Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3856 Inside the Walls

Could a few warships really conquer Xiangyang?
Obviously not. Even though Xiangyang is surrounded by water on three sides, it is still difficult to attack the city purely with warships.

Cao Zhen was also confused by his concern.

After all, the appearance of the warship southeast of Xiangyang could mean that the Sichuan cavalry in Jiangling had traveled through Yunmeng Marsh and made its way to the south of Xiangyang!
This not only means that the Sichuan Cavalry has completely controlled the Jiangling area and Yunmeng Marsh, but also that Cao Ren, Cao Zhen's uncle, has suffered a "total annihilation"!
Not even a messenger soldier could come in time!

This is undoubtedly terrifying!
Cao Zhen led a hastily assembled portion of the garrison at the north gate of Fancheng and rushed towards the south gate.

All along the way, his mind was filled with the terrifying image of the Flying Cavalry descending like divine soldiers and Cao Ren's army being completely annihilated, and his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

However, when Cao Zhen hurriedly crossed the pontoon bridge and rushed to the southeast section of the city wall, his tense nerves suddenly relaxed as he looked out by the lights on the city wall!
In the distance, several tall warships were seen sailing on the winding, hook-shaped river, constantly hurling arrows at the city walls. A small number of soldiers were also landing, seemingly intending to use the warships to suppress the enemy, break through the water gates, or scale the city walls to launch an attack.

Several...

Nima!

There are three warships!
Of course, there were also four or five small boats.

The messenger said it was a large fleet of warships, but Cao Zhen thought it was a large-scale navy with dozens or even hundreds of warships...

Cao Zhen felt a mouthful of blood and didn't know whether to spit it out or swallow it back.

Moreover, the flags flying on those warships were not the tricolor battle flags of the Flying Cavalry that he had anticipated!

It's just the Cai clan's banner!
Cai family!

Cai Mao!

"Cai Mao! It's Cai Mao, that traitorous thief!"

Cao Zhen was stunned at first, then a feeling of relief at surviving a disaster, mixed with extreme contempt for the traitor, welled up in his heart, making him burst into laughter!

"Hahaha! My comrades! Look closely! It's not the bandit army of the Flying Cavalry! It's that stray dog ​​Cai Mao! That shameless scoundrel who betrayed the court and surrendered the city for personal gain!" Cao Zhen pointed to the river, his voice booming, forcibly suppressing his unease, and encouraged the equally bewildered defenders with the most contemptuous tone, "How could such a treacherous wretch possibly breach the fortified city of Xiangyang? Soldiers, follow me to kill the enemy, and we'll take this traitor's head to appease the loyal souls who died in Jingbei!"

Huh?
Not the Flying Cavalry?
The soldiers of Cao Cao's army in Xiangyang City breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon hearing that the attackers were not the infamous and victorious cavalry, but merely Cai Mao, their former "defeated general," the morale of Cao Cao's troops on the city walls visibly increased.

Fear was replaced by anger at the traitor, and the soldiers drew their bows and threw down logs and stones to resist the attack of Cai's navy.

Cao Zhenxin felt a surge of nameless anger rising within him!

Although a huge weight was lifted from his heart, the anger at being tricked and the contempt for Cai Mao's "betrayal" transformed into an overwhelming fighting spirit.

Moreover, Cao Zhen was also well aware that he had to take this opportunity to quickly stabilize the morale of his troops and defeat these opportunistic villains!
"Archers, listen to my command!" Cao Zhen's voice boomed, cutting through the river wind and clamor. "The front ranks, aim at the enemy ship's deck and suppress the enemy archers! The rear ranks, hurl fire to cover the hulls of the ships and small boats on the river, preventing them from getting closer!"

Cao Zhen personally directed the operation, and his orders were clear and effective.

The Cao army archers, whose shooting had been somewhat scattered due to the panic, quickly found their leader and followed orders.

A dense barrage of arrows rained down on the river. Although the Cai clan's warships were shielded by parapets, the Cai clan archers on the decks were immediately suppressed and unable to raise their heads, and the arrows aimed at Cao Cao's city walls naturally became sparse.

At the foot of the city wall, Cai's sailors, who were trying to row their small boats closer to the base of the wall in order to destroy the water gate, suffered heavy losses. Many of them and their boats were riddled with arrows and fell into the icy river with screams.

The Cai soldiers who attempted to scale the city walls also failed to gain any advantage.

