Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3315: The Great Retreat Outside Wenxi City

At the foot of Wenxi City, Lu Zhao stood under his general's flag, turned his head and looked, his face pale.

At this moment, not only Lu Zhao but even the Cao army soldiers had no time to pay attention to the battle situation in and outside Wenxi City.

"Where on earth did these guys come from?! Isn't that a small group behind? Why are there so many people? Why? Why?!" Lu Zhao shouted angrily, not caring that his statement would only make him look stupid and incompetent.

  The messenger who brought the news earlier said that the grain team was attacked, but did not say that Zhang Xiu's large force had moved to their rear. As a result, Lu Zhao naturally thought that it was a small force of cavalry, and Zhang Xiu was still on Emei Ridge, so Lu Zhao deployed sentries and cavalry in the direction of Emei Ridge. Unexpectedly, there was no movement in the direction of Emei Ridge, but Zhang Xiu appeared from behind!

"Damn it! These incompetent scouts! They misled me! They misled me!"

Lu Zhao subconsciously passed the buck to others, but unfortunately the people around him didn't care to listen to his buck-passing skills. "General! What should I do? ! What should I do? ! "

Most of Cao's troops were at the foot of Wenxi City, a small number were guarding the direction of Emei Ridge, and the defense of the rear was only the old and weak in the camp.

The military school rushed over, "General! Give the order quickly, whether to fight or retreat! If you delay for a moment, the camp will be lost!"

The military school's face turned pale, and he glared at Lu Zhao with eyes that were about to spit fire!

It’s all Lu Zhao’s fault!

The reason Cao's army dared to confront Zhang Xiu head-on was simply because they relied on the defensive fortifications of the camp.

  In the camp, Cao's soldiers even dared to slap and urinate on the cavalry led by Zhang Xiu and others, and mocked them loudly!

But now most of Cao's soldiers are outside the camp!

It's like taking off all your clothes and standing in the wild, having to withstand the fierce cold winter. No matter how big the bird was before, it will now shrink like a bean.

  Moreover, Zhang Xiu's encirclement from behind not only meant that their retreat was cut off, but also that they had become an isolated force!

Could something have happened to Cao Cao?

Wenxi is a bit remote compared to the Yuncheng Basin in Hedong. If Cao's army has really been defeated in the Yuncheng Basin, it might be impossible to convey any news to them!

Now that the Cavalry Army is charging straight at us, perhaps this means that Fei Qian has already defeated Cao Cao?

  If this is the case, what would be the point even if they captured Wenxi and saved the camp?

Moreover, in the hearts of these Cao army military schools, they are even more worried than Lu Zhao.

  If they win, Lu Zhao will eat the meat and they can at least have some soup, even if they are dissatisfied, they will accept it. But if they lose, will this bastard named Lu put all the responsibility on them?

This bastard named Lu doesn't look like the kind of guy who is willing to take responsibility. Could it be that he can now change his character and take on the heavy responsibility?

Just this thought in their minds made these low-level military cadets in Cao's army no longer have the slightest desire to fight and resist here.

Lu Zhao whistled loudly, then hurriedly got down the platform with his guards and ran towards the camp.

"I want to meet this cavalry general! Let's see if he has three heads and six arms!" Lu Zhao shouted, as if to encourage himself and the surrounding Cao army, "The cavalry has come from a long way, they must be tired! Our army has rested well here and is ready to fight! We can win this battle! We can win!"

Yes, at this moment, Lu Zhao still had a glimmer of hope in his heart.

He rushed down the platform, almost tripping on the last few steps, then grabbed the reins handed to him by the guards and jumped onto the horse's back with shaking feet...

Didn't make it up.

With more effort, he finally climbed onto the horse's back. He shook the reins and headed towards the camp!

Although the Cao army students followed Lu Zhao silently, they seemed to be communicating something by exchanging glances with each other.

In war, the mentality of relying on luck often does not bring victory, but more often brings destruction.

If Lu Zhao could be more realistic in his daily life and not follow the model of the Shandong gentry, then maybe what he said would reassure the soldiers in the surrounding Cao army academies.

