Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3932 The Azure Heaven is Dead, the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise (Bonus Chapter)
After hearing Cao Ren's renewed request to lead the troops, Cao Cao remained silent for a long time.

This was practically an open conspiracy, a tactic frequently used by General Fei Qian.

Cao Cao certainly wanted to launch an attack.

As the commander, he understood better than Cao Ren that allowing the Flying Cavalry to prepare so leisurely would be devastating to their morale...

If it weren't for a series of defeats, Cao Cao could still use the illusion of victory to control his troops. But now, his soldiers, who haven't seen any hope of victory for too long, are undoubtedly extremely vulnerable...

This vulnerability was determined by the military system of Shandong Central Plains.

There was no faith, only military pay.

There is no future, only the present.

So if we really do nothing and wait until the third day arrives...

Perhaps a successful, even symbolic, counterattack could revitalize these soldiers on the verge of collapse within the Great Wall.

But a moment later, reason prevailed, repeatedly warning Cao Cao...

The probability of success is extremely low, while the risk is extremely high!
If a problem occurs in any part of the process, it could lead to an uncontrollable collapse!
To launch an attack might be a self-destructive act...

If we do not strike, we are simply waiting to be killed!

How to choose?
Cao Cao's gambler's mentality ultimately prevailed slightly.

Cao Cao spoke slowly, his words deliberate and weighty, as if each syllable had been carefully weighed: "Very well... Though we know the dangers, we cannot simply sit and wait!"

Cao Cao turned to Cao Ren, "Zixiao, I grant you permission to lead troops out of the pass for a trial! But remember, this is not a decisive battle, nor a contest of pride! Disrupting their operations, forcing them to postpone their campaigns, and damaging their morale will be a great achievement! Remember to know when to stop and never be greedy for credit or act rashly!"

Cao Cao paused, his tone growing increasingly grave as he emphasized, "I anticipate that the General of the Cavalry will be prepared, with an ambush hidden behind! I will observe the battle from the city walls. If I see their ambush emerge, I will immediately raise a red flag as a signal! Upon seeing the red flag, regardless of the current battle situation, you must retreat immediately without the slightest hesitation or desire to continue fighting! Do you understand?!"

Cao Ren quickly agreed.

Cao Cao nodded and continued, "Before leaving the pass, you must clearly explain to the commanders and garrison leaders of each unit the order of their retreat, avoiding congestion, providing mutual cover, and absolutely preventing any disarray. Before leaving the city, all units must be informed that they must strictly adhere to the retreat order upon returning to the pass; those who violate this order will be severely punished!"

Cao Cao was still vivid in his mind the scene of Xiahou Xiong trampling each other last time, and he would never forget it.

"Furthermore..." Cao Cao's gaze shifted to the crossbow carts atop the wall, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. "When Zixiao retreats, if the cavalry ambushes advance swiftly, they can lure him to..."

Cao Ren also turned his gaze in that direction, nodded solemnly, and said, "This subordinate understands!"

This was actually a pessimistic attack plan...

Neither Cao Cao nor Cao Ren had the confidence to completely defeat or crush the Flying Cavalry. Their goal had unconsciously shifted to "obstruction" or "disruption".

They even pinned their last hope of killing the cavalry on the defensive structures on the city walls...

Compared to when Cao Cao was ambitious and wanted to conquer Guanzhong and Hedong in one fell swoop, the difference is like heaven and earth.
Cao Cao nodded, squeezed Cao Ren's arm, and emphasized again, "Zixiao! Be careful, be cautious!"

Cao Ren took a deep breath, clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, and said, "This subordinate obeys! I will remember my lord's teachings and act with utmost caution!"

The current situation is extremely precarious, and this is the most rational, yet most helpless, choice they can make.

Cao Ren said no more, immediately turned around, and strode down the city wall along the horse path to muster his troops.

Soon, the city gate of Sishui Pass slowly opened with the creaking of the winch.

Cao Ren took the lead, leading a carefully selected thousand soldiers who roared out of the gate, raising a cloud of dust, and rushed straight towards the busy cavalry work area outside the pass.

However, the speed and organization of the cavalry forces operating outside Sishui Pass once again exceeded Cao Ren's expectations...

