Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3297 What is Face?

People who have never actually been on a battlefield will probably have two extremes when they go to the battlefield for the first time. One is that they think it is difficult and will be very afraid, refuse, and escape. They are probably like Kong Rong, who uses reading scriptures or some other method to cover up his incompetence and helplessness. The other is that they are very brave and think that battlefield is just like that, and all they have to do is charge forward, kill, and kill, and they will be done with it.

Guanqiu Jian most likely belongs to the second type.

He was young and easily got carried away. Although Liu Fu had told him to be cautious and even said that it didn't matter even if all the baggage was burned, as he could just mobilize more from the rear, Guanqiu Jian felt that he could win and he should win.

He was too eager to be praised and affirmed.

It's a genuine compliment, not a false compliment.

This impulse caused Guanqiu Jian to forget something.

Or overlooked something.

Guanqiu Jian's family environment was neither better than others nor worse than others. Whenever he looked up, the successful people he saw were all giving him chicken soup, telling him that hard work would be rewarded and bravery would lead to success.

So he tried hard and he was brave.

The moment Guanqiu Jian led his troops out of the camp, the cavalrymen who were wreaking havoc on the riverside and the pontoon bridge obviously shrank a little, as if they were somewhat afraid of Guanqiu Jian's arrival. This situation of one gaining while the other diminishing greatly stimulated Guanqiu Jian and his Cao army soldiers, and they rushed towards the pontoon bridge occupied and controlled by the cavalrymen, howling.

Darkness, firelight.

People shouted and horses neighed.

The river roars and the cannons roar.

Everything is so chaotic, yet so full of rhythm.

The rhythm of death.

Guanqiu Jian had just led his men to the vicinity of the floating bridge when the warhorse under him suddenly neighed, then as if it had stepped on something, it swung its front hooves, neighed, and kicked and stamped its hooves, almost throwing Guanqiu Jian off the horse. Guanqiu Jian was suddenly awakened from his beautiful fantasy, and he held the reins tightly, even hugging the horse's neck to avoid falling off the horse.

Just as Guanqiu Jian was trying his best to control his warhorse, some frightening sounds suddenly rang in his ears.

"Whoosh!" Whizzing! 』

Although the river was flowing nearby, the artillery at Tongguan was rumbling from time to time, and the shouting of the surrounding soldiers and horses was still noisy, the fear that was almost engraved in his bones still made him instinctively bend down and lie on the horse's back.

Amid the intersection of darkness, light and fire, crossbow arrows whizzed past.

The crossbow arrows shot from the river bank were as fast as locusts.

  The Cao army soldiers who were at the forefront fell down in a large number, including their horses. Most of them were infantrymen, and the few cavalrymen might have been shielded by their war horses, or attracted by them, so the horses were injured instead of the soldiers, but they also fell down and the formation was in chaos!

"Ambush! There is an ambush!"

The Cao army soldiers shouted loudly, but in the chaotic scene it did not have the desired warning effect.

Some of Cao's soldiers continued to run forward by inertia, and then stepped on their compatriots, or subconsciously stopped their feet, but were knocked to the ground by their compatriots behind them.

On one side was the cold river water, and on the other side were the burning supplies. Guanqiu Jian and the others were caught in the middle, enjoying the services of both ice and fire, and they had to endure not to ejaculate... ahem, not to be shot...

Crossbow bolts and arrows whistled and flew in succession.

Although after the first round of arrows and crossbows, Cao's army quickly placed their shields in the direction of the arrows, reducing the damage of subsequent arrows and crossbows a lot, these arrows and crossbows that attacked from the darkness still made Cao's soldiers flustered.

Including Guanqiu Jian.

At this moment when the commander should have stood up, issued orders and quickly counterattacked, what was Guanqiu Jian doing?

He was busy struggling with his horse.

He was so nervous that he didn't even notice what his horse had stepped on and just thought that his horse was out of control.

  The ambition to achieve great achievements and become a noble or a general has disappeared at this moment. The only thought left in my mind is why this warhorse suddenly became disobedient?

Obviously, Guanqiu Jian underestimated the fighting effectiveness of the cavalry.

Perhaps these 100 or 200 cavalrymen were just a fraction of the tens of millions of men in Cao's camp, but war was not simply about comparing numbers. In this small local battlefield on the Fuqiao River, Cao's army was crushed in terms of individual quality.

Guanqiu Jian thought that the Hussars were few in number, so they would set a few fires, kill a few people and then run away after the sneak attack. The current results must have been rare for the Hussars, so when he led his troops forward, these Hussars should have seen the situation and fled in a hurry.

