Cao Cao was worried that Liu Bei would take Xiangyang, so he sent 5,000 tigers and leopards to ride and 5,000 Wuhuan to ride, traveling more than 200 miles day and night. Eight or nine hundred miles from Xuchang to Xiangyang, the cavalry is already tired. After resting in Xiangyang for a day or two, Cao Chun led 2,000 tigers and leopards to chase the elite, Xiahou Yuan supervised 3,000 foot soldiers, and 3,000 tigers and leopards rode behind.

After Liu Bei evacuated from Xiangyang, he led tens of thousands of people along the banks of the Hanshui River to Lankouju. In order to catch up with Liu Bei, Cao Chun began to run. With the equipment of tiger and leopard riders with two horses per capita, they quickly caught up with Liu Bei's military and civilians.

At the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, the cool breeze blows on the face, and the autumn mood is gradually coming.

On the banks of the Hanshui River, the people were in rags, carrying luggage, pushing vehicles, staggering, the queue stretched for more than ten miles, and Sergeant Liu guarded the people on both sides.

At the end of the line, the emaciated people were left behind because of their lack of strength. The sergeants on the left and right helped them, and they also shouted from time to time, so that the people at the end of the line could follow as soon as possible.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the ground shook, splintering stones, and thunder rolled from the ground, the sound of thousands of horses' hooves trampling the earth.

In a few moments, a fierce and fierce cavalry came from north to south, and the grass mustard was trampled up and flown by the horse's hooves, and the strong wind that the war horse galloped past whistled by, bringing the grass mustard that fell back to the ground and flew up again.

The soldiers standing on a high place looking out had sharp eyes, saw the vigorous subway ride, waved and shouted: "Be careful behind, Cao Jun is catching up." Come on! ”

With the shouts of the soldiers, the people and soldiers in their own queue heard it, and then they became panicked.

"What?"

"Cao Jun is here!"

"Run!"

The ordinary people on the hillside heard that Cao Jun had rushed up, and they immediately panicked. Most of these people were thin and sick men and women, who had traveled long distances and fell behind the ranks because of lack of strength. Now that Cao's army was attacking, they had already made a mess, rushing forward, throwing money, towels, and vehicles on the ground in order to flee quickly.

Looking at the money, food, and towels scattered on the ground, the eyes of the tiger and leopard riders who rushed to the ground lit up, as if they wanted to pick them up, but they didn't dare to do it because of military discipline.

"It is not permissible to covet property, and those who violate it will be beheaded."

Cao Chun understood the temperament of his subordinates, and shouted with the reins: "There is Liu Bei ahead, catch up and defeat him, and Cheng is quite rewarded." ”

"No!"

Jiao Bao, the tiger and leopard rider, reluctantly glanced at the money silk on the ground, and then rode away, looking at the women who fell behind the team, his heart was hot.

Because of the first time they went to Jingzhou, in order to appease the people, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Chun and others strictly ordered their subordinates not to plunder the people. Jiao Bao and the tiger and leopard cavalry had no choice but to restrain their behavior and concentrate on eating and drinking, not daring to rob women.

But he ran down for a few days, but he had seen the beauty of Jingchu women. Or because she lives in the water town of Jingchu, the women of Jingchu seem to be much more beautiful than the mother-in-law in the north. The enchanting figure and the whiteness of the skin made Jiao Bao's heart tickle.

Cao Chun may have seen the thoughts of his subordinates, and shouted: "Defeat Liu Bei, and be allowed to plunder." ”

"Hooray!"

"Hooray!"

"Whew~"

The tiger and leopard riders cheered, very satisfied with Cao Chun's attitude. They are tigers and leopards, how can they eat without meat!

"Kill!"

Looking at the women who were staggering not far away, and seeing the scattered and fleeing Sergeant Liu, the tiger and leopard riders swarmed up and killed Sergeant Liu.

Suddenly, Jiao Bao, who was at the head of the charge, seemed to see that these 'women' were too majestic, and their figures were different from those women in Xiangyang City. And the colorful women were running fast, with vigorous steps, but they were not hobbling before.

Then the war horse hurried, and when they were more than a hundred paces apart, Jiao Bao's eyes widened completely. Those 'women' had already taken refuge behind the wolf shacks that had been arranged in advance, all of them with strong bows and crossbows, fierce faces and burly physiques, but they were not the delicate Jingchu women he had imagined.

"Retreat!"

Jiao Bao pulled the reins tightly and shouted, "It's not the women and children, but the sergeants under Liu Bei's account." ”

The cavalry has already galloped, and they can't withdraw if they want to!

