Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 121 The Han army has arrived, do not move!
"Recently, I have often taught Your Majesty to read history. Does Your Majesty know the story of Han Xin?"

Zhao Ji smiled faintly, her cool gaze looking up at Hun Tu Xie on the main seat.

"Is Aji testing me again? Han Xin's military strategy is like that of a god, how could I not know that?"

"Your Majesty is indeed eager to learn."

The strategy for defeating the enemy that I will discuss today is the one used by Han Xin in his desperate battle with his back to the river.

In the past, King Zhao's general Chen Yu led an army of 200,000 to meet Han Xin.

Han Xin led his troops to set up a battle formation with their backs to the river, which made the Zhao army laugh.

At daybreak, Han Xin commanded his vanguard to attack the Zhao army. After fighting for a while, they feigned a retreat and ambushed the Zhao forces by the river.

When Zhao's army pursued them to the riverbank, the main force of the Han army had nowhere to retreat, and they fought bravely and fiercely.

Although Zhao's army numbered 200,000, they could not win after a prolonged battle, ultimately leading to a major defeat.

Your Majesty may deploy your troops today at the Sui River in Liang State, with your backs to the river. First, send a small force to feign defeat against Yuan's army. Once they have pursued you to the Sui River, lead your army to fight with your backs to the river. A desperate battle will surely defeat the enemy.

If that's the case, even if Yuan's army did have 200,000 men, as Sun Qing claimed, it would still be a repeat of the fate of Zhao's army in the past.

"What you say makes sense. Even a cornered beast will try to survive. When soldiers have nowhere to retreat and are driven into a desperate situation, how can they not fight to the death and kill the enemy?"

Hun Tu Xie Wen listened to her talk in a very logical and eloquent way, even quoting scriptures and allusions. How could he not believe it?

What about the surrounding Xiongnu generals?
You should know that when Cai Zhaoji quoted classical texts, she was speaking from the original text of the Records of the Grand Historian, which is full of profound and subtle meanings. What could these Xiongnu people understand except for the name Han Xin?

It is said that the military strategies of Han Xin, the God of War, could not be bad.

It was immediately put into action under the organization of Hun Tu Xie.

On the other hand, when Yuan Shu had annihilated the two Black Mountain chieftains, Wang Yan and Li Cen, and recovered the troops in the area, his main force was back to 21,000 men.

We were shocked to hear from our soldiers that the Xiongnu were leading an army to attack, with their vanguard of a thousand men already charging towards our forces. The main force of the Xiongnu Left Wise King, consisting of four thousand men, was arrayed with their backs to the Sui River.

A desperate formation with their backs to the river?

Yuan Shu and Zhou Yu looked at each other, completely baffled. They couldn't understand why a cavalry unit would form a battle line with their backs to the river. Were they afraid of escaping?
Although he found it strange, he still followed the original plan and sent Yuan Shu's only four thousand cavalrymen to meet the enemy.

However, considering that the Xiongnu cavalry were elite and extremely skilled in mounted warfare, and that they had now adopted such a strange back-to-the-river formation.

Just in case, Yuan Shu still instructed Sun Ce behind him.

"Where is my son, Bo Fu?"

"The strategy is here!"

"I now command you to lead four thousand cavalry to defeat the Xiongnu. Do you dare accept this order?"

"Why wouldn't I dare?"
"Whatever my adoptive father commands, I dare not disobey."

Sun Ce calmly accepted the order, but inwardly he was overjoyed, thinking to himself, "Could it be that I will finally have the opportunity to lead my troops out?"

"Then you shall go with Zhongkang and lead the troops."

Sun Ce: "."

These four thousand cavalrymen were the personal guards that Yuan Shu often took with him. Now, with Xu Chu, the commander of the personal guard battalion, there was no chance for him to win.

Unless he can also abduct Xu Chu.

He felt a slight disappointment, but his expression remained expressionless.

Before leaving, Yuan Shu called Xu Chu back, saying, "The Xiongnu's troop deployment this time is quite strange."

