After more than ten days of rapid march, Yuan Shu's 300,000 troops arrived at Xia Cai Zuo near.
"Your Majesty! Xiang Ji of Xuzhou has stationed troops in Xiacai, and all 50,000 troops are stationed in the city to defend the city."
After receiving the report from his subordinates, Yuan Shu sneered at Xia Caicheng not far away.
Ignorant, arrogant, and simply ridiculous!
Do you think that just one Xia Cai Xiaocheng can stop my 300,000-strong army?
He is indeed a country bumpkin who has never seen the world. Today, I will let you see what a truly powerful army in the world is!
"Send an order to the entire army to bury pots, make rice, rest for a day, and then begin to attack the city!"
When they went down to Cai City, Xiang Ji and others stood on the city wall, looking at the huge camp ten miles away. They said in their hearts that they were not nervous, that would be nonsense.
This is an army of 300,000 people, not 300,000 cattle and sheep. Even if they stand still and let you kill them, it will probably take them a whole day to kill them.
"Have Zilong's Canglong Cavalry set off?"
Xiang Ji started questioning Cui Yan who was standing down.
After receiving a positive answer, he could continue to watch Yuan Shu's camp with peace of mind.
Yes, after the previous battle, the two thousand elite cavalry under Zhao Yun were awarded the title Canglongqi by Xiang Ji!
And its mission is to overcome obstacles for Xiang Ji and set up the banner of Xiang Ji on every inch of land in the world.
As for arranging for Zhao Yun's Canglong Cavalry to leave Xia Cai, this was Jia Xu's first step in planning this battle.
When they learned that Yuan Shu's army was attacking, Xiang Ji and others were not idle.
Originally, I wanted to choose a dangerous place close by, but after all, I was not familiar with the terrain of Yangzhou. After some discussion, I decided to defend Cai Cai.
After all, Cai is the only way to Xuzhou now. As long as he blocks here, it will be like a nail driven into Yangzhou. Then Yuan Shu will inevitably have to go head-to-head with Xiang Ji's Xuzhou army.
After choosing to guard Xia Cai, Xiang Ji's 50,000-strong army was dispatched, confiscating all the grain from neighboring counties and counties, and all the young men were moved to the city of Xia Cai.
At the very least, even if you raise them, you can't let them become enemies, right?
Moreover, in these more than ten days, Xiang Ji's 50,000-strong army also felled all the nearby trees that could be cut down.
In the same way, you can keep it for yourself and use it as mulberry wood.
Leave it to Yuan Shu. Could it be that he wanted to use the materials nearby to make the ladder?
Now, Xiang Ji's army, which was fully prepared, finally ushered in Yuan Shu, and the battle for hegemony north of the Yangtze River was about to officially begin.
Yes, Jiangnan is still in chaos, with various princes and governors standing everywhere, and the little overlord Sun Ce has also gone to Jiangdong to start his Jiangdong hegemony.
Xiang Ji didn't have time to pay attention to Yuan Shu before he was eliminated.
In the Jianghuai region north of the Yangtze River, the two most powerful princes were Yuan Shu and Xiang Ji.
Just by looking at Yuan Shu's heavy troop deployment and the establishment of passes at the Xu Yang border, we can clearly know that he also has no good intentions towards Xiang Ji.
The current situation is just that Xiang Ji was sent to others first.
At present, Xiang Ji's 50,000-strong army is the limit he can provide. After all, the pressure on logistics and food for an expedition will definitely be greater than that of a local battle. Moreover, if his Xuzhou is not heavily guarded, Xiang Ji will not rest assured.
After all, Tao Qian's 40,000-strong army that disappeared is still missing.
This has always been a knot in Xiang Ji's heart.
It's just that Xiang Ji is not clear.
The current 40,000 troops no longer have the surname Tao.
After changing his surname, Liu Bei has now led his army to Beihai, Qingzhou.
Because Liu Daer'er had an old relationship with Kong Rong, Kong Rong didn't doubt it, so he just thought it was Liu Bei. Tao Qian and Xiang Ji were defeated in the battle for Xuzhou, so they came to his Beihai County to rest for the time being.
However, Kong Rong didn't know that Liu Bei's ambitions gradually grew without the emperor's restraint.
The previous goal was just to gain the title of imperial uncle, but now, Liu Bei has set his sights on Kong Rong's entire Qingzhou and Beihai.
night.
Looking at Yuan Shu's camp with bright lights, Xiang Ji suddenly realized that he regretted sending out Zhao Yun's Canglong Cavalry so early.
If a night attack were carried out at this time, the effect would probably be acceptable.
When he told the generals what he was thinking, the generals who were about to take a rest suddenly became excited.
Night attack! How exciting?
As for the lack of cavalry? What are they afraid of? It's just a harassment, it's not like they want to invade the depths of the camp.
After some debate and some planning by Jia Xu, Xiang Yu finally decided on the candidate for the battle.
Xiang Ji personally led 3,000 Xiang's troops to attack the camp, accompanied by Zhou Tai. The Zangba leader's 15,000 troops were responsible for setting up an ambush to block the retreat, and Yu Jin was responsible for defending the city.
midnight.
The noisy camp of Yuan Shu's army has gradually fallen into silence.
Only a few unlucky sentries were assigned to guard the front of the camp.
"This is such a damn unlucky weather. Why is it so cold in the middle of the night?"
One sentry started complaining to his friend next to him about his bad luck.
It's so unlucky. There are 300,000 people in the camp, and the forward camp alone contains 50,000 people. But they are the only ones who are unlucky enough to be assigned to watch the night. What is this?
"Okay, Erniu, stop complaining and be content, we're just here to freeze all night.
Think about it tomorrow, we will be attacking the city.
We are the vanguard battalion, so we must be the first to attack the city.
Think about it for yourself, is it better to attack the city or keep vigil?
This is what our corps commander fought hard for, and if you are complaining like this, be careful that the corps commander will kick you if he hears it."
Being scolded by his companion, Erniu stuck out his tongue in embarrassment.
As for that? Aren’t I just complaining?
Speaking of which, where is the corporal? Did you see him just now?
Just as Erniu turned around to look for the team leader, his companions discovered something different in the dark ahead.
But before he could react, an arrow had already penetrated his throat.
"Plop."
The killed soldier fell to the cold ground, alarming Erniu who was still searching for the captain.
"What are you doing? Why did you fall even though you were fine?
En? Enemy...!"
It's a pity that Erniu will never be able to pronounce the word "attack".
Likewise, an arrow was inserted into his chest, causing him to open his eyes wide and look at the dark night sky unwillingly.
When Xiang Ji saw that all Yuan Shujun's sentries had been cleared, he immediately got on his horse.
"Come! Zhou Tai, take a thousand soldiers to set fire and create chaos.
Everyone else, all rush towards me, aiming for the main tent of the enemy camp!"
Now that he is here, Xiang Ji is naturally not willing to just harass him.
At the very least, to break the main tent of this forward battalion, killing a few generals would be enough, right?
As Xiang Ji and others broke in, the silence of the vanguard camp was immediately broken.
"Enemy attack!"
When a soldier who came out to relieve himself screamed before his death, Yuan Shu's vanguard camp fell into complete chaos.