three kings

Chapter 392
The cavalry began to rise in the Warring States Period, and the army's combat gradually changed from focusing on infantry and cavalry to focusing on both vehicles and cavalry.Later, King Zhao Wuling's "Hufu cavalry and shooting", and Zhao Guozhan Li Mu's cavalry "slightly a thousand miles" pushed the cavalry to a peak.

It can be said that all the well-known generals in history were experts in cavalry control. For example, Li Mu used cavalry to defeat tens of thousands of Xiongnu, and Bai Qi used five thousand fine cavalry to cut off the Zhao army. world meritorious service.In the Han Dynasty and Han Xin's battle against Zhao, two thousand Qingqi was also the key to victory.

During the period of Han Wu, the talented and powerful Emperor Wu of the Han completely abandoned chariots and established an extremely large cavalry force.And their commanders Wei Qing and Huo Qubing led tens of thousands of cavalry many times, used roundabout outflanking, and went deep into the enemy's rear to defeat the Xiongnu.Especially Huo Qubing, who went deep into the Xiongnu for more than [-] miles, defeated the enemy army and returned to Xushan, which became a good story and became a miracle in war.

Therefore, Sun Can himself has a very deep understanding of cavalry. Even though his territory is not a treasure land for horses and horses, and it is not suitable for domesticating excellent war horses, he still buys excellent war horses from other places at high prices and forms various types of cavalry. More than ten thousand, accounting for one-third of the total army.

There are many types of cavalry, which can be divided into two categories.A ranger like Fan Wu is flexible and good at harassing; a wolf rider like Zhang Liao is good at short-distance sprints, using speed to divide the enemy and disrupt the opponent's formation.

But all cavalry have a weakness. Once the impact is lost, their ability will drop by two-thirds. If they encounter well-trained pikemen without this impact, the consequences will be very serious of.

Therefore, facing Ma Chao's Xiliang cavalry, Sun Can used the sword and shield soldiers as the first line of defense very experienced. He didn't expect those sword and shield soldiers to resist the Xiliang cavalry, but at least they could weaken their impact. The Xiliang cavalry without impact will not cause much harm.

It was enough to support the victory of the left and right wings, but he did not expect that Ma Chao would use an unimaginable tactic to give the Xiliang iron cavalry countless continuous impact.

Just ask, who can resist the continuous sprint of an elite cavalry?Who would have expected that a cavalry could charge continuously?

"Withdraw!" Ever since Ma Chao broke through his front army, Sun Can had already realized that he had lost the battle, and without any hesitation, he gave the order to retreat decisively.

As soon as the word "withdraw the troops" came out, Sun Can's mouth was full of bitterness. He had not experienced failure before, but it was the first time he lost in this battle. Unexpectedly, the real strength of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry does not lie in the overall quality of the army. It's about their tactics.

Thinking about it, Liangzhou is the most western part of the Han Dynasty. It has always been a treasure land rich in cavalry. They are surrounded by Qiang, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wusun and other horsemen. For many years, the cavalry in Liangzhou has always guarded the Han. In the frontier land, there is no disadvantage in the battle.Both experience and skills are not comparable to some cavalry. Over the past century, some cavalry control skills and tactics have been handed down. How could I be so careless and just fall into the opponent's way?
Sun Can looked at the "Cao" banner in the distance, and sighed: "This should be your trump card. You and I have fought for more than ten battles, but I didn't deny that you were behind the scenes. Meng De, let's wait and see!"

In his heart, Sun Can launched the most favorable declaration of war against Cao Cao.

The army retreated slowly.

"My lord, it's too late, please retreat first!" Zhuge Liang glanced at the imposing Ma Chao and said eagerly.

"No, I can't retreat!" Sun Can said resolutely: "The order to withdraw the troops at this moment has already caused uneasiness in the hearts of the soldiers. If I escape alone, with Ma Chao's talent, I will definitely go all out, and Cao Cao will also come out. At that time The loss to other troops will be immeasurable. We must minimize the loss."

"My lord, please send a team of soldiers and horses to my subordinates. I will do my best to stop Ma Chao from advancing." A soft but firm voice came from beside Sun Can.

"You...don't be joking!" Sun Can glanced at the speaker, showing a weird smile.

That person was none other than Jia Xu, his advisor.

"Does my lord think that my subordinates are not qualified to take you to death?" Jia Xu's eyes were reddish, and he looked devastated, heartbroken.

"I don't have it?" Sun Can murmured in his mind. Jia Xu has worked in his hands for many years. things will never be done.If it was Guo Jia or Zhuge Liang who spoke, Sun Can would believe it a little bit, but Jia Xu didn't believe it a bit.

