The autumn wind in Xinye City blew more and more fiercely, the banners on the drill ground north of the city fluttered loudly, and the air was filled with an oppressive atmosphere as if a storm was approaching. Scout horses galloped into the city one after another, and the news they brought exploded in the state government council hall like thunder: "My lord! Cao Cao has appointed Xiahou Dun as the main general, leading 30,000 troops to march straight to Xinye. The vanguard cavalry has passed Wancheng and will arrive soon!"
Inside the council hall, Liu Bei sat solemnly on the main seat, his fingertips having polished the map on the table until it shone. Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, the hand stroking his long beard tightened a little, and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade leaned obliquely against the corner of the wall, as if echoing his master's depression. Zhang Fei couldn't contain his temper, stood with his hands on his hips, his leopard-like head and ringed eyes wide open, and shouted loudly in a rough voice: "Damn it! How dare that rascal Xiahou Dun be so arrogant! I, Zhang Fei, will gather troops now, go out of the city to meet him, and let him know that Xinye is not to be messed with!"
"Third Brother, don't be reckless!" Liu Bei raised his hand to stop him. "Xiahou Dun commands 30,000 troops, including thousands of elite cavalry, and is equipped with black iron heavy armor. Our army has only 5,000 soldiers. A head-on confrontation is no different from throwing an egg at a stone."
Just as everyone was at a loss, a clear voice came: "My lord, don't worry. Although Xiahou Dun is brave, he is brave but lack of strategy; although the Wei army is numerous, we can defeat them by relying on geographical advantages and metaphysical techniques."
Zhuge Liang, wearing a black long gown and holding a white feather fan, walked into the hall calmly. He had just left the mountain not long ago. Although he had stabilized the military morale through training with the Spirit-Gathering Formation, facing such a large-scale enemy army, the generals in the army still had doubts. Zhang Fei couldn't help muttering: "Mr., I know you can set up formations, but Xiahou Dun's black iron heavy armor is impenetrable by swords and spears. Can formations alone work?"
Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and shook his white feather fan: "General Third, rest assured. I have observed the celestial phenomena and inspected the earth veins. Xiahou Dun's army must pass through Bowang Slope. The mountains on both sides of Bowang Slope are steep, the valley is narrow, overgrown with vegetation mostly dry weeds, and there is a faint fire spirit vein hidden underground. It is a natural ambush place. I have a clever plan to make his black iron heavy armor useless."
Guan Yu nodded and said: "Since Mr. has a good plan, we are willing to obey your dispatch."
Zhuge Liang walked to the map and pointed his finger at the location of Bowang Slope: "This battle needs to be carried out in steps. First, General Zhao Yun will lead 500 light cavalry to lure the enemy. He must pretend to be defeated and lead Xiahou Dun's vanguard cavalry into the valley; second, General Yunchang will lead 1,000 soldiers to lie in ambush at the north entrance of the valley, and cut off the retreat after all Cao troops enter; third, General Yide will lead 1,000 soldiers to lie in ambush at the south entrance of the valley, launching a pincer attack from front and rear to disrupt the enemy's formation; fourth, I will sit on the top of the mountain, stir up the underground fire spirit vein, and use the power of talismans to set fire to the enemy, breaking the Wei army's defense."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them: "General Zhao Yun must remember that you are only allowed to lose, not win. After retreating to the middle of the valley, sound the horn as a signal; General Yunchang can use the dragon energy of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade to deter the enemy, and General Yide will lead his troops to charge the formation, making sure that the Wei army cannot take care of both the front and the rear."
After hearing this, everyone showed expressions of conviction. Liu Bei immediately ordered: "We will follow Mr. Kongming's plan! The whole army listens to the order, prepare immediately, and follow Mr. to Bowang Slope to set up an ambush!"
