Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 391 Zhang Fei escapes, Cao Ren fights Zhang Liao

The combined attack of the two forced Zhang Fei to raise his Zhangba Snake Spear to block their fierce offensive. The huge vibration caused by the combined attack of the two made Zhang Fei's arm tremble. Seeing that Zhang Fei could take the combined attack of the two so easily, Xiahou Yuan's heart was alarmed, and he raised the tail of his knife, trying to knock Zhang Fei's Zhangba Snake Spear away.

At the same time, Xiahou Dun drew his sword and slashed diagonally, aiming to take Zhang Fei's head. The two men attacked with extreme ferocity, and every move was aimed at the vital points. They would not stop until Zhang Fei was killed.

Zhang Fei reacted quickly, first he tilted his spear to block Xiahou Dun's chopping, at this time, Xiahou Yuan's spear tail was close to him, once the weapon was out of his hand, then Zhang Fei, no matter how brave he was, would be of no use, Xiahou Yuan's spear tail thrust upwards was as fast as a tiger, picking up the Zhangba Snake Spear, and the snake spear flew up. Both of them were delighted.

But the next moment, the two men could no longer laugh, as they saw Zhang Fei holding the tail end of the flying Zhangba Snake Spear tightly, and with the force of autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, he knocked the two men back. Xiahou Yuan was unable to defend himself in time, and a cut was made on his chest by the spear tip.

"Hahaha, you want to take your Grandpa Zhang's weapon? Don't you see how much you weigh? Take this from Grandpa!"

Xiahou Yuan was already injured, so Zhang Fei focused his attention on him. Without even looking at Xiahou Dun, he rushed straight to him, intending to kill Xiahou Yuan in battle.

The battle between the three was fierce, and the battle between the two sides was also extremely lively, because Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan and the other two led 50,000 monks, 10,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. The ones fighting at the moment were the powerful monks. They not only had their own original bonuses, but also the bonuses brought to them by Cao Cao, which made their strength far exceed that of Cao Cao's own soldiers.

The monk soldiers had taken off the robes they had worn on their shoulders, as those robes could not protect against swords and spears, and were no match for the fine armor. The fine armor they were wearing now was made for them by Cao Cao at great expense, even more effort than that spent by Shi Xie.

All of these fine armors are made of fine iron. Cao Cao directly dug out a huge fine iron mine to make armor for these monks. The armor is tough and even better than ordinary fine armor. Ordinary chops and slashes cannot break the defense, and even ordinary piercing is not enough to break it. The same is true for ordinary archers.

It can be said that the fine armor worn by these monks is an upgraded version of Shi Xie's heavy armored soldiers. Although the defensive power has been reduced, it no longer has the fatal disadvantage of being heavy. Not only is it not heavy, it is even no different from ordinary armor. It can be used for long-distance raids, unlike heavy armored soldiers who can only be used when attacking a city.

The 20,000 men Zhang Fei brought were all cavalry, plus the 2,000 Eighteen Riders of Yanyun, a total of 22,000 against more than 30,000. To be precise, it should be more, because the troops on the front line of Jingzhou were all rushing here, and they wanted to take this opportunity to capture Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei was more important to Cao Cao than Jingzhou.

So as soon as Cao Cao learned that Zhang Fei was about to charge with more than 20,000 soldiers, he sent Xu Chu, Le Jin and Xu Huang to rush to the battlefield. No matter how many soldiers there were, it would be useless to deal with Zhang Fei. Strong enough generals were the top priority. Among the five first-rate generals, three of them had full experience points and were only short of famous general points to be promoted to first-rate generals. They were able to deal with Zhang Fei alone, which was enough to show Zhang Fei's bravery.

In fact, Cao Cao wanted to send Dian Wei as well, and it would be best if he could capture Zhang Fei alive. However, he was not only facing Zhang Fei, but also Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Zhang He and others. Especially Zhang Liao, the last time he killed two first-rate generals alone, which shocked Cao Cao for a long time.

So Dian Wei must stay by his side in case of emergency.

On the battlefield, Zhang Fei once again demonstrated his ability to defeat ten thousand enemies to the fullest. He single-handedly defeated two first-rate generals and killed the craftsmen in defeat. He even had some strength left and released a Tiger and Bear Roar at the monks, causing hundreds of casualties among the monks in an instant. As for those who were fighting fiercely, they were stunned by the Tiger and Bear Roar and then killed, and even more of them were killed.

After another spear forced the two men back, Zhang Fei looked up and saw more and more people around him. He couldn't help but spit. The more people they killed, the more casualties they suffered. Now the enemy was only constantly joining the battle with small forces. If a large army really came, they might have to stay here.

"Retreat! The Eighteen Riders of Yanyun will cover your retreat!"

