Chapter 430: The Prime Minister's foresight is beyond my reach! Will God bless Liu Bei or Cao Cao?
The cavalry pretended to go north along the Fenshui Avenue, but the main force of the infantry took the unpopular eastern route, diagonally attacking Pingtao City and intercepting Cao Ren's main force.

This is Xiao Fang's motivation for not following the beaten path.

Everyone suddenly understood and there was surprise in the hall.

"It turns out that the Prime Minister's plan is not to march to the gates of Jinyang, but to completely annihilate Cao Ren's Qin army!"

"Such foresight is beyond our reach!"

Fa Zheng was impressed, and then he bowed to Liu Bei:

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has a more far-sighted vision. I think the Prime Minister's plan is feasible."

Everyone agreed and said yes.

Liu Bei laughed and slapped the map:
"Okay, okay, let's follow the Prime Minister's plan. We will pretend to go west, but actually go east and cut off Cao Ren's retreat!"

...

Two days later, Zishi City.

Two days after retreating northward, Cao Ren once again appeared in the city.

On the south gate tower.

Cao Ren stood with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed, his eyes fixed towards the south.

"General, there is a huge cloud of dust approaching from the south. It's the Han army coming!"

Liang Xing beside him pointed to the south and shouted.

Cao Ren looked into the distance and saw, as expected, a cloud of dust rising to the horizon at the end of the road on the east bank of the Fen River.

With the help of the midday sun, it was soon clear that the flags were fluttering in the dust and mist, rolling like waves.

This dust and fog formation must have at least 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers and horses, if not 100,000.

This means that the main force of the Han army has arrived.

"Everything is under the control of Yang Dezu. Liu Bei has indeed mobilized his entire army and marched north along the Fenshui Avenue!"

Cao Ren was so excited that he pounded the battlements with his fists, a ferocious sneer on his face.

According to Yang Xiu's calculations, Liu Bei would gather an army of 100,000 and march north along the Fenshui Avenue within two days.

Therefore, Cao Ren led his troops back to Zishi first and waited for Liu Bei to arrive.

At this moment, the two Qin armies had already arrived at the Fenshui and Zhaoyuze dams and had dug the dams thinner in advance.

According to the prior agreement, as soon as Liu Bei's main force appears, Cao Ren will immediately send a signal to order the two groups of troops to completely break through the remaining dam.

The sound of horse hooves rang out as several scouts entered the city, climbed up the south gate, and brought back information that reassured Cao Ren:
A large number of Han cavalry were spotted on the southern avenue, numbering at least 10,000!

"Ten thousand cavalrymen... The total number of Han cavalrymen is only over ten thousand, which means that all of Liu Bei's cavalrymen are here."

"The cavalry is all here, so they must be the main force of the Han army."

"This is truly God's help to me. May God bless my Great Qin!"

Cao Ren laughed loudly, without any hesitation on his face, and immediately waved his hand and shouted:
"Quickly light the beacon fire and send a signal to the troops from Fenshui and Zhao Yuze!"

After the order was passed down, three pillars of smoke beacon fire rose up on the top of Zi's city wall.

"Big Ear Thief, accept the surprise I prepared for you!"

Cao Ren looked at the Han army in the south again, with a sarcastic sneer on his face.

"Order that the entire army immediately withdraw from Zishi and retreat to the northern high ground to await the results!"

Cao Ren turned around and hurried down the city.

The north gate was opened, and the Qin army hurried out of the city and headed north.

The terrain of Zishi City is low. Once the dam is broken, the entire city will be flooded by the torrents of Fenshui and Zhaoyuze.

Cao Ren certainly would not be so foolish as to be trapped in Zi City, waiting to be drowned by his own flood and perish together with the Han army.

He wanted to lead his troops to move to high ground, watch the Han army being flooded, and then come down to clean up the mess after the water level receded.

More than an hour later.

Cao Ren had already mounted his horse with his sword in hand, standing on a hill, looking towards the direction of Zi City with excitement.

More than 20,000 Qin troops also moved to the high ground. They all stretched their necks and looked south, waiting to see the Han army being drowned.

Only Guo Huai had a frown on his face and a gloomy expression, which seemed out of place with the excited and expectant atmosphere of the Qin army.

There's nothing we can do about it, since he is from Bingzhou.

This flood not only flooded Liu Bei's Han army, but also his fellow countrymen in Bingzhou. Everyone could be full of hope, except him.

The rolling dust and fog were still approaching Zishi City, indicating that the Han army was unaware and was still moving northward.

"The water is coming, the flood is coming!"

I don't know who was sharp-eyed and suddenly shouted like this.

Cao Ren's nerves immediately tensed up, and he anxiously put his hands on his chest and looked towards the east and west.

really.

In the direction of the Fen River in the west, a dark torrent was rushing towards the direction of Zi City like a galloping horse.

Almost at the same time, the sound of rolling waves came from the southeast.

Cao Ren looked around and saw another torrent rushing towards him from the direction of Zhaoyaze.

Two dams have been dug!

Two torrents rushed out and rolled towards Zi City from both sides.

The Qin soldiers on the high ground immediately cheered and danced with excitement.

"The flood has started. With such a huge flood, the Han army is doomed!"

"Even if the Han army is a million strong, they will be wiped out!"

"Our General of the Cavalry is truly amazing. He was able to come up with such a plan that can easily destroy the Han army!"

"Bingzhou is now secured, secured..."

The excited and joyful discussions of the Qin soldiers resounded on all the high ground.

"Liu Bei, Liu Bei, you are invincible in every battle and attack, and you think you are invincible!"

