Chapter 378: Equivalent Tactics
Twelve or thirteen miles east of Mianchi, near the second watch, dogs suddenly started barking.

When the guards on duty struck the wooden clappers urgently, the elite troops of Cao's army, who were close to the wall, swarmed in.

A few dozen steps away, Cao Zhen, wearing double armor, holding a sword and a shield, watched quietly and listened for a while, but could not hear any signs of victory or defeat.

The defenders put up a stubborn resistance, with torches raised from time to time. These people were immediately shot and killed by Cao's archers.

The earthen fortifications were not completed and soon the remaining defenders retreated to the warehouse.

The warehouse walls were strong and tall, making it difficult for sneak attacking soldiers to break in quickly.

As a result, they could only watch helplessly as the defenders in the warehouse lit more and more torches. Cao's army's attack became more fierce, so the defenders set the warehouse on fire.

The fire in the warehouse spread out of control, and by the time Cao Zhen approached, the earthen fort had been cleared.

But beacon towers near and far had received the warning and the beacons were burning one after another.

Cao Zhen looked around at the beacon towers near and far, and seeing that some of them failed to ignite, he knew that Cao Xiu's fire had been effective, but still failed to completely isolate the enemy.

A large army cannot expect to win by surprise attack, and Cao Zhen is not disappointed with the current battle situation.

As the sky gradually brightened around five o'clock in the morning, the vanguard led by Cao Ren arrived five or six miles south of Mianchi and set up a temporary tent around a hill.

Cao Ren climbed up to a height and looked out, and said to Cao Chun who was following him: "The beacon fire is a warning, the defenders of Mianchi are already alert and prepared."

After participating in the assassination of the emperor, Cao Chun's expression became more and more gloomy. He turned his head and glanced in the direction of Mianchi, and said: "Gan Ning has a reputation for being domineering, how could he easily withdraw his troops? I think we should rest the officers and soldiers and wait for the main force of the central army."

"But what if he retreats in fear?"

Cao Ren turned to the map hanging beside the curtain, grabbed a torch and shone it, pointing with his other hand at Shanjin, west of Mianchi: "This is Gan Ning's throat. If we block Shanjin, we can cut off the support from the north bank. We can't let him retreat to Shanjin, and we must also be on guard against him crossing the river to the north."

The north side of Mianchi is close to the river bank, so if Gan Ning escapes now, it will be really difficult to intercept him.

Only by capturing and killing Gan Ning in this battle could we effectively strike a blow to the arrogance of the Guanzhong soldiers and encourage the confidence of all parties to resist.

Gan Ning's head was just like the head of Hua Xiong that Sun Jian killed when he was fighting against Dong Zhuo.

Cao Chun looked at the map and gritted his teeth, "Okay, I will lead the Leopard Cavalry to block the banks of the Mianchi River. As for Shanjin and Shanxian, please send troops to occupy them to block the way and cut off Gan Ning's support."

Cao Ren just smiled and said, "Zihe, you don't know the purpose of this battle."

Cao Chun looked at him seriously with doubt. Cao Ren whispered, "Brother, how can you be so obsessed with capturing and killing Gan Ning? It is certainly a good thing that we can capture Mianchi and kill Gan Ning today. If we can't, Gan Ning's status will definitely attract many reinforcements. He is far away in Hexi. It is a good time to defeat his remaining troops. If we can defeat his remaining troops in one battle, our army can advance and retreat calmly."

"Attack them and they will surely come to their rescue, besiege Mianchi and attack their reinforcements?"

Cao Chun understood everything in an instant, and naturally realized that his current mission was very important.

Gan Ning's decisive breakout and escape may have damaged the morale of the Guanzhong soldiers, but it did not damage the foundation.

Only by encircling Gan Ning, the spearhead of the eastern front, in the city of Mianchi can we lead the enemy by the nose.

Gan Ning was unable to command the reinforcements around him, and the generals of the reinforcements had to rescue Gan Ning... As long as they made a siege and fierce attack, they would force a supporting army to go out of the city to fight, and with their own numerical advantage, they would be able to gain a great local advantage.

After defeating several supporting forces, Gan Ning’s life or death would no longer be important.

After figuring it out, Cao Chun cupped his hands and said, "I understand, brother. This will cover the south bank!"

"Ah."

Cao Ren raised his hand and patted Cao Chun on the shoulder, encouraging him: "Brother, you have given up too much for us. This battle is related to the fate of our clan. You must not be careless."

"Yes!"

Cao Chun clasped his fists again and slapped his hands with them, making a crisp sound, but he really did not feel any gratitude.

It wasn't him who took the initiative to surround and kill the emperor's guards. In the final analysis, all this was instigated by Cao Cao.

