Chapter 239: A good father in the Cao family will not have a bad son! Then Cao Ang was confused: Ambush? How did Liu Bei know I was going to launch a surprise attack?

The east was getting white, and it was almost dawn.

On the Yingshui River, dozens of merchant ships were sailing southward under the cover of darkness.

Cao Ang stood at the bow holding a sword, his eyes as cold as ice, staring straight ahead.

Dian Wei glanced at the eldest son and saw some of the demeanor of his lord Cao Cao in him.

But he could also see that although Cao Ang tried his best to appear as calm as Cao Cao, there was still a hint of nervousness between his brows.

Or rather, some kind of excitement.

Dian Wei just smiled slightly but did not expose it.

After all, it is normal for a young rookie who is leading a troop for the first time to feel nervous and excited.

Although Cao Ang had followed Cao Cao in his campaigns over the years, he had gained a lot of experience.

Whether out of flattery or sincerity, the generals in the army spoke highly of Cao Ang and praised him for having the style of Cao Cao in commanding an army.

But for Cao Ang, this was the first time he broke away from Cao Cao and led an army alone.

The mission is to rush to Yangquan and save Lu Bu from danger.

It has to be said that it was indeed risky for Cao Cao to suddenly put such a heavy burden on Cao Ang, a rookie with no experience in commanding troops alone.

However, Cao Ang knew very well that this was exactly the opportunity Cao Cao was taking to give him the chance to show his talents and establish his authority.

If he wins this battle, his prestige in the army will be established. Whether it is his uncle Cao Ren and other relatives, or generals from other families such as Le Jin and Yu Jin, who would dare to disobey him?

As Cao Cao's eldest son, he had made military achievements and established prestige in the hearts of Cao's generals. Who could shake his position as the crown prince of the Cao family?

Cao Cao is paving the way for his future succession...

"Father, how could I not know your painstaking efforts!"

"Don't worry, I will definitely take Yangquan in this battle and let everyone in the world know that my Cao family has a strong father and a strong son."

"Compared to me, all the other sons of the Yuan family are nothing but dogs and pigs!"

Cao Ang gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, swore secretly in his heart, and a fierce confidence in his eyes burned like fire.

Just as Cao Ang was lost in thought, the water ahead gradually became wider and the fleet had already left Yingkou and entered the Huai River.

Towards the south bank, the outline of a city soon came into view.

"Master Zixiu, we should be at Yangquan City!"

Ma Dai, who was standing behind him, took a step forward and pointed to the other side of the river.

Ten days ago, on the orders of his uncle Ma Teng, he led 3,000 Ma family soldiers from Xiliang, went out of Tongguan to the east on the pretext of offering horses, and went through Luoyang to Xudu.

Afterwards, he joined Cao Ang, gathered 7,000 soldiers and horses, boarded a merchant ship and sailed south along the Ying River, heading straight for Huainan.

After sailing for several days with no obstructions along the way, they finally arrived at Yangquan City.

At this moment, Ma Dai's tone couldn't help but reveal a hint of excitement.

Cao Ang gazed intently and saw the city gradually become clearer and the outline of the ferry on the shore also came into view.

A few scattered merchant ships and grain vessels were loading and unloading cargo. Apart from the merchants and laborers, there were no more than a hundred soldiers on the ferry.

From this scene, it was obvious that the defenders of Yangquan City had not realized that their surprise attack force of 7,000 was already a large army approaching.

A sneer appeared on Cao Ang's lips, with a hint of irony in his excitement.

"Guo Fengxiao is indeed a master of strategy. That big-eared thief would never have thought that my father would draw troops from Liangzhou to help in the battle, let alone that we would disguise ourselves as merchant ships and rush thousands of miles away!"

"Ma Ziyue, tell your Liangzhou soldiers to prepare for a big fight."

"Tonight, I want to have a celebratory drink with you in Yangquan City!"

