Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 672 Zhuge Village Man is just like that!

April, the mouth is turbulent.

With Cao Rui's order to attack, Sima Yi could no longer use illness as an excuse and had no choice but to lead his troops to attack.

However, out of concern that Zhuge Liang was plotting, Sima Yi ordered his son Sima Shi to lead troops to guard the main camp, and then he personally led the team to attack the North Camp, while Zhang He led a detachment to attack the South Camp.

As the target of this battle was a floating bridge, Sima Yi was unwilling to climb the mountain and fight against the mountain camp set up by Zhuge Liang, so he adopted the strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. He first sent people to burn the deer horns with fire, and pretended to lead a large army to attack the camp, but in fact he let Niu Jin, Fei Yao, and Jia Si lead 20,000 people to seize the floating bridge.

The Wei army's move could not escape the detection of the Han army's scouts, and soon the scouts reported the news to Zhuge Liang.

Ma Su entered the tent with great joy and said, "Prime Minister, Sima Yi has finally sent out his army. His momentum is so great that I expect his main force will be fully deployed!"

"good!"

Upon hearing the news that the Wei army was dispatched, Zhuge Liang felt relieved. However, since the mission had not yet been accomplished, Zhuge Liang did not show excessive joy on his face, but just fanned himself and nodded.

Zhuge Liang asked, "You Chang, do you know how the Wei army is deployed?"

Ma Su gathered his thoughts and said, "As the Prime Minister expected, Sima Yi's troops split into two groups, one heading for the floating bridge, and the other heading straight for the main camp."

Zhuge Liang paced calmly and said, "Youchang, order Feng Xi, Liao Hua, and Zhang Liang to lead the troops and attack according to the strategy. The rest of the generals will follow Liang to stay in the camp and observe General Zhao's military operations."

"promise!"

Seeing that the Wei army's plan of attack was consistent with his earlier plan, Zhuge Liang gave the order without hesitation.

Looking at Ma Su's departing back, Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and smiled, thinking to himself: "If the war is not urgent, only those who are good at fighting can lead the army. I must let Youchang have some experience. Let's see how the war goes in the future. If it goes smoothly, I can let Youchang lead the army to fight."

As time passed, the troops led by Zhang He first appeared on the south bank, preparing to launch an attack on the camp led by Wen Pin; in order to contain Zhuge Liang's army, the troops led by Sima Yi also used force towards the north camp.

Generals Niu Jin, Fei Yao and Jia Si led 20,000 infantry and cavalry to attack the floating bridge, while the Han army, led by generals Feng Xi, Liao Hua and Zhang Liang, led 15,000 men to resist.

The Laoshui River flows slowly, with nine floating bridges on top. The river water flows eastwards under the bridges and flows into the Yushui River. The spring sun is gentle, and even at noon, it is only slightly hot.

Not to mention that Zhang He and Sima Yi had already sounded drums, urging their soldiers to climb the hill slowly in order to tie down the Han army that was defending the two sieges.

On the bank of Laoshui River, the Han and Wei armies were approaching, and the cavalry had been dispatched, trying to spread out and understand the other side's deployment. However, both sides were prepared, and the cavalry fought against the cavalry, and the battle was fierce.

"stop!"

Because of the Han army's garrison, when they reached the designated location, Feng Xi raised the military flag to stop the advance, and the soldiers of various Han troops stopped one after another.

"Crossbowmen, step forward!"

Liao Hua's troops were in the center and he immediately ordered his soldiers to form a battle line. Archers were the first to step out, and spears, swords and shields formed a compact battle formation.

The crossbowmen in the front row pulled the crossbows with all their strength, and loaded the crossbows with arrows amid a sound that made one's teeth ache. The spearmen leaned against each other, and stretched out their spears as far as they could, forming a formidable forest of spears.

Compared with the Han army that was preparing their weapons and forming a battle formation, the Wei army soldiers advanced slowly, with shield soldiers in the front row. In order to defend against the Han army's bows and crossbows, many soldiers even pushed shield carts forward.

"shoot!"

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

The triangular red flag waved, and the Han army archers, who had been prepared for a long time, poured out arrows, and the dense rain of arrows hit the Wei army like locusts. However, the Wei soldiers were well prepared, and the huge shields and shield carts were like a wall, blocking the large amount of arrows.

