Xianxi is located in the Tianmen Mountain Park area on the opposite bank of the Yangtze River in the northwest of Wuhu City.
Cao's army crossed the river in batches, with the main force following Ruxukou to the Yangtze River. The remaining troops crossed the river from Xianxi, Liyang and other places, occupied Jiangxin Island, and blocked Guan Yu's army's retreat.
This place is actually the place where Zhu Huan defeated Cao Ren in history.
Including Ruxukou, Xianxi and the Jiangxinzhou currently occupied by Cao Wei, they are all places where Zhu Huan became famous.
It's just different from Zhu Huan's choice to defend Ruxukou. Guan Yu's army deliberately gave up Ruxukou and led Cao Wei's main force to the Yangtze River, implementing a strategy of luring the enemy deeper.
However, Zhu Huan did not have enough troops, so he chose to fight hard, and then won.
At this moment, on the Xianxi River, the mighty Cao Wei army ships almost cover the river. There is also a Jiangxin Island here, which is called Chenqiaozhou in later generations.
In the Han Dynasty, this place was called Zhongzhou, and the Jiangxin Township downstream was called Shazhou Island, which was recorded in "Three Kingdoms".
Cao Xiu brought far more people this time than Cao Ren brought in history. Lu Qian, Zang Ba and Xue Ti were the three generals with higher positions and were second only to Cao Xiu.
Below are dozens of generals such as Chang Diao, Zhuge Qian, Wang Shuang, Gao Zuo, Puzhong, Hu Zhi, Li Xing, and Yin Lu, who control Cao Wei's army of more than 100,000.
Because Guan Yu fled south in panic, Cao Xiu launched a large-scale attack. From Ruxukou to Xianxi and along the banks of the Yangtze River in Liyang, Cao Xiu's troops were all Cao's soldiers.
The troops and horses were so powerful that they seemed to be throwing whips to cut off the current.
Guan Yu's fleet transported some soldiers to Zheqi City on the other side and entered Zheqi Mountain to defend themselves. The main fleet continued down the river, seeming to be trying to evacuate quickly.
Cao Xiu was still preparing to cross the river, but Guan Yu's fleet had already arrived at Xianxi. Upon learning of this, he immediately ordered Cao's army in Xianxi to intercept.
Just as the sky was getting dark and it was dusk, hundreds of ships, large and small, were sailing eastward on the wide Yangtze River waterway.
One of the building ships is majestic and tall. Counting the bottom cabin, it has five floors and a height of four to five feet. It is comparable to a mobile city on the sea and is extremely dazzling among the fleet.
Guan Yu stood on the boat and looked at Zhongzhou from afar.
At this time, a stronghold of Cao's camp had been established on Zhongzhou Island. Cao's army was still crossing the river in dense numbers on the left bank, with countless ships going back and forth on the river.
Cao Jun over there also received the order, and the ships quickly began to form a formation, preparing to block Guan Yu's army on the river.
Seeing this situation, Guan Yu said coldly: "A group of young men, send an order to the three armies to kill them."
"You are not allowed to do so!"
Lu Xun quickly stopped and said: "The strategy has been successful. The enemy is deep inside. It would be easy to just eliminate Cao's army here, but if the main force of Cao's army is scared away, all the previous efforts will be wasted!"
Guan Yu looked unhappy and said: "I have been traveling across the north and south for decades. When I was fighting on the battlefield, Cao Xiu was still a baby. How dare he be so rampant today? A group of northerners even wanted to intercept me on the river. They really thought I couldn't control the water.
Army?"
Lu Xun smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the enemy is already trapped. When their main force crosses the river, we will join forces with Jianye's navy to first defeat Cao's army on Shazhou Island, and then wipe out Cao's army in Zhongzhou. By then, the main force of Cao's army will learn the news.
They must have panicked and wanted to cross the river to escape. They could come but they couldn't leave."
"Well."
