Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3461 Persistence
Fei Qian’s current force is not a large-scale group force, but similarly, Lu Chang’s force does not have a large number of dense formations, and even the chariot formation is very small, and is only arranged in the core.

Therefore, when the Hussars looked at Lu Chang's troops, there was a bit of contempt in their eyes.

In the eyes of the Hussars, these Cao army troops were no longer a problem, but a dying prey.

Following Fei Qian's order, the Hussar cavalry quickly moved.

Huang Xu doesn’t yet know Li Li’s close-range archer cavalry tactics, but his traditional cavalry tactics are still very sharp.

"Attack from the flank first!"

Huang Xu shouted.

With command flags waving and trumpets blasting, the cavalry suddenly split into two, turned their horses' heads, and galloped to the left and right.

Cao's army thought that the cavalry was outnumbered, so they did not dare to attack directly and could only attack from the flanks.

But Cao's army soon realized that even though they had fewer hussars, they were not necessarily weak...

The first thing to break the deadlock was the whistling arrows.

The long arrows fell on the heads of Cao's army on the hill like raindrops.

In the blink of an eye, the arrows crossed the distance between the two armies and penetrated into the Cao army's formation from both sides. The Cao army's formation was immediately scratched like being fiercely raked by an iron rake, and many Cao army soldiers howled as they were shot by arrows.

After all, problems arose with the infantry formation.

There is no doubt that the front of the infantry formation has the strongest defense, but once there is negligence on the flanks, or the shields are not held at the right angle, this problem will arise...

But this problem shouldn’t have occurred in the first place!

It was as if Lu Chang and the others weren't supposed to be here in the first place!
Lu Chang looked at the damage caused by the falling arrows, and the expression on his face was very strange, a mixture of anger and helplessness, as well as some worry and fear.

Cao's army occupied a relatively higher hill. Shouldn't they have had an advantage in archery? But now they are being suppressed by the horse bows of the Hussars. How can this be justified?
"Raise your shield!" 』

"Counterattack, counterattack!"

"Shoot! Shoot back!"

Hearing the chaotic shouting from within Cao's army formation, Fei Qian knew that there was no suspense in this battle.

War never comes suddenly, but is the result of long-term accumulation and its outbreak in a short period of time.

Fei Qian may not be very clear about specific combat tactics, but when it comes to his academic understanding of war, he is unparalleled in the world.

In Fei Qian's view, no matter how outrageous a war is, it actually has a very clear thread.

Things like sanctions and restrictions seem to have nothing to do with each other and are not urgent, but in fact they are all preparations or accumulations before a real war. When they reach a certain level, they will evolve into a fierce war.

"What a pity, the ballista, artillery, and rocket carts didn't catch up in time."

Fei Qian said softly.

The form of war will change as the tools of war evolve. Old tactics like Cao's army's use of dense array defense to launch counterattacks will eventually become bloody sandbags in the face of new weapons.

Arrows fell like hail, and some problems in the Cao army's formation were revealed under this intensive attack. Even though Lu Chang shouted for the archers to counterattack, the Cao army's archers had difficulty hitting the running cavalry.

Occasionally a cavalryman was shot, but the injuries were not serious.

"General, this won't work..." Lü Chang's guard said, "Many soldiers have been injured! Let's retreat now!"

"We can't retreat now!" Lu Chang stared, pointing at the sunset glow in the sky, "Wait another hour or two! Wait until dark before retreating! Wouldn't retreating now be courting death?!"

Although he was shouting like that, Lu Chang had a vague feeling in his heart that he would not be able to leave.

Surrender?
Lu Chang quickly dismissed the idea.

Surrendering can save your life, but that's all.

His family business and his family are all in Shandong!
Moreover, unlike those ordinary generals with different surnames, he was too closely connected with the Cao family...

Others might make some money by joining the Cavalry, but for Lu Chang, his surrender was a pure loss!

Unless he could start a new life in Guanzhong, acquire more property, marry and have children...

If it were an ordinary person, this kind of thing wouldn't be a big deal. Maybe some people would be happy, after all, getting promoted, getting rich, and having your husband and mother-in-law die, might be considered a great joy in life...

