Their Nerves, Elite Cavalry Strikes the Heart
Duyang City faced Yingchuan directly and lay less than three hundred li from Xuchang. On the strategic map, this was practically right on Cao Cao's front porch. For that reason alone, it had always been a place the Cao army guarded like their own lifeline.
Wuyin City leaned against Shangjie Mountain and stood beside Fuyu Mountain. The road between the two mountains was narrow, making it a textbook example of easy to defend and hard to attack. Wei Yan had been ordered to garrison there, and once he dug in, the place was as solid as iron.
By comparison, Biyang City, with mountains at its back and water at its front, was even more defensible. It faced Runan in Yuzhou. If the Cao army wanted to attack Jing Province from that direction, they had to march south from Yingchuan, pass Yichun to Anyang, then turn west toward Yiyang or Langling before they could finally reach Biyang.
The pressure on that front was not heavy. In the end, Guan Yu appointed Fu Rong to temporarily act as Administrator of Biyang, with Liao Li and Xiang Lang assisting in the defense.
On paper, this lineup was more than enough to handle harassment and probing attacks. But when they saw the Cao army leave a portion of troops to surround the city while the main force turned south without hesitation, the three of them immediately felt a knot form in their stomachs.
They wanted to lead troops out to intercept, but whether it was Fu Rong or Liao Li, neither could really be called a true battlefield commander.
Under the bright moonlight, Fu Rong stood on the city wall, looking down at the tightly organized Cao camp below. Anxiety crept into his heart.
"At this point, all we can hope for is that Xiangfan relies on high walls and deep moats to hold them back. Once General Guan finishes pacifying northern Jing, he can come to reinforce."
Even facing a sea of enemy banners, Fu Rong still believed firmly that General Guan would win.
That confidence came not only from Guan Yu's record, but also because when Fu Rong had garrisoned Fangling, he had personally seen the military equipment shipped from Hanzhong to northern Jing. If those weapons were fully deployed, they could only be described as terrifying on the battlefield.
Liao Li was less sentimental. He stared carefully at the Cao camp, trying to find any weakness that could be exploited for a surprise strike. He stared until his eyes ached, but still found nothing.
Rubbing his eyes, Liao Li frowned slightly.
"Ping Shi… there seems to be something going on over there."
Biyang sat near the mountains, so the terrain was higher. On clear days, one could vaguely make out the outline of Ping Shi County from the walls.
Fu Rong quickly climbed up to the watchtower. Squinting hard into the darkness, he indeed saw faint, flickering points of fire.
"Someone is coming to reinforce us, and they're moving fast," Fu Rong said, his heart lifting with excitement.
Outside Ping Shi County, Han Hao, acting under Chancellor Cao's orders to suppress the rebels, was on the verge of losing his mind.
Neatly arranged tents were being trampled into scraps by horse hooves. Burning tents became torches. The entire area outside Ping Shi blazed as bright as day.
Soldiers who had once been orderly now collapsed into chaos from a full-blown camp panic. Men ran while crying out. Bodies were crushed under charging warhorses.
Han Hao could not understand it.
This time, the main Cao army had marched out in force to northern Jing. Guan Yunzhang was famously proud. He should have gathered his main strength in northern Jing for a decisive battle.
So why were two elite cavalry forces suddenly cutting into his rear here?
For Zhao Yun, this night felt like a return to Changban Slope, when he had ridden freely through enemy lines without restraint.
The difference was that tonight, there were no chains holding him back.
Brave warriors led the charge. Handpicked personal troops followed like extensions of his own arms. A thousand men trampled through ten thousand tents. Tonight belonged to them.
"How magnificent," someone muttered.
From outside the battlefield, Gan Ning's face was smeared with blood and black ash, but he did not care in the slightest. Mounted on a high point, he stared at Zhao Yun's free and unstoppable figure on the battlefield, and the praise came straight from his heart.
"What courage."
One of Gan Ning's old subordinates laughed loudly.
"Hey, our general isn't bad either. Eight hundred riders tearing through a camp. Who can compare to that?"
The eight hundred veterans who had returned to Gan Ning's banner immediately joined in, noisily praising their own commander.
