Chapter 18: Guan Yu's Camp is Besieged, Li You Meets Lü Bu for the Second Time!

  Last time, Guo Jia had no choice but to take out Han Xing Wang Liu Bei's secret order to stop Guan Yu from fighting a desperate battle with Lü Bu. After seeing his elder brother Liu Bei's Yizhou, Guan Yu was moved to tears and accepted Guo Jia's advice. He decided to attack Xu Huang's camp tonight, along with the camps of Guo Si and Li Kui. Guo Jia took the opportunity to build a watchtower, which would be in contact with Yangping Pass!

  Some people do not understand why we need to take advantage of the current situation and cast arrow towers, because during the day, Guo Si and Li Jue are attacking fiercely everywhere, it is unrealistic to send troops to cast arrow towers. Now there is only the opportunity to take advantage of Guan Yu and Xu Huang's army to cast arrow towers, competing with each other for every second, and then form a situation where they can respond to each other with Yangping Gate. In this way, no matter whether it is Guo Si, Li Jue or Lü Bu who wants to launch a strong attack on Yangping Gate, the arrow tower can shoot arrows everywhere to resist their attacks. And if you want to attack the arrow tower, there are wooden bridges connecting the arrow tower and Yangping Gate, so Yangping Gate can transport troops to the arrow tower, and also resist the attack of Dong Zhuo's army. In this way, even if Dong Zhuo's army abandons its blood and takes down the arrow tower, Liu Bei's army can set fire to the arrow tower on Yangping Gate! This is very beneficial for the protracted war of Yangping Gate. Now it is unrealistic to want to thoroughly defeat Dong Zhuo's 300,000 troops, after all Lü Bu is exceptionally brave! Unmatched in the world!

  Guan Yu and Guo Jia, Xu Huang three people have discussed and decided that tonight at midnight, Guan Yu will lead 30,000 elite cavalrymen to exit Yangping Pass and intercept and kill Dong Zhuo's army led by Guo Si. Xu Huang will also exit Yangping Pass with 20,000 elite cavalrymen to intercept and kill Dong Zhuo's army led by Li Jue! They have agreed that whoever gains the upper hand should return immediately and not engage in a fierce battle with Lü Bu! Guo Jia himself will lead 100,000 soldiers to buy time and build four arrow towers at each location, and also to provide support for the return of Guan Yu and Xu Huang's two armies.

  The four arrow towers were carefully considered by Guo Jia, who decided to arrange them in a square shape to slow down the advance of Dong Zhuo's army. All this was secretly prepared by Guo Jia, who had already stockpiled the necessary wood and cement. Since Li Yu invented cement in Yizhou, it became a crucial material for defending Yangping Pass. Therefore, before going out to battle, Guo Jia specifically requested that Liu Bei allocate cement, as its use and sale were controlled by Liu Bei, and even its production was nationalized. To obtain cement, one had to get the approval of Liu Bei and Li Yu. Liu Bei readily agreed and immediately ordered 100,000 jin of cement to be prepared for Guo Jia. With this amount of cement, building four arrow towers was more than sufficient. Cement and wood were different; previously, arrow towers were made of wood, which could be burned down with a single fire. Now, they were made of cement, making them resistant to strong attacks. Moreover, the four arrow towers were connected in a square shape, allowing for mutual support and communication. They were also linked to the wooden bridge at Yangping Pass, facilitating the transportation of supplies to the towers. Yangping Pass was already a stronghold with high walls, easy to defend but difficult to attack. With these preparations, it seemed that Yangping Pass was invincible.

  Fifteen thousand troops, unexpected attack. This is Guo Jia's plan, which will surely make Dong Zhuo's army unprepared, because they think Liu Bei's army will only defend Yangping Pass strongly and will not take the initiative to attack. This is Guo Jia's sinister plan! Guo Jia has always been unpredictable in his military tactics, often making people wonder, but he is indeed a master of unconventional warfare. Even Li Yu was full of praise for him, but Liu Bei often followed traditional rules, so he thought Guo Jia's plans were too risky. However, after several encounters, it was discovered that Guo Jia had no flaws in his strategy! Therefore, Liu Bei entrusted Guo Jia with the important task of being the army's military advisor.

