Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3636: The End of the Strong Formation, Fire Crossbows Show Their Power Again

"Raise your shield——"

A loud shout was heard from the Hussars' army formation, which was advancing as fast as water. Suddenly, almost all the cavalrymen raised their shields at the same time, covering their horses and their own heads.

"Swish, swish, swish!" 』

Arrows whizzed down.

"Turn! Turn!"

The leading cavalry began to turn, as if they were afraid of the long-range attacks from bows and arrows in Cheng Yu's formation.

Some of the cavalrymen were hit by arrows, and their bodies looked like some long grass that suddenly grew out, trembling and swaying in the air.

Seeing this scene, Cheng Yu smiled.

In order to restrain the hussars, Cheng Yu specially brought some armor-piercing arrows.

These arrows are specially made wolf-tooth arrowheads, extremely sharp, but of course they are also very expensive and the production process is complicated.

This kind of arrows are all produced in Shandong and cannot be bought in Guanzhong.

Guanzhong also sells weapons, but most of them are very popular swords, spears, arrows, armor and other low-level equipment. If you want something better, you have to spend a lot of money. So sometimes people in Shandong will subconsciously choose those ordinary equipment, which are cheap and large, and it is really cost-effective.

However, these cheap goods will often suffer heavy losses when they are used in battle.

Not to mention that if the blade of a knife or gun is not properly treated, it will easily rust and become blunt. Even if it looks bright, if it is not hard enough and tough enough, it will easily break in battle. Then you will not be able to kill your opponent with one blow, and then your opponent will return the blow...

The same goes for bows and arrows. Ordinary bows and arrows with triangular arrowheads are okay against unarmored soldiers, but they are basically ineffective against soldiers wearing thick armor.

If the quality of the bow is also poor, the bow arm is not strong enough, the bowstring is soft, and the arrow shot out is light, then it will really be like tickling the opponent. Unless it happens to hit the vital point, the opponent can basically ignore the arrow.

Cheng Yu understood this, so the weapons and arrows he brought with him were all top-quality goods.

With such superior weapons, Cheng Yu was confident that he could defeat Jiang Jiong's cavalry head-on.

However, as soon as Cheng Yu smiled, he realized something was wrong...

The Hussar Cavalry seemed to have no intention of directly attacking Cheng Yu's formation, but instead lingered on the edge of the arrow's range.

It's like the scumbag said he was just hanging out outside.

Seeing that the archers had shot several rounds in vain, Cheng Yu quickly called a halt.

After all, it was at the edge of the range, and the power of the arrows had been greatly weakened, so they did not cause any obvious damage to the cavalry.

How is this going?
The Hussars don't plan to charge?
Cheng Yu watched, wondering if he thought that he could be trapped here with just this small number of troops?

Cheng Yu stood up, climbed onto a baggage cart, and looked around.

Apart from the approximately three hundred Hussars galloping back and forth in the smoke and dust, Cheng Yu did not see any smoke and dust anywhere else, so Cheng Yu naturally could not be sure whether there were any Hussars elsewhere.

This is the problem of battlefield opacity.

Before, Cheng Yu thought that it didn’t matter if there was less information on the battlefield - after all, his scouts could not be compared with the cavalry scouts, and most of them were on two legs. Even if they ran to death all day, they might not be able to explore very far.

Anyway, we have already investigated the area near the main ferry crossing, isn't that enough?

As a result, Cheng Yu regretted it now.

If I had known earlier, I should have been more patient, waited a little longer, and sent more personnel to investigate in more distant places!

But what this world lacks most is a pill for regret.

Cheng Yu could only focus on the present, "Could it be... to delay?"

Faced with the current situation where the Hussars have few horses and are unwilling to launch a head-on attack, Cheng Yu naturally analyzed whether there were only so many soldiers and horses at the ferry, and the rest of the soldiers and horses had dispersed and had not returned yet?

Since the Cavalry Army wants to "delay", then Cheng Yu naturally cannot "delay" at all!
Cheng Yu immediately gave the order to expand the outer layer of soldiers and chariots formation outward, turning the originally thick and deep line into a larger hollow array covering a wider area.

