Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 139 Press Again
As Wei Yan and his personal guards charged and broke through the weak flank of the Wei army, two banners with yak-topped dragons, one in front and one behind, two old banners and one new banner, came from the east to the west with the overwhelming force of Mount Tai.

In an instant, as if drawn by a siphon, it attracted all the Han soldiers around, whether they were holding their ground, advancing, resisting, retreating, cowardly, or brave.

Wu Ban, Chen Shi, Liao Hua, Meng Yan, Cuan Xi, Feng Hu, Fu Qian... all stopped their original actions, issued new commands, urged all mobile troops to destroy all enemies in front of them, and converge on the Dragon Banner at all costs.

Centered on the dragon banner, it was like a black hole, constantly absorbing the surrounding power. The three thousand dragon-riding and tiger-like warriors guarding the banner were soon covered with an indestructible armor, or like holding an unstoppable blade, charging recklessly into the Wei army's battle formation.

The battle formation led by Zhou Tai, Hao Zhao, and Wei Ping, caught in the middle and bearing the brunt of the attack, only lasted for less than a quarter of an hour before utterly collapsing beyond saving.

On the platform, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, who was completely unaware of and could not have foreseen the Emperor personally leading troops to reinforce the south, along with his officials and clerks such as Fei Yi, Yang Yi, and Hu Ji, were all shaken as they gazed at the three dragon banners with yak-topped peaks.

In the past, the King of Han pacified the Three Qin regions.

Now the Emperor of the Great Han requests that the banners of the late Emperor Hanzhong and the Emperor of Han be escorted by the Emperor's dragon banner back to the old capital, so as to recapture the Western Capital.

When the battle no longer required command, the Han Dynasty prime minister's vision suddenly blurred. In his daze, he vaguely saw a magnificent scene above the massive army formation that tightly protected the three banners: the late emperor reining in his horse in front, with the emperor following closely behind. As the late emperor's magnanimous figure gradually disappeared, the emperor on horseback continued to urge his horse forward.

With the complete collapse of the battle formations of Zhou Tai, Hao Zhao, and Wei Ping, a chain reaction quickly occurred. The already wavering morale of the Wei army on the southern battlefield completely collapsed at this moment, and large-scale, organized routs began to appear.

The fleeing Wei soldiers kept charging into their own lines, and this charging caused even greater chaos. More Wei soldiers began to run wildly, and the Wei army was thrown into complete disarray.

Some fled blindly, while others trampled on each other.

Countless people have turned on each other and turned their swords against their comrades in order to seize space to escape.

The cries and screams on the battlefield were far more intense and frequent than those during the fierce battles between the Han and Wei dynasties.

Meanwhile, the number of casualties inflicted by Wei soldiers on each other also rose rapidly, reaching one or two thousand in a short period of time.

In less than a quarter of an hour, apart from a small number of elite troops and personal guards led by a few officers who were able to remain somewhat calm and maintain their composure by beating drums, the remaining 20,000 to 30,000 people were completely fleeing in a chaotic manner.

When there is no escape, one must either die or surrender.

Before long, the battlefield, stretching five or six miles from the Lishan Plateau to the canal, was completely occupied by the Han army, which was lined up in a row.

Despite their exhaustion and injuries, the Han soldiers, surrounded by three dragon banners, marched from east to west with unstoppable force, causing the earth to crumble and mountains to collapse.

North of the canal.

Faced with the Han army's Crescent Moon Formation, Sima Yi judged that only a little over 10,000 Han soldiers remained in the formation, and that the Han army's elite troops must have all gone south of the canal.

At the outset of the battle, they deployed their entire force, both infantry and cavalry, unleashing the fastest and fiercest offensive without reservation. Naturally, they also paid a heavy price.

Zhao Yun's Han army of over 10,000 men formed the outer defensive line of this crescent-shaped formation using hundreds of wagons, armored wagons, and even supply wagons filled with mud, a formation known as "using wagons to deceive the enemy."

However, before Sima Yi could set up his formation and launch a general offensive, the Han army first adopted the tactic of "concealing the chariots with their formation," hiding the chariots to make it difficult for Sima Yi to discern the true situation.

As for the sidecar design, it had two decks on three sides, with sand filling the space between the two decks. The decks were then covered with a layer of wet felt, which served both as fire protection and cushioning.

The side of the vehicle facing the enemy also had firing ports, through which two or three crossbowmen could hide and fire.

In addition, there were two or three armored soldiers with knives and spears hidden inside the carriage. Once the enemy infantry approached, they would immediately launch an attack and fight the enemy from the high ground of the side carriage.

Zong Yu, the Right General of the Central Army who had once annihilated hundreds of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry under Pang Hui's command with the Yuanrong Crossbow, hid behind the war chariot with his troops.

After the archers on the southern battlefield were exhausted and unable to fire their bows, Fu Qian and Feng Hu, who were patrolling the perimeter, sent back more than two thousand Yuanrong crossbows and more than two thousand horn bows and crossbows from the southern battlefield.