  These days, Dong Zhuo has repeatedly sent Lü Bu to challenge Yangping Pass, which has made Liu Bei's army somewhat disheartened. A great victory can boost morale, take advantage of the situation to build arrow towers, and make the defense of Yangping Pass as solid as gold. Thirdly, it can strike at the living forces of Dong Zhuo's army! All actions were entrusted to Guan Yu and Xu Huang's cavalry units, which were like the wind, making it impossible for Dong Zhuo's army to counterattack.

  Guo Jia led ten thousand infantrymen into battle, building arrow towers in all directions. When the distance was far, the arrow towers and crossbowmen shot arrows, and the infantrymen from Yi Province were not simple! Liu Bei had followed Li Yu's suggestion and spent a lot of money, equipping each infantryman with small crossbows and bows and arrows. Even the cavalry was equipped with small crossbows and bows and arrows! This can be said that the cavalry of Yi Province can become archers on horseback, and the infantrymen are both infantrymen and archers!

  This is not a small expense! But Liu Bei spared no effort! The saying "spare no effort" means that one must make sacrifices in order to gain. This principle Liu Bei understood well! Therefore, the attacking power of Yi Province's army can be said to be the highest among the warlords of the Eastern Han Dynasty! Even if Dong Zhuo's army fought to the death and reached the front lines, Guo Jia could command the infantry to form a defensive array and engage in close combat with Dong Zhuo's army.

  As the commander-in-chief, Guan Yu ordered the three armies to have a hearty meal before battle. Guo Jia, as the military advisor accompanying the army, sometimes also issued orders for all soldiers to make preparations for war, and it can be said that at this moment, Liu Bei's troops were only waiting for the order to engage in a life-and-death struggle with Dong Zhuo's forces!

  At midnight, Guan Yu put on his armor, wore a golden helmet, and held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. He led 30,000 cavalrymen to prepare for a night raid on Guo Si's army at the east gate. The 30,000 soldiers were all spirited and eager, like 30,000 hungry wolves, and in their eyes, Dong Zhuo's army was just a sheep waiting to be devoured.

  Xu Huang held a large axe, wore a helmet and armor, and had an aura of invincibility within a hundred paces. Guo Jia was not very confident in Xu Huang, but seeing him defend the Yangping Gate like a stubborn stone, standing firm under Dong Zhuo's army's fierce attack, he also believed in Li Yu's recommendation.

  Guo Jia said to Xu Huang: "Gongming, this battle is your first time leading an army into battle! Don't disappoint Han Xing Hou! The great general has taken risks and brought his ill body to the Hedong Prefecture to recruit you, and as soon as he came out of the mountain, he let you take command of a military district. This is a great honor! In this battle, you must make a name for yourself and bring glory to Han Xing Hou!"

  Xu Huang listened to Guo Jia's words and immediately made a military order: "If we are not victorious in this battle, behead me!" The 20,000 soldiers behind him were all elite troops handpicked by Xu Huang. Xu Huang was skilled in leading his army.

  Why was he skilled? Because Xu Huang had never led an army into battle before, so he asked Guo Jia for a million jugs of wine and a million catties of mutton to reward his soldiers. When Xu Huang returned to the camp, he gathered all the low-ranking officers, several hundred people, and first poured them wine, drinking two bowls himself.

  Then he said to these several hundred low-ranking officers: "Tonight, we have been ordered to raid the enemy's camp. Please drink a full cup, and strive forward." The crowd heard his words and looked at each other in dismay, not because they were afraid, but because they did not trust Xu Huang. After all, Xu Huang had never led an army into battle before, and the troops lacked confidence in him.

  Xu Huang saw that the crowd was hesitant and drew his sword, angrily shouting: "I am the commander, and I have been appointed to this position without regard for my life. I am willing to die for the country; why do you hesitate?" The crowd saw Xu Huang's expression and immediately knelt down, saying: "We are willing to follow our commander to the death!"

