Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3341 Soldiers and Generals

Xu Chu's position was probably less than ten miles away from Cao's camp, and there were not many soldiers and horses around him at the beginning. But after Xu Chu raised the tricolor battle flag again on the high hill, many scattered cavalrymen came roaring back to the left and right, and returned to the tricolor flag!

Raise the flag!

People gather!

  Seeing this scene, the guards around him cheered in unison, their eyebrows dancing with excitement, and they let out a long sigh!

Even Xu Chu's hand holding the sword couldn't help but tremble slightly, and his knuckles turned white!

How many armies in the world can do this?

As long as the cavalry flag exists, the soul of the army exists!

  For a moment, Xu Chu also wanted to shout loudly and celebrate with these guards that they were in such an army and under such a battle flag!

Xu Chu nodded slightly at the returning soldiers, then turned his gaze in the direction of Cao's army.

That maid raised it!

  I haven't lost yet!

Seeing the soldiers and horses beginning to gather under the high hill, the heavy pressure in Xu Chu's heart finally dissipated a little!

But this is not enough!

  Shame must be washed away with blood!

If it’s not the enemy’s, it’s yours!

Xu Chu controlled his fluctuating emotions, straightened his body, and surveyed the battlefield. Although he gave up the command of the cavalry, he was still the commander of the front army. In front of him were Cao's soldiers rushing out in chaos, and there was also such a huge Anyi camp, and there was still such a crucial battle waiting for him!

His own troops were still gathering, and Li Li's flag on the front line was still faintly visible in the yellow dust.

Having suffered a loss, how can we turn the situation around now?

……

……

When Xu Chu unfolded the three-color battle flag and the flags with the generals' surnames again, Cao Hong was staring at the map of Hedong intently.

The Guanzhong area has already implemented sand table and standardized maps on a large scale, but this issue is still difficult in Shandong.

It’s not that they don’t understand that the new model is good, but changing the old model will cause the loss of many people’s interests, so these people will try their best to hinder the emergence of new things and find ways to find fault with the new things.

The key is that Cao Cao, Cao Hong, and the people of the Cao and Xiahou clans do not know how to draw. They can only rely on their subordinates and their subordinates to get these drawings, and in this process, a little confusion and deviation will turn it into what Cao Hong sees now.

Logically speaking, as the main commander of the Battle of Anyi, Cao Hong should have obtained the most exquisite, detailed and accurate map. But unfortunately, the map in front of Cao Hong can still be described as simple, even crude.

That’s right, Cao Hong was the commander, not Cao Cao.

But the map in front of Cao Hong was still a headache.

The map, which is about five or six feet square, does not have detailed topography and landforms, but only simple outlines and some text symbols.

  The painting looks like a "mountain" shaped like an ingot, which of course represents earth slopes, hills, high mountains, and dangerous peaks. What is the specific difference between them? Perhaps it is the size of the "mountain" ingot?

"Chuan" represents the river.

The big square inside the small square represents the big city, and the small square represents the small city.

A big circle within a small circle represents a large camp, and a small circle represents a small camp or a military camp.

In the middle is the Anyi City, a large square with a small square inside, and on the edge is the Cao army camp. Several ink lines of completely uneven thickness outline the passages between them, but no one knows whether you can follow the direction of the ink lines.

There are some small black dots on the edges of the lines. If you don't pay attention, you might even think they are ink that accidentally dripped when drawing the map, but in fact they are sentries set up to protect the passage...

The entire map has neither terrain markings nor the names and locations of various loess plateaus. As for military dynamics such as march routes, tactical objectives, maneuver directions, enemy and friendly situations, there is not even a trace of them.

However, Cao Hong was concentrating on looking at such a simple map.

He had to concentrate fully, because Cao Hong needed to match the earthen plateaus and gullies in his mind with the brief markings on the map one by one, and form an overall three-dimensional battlefield map. From this point of view, wanting to travel through time to become a general in ancient times, and then command thousands of troops as soon as he entered the battlefield, was basically just a dream.

There was a hurried sound of footsteps, "General! General Bao's troops are still slow! They failed to stop the cavalry division!"

