Chapter 33: Night Raid on Pengcheng · The Plan Succeeds

  Whoosh...

  The rain did not stop but instead grew heavier, while the thunderstorm that had been continuous and illuminated the entire night sky with lightning flashes temporarily stopped.

  Although the thunderstorm has stopped, the war has already entered a state of white heat. Xiahou Dun commanded the army, first using five cloud ladders to attack and lure the dark Xu State Army into chaos, and then using the four-sided blooming method to let the remaining cloud ladder troops rush up and launch a surprise attack on the entire west city wall. Among them, at the two corners of the south and north cities, Xiahou Dun also let two proud generals of the Cao family, Cao Xiu and Cao Chun, lead their troops to attack respectively. As a result, the Xu State Army on the city wall, which was already in chaos, suddenly found a breakthrough by the Cao army.

  In the western city, Cao Jiao was also helpless. In the heavy rain, useful defensive tools such as rolling logs and stone-throwing machines could not be transported to the location, while those stored on the city wall were thrown down randomly by soldiers due to poor visibility, causing unknown casualties. However, judging from the fact that the Cao army's advance was not halted at all, the effect was not significant.

  Cao Jiao knew that if things continued, the west city wall would probably not be able to hold on. He immediately sought help from Mi Fang and Tao Qian's troops who were defending the south and north of the city. Both of them knew the situation was critical, so they immediately led their elite troops to rescue, but as soon as they arrived at the corner, they were intercepted by Cao Chun and Cao Xiu's two routes.

  Although this was the case, the pressure on the western city wall had been alleviated somewhat, allowing Cao Jiao to catch his breath for a moment. At this time, looking at the chaotic scene around him, Cao Jiao couldn't help but curse secretly: "Damn it, Cao Cao, actually chose this time to launch a surprise attack. This damn heaven, why did it have to rain at this time!" Saying this, Cao Jiao was so angry that he couldn't help but raise his war knife high and slash towards the city wall on one side.

  However, at this moment, a blue light flashed in the sky, illuminating the entire night sky!

  Whoosh...

  The next moment, a white light came towards Cao Jiao at an eye-blurring speed!

  Rumble...

  The thunder rolled, and at the same time, the city wall beside Cao Jiao suddenly burst open with a loud "bang". The soldiers of Xuzhou who were surrounding the city wall were immediately blown away in all directions by the strong impact. With the remaining light that had not yet dissipated, Cao Jiao clearly saw that the faces of the flying soldiers were charred black, apparently killed by the lightning strike.

  Cao Jiao was shocked to see this scene, and secretly rejoiced that he had not approached earlier. If he had, he would probably have become a charred corpse as well. However, at this moment, Cao Jiao suddenly remembered the ancient records of gold attracting lightning. Cao Jiao's heart was even more shocked, and instinctively threw the weapon in his hand to the ground.

  Rustling... rumbling...

  Just then, a thunderclap sounded again. Cao Jiao recalled the scene from just now and was so frightened that he covered his head with both hands and fell to the ground.

  After a long time, Cao Jiao finally scrambled up without feeling any pain in his body. He looked around and found that it was pitch black all around him, with the sound of rain and shouts of killing intertwined endlessly. Seeing no one noticing him, Cao Jiao patted his chest, kicked away the war knife at his feet, and walked towards the other side, waving his hand to command.

  Cao Biao is indeed as his name suggests, and there are such "straw bags" commanding the battle, I don't know if it's a tragedy for the Dan Yang army. However, Xu Zhou's military incompetence is not limited to Cao Biao alone.

  Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian, although he had a good hand in internal affairs, had previously led troops to fight against the rebellious Qiang people and had also led the Xuzhou army to defeat the Yellow Turbans. Unfortunately, these were all things of the past for Tao Qian, who was now in his declining years. With the heavy rain from heaven, he led the relief troops from the north of the city to fight against Cao Chun's forces, but his body could no longer hold up and he had to be supported by his personal guards as he retreated. As soon as Tao Qian left, the remaining Dan Yang soldiers were leaderless and were defeated one after another by Cao Chun's army, which was calm and composed.