  Xu Huang shared the wine and meat with his soldiers until they were all gone, and also let each of them take some back to their comrades. From then on, the three armies and Xu Huang made a pact to live or die together. It can be seen that Cao Cao's comparison of Xu Huang to Zhou Yafu was not excessive! These 20,000 soldiers had all told Xu Huang before the battle that they were willing to follow him to death, and could be called a fierce and formidable army!

  Guan Yu and Xu Huang met at the appointed time, ordered the soldiers to wrap the horses' hooves with torn cloth, which greatly reduced the sound of the horses, and also fed the horses hay in their mouths, so that they would not neigh! Everything was ready, and the 50,000 troops quietly exited Yangping Pass!

  That night, at midnight, the moon was high in the sky, and the two armies were quiet in front of their formations. This truly fulfilled the saying "a dark and windy night is a good time to kill people!" Xu Huan personally led the vanguard with 20,000 cavalrymen, rushing towards Dong Zhuo's army camp at Guo Si's village. He opened up the formation, shouted loudly, swung his large axe, and charged into the camp, heading straight for the central army to kill Guo Si.

  It turned out that Guo Si was afraid of death, so he had arranged for the central army to use carts and chariots to block the roads, surrounding them like an iron barrel. Xu Huan fought bravely on both sides, killing countless enemies, but could not break through. Meanwhile, Guo Si put on his armor, mounted his horse, and instead of engaging Xu Huan in battle, he began to command his troops to defend against Xu Huan's charge.

  After all, cavalry were like cutting melons for infantry, and Guo Si was also a seasoned veteran of the battlefield. Seeing Xu Huan's bravery, he knew he was no match for him, so he ordered his four generals to go and kill Xu Huan.

  Xu Huan swung his large axe, fighting against the four generals with ease! He fought valiantly, and in less than ten rounds, he saw an opportunity and swung his axe at the left general's head. The general tried to block it with his knife, but Xu Huan's axe was too powerful, and it chopped off the general's head along with his knife!

  The other three generals were stunned, and Xu Huan took advantage of the situation, swinging his axe in a wide arc, cutting down all three generals! Guo Si's soul was shaken, and he fled on horseback to seek help from Lü Bu, leaving his main camp to Xu Huan.

  Xu Huan saw this as a heaven-sent opportunity, but he knew that he couldn't let his emotions get the better of him. He led his 20,000 cavalrymen to expand their gains, knowing that before Lü Bu arrived with reinforcements, they had to inflict maximum damage on the enemy. Xu Huan charged forward, swinging his large axe left and right.

  Guo Si's soldiers were in a state of panic, not knowing how many enemies there were, and they began to attack each other. Xu Huan personally led the charge, rushing back and forth within the camp, killing anyone he met. He ordered his troops to make loud noises and advance, setting fire to Guo Si's camps and shouting loudly.

  Xu Huan emerged from the south gate of the camp, and no one dared to stand in his way.

