Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 517 Target: Xiapi

It was July 1st, the third year of Zhangwu.

The day after Cao Xiu's army was defeated, when the sky was dim, Huo Jun received a scout report, saying that Qing and Xuzhou had a combined force of 10,000 people, led by Sun Kang and Ren Fu, and set out from Qushan in order to join Cao Xiu's army.

Sun Kang, the brother of Sun Guan, had surrendered to Cao Cao along with Zang Ba, Wu Dun, Wu Jing and others in the past, and was named the prefect of Chengyang; Ren Fu, a native of Qingzhou Plain, was the prefect of Donglai County and knew military affairs.

Huo Jun immediately ordered his troops and sent out two more troops, with Ding Feng and Yu Shao as the vanguard, Xu Sheng as the middle army, and Gao Xintong as the cavalry. Huo Du stayed at the camp to guard the captured Wei army and most of the baggage.

Due to the flat and vast terrain of Huaibei, it was difficult to predict in advance, so no ambush was arranged. Only the two armies faced each other head-on, and the Wei army was defeated in a field battle.

At noon, the Wei army sent did not find Cao Xiu's troops, but instead searched for the Han army, which shocked many Wei army generals. However, facing the sudden appearance of the Han army, the Wei army had no choice but to retreat and fight on the spot, and sent scouts to inform Zang and Lu of the situation.

Huo Jun did not hesitate and directly ordered the entire army to attack!
Gao Xin, Ding Feng, and Huo Youzhi each led their cavalry and cavalry to disperse, looking for traces of the enemy aggressors for the infantry. Thousands of people fought, and the auxiliary soldiers marched in a triangular formation. Huo Jun personally led his attendants into the formation to command, ensuring nothing went wrong.

Amid the fierce beating of drums, a large group of Han soldiers in red uniforms marched forward in formation, maintaining a leisurely pace under the guidance of flags.

The whole army was silent except for the sound of drums and flags.

Such a chilling army made Sun Kang and Ren Fu fearful. Especially when they saw the 'Huo' banner and the three thousand cavalry galloping around the formation, the Wei army officers became timid before the battle.

Based on the first-hand battle report sent by Ding Feng, Huo Jun directly ordered: "The enemy's left wing is composed of soldiers and horses from Xuzhou. The soldiers are strong and brave, and the army is in a tight formation. It is not suitable to fight first. The right wing is composed of Qingzhou soldiers and horses. Their movements are slow and their discipline is difficult. Speak seriously."

"Order Ding Feng to engage in battle with the right wing, and order Gao Xin to respond with his armored cavalry."

"promise!"

"Yu Shao stood firm on the left wing and divided his troops to attack the flanks. When the enemy's right wing was defeated, the entire army surrounded and annihilated the Xuzhou troops. The Qingzhou defeated troops were pursued by Huo Youzhi's cavalry."

"As ordered!"

The scouts dispersed and sent all the information to the front line, and the generals followed the military orders.

Ding Feng received the order to lead the army. He was good at fighting in formations and was often entrusted with the task of breaking formations by Huo Jun. Immediately he led the troops in armor, armed with bows and crossbows, and advanced with swords and spears.

Gao Xin galloped forward, his chest full of pride. Behind him, several riders followed closely carrying general flags, and hundreds of armor riders on the left and right rode slowly on the side of the formation, preparing to look for opportunities to break the formation.

Historically, the reason why the north was stronger than the south was mostly because the north had more cavalry and the southern Han Dynasty. Even though the North was at a disadvantage in hand-to-hand combat, the North, with its cavalry, was able to repel the Southern Army's infantry pursuit.

Mixed tactics of infantry and cavalry are the most valued tactics by generals since the Eastern Han Dynasty. And with the development of the cavalry's trapping function, cavalry healing was valued by the dynasty.

Since the chaos of the late Han Dynasty, infantry and cavalry tactics have developed rapidly. Duan Ying defeated the Qiang soldiers several times, and the tactic he was proud of was a mixture of infantry and cavalry; Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao, and he also relied on a mixture of infantry and cavalry tactics.

The southern cavalry was weaker than the northern army in tactical battles. Even if they could defeat the northern army with their chariot formations, it was often difficult to gain any benefit. As strong as Liu Yu, when he destroyed Yan, he also used armored cavalry to achieve the great cause of Liu Song.

Huo Jun knew that the Northern Expedition was not easy. It was impossible to win a great victory without cavalry, it was difficult to defeat the cavalry without chariots, and it was difficult to defeat the army without infantry. Therefore, he had been training Jianghuai soldiers and horses for many years to make him proficient in the coordination system of infantry, chariot and cavalry. If the navy is added, the Jianghuai soldiers can conquer almost all battlefield terrains.

After the order was issued, the Han army marched on foot and cavalry side by side. The Qingzhou soldiers and horses saw the sparkling armor square formation, and their hearts became more and more panicked.

"General, I'm afraid this battle won't be easy!"