After several waves of arrows were fired at the Wei army, although the Wei army was able to block some of the arrows with their giant shields and shield carts, some arrows were still thrown and hit many Wei soldiers in the Wei formation. The cries of pain from the Wei soldiers were drowned out by the exciting drumbeats.

Soon, the Wei army counterattacked with bows and crossbows, but as the two armies continued to approach, the archers withdrew along the two wings.

"Use the wolf whisk!"

When the battle started, Liao Hua ordered the wolf-whip of the Southern Army to appear first, and then the long spears stretched out from the dense branches of the wolf-whip. From the outside, it looked like a bamboo forest, but the sharp spear tips revealed its bloodthirstiness.

"kill!"

As the two armies approached, the brave soldiers began to shout loudly amid the enthusiastic drumbeats, forgetting the fear in their hearts and leading a large number of soldiers forward. The pace quickened and the soldiers of the two armies collided head-on.

Because the wolf-whip was so easy to use, Sima Yi ordered his subordinates to make thousands of wolf-whips for use in fighting against the Han army while he was stationed in Jingzhou.

The two armies fought with similar equipment, including wolf-whips, spears, and large shields. The winner in the end was only able to rely on his quick eyes and hands, and of course, damn luck!

On the bank of Laoshui River, the two armies fought for the floating bridge. Because the difference in strength between the two armies was not big, they fell into a stalemate, and the number of casualties continued to rise. The muddy ground was filled with blood and gradually became smelly.

Looking at the infantrymen fighting fiercely, Fei Yao looked solemn. In order to defeat the Han army, he ordered: "Order General Niu to lead the cavalry to break the water bandits' formation."

"Yes!" Cavalry has been valued by the army since its birth, and with the emergence of various tools, cavalry has become an indispensable force in the army. Sometimes a general who makes good use of cavalry can turn the situation on the battlefield and defeat a powerful enemy from defeat to victory.

To conquer the north from the south, a strong cavalry is essential. The repeated defeats of the Eastern Wu and Cao Wei were due not only to the lack of determination in the Northern Expedition, but also to the lack of cavalry in Jiangdong.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the long-term battles with the Qiang people, the Han army gradually formed a coordinated battle system of infantry and cavalry. That is, the cavalry was on the flanks and the infantry was in the center. When the infantry was evenly matched, the cavalry would attack, defeat the enemy cavalry, flank or outflank the back, and defeat the opponent from behind, which is the well-known anvil and hammer tactics.

Fei Yao was a veteran general of the Wei army. Seeing the infantry engaged in a fierce battle, he would naturally resort to the anvil and hammer tactics, using the cavalry, which Cao Wei was good at, to defeat the Han cavalry.

Niu Jin received the military order and, based on the report from the scouts, cunningly sent the Wei army's light cavalry to attack the Han army's cavalry, while he led the heavy cavalry to hide behind the light cavalry.

"kill!"

Eight hundred Wei light cavalrymen charged into battle with the Han cavalrymen, led by Zhang Liang, who had the same name as the Yellow Turban leader, but was not the same person, nor was he related to the Yellow Turbans. He was the same person as Zhang Liang, a general in the middle and late period of the Eastern Wu Dynasty in history. He was a man of extraordinary insight and was highly regarded by Sun Quan and Lu Xun.

In this dimension, he was a native of Nanyang, Jingzhou. He fled to Jiangdong in his early years and became a cavalry commander under Huang Zu. Later, he was incorporated into the rule of Liu Pan by Liu Qi. After Liu Pan retired from office, Zhang Liang became a general under Huang Zhong, and then he fought in the army all the way and made many military achievements.

Zhang Liang fought bravely, charging on horseback with his spear thrust forward. The eight-foot-long spear suddenly pierced into the chest of a Wei army rider, and the tip of the spear pierced through his back, splashing hot blood, and the scene was extremely bloody.

Because the horse lance was stuck by the corpse of the Wei cavalry, Zhang Liang drew out his ring-handled sword and chopped the Wei cavalry left and right, or blocked the swords and spears in the hands of the Wei cavalry.

