Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1186 Breakout
Xiahou Yuan's idea was very direct. The east side, close to Yiling, was more likely to be the focus of the Jin army's defense, so it was relatively safer to go around it through the woods on the west side of the road.

Of course, Xiahou Yuan had thought that the other side would take advantage of his mentality and ambush a large number of troops in the woods to the west. However, he had no information on either side at this time. Since choosing either side would be a guess, he might as well choose the one that looked less dangerous.

So his soldiers lined up in dozens of rows, bypassed the main road far away, and used their hands and feet to trudge forward with difficulty in the woods on the steep hillside.

Although bypassing the road may seem simple, it actually consumes a huge amount of physical energy. This is because the terrain in Jingzhou is varied, and not only is the terrain on both sides of the road complex, but there is also the possibility of encountering poisonous snakes, ferocious beasts, swamps and mud. It can be said that it is full of dangers.

Xiahou Yuan was helpless about this. When he sent spies over a few days ago, he had not found anything unusual on the road. Who would have known that the Jin army could dig the road into this state in just a few days?
But his attempt was undoubtedly effective. After thousands of soldiers bypassed the main road, the flank of the Jin army was exposed to the Jin army's sight. The Cao army's archers shot arrows one after another, forcing the Jin army defenders to retreat to the woods on the east side.

The deputy general beside Xiahou Yuan saw this and said, "General, do you want to get back on the main road?"

Xiahou Yuan shook his head and said, "No, the enemy may be trying to lure us. If we get back on the road, they may attack us from the woods, causing us a lot of trouble."

"Since we are going to quickly pass through this nearly 100-mile mountain forest, we should avoid any complications. Although it is inconvenient for us to move around in the forest, the enemy will not rush in because they will face the same difficulties."

The deputy general asked, "Are we just going to give the road to the enemy?"

Xiahou Yuan also felt that what the deputy general said made sense, so he said, "Okay, send a Yizhou army to the road to guard the march."

The deputy general asked, "Who are the generals of the Yizhou Army going to go?"

Xiahou Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Send that Li Yan."

After hearing this, the deputy general quickly took the order. After a while, a general came out and led two thousand Yizhou soldiers to the mountain road.

Xiahou Yuan saw from the woods that the Yizhou soldiers on the mountain road below were using shields to protect their wings, sending dozens of cavalrymen to rush forward to explore the way, while the rear army was aiming bows and arrows at three directions behind. The coordination between these arms was orderly and their marching speed was extremely fast. He nodded secretly, thinking that there were also people in the Yizhou army who were familiar with the art of war.

The group walked in the woods for two hours. The long and rugged mountain road made everyone exhausted, but fortunately, after the previous group of Jin troops were defeated, there was no trace of the Jin troops in front of them, as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth.

The Cao army soldiers were delighted. In their opinion, they broke through too quickly and the Jin army did not have time to encircle them. If they continued like this, they would only need another day and night to reach Maicheng, and this trip would be a complete success!

Xiahou Yuan, however, had a serious expression on his face. He arranged for his deputy general to secretly inform his generals to be on high alert. After all, in Xiahou Yuan's view, how could the other side miss such a good opportunity?
As expected, there were shouts and screams coming from the front, and a spy reported in panic that the enemy had been spotted on the road in the woods ahead, and all the spies previously sent by the Yizhou army had been shot dead by the enemy!

Xiahou Yuan heard this and decisively ordered: "The entire army will enter the road from the woods, march quickly, and break through all obstacles on the road!"

Lu Xun, who was far away, saw Cao Jun's response and couldn't help but admire inwardly. Cao Jun's response was quick and correct. It would be difficult to find the opponent's weakness at the moment. They could only harass the opponent slowly, wear down the opponent's spirit, and wait for the opponent to reveal a weakness!

When Xiahou Yuan arrived at the battlefield right in front of the road, he saw more than a dozen mounds densely distributed on the narrow road. From one of the small holes, each half a foot square, an iron pipe protruded, which was constantly spewing flames, burning the soldiers who wanted to get closer and making them crawl.

When the deputy general saw Xiahou Yuan coming, he quickly reported: "The Jin army has dug a mound of earth with people inside, and they are using this unprecedented weapon to stop us from advancing!"

"The orientation of these mounds is very particular. Anyone who wants to approach will be attacked by flames from several directions at the same time, so it is impossible to destroy the mounds!"

"There is no spring water nearby to put out the fire. We are blocked by them. There are ambushes in the woods on both sides. We can't get through for the time being!"

Xiahou Yuan was pondering when he found that the general named Li Yan was commanding the soldiers to cut down trees. He was stunned. What was the use of using wood at this time?

His doubts were soon answered. The Yizhou soldiers picked trees as thick as bowls, chopped them down and carried them on their shoulders. Then, under the command of Li Yan, they rushed towards the flaming mound.

The trunk of the tree was very long, and before the flames could burn the soldiers, the trunk poked into the hole where the fire was spewing out, sealing it tightly.

The people inside wanted to push the wood out, but the Yizhou soldiers held on tightly. Others took the opportunity to seal the hole with trees. As more trees were inserted, the pile of flaming earth became smaller and smaller until it was completely extinguished.

Everyone cheered, Xiahou Yuan nodded slightly, thinking that Li Yan was a talented person that could be cultivated.

Lu Xun, who was holding a telescope in the distance, saw this and thought that fortunately the soldiers in the earthen forts had dug a retreat route in advance and should have withdrawn by now. However, the swift and decisive response of Cao's army was beyond Lu Xun's expectations. It seemed that he had to go all out this time!