But for a man like Lu Chang, his wife is not just a spouse, but also a member of the same clan!
If Lu Chang surrenders, not only Lu Chang's family will be implicated, but also a large group of people from his wife's family!
Not to mention anything else, just the guards around me would probably not allow me to surrender!
The more he thought about it, the more desperate Lu Chang became.

Why did you come here?

Why not just retreat when problems arise with the soldiers?
Unfortunately, in this world, the thing that people desire most but can never obtain is the pill of regret.

Lu Chang's heart was sinking, but he still had to appear calm on the surface. The reason why he shouted for everyone to wait until dark before retreating was just to give himself and these soldiers a reason to hold on, otherwise they might collapse right now!

……

……

Cao's army has reached Hedong and has gained some solid ground, but now everyone from top to bottom is thinking about withdrawing.

It’s not because Cao’s army is weak, but because they encountered the Hussars!

Cao Cao led his men and retreated to the south of Zhongtiao Mountain, even at the cost of a large number of sacrifices. The greatest significance of this was to get rid of the encirclement and pursuit of the Cavalry Army as soon as possible.

The Hussar cavalry was indeed marching at a relatively fast speed, but no matter how fast they were, it was impossible for them to directly cross the Zhongtiao Mountains. This gave Cao Cao a very brief opportunity, and he only had to face Pang Tong's troops in Tongguan.

This wave of bets on attacking Guanzhong was undoubtedly a huge loss.

But losing these chips may not be a bad thing for Cao Cao, or in Cao Cao's opinion.

Because among these chips, not many actually belong to Cao Cao.

However, Cao Cao also knew that his remaining troops were already at the end of their strength. Now they could only fight once more, and they could not lose, otherwise there might be a total collapse.

It's like a long-distance race. The more tired you are, the more you cannot stop. Once you stop, you will no longer have the energy to run.

Attacking is a big deal, and so is retreating.

Cao Cao can retreat first, but he cannot retreat too far, otherwise the morale of the army will be unstable, and it is even possible that the retreat will turn into a defeat.

Although the morale of the army is not that good now...

But isn’t this exactly the reason why Cao Cao couldn’t withdraw directly to Heluo?
The same thing happened when Cao Cao fought against Xiliang in history. At that time, the Xiliang army suddenly attacked Cao Cao's army. Cao Cao knew the danger, but he pretended not to care and even brought out a bed to perform a "carefree" show in front of the whole army. Of course, it worked, but Cao Cao was almost beheaded by the Xiliang army.

Cao Cao's current situation is actually not much different from that in history. It's not that he is unaware of the danger, but he cannot just retreat in one go. He must use himself to maintain the order of the entire army until everything is basically in order, and then he can move.

In history, Mr. Cao persisted, and today’s Prime Minister Cao also persists.

Stick to his original intention.

It can also be said to be his ambition.

But no matter what, Cao Cao hoped that the Han Dynasty could be unified.

Even if it's not under his rule...

As night fell, the messenger rushed over. "Prime Minister! Tongguan... Tongguan was defeated again, and the Niutouyuan camp was lost! Now they have retreated to Yanxiang..."

Cao Cao was silent for a moment, "Got it. Go down and rest."

The Tongguan camp was ultimately unable to hold out.

The military officers and soldiers standing beside Cao Cao were worried that he might suddenly get angry, but when they took a peek, they found that Cao Cao's face was very calm.

Ah, yes, the fall of the Tongguan camp was actually expected, wasn’t it?
After all, the Zhongtiaoshan camp was about to be abandoned and the troops were withdrawn. So what was so strange about the Tongguan camp being unable to hold the front line?

Mao Jie stepped forward and reported carefully: "My lord, the troops in Tongguan are led by Pang Shiyuan and Zhang Wenyuan... Pang Shiyuan has a deep friendship with the cavalry, but Zhang Wenyuan was a general under Lu Fengxian in the past... Now Lu Fengxian..."

At this point, Mao Jie quickly glanced at Cao Cao, worried that Cao Cao might be unhappy. Seeing that Cao Cao was still calm, he continued, "I think, can you use some means of alienation?"

