Chapter 36 The tide is over

When Cao Cao got the report and stepped out of the big tent, the camp of the Chinese army was still silent, and most of the soldiers were still asleep, but they could vaguely hear the shouts from the direction of the water village.Looking at the river, there is a ball of shining light, like a bonfire in the dark night. A strong southeast wind was blowing head-on, causing Cao Cao to shiver.It was this gust of wind that brought Cao Cao back to reality from his dream of unifying the world. With decades of experience in intrigue, he immediately realized what had happened—there had never been any conflicts within the Jiangdong Army, and Zhou Yu had no shortage of food and grass at all. Gai's surrender is even more realistic ruse.

The military adviser Xun You, the central leader Shi Huan, the central guard Han Hao, and the son Cao Pi gradually gathered together. They were a little horrified when they heard of the sudden change; The wall, the watchtower, and stretched their necks to look at the river. At this moment, they were just watching the excitement, completely unaware of what the fire meant. But Cao Cao and Xun You knew very well in their hearts that the southeast wind was strong, and the warships were fixed by iron cables. If only one fire caught fire, all the ships would be unable to escape. , The hundreds of thousands of troops are in danger of being destroyed.However, Cao Cao's first reaction was to try to remedy it, and immediately led the crowd to the river bank, and ordered the generals of the battalions to restrain the soldiers, not to come out casually, and try to stabilize the morale of the army.

But even so, there are terrified soldiers everywhere in the company camp.In an emergency, Cao Cao led his soldiers walking like flying, almost running to the shore.I saw that the warships along the coast and not far away were still intact, but two miles away was already red, the dazzling light and billowing black smoke obscured the navy, and the burning smell was accompanied by the southeast wind. Drill your nose and eyes—the fire is getting bigger and bigger, and it is gradually approaching the shore. Cao Cao was dizzy for a while, but he still forced himself to be calm and said: "Don't panic! The ships were ordered to cut off the chains and escape separately. He mobilized the army to build earth barriers and ditches along the river, and moved the flag over here. I will defend myself here. enemy!"

According to his estimation, the navy might not be able to keep it. In order to keep the dry village, a new line of defense must be set up to prevent the enemy from landing before the enemy arrives.However, the military order was passed on without much effect. Only loyal Chinese soldiers responded to the call to dig ditches and build fortifications.The rest of the people's minds were already in confusion, and the noise became louder and louder. As for cutting off the chains to escape, there was no movement. Most of the soldiers abandoned the ship and fled. on chains. The soldiers who abandoned the ship threw away their helmets and armor and fled desperately. A soldier ran and shouted: "Run! It's burning!" He ran into Cao Cao in a panic, and Cao Cao couldn't help but pull out his sword and stab him to the ground: "Retreaters are not allowed to make noise while helping to build the fort, and those who disobey the order will be killed!" But this method of killing chickens and monkeys as an example didn't work, and more and more people fled—the disaster is imminent, who cares about the general order?

At this time, the small boats of the defeated army had already fled back. All the soldiers had crooked helmets and scorched faces, and many of them were seriously injured.One of the small boats came back in flames. Everything on the board was burned up, and the people on board were scattered and thrown into the water.A general in flames struggled to jump to the shore and rolled in pain, but the fire on his body became more and more raging, so he crawled to Dazhai screaming, struggling and asking for help. Everyone looked at the general who was covered in fire in horror. Although the screams, howls, shouts, and the crackling of the burning warship were deafening, Cao Cao seemed to be able to hear the gasping of the dying man.He was shot by an arrow in his shoulder blade, and he didn't know where he fell. The hair on his head was burnt to a mess. Apart from the torment of the fire, there seemed to be other wounds. There was a bright red bloodstain where he crawled, but He was still struggling to crawl forward, focusing on the escape journey, like a toddler, stretching his arms wildly and twisting his body, moving very slowly.He must have been a mighty and majestic man in the past, but now his huge body has become an obstacle, and he has become more and more distorted under the fire.The moment he looked up and saw Cao Cao and the others, he suddenly twitched and cried, and finally saw the savior, but he realized that it was too late, he couldn't even shout "Help", only desperate sobs remained .

