By the Bian River, upstream of the Honggou, stood the fortress of Guandu.
Here... the rain fell with extraordinary fury.
The dark sky seemed on the verge of collapse, with the gale chasing the downpour, and the downpour urging on the gale. Wind and rain united, pursuing the dark clouds overhead, plunging the entire world into a deluge.
The gale whipped the downpour like countless lashes, savagely lashing the city walls!
The sound of "pitter-patter"...
It sent a shiver down one's spine just to hear it.
In this foul weather, atop the Guandu city walls, along the ramparts.
Several men wearing conical hats stood there...
Many held oil-paper umbrellas, but in such a fierce storm, mere umbrellas were insufficient to ward off the relentless patter of rain.
At the center of the umbrellas were two men...
Who else could it be but Lu Yu and Xu Shu?
Even in this dreadful weather, the corners of both their mouths were turned up...
Xu Shu spoke first.
"The time has come!"
Lu Yu nodded and asked a burly man in a conical hat standing beside him, "Commander Dian, have Yuan's troops all entered Yanjin City..."
"They have!" Dian Wei replied truthfully. "All three waves of scouts saw it clearly! It seems Yuan's army is also tired from crossing the Yellow River and setting up camp in this wretched weather!"
Indeed...
Whether crossing the river or setting up camp, it was strenuous work, especially... in such extreme weather. How could those tents completely shield them from the wind and rain?
Ensuring Yanjin City was free of ambushes and was an empty city, these four hundred fifty thousand Yuan troops... would naturally hurry inside to find warm shelters from the rain.
However...
Dao, Tian, Di, Jiang, Fa!
These five "dimensions" of victory in Sun Tzu's Art of War...
Yuan Shao had overlooked "Di," the Earth.
—Duke Wen of Jin retreated thirty li!
It wasn't just about shortening the supply lines; the greater objective was to lure the Chu army into entirely unfamiliar terrain!
The location of Yanjin City, the sudden change at Yanjin City, was entirely unfamiliar terrain for Yuan Shao.
How could he have known that upstream of the Honggou, by the Bian River... Guandu was to the east, and Yanjin to the west!
If used well, the Bian River could flood Guandu!
Similarly, if used well, this Bian River could also flood Yanjin! It all depended on where the ditch was dug...
"Young Master Lu? When do we make our move?"
Xu Shu's expression was calm, but his heart was surging with emotion...
Winning this battle would be recorded in history. Of course... that wasn't the main point. The main point was that this strategy was proposed by Lu Yu, and refined by Xu Shu himself!
One could say, Lu Yu had played on Yuan Shao's psychology...
And Xu Shu, using Yuan Shao's "psychology" that had been manipulated, would deliver the fatal blow!
"I have already sent someone to notify General Xiahou. Once Yuan's troops enter Yanjin City, they are to immediately break the dam... and divert the Bian River to flood Yanjin!"
"Furthermore, General Cao Chun's Tiger Cavalry are already poised for action... This merit will be given to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry this time!"
As he spoke, Lu Yu's expression turned a shade more serious!
He could be casual normally.
But when a major battle approached, there was no room for ambiguity!
"Good!" Xu Shu nodded. "I wonder how many of the four hundred fifty thousand Yuan troops will become fish and turtles in the water after this battle! I wonder how low Yuan's army's morale will sink! I wonder, after being submerged by the floodwaters, how they will withstand the surging charge of the Tiger Cavalry! This battle, Yuan's army is destined to be severely wounded!"
Severely wounded...
Indeed, Xu Shu was a meticulous person, and here his word choice was "severely wounded," not "utterly defeated!"
Xu Shu spoke of objective facts.
Even with such a deployment and such planning, this operation still wouldn't completely defeat Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao still had too many soldiers. Even with the mercilessness of water and fire, it was too difficult to eliminate them all at once!
However, at least... this rain was enough to give Yuan Shao a tough time!
This was enough to stir Xu Shu's emotions!
Hoo...
After hearing Xu Shu's words, Lu Yu let out a light breath, his eyes gradually narrowing.
He subconsciously wanted to recite a poem...
Something like "Thirty thousand li of river flows east into the sea, five thousand ren of lofty peaks pierce the sky!"
Or "The sun rises in the east, rain falls in the west; they say it's heartless, yet more loving than heart..."
In short, he felt that uttering a line at this moment would be incredibly cool!
Yet...
The words reached his lips, but he swallowed them back, deeming them inappropriate.
Lu Yu pondered why, in ancient poems, so many people wrote about Chibi, but so few about Guandu?
