The Three Kingdoms Fight for the Deer

Chapter 279 Taking Xinye
"No," Huang Zhong shook his head, "Shiyuan went to check the situation just now, and it is expected that Wenpin has given up guarding Xinye and led his troops back to Xiangyang, so we can take the opportunity to take Xinye in one fell swoop."

"Mr. Pang, how do you know that Wenpin has left?" Everyone looked at Pang Tong.

Pang Tong repeated the explanation just now, and everyone was skeptical after listening to it. Although he did not deny Pang Tong's idea, he also felt that Wenpin was unlikely to withdraw. After all, the strategy they formulated was to wait for Li Yuan to break through Jiangxia and attack In Xiangyang, Liu Biao called back troops from all over the country before attacking Xinye, but now it has only been more than 20 days, how could Li Yuan break through Jiangxia so quickly.

"Everyone, I'm as confused as you are, but I still decided to send a troop to the top of the city to check the situation. If there is really no one guarding the city before letting the army attack the city, who of you would like to go there?" Huang Zhong looked at the generals.

"Let me go." Guan Hai and Zhou Cang came out at the same time. Although they knew that this operation was very dangerous, they were eager to perform, so they were willing to take risks no matter how dangerous it was.

"Okay, Guanhai Zhoucang, I order you to lead [-] soldiers to use the ladder to climb up to the top of the city to check the situation. If there are no soldiers on the city, the guards will notify us with a rocket. If there are enemy soldiers, retreat immediately. Be careful. " Huang Zhong exhorted.

"Decree!" Guan Hai and Zhou Cang took the order and left.

Guan Hai and Zhou Cang led [-] soldiers out of the camp without lighting a torch. They walked slowly under the light of the moon. Although Wen Pin was probably no longer in the city, they still did not dare to be careless. People on the road will be shot into a hornet's nest immediately if they find out.

The people came to the city with great difficulty, Guan Hai immediately ordered three ladders to be set up, and when the ladders leaned against the city wall, there was a lot of noise, but there was still no movement on the city, Guan Hai and Zhou Cang breathed a sigh of relief , decided to climb up to see for himself.

Both Guan Hai and Zhou Cang climbed the ladder very fast, and the soldiers below couldn't keep up with their speed. They both came to the top almost at the same time.

When Zhou Cang climbed to the top, he looked inside and saw many black shadows, which made him a little nervous, but after watching for a while, he found that these black shadows were motionless, as if they were dead. Hai, Guan Hai was very courageous and had already jumped from the ladder to the city wall. Zhou Cang jumped down after seeing this.

Guan Hai and Zhou Cang slowly approached those shadows, and when they approached, they realized that the shadows were really just scarecrows, which were used by Wen Pin as a cover, and Pang Tong guessed it right.

Seeing this, Zhou Cang immediately looked around and found that there were no soldiers, and all the people standing in the city were scarecrows. No wonder the torches here were not very bright. He immediately lit an arrow and shot it into the air.

Huang Zhong, who was not far from the city, had led his soldiers and horses ready to attack the city at any time. When he saw the rockets shooting from the city wall, he immediately ordered the attack.

In fact, there was no need to attack at all. Guan Hai and Zhou Cang's soldiers and horses climbed up and immediately opened the city gate to welcome Huang Zhong's army into the city.

After Huang Zhong entered the city, he led his troops to occupy the prefect's mansion, but there was still no one in the prefect's mansion. It seemed that Wenpin had already retreated for an hour or two. Even if he went to pursue it, he was unlikely to catch up, so he gave up this idea.

"Shiyuan really predicted things like a god, and Wenpin really retreated. It seems that the lord should have broken through Jiangxia and is marching towards Xiangyang." Huang Zhong admired Pang Tong more and more, and the rest of the generals also looked at Pang Tong with admiration.

"General Huang Liao praised, but I don't know what method my lord used to attack Jiangxia so quickly." Although Pang Tong knew that Li Yuan would definitely attack Jiangxia, he didn't expect to be defeated so quickly. He didn't know whether it was because they were too strong or Liu Biao too weak.

"Shi Yuan doesn't know something. This time the lord attacked Jiang Xia and brought the thunder chariot with him. With the assistance of the thunder chariot, it is possible to be able to attack Jiangxia so quickly." Huang Zhong guessed that Li Yuan must have used the thunder chariot.

"Thunder Car? What is this?" Pang Tong had never heard of a Thunder Car.

"This is a kind of siege equipment that can shoot stone bullets. It is very powerful. Our army will manufacture it in large quantities in the future, and we can use it at that time." In fact, Huang Zhong has never seen it with his own eyes, but only heard about it from Li Yuan. Just pass.

"It turns out that with such a powerful siege weapon, it's no wonder they were able to break through Jiang Xia so quickly." Pang Tong nodded as if realizing something.

"General Huang, since we have captured Xinye, should we continue to attack Xiangyang?" Liao Hua asked.

"Shiyuan, what do you think?" Huang Zhong asked for Pang Tong's opinion.

"Everyone, if you want to attack Xiangyang, you have to cross the Han River first. Without warships, it will be difficult for us to cross the river. Moreover, Liu Biao has already recalled Xinye's soldiers and horses. Presumably he has already deployed defenses on the river, so it is even more difficult for us to cross the river. Pang Tong lowered his head and said in thought, "Anyway, Xinye is very close to Xiangyang. We don't need to rush across the river. We should send someone to inform the lord first. If I predict correctly, the lord's army should be stationed by the Han River."

"After defeating Jiangxia, my lord, don't you attack Xiangyang by water?" Huang Zhong couldn't help asking, because it is obviously much faster to go by water than by land.

"If there is a navy under cover, my lord will take the water route, but I got news not long ago that the lord has sent Gan Ning to lead the navy to attack Jiangling, so I will not take the water route again. After all, the only one who is familiar with water warfare is General Gan Ning, my lord. We should be going by land now, passing through Anlu County, Sui County and then heading towards Xiangyang, and then set up camp on the banks of the Han River."

In fact, Pang Tong's guess was very correct. This is how Li Yuan marched. It is amazing to be able to think of Li Yuan's marching route with just a clue.

"In this case, let's send someone to inform the lord first, and then wait for the lord's reply in Xinye." Huang Zhong followed Pang Tong's suggestion.

More than ten days later, Li Yuan's army appeared on the banks of the Han River. They captured Anlu County and Sui County without much effort. Yuan is very happy that everything is going as planned.

Li Yuan deliberately slowed down the marching speed along the way, in order to allow Liu Biao time to recall the soldiers and horses from various places, and he also asked Yu Jin to transport a large number of warships from the Lujiang River, posing as if he was about to cross the river.

However, Liu Biao did not withdraw the defenses on the Han River. He also placed hundreds of warships by the river, among which the number of warships was the largest, and there were many warships. It seems that Liu Biao is not stupid, he knows that his troops are familiar with water warfare , had an advantage in water warfare, so many warships were deployed on the river as interceptors to prevent Li Yuan's army from crossing the river.

(End of this chapter)