"Hmph!" Cao Hong nodded, "As expected. Just keep watching!"

"Yes!" The footsteps faded away again.

Cao Hong's confidant stood aside and asked in a low voice: "General... this Bao Shuyi..."

Cao Hong snorted coldly, "It's not just Bao Shuyi!"

"Ah?" The confidant reacted and was horrified.

Cao Hong's eyes were still fixed on the map, without even raising his head. "Think about the time when we fought against Yuan Benchu... Now it's just a repeat of the past!"

"These people really deserve to be killed!" the confidant said angrily.

"It's impossible to kill them all..." Cao Hong shook his head, "What's more... it's hard to say whether these people are friends or enemies before they actually do anything... To be honest, I also want to just hand these guys over to that person... to save myself the trouble..."

The confidant was stunned for a moment, then lowered his voice, "Master... so... "

Cao Hong raised his head and glanced at his confidant.

The confidant immediately shut up, lowered his head, and puffed out his chest, as if the person who had just spoken was not him.

Cao Hong snorted coldly, "Go and see how much of the catapult has been repaired! Also, all the planks at the entrance of the camp can be... well, just leave one!"

The confidant responded quickly, then went downstairs happily.

Cao Hong refocused his attention on the map.

On the battlefield, anyone can think that the other person is an idiot and that they are the coolest, but who is actually an idiot and who is the coolest can only be revealed when the dust settles.

……

……

The sun was like a huge fireball, hanging quietly in the sky, warmly embracing the earth with its blazing flames. There was not a single cloud in the sky.

Everything on the earth was groaning in pain in the steaming heat waves.

Xu Chu stood under the tricolor flag.

He seemed like the point now, but he wasn't.

The focus became the commander of the front cavalry, Li Li.

Li Li will be the main force in this counterattack, while Xu Chu will put himself in a supporting position.

As for going to the humble...

They have still not been able to get rid of the characteristics of nomadic people to some extent, and they go with the flow and go against the wind.

  After this battle, we must take this opportunity to break up the primitive military structure formed by these Southern Xiongnu tribes and divide them into various Han army ranks!

This is also a "historical issue".

The disbanding and incorporation of the Hu people was something that was gradually promoted after the arrival of the General of the Cavalry in Longxi. Therefore, it was first implemented among the Qiang people, and the Southern Xiongnu people did not make many changes because they surrendered earlier. Therefore, although the Qubei tribe was also considered a cavalry army, many of them were Southern Xiongnu people.

The current battlefield situation also shows that the old "attached army" system or the "reorganized army" model cannot compare with the regular cavalry system.

If you want to annihilate a cavalry unit in a field battle, you can only send out the cavalry.

The Hu people's riding skills are very good, but their tenacity and adaptability are obviously insufficient, which requires adjustment and supplementation. Previously, because of the rule that no fault can be punished, it was not easy to deal with the Qubei branch...

However, before dealing with the Qubei tribe, Xu Chu thought about making a self-criticism first and submitting a letter to the Cavalry to ask for punishment and demotion.

  This is the rule. Merits are rewarded, mistakes are punished!

Simple right?

But many people, many institutions, and many countries fail to do this.

This is originally a very simple rule, but unfortunately there are always people who turn this public rule into a personal rule.

Xu Chu must abide by the rules first before he can get others to obey the rules.

Xu Chu was not worried about being punished. He was more concerned about whether Cao's army would send cavalry to hunt him down!

Although there are earthen plateaus and gullies here, it is very suitable for cavalry's galloping and raids.

If he could take advantage of his defeat to lure out Cao's cavalry and surround and annihilate them, then his previous losses and the casualties of his cavalry would be of greater value.

But Xu Chu was soon disappointed...

The scouts who stayed behind found Xu Chu and reported that although Cao's army had sent a considerable number of soldiers to pursue, there were not many cavalry.

This is something that is very easy to distinguish in the terrain of the Loess Plateau.

The smoke created by the infantry was low and flat, while the smoke created by the cavalry was like a long dragon, towering into the clouds.