The command flags waved, the military academy shouted, and the baggage carts that were originally connected together were opened by Cao's army themselves and then slowly unfolded outwards.

If you look down from a high altitude at the deployed array of vehicles, there is indeed a unique beauty to it.

Individuals are insignificant, but once they are organized into tribes, groups, organizations, and countries, when everyone is doing the same thing and working towards the same goal, they appear particularly great.

When Cheng Yu was designing the baggage wagon array, he had already considered in advance the situation where temporary changes would be needed. After all, the unsuccessful case of Cao's army's baggage wagon array in Hedong made Cheng Yu understand that a rigid and unchangeable wagon array would only end up being passively beaten.

At the same time, Cheng Yu also understood that such a chariot formation would be easily broken by long-range and powerful weapons...

But does Jiang Jiong have cannons or catapults?
If there was, it should have been used to deal with the camp long ago. Why wait until now!

Since Jiang Jiong's troops do not have powerful long-range weapons, his chariot formation is "invincible"!

The mutual promotion and restraint between military types and weapons is actually the same principle.

Cheng Yu expanded the chariot formation to free up space at the ferry. Immediately, the soldiers in the inner circle began to build the most basic camp defense structure at the ferry.

The Cao army soldiers who followed Cheng Yu did not know much about the country and the world, nor did they know what the classics were, but they were the most basic structure of the Cao army. They obeyed orders and abided by the rules, even if these orders and rules were above their heads and made them work extra hard.

The previous Cao Jun escape incident also caused some waves among the remaining Cao Jun soldiers, but soon the waves subsided...

Not everyone has the courage to think "the world is so big" and break the original rhythm and habits of life to face the unknown fear and hope. In addition, the habits formed under high pressure made these Cao army soldiers not put their ideas into practice even if they had some fluctuations in their hearts.

Most people just go with the flow.

This is not just a problem for Cao's soldiers, but also for "wise men" like Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu's experience and wisdom were quite handy in dealing with the problems of the Han Dynasty, but now he had to face not only a huge step forward in military equipment, but also a cavalry army that had developed in ideology and tactics...

Therefore, Cheng Yu's choice had no problem in dealing with the old soldiers of the Han Dynasty and ordinary cavalry. Unfortunately, he encountered not only Jiang Jiong, but also Zhu Ling who came later.

Zhu Ling also didn't have artillery, but he had rockets...

Under the cover of the dust raised by the cavalry columns galloping back and forth in front, Zhu Ling and his soldiers were assembling the large yellow crossbow.

Carrying a large yellow crossbow and running for short distances is not a problem, but running for long distances is more difficult.

This thing has been active on the battlefield since the early Han Dynasty when it was fighting against the Huns. It has a long range and great power. The only problem is that it is bulky, expensive, and its components are difficult to manufacture.

But now, he has become Zhu Ling's "toy".

Zhu Ling had used the Dahuang Crossbow many times in Tongguan and had achieved good results. Now, after discussing with Jiang Jiong, he took out this thing again...

Cheng Yu had not experienced the Battle of Tongguan, so even if he had seen some battle reports from the front line, he might not be able to imagine what the so-called "fire falling from the sky, thunder and lightning" in the battle reports meant. Moreover, before humans break through their own imagination, it is difficult for them to get a clear concept of what the threat looks like and where it will come from.

Soon, just as Cheng Yu was expanding the chariot formation outward in an attempt to clear out a space to set up camp, Zhu Ling appeared in the smoke and dust with a large yellow crossbow.

At first, Cheng Yu didn't take it too seriously. After all, the Dahuang Crossbow was not as eye-catching as a catapult or a cannon. But soon, Cheng Yu realized how powerful this thing was.

At the beginning of Zhu Ling's attack, the Dahuang Crossbow was simply firing arrows, calibrating the angle and distance of the shooting, so the Cao army didn't notice anything wrong. But Cheng Yu was quite puzzled when he saw Zhu Ling and others shooting at a very long distance, and he instinctively sensed some danger. What is this?
Can it attack from such a long distance?
Because Zhu Ling's Dahuang crossbow's calibrated shooting did not directly cause serious damage, Cheng Yu was unable to react and did not issue any targeted instructions. After all, if you only rely on the physical damage of the Dahuang crossbow to break through the baggage wagon array, it is like a drop in the bucket. It cannot be said that it has no effect at all, but it is indeed like scratching an itch.

