Chapter 384: Stronger than the White Horse Volunteers? Forcefully cross the Yishui River and let the barbarians have a taste of the power of Xiao Guoxiang's Queyue Formation!

On the north bank of Yishui River, on the main city of Yijing.

Yuan Shang and Tadun stood with their hands behind their backs, admiring the Wuhuan cavalry's drill from above.

As far as the eye can see, 40,000 cavalrymen were galloping back and forth on the shore, raising huge dust in the sky, as if doomsday had come.

The momentum was so great that the Wei army soldiers watching the drill were all secretly frightened.

"My dear brother, how do you think my cavalry compares to Gongsun Zan's White Horse Volunteers?"

Tadun pointed his whip at his own cavalry and asked proudly.

In the eyes of the Wuhuan people and other Hu people, the White Horse Volunteers were the strongest cavalry in the world, an existence that frightened them and terrified them.

At this time, Tadun was obviously boasting that the strength of his cavalry had surpassed that of the White Horse Volunteers of that year.

"In my humble opinion, the Wuhuan cavalry is far superior to the White Horse Volunteers!"

"Even if Gongsun Zan were to be resurrected and lead the White Horse Volunteers to fight against my brother, he would definitely be defeated!"

Of course Yuan Shang knew what Tadun was thinking, so he took the opportunity to flatter him.

Tadun laughed loudly, not trying to hide his smugness.

Then he pointed his whip at the other side of the river and said arrogantly:
"My dear brother, listen to me. Send a declaration of war to that big-eared thief and ask him to lead his 200,000 Chu troops across the river to fight!"

"If he falls for the provocation and dares to lead his army across the river, I will attack him halfway across the river and kill him without leaving a single piece of armor. He will never be able to return!"

Yuan Shang took a deep breath and thought to himself that this guy was really crazy.

Liu Bei has an army of 200,000. I hope he is afraid and dares not cross the river.

But you are so arrogant and conceited that you even hope that Liu Bei's army will cross the river?

"Your Majesty, this plan of the Great Chanyu is indeed a brilliant one."

Shen Pei came closer and said:

"With these 40,000 Wuhuan cavalry, if the Chu army dares to cross the river, it will be defeated without a doubt."

"If we can use provocation to lure Liu Bei across the river, we can inflict heavy damage on his 200,000-man army in one fell swoop."

"In this way, Liu Bei will surely retreat back to Jizhou, and the threat to Youzhou will be lifted."

"Then Your Majesty will be able to free up your hands to put down the rebellion of Tian Yu and other Youzhou traitors and completely control Youzhou, right?"

"Then join forces with the Second Young Master to attack from two fronts. It may be possible to recapture Jizhou and drive the big-eared thief back south of the Yellow River!"

Shen Pei offered a plan.

Yuan Shang's heart was shocked, and the surprise in his eyes instantly turned into a ray of dawn.

"Well, Zhengnan has a point, that makes sense."

After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, Yuan Shang smiled coldly:
"Okay, then I will use my brother's strategy and issue a declaration of war to Liu Bei, using the method of provoking him to lead his army to force a crossing of the Yishui River."

Tadun laughed wildly and said proudly:
"I've already told you, brother, just listen to me."

"If that big-eared thief dares to lead his army across the river, I promise you with my own head that I will kill him without leaving a single piece of armor behind!"

Seeing Tadun's confidence, Yuan Shang felt more emboldened and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Dengdengdeng!"

The sound of hurried footsteps was heard, and a scout rushed up to the city wall.

"Your Majesty, I have scouts ten miles downstream and found a Chu army of 8,000 men heading downstream along the south bank. I wonder what they are up to!"

Yuan Shang's heart was shocked, and the smile on his face faded immediately.

"Bring the map quickly!"

The close attendants hurriedly brought the map and spread it out in front of Yuan Shang and Tadun.

"Could it be that the big-eared thief wants to sneak across from downstream?"

"But with only 8,000 soldiers, what can they accomplish even if they sneak across the river?"