"Swordsmen and spearmen, advance! Hold the crenellations! Roll logs and stones, aim at the ladders!"

Cao Zhen moved quickly along the city wall, his sharp eyes scanning the battlefield. He saw several Cai clan warships attempting to mount their siege ladders onto the battlements, and immediately ordered the nearby garrison to focus their defenses on them.

The heavy logs and stones were lifted by the defenders and slammed down on the Cai soldiers who were trying to climb them!

Accompanied by a tooth-grinding crash and the sound of bones shattering, the Cai family sailors, who had just climbed halfway up the gangway, fell like dumplings being dropped into a pot, screaming as they crashed heavily onto the hull below or fell directly into the river, stirring up murky water.

The Cai soldiers below screamed and scattered, causing the Cao soldiers on the city wall to burst into laughter.

"Prepare the kerosene!"

Upon seeing that a warship was attempting to ram the water gate with its bow, Cao Zhen immediately issued a response order.

The oil was poured onto the water, and rockets and torches fell, instantly igniting a raging fire that engulfed the ships and the soldiers on board!
Under Cao Zhen's calm and efficient command, the garrison troops in the south city performed their duties and gradually developed a tacit understanding.

Arrows were used to suppress the climbers, logs and stones were used to strike them, and molten gold and oil were used to deal with dense formations and approaching ships, forming a three-dimensional and brutal defensive system.

The Cai navy's assault was repelled, leaving behind a large number of corpses and burning shipwrecks at the foot of the city walls and on the river, and the offensive was clearly thwarted.

Seeing their commander's calm and effective defense, and the fact that the rebels had suffered heavy casualties but were unable to advance an inch, the Cao army soldiers on the city wall were completely calmed down. Their morale gradually rose, and they even began to roar and taunt, venting their hatred for the traitors.

After the initial chaos, the Xiangyang defense line finally became stable, like a bolt that had been tightened again.

Although the Cai family's warships were well-equipped and skilled in naval warfare, their forces were limited and they lacked heavy siege equipment. Several attempts to land and launch a strong attack were repelled, and they could only rely on the bows and crossbows on the ships to exchange fire with the city walls and keep the enemy at bay.

The war appears to have reached a stalemate.

Cao Zhen calmed down a bit and began to observe the situation more calmly.

He noticed that although Cai's naval attack seemed fierce, he always felt...

Some talk a lot but deliver little.

Where did Cai's ships come from?

Where did these "Cai soldiers" come from?
Something's not right...

Cao Zhen's brows furrowed, and a trace of doubt resurfaced in his mind.

Cai Mao wasn't stupid; he should have known that with his limited strength, it was impossible for him to capture Xiangyang, which was heavily defended.

What was his purpose in doing this?

Just for harassment?
still is……

He suddenly recalled the bizarre, ultimately futile, ambush at the north gate of Fancheng.

Make a sound in the east and attack in the west!

This word, like a venomous snake, began to gnaw at his nerves once more!

Was Cai Mao's attack on the southern city still a feint?

Was it to draw away their own forces and the main force of the defending army in Xiangyang?
But where exactly is their main focus?
The North Gate of Fancheng has proven to be a feint, could there be something else...?

Just as Cao Zhen's mind raced, and he vaguely caught a glimmer of inspiration, yet failed to fully grasp the crucial point—

"Report—!!!"

A scout scrambled across the street, rushed onto the city wall, and threw himself at Cao Zhen. "General! General! Something terrible has happened! North of Fancheng…north…there's been a disturbance! Fire…there's a huge fire burning on the north side of Fancheng!"

As if to confirm the scout's words, a series of clamors, like rolling thunder, came from the north of Xiangyang City!
The color drained from Cao Zhen's face instantly!

He suddenly turned his head to look north. Although he couldn't see anything through the layers of houses and city walls, the increasingly clear restlessness and noise, like a cold tide, instantly overwhelmed his limbs and bones!

Fancheng!

There really is an enemy to the north!

Cao Zhen felt like a puppet being manipulated, all his judgments and plans falling into vain, or worse, falling into the enemy's carefully woven trap!

A bone-chilling coldness shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head.

Cao Zhen, like a firefighter, had barely managed to quell the wave stirred up by Cai Mao in the south city, and now he had to lead his personal guards and some mobile forces across the river without stopping to reach the north city wall of Fancheng.

When he climbed the north gate tower of Fancheng, panting heavily, and looked out into the distance, his heart sank!
The morning light was faint, and a thin mist hung like gauze.

