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

Chapter 82: He is a deity who gave Liu Jun wings? Xiao He: Something big is going to happen in Xiakou!
"Uuuuuu——"

A shrill buzzing sound suddenly filled the night sky.

Thousands of rockets took off into the sky, forming a net of fire in the night sky, and attacked Xinye City in an overwhelming manner.

As the soldiers on the city wall looked up in horror, the rockets flew over the city wall and fell into the houses near the wall.

Rockets fell continuously, and soon ignited the granaries and hay fields, and flames rose up.

At the same time, above the east and west gates, a rain of arrows rose in the sky almost simultaneously, overwhelming Xinye City.

The fire raged, lighting up the sky like a bright white.

The terrified screams of Cao's soldiers, like the howling of evil spirits, echoed in the night sky.

Xinye City, county seat.

At this time, Cao Ren had just taken off his armor and lay down to sleep for a while.

While I was having a sweet dream, there was suddenly a loud noise outside.

The military instinct woke him up instantly. He jumped off the bed, picked up his sword and pushed the door open to walk out.

Looking up, Cao Ren was stunned.

The originally dark night sky was suddenly bright, as if it were daytime.

Cao Ren thought he was still sleepy, so he rubbed his eyes and looked up again.

The sky was still bright, but it was not daytime, but the light of fire.

There was a big fire in the city!

Cao Ren's expression changed, and he asked anxiously:

"What happened? Which battalion lost its fire? Why didn't they put out the fire in time?"

Until this moment, he still thought that it was some stupid and foolish soldier who overturned the brazier and started the fire.

The guards on both sides were all confused and panicked, and no one could explain to him.

Cao Ren didn't have time to ask any more questions, so he picked up his sword and ran straight to the mansion gate.

As soon as he stepped into the yamen, Niu Jin rushed in with a face full of smoke.

"General Zixiao, something's happened! Fires have suddenly broken out all over our city. Dozens of fires have broken out simultaneously in all directions, and we don't even have time to put them out!"

Cao Ren suddenly stopped and stood there in a daze.

Suddenly, fires broke out everywhere? Dozens of them?

Then this definitely wasn't a fire caused by the soldiers accidentally leaking water, it must have been set on purpose!

Could it be that a spy set the fire to disrupt our army's morale?

This thought first came to Cao Ren's mind, but he dismissed it in the blink of an eye.

The people in the city had been evacuated by Cao Cao, who had searched the city beforehand for fear that Liu Bei's spies might be hiding there.

At this moment in Xinye City, apart from his more than 10,000 soldiers, there could be no spies!

Then the only explanation is that Liu Jun set the fire.

"Could it be that Liu Bei launched a surprise attack, broke through a gate, killed his way in, and set fire to it?"

"But why didn't any of the gates sound the alarm?"

Cao Ren thought of this explanation first and shouted at Niu Jin.

Niu Jin shook his head repeatedly and said:
"The enemy didn't launch a night attack, and all the gates are safe and sound. No enemy troops have come in to attack!"

Cao Ren was confused again.

All the gates are still there, and Liu Bei did not attack the city, so who set the fire?

It can't be a sudden fire from the sky, right?
Cao Ren's head was buzzing and he was in a state of confusion.

"General Zixiao, there are fires everywhere in the city. You have to make a decision!"

Niu Jin's urgent shout woke Cao Ren from his trance.

Cao Ren took a deep breath and shouted:
"What are you still standing there for? Gather the soldiers and put out the fire quickly!"

Niu Jin had no choice but to obey the order.

Cao Ren had no time to put on his armor and rushed out of the mansion in dishevel, intending to personally organize people to put out the fire.

Just as he stepped out of the mansion, countless rockets fell from the sky towards the north gate.

Turning around again, rockets were falling from the sky almost simultaneously in the direction of the west gate.

There were also rockets dropping suddenly from the direction of the east gate.

In an instant, dozens of houses near the city wall were set on fire, making the fire in the city even worse.

"Liu Bei's fire attack?"

Cao Ren exclaimed in surprise.

All the Cao troops on both sides were shocked and fell into panic.

There was a fire inside and Liu's army was attacking with fire outside. Under this combination of internal and external forces, although Cao's army did not suffer many casualties, the morale of the army was in great chaos.

"General Zixiao, this must be Liu Bei's trick!"

Man Chong rode his horse forward, shouting all the way.

He dismounted and said sternly:
"Liu Bei must have used an insider to infiltrate our city and set it ablaze. Liu Bei's army is firing rockets at the city from outside, hoping to defeat our army in one fell swoop!"

Cao Ren's body swayed, as if he had been hit on the head with a stick, and he suddenly woke up.