"I only need to send out cavalry to easily cut off his food supply, so that his eight thousand men will never return."

Yuan Shang glanced at the map, his words revealing a bit of disdain.

Shen Pei rolled his eyes a few times, but his expression changed:
"My lord, the big-eared thief is not just trying to sneak across the Yishui River. His eight thousand men must be heading for Quanzhou City!"

"If Quanzhou is lost, Ji County will be in danger, and the consequences will be disastrous!"

Yuan Shang was startled and his eyes quickly fell on Quanzhou, which was located downstream of Yishui River and close to Bohai Sea.

Quanzhou is near the sea, where the Yishui River and the Sangshui River meet.

If the Chu army crossed the river and captured Quanzhou, they would be able to go north along the Sang River, bypass their Yijing defense line, and directly take Ji County.

Ji County was the seat of Guangyang County and also the seat of Youzhou Prefecture. Empress Liu, as well as all the officials and their families who accompanied Yuan Shang in his retreat to the north, were all in Ji County.

If Ji County were lost, the people in Youzhou would be greatly shocked and the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse.

Those officials at all levels who were already wavering and even loyal to him would probably lose their morale in an instant and announce that they would change their flags and side with Liu Bei.

His rule in Youzhou will completely collapse.

By then, it would not be a problem of lack of manpower and food, but the rebel forces from all over Youzhou would gather around the 8,000 Chu troops and march south to attack Yijing.

He was about to face the dilemma of being attacked from both sides.

Even with the help of the Wuhuan people, he would surely be defeated.

"This plan of the big-eared thief is really a vicious one. He is trying to cut off the source of the trouble!"

"Such a vicious plan could only be thought of by the treacherous Xiao Fang!"

Yuan Shang was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, slapped the map and cursed with gritted teeth.

All the generals of the Wei army were terrified.

"Hahaha--"

A loud and wild and disdainful laugh was heard, which was extremely inconsistent with the tense and panicked atmosphere between Yuan Shang and his ministers.

The loud laughter naturally came from Tadun.

The laughter gradually died down, and he tapped the map with his whip:
"My dear brother, a mere 8,000 Chu bandits have frightened you to such an extent."

"What is there to be afraid of? I will lead my Wuhuan cavalry out now. In less than three days, I will bring you the eight thousand heads of the Chu army."

"Not a single one is missing from you!"

Yuan Shang suddenly realized, and the clouds on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by surprise. He almost forgot that he was not fighting alone, but with 40,000 Wuhuan cavalry!

I ceded land, received money, and became a younger brother. I paid so much, but what was it all for?
Isn’t it just to make the Wuhuan people work for you?
Now that Liu Bei wants to sneak across the Yishui River, if he doesn't quickly send the Wuhuan people to intercept him, wouldn't it be a waste of their support?

"Zhengnan, what do you think?"

Yuan Shang turned his gaze to Shen Pei.

After Shen Pei paused for a moment, he bowed and said:
"Forty thousand Wuhuan cavalrymen should have no problem defeating eight thousand Chu bandits."

"But I want to remind you that the Chu army has powerful weapons such as crossbows. You should bring more shields and try to test the enemy when fighting."

"Secondly, we must not allow all the enemy troops to land. We must attack them when they are halfway across the river. This will ensure that the Chu army has no room to use tricks."

"Remember, remember."

Tadun sounded impatient and waved his hand:
"Alright, alright, I don't need your instruction on how to fight a war. I know how to do it myself!"

Shen Pei was so embarrassed that he had to shut his mouth.

Yuan Shang swallowed his saliva and could only smile and bow:

"Brother is brave and good at fighting. He is naturally proficient in military tactics. There is no need for Zhengnan to remind him too much."

"Then I will stay in Yijing City, waiting for your good news."

Tadun patted his chest and said proudly:
"Brother, just wait here. I will bring you eight thousand heads within three days!"

That night.

