After Zhang Xiu's large army crossed the river, Wei Yan led three thousand cavalry to cross the river near Yingshang City.
The county magistrate of Yingshangcheng did not know that Cao Cao was going to attack Zhang Xiu at this time. When he saw Wei Yan's flag, he immediately obeyed the order and helped Wei Yan build a pontoon bridge to cross the Huaihe River and go south.
At the same time, Dian Wei and Xu Chu found the place where Zhang Xiu crossed the river, but when they came, the pontoon bridge they built had been burned by Zhang Xiu.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu immediately ordered to cut down trees and build a bridge. In a short time, they built the bridge and crossed the river to pursue.
Since Dian Wei and Xu Chu were light cavalry and faster than Zhang Xiu, in the afternoon, they saw the traces left by Zhang Xiu's army burying pots for cooking.
Dian Wei said loudly and naively: "When he was running for his life, Zhang Xiu was still able to calmly bury the pot and make rice. He is really generous."
Xu Chu sneered: "When I chase him, let him see how powerful I, Xu Chu, am."
The two rode horses and led the team to continue chasing after the horse hoof prints left by Zhang Xiu's troops.
At this time, Cao Cao had led a large force back north, leaving Xia Houchun to lead 5,000 men to garrison Shouchun City. At the same time, Cao Cao sent a letter to Sun Ce in Lujiang, saying that Sun Ce was the captain of cavalry, the Marquis of Wucheng, the lord of Xi's father, and also the prefect of Kuaiji. He sent troops to repel the coalition forces of Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu.
He wanted Sun Ce and his troops to attack Zhang Xiu from the north and south.
…
Lujiang City is ten miles away.
Liu Biao's soldiers outside Xiangyang City killed Sun Jian. Sun Ce and Liu Biao had a grudge against their father, so the soldiers of the two families did not unite and were stationed separately in the east and west of Lujiang City. Liu Biao and Gan Ning joined forces and were stationed at the foot of Jiguanling, with the mountains to the north. Sun Ce's troops were stationed in the east, facing the Yangtze River in the north.
Sun Ce's military camp.
Sun Ce looked at the letter in his hand, handed it to the person next to him and said with a smile: "Gong Jin, there is a letter from Cao Cao, asking us to send troops to attack Zhang Xiu. How can Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao join forces to fight? Isn't this the case? Are you going to let Ji Ling in Lujiang City watch our jokes?"
The person next to Sun Ce is naturally Zhou Yu, who is famous all over the world as "The Qu W wrong Zhou Lang Gu". Zhou Yu is tall, handsome, and knows fine music. In the Han Dynasty at that time, he was just like a star in later generations.
Zhou Yu took the letter and read it carefully, and smiled with his neat white teeth: "Zhang Xiu is really amazing. He led eight thousand cavalry to cross the Huaihe River under Cao Cao's eyes and made fun of Cao Cao. Now Zhang Xiu leads eight thousand cavalry. Going south, it is unstoppable and cannot be fought against.”
Sun Ce nodded.
Although he had a grudge against Liu Biao, he was not a fool. Zhang Xiu was able to defeat Cao Cao's 150,000 army with 20,000 people, which shows that this man is extraordinary. Now he only has 10,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry. How can he defeat Zhang Xiu's 8,000 Xiliang cavalry?
What's more, there are still 20,000 Liu coalition troops at the foot of Jiguan Ridge. Ji Ling in Lujiang City is also staring at them eagerly. How dare they move?
Zhou Yu raised an evil smile and said to Sun Ce: "Zhang Xiu's southward movement may not be a bad thing for us. Perhaps, we can use Zhang Xiu's southward movement to completely weaken Yuan Shu and occupy the territory of Yangzhou."
Sun Ce's eyes lit up as if he saw money. "If Gong Jin has any clever ideas, please tell me quickly."
Zhou Yu stood up and walked towards the map hanging on the side, pointing at the Yangtze River Basin diagonally upward: "Bo Fu, our army and Yuan Shu's territory are bounded by the Yangtze River, with Wu County in the east and Yangzhou in the west. If it weren't for this coalition attack, With the current strength of our army and Yuan Shu guarding the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, it will be very difficult for us to capture Yangzhou."
Sun Ce nodded, his eyes signaling him to continue.
Zhou Yu pointed at Lujiang: "Lujiang can be a breakthrough point for our army. Yuan Shu will definitely be severely injured after this battle and no longer poses a threat. Liu Biao has a grudge against our army and cannot join forces. However, he can join forces with Zhang Xiu to capture Lujiang and then continue Capture Wancheng and prepare for the capture of Yangzhou in the future."
