Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3695 Amidst the Misty Rain and Disordered Lantern Shadows, a New Game of Chess Begins Amidst Bloodshed and Ruthless Wind.

The drizzle seemed to be falling endlessly.

Every inch of land on the southern slope of Mount Song is soaked with water, and stepping on it leaves you in a muddy pit.

The mountain mist mingled with the low-hanging rain clouds, compressing visibility to within a hundred paces, leaving only blurry outlines of distant mountains. The whole world seemed to be submerged in a giant, wet, upside-down bowl.

The sound of raindrops pattering on armor, leaves, and mud, mixed with the sound of footsteps trudging through the mud, repeats monotonously.

Wang Junhou wiped the rain off his face, which at least cleared his muddled mind. He was leading his soldiers, slowly "advancing" towards Wancheng along a muddy ravine that was barely recognizable as a path.

The speed was slower than expected.

Wang Junhou didn't even need to 'pretend'.

The heavy leather boots got stuck in the mud, and it was difficult to pull them out, let alone maintain a neat formation.

Many people simply took off their shoes and walked barefoot in the mud.

The soldiers lowered their heads, struggling to find footholds on the slippery ground.

"Sir, the scouts have been dispatched... five li ahead, three li to the left and right..."

A soldier approached, his voice muffled by the sound of rain.

Wang Junhou nodded without saying a word.

He looked up, scanning the hillside before him and the distant mountains, gazing at the glistening, rain-washed cliffs and the dense, dripping jungle.

Marching in this kind of weather is a nightmare.

However, there is one advantage: all ranged weapons have been greatly suppressed...

He had been following Sima Yi for some time and he was well aware of the significance of this mission.

It wasn't a rescue, it was bait.

Cao Jun is definitely waiting for him somewhere ahead.

Time passed amidst the dull patter of rain and the arduous trek.

Suddenly, several short, sharp whistles came from the distant mountains on the left!
Then came the crisp sounds of weapons clashing, followed by suppressed shouts and groans, before silence returned, leaving only the sound of rain.

Wang Junhou suddenly stopped and raised his hand to signal the entire army to halt.

The entire team froze instantly, with only the sound of rain and heavy breathing filling the air.

Report!

A scout emerged from the bushes on the flank, soaking wet, with a fresh bloodstain on his face, but his eyes were unusually bright.

"Cao Cao's army has been spotted three li to the left! Approximately five hundred infantrymen! They are constructing a chevaux-de-frise! My squad encountered their scouts and beheaded three! We also wounded one of our own! Judging from their banners, they appear to be an advance scout of Cao Xi's forces!"

"A chevaux-de-frise? A trap?" A glint flashed in Wang Junhou's eyes. "Just as the general said! Cao Cao's army has laid an ambush! Where are Cao Cao's troops currently located?"

"This is the fork in the road leading to Wancheng Mountain and the path that winds around Flying Fox Fortress!" the scout pointed back, quite confidently stating, "A little further ahead, and you'll reach a treacherous spot! Steep on both sides, narrow in front!"

"Good!" Wang Junhou's lips curled into a cold smile. "As General Sima ordered! We'll advance first, pretend to have discovered an ambush, then sound the retreat! Make it convincing!"

A moment later, the sharp, piercing sound of a gong suddenly broke through the dullness of the rain in the mountain road!

"Retreat! Retreat quickly! There's an ambush!" Wang Junhou shouted at the top of his lungs.

The already somewhat scattered ranks instantly broke apart, with the front ranks becoming the rear ranks. However, during the transition, the soldiers found it difficult to turn around due to the mud and crowding. There was some pushing and shoving among the soldiers, but they didn't even need to pretend to have difficulty walking...

Wang Junhou discarded several flags crookedly in the muddy water.

The group trampled the mountain path, splashing mud everywhere.

The whole scene was chaotic, like a defeated army that had been suddenly ambushed and whose spirits had been scattered.

……

……

Just as Wang Junhou's troops were retreating in a panic, not far from the fork in the road, in a dense forest highland, Cao Xi, wearing heavy armor, felt cold and sticky all over his body as rainwater flowed through the gaps in the armor plates, making him extremely uncomfortable.

His gaze was fixed on the disheveled cavalry on the muddy mountain road below.

"General! The enemy troops have retreated! Their formation is broken! This is the perfect opportunity to pursue!"

The guard beside him growled excitedly.

