops to the river bank, only to find that the defenders had already retreated. He ordered his soldiers to block the river mouth. Suddenly, he heard the loud beating of drums from the direction of the camp. Not long after, the soldiers came in a hurry to report that the Jingzhou army was ambushing in the mountains and the whole army was defeated.
Cao Ren was so angry that he looked up to the sky and roared. His vision went dark and he almost fainted. His soldiers rushed to support him, but he had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat. In this battle, more than ten thousand people were lost.
In the afternoon, Cao Hong woke up and heard that Cao Ren had been tricked again. He was furious and mobilized all his troops to attack.
Cao's army came with great momentum. Zhang Fei had retreated to the city. Looking at the tragic scene outside the city, Cao Hong gritted his teeth and said: "I will not give up until this city is destroyed."
Cao's army divided into three groups and came like a tide, surrounding Ye County on three sides. Arrows rained like rain, and the shouts of killing shook the sky.
Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Gan Ning each guarded a gate. They had plenty of gray bottles, wood, boiling oil, etc. They only killed black smoke and made the sky dark and the earth dark.
The city wall in Ye County was not high. Cao's army relied on their superior strength and never stopped for a moment. They attacked from the evening until the sun set. Some people continued to climb up the city, and they were all killed by Zhang Fei and others.
After dark, Cao's army retreated to bury pots and cook rice, then lit torches outside the city, making it bright as day, and prepared to attack the city overnight.
Liu Qi and Zhuge Liang were watching the battle in the city. He was frightened by such a tragic scene. The cruelty of reality was completely beyond what movies and TV dramas could show.
The mountain wind blew across the city, and the smell of blood and burning corpses was so nauseating that I almost vomited several times.
But he saw Zhuge Liang was calm and gentle, shaking his feather fan slightly as if ignoring the tragic scene, not like a fledgling villager at all.
Liu Qi sighed in his heart. Although Zhuge Liang had also experienced troubled times since he was a child, he came from a peaceful era and his ability to adapt to the environment was also different.
Kou Feng, who was responsible for allocating supplies, came to report: "Cao's army is extremely large in number and lacks arrows and equipment. The general will prepare early."
Liu Qi nodded and said: "You protect the military advisor and retreat first, I will come later."
Zhuge Liang said: "The general is the most important person of the three armies. Jingzhou is in danger, so we must not take risks. Zilong and others can resist the enemy and retreat calmly, so it is better to go together."
Liu Qi thought the same thing. Although he wanted to stay to boost morale, if something unexpected happened, with his current ability, he would become a drag.
He called Zhao Yun and the others and ordered them to act according to the plan, quietly leave Ye County under the cover of night, and return to Bowang City to prepare.
