Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1472 - 1419: Preparations for the First Move

Sunx Ce indeed possesses astonishing talent and formidable strength, but Guan Yu clearly surpasses him. In the past, the inability to kill Sunx Ce was always due to Zhou Yu’s battlefield arrangements, which kept Guan Yu from concentrating on a battle with Sunx Ce. This time, Guo Jia is arranging the battlefield for Guan Yu!

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao were shocked upon hearing Guo Jia’s words and immediately had no further questions, as the Yellow Turban Army truly felt Guan Yu’s faith and righteousness.

"Tactician, we will go at once!" Pei Yuanshao took the lead, commanding his contingent of over seven hundred men to charge across the pontoon bridge, while Zhou Cang quickly retreated to gather Guan Yu’s trusted aides.

"Where is Wang Ping!" Guo Jia shouted at the gathered soldiers.

"I am here!" Wang Ping stepped forward, clasping his fists in salute.

"Lead your troops to cross the river and intercept Sunx Ce’s soldiers attacking the pontoon bridge from upstream on land!" Guo Jia instructed Wang Ping, then after a thought, added, "You and Liaoo Hua should support each other. Whichever of you captures Dong Xi will be credited for it!"

Wang Ping was overjoyed, not expecting that his Cong heritage would land him such a great opportunity. As soon as Pei Yuanshao’s contingent passed, he eagerly prepared to lead his Cong soldiers to charge across the river.

"If there’s a fire by the river, don’t pay it any mind; just focus on encircling the soldiers." Guo Jia continued to instruct Wang Ping, who still retained some barbaric habits, like his current conduct.

"Understood!" Wang Ping halted and replied to Guo Jia, who then simply indicated that he could lead his troops across the river.

"Liaoo Hua, regardless of whether you or Wang Ping deal with the ships upstream on the Huai River, you both are free to cross the river and join the ensuing battle, making decisions as you see fit!" Guo Jia instructed Liaoo Hua, who bowed in acknowledgment without further words.

"Where is Guann Cheng!" Guo Jia shouted in Guann Cheng’s direction.

"I am here!" Guann Cheng stepped forward to report.

"You will lead two battalions, along with other soldiers skilled in naval combat, to take fast boats downstream. After Sunx Ce’s Navy lands, launch a fierce attack on Sunx Ce’s water village—capture it if you can, burn it if you can’t, and pursue them afterwards!" Guo Jia commanded Guann Cheng.

"Sima Ju, Jiang Gong, you two are to lead your forces across the river to directly target the downstream of the Huai River, and take the opportunity to ambush Sunx Ce’s Navy soldiers coming to rescue the main camp!" Guo Jia ordered the Sima Family and Jiang Gong, all of whom were former Yellow Turban Commanders adept at leading a thousand men in frontal combat.

"Qu Gong, Du Yuan, Huang Shao, you three are to detour to Sunx Ce’s rear camp. When you hear Zhou Cang’s shout from the front camp, charge in!" Guo Jia instructed the remaining few.

"Understood!" The three shouted, then prepared to lead their forces across the river after Zhou Cang.

"Chen Chi, you lead three thousand men. After Huang Shao crosses the river, head for downstream. After Jiang Gong, Sima Ju, and Sunx Ce’s Navy engage, appear as reinforcements!" Guo Jia turned and instructed Chen Chi.

"Understood!" Chen Chi bowed, counted his troops, and prepared to cross the river.

"Jiang Yann, Lyu Zhe, and Li Qian’s units will stay behind; the rest, led by their respective Simas, will mount an all-out attack after Huang Shao and others successfully infiltrate Sunx Ce’s rear camp. If all three units fail, then mount an all-out attack from the flanks!" Guo Jia issued the final command to everyone.

The assembled soldiers acknowledged in unison, then each prepared and quickly charged across the pontoon bridge with their forces.

On the other side, just as Guo Jia anticipated, it wasn’t long before Dong Xi, who was monitoring Guan Yu’s movements upstream on the Huai River, suddenly noticed the pontoon bridge appearing at the narrow entrance of the Huai River, and was greatly shocked.

"Not good!" Dong Xi shouted upon seeing the situation from afar, feeling an instant sense of unease as he saw the Guan Yu’s Army densely crossing the river.

"Speed up! Rush forward at full speed, no matter if you have to ram and break the pontoon bridge!" Dong Xi roared.

Though Dong Xi shouted these commands and took initiative, he had already neglected many things in his panic. The spot where Guo Jia was crossing the bridge was a narrow entrance, and over the past days, countless stone throwers had been continually set up. As Dong Xi’s flagship first charged into the shooting range, nearly a hundred stones rained down.

Although, due to the elusive hit rate of the stone throwers on moving targets, Dong Xi’s flagship only took five or six hits, the crossbows loaded with spear pikes soon also aimed at the ship. Unlike the stone throwers, the bed crossbows had some precision.

Several dozen large bolts nailed through the cabin of Dong Xi’s ship, and one bed crossbow bolt even flew over Dong Xi’s head, waking him with a cold sweat.

Struggling to retreat, it was unfortunate that just the brief pause needed to stop the momentum had already cost two vessels of the five-concentrated fire, while escaping the attack range. Though there was some cover, with the random scattering of the stone throwers firing over a hundred stones at once, there were bound to be hits.

"What a pity." Liaoo Hua sighed regretfully, watching as only two ships sunk before Dong Xi sailed out of their attack range. If they had dealt with him, they wouldn’t need to stay here.

After retreating from Liaoo Hua’s stone thrower attack range, Dong Xi had time to ponder. During this interval, the Guan Yu’s Army was anything but idle, constructing boats and making countless arrangements—none of which he had foreseen.

"Land ashore, this information must reach the general!" As soon as Dong Xi was out of Liaoo Hua’s thrower range, he made a quick decision.

At that moment, Dong Xi suddenly thought: Since he couldn’t break through downstream by boat and was to abandon the vessel to land, why not set fire to the ship? Once he did so, Zhou Yu, with his intelligence, would certainly understand.

Then Dong Xi pondered whether to burn a single ship or all the vessels. Luckily, Dong Xi was clever enough to realize that if Guan Yu came fully prepared this time and Zhou Yu had to retreat, he would be trapped in the Huai River, leading to a blocked retreat.

With this thought, Dong Xi hesitated no more, "Everyone, pour the reserve oil on the ship and prepare to set it on fire!"

Oil was splashed all over Dong Xi’s vessel, and once all soldiers had disembarked, he set his warship alight and without looking back, dashed away, planning to detour and inform Sunx Ce’s Army.

Yet he hadn’t ran far before spotting a group of people carrying great shields and wielding weapons, their faces painted in bizarre patterns, rushing towards them. Dong Xi’s heart sank, but there was little fear, dealing with mere barbarians.

Before Dong Xi could inquire, a flash of blades flew towards him. Dong Xi raised his spear to block, yet instantly felt a mighty force, involuntarily retreating several steps.