Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1185 Encounter
When Yuan Xi heard the message from the spy, he guessed that Xiahou Yuan was going to make a desperate attempt.

Xiahou Yuan was not an adventurous person, but he did this because he was forced by the situation.

Wei State had captured Yizhou ahead of time, and should have had ample time to deploy its troops, but the battle in Jizhou intensified earlier than expected during daytime, leaving little time for Xiahou Yuan to rush back for the rescue.

Taking Yizhou would certainly be a great help to the State of Wei, but if the frontal battlefield of Jizhou was defeated, everything would be meaningless.

More importantly, Yuzhou is the hometown of the Cao and Xiahou families. Many of Xiahou Yuan's relatives are still in Yuzhou. Yuan Xi's previous attack on Yuzhou not only destroyed the morale of the people in Cao's camp, but also had a dangerous implication.

Earlier, Xiahou Yuan received news that after the Western Liang army massacred the villages in Jizhou, the retaliation he suffered was a counter-massacre led by Xionghu in Ji County of Liangzhou.

This kind of tooth-for-tooth and blood-for-blood tactic was unheard of in the previous battles between Cao's camp and Yuan Xi's army. What Xiahou Yuan was afraid of was that after Yuan Xi conquered Yuzhou, he would use the same tactic on the Cao and Xiahou families.

Therefore, after considering all the factors, Xiahou Yuan was anxious, and not just ordinary anxious. He was prepared to lose more than half of his soldiers and go to Yuzhou to join forces with Cao Xiu to stop the Jin army.

Early that morning, he went to the riverside fort to meet Cai Mao and said, "General Cai, this time we will leave the task of stopping Liu Bei's army on the river to you."

"If we can stop the Yuan-Liu coalition from marching north and get them to Yuzhou, and then you can return to Jingxi to defend it, as long as we hold out for a year or so, the King of Wei will be able to win the battle for Jizhou, and by then the fierce tiger will be defeated like a mountain, and there is nothing to fear."

"Then I will lead my troops back to help you defeat Liu Bei, recapture Jingzhou, and appoint you as the Lord of Jingzhou!"

Cai Mao hurriedly thanked him. He also knew that Xiahou Yuan was just making empty promises, like a year or two. Could he hold on until then?

But now Cai Mao was in a difficult situation. He and Yuan Xi and Liu Bei were already mortal enemies. Moreover, Mrs. Cai and Liu Cong had escaped the day before and their whereabouts were unknown in the ambush and battle. They were most likely dead.

This meant that Cai Mao no longer had the right to use Liu Cong to control Jingzhou, so Cai Mao could only cling to Xiahou Yuan and obtain a powerful position based on his military exploits in order to maintain the status of the Cai family.

As for the death of Liu Cong and Mrs. Cai, although it was a loss for Cai Mao, on the other hand, Cai Mao also got rid of two burdens, which actually relieved a lot of pressure.

Although Cai Mao and Madam Cai had a brother-sister relationship, personal gains and losses were insignificant in front of the family. Madam Cai's political marriage to Liu Biao was a guarantee of cooperation between Liu Biao and the Cai family. Later, the Cai family supported Liu Biao, and Liu Biao reciprocated. The two sides did not seem like lord and subordinates, but rather like partners.

But the situation got out of control with the death of Liu Biao. Lady Cai was a woman and Liu Cong was young, and their prestige could not overwhelm the aristocratic families of Jingzhou, so conflicts broke out.

Especially after the Cai Zhang family led the surrender to Cao Cao, the major families in Jingzhou have become a group of scattered sand. Instead of considering the people of Jingzhou, they stand on their own standpoints, vying to curry favor with Cao's camp and gain political capital for their own families.

In this situation, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, as the families that had previously received most of the benefits, were naturally hated and excluded by the other families, and they were also hypocritical in fighting. In other words, the Cai and Zhang families could no longer control the situation.