As a result, what Guanqiu Jian did not expect was that Hao Zhao not only did not escape, but instead secretly stationed some people on the side of the river to lure Guanqiu Jian's formation into shape and then fired a barrage of arrows at him.

"Kill! Go to the middle! Kill!"

Hao Zhao roared, covered half of his face with the shield, and rushed forward with a sword in hand.

Why not deploy both wings to encircle Cao's army?

It was very simple. In the darkness and the firelight, Hao Zhao and the others could not see the caltrops on the ground clearly. They could only avoid the area where they had been spread before and rush forward.

Hao Zhao ran directly into the formation of Cao's army and knocked down a Cao soldier with one sword. He then used his shield to push away the sword and spear of another Cao soldier, and counterattacked with a sword to cut off the exposed arm of the Cao soldier without armor protection.

Blood spurted out and the smell of blood immediately filled the air.

The screams of the injured made the other Cao soldiers instinctively sense the presence of danger, and they couldn't help but hesitate.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

After finally getting off his horse, Guanqiu Jian finally issued a reasonable order, but he also gave Hao Zhao guidance on the direction of the attack.

Hao Zhao stood in the front of the army. This position certainly had extremely high risks, but it also had great benefits.

Most of the Shanxi generals and frontier commanders of the Han Dynasty prefer to fight on the front line. Not only can they deal damage, but their on-the-spot dispatch is more direct and effective than commanding in the rear and having messengers running back and forth.

Hao Zhao had fought with Cao's soldiers many times before and had a strong psychological advantage. Not only were they not afraid at all, but the secretion of adrenaline also made them more agile and brave.

When Guanqiu Jian shouted the order, he was discovered by Hao Zhao at the front line in the gap between the chaotic crowd and light.

Hao Zhao chopped down a Cao army soldier, then held his shield in front of him, blocking the swords and spears of the other two Cao army soldiers, and shouted to the guards around him: "Five Elements Thunder! Fifty steps to the left!"

"Fifty steps to the left!" Hao Zhao's guards also shouted.

In the cavalry formation, several people immediately shrank under the shields of their friendly forces, then took down the grenade hanging behind them, pulled out the plug, pierced the sealing oil paper, pulled out the fuse, put it close to the torch beside them, and with a low shout, threw it in the direction where Hao Zhao was shouting.

Three or four grenades flew through the air and fell into Cao's line.

"Ahhhh..."

The Cao army soldiers seemed to realize something as well. They shouted in panic and dodged subconsciously, making the already untidy formation even more chaotic.

"boom! 』

A grenade exploded.

After several improvements, the grenades are more powerful and more lethal than the first generation of grenades.

Simply put, the killing radius of the first generation of grenades is only about two to three steps. If it exceeds five steps, it will generally only be splashed with stones and wood chips, and the direct damage will be very small. However, with the purification of black gunpowder and the improvement of grenade fragments, current grenades can cause certain damage within ten steps.

It was just a certain amount of damage, not necessarily killing on the spot. Compared to the large-scale killing power within ten or even fifty meters in later generations, black gunpowder was still a little brother.

The blast knocked over two or three Cao soldiers who were near the explosion point, and grenade fragments flew everywhere.

A piece of debris cut a huge wound on the thigh of a Cao army soldier like a sharp blade, and then pierced into the lower abdomen of another Cao army soldier without stopping.

The huge wound was cut open, revealing the pale leg bone, and irregularly twisted muscles and skin on the side. Blood gushed out of the huge wound like a fountain. "Ahhhhhhh..."

Only when the blood spurted out did the wounded Cao army soldier seem to feel the pain. He roared at the top of his lungs and fell to the ground.

"boom! boom! 』

There were several explosions in succession.

Broken limbs, pieces of flesh, and fragments of armor flew up in the thick smoke, then fell down with the dirt and gravel, hitting the armor helmets of the remaining uninjured Cao soldiers.

A stone hit Guanqiu Jian's helmet with a "bang", knocking it crooked.

Guanqiu Jian couldn't help but yelled, and was so frightened that he closed his eyes tightly. He staggered, his legs went limp, and he almost fell to the ground.

There was panic and shouting all around, and all the Cao army soldiers were shouting and dodging, so Guanqiu Jian's behavior was not very obvious. After a while, Guanqiu Jian came back to his senses, and felt a numbness on his head, but it didn't hurt. He quickly looked down at his body and found that it was still intact. His soul finally returned to his body.

He shifted his gaze toward where the grenade had landed.

