and the armor of the foot soldiers, almost swept across the battlefield. 20,000 or 30,000 Wei soldiers were driven by more than 10,000 Han army foot soldiers to run all over the mountains, and Cao Xiu fled to the road he came from under the cover of his cronies' foot riders.

Cao Xiu was valued by Cao Cao since he was a child, so he developed a conceited temperament, and was in a high position at the beginning, eager to make contributions. Now that the defeat has been decided, and the face has been lost, it is useless to shout that he will die and go to the country, but Cao Xiu is more pragmatic.

When he fled, Cao Xiu did not forget to bring the first part.

The trilogy is often the lifeblood of the military generals in the troubled times of the late Han Dynasty, and they are often supported by these military generals, just like the family members of the Ming Dynasty. When the army is defeated, it is more important than anything else to keep your own troops. After all, ordinary worthless miscellaneous soldiers are killed and wounded, and it is not difficult to recruit a group of subordinate soldiers to fight in the country.

And Cao Xiu could see that the Han army had fewer horses and more steps, and could only defeat itself, but could not annihilate its own army. Keeping the troops today, withdrawing to the rear, and tidying up the troops and horses is to be able to protect their own army to the greatest extent.

Fighting in a formation is not a victory for one side that eats all of its men and horses, but a defeat for the defeated side that causes a rout, and the winner must kill or capture the enemy as much as possible through pursuit or encirclement.

Today, because the infantry rushed to the ambush battlefield, and some infantry soldiers fell behind, in order to organize the army and capture the abandoned baggage, most of them were pursued by the Han cavalry.

So Cao Xiu led his cronies, whipped and urged the horses, and ran to the watery grass and trees area. The light cavalry of the Han army did not dare to deal with the large-scale Wei soldiers who fled in groups because of their thin armor and weak strength, so they specially divided into dozens or hundreds of teams, scattered in the fields, intercepting and capturing those fleeing Wei pawns.

The two wings were outflanked, intercepting the cavalry and shooting, and the Han cavalry dealt with the Wei army's foot soldiers like hunting. When the ordinary Wei soldiers saw the formation of the Han cavalry, they immediately knelt on the ground and raised their hands to surrender, or scattered and fled into the wilderness.

The Han cavalry who had obtained the results of the battle or stayed behind to take care of the booty, waiting for the follow-up foot soldiers to follow; Or some of the cavalry, under the command of the general, pursued.

Cao Xiu galloped under the tug, crossed the small stream, and drilled into the wooded place, which was gradually far away from the pursuit range of the Han cavalry.

I don't know how long I fled, as the sun set westward, when it was dusk, Cao Xiu walked to the edge of the woodland, and it was already visible to the naked eye the remains of yesterday's camp. However, just when Cao Xiu wanted to lead his troops to rest in the relict village, he saw that he had been seized by a Han army.

This Han army is under the banner of 'Xu', which is obviously the Han general Xu Sheng, who has been defeated many times before. He was ordered by Huo Jun to rush around the rear in advance before the ambush was defeated, and surrounded the Wei army that was retreating from here.

Cao Xiu stood at the edge of the woodland, and could see the long-running rout of his own army, facing the Han army that appeared in front, either kneeling down and surrendering due to exhaustion, or sneaking into the woods and grass to flee, no one had the courage to dare to fight with the Han army.

"Why did the Han army appear here?" The attendant was speechless and said in horror.

Cao Xiu didn't care about accusing the attendant of the gaffe, and now he could only sigh loudly, Huo Junzhen was going to toss him to death.

In order to avoid being captured by the Han army, Cao Xiu observed the terrain and quickly passed through the stream and bushes, but fortunately, the attention of the Han army was attracted by the rout of the Wei army, and Cao Xiu copied behind the Han army without danger and fled to the west.

He fled for most of the day, from dusk to evening.

Cao Xiu didn't know how long he walked, but when he walked to the bank of a stream, he saw the traces of his own troops crossing the river before, looked around, and saw no large-scale Han army, so he finally put his mind at ease.

The spirit was no longer tense, and as the excitement disappeared, Cao Xiu was swallowed up and down by a sense of exhaustion, and his hands and feet were slightly sore.

In order to maintain his demeanor, Cao Xiu cheered up and shouted to the left and right: "Raise the flag and let the scattered sergeants see it." ”

"Light a bonfire and attract sergeants from all departments."

"General, will the water thieves still pursue?" Wei Zu, who was still in shock, asked.

"Not anymore!"

Cao Xiu tried his best to restore his former vigor and said: "The plains are vast, and the thieves have fewer horses and more steps. ”

"No!"

Cao Xiu's judgment was accurate.

It is true that the Han army will not chase anymore, and the four thousand cavalry soldiers are fighting and assaulting, plus the pursuit of soldiers, they are tired. The foot soldiers hurried to the ambush battlefield, and it was difficult to pursue in the face of the Wei soldiers who had abandoned their armor.

