"I thought Yang Ling had a lot of skills, but I didn't expect him to be so tough."
Looking at the prisoners being escorted back to the camp, Xu Chu couldn't help but sigh.
"That's right, isn't this purely a tribute to General Guan?"
Dian Wei also nodded with deep understanding.
With only 5,000 soldiers and horses, he dared to rush to the gate of Cao Ying alone to call for formation. He was either a master of martial arts, or his brain was not fully developed.
Obviously, Yang Ling obviously belongs to the latter!
At this moment, Guan Yu rode back from a distance.
The blood-stained Qinglong Yanyue Sword is enough to prove the achievements he just made!
"Thank you for your hard work, General Yun Chang!"
Yang Ling stepped forward and smiled affectionately,
"In today's battle, the general should take the lead!"
Guan Yu got off his horse, saluted Yang Ling, and then said calmly,
"Today's victory is just due to the incompetence of the enemy generals. It cannot be regarded as any credit!"
"Having said that, killing the enemy general and breaking through the enemy formation is definitely a great achievement!"
Yang Ling smiled and asked Gao Rou, the clerk in charge of registration, to write down Guan Yu's achievements.
Seeing that the battlefield was almost cleaned, Yang Ling no longer hesitated and immediately ordered to continue marching!
…
News of Yang Ling's defeat soon spread to Linxiang.
"This good-for-nothing Yang Ling really pisses me off!"
Han Xuan was shocked and angry, and his face was ashen.
What made him angry was not that Yang Ling was defeated, but that he was defeated in such a useless way. What was the difference between him and his meow giving for nothing?
They both have the same surname Yang, and even their names are similar, so why are there such big differences in their personalities?
Han Xuan covered his chest and almost fainted.
But now that Yang Ling has been beheaded, even if he wants to be punished, there is nothing he can do unless he goes underground to find him.
Han Xuan took a few deep breaths, forced himself to calm down, and looked at the people in the lobby.
"What can you do?"
"Prefect, why don't we withdraw?"
"Yes, without Uncle Liu's troops, we would not be able to resist Cao's army."
Everyone spoke up and suggested.
Han Xuan looked quite ugly.
Among the four counties in Jingnan, although Changsha County is the strongest, it cannot compete with Yang Ling.
Now that Yang Ling and five thousand soldiers and horses are missing, how can he be Cao Jun's opponent?
Han Xuan thought about it and finally sighed,
"Forget it, let's withdraw!"
Everyone was overjoyed, but before they could take any action, they heard a steady voice,
"Where does Prefect Han want to retreat?"
Han Xuan was stunned when he saw a man walking into the lobby with his head held high.
This man has droopy ears and shoulders, and his hands are above his knees. If he is not Liu Bei, who is he?
"Liu...Uncle Liu Huang, you...why are you here?"
Han Xuan was stunned for a moment, then stood up excitedly.
“How could I sit idly by knowing that Changsha was in trouble?”
Liu Bei smiled and said,
"After receiving your letter, we will set off immediately!"
Only then did Han Xuan notice that Liu Bei was also followed by Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Ling Tong and others.
As early as Zhang Fei and others were defeated and returned to Fankou, the coalition forces predicted that Cao Jun would continue to attack Changsha County.
Therefore, after some discussion, Liu Bei, Sun Quan and others organized an army and waited at the border of Jiangxia and Changsha.
As soon as they received Han Xuan's letter, they rushed over quickly!
"With Uncle Liu Huang in charge of Linxiang, Changsha can be saved!"
Han Xuan held Liu Bei's hand and said excitedly.
Everyone sat down respectively, and after exchanging a few words, Liu Bei said,
"Although Prefect Han is the host and we are guests, the situation is urgent now. I hope Prefect Han can cooperate with us!"
If it had been before, it would have been impossible to listen to Liu Bei even if Han Xuan was killed.
But now Cao Jun's troops are approaching, and Han Xuan doesn't have many troops, so he can only listen to Liu Bei in everything.
"It's easy to talk, just ask Uncle Liu Huang to give you orders!"
Liu Bei nodded with satisfaction and winked at Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang then stood up calmly,
"Please also ask the prefect to organize civilians and let them build fortifications along the north bank of the Xiang River."
"Why?"
Han Xuan said with some doubts.
Cao's army had strong morale, amazing combat power, and a superiority in military strength. Due to emotions and reasons, they should defend Linxiang.
"Prefect Han didn't know that Cao Jun's artillery was so powerful that it couldn't even hold up the city wall of Jiangling."
"If we stick to Linxiang, we will only die!"
Zhuge Liang explained.
"I see!"
Han Xuan suddenly realized this.
After some discussion, Han Xuan followed Zhuge Liang's request and organized tens of thousands of civilians to work along the Xiang River in the south of Linxiang.
Two days later, when Yang Ling led Cao's army to the Xiangshui River, he was surprised.
The bridge leading to the other side of the river stood intact on the water.
The civilian men recruited by Liu Bei and others dug trenches for two or three miles along the north bank of the Xiang River.
The purpose is to deal with Cao Jun's artillery.
They did not throw away the excavated soil, but piled it up into a high slope.
In this way, if Cao Jun attacks, he will face the passive situation of being attacked by the enemy from a high position!
Yang Ling looked across the river, touched his chin, and muttered,
"Wen Chang, Zhong Ye!"
"The general is here!"
Wei Yan and Wenpin came out more and more.
"You two each lead a team of troops and explore the situation of the Xiang River in both directions to see if there is a place where you can cross the river."
Yang Ling ordered.
"Here!"
The two men did not hesitate, and each led a group of cavalry to search along the upper and lower reaches of the Xiang River.
Yang Ling did not rush to cross the river, but ordered the army to rest in place and remain alert!
The enemy soldiers on the other side of the river were just hiding in the trenches and had no intention of coming out.
The two sides thus reached a stalemate across the Xiang River.
Time passed by minute by minute, and soon it was noon.
Wei Yan and Wenpin returned to the army one after another and told Yang Ling about the discovered situation.
Now is the rainy season, the Xiangshui River has surged, and there is almost no place to cross the river.
The bridges upstream and downstream were all destroyed by the coalition forces.
In other words, if Cao Jun wanted to capture Changsha County, he could only cross the bridge in front of him.
But if we go through it, we will face a disadvantageous situation.
This Zhuge Liang does have a lot of skills!
Yang Ling thought to himself.
He had received news from spies before and knew that across the river was the coalition army headed by Liu Bei.
Only Zhuge Liang could come up with such a method.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Yang Ling did not plan to attack, but temporarily set up camp on the south bank.
That night.
In Cao Jun's central camp, candlelight was brightly lit.
Yang Ling and other soldiers gathered together to discuss how to cross the river.
"The situation is here, naturally there is nothing to say except a strong attack!"
Ma Chao took the initiative and said,
"Tomorrow I am willing to be the first to attack the enemy!"
"General Meng Qi, don't be impulsive. The terrain on the other side of the river is not good for our army. If we attack by force, we will suffer heavy losses."
Gao Rou advised.