Sun Ce clenched his fists in excitement: "If this is the case, our army will be able to capture Yangzhou soon!" Then he calmed down and looked at Zhou Yu with a questioning look: "How can Gong Jin guarantee that Zhang Xiu will cooperate with us to attack the city?"
"Hahaha!" Zhou Yu laughed confidently, and then solemnly said two words: "Food and grass!"
Then he explained: "Zhang Xiu led 8,000 cavalry to go south. He definitely didn't bring much food and grass. However, all the food and grass in the south were in the hands of the nobles. Zhang Xiu couldn't get the food and grass. Liu Biao had a long way to transport food. It was impossible to provide enough to support 8,000 people and horses in a short time. Food and grass are here, and the fastest way to resolve the food and grass crisis is to attack Lujiang City."
"So, we can wait for Zhang Xiu to find our coalition forces. There is no need to take the initiative." Sun Ce said.
Zhou Yu nodded with a confident smile.
…
When the sun went down in the west, the five thousand troops led by Zhang Xiu finally arrived at the foot of Huoshan Mountain.
At this time, Dian Wei and Xu Chu also appeared behind Zhang Xiu, and the chaotic and dense sound of horse hooves shook the ground, making a rumbling sound.
Zhang Xiu did not look back and stared at the tiger embroidered with silver thread on a red flag raised high in front of him. This was the flying tiger flag of Ganning's Second Infantry Group.
All the Xiliang cavalry saw the Flying Tiger flag hanging high on the top of Huoshan Mountain, and their faces showed excited smiles. At the same time, they felt that their lord's talent and strategy actually arranged the Flying Tiger Camp here to support them.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu also saw the red embroidered tiger flag on the top of Huoshan Mountain, and they had a bad premonition in their hearts. That flag seemed to be conveying some kind of signal to Zhang Xiu.
Looking at the Xiliang cavalry, they suddenly realized that at this time, the Xiliang cavalry no longer felt frustrated by being hunted before, and instantly turned into high-spirited warriors, full of passion.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu looked at each other and saw an uneasy look in each other's eyes. Dian Wei raised his sword and ordered: "The whole army speeds up and advance!"
Gan Ning looked at Zhang Xiu speeding down the mountain and Cao Cao raising his troops in pursuit, with an excited smile on his face. Since he entered Zhang Xiu's tent, he has been reused but has not made any achievements. Wei Yan, Li Tong and others in the army had long been dissatisfied, and now it was finally time to show off their skills.
In front of the hillside, Gan Ning ordered his people to build a thick earthen wall one meter high and three meters wide. Behind the wall, a half-meter pit was dug. Spearmen were hidden in the pit, and two thousand archers were hidden behind it.
Zhang Xiu led his army at a gallop. His horses' hooves bounced, and he jumped over the one-meter-high and three-meter-wide earth wall, rushing up the hillside behind. On the way, Zhang Xiu glanced at Gan Ning who was organizing archers, preparing to fight. .
When Dian Wei and Xu Chu's horses rushed forward and were only fifty steps away from the earthen wall, Gan Ningli shouted: "Fire the arrow——!"
In an instant, the bow was shocked like a thunderbolt.
Thousands of arrows shot upward, drawing a perfect parabola in mid-air, carrying a whistling sound that broke through the air, and poured down like rain.
No matter how brave Dian Wei and Xu Chu were, they were still fatal. When they looked up and saw the dense rain of arrows, their scalps felt numb. They immediately leaned on the horse and locked their bodies, letting their armors come together to block the incoming arrow rain.
People have armor, but horses don't.
After a round of arrow feathers, the horse was shot directly into a hedgehog, and blood flowed out from all sides like a leaky sieve.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu were the main generals, so they naturally had perfect armor protection, but the other soldiers did not have it. All the soldiers within the range of the arrow feathers were all shot into hedgehogs.
The cavalry from behind rushed over, and the soldiers had already prepared two horses and sent them over.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu immediately jumped on the horse, clamped the horse's belly, and rushed over brandishing their swords. In this short period of time, the archers did not have time to prepare for the second round of arrow rain. They immediately retreated and the spearmen were in place.
When Cao Jun's cavalry was about to jump over the earth wall, the horse was in mid-air. The pikemen hiding in the pit below suddenly thrust out their spears and pierced the horse's belly.
The war horse jumped over the earth wall and smashed forward.
