Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 233 We must not leave trouble for the country and bring disaster to our descendants!
The sounds of drums and battle cries rose up simultaneously, shaking the heavens and the earth.

The Wei army came from all directions, determined to completely surround the Wu army in the valley.

Jia Kui held the banner on a hill opposite.

Looking down at the Wu army, who were unable to advance or retreat, Cao Xiu couldn't help but spit and snort coldly, "The strategist's strategy of turning beans into soldiers is indeed brilliant."

Huan Fan stood with his hands behind his back, looking rather arrogant.
"It's a pity that Wu's bandits only have a mere two or three hundred cavalry. If a thousand of them were trapped here, even if an army of one hundred thousand were to pursue them, they would surely collapse without a fight."

Cao Xiu was slightly disgusted by Huan Fan's arrogant attitude, but in any case, the "scattering beans to form soldiers" strategy offered by this strategist made Jia Kui's plan to lure the enemy deep into his territory and ambush them from all sides even more impeccable.

And indeed, as Huan Fan said, the Wu army had always lacked warhorses, and at this time the cavalry trapped in the valley numbered only two or three hundred.

If a thousand cavalry were trapped, it was entirely foreseeable that the Wu army would suffer a crushing defeat under the sweeping charge of over a thousand routed soldiers.

At this moment, Pei Qian, the governor of Jingzhou, spoke up:

"Grand Marshal, although the Wu army has few cavalry, its warhorses are a rare commodity in Wu."

"But according to the custom of Wu, only Sun Quan's trusted generals were given warhorses."

"Therefore, although there are only two or three hundred cavalry in the valley, the person in charge of commanding these hundreds of cavalry must undoubtedly be a general of the Wu army."

"If we only capture and kill one or two of Sun Quan's trusted generals, wouldn't the remaining Wu traitors lose their courage and spirit?"

Upon hearing Pei Qian's words, Cao Xiu immediately scanned the battlefield once more.

On the north side of the mountain road, there were about two or three thousand Wu soldiers. These were the fastest pursuers and were probably Wu's elite infantry.

In the middle of the valley were several hundred Wu cavalrymen, led by a Wu general.

After gazing into the distance for a moment, one could vaguely make out several tall banners, which seemed to confirm Pei Qian's words that they must be Wu generals.

Looking south along the mountain path, one could see a few thousand Wu soldiers sparsely pursuing them.

The Wu army was stretched out in a long line, with the front and rear armies separated by more than four or five miles. When they were suddenly attacked, it was already extremely difficult for the Wu general in the middle to organize the front and rear armies.

Now, the warhorses of Wu's general and his cavalry are completely out of control, making it almost impossible to transmit military orders.

The situation has reached a point where, while not quite as dire as Sun Bin's victory over Pang Juan, it is not far off.

However, in order to achieve such a favorable situation, Cao Xiu gave up a considerable amount of soldiers, armor, wealth, and provisions.

Cao Xiu was not satisfied with merely capturing or killing one or two Wu generals.

After a moment, he snorted again and said:
"That scoundrel Jia Kui said that Sun Quan had won by chance and was determined to follow Liu Shan's example, advancing recklessly because of his victory. Therefore, this ambush was set up for Sun Quan. But now it seems that Sun Quan is not here."

Pei Qian thought for a moment and said:
"It seems that Sun Quan's rear army is not far away, which is why Jia Yuzhou launched his attack at this time. If Sun Quan is as Jia Yuzhou predicted, rash and reckless, and personally leads his troops to rescue, then the old story of Xiaoyao Ford may very well be repeated here."

Cao Xiu looked south and slowly nodded.

To turn the tide of battle, their plans certainly couldn't be limited to just this.

Hu Zhi, the governor of Jiangxia, who was behind Wu Jun, had probably received the news by now and led the people of Jiangxia northward from the Suizao Pass.

Although Xiahou Ba, Cao Shuang, Qin Lang, and other members of the imperial clan had returned to Xiangfan ahead of time, the four or five thousand personal guards they brought with them had already spread out for dozens of miles under the leadership of their trusted generals, heading in the southwest and southeast directions.

