My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 157: Five thousand versus eight hundred, the advantage is mine! Attack Ruxukou and let you taste the power of the Queyue Formation!
Eight hundred people, blocking the charge of five thousand Cao's cavalry?
Liu Bei's eyes widened, and everyone's faces flashed with surprise.

If these words had not come from Xiao He, but from someone else, everyone present would have thought he was joking.

Those are five thousand cavalrymen, not five thousand pigs.

Even if there were five thousand pigs rushing towards you, you wouldn’t be able to stop them with just eight hundred people!

"In the battle of Jieqiao that year, Ju Yi led an army of 800 men and defeated our Baima Yicong."

"But those vanguard troops were the world's elite. Since Ju Yi was killed by Yuan Shao, there have been no such elite troops in the world."

"Military Advisor Bo Wen, what kind of magical formation is this? How could it be so powerful?"

Zhao Yun recalled the terror of the vanguard army and was the first to recover from his shock. He asked with curiosity in his eyes.

Liu Bei came to his senses, his face full of surprise and joy, and he hurriedly asked:
"I wonder what kind of unique formation the military advisor created, how could eight hundred men hold off five thousand enemy cavalry?"

Fa Zheng, Guan Yu, Gan Ning and others were all very curious and looked at Xiao He.

Xiao He stood up, picked up a bamboo stick, squatted on the ground and started painting.

"My formation requires chariots, spears, crossbows, cavalry, warships..."

In the next quarter of an hour, Xiao He described in detail how to arrange the formation, what types of troops were needed, how to cooperate with each other, how to resist the enemy in battle, etc.

The surprise and doubt in Liu Bei and everyone's eyes gradually disappeared, and they gradually understood the mystery. The surprise and curiosity on their faces began to be replaced by joy and admiration.

"There are generally three types of cavalry tactics: one is a frontal charge, one is a flanking attack, and one is a cavalry archery attack."

"Military Advisor Bo Wen's formation, leveraging the strategic location of the Yangtze River, is truly an impenetrable fortress, rendering all three enemy cavalry tactics ineffective."

"My lord, I believe that this formation of the military advisor can indeed restrain Cao's cavalry!"

Zhao Yun's brows were burning with excitement, and he was the first to point out the exquisiteness of Xiao He's formation.

Zhao Yun was born in the Baima Yicong, and his best skill was commanding cavalry, so his evaluation was naturally the most convincing.

Liu Bei jumped up and stared at the formation diagram drawn by Xiao He on the ground. He savored what Zhao Yun said and became more and more excited.

Suddenly he laughed loudly, looked at Xiao He with an impressed look, and praised him:

"Military Advisor Bowen, I didn't expect you to have such attainments in battle formations. You've truly given us another surprise today!"

Guan Yu, who was standing aside, stroked his beautiful beard and smiled:

"Bo Wen has always been a man of few talents, so it's no surprise that he's proficient in formations. I just wonder how many more abilities he possesses that we don't even know about."

As the future father-in-law, the bearded man couldn't help but praise his future son-in-law in front of everyone.

Xiao He felt a little embarrassed after being flattered by his boss and father-in-law.

So he stood up, clapped his hands, and said:
"These eight hundred soldiers must be elite warriors, and all of them must be proficient in bows and crossbows. The commander must also be a skilled archer."

"My lord, I believe that General Han Sheng and his Changsha soldiers are the most suitable candidates."

"As for the subsequent cavalry that will land, it must be Zilong."

"As for the navy and warships, we have to rely on General Yunchang."

The candidates for Xiao Helian and Lian Tongjun were both taken into consideration.

Huang Zhong's spirits lifted, and without waiting for Liu Bei to express his opinion, he said:

"My lord, I am willing to lead 800 Changsha soldiers to attack Ruxukou and defeat Cao's army!"

Zhao Yun and Guan Yu also gladly volunteered to fight.

The person recommended by Xiao He would naturally not be wrong.

Liu Bei smiled proudly and waved his hand, saying:
"In that case, Han Sheng, you must immediately select eight hundred skilled archers, prepare the chariots and other necessary weapons for the battle formation, and secretly practice the battle formation created by the military advisor!"