Early the next morning, when the sky was just dawning, Zhuge Liang took several personal soldiers and rushed to Bowang Slope on fast horses. Thirty miles northwest of Xinye City, the outline of Bowang Slope gradually became clear. The mountains on both sides were like walls, and a narrow valley meandered in the middle. The bottom of the valley was covered with withered yellow weeds and fallen leaves, which rustled when stepped on, and the air was filled with the dry smell of vegetation. On the slopes on both sides, shrubs and arbor trees grew alternately, their branches and leaves already dry and extremely flammable.
Zhuge Liang dismounted, held the white feather fan, and walked slowly into the valley. The white feather fan shook gently, and the tip of the fan glowed with a faint red light, sensing the surging fire spirit vein underground. He could clearly feel a scorching spiritual energy flowing slowly under the surface, like a sleeping fire dragon, which could gush out with just a little stimulation.
"This is the core of the fire spirit vein." Zhuge Liang stopped in the middle of the valley and signaled his personal soldiers to take out the prepared materials. The personal soldiers took out thousands of "Fire Dragon Coiling Talismans" drawn with cinnabar mixed with fire spirit vein spring water. These talismans were dark red, carved with intricate dragon patterns, and would activate automatically when exposed to the spiritual energy of the fire spirit vein. Under Zhuge Liang's personal command, these talismans and stones were buried one by one in the vegetation on both sides.
Then, he took out the "Earth Fire Fuse" made of sulfur, saltpeter mixed with spirit vein stone powder. Along the direction of the fire spirit vein, he dug shallow trenches on the valley floor, buried the fuses, leaving only tiny fuses exposed, covered with dry grass and fallen leaves, which were completely imperceptible. "Once these fuses are ignited by spiritual energy, they can awaken the underground Samadhi True Fire to gush out." Zhuge Liang said softly, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes.
After the arrangement was completed, Zhuge Liang climbed to the top of the west mountain, where the view was wide and the entire valley could be seen at a glance. He looked towards the entrance of the valley, shook his white feather fan lightly, and waited quietly for Zhao Yun to lure the enemy.
At the same time, Zhao Yun had led 500 light cavalry to a place ten miles outside Bowang Slope, deliberately slowing down the march speed and assuming a vigilant posture. Soon, smoke and dust rolled in the distance, covering the sky and the sun. The thousands of elite cavalry led by Xiahou Dun, like a black torrent, galloped forward.
Xiahou Dun rode on a tall black steed, wearing silver light armor covered with scratches from battles, exuding a murderous aura. He was about forty years old, with a resolute face, and a scar on his forehead added to his ferocity. The long spear in his hand shone with cold light. Seeing that Zhao Yun's army was small in number, Xiahou Dun laughed loudly: "Liu Bei's subordinates are nothing more than this! Zhuge Liang is just a scholar, and he dares to send someone to block us? Pass the order, advance at full speed, capture Zhao Yun alive, and march straight to Xinye!" Xiahou Dun had his own confidence in saying this. He had brought three wizards with him on this expedition, who were proficient in spells and could win the battle without bloodshed.
Seeing the Wei army approaching, Zhao Yun launched a tentative attack as planned. After a short confrontation between the two armies, Zhao Yun deliberately made a flaw, pretended to be defeated, and led his troops to retreat. The soldiers threw away their helmets and armors one after another, with weapons and armors scattered all over the ground, creating the illusion of a rout. At the entrance of the valley, Zhuge Liang had already placed several oxcarts marked "Liu Jun's Grain and Grass", and asked Zhao Yun's troops to leave some luggage to further lure the Wei army.
Xiahou Dun became even more unscrupulous and shouted arrogantly: "The enemy army is indeed vulnerable! Chase me!" He urged his warhorse, leading thousands of cavalry to rush into the Bowang Slope valley at full speed. The black iron heavy armor glowed with cold light in the sun, and his eyes scanned the surroundings vigilantly, but he did not notice the talismans hidden in the vegetation, nor did he sense the surging fire spirit vein underground—Zhuge Liang had already used secret techniques to cover the aura of the talismans and spirit veins, waiting only for the Wei army to go deep.