However, Cao Cao did not expect that the emperor would be so decisive. Not only did he have the preliminary preparations to raise an army and launch a mutiny, but he was also prepared to sacrifice his life for the country.

After receiving the order, Cao Chun led the Leopard Cavalry to circle the formation and march northward. Following the movement of the Leopard Cavalry, more than 2,000 soldiers mainly from Dongping and eastern Yanzhou assigned to Cao Chun also formed a formation and advanced towards the open space west of Mianchi City.

They had to hurry to build camps and defensive positions.

Lü Zhao led these two thousand men and when they reached the edge of the road, except for leaving 500 armored soldiers to be on guard, the others took off their armor and began to dig trenches and do civil engineering work. They dug two trenches at a time, and the area in the middle was the garrison camp.

Not only them, the entire front army led by Cao Ren was also digging trenches, cutting trees and building camps.

On the city wall of Mianchi, Gan Ning quietly watched Cao Ren's camp in the south.

Gan Ning didn't care about the separated infantry and cavalry, as these people had never been his targets.

Even Cao Ren was not worth his effort.

After watching for a long time, he saw that more and more Cao troops continued to arrive in the south, gathering there.

Many of the newly arrived troops also worked on building camps and spreading out to the more distant hillsides to cut wood.

Gan Ning observed that it was about eleven o'clock, when the autumn sun made his armor feel hot, and then he said to the officers on his left and right: "The whole army will take off their armor, have a full meal and rest, and eat at 3 p.m. and put on armor again."

The military commander Sima bowed and said, "General, are you planning to attack the enemy camp at night?"

"Well, the enemy has come from afar at night, and the officers and soldiers are tired. They have worked hard all day to build the camp, so they will definitely be sleepy tonight."

Gan Ning said calmly, "With our army's strength, whenever we march or fight like this, it is always the Lord who guards the camp inside, and the historian Wen Gong patrols outside at night, and we dare not be careless at any time. The enemy army is coming from the old pass, I want to see who is on duty tonight."

The military commander looked up at the half-cloudy sky and warned, "General, since autumn, there has been a lot of fog and cold dew in the suburbs. If we attack at night, we are afraid that it will rain and soak the soldiers. The roads are slippery, which is not conducive to fighting."

"If it rains, it will be disadvantageous to our army, but even more disadvantageous to the enemy."

Gan Ning smiled and said, "If it really rains at night, and the enemy's camp is not yet secure and the soldiers are tired, what will happen?"

Night rain blocks vision and the transmission of military orders, and also hinders the efficiency of military mobilization.

People have emotions. After marching all night, Cao's army can still endure the current state, but they must build camp during the next day.

Even if the camp was barely built after nightfall, there was a lack of sufficient fodder. Many soldiers lacked bundles of grass to keep out the cold and moisture at night. If it rained again, they would naturally complain.

It's dark, raining, cold outside, and the ground is slippery. Do you want to mobilize such an army to fight against an unknown number of enemies?

After Gan Ning asked this question, the surrounding military officers relaxed and became more motivated to fight.

In fact, Gan Ning didn't want it to rain either. The road would be slippery after the rain, which would greatly affect his mobility.

During night battles, it is difficult to distinguish the number and position of the enemy and our own side; if you have strong mobility, you will have a great advantage, and as long as you fight hard enough, you can achieve a sweeping and herding result.

After all, those involved are elite troops, and the slippery ground will accelerate the depletion of physical strength.

If possible, Gan Ning doesn't want rain.

It's slow and inconvenient to move... If you're unlucky, there's a risk of being surrounded and trapped.

Around noon, Cao Cao finally arrived at the battlefield.

When he reached the top of the hill, he saw more than 3,000 men of Cao Ren's army wearing armor and lying on the sunny slope, soundly sleeping.

Cao Ren pointed at the soldiers sleeping in a mess on the south slope and said, "We are facing away from the Mianchi Lake, so it is difficult for the defenders to see us. The three thousand soldiers under my command should rest and gather their strength. If Gan Ning comes tonight, I will make him surrender!"

Cao Cao looked pleased and nodded, feeling relieved: "Great, Zixiao, this is a great idea!"

Jia Xu, who was accompanying him, also nodded slightly. The garrison of Mianchi was less than two thousand, and the defense was set up with Cao Ren's three thousand elite troops, plus the assistance of other troops.

It would be difficult for Gan Ning to gain any advantage if he arrived tonight.

After nightfall, there were nearly 30,000 people in the entire camp, one-third of whom were on night duty. These people easily held the defense line, and the other soldiers could wake up and join the battle.

In terms of troop numbers and tactical arrangements, Jia Xu didn't think there would be any problems.

After all, Gan Ning was just an unknown general.

No matter how much you overestimate him, he is no better than Cao Ren.

(End of this chapter)