Fear, surprise and even confusion appeared on everyone's faces, and no one went to rescue for a while, as if wondering if this unrecognizable guy was a human, or a monster crawling from the underworld.Han Hao was the first to react. He recognized this person from the mournful cry, and then shouted helplessly with his arms open: "It's Mayan, General Mayan! Save people! Save people! !" The soldiers were stunned, and then they gathered around, took off their war robes and beat the flames on Mayan's body.I don't know how many robes were burned by the flames. Someone simply grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and threw it at him, as if to bury him.Seeing this scene, Cao Cao and others had forgotten the flames of war, and felt a burst of suffocating fear. They couldn't help taking off their robes, but they were not saving people, but were thrown far away like throwing away something ominous—the battle robes can not only Shielding from wind and dust is also a symbol of noble status in the army, but in the midst of raging fire, this thing is likely to be the devil who ignites the fire and urges death.

A choking black smoke drifted past, and the fire on Ma Yan's body was finally extinguished. The soldier turned his face involuntarily, and couldn't bear to look at the once tall and burly general, but now his limbs are curled up and he no longer looks like a human. .Cao Cao throbbed for a while, and rushed over to hug Ma Yan's shoulders, and then his hands snapped away—the armor on his body was scalded by the fire, and a layer of skin on Cao Cao's hands was burned off. Han Hao, Shi Huan and others rushed forward, pushing and pulling him to turn him over.Mayan has only one breath left, his limbs have already turned into charred charcoal, shaking uncontrollably, his torso is still twitching violently, his facial features have been burnt blurred, his eyes are also covered with a layer of blackness, and he is still moving He pursed his lips, as if muttering something.Cao Cao didn't care about the burn on his palm, and picked up his head again: "General Ma, how is the front?"

"Cough, cough..." Ma Yan coughed twice, and a wisp of black smoke and burnt smell came out of his mouth, "The enemy...the whole army is dispatched...no, it can't be done..." He just continued intermittently After saying this, he couldn't do it himself. He tilted his head and fell silent in the noise, but the limbs that had lost their souls were still curling up slowly due to the melting of the skin, making a buzzing sound. "General Ma! General Ma!" Everyone shouted. "He's already dead." Cao Cao silently let go of the dead man's head, feeling dazed for a while, his hands were oily, as if melted pus and blood stuck to them.Regardless of his nausea, he raised his head and continued to watch, only to see a few more boats fleeing back, soldiers throwing away their helmets and armor, some even took off their clothes, and ran back as soon as they landed, unable to stop them; Swimming back, wet, he climbed onto the river beach, lying on the ground, gasping for breath.More people were flopping about in the water, occasionally grabbing a floating board, holding onto it and daring not to let go, dragging their necks and calling for help in the water.But only a few survived. The boats that fled back were so crowded that they couldn’t put their feet in. They were wobbling and about to capsize. As soon as someone in the water touched the side of the boat, they would immediately chop off their fingers and let them bleed, struggle, curse, and beg. , I don’t even care about it—survival is an instinct, and everyone has only one life.

The commander-in-chief's banner has been moved to the riverside, and the soldiers of the Chinese army are still busy piling up earthen barriers, but fewer and fewer soldiers respond. Sick and weak.Everyone was dizzy by the fire, even the sailors who were close to the river beach and far away from the fire had abandoned their boats, and what was even worse was that this group of people crowded back and piled up the little soil that had just been piled up. Also washed out.Even though Cao Chun and Deng Zhan waved their weapons to kill the deserters, they still couldn't stop the flow of people running around. These Jingzhou soldiers didn't listen to the general's order at all, and fled back in a swarm.In the chaos, a group of deserters ran into the Chinese army in a panic, and even the tiger and leopard cavalry were rushed back again and again, and no one knew who stepped on the pole holding the flag. into the dust.

Xun You was almost knocked down by the flag, and fell, got up and grabbed Cao Cao: "My lord, we... we can't do it, let's retreat!" Cao Cao was indifferent, and fell into a daze. The fire in front of his eyes became brighter and brighter, dyeing the clouds in the sky red, and the rumbling shouts gradually became clearer, taking people's soul.Cao Cao stared blankly at the scene of the fire, feeling inexplicably relaxed in his heart, and said in a low voice: "There is a saying in "Six Secret Teachings": 'Outside is chaotic and internally tidy, showing hunger is full, internally refined and externally blunt. Conspiracy, Keep your tactics secret, set your base high, and subdue your sharp edge. The soldiers are silent, and the enemy does not know what we are prepared for.' How can Zhou Yu be invincible with such an army? It is my fault to underestimate this man..."