Under the hazy light of dawn, north of Fancheng, an army in perfect uniform had appeared at some unknown time!

The bright tricolor cavalry battle flags fluttered in the brightening morning breeze, like provocative slaps, crackling across the faces of every Cao army soldier defending the city.

The blows made Cao Zhen's face tremble uncontrollably... A whole row of cavalrymen stood solemnly on the hillside, their armor reflecting the faint light. In the middle and lower part of the hillside, the infantry formations were orderly and disciplined, with spears like a forest.

Even more alarming, further away, near the outline of the rolling hills and mountains, countless banners could be vaguely seen swaying in the thin mist, as if a vast army was hiding behind them, ready to surge in at any moment!
"It's the Flying Cavalry! The main force of the Flying Cavalry!"

How did they get here?!

"It's over...it's over! So many people..."

"I'm doomed..."

On the city wall, the Cao army soldiers who had just experienced the chaos in the southern part of Xiangyang and had not yet fully recovered suddenly became restless and uneasy. Panic spread rapidly like a plague.

Many soldiers turned pale and couldn't help but howl, their hands gripping their weapons and their jaws trembling...

If it is indeed the main force of the Flying Cavalry that is at the gates of the city, given Xiangyang's current predicament both internally and externally, its fall is almost only a matter of time!
"Silence! All of you shut up!"

Seeing this, Cao Zhen knew that morale must not collapse. He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, drew his sword, made a few feints, and shouted loudly, barely managing to temporarily quell the noise on the city wall.

Cao Zhen must give these panicked soldiers an explanation, a reason that can help them regain their composure!

Even he himself might not fully believe this reason...

"What's the panic?! Look carefully! Count them all! How many are there?!" Cao Zhen pointed outside the city, his voice deliberately amplified, seemingly filled with undeniable certainty. "The main force of the Flying Cavalry should be in Hebei right now! And the Prime Minister's army is in Heluo! How could they possibly have wings and fly over the treacherous Songshan Mountains, arriving at our city without a sound? There are fewer than eight hundred cavalry and no more than a thousand infantry here! This must be a detachment of the Flying Cavalry, a bluff, a disguised main force to mislead our troops!"

Cao Zhen stared at the banners of the Flying Cavalry Army, faintly visible in the morning mist amidst the distant mountains outside the city. He swallowed hard, then deliberately sneered and shouted, "Those banners in the mountains? Hahaha! It's nothing but a crude feint! They just use straw figures and tree branches as flags, sending a few men and horses dragging them back and forth, thinking they can scare us? How laughable!"

"Look again! What kind of 'Zhuge' is this banner?!" Cao Zhen continued with a cold laugh, expressing his disdain. "Among the generals of the Flying Cavalry, is there any 'Zhuge' among them? He's just a villager from the past! What are you afraid of?! If you're afraid of even such a small detachment of the Flying Cavalry, do you have any backbone left?!"

Cao Zhen's words were resolute, and perhaps initially it was just to appease the army, but as he spoke, seeing that the cavalry outside the city did not immediately launch an overwhelming offensive, and that the banners on the distant mountains showed no sign of a "large-scale army move," he himself gradually began to believe his assessment...

Yes, that must be the case!

This is definitely a feint by the Flying Cavalry, intended to coordinate with Cai Mao's harassment of the southern city, keeping them busy and revealing their weaknesses!

As long as we don't panic, Xiangyang and Fancheng can still be defended!

As expected, when the soldiers on the city wall saw that Cao Zhen was so calm and his analysis seemed reasonable, the commotion gradually subsided. Although they were still tense, they were at least no longer as desperate as before.

The cavalry outside the city seemed to confirm Cao Zhen's "judgment." Instead of rushing to attack the city, they calmly began assembling and building shield wagons to cross the moat and battering rams to ram the city gates, outside the range of Cao's crossbows.

His movements were methodical and showed considerable patience.

The tricolor banners were still fluttering in the distant mountains and forests, but just as Cao Zhen had said, there was no overwhelming surge of cavalrymen coming...

Cao Zhen carefully observed the other party's actions and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, it was a detached force with insufficient troops. They dared not launch a direct attack and could only rely on weapons to slowly wear down the enemy!
Cao Zhen immediately issued a series of orders to retaliate...

"Bring two ballistae over and aim them at their shield wagons and craftsmen! Shoot them the moment they get close!"