Huang Zhong accepted the order with great enthusiasm.

The plan to capture Ruxukou was thus decided.

While Liu Bei ordered Huang Zhong to make preparations secretly, he also ordered the imprisoned Cao Xiu to be quickly escorted to the front line in Moling.

A few days later, Cao Xiu took Liu Bei's declaration of war, crossed the river by boat, and headed for Cao's camp on the north bank.

...

Cao’s camp at Ruxukou.

More than 4,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry arrived a day ago and joined forces with Zhang Liao and Xu Huang's army.

Inside the Chinese military tent.

"What? Zhou Yu actually launched a mutiny, seized Moling City, and even helped Sun Ce's son ascend to the throne?"

Cao Chun and Cao Zhang, uncle and nephew, were shocked when they heard the news of the dramatic changes in Jiangdong from Xu Huang.

"According to Sun Quan's messenger, Zhou Yu rebelled against the Prime Minister's surrender and launched a mutiny to support the young Sun Shao to seize the throne."

"However, Sun Quan escaped Moling in time and still controls Wu and Kuaiji counties. Zhou Yu and Sun Shao are now besieged in Moling City by Liu Bei's 70,000-man army."

"The current situation in Jiangdong is that it is divided among three factions: Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and Sun Shao and Zhou Yu."

Xu Huang pointed at the map and explained the changes in the situation in Jiangdong one by one.

Cao Chun couldn't help but frown slightly. He had not expected this situation before.

According to Cao Cao's prior instructions, after the three armies joined forces, they should cross the river first to take over the defense of Jiangdong, block Liu Bei's army west of Zheqi Pass, and wait for the main force led by Cao Cao to arrive.

At that time, Jiangdong was in his hands, Cao Cao had hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the north, and both the north and south banks were occupied by Cao's army. How could Liu Bei dare not retreat?

But who would have thought that at this critical juncture, the people of Jiangdong would actually have an internal conflict, and their family fortune, which was already on the verge of being lost, was split into two.

What’s even more terrible is that Zheqi Pass was lost and Liu Bei had already surrounded Moling.

This is a difficult matter to handle.

This means that if their army wants to cross the river, they must first break through the blockade of Liu Bei's navy.

"We don't care whether Jiangdong is divided into three or four parts. The big-eared thief has not yet conquered Moling. We will cross the river with more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry and cut off his retreat!"

Cao Zhang didn't think too much about it and shouted arrogantly.

Zhang Liao and Xu Huang looked at each other secretly, their lips curled up slightly, but they didn't say a word.

The third son of the Cao family is obviously a fearless young man, a little conceited in character, and acts somewhat rashly.

But because he was Cao Cao's son, they, as ministers of other surnames, naturally couldn't say anything.

"Ziwen, that's not how you calculate the account."

"Liu Bei has the advantage in naval forces. If our army rushes across the river, it will be easily intercepted by Guan Yu's navy."

"Besides, our army only has 20,000 men. We don't have an advantage over the big-eared bandits in terms of manpower. We must leave enough troops on the north bank. The troops crossing the river will only be 7,000 to 8,000 at most."

"With such a force, even if we force our way across the river, we might not be able to accomplish anything. Instead, we might be surrounded and annihilated by Liu Bei's superior forces."

Cao Chun, his uncle, taught Cao Zhang a lesson.

After all, he had participated in the Battle of Fancheng and witnessed with his own eyes the destruction of the Yujin Navy by Guan Yu. Naturally, he had learned his lesson and was well aware of the importance of the navy in the Jingyang area.

Cao Zhang seemed to understand something, but he frowned and said:
"Then what should we do? Can we just station our troops on the north bank, gaze at the river, and wait for father to arrive with his army?"

Cao Chun was unable to make a decision and looked at Zhang Liao.

As the current number one general outside the Cao family, Cao Chun was deeply convinced of Zhang Liao's military talent and judgment.

