Cheng Xi led 30,000 elite troops to Anqiu, where he saw that the Wu army had already been prepared. Although there were not many soldiers and horses, the army was in good order. Under the scorching sun, the soldiers and armor were bright and the flags were flying.
The first general was wearing white robes and soft armor, and his weapons were majestic. From a distance, he had an aura that looked down on the world. He guessed it was Zhou Yu, and signaled his deputy Li Xue to step forward and call for battle.
Li Xue was a general under Cheng Xiong. He was a brave man. Knowing that this was a moment of meritorious service, he rushed out of the battle and shouted: "Where is Xu Sheng? Come and die!"
Xu Sheng came out to fight, and the two fought for more than ten times without deciding the winner. Cheng Xi frowned and said: "My brother was killed by Xu Sheng at once. Why is this?"
The general said: "General Cheng must have underestimated the enemy. From the perspective of his subordinates, the Jiangdong troops are nothing more than this."
Cheng Xi slowly shook his head: "Zhou Yu came from a long way to charge into the battle. There is no room for failure. The people he sent must be elite. My brother died in battle, probably because of his lack of ability. This shows that I use nepotism and harm others and myself."
The general was surprised and said, "Why did the Lord say this?"
Cheng Xi sighed: "If I hadn't supported Cheng Xiong too much and selected capable people from the army to serve, the army previously led by Li Xue might not have been completely defeated, and my brother would not have died as a result."
The general couldn't help but look at Cheng Xi in a different light, clasped his fists and said, "Goodbye, Mr. Fu!"
There have been more than 30 fights on the field. Cheng Xi has a love for talents and is about to promote Li Xue. He sends an order to withdraw his troops. Li Xuezheng dared to fight hard and sold his horse back to the battle.
"The rebels should leave!" Xu Shengsheng shouted and chased him on horseback. Cheng Xi ordered the archers on both wings to force him back.
Xu Sheng stepped aside and laughed: "Is there no one in this northern land who can fight?"
All the generals in Cao's camp were angry. One of them shouted loudly and charged Xu Sheng with his spear. Cheng Xi looked and saw that it was Wang Cheng, the captain of Zuoying.
This Wang Cheng was Yang Yong's deputy general. Seeing Li Xue's victory, he was also eager to make contributions. The general was killed in battle. It was the time for him to be promoted, so he killed the general before he could ask for his orders.
Wang Cheng's spear skills were sharp, and he killed Xu Sheng in a hurry. He stabbed Zheng's robe with one shot, and there was only a hissing sound, and half of the red corner of the robe flew into the air.
In the Wu army formation, Ding Feng hurriedly rode out and caught Wang Cheng. The two fought for more than ten times. Wang Cheng gained the upper hand and killed Ding Feng until he was unable to fight back.
Cheng Xi was overjoyed. He tugged on his beard and gasped: "Ah, ah, ah, I didn't expect that there are crouching tigers and hidden dragons in our army. There are so many people who have neglected their talents. How can we not know how to employ people?"
The general was also surprised and doubtful, clasping his fists and saying: "Since ancient times, there have been many heroes in Qingdai, and the ruler has always focused on people's livelihood and governance, neglecting military affairs. Although he is praised by the people, he has buried the talents of the generals. Fortunately, it is not too late!"
"Cheng Xiong made a mistake!" Cheng Xi let out a long sigh, twisted his beard and said with a smile: "With such talents in our army, why should we be afraid of Zhou Lang's son?"
Li Xuesheng had been victorious for a while, and his face was glowing red. Hearing this, he clasped his fists and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Fu, the general is here. I will avenge General Cheng and take Zhou Yu's head to repay his merits."
"That's a great statement!" Cheng Xi's confidence increased and he looked forward to the fight on the field.
In the past, he had left military affairs to Cheng Xiong, but he did not expect to suppress his subordinates in this way. His sadness at the death of his clan brother instantly turned into anger, and he realized that Cheng Xiong's death was just right.
While observing, Wang Cheng suddenly heard a loud shout, which made Ding Feng stagger on his horse. He stabbed Ding Feng several times with all his strength, forcing Ding Feng into danger, so he turned his horse and ran away.
"This is the moment!" Cheng Xi was refreshed, drew his sword and shouted: "Beat the drum, kill——"
Li Xue heard the order and rode out. Three groups of Cao's troops dispatched at the same time, followed closely behind and moved forward to cover the enemy.
Xu Sheng was coming to meet Ding Feng. When he saw Cao Jun charging towards him, he hurriedly retreated. Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhou Yu hurriedly sent an order to retreat.