Guan Yu stroked his already gray and white beard, nodded slightly and said: "Lu Boyan, you are indeed very talented. This battle is indeed as you expected. Cao Jun crossed the Yangtze River. On the river, I will let Cao Xiu die.
This place. But now the enemy has blocked the river, how should we get across?"
Lu Xun looked into the distance, pointed to the right side of Zhongzhou Island, which was the northwest direction of Jiujiang District in Wuhu City in later generations, and said: "Your Majesty, the enemy's troops have just landed on the island and have not yet completely crossed the river. The blockade on the right side of the river has not been launched.
Just in time to rush over."
Guan Yu looked intently and saw that Cao's troops on the left bank of Zhongzhou Island in the distance were indeed densely packed and were landing. At the same time, a large number of ships had gathered, but there were almost no Cao troops on the right bank of Zhongzhou Island and the southern bank of the Yangtze River.
This is because the Han army retreated much faster than Cao Jun imagined. As soon as Cao Xiu arrived at Hefei City, Guan Yu withdrew to Ruxukou. As soon as Cao Xiu caught up with Ruxukou, he retreated to Jianye without stopping.
As a result, Cao Xiu's interception speed was far slower than his retreat speed, and Cao Xiu could only continue to pursue him to prevent Guan Yu from pacifying Sun Quan after returning to Jiangdong, and rely on Jiang Fang to resist.
Seeing that there was indeed a gap to the east on their right, Guan Yu said, "Yes, Zhou Cang."
"The end will be here."
"Instruct the three armies to rush across the river from the right."
"only."
Zhou Cang immediately went to convey the military order.
Soon the flagship waved a semaphore, telling all ships to charge to the right.
At this moment, the sky was getting dark. Although Cao Jun in Zhongzhou and Xianxi on the left bank shouted and tried to stop them from leaving, they were beyond their reach. The vast Yangtze River was beyond their ability to stop them.
The fleet quickly launched an attack on Cao's army in the east, smashing the ships they used to intercept into pieces, and then sailed down the river and away.
Cao Xiu's main force was still in the stage of crossing the river, not to mention that their navy couldn't catch up, so they had no choice but to let it go.
At that time, Cao Xiu wanted to transport the main force of infantry and cavalry to the other side of the river first, and then wait until all the supplies arrived, then capture Zheqi City, and then follow the river road to break through Spring Valley, Wuhu, Yuhu, Danyang and other counties, directly to
Take Jianye.
In this way, even if Guan Yu's main force successfully returned and quelled Sun Quan's rebellion, they could reach Jianye City directly and begin an annexation attack on Yangzhou.
However, what Cao Xiu didn't know was that it was sunset outside Jianye City at this time. The sun was setting in the evening, and the bright sunlight had changed from bright to orange-red, and was still changing in a darker direction.
The ships at the pier raised their sails one after another.
The north wind blows most of the time in the Koto area in winter, and the southeast wind blows like the Battle of Chibi. After all, there are only a few times when the southeast wind blows.
Jianye happens to be in the north. If you want to go upstream along the Yangtze River, you will be in a situation where the current is against the current and the wind is behind you.
Wei Yan stood on the bow of a stern battleship, looking into the distance with a solemn gaze, and waved his hand: "Set sail!"
"set sail!"
As this order was issued, hundreds of ships were launched one after another.
The sailors under the cabin vigorously rocked the oars, and the creaking sound resounded throughout the world.
Guan Yu's order arrived this morning, asking Wei Yan to prepare to attack. Tonight, he would first eliminate Cao's army on Shazhou Island, and then trap the rest of Cao's army on the Yangtze River.
In the sunset, Guan Yu's fleet took the lead in passing through Zhongzhou and arrived at Shazhou Island. Cao Jun here also received the order to intercept Guan Yu's army.
They arrived earlier and were more prepared. They actually set up iron locks across the Yangtze River and controlled the entire river.