Once Wu's army suffers a defeat, these few thousand men can join forces with Hu Zhi's Jiangxia troops to outflank Wu's army from the rear.

This is hardly a brilliant strategy; it's just the most conventional tactic.

During the Battle of Red Cliffs, Guan Yu once led a small force along a hidden path to intercept Wei's retreat.

In the Battle of Yiling, Wu generals such as Pan Zhang and Sun Huan also marched swiftly along the mountain paths north of Yiling and Wuxian to outflank the Han army and cut off their retreat.

Cao Xiu didn't expect to capture Sun Quan in one fell swoop, that would be a bit far-fetched, but he should be able to take back the many armors, soldiers, provisions and wealth lost since the defeat from the Wu army.

If he wins first and then loses, and loses and then wins again, that's two wins and one loss. At least he can give the emperor and the country an explanation.

In the valley.

No matter how Wu Jun urged his warhorse on, it remained unmoved and continued chewing beans.

The Wei army's war drums and battle cries shook the heavens and the earth. Many cavalrymen, out of anger and fear, whipped their horses even harder.

The result was that the warhorses were startled, and they either threw themselves at their owners or opened their mouths wide to bite.

The few thousand Wu soldiers who were pursuing the enemy the fastest instinctively turned around and fled back the way they came the moment the Wei army's war drums sounded and the ambush appeared.

Upon seeing Xu Sheng's banner from afar, they thought of gathering towards the commander, but before they could get close, they were rammed head-on by dozens of frenzied warhorses.

The formation, which had been barely holding together, was thrown into chaos once again by the collision with their own warhorses.

Looking around, one could see Wei troops surging in from all directions, both above and below, making it impossible to discern their numbers.

Wu's soldiers became increasingly panicked and could no longer organize themselves.

The middle section of the mountain road.

Xu Sheng finally calmed his warhorse and instinctively looked around. All he could see were heads and bodies of horses, a dense, dark mass, making it impossible to make out anything.

He quickly mounted his warhorse and looked around from the high vantage point.

Only after taking one look did they finally see the situation clearly.

After a moment's hesitation, his eyes widened in anger, and he roared at the guard who was leading his horse: "Pass on my order, execute the horse!"

The dozens of guards around him were taken aback at first.

Then, disregarding everything else, they shouted in unison, "By General Andong's order, execute Ma!"

"General Andong's order: execute Ma!"

"Kill the horse!"

The orders to behead the horses rose and fell in succession.

However, to Xu Sheng's surprise, although his hundreds of cavalrymen heard the order to kill the horse, they all hesitated and none of them took action.

Warhorses are precious, and they were bestowed with warhorses by the emperor, becoming rare cavalrymen in the Wu army. Their glory was unparalleled. It can be said that they cherished their warhorses more than their wives. Even if they were temporarily a nuisance to their masters, how could they bear to kill them?

"Hurry up and do it! If you don't do it now, we'll both die here today!" Xu Sheng, in shock and anger, dismounted and then drew his sword, a fleeting look of reluctance and torment in his eyes.

With a powerful slash, he brought down his sword, and his old companion, whom he had brought from Chaisang and had spent more than six years with, died instantly, his blood splattering all over his sleeve.

He raised his hand to wipe his face and roared again, "All of you, cut down the horses! Anyone who doesn't cut down the horses by the time the drums stop beheading them!"

Ding Feng froze for a moment, first glancing at the warhorse he had already calmed down, then roaring with red eyes, "Slay!"

He immediately drew his precious sword from his waist and resolutely slashed it across his beloved horse's neck.

Before Emma could react, she collapsed, blood spurting out, flying several meters into the air.

At this moment, Xu Sheng bent down, took a small drum from the back of his beloved horse named "Chasing the Wind," and then vigorously struck the war drum with the hilt of his knife.

"—Knock knock knock!"

The cavalrymen surrounding Xu Sheng were initially stunned.