As soon as Sima Yi's infantry and cavalry made contact with the outer edge of the Crescent Moon Formation, it was as if ten thousand arrows were being fired from within the formation, and the Wei army's infantry and cavalry fell one after another as they charged into the formation.

After several unsuccessful attempts to break through the enemy lines, resulting in nearly a thousand casualties, Sima Yi finally calmed down and began to take a closer look at the Crescent Moon Formation, which at first glance did not seem particularly difficult to break.

Then I started to get a headache.

Although the number of Han soldiers in the formation was small, they were not as weak as he claimed.

The sheer number of various war chariots, far exceeding his expectations and capable of both offense and defense, greatly enhanced the overall combat capability of the Han army.

These chariots were either filled with armored soldiers or piled with sand, making them difficult to remove in a short time and even harder to dismantle once removed.

This provided a safer firing environment for the archers positioned behind the chariots, allowing them more time to fire.

The Wei army's several thousand elite cavalry were completely useless against the crescent-shaped chariot formation, unable to break through.

The archers, shooting from the outside, were no match for the archers inside the formation because the range of the horse bows was too short and the killing power too weak.

Once a warhorse is struck by an arrow and falls, it will trigger a chain reaction, causing many more to fall.

The cavalrymen were either crushed and injured by their warhorses, unable to move, and trampled to death, or killed or wounded by the rain of arrows hurled down by the Han army.

Seeing this situation, Sima Yi simply ordered cavalry generals such as Wen Qin, Lü Zhao, and Yin Damu to either lead a small number of elite cavalry back to the southern battlefield, or to send out two or three thousand cavalry to pursue and kill the Han army's Hu cavalry who had fled and then turned back to observe.

After observing for a while, Sima Yi finally discovered the weakness of the formation. He then tried to send armored soldiers to cut in from the left and right flanks where the formation had the fewest troops, the weakest defenses, and the least manpower.

As a result, the more than a thousand archers arrayed behind the Crescent Moon Formation, separated by a canal, provided powerful long-range support to the left and right flanks, the weakest points in the Crescent Moon Formation's offense and defense, thus compensating for the Crescent Moon Formation's final weakness.

After several unsuccessful attempts to charge the enemy lines, Sima Yi...

It hasn't been returned.

The fighting in the south is progressing too rapidly.

The commotion on the southern battlefield was too alarming.

The Wei army in the south collapsed too completely.

Having left the central army camp to find a place to climb to a high vantage point, Sima Yi was now staring blankly southward from his horse, his entire demeanor dazed.

"Father... what exactly happened?" His son, Sima Zhao, turned pale and spoke with difficulty, his limbs trembling slightly uncontrollably.

No one answered him.

Even Sima Yi wanted to know: What exactly happened?

While Sima Yi and his sons were all so shocked that their minds went blank, leaving them speechless and at a loss for what to do...
The Han army, which was originally chasing and killing the fleeing soldiers and sweeping across from west to east, suddenly turned and cut diagonally toward the northern battlefield.

The war drums shook the heavens and the earth.

The murderous aura soared to the sky.

Sima Shi and Sima Zhao were both greatly alarmed. Their faces grew increasingly pale, and their bodies trembled and went limp uncontrollably, almost causing them to fall off their horses.

"Father...we, we've lost." Sima Zhao felt dizzy and his mind went completely blank.

Upon hearing Sima Zhao's words, his elder brother Sima Shi finally regained some of his rationality:
"Father...go...go quickly, or it will be too late."

“Once the Shu bandits cross the canal, once Zhao Yun withdraws this formation and charges forward, cutting us in half, we will probably be left here today!” Sima Yi, standing to the side, seemed not to hear these voices. He simply held the reins and stood motionless, his eyes fixed on the three dragon banners surrounded by thousands of Han soldiers in the middle of the formation.

Three dragon banners facing straight north.

After a long silence, until the Han soldiers who were charging fastest on the south bank were approaching the canal channel he had built, he finally issued a military order to his personal guards: "Sound the retreat, withdraw eastward."

After speaking, he whipped his horse and slowly rode towards his personal banner as a general of the cavalry.

In fact, the elite troops he brought to the northern battlefield had only recently entered the fighting.

The five or six thousand infantrymen that Du Xi, Zhang Hu, Yue, and others brought from the east had not even arrived at the battlefield yet.

Although Zhao Yun's Crescent Moon Formation was sturdy, it was not without flaws. If the southern battlefield could hold out for another half an hour...

Forget it.

Sima Yi finally gave up on making excuses for his failure. Immediately afterward, an indescribable sense of frustration and shame rose from his chest and rushed straight to his brain.

Despite his efforts to regain his composure, the overwhelming shock of the unexpected and swift defeat still sluggish his mind.

After he returned to the banner, he turned his head again and stared intently at the three dragon banners south of the canal.

He finally realized that what had such a huge impact on him was not just this defeat.

Instead, it was the three dragon-shaped banners surrounded by Han soldiers in the formation, and the overwhelming and earth-shattering shouts of "Victory!" and "Kill the traitors!" from the Han soldiers.