It seemed Old Yuan's prestige was far inferior to that of Zhou Gongjin and Zhuge Kongming.
With this thought, Lu Yu spontaneously recited a line.
—"The Battle of Guandu is entering the final round! It must be said, there's a bit of anticipation!"
As the words left his mouth...
Unexpectedly, Xu Shu, with his cultured air, recited a line.
—"Weakness prevails through careful calculation; strength perishes from careless planning!"
With this single line, Lu Yu felt a surge of imposing grandeur!
...
...
Northwest of Yanjin, by the Bian River dam, a location at the absolute upstream of the entire terrain.
In such torrential rain, no one would come here to investigate!
Xiahou Yuan and his "Leopard Cavalry" stood here, enduring the rain's onslaught... The ditches were already dug, everything was ready, all that was needed was for Yuan's army to enter Yanjin City!
Of course...
When Yuan Shao would enter the city, scouts would travel back and forth to inform them.
Furthermore, Lu Yu continuously sent messengers with updates.
The merits of this battle... had already been allocated.
"Heh heh!"
Hearing that Cao Chun's Tiger Cavalry would be the ones to beat the fallen dog.
Xiahou Yuan's lips curled into a smile, and he couldn't help but sigh, "This fellow, it's hard not to like him! A battle where life and death are determined by fate, yet he arranged it with such 'consideration for others,' heh heh, heh heh!"
Indeed...
The ditches were dug by Xiahou Yuan's "Leopard Cavalry," the fallen dog would be beaten by Cao Chun's Tiger Cavalry, and Lu Yu, as the commander of the Dragon Soaring Battalion, had ceded this world-shaking merit to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
This "consideration for others" was no wonder Xiahou Yuan was so deeply moved!
Just then.
—"Report, it is confirmed that all of Yuan's troops have entered Yanjin City!"
"Good!" Xiahou Yuan nodded heavily... "This is the best opportunity; if missed, it will be lost forever!"
Xiahou Yuan drew the saber at his waist.
With the loudest voice he could muster, he roared into the storm.
"Open the gates, release the water!"
It seemed this tiny voice was unable to compete with the roar of the downpour. Everyone could only see Xiahou Yuan draw his saber, but they didn't know what their order was.
And then, the personal guards beside Xiahou Yuan simultaneously shouted.
—"Open the gates, release the water!"
Following that, countless armored soldiers shouted in unison, their voices echoing!
—"Open the gates, release the water!"
—"Open the gates, release the water!"
One by one, the voices were passed down, each louder and more unified than the last...
Until...
With a "boom," the great gate was pulled open... The already swollen Bian River, like a beast breaking free from its cage, unleashed its power with continuous "rumbling" sounds, surging forth!
Suddenly...
This immense sound quickly reached Yanjin City, startling the Yuan camp soldiers who had been busy for days, panting for breath, and had already fallen asleep.
Naturally, this included Yuan Shao!
"Rumble!"
"Rumble!"
In a short while, the waves entered the trenches leading to Yanjin. The water flowed swiftly, waves surging from the ditches, crashing against the land. The earth supporting the city walls began to tremble.
Even Xiahou Yuan was awed by the power of nature.
He had never imagined that the Bian River, under this torrential downpour, could unleash such terrifying power, far beyond human strength.
The waves continued to crash. In just a quarter of an hour, they had reached the city of Yanjin.
Boom...
The entire Yanjin City trembled, swayed...
And Yuan Shao, awakened from his slumber, as he, along with Zhang He and Gao Lan, ascended the city wall.
He saw the massive city walls collapsing, sinking...
It was as if the entire ground had emptied, the city walls, several zhang high, directly sinking into the earth. Thousands of soldiers atop the walls were crushed and submerged in the floodwaters.
Instantly, the ditches became blocked, with nowhere to vent, and the water directly overflowed into the city.
...
...
Rumble... rumble!
With the immense power of the water... the floodwaters poured into the city, submerging countless houses. Countless courtyards began to collapse and sink!
This was a detachment of Yuan's Great Halberdiers. They had managed to seize a luxurious mansion!
The mansion was fully equipped with opulent furnishings... They had intended to stay there for a few days, to enjoy the life of the wealthy, and then, on their way out, to discreetly take some valuables back home!
To exchange for a large fortune!
Alas...
Just as they heard the "rumble," "rumble" sounds, the next moment... the floodwaters poured in. The opulent furnishings were shattered by the rainwater. Even the bronze mirrors... shattered into many pieces, washed away in all directions by the rainwater.