Normally, with Gan Ning's personality, he would have accepted the praise without hesitation. But tonight, watching Zhao Yun lead over three thousand elite cavalry and smash two to three tens of thousands of Cao troops into complete disorder, he knew better.
Compared to that, his own achievements tonight suddenly did not seem that great.
And Gan Ning also knew just how much luck had been involved.
"This success also relies on General Zhao's smoke pellets," Gan Ning said frankly.
He shook his head, his face full of open admiration.
"Liu Huangshu's side always manages to come up with all kinds of good things. It really makes people jealous."
The eight hundred followers immediately burst into laughter.
"General, you're thinking about Young General Gan's giant warships again, aren't you?"
"That's right. Last time Young General Gan went out on the river, General even talked about giant ships in his sleep."
"General, why not just come over and join Liu Huangshu with us?"
Gan Ning grinned broadly, not hiding his thoughts at all.
"Hah. Of course I'll go to Lord Xuande sooner or later. But first, I need to make my name thunder across northern Jing. Then, when I stand before Lord Xuande, I can ask him straight up. Does Gan Ning count as a hero or not?"
His followers roared in approval. This was the Gan Ning they respected.
For Gan Ning, tonight was simply too exhilarating.
When he first suggested using a risky surprise raid, he never expected General Zhao to agree so cleanly.
Not only did Zhao Yun decide to bring elite cavalry to coordinate the raid, he even handed over an entire box of smoke pellets.
He explained it clearly. These were made by Strategist Zhuge for the Jing-Xiang campaign. They had passed through the hands of two strategists and were finally given to Zhao Yun by Prefect Jiang. Now Zhao Yun passed them to Gan Ning, hoping to make the raid famous.
After testing the smoke pellets, Gan Ning laughed out loud.
With these, how could the camp raid fail?
After nightfall, Gan Ning led his personal troops. Every man held a bit in his mouth. Every horse was tightly reined. They moved in a wide detour to the east of Ping Shi.
The strongest men dismounted to drag away deer-horn obstacles. The rest followed Gan Ning, making as much noise as possible, charging straight into the camp from the left and right.
The eight hundred men raised fires like stars, burning enemy tents. Then they threw smoke pellets into the flames, thick smoke spreading as a cover.
The Cao army panicked. Each camp had no idea how many enemies there really were. Shouts and confusion filled the air.
Smoke blocked all sight. Cries could not find responses. Soldiers trampled each other in the chaos.
Wailing increased. Amid the earth-shaking shouts of killing, rumors spread wildly that Guan Yu himself had arrived.
Zhao Yun led his elite cavalry from the west. When the eastern camp erupted in noise and fire, he gave the order to charge. The Cao camp was instantly thrown into total confusion.
East and west were connected. No one could block them. No one dared to.
Once Zhao Yun entered the field, Gan Ning led his own men back out. He found a high place and looked over the battlefield, calmly enjoying the sight of this famous general of Changban Slope displaying his might.
At the same time, the more Gan Ning enjoyed the scene, the more Han Hao suffered.
These Cao troops had been personally selected and trained by Han Hao after Red Cliffs. They were supposed to march with him to attack Xiangfan, cut Jing Province in half, encircle Guan Yu, cure the Chancellor's heartache, earn noble titles, and leave their names in history.
Instead, things never followed people's wishes.
Watching his disciplined troops turn into a panicked, exploding mass of fugitives, Han Hao could only remain silent. The only thing he could do was stand on the walls and order his men to shout, directing the routed soldiers to flee north.
Only thirty li north lay Biyang, where Wen Ping had set up camp to besiege the enemy.
Now that the rout was already unstoppable, talking about attacking Xiangfan and Xiangyang was nothing but empty talk.
The only hope was that Wen Ping would learn of the situation in time and send troops to support them, so losses could at least be reduced.
The few hundred men who raided the camp had only broken the army's nerve.
But the three thousand elite cavalry that followed were the real knife driven straight into the heart.
Han Hao felt bitterness rise in his mouth.
And thinking back to how, since Red Cliffs, Chancellor Cao had struggled to secure a truly great victory, a trace of heavy emotion surfaced in Han Hao's heart.
Could it be… that Heaven truly favored Liu?