Zhang Liao pondered for a long time and said:

"Guan Yu's navy has completely dominated the Yangtze River. As General Zihe said, with our current strength, it would be unwise to force a crossing. We can only wait for the Prime Minister..."

The words have not yet fallen.

Suddenly, a personal guard rushed into the tent and shouted excitedly:
"Generals, General Cao Wenlie is back!"

Cao Wenlie…Cao Xiu?
Everyone in the tent was stunned, and their brains were unable to process what was happening for a moment.

Wasn’t Cao Xiu captured by Liu Bei in the Battle of Fancheng and has been imprisoned in Jingzhou ever since, with his life or death unknown?

Just when everyone was confused, the curtain was lifted, and a young general with a weathered face rushed in with excitement on his face.

Cao Chun, Cao Zhang, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Li Dian...

Everyone stared with their eyes wide open, thinking they were seeing things.

The person in front of him was Cao Xiu, who had been captured for many years!

The next moment, everyone came to their senses, and were immediately overjoyed. They swarmed forward to surround Cao Xiu.

Everyone was naturally overjoyed to see their relatives reunited and old colleagues meet again.

Cao Xiu cried with joy and was choked with sobs.

After a series of sentimental scenes, the atmosphere in the tent gradually calmed down.

Cao Chun then remembered to ask Cao Xiu, why did he appear at Ruxukou when he was clearly imprisoned by Liu Bei?

Cao Xiu wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, hatred burning on his face. He took out the declaration of war from his arms and explained the whole cause and effect to everyone.

Everyone's expressions were shocked.

Cao Zhang's eyes lit up and he shouted excitedly:

"The Big Eared Thief actually challenged us. This is a godsend opportunity."

"Let's let that big-eared thief cross the river, and attack him while he's still trying to gain a firm foothold. We'll surely inflict heavy damage on the enemy."

"Even if we don't seize the opportunity to cross the river, we can still severely damage Liu Bei's military morale, avenge the defeat at Fancheng, and even avenge Uncle Zilian!"

Revenge for Cao Hong is secondary.

The key point is that he was eager to fight and wanted to use a military achievement to prove to Cao Cao that it was right for him to abandon literature and martial arts. Naturally, he was eager to fight.

Murderous intent suddenly ignited in Cao Chun's eyes, and the fire of revenge in his heart was immediately ignited by his eldest nephew's words.

The shame of the disastrous defeat at Fancheng, the revenge of the murder of his brother Cao Hong...

He kept these two things and two hatreds in mind, and always wanted to take revenge on Liu Bei.

Now that Liu Bei has come to his door, he has given up his naval advantage and is trying to land and fight them on land. The God-given opportunity for revenge is right in front of him. How can Cao Chun not be tempted by it?

"Wenyuan, Gongming, what do you think?"

Cao Chun did not have the power to control the generals, so it was not easy for him to make a decision on his own. He still had to seek the opinions of Zhang Liao and Xu Huang. Zhang Liao read the letter of war carefully several times and said:
"Liu Bei is a veteran of battles, so why did he still issue this declaration of war?"

"I suspect he's trying to provoke us into retreating and allowing his troops to land on the north bank."

"Brother Zihe, in my opinion, we must not fall into Liu Bei's trap. We should hold Ruxukou firmly and not let him land."

Zhang Liao objected.

Before Cao Chun could express his opinion, Cao Zhang spoke first:

"Even if the Big Eared Thief is trying to provoke us, so what? As long as he tries to reach the north bank, it will be right in our favor. We can defeat him halfway across the river!"

Seeing Cao Zhang so conceited, Xu Huang coughed a few times and couldn't help but remind him:

"Master Ziwen, Liu Bei's military prowess has even been recognized by the Prime Minister. He must not be underestimated."

"Don't forget, Xiao He, one of his subordinates, is a master of strategy. Both our army and the Jiangdong army have suffered great losses due to his schemes."

"I'm afraid Liu Bei's declaration of war is another plot by Xiao He. We must be extremely cautious."

Xu Huang suffered heavy losses twice in Fancheng and Chaisang, so he was naturally wary of Liu Bei and Xiao He.