The valley was narrow, and the Wei army's cavalry formation was gradually stretched, with poor connection between the front and the rear. When the vanguard of the Wei army reached the middle of the valley and the rear guard had just entered the entrance, Zhao Yun raised the horn as agreed, and the "wuwu" sound of the horn echoed in the valley. Then, he led his troops to quickly withdraw from the narrow preset passage on the east side of the valley and disappeared into the mountain forest.
"Want to run? It's not that easy!" Xiahou Dun didn't notice anything unusual at all, and still urged his troops to advance, with only the thought of chasing in his eyes.
At this moment, the sound of war drums suddenly erupted at the north entrance of the valley. Guan Yu led 1,000 soldiers to charge out like tigers descending a mountain! He held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand, his phoenix eyes were crimson, his red face turned purple due to exerting force, the blade reflected the morning light, slashing out a green-gold blade energy more than ten feet long, like a green dragon emerging from the sea, instantly killing dozens of Wei army soldiers. "Xiahou scoundrel, leave your life here!" Guan Yu shouted loudly, dragon energy pervading. Seeing this, the Wei army soldiers were so frightened that they retreated one after another, and the north entrance of the valley was instantly blocked.
Almost at the same time, a sky-shaking roar sounded at the south entrance of the valley, and Zhang Fei led his troops to charge out! He held the Zhangba Divine Spear in his hand, his leopard-like head and ringed eyes wide open, and his roar was like a Suanni's roar, making the Wei army soldiers' eardrums ache and their hearts shake violently. "I, Zhang Fei, am here! None of you can escape!" Zhang Fei stabbed out with his spear, the tip of the spear carrying majestic Suanni power, lifting a Wei army cavalryman and his horse into the air, blood spraying out. The formation of the Wei army's rear guard was instantly thrown into chaos.
The Wei army could not take care of both the front and the rear, falling into chaos. The soldiers were in panic, the war horses of the cavalry were frightened, neighing frantically and trampling on each other. Screams and wails came one after another.
On the top of the mountain, seeing that the Wei army was completely surrounded, Zhuge Liang's eyes flashed with sharp light. He waved his white feather fan violently and chanted obscure incantations: "Heaven and earth spirit veins, fire shines on heaven and earth, Samadhi True Fire, listen to my order!"
As the incantation fell, the white feather fan in his hand glowed with dazzling red light, stirring up the underground fire spirit vein. In an instant, the Fire Dragon Coiling Talismans buried in the valley were activated at the same time. The dark red talismans turned into tiny fire dragons in the air and burrowed into the dry vegetation. With a loud "boom", the vegetation on the slopes on both sides suddenly caught fire, and the flames shot up into the sky. The fire spread rapidly with the wind, soon covering the entire valley.
What was even more terrifying was that the Earth Fire Fuse was ignited by spiritual energy, and the underground fire spirit vein was completely awakened. Scorching spiritual energy gushed out, merging with the vegetation fire to form the "Samadhi True Fire" all over the sky. This fire was not an ordinary fire, but blue-red, with the power to burn all yin and evil energy. When the Wei army soldiers touched it, they immediately caught fire. Their clothes and hair turned to ashes in an instant, and flames blazed on their skin. They rolled on the ground in pain, howling.
What was even more fatal was that the black iron heavy armor, which the Wei army was proud of, became a death warrant at this moment. Samadhi True Fire specially burned evil energy, and the killing energy stained on the black iron heavy armor during forging became a combustion aid for the flames. The heavy armor conducted heat quickly, burning the soldiers' skin, and it was too late to take it off even if they wanted to.
Xiahou Dun was scared out of his wits by the scene in front of him. In the valley, the Samadhi True Fire had already become a prairie fire. The blue-red flames, like violent fire dragons, devoured the dry vegetation and licked every inch of the land. The Wei army soldiers fled everywhere, and the flames on their bodies could not be extinguished at all. Their clothes and hair turned to ashes in an instant, and their flesh was burned with a "sizzling" sound. Shrill wails came one after another, echoing through the valley.