Tadun left 10,000 cavalrymen in Yijing to guard against Liu Bei's strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, and to cross the Yishui River from the front while Liu Bei's army was away.

More than 30,000 Wuhuan cavalrymen marched along the northern bank of the Yishui River toward Quanzhou downstream.

...

Three days later, downstream of Yishui River.

In the afternoon.

Nearly 8,000 Chu army infantry and cavalry, along with more than a hundred chariots, have assembled on the south bank.

On the Yishui River, the navy led by Xu Sheng, with hundreds of warships, also entered the Yishui River from Bohai and joined the 8,000-strong Chu army.

The naval warships have arrived and can cross the Yishui River at any time.

Zhang Liao immediately held his sword across the shore and looked far towards the north bank.

There was only a cloud of dust and fog, and vaguely visible were teams of cavalrymen with wolf flags galloping back and forth on patrol along the north bank.

"Wenyuan, judging from the number of enemy patrol cavalry, the number of Wuhuan cavalry coming is at least 30,000."

"Everything has happened as Prime Minister Xiao expected. Yuan Shang has indeed sent Tadun to lead the main cavalry to intercept us downstream."

Gao Shun pointed at the enemy situation on the other side of the river and said.

Zhang Liao nodded slightly and sneered:

"Since Tadun has brought such a great achievement to our brothers, let's just accept it with joy."

Gao Shun also sneered, and the two of them spoke with a determination to win.

"Order all troops to practice crossing the river as planned!"

Zhang Liao did not hesitate any longer and immediately waved his sword and issued the order.

The Chu army quickly began to board the ships.

Teams of infantry and cavalry boarded the ship in an orderly manner.

Hundreds of warships were also pushed onto the warships.

Following Xu Sheng's order, the Chu army's warships started moving and headed towards the opposite bank.

Not far from the north shore.

Thirty thousand Wuhuan cavalry were hiding among the sparse woods, only a hundred steps away from the shore.

Tadun was building a awning with his hands and looking towards the river bank.

In order to allow the Chu army to land with confidence and catch them off guard, Tadun did not allow the main force to appear on the shore, but hid in the woods, leaving only some patrol cavalry and scouts to scout the movements of the Chu army at any time.

At this moment, he was not sure whether the Chu army on the other side dared to cross the river.

If the Chu army discovered their tracks, became fearful, and gave up the attempt to cross the river, then this great achievement would be lost.

"Report——"

A scout came galloping over.

"Reporting to the Great Chanyu, the Chu army on the other side has boarded the ship and is heading to the north bank!"

The scout brought the result that Tadun wanted to see.

The worry in Tadun's eyes disappeared, and he laughed:
"These Chu bandits are really crossing the river to die!"

"Pass the order down. All units don't have to rush into action. Let them land first!"

"When the enemy army is halfway across the river, follow me and attack them. In one fell swoop, we will crush the Chu bandits on the shore!"

When the order was given, the fighting spirit of the Wuhuan people was immediately ignited, and everyone's blood was boiling and they were burning with murderous intent.

The beach is a hundred steps away.

The first batch of Chu army warships have arrived at the shore.

The first to come down were the infantry, crossbowmen and chariots led by Gao Shun, followed closely by the cavalry led by Zhang Liao.

According to the drills of many days, Gao Shun shouted at his soldiers and quickly moved hundreds of chariots to the river at both ends, connecting head to tail, forming an arc formation like a crescent moon.

More than a thousand spearmen quickly thrust their spears through the gaps between the wheels, forming a dense wall of blades.

Immediately afterwards, a thousand crossbowmen disembarked and landed, setting up hundreds of large crossbows inside the chariot formation and aiming at the outside of the chariot formation.

More than 800 heavy cavalry finally landed and hid in the formation.

Zhang Liao stood on his horse with his sword drawn, gazing into the distance in the direction of the woods, his cold eyes revealing absolute confidence.

"Tadun, let the horses come over."

"Today, I will let you experience the power of the Prime Minister's Queyue Formation!"

(End of this chapter)