As Xu Sheng's war drums were about to end, some cavalrymen finally raised their swords with tears in their eyes and, like Xu Sheng and Ding Feng, slashed at their warhorses.

One person, two people... five people... ten people...

A flash of light, and the horse fell, the man wept.

In an instant, horse sweat, human sweat, horse tears, human tears, blood, pungent beans... all sorts of flavors mingled together.

The ground was sticky and gooey.

The sound of hooves completely disappeared. Only the dying whimpers of warhorses remained.

Xu Sheng stepped over the horse carcass, firmly supporting his banner, his voice hoarse from shouting:
"Follow my banner!"

"Go north, not south!"

"Anyone who dares to face south, behead them on either side!"

At almost the same time, Ding Feng also issued the exact same order.

The two large banners, one with the character "Xu" and the other with the character "Ding", are facing north in perfect unison.

To the north were the elite vanguard troops who had been chasing Cao Cao's army the fastest and fighting the most fiercely.

If these elite infantrymen cannot be organized, they will likely be trapped here today.

Just then, the most valiant vanguard of the Wei army charged forward.

They were daredevils recruited by Cao Xiu, and were originally outlaws.

As the side setting up the ambush, they also receive a morale boost.

Seeing the Wu army's banner right before them, each soldier looked like a hungry wolf or a fierce tiger, baring their claws and teeth.

On the other side, Ding Feng, who was always at the forefront of every battle and had the spirit of Zhou Tai, charged to the front. He slashed left and right with his long sword, but after killing only five or six Wei soldiers, the blade was already chipped.

Ding Feng didn't stop at all, but continued to charge forward, step by step, slashing heavily with his sword, as if cutting melons and vegetables.

Just as Ding Feng killed another man, and the knife became embedded in the Wei soldier's bone and could not be pulled out, a Wei junior officer raised his spear and stabbed him in the waist.

He stepped aside, grabbed the gun barrel, dragged the Wei soldier over, and then swiftly drew a dagger from his waist, slicing the Wei man's neck with a single stroke.

Blood splattered all over his face, crimson filling his eyes.

He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, quickly sheathed the dagger at his waist, then with a mighty pull, drew the long sword from the corpse of the Wei soldier he had just encountered, and continued charging towards the Wei army with unwavering determination.

A Wei soldier rushed forward and grabbed Ding Feng's waist, which was as thick as a water bucket.

As a result, Ding Fengxian used his sword to prop up the ground, then grabbed the Wei man by the waist and performed a spectacular back throw. He then struck the Wei man hard on the temple with his elbow, killing him instantly.

Seeing their commander so brave and fierce, the Wu soldiers behind Ding Feng were all emboldened, their courage and fighting spirit instantly ignited.

Although the Wei army's daredevils were fierce and brave, these Wu soldiers who were granted warhorses were the elite of the Wu army, having fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How could they be weaker than the Wei army?!

"kill!"

"Die, you dog Wei!"

Before long, the hundred-plus elite Wu soldiers behind Ding Feng successfully joined forces with Ding Feng to sweep away dozens of Wei soldiers who were on the front lines of a suicide attack.

Seeing this situation, the Wei army dared not advance, and a small vacuum quickly appeared on the originally tense and chaotic battlefield.

On the other side, Xu Sheng carried the banner northward.

Whenever a Wei soldier dared to charge forward, he would use his banner as a long staff to sweep down the approaching Wei soldiers.

Some of the Wei soldiers were armed with crossbows and bows, and they kept hurling arrows at the direction of the banner. Xu Sheng was soon hit by more than ten arrows, and he was like a hedgehog or porcupine. Many of the arrows were embedded in his flesh, but he seemed not to notice and continued to charge northward with the banner.

Cao Xiu, Huan Fan, Pei Qian, and the others watched silently as the scenes unfolded on the battlefield below the mountain, their brows furrowed, speechless.

