People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 122 Gongsun Zan knows how to fight against the Hu cavalry

In the mountains and forests of Ji County, a young woodcutter was lying on a slope, concentrating on observing the grand scene of the battlefield in the distance.

I saw a military camp built on the main road of Ji County. There were dense military tents inside the camp, and soldiers on duty could be seen everywhere. There was also an area specially for storing baggage and horses. Everything was clearly planned, and it was obvious that the soldiers had been stationed here for some time.

That is, a larger military camp was built in the open space opposite to this military camp.

The two sides in this battle are the officers and soldiers led by Gongsun Zan, the current Cavalry Commander of Youzhou, and the rebel army composed of Zhang Chun and Wuhuan. The two sides have been fighting here for six or seven days, and have experienced several battles of varying sizes during this period, but the outcome is still undecided.

During these days, the young woodcutter watched the entire process and recorded it in a small notebook and charcoal pencil he carried with him.

The woodcutter's name was Li Zheng. He was the Yellow Turban spy who had led the survivors of Youbeiping back to Yuyang. After returning, he soon received a new mission and was sent by Tian Shitou to Guangyang County to inquire about the war situation there.

Li Zheng would record in detail everything that happened here every day, including the troop distribution of both sides, the situation of the camps, and even how the two sides fought and what the final results were. He would record them all clearly.

Li Zheng also knew that he was not the only one collecting intelligence at this time. He was observing from a distance, while others might have even infiltrated the armies of both sides to work as laborers and collect more accurate information.

Every day, other people would receive this information and send it to Yuyang again and again, eventually becoming reference information within the Yellow Turban Army.

Although macro-level observations are not as detailed as those that infiltrated the military, they also have the advantage of one's own perspective. At least one can see the changes in the battlefield situation and tactical effects more clearly.

For example, in the past few days, he discovered that Gongsun Zan's cavalry tactics were very clever.

Gongsun Zan's entire army had less than 30,000 soldiers, but they were able to confront Zhang Chun and Wuhuan for so many days without being defeated. This was largely because the 3,000 light cavalry effectively tied down the Wuhuan cavalry.

The Wuhuan cavalry's assault tactics seemed very passive in front of the Baima Yicong, who were mainly skilled in cavalry and archery.

According to Li Zheng's observations and analysis over the past few days, the strength of the Tuqi comes from the destructive power of high-speed impacts. This kind of impact is repeated over and over again, and is very effective against fixed targets such as infantry positions.

However, facing the equally highly mobile light cavalry archery tactics, it was difficult for them to catch the enemy.

At this time, it was the Baima Yicong, who were skilled in riding and shooting, who were able to continuously launch long-range attacks through concentrated shooting, which made the Wuhuan cavalry, who were always known for their cavalry, a little annoyed.

Although the Wuhuan cavalry also had some mounted archers, their number was far less than that of the Baima Yicong who specialized in this field.

In the cavalry confrontation, Li Zheng clearly felt Gongsun Zan's composure, but when he thought about how Gongsun Zan made his fortune fighting against the Hu people, he felt relieved.

It is believed that this kind of horse-riding and archery tactics was a targeted tactic that Gongsun Zan gradually formed after fighting against the Hu people for a long time.

Horseback archery will not have a good effect against heavily armored cavalry and infantry, but the Hu people lack armor, so facing horseback archery is a different matter. It is no wonder that the Wuhuan and Xianbei people in Youzhou were very afraid of the White Horse Volunteers.

Li Zheng also wrote down these analyses in detail and sent them back to the military. The direct judgments of the front-line intelligence officers were of great reference value to the rear.

Li Zheng's body was covered with a layer of branches and leaves as camouflage. Even if someone came over, it would not be easy to find that there was a person lying here unless they looked closely from close up.

He stayed here like this for the past few days, hardly moving, and his food and drink were all provided by his companions who came to hand over information.

The arrival of a new day also means the beginning of a new war.

Li Zheng only saw the battlefield ahead. The armies of both sides gathered again to fight, and the direction of the battle was not much different from the past.

Although Zhang Chun's side had more troops, the advantage in numbers was not enough to defeat Gongsun Zan in one go. After all, most of his 60,000 to 70,000 troops were refugees serving as auxiliary soldiers, and the only ones who had real combat effectiveness were the troops of local powerful men, numbering less than 20,000.

Gongsun Zan, on the other hand, held the title and recruited powerful people. Although his numbers were not as exaggerated as Zhang Chun's, his fighting power was not too disadvantaged. In short, he could still hold on.

The real deciding factor in this battle was ultimately the cavalry of both sides.

Today, Zhang Chun's position was still the first to launch the attack, and 10,000 vanguard troops were seen slowly approaching the officers' and soldiers' camp.

The officers and soldiers' camp also responded quickly. With the side gates opened, more than a thousand light cavalry attacked from both sides, and then began to harass and engage in guerrilla warfare around Zhang Chun's army.

The rangers were lurking on both sides, so Zhang Chun's army on the front battlefield naturally felt threatened at all times.

