Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3570 Crossing the River

The setting sun dyed the red water into red.

Liao Hua stood by the Dan River, gazing far at the Yingzui Bay mountaintops in the distance below.

The mountain is not static, but has ups and downs. Eagle's Beak Bay is just a valley that goes down, and then goes up to the top of the mountain in Eagle's Beak Bay...

Cao’s army really knows how to choose a place.

The wind by the water blew up Liao Hua's cloak, rolling like blood waves.

Several guards also stood beside Liao Hua. Seeing that Liao Hua looked a little worried, they said, "Captain, why worry? As long as we break through this bay, Cao's army will have no defenses and can go straight into Jingbei!"

Liao Hua nodded, but then shook his head, "The river here is like an eagle's beak, with steep cliffs on both sides. They attacked in broad daylight and killed 300 of our elite soldiers. As the saying goes, there is no constant state of war and no constant shape of water. Looking at this bay now, we can see that the power of heaven and earth is stronger than gunpowder, swords and guns. You and I must not be careless."

During the offensive in the previous few days, Liao Hua, who was attacking Yingzui Bay, was blocked by Cao Ren.

Gunpowder is not a panacea, and grenades are not a weapon that can break through everything...

These were obviously different from what Liao Hua had known in Wuguan before.

But if you think about it carefully, this is also an inevitable change.

Originally Liao Hua was on the defensive side, so when facing the attack of Cao's army, one grenade could often eliminate a team of Cao's attacking troops. However, this was not the effect brought by the grenade itself, but a convenience for the defensive side.

To put it simply, originally Liao Hua was in the dark and Cao's army was in the light, so when Cao's army attacked, they had no idea when Liao Hua's side would throw a grenade. But now it's the other way around. The defending Cao's army is hiding behind the earth wall, and Liao Hua's soldiers are throwing grenades upwards. Even if they throw them out, they don't know which part of the earth wall there are more Cao's soldiers behind.

Moreover, Cao’s army’s earth wall was obviously cheaper than Liao Hua’s grenades.

If Liao Hua had been like in some later TV drama, digging a pit and lurking under the earth wall, and then throwing a large number of grenades, he could certainly blow Cao's army to pieces, but then what? Would they still fight for Xiangyang? Not to mention how much gunpowder Liao Hua's army carried, even if it was enough for now, then they used a large number of grenades in such a small place, what would happen next?

Unable to break through on land, Liao Hua turned his direction to the water, but Liao Hua always felt that Cao Ren should have prepared something on the water...

Liao Hua's eyes swept across the dark shadows cast by the cliffs on both sides of the Dan River.

Unfortunately, human eyes cannot see through the soil and rocks, nor can they bypass the cliff on one side of Eagle Bay.

Liao Hua had tried to lead his men down to Danshui to investigate, but they were blocked by the iron chains blocking the river. If they wanted to move forward, they had to destroy the iron chains blocking the river. However, if they destroyed the iron chains blocking the river, they would be discovered by Cao's army...

"Report!" The scout rowed the sampan closer, "The rafts are ready at the shoal!"

Liao Hua suddenly grasped the hilt of his sword, his expression serious, "Pass the order, prepare food later and send out troops at night!"

……

……

The raft floated downstream.

Watching the three hundred soldiers boarding the raft and leaving, Liao Hua felt heavy in his heart.

Since Cao Ren had built an iron chain in the middle of the river, how could there be no defense downstream of Yingzui Bay?

However, Liao Hua had to let these soldiers move forward to conduct fire reconnaissance, otherwise he would not be able to lure out Cao Ren's ambush.

The longer the time went, the more Liao Hua realized that sometimes one really needs to have a heart of stone.

Liao Hua was originally a refugee. He knew the suffering of the people, so he was even more unwilling to see casualties. However, in the military field, sometimes "kindness" does not bring good results, and seemingly cold orders are necessary in war.

Human life is naturally precious, and life is naturally sacred. However, in war, any military organization must break through the ethical framework of the sanctity of individual life.

In a life-and-death war environment, unilateral adherence to morality is tantamount to self-destruction.

"He is kind but cannot be commanded, he is loving but cannot be ordered, he is chaotic and cannot be governed..."