Zhang Fei used his spear to knock back Xiahou Dun who was charging for several feet, and shouted loudly to his own soldiers, saying that they had some advantages by using cavalry against infantry. The fighting power of those monks was quite strong. They were certainly no match for the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun, but they could still compete with ordinary soldiers.

In this battle, the casualties of ordinary soldiers fighting against monks were about one to one and a half. It is no exaggeration to say that this was the highest casualty ratio among Gu Rubing's subordinates. Before that, their casualty ratio was maintained between one to four and one to five, and the lowest was one to three.

Seeing that the surprise attack strategy failed and could not break through Cao Cao's defense line, Zhang Fei chose to retreat. Otherwise, he would be surrounded by Cao Cao's men and would be truly desperate.

The Eighteen Riders of Yanyun followed Zhang Fei's orders and advanced instead of retreating, forcing the monks who wanted to pursue them back into the formation and preventing them from taking a single step. Zhang Fei was also among the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun, buying time for the retreating cavalry.

The enemy only had a thousand cavalrymen here, and the rest were mainly monks, supplemented by infantrymen. It was absolutely impossible for them to chase them. Letting a thousand cavalrymen chase them? That would be the same as sending them to their deaths.

Half an hour after the cavalry withdrew, Zhang Fei roared loudly, and the roaring sound of tigers and bears, carrying flying dust, rushed towards the monk. Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun originally wanted to give chase, but were forced to postpone the pursuit by the roar, and could only watch Zhang Fei and the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun leave.

With the help of Zhang Fei's various speed characteristics, they quickly joined up with the cavalry. In this battle, their cavalry was reduced from 22,000 to 17,000, with a total loss of 5,000 people. They killed more than 8,000 monks and more than 1,000 infantrymen. Five thousand for nine thousand, it can be said to be a great victory, but everyone's face showed an expression of defeat.

"These people from the Western Regions are so brave and brave that they can fight with us."

If people who are not familiar with Zhang Fei heard what he said, it would sound more like self-praise and a little bit of self-exaggeration. However, only those netizens who have watched Gu Rubing grow step by step from the beginning would think that there is nothing wrong with it. Originally, Gu Rubing's kingly teacher had never had a chance to compete with him.

The heaviest loss came at the Chengde Military Town in Yangzhou, where Sun Jian, with more than half of his own military strength, defeated half of Yangzhou's elite troops. Sun Jian has not recovered from the defeat until now. He pieced together an army of 200,000 by scraping together troops, and he even brought in the navy to make up the number, otherwise he would not even have had 200,000.

This time, they encountered a stronger opponent than last time. These monks from the Western Regions were extremely fierce and well-equipped. The fine armor made of fine iron and the iron spears replaced from white wax sticks all improved their combat power. Coupled with Cao Cao's characteristic enhancement, these monks had such a strong combat power. Seeing Zhang Fei withdraw, the two Xiahou brothers smiled at each other. This was a rare battle for them to repel Liu Bei's troops, especially Zhang Fei, a fierce general. Therefore, the morale of their soldiers was greatly boosted, and they were ready to charge into Qingzhou.

It only took more than half a day to travel from Xudu to the southern part of Jingzhou by fast horse. The three men did not stop on the way and arrived at the battlefield before dark. At this time, Zhang Fei had already retreated, and another 20,000 troops nearby were gathering here one after another, ready to deal with Zhang Fei.

After verifying their identities, Xu Chu, Le Jin and Xu Huang entered the big tent. At this time, the brothers Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan were discussing a strategy to deal with Zhang Fei. They knew that Zhang Fei could not be defeated head-on, and if they really had to fight him head-on, even if they caught Zhang Fei, their losses would still be huge.

The two men looked at each other, then at each other's noses, and then at each other's hearts. Neither of them was resourceful, they were more good at leading troops and fighting. How could they think of any good strategy to deal with Zhang Fei? Just when the two were scratching their heads, not knowing how to solve the problem, suddenly a messenger rushed into the tent.

"Reporting to the two generals, the Prime Minister has sent General Xu Chu, General Le Jin, and General Xu Huang to provide support."

Hearing the names of the three people, the two Xiahou brothers looked at each other, and a smile appeared on their faces unconsciously. This is really like sending food when you are hungry and sending quilts when it is cold.

"Quick, please invite the three generals in."

After all, they were their own generals, so the two men did not go out of the tent to greet them. Instead, they prepared hot tea in the tent and waited quietly for the three men to arrive. In this way, with five first-rate generals gathered here, Zhang Fei's problem could be easily solved. Unless Zhang Fei could fight one against five without being defeated, then no matter how many people they came, it would be useless.