The black iron heavy armor on his own body had become a deadly shackle at this moment. This heavy armor was originally a proud defensive weapon of the Wei army, impenetrable by swords and spears, but in the face of Samadhi True Fire, it became an excellent combustion aid. Countless killing energy stained on the black iron during forging was firmly adsorbed by the true fire. The flames spread wildly along the gaps of the armor, and the heavy armor conducted heat quickly. The scalding metal burned his flesh, making Xiahou Dun grin in pain, the veins on his forehead bulging. Beads of sweat as big as beans rolled down mixed with soot, but evaporated as soon as they touched the skin.
"Wizards! Quickly summon rain! Put out the fire!" Xiahou Dun shouted hoarsely, his voice distorted by severe pain and fear. He looked around, his eyes full of bloodshot, watching his soldiers fall struggling in the sea of fire one by one, the arrogance in his heart had long been replaced by despair.
Seeing this, the three accompanying wizards did not dare to delay for a moment. They quickly sat cross-legged, formed seals with their hands quickly, and chanted incantations. They wore robes embroidered with weird runes, and the tips of their fingers glowed with a faint gray light, stirring up the water vapor between heaven and earth. Soon, a thick layer of dark clouds gathered in the sky above the valley. The dark clouds rolled and surged, blocking the sun, and the valley suddenly darkened a lot. There was a faint sound of thunder, as if a downpour was about to fall.
Seeing this, the Wei army soldiers ignited a glimmer of hope for survival. They stopped fleeing one after another, looked up at the sky, and hoped that the rain could put out the terrifying flames. But they never expected that Zhuge Liang had already calculated this step and was prepared for it.
On the top of the mountain, Zhuge Liang stood at the wind outlet, shaking his white feather fan violently. The fan surface glowed with dazzling white light, stirring up drastic changes in the air flow in the valley. "Hurricane arise!" He shouted loudly, his voice mixed with the power of summoning rain, echoing in the valley like thunder.
In an instant, a strong hurricane blew up in the valley. The strong wind howled from both ends of the valley, converging in the middle, and the momentum became more and more violent, rolling up countless sparks and burning vegetation debris, which hit the Wei army like dense arrow rain. The dark clouds that had gathered were torn to pieces under the violent impact of the hurricane and scattered. The impending rain never fell.
On the contrary, the strong wind fueled the fire. The blue-red flames became more violent with the wind, like a huge fire wall, raging back and forth in the valley. The sparks blown up by the wind fell on more soldiers, igniting new flames, and the screams in the sea of fire became more dense.
The three wizards were fully urging their spells when they were suddenly counterattacked by the hurricane, and their internal spiritual energy was instantly disordered. They only felt their chests hit by a heavy hammer, and their qi and blood surged. The spells were instantly interrupted and completely ineffective. The three fell to the ground, on the verge of death. Before they could recover, the spreading Samadhi True Fire swallowed them, and in a short while, they turned into a wisp of green smoke in the sea of fire.
"Break out! Quickly break out!" Li Dian and Yu Jin saw that the situation was not good, knowing that if they stayed in the valley any longer, they would only die. The two exchanged a glance, then each led hundreds of personal soldiers around them, waving their weapons, splitting the burning vegetation blocking the way, and desperately breaking through towards the south entrance of the valley. They knew in their hearts that only by breaking through Zhang Fei's defense line could they have a glimmer of hope.
At the south entrance of the valley, Zhang Fei had already led 1,000 soldiers to stand in battle formation. He held the Zhangba Divine Spear in his hand, his leopard-like head and ringed eyes wide open, his face flushed with anger. Seeing the Wei army breaking through, he immediately shouted angrily: "Don't leave! I, Zhang Fei, have been waiting here for a long time!"
