Prancing Horse Xiliang

Chapter 356 Head-to-head battle
Guo Jia said indifferently: "If the ways are different and we don't conspire with each other, why should the general use his mother to coerce him!"

Luo Zhengdao: "Guo Jia, filial piety is the first thing to do. You are also a scholar, but you don't care about your mother's life. Isn't it filial?"

Guo Jia was calm, but he did not give in when he made his speech. He said: "If you are not filial to your subordinates, you are really putting state affairs first. How can you abolish the public with private interests, and the general is holding his mother back? Isn't it too high-handed. But the general has a lot of heart. Don't embarrass my mother!"

Luo Zheng is speechless, whoever said that scholars are gentlemen, one Guo Jia and one Jia Xu are representatives of them.

There is also Zhou Yu, who is a ruthless character who abandons his family and little girl Rulu for the sake of his career.

Luo Zheng calculated that the possibility of killing Guo Jia in a surprise attack at this position is not too great, so he gave up this idea.

Guo Jia seemed to know what he was thinking, and said calmly: "Thanks to the love of the general, it is a great honor for me to be ranked second in the Xiliang Military Merit List. However, it is not so easy to get the head of my subordinate. The Xiliang army is brave and good at fighting, I would like to see it quickly, and tomorrow I would like to lead the Xiliang army in front of the pass, I wonder if the general can fulfill this small wish?"

Luo Zheng's eyes condensed, this is a naked invitation to fight.But how could he be timid to fight, his thoughts flashed, and he couldn't help laughing three times, "Since that's the case, this general will fulfill Mr.'s wish. But it's getting late now, let's fight tomorrow!"

"Thank you General!"

Guo Jia cupped his hands, and without further ado, he drove back to Guanzhong.

Seeing that Luo Zheng couldn't find a chance, he turned his horse's head and went to the front.

Half an hour later, the Xiliang army camp.

Luo Zheng convened a group of civil and military officials to discuss the decisive battle with Cao Jun tomorrow, so that everyone could speak freely.

Fazheng took the lead and said loudly: "My lord, this is unreasonable! Cao Jun is willing to give up Hulao Pass and refuse to defend the city, and instead fight our army here. There must be something wrong with it. Guo Jia must have some tricks."

Luo Zheng said in a deep voice: "What tricks does Guo Jia have?"

Fazheng shook his head and said: "I don't know about this. According to my opinion, Guo Jia's abandonment of Hulao Pass must be some kind of trick to wipe out our army. Guo Jia's target is very likely to be the lord, otherwise Cao's army will never die." I will not give up Hulao Pass."

Luo Zheng's eyes froze for a moment, and he looked at Jia Xu.

Jia Xu also nodded solemnly, and said: "Xiaozhi is right, and Xu thinks so too. Hulao Pass can be said to be the most important thing for Cao Jun to resist our army. If there is no special reason, Cao Jun will definitely not give up easily. Hulao Pass. But now that Guo Jia has abandoned Hulao Pass and invited the lord to fight here, there is only one explanation, that is, Guo Jia is sure to keep all our troops at Sishui Pass, including the lord. Only in this way can Cao Jun make up for the loss of abandoning Hulao Pass."

Luo Zheng said coldly: "This general's [-] army is not made of mud. I have seen many conspiracies and tricks. This general has a lot of wisdom. Guo Guicai has the wisdom of the sky, and what is the ability to bury this general's [-] army Sishui Pass?"

Jia Xu said solemnly: "This matter has to be guarded against. Summer is approaching. Although it is not conducive to fire attack, the Sishui is about the yin of the river and the yang of the Sishui. But it will be troublesome."

Luo Zheng was startled, and said in a deep voice: "Wen He's words are very true, and this matter is indeed unavoidable!"

Fazheng said: "The camp can be moved to a higher place to avoid Cao Jun's water attack."

Luo Zheng said decisively: "Good, do it right away!"

"As ordered!"

Everyone hurriedly got up to respond to orders, and quickly left the tent.

Soon, the Xiliang army rose up and moved the camp to a high place on the ground.

Luo Zheng also ordered his scouts to go all over the upper reaches of the Suo River, but none of them found any abnormalities.

It was night, Sishuiguan Cao Jun camp.

"Military division, the Xiliang army has moved the camp to a higher place."

A lieutenant quickly stepped into the army tent and bowed his hands to Guo Jia.

"It's okay!"

Guo Jia waved his hand and said calmly: "Luo Zheng has a hundred years of experience, Jia Xu and Fazheng are both resourceful, how could they be defenseless?"

The lieutenant asked worriedly: "Has the Xiliang Army discovered our army's secret?"

