Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 213 A small setback at Lankou
Cao Cao was worried about Liu Bei taking Xiangyang, so he sent [-] tiger and leopard cavalry and [-] Wuhuan cavalry, traveling more than [-] miles day and night.After eight or nine hundred miles from Xuchang to Xiangyang, the cavalry and soldiers were already tired.After resting for a day or two in Xiangyang, Cao Chun led [-] elite tiger and leopard cavalry in pursuit. Xia Houyuan commanded [-] infantry, and [-] tiger and leopard cavalry followed.

After Liu Bei evacuated from Xiangyang, he led tens of thousands of people along the Hanshui River to Lankouju.In order to catch up with Liu Bei, Cao Chun began to attack.Equipped with two horses per tiger and leopard rider, they quickly caught up with Liu Bei's army and civilians.

It's late summer and early autumn, the cool breeze blows on our face, and the feeling of autumn is gradually coming.

On the banks of the Han River, the people were in ragged clothes, carrying luggage and pushing vehicles, stumbling along. The queue stretched for more than ten miles, and Sergeant Liu and his soldiers were guarding the people on both sides.

At the rear of the team, the thin people were left behind due to lack of strength.The sergeants on the left and right helped them and shouted from time to time to ask the people at the end of the team to follow them as soon as possible.

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

Suddenly, the ground was shaking, broken stones were jumping, and thunder was rolling from the ground. This was the sound of thousands of horse hooves trampling on the earth.

After a while, a fierce and fierce cavalry came from the north to the south. The grass was lifted up by the horse's hooves, and the strong wind roared by as the horse galloped past, taking the grass that fell back to the ground and flew up again.

The soldiers standing on the lookout from a high place saw the menacing iron cavalry with sharp eyes. They waved and shouted: "Be careful behind you, Cao Jun is catching up. Run!"

As the soldiers shouted, the common people and soldiers in our own queue heard it, and then they became panicked.

"what?"

"Jun Cao is here!"

"Run away!"

The common people on the hillside panicked when they heard that Cao Jun was coming.Most of these people are men and women who are thin and sick. They have traveled a long distance and have fallen behind the team due to lack of strength.Now being attacked by Cao's army, they had already formed a mess and rushed forward, throwing their money, cloth, and vehicles on the ground in order to escape quickly.

Looking at the money, food, and towels scattered on the ground, the eyes of the tiger and leopard cavalrymen who were rushing toward them shone, as if they wanted to pick them up, but they did not dare to do so due to military discipline.

"Don't be greedy for money. Anyone who violates it will be killed."

Cao Chun understood the character of his men, held the reins and shouted: "Liu Bei is ahead. If you catch up and defeat him, the Prime Minister will give you a reward."

"promise!"

Jiao Bao, the tiger and leopard cavalryman, looked at the money and silk on the ground reluctantly, then rode away, looking at the women behind the team, his heart was burning.

When they first came to Jingzhou, in order to appease people's hearts, Xia Houyuan, Cao Chun and others strictly ordered their men not to plunder the people.Jiao Bao and the tiger and leopard cavalry had to restrain their behavior and concentrate on eating and drinking, and did not dare to rob women.

But after traveling for a few days, he had seen the beauty of Jingchu women.Perhaps because they live in the Jingchu water town, the women in Jingchu seem to be much more beautiful than the women in the north.The enchanting figure and the white skin made Jiao Bao's heart feel like it was tickling.

Cao Chun may have seen what his men were thinking and shouted: "Defeat Liu Bei and prepare to plunder."

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

"Whoo~"

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

"kill!"

Looking at the staggering woman not far away, and seeing Liu Jun's sergeant scattered around, the tiger and leopard cavalry swarmed up and went straight towards Liu Jun's sergeant.

Suddenly, Jiao Bao, who was at the head of the charge, seemed to see that these 'women' were too majestic, and their bodies were different from those of the women in Xiangyang City.Moreover, those colorful women were running quickly, with strong steps, but they were not stumbling before.

The war horse then moved forward quickly. When they were more than a hundred steps away, Jiao Bao's eyes widened completely.Those 'women' had hid behind the wolf traps that had been arranged in advance. They all held strong bows and crossbows, with fierce faces and burly bodies. They were not the delicate Jingchu women he imagined.

"retreat!"

Jiao Bao pulled the reins tightly and shouted: "They are not women and children, but the sergeants under Liu Bei's tent."

