In ancient times, especially before the Tang and Song Dynasties, river was the proper noun for the Yellow River, and jiang was the proper noun for the Yangtze River. As for other rivers, for the sake of distinction, they were all called water.
The so-called sewer water is just a branch of the middle reaches of the Yellow River.
Although the name is not very auspicious, it is indeed a serious river. Its source flows through the northern part of Henan Province, and its end flows into Chenliu and merges into Bianshui River.
This river is located about 20 miles west of Juan County. It is only 14 to 15 miles away from Xu Rong's military camp, which is a maximum of two hours' journey.
After Guan Yu led his army out of the city in the middle of the night, he quickly marched westward. When he arrived at the ditch water, it was just dawn.
At this time, Xu Rong had just started to set off.
Half an hour after Xu Rong withdrew, the gates of Juan County were opened wide, and Liu Bei once again led the entire army out of the city, galloping westward behind Xu Rong.
"Hurry, hurry up, send the order, speed up the march, we must reach Longcheng before sunset today!"
On the official road heading west, Xu Rong waved the riding whip in his hand and shouted loudly.
In his calculation, Liu Bei would know about his withdrawal within two hours at most, so he would have to run for his life.
But the soldiers were very tired. No matter what Xu Rong ordered, they could not move faster.
After marching with difficulty for about an hour, some soldiers began to fall behind. But Xu Rong could no longer control so much and continued to strictly order the soldiers to speed up.
After walking for another hour, a river loomed ahead, which was the gutter water.
Seeing this, Xu Rong looked happy, turned to look at the tired soldiers, and ordered: "Give me the order to slow down the march. After arriving at the bank of the Gutter River, rest for a while before crossing the river."
With this military order, all the soldiers breathed a long sigh of relief.
If the cavalry keeps running like this, it's okay, but the infantry really can't stand it.
At this time, Guan Yu's troops, who were hiding in the bushes beside the sewer water, also immediately discovered Xu Rong's traces.
"Zi Yi has a clever plan, and the enemy is indeed coming!"
A flash of excitement flashed in Guan Yu's eyes, but he did not immediately order an attack.
He was waiting, waiting for Xu Rongjun to prepare to cross the river, and then suddenly rushed out to catch him by surprise. This would definitely lead to a complete victory.
The facts were just as Guan Yu expected. After Xu Rong led his army to the river, he ordered the soldiers to rest where they were while preparing to cross the river.
good chance!
Guan Yu made a quick decision, got on his horse, and ordered the entire army to attack Xu Rong.
Xu Rongjun was resting by the river at this time. Most of the soldiers rushed to the river and climbed on the ground to drink heavily, regardless of the refreshing water. After marching in a hurry for more than two hours, the hunger in my belly was still bearable, but my throat was already smoking.
Just as the soldiers were drinking gulps of water, they suddenly felt the ground trembling under their feet, followed by the sound of horse hooves.
The soldiers patrolling around discovered Guan Yu's presence immediately. They were so frightened that they rushed to Xu Rong on the ground.
"General, enemy attack!"
"How can it be?"
Xu Rong shouted with disbelief on his face.
He had obviously escaped for more than two hours, how could the enemy catch up now.
Even if they could catch up, how could they happen to kill us while our army was resting?
There's no way it's such a coincidence!
But the sound of horse hoofbeats in his ears was not deceiving. Xu Rong didn't even have time to think about it before he shouted: "Quick, send the order to the whole army to form a formation to meet the enemy!"
But Guan Yu's sudden attack, like a divine soldier and a heavenly general, left Xu Rong with no time to form his formation.
"Fight in!"
Guan Yu shouted loudly, and the Qinglong Yanyue Sword danced very fast in his hand, and he took the lead and rushed into the enemy's formation.
Xu Rongjun, who had no time to organize a defense, could not withstand it at all. In addition, he had not rested all night. How could he cheer up? Guan Yu broke through the first line of defense in an instant.
"Hold on, hold on! Behind us is the river, we have no way out, hold on!"
Xu Rong drew his sword and shouted, his face distorted with anxiety.
As soon as he said this, he reacted immediately.
When the enemy army appeared, his own army happened to be resting and recuperating, and the location happened to be by the Gutter River, leaving him with no way to retreat.
There is no such coincidence in the world, unless... the enemy had planned it in advance and sent an army to ambush him here.
Looking at the retreating soldiers in front, Xu Rong completely figured it out and was completely desperate.
Ever since he decided to withdraw his troops...no, even when he decided to send troops from Xingyang to attack Juan County, all subsequent movements had fallen into the enemy's calculations.