This is why Zhang Yun surrendered to Yuan Xi without hesitation. If Cao Ying's forces occupied Jingzhou for a long time, they would only maintain a balance among the major families, and the benefits Zhang family had previously gained would be lost sooner or later. In this case, it would be better to surrender to Yuan Xi and Liu Bei and take a big gamble.

Cai Mao had another difficulty. The relationship between the Cai family and Liu Cong was too close, and he had always been leading the opposition against Yuan and Liu. The other party might not tolerate him, so he could only follow Cao Cao to the end.

Cai Mao immediately returned to the water stronghold, gathered all the warships, and went downstream along the river to attack the water stronghold of the Yuan-Liu coalition forces, in order to contain Xiahou Yuan's breakthrough in Yiling.

Seeing this, the Yuan and Liu naval forces also sent out their warships, and a melee broke out between the two sides.

Guan Yu stood at the bow holding the Qinglong Sword and ordered his soldiers to charge towards the enemy ship. In fact, the injury on his arm had almost healed from the previous two days. This time he was determined to kill Cai Mao by surprise and completely wipe out Cai Mao's navy in one fell swoop!

Guan Yu remembered that Yuan Xi transferred Wen Pin to the land and temporarily handed over the navy to his command. This certainly showed Yuan Xi's trust in Guan Yu, but the special ship under his command that could sneak under his command also made Guan Yu extremely surprised and alert.

This wooden and iron structure of the ship is tightly fitted throughout and watertight. It can be propelled underwater by a machine called a steam engine turning the propeller. It also has a mechanism that can fix something called a bomb to the bottom of the enemy's ship and then detonate it with a delayed delay.

Guan Yu had seen it with his own eyes. It was an iron shell the size of a watermelon, hollow inside, ignited by special means, and at the same time prevented water from entering, using an extremely complex mechanism. Although this bomb still had many flaws and often misfired, once it exploded, it was extremely powerful. The wooden bottom of the boat was completely vulnerable, and the hole was several feet in radius, which could not be blocked at all, and the boat capsized and sank in the end.

This was undoubtedly a huge impact for Guan Yu, who was familiar with various naval warfare tactics. Previously, if he wanted to break into a large warship, he would either send soldiers to board the ship to seize it, or use fire attack, a tactic with a very high failure rate. But most of the time, both sides would fight for lives and control of the ship.

Yuan Xi's previous fire bombs and rockets had already greatly subverted Guan Yu's cognition, and now the submersible ships and bombs will greatly change the pattern of naval battles in the foreseeable future. At that time, no matter how fierce the warships on the river are, or how brave the generals are, a bomb will completely destroy them. When Guan Yu thought of this, he actually felt a slight sense of fear.

How to win against such an enemy?
This is what Yuan Xi showed him openly. What other killer moves does he have hidden?
The reason why Guan Yu thought so much was because he didn't dare to confront Liu Bei and Yuan Xi. He was worried about whether Liu Bei and Yuan Xi would turn against each other in the future. After all, anyone could see that Yuan Xi was determined to unify the world. What identity and position should Liu Bei use to face him at that time?
Support the Han Dynasty. If the Han Dynasty was about to perish, could Liu Bei not stop it?

Guan Yu's expression was stern. With the war approaching, it was not the time to consider these things. The most urgent task was to obtain Jingzhou and strengthen his own strength. Only when he became strong could he strive to control the general situation in the future!
Seeing the warships of Cai Mao's navy getting closer and closer, Guan Yu waved his hand and shouted, "Shoot!"

Both sides simultaneously fired overwhelming arrows, like locusts in a year of drought, covering the sky and the river.

On the shore, Xiahou Yuan was commanding tens of thousands of soldiers marching along the road. His current force was mainly composed of soldiers from three places.

The first were his own direct line of troops, numbering about 10,000. These were veterans who had conquered Yizhou. They were the best in terms of both combat power and military strength and armor, and were used as the central army and vanguard.