"You would never have thought that you would suffer such a huge setback at the hands of me, Cao Ren." "Hahaha——"

Cao Ren pointed in the direction of the Han army in the south and laughed wildly.

It seemed that since the war between the Han and Qin armies broke out, he had been defeated repeatedly, and the psychological shadow left by Liu Bei's defeat was finally swept away at this moment.

Amidst the jubilation, Guo Huai was the only one who had mixed feelings, with a complex expression flashing between his brows.

He did have mixed feelings.

As a minister, Cao Ren should have been ecstatic that his plan had succeeded, inflicting heavy damage on 100,000 Han troops and resolving the crisis in Bingzhou.

But as a native of Bingzhou, it is impossible to say that I don't have some resentment in my heart when I see Cao Ren using this vicious scheme to submerge my fellow villagers like grass and ants.

"I hope that the people of Zishi City did not sacrifice their lives in vain, and that the Qin Dynasty can truly turn the tide..."

Guo Huai could only sigh softly and comfort himself secretly in his heart.

He took a deep breath, raised his head and looked into the distance, watching the rolling flood submerging Zi City.

...

Five miles south of Zishi City.

Ma Chao and Zhang Liao were leading 10,000 Han cavalry and advancing northward along the Fenshui Avenue.

A branch was tied to the tail of each cavalryman's horse, and each knight held two large flags in his hands.

It is precisely with this configuration that ten thousand cavalrymen galloping northward can create the momentum of an army of one hundred thousand.

"The city of Zishi is ahead. Mengqi, let the army rest in the city tonight."

Zhang Liao pointed his long sword at the outline of the city ahead.

As a native of Bingzhou and having guarded Bingzhou for many years, Zhang Liao, a northern frontier general, naturally knew every tree and blade of grass in Bingzhou like the back of his hand.

There was no need to send scouts to investigate. He could recognize with his eyes closed that the city of Zi was ahead.

"We have come with such a large force, Cao Ren must have already abandoned the city and fled. We should be able to take down Zishi City without a fight."

A hint of sarcasm flashed across Ma Chao's lips, and he pointed his silver spear forward:
"Order the entire army to speed up. Today's nap will be in Zi's city..."

Before the word "sleep" came out of his mouth, Zhang Liao blurted out "something is wrong", suddenly widened his eyes, and looked forward with an alert expression.

Ma Chao was stunned for a moment, then he raised his head and looked forward.

The city of Zi was just ahead, everything was calm and there was no sign of the enemy.

"Wenyuan, what's wrong?"

Ma Chao turned to look at Zhang Liao with a puzzled look.

Zhang Liao remained silent, his gaze still fixed forward, his pupils growing wider and wider, his ears pricked up.

"Flood, it's a flood!"

Zhang Liao's face suddenly changed, he pointed his knife forward and shouted.

Ma Chao followed his pointing and took a closer look, only to see that there was indeed a torrent of water ahead that had already flooded Zishi City and was now rolling towards them along the southward road.

Ma Chao's face changed drastically and he exclaimed:

"Why did a flood suddenly occur when all of a sudden there was nothing going on?"

"This...this is too weird!"

Zhang Liao glanced towards the east and west, and the astonishment in his eyes was instantly replaced by enlightenment.

"I understand, this is Cao Ren's evil plan!"

"This Zishi City is surrounded by the Fen River to the west and the Zhaoyu Lake to the east. The terrain is low and narrow, making it an ideal place to launch a water attack."

"Cao Ren knew he was no match for our army, so he came up with this vicious plan, digging up the Fen River and Zhao Yuze in an attempt to drown our army!"

Zhang Liao was familiar with the terrain, so he naturally saw through Cao Ren's plan in a blink of an eye.

Ma Chao suddenly realized and couldn't help but gasp.

"It seems that there is a powerful person around Cao Ren who can come up with such a vicious plan to defeat the strong with the weak. I wonder who proposed this to Cao Ren?"

"This plan is really vicious. Not to mention our 10,000 soldiers, even if we have a million soldiers, we will be annihilated!"

Ma Chao gritted his teeth and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

After being shocked, Zhang Liao heaved a sigh of relief and said with emotion:

"Fortunately, the Prime Minister proposed this plan to Your Majesty, asking us to lead the cavalry north along the Fen River Avenue, and we just happened to run into Cao Ren's flooding plan by accident!"

"If my 100,000 main forces come here, I'm afraid they will all be defeated here, and no one will be able to escape."

"This is truly God's blessing on Your Majesty!"

Hearing Zhang Liao's sigh, the shock on Ma Chao's face disappeared in an instant.

Yes, isn’t this God’s blessing?

If the main force was here, mainly infantry, how could they escape from this sudden flood?
But these 10,000 men just happened to be cavalry.

No matter how fast your torrent is, can it be faster than the four hooves of my warhorse?

"Wenyuan, you are right. This is indeed God's blessing on His Majesty!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Retreat immediately!"

Ma Chao felt relieved, turned his horse around, raised his spear and shouted:

"All troops, listen up! Throw away all useless flags and loads, and retreat south immediately!"

When the order was given, ten thousand Han soldiers immediately threw away their battle flags, turned around, and galloped away on their horses.

The cavalry was in front and the torrent was behind. They chased for several miles and soon left the torrent behind.

And this moment.

Cao Ren, who was to the north of Zi Shi, looked at the disappearing Han army flags and thought that the Han army had been drowned by the flood. He could not help but burst into earth-shaking laughter.

"One hundred thousand Han troops were wiped out!"

"Meng De, you really have the destiny!"

"Hahaha--"

(End of this chapter)