Guo Jia thought for a moment, and said: "Our army is intercepting the road downstream, and we have already made arrangements, the Xiliang army may not be able to find out. But our army voluntarily abandoned the Hulao Pass, Luo Zheng, Jia Xu and others must have doubts, and the generals The move of the battalion to a higher place should be just a precaution. The general needn't worry about it. We just have to wait for the decisive battle tomorrow to see the outcome. Even if the Xiliang army discovered our army's secret, Jia still has a way to block the Xiliang army for several months , then the lord and Yuan Shao should also decide the outcome."

The lieutenant cupped his hands and said, "I obey!"

The next day, Si closed the Shuixi Gate.

The war drums shook the sky, and the howls rang together.

Just after dawn, teams of Cao Jun drove out of Sishui Pass and assembled on the military ground outside the pass.

A scout from the Xiliang army scouted the horses to find out the news and reported it to the Chinese army. After Luo Zheng heard the news, he immediately set up his camp and led his army to the outside of Sishui Pass. He formed a formation [-] steps away from the Cao army. In the middle, [-] cavalry are on the left.

The three links of the drum sounded, and the two armies formed a circle.

Luo Zheng, Jia Xu, Fazheng and others climbed onto the high platform to check Cao Jun's formation.

I saw a group of soldiers with swords and shields holding their shields, squatting on the ground, and the two rows of archers behind them stretched their bows and drew arrows. Cavalry raid.

In front of the army formation and on the left and right sides, a row of chariots nailed with antlers formed a wall.

If the Xiliang cavalry launched a surprise attack rashly, they would surely be beaten to the ground by these big guys and suffered heavy losses.

Jia Xu took a few glances, then shook her head and said, "Impeccable."

Fa Zheng stared at the flying banners of Cao Jun's Zhong Jun, and said loudly: "If Guo Jia really has any conspiracy, it must be hidden in the Zhong Jun, otherwise what are you doing with so many flags, you must be covering up something."

Jia Xu and Cheng Ying also nodded.

After Luo Zhenglue thought about it, he ordered: "Cao Jun formed a defensive formation, obviously he doesn't want to take the initiative to attack, let me see what kind of conspiracy Guo Guicai is up to! Order forward to attack and see how Cao Jun reacts."

"As ordered!"

Gao Shun accepted the order solemnly, and immediately waved his hand.

The commanding officer's face had long been solemn, and he quickly passed on the military order with words of thanks.

In front of the formation of the army, the commanding officer's eyes sharpened, and he raised his saber and shouted loudly, "Attack!"

dong dong dong...

The shocking war drum exploded leisurely, and the heart of the person who was shaken jumped a few times.

The sword and shield soldiers in the front row held their shields and immediately got out of the formation. The spearmen followed closely behind and quickly advanced forward. An inexplicable chilling atmosphere began to spread over the battlefield. Even though it was five hundred steps away, Cao Jun soldiers It can still be faintly felt.

At the same time, there was also the sound of shocking drums in Cao's army.

A group of heavy infantry stepped out of the formation, and when they reached the front of the formation, they set up a giant shield as tall as a man.

On the high platform, Luo Zheng's eyes were fixed, "When did Cao Jun have heavy infantry?"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said: "This is also expected. It is much easier to train a heavy infantry than cavalry. The Central Plains produces more refined iron. Cao's army does not have many cavalry. The infantry is not inferior to our army in terms of equipment. How many."

Fazheng said: "The military adviser is right, but the equipment of Cao's army should not be as good as ours, right?"

Jia Xu nodded, "In terms of excellent armor, our army is the best in the world, but Cao's army is not far behind."

Just as he was speaking, the Xiliang infantry charging in front and arrow formation had already rushed within the range of Cao Jun. The archers behind the sword and shield soldiers immediately let go of their full bows and arrows after the Commander Commander gave an order. , All arrows are fired.

"Combine!"

In front of the Xiliang army, the captain of the commanding army roared, and the sword and shield soldiers who were rolling in stopped immediately. one slice.

The black rain of arrows pierced through the air like locusts crossing the border, and shot fiercely at the Xiliang army.

snatch snatch snatch...

The sound of arrows hitting the wooden shield was continuous like the sound of broken leather.

Although the continuous shield array blocked most of the arrow rain, there were still many arrows with very tricky angles passing through the gaps between the shields and hitting the Xiliang soldiers behind them, causing them to scream miserably.

"attack!"

The captain of the commanding army didn't even frown, and when the rain of arrows passed, he immediately roared.

The [-]-sword shield soldiers immediately withdrew the shield formation, and rushed forward with the protection of the [-] spearmen.

It wasn't until after three waves of arrow rain that he was able to rush within twenty steps of Cao Jun.At this time, hundreds of the [-]-sword shield soldiers had been shot and wounded by Cao Jun's archers, but no one retreated. As long as they were still able to move, they were still rushing forward.

