Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 578: Battle of Luoyang (IV)

"Go and inform General Guo Huai not to send out troops. Take advantage of the fact that the Han army is being held back by the front line and go directly into the city through the north or east gate."

Zhang He immediately sent a messenger to inform Guo Huai. Fortunately, Guo Huai was indeed talented and he realized that it was not the right time to attack, so he did not move his troops.

"You will follow General Guo Huai later and find a way to return to Luoyang City."

After Zhang He gave his instructions, he led more than a hundred cavalrymen to the Wei army camp to meet Cao Zhen.

"Why is Jun Yi here? Why are our cavalry so reluctant to outflank us?"

Cao Zhen saw Zhang He actually came to his place, and his brows knitted into a rope, somewhat dissatisfied. Because Zhang He did not act according to the plan, but instead abandoned the army to come here, which could not be explained no matter how you looked at it, and even suspected that he was collaborating with the enemy.

"General, why not leave 30,000 soldiers to hold back the Han army, and the rest of the army can return to Luoyang City with the support of the cavalry and Luoyang City."

Zhang He was silent for a moment, but still put forward his idea.

"Zhang He, do you know what you are talking about? Coward, traitor, scum!"

Cao Zhen was so angry that he drew his sword and put it on Zhang He's neck. In his opinion, Zhang He was just playing tricks on him, saying that the whole army should attack one moment and retreat the next, wasting his army for nothing.

"General, the Han army's bows and crossbows are far more powerful than we imagined, and judging from the current situation, the Han army may not have used all their strength yet. I am afraid that if our cavalry attacks, the entire army will be wiped out.

Therefore, it is better to take the drastic measure and use a small number of troops to cover the retreat. While the main force of the Han army is being held back by our army and has consumed so many supplies, we can return to Luoyang City and keep Luoyang safe.

Luoyang City is high and the moat is deep. It cannot be conquered without a force ten times as strong. We still have a chance of survival by defending Luoyang. Otherwise, given the current situation, I am afraid our army will be completely wiped out in two hours."

Zhang He's words were also his new thoughts based on the current situation. Cao Zhen was silent for a moment, and finally put away the sword in his hand.

"How to act?"

Cao Zhen knew that Zhang He would not deliberately deceive him now. Who could tell what was happening on the battlefield? It was not impossible for him to make a misjudgment.

"The general will lead his men to the northeast immediately. With the cavalry leading the way, the Han army won't have to worry even if they have a backup plan. As for the front battlefield, we only need to leave two generals and 20 to 30 thousand men to delay the Han army and buy time."

"...In that case, who should be left behind?"

After listening to Zhang He's opinion, Cao Zhen gritted his teeth and asked the person who was leaving behind. If he wanted to leave behind now, he would be dead for sure, and I'm afraid no one would be willing to do so.

"Since I have proposed this plan, I will naturally be the one to cover the rear. I also ask the Grand Commander to quickly notify all the troops and prepare to leave."

Zhang He's calm expression surprised Cao Zhen.

"Junyi, this arrangement is inappropriate. Junyi is a great talent, how can he stay in this place of death?"

"General, apart from you and me, the rest of us who stay here probably won't attract the Han army's interest, and we probably won't be able to convince them. Now that I'm here, it's more than enough to buy time for the commander-in-chief."

Zhang He's words do make sense. If someone else were to replace him with someone who is incompetent, he probably wouldn't even be able to hold back the Han army.

"In this case, Junyi should be careful. If things are impossible, just surrender to the Han army. You have done your best to do this."

Cao Zhen finally thought about it and gave Zhang He a promise, that is, to live. "General, I am willing to serve as your deputy general and cover your retreat together."

Wang Sheng bowed on his horse, but what he said was shocking.

"You... well, okay. Remember, if you two can't do anything, just surrender to the Han army. I will protect your families."

Cao Zhen sighed, and immediately sent out scouts to inform Generals Dai Ling and Fei Yao on the front line to prepare to retreat. The central army left by Cao Zhen was now under the command of Zhang He, who was ready to resist the counterattack of the Han army.

"Grand Commander, the situation has changed. The Wei army seems to be retreating."

Ma Su could see clearly with a telescope from the high platform in the center of the army. It seemed that the Wei army could not withstand the casualties and was defeated.

"When the enemy retreats, we advance. Order the Shenwu Battalion to lead some soldiers to press forward."

Following Feng Xi's order, the Shenwu Battalion, dressed in white clothes and armor and armed with swords and shields, enemy-killing crossbows, hook-and-sickle spears and other weapons, and some Han troops armed with light weapons immediately rushed forward, while the large shield soldiers, the Shenji Battalion and others did not make any moves and still held their lines.

"What is the movement of the Wei cavalry?"

Feng Xi asked Ma Su who was on the high platform.

"I haven't seen any. The Wei cavalry has not appeared yet. Could it be that they want to take advantage of our counterattack to attack us?"

Ma Su shook his head. What he and Feng Xi were most concerned about now was the Wei cavalry. As long as the enemy did not show up, they would not dare to attack with all their forces. In order to deal with the last cavalry of the Wei army, the Han army specially brought enough colorful bamboo tubes and firework arrows, which are now called spark bombs. As long as the cavalry dared to show up, they would definitely suffer a great loss.

"It's hard to say. If that's the case, Cao Zhen will lose more than he gains."

Feng Xi naturally did not dare to be negligent. The Shenwu Battalion had strong combat effectiveness, and was also sufficiently armed to deal with a small number of cavalry. If the Wei army tried to annihilate the Shenwu Battalion by using cavalry to bully the infantry, there would surely be heavy casualties. However, in order to deal with Cao Wei's cavalry, Feng Xi's main camp could not act rashly unless he could obtain information about the opponent's movements.

The 30,000-strong Han army turned from defense to offense, and immediately launched a counterattack when the Wei army just wanted to retreat. Using the Shenwu Camp as the spearhead, they began to erase the black blocks on the plain like correction fluid.

"Don't panic! Keep your formation!"

As the large flag symbolizing Cao Zhen's identity slowly moved upstream and forward, the Wei army's retreat became less chaotic, and they remembered their daily training.

With the arrival of the central army led by Zhang He, the Wei army's front line was gradually stabilized.

Zhang He then gathered the remaining soldiers under Fei Yao and combined them with the 10,000 men he brought with him, totaling more than 19,000 people, to try to resist the attack of the Han army.

However, the Wei army's infantry now had no advantage over the Han army. This was the case with training, weapons, and the quality of the soldiers. After several years of development, Jingzhou had long since escaped the desolation caused by the war. There was so much food that several new warehouses were built, and it was no longer a dream for every household to have enough food.

As the animal trainers of Bana Cave, such as King Mulu, began to transform and study systematic breeding techniques such as breeding and selection, meat in Jingzhou was gradually no longer a rarity. At least things like offal can now be considered meat after proper cooking, not to mention that things like pork liver are also good for treating night blindness.

Today, the people and soldiers of Jingzhou are all strong and healthy. The advantage of the Wei army in occupying the north in the past and being able to absorb strong soldiers has disappeared.

As for training and weapons, that's not even necessary, since they were not the strong points of the Wei army. As a result, the infantry of the Wei army quickly fell into a disadvantage when they encountered the infantry of the Han army.

(End of this chapter)