"Zhongkang, on this trip, you and your Xu family members can don those new armors to ensure my son's safety."

"Rest assured, my lord, if we gain the advantage of the new armor, we will surely win this battle and will not allow Prince Bofu to suffer any loss." In this situation, even Sun Ce, who was disappointed by his failure to escape once again, was moved by the exchange between Yuan Shu and Xu Chu.

Even his biological father, Sun Jian, had never shown such concern for his son's life on the battlefield.

After all, his father was a strict military leader who treated everyone equally. There was only a distinction between generals and soldiers, not between father and son.

It is even more inappropriate to treat him with kindness and care, lest it disrupt the morale of the troops.

But with my godfather, it seems like he's genuinely treating me well.
Indeed, his adoptive father's military strategy differed from his father's. It would be strange if his army did not differentiate between those close to him and those who were not.

Then it seems only natural for him to care for and protect his adopted son, the future heir to the Yuan family's great enterprise.

wrong?

Sun Ce immediately became vigilant. He was sure he couldn't be fooled by the words "you should strive harder" when he was talking about being the heir to the Yuan family's great cause.

We must not succumb to these fabricated displays of fatherly affection, the authenticity of which is unknown.

However, considering this special care that even his biological father, Sun Jian, had never given him, he decided to give it to him.

What if Ce'er takes the head of the Xiongnu Left Wise King for his adoptive father today?
Sun Ce was overwhelmed with mixed feelings and lost in thought, but for Yuan Shu, he simply wanted to test the effectiveness of the new batch of armor produced by Yuan's Heavy Industry in Shouchun City.

These armors were specially commissioned by Yuan Shu after he witnessed Guan Yu's duel with Sun Ce.

Liu Bei only managed to have a set of armored cavalry gear made for Guan Yu.

But for Yuan Gonglu, anything that could be solved with money and food was never a problem.

After that day, he immediately ordered Yan Xiang to arrange for craftsmen in Shouchun to make and send it over.

Despite the limited time and difficulties in production, only twenty-eight pieces have been produced so far.

However, these twenty-eight full suits of armor were worn by Xu Chu and his burly clansmen, who formed a large sword squad around him.

This should give the Xiongnu people a small shock from the Han Dynasty's military achievements.

Meanwhile, near the Sui River, a Xiongnu general was leading a thousand men toward Yuan's army's position.

He constantly thought about feigning defeat to lure the Han people into an encirclement with their backs to the river, fearing that he might ruin the queen's plan.

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, the sound of thunderous hooves filled the air as a Han Chinese cavalry charged toward them, raising clouds of dust.

The first man shouted, "I am the adopted son of General Yuan Shao of the Han Dynasty, and the Little Conqueror Sun Ce! Anyone who stands in my way shall die!"

One man and one horse charged into battle.

Twenty-seven riders followed behind, and then four thousand cavalrymen arrived.

The Xiongnu general laughed when he saw this scene: the enemy commander, alone with a spear, was the first to charge into their cavalry's position of a thousand men.
Isn't this courting death?

He immediately ordered his cavalry to charge forward and meet the enemy. He was also thinking about how to make the feigned defeat look convincing after he killed this arrogant enemy commander.

If the commander dies, Yuan's army will collapse and flee, which would delay the queen's plan.

While he hesitated, a scene that left him speechless unfolded on the battlefield.

The Xiongnu cavalry met the enemy commander as if the tide had crashed against a reef, and he cleaved through the waves.

The twenty-seven riders that followed acted as a pillar in the middle of the stream, relentlessly diverting the Xiongnu cavalry like a tidal wave.

The Xiongnu were all light cavalry, hardly wearing any armor. If they were to run head-on into Sun Ce and Xu Chu, who were fully armored and led the remaining twenty-six heavy cavalry, it would be like the sea hitting a reef.

As they broke through the gap, four thousand of Yuan's light cavalry pressed forward.

(End of this chapter)