Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1387 City Battle
When the strategy was first proposed, Zhang Liao, as his deputy, was actually quite surprised, because he himself had examples of elite cavalry defeating large numbers of enemy troops. The battle between Sun Quan and Zhang Liao in Hefei was an extremely brilliant example.

However, Zhang Liao, who was involved in the incident, was well aware of the great risks of such an action. A hidden arrow or a sudden stab from a spear could kill him, thus leading to the annihilation of the entire army.

After that, Zhang Liao often asked himself, if the Battle of Hefei happened again, would he still be so fearless and courageous?
So after Zhao Yun received the secret report from Lu Yu and decided to take advantage of the situation, Zhang Liao immediately raised his objection.

Not to mention Cao Zhang's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the Western Liang Army led by Han Sui, which were also ranked among the top in the world and were far superior to Sun Quan's Jiangdong soldiers. Zhao Yun's identity was the general of the Jin State. People in such a position should sit in the central army and command the overall situation. How could he put himself in danger?

Zhang Liao said, "General, you are the pillar of the country. How can you take such a risk?"

"If there is a mistake, the general will not be able to protect himself, and the soldiers will be implicated. If the army is left without a commander, what will happen if the whole army is destroyed?"

"General, I beg you to let me take charge of the task of killing Cao Zhang and Han Sui. Liao will definitely be able to bring back their heads!"

Zhao Yun listened and said in a deep voice: "I know Wenyuan is brave and has made great achievements in the battles of Hefei and Bailang Mountain, but the opponents are the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the Xiliang Elite Cavalry, which are no less powerful than the Youzhou Iron Cavalry."

"Wenyuan, how many people do you think are needed to ensure victory in Shanggui City?"

Zhang Liao was silent. He had fought with Cao Zhang and Han Sui before, so he naturally knew that the other side was very skilled in martial arts and much more powerful than the Jiangdong generals and Louban Chanyu. If he was not careful, he might be defeated. How could he dare to guarantee victory?
Zhao Yun said in a deep voice: "I can't do that either!"

"So this time, the two of us will fight a decisive battle in the city!"

Zhang Liao couldn't help but ask, "Do we have to take this risky approach?"

"General, you are the heart and soul of the Jin army. If..."

Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "That's why I must go into battle myself. Otherwise, how can I set an example?"

"Commander-in-chief, if you cannot personally fight on the battlefield, you are not qualified."

He patted Zhang Liao on the shoulder and consoled him, "Don't worry, Wenyuan. I'm not recklessly sending myself to die. Back then, I killed Li Jue and others in Huaicheng and defeated the Flying Bear Army of Liangzhou. That was a deterrent to the Liangzhou soldiers."

"And the most important point is that only in this way can the other party be fooled."

"Even Wenyuan thinks it's impossible, and the other side will definitely not think that I dare to lead the army into the city to fight them, so it will have a more unexpected effect."

"And there is another point. The most troublesome thing about the Xiliang army is that they are very similar to the Hu people outside the Great Wall. If they cannot defeat them, they can retreat to various places in Liangzhou to recuperate and then try to make a comeback."

"By then, we will be in the open and they will be in the dark, and it will be very difficult to track them down. If Han Sui and his men escape, it will be like letting a tiger go back to the mountains, causing endless troubles."

“So although this plan is risky, if we can kill Han Sui and other Xiliang tyrants, we can solve the problem once and for all and eliminate future troubles.”

Zhang Liao had been persuaded by Zhao Yun, but he still insisted: "There are still two questions."

"First of all, the Xiliang Army has as many troops as the Jin Army, and they will also reinforce the city."

"Secondly, if we fail, what will happen to the soldiers?"

Zhao Yun said in a deep voice: "Put yourself in a desperate situation and then survive. As for the things outside the city, I can only trust Gao Gan."

Gao Gan was in charge of the Bingzhou infantry. When he finished reading Zhao Yun's secret letter, he took a deep breath and thought, this was too risky!
But since Zhao Yun has made up his mind, I have no choice but to sacrifice my life to accompany him!

Both sides had made sufficient preparations for this, and finally the day came when Han Sui pretended to surrender.

As night fell, Shanggui City fell into silence. Now almost all the people in the city had been driven away, and replaced by the stationed Cao army and Xiliang army.

Moreover, in order to ambush the surrendered Jin army, the number of troops in the city was far greater than it appeared on the surface. This was also the confidence of Cao Zhang and Han Sui. With their complete preparation and advantage in military strength, they were already invincible. The worst result today was that the Jin army did not dare to enter the city and escape.

So when the city gates were opened, flames rose from the top of the city walls, and the Jin cavalry rushed in from afar and filed into the city, Cao Zhang and Han Sui, who received the news, were both delighted. These Jin soldiers had already fallen into death and could never go back!

Cao Zhang's plan was to let most of the Jin army enter the city, then close the city gates and divide it. He and Han Sui would then catch the Jin army in the trap and destroy it, while those outside the city would be handed over to candidates such as Cheng Yin.

However, the news that came immediately made Cao Zhang instinctively feel that something was wrong.

The Jin army that rushed into the city did not go straight to the city lord's mansion to attack and kill him. Instead, after entering the city, they slipped along the wall and went around to where Han Sui's garrison was!
Cao Zhang reacted very quickly and immediately sent a signal to the defenders guarding the city gate to close the gate. However, not long after the message was sent, shouts and screams were heard from the city gate, and it was obvious that a fight had begun.

Cao Zhang stood on a high place and saw the Jin soldiers constantly climbing up the city wall and fighting with the defenders on the city wall. The shouts of killing coming from afar made Cao Zhang furious. The enemy actually attacked the city so openly!