The deserters were still swarming back like a torrent, and now even Cao Pi could see that something was wrong: "Father, let's... let's go too!" The so-called "go" is actually fleeing, and he still insisted on not being a soft-hearted man.Other counselors and personal soldiers also echoed: "Yes! Let's avoid the enemy's edge for now! Let's fight again in the future!" No need for everyone to find a step for him, Cao Cao became violent and was already considering retreating.He looked back at everyone, and said seriously: "It is not shameful to lose to such a shrewd enemy as Zhou Yu, I am not ashamed to retreat!" The guards have been waiting for his orders, now it's over if you don't run and wait for the enemy to come up!As soon as they heard his words, several people grabbed him and wanted to help him back, but Cao Cao stretched his arms: "Wait a minute...set the fire!" "Set fire?" Everyone didn't understand for a while. Cao Cao gritted his molars and repeated again: "Burn the boats that are not on fire, burn as many as you can!" Everyone was ignorant for a while, and then they understood his painstaking efforts.The battle situation is out of control, the navy has been completely defeated, and the remaining unfired ships will be owned by the enemy if they are not burned, so the Jiangdong navy is stronger.Furthermore, the enemy set fire while rushing to kill, and they would rush ashore in a short time. At that time, it was not easy to run away. By setting fire to all the ships along the coast, an invisible wall of fire was added to temporarily block the enemy on the river.Although it cannot stifle the enemy, it is enough to delay for an hour or three quarters. The military order was passed down, and densely packed torches were gathered on the shore. At the beginning, some people drove small boats to set fire to the ships a little ahead. After a while, everyone lost their patience and simply threw all the torches at the big boats along the river, like a meteor shower. Flying across the dark night sky; in order to prevent disasters in dry villages, some people even dismantled the fences along the river and threw them on the boat like firewood.Several bloody Jingzhou generals almost set fire to the fire with tears in their eyes. They worked hard for more than ten years to build this navy for Liu Biao, and now they are all burned.The generals of the Northern Army returned to their respective battalions to raise some troops, pack up their luggage and prepare to retreat.As for the sailors who have not escaped back, they are cut off from the rear, and the abandoned soldiers and the guards don't care about their lives. Most of the ships are connected by iron chains, so it is difficult to escape, let alone deliberately set fire?It didn't take much effort to catch fire at all, especially the coach boat that Cao Cao was proud of turned into a huge monster covered in flames, illuminating the river beach like daytime, and black smoke drifted into the sky.The southeast wind rolled towards the dry village with a rolling heat wave, making people dizzy and dizzy. Cao Cao retreated to the camp surrounded by his own soldiers. When the soldiers were in chaos, he couldn't help but look back, looking at the dazzling sea of ​​flames , The swaying flames sighed like self-deprecating: "What a beautiful fire..." At the same time, the dry village that was still silent just now has changed beyond recognition.Soldiers from all battalions and tents rushed out, scurrying indiscriminately from east to west, from north to south, some brothers were looking for brothers in the army, and those without relatives fled. Still going its own way, the navy is almost wiped out, and the enemy is about to kill, so who can care about who at this moment?Han Hao and Shi Huan wanted to stop the chaos, so they ordered the drums to gather the soldiers. When the drums sounded together, others followed suit. The drums and gold ringing came from all directions, and the soldiers were even more at a loss. Many soldiers naively thought it was The enemy's war drums made him run desperately.The fence was crushed, the grain truck was overturned, the tent was trampled down, and many sick and sick soldiers were trampled to death in the tent before they had time to get up.There are also some people who are clever, run against the direction of the fire, climb over the wall of the village and climb directly to the mountain ridge in the north. The fire on the river illuminated the camp clearly. Seeing this scene, Cao Cao was anxious but could do nothing. Jingzhou soldiers fled one after another as soon as they got out of the flames. Some leaned on their guns in a daze, and some simply leaned in a corner and waited to die.All hidden dangers are revealed at this moment, and the entire camp has been corrupted. Cao Cao returned to the camp of the Central Army after exhausting all his efforts, not to mention that many of his own soldiers were scattered, even Kuai Yue, Wang Can and others who stayed in the camp, and even Cai Mao who was on the sick bed disappeared. Did they look for each other and get separated, or did they run away when they saw the situation was not good.It is impossible for the whole army to retreat now. It is uncertain when the enemy will kill, Cao Jun has lost the power to resist.Cao Cao and some generals and counselors had the last discussion in the big tent surrounded by noise. The process was very brief, and there was almost no debate and they reached an agreement—leading the troops who still obeyed the order to exit the Xizhai Gate and retreat to Jiangling. In this way, Cao Cao's army, which boasted a million dollars without shame, was defeated in an instant.