Chapter 3 Beacon Flames XVII
In the muddy valley, a strange battle is going on.
This is probably the most humiliating battle Ji Ling has ever fought in his life: none of the enemies on the opposite side are wearing armor, but the wounded are always the soldiers on his side.
Just when Ji Ling was shocked by Zhao Yun's strange spear skills, the soldiers and horses who ambushed him had all come to him. Well-trained soldiers, sometimes do not need to wait for the orders of the generals, from the adjutant general to the army commander, Ji Ling's soldiers and horses quickly prepared for defense.
The shield formations formed to defend against bows and arrows just now spread out, and the infantry formed a neat quadrangle, while the cavalry waited behind the infantry. When Zhao Yun's troops approached, the infantry formation on Ji Ling's side quickly changed formation, opened several formation gates, and the cavalry rushed out of the formation gates alternately, rushing towards the cavalry on the opposite side.
The people in cloth clothes on the other side seemed to them no different from shelled eggs.
It's just that to the surprise of these proud cavalrymen, Zhao Yun's cavalry troops actually did the same thing as him - they all dismounted!
At this time, Ji Ling's cavalry understood why the horizontal distance would be so large when the enemy rushed just now. It turned out that it was to leave room to dismount and avoid being hit by the war horse behind.
And once the war horse lacked the drive of the cavalry, it no longer maintained its formation, and rushed towards Ji Ling's cavalry indiscriminately.
The direct consequence of this was that the war horses of the cavalry on Ji Ling's side instinctively avoided the enemy war horses running in front, causing the formation to disperse in an instant.
After Zhao Yun's subordinates dismounted, they ran forward in a neat line. Each of them had two short spears in their hands, half the length of a standard spear, and those who didn't know thought their weapons had been broken.
After these people approached Ji Ling's cavalry, they bypassed from both sides, but at the same time in the past, two short spears were thrown at the same time.
Ji Ling's cavalry were still trying to control the war horses to break free from the enemy's war horses, when they suddenly heard the wind in their ears. Some soldiers reacted quickly and hurriedly lowered their heads to dodge, while those who reacted slowly were stabbed with short guns, and some were even stabbed two or three times at the same time.
The vanguard of Zhao Yun's troops stopped after throwing their guns, and then they suddenly turned around and ran to the middle, coming to the scattered herd of cavalry and horses. They casually stepped on a deserted horse, pulled out a short spear from the soldier next to them, and then fought with the cavalry around them who had not been shot.
On Ji Ling's side, the infantry phalanx had already begun to advance at this time, wanting to support the cavalry, but was stopped by the second round of arrows. The archers under Zhao Yun didn't need to aim at all, because the infantry was lined up in a phalanx, they only needed to estimate the approximate position and shoot from the top. Moreover, they all held longbows horizontally, and each time they made a bow, two arrows were shot together. The archers still took turns shooting in two rows, and although they were not accurate, they kept the arrows dense.
The infantry had to hold their shields diagonally, put them on top of each other, and advance in a half-crouching position.
Fortunately, the archers on Zhao Yun's side did not have any arrows, and there were only about twenty arrows in the quiver, and some of the initial suppression was consumed, plus now they fired two arrows at a time, so this round of arrow rain ended in a very short time.
But this was enough, most of the 20,000 cavalry in front had been wiped out by Zhao Yun's men.
Rushing to kill in front of the battle, Ji Ling's cavalry is skilled, but in this situation of being unable to move, the mobility is almost zero. Zhao Yun's subordinates did not fight them on horses at all, but used their horses as pedals and continued to jump and stab.
It was like being stuck in a quagmire with your upper body pecked by countless crows.
When Ji Ling's infantry arrived, only 5,000 of the 20,000 cavalry remained, and they were all wounded, but they were not killed because of their relatively high martial arts.
At this time, more than 8,000 soldiers in Ji Ling's infantry formation slowly took off their excess armor, leaving only some important parts to protect. They shielded their left hand and stabbed their right hand, and walked towards Zhao Yun's men with angry eyes.
The cavalry, who barely survived, were wounded and retreated behind the infantry one after another, and the more than 8,000 infantry who had lost their armor gradually pressed forward.
Zhao Yun's men were all on horses, quietly observing these approaching enemies, and gradually, they all saw a hint of surprise in the eyes of their companions - these were Danyang soldiers!
The people of Danyang were vigorously recruited by the nearby princes because of their bravery and endurance and perseverance, which far surpassed the ordinary people. Of course, Yuan Shu would not only let Tao Qian have such a powerful soldier, and he took the opportunity to gather many Danyang soldiers by taking advantage of a few small fights with Tao Qian before.
Under Ji Ling's training, these soldiers have added mutual cooperation and the evolution of formations on the basis of the original martial arts and bravery. It can be said that the power exerted by this army under Yuan Shu is beyond Tao Qian's reach.
Looking at the approaching enemy, Zhao Yun's men slowly moved their feet to the stirrups, holding the reins in one hand and the short spear in the other. After that, they suddenly broke out, driving their horses towards the enemy.
Taking advantage of the lightness of the horseless to attack the trapped cavalry, and then using the mobility of the horse to attack the infantry with a large shield, this strategy is indeed clever. But after all, in the battle just now, Zhao Yun's more than 20,000 people and horses have already consumed thousands, and the archers have no arrows and no other weapons, which is equivalent to a fictitious.
Ji Ling's soldiers who were not from Danyang also roared, rushed forward, and fought with Zhao Yun's men.