Liao Hua muttered to himself, not knowing whether he was reminding himself or mentally preparing himself.

Even though he understood this truth, he still felt uncomfortable giving such an order personally.

"Captain, what's wrong?"

The guard at the side asked in a low voice.

The conflicted look on Liao Hua's face was reflected in the inky red water.

"As a general, you must make decisions immediately..." Liao Hua sighed, "But this 'decision'... means casualties..."

The guard looked at Liao Hua, "Captain, do you mean... Cao's army is prepared?"

Liao Hua nodded, "Looking at Cao Zixiao's fortifications in Yingzui Bay, how could he not have some defenses in the river?"

"Then...then we..." The guard turned and stared at the raft going away, "then they..."

"They want to lure out Cao's ambush..." Liao Hua sighed, "If we tell them that Cao's ambush is there... it will certainly reduce casualties, but it will inevitably be discovered by Cao Zixiao... If we can't lure out all the Cao's ambush, then this risky advance will be meaningless..."

The location of Yingzui Bay is not ideal for Liao Hua's side.

Because the troops were on a mountain road, they could not be fully deployed. The vanguard and rear troops were separated by several miles due to the terrain.

Even though Liao Hua made a series of adjustments and added sentry posts and relay points high up in the mountains, the delay in issuing orders at this distance was still very high. Once any problem occurred, it would likely cause chaos.

The march is not smooth.

Then it would be inappropriate to withdraw the troops.

After all, if we withdraw our troops, all the efforts made in quickly taking away Dan Shui and Shun Yang would be wasted!

Although retreating to Shunyang would allow Liao Hua and others to obtain a more spacious and comfortable position, Liao Hua is now the attacking party!

The attacking side cannot control the rhythm of the battlefield and is instead dragged down by the defending side. No matter from which angle, it is not a good thing.

Therefore, Liao Hua must break the deadlock.

Just like two sides playing chess on a chessboard, the change of the stalemate must start with the exchange of pieces...

The three hundred soldiers were Liao Hua's soldiers who crossed the river.

Although once the pawn crosses the river, it is like half a rook, it is only half after all.

Moreover, very few pawns can survive to the end of the game.

Most of them were exchanged during the battle.

"Back then, spring leeks were still dripping with dew, but today, the blades are already stained with blood. The warriors sharpen their swords under the stars, the old soldiers wipe their bows under the slanting moon. The young children do not understand their parents' tears, but still break willow branches to make axes and forks. I heard that those who broke their cauldrons in ancient times all did so to survive in desperate situations. When the general is counting soldiers in front of his tent, how can he know that there are cries behind the camp? Every time I see frosty blades splitting flesh and blood, I often hear the lonely geese calling their brothers..."

Liao Hua shook his head and sighed, "Today I know that if you hold the word 'forbearance' in your heart, it means the lives of tens of thousands of people will be at stake..."

After a moment of silence, Liao Hua turned around and got off the rocks on the shore, "Get ready..."

"We are the second group to set out...We must break Cao's ambush tonight!"

……

……

On the other side, facing the darkening night, Cao Ren also felt emotional.

Not easy to fight.

It’s really hard to fight.

At the beginning, Cao Ren still felt that Wen Pin was incompetent, but after fighting with Liao Hua, he realized that he had wronged Wen Pin...

It's a pity it's too late.

The fighting over the past few days was more difficult and tiring than all his previous battles!

This is true both psychologically and physically.

Cao Ren was dressed in military uniform, and his armor was covered in blood and dust.

A few large birds flew over the military camp, making some creepy cries in the night sky.

Cao Ren raised his head and watched them fly over the military camp, fly into the distance, and soon disappear into the night.

How wonderful it would be if people could fly freely like birds.

But he had to stay here, just like a rock blocking the road, to buy more time for Jingzhou and Cao.

The Cavalry Army not only went out of Wuguan, but also out of Hanguguan.

At this moment, Cao Ren had no idea where in Shandong the Cavalry Army would lead the beacon fire to, or what the future of the Cao family would be.

"General, you said that the cavalry would come to attack at night?" the guard asked in a low voice, "But they haven't come in the past two days?"