"Zhang Wenyuan..." Cao Cao pondered for a moment, and then asked, "I know a little about this man... But what's the plan?"

Zhang Liao was just a general under Lu Bu in those days, and was unknown. Who would have thought that he would become a powerful general that caused Cao Cao so much headache today?
"I heard that when Lü Fengxian left Guanzhong for Shandong, he either disagreed with Zhang Wenyuan or felt that Zhang Wenyuan was too close to the Hussars and disliked him, so he abandoned him..." Mao Jie said, "Now, among the Hussars, Zhang Wenyuan should be ranked the best in terms of bravery, but he is also far behind in terms of the time of catching up. And now Zhang Wenyuan's position..."

This is a very simple strategy, but the simpler it is, the more it hits the heart of the people. Most people in the world can't escape from "greed, laziness and greed", can't give up "ignorance, anger and hatred", and can't love peace.

Mao Jie was not familiar with Zhang Liao, but he was very familiar with the human nature of ordinary people.

In Shandong, there are many conflicts between the old and new people, and the Jizhou faction and the Yuzhou faction are trying to sabotage each other. Could it be that the people under the command of the Cavalry can be harmonious and have no ulterior motives towards each other?

As long as there is a crack, seeds can fall. As long as the seeds fall, they will take root and sprout one day!

I hope so...

Cao Cao nodded quickly and said, "Maybe we can give it a try."

Mao Jie took the order and withdrew.

Cao Cao stood in the dark shadow, looking towards the north.

That is the north of Zhongtiao Mountain, that is the direction of General Fei Qian.

"I met this before... Now it's your turn..." Cao Cao's voice was very soft, even as if he was telling the story to the wind, "There are always stupid people who think that the world is all about fighting and killing, and occupying cities... You must know that cities are easy to occupy, but people's hearts are hard to win... I support the poor and promote the military... But these people, after getting one, they want two, and after getting two, they want three, five, and ten... If I don't give them, I will offend these people... The poor are like this, the nobles are like this, and the emperor is also like this?"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"You want to change, but the world remains unchanged, how can you change?"

"You want to change, but this person's heart won't change, how can you change it?"

"I have lost now, but you may not win..."

"hehe……"

Cao Cao looked at the dark night, but the light of the lights beside him was reflected in his eyes.

The flames on the torches were jumping around, as if trying their best to illuminate everything around them, but there were still many places that were shrouded in darkness, chaos and unclear.

……

……

The war horses are galloping.

Under the cover of night, Cao's army on the small hill could no longer see the direction of the arrows, and gradually flaws appeared in their formation.

Huang Xu seized this opportunity. He began to lead his men. He bent down, lowered his head, and began to charge upwards.

Some Cao army soldiers noticed the actions of Huang Xu and others, screamed loudly, and tried to shoot arrows at them, trying to delay the attack of Huang Xu and others.

The arrows landed on Huang Xu's helmet, shoulder armor, shield, and back armor, making tinkling sounds.

In the dark night, Huang Xu couldn't see clearly the arrows shot from the opposite side, so there was no way he could dodge. He just held the shield to block his vital points and rushed forward!
Most of the other Hussars were like Huang Xu. Not only were they wearing iron armor, but their horses were also covered with horse cloth. Although it was impossible to be completely immune to damage, they could still provide good defense against general rain of arrows.

The key is that the war horses of Huang Xu and others are relatively strong, with good explosive power and weight-bearing capacity. Therefore, when Huang Xu suddenly led his men to rush up, he caught Lu Chang and others off guard.

Huang Xu's tactic is very ordinary, but still very effective.

The previous northern Hu people and Bingliang cavalry basically all used this tactic.

The cavalry pulled the two wings, rushed and shot, and then found some flaws in the enemy formation. They seized the opportunity to attack, widening the cracks in the enemy formation until the entire enemy formation was destroyed.

Even Huang Xu's new gunpowder and new tactics were useless, but these Cao soldiers still couldn't hold on.

An arrow flew over and hit Huang Xu's shoulder.

Huang Xu's body shook slightly.

