Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3478 Unplanned
"Report! A unit of the left wing Sima chased the enemy to a valley and fell into an enemy trap!"

When Fei Qian heard this, he was suddenly shocked, and then he felt a surge of anger.

I just mentioned to Sima Yi two days ago that we should be cautious!

But before Fei Qian could get angry, another messenger came running over, "Reporting to the cavalry! Sima Gong has defeated the enemy! He is now breaking through the enemy's encirclement!"

The two somewhat contradictory pieces of information made Fei Qian a little confused.

Fei Qian turned around and said to Huang Xu: "Immediately send someone to the left wing to check the situation and report back immediately!"

Huang Xu took the order and immediately dispatched several cavalry guards to the left wing to investigate the situation.

Fei Qian couldn't help but rub his forehead.

Headache.

This is how it is on the battlefield. Inaccurate and unsmooth information is a common problem. Even if the messenger reports the information, Fei Qian still needs to analyze and interpret it himself before making the corresponding judgment and decision.

Not only the current Zhongtiaoshan camp, but also the troops in Tongguan and the Sichuan Army further away, are all relatively lagging behind in information. That's why there is a saying that when the general is away, the king's orders may not be obeyed. After all, the orders issued by the king may become completely inapplicable after reaching the front line.

Of course, this must be based on the mutual trust between the king and the general, and the unity of purpose; otherwise, this sentence would be taken out of context and used as an excuse for lip service.

Fei Qian turned his head and looked at the wounded soldiers who were retreating. "Have some hot soup prepared in the back! Also prepare more firewood! Dry cloth! Give priority to taking care of the wounded!"

The messenger answered loudly and then ran to the rear.

No one wants to be abandoned or forsaken.

Fei Qian didn't actually give much, but at least he really showed his concern for these grassroots soldiers and thought for them, which actually represents an attitude of respect.

The lower-level soldiers may not care about life or death, but they will care whether they are respected.

This may be a very strange phenomenon, but it has appeared and repeated repeatedly throughout history, both in China and abroad.

Respect, a simple yet complex word.

The early winter snow will come soon. If you fight in such a cold night, you will be cold if you wear too little and sweat if you wear too much. No matter whether you are cold or sweating, as long as you stop and the cold wind blows, you will easily catch a cold. Add to that the cold water and cold food, and diarrhea is probably inevitable. If one is not controlled well, a collective epidemic may spread, just like Cao Cao's battle at Red Cliff in history.

The more respect Fei Qian gives to ordinary soldiers, the more these ordinary soldiers will give Fei Qian in return.

From the continuous harassment operations in the past two days to the current overnight attack, the soldiers' physical strength and energy were consumed greatly, but Fei Qian did not hear any complaints from these soldiers, or any fear of fighting.

Heroes and the people originally complement each other, but some people will intentionally or unintentionally exaggerate the heroes and then erase the efforts and struggles of the people.

The reason why an emperor becomes an emperor is not just because he wears a crown, but because the people are willing to accept him.

An emperor without the people is like a chicken without feathers.

Fei Qian turned around to confirm that the wounded had been treated, and then asked the guards who had hurried back from the left wing, "What's going on?"

The guard reported: "Sima Gongshi led his troops to attack the outer camp of Cao's army. His subordinate Zhao Quchang pursued the defeated troops of Cao too deep into the deserted mountain valley, where they encountered an ambush by Cao's army..."

The guard gave a general account of what had happened.

The person who was ambushed was not Sima Yi, but Qu Chang, one of Sima Yi's subordinates.

Cao's army lured Naqu Chang into the deserted valley and then launched an ambush, but for some reason, the ambush did not work completely. Sima Yi later led his troops to rescue Naqu Chang's troops. Seeing that the damage was not serious and Cao's army was somewhat at a loss because the ambush failed, Sima Yi took the opportunity to counterattack and broke through the central circle of defense on the west side of Cao's army.

After listening to this, Fei Qian nodded and didn't say anything else.

It is normal for accidents to occur on the battlefield.

Fei Qian can accept accidents, but if precautions have been given and human errors still occur, then it is unforgivable. From now on, it seems to be okay, but the specific details will have to wait until after the war to understand.

Sima Yi has opened a gap on the flank...

Xu Chu was stopped by the fire.