Many people like to bully and cheat honest people, but when something really happens, they are willing to believe what honest people say, and are unwilling to listen to the orders of that guy who is smooth-talking, shouts about ideology, but has his own ideas in his heart.

It’s a pity that most of the time, honest people are trapped and die on the road, without getting the chance to stand out at the last critical moment.

  Obviously, if Lu Zhao was an honest man, he would not have been in his current position. And since he cannot be called an honest man, would the soldiers of Cao’s military academy be willing to believe him in times of crisis?

So when Lu Zhao said "we can fight and win", who believed it?

He doesn't even believe it himself!

Even in the age of hot weapons, when a fully armed cavalryman charges towards you, it is a huge threat and deterrent!

I believe that those hunters who hunted with guns on the African grasslands and were trampled to death by herds of horses and cattle have a lot to say about this.

So when the old and weak who stayed behind in the Cao army camp saw the cavalrymen rushing on the horizon, along the hillsides and depressions, sweeping in like mercury pouring on the ground or the Milky Way hanging upside down, they were already terrified and their hearts were in turmoil. Then, when they turned around, they found that Lu Zhao's general's flag was actually moving!

When these old and weak Cao soldiers saw the general's flag moving, would their first reaction be to ask Lu Zhao to rescue them?

  There must be something fishy going on!

Cao's army treated those Hedong civilians with extreme cruelty, but they would not abandon or give up on their friendly forces? Don't be ridiculous, even a fool would know that this is absolutely impossible, so when Lu Zhao made a move, the old and weak in the camp secretly opened the camp gate and spontaneously "gathered" towards Lu Zhao...

Is it wrong to always stay consistent with your leadership?

  As soon as the Cao army soldiers in the camp started running, they immediately led other Cao army soldiers to run as well!

The Cao army that stayed behind in the camp and the Cao army that attacked Wenxi successfully joined forces, then stared at each other and shouted...

"Don't panic! Don't panic!"

"Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!"

"What are you doing here?!"

"What do you want to do now?!"

  Not far away, Zhang Xiu had already sent out a small team led by Li Er to rush towards Cao's camp, while he himself led a large force to rush towards Lu Zhao's general flag!

As long as Cao's infantry fails to form a formation, they are like a piece of meat and can be chopped however you want!

The cavalrymen had put down their masks and held their swords and spears flat, with cold light flashing on the blades, like neat waves of steel, rushing straight towards Lu Zhao and others!

The sunlight shining on the battlefield seemed to be forced back by the cold swords and spears in the hands of the cavalrymen!

  These dots of light seemed to cut the sunlight into seven colors, as bright as stars, but carrying the threat of death!

The cavalrymen charging from afar were in a neat formation, like an extremely sophisticated war machine. No matter the slopes or gullies they passed, they could not stop their advance. They maintained a neat attack formation, and every time the horses stepped on the ground, they raised a little dust and rolled up yellow dragons!

Such a powerful assault array and such a well-trained cavalry team could undoubtedly only be achieved by the Hussar cavalry that the Han Dynasty was proud of.

Their arrival brought hope to the defenders of Wenxi, but also brought despair to Cao's soldiers.

Zhang Xiu's troops are so powerful. If there is General Fei Qian leading the troops behind Zhang Xiu, how many more cavalrymen will be rushing towards him?

  Just thinking about this, I felt that the sky and the earth were dark, as if I was directly hit the bottom of the sea by these surging steel waves!

Lu Zhao's detachment had been struggling for a long time under the city of Wenxi. Most of their initial high spirits had dissipated when Zhang Xiu first attacked them. The rest was also worn away bit by bit in the process of continuing to attack Wenxi. When they knew that the grain team had been attacked, they were completely worn out. The beast's counterattack before death was indeed fierce, but the first attack was ineffective, so naturally it had no strength to attack again. The lower and middle levels of Cao's army had long wanted to retreat, but they were suppressed by Lu Zhao. Now Zhang Xiu was rushing in with his men and horses, and when Lu Zhao raised his flag, they immediately "understood" it. Almost all the soldiers of Cao's army had the same idea: whoever wants to go up can go up, anyway, I won't go!