Cao Yi, however, didn't seem particularly excited. He hesitated for a moment, then pointed at the retreating cavalrymen, "Do you think they've truly been defeated?"

The guard was taken aback. "General, what are you doing...?"

"Your Majesty's previous secret order..." Cao Yi shook his head, "Your Majesty was right... Your Majesty said that Sima is cunning by nature, and if he retreats without a fight, it must be a trap..."

Cao Yi was initially skeptical of Xun Yu's secret order. After all, he was the frontline commander, and there hadn't even been any battle yet, nor had the two sides made any contact. How could Xun Yu have predicted that the Flying Cavalry would "retreat without a fight"?
And that's exactly what happened!
Although there had been contact and battles between the cavalry scout squads and the enemy, what did that amount to?
Before a fight broke out, even Cao Yi wasn't sure if his soldiers had actually been discovered by the Flying Cavalry, and then the Flying Cavalry clamored for a retreat!
Although the cavalry soldiers did indeed appear to be in a state of 'extreme panic' during their retreat, with some falling on the muddy mountain path and looking almost like mud monkeys...

"General..." the guard asked, "So, what do we do now..."

Cao Xi's facial muscles twitched a few times, a feeling of suffocation, as if being forcibly suppressed, welled up inside him. The cooked duck was right in his mouth, yet all he could do was feign a scare?
He looked up at the retreating cavalry, then, remembering Xun Yu's almost prophetic orders, he spat a mouthful of phlegm into the muddy water: "Damn it! These bastards got off easy! Pass on the order!"

Cao Yi's voice was hoarse with resentment, "Vanguard! Make a huge commotion! Shout! Make it look like you're in pursuit! But hold back, keep your distance, don't actually get close! Rear guard... lower your flags and fall silent, follow me!"

A chaotic drumming noise suddenly erupted.

"Kill them! Don't let the bandits escape!"

"Capture Sima Yi alive!"

"Avenge General Xiahou!"

The sound echoed through the valley, its momentum astonishing.

Cao Yi's vanguard banners waved wildly, and Cao's soldiers brandished their weapons, poised to pounce, as they chased after Wang Junhou's "rout" troops along the mountain path.

However, a closer look reveals that their charge was not fast, and their formation remained quite compact. The pursuing arrows always kept a safe distance from the tail of the cavalry, making them more like a pack of wolves chasing prey than tigers pouncing on their prey.

The other Cao soldiers, under Cao Xi's personal leadership, took advantage of the cover of the mountains and forests and the deafening battle shouts, and like a slippery python, silently left the main battlefield and headed towards the pre-arranged ambush position on the side and rear of Feihu Fortress.

The muddy ground swallowed most of the footsteps, leaving only blurry and messy marks, which were quickly washed away and covered by new rain.

Sima Yi's plan has run into trouble.

……

……

Almost simultaneously with Cao Xi's troops launching a fierce pursuit, the silence in the direction of Feihu Ruijun Fortress was completely shattered!

In the rain, countless dark figures emerged silently from the slippery rocks and dense bushes like ghosts.

Clad in light leather armor and armed with short weapons and grappling hooks for easy climbing, they moved as swiftly as monkeys; they were the mountain soldiers of the Flying Cavalry.

These soldiers, skilled in traversing mountains and forests, were taking advantage of the rain and the 'gap' when Cao Cao's army seemed to be distracted by Wang Junhou's troops, to silently approach the dilapidated low wall surrounding Feihu Fortress.

However, the sparse Cao army sentries on the fortress walls spotted these elite mountain soldiers, and immediately the sound of alarm gongs rang out inside and outside the fortress!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The sound of the gong was particularly jarring against the backdrop of the rain, but it was quickly drowned out by an even louder noise.

"kill--!"

The mountain elites roared with deafening fury, slinging their hooks onto the ramparts and nimbly climbing upwards.

Several Cao army soldiers on the outer perimeter who were a little slow to react were cut down by these elite cavalrymen in the blink of an eye. The small outposts on the outer perimeter of the fortress offered a token resistance, and then the Cao army soldiers retreated in a frenzy.

"Break down the fortress! Quickly!"

The cavalry officer at the forefront slashed down a Cao army soldier with a single blow and roared loudly.

More and more cavalrymen poured into the fortress through the breached breach, like a flood bursting its banks!
Sima Yi, wearing a straw raincoat, stood on a slightly better-viewed earthen slope outside the fortress, with rainwater flowing down the edge of his straw hat.