Most people might think that Sima Yi was luckier than Xu Chu, but Fei Qian believed that it was because Sima Yi had done more homework and was more fully prepared than Xu Chu regarding the deployment of Cao's army and the geographical features to the west of the Zhongtiao Mountain camp.

That being the case...

It is obvious that Sima Yi's troops alone cannot expand the results of the battle and defeat Cao's camp, so Fei Qian must shift the combat power to Sima Yi, which means that Xu Chu's support will be reduced.

Fei Qian originally wanted Xu Chu to have more merits.

After all, in Shandong, the civil service series is undoubtedly too strong, while the military generals are a little weak.

But before Fei Qian could think for too long, the news from Sima Yi made Fei Qian make a decision immediately. Sima Yi found the remaining craftsmen in Huangshanao and asked about several places where gunpowder was buried!

The problem that Fei Qian was worried about at the beginning of the battle was Cao's army's gunpowder.

Although Fei Qian knew that the power of Shandong's gunpowder was very average, the large quantity was still a headache.

That's why Fei Qian ordered his soldiers to use rockets to set fire to the Zhongtiao Mountain camp, hoping that the northwest wind would cause the flames to ignite and detonate some of the traps set by Cao's army. However, it was not known whether it was because the right place was not set on fire, or because Cao's army was also prepared, it seemed that no good effect was achieved, which made Fei Qian hesitant. Now, if the area of ​​Cao's trap could be determined, and combined with the defense map given by Lu Chang, the fog of war in the Zhongtiao Mountain camp could not be said to be completely cleared, but at least it could be understood more or less.

Fei Qian immediately asked someone to check the information sent by Sima Yi with the Zhongtiao Mountain defense map on hand. It turned out that the trap location information reported by Sima Yi was indeed 60% to 70% credible!
It's very simple. Most of these traps are near the mountain road, scattered between the middle circle and the inner circle around Zhongtiao Mountain. For Cao's army, it is meaningless to dig a trap that is obviously not used by anyone, or is not in the place where the troops are deployed. Therefore, combined with Lu Chang's deployment map, it can be judged whether these traps are true or false.

Fei Qian thought for a moment, then gave an order, "Come here! Quickly copy this map and send it to the front army!"

With the trap map, the speed of the cavalry's advance was greatly accelerated.

The Hussars, who were originally in the center circle, were worried about falling into a trap if they advanced too aggressively. But now that they knew the approximate location of the trap, they attacked directly from the middle of the trap. The soldiers in the center circle of Cao's army who were attacked were worried about being divided and surrounded, so they had to retreat in a hurry. As a result, the center circle of Cao's army, which might have taken a while to break through, was easily captured by the Hussars.

Of course, there were some unsmooth sounds during the multi-line attack process.

For example, some of Xu Chu's soldiers got lost in the mountains. Under the pressure of the fire, some of Xu Chu's men could only avoid the flames and then deviated from the original route. Without being able to communicate with each other, they could not reach a consensus and this small group of people actually split into three groups, and the movements of these three groups were different.

A group of Cao's troops attempted to bypass the central circle's cordon and attack the Cao's rear position. However, because they were unfamiliar with the road, they climbed up the cliff and were forced to return. Not only did they waste time, but they also lost soldiers while climbing the cliff.

Another group tried to return to the original path, but because the original path was covered with flames, they couldn't get through...

Only the last group retreated directly to the foot of the mountain and then found a new organization to rejoin the team.

This kind of incident also exposed the weak communication problem of Fei Qian's troops in such a noisy combat environment.

However, Fei Qian has no solution to this problem now.

Whether it is traditional means such as copper whistles, copper mirrors, horns, flags, bonfires, etc., in such an area with insufficient light and undulating mountains, under the current productivity conditions, it is undoubtedly a pipe dream to want to effectively convey information.

Fei Qian encountered some problems because of the poor and untimely information transmission, and this problem was even more common in Cao's army.

The sounds of fierce fighting on the surrounding battlefields and the roar of war drums and horse hooves in the cavalry formation at the foot of the mountain were like waves, rushing towards the center of the Zhongtiao Mountain camp, shaking the flags on the center of Cao's army and making them flutter continuously.