Almost at the same time that Cao Jun rushed out of the city gate, the scouts stationed around the perimeter of the work area blew their whistles!
The sharp sound of the brass whistle immediately resounded throughout the cavalry's work area!
As the whistle blew, the cavalry engineers and craftsmen, who had been engrossed in their work, displayed an astonishing level of discipline and training.

They didn't gasp, nor did they look around in panic or hesitate. Almost immediately upon hearing the specific whistle, they stopped everything they were doing...

The soldiers responsible for transporting the timber and stones put down the loads they were carrying on their shoulders and in their hands...

The team working on the rammed earth stopped in unison and placed the ramming tools firmly on the spot...

The craftsmen who were building the bridge planks quickly gathered up their tools...

They didn't try to take any bulky materials; instead, they quickly grabbed the tool bags beside them, put hand axes, shovels, and other portable items into the bags, and then, in their original squads, urged and directed by their squad leaders, they retreated quickly and orderly along the pre-set evacuation routes that had been drawn on the ground with chalk and guided by various colored flags.

The entire process was busy but orderly, and the retreat was swift as the wind. From the cessation of work to the evacuation of the front line, it seemed to be only a blink of an eye. The once bustling construction site front line quickly became empty, leaving only a large amount of unfinished, bulky materials...

This rapid change made Cao Ren, who witnessed the scene, feel a chill in his heart!

Cao Ren suppressed his lingering sense of luck, reined in his warhorse, and dared not rashly charge into that seemingly easily accessible no-man's-land to hunt down the retreating engineers, craftsmen, and other cavalrymen...

Staring intently at the retreating figures of the Flying Cavalry, Cao Ren gritted his teeth and directed his men to split into several groups and rush towards the remaining piles of materials to try to burn them, while also keeping an eye on the city walls of Sishui Pass behind them.

As the saying goes, a thief never leaves empty-handed; since we're already here...

However, Cao Jun's sabotage operation did not go smoothly.

While the cavalry army seemed to have left behind a lot of materials, most of them were actually damp wood or soil and stones that were not easy to ignite quickly. Even if they were lit, the burning effect would be limited.

As for damaging any straw bags, it's practically pointless.

Breaking wooden planks is mostly a way of venting anger, since broken planks can still be used to pave the ground...

It was a chaotic mess.

The only progress was that this time, Cao Cao's soldiers finally learned to carry more fire-starting tools such as flints and torches.

But when it came time to ignite the fire, another problem arose.

The straw bag was filled with soil, half-dry and half-wet, and it went out on its own after burning for a short while.

Although the logs are wood, they were recently felled and floated here on rafts made of water power. They wouldn't burn well even if you poured oil on them, let alone a few torches!

The key point is that Cao Ren couldn't possibly carry a large amount of oil out of the pass. After all, oil isn't something that can be supplied in unlimited quantities; some of it still needed to be reserved for guarding Sishui Pass...

After working for most of the day, just as a few scattered flames began to ignite and emit black smoke, huge plumes of smoke and dust suddenly rose from the horizon where the gray mist met the wilderness!
The dust moved extremely fast, like yellow dragons rolling along the ground, and there was more than one, vaguely forming a pincer shape to flank Cao's army!

A faint rumble of thunder followed, signaling that the Flying Cavalry had set out!

Almost simultaneously, a red flag was also raised at the highest point of the Sishui Pass city tower, fluttering in the wind under the control of the strongmen!

"Red flag!! Withdraw! All troops, withdraw immediately! Retreat back to the interior according to the predetermined route!"

Cao Ren's pupils contracted sharply, and without hesitation, he immediately ordered a retreat.

According to Cao Cao and Cao Ren's plan, the Cao army's retreat would be as orderly as that of the Flying Cavalry, like fish swimming in water, slipping into Sishui Pass in single file...

However, while the idea was good, problems arose when it was put into practice.

The flaws of Cao Cao's army's crude organization were fully exposed and magnified in the chaos!
Before leaving the city, Cao Ren repeatedly emphasized the need to strictly regulate the retreat sequence and routes of each unit. However, the problem was that Cao Ren only stipulated the retreat order and did not consider more detailed aspects.

Who is closer to the city gate?
Which part runs faster?

I arrived near the city gate first, but the sequence number is too late. What should I do?
All of these strategies were come up with on a whim, so how could they not have problems?

