Chapter 55: The Strategist is truly Zhang Liang reborn! Wei Yan: Cai He, do you recognize who I am?

The next day, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

South of Yuyang City, a 5,000-strong army was marching rapidly northward along the eastern bank of the Yu River, taking advantage of the cover of the lingering pre-dawn darkness.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter!"

A scout galloped in from the north and pulled his horse to a halt in front of Cai He.

"Report to the General, we have scouted ahead. The enemy forces in Yuyang are completely unprepared, and there is no sign of the enemy outside the city."

A sharp gleam flashed in Cai He's eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled slightly upward.

"Kuai Yidu truly deserves to be known as the premier strategist of Jingxiang. Liu Bei would never have guessed that we would act on our own authority and launch a surprise attack on Yuyang..."

With a sigh of admiration, Cai He raised his riding crop and shouted:

"Pass down the order! Speed up the march! I want to launch a surprise attack on Yuyang City before dawn!"

With the order given, the 5,000 Jingzhou soldiers increased their pace.

As the first light of dawn began to rise, the silhouette of Yuyang City finally came into view.

The Cai family owned vast tracts of farmland near this city, and Cai He had been here more than once, making him quite familiar with the terrain around Yuyang.

Looking into the distance through the morning light, he saw only a sparse few defending soldiers on the ramparts, clearly presenting the appearance of a garrison lax in defense.

"Wei Yan!"

Cai He stared intently at the banner bearing the character "Wei" on the city wall, grinding his teeth as he uttered the name.

He remembered the name Wei Yan.

Back then, this humble commoner had served under his command, holding no higher rank than a mere squad leader.

Given his own status and position, he would normally never have had the opportunity to know of such an insignificant nobody.

However, half a year ago, this very Wei Yan had submitted a formal petition openly accusing him of unfairness in appointing personnel and crying out against being passed over for promotion.

How could Cai He tolerate such a minor character openly defying him? He had immediately demoted Wei Yan from a squad leader to a platoon leader.

After that, the name never crossed his path again.

He had practically forgotten the whole affair.

It was only until recently that he was astonished to discover that this same Wei Yan had undergone a miraculous transformation, somehow becoming a major general under Liu Bei!

Moreover, he now held the concurrent title of Prefect of Yuyang, and had used military force to forcibly seize all the farmlands owned by the Cai family in Yuyang.

Only then did Cai He recall that this Wei Yan had once been his subordinate, and one whom he had personally demoted.

"Wei Yan, do you really think that by defecting to Liu Bei, you have acquired the backing to dare look down upon my Cai family?"

"Today, I will let you witness the true foundation of my Cai family!"

Cai He let out a cold snort, drew his sword, and pointed it fiercely forward:

"Listen up, all troops! Follow me in one single push to level Yuyang!"

"Charge and kill them!"

The command to attack was given.

A blast of battle horns suddenly pierced the silence of the morning.

More than 5,000 Jingzhou soldiers surged forward in an uproar, rushing toward the southern wall of Yuyang like a rising tide.

Cai He's eyes burned with absolute determination.

He intended to take advantage of Wei Yan's lax defense and catch the garrison at their sleepiest hour in the early morning, seizing Yuyang City in one fell swoop!

The torrent of soldiers rolled forward, heading straight for Yuyang.

Upon the ramparts of Yuyang City.

Gong Du crouched halfway, keeping low beneath the battlements.

Nearly a thousand soldiers were similarly clad in armor and armed with blades, hiding quietly beneath the parapets.

Only a little over a hundred soldiers showed themselves on top.

As the sound of the horns rang out, the nerves of the soldiers, who had been lying in wait for so long, suddenly grew taut.

Gong Du raised his head and looked out, seeing countless Jingzhou soldiers sweeping forward under the morning light.

"Wei Wenchang was right! The Jingzhou army really is attempting a surprise attack!"

A wild combat intent blazed in Gong Du's eyes. He suddenly sprang to his feet, drew his saber, and roared:

"All troops, listen up! Reveal yourselves and meet the enemy!"

The sound of battle drums thundered across the walls.

The thousand soldiers hidden beneath the battlements suddenly straightened up, and in the blink of an eye, the previously empty ramparts were densely packed with Liu's soldiers.

Beneath the city.

Cai He, who was galloping forward on horseback, couldn't help but be startled by the sudden change atop the ramparts.

Just moments ago, the defenders on the wall had been sparse. Why had so many troops suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

What was going on?

Could it be that his movements had already been discovered by Wei Yan, and that scoundrel had made preparations in advance to catch him off guard?

Thoughts raced through Cai He's mind, and a look of shock abruptly crossed his face.

However, the next moment, he noticed that the defenders on the walls numbered no more than a thousand.

"I outnumber the enemy five to one! Even if that scoundrel Wei Yan made preparations in advance, what of it!"

Cai He let out a cold snort, his expression of disdain returning, and waved his sword as he shouted again:

"Pass on my order! The enemy forces are few and pose no threat!"

"All units continue the assault! Heavy rewards for whoever scales the wall first!"

The Jingzhou soldiers, whose morale had dipped slightly, instantly regained their fighting spirit and lunged toward Yuyang once more.

In the blink of an eye, the 5,000-strong army swept right up to the base of the city. Over a hundred scaling ladders were raised, and the Jingzhou soldiers began scrambling frantically to climb the walls.

Gong Du urged the thousand defenders to put up a desperate resistance.