After speaking, Zhang Fei fully unleashed his Suanni power, stepped hard on the ground, jumped out, and the Zhangba Divine Spear in his hand, carrying the power of thunder, stabbed fiercely at a Wei army captain rushing to the front. The tip of the spear shone with cold light, as fast as lightning. The captain had no time to react before being pierced through the chest by the divine spear. Blood gushed out, and his body was lifted out by the huge force, knocking down several soldiers behind him.
Although the Wei army soldiers were eager to break out and tried their best, in front of a fierce general like Zhang Fei, they were like ants trying to shake a tree. Zhang Fei's divine spear danced impenetrably, sometimes sweeping horizontally, sometimes stabbing straight. Every swing carried majestic power, and the Wei army soldiers fell to the ground one after another, screaming continuously. The soldiers of Liu Jun beside him also fought bravely, engaging in fierce battles with the Wei army. The shadow of swords and swords crisscrossed, and blood dyed the ground under their feet, interweaving with the burning vegetation, making the scene extremely tragic.
"Leave your heads for me!" Zhang Fei caught sight of Li Dian leading a team of personal soldiers trying to break through from the side, and immediately shouted angrily, turning his spearhead to stab Li Dian. Li Dian's heart trembled, and he quickly raised his steel knife to block. With a loud "clang", the steel knife collided with the divine spear, sparking flying. Li Dian only felt a huge force coming along the knife handle, his tiger's mouth was instantly split, blood flowing, and the steel knife was even knocked flying, spinning and inserting into the soil in the distance.
He was extremely shocked, knowing that he was no match for Zhang Fei at all. Taking advantage of the gap when Zhang Fei withdrew his spear, Li Dian did not dare to fight, and quickly ordered his personal soldiers to block desperately. He himself took advantage of the chaos to lead the remaining troops to break through from a gap with weaker fire on the side. Seeing that Li Dian succeeded, Yu Jin immediately ordered his personal soldiers to follow, waving his weapon to split the Liu Jun soldiers blocking the way, and followed closely behind. The two led the remaining troops to flee in embarrassment out of the south entrance of the valley, galloping south all the way, not daring to stop for a moment.
At the same time, at the north entrance of the valley, Xiahou Dun, under the desperate protection of dozens of elite personal soldiers, rushed towards the exit. These personal soldiers were the most elite guards under Xiahou Dun, all wearing heavy armor and holding sharp weapons. To cover the main general's breakout, they fought desperately with their lives, forcibly opening a path of blood in the sea of fire.
But Guan Yu had already led 1,000 soldiers to wait here, blocking the exit tightly. He held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand, his phoenix eyes were crimson, his red face turned purple due to exerting force, dragon energy lingering around his body, the blade reflected the blue-red fire light, glowing with a cold light. Seeing Xiahou Dun breaking through, Guan Yu's eyes were full of killing intent, and he shouted loudly: "Xiahou Dun, take your life!"
Before the words fell, Guan Yu swung his knife and slashed down. The green-gold blade energy, like a green dragon emerging from the sea, carried the momentum of destroying the world, instantly killing several personal soldiers rushing to the front. The personal soldiers raised their weapons to block one after another, but they couldn't block the sharp blade energy at all. Their weapons broke, and they were split in half, with blood and broken limbs flying everywhere.
Seeing this, the remaining personal soldiers, although frightened in their hearts, did not dare to retreat. They rushed at Guan Yu one after another, trying to buy time for Xiahou Dun. Guan Yu waved his knife impenetrably, dragon energy crisscrossing. Every knife he struck, there must be Wei army soldiers falling. In a short while, more than half of Xiahou Dun's personal soldiers had been lost, and the north entrance of the valley was covered with corpses.
Looking at Guan Yu, who was like a god of war in front of him, Xiahou Dun was in despair. He knew that it was absolutely impossible to break through from Guan Yu's hands today. In an emergency, he caught sight of the west slope of the valley. Although the fire was fierce, there seemed to be no Liu Jun ambush. He immediately turned his horse's head and rushed towards the west slope.
