Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 860 Battle of Yuzhou
The lands of Jing and Yang were ravaged by war, and the states of Yu and Xu were also caught up in the chaos of fighting.

In Runan County, Yuzhou, somewhere in the northeast, three armies were in a stalemate, and for a while, the fighting was fierce.

Cao Cao personally commanded an army of 150,000, divided into several camps and led by various generals, some attacking from all sides, some retreating to defend. Despite such a large-scale war, the coordination between the various units of Cao's army was extremely tacit, and there was no delay or confusion at all.

Needless to say, the other two parties in the battle were Zhang Yong and Gao Shun. Each of them led 100,000 troops and launched an offensive against Cao's army from two directions.

Even though his troops were at a disadvantage, Cao Cao stood on a hillside, calm and composed.

Xi Zhong came over from a distance and said, "My lord, General Cai Mao's battle report has been delivered."

Cao Cao was calm and didn't even turn his head. He just stared at the battle ahead and asked, "How is it going? Have you taken Yuzhang County?"

When talking, it seems as if everything is taken for granted.

Xi Zhong looked a little embarrassed and hesitated for a moment. Cao Cao noticed something was wrong and turned to look at him.

"What? Has the situation changed?"

"This... My Lord, Cai Mao's 15,000 naval forces were defeated by the Jiangdong troops and returned with less than 6,000 men left..."

"What?" Cao Cao yelled in shock and anger.

"How can Jiangdong's mere two or three thousand newly trained naval forces resist my 15,000-man fleet? Could it be... that Liu Yao from Yangzhou sent troops to help?"

He started to speculate on his own, but as soon as he finished speaking, he denied it.

"No, Liu Yao is a coward by nature. Although he has tens of thousands of soldiers and six or seven thousand naval forces under his command, he has little experience in war and has no generals to lead him. Even if he comes to help Sun Jian, he is no match for Cai Mao."

Xi Zhong was even more embarrassed now. "My Lord, no one helped Sun Jian. It was... a young man under his command named Zhou Yu and the veteran general Han Dang from Jiangdong. They teamed up and first sent more than ten teams of scouts to attract our army to chase and kill them. After leading them into a tributary river, they ambushed and killed them. Then they set up hidden stakes to block our navy ships. When our army went underwater to clean up the hidden stakes, Zhou Yu bribed the Jinfan thief Gan Ning to come and attack and kill them."

"Oh? Although Han Dang is somewhat brave and resourceful, he definitely does not have such wisdom and strategy. Could it be that Zhou Yu, a mere junior, has such wisdom and strategy?"

Cao Cao was very surprised.

"But even so, the Jinfan bandits only have a few hundred men, and they can't kill our army so badly."

"My lord, you are right. Our army quickly forced Gan Ning to retreat and entered Pengli Lake. However, there was no one in Chaisang City and the water fort outside the city. General Cai Mao led his troops to station in three places to support each other. We are going to rest for one night before making further plans."

Cao Cao nodded and said, "Cai Mao is indeed familiar with the art of war. If we rashly concentrate our forces in an empty city without knowing the enemy's strength, and encounter a fire attack or an ambush, then everything will be over. But if that's the case, how could he suffer such a great defeat?"

Guo Jia seemed to have some guesses, and said, "If I am right, the key to the enemy's strategy is not the empty city and the empty fort itself, but some of the objects in it are the reason for such a disastrous defeat in this battle, right?"

Xi Zhong exclaimed, "Feng Xiao is indeed extremely intelligent. Yes, that's right. Eighty thousand shi of grain are stored in Chaisang City and the water fort, and all of them are new grains harvested last year. There are also thousands of sets of military equipment and hundreds of jars of fine wine. In addition, there are also many gold, silver, jade, antiques and paintings. These treasures and grain are scattered everywhere. Cai Mao asked the people in the city and found out that the Jiangdong troops did evacuate in a hurry. Therefore, he believed it without a doubt. After packing up the treasures, he gave the soldiers a meal with the captured grain that night." Hearing this, Cao Cao, Cheng Yu and others also guessed what would happen next.

"It seems that Zhou Yu's trick lies in this food."

"My lord, your guess is correct. The grain was mixed with... mixed with croton seeds..."

When Xizhong said this, he couldn't help but imagine the disgusting scene, and his throat felt dry and retching.

Cao Cao and others were so shocked and surprised when they heard this that their eyelids began to tremble.

"Ba... Badou? Zhou Yu is truly a shameless person, using such a despicable trick."

Cheng Yu always regarded himself as a noble man and a model of scholars. He even complained to Cao Cao about Guo Jia's daily unruly behavior, not to mention that Zhou Yu was his enemy.

Cao Cao was silent for a while, but suddenly he sneered: "Hehe...hehe...good, very good. I never thought that I had been planning for a long time and had laid out such a grand plan. I thought the land of Yangzhou would be easily within my grasp, but I didn't expect to lose it to a brat."

Everyone knew Cao Cao's character very well, and they knew that the more he acted like this, the angrier he was.

Cheng Yu said: "My lord, although we lost the battle of Yangzhou, it is not very important to the overall situation of our army. As long as we win the battles of Yu and Xu, your power will be enough to compete with Liu He, or even surpass him. Then it will be a piece of cake to return and take Yangzhou."

After he said this, Cao Cao's expression eased a little.

"How's Liu Bei doing?"

Xi Zhong hurriedly replied, "As the lord expected, Liu Bei, under the guidance of Tian Feng, abandoned Pei County and marched directly northeast from Zhuyi County to attack Pengcheng. General Cao Ren pretended to attack Donghai County, but actually secretly crossed Chencang and returned to Pengcheng, where he stopped the battle on the city wall. After Liu Bei attacked the city, he easily succeeded and happily entered the city, but was ambushed by General Cao Ren. Fortunately, Zhang Fei arrived in time and rescued Liu Bei, otherwise he could have saved his head."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and said, "I have seen Zhang Fei's bravery in front of Hulao Pass. He had just joined the battlefield and had no experience, but he was able to fight against Lu Bu, who was a veteran and known as the world's best general. Now he has been in Shangdang, Donglai, and Xuzhou. He has experienced hundreds of battles and his martial arts must be even better than before. Cao Ren is no match for him. It was expected that Liu Bei would be rescued. I have ordered Cao Ren, Li Dian, and Yu Jin to continue to act according to the plan and not make any mistakes."

"Here."

"Report... Report to the lord. The enemy's Golden Sword Battalion and Han Wuzu have already set out. Our front troops are having trouble with the defense and are being defeated."

Listening to the soldier's report, Cao Cao just smiled.

"It's the third day of fierce fighting. Zhang Yong and Gao Shun have finally used their trump cards. Well, I have been preparing for a long time, spending countless efforts and money to complete the secret weapon. Today it is time to see the light of day."

Standing on the hillside and looking into the distance, he saw the Golden Sword Camp and the Han Wu soldiers, lined up in neat array, advancing slowly and cautiously. They were invincible and hard to resist.

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Order Dian Wei and other generals to prepare for the attack."

(End of this chapter)