People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 212 A big gamble
"There will be a big battle tomorrow, but judging from today's first battle, the Yellow Turbans are far superior to us. Our army is almost powerless. So how should we fight tomorrow? Is there still a chance of victory in this battle?"

After nightfall, in the crude camp of the officers and soldiers, Cao Cao asked questions to Zhang He and Liu Bei with a heavy face.

The faces of the three people flickered under the candlelight, and it could be seen that their expressions were all very ugly.

Their ugly faces were because they were uncomfortable. Facing an opponent like the Yellow Turbans was like a sheep being forced to face a wolf. The huge gap in strength made them powerless. In the absence of seeing any hope of victory, they were even reluctant to fight this battle.

Zhang He and Liu Bei looked at each other and frowned tightly. They had no way of answering this question. They could not think of a way to win.

"It was just a preliminary test, but our army suffered hundreds of casualties. If the battle lasts longer, I'm afraid the battle formation will collapse."

Zhang He smiled bitterly and shook his head. He fought against the Yellow Turbans again, but the result was still shocking to him.

As he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the tent became depressed. When the difference in strength was too great, it was difficult for them to maintain a positive attitude. Before the real battle even started, they all felt that they had already lost.

Liu Bei could not stand this and immediately stood up: "You two are both first-class heroes. Are you afraid of the Yellow Turbans? The war has not started yet, so who says there is no hope of winning!"

Although he wanted to cheer up the atmosphere, Cao Cao and Zhang He remained silent after he finished speaking.

Neither of them is a fool. On the contrary, they are both very smart and realistic people. Everyone knows the truth of the situation and will not be excited by a few words.

Liu Bei added: "Our army's mission is to stop the enemy rather than annihilate them. If that's the case, why bother with winning or losing? As long as we can achieve our goal, we will win. Don't you two even have the confidence to drive the enemy back?"

Zhang He nodded and said, "Xuan De is right. In this battle, the priority is to repel the enemy. There is no need to be obsessed with winning or losing."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment and said, "If we only want to repel the enemy, it is better to defend instead of merit. As long as we can contain the Yellow Turbans, it will be fine. When the battlefield in the rear is pacified, the governor will surely send a large army to support us. In this way, we can safely repel the enemy."

Zhang He said, "That's the only way. We will withdraw to the rear tomorrow to defend. I'm afraid this battle will be a protracted one."

After the general strategy was decided, several people started discussing some specific details. Gradually, they felt a little more at ease. The pressure of defense was much smaller than that of offense. At least they had more confidence when facing the Yellow Turbans.

After a night, when the sky cleared, the atmosphere in this world became tense again.

The Yellow Turbans, who had already prepared for a major battle, found that the actions of the officers and soldiers were beyond their expectations. The other side had no intention of continuing the fight, but instead began to retreat shortly after dawn.

"It seems that they have realized that fighting in the field is disadvantageous, so they are going to retreat to the rear cities for defense."

Ju Su reacted quickly and guessed the intentions of the officers and soldiers.

Wang Dang immediately took out the map, and just as Ju Shou said, there was a small city not far behind the battlefield. Although this city was not as stable and large as the county town, its earthen walls were strong and solid, much better than the makeshift camp.

King Xu Chen immediately understood that Ju Su might have really guessed the opponent's intention, and the officers and soldiers were going to fight a protracted defensive battle.

"The enemy has seized this city. If we fail to break through, our logistics will be cut off. Then our subsequent operations will be restricted and we will be threatened by the military at any time."

Ju Shou began to analyze the situation methodically. Although his words were serious, his tone was very calm, without any panic at all. "Of course, with our army's siege capabilities, it is almost impossible for the enemy to defend the city. This is destined to be just their delusion."

Xu Chen looked at the enemy troops that were moving in the distance, and said calmly: "Besides, how can I let them retreat so easily? There is no need to turn it into a siege if the problem can be solved in a field battle."

Wang Dang immediately stepped forward and said: "I will lead the army to force the enemy to a decisive battle and will not let them go!"

As Xu Chen nodded, Wang Dang immediately took the order and left. Soon, the mighty army of more than ten thousand people pressed towards the enemy position.

When two armies are facing each other, you cannot retreat whenever you want. You either have to block the enemy's pursuit or make them afraid to pursue you easily. Both of these require sufficient strength.

But judging from the current gap in strength between the Yellow Turbans and the government soldiers, the government soldiers are clearly not capable of doing this.

An army of 10,000 strong, with 6,000 lightly-armored warriors rapidly marching in pursuit, under this situation the ability to rush and attack, which the Yellow Turbans had always attached great importance to, came into play.

Although the officers and soldiers in the front were moving very quickly, the transfer of 30,000 troops was no match for the lightly armored Yellow Turbans in the rear. Soon they were caught by the Yellow Turban Army, and the two armies immediately started fighting. The advance of the officers and soldiers was immediately slowed down.

"The Yellow Turbans are chasing us!" Liu Bei walked through the slightly chaotic army formation and quickly found Cao Cao and Zhang He.