But the next moment, his eyes were blank again.

"The Big Eared Bandits' fire attack was good, but none of my four gates were breached. How did they manage to sneak their troops into my city and set fire everywhere without anyone noticing?"

Man Chong was speechless.

Cao Ren's question stumped him, and this was something he could never figure out.

After thinking for a moment, Man Chong could only sigh:

"How did Liu Bei do it? With my limited wisdom and strategy, I really can't guess."

"However, Liu Bei has counselors like Xu Shu and Xiao He under his command. Xiao He, in particular, is probably far more intelligent than Xu Shu and should not be underestimated."

"I'm guessing, could this be the work of Xiao He again?"

Hearing the name Xiao He, Cao Ren shuddered slightly, and a look of fear flashed in his eyes.

But Cao Ren shook his head and said:

"Even though Xiao He is cunning and treacherous, he is still a human, not a god. Can he really give Liu Bei's soldiers wings and let them fly into our city and set it on fire?"

Man Chong was speechless again.

Yes, how did Liu Bei’s soldiers cross the city wall, sneak into Xinye and set fire?
Logically speaking, their on-duty deployment is already tight enough.

There is a guard post every five steps and a sentry every ten steps. Not to mention hundreds of Liu soldiers, even a fly should not be able to fly in.

"Then what methods did Xiao He use to allow Liu Jun to sneak into my Xinye City?"

Man Chong frowned, his scalp tingling at the thought, but he still couldn't figure out the mystery.

Just as the two of them were confused, all the soldiers in the city were in chaos.

The soldiers of Cao's army had not yet recovered from the defeat in Fancheng, and their morale had not yet recovered. Now they were suddenly attacked by fire, and the whole city was on fire. The little morale they had left was shattered in an instant.

They gave up trying to put out the fire and ran around the city like headless flies, screaming and crying.

"General Zixiao, the entire army is in chaos. Liu Bei is attacking the city from outside. I'm afraid Xinye City can't be defended!"

Niu Jin came back and shouted with a bitter face.

Cao Renhuan glanced at the situation around him, clenched his fists, and his face was twisted with a complex expression of panic and unwillingness.

The panic was because the army's morale was in chaos. It was only a matter of time before Liu Bei broke into the city. The fall of Xinye was a foregone conclusion.

I am unwilling to give up Xinye City.

After all, it was he who volunteered to guard Xinye and promised Cao Cao that he would make Liu Bei feel like he had hit a brick wall.

But in the blink of an eye, Xinye City was lost, which was like a slap in the face.

How could he have the nerve to see Cao Cao?

Would the reputation of the royal family's greatest general be ruined?

"Crack!"

A loud bang woke Cao Ren from his trance.

It turned out that a nearby house was directly burned down by the fire, and the sparks even flew onto his face.

The burning pain instantly shattered Cao Ren's hesitation.

"I am Meng De's right-hand man, how can I be defeated here?"

As the thought came to his mind, Cao Ren sighed deeply and waved his hand, saying:
"The fall of Xinye wasn't due to your or my unwillingness to fight to the death. It was due to the cunning schemes of the Big Eared Bandits. It wasn't Zhan's fault."

"Order the entire army to abandon the city and retreat immediately!"

Niu Jin breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to pass on the message.

"No!"

Man Chong stepped forward to stop him and said sternly:
"Liu Bei had planned this all along. He must have set an ambush outside the city. If our army flees hastily, they will be annihilated!"

"General Zixiao, the best strategy now is to withdraw all troops to the city walls and quickly demolish all the houses near the walls to prevent the fire from spreading to the walls."

"As for the fire in the city, let it burn. Even if it turns into ruins, it doesn't matter."

"When the fire is extinguished, as long as our army is still there and the four gates are still open, Xinye City can still be defended!"

Cao Ren was shocked. He looked up and looked around, weighing Man Chong's proposal in his mind.

After thinking for a moment, Cao Ren's eyes flashed with fear and he shook his head.

"Your plan is risky, Governor. If we can't stop the fire, won't our entire army be burned to death in the city?"

After saying this, Cao Ren waved his hand and said without question:
"You don't need to say anything more. I have made up my mind. I will abandon the city immediately!"

"No rockets have been seen from the south gate, so the enemy must be outnumbered. We will withdraw from the south gate and then head north to Wancheng!"

Seeing that he could not persuade Cao Ren, Man Chong could only sigh helplessly.

Seeing that Cao Ren was trying to break out from the south gate, he was shocked again.

"Liu Bei could have attacked all four gates simultaneously, but he chose to leave the South Gate unattacked, just to lure us out through it."

"I suspect Liu Bei has a large force lying in ambush outside the South Gate. If we try to break out through the South Gate, we will be in great danger!"

