The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 272 Bluffing
Cao Zhen was awakened early in the morning by the sound of stone cannons smashing the city.

The earth-shattering sound was particularly jarring in the early morning.

This wasn't the first time Cao Zhen had heard such a commotion.

Listening for a moment in the tent, the sound seemed closer than last time.

So he immediately got out of bed.

However, by the time he finally got dressed and arrived at the gate to look around, the cannon fire had already stopped.

The scouts quickly reported that the enemy had once again finished after only three volleys of projectile fire.

Again, more "manifesto" were launched than stone balls.

Cao Zhen was not surprised.

He was more concerned about why the sound seemed closer today than last time.

After some investigation and questioning, it was actually the two gatekeepers of Anmen and Xi'anmen in the city who provided the most reliable explanation.

It turns out that because the wind was blowing from the southeast this morning, and it was quite strong, many of the stones and wooden projectiles that the enemy was aiming at from the direction of Anmen landed near Xi'anmen.

The latter, in particular, is more easily deflected by the wind because it is so light.

It is said that even in the "Cangchi" pond located at the Xi'an Gate, which belongs to the Weiyang Palace, many floating wooden bullets were found.

Cao Zhen's military camp was located in the western suburbs of Chang'an.

It naturally sounds closer than last time.

"It was just a bluff after all!"

Cao Zhen scoffed coldly, looked up at the rising spring sun, and his spirits suddenly lifted.

As the saying goes, the wind fanned the flames.

Strong winds followed by sunny days.

Nothing is more suitable for murder and arson than this.

Wei Yan left yesterday.

If we don't act today, when will we?

A moment later, the gates of the military camp were opened wide.

A large number of Wei cavalrymen filed out and quickly split into three groups on the flat ground.

One of the vehicles went straight out and charged at the front of the artillery formation, targeting those that had not yet been withdrawn or dismantled.

This was intended to draw the attention of some of the Han army.

One of them headed in the opposite direction to the northern suburbs of Chang'an.

Using the city walls as cover, they bypassed the artillery formation and moved to the former site of the Han Dynasty's Three Yongs, where Liu Bei's central army was located, thereby further diverting the Han army's defensive forces.

As for Cao Zhen himself, he personally commanded the remaining troops, slowly following behind the first cavalry unit.

Using the cover of the front, seize the opportunity to flank to the south of the artillery position, break through as quickly as possible, and ignite the fire.

The reason for choosing this breakthrough direction.

First, the relative positions of the enemy's and our own camps and troops were taken into account.

Secondly, it takes into account the basic common sense that one cannot start a fire against the wind.

In short, the arrow has been shot, and there is no turning back.

The Han army reacted quickly as soon as the Wei army started to move in their camp.

When Cao Zhen left the camp, he even vaguely saw Han scouts hurrying westward.

It seems they intend to notify Wei Yan's troops who are going to rescue Hu County.

Cao Zhen urged all his troops to speed up their work.

We must completely burn down the Han army's artillery formation before Wei Yan returns.

Soon, the vanguard cavalry clashed with a Han army unit that had come out of the camp to fight.

The general leading the troops was carrying a flag bearing the character "Feng".

It should be Feng Xi, who served as the "leader" in Liu Bei's central army.

Before this battle, Cao Zhen had never heard of this person's name.

Ignoring them for the moment, and taking advantage of the fact that the vanguard had already entangled the Han army's front troops, they quickly bypassed the two "lumps" of cavalry and continued south.

Thus, they barely made it south to the vicinity of the Kunming Canal (Cao Canal) in the southern suburbs of Chang'an.

Just then, they saw that the cavalry that had circled around to the east of Chang'an had also engaged the Han army in battle.

Therefore, Cao Zhen quickly left the canal and headed north to return.

The attack formation was deployed in a matter of moments.

At this moment, there were still defenders on the south side of the Han army's artillery formation in front of him.

However, the quantity is significantly less than before.

The garrison commanders were only two nameless men, surnamed Jiang and Deng respectively.

What else could Cao Zhen be hesitating about?
Spur your horse onward and charge forward!
In an instant, about two or three thousand of the most elite Wei cavalry from Guanzhong, under the personal command of Cao Zhen, fiercely broke through the Han army's weak defenses.

As expected, the Han army only held out for a short while before Cao Zhen broke through, completely exposing the artillery formation behind them.

However, this does not mean that Cao Zhen can destroy the artillery immediately.

