Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

During the long period of confrontation, while Yuan Shao's luxurious group of advisers checked each other's weaknesses, almost all the choices Gongsun Zan could make were deduced one by one.

Cutting off the water of Qinghe River was also guessed early on.

Yuan Shao often sent people to patrol the Qing River within 30 miles upstream of Jie Bridge. Ostensibly this was to guard against Gongsun Zan, but in reality it was to allow Gongsun Zan to think he had deceived Yuan Shao and could cut off the water of the Qing River at a farther place without anyone noticing.

Little do people know that war is a treacherous art.

What is virtual is real, what is real is virtual.

If not, how could Gongsun Zan be so confident that cutting off the water of Qinghe River would work.

To this end, Yuan Shao sent his confidants to secretly dig deep pits half a mile away from the Jie Bridge to hide the soldiers every night under the cover of darkness.

As for the scene of Yuan’s army withdrawing, it was just an illusion.

If the terrain was slightly bad, they would just send a small number of trusted men to carry the banners and flags and go far away, and tie branches to the tails of the horses to drag on the ground, raising a lot of dust that would be enough to make the fake look real.

However, there is an extremely critical link in all these arrangements.

With Gongsun Zan's experience in commanding troops, even if he witnessed Yuan Shao leading Yuan's army to withdraw, he would never rashly order his army to force a crossing of the Qinghe River before the water in the Qinghe River completely stopped.

Attack them when they are halfway across the river.

This is the key to victory, but it is also a taboo in military strategy.

Even if Gongsun Zan did not have any doubts, his years of military experience determined that he would not directly force the entire army to cross the river and pursue.

Send an elite force to try to break through the Jie Bridge again, hold on to the main force of Yuan's army, and confirm that there are no problems ahead. Then the army will cross the river and pursue them. This is in line with the military usage habits of a good general.

Therefore, the vanguard of the death-defying troops led by Qu Yi was the key to the success or failure of this plan.

Whether Qu Yi can resist the White Horse Volunteers sent by Gongsun Zan and ensure that this troop hiding pit is not discovered, or even anger or force Gongsun Zan to order the main force of the army to force a crossing of the Qing River, will determine the subsequent success or failure.

If the vanguard soldiers led by Qu Yi were unable to resist the Baima Yicong and Gongsun Zan discovered the hiding place of Yuan’s army, then this deep pit might be the burial place of Yuan Shao.

Digging one's own grave or turning defeat into victory...it all depends on Qu Yi's hands.

After vaguely hearing the news that Gongsun Zan's army was beginning to force a crossing of the Qing River, Yuan Shao was so excited that his hand holding the hilt of the sword was shaking.

"Qiao Yi will not let me down!"

At this moment, not only Yuan Shao looked excited, but the advisers gathered around Yuan Shao also looked ecstatic.

After a long period of planning, victory or defeat may be decided in this one move.

Gongsun Zan was arrogant and thought that he could easily defeat Yuan Shao with his cavalry. He wanted to decide the outcome in one battle and forced Yuan Shao to fight a decisive battle at Jie Bridge.

But this is also Yuan Shao's only chance.

Once the Youzhou cavalry were allowed to run wild on the Jizhou plains, Yuan Shao would have no alternative but to defend the city to the death and struggle desperately, and he would have no other strategy to defeat Gongsun Zan.

At this moment, Qu Yi, who was guarding the entrance of Jie Bridge, faced an army of 60,000 troops advancing slowly from Jie Bridge and the riverbed at the same time, but he still did not retreat directly, and put on an attitude of fighting to the death to stop Gongsun Zan.

"court death!"

Gongsun Zan glared at Qu Yi from a distance, his eyes burning with rage.

Soon, Qu Yi witnessed why Youzhou's elite cavalry were world-famous for their horse riding and archery.

Unlike the longbows used by infantry archers, cavalry often carried short bows.

Just as Gongsun Zan, who was walking from Jie Bridge, was about to reach the killing range of the powerful crossbow, short bows were aimed at Qu Yi and pulled to their full length, and a large rain of arrows covered the direction of the first batch of death soldiers. The experienced Qu Yi knew that only a small part of this rain of arrows could cover the first batch of death soldiers, but this was enough to force Qu Yi to retreat.

Otherwise, the vanguard of only 800 soldiers would not be able to withstand the consumption of such a firefight.

"retreat!"

At Qu Yi's order, the 800 vanguard soldiers retreated, but they did not retreat completely.

He only retreated a few dozen steps and hid in a bunker built with wood and shields at the rear.

The shortbow projectiles can threaten the vanguard soldiers armed with powerful crossbows, but in the presence of cover, the powerful crossbow's horizontal shooting distance is far greater than that of the shortbows used by ordinary Youzhou cavalry.

Gongsun Zan also understood this, which made him even more angry. He knew that Qu Yi was prepared to stop him at all costs.

"Since you are determined to seek death, I will satisfy you!"

Gongsun Zan angrily ordered, "All troops, speed up! Whoever captures the enemy commander's head will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins."

For a moment, under Gongsun Zan's order, the cavalry in the riverbed kept urging their horses to speed up their march.

With the help of their cover, these 800 first-line warriors may be able to hold the entrance of Jie Bridge for a while.

But if 60,000 cavalrymen forced their way across the Qing River bed, it would be impossible for them to be stopped by less than a thousand powerful crossbows.

As the first echelon of cavalry crossed the Qing River and began to go ashore, the vanguard of the death squad had to stop guarding the Jie Bridge entrance to block the Baima Yicong, and instead, under the order of Qu Yi, they each looked for the cavalry that had come ashore and shot at them.

"Bang bang bang!"

As the sound of powerful crossbows rang out again, some of the cavalry who had just landed were instantly killed by the crossbows.

But this also made Gongsun Zan reveal a hideous and cruel smile on his face.

After a hasty round of sound from the crossbows of the first-line soldiers, at a command from Gongsun Zan, the white horse soldiers on the boundary bridge increased their speed and rushed out of the narrow boundary bridge one after another, heading straight for the first-line soldiers who were dozens of steps away.

After leaving the boundary bridge or crossing the riverbed, the speed of the Baima Yicong and the rest of the Youzhou cavalry, who were back on solid ground, increased almost visibly.

With a distance of only a few dozen steps between them, it was uncertain whether the first wave of death warriors could successfully reload their crossbows once again.

The Youzhou cavalry, filled with anger, wanted to tear the vanguard soldiers who were dozens of steps away into pieces in an instant.

However, just as the cavalrymen were rapidly approaching the vanguard of the death squad, within a distance of about thirty steps.

The fastest cavalrymen all stumbled and there were even a series of terrifying sounds of bones breaking.

Horse pit?
Before Gongsun Zan, who had just rushed out of the boundary bridge, could think carefully, he suddenly saw a man in golden armor rushing out a hundred steps behind the first group of death-defying soldiers.

Yuan Shao?!
Gongsun Zan's outstanding eyesight allowed him to recognize the identity of the person instantly, which in turn shocked Gongsun Zan.

Didn’t Yuan Shao already flee with the army?

Why is it still here?
At this moment, Yuan Shao, who was the first to rush out of the troop hiding pit, drew his sword, pointed it toward the sky, looked back at the 50,000 soldiers in the troop hiding pit, and shouted.

"I, Yuan Benchu, swear in the name of four generations of three dukes that this battle may not have a great banner..."

"But, even if I die, I will never retreat a single step. I will only win! I will only win together with all the soldiers!"

"All soldiers, follow me and charge! Whoever takes the head of the traitor Gongsun will be rewarded with ten thousand gold coins and be made a marquis of ten thousand households!" (End of this chapter)