Even if there are cavalry and infantry mixed together, experienced scouts can distinguish them from the clues.

Xu Chu frowned.

The news of the enemy's movement did not surprise Xu Chu, but he was a little confused about Cao Hong's distribution of soldiers.

  What is Cao Hong going to do?

The troops led by Xu Chu to attack Cao’s camp were basically cavalry. Given Cao Hong’s ability, could it be that he didn’t even understand that it was difficult for infantry to catch up with cavalry?

So, was Cao Hong testing the waters, or would he send out cavalry later, or did he have some other intention?

Cao Hong was not a fool. Since Cao's army was also equipped with cavalry, he would not stay in the camp forever and passively take the beating without fighting back. This surprise attack on Xu Chu proved this point.

A cavalry that cannot fight in a mobile manner is often less effective than an infantry unit.

  Xu Chu knew this, but didn’t Cao Hong understand it?

However, Cao Hong did not send out cavalry to pursue and kill, but instead sent out infantry.

If Xu Chu had not been ambushed by Cao Hong, he might have thought that Cao Hong was not good at commanding cavalry, or was simply cowardly and incompetent, but now...

Out of caution, Xu Chu asked: "Is it the result of one scout's investigation, or has it been confirmed by other scouts?"

"Confirmed!" the scout leader responded, "At least three scouts have reported the same news."

"How many people did the enemy send out?" Xu Chu asked again.

"The exact number is unknown. The smoke is too thick, and the enemy is too numerous, with complicated flags and multiple divisions. We are unable to get close enough to detect them for now... Based on the current size, we estimate that there are at least 5,000 people..." the scout leader replied.

Xu Chu nodded and said no more. He raised his head, frowned, and stared in the direction of Cao's camp with sharp eyes, as if he wanted to carefully observe and judge the enemy's movements through the smoke and dust.

The others remained silent, waiting quietly for him to make a judgment and decision.

……

……

"What? I'm going to command the cavalry?"

Li Li finally received the military order from Xu Chu, and couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"This is the general's flag of recognition!"

  A part of Xu Chu's flag guard was separated and placed under the command of Li Li. Similarly, this Xu Chu's flag guard represented the transfer of command on the battlefield!

Li Li suppressed his pounding heart, accepted Xu Chu's command, and immediately issued the first order, "Turn to the west slope to assemble!"

  There is no more why. Now we not only have to win, but also achieve the best results to offset the previous losses and restore the morale of the army!

war!

I won’t stop until I die!

Cavalry, never stop!

Li Li unfolded the flag representing Xu Chu in front, and his own flag behind. Like a yellow dragon turning over, he slightly arranged his troops on the earthen plateau, and then rushed straight to the Cao army soldiers coming out of the camp from top to bottom!

The originally scattered sounds of horse hooves, after being organized into a team, rebuilt a follow-up chain. Gradually, it seemed that the rhythm of all the war horses gathered in one place, and gradually the sound like muffled thunder sounded again on the earth!

Amid this thunder-like sound, the accompaniment is the sound of a copper whistle representing an attack!

Yellow dust was flying, flags were waving, and the Hussars who were originally in a state of retreat, unexpectedly, turned their horses' heads and returned to fight amid the rumble of thunder and the sharp sound of copper whistles!

"The hussars are victorious!" 』

"Ten thousand victories, ten thousand victories!" 』

  The cavalrymen shouted and rushed forward like a dam breaking, and attacked the soldiers of Cao's army who were chasing them!

The distance between the two armies was actually not far, only two or three miles.

  The soldiers of Cao's army were shouting and yelling with excitement, chasing after the scattered cavalrymen and horses who were injured and unable to escape on the battlefield, but in a blink of an eye, the cavalrymen charged back again!

The unit of Cao's army that was chasing the most fiercely didn't even have time to react before they were rushed into the ranks by the cavalry!

A huge collision sound rose into the sky, followed by the collision of weapons and blood splattering everywhere!

The infantry columns of Cao's army, which had not formed a line, were like paper in the face of such an attack and were instantly broken!