Because when the Han army was deploying its forces, it surrounded the area with a large number of deer antlers, chevaux-de-frise, and other weapons in all four directions.

What's even more appalling is that the Han army had luxuriously covered these wooden objects, which were essentially just obstacles, with animal fur.

It seems that the Han army spared no expense in preventing fires.

It can only be said that since the Shu bandits seized Hexi, their resources in this area have become no less than those of the Great Wei. After a moment of silent contemplation, Cao Zhen ordered his men to clear the roads as quickly as possible.

Taking advantage of the break, he looked around.

In the northwest, the first force to set out had become completely entangled with the Han army, and the two sides were locked in a fierce and unbreakable conflict.

However, compared to the northeast, the commotion here is relatively minor.

The latter is precisely in the direction where Liu Bei's headquarters are located.

At this point, it was neither the Wei army responsible for containing Liu Bei nor the Han army responsible for protecting him.

They were all caught up in a state of extreme frenzy.

The Wei army responsible for the feint attack, seeing the enemy's imperial banner so close, completely forgot their original mission of diverting enemy attention.

They charged forward recklessly, determined to seize an unparalleled achievement.

This was exactly what Cao Zhen had expected.

The Han army was even more outstanding.

The emperor and the prime minister were right behind him.

If you're not fighting to the death now, is it because you think the battle merits are too hard to earn, or are you planning to go back to the mountains and live like a wild man?

This was also within Cao Zhen's expectations.

The only thing that surprised him was that the two nameless generals, surnamed Jiang and Deng, did not collapse after their defeat.

Instead, they actively rallied the defeated troops behind him and regrouped.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

The road ahead has been cleared.

Now no one can stop him from burning down this artillery formation.

Before restarting, Cao Zhen subconsciously looked westward.

A large number of Han scouts are rushing in that direction.

Perhaps because of the southeast wind today, the riders were able to run at an astonishing speed thanks to the wind.

They disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Wei Yan's banners and troops were nowhere to be seen.

God helps me too!

Guo Huai has not let me down!
The rise and fall of the Cao family hinges on this battle!
Cao Zhen laughed three times, then spurred his horse forward.

A moment later, he had already stepped onto the earthen platform where the artillery formation was located.

What comes into view is a dense array of wooden frames.

It's really dense.

Between the cannons, there was only a narrow passage for three or four people to walk side by side.

However, considering that there are hundreds of these wooden frames, and that there are also piles of spare timber and ropes next to them.

That's understandable.

After all, this square earthen platform is only a little over a hundred feet long and wide, and its space is limited.

By this time, Cao Zhen's troops had completely surrounded the earthen platform.

Without Cao Zhen giving an order, everyone tacitly took out flints, lit dry straw, and then scattered them among the cannons.

In order to ignite the covered wooden frame as much as possible, some Wei soldiers also threw lamp oil they brought onto the wood and ropes.

This undoubtedly greatly increased the efficiency of arson.

However, a moment later, the entire earthen platform turned into a sea of ​​fire.

The fire was so intense that it even ignited the outer antlers and wooden fences, and then quickly spread to the entire western camp of the Han army.

Many Wei soldiers who had penetrated deep into the artillery formation were instantly engulfed by the rising flames because they did not evacuate in time.

Even Cao Zhen's mount had its tail singed by the flames, causing it to gallop wildly for quite a distance, almost throwing Cao Zhen to the ground.

Something is wrong!
Something's wrong with this fire!

Cao Zhen finally managed to subdue the frightened warhorse.

Turning around, I saw that the fire was spreading at an unbelievable speed, far exceeding previous expectations.

East, South, West, North.

The fire spread rapidly in every direction.

Even if the southeast wind doesn't blow today, it won't stop this fire from raging wildly.

It was as if the artillery array painstakingly built by the Han army was originally prepared for Cao Zhen, waiting for him to come and set it on fire.

Cao Zhen felt somewhat confused for a moment.

What exactly caused this fire?

"General, look at this!"

A junior officer came running up, covered in dust and dirt, holding a piece of torn "cowhide" in his hands.

The leather was shiny and gleaming, shining brightly under the combined light of the sun and fire.

There was also a faint, strange smell of oil soaking.

The strange smell, mixed with the burnt smell of the warhorse's tail behind him, entered his nostrils at the same time.

In an instant, Cao Zhen's eyes widened like copper bells.

(End of this chapter)