After the reform of Xiliang's military system, military regulations have also undergone many changes.

The treatment of soldiers who have made great achievements in battle is good, but the same military regulations have also become more stringent. It is a capital offense to retreat before the battle and not to fight. Only when there is no way of retreat will the soldiers beheaded and retreated, so that the soldiers have no way of retreat and can only move forward bravely.

But now, retreating before the battle and fearing to fight have been written into the new military regulations and become the military law of the Xiliang Army.

Regardless of whether the war is won or not, as long as you retreat on the battlefield, it is a capital offense.

Under such circumstances, even if the soldiers were injured, they could only grit their teeth and charge forward.Rather than fleeing back and being beheaded and dying a worthless death, it is better to die on the road of charge and leave more property for his wife and children.

Although the Xiliang Army's new regulations are very harsh on the soldiers who retreat before the battle and fear the battle, the pensions for the soldiers who died in the battle are also more generous than before. Sons and daughters will starve to death.

Cao Jun Zhongjun, on a high platform.

"Military division, these Xiliang troops are different from before!"

The lieutenant stared at the battlefield in front of him, a haze flashed in his eyes for no reason, and said to Guo Jia.

Guo Jia's face was also a bit dignified, and said: "Yes, the Xiliang Army reformed the military system, and some methods of deterring soldiers who retreated before the battle and feared the battle were all written into the military regulations. In this way, rushing forward will kill you , You have to die if you retreat before the battle, and beheaded as a deserter is worse than dying on the way to charge, and you can leave a fortune for your wife and children."

The lieutenant general said, "Why doesn't our army follow the example of Xiliang's reform?"

Guo Jia shook his head and said, "It's not that easy. Everything has two sides. The Xiliang Army has never rewarded soldiers for meritorious service since ancient times! Because of this, the Xiliang Army's new regulations are harsh and will not cause soldiers to retaliate. If there is no generous reward, how can we make the soldiers go forward bravely, and to govern the army with harsh punishments will only do harm to the army, and will not do any good at all!"

The deputy general suddenly said: "The end general understands."

Having said that, my heart felt inexplicably heavy.

At this moment, the Xiliang army had rushed to within twenty paces.

Guo Jia immediately ordered: "Let the archers withdraw, the spearmen step forward, and fight to the death with the Xiliang army!"

"As ordered!"

The worthy commander responded loudly and quickly passed down the military order.

When the sound of the drum changed again, the archers in front of Cao Jun's formation immediately withdrew. At the same time, [-] pikemen had already stepped out when the sound of the drum changed, and arrived behind the heavy infantry, ready to fight.

The sound of the drums shook the sky, and the killing intent had already begun to boil.

At this time, the golden glow in the east is overwhelming, and a round of red sun has just jumped out of the sky.

Five thousand Xiliang soldiers marched forward bravely, and slammed into the front line of Cao Jun who was waiting in full force.Amidst the shocking sound of war drums, the blood-thirsty shouts of killing almost tore the sky.

The Xiliang army is well-equipped and well-trained. Inspired by military merits, everyone is powerless. Everyone is desperate, with green lights in their eyes. They want to take the heads of Cao Jun soldiers back to claim meritorious service. No one will back down, even if they die, they will pull one Pad back.

Cao Jun is also well-trained, and his weapons and armor are not much worse than the Xiliang Army, and he is also an elite in all battles.

But compared with the Xiliang army, which is not afraid of death, there is always something missing. If I have to describe it, it is that killing is not active enough, not as pure as the purpose of Xiliang soldiers, lacking enough heart to fight and kill motivation.

This is a real head-to-head showdown, a showdown without bells and whistles.

It is also the first frontal attack of the Xiliang Army since the reform of the military system.

The Cao army they faced was also one of the most elite troops in the world, but the Xiliang army did not back down at all.

The heavy infantry is used for defense and can effectively protect other relatively weak arms. However, when the two armies are fighting together, these bulky big guys are really difficult to exert much damage and lethality because they lack sufficient flexibility.

Cao Jun's first platoon of heavy infantry was quickly destroyed by the desperate charge of the Xiliang Army.

The shield soldiers and spear soldiers of the two armies were mixed together, all fighting for their lives. From time to time, soldiers screamed and fell down. The corpses of the soldiers piled up into a wall of flesh between the two armies, and the ground was soaked in blood.

The soldiers were all killed, stepping on Pao Ze's body, all struggling forward to kill.

Luo Zheng, Jia Xu, Fazheng, etc. looked solemn, standing on the high platform to watch the fight ahead.

Guo Jia also looked solemn, looking down at the battlefield in front of the formation, the corners of his mouth were twitching non-stop, because with the passage of time, some changes have gradually taken place in the head-on decisive battle that was originally difficult to distinguish.

(End of this chapter)