Lu Xun ordered his men to shoot out fireworks again. When the Jin soldiers in the woods saw it, they retreated while shooting arrows. Soon the fighting between the two armies stopped temporarily.

But Xiahou Yuan couldn't be happy. He was afraid that the other party would harass him every moment in the next two days. It was obvious that they were going to wear his people down!

Thinking of this, he gave another order, "Everyone in Zhongde on the forest road should march at full speed. Ignore sporadic harassment and march as fast as possible!"

Everyone immediately quickened their pace, but as expected, half an hour later, the Jin army attacked again.

Xiahou Yuan led his subordinates and once again fought back the Jin army with great difficulty. But the enemy was like a leech and kept coming back. After several battles, the Cao army was exhausted. They walked with difficulty and ate dry rations. However, after walking such a long way, there was still no water source on the side of the road, so the soldiers were so thirsty that their throats were smoking and their physical strength was seriously reduced.

How could Xiahou Yuan not know that the enemy had covered up and destroyed the nearby water sources in advance, which meant that they knew his intention to go to Maicheng very well!
Even Cai Mao learned about the plan to rush to Maicheng half a day in advance. Apart from him, only a few of Xiahou Yuan's confidants knew about it. Xiahou Yuan did not think that there were traitors under his command, which could only mean that the other party had completely guessed Xiahou Yuan's thoughts.

Xiahou Yuan had a bad feeling in his heart. Since the enemy had guessed that he had abandoned Cai Mao's navy and guessed his marching direction and destroyed the water source in advance, where would the enemy attack him with a fatal blow?

The answer soon became clear. The spy reported that there was a tall mountain ahead on the road.

The spies estimated that the mountain was over a hundred feet high and it would take at least an hour to climb it.

According to the original plan, Cao's army was going to bypass it, but on this mountain, the spies discovered that there were several mountain springs near the top of the mountain. Xiahou Yuan heard it and looked up, forgetting the sky, and found that it would be dark in less than an hour.

He hesitated. Was the other party sure that he couldn't find water and would definitely go up the mountain?
Xiahou Yuan's first reaction was to bypass the enemy and march overnight, but when he saw the hungry and thirsty soldiers, he knew that if he continued to march at night, his soldiers would be exhausted to death before the Jin army arrived.

After a moment's hesitation, he ordered his deputy general, "Send out an order, take turns to go up the mountain to fetch water, and go down the mountain after drinking. Let the Yizhou army camp at the foot of the mountain first to prevent a surprise attack by the Jin army!"

Upon receiving the order, everyone lined up and climbed up the mountain, while 20,000 Yizhou soldiers were left behind to guard the road at the foot of the mountain to prevent an attack by the Jin army.

Li Yan was arranging his men to guard their positions. Fei Guan, another Yizhou general beside him, spitted fiercely, "Damn it, we fought to the death, but in the end we can't even drink water!"

"When they finish drinking, we might end up drinking their foot washing water!"

Li Yan looked around and said calmly, "Be careful what you say."

"Besides, if they don't let their own people drink first, will they let you drink first?"

Fei Guan heard this and said angrily: "That's fine, aren't you afraid that you will be abandoned by others?"

"Look at the Jin army, the big ones haven't arrived yet!"

Li Yan looked up at the sky and said leisurely, "At that time, we can only leave it to fate."

"But if you want to survive, there are still many ways."

Fei Guan was stunned and asked, "What method?"

Li Yan lowered his voice and said, "Let the direct lineage go up the mountain. You can see it, but the other side can't see it?"

"I guess the mountains at night must be very exciting."

Fei Guan was shocked when he heard this. "Then why don't you report this to General Xiahou?"

Li Yan smiled slightly, "No need to do this, I, General Xiahou, have some experience in dealing with him, otherwise he would be a mediocre person and deserve to die here."

"I'd like to see how he copes with it."

"We are at the foot of the mountain, so it's actually not that dangerous. After all, we can retreat anywhere."

"But if something goes wrong, you must find the right direction, so as not to run into the enemy's encirclement, which would be too late to save the situation."

On the mountain, Xiahou Yuan took the water bag handed over by the deputy general, tilted his head back and took a big gulp of the mountain spring water. He felt it was refreshing, and the heat and fatigue from the day's journey were instantly relieved a lot.

He took a bite of dry food and said to his deputy general, "Let the soldiers rest, and go down the mountain one hour after dark, and let the Yizhou army go up the mountain to drink water."

The deputy general said, "Isn't it dangerous to go up and down the mountain at night?"

“Should we let them go up the mountain now?”

Xiahou Yuan shook his head and said, "No, let's act after dark."

"When we go down the mountain," he pointed to the other side, "let our people go down from that side. No one is allowed to make any noise. Anyone who disobeys my order will be executed."

After hearing this, the deputy general didn't understand why, but he still asked someone to make arrangements.

The sky gradually darkened, and finally it was completely night. The moon rose in the sky, casting a faint silver glow on the forest.

But soon clouds came and covered the moon. At this time, the Wei army on the mountain began to move quietly, and the order to change guard was also passed to Li Yan and Fei Guan.

Fei Guan was surprised and asked, "Going up the mountain after dark?"

"Is it a bit dangerous?"

The messenger said impatiently, "The general is sympathetic to your thirst. Why don't you go drink water now? Do you have to wait until tomorrow?"

After hearing this, Li Yan said, "We will set off now. Please report back to the general."

After the messenger left, Fei Guan smiled bitterly and said, "You got it right. We are the bait."

"What to do now?"

"If we obey the military order, we will probably be blocked on the mountain. If we disobey the military order, we will lose our heads anyway."

(End of this chapter)