Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Weikou.

The shouts of killing shook the sky and the beats of drums were like thunder.

On the south bank, more than 7,000 Qin archers were shooting arrows at the Han army's boats and rafts on the Wei River.

Arrows rained down like shuttles, forming a dragnet over the Wei River, almost covering the sky.

The Han soldiers on the boats held up their large shields to block the arrows, while at the same time shooting arrows from the gaps to fire back at the Qin army.

However, the number of boats and rafts was limited, and they could carry no more than 6,000 soldiers, and only more than 1,000 archers.

There were more than a thousand archers, and the water was shaking and turbulent. In terms of number and hit rate, they were far inferior to the Qin army on the shore. It was expected that they would be suppressed.

The boats and rafts were pinned down more than thirty steps from the shore and dared not move forward to land. The Han army on the boats were suppressed to the point that they could not even raise their heads.

Sporadic screams were heard from time to time, and Han soldiers who were hit by arrows kept falling into the water.

The two sides had been in a stalemate for more than half an hour, and not a single Han soldier had been able to reach the south bank.

"Liu Bei, I want to see how long you can continue to act. I will accompany you to the end."

Cao Cao stroked his thin beard, looked at the Han soldiers who were suppressed to the point that they could not even raise their heads, and the corners of his mouth curved upward.

"Your Majesty, there is a smoke signal coming from upstream, about fifteen miles away. It should be that the Han army is trying to cross the river there."

Zhang Song was sharp-eyed and spotted the smoke coming from upstream, so he raised his finger and pointed with a sneer.

Cao Cao looked up and saw several smoke signals rising in the sky.

"Liu Bei, have you really revealed your true colors?"

Cao Cao smiled coldly and shouted:

"Order Cao Zhen and Pang De to lead the reserve troops immediately to the upper reaches to block the Han army that has landed."

The Royal Guards were about to pass on the order.

"Wait!"

Guo Jia, however, stopped him and reminded him:
"Liu Bei once defeated the Wuhuan cavalry with the Queyue Formation in Youzhou. We must guard against him using the same trick again and defeating our Xiliang cavalry with the Queyue Formation."

"Your Majesty, you should tell Cao Zidan and his men not to charge blindly with cavalry. Instead, you should have infantry holding large shields in front, and cavalry circling behind."

Cao Cao suddenly remembered this old story.

When Liu Bei defeated Yuan Shang, he used less than 3,000 elite troops and chariots to set up a Que Yue formation, and defeated 40,000 Wuhuan cavalry.

As Guo Jia worried, since Liu Bei dared to sneak across the river from upstream with a small force, he might want to repeat his old trick and defeat his Xiliang cavalry with the Que Yue Formation.

"What Feng Xiao reminded me of is to tell Cao Zhen and Pang De what Feng Xiao said!"

"Oh!"

A horse galloped away and headed straight for the main camp of Weikou.

A moment later, dust and fog rolled away to the west.

Cao Zhen and Pang De led 30,000 Qin infantry and cavalry, heading west along the river bank and heading upstream.

Cao Cao watched Cao Zhen's troops leave, then turned his gaze back to the north, across the Han army's boats and rafts on the Wei River, and landed on the imperial flag with Chinese characters on the north bank.

He knew that Liu Bei was stationed there at this moment, also watching him.

He could even imagine that Liu Bei had a sarcastic sneer on his face, mocking him for falling into a diversionary tactic.

"Liu Bei, I really want to see with my own eyes what kind of angry and frustrated expression you will have when you find out that your sneakers were killed by my 30,000-strong army."

"Hahaha--"

Cao Cao laughed loudly, whipped his whip and shouted:

"Shoot the arrows for me and kill the enemy!

Above the Wei River, the arrows flew even faster.

...

Upstream direction.

Cao Zhen and Pang De were commanding an army of 30,000 and were galloping non-stop along the southern bank of the Wei River.

"Pang Lingming, tell your cavalry to slow down and not leave the infantry too far behind."

Seeing that the cavalry was too fast, Cao Zhen caught up with Pang De and reminded him.

Pang De ignored it and frowned:
"General Zidan, we can't be slow. We have to rush upstream as quickly as possible to avoid being landed by the Han army."

Cao Zhen sneered and said disapprovingly:
"Ling Ming, you worry too much. The Han army crossed the river by boat, not on foot. How could it be that fast?"

"I estimate that by the time we get there, there will be only about 3,000 Han soldiers who can reach the south bank. Wouldn't it be easy for me to destroy them with an army ten times larger than mine?"

Pound St.

I have to admit that Cao Zhen’s reminder makes sense.

The Han army wanted to cross the river quickly with its entire division, unless the Wei River froze like the last battle of Puban Pass, or the Yellow River froze, the Han army would have to walk on the ice to cross the river.

But the fact is, it is spring now, let alone ice, even the snow has melted, so it is impossible for the Wei River to freeze again.

Since there was no ice, the Han army had no choice but to cross the river by boat, and the efficiency and speed would certainly be limited.

Judging from their speed, by the time they got there, only three thousand Han soldiers at most would be able to land.

With an army of 30,000 and a ten-fold advantage in strength, wouldn't it be easy for them to wipe out the 3,000 enemy troops?

Pang De rolled his eyes and couldn't refuse what Cao Zhen said, so he had to order the cavalry to slow down so that the infantry could catch up.

When they were still several miles away from the crossing point, more than a dozen scouts came into view, running towards them in a panic.

Cao Zhen stopped his horse and ordered the team of scouts to come forward to find out the strength of the Han army.