He watched the forwards surge in with a blank expression, but the tension in his heart was growing ever tighter.

It went so smoothly...

The resistance from Cao Cao's army outside Feihu Fortress seems to be too weak.

Xun Yu is no mediocre man. How could Feihu Fort, such a strategic location, be so poorly guarded?

Sima Yi instinctively stopped the second wave of soldiers from charging forward...

Sure enough, a moment later, the mountain soldier at the forefront inexplicably fell to the ground!
These are mountain soldiers who can run as if on flat ground in the mountains and forests. How could they lose their balance and fall down so easily?
"Ket oil! There's kerosene here!"

Thick, pungent, and foul-smelling black liquid clung to the passageways of the military fortress. Although the oil was diluted by the rain and not so easily ignited, it still made it difficult for the cavalrymen to pass through the narrow passageways connecting the open ground with the deeper areas of the fortress!

The stickiness of kerosene, combined with rainwater, creates a slippery effect on wet stone slabs and bricks.

One after another, the mountain soldiers at the front fell into the slippery, black, oily mud, like dumplings being dropped into a pot!
He tried to get up by supporting himself with his hands, but because his hands came into contact with the sticky grease, there was not much friction, and he fell down again.

Splattered oil and mud covered his entire armor, leaving him looking utterly disheveled.

The soldiers following behind were caught off guard and their path was blocked by the sudden obstruction and the fallen comrades in front of them. The narrow passageway instantly became crowded and chaotic!
Even more frightening is that these oil-water mixtures could turn into a huge fire at any time!
The follow-up troops dared not venture into this slippery death trap, and their charging momentum was abruptly halted!

Cao Cao's deployment was clearly more than just these oil stains...

"Raise your shield! Watch out for arrows!"

In the chaos, experienced veterans shouted hoarsely.

Before the words were even finished, countless archers from Cao Cao's army suddenly emerged from behind the seemingly empty crenellations and from the broken firing holes of the towers on the inner side of the fortress!
The cold crossbow bolts gleamed in the dim rain.

"Strong winds! Strong winds!"

A cold, hard command was given.

The dense arrows, like a sudden rain of death, descended from above, whistling through the air, and fiercely struck the cavalrymen who were stuck in the oil-slicked area, crowded and chaotic, and almost became live targets!
puff!

The dull thud of a sharp blade piercing flesh and the piercing screams instantly drowned out the sound of the rain!
The hussars who had slipped and were crowded together were hit by arrows and fell down.

Blood mixed with black oil and yellow mud spread rapidly across the breach in the fortress wall, creating a shocking dark red swamp.

Even though the power of crossbows is greatly reduced in the rain, the arrows and crossbow bolts can still retain 70-80% of their power through the firing ports in the military fortress where there is shelter from the rain.

The cries of the injured echoed through the rain, sending chills down one's spine.

"Sound the retreat! Sound the retreat now! Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

Sima Yi, standing on the earthen slope, suddenly narrowed his pupils and roared fiercely!

This is a trap!

A meticulously designed death trap that perfectly combines physical obstruction with long-range lethality by utilizing the terrain and environment!

This is definitely not something that can be arranged in a hasty response!

Sima Yi realized that Xun Yu had anticipated his plan!

He underestimated Xun Yu!
A sharp, urgent gong sounded!

The cavalry units, blocked outside the oil-slicked area, immediately retreated, but the dozens of vanguard soldiers who had already rushed into the fortress passage and were affected by the oil were now in dire straits…

"General! My brothers in the vanguard..."

The military academy student looked anxiously at Sima Yi.

Sima Yi's face was ashen, his jaw clenched, and he forced out a few words: "We can't worry about that now! Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

Yes, if he orders the rescue of those hundred or so soldiers, he can probably save thirty or forty of them, but at the same time he will also put the lives of some of the soldiers who go to rescue them in danger!

The most crucial point is that Sima Yi concluded that if Xun Yu had predicted him correctly, then there would be more than just this small number of Cao troops deployed around Feihu Fort!
Hesitating for even a moment longer will only lead to greater losses.

Sure enough, before Sima Yi's troops had all retreated into the mountains, Cao Cao's soldiers appeared on the flank of the battlefield in the distance.