Liu Shan has really arrived.

Liu Shan was in the midst of the battle.

Liu Shan was supported by the entire army.

The crisp sound of the retreat signal rang out on the battlefield.

The five or six thousand infantrymen that Du Xi, Zhang Hu, Zhu Shu, Lu Fan and other generals brought from Huayin and Zheng County were still three or four miles away from the battlefield where the Crescent Moon Formation was located. After hearing the sound of the retreat signal from Sima Yi's army, they finally stopped their westward march and began to turn back eastward.

Meanwhile, the Wei soldiers who were still charging at the Han army's crescent-shaped formation suffered heavy losses, but were not utterly defeated.

Under the command of generals such as Sima Yi, Wang Chang, Niu Jin, Niu Gai, and Yin Damu, they began to retreat eastward in a relatively orderly manner.

Fight and retreat simultaneously.

The vanguard of the Han army, which was rushing from the southern battlefield, was still two or three miles away from here, but the Wei army still maintained a considerable ability to resist.

Du Xi, Zhang Hu, and Yue even lined up downstream, ready to provide support.

In conclusion, Sima Yi's order to retreat was quite decisive.

Faced with the complete collapse of the southern battlefield, Wang Chang, Niu Jin, and others had no desire to take any risks or hope for a lucky break.

Therefore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, at least a large portion of the more than 10,000 elite Wei troops on the north bank of the canal will be able to successfully evacuate.

However, accidents always happen.

"Wei dogs, don't run away!" A loud roar suddenly erupted from the outer perimeter of the Han army's Crescent Moon Formation.

Seven or eight heavily armored soldiers took the lead, leading four or five hundred medium-armored soldiers wearing tube-sleeved armor to form a wedge formation, rushing forward relentlessly through a gap in the battle formation.

At the same time, the war drums in the crescent-shaped formation suddenly began to beat wildly.

The shouts and cries of the Han soldiers in the formation grew even more excited.

I was excited like never before.

Sima Yi's general's banner had moved to the very center of the Crescent Moon Formation, and the hundreds of Han soldiers who had suddenly broken formation and rushed out were also in the very center of the Crescent Moon Formation.

Sima Yi stopped his horse in surprise and doubt.

First, he looked around at the relatively well-organized formation of ten thousand men around him, then glanced at the pursuers behind him who had just crossed the canal and were still two or three miles away, and finally looked at the crescent-shaped formation on his right.

Then, I was suddenly startled, and a chill ran down my spine!
Amidst the chilling sight, the golden banner belonging to the false Han emperor, which had been stationed in this formation, was now rapidly pressing in from south to north!
"For His Majesty!" Just then, an excited shout suddenly erupted from the armored soldiers who rushed out of the Crescent Moon Formation.

As soon as that sound ended, almost instantly, wave after wave of high-pitched and passionate roars began to rise one after another.

"For Your Majesty!"

"The great man is victorious!"

"—Kill the traitors!"

"--kill!"

In an instant, cheers of victory and shouts of battle rose to the heavens, their sounds stopping the clouds in their tracks, one wave subsiding only to rise again in another.

Before Sima Yi could give the order, several hundred Han soldiers who had charged out from the Crescent Moon Formation had already cut through the Wei army formation closest to the Crescent Moon Formation like sharp arrows and blades.

The objective couldn't be clearer.

—The General of the Pseudo-Wei Dynasty.

Sima Yi's army was thrown into chaos.

How could things not get chaotic?

Husband fights with courage.

The rapid defeat on the southern battlefield and the emperor's personal presence at the front had already brought a huge psychological impact to the Wei soldiers on the northern battlefield.

Although the losses were not severe, and although a considerable level of order was maintained on the surface, it was really only on the surface.

Clad in heavy armor and with bronze lion-shaped masks covering their faces, making them look like gods and ghosts, junior officers Guan Xing, Wei Xing, Zhao Tong, Jiang Wei, and Huang Chong led four or five hundred armored soldiers in a fierce charge.

With almost no effort, they easily broke through and defeated the Wei army's encirclement, reaching within a hundred paces of Sima Yi's general's banner.

At this moment, not to mention the Wei soldiers on the periphery, even the more than a thousand guards who had originally surrounded Sima Yi were terrified by the Han soldiers wearing ghost masks and fled in disarray.

In an instant, the General of the Great Wei Cavalry was left with only two or three hundred real personal guards and a hundred or so heavily armored soldiers!
"Father, run!" Sima Shi was so shocked that his internal organs were shattered. In a fit of dread, he lashed his father with the whip, but realizing his hand was shaking and he had struck the wrong horse, he lashed the horse with the whip instead.

Before Sima Yi, who was almost whipped off his horse by Sima Shi, could react, his warhorse had already carried him forward in a panic.

The last few hundred elite troops and over a hundred heavily armored soldiers who remained in place, under the command of Sima Yi's personal guard and Sima Shi, charged towards the Han soldiers who had just emerged.

(End of this chapter)