The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 233 How Many Talented People the Han Army Has

"The Wei army is about to cross the river."

Deng Ai squatted by the roadside, holding a twig in his hand.

His gaze, however, was fixed on the Zhi River behind Kunyang.

On the north bank, Wei cavalrymen were galloping along the river.

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves drowned out the roar of the rushing river.

to the opposite.

The south bank, however, was eerily quiet.

Even with several layers of perimeter fencing, inside the fencing were three-section crossbows specially left by Ma Zhong, equipped with improved repeating crossbows.

However, even when faced with the massive cavalry force of the Wei army, the auxiliary soldiers and laborers remained fearful and uneasy.

I didn't even dare to speak loudly.

They were afraid of arousing the enemy cavalry's murderous intent.

Deng Ai remained silent.

But it wasn't fear.

He was just thinking about what happened last year.

At that time, he went south alone to devise strategies for Xu Miao to defend against the Han army.

He could even clearly remember what that small awning boat looked like.

Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, everything has changed.

Now it's my turn to plan defenses against the Wei army for the Han army.

The situation remains one of preparing for a stronger opponent while being weaker.

He remained an assistant official.

However, they have more authority and more initiative.

This is probably the reason behind the saying in Zuo Zhuan, "Birds choose trees."

A scholar of humble origin like myself would probably only be able to find employment by serving under the Shu Han dynasty.

While he was pondering, the Wei knights on the opposite bank had already gone far away.

Shortly after, scouts from Jiang Wei's forces reported that traces of Wei troops had been discovered in the vicinity of Yanxian downstream, urging Deng Ai's side to be on guard.

Deng Ai thanked the other party.

Turning around, he caused two of Zhang Shizhong's three moves to quickly move to the wooden enclosure to the south, while the other move went to the north to keep an eye on Xiahou Ba.

Everyone must be prepared for battle.

Although the command is executed immediately.

However, some military officers were quite puzzled.

The Wei army was either in the north, such as Xiahou Ba's forces, which were surrounded by the Han army.

It could be in Yanxian, downstream to the east, as the scouts just reported.

What does "going south in two separate ways" mean?
Deng Ai did not hide anything:

"The reason why the enemy moved east must be that they found no place to cross the Zhi River along its banks, so they detoured to Yanxian downstream and crossed the Ru River directly."

“Yanxian was recaptured by Xiahou Ba last year, so a pontoon bridge must have been built there.”

"Once you cross the Ru River and turn west, there is only a narrow and shallow Kun River blocking your way, which is not enough to stop Cao Hong's cavalry."

The Kun River is located south of Kunyang, which is the origin of the latter's name.

At this point, everyone standing on the high ground could see it from afar.

It really is just a small waterway.

During periods of high water levels, it may serve as a moat.

Unfortunately, the season isn't right now.

In the afternoon, a large amount of dust suddenly appeared on the opposite bank of the Kunming River.

Amidst the rising dust, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves followed closely behind.

The Wei cavalry, who were galloping along the north bank of the Zhi River in the morning, had already circled around to the other side of the river south of Kunyang in just half a day.

Such a powerful speed of advance and equally powerful execution were something Deng Ai had anticipated, but he still couldn't help but become solemn.

Anyway.

The cavalry in front of us are the most powerful troops of this era.

none of them.

The Wei army did not linger for long before the Kun River.

After figuring out where the water was shallow, the riders split up and quickly rode north across the river.

However, half an hour later, a thousand vanguard knights had assembled in formation on the north bank of the Kun River.

Then, led by a general's flag bearing the character "Cao," they charged straight towards the walls of Kunyang.

On Deng Ai's side, some laborers, unable to withstand the imposing presence of the charging cavalry, fled in disarray.

Then Deng Ai personally drew his bow and shot him dead beneath a wooden fence.

"Laborers may not fight when facing the enemy, but those who act without orders shall be executed!"

At this moment, Deng Ai not only did not stutter, but also exuded the majesty of a general.

All the soldiers were startled, and no one dared to move again.

A moment later, the Wei cavalry had advanced to the outermost layer of barricades.

As expected, it swiftly swept across and launched its bow.

Arrows rained down in an instant.

However, due to its sufficient depth and the short range of the horse archer.

Therefore, most of these volleys failed to reach the Han troops behind the encirclement.

The few that managed to shoot further had already lost their momentum and were easily blocked by the soldiers in the front row holding shields.

This is repeated several times.

The Han army within the encirclement suffered almost no losses, and their courage gradually grew. However, Deng Ai remained inactive.

He simply observed the enemy troops intently, watching them move back and forth, remaining silent.

……

"The garrison commander in that village is a seasoned veteran; I'm afraid we won't be able to lure him out."