  While on the other side, Guan Yu led his troops to Li Jue's camp, but at this time, Li Jue did not believe that Yangping Pass would dare to send troops to raid the camp. He was slow and allowed his soldiers to rest; he himself drank wine until the second watch and had not yet fallen asleep. Suddenly, a report came that there was a fire in the camp outside the city. Li Jue hastily put on his armor, mounted his horse, and went out to look. It turned out that Guan Yu had divided his troops and ordered them to set fires everywhere, in order to cause chaos among Li Jue's soldiers. The fire burned down the tents behind Li Jue's camp, setting off cannons and shaking the entire camp. All the military equipment and grain were destroyed. Li Jue did not know that Guan Yu had secretly ordered his men to set the fires, so he immediately led his troops to put out the big fire. When Guan Yu saw that the time was ripe, he waved his hand and held up his Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade, leading three thousand soldiers into Li Jue's camp! Guan Yu rode his horse wildly, holding the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade and rushing towards the enemy camp. At this time, Li Jue's camp was in a state of panic due to the fire behind them, and there were no defenses. The remaining soldiers guarding the camp were not many, and when they saw Guan Yu approaching on horseback, they shouted: "Who comes? Stop! If you come any closer, we will shoot arrows!" But Guan Yu was not just coming to kill enemies, he was fighting for his life, how could he stop with just one shout? He urged his horse to run even faster. When the soldiers guarding the camp were about to shoot arrows, Guan Yu's horse had already arrived in front of them. They saw him swing his spear and knock down the intercepting Tang soldiers, charging into the camp. Some of Li Jue's soldiers who had followed Hua Xiong recognized that it was Guan Yu, and they shouted: "It's not good! The Guan Yu who killed Hua Xiong has come to raid our camp!" Guan Yu and his brother were in the enemy camp, charging east and west, killing south and north. They wanted to find Li Jue, because if they captured him first, Dong Zhuo's right wing would be empty. The various generals saw them like madmen and avoided fighting with them. At this time, Li Jue also heard the shouts of killing, and he could only run back to his main tent to command the battle. But suddenly, a group of soldiers killed their way in. It was terrifying, and when they looked, it was Guan Yu's previously sent troops who had set fires in the rear camp. Li Jue could only fight hard with all his might, but this group of soldiers was also wearing the same armor as the Western Iron Cavalry! If Guan Yu ordered his troops to retreat at this time, he would definitely be followed closely by Lü Bu. In that case, even if Cao Cao led his troops to support him, Lü Bu's bravery would still bring disaster to Cao Cao's infantry corps! Guan Yu saw this and made a decisive decision, ordering his rear army to change direction and return to Yangping Pass. He alone blocked the way with his sword.

  Lü Bu met Guan Gong, and it was truly a case of enemies meeting with eyes blazing red. At the Tiger Trap Pass, three heroes fought Lü Bu, and Guan Gong had struck him the most fiercely. Lü Bu roared in anger: "You commoner, don't run away!" He finished speaking and rode his horse straight at Guan Gong. Guan Er Ye also showed no weakness, scolding angrily: "Three-surnamed family slave, how dare you be so arrogant!" He wielded the Green Dragon Crescent Blade to fight Lü Bu!

  Lü Bu wielded the halberd with great force, while Guan Yu swung his Green Dragon Crescent Blade with swift and fierce momentum! The two were evenly matched and clashed together in a frenzy of killing intent! Two top-notch generals, exchanging blows for five or six rounds, had already countered each other with dozens of moves!

  Lü Bu only then realized that he had underestimated Guan Gong! And although Guan Gong was not afraid of Lü Bu, he also knew that Li Yu had not spoken in vain, Lü Bu was indeed invincible in the world!

  Lü Bu glared at Guan Yu, who stared back with his tiger eyes wide open, not relaxing in the slightest. The two had exchanged dozens of moves just now! Each was preparing for their next attack!

