The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 671: Defend Without Attacking
As the sky brightened, tens of thousands of troops under Hussein had already formed their array.

Hussein entrusted Bim with the most elite 60,000 troops in his army.

Bim looked at Hussein solemnly and handed him the bronze wine jug he was carrying.

The griffin totem engraved on the body of the pot has long been blurred by the years.

"General, take one last sip of the wine. I hope we can meet again."

Hussein looked at the sadness that could hardly be concealed on Bim's face, tilted his head back and took a big gulp of liquor. The spicy liquor dripped down his beard and formed dark marks on his armor.

He drank most of the wine and threw the jug back into Bim's hands.

"I hope we won't do that again." Hussein said darkly.

The situation that Bim will face next is not much better than his.

If someone had to die, he hoped it would be him.

Bim took the jug tremblingly and drank the rest of the wine in one gulp. His Adam's apple rolled violently, but he didn't know whether it was because of the burning wine or the sourness in his heart.

Then the two armies retreated westward one after the other.

In Cao Cao's tent, scouts brought news: "Houssein's army has been split into two, and the main force has retreated westward, with 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers following behind to provide cover."

"What flags are they flying?" asked Cao Cao.

"The covering army is flying the Buddhist bead flag, and the main army is flying the Falun flag." said the scout.

Cao Cao's eyes lit up and he nodded gently: "It seems that Hussein chose to stay behind and let Bim evacuate. This old general is really a loyal minister. It's a pity that he didn't get a good master."

Generals such as Cao Ren under his command could not help but feel respect in their hearts.

Regardless of identity or position, this is a military general's heartfelt respect for loyal and brave people.

Cao Cao slowly stood up from his seat, drew the Yitian sword from his waist, and pointed the sword forward.

"Send troops to escort this old general!"

"Yes!" the generals said in unison.

Thirty thousand elite infantry and cavalry formed a pursuit array on the plain, and the dust raised by their iron hooves spread across the horizon like a black tide.

Hussein's widely deployed scouts discovered Cao Cao's whereabouts in advance, and more than 20,000 soldiers formed a circle on the open plain.

The huge shields formed a barrier, and all the soldiers were ready for battle.

Hussein looked at Cao Cao's army charging at him with a serious gaze, a look of determination to die, and made the final mobilization before the war.

This veteran who had fought for the Kushans for decades revealed great firmness in his plain and simple words, while his old voice gave people infinite power.

All the soldiers felt their blood boiling under his encouragement, and their knuckles turning slightly white as they gripped their spears and shields.

As Hussein's mobilization was coming to an end, Xiahou Yuan's army, which was at the forefront, was only two hundred steps away from the Kushan army.

"For the Empire!"

Hussein finally roared.

"For the Empire!"

The Kushan soldiers also shouted angrily.

The griffin totems on the shields trembled in the morning light, slamming heavily to the ground and intersecting with each other to form a huge circular wall.

The cavalry led by Xiahou Yuan did not rush forward, but drew an arc when the two sides were only about fifty steps away, and turned to gallop parallel to the shield.

At the same time, the cavalrymen, either holding horn bows or light crossbows, fired continuously at the Kushan army.

Looking down from the sky, the Kushan army seemed like a giant turtle shrinking in its shell, while the cavalry led by Xiahou Yuan was circling around the giant turtle, constantly shooting arrows, looking for flaws. Hussein looked at this scene with a serious expression.

What he was most worried about happened.

In order to enable Bim's army to travel as quickly as possible and ensure its safety as much as possible, Hussein handed over almost all the cavalry in the army to the other side.

He had already determined to die and had no intention of winning this war, so he did not need cavalry as a backup.

Since ancient times, cavalry has always had an advantage over infantry. Why is that?

It is because of this strategic mobility advantage of being able to attack or retreat.

Although the distance between cavalry and infantry is only about thirty to fifty steps, it is the clear life and death line between active attack and passive attack.

Faced with the cavalry's archery, the infantry led by Hussein could only defend themselves.

Hussein was well aware of the enemy's strength, so he did not foolishly choose to wait for an opportunity to attack.

He believed that as long as the infantry rushed out, the enemy would never miss that brief flaw in the formation and would take the opportunity to concentrate fire and break in.

Hussein did not even resort to the method of shooting arrows back.

Faced with the crowded and stacked infantry, Xiahou Yuan's cavalry only needed to shoot arrows in the general direction.

Nine times out of ten, they hit the target, but most of the time they hit the shield or armor.

If Hussein retaliated with a large number of arrows, it would give the enemy a chance to cause heavy casualties.

After all, archers don't wear heavy armor to facilitate shooting.

The bows and crossbows in Xiahou Yuan's army's hands and the armor on their bodies were all fine products uniformly produced by the Great Qi Dynasty. The damage that the two sides could inflict on each other was simply incomparable.

Not to mention that there were large gaps between Xiahou Yuan's cavalry, so the chance of hitting the target was much smaller.

When the tactics are used properly, relying on the suppression of the arms and the difference in weapons, the combination of the two makes the two armies, whose actual qualities are not much different, completely present a state of one-sided suppression.

Xiahou Yuan's cavalry galloped around the circle, and the sound of bowstrings rose and fell.

From time to time, a Kushan soldier would be shot in the shoulder and fall down with a scream. His companions beside him would immediately fill the gap, and their shields would be seamlessly connected to each other, continuing to guard the circle.

Even in such a predicament, Hussein remained calm and composed.

War is a test, for both sides.

In this situation, the best option is to be patient and see who can endure to the end.

What they paid with was the lives of their soldiers, while what Xiahou Yuan paid with was the physical strength of his cavalry.

Hussein, who had rich combat experience, was very calm.

It seemed that he was constantly losing soldiers, but as long as the morale of his own soldiers could hold up, these sporadic losses were nothing.

Even if the fight lasts for three to five days, it won't matter to him.

But as long as he seizes an opportunity, he will be able to inflict heavy damage to the enemy.

Holding the sacred Buddhist beads tightly in his hands, Hussein kept chanting the religious mantra in his heart.

The leisurely spell was extremely faint in this boiling battlefield, but it was transmitted clearly to the ears of every Kushan soldier.

Everyone fell into a strange state of stability and selflessness, as if they had emptied their bodies and minds, mechanically completing their missions, waiting for the transcendence of their souls.

Xiahou Yuan felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the Kushan soldiers slowly becoming like a group of machines, without any fear or emotion.

What the hell are these things?

(End of this chapter)