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

Chapter 90 Liu Bei's deployment of troops is truly unpredictable. What is he going to do?
Wancheng, inside the main hall of the government office.

Cao Ren, covered in dust and filled with guilt, knelt in front of the hall.

Cao Cao, sitting high up in the seat, stared down at his cousin with eyes wide open in disbelief.

"Zixiao, I ordered you to guard Xinye. Why did you leave your post and come to Wancheng, still looking like this?"

Cao Cao's voice was hoarse, and he had a vague sense of foreboding in his heart.

Cao Hong, Cheng Yu and other counselors and generals were all sweating with fear.

"Prime Minister, I am incompetent and have failed to live up to your trust. I failed to defend Xinye!"

Cao Ren knocked his forehead to the ground and let out a long sigh of helplessness.

There was a loud explosion in the lobby, and everyone was shocked.

Cao Cao felt as if he was hit on the head with a club, his eyes felt slightly dizzy, and his mind went blank for a moment.

After taking several deep breaths, Cao Cao finally recovered. He suppressed his anger and shot a look at Cao Ren like a knife.

"You are the most powerful general of my Cao family. I gave you 10,000 elite soldiers and Man Chong as your assistant. Xinye City is such a strong city, how did you lose it in just a few days?"

"I don't believe that the Big Eared Bandit's ability to attack a city is so strong!"

Obviously Cao Cao thought that Liu Bei had captured Xinye City by force.

Everyone nodded, their faces showing shock and doubt.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, the big-eared thief did not break into the city by force, but used deception..."

Filled with grief and indignation, Cao Ren silently explained the causes and consequences of the fall of Xinye.

Cao Cao's eyes gradually widened, and his expression became one of disbelief, as if he had heard a fairy tale.

Cheng Yu and other counselors and generals were also shocked, and all of their faces were filled with disbelief.

"Burning Xinye?"

"Even if Liu Bei used fire, it would be impossible to set a city on fire with fire alone. He would need an insider to set the fire from inside the city!"

"But how did Liu Bei's accomplices sneak into Xinye City?"

Cheng Yu was the first to speak, and he pointed out the most bizarre aspect of this battle.

Cao Cao nodded heavily and shouted in a deep voice:
"Zixiao, you've been through a lot of battles, how could you be so careless as not to search the entire city for Liu Bei's hidden spies?"

Cao Ren stood up and said with a bitter face:

"Prime Minister, I am not stupid. I searched the entire city the day I entered it, but I didn't find any spies from Liu Bei sneaking into the city!"

Cao Cao was stunned.

Cheng Yu and the others were also stunned.

The master and his ministers looked at each other with surprise and astonishment, as if they had heard the strangest thing in the world.

"Since you've already searched Xinye City, and the Big Eared Thief's accomplice didn't sneak in beforehand, how did he set the fire from inside the city?"

Cao Cao asked again anxiously.

Cao Ren shook his head and said helplessly:

"This is something Ren can't understand. It's like Liu Bei's soldiers, as if they had wings, flew over my city walls, entered the city and set it on fire."

Cao Cao sucked in a breath of cold air, his whole face was stunned and he froze in his seat.

There was a sudden burst of surprise in the hall.

"Prime Minister, Yu is wondering if this is the work of Xiao He again?"

Cheng Yu, who had been deep in thought, suddenly made such a guess.

Cao Cao's figure shuddered.

The hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone's expressions changed from speculation to surprise.

"Before breaking out, Man Boning also suspected that this was a trick of the country bumpkin."

"But I don't believe it. Even if that guy is cunning and deceitful, he is still a human, not a god. Can he really give wings to the enemy soldiers and help them fly into Xinye?"

Cao Ren used the same words he had used to question Man Chong to question Cheng Yu's guess.

Cheng Yu was speechless.

"Snapped!"

Cao Cao slammed the table and shouted:

"Quickly send more spies to investigate this for me. We must find out whether this is the work of Xiao He!"

"If it's really him, I must know what method he used to allow Liu Bei's accomplice to sneak into Xinye without anyone noticing and set fire to the city!"

Cheng Yu and others came to their senses and could only obey the order.

Cao Cao's shock and anger subsided a little, and he waved his hand at Cao Ren, asking him to stand up.

Cao Ren breathed a sigh of relief, and when he stood up, anger was rekindled on his face.

"Prime Minister, please lead your troops south again and recapture Xinye for you!"

At this time, Cao Cao calmed down and did not express his opinion on Cao Ren's request for battle. He fell silent.

I subconsciously wanted to touch his beard, but it was empty.

"Cough cough~~"

Cao Cao coughed lightly, looking a little embarrassed, and glanced at his advisors:
"Zhongde, Wenhe, what do you think? Should I send troops to retake Xinye?"

Jia Xu narrowed his eyes slightly and pretended not to hear as usual.

Cheng Yu thought for a moment, then bowed and said:
"Although our army has been assembled and has gathered 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers and horses, the morale of the army has not yet recovered."