Cao Zhang disagreed and snorted coldly:
"Of course I know that Xiao He is very cunning. My father once said that his intelligence is comparable to Guo Fengxiao."

"But I just can't figure it out. No matter how clever Xiao He is, what tricks could he have to allow Liu Bei to break our plan of attacking them halfway across the river?"

"Leaving aside the infantry, we have four to five thousand cavalry. If we charge him while his troops are halfway across the river and their foothold is unstable, what can he do to resist?"

Zhang Liao and Xu Huang were both stumped by the question.

Cao Zhang was young and full of vigor, and his words did seem a bit arrogant and underestimated the enemy, but his point was correct.

Take Zhang Liao for example. In the Battle of Xiaoyaojin, didn't he take advantage of the fact that Sun Quan's army was halfway across the river and the various units were not yet stable, and he broke through the formation with 800 cavalry and defeated Sun Quan in one fell swoop?

The same tactics worked when used against Sun Quan, but would they not work when used against Liu Bei?
"What Master Ziwen said is not without reason, but..."

"General Wenyuan, please stop talking!"

Cao Xiu, who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't help but interrupt Zhang Liao and said sternly:

"When you defeated the Jiangdong Army with only 800 soldiers, your heroic spirit soared to the sky, and your power was so unstoppable that even I, Cao Xiu, was fascinated by your deeds."

"The number of soldiers that Big Eared Bandit can cross the river is only 20,000 to 30,000 at most. Why are you so worried and fearful?"

"Where has the courage you showed in the battle at Xiaoyaojin gone?"

Cao Xiu was filled with frustration and couldn't wait to win a battle to wash away the shame of being captured.

However, he was obviously much more experienced than Cao Zhang, and he also used the method of provoking Zhang Liao and praised him highly.

Zhang Liao's blood boiled when he heard this. After a moment's hesitation, he bowed to Cao Chun:

"Brother Zihe, whether we should accept Liu Bei's challenge or not is up to you. We will all obey your orders!"

Zhang Liao also understands the ways of the world.

Although Cao Chun was not granted the power to control the generals by Cao Cao, he was a relative of the Cao family after all, and the final decision-making power could only be his.

After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, Cao Chun slammed the table and stood up, saying proudly:

"The Big Eared Thief is so arrogant and conceited that he's courting defeat. How can we miss this godsend of a strategy to defeat him?"

"Pass the order, the army retreats, and let the big-eared thief cross the river and land, and we will attack him halfway across!"

"In this battle, we will wash away the shame of our defeat in Fancheng and avenge my brother Zilian!"

...

The next day, early in the morning.

The 20,000 Cao troops demolished the camp and retreated more than 500 steps, leaving the beach open.

The news of Cao's army's retreat soon reached the south bank.

At Liu Bei's command, hundreds of naval warships, loaded with nearly 30,000 land and sea troops, sailed towards Ruxukou in a mighty force.

In the afternoon, the fleet arrived at the Ruxukou River area.

On the flagship of the tower ship.

Liu Bei took advantage of the high vantage point of the ship and looked far into the heart of the north bank.

I saw that nearly 20,000 Cao's infantry had retreated more than 500 steps and formed a battle array.

Behind the Cao army's infantry formation, dust could be seen flying faintly, and it was obvious that there were thousands of cavalry hidden there.

"It seems that Bowen's provocation worked. Cao Chun, Zhang Liao and the others have indeed retreated, allowing our army to land."

"The Cao army's formation must indicate they are preparing for a cavalry surprise attack, targeting our troops mid-crossing the river."

After sighing for a moment, Liu Bei's eyes focused, and he waved his hand and shouted:

"Send a message to Yunchang, according to the original plan, quickly transport Huang Hansheng's troops ashore!"

The command flag fluttered like the wind.

Upon receiving the order, Guan Yu immediately urged more than ten warships to land at Ruxukou first.

Huang Zhong led 800 Changsha soldiers to disembark, and nearly a hundred newly built chariots were towed ashore continuously and quickly began to form a battle formation.