The stomach of a Cao army soldier was cut open, and the colorful intestines inside were scattered, and filth and fragments of internal organs continued to flow out. He lay on his back on the ground, not dead yet, and his hands and feet were still twitching...

Guanqiu Jian looked at the scene in front of him with fear. His original ambitions had now been greatly shaken, and a sour smell rose from his throat.

He vomited violently... The morale of Cao's army collapsed, and the hussars naturally became more brave.

Hao Zhao held a shield in his left hand and a knife in his right hand, smashing and slashing, killing three or four people in an instant, as powerful as a tiger and unstoppable.

"Kill the enemy general! Seize Cao's camp!"

Hao Zhao raised his knife and roared.

"Kill the enemy general! Seize Cao's camp!"

The other hussars behind Hao Zhao also shouted loudly, which temporarily covered up the noise on the Tongguan side.

Who would have thought that just a few hundred cavalrymen would actually want to seize Cao's army camp with tens of thousands of soldiers? !

  But if Hao Zhao and others really took advantage of the situation and rushed into the camp, even if the camp was still in the hands of Cao's army, it would be a serious blow to the morale of Cao's army. Just think about it, a camp of tens of thousands of people was rushed in by one or two hundred people. Not to mention how much damage was caused, the face of Cao's army was completely lost!

Thinking of this, Guanqiu Jian felt that his crotch was a little wet. He didn't know whether it was blood, gastric juice he vomited, or some other liquid.

He was completely shocked by the murderous aura displayed by Hao Zhao and others, and was also stunned by the grenades. He didn't even have time to think about whether Hao Zhao and others would really rob the camp, and whether it was possible for them to bring so many grenades here. After all, with two hundred people attacking a camp of tens of thousands of people, even if they really succeeded in rushing in, it would most likely be a suicidal attack.

But the posture that Hao Zhao displayed was indeed very intimidating.

Not only did they ambush the archers from the side, but they also killed and wounded many Cao soldiers in succession when they came into contact with them, and they also had that terrifying weapon...

So Guanqiu Jian immediately decided to return to the camp, close the camp gates, and at least ensure that the camp was not lost.

As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand on that kind of thing.

"Retreat! Retreat to the camp!"

Guanqiu Jian ran away with his tail between his legs.

He suddenly realized that only when alive can he be a famous Han scholar. If he dies...

  Compared with your own life, what is face?

So, what about faith?

Guanqiu Jian fled back in a panic. It was embarrassing, but he survived!

congratulations!

He did stop Hao Zhao outside the camp, but he also stopped the remaining Cao army soldiers and laborers outside the camp.

"Cowardly coward!" Hao Zhao shouted outside the camp, holding up a bloody sword, "Come out and fight Grandpa for three hundred rounds!"

Guanqiu Jian's face turned pale, "Shoot! Shoot! Don't let the thieves get close to the camp!"

Arrows whizzed down.

Hao Zhaolue raised his shield, blocked a few arrows, then laughed and left the arrow's coverage range.

Although Hao Zhao was brave, he was not a stubborn person. He knew that with just a few men, even if he really rushed into Cao's camp, he might not be able to cause any serious damage to Cao's army. The reason why he wanted to seize the camp was just to force Cao's army to close the camp gates to prevent the soldiers in the camp from pouring out.

After all, Hao Zhao and others are also flesh and blood, it is impossible for them to never feel tired.

When Guanqiu Jian fell into the trap and fled back to close the camp gates, it meant that the Cao army soldiers and laborers on the river bank were completely abandoned.

Hao Zhao could easily harvest, destroy, and then evacuate...

In fact, if Guanqiu Jian was given another chance, or if he was allowed to slowly plan after the battle, he would definitely have a better response strategy, such as using shield soldiers to advance in front and crush Hao Zhao with the advantage of numbers. Or he could fight head-on, send a small team to burn the pontoon bridge from behind, and completely trap Hao Zhao on the riverside, etc.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs in war.

Hao Zhao burned the food and supplies that Cao's army had piled up on the river bank, and finally burned the floating bridge, and then retreated leisurely...

After Hao Zhao retreated and burned the pontoon bridge, the defenders of Tongguan also retreated.

The two sides had no contact and no communication in advance, but on such a night, the Tongguan defenders and Sima Yi, Hao Zhao and others played a wonderful coordination, as if it had been planned dozens of times beforehand.

  But that's how warfare works. It's not about being able to come up with a lot of hindsight strategies after the war, but about being able to think smartly when the situation arises!

It's like being a keyboard warrior on the Internet a thousand times is not as good as speaking up for justice when you see injustice in real life.