After scratching his itch, Zhu Ling started to change into the rocket.

The soldiers on the front line of Cao's army could see more clearly because of the distance. When they found that Zhu Ling and others took out strange crossbows, some of them cried out in surprise, while others shot hard in the direction of Zhu Ling and others. However, no matter their screams in panic or the arrows they shot, they could not cause any damage, nor affect Zhu Ling's second wave of attack.

When the first explosion sounded, Cheng Yu's chariot formation was doomed to destruction.

The rocket fell and exploded.

The Cao army soldiers, who originally thought they were safe behind the baggage carts and behind wooden boards covered with mud, discovered that what they thought was a barrier to save their lives was actually very fragile.

The rockets tore apart the convoy that Cheng Yu had painstakingly assembled, just like a crab with its shell broken open, revealing its delicious meat.

A distance of seven or eight hundred steps is just a blink of an eye for the cavalry.

Before Cheng Yu could figure out what the sudden explosion and fire were all about, the cavalry of the Hussar Army had already rushed to the front of his outer chariot formation.

Looking at the cavalrymen charging forward with a roar and hearing the sound of horse hooves that sounded like thunder, Cheng Yu felt a chill rushing up his back and into the back of his head, instantly chilling his entire body!

This is a trap!
A trap set for his convoy!

"Gather together! Gather together!"

Cheng Yu shouted, but his voice was so weak amid the roar of gunpowder and the sound of horse hooves.

Even the guards and messengers around Cheng Yu heard Cheng Yu's order and wanted to pass it on to the front line of the chariot formation, so that the Cao army soldiers who were attacked in the chariot formation could execute it smoothly...

Totally impossible.

At such moments, fighting instinct is the quickest guide on the battlefield.

Although the Cao army soldiers instinctively responded to the sudden attack of the Hussars, such as pointing their spears at the oncoming Hussars, and the archers also tried their best to shoot their arrows, but with little effect.

On the one hand, the Hussar cavalry, in contrast to their previous rubbing and rubbing attitude, began to charge forward bravely. On the other hand, under the attack of Zhu Ling's large yellow crossbow, even if Cao's soldiers fought back, their moves were scattered and they were unable to form effective suppression.

The archers of Cao's army only had time to shoot three rounds of arrows, shooting down more than a dozen Hussar cavalrymen who were in the front, while the rest of the cavalry rushed to the front of the formation, to the gap in the chariot formation of Cao's army that was destroyed by rockets!

"kill! 』

The warhorse leaped up and rushed into the chariot formation!
The cavalrymen on horseback raised their sharp swords and, using the speed of their horses' charge, chopped down the Cao army soldiers head-on.

"boom! 』

The spearmen of Cao's army were hit by their horses and flew in the air with screams.

"Pfft..."

The sharp sword cut through the flesh and blood of Cao's soldiers, and blood splattered everywhere.

The soldiers of the Cavalry Army were as fierce as tigers, and they brought the speed and strength of their horses to the extreme.

They first used large crossbows to attack the outer chariot formation of Cao's army, tearing open a gap, and then took advantage of the situation to expand inward from the gap in the chariot formation, shooting, killing, disrupting, and ramming.

Although some Hussars were shot by Cao's archers and stabbed by spearmen, most of the Cao's soldiers behind the chariot formation became extremely panicked when they saw the Hussars break through the chariot formation. They dropped their swords, spears, bows and arrows and fled!
The morale of these Cao army soldiers was not high to begin with. If they were behind the chariot formation or in the camp, in a dense defensive array, they would still be able to maintain the defense of the line because they were surrounded by their own people and had a supervisory team behind them. But once they lost the chariot formation like they are now, and faced the cavalry soldiers directly in a field battle, they would naturally be unable to hold on.

With weak morale and poor training, these Cao army soldiers on the periphery collapsed in the blink of an eye!
Cheng Yu in the center formation shouted at the top of his lungs to order a counterattack.

But there was no effect.