"Prepare plenty of oil-filled rockets; when their battering rams get close to the city walls, dump them and burn them!"

"Place the boulder and logs in position to prevent an attack while the equipment is approaching!"

"Get the forklifts and torches ready!"

"Bows and arrows! Go and get some more bows and arrows!"

Under Cao Zhen's command, Cao's soldiers began to get busy.

As these Cao soldiers had something to do, their initial fear and anxiety gradually faded away with the administrative tasks at hand.

Cao Zhen stared intently at every move of the cavalry below the city walls, his mind racing as he considered how to break through their siege weaponry, even plotting a counterattack once their offensive faltered, to wipe out this arrogant flanking force...

However, just as Cao Zhen thought he had seen through the opponent's tricks and focused all his attention on the "real threats" outside the north city—

"Report—!!!!"

Another shrill, distorted cry rang out behind Cao Zhen like a death knell!

A military academy student, whose helmet had seemingly fallen off somewhere, scrambled up the city wall, his face contorted with utter terror. "General...General! Something terrible has happened! A large number of bandits have suddenly appeared and are causing chaos in the eastern part of Xiangyang!"

The area east of Xiangyang was originally a bustling market town.

In the past, it was a bustling place with merchants and carriages.

However, as the war in Jingzhou dragged on, especially the repeated back-and-forth between Cao Cao's army and the Flying Cavalry, this once bustling market had long lost its former vitality.

Most shops were closed, and the wooden tables in the shops were covered with dust. The once bustling stalls in the wide streets were now just dilapidated thatched sheds.

The alleyways connected to these market shops have become sparsely populated; hardly anyone comes here on weekdays...

Like the ghost towns of later generations, abandoned commercial complexes, after their glitz and glamour faded, only ruins remained.

Cao Zhen was busy dealing with the pressure of the main battlefield, and his efforts to reorganize the city's defenses mainly focused on the city walls, city gates, and the main military camps and government offices. He did not devote much energy to the detailed clearing and control of this semi-abandoned market town.

The chaos first erupted in several abandoned warehouses and shop courtyards in the East Market.

The troublemakers, who had been lurking here for who knows how long, were clearly very familiar with the terrain.

They chose to act simultaneously on a dry early winter morning, with a clear objective—

Create the biggest chaos!

Several fires were ignited almost simultaneously!
Dry timber, discarded debris, remnants of thatched huts...

Everything became excellent fuel.

The cold wind became an accomplice, whipping the flames and pulling at them, greedily licking at the neighboring houses and shops, which were also mainly constructed of wood and brick.

The crackling sounds of burning quickly merged into one, and thick black smoke billowed up like a demon's banner, instantly turning the eastern sky red!

"Fire has broken out!"

Run!

"Fire!"

"Murder! Thief!"

My child! My child…

"Mother! Mother, where are you?!"

The flames and thick smoke first alarmed the residents in the surrounding houses, who had nowhere to hide and nowhere to go and had no choice but to stay there.

People screamed as they rushed out of their homes or temporary shelters, running blindly through familiar streets like headless flies.

The man called out to his wife and children, the old man stumbled and fell, and the child's cries were shrill and piercing...

The once relatively empty streets and alleys were instantly filled with crowds, and people pushed and trampled each other out of panic, creating chaos!
Meanwhile, the arsonists mingled among the chaotic crowd.

They would wield short blades, taking the opportunity to slash and kill isolated Cao army squads and local constables trying to maintain order. They would also throw torches into unlit areas to spread the fire.

Some people even deliberately shouted loudly, spreading rumors such as "The city has fallen" and "The cavalry has stormed in," further exacerbating the panic!

When the reinforcements sent by Cao Zhen arrived at Dongcheng, they were met with this hellish scene—

Flames engulfed the streets, thick smoke obscured the sun, and countless panicked people cried out and fled amidst the inferno and chaotic crowds, while deadly attacks could suddenly strike from any corner or any group of people!

"The general has ordered! Slay the rebels! Kill them without mercy!"

Cao Jun's captain roared at the top of his lungs, trying to control the situation.

Giving orders is easy, but carrying them out is incredibly difficult!

Amidst the raging flames and billowing smoke, and in the frantic rush of people trying to shield each other, how could one accurately distinguish between law-abiding citizens and ruthless instigators?
Once those troublemakers discard their blood-stained weapons and blend into the crowd, they are no different from ordinary refugees!
Faced with this scene, Cao Zhen's unease gradually grew...