flstandardbreds Chapter 493 Cao Ren Retreats, Guan Yu and Shen Yi Join Forces
Chapter 493 Cao Ren Retreats, Guan Yu and Shen Yi Join Forces
In an era when communication relied primarily on shouting, information transmission was severely delayed, and it was difficult for multiple armies to achieve true synchronization; even with the best coordination, time discrepancies would still occur.
As a result, the battles in Jingzhou came to a temporary halt, while the battles in Jiangdong continued in full swing.
In order to tie down Cao Ren and relieve the pressure on Guan Xing, so that Guan Xing could act freely, Guan Yu launched an attack on the Wei army as soon as he arrived at the front line.
Guan Yu's attack was very sharp, forcing Cao Ren to focus all his attention on dealing with it. However, the terrain of Jiuhua Mountain was too dangerous, and Cao Ren had occupied all the advantageous positions.
Having been terrified by Guan Yu, Cao Ren, like Sima Yi facing Zhuge Liang in history, held his ground and defended the strategic location, neither greedy for merit nor reckless, giving Guan Yu no chance to break through the defenses, determined to rely on the advantageous terrain to continue the tug-of-war.
The sharpest spear and the strongest shield in the world are locked in a fierce battle in the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor, and neither can gain the upper hand in the short term.
Seeing that he could not break through the enemy lines, Guan Yu had no choice but to place his hopes on Zhou Xun's navy. However, the navy had to pass through the natural barrier of Ruxukou, and the pressure was not small either.
Zhou Xun led his naval fleet upstream into the Yangtze River estuary. Before reaching Ruxukou, he encountered the Wei fleet led by Zhu Huan. The two sides immediately engaged in battle without exchanging words. Zhou Xun, aboard the Yuanxun, easily rammed and sank several of Zhu Huan's warships, which frightened Zhu Huan into retreating and fleeing. He then reported the news to Zang Ba, who was stationed at Ruxukou.
Zang Ba received the news and dared not delay. He immediately ordered his men to build a large number of bamboo rafts and pile a lot of dry firewood on them. After Zhu Huan was brought to the west of Ruxukou, all the bamboo rafts were sent into the river and tied together with ropes to cover the entire river surface. They were then allowed to float downstream. When they encountered Zhou Xun's Han army fleet, they were set on fire. In an instant, the river was ablaze with flames, which frightened Zhou Xun into retreating hastily.
Zhou Xun's fleet consisted of wooden ships that were not fireproof. Faced with such a large fire, they could only temporarily avoid the brunt of the flames and wait for the fire to die down.
The question is whether Zang Ba, a veteran of countless battles, will give him this opportunity.
Of course not.
Taking advantage of the brief respite while Zhou Xun was forced to retreat, Zang Ba acted swiftly. While continuing to build bamboo rafts and gather firewood, he also set up many iron chains and spikes on the river west of Ruxukou. In front of the spikes were a large number of bamboo rafts. When Zhou Xun came, he would first set the bamboo rafts on fire. It would be best if the fire could force Zhou Xun to retreat. If he could not be forced to retreat, he would use the iron chains and spikes to block him, and then let Zhu Huan take the opportunity to attack. In short, he would not let Zhou Xun pass by no matter what.
Zhou Xun came from the sea, and entering the Yangtze River meant going upstream, so Ruxukou became an obstacle he couldn't avoid.
The fact that Ruxukou, a strategic location, fell into the hands of the Wei army was a fatal blow. If Zang Ba could hold the river, he could easily block Zhou Xun in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
What's even more infuriating is that Zang Ba doesn't engage in direct combat; he sets fire to the Han army fleet whenever he sees it. Who can stand that?
Cao Ren and Zang Ba's defenses were too tight, giving Guan Yu and Zhou Xun no chance to break through, causing the Han army's attacks to repeatedly fail.
However, the Han army's defenses were equally tight, giving the Wei army no chance.
After Zhang Liao escorted Shen Yi, who was carrying Guan Xing's banner, to Nanchang, he immediately mobilized 20,000 infantrymen to launch an attack on Yu Han. However, due to the strict defense of Yu Han's general Ning Huan, no progress was made.
Not only did they fail to defeat Yu Han, but they also received news that Yu Fan had surrendered and handed over Nanchang, the capital of Yuzhang Commandery, to Shen Yi. Zhang Liao was so frightened that he immediately recalled Zhuge Qian and cursed Yu Fan as a scoundrel.
Damn Yu Fan, I was even thinking of sending Zhuge Qian to help you share the burden of defending the city, but look what happened, you surrendered without even fighting.