Soon, the Wei light cavalry and the Han cavalry were entangled in a fight. However, in order to maintain mobility, Zhang Liang led his cavalry to use the "eight" shape to circle with the Han cavalry, trying to occupy the right position so that the Han cavalry could defeat the Wei cavalry.

Unfortunately, although Zhang Liang was good at using cavalry in the Southern Han, he was weaker than Niu Jin. Seeing Zhang Liang entangled with the light cavalry, Niu Jin used the hidden cavalry to intercept and kill the Han cavalry.

Niu Jin led the trapped cavalry to cut off the long line of Han cavalry with an unstoppable momentum. As the horses neighed, many Han cavalry fell to the ground, and the Wei cavalry chased and fought, slashing with spears and bayonets.

In an instant, the Han cavalry was divided into more than a dozen small groups by Niu Jin. They were isolated and helpless, and they didn't know what to do. Some wanted to flee backwards, while some wanted to fight desperately. The Han cavalry fell into chaos.

Seeing the chaotic situation, Zhang Liang wanted to gather the remaining Han cavalry to counterattack the Wei cavalry and try to regain the initiative. However, he saw that the infantry led by Liao Hua was defeated by the Wei soldiers. His soldiers fled backwards, and the Wei soldiers chased after them.

The flags of the two armies advanced and retreated, appearing particularly clear in the chaotic battlefield!

It seems that the defeat of the infantry caused the Han cavalry to retreat, and many Han cavalry followed the infantry in retreat. The direction they retreated was the upper reaches of the Laoshui River. The upper reaches had a flat terrain, and because it was in Nanyang, there were a lot of reeds on both sides of the river.

"Our army is defeated!"

Several cavalrymen fled in panic, shouting everywhere: "Run!"

When Zhang Liang heard the news of defeat, his blood ran out of his head and he shouted, "The enemy cavalry is brave. Gather the cavalry and fight while retreating."

"promise!"

After Zhang Liang led his cavalry to retreat, a large number of Han cavalry followed his flag and retreated.

At this moment, the Han army was defeated on the banks of the Yu River. As their camp was surrounded by the Wei army, the three generals Liao Hua, Zhang Liang and Feng Xi were worried about causing the defeat of the northern camp, so they immediately led their infantry and cavalry to flee upstream.

Seeing the Han army retreat, Niu Jin was very excited and laughed, "The enemy cavalry was vulnerable, and now even the infantry has been defeated and fled. Zhuge is really an incompetent countryman. The governor is afraid of a countryman like Huo Hu. It's really laughable!"

Niu Jin pointed forward with his spear in hand, and shouted, "The spoils we have captured today are not enough to earn you a title of nobility. My men, follow me and chase after the enemy soldiers!"

"promise!"

Niu Jin led the Wei cavalry to charge out and closely pursue the Han infantry and cavalry.

The Wei cavalry are greedy for military merit, so how could the Wei soldiers not be tempted?

As early as after defeating Liao Hua, Jia Si led his infantry to march forward, determined to defeat the Han army.

Niu Jin and Jia Si were chasing them eagerly. Fei Yao, as the commander, did not dare to fall behind. He led his infantry and cavalry to follow closely behind them to support Niu and Jia.

However, Fei Yao still remembered Sima Yi, so when he was chasing him, he sent scouts to inform Sima Yi.

Sima Yi, who was commanding his soldiers to contain Zhuge Liang, was surprised and delighted to hear of Fei Yao's victory. He was surprised because Zhuge Liang was not good at using troops, and he was delighted because he had defeated the Han army.

To be on the safe side, Sima Yi warned, "Tell General Fei to be careful and not to pursue too deep."

"promise!"

At the same time, Zhang He on the south bank learned from the scouts about Fei Yao's victory, and he couldn't help but feel angry.

Zhang He said to his subordinates, "Zhuge is a country boy with no talent for a great general, so it's no surprise that he won today. It's a pity that I came up with the plan to defeat the enemy, but Sima Yi used his position as the main general to suppress me, first taking away my credit for defeating the enemy, and then ordering me to attack Wen Pin. It's really despicable!"

ps: There is one more chapter!
(End of this chapter)