Afterwards, thousands of Wuhuan cavalry followed the rebels' rear positions and engaged in battle with Gongsun Zan's White Horse Volunteers. Although the cavalry still suffered a great disadvantage against the White Horse Volunteers as before, they could at least tie up the enemy and ensure the frontal attack of the army.

The battlefield was suddenly covered in dust. The open areas on both sides were where the cavalry were fighting. One could see both sides running and colliding everywhere, and the situation was very intense.

The frontal infantry army began to attack the camp, and the two sides started close combat on the camp wall. As a temporary defensive fortification, although it is not as strong as a city wall, it can still give the defender an advantage.

The camp fences were mostly built with tall wooden structures, and the most intense fighting took place at the camp gate.

Soldiers from both sides started fighting each other at the gates of each camp. For a while, shouts of killing were deafening and blood was splattered everywhere. Gongsun Zan led the elite team in the rear to provide mobile reinforcements everywhere to ensure the stability of their own camp.

As time passed, the battles between the two sides were always evenly matched. With the advantages of terrain and fortifications, even if the troops were insufficient, the officers and soldiers were able to hold on here.

Li Zheng watched all this unfold from afar. Although the situation had been exactly the same over the past few days, he still took out a pen and carefully recorded everything.

If nothing unexpected happens, today's battle will probably last for a while before both sides call off their troops and start to rest.

However, as he was watching, Li Zheng's pen suddenly stopped and he focused all his attention back on the battlefield.

Something is not right
Today's Baima Yicong seem to be particularly capable of fighting!

Watching from afar, the Wuhuan cavalry were as impatient as ever with the Baima Yicong. Although they could drive the Baima Yicong all the way, every time the other side fired a volley, they would be forced to flee in panic, leaving behind more than a dozen corpses each time.

Although this style of cavalry archery could not cause too much damage at once, as the damage accumulated slowly, it caused the Wuhuan cavalry to become increasingly collapsed, and even their formation began to become somewhat disorganized.

As qualified Wuhuan warriors, they certainly possessed excellent battlefield qualities. However, the current collapse was not caused by this time, but by the constant torture every day over the past seven or eight days. Today might be the critical point.

Finally they couldn't stand it anymore and turned around and started to flee back on their horses.

When the White Horse Volunteers saw this, they were greatly encouraged. At this time, they only needed to chase and shoot without having to worry about the enemy's counterattack. It was the time for them to expand their victory, so they accelerated their pursuit.

This chase gave the White Horse Volunteers a great deal of pleasure. Even as they were getting closer and closer to Zhang Chun's stronghold, they were unwilling to relax.

It's not that they are not vigilant, but as light cavalry, they have enough confidence in their own mobility. Even if the enemy infantry chases them, they can only eat dust behind them.

They all kept chasing at top speed, and while shooting, they actually saw the gate of the enemy camp was opened.

This made them all laugh contemptuously. Could it be that the other party really wanted to use infantry to chase the cavalry?
The Baima Yicong laughed happily, but soon their smiles froze.

The enemy's camp did send out troops, but they were not infantry, but a large number of cavalrymen who were charging at high speed!

When they saw this scene, two thoughts instantly appeared in their minds.

Oh no, it’s over!

Don’t they have only over 4,000 cavalry? Where did these extra cavalry come from?

The White Horse Volunteers were shocked and knew that something was wrong. However, if they wanted to turn the horses' heads while running at high speed, it would take a certain amount of time. But would they still have that much time now?

For the cavalry marching at high speed, a distance of one or two hundred meters was covered in an instant. Thousands of Wuhuan cavalry rushed out of the camp and hit the middle of the Baima Yicong's position in the blink of an eye.

In the past, I couldn't catch the light cavalry and was shot at, so I lost my temper. This time, I finally caught them, so I have to take revenge severely.

In an instant, the White Horse Volunteers, who had been so graceful and agile just now, suffered a heavy blow. Their formation was completely cut and dispersed, and then they continued to die under the siege of the Wuhuan cavalry.

At this time, they each drew out their ring-handled swords and engaged in close combat with the Wuhuan cavalry, but facing the high-speed spears, they were killed instantly at the first sight.

The entire cavalry team collapsed in an instant, and they could only rely on their instincts to flee in all directions, but the pursuit of the Wuhuan cavalry was constantly reaping their lives. Once the situation was reversed, everything turned upside down.

After a chase and escape, of the three thousand White Horse Volunteers, only a thousand light cavalry escaped in a panic.

Seeing this scene from afar, Li Zheng couldn't help but take a deep breath. He knew that the winner had been decided.

The officers and soldiers' cavalry suffered heavy losses, while the enemy army gained several thousand more cavalry from nowhere. As the enemy's strength increased, the officers and soldiers completely lost the initiative.

After all, a camp is not a city. Without light cavalry to contain the nearly 10,000 Wuhuan cavalry, how can we fight this battle?

The war had not yet come to an end, but Li Zheng wrote down his judgment that his officers and soldiers would be defeated without any hesitation in the notebook. This information would soon be sent to the Yellow Turban camp stationed on the side of Guangyang County.

(End of this chapter)