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

"What did you say? Say it again!"

Cao Xiu roared at his guards.

"General, there is a big fire at the camp on the back of the mountain, and there seems to be the sound of killing. The buckets we put down are all empty. The camp must have been discovered by the Han army!"

The guard cried out in a tearful voice.

Cao Xiu shuddered and jumped up. He didn't even bother to put on his clothes or armor and rushed forward with his bare chest.

"General, clothes, clothes~~"

The guards had no choice but to grab their robes and follow him out.

Cao Xiu, his clothes in disarray, trotted all the way to the southern cliff of the camp.

At this time, more than a thousand soldiers who were watching the excitement had gathered on the cliff. They were all awakened from their sleep and leaned their heads to look down.

"Go away!"

Cao Xiu pushed everyone away, rushed to the edge of the cliff, and stretched his neck to look down.

There was indeed a blazing fire at the foot of the cliff. Although blocked by the dense forest, the outlines of the soldiers fighting could still be vaguely seen in the firelight.

It was clear from the situation that the Han army had broken into the side camp and was setting it on fire.

Cao Xiu's heart skipped a beat and a layer of sweat instantly broke out on his back.

Looking at this situation, there is no doubt that the hidden water source has been discovered!

But the hidden water source was so secretive and protected by dense forests. How could the Han army detect it unless they had a keen eye?

"This is impossible, this is impossible--"

Cao Xiu muttered to himself and kept shaking his head.

He refused to accept the fact.

Accepting it means that the side camp has been breached, the hidden water source has been discovered, the water supply has been cut off, and the 7,000 soldiers have been cut off from drinking water. Within three days, they will...

Cao Xiu shuddered and dared not think any further.

The Qin soldiers who were crowded on both sides were now talking among themselves, and their morale was in chaos.

Cao Xiu took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and shouted loudly:
"Maybe it's just a fire in the side camp. Don't panic and lose your composure. Go back to sleep!"

The soldiers fell silent and dared not discuss any more.

With anxious speculation in their hearts, they were driven back into the tent by the generals.

Cao Xiu had no intention of sleeping. He squatted on the edge of the cliff and stared down, watching the ropes being lowered one by one, silently praying for a miracle to happen.

After holding out for half the night, the fire below was finally extinguished at daybreak, leaving only thick smoke.

"The rope is moving, the rope is moving!"

Suddenly a soldier screamed in surprise.

Cao Xiu, who was dozing off, suddenly jumped up. He looked around and saw that more than ten ropes on the cliff were moving.

Could it be that the soldiers below are filling the buckets with water?

Could it be that yesterday's fire was just a flood and was not discovered by the Han army?

Cao Xiu was overjoyed and shouted:
"What are you waiting for? Bring up the bucket quickly!"

The soldiers immediately perked up and quickly carried up more than ten buckets of water.

Cao Xiu and the surrounding soldiers widened their eyes and stared at the water buckets that came into view.

As long as there is water in the bucket, it means his guess is correct and last night was just a false alarm.

"Heads!"

Terrified screams sounded.

The soldiers watching changed color with horror, screamed in fear, and the scene was in chaos.

Cao Xiu's face froze again, and the hope in his eyes turned into despair in an instant.

The bucket was not filled with water, but——

Head!

A bucket full of bloody heads.

The heads of the Qin army soldiers in the side camp!
Cao Xiu took half a step back, and his whole body suddenly felt as if it had collapsed, enveloped by an unprecedented feeling of weakness.

It was a lucky miss.

Last night, the partial camp was indeed breached by the Han army, and the hidden water source was cut off by the Han army.

Ma Su specially sent up the heads of his soldiers in order to use these heads to tell the Qin army the cruel fact of water cut-off and to undermine their morale.

"Ma Su, you bastard, how did you find out my hidden water source?"

"Wang Ping, you useless thing, why couldn't you protect the water source?"

"You have harmed me and five thousand of my soldiers!" "If Jieting cannot be defended, you will be the culprit—"

Cao Xiu's face was ferocious and he gnashed his teeth. He was in endless grief, anger and hatred.

The tragic news that the camp was breached and the water supply was cut off quickly spread throughout the camp.

The five thousand Qin soldiers immediately fell into panic.

At this moment, in the Han camp at the bottom of the north slope.

Ma Su was slurping mutton soup, chewing Hu pancakes, and looking at the top of Nanping Mountain leisurely.