Cao Hong looked at Cao Tai returning on horseback, his tone full of regret.

The latter exhaled a long breath of white air and said:
"Then let's change it to a hard thrust?"

Cao Hong countered, "From where do you plan to break in?"

Cao Tai raised his whip and pointed to the high slope on the east side outside Kunyang City.

Cao Hong's gaze sharpened slightly, and he said, "Then let's go."

Cao Tai stopped wasting words and led his knights northward once more.

But this time the focus has shifted to the Northeast.

Xiahou Ba, who had established his camp on the west and south sides of Kunyang City, saw the movements of his allies from afar, paused for a moment, and couldn't help but burst into curses.

If he is in the west, and allied forces disregard everything and head west, they can coordinate with him from within and without to break through the encirclement.

But it's clear that Cao Tai isn't quite at the level of "disregarding everything."

The reason.

The western side is near mountains, and the roads are mostly rugged.

The cavalry galloped on this side, but the horses couldn't run fast.

Without speed, larger warhorses were easily hunted down by Han soldiers' archers and crossbowmen who were stationary and firing from a distance.

While the high slope on the east side is also uneven, it is only that one slope that is uneven.

The area below the slope is all flat and open racecourse.

Previously, Jiang Wei led his cavalry out of the city and set up camp here, precisely because this slope was advantageous to his eight hundred cavalry, allowing them to advance or retreat as needed, and to form a strategic alliance with Wang Ping's troops in the city.

With Jiang Wei's cavalry now fully deployed, Napo, due to its small size, has become the weakest point in the Han army's encirclement.

At the closest possible distance, a cavalry archer firing upwards could cover a large area of ​​the hilltop.

This is actually true.

Cao Tai followed the same tactics he had used to attack the wooden fortifications south of the city.

Knights from various units took turns stepping forward and unleashing a rain of arrows.

Although the Han army on the hilltop immediately retaliated, they found it difficult to inflict significant casualties on the Wei cavalry who were charging at high speed.

This cannot be compensated for by the extra one or two hundred paces of range that foot archers have over horse archers.

For a warhorse galloping at high speed, a hundred steps is just a matter of a few breaths.

In short, after repeated attacks, the Han army's lines on this side finally began to waver.

The large Han army in the south had to move east to provide support.

As a result, a gap finally appeared in the western defense line.

Xiahou Ba did not delay any longer and immediately led his troops to break out to the south.

At the same time, the remaining Wei cavalry who had already crossed the Kun River also sent a portion of them to dig in this direction to support Xiahou Ba.

For a time, the Han army's main camp was filled with the deafening sounds of battle from the south, north, and east.

"Clear the road first, and don't get too entangled with the Han army!"

Cao Hong remained firmly in control of the rear, not forgetting to send troops to remind the unit that was supposed to support Xiahou Ba.

However, the soldiers have not yet set off.

The northernmost city of Kunyang suddenly had its gates wide open.

A large number of city guards filed out of the gate and quickly gathered under a banner with the character "王" (king), forming a neat array.

During this period, Xiahou Ba frequently came to the city to provoke them.

Wang Ping consistently ignored it.

As a result, Xiahou Ba concluded that he had exhausted himself in the city and was no longer able to fight.

Even Cao Hong thought so.

But at this moment, looking at the spirited Wang Ping...

Looking at the Kunyang Han army, whose numbers were few but whose formation was well-organized.

Both Cao Hong and Xiahou Ba suddenly realized the truth.

Wang Ping was not incapable of fighting or afraid to fight.

Instead, they waited for the best opportunity to fight.

Then, unleash a powerful strike.

Right now!
dong dong dong...

Amidst the deep and resounding beat of war drums from the city walls, Wang Ping's troops marched forward with a thunderous roar, heading straight for the rear of Xiahou Ba's column.

The latter was already engaged in battle with the soldiers that Deng Ai had deliberately left in the northern part of Dazhai.

Once they turn around, they will be exposing their backs to the powerful crossbows of the Han army.

There is no way to avoid it.

It is precisely a situation where the beginning and the end cannot take care of each other.

Meanwhile, the Wei knights who went to relieve the siege were still struggling to clear the deer antlers and barricades along the way.

They also had to endure frequent barrages of crossbow fire from the Han army on their flanks, making progress slow.

Upon seeing this, Cao Hong couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh.

His desperate raid for a day failed to achieve the desired surprise effect.

Instead, their deployment was anticipated by the enemy, leaving them vulnerable at every turn.

Didn't the spy say that Mi Wei wasn't in Ye County?

So who is commanding this battle?

How many talented people are there in the Han army?
(End of this chapter)