Cao Ren smiled and said, "I will come...either today or tomorrow..."

The guards knew that they couldn't speak loudly about these things, so as not to disturb the morale, but they had been holding back their doubts for a long time, and they felt very uncomfortable, so they whispered, "General, why do we have to defend here ourselves... why not leave it to the military academy..."

Cao Ren smiled and said, "Leave it to the military academy? Do you believe that the cavalry will flee after one attack?"

"They dare?" The guard couldn't believe it.

Cao Ren waved his hand, "Don't think they can hold on now, that's because I'm here..."

The guard said, "According to common sense, they should..."

"Common sense, there is no common sense now..." Cao Ren sighed, "People's hearts are like this, they all think that this war should be fought by others... Before, when Danshui and Shunyang were still around, everyone was so lucky... Now, if you still try to be lucky, you will definitely lose..."

When Cao Ren reached this point, his tone became more resolute, regardless of how the guards reacted.

In his opinion, the first enemy he faced in this battle was not the hussars, but the cowardice in the soldiers' hearts.

He had participated in many wars and understood this point deeply: if the soldiers did not have the morale and courage, they would immediately collapse when they encountered the slightest setback.

"This battle is extremely rare..."

Cao Ren's voice gradually lowered. As for why it was so difficult, Cao Ren did not explain it in detail to the guards.

If we cannot defeat Liao Hua here, then there will be no way to plan the next step.

"You are all old men who have followed me..." Cao Ren said to the guards around him, "For this battle, put aside all your concerns and words of experience, and tell the soldiers that we will ambush the Hussars in this battle and we will win."

"Yes!" the guard replied, "I understand. Following the general, we will surely win this battle!"

……

……

A military officer named Li Du, following Liao Hua's orders, took 300 people and went down on a raft.

He gripped the sword tightly and looked around vigilantly.

He was in the army when Cao's army attacked Wuguan before. He fought and retreated all the way, and then went south to recover lost territory. He also grew from an ordinary soldier to a military student.

Although he did not quite understand the meaning of Liao Hua's order before setting out: "If there is an emergency, protect the soldiers first and then plan to advance", he could guess that this mission was not so easy.

On the battlefield, those who are careless and arrogant often die quickly.

Many of the soldiers who were in the same group as Li Du died, and those guys usually didn't think they would die before they died...

The raft is simple to make, but its flaws are also obvious. One is that it is difficult to control, and the other is that there is no shelter.

The water flow gradually became faster and faster, and the raft turned around Eagle's Beak Bay one after another.

Li Du raised his head slightly and looked above Eagle's Beak Bay. Under the cover of the rocky cliffs, he couldn't see clearly whether there were any Cao army outposts there. Only the light from the torches showed that Cao's army was still stationed there.

"Prepare for battle! Be careful and alert!"

Li Du whispered.

"Military school, a little further ahead is the iron chain blocking the river!"

A soldier said.

"Prepare to cut the rope!" Li Du waved his hand back, "Shield, bring the shield over! Be prepared for Cao's arrows!"

Soon, the raft floating downstream approached the iron chain blocking the river.

Li Du held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other, half squatting and half kneeling on the raft, his eyes scanning the surrounding darkness.

Although there was cover from the sound of water, the sound of prying and smashing the iron chains was still very loud.

There was no shelter on the raft. Once the Cao army archers fired at them, it would still be dangerous even if they were wearing armor. Moreover, wearing armor meant that once they fell into the river, even if they knew how to swim, they might not be able to quickly escape the pull of the river water...

It’s not that Liao Hua didn’t want to use warships, but Liao Hua simply didn’t have many ships, and even those few ships he had were mostly fishing boats and merchant ships, and there were very few real warships.

Suddenly, the iron chain broke with a cracking sound and sank into the river.

"Okay! Keep going forward and prepare to land!"

Li Du had just issued the order when he heard the sharp whistling of arrows in the distance.

Li Du was startled, looked up, his pupils dilated, and shouted: "Be careful! There's an ambush!"

The arrow broke through the air, whistling, and came towards us with a sharp sound of wind, full of murderous intent!

"Cao's army has discovered us!" a soldier shouted.