They truly hadn't expected that Wu Jun's slaying of Ma would be so clean and swift, and even more unexpectedly, that Wu's elite troops in the central region would not only not flee south, but instead raise their banners and head north to support the routed soldiers.

“This must be a great general of Wu and a formidable enemy of Wei!” Cao Xiu finally spoke up.

"Pass on my order: surround and kill all the Wu people at the foot of the mountain here. We must not leave any trouble for the country or bring disaster to our descendants!"

"only!"

Cao Xiu's personal guards responded with a roar and immediately rushed down the mountain.

On the battlefield.

When the Wu soldiers in the far north saw that their commander not only did not abandon them but instead raised his banner and marched north, and when they saw that the originally arrogant Wei army was being slaughtered and forced to retreat, their scattered morale finally began to stabilize.

Before long, under the reassurance and command of a group of mid-level officers such as captains, marshals, and military commanders, the northern Wu army fought and retreated, slowly heading south towards the tall banners of generals Xu Sheng and Ding Feng.

On the high slope, Jia Kui, who had been confident, frowned as he watched the Wu army's formation stabilize. After a moment, he left the platform, snatched the drumstick from the drummer, and personally began to beat the war drum.

The drums beat like thunder.

Dian Man, carrying a pair of eighty-pound iron halberds, led over a hundred elite troops down the left hillside.

He charged ahead, his eyes fixed on the tall banner bearing the character "Xu," wielding his halberd to kill enemies while shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Let not a single one escape! Slay the generals and seize the flag—today is the day!"

On the other side, Man Chong's son, Man Wei, also led his men to charge down from the other side.

He remained calm and composed, simply drawing the powerful bow in his hand to its fullest extent.

With a gentle release of his right finger, an arrow flew out and pierced the throat of a junior officer in the Wu army.

He then took out another arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and fired it, killing another man.

He pursed his lips, the corners of his mouth slightly downturned, as if he felt the killing wasn't fast enough.

Generals Xu Sheng and Ding Feng had already brought over several thousand soldiers from the north, and the two generals continued to issue orders.

Upon receiving the order, Wu's soldiers formed ranks and advanced slowly, fighting as they retreated, heading south.

Soon, the Wu army in the southern section joined forces with the troops under the command of Xu Sheng and Ding Feng.

At this moment, Xu Sheng had lost too much blood and looked pale. He was also about to collapse due to exhaustion.

On the other side, Ding Feng, caught up in the killing frenzy, actually tried to charge into Cao Cao's army again.

Despite feeling intensely dizzy, Xu Sheng mustered all his strength and shouted an order for Ding Feng to retreat:
"Chengyuan, no!"
"The survival of the entire army rests on a single thought!"

Upon hearing this order, Ding Feng gritted his teeth and turned around.

Cao Xiu, Jia Kui, Pei Qian, and the others all descended the mountain at this moment.

Although he knew that it was impossible to win the battle today, he still had a backup plan, so he ordered his army to continue the pursuit.

However, after pursuing them for less than ten miles, the Wu army, which had been fighting and retreating, suddenly stopped its retreat and instead slowly headed north again.

Seeing the Wu army pressing forward, the Wei army dared not advance rashly.

While Cao Xiu and Jia Kui were filled with surprise and doubt.

The striker suddenly galloped back.

Lu Xun and Sun Quan's rear army arrived suddenly.

The soldiers of Xiahou Ba, Cao Shuang, and Qin Lang, numbering in the thousands, had been defeated by Wu general Lu Xun and scattered in all directions.

Upon hearing this, Jia Kui immediately realized that not only did they have a backup plan, but the Wu army also had one. He couldn't help but curse angrily:
"They're lucky to be alive!"

He then raised his hand to signal to stop the pursuit.

Although Cao Xiu was unwilling, upon hearing that his backup plan had been thwarted by Lu Xun and Sun Quan, he dared not continue the pursuit. He muttered something under his breath and then turned to leave with Huan Fan.

Not long.

Both Wei and Wu withdrew their troops and went their separate ways, one to the north and the other to the south.

(End of this chapter)