No one dares to face the Hussars whose horses have increased their speed in the open field!

  The memory of the cavalry charging Cao's infantry formations has not faded yet. The charge was bloody, with broken limbs and bloody flesh all over the place! Under the trampling of the horses' hooves, it was difficult to even get a complete corpse!

Even the Central Commander and the Central Guards couldn't hold out, so how could we expect the ordinary Cao army soldiers with insufficient pay and defective weapons to be able to stop them?

As a result, among Cao's army, whether inside or outside the camp, there was an involuntarily huge wave of noise, and shouts were everywhere. However, these shouts were not orders to resist, but the starting guns for escape!

Seeing this scene, Lu Zhao, who was rushing to the camp, almost had his blood freeze instantly!

  Although his own flag was still flying, although he had not yet fought with the cavalry, and although his guards were still tightly gathered around him, but at this moment, he felt like he was naked, standing alone in the vast sea of ​​snow, and even his thoughts were frozen!

Some of Cao's soldiers in the distance had been trampled by the cavalry and were immediately engulfed by the billowing yellow smoke and dust. The splashes of blood could not even stop the yellow dragon!

The Cao army soldiers screamed, shouted, stumbled and ran around, pushing their own ranks into even greater chaos. Each Cao army soldier did not have much courage to stand up and face the enemy. Some only had the strength to escape, and only wanted to get farther away from these killers, and then farther away. The expressions on the faces of each Cao army soldier were so similar at this moment, and they had all appeared on the Hedong civilians they drove away, all of them were the same, twisted fear!

No matter how solid and complete a defensive position is, it needs people to defend it in order to be effective.

It was originally a good camp. If they had the will to defend it, even the old and weak could have held out for a while, at least until Lu Zhao could come back. However, the Cao army soldiers who claimed to be smart in the camp thought that Lu Zhao was going to run away, so they hurriedly ran to "join" Lu Zhao, and as a result, the other defenders of the camp also ran out...

When Li Er rushed in, there was not even a Cao army soldier who tried to shoot and stop him. It was a world of difference from his previous hedgehog-like state with nowhere to bite.

Li Er laughed loudly, galloped wildly in the camp, burned tents, and killed Cao's soldiers who were too short-legged to react. He was having a lot of fun for a while.

Zhang Xiu, on the other hand, set his sights on Lu Zhao's head.

The array that Cao's army had already formed was not thick. Although there were still some Cao's soldiers joining the array, this thin array was too insignificant in the face of the sharp attack of the Hussar cavalry.

If the Cao army soldiers had the will to fight to the death, they might be able to hold out for a while longer and cause more damage to Zhang Xiu and others, but maybe it was because Lu Zhao was not of high enough status, or maybe for some other reason, these Cao army soldiers simply did not have such high morale.

As a result, the entire Cao army formation, from the camp to the field, from the outside to the inside, was all stirred up.

It's a mess.

Those in the camp were eager to escape, while those fighting in the field wanted to return to the camp. They were mixed and collided with each other, and curses and complaints were flying everywhere. The sergeants of the Cao army shouted and cursed loudly, but it was of no use at all.

Under the charge of the cavalry, Cao's army was like broken clay statues, falling to the ground and scattered everywhere. Even if someone put the scattered pieces together, they could not be restored.

  In a blink of an eye, Cao's army formation was broken!

In Lu Zhao's heart, a voice kept asking, "Do you want to fight to the death, or do you want to live?"

This question was like a sharp knife, constantly cutting his courage and reason, making it difficult for him to make a decision.

Fighting desperately means putting yourself in danger, throwing yourself into the battle without hesitation, and using all your strength to fight the enemy, even if the price is your life. This choice stems from the desire for victory, the pursuit of honor, or the assumption of responsibility. It may bring heroic feats and leave behind legendary stories, but it may also be a road of no return, and eventually be buried in the flames of war.