Armor-piercing arrow!
However, due to the armor and the angle, the armor-piercing arrow did not penetrate deeply into the flesh.

Huang Xu swept along the direction from which the arrow came and locked onto a military school who was waving a bow and seemed to be shouting something and commanding Cao's soldiers.

"Don't panic! Don't get confused!"

The Cao army military school was still loudly ordering the soldiers to stay where they were and defend and resist.

In the era of cold weapons, infantry battle formations against cavalry were of course mainly based on dense clusters.

When being attacked by cavalry, the infantry should use their long spears and large shields to force the cavalry to slow down, and then surround and strangle them.

But the problem now is that Cao's soldiers no longer have much of this kind of courage and confidence. When facing the charge of the Hussar cavalry, most of them chose to instinctively dodge instead of standing still.

Huang Xu rushed forward, and the surrounding Cao army soldiers dodged and avoided Huang Xu's attack.

The Cao army student stepped forward and tried to stab Huang Xu with his spear, but Huang Xu seized the opportunity and stabbed the Cao army student's neck with the spear lightly and skillfully.

When Huang Xu first followed Fei Qian, all they did when charging into battle was fierce. He would often use great force to pierce people, then throw them flying, thereby taking away the enemy's momentum.

But now Huang Xu has gradually begun to use some fighting skills. He is not just relying on brute force, but is controlling the strength. He does not use up all his strength, so that he can retract the spear faster and stab it out again.

As more and more outstanding generals came under the command of the Cavalry, military academy generals like Huang Xu, who were originally second-rate or even lower than second-rate, were also learning and improving, growing and improving.

At the same time Huang Xu charged into Cao's formation, other cavalrymen also arrived.

"Assault! Assault!"

the hussars shouted.

"Defend! Defend!"

Cao's soldiers were also shouting.

The cavalry was charging, crushing, and trampling.

The weight of the Hussars' cavalry, coupled with their horse clothes and armor, plus their speed, really made them like ancient ferocious beasts rushing into a flock of sheep, killing indiscriminately.

The defensive soldiers in the inner circle of Cao's army tried to use arrows to assist the outer defense, but the arrows hit the cavalrymen. Some arrows were able to penetrate the armor, but the damage was mitigated by the soft padding on the inner layer. Other arrows were simply broken by the armor, leaving only a spark to prove that the arrow had been there.

The cavalry continued to charge in, and more Cao's soldiers fell down.

Flowers of blood bloomed in the darkness. One after another, Cao's soldiers were hacked and knocked down, and screams were heard one after another.

Lu Chang held the sword tightly and felt his throat was so dry that it seemed to smoke.

He raised his head and looked at the battle flag behind him waving weakly in the night sky, revealing a helpless smile.

Maybe he was unwilling to fail, maybe he trusted Dong Zhao's trick, or maybe he was in that position, or maybe...

Before actually fighting with the Hussars, it seemed that no one thought the Hussars were anything special.

This inexplicable confidence eventually led Lu Chang to this place.

This kind of confidence comes inexplicably and goes without a trace.

Under Huang Xu's charge, Lu Chang's position could not hold out at all!

Perhaps, we should have argued for reason when we set out and brought more food and fodder instead of listening to Cao's generals who said that it was almost enough. Then the situation would be different now.

Lu Chang has already sensed the dangerous undercurrent hidden in that desperate atmosphere...

Now it looked like he was going to lose.

The Hussars came too quickly and fought too fiercely.

The morale of his subordinates is unstable and there is no hope of reinforcement. Now he must either fight to the death or escape!
Lu Chang saw that in the distance, there was a team of cavalrymen quietly forming a battle array, and further away, there were cavalry rangers running around and patrolling back and forth.

Are the Hussars so well-prepared?
Oh, God, my life is over.

Lu Chang turned his head and looked towards the east, and suddenly felt sad.

Wandering thousands of miles away, perhaps I will never see my hometown again in this life...

"General! The enemy is coming in!"

"General, what should we do?"

"Break out!" Lü Chang gritted his teeth and shouted, "Break out now! Break out immediately under the cover of night!"