In this way, how can we remain undefeated?
What kind of genius is he who can perform such a series of tricks and play with himself in the midst of applause?
Thinking of this, Xu Rong's heart was filled with despair.
In this battle, I was defeated, and completely defeated.
"General, we can no longer hold the front, what should we do now?"
When Xu Rong was in despair, a soldier covered in blood rushed over and shouted.
"what to do……"
What else can be done now?
Xu Rong sighed and held the sword tightly in his hand, a flash of despair flashing in his eyes.
"Now that things have come to a point, the only way to serve the country is to die, and the body of a seven-foot man is not in vain!"
After saying that, Xu Rong got on his horse and was about to rush to the front of the formation, but was held back by his own soldiers.
"General, you can't. Leave the green hills here so you don't have to worry about running out of firewood. I also ask the general to cross the river quickly and I will cut off the rear for you!"
"No, I won't leave. I swear to live and die with the soldiers! If a man dies, he will die. How can we abandon our comrades!" Xu Rong shouted loudly, "Even if there is no way behind me, I am willing to fight to the death.
All the officers and soldiers obeyed the order. In today's battle, the outcome is still uncertain. Even if you die, you must fight until the last moment! "
"As you command!"
All the soldiers were infected by Xu Rong's indomitable spirit, and they all responded to the order.
Xu Rong no longer sat in the rear, but instead led his soldiers to kill directly, rushing to the front line to boost morale.
On the opposite side, Guan Yu saw Xu Rong's big banner moving forward. He already understood Xu Rong's plan, but he couldn't help but sneered contemptuously.
"The trapped beast is still fighting, not knowing whether to live or die. If you pass my order to the general and kill the enemy general, he will be promoted to five levels in a row and will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold!"
Under the heavy reward, there must be a brave man!
The moment Guan Yu made the bid, countless soldiers rushed towards Xu Rong's banner, trying to win the first victory in the battle.
But the Imperial Army under Xu Rong was not a vegetarian. Even though they had not rested all night, and even though they had traveled dozens of miles, they still maintained a very strong combat effectiveness with Xu Rong taking the lead. Guan Yu was unable to do anything to him for a while. .
Just as the battle between the two armies was in full swing, a trumpet sound suddenly sounded not far away.
"This is……"
After Guan Yu heard the sound, his expression changed first, and then he became furious.
Because this is clearly the trumpet sound for Ming Jin to withdraw his troops!
Who is so bold as to dare to claim gold at this time?
When he turned his head and looked, he saw an army of thousands of people standing not far away. It was clearly Liu Bei who had arrived.
Seeing this, Guan Yu looked happy, then a little confused.
Since his brother arrived, why didn't he lead his army to surround Xu Rong with him, but instead asked him to withdraw his troops?
Doubts were doubts, but Guan Yu had no habit of disobeying military orders. Xu Rong couldn't escape anyway, so he immediately ordered the entire army to withdraw.
Xu Rong rushed into the battlefield with the determination to die, but unexpectedly, at the most critical moment, Guan Yu actually retreated on his own initiative, which really puzzled him. Looking up again, he also saw Liu Bei's thousands of troops behind him, and his previous suspicion was confirmed again.
The total number of these enemy troops is probably less than 10,000, and it is enough for them to go out of the city to fight with themselves in the field. The reason why they have been huddled in the city before is definitely because they planned to plot against themselves and Xingyang from the beginning.
I didn’t lose this battle unjustly!
Today, I'm afraid I'm going to die.
After Guan Yu led his army to withdraw, he hurriedly came over to Liu Bei and clasped his fists and said: "Brother, I am about to kill the leader of the thief, why do I need to pay for it?"
It was Zhang Heng who answered him.
"Don't be surprised, Mr. Yun. I was the one who persuaded Duke Xuande to pay for the gold." Zhang Heng said with a smile, "As for the reason, what does Mr. Yun think of the enemy's combat strength on the opposite side?"
Hearing this, Guan Yu frowned slightly.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he still said: "The combat power displayed by the enemy army on the opposite side... can be called elite."
This answer did not surprise Zhang Heng. He was able to fight Guan Yu for such a long time despite not sleeping all night and marching for dozens of miles. He was worthy of the Luoyang Forbidden Army!
"Wouldn't it be a pity to annihilate all such an elite division? Moreover, we will also suffer heavy casualties."
"What do you mean, Ziyi?"
Zhang Heng smiled and said,
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could recruit him to be used by Duke Xuande?"