The cavalry and soldiers have all galloped forward, and they cannot retreat even if they want to!

Chen Daola pulled off the flower scarf used to cover his chest and shouted: "Fire with crossbows!"

The white soldiers pulled the crossbows in their hands, and hundreds of crossbow bolts shot out of the air.Not to mention that the tiger and leopard cavalry mostly wore leather and thin armor in order to pursue Liu Bei's sergeants.Even if he is wearing heavy armor, at a distance of dozens of steps, the burst of crossbow arrows is a sharp weapon that can break armor. Those who are hit by the arrows will either die or be injured.

"Pfft!"

Hundreds of crossbow bolts were fired at the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, causing a burst of blood. A large number of the cavalrymen were killed on the spot. Those injured by the arrows fell to the ground and moaned in pain.Jiao Bao, who had led the charge earlier, had already been hit by several crossbow arrows that penetrated his skin and severely damaged his organs. Due to his severe injuries, he fell to the ground and wailed a little, then closed his eyes and died.

Seeing such a scene, Cao Chun's eyes were filled with tears and his heart was bleeding.The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are the brave cavalry that Cao Cao put his efforts into building.Among them, the cavalry and soldiers were all hundreds of generals in the army. At this initial battle with Liu Bei, there were many casualties.

"Lao Ge is treacherous!"

Cao Chun looked at the surviving cavalrymen in the front row and cursed angrily.

He led the tiger and leopard cavalry to pursue Liu Bei. After understanding the true and false situation based on the scouts' reports, he wanted to lead the cavalry to defeat the people from the rear, trying to use the chaos of the people to overwhelm Liu Bei's army and defeat Liu Bei.

But he never thought that Liu Bei had played a trick and used Zhouge scouts to detect Cao Chun's movements in advance, and asked the white soldiers under the tent to dress up as female queens.When Cao Cao's cavalry pursued them, these women and children fled in panic, deceiving Cao's army to pursue them.Using the wolf traps that had been arranged before, the Baili soldiers used bows and crossbows to fight on the spot.

After the wolf trap was invented by Huo Jun, it quickly became popular among the entire Jiangzuo army because of its effectiveness in repelling horses without the clumsiness of repelling horses.How could Liu Bei, a man who has experienced battles for a long time, not know the beauty of the wolf trap? The dense branches and huge bamboo body can serve as a substitute for resisting horses in times of emergency.

Liu Bei rode his horse out from the slope, looked at the frustrated tiger and leopard cavalry, and shouted: "Order Zilong to attack, and the remaining troops will form an array and slowly advance."

"promise!"

The horn was blown, and birds started to fly in the woods not far to the southwest. Zhao Yun led [-] cavalry and galloped over. The flag protruded from the hillside with great momentum, and was exposed to the eyes of Cao Jun's tiger and leopard cavalry.

Moreover, on the hill to the west of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, a large group of infantry came in formation. Together with the white soldiers in front, it seemed that they were going to surround and annihilate the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

Looking at the increasing number of white soldiers in front, who were all equipped with armor and holding bows and crossbows, Cao Chun knew in his heart that the soldiers in front of him were the elite of Liu Bei's tent. He also heard the cavalry on the side shouting "the enemy is coming". He His face instantly darkened.

Cao Xiu rode up, pulled the reins, and said solemnly: "General, Laoge Liu Bei has known the whereabouts of our army and has set up ambushes on all sides. Our army has come a long way and its strength has weakened, so we cannot take the fight lightly. We should fight with Dian. The armies have gathered together and we will discuss the march."

"it is good!"

Although Cao Chun is brave and always relies on the elite tiger and leopard cavalry, the current situation does not allow him to fight.The advantage of cavalry is to be surprised and not to confront the infantry head-on. Now they have lost their advantage. If the tiger and leopard cavalry are forced to fight, all the cavalry may be lost.

Cao Chun turned his horse's head and ordered, "Withdraw your troops quickly and don't hesitate to fight!"

"Where is Xia Houen?"

"The end is here!"

"You and Wen Lie will lead the cavalry to block the side and ride to cover our army's retreat!"

"promise!"

Xia Houen and Cao Xiu led five hundred tiger and leopard cavalry to the west to stop Zhao Yun's cavalry coming from the southwest.Zhao Yun holds a long spear in his hand, his eyes are sharp, and he has a white horse on his crotch, with strong muscles and bones, galloping in the wind.In the blink of an eye, they were met by the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry led by Xia Houen.