  Relatively speaking, the one who performed the best should be Mi Fang. In the southwest corner, leading the vanguard and fighting hard against Cao Xiu, it must be said that in history, being valued by Liu Bei, Mi Fang, apart from relying on his elder brother and sister, had some ability of his own. After provoking Cao Xiu to come forward with words, Mi Fang calmly retreated into the army and commanded the Dan Yang soldiers to form an array to deal with Cao Xiu.

  Just now, Cao Xiu dared to charge alone into the fifteen Dan Yang soldiers who had formed a battle array. One reason was that he saw those Dan Yang soldiers were already intimidated by his reputation, and the other was that at that time they were few in number and had no reinforcements. However, the situation is different now. Zuo Fang retreated into the formation and directed the Dan Yang soldiers to advance. Although Cao Xiu was brave and fierce, he did not dare to charge alone into a battle array with an enemy general commanding it.

  He was called "Qianli Ju" by Cao Cao, and in fact he was not a rough man. When Cao Xiu saw that he could not get out of the siege, he retreated into the Cao army formation, directing the Cao army to form an array and advance to fight with the Dan Yang soldiers.

  The darkness and heavy rain affected the judgment of both sides' command and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers, in this situation, even if a great general with strong command ability were to arrive, he would not be able to play a big role. Therefore, the originally somewhat orderly battle on the southwest side quickly became a melee.

  Cao Xiu saw that, instead of going to the front line, he retreated to the gap where Cao's army came from and supervised Cao's army entering the city. If Cao Cao were here, he would definitely praise Cao Xiu for this move. Although it may seem cowardly, it was a move that prioritized the overall situation. After all, at this point in the battle, the open gap was crucial to Cao's army. If Xu State's army took it back, the Cao army that had already entered the city would be isolated and eventually surrounded and killed. By retreating to this position, Cao Xiu could not only supervise the entry of Cao's army but also strengthen the defense of the gap, which was a brilliant move. In fact, being a general is not necessarily about cutting down enemy generals to show one's prowess; Cao Xiu, who was still young, had already deeply understood this principle and indeed deserved Cao Cao's praise.

  In the northwest corner, Cao Chun had the upper hand, but it would still take some time to repel the reinforcements from the north of the city. In the southwest corner, Cao Xiu and Mi Fang's two armies were locked in a fierce battle. The two breakthrough points of the Cao army could not play their role, which gave Cao Bao an opportunity to turn the tide. Seeing the situation clearly, Cao Bao couldn't help but slightly raise the corners of his mouth and sneer: "Cao Pi, if this is all you've got, it's absolutely impossible for you to take Pengcheng from me tonight!"

  Wooooo...

  But the fact is often cruel, just when Cao Jiao thought he could keep Pengcheng and repel the Cao army with pride. The desolate horn sounded simultaneously on both sides of the south and north of the city. Although the horn sound did not have its usual momentum in the heavy rain, these two sounds became a death knell for the Xuzhou army.

  Cao Jiao heard the sound and didn't know whether he was startled or slipped on the wet ground, but he fell. He had already ordered the troops from the south and north of the city to come and reinforce, while the replacement troops hadn't arrived yet due to the weather. Taking advantage of this gap, both sides launched an attack by Cao's army, and the consequences were clear to him. As he struggled to get up, Cao Jiao muttered to himself: "How is it possible! Under such heavy rain, how can Cao's army possibly circle around to the south and north of the city in such a short time!"

  The roads inside the city are better than those outside, which is a well-known fact. Now, Cao's army outside the city is actually moving faster than Xu State's replacement defense forces inside the city, which naturally makes Cao Pi fearful. However, with Cao Pi's abilities, how could he have thought that all of this was the result of Cao Cao and several strategists' calculations? It can be said that when Liu Ye predicted there would be a big rain, while no one in Xu State knew about it, the outcome of the Battle of Pengcheng had already been decided!