After the order was passed, three pillars of wolf smoke rose into the sky. Thick black smoke pierced the blue sky and was clearly visible for dozens of miles around.
The smoke had already been raised, so Yan Liang stopped the defeated troops and reorganized their formation to wait.
In the world, even the most elite soldiers will become extremely fragile if their originally indestructible fighting spirit is defeated.
These five to six thousand Yan Jiajun athletes ran for more than ten miles in a row. Their original fighting spirit had long since dissipated with the general retreat, and they could only anxiously hope to escape from the dangerous situation as soon as possible.
However, they never expected that their lord would suddenly stop retreating and actually planned to use the panic to reorganize to meet the enemy who was slowly approaching.
Ma Yunlu was a little panicked, and Zhang He was also puzzled. All the generals were secretly wondering what had happened to the originally powerful and powerful lord, how could he repeatedly make such military moves that went against common sense in the art of war.
In their panic, they forgot for a moment that their lord was best at playing cards that did not follow common sense.
When Zhang He and other generals saw Yan Liang ordering the smoke smoke, they were still wondering whether Yan Liang had hidden an ambush. However, as time went by, seeing that Yuan's army had crossed the river halfway, but there was still no sign of the ambush, the generals were already uneasy.
It became more and more urgent.
"General, it would be bad if we wait for all Yuan's troops to cross the river. Why don't we rush up now and attack that boy Yuan Tan halfway across the river?"
Ma Yunlu was also well versed in the art of war, so he breathlessly gave Yan Liang advice.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang He said: "The water is very shallow, less than knee high, and Yuan Jun's formation has not moved. Even a half-crossing attack may not be effective. My lord, whether to fight or retreat, we must make a decision quickly."
Although Zhang He did not say it explicitly, his meaning was clear. He still suggested withdrawing his troops.
Yan Liang had a nonchalant look on his face, holding a long knife in his arms, and said with a sneer: "Why are you so anxious? The smoke has already been lit. Please calm down and watch a free show."
Yan Liang's expression and words were still natural and calm, and the implication behind his words was that he already had a plan to defeat the enemy.
Zhang He and other generals could not say anything else. They could only suppress their suspicion and uneasiness, looking at Yuan Jun who was crossing the river from a distance, wondering what Yan Liang's clever plan would be.
A few hundred steps away, Yuan Tan was sitting on his tall horse, and he had already boarded the south bank without getting wet.
As soon as his central army landed, two-thirds of the troops and horses had crossed the river. Yuan Tan ordered the troops and horses that had landed to slow down and not to disrupt the formation. He only waited for all the troops and horses behind to get ashore.
Then launch a pursuit against the enemy.
When Yuan Tan crossed the river, he was originally worried that Yan Liang had fled far away, but when he raised his head and looked far away, he smiled.
Just a few hundred steps away, Yuan Tan saw Yan Liang and his thousands of defeated troops turning back and waiting in formation, as if they were planning to fight him to the death.
"Yan Liang, dog thief, you are a bit brave, but you haven't escaped yet. Very good, I will wait until all the king's army comes ashore, and then I will take care of you..."
When Yuan Tan sneered secretly, he stationed his horse on the shore, raised his head and waited for his rear troops to come ashore.
That handsome face was full of pride and nobility. At this moment, Yuan Tan finally saw the hope of defeating Yan Liang.
After being defeated so many times, all the hatred was finally wiped out today, and the expressions on that pair were like a surging tide.
Suddenly, Yuan Tan's ears twitched, and he seemed to hear some strange noise at an inadvertent moment.
The subtle noise sounded like the sound of a waterfall across the mountain. It was approaching from far to near. In the blink of an eye, it sounded like the sound of rushing water.
In my heart, an ominous premonition suddenly emerged.
The sound seemed to come from the upper reaches of Huoshui. Yuan Tan subconsciously raised his head and looked upstream.
Suddenly, Yuan Tan's eyes opened wide, and endless horror shot out from his eyes like flames. He seemed to have seen something terrifying that he had never seen before.
All the pride and pride on his face disappeared in an instant, leaving only the stunned horror.
Upstream, a flood peak was like a crazy giant beast in the water, roaring and galloping, rushing towards the downstream.
When Yuan Tan saw the flood peak, the 30,000 soldiers of Yuan's army also saw for the first time that Yuan's army, which was originally in good morale, suddenly exploded.
Yuan's soldiers, who were still in the river, didn't care about their formation, dropped their weapons and flags, and fled to the shore desperately.
Those Yuan troops who had landed ashore dispersed with a roar, scurrying around for fear of being swept away by the torrent that surged ashore.
Thirty thousand Yuan troops were in chaos in the blink of an eye.
Yuan Tan could have ridden his horse away from the shore, but he was filled with surprise and doubt. He even said in surprise: "How is this possible? How can there be a sudden flood in the middle of winter..."
Not only Yuan Tan, but all Yuan Jun, including Xin Ping, were also at a loss.
In the middle of winter, the water levels of all river systems in the world have dropped, and there is no rain now. How could a torrent suddenly surge upstream? This is simply a strange thing that has never happened before.
As Xin Ping was running away, his thoughts were rolling in waves. Suddenly, a hint of shock flashed in his eyes, as if he had realized the secret.
"So that's it, Yan Liang is actually..."