  At this moment, the soldiers of Cao's army suddenly remembered that these Hussars were not all converted archers who were weaker in close combat, but many of them were Lancers who were strong in melee combat and had always dominated the desert and beat the countries in the Western Regions into submission!

Although the Lancers also carry some long-range weapons, or short-range weapons, such as javelins, short axes, small iron halberds and the like, they do not use such throwing weapons as their main means of combat. Instead, they use high-speed war horses to charge, cut, and trample!

  In most of the time, these dragoons would not circle around and fight with the infantry like in movies and TV dramas. Instead, they would use the speed of their horses to directly cut with their spears and swords!

Except for some military school generals with superior martial arts who would use spears or even more complex halberds to fight, most of the lancers did not actually hold spears, but spears with swords.

  Moreover, now, not only are there lancers charging and cutting head-on, Li Li has also dispatched cavalry archers. They don't charge directly into Cao's army formation, but try to bypass Cao's line of troops, like two outstretched arms, not only to defeat these Cao soldiers who are chasing them, but also to swallow them up in one gulp!

The horse archers galloped along the line of Cao's army, occasionally pulling out some long-feathered arrows and shooting them.

This kind of arrow may not have much direct killing power, but it can have a certain impact on these Cao army soldiers, making their range of activities limited to a certain extent. Of course, there are also some unlucky Cao army soldiers who are pierced by arrows falling from the sky and fall to the ground with a scream.

This time the rollover attack was swift and fierce!

Without the guidance of Xu Chu's flag, the cavalrymen were at a loss for a time.

However, most of the cavalrymen did not completely lose their fighting spirit, but slowly retreated, automatically gathered together, and looked for a new commander. So when Xu Chu's flag reappeared on the battlefield, the entire retreating cavalry line suddenly turned into a counterattack!

The Hussar Corps has a sound and good military rank system.

This meant that every scattered Hussar cavalryman would immediately obey orders and join the ranks when they saw an officer with a higher military rank.

  Because everyone in the Cavalry Corps knew that these non-commissioned officers with military titles had fought in previous wars in the south and the north, and their titles were forged with iron and blood!

When the "second generation of military personnel" had not yet become corrupt and the rank of military positions was determined by personal ability and combat performance, this military rank system once again demonstrated the domineering posture of the Qin army at that time!

The scattered cavalry automatically joined the nearest queue, and then the small groups joined the large group. Each hussar soldier moved quickly and agilely. Under their command, they did not need to issue too many orders from the military academy sergeants. They completed the formation changes and battle preparations almost instinctively, just like a stream merging into a river and a river rushing into the sea!

  If the military spirit is there, then we will not be defeated in chaos and will not disperse in defeat!

The tricolor cavalry flag fluttered straight in the wind!

These Hussars formed a powerful posture of attacking from the center and encircling from both wings in a blink of an eye!

Because of the considerable battlefield mobility, the deployment and changes of the cavalry's formations and queues became a very important factor.

If they are deployed properly, act quickly, and react quickly, a thousand cavalry can be used as thousands. If they don't know how to distribute them, they are actually no different from mounted infantry. As Li Li, who has been trained in the desert of the Northern Territory for many years, the instructions for commanding such cavalry are clear and simple.

Just as Xu Chu believed that Li Li could do a good job, Li Li also believed that these cavalrymen could do a good job!

  The Hussars suddenly changed from retreating to preparing for an outflanking attack. The entire army moved so quickly and coordinated so well that it seemed like a natural thing!

Although the total number of these cavalrymen was much smaller than that of the Cao army that was chasing them, and their formation was relatively weak, the cavalry occupied a large grid and deployed their formation in an instant. In addition, their counterattack was so sharp that it immediately dealt a heavy blow to those Cao army soldiers who were still immersed in the pleasure of the chase!

These Cao army soldiers who came out to chase were immediately stunned...

I clearly saw that the other side had been defeated, but for no apparent reason, they counterattacked again, and I couldn't hold on...

  What the hell is this?!

Didn't we agree on a happy hunt?!

How come I am the one being surrounded and strangled now? !