Dong Zhao looked up at the banners, and his heart was getting more and more flustered. Compared with the ordinary Cao army soldiers on the periphery, the soldiers in the inner circle of the central army were naturally relatively elite. Even though the Zhongtiaoshan camp was broken through by the Hussars, these soldiers were still standing in their respective positions, which could provide Dong Zhao with some psychological comfort.

Looking at the various defensive equipment in the camp, they are all ready.

Behind the wall, they specially set up a circle of large shields and horses, and prepared knife carts to block the gaps, as well as sand and gravel to put out the flames...

Outside the central army camp, trenches and stakes had been set up, and two roads around the camp had been cleared and marked.

This was in case the defeated soldiers in the inner and outer circles attacked the central army, so that these defeated soldiers could bypass the camp along the road to avoid being directly attacked by the defeated soldiers.

These preparations were complete, but for some reason, Dong Zhao's heart seemed to have fallen into an abyss, falling and unable to see the bottom.

In about an hour or two, a new day will come and the sun will rise again.

But what about the Zhongtiao Mountain camp?
Since the beginning of the war, Dong Zhao's mood has changed repeatedly. From the initial joy that the cavalry had fallen into a trap, to the certainty that he could still hold on, to the anger that Cao's soldiers did not show the same bravery as they did in the last fight against Sima Yi, and finally to the current doubt about the overall situation...

If we look at Dong Zhao's response separately, there is nothing wrong with it. He basically implemented the strategy left by Cao Cao, basically controlled the fluctuations of the Zhongtiaoshan camp, and in principle fulfilled his duties as a commander...

During the day, Dong Zhao was still full of confidence.

In the central military tent, the voice was loud and clear, and the orders given were decisive, clear and distinct.

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But after nightfall, the cavalry fought at night, which surprised Dong Zhao and Cao's soldiers. They originally thought that the cavalry would only launch a surprise attack, and then, like last time, they would naturally retreat if they could not break through the middle circle, and wait until the next day to fight again...

If we fight bit by bit, there is a high probability that Cao's army will be able to withstand it.

After all, the pressure is local and temporary, and Dong Zhao can arrange rotations to extend the effective combat time of Cao's soldiers as much as possible.

But now the Cavalry Army continued to attack, and was equipped with a considerable number of troops in three directions, especially on the left and right wings, which made Dong Zhao somewhat unable to focus on one thing while neglecting another.

The west side of the camp was captured, and although a large fire was set on the east side, the flames would eventually go out...

As for the Hussars in the middle, although their attack speed is not fast, but with the heavily armored infantry lined up, who can guarantee that the Hussars will not directly attack the next moment?

Therefore, Dong Zhao did not dare to deploy troops at will, let alone let Cao's soldiers take turns to rest.

As a result, the gap in physical fitness between Cao's army and the Hussars became more and more obvious as the battle lasted longer.

"Military Advisor! The eastern cavalry troops are bypassing the line of fire and attacking the center circle again! The military academy in the center circle is calling for emergency assistance!"

"Military Advisor! The Cavalry Army threw five-element thunder and destroyed the East Third Battalion! Our army was defeated! Military Officer Zhang died in the battle!"

"Military Advisor! Shefeng Camp is asking for arrows! There are less than ten arrows left!"

"Military Advisor! Jiang Pi was defeated in the battle and his whereabouts are unknown! His troops were scattered and cannot be gathered together for the time being!"

"Military Advisor! Go up the mountain and set off the trap! The Hussars have suffered a small setback and are already retreating!"

"Military Advisor! The Hussars have avoided the trap and broken through the five encircled camps! Military Commander Chen is asking for help!"

"Military Advisor! The cavalry's western brigade did not go through the northern mountain pass, but entered the western side road..."

After hearing the latest military intelligence, Dong Zhao's expression suddenly changed. "What did you say?"

"Report to the military advisor! The cavalry did not enter the northern mountain pass! They took the western road!"

Dong Zhao turned around quickly and walked to the desk. He looked at the drawings on the table with a gloomy expression.

The western road leads directly to the inner circle of Cao’s army camp!
It was understandable that Dong Zhao did not take the northern route, but why did the Cavalry Army choose to take the western route instead of the shorter route?
This road was originally planned to be used by Cao's infantry to bypass and attack the rear of the cavalry, but now...