The leader here was Lu Qian. He stood on a high oar on the shore of Shazhou Island and looked out. He said to Wang Shuang, the general next to him: "Guan Yu is surrounded by enemies from both sides and wants to escape back to Jianye in embarrassment and wait for reinforcements. We must not give in easily.
He goes back."
Wang Shuang scratched his head and said, "But why do we have to stop them on the river? We might as well go to Jianye first. Wouldn't it be better if we don't let him enter the city in Jianye?"
Lu Qian glanced at him and said: "Wei Yan is in Jianye now. Will we be attacked by Guan Yu and Wei Yan when we go to Jianye? The main force of our army has not yet crossed the river. How can we be Guan Yu's opponent by ourselves? When Guan Yu returns to Jianye,
, and then sent Wei Yan to the rear to annihilate Sun Quan and solve the future troubles, do you think we can capture Jianye City?"
"Forehead"
Wang Shuang said awkwardly: "The general is wise."
"It is the wise general who conquered the east."
Lu Qian corrected him.
Although he was also a veteran of Cao Cao's time in Yanzhou, he was never reused.
It was not until Cao Pi succeeded to the throne that he became a partial general.
This time when Cao Xiu went south, he followed him as the governor of Xuzhou and added Weilu generals, so he had certain military power.
So act more cautiously.
At this time, Guan Yu's army had arrived in the distance, and iron chains were placed across the river.
Guan Yu immediately issued the order to attack, and the ships began to charge towards the shore of Shazhou Island.
A gentle slope was washed out on the south side of the river bank. Countless Jiangdong Navy ships rushed directly to the slope and ran aground. Then the soldiers disembarked and gathered.
Lu Qian believed that Guan Yu's army had not yet assembled and it was time to attack, so he ordered a large-scale attack.
But he didn't know that Guan Yu also knew about Shen Chen's Queyue Formation, so the soldiers disembarked from the ship and pushed the vehicles used to carry heavy supplies, and set up a circular formation on the outside to cover the soldiers' formation.
At the same time, there was a rain of arrows on the ship, and the overwhelming arrows shot Cao Jun's soldiers crying for their fathers and mothers.
The several-mile-long river beach was densely packed with enemy and enemy soldiers. After disembarking from the boats, the Han army gathered in formation and arrows fell like raindrops. Cao Jun used his shields against his crossbows and rushed to the vehicles to launch an attack.
The two sides started a desperate fight around the outer vehicles. The Han soldiers on the vehicles stabbed down with their spears, and the Cao soldiers below also stabbed upwards with their spears.
The arrows above our heads seemed to cover the sky, and the battle on the river beach for seven or eight miles below had no end in sight.
"Kill!"
"Kill these bastards."
"We, the children of Jiangdong, have never been weaker than others."
The Han army roared.
Many of them were soldiers recruited from Jiangdong and launched a crazy offensive against Cao Jun.
The battle continued. Because the Han army defended well, Cao's army was at a disadvantage. Many Cao's soldiers were shot, stabbed, and chopped down. Bodies were scattered on the river beach. Blood flowed into the Yangtze River along the beach bank. The river water on the river bank
They were gradually dyed red.
In the distance, Wang Shuang saw that their situation was not good, so he said to Lu Qian with some worry: "General, the enemy has used vehicles to defend our offensive. We can't get in now, and there are heavy casualties. Should we withdraw first?"
?”
Lu Qian shook his head: "The terrain of this Shazhou Island is extremely open. As soon as we retreat and they advance, they will lift the iron lock and let their ships pass. If Guan Yu returns to Jianye, it will be difficult to capture Jiangdong.
It’s up to heaven.”
"But the soldiers"
Wang Shuang also wanted to say something.
Lu Qian interrupted him and said: "Don't worry, the general's reinforcements are already on the way. It's getting late today. We must stop Guan Yu here. It's too late and we can't sail. They can only live on the boat and wait until tomorrow."