"Ah..."
A Great Halberdier, still in shock, let out a cry. He covered his face, as fragments of the bronze mirror had grazed his cheek.
"My eyes, my eyes..."
Groans of agony followed one after another...
Of course, this Great Halberdier was not the fortunate one, nor was he the most miserable...
A large number of Yuan's armored soldiers were crushed under piles of stone, beneath houses...
Even worse, some were constantly swept forward by the floodwaters... until they violently collided with a hard object at high speed, blood splashing everywhere... a gruesome sight!
The floodwaters continuously devoured everything. The submerged armored soldiers frantically flapped their hands.
Northerners... are they too unfamiliar with swimming?
Their struggling swimming strokes resembled "doggy paddle," but... in such raging waters, they were utterly useless.
They let out shrill cries like night owls, their eyes filled with despair...
The final outcome... was similarly grim!
Either they drowned in the water!
Or, swept along by the immense force of the current, they were dashed against something and suffocated. Yesterday, Yanjin City was a place of peace and comfort; today... it had become a charnel house!
"Escape..."
"Escape from here, escape to higher ground!"
Yuan Shao roared desperately...
Generals were already organizing the soldiers' self-rescue. After all, they had four hundred fifty thousand men, and there were higher grounds within Yanjin City... and sturdy residences!
Perhaps... with organized self-rescue, there was still a glimmer of hope.
However... in such chaos, amidst the great disorder, how easy was it to organize self-rescue?
And what was most terrifying was the vast number of horses in Yuan's army. They seemed to have an innate sense; they went mad, broke out of their enclosures, and in herds, galloped towards higher ground!
... At this moment, facing death, where did they still fear humans?
They trampled indiscriminately on anyone in their path as they surged towards the highest points!
Regardless of who was in their way!
They charged forward without hesitation, sending those "lucky survivors" who had evaded the flood tumbling to the ground. Close behind followed countless hooves, trampling over them, crushing their skulls.
The entire Yanjin City had descended into a living hell!
...
Yuan Shao was utterly stunned.
This was a nightmare...
He heard screams from all directions. He looked blankly at the armored soldiers beside him. He was fortunate... that his location was high ground!
And a sturdy place, not easily swept away by the flood!
He was safe...
But... standing on the city wall, he could see the state of all beings within Yanjin City all too clearly. And Yanjin City was an empty city; all those ravaged by the flood... were his soldiers!
And these soldiers...
Were now... fighting with death, even... even, as expected, falling into a disadvantage, their lives hanging by a thread!
The waves were about to crash... the building was about to crumble!
Screams, the screams of countless people, and the neighing of horses!
Wails, the soul-piercing wails, made Yuan Shao break out in a cold sweat!
As the cold sweat broke out, Yuan Shao, in an absolutely dire situation, suddenly cleared his mind.
So... so it was.
In the past few days, snippets had been flashing through Yuan Shao's mind.
—Lu Yu evacuated the common people from Yanjin to Guandu!
—Lu Yu invited him, Yuan Shao, to meet before Yanjin!
—Lu Yu lured him to attack the retreating troops...
—But he... but he, Yuan Shao, stubbornly chose to forcefully occupy Yanjin!
All this, and all that...
Lu Yu's objective from the beginning was... was to lure Yuan Shao into sending his four hundred fifty thousand troops into Yanjin, and then... then this monstrous flood!
No wonder... he evacuated the people to Guandu, no wonder...
"Lu! Lu Yu! I will eat your flesh raw!"
Yuan Shao roared with all his might. In fact, there were many things he couldn't understand.
How could Lu Yu be so sure? That he, Yuan Shao... that he, Yuan Shao, would occupy Yanjin?
Attacking the heart?
Attacking the heart again?
Was this what was called attacking the heart?
For a moment, Yuan Shao's feelings were no different from those of Yan Liang, who had been defeated, or Wen Chou, who had died!
Despair, hope-less despair!
In fact...
Yuan Shao was not without his precautions against Lu Yu's "attack on the heart," but... he had still underestimated it.
To be precise, Xu Shu had made one extra arrangement.
Once Yuan Shao's mind was manipulated...
It gave Xu Shu ample room to devise strategies!
Was it over?
Was everything over?
Yuan Shao raised his head, the cold rain on his face blurred with his tears. At this moment... he suddenly felt a sense of collapse!
Proud as Yuan Shao was, he was now on the verge of collapse.
Originally...