……
But the opposite of this fierce battle, Ji Ling and Zhao Yun were just standing in the muddy water.
Yes, Ji Ling also dismounted. By looking at Zhao Yun's marksmanship just now, he was sure of one thing: on the horse, he would only be tortured to death by his speed.
But after getting off the horse, Ji Ling found himself in another embarrassment - Zhao Yun didn't move!
Zhao Yun just looked at him quietly, and he was also guarding against Zhao Yun's possible attack at any time. But soon he understood that Zhao Yun would not do it, his purpose was to drag himself. Although the number is superior, after all, the tactics used by Zhao Yun's subordinates are something that his soldiers have never seen, and if it goes on like this, even the Danyang soldiers will be consumed.
But at this time, he had no way to command, and he couldn't even turn his head. He knew very well that Zhao Yun had been waiting for the opportunity, and the moment his attention shifted to that side, Zhao Yun would launch an attack on him.
It was a very helpless choice, although he was unwilling, but in order to save more troops, Ji Ling glared at Zhao Yun and shouted vigorously: "The whole army listens to the order and retreats!" ”
His soldiers were stunned for a moment, then they understood the embarrassing situation their main general was in, and without any hesitation, Ji Ling's troops quickly got rid of the enemy and gathered behind him.
"Zhao Yun, I remember you." Ji Ling's eyes were full of anger, he gritted his teeth, and waved his hand to signal the remnants of the army to retreat.
He carefully guarded Zhao Yun, took a few steps backwards, and got out of the dangerous distance before riding his horse and arching his hand at Zhao Yun.
"Take care, General." Zhao Yun stuck the thin gun on the ground and returned the salute.
On the premise that he had nothing to do with Liu Bei, Mi Zhu used Zhao Yun to remove the last obstacle that affected Liu Bei to take over Xuzhou Mu.
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Yanzhou, a suburb of Puyang, Cao Jun camp.
After many days of cultivation, Duan Xuan, who was wrapped in bandages, was finally able to go to the ground, but the doctor still let him rest more.
Nie Hong was ordered by Cao Cao to guard him every step of the way. Because even Cao Cao, when he learned what happened, he was shocked into a cold sweat. Therefore, he issued a strict order, no matter what in the future, Duan Xuan is not allowed to act alone, even if he goes to the toilet, he must be accompanied!
This is a joke, of course, but it shows how seriously Cao Cao attaches this matter.
And at this moment, Duan Xuan was trying to sneak out quietly while Nie Hong closed his eyes and recuperated.
"Where are you going?" Nie Hong didn't even open his eyes, and said lazily.
"Ahh ~~~ Nie Shuai, you're going to scare someone to death! Duan Xuan was so frightened that he almost tore off the bandage and yelled angrily.
"In view of the 'steadyness' of the military division, I have been clearly ordered to take good care of the military division, how dare I fall asleep."
"Alas! Forget it, I just don't go out. Duan Xuan sat back on the bed again, sulking with his cheeks puffed out.
Nie Hong slowly opened his eyes, looked at Duan Xuan, and couldn't help but smile.
"What is Nie Shuai laughing at!"
"Oh, I'm just thinking about how the enemy would feel if he knew that our army was so naughty."
"Humph!" Duan Xuan didn't look away and stopped looking at him.
Nie Hong lowered his head again, closing his eyes as if he was asleep.
"I haven't asked, are all your subordinates still used to this barracks?" If he didn't speak all the time, Duan Xuan would be suffocated by himself. So, he opened his mouth first.
"It's quite habitual, but a few days ago, Xu Chu and Wei Tao returned to their hometown with more than a dozen people."
Although the Qingzhou Yellow Turban surrendered to Cao Cao, Duan Xuan had an appointment with Cao Cao in advance, and his internal affairs were handled by himself and were not under Cao Cao's control. So even if someone leaves, as long as Nie Hong knows, he will not be punished by military law.
"Oh? Why is that? Duan Xuan was a little curious. After all, it is somewhat unreasonable to leave the ranks in wartime.
"Their fellow villagers came a few days ago and said that the villagers were often robbed by bandits. When they learned that Xu Chu was here, they hoped that he would go back to protect the village. I also hesitated a few times before agreeing, after all, one cannot speak clearly to ordinary people; Xu Chu has always been worried about his hometown, so he just wanted him to go back and see. ”
"Oh, there are only a dozen people missing, and I guess the lord won't ask in detail, so it's okay."
Nie Hong nodded and changed the subject: "You suggested that the lord withdraw the army yesterday, but what was your intention?" ”
But it is true. Originally, our army was already in a hurry to get food, coupled with the sudden outbreak of locust plagues, there was no harvest, and the people were still hungry, how could they fight for food for this already dilapidated Puyang City. It's better to go back to Juancheng first, anyway, if what I expected, Lu Bu's food is about to run out, and he won't continue to be trapped here. Duan Xuan touched his chin and said thoughtfully.
"Yes, neither I nor Bong Xian can continue to support it." Cao Cao suddenly walked in from outside the tent.
"See the lord."
"See the lord." The two stood up and saluted.
"You don't have to do that in private, sit down and say. How is Zimo's injury? Cao Cao asked, looking at Duan Xuan's tightly wrapped shoulders.
"Thanks to the Lord's blessing, it's no big deal."
"That's fine. I'm here to discuss with the two of you, if we withdraw our troops, if we don't leave something for Feng Xian, it seems that we don't understand human feelings. ”
After speaking, the three of them looked at each other and laughed tacitly.