  Lü Bu panted with rage and shouted, "Guan Yu, come and take my life!" Guan Gong, also known as Guan Er Ye, was not afraid and roared back, "You three-surnamed slave, your grandfather is here!" When Lü Bu charged on horseback, Guan Gong didn't dare to be slow. He threw off his green robe, ready to fight to the death with Lü Bu! Lü Bu was anxious and determined, his halberd flashing in the sunlight as he stabbed forward. Guan Gong held up his Qinglong Yanyue Dao and pressed down on it, but Lü Bu quickly changed his move, lifting and flipping his halberd, its tip spinning towards Guan Gong's abdomen. Lü Bu was indeed unbeatable, his halberd technique swift and fierce, catching Guan Gong off guard. Guan Gong hastily puffed out his chest, sucked in his belly, and dodged to the side, avoiding Lü Bu's halberd by a hair's breadth. Although he wasn't hit, Guan Gong was startled and broke into a cold sweat, thinking: "This Lü Bu is too fast and fierce with his halberd; he wants to end this quickly!" Guan Er Ye didn't back down either, immediately swinging his Chunqiu Dao in a big battle against Lü Bu! As the founder of the Chunqiu Dao technique, Guan Gong wielded it with ease, using all sorts of moves: chopping, hacking, pushing, slashing, flipping, rolling, coiling, and pressing. This Chunqiu Dao made Guan Gong's movements clean and efficient, like a big knife slicing through the air. One move after another showcased Guan Er Ye's majestic and awe-inspiring presence. Because his knife was heavy, Guan Gong's moves were swift, catching Lü Bu off guard for a moment. But Lü Bu, being unbeatable in martial arts, soon regained his composure and began to counterattack. Before long, Lü Bu was dancing with his halberd, its tip flashing up and down like a dragon coiling around water or a python emerging from a cave. The halberd's moves were varied: uppercutting, lowercutting, hooking, and pounding. Unbeknownst to Guan Gong, he began to shift from offense to defense. When Lü Bu's halberd suddenly shot towards his face, Guan Gong hastily dodged, but the halberd's tip grazed his ear. However, Guan Gong forgot that Lü Bu was using a Fangtian Hua Ji, which had a sharp point at the front that could be used as a spear and an iron hook at the back that could be used as a big knife. As Lü Bu flipped his halberd, he said, "Come down here!" Guan Gong saw the halberd's tip quiver and knew something was wrong. He dodged again, but the halberd's hook on the left side didn't catch his head; instead, it caught his golden helmet, which came crashing down with a loud "clang." Guan Gong's hair scattered everywhere.

  Guan Yu saw this was not good, so he spurred his horse and jumped out of the circle. This time, he broke out in a cold sweat again. At this moment, Lü Bu turned his horse around, using the tip of his halberd to lift Guan Yu's helmet, laughing loudly: "Guan Yu! Today you will surely die at my hands!" After finishing speaking, he charged forward on horseback! Just then, a loud shout was heard: "Don't dare harm my second brother, Li You and Li Hui are here!" As soon as the words were spoken, Li You's halberd clashed with Lü Bu's, rushing straight at him. Lü Bu had no choice but to abandon Guan Yu and fight Li You instead!

  Two sworn enemies met, neither showing any mercy. Li Yu and Lü Bu fought for seven or eight rounds, then Li Yu turned his horse around and returned to Guan Yu's side. He said to Guan Yu, "Second brother, quickly return! Xu Huang will lead the army back soon, and it won't be long before Li Ru leads the troops here to surround us. Quickly go back and bring back Gongsun Zan, Zhang Ren, and Wu Anguo with all the cavalry to assist in the battle. Order Guo Jia to lead the troops from behind to add to our prestige! I'll hold out for a moment!" After all, Li Yu wasn't confident that he could defeat Lü Bu, but through their previous encounter, Li Yu had gained some confidence in himself.

  Guan Yu refused to leave, knowing that his fourth brother had almost lost his life at the hands of Lü Bu last time. Guan Yu said, "Fourth brother, quickly go lead the army! Second brother will hold off Lü Bu!" Li Yu saw that Guan Yu wouldn't budge and could only say, "Guan Yu, listen to my orders! I command you to return and bring back the troops to meet us!"

  The army followed orders, and Li Yu was the commander. Although Guan Yu knew that Li Yu was trying to save his life, he couldn't disobey the order. He reluctantly said, "Yes, sir!" But he still didn't leave! Li Yu grew anxious and angrily shouted, "Still not leaving?" Guan Yu saw no choice but to take his Green Dragon Crescent Blade and slap it on the horse's rear end, then galloped towards the direction of Yangping Pass.

  Li Yu saw Guan Gong leave and didn't show any fear, looking at Lü Bu he said: "Last time we didn't finish the fight, this nickname 'Three Surnames' House Slave was given to you by my third brother, it really suits you! Come on! Let's have a decisive battle!" After finishing speaking, he charged forward on horseback! Lü Bu was enraged and said: "Li Hanxing, don't try to be so eloquent with your words, let's decide life and death in this battle!" After finishing speaking, Lü Bu came forward wielding his halberd.

  This is Li Yu's second battle with Feng Qingyan, who will win or lose? Please see next time!

  I still love you, don't wait until it's too late and regret it, because I don't want to lose you.