He was giving orders, but in reality, he himself probably didn't know whether Cao's soldiers could follow his instructions...

The expanded chariot formation did free up space for building camps, but it also meant that Cao's army lost the depth of the original chariot formation.

This is exactly the effect Jiang Jiong wanted.

Jiang Jiong knew very well that confronting Cheng Yu head-on or engaging in a serious offensive and defensive battle was actually the worst strategy.

At the beginning, when he was confronting Cheng Yu, Jiang Jiong had not fully figured out this problem. It was not until he received a reply from the General of Cavalry and waited for Zhu Ling's reinforcements that he realized that cavalry should play to their advantages.

Movement, speed.

Competing with Cheng Yu in the construction of camps and the defense of fortifications is actually giving up one's strengths and taking advantage of one's weaknesses!
In this world, if you gain something, you must lose something.

If you want something, be prepared to lose it.

What Cheng Yu wanted, naturally, was to control the ferry, cut off the direction of Heluo to Henei, and provide space for the next step of cooperating with Cao Cao. Therefore, strategically, Cheng Yu had very little room to maneuver, which limited his space to play.

Jiang Jiong and Zhu Ling grasped this point.

After knowing clearly what the other party wants, it is equivalent to forcing Cheng Yuming to play his cards.

After Cheng Yu learned that Jiang Jiong had left the camp, it was impossible for him not to march forward. Once he left the camp he had built, he would be putting himself in danger. The moment Cheng Yu left the camp, he had stepped into a trap.

Of course, this window of attack is very short. If Cheng Yu successfully establishes a second semi-permanent military camp at the ferry, Jiang Jiong and Zhu Ling will be in a disadvantageous situation.

However, the initiative of the cavalry's battlefield scouts enabled Jiang Jiong and Zhu Ling to achieve their goal and seize Cheng Yu's weak gap!
After Cheng Yu's chariot formation resisted Jiang Jiong's probing attack, it expanded outward to leave space for setting up camp. This was equivalent to Cheng Yu himself stepping his other foot into the trap!
If the battle had been successful, it would have become a story that would be passed down for thousands of years, but Cheng Yu failed.

Cheng Yu overestimated himself and underestimated Jiang Jiong.

It’s like buying a lottery ticket in the future, thinking that you have already picked out a house and a car, and just waiting to win the lottery.

Without the protection of the chariot formation, Cheng Yu's center formation, even with its elite Cao army soldiers, fell into great danger.

Arrows rained down, horses' hooves thundered, and the cavalry knights were like surging waves, attacking the infantry formation in front of Cheng Yu again and again.

In the face of the cavalry's charge, these elite soldiers of Cao's army, although they tried their best to persist and fight, could not make up for the gap in strength between the two sides. Under the continuous attack of the cavalry, they were either knocked away by their horses or hacked to death by the cavalry.

Cheng Yu had never expected that the battlefield would collapse so quickly!

It was like a nightmare, sudden and overwhelming.

"Military Advisor! Let's retreat!" the guards on the side shouted, "There are camps on the way here! We can retreat back to the camps!"

Cheng Yu instinctively realized that this choice was not a good idea, but did he have any better choice now?
In order to prevent fire, Cheng Yu did not prepare any kerosene or gunpowder in the baggage cart. After all, if these things were ignited by the Hussars halfway, he would be the one doomed. So at the moment he couldn't even set fire to the baggage cart to isolate the Hussars' attack!

So do we rely on soldiers to isolate and resist?

Looking at the smoke and dust rising in the distance and the battle lines collapsing nearby, Cheng Yu sighed deeply, "Retreat! Retreat!"

As soon as Cheng Yu's flag was raised, the soldiers of the Cavalry Army immediately noticed it and cheered loudly: "The thief has escaped! The thief has escaped!"

When the Cao army, whose morale had already been shaken, heard the voice, they all turned around and looked. When they saw Cheng Yu's battle flag moving rapidly towards the east, they were immediately dumbfounded.

A moment later, Cao's army's positions collapsed across the board.

Jiang Jiong was overjoyed and immediately ordered an all-out attack. The cavalry rushed along the valleys and gullies towards the fleeing Cao army at the ferry, slaughtering them indiscriminately.