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

Chapter 314 Those who are united in purpose will prevail.
Sima Yi knew that there was a man named Chen Dao in the Han army.

Among Liu Bei's fierce generals back then, in terms of prestige, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, Wei Qing, and Zhao Yun firmly occupied the top six positions.

After entering Sichuan, Wu Yi, Huo Jun, Huang Quan, and other later arrivals also showed remarkable talent.

But before these people became famous, there was actually a man named Zhao Yun who was considered to have the status of the seventh general.

This person was Chen Dao, who had followed Liu Bei since the time of Yuzhou.

Like Zhao Yun, Chen Dao served as Liu Bei's central army protector for most of the year and rarely led troops independently in the field.

But this does not mean that Chen Dao lacked the ability to command troops.

In fact, during his lifetime, Liu Bei once entrusted the White Feather Army to Chen Dao for command.

When Mi Wei was conquering the southern regions, he received a white feathered trinket from Chen Dao as a reserve for his troops.

Although Sima Yi was unaware of the details in Shu.

But during the standoff over the past six months, it was already known that there was such a fierce general who, single-handedly, guarded the city behind Zhao Yun's spies along the Fen River.

To ensure Zhao Yun's logistical needs are met, he can hold off the Wei army from Bingzhou and the Xianbei people's southward advance at the Guanjuejin line.

This, in turn, ensured that Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei maintained their offensive on the Hedong battlefield.

And now, this person has suddenly headed south.

Presumably, nothing unexpected happened to Zhao Yun.

It was because Zhuge Liang had gambled the fate of Hedong on this very day.

Therefore, in addition to the necessary personnel to block the passages.

They also brought Chen Dao back.

And with Chen Dao joining...

The Han and Wei cavalry, who were originally evenly matched on the north bank of the Sushui River, suddenly found themselves in a one-sided situation.

Although Hu Zun fought desperately, he was inevitably stretched thin by the enemy cavalry, which outnumbered him by two to one.

Not to mention that Chen Dao was a veteran general, whose ability to command troops was even better than that of the young Guan Xing.

How could Hu Zun possibly defeat him?

Cavalry battles are not like those of infantry, where troops slowly deploy and push each other.

If one cannot maneuver and maneuver, but instead directly confronts the enemy, victory or defeat can be decided in an instant.

So after that one rush.

No suspense.

Hu Zun's troops were defeated, and only half of them managed to escape.

The general's flag was toppled in the dust and smoke.

Because of the distance, Sima Yi couldn't even see whether Hu Zun was alive or not.

All I can do is silently pray that he can retreat smoothly to Wenxi and be received by Wu Zhi.

The thought of Wu Zhi made Sima Yi feel suffocated again.

This cannot be said to mean that Wu Zhi wronged himself.

After all, he carried out the main military orders effectively.

That little bit of trickery was entirely within expectations.

but.

in case.

Hypothesis.

He's not that cunning.

Selfishness outweighs public good.

Less self-doubt.

Instead, he followed Zhuge Liang... well, let's not go into that... just like Chen Dao, tirelessly heading south and immediately joining the battle.

If Wu Zhi had possessed such public-spiritedness, he would have joined forces with Hu Zun to suppress Guan Ping much earlier.

At that moment, Chen Dao arrived unexpectedly.

Hu Zun shouldn't have lost so decisively, right?!

Why couldn't Wu Zhi make a sacrifice or give something in return?

However, there are no "what ifs" in life.

As the situation on the north bank suddenly became clear.

The Wei army's right wing, the Han army's left wing, and Zhang Fei's Han army, which were closest to each other on the south bank, all reacted.

For the Wei army, this meant that in addition to Zhang Fei, there was another enemy force about to join the battlefield.

For the Han army, it was natural that they had already gained an advantage over the Wei army on some local battlefields.

If we don't press our advantage now, when will we?
The drumbeat of the counterattack was first sounded by Jiang Wan, the Chief Clerk of the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

Having fought to this point, Zhang Fei held back no longer and charged straight at a Wei general like a tiger descending a mountain.

In a single exchange, he cut him down from his horse.

His followers already knew that Zhang Fei was one of the most formidable warriors of his time.

The braver the general, the braver the soldiers.

As a result, the already weakened right wing of the Wei army finally succumbed to the pressure and showed signs of collapse.

Although knights from the left wing attempted to hold back the fleeing soldiers.

However, Zhang Fei was simply too brave and valiant.

Just as they managed to contain some of the fleeing soldiers, Zhang Fei caused even more to break out.

As the time goes.

This flank of the Wei army was thrown into complete chaos.