"General Zixiao, Chong believes we should break out from the west gate and then head north. This way we will have a better chance of success."

Man Chong tried to persuade him again with all his heart.

Cao Ren, however, was so confused that he could not hear a word.

"The West Gate's rockets are so dense, Liu Bei must have a large army. If I try to break out from the West Gate, won't I run into a wall?"

"Stop worrying and break out from the south gate!"

Cao Ren waved his hand impatiently, not giving Man Chong a chance to persuade him, and whipped his horse to flee towards the south gate.

Niu Jin and other generals hurriedly followed. Man Chong sighed and had no choice but to follow Cao Ren to flee to the south gate.

Along the way, Cao's army, which had received the order to retreat, felt like they had grabbed a life-saving straw. They joined the fleeing team from all directions and headed straight for the south gate along the main street.

The city gates opened and the drawbridge dropped.

Cao's army rushed out of the city gate like frightened lambs, scrambling and pushing each other.

When Cao Ren rode his horse out of the city gate, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had escaped.

When he looked up, his face turned pale with shock and he suddenly reined in his horse.

Beyond the firelight ahead, tens of thousands of Liu's soldiers were slowly approaching like a solid wall of steel.

Cold arrows, like the eyes of death, were aimed at them fiercely.

"The big-eared thief actually has a large force ambushed at the South Gate?"

Cao Ren froze on his horse in amazement, feeling an endless surge of regret in his heart.

Head-on direction.

Guan Yu stood on his horse with his sword drawn, standing proudly in front of the battle formation.

With his half-open eyes, he scanned the Cao army rushing out of the city gate as if they were looking at a chicken or a dog.

"Just as Bowen predicted, Cao Ren will escape from the south gate!"

Guan Yu sighed with emotion, stroked his beautiful beard and said with a smile:

"Looking around the world, only Xiao Bowen is qualified to marry my tiger daughter and be worthy of being my, Guan Yu's, son-in-law..."

After sighing, Guan Yu suddenly opened his eyes and slashed forward with the Qinglong sword.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

As soon as the crossbowman's fingers loosened, thousands of sharp arrows whizzed out like raindrops and rushed towards the terrified Cao army.

"Protect General Zixiao!"

Niu Jin rushed forward shouting, waving his sword wildly to block Cao Ren.

The personal guards rushed forward to block the arrows for Cao Ren.

The next moment, arrows came like rain.

Screams, the sounds of arrows being hit, sounds of people falling to the ground...all echoed through the city gate in an instant.

Hundreds of Cao's soldiers were nailed to the ground in large numbers while they were still fleeing.

Cao Ren suddenly woke up and quickly drew his sword to block the arrow.

One after another, the guards in front of him could not withstand the attack of arrows and fell to the ground.

A hail of arrows flew past, and Cao's soldiers were thrown off their horses.

Cao Ren was lucky enough to escape the disaster under the protection of his personal guards.

Not far behind him, Man Chong was not so lucky.

With no one to protect him, even though he danced with his sword until it started smoking, he was unable to stop the rain of arrows.

He was hit by two arrows in the shoulder and leg, and the horse under his crotch was also hit by an arrow and fell to its knees, knocking him out and falling heavily to the ground.

Fortunately, the two arrows missed his vital points and did not kill him on the spot. However, he was shot in the legs and arms and was no longer able to get up.

In front.

Guan Yu had already rushed out with his horse and sword in hand, shouting:
"All troops attack, follow me to kill the bandits!"

The Liu army soldiers, who had been preparing for a long time, rushed towards the Cao army like a tide, and the soldiers and horses were in chaos.

Cao's army was in chaos, running around like a frightened bird.

Cao Ren's spirit was broken, and he could only shout hoarsely:

"All troops, listen up! Retreat quickly towards the west gate! Quickly—"

As he screamed, he raised his whip and tried to escape.

"General Zixiao, save me——"

A familiar voice sounded behind me.

Looking back, Cao Ren found that Man Chong had been shot by an arrow and fell to the ground seven or eight steps away, shouting for help.

Cao Ren's face changed and he turned his horse around to rescue him.

Niu Jin stopped him with his sword, shouting:
"General Zixiao, it's too late. The enemy has already rushed over. Man Boning can't be saved!"

"You are the Prime Minister's right-hand man. How can you fail here? Retreat immediately!"

Cao Ren frowned and gritted his teeth, saying:
"I regret not listening to Man Boning's advice. I was just ambushed by the big-eared thief. How could I abandon him?"

After saying this, Cao Ren turned his horse around and was about to force his way to rescue Man Chong.

At this moment, Liu Jun in front broke through the formation and charged forward, surging like a tide.