In addition to the North Road, there are several other small roads in Zhongtiao Mountain, none of which have any special names, so they are marked by their directions. The West Road is relatively narrow and cannot accommodate vehicles and horses, so only infantry can walk. Therefore, Dong Zhao believed that even if the cavalry did not take the North Road, they would go to the wider Middle Road to go up the mountain.

"The mountains on the west side of the road are high and the valleys are deep. There are also fireworks and flags set up. Aren't the cavalry soldiers afraid of an ambush?"

Dong Zhao couldn't understand.

Because the West Side Road is narrow and passes through a deep valley, Dong Zhao believed that the Cavalry Army would never take this road!

Because this kind of terrain is really easy to ambush!

As long as we block the valley at both ends, the Hussars will be severely damaged if not killed!
Cao's army did not have unlimited gunpowder, so they did not deploy much gunpowder on the west road at the beginning. They just buried it in the hollows of the desolate mountains, and then made fake flags and bonfires to respond to the strategy of the false and real in the military strategy.

But now the Cavalry Army has chosen the western route!

After all, if you want to take the West Side Road, you have to pass through the deserted mountain valley first, and after being bombed once, most people will probably not dare to go any further!

This was the psychological tactic used when the Huangshan Valley trap was originally designed...

But why didn’t the gunpowder trap in Huangshanao work?

Where is Captain Cheng? !
"Damn it! Where is Captain Cheng?" Dong Zhao said angrily, no longer able to control his expression. "I ordered him to lure the enemy, but where did he lure them to? Why did the Hussars break through Huangshan'ao? Why didn't the trap in Huangshan'ao start?!"

Although there were a constant stream of messengers in the Cao army's central camp, no effective information was delivered to Dong Zhao. Most of the news coming from various places were asking for help, help, and more help. There was very little information about how many cavalry soldiers were on the battlefield and what the specific movements of the cavalry were.

The trap in Huangshanao failed to be launched successfully and no one informed Dong Zhao.

After all, it is the custom in Shandong to hide things from superiors but not from subordinates.

So Dong Zhao still thought that the trap in Huangshan'ao was still there, just waiting for the Hussars to fall into it. Now that he knew that the Hussars had broken through Huangshan'ao and took the western road, he realized that there was something wrong with the trap in Huangshan'ao.

But it's too late...

"..."

Seeing Dong Zhao getting angry, the guards beside him remained silent.

It would take at least two or three hours until dawn, which was the darkest time of the day. He wanted to quickly locate a troop in the Shili camp and find its commander...

Dong Zhao had guessed something, and did not continue to be furious. Instead, he slid his finger across the map, then stopped at a certain place, looked up, and said, "Come here! Invite the troops immediately! Move them to Hengshan Rock with me!"

"Military Advisor! No!" The guard stepped forward and stopped Dong Zhao, "Military Advisor, if you lead the army to move to Hengshan Rock, what about the central army camp? Why not send people to garrison here?"

"Who should I send?" Dong Zhao looked at his guards. "Send you?"

The guard was stunned for a moment, "I only know how to kill the enemy, I don't know how to deploy troops..."

Dong Zhao patted the guard's arm, "I know... I don't mean to blame you, but now... who can we trust? Captain Cheng is from Yingchuan! Now... if the Cavalry Army breaks through Hengshan Rock, then we can directly attack the Central Army Camp! If we can't defend Hengshan Rock, we can't defend the Central Army Camp!"

"Military Advisor, we can stay in this camp! If the Hussars come, we can ask other camps to come back to support us, so we can surround the enemy from all sides and defeat them?" The guard said again. It's not that the guard is afraid of fighting, but Dong Zhao is the commander of a battalion. If he moves to Hengshan Rock now, it will involve too many things. And once the commander moves, if the army is unstable, it will be troublesome.

Dong Zhao looked up at the flag of the Central Army, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. "Staying here and guarding the flag... is waiting for death! If I can defeat the enemy at Hengshan Rock, then the Central Army will be safe and there is still a glimmer of hope! If I can't... if I see the Hussars appear in other places, I'm afraid..."

Dong Zhao sighed, his eyes sharpened again, "Send the order! Invite the troops immediately! Attack Hengshan Rock and fight against the Hussars!"