I really was underestimated! Cao Zhang immediately jumped on his horse and shouted to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry behind him: "Follow me to the city gate and destroy all the Jin troops!"

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry roared in unison and followed Cao Zhang on their horses at a gallop. For a moment the sound of hooves was like thunder and thousands of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry rushed towards the city gate like a steel torrent.

But they soon stopped. On the long street, a general in a white helmet and white armor was standing on his horse with a spear in his hand, blocking Cao Zhang.

Cao Zhang dismounted his horse without stopping, and rushed towards the enemy with his sword in hand, shouting, "Who is coming?"

"I will show my sword, and I will not kill the nameless ones!"

A loud voice was shouted over there: "Zhao Zilong of Changshan is coming to wipe you out!"

Cao Zhang was not surprised but delighted when he heard this, "Zhao Yun?"

"You've come just in time. Let me see how capable you are and how you were able to suppress my Cao clan generals back then!"

Cao Zhang rode his horse very fast and arrived in front of Zhao Yun in just a few blinks of an eye. He shouted loudly and chopped down on the head with his sword.

Zhao Yun swung his spear in a flower shape, with the spear tip sticking to the blade and moving it to the side. He then pulled and swung the spear, and the spear tip flashed with a cold light like a poisonous snake, stabbing towards Cao Zhang's face.

Cao Zhang tried his best to avoid it, knowing that he had met a strong enemy, but he was not afraid. On the contrary, an excited look appeared on his face, and he immediately started fighting with Zhao Yun.

As soon as they started fighting, Cao Zhang knew that Zhao Yun was an extraordinary martial artist, so he immediately became extremely alert and fought carefully. At the same time, he also ordered the tigers and leopards to surround the Jin army. Regardless of whether Zhao Yun was killed or not, these Youzhou cavalrymen in front of him would not be able to escape today!

At the same time, Han Sui, who saw the momentum of the troops at the city gate, happened to run into Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao had met Han Sui before. He led his cavalry to block Han Sui's coming out. Seeing that Han Sui was in a panic for a moment, he hooked him with his crescent halberd, trying to knock Han Sui off his horse.

To Zhang Liao's surprise, Han Sui was extremely agile. He lay down on the horse's back to avoid Zhang Liao's attack. Then he bounced up and stabbed Zhang Liao with the spear in his hand.

The two exchanged a few moves. Zhang Liao was about to show his real strength when Han Sui waved his hand. A dozen lieutenants surrounded him. Zhang Liao saw them and swept his crescent halberd to avoid them. He stepped back a few steps and shouted, "Han Sui, you dare to pretend to surrender!"

Han Sui burst into laughter. "What's wrong with pretending to surrender? Do you really think you can buy me off by just offering a random price?"

"Today I will take your head and present it to the Emperor of Wei. Be prepared to die!"

He still didn't know that the Jin army had seen through his plan, so he just rode forward, wanting to surround and kill Zhang Liao. However, Zhang Liao had a smile on his face. He waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him threw grenades, which blew Han Sui's men into a miserable state.

Zhang Liao took the opportunity to harass Han Sui again. He shouted, "Han Sui, your false surrender has been exposed. Now tens of thousands of Jin troops are entering the city. You should get off your horse and prepare to die!"

Han Sui was shocked, but then calmed down and shouted to the generals around him: "Don't be fooled by him. Where did tens of thousands of troops come from?"

"Take your men to open the city gate, let candidate Cheng Yin and his men in, and kill all the Jin troops!"

In fact, Han Sui didn't need to send anyone to notify. When Candidate and others who were ambushing outside the city saw the Jin army entering the city, they had already prepared for a surprise attack. When they saw that most of the Jin army had entered the city, they shouted and thousands of Xiliang soldiers rushed straight to the city gate.

To their surprise, the Jin army at the back did not panic at all. After letting the front army enter the city, they all dismounted, sent people to occupy the top of the city wall, and then dismounted and lined up in front of the city gate, completely blocking the city gate.

The leading candidate saw this and sneered, "How bold of them to not close the city gates but instead think of engaging in battle with us! Are they crazy?"

Cheng Yin also sneered and said, "Why bother with them? With so few people at the city gate, a single charge from our cavalry will be enough to crush them!"

He led his men and rushed to the front. Seeing that the city gate was getting closer and closer, Cheng Yin ordered his men to take out the longbows behind them and prepare to offer a rain of arrows to the enemy.

However, when he reached a certain distance, he discovered with the help of the faint moonlight that the soldiers in the opposite formation were wearing extremely thick armor and holding long swords and shields. They were the famous elite soldiers in the Jin army!
Cheng Yin was startled, but he still subconsciously gave orders to his subordinates to shoot arrows. Hundreds of arrows shot at the Youzhou infantry under the city gate, but were completely blocked by their armor and fell to the ground.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Cheng Yin hurriedly spurred his horse to the side, wanting to reorganize the attack, but he heard a roar: "Throw down!"

The Youzhou infantrymen at the front crouched slightly, revealing the soldiers in the back row holding javelins. They threw hundreds of long javelins into Cheng Yin's formation with all their might, knocking dozens of cavalrymen at the front off their horses.

Cheng Yin saw a javelin flying towards him and quickly dodged to the side. The javelin brushed past his body and landed on the ground beside him, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

Cheng Yin was just thinking that he was lucky, but he saw sparks burning behind the javelin. The next moment, the javelin exploded and the flames completely covered Cheng Yin.

(End of this chapter)