Zhang He looked at the two battle lines colliding with each other, his expression tense and solemn: "This is our only chance. If it doesn't work, then we really can only choose to withdraw." After saying that, the three of them nervously observed the situation on the front line. The Yellow Turbans' pursuit and biting reaction was completely within their expectations, and this was also an opportunity they took the initiative to create.

They no longer had any illusions about gearing up for a head-on battle. Although retreat was not easy, it was the only option. If the Yellow Turbans did not pursue them, they would have to make a long-term defensive plan according to the established plan.

But the enemy was more likely to pursue them relentlessly. They had already anticipated this possibility, and now that they were really facing this situation, they chose to take a big gamble.

Only in this situation can we help our side avoid some unfavorable conditions, and this is the only possible chance to turn defeat into victory.

If they lose this bet, then it won't be as nice as Zhang He said about withdrawing, in reality they can only retreat.

"Yuan Rang, the enemy is pursuing us with light armor first. This is our best chance to break through the formation. Time is running out. You must quickly lead your troops to encircle and kill them. You must defeat them before the enemy's heavy armor battalion catches up!"

Seeing that the two sides were already fighting on the front lines, Cao Cao knew that the time had come, and then he looked at Xiahou Dun on the side.

Xiahou Dun looked at Cao Cao, and when he bowed and accepted the order, he also felt Cao Cao's meaningful look.

"I will not fail in my mission!"

Xiahou Dun naturally understood the look, and after saying a few words, he turned his horse and left, and then Cao Cao's nearly 7,000 troops followed suit.

Xiahou Dun had obviously made preparations long ago and commanded very quickly. Soon, a banner with the word "Cao" on it rushed into the battlefield from the flank, and then began to encircle the Yellow Turbans' light armored corps that took the lead.

On this side, Liu Bei also took the same action and ordered Guan Yu to lead more than a thousand elite soldiers to provide cover and fight on the flank.

The situation on the battlefield suddenly became more complicated. Zhang He, Liu Bei and Cao Cao were all worried. They knew that once the Yellow Turbans' heavy armored battalion and most of the troops in the rear caught up, they would definitely lose, because with the intensity of the attack of the officers and soldiers, they could not break through the defense line of the Yellow Turbans' heavy armored formation.

They could only gain a relatively better combat environment by retreating. Now that they were free from the trouble of the Yellow Turbans' heavy armor, the combat pressure was not so great.

But this time window is not long, which means that officers and soldiers must defeat the enemy's vanguard light armored corps as quickly as possible within this short period of time.

As long as we defeat the enemy, we will have the opportunity to pursue and expand our victory, or even completely defeat the Yellow Turban Army!

And can this be done?
This was their strongest offensive against the Yellow Turbans. All the armies were on high alert, whether it was the Cao camp troops led by Xiahou Dun, Guan Yu's 1,000 elite soldiers, or the army of officers and soldiers with Zhao Yun as the vanguard. They all showed even more ferocious momentum and combat power than yesterday.

For the officers and soldiers, this was a desperate gamble. They had already staked all their chips and had no room for reservation.

When this overwhelming offensive broke out, the momentum of the thousands of lightly-armored Yellow Turban troops that were in pursuit was suppressed, and even their formation was broken up.

It seemed that suddenly, the situation began to reverse and the Yellow Turbans became precarious.

However, Wang Dang in the Yellow Turban camp was very calm. He had a clear understanding of the Yellow Turbans' strength and did not think that this level alone would be enough to cause the Yellow Turbans to collapse.

Even though the Yellow Turbans are slowly being surrounded by government soldiers, even though there is no heavy armor defense line now, and even though a large gap in troop strength has been formed for a short period of time, this is not enough to defeat the Yellow Turbans.

The officers and soldiers may be able to suddenly burst out with a powerful fighting force, but this is not enough to sustain the attack, and once the offensive is thwarted, it is easy to stop.

The Yellow Turbans were different. Relying on an intensive training system, they were able to always maintain a stable combat level, and their sensitivity to changes in the battlefield situation became quite low. No matter what their strengths and weaknesses were at the moment, they were able to perform at their expected level.

Wang Dang's judgment was quite accurate. Under the first wave of powerful offensive by the officers and soldiers, although the Yellow Turbans' formation was a little scattered, they quickly reorganized themselves and became more compact and solid. Even without the heavy armored battalion in the front, the gap in combat power between the two sides was not so easy to narrow.

The offensive of the officers and soldiers was like a surging tide, one wave after another, but no matter how they attacked, the Yellow Turbans' formation remained as solid as a rock.

The fierce fighting caused the Yellow Turbans in the front to fall, but the Yellow Turbans in the back were able to calmly and quickly take their places.

Although the attack of the officers and soldiers was fierce, the Yellow Turbans' coordinated operations were closer. When the strongest wave of offensive was repelled by the Yellow Turbans with hard power, the subsequent battles between the two sides became more balanced.

But the balance was not good news for Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Zhang He. Their faces all sank.

If we cannot break the formation in a short time, it means there is no chance of winning.

(End of this chapter)