He had merely been waiting for the rain to stop, and his army would launch a fierce attack on Guandu. He firmly believed he could take Guandu in one fell swoop. Once this Guandu fortress fell, then... the Central Plains, the entire Central Plains' gateway would be opened!
Once his troops entered, Xudu would be his, Yuan Shao's. The entire regions of Si, Xu, Yan, and Yu... would also be his, Yuan Shao's. But... now, had all of this been drowned by this flood?
Several trusted armored soldiers placed a conical hat on Yuan Shao...
And Yuan Shao strode back and forth on the city wall...
His pupils contracted violently.
No... it wasn't over yet. He had to... he had to escape!
He had over four hundred thousand men. If each drank a barrel of water, it would be enough to carve out an escape route in this flood.
"My Lord, my Lord... retreat first, retreat!"
Zhang He repeatedly urged...
Unwilling, even though Yuan Shao had made up his mind, there was still a degree of reluctance!
He wanted to preserve as many soldiers as possible, to preserve this living force. In his view... the decisive battle between Cao and Yuan had not yet ended!
He... he wanted to wash away his shame!
He had not fallen, he, Yuan Shao, could not fall!
"My Lord, my Lord..." At this moment, Xu You, led by a group of armored soldiers, also stumbled over. "There is a place... there is a place that leads outside the city. My Lord, my Lord... escape first!"
"Then... then what about them?"
Yuan Shao looked around at the armored soldiers struggling in the flood.
Xu You was stunned...
At this moment, it seemed Yuan Shao was "fond of his soldiers like children." What a pretense!
"My Lord, the soldiers are blessed by heaven; naturally... naturally, some lucky ones will escape!" Xu You earnestly persuaded...
At once, he felt exhausted.
Not just mentally, but even his liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, all felt tired!
"Good... if that's the case, then... then let's retreat first!"
Yuan Shao immediately gave the order...
"Thump thump thump..."
Continuous footsteps echoed on the city wall. This "soldier-loving" Yuan Shao... left with great "unwillingness."
And at the foot of the city wall at this moment, the armored soldiers who had drowned in the flood were washed together. Many of them were still bleeding, their blood staining the water...
Adding a chilling and terrifying aura to Yanjin City, which had been flooded by the Bian River...
Was it over?
Not yet...
Because Cao Chun's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were outside the floodwaters. They were cavalry, not navy, so they naturally could not approach the submerged city.
However... if Yuan's soldiers dared to come ashore.
Then... the Tiger Cavalry's halberds were not to be trifled with. Even if they could not annihilate the vast number of Yuan troops, at least... they would make Yuan Shao shed a layer of skin, torn and bloody skin!
"All troops, heed my order, hold this position. If Yuan's troops are spotted, there is no need to charge; engage them with ranged fire from a distance!"
"Withdraw immediately once arrows are exhausted!"
Cao Chun's voice echoed through the storm...
The rain kept falling, the atmosphere growing more disharmonious...
...
...
North of Jizhou, Changshan Commandery, at the foot of Feilong Mountain... in the main hall of a tavern!
Everyone heard a gust of wind, the sound of the tavern door being pushed open, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, a man in his sixties, holding a long spear, stood in the center of the tavern!
—"Which one of you is Yuan An?"
With the old man's powerful voice!
Everyone in the tavern... including the proprietor, the waiters, and the customers... all gasped. Those who frequently drank at this tavern had seen the portrait of the Spear God, and the man before them... wasn't he the one in the painting!
—The Spear God, Tong Yuan!
—"I am he, Yuan An!"
Just then, by a table in the corner, a man in white robes suddenly stood up. He was Yuan An, who had been waiting long to meet Tong Yuan!
Immediately, he cupped his hands and bowed to Tong Yuan.
—"Follow me!"
Three cold words, as if each syllable had been steeped in ice for a thousand years...
Then... Da Feng Novel Network
Everyone felt a gust of cool wind. Tong Yuan was no longer in the tavern.
Fast, so fast his footwork was.
Even... this could no longer be called fast; it should be described as "swift" and "terrifying"!
And Yuan An...
Hoo... he let out a sigh. Even he, the first of the Eight Wonders of the Water Mirror, even he, the senior disciple of Zuo Ci, one of the Eight Eccentrics of Nanhua!
When facing the "Spear God" Tong Yuan, he still felt an immense pressure!
Tong Yuan!
Indeed, he was worthy of being mentioned alongside his master, "Mr. Water Mirror," and his master's master, "Immortal Nanhua"!
His aura was so powerful, so terrifying!
...
...