"General Zidan, something terrible has happened. Thirty thousand Han troops have crossed the river and set up camp on the south bank!"

Cao Zhen's face turned pale with horror, and he looked stunned for a moment, as if he had seen a ghost.

Pang De's face also changed drastically. He also thought that he had misheard the scouts' report.

"How could the Han army have managed to get 30,000 troops across the Wei River in such a short time?"

"How dare you lie about military intelligence? I will kill you!" Cao Zhen turned from shock to anger. He drew his sword and shouted at the scouts.

"General, we have seen it with our own eyes. How dare we lie about military intelligence?"

"The Han army did not cross the river by boat. They built a floating bridge over the Wei River. They walked across the river."

pontoon?

Cao Zhen and Pang De were startled and looked at each other at the same time, their eyes were so shocked as if they had heard a fairy tale.

"Floating... floating bridge?"

"You mean to say that the Han army built a floating bridge on the Wei River?"

Cao Zhen's voice was already trembling, and most of his previous anger had dissipated.

"Yes, in less than half an hour, the Han army built a floating bridge on the Wei River with more than 40 ships."

"The Han army crossed the river by stepping on the bridge, so they were able to send 30,000 troops to the south bank so quickly."

Cao Zhen's head buzzed and his whole body froze on his horse, his face filled with endless disbelief.

Pang De woke up from his shock and shouted:
"I told you before that we had to hurry, but you just wouldn't listen."

"Cao Zidan, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get going!"

After Pang De finished speaking, he whipped his horse hard and rode away in a cloud of dust.

Cao Zhen suddenly woke up and shouted:
"Pass the order, all troops, speed up, quickly, quickly——"

Under the urging of the two of them, the 30,000 Qin infantry and cavalry rushed upstream regardless of everything.

at last.

With the horses so tired that they foamed at the mouth and the soldiers so exhausted that they were gasping for breath, the 30,000 Qin troops finally arrived at the crossing point 15 miles upstream from Weikou.

As expected, a camp had been built on the ground, the camp fence was erected, and the two layers of deer horns on the outside had been set up. The Han army even had enough time to dig a trench.

And on the Wei River, there was indeed a floating bridge that spanned the water and connected the north and south banks.

All 30,000 Han troops have crossed the river, but a large amount of military supplies and baggage are still flowing from the north bank to the south bank.

"Floating bridge. Did the big-eared thief really build a floating bridge on the Wei River?"

"This... this... this is unprecedented. How is this possible?"

Cao Zhen’s face turned pale as paper. He was stunned and at a loss for words.

The 30,000 Qin soldiers were also in an uproar and in great confusion.

"Damn it, Zhang Song miscalculated again!"

"Liu Bei did make a feint to the east and attack in the west, but he didn't want to cross the river by boat, he wanted to cross the river by building a floating bridge!"

"Zhang Song miscalculated and made a huge mistake!"

Pound, who was equally shocked, stamped his feet and complained.

Cao Zhen suddenly woke up, with anger also rising on his face, and he angrily scolded Zhang Song for being clever.

"General Zidan, now that things have come to this, there is no point in scolding Zhang Song."

"We should keep our troops in place for now and immediately send someone to ask His Majesty for instructions, asking His Majesty to dispatch more troops."

Pound was the first to regain his composure.

Cao Zhen took a few deep breaths and managed to regain some composure, his eyes racing as he thought about a strategy.

After a while.

Cao Zhen gritted his teeth and said sternly:

"Send a messenger back to the main camp at Weikou immediately to report the situation to Your Majesty."

"Pass on my order. All troops must line up and prepare to attack the enemy camp and drive the Han troops that have landed into the Wei River."

Pound was shocked.

If the Han army had only 3,000 soldiers, their army of 30,000, ten times the number of soldiers, could attack immediately and defeat the Han army in one go.

But the Han army landed with 30,000 troops!

Moreover, they have already set up the camp and prepared the antlers. If you still forcefully attack at this time, isn't that like banging your head against a wall?
"General Zidan, you need to calm down."

"The Han army is equal in strength to ours, and the camp has already been set up. Forcibly attacking at this time will only result in casualties!"

Pang De immediately tried to persuade Cao Zhen, hoping to remind him to face the reality and not to act impulsively.

Cao Zhen's face turned pale, and he said in a deep voice:
"Do you think I don't know what you are saying?"

"We have no choice. Liu Bei must be leading a large army and rushing towards us. If we don't attack immediately and drive the enemy down the Wei River, we will miss our last chance when Liu Bei leads his main force!"

"By then, even if His Majesty leads his army here, do you think we will still have a chance to attack the enemy camp?"

Pound was speechless.

Cao Zhen was right, they had no time.

Since Liu Bei had set up such a plan, he must have received the news that the bridge had been built and would soon lead his army here.

Liu Bei's troops were twice as large as those of the Qin army.

Even if Cao Cao and Liu Bei led their armies at the same time, Liu Bei would still have the advantage.

"General Cao's words make sense. If that's the case, then let's give it a try."

"At worst, I, Pang De, will fight to the death for Your Majesty!"

Pang De no longer hesitated, he clenched the long sword in his hand, and the hesitation on his face turned into determination as hard as iron.

Cao Zhen drew his sword and shouted:

"All troops, listen up! The survival of the Qin Dynasty is at stake. For the sake of the Qin Dynasty, I want you to break through the enemy camp at all costs!"

"We will never retreat until we drive the Han army down the Wei River!" (End of this chapter)