Soon, the three of them walked into the big tent. They all had a good relationship with each other, so they had a pleasant conversation, and the lights in the tent were not turned off until very late.

While they were talking, Zhang Liao had already led his troops to Xuzhou. Stationed in Xuzhou were Cao Ren, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, three of Cao Cao's relatives, and two other generals, Xiahou Shang and Wen Pin, also five first-rate generals, each leading 20,000 troops, stationed in the northern front line of Yangzhou.

There are also Lu Chang and Dai Ling. Although they are second-rate generals, they are experienced. Each of them leads 10,000 soldiers and is responsible for providing support to various places. The 120,000 troops are on the front line in Yangzhou, waiting for Gu Rubing's support.

Zhang Liao came straight from Xuzhou and faced the 20,000 monk soldiers led by Cao Ren. Moreover, very close to Cao Ren, there were Lü Chang's 10,000 infantry and Wen Pin's 20,000 infantry stationed, a total of 50,000 people. Even Xiahou Shang, who led 10,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry, was not too far from here. After all, this was the border between Yangzhou and Xuzhou. If one wanted to enter Yangzhou, one had to pass through here, unless one took a detour.

However, the battlefield changes rapidly. Not to mention the long detour that would delay the march for several days, even if the march was a little slow and delayed for several hours, it would be fatal. Therefore, it can be concluded that Zhang Liao would definitely enter Xuzhou from here and go to Yuzhang County or Jingzhou. Sure enough, Cao Ren waited for Zhang Liao here.

Cao Ren is good at guarding and fighting defensive battles, while Zhang Liao is good at attacking and fighting encounter battles. The encounter between the two is like a sharp spear meeting a hard shield. One of them must be broken or the other must be pierced, only then will the war between them end.

After seeing Cao's army, Zhang Liao launched a charge without even a second of hesitation. With ten thousand cavalrymen against twenty thousand monks, Zhang Liao felt that the enemy was too small.

Ten thousand cavalrymen, with spears raised high, divided into six rows, began to charge. A cavalry line stretching for more than a thousand meters came like the tide in early spring. Zhang Liao was at the front, with the Yellow Dragon Hook Sickle in his hand ready to go. Recently, Zhang Liao had nothing to do, so he created a set of swordsmanship suitable for killing people on the battlefield. Now it was a good opportunity to test its power.

Cao Ren narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes full of disdain. He had absolute confidence in his defense. At this moment, countless monk soldiers were holding long spears that Cao Cao had collected from the people. This was the best weapon to use against enemy cavalry. The spear had a long tip, a tough shaft, and a sharp blade, and could even pierce through both a horse and a person.

The last time Zhang Liao was in Guangling City, he used lances and chevaux de frise to fight against Zhou Yu, with an army of 10,000 against 130,000, and finally saved Guangling City. The lances that he had collected with great difficulty were also almost completely lost in that battle.

This time, the attack and defense were changed to Zhang Liao leading 10,000 cavalry to attack Cao Ren, while Cao Ren was on the defense.

As the cavalry got closer and closer, Cao Ren's eyes gradually became cold.

When the distance was only more than 300 meters, thousands of infantrymen suddenly appeared behind the shield soldiers. These infantrymen drew their bows and arrows, shot an arrow without any hesitation, and turned and left.

It only took about ten breaths for a cavalry to charge three hundred meters. In ten breaths, the six thousand archers who had been transferred by Cao Ren early on completed a round of horse archery and then immediately withdrew from the battlefield. This kind of bloody battle was not something they could participate in.

This round of arrows had a significant impact on Zhang Liao and his men. Although many arrows were blocked by Zhang Liao who was in the front, the remaining arrows caused huge damage to the soldiers in the front. Hundreds of riders fell and many horses were shot and fell heavily to the ground.

"Raise your spear! Repel the enemy!"

Not until the cavalry had rushed to them did Cao Ren order his troops to raise their halberds to meet the enemy. The halberds were too heavy. Even the strongest warriors would eventually run out of strength. By that time, they would not be able to hold their weapons, let alone kill the enemy.
Therefore, Cao Ren's move was to allow them to maintain their physical strength to the maximum extent, so that they could be in the best condition to meet the enemy. The first batch of cavalry rushed to their faces in an instant.
Three rows of sharp spears extended from the shields. The shields were at the front and padden on the ground. This was to prevent the war horses from rushing directly into the formation and disrupting the formation.

At the same time, a horse stepped on the shield and jumped high. The spears tried to stab him, but could not touch him at all. Zhang Liao rode on the gray shadow and jumped over the first line of defense composed of spears and shields, which was also the most effective line of defense against cavalry. When Cao Cao saw this scene, his face changed drastically!

(End of this chapter)