Huang Zhong followed the battle formation diagram taught by Xiao He and urged the Changsha soldiers to connect more than a hundred chariots end to end, with both ends facing the river, forming an arc-shaped formation like a semicircle.

Half of the Changsha soldiers stood on the chariots, holding long spears with the spear tips facing outwards.

The remaining soldiers all held powerful crossbows, and their arrows passed through the gaps in the chariots and were aimed outside the formation.

Behind him, Guan Yu ordered more than ten ships to be lined up along the river bank, like a mobile water fortress.

The top deck of the building ship was several feet high, and it was densely packed with crossbowmen. Taking advantage of their high vantage point, they aimed their crossbow arrows at the field in front of the chariot formation.

A battle formation consisting of chariots, tower ships, lancers, and crossbowmen was set up on the north bank.

Immediately afterwards, the baggage ships on the river rushed ashore, and the subsequent soldiers carried the wood and other materials used to build the camp and came ashore one after another. Under the protection of the chariot array, they actually built a dock wall on the spot.

Huang Zhong immediately took up his bow and looked at the Cao army five hundred steps away from him, with absolute confidence burning on his face.

"Cao Chun, Zhang Liao, what are you waiting for? Unleash your horses and attack!"

"In today's battle, I will let you experience the power of Military Advisor Xiao's Queyue Formation!"

Five hundred steps away was Cao's army formation.

Cao Chun's three uncles and nephews, Zhang Liao and other generals from other families were also staring intently at the movements of Liu's army as it landed.

Their eyes gradually widened, and the more they looked, the more they felt something was not right.

The Liu army that landed first had not only seven or eight hundred infantrymen, but also hundreds of chariots!
This thing is an antique!

Since the rise of cavalry, chariots have gradually been eliminated due to their poor mobility, and now have become an auxiliary force.

What the generals in Cao's camp did not expect was that in such a crucial battle, Liu Bei actually brought out this thing that had been eliminated by the times?
"General Wenyuan, I think Liu Bei's military prowess is only so good. He even resorted to using something as bulky as a chariot. It's truly ridiculous."

Cao Zhang pointed his sword at Liu Jun in front of him and couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.

Zhang Liao frowned deeply, with suspicion flashing in his eyes. He really couldn't guess what Liu Bei was up to.

He couldn't guess it, but his instinctive intuition gave him a bad feeling.

Cao Chun smiled coldly, then raised his whip and said:

"Let's wait a little longer until he has at least five or six thousand men ashore, and then we can launch a surprise attack."

Everyone continued to wait patiently.

But as they waited, they noticed something was wrong again.

The Liu army that landed later did not form a battle formation as they had expected, but instead built a camp wall on the spot!

This unconventional move once again left them confused.

"What on earth does this big-eared thief want to do?"

Cao Chun's brows were furrowed, and his eyes were filled with suspicion.

At this time.

Xu Huang was shocked and said anxiously:

"No, we fell into a trap."

"Liu Bei doesn't want a decisive battle with us at all. He wants to trick us into giving up Ruxukou so that he can take the opportunity to build a fortress to seal off Ruxukou and prevent our army from crossing the river!"

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on and was shocked.

"What a big-eared thief! He's so cunning!"

"If we ask him to build a fortress at Ruxukou, the consequences will be disastrous!"

"We can't wait any longer, attack immediately!"

Cao Chun cursed loudly, swung his sword, and shouted:
"Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, listen to my orders! Follow me and charge forward to crush all the enemy troops that land!"

"kill--"

Cao Chun rode out on his horse, dragging his sword and charging forward.

"Brother Zihe, wait a minute!"

Zhang Liao's face changed and he quickly spoke out to stop him.

It's too late.

Cao Chun was like an arrow shot from a bow, whizzing away.

Cao Zhang and Cao Xiu followed closely behind.

The trumpet sounded.

The five thousand tiger and leopard cavalry hiding behind the infantry rushed towards the Queyue formation like wild beasts out of a cage.

Looking at the cavalry rolling away, Zhang Liao clenched his fists and a look of worry flashed across his face.

(End of this chapter)