Staying alive is a more instinctive choice, which represents the desire for a future life. Choosing to stay alive may temporarily avoid the sharp edge of the battle and save one's life, but it may also mean giving up resistance, betraying comrades, and even being regarded as a coward. Such a choice is undoubtedly a betrayal and escape.

When attacking Wenxi, Lu Zhao originally thought that he could avoid the main force of the Hussars and engage in a local, small-scale battle, which would be more advantageous to him and provide him with a better stage to display his bravery. However, Lu Zhao did not expect that even the small force of the Hussars was so cunning!

  How to do how to do?

In fact, when Lu Zhao asked in his heart, he already had the answer. All his worries were because if he ran away like this, not to mention the subsequent guilt issues, he wondered whether he could really escape from Zhang Xiu's cavalry!

While he was hesitating, Lu Zhao's guards had already seen through him, and quickly reached out to pull Lu Zhao's reins, "General! The enemy is coming towards us! It is better to avoid their attack first, and then turn around! The enemy will surely run out of energy if they continue to charge for a while!"

Lu Zhao's face turned pale, and he swung his whip and hit the guard, "Damn it! Are you going to make me lose without a fight?!"

The guard felt the force of the blow and immediately understood, "Why don't you fight? There was the Three Drums Method before, and no one said it was a sin to avoid fighting? !"

  The ancestors of the Cao family all "avoided war". How can it be called a "guilt" if we follow our predecessors?

At most, it is to emphasize that some subjective intentions are good, but objectively there are some irresistible difficulties...

Lu Zhao immediately slid down the ladder, "Right! That's right! Right now the enemy army is in full force, it's unwise to fight them head-on! We should wait until they relax after the third drum, then we can counterattack! Pass the order, pass the order! Turn around, turn around!"

Lu Zhao quickly turned his horse's head and waved his whip, "Let the enemy army be proud for a while... I swear that if I can't lead my men to defeat this enemy army and capture Wenxi, heaven and earth will not tolerate it! Order, retreat, no matter where you are, retreat, retreat! Follow me back thirty miles away and regroup!"

At this moment, Lu Zhao's eyes seemed to be red and full of tears, as if he was full of affection for the Cao army soldiers...

Then he ignored everything and rode away on his horse.

In the final analysis, the Shandong military system, which relied on peasant soldiers as its main fighting force, could not solve a fundamental problem no matter how it fought or how brutal it was in normal times - it could not catch the enemy when the wind and waves were favorable, and it could not control the enemy when the wind and waves were unfavorable.

This was true in the Han Dynasty and also in the Tang Dynasty.

The same was basically true for subsequent feudal dynasties.

Apart from the elite imperial guards, the other troops were like bandits. They lost their composure after a victory and were crushed to death after a defeat. Lu Zhao was not the only one who did this.

Even the elite imperial guards, the most important national weapon in feudal dynasties, could easily become corrupt when there were no wars to fight or no soldiers to replenish the army, and eventually became a place for bureaucrats and nobles to show off their achievements and gild their reputations.

It's like a clay statue with gold painting on it. It looks golden, but its belly is full of rotten straw and stinking mud.

Zhang Xiu watched Lu Zhao flee with a few guards and made a dissatisfied sound, but did not pursue him.

It's simple, there's not enough horsepower.

When it comes to turning and raiding, the biggest test is not on the people, but on the horses.

If the cavalry had not provided everyone with high-calorie, high-salt dry rations, and the horses with sugar-roasted beans, these big guys might not have had such good physical strength and endurance to continue charging and fighting after making such a long journey.

If Lu Zhao did not escape, Zhang Xiu would have to kill or defeat him in a short period of time.

Of course, Zhang Xiu was quite confident in his own martial arts.

But if Lu Zhao ran away like this, would he chase him?

Zhang Xiu reached out and touched the neck of the warhorse under his crotch, sighed slightly, and immediately ordered: "Kneel down and surrender and you will not be killed! Tell the guard of Wenxi City, so-and-so, to come out quickly, it's time to work!"