"What tricks is this old fox playing?" Sun Can frowned slightly.

Soon, the answer was revealed.

Another rough voice came, "My lord, sir, there is no need to argue. The lord is a body of gold, and he must not make mistakes. Mr. is loyal, but he is a scholar, with outstanding resourcefulness, but he has no power to restrain chickens." , how can you lead the troops, let the subordinates come down! The subordinates are willing to lead the army and horses of the headquarters to fight against Ma Chao." The person who spoke was Hua Xiong.

"General, what you say is reasonable, but this battle is extraordinary, if you are not careful, you will be doomed." Jia Xu suddenly hit the snake stick and sighed: "Let's get down here!"

"What are you talking about?" Hua Xiong said angrily, "Sir, even a literati is not afraid of death, so what am I, Hua Xiong, afraid of?"

After finishing speaking, Hua Xiong knelt down in front of Sun Can, drew his saber across his neck, and cried, "I, Hua Xiong, cherish the sun and help the emperor to do evil, and almost hurt my lord's life. Afterwards, my lord not only didn't blame me, but also led me into the right path, and even I did not hesitate to turn against Yuan Shao, the leader of the Kwantung Alliance Army. From then on, I, Hua Xiong, knew that the meaning of my life was to fight for my lord. Over the years, Hua Xiong has been supported by my lord and has become a famous general today. All this is due to the lord's reward. Hua Xiong has already been satisfied, if the lord does not send Hua Xiong to this battle today, Hua Xiong would rather kill himself in front of him."

"Okay, sure!" Sun Can glared at Jia Xu fiercely, and burst out two words from his mouth with difficulty.

Eight thousand heavy infantry from the "Ruijin Battalion" rushed towards Ma Chao under Hua Xiong's call.

"Retire!" From a moral point of view, it is not honorable to abandon subordinates and retreat, but sometimes as a commander, this order must be issued.

Facing the Xiliang iron cavalry with unlimited impact, the [-] heavy infantry of the "Ruijin Battalion" are indeed no match. The [-] cavalry are like a group of mad bulls under the tactics of serial assaults. As if possessing infinite power, it attacked the "Ruijin Camp" tirelessly.

The sharpest spear pierces the strongest shield.

The "Ruijin Battalion", which has always been dominated by defense, is struggling to withstand the opponent's repeated attacks.

With the passage of time, the number of "Ruijin Battalion" has become less and less. They are still fighting bravely, but the situation is close to despair.

Hua Xiong's horse was killed in the fight, the leading team had been divided into several parts, and the soldiers around him were killed one after another, and he himself was caught in the melee, forming a circle with several unknown teams. Fight with enemies.At this time, the enemy's pressure was increasing. His armor was splattered with the blood of himself and the enemy.

"There are [-] soldiers not far behind the general, let's kill them and break through!" Just when Hua Xiong couldn't hold back, an exciting news came.

Hua Xiong chopped down the two of them with a knife, "If you can still move, kill me!"

Hua Xiong fluttered his sword, gritted his teeth, and rushed backwards. During this short journey of less than half a mile, Hua Xiong did not know how many sieges he broke through and how many enemies he killed.

Anyway, only seven of the more than 50 soldiers who had followed him in the charge remained, including a small group of soldiers who rejoined the team along the way.

But when they broke through the siege and joined the more than 800 besieged soldiers, everyone could no longer hold back the joy and excitement in their hearts, and wept bitterly.

Because their generals did not abandon them.

Hua Xiong was almost as if he had been fished out of blood, his whole body was red and white, exuding an astonishing will to fight, he looked around coldly, and shouted hoarsely: "You are all My brother Hua Xiong, in today's battle, I, Hua Xiong, have already decided to delay until the last moment for my lord, and those who are willing to fight will follow me. Those who are not willing to surrender, I, Hua Xiong, will never blame."

As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed towards the crowded place.

The rest of the soldiers looked at each other, and raised the sharp knives in their hands again.

The soldiers of the "Ruijin Battalion" fought to the last moment, and no one in the whole army surrendered.

Huaxiong's entire army won enough time for Sun Can to retreat, minimizing casualties.

Sun Can, who lost for the first time, ordered the entire army to retreat ten miles.

This battle was Sun Can's first defeat in the battle with Cao Cao, losing more than [-] troops, and even lost the general Hua Xiong, while their opponents were only [-].If Hua Xiong hadn't fought to the death to the last moment, Sun Canjun's losses would have been five times, or even six times that figure.

"Let's go, General Hua. I will help you get it back in this battle." Sun Can poured a jar of wine on the ground in the barracks, recalling the past, his eyes turned red.

(End of this chapter)