When Xin Ping woke up in surprise, it was already too late. The flood peak, carrying the power of nature, had rushed towards him in the blink of an eye.
There were screams and screams, and the roaring waves suddenly rose up in an instant, and the chest-high torrent crashed into more than ten thousand Yuan's troops in the river.
Although the torrent was only as high as the chest, it was bone-chilling. With the force of a dive upstream, it knocked more than 10,000 Yuan troops into the water in the blink of an eye. The violent current swept away countless howling bodies, rushing endlessly.
Continue to roll downstream.
The torrent came and went quickly. After a while, the peak of the torrent passed, but it left a mess behind.
Nearly half of the more than 10,000 Yuan troops who had not yet reached the shore were swept away by the torrent, while the other half were howling and rolling in the biting water like ants whose nests had been washed away by the rain.
Those Yuan soldiers who were lucky enough to escape the torrent were scattered on the bank of the water in disorder. They looked at their comrades who were suffering in horror and forgot to rescue them for a while.
The seemingly indestructible iron formation of 30,000 Yuan troops fell apart.
Yuan Tan gasped for breath and glanced at his embarrassed soldiers in shock. His eyes were full of horror. He could hardly believe what was happening in front of him. He thought he had an illusion.
And a few hundred steps away, the officers and soldiers of the Yan family who watched the dramatic scene of water rushing into Yuan's army were all stunned with shock.
It was only then that Zhang He and Ma Yunlu finally understood why Yan Liang was so confident, why he deliberately outnumbered the enemy, and why he deliberately lost to Yuan Tan.
It turns out that all Yan Liang's abnormal actions were all to lure Yuan Tan to Huoshui, and use this torrent to easily destroy Yuan Tan's seemingly indestructible iron formation.
However, after Ma Yunlu and others understood Yan Liang's intention, they immediately fell into new surprise and confusion.
"In the middle of winter, my lord was able to predict the sudden torrent. My lord, it's true, it's true..."
Zhang He was also extremely surprised and could not find the right words to describe Yan Liang's magical plan.
Because he felt that Yan Liang could predict in advance even a winter flood, something that would be rare in hundreds of years. Such incredible foresight could no longer be described as a miraculous calculation.
Faced with the exclamations of his subordinates, Yan Liang only smiled and pointed his horsewhip at the smoke rising into the sky, "In this winter, there will be no floods. Have you all forgotten why I sent the signal to Xu Yuanzhi?"
"
Yan Liang didn't reveal the mystery, he only gave them hints.
Zhang He also turned his eyes to the black smoke rising into the sky, his mind was racing, and he was carefully considering the strangeness in it. His expression suddenly shook, as if he had woken up from a dream.
"Could it be that my lord has already ordered Yuan Zhi to dam the river upstream, and now the signal is sent to order Yuan Zhi to dig the dam and release water to flood Yuan's army?"
Yan Liang nodded slightly, acquiescing to what Zhang He said.
As early as the night before the decisive battle, Yan Liang secretly ordered Xu Shu to lead 3,000 soldiers and horses to rush to the upper reaches of the Confucius River in advance and block the water flow with mud bags, causing the water level originally at waist level to drop to only the knees.
When Yuan Tan thought that the water was shallow and could safely cross the river, Yan Liang sent a signal and ordered Xu Shu upstream to open the mud dam and release water to flood Yuan's army who was halfway across the river.
It is not easy to block the river water with mud bags. If it is placed in the river with abundant water in the south of the Yangtze River, this plan may not be possible.
But the Confusing Water is located in the Central Plains, and the water potential is not urgent in the first place. However, during the high weather season, the water potential will be even weaker. It is precisely by taking advantage of the favorable weather and location that this plan can have some miraculous effects.
This was what Xu Shu offered to Yan Liang that day, a plan to defeat the enemy effortlessly.
When Zhang He and others finally came to their senses, they all marveled at Yan Liang as never before. They all thought that their lord could use the right time and place to such an extreme, which was truly a miracle and beyond human capabilities.
In the face of everyone's exclamation, Yan Liang only said: "This is a wonderful idea proposed by Yuan Zhi. Now that Yuan Zhi's mission has been completed, next, we have to see your performance."
After saying this, Yan Liang's razor-sharp gaze was already directed at Yuan Jun, who was hundreds of steps away.
The seemingly powerful army that just a short time ago was showing off its might and chasing after them has now turned into a drowned chicken in the blink of an eye, drowning, panicking, and fleeing.
Extreme chaos.
Yan Liang's face was filled with cold murderous intent, and the depressed mood of the soldiers around him was suddenly ignited, turning into a raging fire in the blink of an eye.
"Send out the entire army and kill all these drowned rats for me -"
Yan Liang shouted loudly and slashed his long knife towards him.
Thousands of officers and soldiers of the Yan family whose fighting spirit was extremely high, with boiling blood and bloodthirsty madness, shouted and charged towards the frightened enemy.
The weak ones who were originally being chased began to counterattack, and the offensive and defensive momentum was reversed.
Yuan Tan, who was in the rebel army, had just recovered from the torrent. When he turned around, he suddenly saw Yan Liang's army rushing towards him. Its momentum was even more violent than the torrent. In the blink of an eye, Yuan Tan's heart fell into an even deeper state.
The abyss of terror.
"Retreat, the whole army retreats -" with a loud shout, Yuan Tan turned his horse to go ahead and fled towards the other side of the river.