Surrender is fine, but at least inform Zhuge Qian to retreat before you surrender. Instead, you not only failed to do so, but you also planned to give Zhuge Qian to Guan Xing as a pledge of loyalty. Don't you feel any remorse for betraying your teammates like this?
Do you have any conscience?
Zhang Liao was cursing the heavens, the earth, and the air, but before he could calm down, he received news that Shen Yi had led his army north to attack Haihun Liling. Terrified, he immediately fell silent and decisively withdrew his troops.
The location of Liling is very important. As long as Shen Yi takes Liling, he can move along Poyang Lake to establish a foothold in Poyang, or threaten Chaisang to the north.
Once Shen Yi occupies Poyang, he can surround Zhang Liao in the triangular area formed by the three counties of Liling, Poyang, and Yuhan and annihilate him. Thinking of Lu Xun's fate, how could Zhang Liao sit still?
And then there's Chaisang. Guan Yu has already occupied the entrance and exit of the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor, forcing Cao Ren into the Poyang Lake plain. Cao Ren can no longer retreat from Ruxukou and can only retreat back to Chaisang. In other words, Chaisang has become the only way out for hundreds of thousands of Wei troops. If Shen Yi occupies it, these hundreds of thousands of Wei troops will be driven into Poyang Lake by Guan Yu to feed the fish.
Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Zhang Liao dared not delay. He quickly withdrew his troops and reported to Cao Ren. Without waiting for Cao Ren's reply, he led his cavalry to Liling and took advantage of their speed to occupy the county town before Shen Yi could.
Upon arriving at Liling, they finally received good news. They learned from the officials in Liling that Jia Kui had received news of Sun Quan's surrender to Liu Bei on his way to Jiangling. He then quickly retreated, contacted Lü Fan and Sun Shao to launch a mutiny, killed Zhou Tai, and seized Chaisang. In other words, Chaisang had fallen into the hands of the Wei army.
This relieved Zhang Liao; with Chaisang in hand, he now had a way out.
Zhang Liao was thus reassured and focused on reinforcing the city's defenses and building defensive lines, preparing to keep Shen Yi outside Liling and ensure Cao Ren's retreat route was unobstructed.
After several days of this ordeal, Cao Cao's messengers, having exhausted several horses, finally delivered the order to withdraw troops to Zhang Liao and Cao Ren. Cao Ren had long since given up on fighting, and upon receiving the order, he immediately began preparations to retreat through Ling and Chaisang back to the north bank of the Yangtze River, and then from there to Xiangfan to join Cao Cao.
Retreat is a skill; a slight misstep can turn a retreat into a rout, especially when facing a formidable opponent like Guan Yu.
Fortunately, Cao Ren was very experienced in retreats. His army took turns providing cover, defending during the day and leaving at night, ensuring their own safety as much as possible and not giving Guan Yu any opportunity to take advantage.
Guan Yu, having noticed Cao Ren's retreat, naturally could not let him leave easily and decisively dispatched troops to launch a surprise attack, but it had little effect due to Cao Ren's strict defense.
Guan Yu was not in a hurry and patiently followed Cao Ren's advance. He would advance when Cao Ren retreated, and thus recovered much lost territory.
While recovering the lost territory, he also sent someone to Shen Yi to order him to prepare to join forces with him to attack Chaisang and prevent the Wei army from crossing the river.
Chaisang was a military stronghold, but this strength was relative to the area north of the Yangtze River. When the Wei army crossed the river to attack Chaisang, they would face severe resistance due to the Yangtze River blocking their way. However, if they attacked from the south, they would not have to face the natural barrier of the Yangtze River.
Guan Yu doesn't have to face the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, but Cao Ren needs to use the Yangtze to retreat back to the north bank. Launching a surprise attack on Cao Ren while he's crossing the river would definitely be very effective.
Therefore, Guan Yu did not pursue Cao Ren with all his might, but instead prepared to wait until Cao Ren crossed the river and retreated before engaging Cao Ren in a decisive battle, driving all of Cao Ren's hundreds of thousands of Wei troops into the Yangtze River.
Thus, both sides tacitly went about their business. Under Guan Yu's watchful eye, Cao Ren successfully retreated to Liling to join Zhang Liao, and then abandoned Liling to retreat to Chaisang.
With the Wei army withdrawing, the Han army naturally arrived. Shen Yi and Guan Yu arrived at Liling almost simultaneously and successfully met up outside the city.
Outside Liling City, Shen Yi took a bath and tidied himself up before leading his generals to Guan Yu's army. Upon seeing the distinctive figure standing at the front of the army, he instinctively quickened his pace, approached Guan Yu, and bowed, saying, "This humble general Shen Yi greets Your Majesty."