Niu Jin was anxious and shouted:

"The country can do without Man Chong, and can do without me, Niu Jin, but it cannot do without Cao Zixiao!"

"You all go ahead and protect General Zixiao. I'll hold back the enemy!"

After saying this, Niu Jin called his personal guards and rushed towards the oncoming Liu army.

The guards on both sides did not care about anything else and forcibly surrounded Cao Ren and fled to the west.

"I won't leave. I, Cao Ren, will never abandon my men and flee alone. Let me go—"

Cao Ren's eyes widened and he roared in anger.

However, his personal guards ignored his orders, surrounded him and quickly fled into the ranks of the fleeing soldiers.

Niu Jin urged hundreds of his personal guards to fight desperately and desperately try to stop Liu Jun's overwhelming attack.

"Niu Jin!"

"How can you be so rampant under Guan's sword?"

A thunderous roar rang out, shocking everyone's eardrums to the point of bursting.

Niu Jin looked up suddenly and saw a god who was like walking on fire, standing in front of him in an instant.

"Guan...Guan Yu?"

Niu Jin exclaimed in surprise, his eyes instantly filled with fear.

The Qinglong sword in Guan Yu's hand had already stirred up a blood mist in the air, and with the force of the sky collapsing and the earth splitting, he slashed across with great might.

"not good!"

Niu Jin suddenly woke up and hurriedly brandished his sword to block.

It's too late.

The knife was as fast as lightning and as powerful as thunder, and it cut through in an instant.

"Crack!"

Niu Jin's head flew down.

The headless body fell to the ground with a loud bang, spurting blood.

Guan Yu stood on his horse with his sword drawn, looking down at the terrified Cao army in front of him with disdain. The blood dripping from the blade of the Qinglong sword was still warm.

"We are willing to surrender, General Guan!"

"General Guan, spare my life!"

"I'm waiting for you!"

All of Cao's army was intimidated by Guan Yu's divine power. They were so scared that their hearts and livers were broken, and they knelt on the ground and begged for surrender in groups.

On the south gate tower, a flag with the word "Liu" on it slowly rose in the flames.

Xinye changed hands.

...

The Chinese military tent.

When the flames in Xinye shot up into the sky, and the soldiers who stayed behind were looking north, eagerly watching the battle.

Xiao He, however, sat cross-legged in the big tent, sipping tea and casually flipping through military reports.

There is no way. The higher the official position, the greater the responsibility.

Since being promoted to the position of Right Military Advisor, in addition to offering advice, he also had a new job - assisting Liu Bei in handling military affairs.

Liu Bei led a group of people to attack Xinye, and the military affairs sent from the south had to be entrusted to him.

"I need to find a few secretaries to help me manage things. I'll just check and approve things. I can't be like Zhuge Liang, handling every detail personally. I'll eventually become exhausted... That Ma Su is perfect for a secretary, and Deng Ai can also be recruited..."

Xiao He muttered to himself as he flipped through the books.

At this time, the curtain was lifted and Guan Yinping flew in like a bird.

"Bowen, your plan worked!"

"My uncle has already captured Xinye, and my father has killed the enemy general Niu Jin in battle and captured that Manchu alive!"

"Bowen, you have done great things again!"

Guan Yinping reported the victory with great joy.

Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief and drank the tea in the bowl in one gulp.

This plan finally succeeded.

This kid Deng Ai did not disappoint him!

The northern gate of Jingzhou was thus closed, and there was a buffer zone of more than 100 miles north of Xiangfan. The sharp arrow hanging over Cao Cao's head was thus removed.

The threat from the north was finally resolved.

At least before Cao Cao licked his wounds and recovered his strength, he was unable to go south to attack Jingzhou again.

This meant that Liu Bei was finally able to free up his hands and go south to deal with Liu Cong, Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others, and take the entire Jingzhou into his pocket.

Only with Jingzhou in hand did Liu Bei have the confidence to compete with Sun and Cao, march north to the Central Plains, and restore the Han Dynasty.

Of course, these are all far away. For Xiao He, the most realistic benefit is that he can finally return to Xiangyang and lie down for a few days.

"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and prepare the celebration banquet to welcome the lord and his men back."

Xiao He put down the tea bowl and reminded with a smile.

Guan Yinping finally came to her senses and happily went to arrange a celebration banquet.

Xiao Heze continued to read the unfinished military newspaper in his hand.

It was the latest military report sent by Wei Yan from Xiakou.

Xiao He took a look, the smile on his face disappeared instantly, and he stood up suddenly.

"Beacon tower? Wei Yan actually built a beacon tower?"

"Oh no, something big is going to happen in Xiakou!"

(End of this chapter)