Officials are high above, how could they care about the difficulties below?
Every time a strategy was devised on a whim, the people below had to clean up the mess... Once, twice, countless times, from the Spring and Autumn Period all the way to the Qin and Han Dynasties!
Even if we take a step back and consider whether the retreat order numbering of Cao Cao's army was reasonable, just imagine the immense psychological pressure created by the approaching cavalry from afar, which was like thunder. Would each Cao Cao's army unit still remember their damned retreat number?

The result is obvious...

That woman, let me go first!

Driven by their survival instincts, all the personnel reacted almost simultaneously!
They rushed desperately toward the city gate that now symbolized their way out!
Before leaving the city, when Cao Ren was making arrangements, each platoon responded readily, saying, "No problem, don't worry, I understand..."

What now?
The cavalry wanted to use their horses' speed to enter the city first, while the infantry ran desperately, afraid of being left behind.

Those who arrived first rushed straight into the city without any regard for the consequences!
As for the serial number and the promises made before, they're all worthless now!

In an instant, within the not-so-wide area of ​​the city gate opening,
Cavalry and infantry, as well as soldiers from different tribes, clashed together!
The warhorses were startled and neighed, and the crowd was in an uproar, cursing and shouting. In the struggle to enter the city, there were even shoving and fighting!

What was originally expected to be an orderly retreat instantly turned into an extremely out-of-control rout and congestion!
The city gate seemed to have become a black hole that devoured order, dragging everyone into a vortex of desperate struggle!

As the cavalry approached, the chaos in Cao Cao's army intensified!

At this very moment, the ambush troops of the Flying Cavalry Army swept in like a whirlwind!

More than 1,500 elite light cavalrymen, both men and horses clad in light armor, with bows and quivers hanging from their saddles and gleaming ring-pommel swords in their hands, swept in from the left and right flanks like two sharp scimitars.

The sound of hooves was like a dense war drumbeat, striking the hearts of every fleeing Cao army soldier!

Finished!

Run away!
Since it's a bottom-ranking elimination system anyway, as long as I'm not the last one, it's fine!
The cavalry commander skillfully issued commands, and the high-speed cavalry, like a swarm of bees with a unified will, suddenly split to the left and right after approaching to a certain distance, transforming into several more flexible columns that began to roam and tear apart the enemy's perimeter.

Some men closed in and slashed with their swords, while others took off their bows, nocked light arrows, and launched volleys of arrows at the rear and flanks where the Cao army's fleeing soldiers were more concentrated.

Arrows rained down from the sky like locusts, not densely, but continuously, with a deadly whooshing sound.

Seeing this, Cao Cao, atop the city wall, no longer cared about letting his cavalry get any closer. He shouted, "Fire arrows to provide cover! Delay the pursuers!"

Arrows rained down from Sishui Pass like a torrent, forming a formidable curtain of arrows between the pursuing cavalry and the tail of Cao Cao's routed troops.

This volley of arrows forced the cavalry to slow down their direct approach and kills, and also shot down some of the light cavalry who had charged too far forward and were trying to use their sabers to kill the fleeing soldiers on the edge.

Seeing the arrows whistling down from the city wall, the cavalry of the Flying Cavalry once again adapted to the situation!

A short, sharp whistle rang out, and the cavalrymen immediately responded in unison. Surprisingly, they turned sharply to the side and rear, moving away from the most effective direct fire range of the city's crossbows. They then began to circling and gallop at high speed in the outer perimeter, while simultaneously firing arrows at each other from below...

Sprinting is not a skill exclusive to the White Horse Cavalry.

Strictly speaking, this tactic wasn't particularly lethal; otherwise, Ju Yi wouldn't have been able to extinguish Gongsun Zan's ambitions back then...

However, at this moment, this classic cavalry tactic proved extremely effective against Cao Cao's soldiers.

The reason was simply that Cao Cao's army was poorly equipped.

Cao Ren and his personal guards, some military academy students, and heavily armored elites all wore thick fish-scale armor, which provided relatively comprehensive protection. Unless they were hit directly in the face or in vulnerable joints by arrows, they could basically ignore the projectiles of these light arrows.

However, the situation was much more dire for the vast majority of ordinary Cao soldiers.

Most of them only wore two layers of armor, lacking effective protection for their neck, shoulders, arms, waist, ribs, and thighs.

Although the rain of arrows falling from the sky has limited individual power, it is continuous and covers a wide area, so you never know when you might be hit...