Chen Zhi pulled off the flower towel used to cover his pocket and shouted, "Bow and crossbow salvo!" ”

The white soldiers pulled the crossbow machine in their hands, and hundreds of crossbow arrows burst out of the air. Not to mention that the tiger and leopard rode to pursue Sergeant Liu Bei, and wore leather armor and thin armor. Even if you wear heavy armor, at a distance of dozens of paces, the crossbow arrows that burst out are armor-piercing weapons, and those who are hit by the arrows are either killed or injured.

"Poof!"

Hundreds of crossbow arrows were fired head-on at the tiger and leopard riders, and a large number of horsemen were killed on the spot, and those who were wounded by the arrows fell to the ground and wailed in pain. Jiao Bao, who had led the charge before, had already been shot through the leather armor by several crossbow arrows, severely damaging his organs, and because of his injuries, he fell to the ground and wailed a little, and died with his eyes closed.

Seeing such a scene, Cao Chun's eyes were torn, and there was blood in his heart. The tiger and leopard ride is a brave cavalry created by Cao Cao's hard work. Among them, the cavalry can be a hundred generals in the army, and now in the initial battle with Liu Bei, there are many casualties.

"Old leather treacherous!"

Cao Chun looked at the surviving horsemen in the front row and scolded angrily.

He led the tiger and leopard cavalry to pursue Liu Bei, and after understanding the truth according to the scout report, he wanted to lead the cavalry to defeat the people from the tail, trying to take advantage of the chaos of the people to break Liu Bei's army, so as to defeat Liu Bei.

I never thought that Liu Bei played a trick, and used the boat scouts to detect Cao Chun's movements in advance, and let the white soldiers under the tent dress up as the queen of the women's palace. When Cao Qi was pursuing, these women and children fled in a hurry and tricked Cao Jun into pursuit. Using the wolf squirrels that had been arranged before, the white soldiers used bows and crossbows to fight on the spot.

After the wolf was invented by Huo Jun, because of the effect of rejecting horses and the clumsiness of rejecting horses, it quickly became popular in the whole army of Jiangzuo. Liu Bei, who has been in battle for a long time, does not know the wonder of the wolf, the dense branches, and the huge bamboo body, which can act as a stand-in for rejecting the horse in an emergency.

Liu Bei rode out of the slope, looked at the frustrated tiger and leopard horseman, and shouted: "Ling Zilong attacked, and the rest of the formation slowly approached." ”

"No!"

The sound of the horn was blown, and the birds in the woods not far to the southwest were startled, and Zhao Yun led six hundred cavalry to gallop over, and the banner emerged from the hillside, and the momentum was huge, and then it was exposed to the eyes of Cao Jun's tiger and leopard riders.

And on the hill to the west of the tiger and leopard cavalry, a large group of foot soldiers also came in formation, and the white soldiers in front of it seemed to encircle and annihilate the tiger and leopard cavalry.

Looking at the white soldiers in front of him who were fully armored, holding bows and crossbows, and the number of people was increasing, Cao Chun knew in his heart that the current soldiers were the elite of Liu Bei's account, and when he heard the cavalry on the side shouting 'There is an enemy attacking', his face sank instantly.

Cao Xiu rode his horse, grabbed the reins, and said with a solemn face: "General, Lao Ge Liu Bei knows the traces of our army and has set up ambushes on all sides. Our army has come from afar, and its strength has weakened, so it should not be fought lightly. When we meet with the pawn army, we will discuss the matter of marching again. ”

"Good!"

Although Cao Chun is brave and often believes in the elite of tiger and leopard riding, the current situation does not allow him to fight. The advantage of the cavalry is that it is taken by surprise, and it is not hard to collide with the foot soldiers, and now it has lost its advantage, and if the tiger and leopard cavalry are forcibly sent to fight, I am afraid that all the cavalry will be damaged here.

Cao Chun turned his horse's head and commanded, saying: "Withdraw the army quickly, don't fall in love with war!" ”

"Where's Xia Houen?"

"The last general!"

"You and Wen Lie led the cavalry to block the flank and ride to cover the retreat of our army!"

"No!"

Xia Houen and Cao Xiu led 500 tigers and leopards to ride to the west and stopped Zhao Yun's cavalry from the southwest.

Zhao Yun held a long lance, his eyes were cold, and he was holding a white horse under his crotch, with strong muscles and bones, and he was galloping in the wind. In a few blinks, he met the tiger and leopard led by Xia Houen.