The elite tiger and leopard cavalry are comparable to ordinary cavalry and pawns.They are skilled with bows and horses, and carry different equipment to deal with various battles.If they were charging into a battle, their horses would wear leather armor and heavy armor to break the formation; and if they were charging long distances, they would wear leather armor and use bows and arrows to hunt down the enemy.In the era of high-bridge saddles and double-sided stirrups, most of them could hold weapons with both hands and fight hand-to-hand with others.

Although Zhao Yun's cavalry and soldiers are not as brave as the tiger and leopard cavalry, their horses are taller.But there are also some strengths, such as waiting for work with ease, and waiting for leather armor with iron armor.After all, Liu Bei came from Youyan, and he did not value cavalry as much as Cao Cao. He only had insufficient funds and manpower supplies.

The next moment, the two northern and southern cavalry teams collided.

Directly in front of the cavalry, brave soldiers from both sides were leading the way.These knights wielded their spears and stabbed their opponents off their horses. At the same time, they penetrated deeply into the opponent's cavalry formation and continued to fight close to each other.

While running at high speed, Zhao Yun raised his spear to fight, stabbed the tiger and leopard cavalry in front of him to death, and then walked away with his spear.He fought with the enemy cavalry from left to right and stabbed down several cavalrymen. He was very brave.

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

Frowning slightly, Liu Bei murmured: "The bravery of the tiger and leopard cavalry is indeed true. The southern cavalry has been practicing for a long time, but it is still not as good as it is. If it were not prepared in advance and set up an ambush to frustrate it, it is difficult to know the outcome!"

What Liu Bei said is the truth. Historically, when he led his people southward, his soldiers and horses were not as good as they are now, and he was directly defeated by the five thousand tiger and leopard cavalry.

Now he holds white soldiers and thousands of infantry to support him. His strength is far from what it has been in history.Moreover, the tiger and leopard cavalry rushed from Xuchang to Xiangyang, and there were only two thousand elite cavalry from Xiangyang to pursue here, and their strength was very weak.

Although the quality of the cavalry was not as good as that of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, with their quantity, energy and Zhao Yun's bravery, Nanqi was able to fight the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry with great success.

However, Zhao Yun's bravery in the cavalry formation was targeted by Xia Houen.He put away his long spear, drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and aimed at Zhao Yun.

"Whoosh!"

Zhao Yun held the spear and stabbed him to death, but he heard the sound of a cold arrow flying towards him. He was startled and subconsciously lowered his head to dodge, but the arrow missed.

Zhao Yun looked for the reputation and went out, but saw that among the crowd, Xia Houen was picking up an arrow again and was about to shoot.

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

The two arrows shot out of the air almost at the same time, like two lightning bolts intersecting in the air, each flying towards the target.But Zhao Yun was leaning back to shoot the arrow, and Xia Houen's arrow missed Zhao Yun.Zhao Yun's arrow seemed to be faster and more powerful. It shot directly through the leather armor and entered Xia Houen's chest.

"what!"

Xiahou En was hit by an arrow, fell to the ground, and was trampled to death by horse hooves.

"Zi Ren!"

Cao Xiu raised his spear and stabbed Nan Qi to death. When he saw Xia Houen's death, he couldn't help shouting.

Although Xia Houen could not be said to be very brave, he had a close relationship with Cao Cao, like a nephew, and was quite favored by Cao Cao.Cao Cao also gave Xia Houen the Qingzhi Sword to encourage him to fight bravely.

"withdraw!"

Seeing that Cavalry Commander Xia Houen was dead, Cao Xiu glanced at Cao Chun who had retreated, then scanned the large number of infantry gradually approaching his position, and chose to retreat without hesitation.

Then, Cao Xiu's bravery was overwhelming, he killed the cavalry on the left and right, opened the way at the head, and led his tiger and leopard cavalry to fight and retreat.

"Whoosh!"

While the horse was retreating, the tiger and leopard riders drew their bows and arrows, took the arrows and shot them.Those pursuing Nanqi were caught off guard, and many fell to the ground after being hit by arrows.The pursuing Nanqiu wielded bows and arrows on war horses, but they were not as accurate as the Northern Cavalry, and their bow and horse shooting fell behind slightly.