The deputy general rode to Ren Fu's side and whispered.

Ren Fu glared at the general. It was obvious that the battle was difficult to fight, but what else could he do if he didn't fight now?
"Let's see if General Zhengdong can come to help!" Ren Fu said.

Ren Fuduo was helpless, so he was ordered by Lu Qian and others to lead his troops south and serve under Cao Xiu's tent. Today I don’t see Cao Xiu, but I see most of the Han army. I must be feeling unspeakably miserable!

Now I can only hope that Cao Xiu can see his troops and send troops and horses to help.

Ren Fu beat the generals and said: "We can't retreat now, so we must retreat. If the enemy's armor rides into the formation, they will be defeated."

"promise!"

"Dong dong dong..."

As the drums beat, the Han army's pace quickened, and the shouts of killing thunderous, pressing towards the Wei army.

Suddenly, hundreds of defeated soldiers who looked like Wei soldiers were released from the marching Han army and ran towards the phalanx. The Wei soldiers did not know what was going on and looked up and looked up, full of curiosity.

Immediately afterwards, a few Han cavalry galloped out and shouted: "Cao Xiu's army has been defeated by our army, do you still dare to fight?"

"what?"

These words, combined with the hundreds of fleeing Wei troops, caused quite a commotion among the soldiers in front of the Qingzhou military formation.

Seizing the opportunity, Ding Feng led his troops to beat the drums and march in. The scorpion soldiers wielded their bows and crossbows. They were met with two waves of arrows, and the Qingzhou soldiers became more and more riotous.

"Archery!"

In order to alleviate the turmoil, the general of the Wei army immediately asked the crossbowmen to fight back. The infantry of the Han army were not afraid, they wore armor and held shields, and walked forward quickly to meet the arrows.

"Whizzing!"

The Han army's crossbowmen drew an arc in the air in a projectile manner, passed over the heads of the Han soldiers, and fell directly into the Wei army's formation.

The battle lasted only a moment. Because the Han army's offensive was too fierce, deserters appeared in twos and threes in the Wei army's formation, and they were beheaded by the general on the spot. However, soon, the Wei army's formation became irregular, and the sergeants were shaken by the loss.

Immediately afterwards, Ding Feng led the team directly to take the lead, breaking the formation and charging in. The Wei army suffered a small-scale rout. Even if they killed the generals, it was of no avail, and more and more people were fleeing.

"嘘嘚~"

Gao Xin led his armored cavalry forward. Taking advantage of Wei's cavalry being restrained by Huo Youzhi, he took out his strong bow and shot at the Wei army. Hundreds of long arrows shot through the air, wantonly harvesting the lives of the Wei army's flanking officers.

Then, the rumble of horse hooves sounded, and the cavalry slowly accelerated, heading towards the flank.

"Run!"

"Defeated, defeated!" Before the formidable torrent of steel entered the battle, the infantry of the Wei army could not resist the fear in their hearts and turned around to flee, for fear of being killed on the spot.

The next moment, dozens of armored cavalry took the lead and crashed into the Wei army's formation where there was a gap.

The Wei army was defeated on a large scale on the spot. Ren Fu, who knew that the defeat was certain, could not care about Sun Kang. He turned his horse's head directly and fled to the north under the protection of his troops.

The general took the lead in fleeing, and the Wei army was defeated faster.

Armor, baggage, flags, shields, everything that could prevent the Wei army from fleeing were abandoned. When Wei Qi saw the infantry fleeing, he gave up the fight with Huo Youzhi, did not dare to fight, and retreated immediately after him.

"Anyone who picks up property on the ground will be killed immediately!"

Seeing the Wei army fleeing, Ding Feng rode his horse and stood out in front of the formation to alert the pursuing sergeants.

Without waiting for Ding Feng to say anything, although the Han infantry were jealous, they knew the importance of military discipline and did not dare to look too much. Instead, they obeyed the military orders, and the light soldiers cooperated with the light cavalry to pursue them, while the heavy armored soldiers formed a team on the spot to prepare for encirclement and suppression. Xuzhou soldiers.

Looking at the Wei army that was defeated shortly after the battle, Huo Jun laughed and said to everyone on the left and right: "Chengyuan's strategy of driving the defeated troops into the front and disrupting the enemy's troops is very clever!"

"Chengyuan is not only brave, but also has military strategy. The governor may be able to entrust him with important tasks!" Jiang Ji said with a smile.

Ding Feng was highly regarded by Huo Jun because of his bravery. After serving in the army for more than ten years, he was promoted from a junior general to a thief-fighting general, and was granted the title of Marquis within the Pass. Now that I have been working hard in the army, I am finally enlightened, and I may be able to serve outside like Xu Sheng.

Among the Jianghuai army, Gao Xiang, Huo Du, and Jiang Ji will be in the first group; Xu Sheng, Yu Shao, etc. will be in the second group. Today Ding Feng's outstanding performance can be promoted to the second level. It is not a big problem to lead the troops and sit in danger.