"Cao Xiu, you should have received the surprise I sent you by now."

Ma Su raised a sarcastic sneer at the corner of his mouth.

Just last night, he personally led 8,000 elite soldiers into the woods and launched a surprise attack on the Qin camp.

Although Wang Ping was a talented general, the Qin army had too few soldiers and the remote camp had no strategic location to defend.

As expected, the Han army resolved the battle within half an hour and annihilated most of the Qin army. Wang Ping only had less than two hundred people breaking through.

Ma Su then gave the order to burn down the Qin army's side camp, so that Cao Xiu and his 5,000 soldiers on the mountain would know the bad news that their water supply had been cut off.

This is not enough.

Before returning to the camp, Ma Su had another idea. He ordered the heads of the Qin soldiers to be placed in a wooden barrel and have Cao Xiu carry it to the top of the mountain in order to shock the 5,000 Qin soldiers.

If you listen carefully at this moment, you can hear the faint cries of Qin soldiers in fear coming from Nanping Mountain.

Ma Su knew that the Qin army had already learned that the water source had been cut off and they were about to die of thirst on the top of the mountain.

"We need to add more fuel to the fire."

Ma Su drank the mutton soup in his bowl in one gulp, waved his hand and said:

"Pass the order down, burn the mountain!"

When the order was given, the Han soldiers who had already taken their positions immediately lit torches and threw them at the bundles of firewood piled up around the mountain.

In a blink of an eye, fire broke out all around Nanping Mountain and thick smoke rose into the sky.

In less than half an hour, the entire Qin camp on the top of Nanping Mountain was shrouded in pungent smoke.

This was the second surprise Ma Su prepared for Cao Xiu.

It would be too slow to just cut off the water supply and let the Qin army die of thirst. He wanted to shorten the time to capture Jieting as much as possible to reduce the pressure on Zhang He.

Then add fuel to the fire for Cao Xiu!

First we'll cut off your water supply, so that you'll be thirsty to the point of being unbearable, and then we'll set fire to the mountains around you to roast and smoke you, making your situation even worse.

Ma Su and his 20,000 Han soldiers drank mutton soup, chewed Hu cakes, and admired the grand spectacle of "roasting the Qin army" with a sarcastic mood.

In the blink of an eye, it was already three days later.

For three days, the Qin army had not had a drop of water, and everyone was so thirsty that they felt dizzy, had dry mouths and tongues.

The heavy smoke and fire made their throats hurt and even their breathing seemed to be breathing fire.

Five thousand Qin soldiers were plunged into the most painful torture of their lives, and their morale and fighting spirit had fallen to the bottom.

"General Wenlie, break out! The soldiers can't hold on any longer!"

"Yes, if we keep holding on like this, all five thousand of our soldiers will die of suffocation and thirst on this mountain!"

"We can't defend Jieting anymore. Breaking out to save our lives is the best strategy."

"While the soldiers are still breathing, let's rush down the mountain with all our might. Maybe we can find a way out!"

"General Wen Lie, we beg you to give us a way out!"

The deputy generals knelt in front of Cao Xiu, begging with desperate cries on their faces.

Cao Xiu's throat was smoking, his fists were clenched, his teeth were gnashing, and his face was twisted into a hideous expression of grief, anger and unwillingness.

Recalling the scene of patting his chest and making boasts to Cao Cao, Cao Xiu felt endless shame.

If I break out and escape like this, even if I manage to survive, how can I face Cao Cao?
With the loss of Jieting and the Longshan defense line becoming useless, how could the Qin Dynasty still protect Longxi and Liangzhou?
Didn't he, Cao Xiu, become a sinner of the Cao family and the Qin Dynasty?

"General Wenlie, it's not your fault that Jieting was lost. It was all because of Wang Ping's incompetence and failure to protect the water source!"

I don’t know who saw Cao Xiu’s concerns and suddenly paved this way.

Cao Xiu was shocked and his shame immediately turned into anger.

"Yes, my choice was correct. It was Wang Ping who was incompetent and failed to protect the water source!"

"The loss of Jieting is not my fault, it's all Wang Ping's fault!"

"I can't die here. I have to keep my body useful and fight for Daqin..."

Cao Xiu's worries disappeared, he immediately drew his sword and shouted:
"All troops, listen up! Follow me and charge down the north slope and carve out a bloody path!" (End of this chapter)