At the same time, Huo Jun took into account the Zang and Lu armies in the north, and in order to avoid dividing too many troops and being taken advantage of by the two, he did not dare to let go of his hands and feet to pursue.

As the night fell, through golden drums, flags, bonfires, riding orders and other tools, the defeated Wei troops scattered in the field slowly concentrated on Cao Xiu's location. Gathering some troops, Cao Xiu gathered four or five thousand defeated foot cavalry.

All the baggage was discarded, there was no tent cloth to go cold, no meat to eat, and no single cloth to cover. Fortunately, in the summer season, you can stay overnight without tents or single cloths. There is not much grain and grass that I just brought with me, and I need the Wei soldiers to find a way.

By the campfire, Cao Xiu ate dry Hu cakes, drank the water in his bag, and tried his best to swallow the dry cakes.

Listening to the frustrated sighs of the sergeants under his tent, and the voice of sighing because of the defeat, Cao Xiu felt extremely uncomfortable.

Looking back on his military experience, he really couldn't see where his mistakes were. Could it be that the pursuit of Xu Sheng was wrong, or the news of Dayi Mountain Grain Village was false, it was Huo Jun who deliberately released the news to lead him to send troops deeper.

Now that he has been defeated, then if the Qing and Xu soldiers and horses who got his letter and led the elite south, if they acted according to the plan and did not find the arrangement of the Han army, wouldn't it be impossible to escape annihilation?

However, the actual strength of his own side is far more than Huo Jun, and the reason why the army is defeated now is nothing more than scattered troops. In the future, if you gather a large army, use troops in a group, and don't let Huo Jun use clever tricks, there may not be no hope of victory.

Cavalry, China's strength, how can it be inferior to the Han army in frontal combat?

Just as Cao Xiu was thinking wildly, suddenly under the night ahead, there was the sound of cavalry galloping, and there was an orange fire.

"Enemy attack?"

This abnormal movement frightened all the Wei troops present, and they ran for most of the day, thinking that they could escape, but now there are still most of the enemy troops.

Cao Xiu watched left and right, everyone had horror and frustration on their faces, and he was also a little frightened.

"General, what should I do?" The ownerless squire asked.

Cao Xiu subconsciously grabbed the reins, looked at the surrounding night, and said: "If there are few enemy soldiers, we will try our best to attack them." Like a large number of enemy soldiers, break through at night. ”

Just kidding, he can't be forbidden. Yu Ban was not only defeated, but also ridiculed by Cao Wei for surrendering. If he is captured by Han, it is better to commit suicide!

"Boom~"

A cavalryman galloped out of the night, waving the banner of the Wei army, and shouted: "Ahead is the sergeant under the tent of General Zhengdong?" ”

At Cao Xiu's signal, he rode out of the horse and replied, "Dare to ask what your army is?" ”

Hearing this, the cavalry replied happily: "We are under the account of the history of Jia Thorn in Yuzhou, and now I heard that the general is deeply using troops, and I am afraid that the army will be lost, so I will lead soldiers and horses to help." ”

"Jia Tingshi?"

Seeing the reinforcements coming, the defeated soldiers of the Wei army around the bonfire turned into great joy and waved their hands one after another. After receiving the news that Cao Xiu's defeated army was in front, all the horsemen stepped forward to share the food they carried with the defeated soldiers.

The convergence of the defeated army and the reinforcements, both sides were happy, only Cao Xiu learned that it was Jia Kui who sent troops to help, with a cold face and a sullen heart.

"Where is Jia Tingshi?"

Cao Xiu grabbed the leading general, Wang Sheng, and asked.

Wang Sheng didn't know why Cao Xiu was displeased, so he lowered his head and said: "General Yu, Jia Jianshi led us to cross the river and plunder Huainan, and I heard that Huo Jun led a large army to Huaibei, and the general divided his troops and went deeper, I am afraid that the general will lose." Jia Tingshi changed his military order and led his troops to Sikou as a backup. ”

Cao Xiu snorted coldly and said: "Jia Kui disobeyed the orders of the army, and insisted on sending troops south to sweep Huainan, and now the army is defeated by Huo Jun, which should be Jia Kui's disobedience." ”

Hearing that Cao Xiu blamed Jia Kui for the defeat, Wang Sheng dared to be angry but did not dare to speak, so he could only respond in silence and did not dare to answer.

Seeing that Wang Sheng didn't answer, Cao Xiu asked, "How many soldiers and horses do you have?" ”

"Ride three hundred!"

Cao Xiu instructed Wang Sheng and said in a deep voice: "Our troops are tired, and the sergeants have dispersed, so now we should lead the cavalry to disperse and search for the rest of the soldiers and horses for our army." ”

"No!"

Seeing that Cao Xiu's army was defeated and the shelf was still so big, Wang Sheng was dissatisfied, but because of Cao Xiu's power, he had to obey his fate.