The elite of the tiger and leopard riding is comparable to the ordinary horsemen. They were skilled in arching and horses, and they carried different equipment to deal with various types of warfare. If you charge into battle, the horse is covered with leather armor and heavy armor for breaking the formation; In the case of long-distance raids, they wear leather armor and wield bows and arrows, which they use to chase down the enemy. In the days of Takahashi saddles and bilateral stirrups, most of them could hold weapons with both hands and fight hand-to-hand with people.

Although Zhao Yun's cavalry is not as brave as the tiger and leopard, the war horse is tall. But it is also strong, such as waiting for work with ease, and waiting for leather armor with iron armor. After all, Liu Bei is from Youyan, and his attention to the cavalry is not under Cao Cao, but the lack of funds and manpower supply.

In the next instant, the two northern and southern cavalry teams collided in one place.

In front of the cavalry, brave soldiers from both sides were the lead. These knights wielded their spears and stabbed them off their horses, while they continued to fight in close quarters with their opponents in their cavalry.

During the high-speed gallop, Zhao Yun raised his lance to fight, stabbed the tiger and leopard rider in front of him to death, and then drew the lance and left. In the enemy cavalry from the left and right, and stabbed down a few cavalry, very brave.

On the hillside, Liu Bei looked at the battlefield situation and saw that the cavalry on both sides were fighting and energetic, but they were still at a disadvantage in fighting.

Frowning slightly, Liu Bei muttered: "The tiger and leopard ride bravely, it is not a lie. Nanqi has practiced for a long time, but it is still not as good as it. If you don't prepare in advance, set up an ambush, and make it frustrated, I'm afraid it's hard to know the outcome of the battle! ”

What Liu Bei said is the truth, in history, he led the people to the south, and the soldiers and horses were not as good as the present, and he was directly defeated by the 5,000 tigers and leopards.

At this time, he has white soldiers in his hands, and thousands of foot soldiers to rely on, and his strength is far from comparable in history. And the tiger and leopard cavalry rushed from Xuchang to Xiangyang, and only the elite 2,000 cavalry pursued here from Xiangyang, and their strength was weak.

Although the quality of the cavalry is not as good as that of the tiger and leopard cavalry, with the quantity, energy and Zhao Yun's bravery, the southern cavalry has fought back and forth with the tiger and leopard cavalry.

However, Zhao Yun's courage in the riding formation was targeted by Xia Houen. He put away his lance, drew his bow and arrows, and aimed at Zhao Yun.

"Whoosh!"

After Zhao Yun stabbed the lance to death, he heard the sound of cold arrows flying, and he was shocked, and subconsciously lowered his head to dodge, and the incoming arrow missed.

Zhao Yun looked for prestige, but saw that the crowd was crowded, and Xia Houen was picking up arrows and wanted to shoot again.

Seeing this, Zhao Yun hurriedly took a bow and arrow, clamped his legs between the horse's back, and leaned back to take the arrow. Almost at the same time, both sides aimed at their opponents and raised their hands to shoot.

The two arrows burst through the air almost simultaneously, like two lightning bolts staggering in the air, each flying towards its target. But Zhao Yun was shooting arrows backwards, and the arrows shot by Xia Houen staggered past Zhao Yun. And Zhao Yun's arrow seemed to be faster and more powerful, shooting directly through the leather armor and into Xia Houen's chest.

"Ahh

Xiahuen fell to the ground with an arrow and was trampled to death by the horse's hooves.

"Ziren!"

Cao Xiu raised his lance to stab Nanqi to death, and when he saw Xia Houen dead, he couldn't help but shout.

Although Xia Houen is not very brave, he has a close relationship with Cao Cao, like a nephew, and is quite favored by Cao Cao. Cao Cao also gave Xia Houen the Qingyu Sword to encourage him to fight bravely.

"Withdraw!"

Cao Xiu saw that the cavalry governor Xia Houen was dead, glanced at Cao Chun, who had retreated, and glanced at a large number of foot soldiers gradually approaching his place, and chose to retreat without hesitation.

Then, Cao Xiu was full of courage, killed and retreated left and right, opened the way at the beginning, and rode and retreated with the tigers and leopards of his department.

"Whoosh!"

During the retreat, the tiger and leopard riders took their bows and arrows, took the arrows and shot them. Those pursuing southern cavalry were caught off guard, and many of them fell to the ground with arrows. The pursuing southern cavalry wielded bows and arrows on their horses, but they were not as accurate as the northern cavalry, and the archers and horses were slightly inferior in archery.