"Capture Zhou Yu alive and you will be rewarded with thousands of gold!" Cheng Xi was so excited that he wished he could rush forward personally and ordered his soldiers to shout in unison to cheer for the front army.
The Wu army retreated in embarrassment, and their formation was in chaos. Wang Cheng pursued Ding Feng and Xu Sheng, while Li Xue stared at Zhou Yu and shouted: "The one in the white robe is Zhou Yu!"
Zhou Yu ran away in panic. When he heard the shouts of Cao Jun, he took off his military robe and his helmet fell into dust in the panic. He was escorted back into the city by Wu Jun.
Xu Sheng and Ding Feng fought hard to protect the Wu army from retreating. Arrows shot down from the top of the city. Cao Jun pursued them to the moat, but was shot back by random arrows.
Li Xue picked up Zhou Yu's robe, Wang Cheng snatched the helmet, and Cao Jun fought for the weapons left by Wu Jun, and returned with a great victory.
Cheng Xi saw the two generals returning with supplies and went to greet them personally. Cao's army was all happy and their morale was greatly boosted.
Li Xue clasped his fists and said, "It's a pity that Zhou Yu was never captured, only the helmet tassel was retrieved."
Wang Cheng also said: "This is Zhou Yu's collection of robes. The next time we fight, the general will definitely capture Zhou Lang."
Cheng Xi laughed and said: "Tian Yu was timid before fighting. From what I can see, Zhou Yu is nothing more than the same."
Joining the army, he praised: "The Lord of Fu personally took action and won the victory. Let's see who else in Qingzhou is dissatisfied!"
Cheng Xi took Zhou Yu's silver and gold helmet and looked at it again. He was very proud. If it was true as Tian Yu said, how could he achieve such a great victory by hiding in the city?
Immediately sent an order to promote two captains, Li Xue and Wang Cheng, to generals to take charge of the Qingzhou army and select elite generals from the army. Those who are capable should be promoted first, and talents should be promoted as soon as possible.
Li Xue was promoted to general, and he was full of energy and said with clasped fists: "At the end of tomorrow, the general is willing to lead troops to attack the city and capture Zhou Yu alive."
Cheng Xi was convinced, and sent orders to camp outside Anqiu City, bury pots and make rice on the spot, prepare weapons and attack the city with all the troops, and also ordered people to send Zhou Yu's robes to Beihai to show off his achievements to Tian Yu.
Tian Yu was defending the Liaodong Army at this time. Liu Yi called for battle several times, but Tian Yu just ignored him and ordered the three armies to defend the city and not leave the city without permission from the general.
In the evening, just after the enemy troops had advanced and retreated, Cheng Xi's cronies arrived in the city. Tian Yu saw Zhou Yu Zhengpao and asked about the battle of the front army. He couldn't help frowning.
Tian Pengzu, the eldest son, wondered: "Cheng Cheng's victory in the first battle is helping the army. If he can defeat the Wu soldiers, Liu Yi will be unable to support him alone. There is no need to worry. Why is my father not happy but worried?"
Tian Yu shook his head and said: "Zhou Yu knows the art of war very well. This time when he goes north, he will definitely lead an elite army. How can he be easily defeated by a partial general? Cheng Xiong was beheaded before, but today he was defeated. I'm afraid there is a trick in it."
Tian Pengzu stopped talking, and sent him away with a generous reward. He then said: "My father doesn't know. Cheng Xiong is jealous of talents. Because he is the younger brother of the governor of Cheng, there are rumors in the army that he often suppresses his subordinates, lest someone surpass him." Him. This time Wang and Li have made meritorious service, which shows that the rumors are true. Are there no heroes in dozens of counties in Qingzhou?"
Tian Yu sighed and frowned: "This must be Zhou Yu's trick. It's a pity that Cheng Xi is jealous of my military power and refuses to fight the enemy together. I expect that he will be defeated when he goes there. If he is killed by Zhou Yu's army, the two armies will attack." , I am afraid that the North Sea cannot be defended, so I must try to defeat Liu Yi first, then I can calmly face the enemy and wait for General Xiahou."
Tian Pengzu asked: "The Liaodong Army has 30,000 soldiers and horses. Liu Yi is attacking fiercely. There are less than 8,000 defenders in the city and only 5,000 elite troops. How can we defeat the enemy?"
Tian Yu thought for a long time and said: "The enemy's attack on the city failed. Liu Yi will come to fight again tomorrow. I will go out of the city to confront the enemy and have my own countermeasures."