Not to mention that Cao Xiu wanted to blame Jia Kui for the defeat, and the victorious Han army was now resting on the spot and preparing for tomorrow's battle.

By capturing Cao Xiu's servants, Huo Jun learned that Zang and Lu might send troops and horses south to let the infantry and cavalry participating in the battle rest and prepare for tomorrow's battle. The rest of the soldiers and horses cleaned up the battlefield and watched over the dejected Wei prisoners.

Today, the heavy and light cavalry defeated the Wei army, pursued dozens of miles with 4,000 cavalry, and intercepted Xu Sheng, beheaded more than 2,000 people, captured 6,700 people, and wiped out one-third of the Wei army.

More than 3,000 heavy vehicles were captured in this battle, and Cao Xiu almost exhausted the materials that Xiahoudun had hoarded since he guarded Shouchun.

As for the losses of the Han army, there were thousands of casualties among the infantry and cavalry. Among them, more than 500 or 600 horsemen were killed or wounded, and 7 or 800 horses were lost.

In the barracks, Huo Jun and Jiang Ji were inspecting the tents.

Huo Jun pressed his sword and said: "With the news of the captivity, Cao Xiu ordered Zang and Lu to divide the elite south, and now Cao Xiu has been broken first, and one of the three men and horses has been destroyed." If you can break through the green and Xu soldiers again, you can not only go down to Licheng County, but also plot to go down to Picheng. ”

Jiang Ji pondered for a while and said, "If you can defeat the enemy and win tomorrow, it will not be a problem to go down to Licheng County." Ji Wei is worried that the thieves and horses have not been wiped out, and the city of Xiapi is high and strong, such as Yin Li struggling to hold on, I am afraid that it will be difficult to make a long picture. ”

Huo Jun didn't see any worries, and said: "If the battle can win a big victory, our army will be powerful Xu Huai, the thieves will repeatedly defeat my hands, and we will be frightened when we hear the threat, and our army will enter the siege of Xiapi, and dare to save it?" ”

"Your Majesty's soldiers entered the pass, Wei Ting was frightened and shaken, and the main force of thieves was mostly in Guanxi. If Cao Pi wants to send troops and horses from various states to help again, the short will be one month, and the long one will be February. Two months of Kexiapi, I thought it could be done! ”

This Northern Expedition was restrained by Liu Bei, and Cao Wei's army was less stressful for Huo Jun. Under such circumstances, Huo Jun's goal was naturally to target the important town of Xiapi. If you can't make a contribution, wouldn't it be a pity for Liu Bei to send troops this time.

The most common method of using troops in the Northern Expedition was often multi-route soldiers, the purpose of which was to contain the large army all the way and fight for the partial army all the way.

During the dispute between Chu and Han, the cooperation between Liu and Han can almost be said to be perfect, Liu Bang contained Xiang Yu's army in Xingyang, and Han Xin swept the Hebei countries with surprise troops.

In three years, Liu and Han pacified the troubled times at the end of Qin with perfect cooperation.

It can be said that the success of the Western Han Dynasty is inseparable from the confrontation between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, and also inseparable from Han Xin's achievements in sweeping Hebei.

At this time, between Liu Bei and Huo Jun, there was finally a decent cooperation, not like the embarrassing Shouchun Northern Expedition before. Huo Jun believes that if he can come to such a northern expedition a few more times, he will eat Henan, which will be just around the corner.

Jiang Ji thought about it and said: "In this way, tomorrow's battle should first defeat his army, and then quickly conquer Zang and Lu, and then cut down Picheng." ”

"Good!"

The two paced and walked to Huo Du's military camp, but saw Huo Du scolding Huo Yuzhi.

Seeing this, Jiang Ji stroked his beard and said, "Brother Bo Chong treats his son very strictly!" ”

Huo Jun smiled and said, "My brother often says that the father does not say anything and the son does not speak. Its family affairs are non-military, even if it is inconvenient to ask more. ”

Huo Jun was greedy for merit and lost many cavalry, Huo Jun was not punished because of his nephew's youth and a big victory, Huo Jun was not punished, but only explained the relationship between the importance and severity in detail for him, and asked him to pay attention to one or two.

Huo Du didn't have such a good temper as Huo Jun, but scolded Huo Yu and ordered him to take care of the cavalry who were killed or injured because of him.

The reason why Huo Du was angry was not only because the cavalry was precious, but the war horse died one less one, and the rider training took several years. It is more because of Huo Yu's greed and the death and death due to the fault of the master, which is intolerable to Huo Du.

"That's it!"

Jiang Ji sighed slightly and said: "Brother Bochong is reasonable, his godson is well-organized, and my son is arrogant and luxurious, far inferior to him!" ”

Although Jiang Ji has great talents, he is not good at teaching his children. His son is about to reach adulthood, but he has an arrogant temperament and is angry and rude, and it is not difficult to take on great responsibilities.

"Good rest, there will be a big battle tomorrow!"

(End of chapter)