Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 138: Battle of Fancheng (Part 132)

"kill!"

The Wei army soldiers, with infantry as the backbone and cavalry as flank support, swept towards Feng Xi's stronghold in a mighty force.

However, just halfway through the charge, the Wei army's formation suddenly stagnated.

Countless Wei soldiers screamed as if they were attacked by some unknown attack; many of the Wei cavalry in the front row stumbled, and their horses threw the Wei soldiers off like crazy, and many even fell to the ground and could not get up.

"what happened?!"

Cao Ren was shocked and angry when he saw that his offensive momentum had been curbed before he even reached the enemy. He immediately sent a messenger to the front line to get a clear look.

The messenger was very fast and returned from the front army in the time it took to stick of incense.

"General, many of our soldiers didn't pay attention to their feet and stepped on this thing, resulting in some casualties."

The messenger handed something to Cao Ren. Cao Ren took it and looked at it. It turned out to be a very simple small prop made of four iron nails. However, this thing had one good thing: no matter how you threw it, one side would definitely face up.

This thing is a small prop that later generations called the disgusting cavalry, the caltrop. At this time, let alone horseshoes, there were no stirrups. If this thing pierced the horseshoe, it would be a fatal blow to the warhorse.

The same goes for ordinary soldiers. It would be easy to make a big hole in their straw sandals or cloth shoes. If they were unlucky, they would bring in some dust or something, which would easily lead to infection.

"Humph... you only know how to do this little trick..."

Cao Ren looked grim. Although this was indeed a little trick, it did cause damage to the morale of the Wei army.

By the time the Wei army reached the Han army's main camp, they had lost all their fighting spirit. Facing the rain of arrows from the Han army, the Wei army suffered heavy losses. The cavalry archery tactics that the Wei army had placed high hopes on were also greatly reduced because of the caltrops scattered everywhere.

In addition, Feng Xi ordered his soldiers to dig a number of trenches around the stronghold that were one or two meters deep and connected overnight, making the Wei army's attack even more difficult. Because of the division of the trenches, the troops could not effectively launch waves of attacks in batches.

"Clang clang clang!"

Seeing that the attack was not going well, Cao Ren simply ordered his men to call off the attack. If they continued to send so many troops, the losses would be too great.

In the end, the Wei army retreated in disappointment, leaving behind thousands of corpses, and many of them were injured.

"General, this..."

Wen Pin's anger was almost relieved, but when he saw how hard the Wei army was struggling to attack, he also looked embarrassed.

"Nothing. Victory and defeat are common in the military. The enemy general is obviously well prepared. It is not surprising that our offensive was blocked."

Cao Ren waved his hand. Wars often evolve into long-term tug-of-war. For example, the tug-of-war between Cao Ren and Zhou Yu in Nanjun lasted for more than a year. Therefore, most of the time, the cooperation of the other party is required to decide the outcome of a battle.

Feng Xi was determined to be a cuckold, so even Cao Ren could only slowly grind them down. The Wei army quickly withdrew their troops and returned to the camp. Cao Ren looked at the smoke from the Han army's camp and saw his soldiers cooking. The two sides stopped fighting and a brief peace was achieved.

"Um……"

Cao Ren stroked his beard and thought about how to deal with Feng Xi's iron-fisted tactics. The caltrops were easy to deal with, and the infantry could basically clean them up in one round. Although this was a bit cruel, Cao Ren, as a veteran, would not be so soft-hearted.

Compared to the war horses, what is the price of just a soldier's foot injury?
As for the trenches, when more soldiers died, they would naturally be filled up. As for the bows and arrows of the Han army, although they were sharp, it would be enough if the shield soldiers were used first.

Having planned tomorrow's attack deployment in his mind, Cao Ren couldn't help but smile. However, when he thought of Wen Qin today, he couldn't help but have a little more gloom on his face.

Meng De is dead, and old friends like Yuan Rang and Miao Cai have basically left. Now the country mainly relies on this old guy to deter those guys with evil intentions, and to provide a certain degree of shelter for young people like Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu.

Although there were no major problems with Wen Qin's performance today, the reaction of the Han generals was too strange. Wei Feng rebelled, Wen Qin was imprisoned, Meng De pardoned him... How could Feng Xi not be suspicious when he spoke out these confidential details like cabbage today?

It’s like when your neighbor Wang meets you smilingly, and then says, “You watched the football game until four o’clock yesterday. You should take care of your health and eat less unhealthy things like instant noodles at night.” Anyone would feel uncomfortable.

Cao Ren secretly kept Wen Qin in mind and couldn't help but be wary of him.

On the Han army side, Feng Xi was also on the watchtower, looking at the Wei army camp with smoke rising from the distance, thinking about how to defeat the enemy.

The Han army is now completely inferior to the powerful Wei army. If Feng Xi is forced to fight Cao Ren desperately, Feng Xi is not without a solution. But what about after that? Is there no way out?
Therefore, Feng Xi still hoped to defeat Cao Ren at the lowest cost, inflict heavy damage on the Wei army, and prevent them from looking south to Jingzhou for a short period of time. This would allow him to free up time to beat up Sun Quan, who was beaten half to death.

"Well... Cao Ren is also a veteran on the battlefield. Ordinary tricks will definitely not fool him. I'm not Sun Huan... Sun Huan...?"

Feng Xi touched his chin and thought of a strategy to temporarily slow down the Wei army. Although Cao Ren had rich battlefield experience, he was still far from being a serious strategist. He could come up with a different counter-intuitive strategy based on this.

However, this plan can only be implemented in two days at the earliest, and we will have to face the continued attack of Cao's army tomorrow.

As for Cao Ren's offensive, Feng Xi could easily guess it. It was nothing more than trying to fill the trenches and use large shields to cover the advance of the infantry. As a man who knew two thousand years of history, how could Feng Xi be helpless in the face of such a routine?
"Tell my commander to go to the trench after nightfall and do this and that..."

Feng Xi called the brothers Bao Feng and Bao Yi and asked them to make some modifications to the trench. At the same time, he ordered people to take the water route to urge Huang Quan in Fancheng to speed up the progress, and asked Guan Xing in the city to be ready to go out of the city to pick him up at any time.

Now that he had attracted most of Cao Ren's attention outside the city, he would have to curse Huang Quan if his efficiency was still so slow. And in the end, defeating Cao Ren might depend on Fancheng.

Feng Xi returned to his tent and couldn't help but smile as he looked at the crackling candles.

"Cao Ren, oh Cao Ren, let alone you, even if Jia Xu or Zhuge Liang came, they probably wouldn't be able to recognize the trap in Fancheng."

After all, Feng Xi's arrangement in Fancheng had nothing to do with intelligence, but with "science." Without the knowledge beyond this era, it is difficult to imagine such a plan.

(End of this chapter)