"Furthermore, after the Battle of Fancheng, all the military supplies we collected from the increased grain tax fell into Liu Bei's hands. We are no longer able to sustain our army to fight Liu Bei again in the short term."

"Yu believes that the Prime Minister should not send troops south to retake Xinye for the time being."

Cheng Yu's analysis obviously touched Cao Cao's heart, and he couldn't help but nod slightly.

Cao Ren became anxious and turned around to argue with Cheng Yu.

"General Zixiao, please don't be anxious. Just listen to what I have to say."

Cheng Yu stopped Cao Ren, raised his lips slightly, and turned his head to point to the south:
"Jiangdong and Jingzhou were sworn enemies. The reason Sun and Liu joined forces was simply because the Prime Minister's army was heading south, and the two families had a common enemy."

"Now that the Prime Minister has retreated north, and the common enemy has vanished, the Sun-Liu alliance has lost its meaning."

"After Sun Quan's troops retreated from Chaohu Lake, they delayed besieging Hefei again. Yu suspected that Biyan'er must have been secretly withdrawing troops, intending to turn around and attack Jingzhou."

"Liu and Sun are divided and fighting each other. Yu expects it to happen in the next few days."

"Since that's the case, why don't you just sit back and watch from the sidelines in Wancheng, laughing as the two tigers, Sun and Liu, fight each other?"

"Given the strength of Jiangdong's navy, capturing Xiakou should be a piece of cake. Liu Bei will then mobilize his entire army south to fight Sun Quan for Xiakou, and a bloody battle will rage between the two sides."

"When both sides are defeated, the Prime Minister can seize the opportunity and march south. Wouldn't it be possible to recapture Xinye with ease, and also capture Fancheng and Xiangyang, thus avenging the previous humiliation?"

Cheng Yu's face showed the long-lost confidence again. He pointed out the way forward and spoke eloquently, outlining a blueprint for Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was cheered up and stood up suddenly. He stood in front of the map with his hands behind his back and scanned the map quickly.

"Zhongde's words make sense. My navy is no match for the Big Ear Bandits, and the Big Ear Bandits' navy is no match for Sun Quan's. How can we defend Xiakou?"

"If Xiakou is lost, the Jiangdong navy can block the Yangtze River in the west and cut off the Han River in the north. The big-eared bandits will definitely not surrender and will mobilize their entire army to fight to the death in the south."

"I will rest and reorganize my army in Wancheng, waiting to take advantage of the situation..."

Cao Cao muttered to himself for a long time, then laughed heartily:
"Okay, okay, Zhongde's strategy of two tigers competing for food is the same one I used against him and Lu Bu when Liu Bei captured Xuzhou."

"This time, I will use my old trick again and let him and Sun Quan's blue-eyed man fight each other!"

...

North of Changsha County, ten miles south of Baqiu City, a fleet carrying thousands of soldiers was heading north along the Xiang River.

On the deck of the flagship, an old officer with half white hair and beard stood at the bow with his hands behind his back, staring ahead with his old eyes.

"Lord Jingsheng painstakingly managed Jingzhou for over ten years, yet before his body was even cold, his son handed over his inheritance to him. Even in his grave, Lord Jingsheng must be unable to rest in peace..."

The veteran sighed and lamented.

"Father, since you were also unhappy with Liu Cong's surrender to Cao, why did you obey his orders and lead our Changsha army north to Jiangling to assist?"

A young man behind him suddenly emerged from the cabin.

This young man seemed to be a sickly person. After saying a few words, he ran out of breath and gasped for breath.

"Xu'er, why did you come out? It's so windy on the deck."

The old general looked distressed and hurriedly helped his son sit down.

While rubbing his son's back to relieve his breath, the old general said:
"Although Liu Gongrui may be a son who sells his father's land without any regret, he is now the governor of Jingzhou appointed by the emperor. As a general under his father, how can I disobey his orders?"

A glimmer of light flashed across the veteran's helpless eyes, and he continued:

"Besides, my father has heard that the legendary doctor Hua Tuo has recently traveled to Jingzhou, in the Nanjun area."

"I've heard that Hua Tuo has the ability to bring the dead back to life. This time, I went north to Nanjun, hoping to find Hua Tuo and ask him to treat you."

Having said that, the veteran's eyes were filled with fatherly love.

The sick young man understood his father's painstaking efforts, tears welled up in his eyes, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"I understand your earnest intentions, father. However, I heard that Liu Xuande has secured an extremely formidable strategist who recently routed Cao Cao's 150,000-man army, forcing them to flee north in disarray."

"Upon hearing the news, Cai Mao was so frightened that he withdrew his troops south overnight. This is why our new Jingzhou urgently dispatched troops from the four southern Jingzhou counties north to help him defend Jiangling and guard against Liu Xuande."

"If father leads his army north and directly engages Liu Xuande in battle, wouldn't that be disastrous?"

The young sick man's words and expression were full of deep fear.