The slope was steep, covered with burning vegetation and gravel. The war horse neighed and climbed hard in the sea of fire. Xiahou Dun clung tightly to the rein. The black iron heavy armor on his body became more and more scalding, and the flesh was burned with severe pain. Most of his hair and beard were burned, charred black. There were burns all over his body, and blood mixed with soot, making him extremely embarrassed.
Seeing this, the few remaining personal soldiers behind him quickly followed, trying to continue covering. But the fire on the slope was too fierce. After climbing halfway, the few personal soldiers were swallowed by the flames, screaming and rolling down the slope. Xiahou Dun had no time to take care of them, so he could only urge his war horse to climb desperately. Finally, he rolled down from the other side of the slope with his horse, falling on the grass outside the valley. His armor was burned black and deformed, his body was covered with scars, and his war horse was also seriously injured, falling to the ground and unable to get up again. Xiahou Dun struggled to get up, ignoring his injuries, and stumbled to escape into the distance with Li Dian's help, only feeling grateful for surviving the disaster.
In the valley, the Samadhi True Fire was still burning fiercely. The blue-red flames illuminated the entire valley like a purgatory. The wails of the Wei army soldiers gradually weakened. Most of the soldiers had fallen in the sea of fire, and only a few people were still struggling in the sea of fire, but they couldn't escape death in the end.
Of the 30,000 troops, more than half were lost in this battle, and almost all the elite cavalry were completely annihilated. On the valley floor, there were charred corpses, broken armor, broken weapons and war horse remains everywhere, densely packed, shocking. The air was filled with a strong smell of burning, mixed with the smell of blood and burning vegetation, making people sick.
Zhuge Liang walked down the mountain to the valley. The fire had gradually subsided, leaving only curling green smoke. Liu Bei led the remaining troops to come to meet him. Seeing the tragic scene in front of him and then looking at Zhuge Liang, who was calm in expression, he felt extremely admired. He stepped forward and bowed: "Mr. Kongming, this battle is a great victory. You are truly a divine calculator! Without you, Xinye would be in danger!"
Zhang Fei stepped forward quickly, scratched his head, his face full of conviction: "Mr. is truly a god! I, Zhang Fei, was disrespectful before. I hope Mr. will not blame me! From now on, I, Zhang Fei, will fully obey Mr.'s orders!"
Guan Yu also nodded in praise: "Mr.'s clever plan is unparalleled in the world. After this battle, the Wei army will not dare to underestimate us again."
The soldiers in the army gathered around one after another, cheering and jumping for joy. The previous doubts about Zhuge Liang were completely dispelled, and only deep admiration and conviction remained in their eyes. They raised their weapons and shouted loudly: "Military Advisor is powerful! Military Advisor is powerful!" The cheers shook the valley and echoed over Bowang Slope for a long time.
In this battle, the casualties of Liu Jun were less than a hundred. They captured hundreds of sets of black iron heavy armor, more than a thousand war horses, and a large number of weapons and grain and grass. Zhuge Liang, who had just left the mountain, achieved such a great merit. He not only defended Xinye, but also completely stabilized his position as the military advisor in Liu Bei's army.
The news soon spread throughout the Jingxiang region. When Cao Cao learned of Xiahou Dun's disastrous defeat and that Zhuge Liang had used metaphysical techniques to set fire to defeat the enemy, he was both shocked and angry. He had to suspend his southern offensive and re-evaluate Liu Bei's strength.
Although the flames of Bowang Slope had been extinguished, the light of the Crouching Dragon leaving the mountain illuminated Xinye in the chaotic world, and also ignited the fire of hope for the great cause of restoring the Han Dynasty. Zhuge Liang stood in the valley, looking at the distant sky, shaking his white feather fan lightly. With metaphysical techniques as his blade and strategy as his shield, he assisted Liu Bei to blaze a path of restoring the Han Dynasty in this chaotic world.