The disparity in troop numbers was vast. Under the ferocious onslaught of a Jingzhou force five times their size, the defenders began to falter, and the loss of the city walls seemed imminent.

Cai He had already sheathed his sword, his mind no longer focused on directing the battle. Instead, he began pondering how he would draft his memorial to Liu Biao later, shifting the entire responsibility for this surprise attack onto Liu Bei.

West of Yuyang City, amidst the reed marshes along the Yu River.

Wei Yan chewed on a reed stalk, his cold gaze piercing through the thickets as he locked onto the banner bearing the character "Cai".

Behind him, the more than 2,000 Liu soldiers were all burning with fighting spirit, eager for battle.

"Devising strategies within a command tent to achieve victory a thousand miles away!"

"This Military Advisor Jinglue truly possesses the demeanor of Zhang Liang reborn..."

Wei Yan clicked his tongue in admiration, lowering his head to look at the bag containing the brilliant strategy given to him.

Xiao Fang had instructed him in the letter to dispatch multiple scouts to Xiangxian county to monitor Cai He's movements day and night.

Once the enemy army poured out in full force, he was to divide his forces into two routes. One route, led by Gong Du, would hold the city and make a frontal stand against Cai He's assault.

The other route, consisting of 2,000 main forces personally led by Wei Yan, would set out a day in advance to lie in ambush within the reed marshes along the Yu River.

Because these two thousand-plus men had slipped out of the city in separate batches disguised as grain transport guards, and had taken advantage of the cover of night a day prior to set their ambush, they failed to arouse the suspicion of the enemy spies.

Cai He's advance scouts had focused exclusively on reconnoitering the immediate surroundings of the city while neglecting the riverbank reeds, thus completely missing this hidden force.

Like a spectator watching a clown, Wei Yan watched as Cai He marched past him and arrogantly launched a surprise assault on Yuyang City.

"Our Military Advisor Xiao is truly formidable! That scoundrel Cai He really came to launch a surprise attack!"

"General Wei, what are we waiting for? Let's strike!"

Hu Che'er was already worked up to the extreme, his eyes bloodshot with excitement.

"Spit!"

Wei Yan spat out the reed stalk in his mouth, vaulted onto his horse, and pointed his long saber:

"Brother Hu, lead your one hundred Xiliang iron cavalry to break their formation. I will command the infantry to follow up and mop them up."

"You and I join forces and leave Cai He's army without a single piece of armor intact!"

Hu Che'er had been waiting precisely for these words.

With a wild laugh, he leaped onto his saddle, spurred his mount forward, and dragged his saber as he charged out.

One hundred Xiliang elite cavalry surged out of the reed marshes like a pitch-black, razor-sharp blade.

Wei Yan dug his heels into his horse's flanks, bounded out right behind them, and led the two thousand infantrymen in a sweeping assault toward the Jingzhou troops currently engaged in the siege.

At that exact moment.

Cai He had already figured out how to phrase his official report, and he lifted his head once more, casting his gaze toward the city walls.

Seeing the stubborn resistance put up by the defenders, he couldn't help feeling provoked into anger.

"Listen up, my personal guards! Throw yourselves into the fray—within half an hour—"

Before Cai He's arrogant command could fully leave his lips, shrill screams from the soldiers suddenly erupted off to his left.

Instinctively turning his head to look, Cai He's eyes bulged wide open in an instant, freezing him in sheer astonishment.

On the flank, thousands of Liu's soldiers had dropped down like divine troops descending from the heavens, materializing from out of nowhere and charging wildly toward his flank.

The hundred-strong cavalry led the charge, roaring like the wind.

Before he could even recover his wits, the iron cavalry had already pierced into his battle formation like a sharp arrow.

In an instant, his flank fell into complete chaos.

The might of the Xiliang iron cavalry was displayed in full force at that moment.

Hu Che'er spearheaded the charge, his long saber harvesting heads as easily as cutting vegetables and melons.

The hundred-odd iron cavalry followed closely behind, carving an unstoppable path forward.

Though numbering only a hundred riders, they sliced straight through the center of the Jingzhou army formation in the blink of an eye.

"An ambush?"

"Where did these ambushing troops pop up from?"

"This, this..."

Cai He turned pale with fright, looking as though he had just seen a ghost.

While he stood there in shock and bewilderment, the two thousand Liu infantrymen swept forward like a tidal wave.

With the Jingzhou army's formation already shattered by the cavalry charge, the ensuing infantry onslaught caused the entire force to crumble instantly, routing at first sight.

"Damn it! I've actually fallen for that scoundrel Wei Yan's trick!"

Cai He cursed through gritted teeth, but daring not linger a single second longer, he whipped his horse around and screamed at the top of his lungs:

"Retreat! All forces retreat to the south—"

It was already too late.

A dozen paces away, Wei Yan's bloodshot eyes had already locked onto him.

"Cai He, you dog!"

"Where do you think you're going!"

Accompanied by a furious roar, Wei Yan, riding alone, cut through the chaotic mob of fleeing soldiers and blocked Cai He's path like an iron tower.

The long saber in his hand whipped up a whirlwind of flying blood and slashed horizontally toward his waist.

Cai He was terribly startled; having no time to think, he hurriedly raised his own blade to parry.

"Boom!"

A muffled grunt echoed, followed by a miserable scream.

Cai He, horse and blade alike, was blasted backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.

As he vomited a mouthful of blood and struggled to pull himself up, the dripping tip of Wei Yan's saber was already poised right before his eyes.

"Cai He, do you recognize who I am?"