"No need to chase!"

Zhao Yun glanced at the order flag raised on the hillside, raised his lance, and shouted.

"No!"

After a while, Nan rode his horse to the corpse of Xia Houen, dismounted, cut off his bloody head, and hung it on the saddle. Then, he took off Xia Houen's sword from the horse and galloped in front of Zhao Yun.

"The general is brave. The thief will not know how many lives of our brothers have been ruined, but now they were shot down by the general's arrow. ”

As he spoke, he took the sword from his horse and said: "The thief general's martial arts are not very powerful, but he can't rely on the sharpness of the sword, and the knights of our army fight with him, and often the weapon is broken by a sword, and finally dies in the hands of others." ”

Zhao Yun took the saber and drew the sword out of the sheath, but saw the word 'Qingyu' in the book, and although the sword body was bloodstained, it bloomed coldly, and it was a rare sword in the world.

"Sonorous!"

Zhao Yun wiped the sword body with his battle skirt, polishing it brightly, revealing its edge. looked at the Qingyu Sword for a long time, but it was not easy for Zhao Yun to love it.

"Zilong!"

Liu Bei rode his horse downhill and walked to Zhao Yun's side.

"Envoy!"

When Zhao Yun saw Liu Bei coming, he raised his hand to serve the sword and said, "I got a sword, and I gave it to the lord!" ”

Liu Bei also drew his sword to appreciate it, and said: "The Qingyu Sword is Cao Cao's beloved sword, extremely sharp, sharpening iron like clay. The person who often wears this sword is the tiger and leopard rider Xia Houen. ”

Saying that, Liu Bei handed back the Qingyu Sword to Zhao Yun and said with a smile: "Peng Ze fought a battle, and Zilong's sword was damaged. This sword is also an opportunity. Zilong often fights on the battlefield and stays to wear it. ”

"Thank you, lord!"

Zhao Yun took the sword and put it on his waist and asked, "Although Cao Qi is brave today, his strength is already weak, why not pursue it?" ”

Liu Bei shook his head and said, "The scout has come to report, Xiahou Yuan's army is not far away, and there are three thousand tigers and leopards riding under his tent, and there are three thousand foot soldiers. If it is a pursuit, I am afraid that I will encounter Xiahou Yuan. It is feasible to get more than 1,000 war horses and kill 5 or 600 of its elite horsemen. ”

Judging from the current strength of the two armies on both sides, he is really not afraid of competing with Xiahou Yuan again. But Liu Bei didn't dare to fight in depth because he had too many scruples, not only because he had seventy or eighty thousand people under him to take care of.

He also needed to worry about where Cao Cao had gone and how many soldiers and horses he carried. The 600,000 army is fake, but judging from the 10,000 cavalry in the south, Cao Cao's army is at least more than 100,000.

As for the more than 1,000 horses in his mouth, when the two armies were fighting, he ordered Fu Wei to attack the war horse storage place of Cao Chun's department.

The tiger and leopard rode one person and two horses to fight in the south, and they could not bring a horse with them when they were fighting, so Cao Chun stored 1,8900 war horses in the abundant water and grass before the battle. Liu Bei Suxiao's cavalry fought, and Fu Wei was ordered to lead the army to attack after the battle.

Liu Bei and Zhao Yun talked for a while, and Lu Su came from a distance and said: "Lord, General Huo's sailor has arrived, and it is commanded by Jiang Senjun and General Gao, with two or three thousand sailors and hundreds of boats. And General Guan's naval division also came from Gangneung and arrived together. ”

Zhao Yun looked at Liu Bei and asked, "Do you want to fight with Xiahou Yuan?" ”

"No!"

Liu Bei hesitated for a long time, shook his head and said: "According to what Song Zhong said, Cao Cao was only behind Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang, and he was afraid of going to Xiangyang now. If he fights with Xiahou Yuan for a long time, when Cao Cao goes south, he will be in danger. It is better to let the people and sergeants get on the boat and evacuate to Xiakou, and with the order of the eldest son, call the four counties of Jingnan to serve us. ”

There were many reasons for Liu Bei's withdrawal, in addition to the fear that he would be dragged by Xiahou Yuan and Cao Cao's army would go south. He was also worried about the situation in Xiakou and the problem of heavy grain and grass on his hands. After all, 5,000 tigers and leopards are not easy to defeat, and 70,000 or 80,000 people, plus more than 10,000 soldiers, are consumed every day.

There is one more chapter in the evening

(End of chapter)