Running soldiers of Cao's army were constantly being hit by stray arrows. The sharp arrowheads pierced the flesh that was not protected by armor. Although they were not necessarily fatal, they caused excruciating pain, which was unavoidable.

Wounds not only bleed and hurt, but they can also cause panic.

The soldiers who were hit by arrows let out shrill screams, and their subconscious reactions caused the troops to become even more chaotic!

In the extremely crowded, chaotic flow of people rushing to retreat, any fall caused by loss of balance means disaster is imminent!
Once you fall to the ground, there is no chance of getting up again. Your companions behind you will not be able to stop and will trample on you!

Screams, wails, curses, the cracking of bones breaking, the thud of arrows piercing the air and the muffled thuds of arrows hitting people, mixed with the neighing of warhorses and the shouts and clamor from the city walls, caused the order to completely spiral out of control.

Upon seeing this, Cao Ren was both shocked and furious. He immediately ordered his guards to cover the rear and instructed his men to clear the gate and guide the soldiers...

Is it effective?
It does have some effect.

After all, Cao Ren and his guards were all wearing heavy armor, so they were mostly immune to damage from lob shots.

At the same time, Cao Ren hoped that the Flying Cavalry would get closer...

Although the approaching cavalry increased the risks for Cao Ren and his men, it also gave Cao Cao, who was on the city wall, the opportunity to shoot and kill the cavalry!
Unfortunately, the cavalry did not fall for this trick.

After the light cavalry had fired a quiver of arrows, they ceased fighting. With a few long, drawn-out commands to retreat, these light cavalrymen, as swift as they had come, turned their horses around, raising clouds of dust, and retreated in the direction they had come from, leaving only a scene of devastation in front of the pass.

Cao Ren gripped his long sword, gritted his teeth, and stared helplessly at the departing figures of the cavalry.

The Cao army soldiers who retreated to Sishui Pass collapsed on the open ground inside the pass, their groans, cries, and screams of pain filling the air.

The results of the post-battle inventory left Cao Cao and Cao Ren speechless.

It even felt utterly absurd!

After careful verification, the number of Cao army soldiers who died directly from the cavalry's attacks or from arrows was no more than twenty...

However, in the city gate area, the number of soldiers who died or were seriously injured and unable to fight due to the crowding, pushing, and trampling caused by extreme panic reached more than 120!
Even more fatally, this attack, which was intended to boost morale, not only failed to effectively disrupt the operations of the Flying Cavalry and failed to achieve any tactical objectives, but instead served as a public dissection, exposing the fatal flaws of Cao Cao's army!
Is Cao Jun organized?

It's not that they don't exist, but in practice, the grassroots organizations are worse than non-existent!

At the grassroots level, Cao Jun's military academy always puts himself first!
How can I have the energy to work if I don't eat some Swiss rolls?
Did Cao Cao anticipate this situation?
It's not that there isn't any!

But even if you had a prediction, what good would it do?

Before the operation, the process was clear, and during the pre-arrangement, everyone understood everything clearly and there were no problems...

Even if some soldiers and military academies realize that there might be problems in actual operation, would they dare to raise them? Could they raise them? And would raising them be of any use?

After Cao Cao's army entered Sishui Pass, the engineers and craftsmen of the Flying Cavalry made a comeback.

Cao Cao gazed at the bustling area below the pass, watching the cavalry engineers and craftsmen who seemed completely unaffected by what had just happened, and the cavalrymen laying the ground. He remained silent for a long time, the cold wind blowing his graying hair and wide cloak, making them flutter.

The groans of wounded Cao soldiers inside the pass mingled with the shouts of workers laying the ground outside the pass...

Cao Cao's last shred of hope—that the natural barrier of Sishui Pass might still allow him to buy some time—melted away like snowflakes in the sunlight, leaving only a cold, hard reality.

He knew that although the final attack by the Flying Cavalry had not yet begun, the balance of power had already tilted to a hopeless angle...

Cao Cao gazed into the distance, then looked down at his feet, and finally looked up at the sky.

Layers of gray clouds hung in the sky, stirred by the wind.

Heavens above...

Cao Cao suddenly remembered the slogan shouted by the Yellow Turban rebels back then...

How does it feel to go back to work after the holiday?
May the new year bring new heights!