At dawn, the general's reinforcements arrive, can't they still be eliminated?"
"I see."
Only then did Wang Shuang understand why Lu Qian insisted on intercepting it at the risk of huge casualties.
The number of Cao's army far exceeded that of the Han army. In addition to the 130,000 infantry and cavalry in his headquarters, there were also 20,000 Sun Quan's troops in the hinterland of Jiangdong behind.
Guan Yu's headquarters is only fifty thousand, and the other thirty thousand are scattered in various places. It can be said that the entire Jiangdong is currently empty.
As long as Guan Yu's main force is trapped here, Wei Yan's few manpower will not be able to cause any trouble, and then Cao Xiu can directly cross the river and help Cao Pi seize Jiangdong.
With Jiangdong in hand, the Han Dynasty in the south would lose one-third of its territory, and its national power would wax and wane. Are we still afraid that we will not be able to unify the world in the future?
Thinking of this, Wang Shuang couldn't help but admire Cao Xiu's foresight.
Soon the battle over there became more intense. At the beginning of dusk, around seven o'clock in the evening, the sky became completely dark, and torches were lit on the river and on the shore.
The sounds of fighting, shouts, screams, the collision of weapons, and the sounds of various horns, gongs, drums, and bone whistles were heard endlessly, and the noise resounded throughout the sky.
While all Cao Jun's attention was focused on the south, countless ships had arrived at Shazhou Island behind them on the Yangtze River in the north.
Shazhou Island is really too big.
From the head of the island to the end of the island, it is actually twenty kilometers long. Cao Cao's troops are all on both sides of the head of the island. Not to mention defending, there are not even sentries posted at the end of the island.
Because they built a beacon tower further north in Xiaohuangzhou, where they could observe the movements on the Yangtze River.
It's a pity that Wei Yan had already deployed men on Xiaohuangzhou. Before the beacon tower could burn the smoke, it was raided by a team of dozens of people and could no longer report to Cao's army in the south.
At this moment, after Wei Yan landed on Shazhou Island, he immediately ordered an attack at full speed on Cao's army on the west bank of the island.
The soldiers held torches in one hand and fish paste in the other, and with the help of a small number of guards, they headed straight to Cao's camp on the west side.
Cao Xiu divided his troops on Shazhou Island with more than 30,000 troops, and the camps also stretched for several miles. However, at this time, almost the entire army went to fight Guan Yu on the beach in the south, and there was almost no defense in the camp.
There were more than 20,000 people in Wei Yan. They marched along the way, charging into the camps and setting fires everywhere.
Soon all the more than ten fortresses were on fire.
At night, the fire lights up into the sky.
Lu Qian, who was still fighting Guan Yu on the front line, did not realize that he had been stabbed in the buttocks. He was constantly looking for weak points in the Han army to direct the offensive.
When the flames started, someone suddenly shouted: "The back camp is on fire."
"What?"
"Look, you guys, we're at the back camp."
"That is how the matter?"
"Go put out the fire quickly."
In an instant, Cao Jun, who was on the offensive, panicked.
Lu Qian looked behind him in shock.
The raging flames burned half of the sky. A soldier ran over in embarrassment and shouted in a mournful voice: "Report, General, Wei Yan suddenly appeared in the rear. The guards in the camp were caught off guard and they set fire to it."
"Where's the boat? Where's the boat?"
Lu Qian looked at him with a ferocious expression. Nothing else mattered. Just burn the supplies, food, grass, weapons and equipment. Burn them. The Wei Dynasty was strong and had no shortage of these things.
Only the ship must not be lost.
The soldier howled: "When we ran out, the enemy was heading towards the dock!"
"Retreat, seize the ship!"
Lu Qian almost squeezed out these words from between his teeth.
Now I'm afraid that they won't be able to wait until Cao Xiu's reinforcements arrive tomorrow morning. If they can't grab the ship and escape during the night, they will be completely wiped out!