……

……

In this era, communication can only be done by shouting and information can only be obtained by guessing.

The unknown is mysterious.

Even in hive mode, it still relies on pheromones.

A little bit of pheromone floated to the Zhongtiao Mountain camp...

"Stop!"

"Stop, or I'll shoot you if you don't stop!"

The soldiers on the sentry post on Zhongtiao Mountain shouted loudly, trying to stop the people coming from the official road.

But the man did not stop, but shouted loudly, "Tongguan is in danger! Quick! Send reinforcements! The Tongguan camp has been breached! The camp is in danger! Send reinforcements quickly, reinforcements!"

"Stop, stop!" The soldiers at the Zhongtiaoshan sentry post also shouted, "Don't go any further! Stand over there!"

The man continued to shout without stopping.

Warning arrows whizzed down.

The soldier on the sentry post obviously wanted to give a warning, so he did not shoot right away. However, perhaps because of the mountain wind, or because the soldier's hand was crooked, the man screamed and fell to the ground with a thud.

"I..." The archer on the sentry post was stunned, "I didn't mean to shoot him to death... What should I do?"

"What else can we do? Just say that they will die if they come, that's it..." said another sentry.

"Wait, what did he just yell?"

"Ah...ah! It seems, it seems that the Tongguan camp was attacked! Tongguan needs help! "

The Cao army sentry on the sentry post trembled and almost fell from the height. He hurriedly rang the warning gong and then quickly reported to Guo Jia.

Guo Jia was startled and hurriedly ran out of the tent, then walked along the hillside towards the highest watchtower.

The night wind on Zhongtiao Mountain howled, blowing the vegetation on the mountain, and the leaves rustled.

Perhaps because of the terrain, or perhaps because there is a big river surrounding it, the wind on Zhongtiao Mountain is particularly strong, sometimes like the howling of ghosts and wolves, which is frightening.

Because of the terrain, the Zhongtiao Mountain Camp cannot directly see Tongguan. One has to climb to the observation tower on the top of the mountain to see over the mountain ridge and see the Tongguan Camp on the other side of the river.

But it's just visible.

The movement of the Tongguan camp and the earth-shaking sound of artillery fire were almost inaudible in Zhongtiao Mountain. Even without the whistling night wind on Zhongtiao Mountain, the sound would quickly attenuate as the distance increased. Therefore, when Guo Jia climbed onto the high platform, he could only see the abnormal flames rising from the Tongguan camp, but he did not know or hear any sound.

Except for the night wind whistling in my ears.

The flickering flames near the pontoon bridges and Tongguan were obviously not right, but Cao's army had no effective communication equipment at the moment and could not transmit effective information to the Zhongtiao Mountain camp.

Guo Jia could only guess.

  The most prudent strategy, of course, is to ignore everything. After all, it was only the Tongguan camp that was attacked. What does it have to do with the Zhongtiaoshan camp that he commanded?

But the problem is that the Tongguan Camp is equivalent to the rear base of Cao Cao’s series of camps in Hedong!

If I didn't know what happened in the Tongguan camp, then I wouldn't have anything to say. But now I clearly saw something unusual in the Tongguan camp, and someone reported it...

"Someone come here!" Guo Jia shouted in a deep voice, "Where is the person who brought the news? !"

"Reporting to the military advisor, the sentry on duty said that the man was seriously injured. He ran to the mountain to warn the police, but then he ran out of energy and accidentally fell into the mountain and died..."

The sentry obviously didn't dare to say that he had killed the person by mistake, even in this situation. It would be much better for the messenger to fall to his death, play hide-and-seek, or shoot himself with an arrow from behind than to admit that he had made a mistake.

"Fell into the mountain stream and died?" Guo Jia was stunned.

Something seems wrong, but it's not a big problem.

Although Zhongtiao Mountain only has a name, it is not a mountain peak. The sentry posts must be built in dangerous places. Not to mention at night, even in the daytime, one might accidentally fall to death.

"Pass the order, beat the drum to gather the troops!"

  Guo Jia got off the lookout, his legs and feet were shaking. When he first heard the alarm, Guo Jia couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and when he blew the wind on the lookout, he felt his whole body go cold. If Tongguan was lost, all the troops would be dead, and Dalong would die!

Although he felt somewhat surprised, Guo Jia still did not dare to bet that Tongguan would be fine, so he convened the military academy overnight, readjusted the defense arrangements of the Zhongtiao Mountain camp, and then sent General Lu Chang with 3,000 soldiers and horses to return to rescue the Tongguan camp!