"good!"

Huo Jun nodded with satisfaction and immediately asked the army to surround Sun Kang.

As the Qingzhou soldiers and horses were defeated, the Xuzhou soldiers who were surrounded by various armies could not resist and were defeated shortly after.

On the battlefield, the Han army's infantry and cavalry fell into hunting mode, chasing the Wei army's soldiers and horses.

"Boom!"

Huo Youzhihan wielded his riding bow, aimed at Ren Fu who was running for his life, and shot him to the ground with one arrow.

Ren Fu was not dead, he fell to the ground and rolled around. The cavalry galloping from behind did not see Ren Fu who had fallen off his horse, and trampled on him with his horse, crushing him to death.

Huo Youzhi put down his riding bow, feeling full of excitement. He is not afraid of being reprimanded, but he is afraid that his father Huo Du will not let him go to the battlefield.

In order to obtain more prey, Huo Youzhi summoned more cavalry and slowly cut through the fleeing Wei army.

Whenever there was a large number of Wei troops, they would attack them, break them up, force them to surrender with powerful swords, and then hand them over to the light infantry at the rear.

Ren Fu was chased and shot to death by Huo Youzhi, while Sun Kang finally fought his way out of the encirclement of the armies, and then encountered Ding Feng who was behind the attack and surrounded him.

Sun Kang did not dare to fight, so he abandoned his infantry and fled with his cavalry. Looking back at the infantry surrounded by heavy siege, I almost shed tears. My younger brother Sun Guan died at the hands of Huo Jun, his troops were almost wiped out, and the soldiers and horses he had gained over the years would also be lost here.

How to gain a foothold in the Kingdom of Cao Wei in the future?
Sun Kang was extremely sad, and suddenly a group of cavalry rushed in diagonally. It turned out that Ding Feng saw Sun Kang abandoning his steps and walked away, so he led his troops to catch up.

"Sun Kangxiu has left, but he still won't dismount and surrender."

Ding Feng led his cavalry to kill Sun Kang's subordinates and surrounded him.

"As a Wei man, how can you subjugate thieves?" Sun Kang scolded.

The Taishan generals had a deep hatred for Huo Jun, and many generals who raised troops were killed. In years of fighting, countless family members died at the hands of Jianghuai soldiers. There is no other way but to dissolve hatred with blood.

"kill!"

The wrong horse came and killed Sun Kang, who was stabbed to death by random spears.

Ren Fu and Sun Kang were killed, and the pursuit on the battlefield was far from over. The Wei army was running, but some people had no strength, so they abandoned their swords and guns and knelt down to beg for surrender. Some people took off their armor and sneaked into the reed bushes to escape more easily.

Without the rear, there was no one to gather the defeated troops. This battle was almost a mass extermination, more complete than an ordinary defeat. Ten thousand Wei soldiers were killed and wounded, and more than 2,000 were killed and injured. Six to seven thousand were captured.

Only a few thousand people managed to escape, half of them cavalry. The livestock, grain, soldiers, equipment and other supplies of the Wei army were all taken by the Han army.

In this battle, Cao Xiu was defeated in the south and Sun and Ren were defeated in the north. The Wei army lost more than 20,000 people. The result of the battle was very brilliant.

Ding Feng reined in his horse and returned, excitedly saying: "Captain, our army has won a great victory, why not go west to encircle Shouchun!"

Huo Jun whipped Ding Feng lightly and scolded with a smile: "Man Chong and Jia Kui should not be underestimated. If we take Shouchun now and give up Xu Huai's victory, won't we let Zang Ba go?"

Huaidong has achieved results and will pursue the victory. As a general, the most important thing to avoid is a hammer in the east and a stick in the west, without any strategic goals.

Huo Jun pointed his whip to the east and said boldly: "In the past, it was not my style to leave Xiapi without fighting. Now I am leading all the troops to go to Xiapi and drink Masurabaya water. Wouldn't it be great?"

"Where are Zang Ba's and Lu Qian's armies?" Ding Feng asked.

"With this great victory, how dare the two thieves stay for a long time?"

Huo Jun said confidently: "Gao Xiang, Tang Zi, and Chen Yue will take care of themselves. Now all the troops will follow me eastward to Xiapi."

"I would like to follow the governor!"

On July 2nd, when Zang and Lu heard about the defeat, they were all horrified and led their troops to withdraw from the siege.

Gao Xiang, Chen Yue and Tang Zi followed Huo Jun's orders and pursued for hundreds of miles, killing and capturing more than 3,000 people. They gained a lot of supplies and gained Licheng County again.

In the early morning of the third day of the lunar month, Huo Jun led his army to march westward, carrying the Wei army's baggage with the goal: Xiapi.

As for the prisoners of Wei, except for a few who accompanied the army, most of them were thrown to Yuzhou Island and guarded by Chen Yue's navy.

(End of this chapter)