A confident sneer burned on Cao Ang's face, and his bold words showed that he was determined to take Yangquan City.

"I will obey your orders!"

Ma Dai bowed and accepted the order, then turned around and went to pass on the message.

When facing the west bank, I accidentally glanced and saw a smoke spread on a hill on the west bank.

This flash of wolf smoke suddenly gave him a feeling that he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

I don't know why, but a sense of inexplicable uneasiness suddenly flashed through my heart.

Ma Dai immediately comforted himself, thinking that it must be just the tension before the battle, so he stopped taking it seriously and continued to convey orders.

When the sky is bright and the morning glow rises in the east.

Dozens of merchant ships have approached the northern ferry terminal of Yangquan City.

At this time, even the strength of Yangquan City could be seen clearly from afar, even without looking at the ferry head.

The north gate was wide open, and merchants and civilians were traveling back and forth as usual. There was no sign of facing a powerful enemy or being on high alert.

Cao Ang's eyes welled up with bloodshot, he drew his sword and shouted excitedly:
"The enemy is completely unprepared. All troops, listen to my orders and display the Cao family flag!"

"Kill them all at the ferry and destroy Yangquan City in one fell swoop!"

"Kill all the stubborn enemies and make Cao Ang famous!"

The order was passed down.

The merchant ship removed its camouflage, and flags with the word "Cao" were raised on the mast. Cao's soldiers in the cabin also rushed onto the deck and lined up at the bow.

As the horn sounded, the merchant ship, with full sails and oars, sped towards the ferry.

At the ferry, the gong warning sounded soon.

The merchants and laborers were the first to flee. The ferry defenders, who numbered less than a hundred men, were thrown into confusion when they saw Cao's army descending from the sky, and they also fled.

One merchant ship after another rushed to the ferry on the south bank with almost no resistance.

The Cao army soldiers on the boat rushed to get off the boat and rushed to the shore.

The flagship docked, Cao Ang held up a silver spear and was about to jump off the deck to go ashore. "Master Zixiu, why don't you let me go ashore first? Once I seize the ferry and the army is firmly established, it won't be too late for you to go ashore later, Master Zixiu?"

Ma Dai suddenly stepped forward and stopped Cao Ang.

Dian Wei hurriedly stopped him and nodded in agreement:
"My Lord, what Ma Ziyue said is right. The enemy situation on the shore is unclear. How can you risk your precious body?"

"Just listen to Ma Ziyue. Once our army has stabilized its formation, it won't be too late for you to go ashore and take command."

Cao Ang couldn't help but frown and suddenly became unhappy.

Ma Dai was relatively tactful, but Dian Wei was much simpler-minded and didn't know how to beat around the bush. He directly advised him to put safety first, stay on the boat and watch the fun, and then get off the boat and eat the ready-made food after Ma Dai stabilized the situation.

The two men were obviously concerned about his status as the eldest son of the Cao family and did not dare to let him take any risks, for fear that he would make a mistake and would not be able to explain to Cao Cao.

Especially Dian Wei, Cao Cao transferred him to Cao Ang because he wanted to rely on his peerless martial arts to protect Cao Ang.

However, Cao Ang did not appreciate it. Instead, he felt offended by the kindness of the two men.

"I am the commander of these 7,000 soldiers. I should lead the troops and boost their morale. How can I just sit back and watch the fun?"

"Don't try to stop me. I want to get off the boat immediately and personally lead the soldiers to seize the ferry!"

However, Cao Ang's face darkened and he flatly rejected the two generals' kindness. He picked up his gun and walked down the boat.

Ma Dai and Dian Wei looked at each other, then hurriedly followed and tried to dissuade him.

Cao Ang held his spear horizontally and said proudly:
"Guo Fengxiao's plan has succeeded. The big-eared thieves are completely defenseless. The enemy in Yangquan has only more than 2,000 people. What threat can they pose?"