"Someone fell into the water! Someone fell into the water!"

"Ahhh! I was hit by an arrow!"

Li Du put his shield in front of him, "Don't panic! Dock! Dock immediately!"

It was convenient to go down the river on a raft, but it was not so easy to go upstream. If you wanted to turn around in the river, you would be shot into a sieve!

The distance was originally estimated to be some distance before landing near the shallows, but now that archers have been prepared, it is possible that soldiers have been ambushed at the shallows as well!

Eagle's Beak Bay has fast currents and steep cliffs. Although it is not a rapids, it still has fast currents.

"Dock! Dock!"

Lee Du yelled.

Cao Jun was also shouting, "They are coming to the shore! Hurry!"

"quick! Rush over! 』

Although both sides were hostile, at this moment, the content of their shouting was the same...

It seemed that both sides were a little flustered.

However, when two men meet on a narrow road, how can one win?

……

……

Chaotic shouts came one after another and soon mixed with the screams, causing the sound systems of both sides to lose more than 80% of their effectiveness, leaving only the instinct to fight.

Li Du was a little worried when he learned about the ambush, but he quickly calmed down.

"Dock! Dock! Form your formation!"

"Front! Speed ​​up!"

"No more chaos! Go ashore! Go ashore!"

Although his voice could not be heard far in the chaos, and there was no guarantee that others could hear him, Li Du continued to shout, using the shouting to focus on the battle in front of him.

After hearing the orders one after another, Li Du became calmer.

This is the advantage of a small force advancing.

This batch of cavalry troops consisted of only 300 men, and they had no baggage, so Li Du was able to command each of them quickly.

If there were too many people, they would be stuck in the sharp bend of the river, with the troops intertwined and mixed up, making it difficult to command. Perhaps a moment of jam and confusion would lead to their being caught by Cao's army, resulting in greater casualties, further chaos and congestion, and thus being defeated by Cao's army.

Li Du knew very well that with the elite soldiers under his cavalry, as long as they could go ashore, form a formation, occupy a certain terrain, and build a line, then he would not be afraid no matter how many Cao troops came!

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

he shouted.

……

……

"Quick! Go and meet them! Don't let the Hussars land!"

Cao Jun’s military school was also shouting.

They were Cao's soldiers who were originally ambushed near the shallows.

After all, normally, shallows are a more suitable landing site, but the quick response of Liao Hua's soldiers disrupted Cao's army's original arrangement.

He was originally just an archery cadet, and was inevitably a little flustered at this time. After receiving Cao Ren's order, he hurriedly ordered his archers to move their positions.

A group of Cao army archers, holding their bows in one hand and quivers in the other, ran wildly along the uneven shore.

"Whose arrow, whose arrow fell!"

"Damn it! Who stepped on my foot?!"

"Hold the bow!"

一顿鸡飞狗跳.

After finally reaching the new position, the order came to attack immediately.

Although the Cao army's archery school knew that this order was too hasty, and that they should at least wait until all the archers were in place before firing a volley to have a greater killing power, seeing that the Cao Ren guard who delivered the order was almost spitting fire, they could only order their archers to shoot immediately...

Sure enough, the first round of arrows did not kill too many enemies because the archers were not densely packed.

……

……

"Their archers are over there!"

"Raise your shields! Raise your shields!"

Li Du adjusted the direction of the shield in his hand.

At this point, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He believed that the ambushing archers of Cao's army were not elite, otherwise they should have waited until a small half of his archers had gathered on the shore before shooting, which would have inevitably caused greater casualties.

If Cao's army makes a mistake, it means an opportunity for their side!

"No need to form a battle array! Charge forward quickly! Kill all their archers!"

Li Du issued new instructions.

He had no idea that his instructions this time were completely opposite to his previous thoughts.

However, under the current circumstances, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Li Du's instructions.

After all, rather than standing on the shore and being attacked by Cao's archers, it would certainly be better to rush forward, rush into the ranks of Cao's archers, repel and defeat them. This would also be beneficial for protecting the friendly forces that would come ashore later.

The flexibility of the Hussars was demonstrated at this moment, but this flexibility is not always beneficial...