In a flash, a brilliant idea struck Sima Yi!
Feihu Fortress is a tough nut to crack, but aren't these Cao army soldiers flanking from the flank just easy prey?
Eating these Cao army soldiers would not only recover our losses, but also severely damage the morale of Cao army!
The key is not to follow Xun Yu's lead!
Who knows if retreating along the original route will lead us straight into Xun Yu's ambush?!

Therefore, breaking through this group of Cao army soldiers coming from the flank is the best way to break the deadlock!

"Let's turn!" Sima Yi pointed to the Cao army soldiers approaching from the flank. "Kill them all! Avenge our brothers!"

At Sima Yi's command, the cavalrymen, like an enraged pack of wolves, changed direction and pounced on Cao Cao's troops on the flank.

Mud splattered beneath the boots, and weapons gleamed coldly in the rain.

Sima Yi took the lead, personally leading his elite troops, like a drawn sword, fiercely slashing at Cao Xi's forces who were "pursuing victory"!
At this moment, Xun Yu's plan also encountered problems.

……

……

Cao Yi was smugly preparing to "avenge his grievances"!
He hated Sima Yi.

It wasn't because Sima Yi killed the generals of the Cao and Xiahou clans, but because Sima Yi's clever strategies highlighted Cao Yi's own stupidity and incompetence.

This mentality, though ethically strange, is quite common.

This "abnormality" is actually a "normal" situation most of the time.

Cao Xi was pursuing Sima Yi's troops with great enthusiasm, and it seemed that he was about to chase down the fleeing soldiers and establish great military achievements.

He could even imagine receiving praise from Xun Yu, and even Cao Cao, and standing tall and proud before all the military officers and generals. However, just as he was directing his troops to slightly increase their pace and put more pressure on Sima Yi's "rout" troops, the "rout" troops in front suddenly stopped!
Immediately afterwards, a deafening battle cry erupted from Cao Yi's flank!
Sima Yi cleverly used a portion of his soldiers to lure Cao Yi into a circle, and then turned around to surround Cao Xi's troops.

Sima Yi was able to take things in stride; he abandoned his original plan to seize Feihu Fort and instead turned his attention to absorbing Cao Yi's forces.

From this moment on, both sides' plans began to change.

"General! Something's wrong! Enemy on our flank! It's Sima Yi's main force!"

Cao Yi's personal guards cried out in terror.

And not long after, another Cao army scout cried out in panic, "The rear! There are enemies in the rear too! It's the cavalry from the fork in the road! They've returned!"

Cao Xi looked around and instantly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, feeling a chill all around him!
On the left hillside, Sima Yi surged down like a black tide!

Swords and spears stood like a forest, and the murderous aura was overwhelming!
Meanwhile, in his rear, Wang Junhou's troops, who had just been "fleeing in a sorry state," somehow circled around to this place and arrived at the battlefield almost at the same time as Cao Yi. Now they fiercely cut off his retreat!
The fleeing cavalry, which had been pursuing Cao Xi directly in front of him, suddenly turned around and stopped, launching a counterattack!

His troops were jubilantly pursuing their enemy one moment, but the next moment they unknowingly fell into Sima Yi's carefully laid encirclement!

"Form a defensive formation! Quickly form a circular formation!"

Cao Xi roared hoarsely, his voice distorted by extreme fear. However, on the muddy and slippery mountain path, in the chaos of a sudden attack, how easy was it to quickly form a solid defensive formation? Orders were drowned out by the shouts and neighing of the horses in the chaos. The front and rear ranks collided and pushed each other, and the soldiers struggled in the mud to find their own units.

The charge of the cavalry was swift and deadly!
Sima Yi's main force, like a heavy iron hammer, slammed into the chaotic left flank of Cao Xi's troops!
Swords flashed and blood flew everywhere!
Screams and the sounds of weapons clashing filled the air.

The elite cavalrymen, like sharp boning knives, precisely sliced ​​through Cao Xi's ranks, attempting to divide and encircle them. Cao Xi's troops were like trapped beasts in a quagmire, squeezed and torn apart by the immense force of the attack from three sides, and the casualty figures were rising rapidly.

The front line was teetering on the brink of collapse, and it seemed that it could crumble in an instant!
"Hold on! Hold on!"

Cao Xi brandished his ring-pommel sword, frantically hacking and slashing at the approaching cavalrymen, attempting to stabilize his formation. However, his shouts offered no effective buff to his troops. He watched helplessly as his soldiers fell one by one under the cavalry's onslaught, his army gradually being torn apart…