The old general raised his head, looked towards Xiangyang, stroked his white beard and said:

"Liu Xuande is indeed formidable. The counselor you mentioned seems to be called Xiao He. I heard he is an extraordinary person with a mysterious background."

"It is truly incredible that they were able to defeat Cao's army of 150,000. I, your father, did not expect this at all."

"but……"

The veteran changed the subject and smiled faintly:
"The territory Liu Xuande occupied was ultimately only a small corner of Xiangyang, so his ability to defeat Cao Cao's army was due to the flooding of the Han River."

"Cao Cao is still stationed in Nanyang. Although Liu Gongrui has lost Xiangyang, he still controls most of Jingzhou and is still stronger than Liu Xuande."

"At this moment, Liu Xuande is struggling to protect himself and should be unable to threaten Jiangling."

"This time when I go north, I probably won't have the chance to meet him—"

Before the old general finished speaking, more than ten ships suddenly appeared in front of him, fleeing in panic from the direction of Ba Qiu.

Judging from the flags, they are all the garrison troops of Bachu.

The old general's face changed slightly, and he quickly ordered one of the ships to be stopped and a soldier on board was summoned to ask what was going on.

"Old General, a few hours ago, Guan Yu suddenly led tens of thousands of naval forces from upstream and attacked our Baqiu unexpectedly."

"Our army consists of only a few thousand men. We are powerless to resist. The water camp and Baqiu City have already been captured by Guan Yu!"

"Old General, please retreat south with us quickly. You can't go to Bachu!"

The military officer told the truth with lingering fear.

Hearing this, the old general and the sick young man's expressions changed, and both father and son were shocked.

"This...this doesn't make sense?"

"How could Guan Yu, who was far away in Xiangyang, suddenly cross the Yangtze River and attack us from upstream?"

"This this……"

The old general's face was instantly twisted with endless horror, as if he had seen a ghost.

The sick young man was also stunned and exclaimed in a trembling voice:

"Liu Xuande had only repelled Cao Cao for a few days, yet he dared to march southward, sending his navy charging into the Yangtze River?"

"Is he planning to capture Jiangling in one fell swoop and swallow up the entire Jingzhou?"

"But he should have attacked Jiangling. Why did he suddenly attack Baqiu and use his troops against Changsha County?"

"What on earth does Liu Xuande want to do?"

The father and son gasped, their thoughts surging, and they fell into deep shock and confusion.

After a long time.

The veteran had seen a lot of ups and downs, so he was the first to recover and calm down a little.

"Liu Xuande's military tactics are truly unpredictable. No wonder Cao Cao's 150,000-man army was defeated by him."

"With the wisdom of my father and me, we really can't guess why he attacked Baqiu."

"But once Baqiu is lost, the Xiang River's exit will be blocked. I'm afraid we, father and son, won't be able to go to Jiangling..."

After a few words of emotion, the veteran waved his hands helplessly:
"Pass the order down. All ships should stop heading north, camp ashore, and await orders!"

...

Xiakou River area.

Zhou Yu stood at the bow of the ship with the help of a cane, staring at the direction of Xiakou City, with a faint hatred burning in his eyes.

Lu Meng, who was standing beside him, gently stroked his left hand which was missing two fingers, with hatred in his eyes.

The former was shot in the knee by an arrow. The doctor said that even if the wound healed, he would most likely be left with a lifelong disability. Even without crutches, he would still walk with a limp.

The handsome and elegant Zhou Lang from Jiangdong, so elegant and graceful...

But now he is likely to become a lame cripple?

How could Zhou Yu not be furious at the disparity in image between heaven and earth?

As for the latter, two fingers were broken and his left hand was disabled. This was a heavy blow to a military general.

How could Lu Meng not hate it!

At this moment, the two men stood at the bow of the ship, looking at Xiakou City with hatred, and planning revenge in their hearts.

"This Xiao He, how on earth did he foresee our surprise attack on Xiakou, and how did he even see through our plan to cross the river in white clothes?"

"Could it be that, as the rumors say, he is really a disciple of some otherworldly immortal, and has learned the divine ability to predict the future?"

Behind him, Lu Su was holding the letter that Xiao He left for Zhou Yu, muttering to himself, with endless confusion in his eyes.

"The army has arrived. It's General Cheng's main force!"

The excited shout of General Pan Zhang broke the heavy atmosphere.

Zhou Yu and his men looked eastward and saw nearly a thousand warships of all sizes coming down the river in a mighty force.

As expected, the more than 20,000 navy troops commanded by Commander Cheng Pu finally arrived at Xiakou.

Zhou Yu raised the corners of his mouth slightly and smiled coldly.

When he looked at Xiakou City again, there was a hint of contempt in his eyes.

"Zi Jing, there's no need to guess anymore. No matter if he's a disciple of some immortal or how he predicted my plan to cross the river in white clothes!"

"My army has arrived. Thirty thousand versus five thousand. The advantage is mine. No matter how cunning his schemes are, what can they do?"

"Within three days, I will crush Xiakou and capture Xiao He alive!"

(End of this chapter)