"Don't worry about the future. I, Cao Ang, have my father's blessing and protection. No one in the world who can take my life has been born yet!"

This domineering and bold statement completely shocked Ma Dai and Dian Wei, and they dared not step forward to stop him.

Cao Ang said nothing more, jumped onto his horse, jumped off the bow of the boat, and stepped onto the land on the south bank.

"This eldest son of Lord Cao is truly a dragon among men. If his son is like this, what kind of a hero is Lord Cao?"

"Perhaps what Jia Wenhe said is indeed correct. Although Cao Gong is weaker than Yuan Shao, he will definitely be able to defeat the strong with the weak and win the Battle of Guandu."

"Uncle, listening to Jia Wenhe's advice and sending troops to help Cao Gong may really be a wise decision..."

Ma Dai looked at Cao Ang's back and felt secretly moved.

Then he calmed himself down, mounted his horse, urged the Xiliang soldiers to go ashore, and follow Cao Ang.

"The eldest son is indeed worthy of being the lord's eldest son. This domineering and confident attitude is indeed very much like the lord..."

Dian Wei secretly praised in his heart, and hurriedly followed closely with double halberds in hand.

Dozens of merchant ships docked one after another. In a short time, nearly half of the more than 3,000 Cao's soldiers had all landed.

Cao's army has already crossed halfway.

On top of the north gate of Yangquan.

Lu Xun was in a high position and had a clear view of the situation of Cao's army. He also saw that half of Cao's army had just landed.

The time has come.

Lu Xun's eyes were like blades, and he waved his hand and shouted:

"Light the signal fire and send a signal to General Xiaoguan!"

A smoke signal quickly rose above the north gate tower.

And at this time.

Guan Ping and Xu Chu each led a thousand soldiers and horses to ambush in the reeds on both sides of the ferry.

Guan Ping held the long sword tightly in his hand, his eyes full of fighting spirit, staring at the north gate of Yangquan.

When a smoke signal rose, Guan Ping's eyes suddenly ignited with fighting spirit.

He pointed his long sword at the ferry head and shouted:
"All troops, listen up! Follow me to the ferry and kill all the invading Cao's troops!"

Amid the tiger's roar, Guan Ping took the lead, holding his sword and riding his horse, rushing out of the reeds.

More than a thousand soldiers of the Guan family army, with their long-accumulated murderous intent ignited, rushed out of the reeds like tigers and wolves, following their major general and killing towards the ferry.

at the same time.

In the reeds on the west side, Xu Chu also led the Xu family's tiger soldiers and another thousand Yangquan defenders to charge out.

Two thousand soldiers, like two sharp swords, advanced from east to west along the south bank of the Huai River towards the ferry and attacked.

In a blink of an eye, two sharp swords pierced into the ferry.

At this time, half of Cao's troops had just landed, and the 3,000 Cao soldiers on shore had not yet had time to form a battle formation and were in a brief state of chaos.

This is the time when a landing army is at its most vulnerable.

Just at this moment, the ambush troops suddenly arrived.

The Cao army that landed was caught off guard, and was shot in the middle in an instant, falling into chaos.

Guan Ping and Xu Chu each led troops, one fought from west to east, and the other fought from east to west, and they easily defeated Cao's army.

Lu Xun's strategy of attacking the enemy halfway across the river was so effective that in a short period of time, Cao's army was routed and fled towards the shore.

And this moment.

Cao Ang was stunned. He watched in amazement as Liu Jun's ambush suddenly arrived, and watched his own army that had landed be defeated in the blink of an eye.

"Ambush? They actually set up an ambush?"

"Didn't Liu Bei fall for Guo Fengxiao's trick and fail to guard against my army's surprise attack on Yangquan?"

"Why did they set up an ambush at the ferry in advance?"

Cao Ang's voice was hoarse and trembling, and the arrogance and conceit on his face had been replaced by endless astonishment and confusion.

The look in his eyes was as if he had seen a ghost!
(End of this chapter)