"No need to chase!"

Zhao Yun looked at the command flag rising on the hillside, raised his long flag high, and shouted.

"promise!"

After a while, Nan Qi rode his horse to Xia Houen's body, dismounted, cut off his bloody head, and hung it on the saddle.Then, the knight took off Xia Houen's sword and rushed to Zhao Yun.

"The general is brave. The thief has destroyed the lives of many brothers in our army, but today he was shot down by the general with an arrow."

After saying that, the knight presented his sword and said: "The thieves general is not very powerful in martial arts, but he can't rely on the sharpness of his sword. When our knights fight with him, their weapons are often cut with a sword, and they eventually die in returning his hands." .”

Zhao Yun took the sword and unsheathed it, only to see the word "青魭" written on it. Although the sword body was stained with blood, it glowed with a cold light. It was a rare sword in the world.

"Clang!"

Zhao Yun wiped the sword body with his war skirt, polishing it brightly and revealing its sharp edge.After looking at the Qingzhi Sword for a long time, it was not easy for Zhao Yun to fall in love with it.

"Zi Long!"

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

"Your Majesty!"

When Zhao Yun saw Liu Bei coming, he raised his hand to offer the sword and said, "I have obtained a sword, specially dedicated to the lord!"

Liu Bei also drew his sword and admired it, and said: "The Qingzhi Sword is Cao Cao's favorite sword. It is extremely sharp and can cut iron like clay. The person who often wears this sword is Xia Houen, the commander of the tiger and leopard cavalry."

With that said, Liu Bei handed the Qingzhi Sword back to Zhao Yun and said with a smile: "Zilong's sword was damaged in the battle with Peng Ze. It is also a chance to get this sword now. Zilong often fights on the battlefield and keeps it."

"Thank you, my lord!"

Zhao Yun took the sword and put it on his waist, and asked: "Although Cao Qi is brave today, his strength is weakened. Why not pursue him?"

Liu Bei shook his head and said: "The scouts have come to report that Xiahou Yuan's army is not far away. There are three thousand tiger and leopard cavalry and three thousand infantry under his tent. If we pursue, we are afraid of encountering Xiahou Yuan. Today we can get thousands It is feasible to kill the remaining five or six hundred elite cavalrymen with the remaining horses."

If we only look at the current strength of the two armies on both sides, he is really not afraid of another battle with Xia Houyuan.But Liu Bei had too many worries about going deep into battle, not only because he had [-] to [-] people under his command to take care of.

He also needs to worry about where Cao Cao is and how many troops he has. The 60-strong army was false, but judging from the [-] cavalry heading south, Cao Cao's military strength was at least [-].

As for the more than a thousand horses he claimed, it was when the two armies were fighting that he ordered Fu Shu to go around and attack Cao Chun's horse storage place.

Tigers and leopards rode one man and two horses to fight south. They could not bring one horse with them during the battle. Therefore, before the battle, Cao Chun stored eighteen or nine hundred war horses in a place with abundant water and grass.Liu Bei Suxiao cavalry battle, early ordered Fu Xu to lead the army to attack after the battle.

Liu Bei and Zhao Yun chatted for a while, and Lu Su came from a distance, cupped his hands and said: "My lord, the navy under General Huo has arrived. It is led by Jiang Shenjun and General Gao, with a navy of 3000 to [-] men and hundreds of boats. Moreover, General Guan’s navy also came from Jiangling and arrived together.”

Zhao Yun looked at Liu Bei and asked, "Do you want to fight with Xia Houyuan?"

"No!"

Liu Bei hesitated for a long time, shook his head and said: "According to what Song Zhong said, Cao Cao is only behind Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang's cavalry, and he may reach Xiangyang now. If we fight Xiahou Yuan for a long time, when Cao Cao goes south, his situation will be in danger. It is better to let the people We boarded the ship with the sergeants and evacuated to Xiakou, and by order of the eldest son, we summoned the four counties of Jingnan to serve us."

Liu Bei had many reasons for withdrawing his troops, except that he was worried that he would be held back by Xia Houyuan and Cao Cao's army would go south.He was also worried about the situation in Xiakou and the problem of food and supplies on hand.After all, five thousand tiger and leopard cavalry are not easy to defeat, and the daily consumption of [-] to [-] civilians plus more than [-] sergeants is very small.

　One more chapter tonight

　　
　
(End of this chapter)