The cavalrymen found themselves caught in a chaotic mass of soldiers, unable to regroup, and had no choice but to seek a breakout. They no longer cared about the rout of the enemy.

Another half hour passed, and the sun was already nearing the western mountains.

After the more than 3,000 surviving Han cavalrymen on the north bank finished clearing out the remaining enemy, they did not stop collecting spoils of war, but instead crossed the river to reinforce the enemy as soon as possible.

With the arrival of these reinforcements, they launched another attack without hesitation.

The right wing of the Wei army finally collapsed completely.

Just like the Han army's right wing earlier.

At this moment, the left flank of the Wei army had just managed to shake off the disruptive Henan soldiers and retreated to flat ground without any ditches to block the way.

But at this point, facing the Han army with its high morale and numerical advantage, how could the Wei army, which had been fighting fiercely for most of the day, possibly cope?

Can we expect Xu Shu, who is unable to control his followers, to be a good leader?
Wu Zhi, hoping to escape to Wenxi as soon as possible?
Ren Gu, hoping to comfortably stand by and watch from the sidelines?

Or should he rely on Zhang He, who is currently having a falling out with him in Henan?

It’s impossible.

Sima Yi took a deep breath.

Then he spat it out forcefully.

A battle today.

It is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

It's not that their military strength is inferior.

The soldiers were not of good quality.

The problem is not a shortage of military rations.

The reason why it failed at the last minute.

The Wei army was suspicious of each other and could not fight as unitedly as the Han army!

The people on one side are not united.

One party has the same desires from top to bottom.

Who won and who lost, is it not obvious?
In this respect, I am indeed inferior to Zhuge Liang!
Thinking of this, Sima Yi couldn't help but lose confidence in the future of this battle.

But as he himself thought, at times like these, he would not engage in pointless struggles.

Instead, they began to plan their escape route.

The first step, of course, is to bring back the Wei army on the left flank.

Although the troops were exhausted, their morale remained high.

It is the foundation for one's future livelihood.

The second step is to try to gather the defeated right-wing troops together, but he certainly won't do it himself; instead, he'll send trusted confidants to do it.

As for himself, after receiving Zuo Jun, he quickly returned to the military camp to prepare for the subsequent retreat.

If we lose this battle today, all the cities along the Sushui River will surely fall.

However, as long as they retreat safely from the pass and rely on the natural defenses of the mountains, they can still effectively separate the Han army between the two basins.

This would provide a situation where, at least, it would appear that reinforcements to Luoyang could still be sent.

As for whether Luoyang will send reinforcements, that's not something he can consider right now.

Make sure you're safe first.

At this moment, Sima Yi was inexplicably pleased with Wu Zhi's cunning.

The Han army has now arrived at the south bank of the Sushui River.

With his troops on the north bank and the city providing cover, he could take the opportunity to retreat back to the pass and ensure Sima Yi's safety.

In fact, just as Sima Yi returned to the Su Nan military camp, Wu Zhi sent someone to report that he had arrived near the pass and there was no sign of Han army activity.

It is evident that Hao Zhao's Jiang County area still effectively restrained Feng Xi's forces.

Sima Yi was naturally overjoyed.

So the next day, under pressure from the Han army's pursuit, they began to organize a retreat.

This is another place that severely tests the generals' ability to command troops.

Fortunately, this time Sima Yi didn't need anyone else's cooperation and could take care of everything himself.

After losing countless more soldiers.

Sima Yi successfully led 10,000 Wei troops, including Xu Shu's Henan soldiers, back to the vicinity of the pass.

By this point, he was completely exhausted.

They even considered whether to simply withdraw back to Hanoi.

After all, Miwei was still causing trouble there.

Who knows what kind of mess that cunning barbarian will make of his hometown, and whether it will lead to a break in supplies?

But the thought of Zhang He, that old revolutionary, still stirring up trouble, and the Crown Prince not being close to him at all, made him hesitate.

I can't feel at ease unless I bring back some tangible military achievements.

"Lord Sima, something terrible has happened!"

That day, just as Sima Yi reached the pass, Xu Shu rushed over to find him in a panic.

Sima Yi was instinctively startled and asked urgently:

"But Zhuge Liang has led his troops to attack the camp again?"

Xu Shu chuckled inwardly, but feigned panic and said:

"Urgent report from Hanoi!"

"The bandit general Mi Weiming disrupted the grain supply route and secretly sent men to Zhuolu City to kidnap the Duke of Shanyang!"

"Huh?!" Sima Yi was speechless.

(End of this chapter)