The second group consists of 20,000 to 30,000 Yizhou soldiers, whose combat effectiveness is very weak and who are used to explore the way on both wings.

The third is the 10,000 Jingzhou soldiers obtained from Cai Mao. Although their combat effectiveness is not as good as that of the Wei army, they are capable of both land and sea operations and can be used to cover the retreat.

As Cao Cao's most trusted commander-in-chief, Xiahou Yuan did not rely solely on nepotism to rise to power, but rather possessed outstanding leadership abilities, which had been tested in countless battles.

In comparison, Xiahou Dun, who was of the same clan, was good at domestic affairs but obviously not very good at fighting. Therefore, in the eyes of many generals in Cao's camp, his prestige was not as good as Xiahou Yuan.

Now Xiahou Yuan was commanding and mobilizing these three groups of soldiers at the same time, and he still had enough time. In fact, they had suffered a defeat before and their morale was low, which showed his ability to lead the troops.

Yuan Xi had a very deep understanding of Xiahou Dun's importance to Cao's camp, so Yuan Xi transferred Lu Xun and Wen Pin from the navy to the land, and surrounded him with all his strength to cut off any possibility of Xiahou Yuan's escape!
Now, Yuan Xi's army of nearly 20,000 soldiers was divided into three groups. Under the leadership of Lu Xun and Huang Zhong, they were outflanked Xiahou Yuan's army from three directions. A war was about to break out.

Xiahou Yuan was not idle either. After learning the movements of Yuan Xi's army, he ordered his soldiers to speed up their march. As long as they passed Yiling and marched another hundred miles, they would be able to reach Maicheng controlled by the Wei army. By then, the enemy would be helpless!
Xiahou Yuan has made preparations. An army of 40,000 is not something a ferocious tiger can easily defeat. In the worst case, he would just abandon the new recruits from Yizhou on both wings and let Jingzhou cover the rear. As long as his main force could retreat safely and consume the Jin army's manpower at the same time, it would not be a loss!
Xiahou Yuan could guess that the other side would definitely send a troop of soldiers to hold him back in front, so what he had to do was to break through this line of defense as soon as possible!

"Enemy ahead!" The Wei army's alarm was heard, Xiahou Yuan rode out, holding up the long sword in his hand, "The vanguard will charge the enemy's front line!"

The soldiers of the Wei army raised their swords and spears high, shouted loudly, and rushed forward. They were all experienced warriors and were confident that they could defeat any enemy that stood in their way!
The person standing in front of the Wei army was Lu Xun. He led an army on his own. Although he had no generals, he had prepared for the situation in advance. He had already cut off the road and set up camps. If the Cao army wanted to get through, they could only attack by force.

Now he was standing on a high place, holding a telescope and watching the Wei army rushing towards the camp, so he ordered the soldiers around him to fire rockets. The Jin army soldiers in various parts of the battlefield looked up and saw it, and they all went into combat status.

When the Wei army soldiers rushed to the front of the camp and saw the wooden walls that were only supported by two or more people and were crooked and full of gaps, they couldn't help but feel relieved. How could such a shabby camp across from them really stop their people?

They braved the dense rain of arrows and tore down the crude wooden fence on the road. The scene behind the village stunned them.

There was no one behind, but dozens of intricate trenches with sharp stakes at the bottom!

Many soldiers were unable to stop their feet and slipped down, were stabbed to death, and wailed at the bottom of the pit. Other soldiers wanted to retreat, but the soldiers who arrived later were unable to stop their feet and pushed the people in front of them down, causing chaos on the field.

Some soldiers climbed down and tried to find a way out, but the trench was too complicated. At this time, a rain of arrows came out again from behind the mound behind the trench. The Wei army realized that the Jin army was waiting here!

The news of the situation ahead reached the central army. Xiahou Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said decisively: "Pass my order, the entire army will go west into the woods and bypass the ditch!"

(End of this chapter)