Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

The White Horse Riders' movement instantly made them the center of the battlefield.

Yuan Shao's expression also changed, this action completely exceeding his expectations.

Everyone knows that You Province cavalry are not good at charging into formations, and Yuan Shao is naturally aware of this.

Currently, Gongsun Zan is clearly preparing to lead five thousand White Horse Riders to charge into the formation, his target directly aimed at Yuan Shao's location.

However, Yuan Shao is even more aware that he absolutely cannot retreat even a step.

Once Yuan Shao retreats, the current favorable situation will completely collapse.

And blocking the White Horse Riders' advance are only Qu Yi's eight hundred Vanguard Deathsworn.

"Where is Gao Lan?!"

Yuan Shao shouted loudly.

Immediately, a valiant and imposing warrior rushed in front of Yuan Shao, cupping his fist in salute.

"Your subordinate is here."

"You are to lead two thousand personal guards to immediately support Qu Yi. No matter what, you must stop Gongsun Zan," Yuan Shao said in a deep voice.

"Gao Lan obeys!"

Gao Lan responded and immediately began organizing his forces.

Gongsun Zan was not wrong about one thing.

Yuan Shao, with only Bohai, Wei Commandery, and Qinghe State under his control, has exhausted all his resources and currently has only a little over sixty thousand infantry available.

After all, Yuan Shao only barely controls Wei Commandery and Qinghe State. His base of power is only Bohai, and he has been able to muster over sixty thousand combat troops entirely due to sufficient funds and provisions.

In this location, the actual strength of Yuan Shao's forces is only about fifty thousand.

In order to continuously suppress the majority of the You Province cavalry, Yuan Shao does not have many troops he can freely deploy, and those entrusted to Gao Lan are his trusted personal guards.

Currently, Yuan Shao can only hope that Qu Yi and Gao Lan can work together to stop Gongsun Zan, otherwise... he fears disaster.

Yuan Shao's heart tightened, but his expression remained calm, constantly directing the various units to continue suppressing Gongsun's army, without the slightest intention of retreating or avoiding the confrontation.

"Bang, bang, bang!!!"

Another burst of crossbow fire erupted, felling a small group of White Horse Riders.

However, this is not the narrow Jie Bridge. Under Gongsun Zan's command, facing the Vanguard Deathsworn's charge, the White Horse Riders consciously spread out, increasing the distance between them.

This made the casualties inflicted by the Vanguard Deathsworn far less than those at Jie Bridge.

The White Horse Riders, following Gongsun Zan's charge, did not retreat in the slightest, but quickly filled the gaps left by the fallen White Horse Riders, maintaining their wedge formation.

And relying on his first-rate martial prowess, while maintaining sufficient distance and vigilance, the several powerful crossbow bolts that came his way did not pose a threat to Gongsun Zan.

"You bandits, prepare to die!"

Gongsun Zan shouted loudly, the distance between the two sides closing in an instant.

Due to the different terrain and speed, the Vanguard Deathsworn's powerful crossbows, originally fired in three volleys, were completely useless.

Qu Yi was also aware of this. After ordering the eight hundred Vanguard Deathsworn to release their crossbow bolts in a single volley, he immediately ordered them to discard their crossbows, instead picking up the shields they had been using as cover with one hand and gripping their long sabers with the other.

"Vanguard Deathsworn!"

Qu Yi shouted.

"Live through death!!!"

The eight hundred Vanguard Deathsworn roared in response.

The Vanguard Deathsworn were essentially those who charged ahead to scale city walls during sieges, all of them unafraid of death.

Under Qu Yi's training, the Vanguard Deathsworn were not only skilled in crossbow coordination, but also unafraid of close-quarters combat, fighting to the death.

The next moment, led by Gongsun Zan, the White Horse Riders and the Vanguard Deathsworn officially collided.

Almost instantly, more than a dozen Vanguard Deathsworn at the front were sent flying by the enormous inertia of the warhorses.

However, this temporarily blocked the momentum of the White Horse Riders' charge at the cost of their lives.

Immediately afterwards, one by one, the Vanguard Deathsworn, led by Qu Yi, skillfully used their shields to protect themselves, while bending down or rolling to cut off the legs of the White Horses, and then finishing off the fallen White Horse Riders.

Among them, Qu Yi directly targeted Gongsun Zan, and the two engaged in fierce combat.

After a dozen or so exchanges without a clear victor, Gongsun Zan raised his eyes and scanned the battlefield, immediately sensing that something was wrong, and muttered.

"Why is this different from what I imagined?"

At this moment, the White Horse Riders and the Vanguard Deathsworn were entangled in a fierce battle. Even though the White Horse Riders had lost their speed, their individual combat strength was far superior to ordinary soldiers, and they also had a significant numerical advantage.

Therefore, even though the Vanguard Deathsworn were proving to be exceptionally difficult to deal with, the overall situation remained evenly matched for the time being.

A large number of White Horse Riders had their legs cut off, fell to the ground, and were killed, but the losses of the Vanguard Deathsworn were equally devastating.

The wide battlefield of the plains allowed the White Horse Riders, with their numerical and speed advantages, to continuously expand from both flanks, encircling and attacking the outer Vanguard Deathsworn, and even occasionally using their superb archery skills to launch surprise attacks on the Vanguard Deathsworn.

This caused the casualties on both sides to rise rapidly.

If this continued, it would not be difficult to exhaust the Vanguard Deathsworn to death.

But the problem was that Gongsun Zan wanted to lead the White Horse Riders to break through the formation and directly target Yuan Shao's location.

However, it was gradually developing into close-quarters combat.

Just then, Gao Lan, leading two thousand personal guards, rushed to the scene, cooperating with the Vanguard Deathsworn to stabilize the White Horse Riders on both flanks, and directly engaging in close-quarters combat with the White Horse Riders.

"Gongsun, you villain, you dare to be distracted! Prepare to die!"

Before Gongsun Zan could think further, Qu Yi, who had just been forced back a few steps, charged up again, bending down to cut off his horse's legs.

"You villain, how dare you!"

Gongsun Zan, who valued his horse as his life, was furious at the sight. He pulled on the reins with one hand, manipulating the white horse beneath him to rear up, dodging the blow. At the same time, he thrust his horse spear towards Qu Yi's back.

"Clang!"

Qu Yi raised his shield and blocked upwards, sparks flying.

The next moment, the white horse's high-raised front legs, as if knowing Gongsun Zan's intentions, suddenly fell, about to stomp on the shield.

If this stomp landed, even if the shield was not destroyed, Qu Yi, carrying it, would have his bones shattered.

However, Qu Yi seemed to have anticipated this, rolling to the side in advance to dodge, narrowly avoiding it. Then, he leaped up again and slashed at the white horse's hind legs.

This time, Gongsun Zan turned the horse spear in his hand, blocking it in front of the blade first.

While Gongsun Zan and Qu Yi fought fiercely, the White Horse Riders did not break through the Vanguard Deathsworn's blockade in an instant as Gongsun Zan had expected.

However, after the White Horse Riders actively charged into Yuan Shao's formation, they completely ignited the morale of the You Province cavalry, who began to find ways to fight back under the leadership of their respective generals.

Yuan Shao's archers released multiple rounds of arrows. When their arms became sore and they had to temporarily stop, it gave the cavalry in the riverbed a chance to breathe.

Even though they had lost their speed, the strength of these cavalrymen, skilled in mounted archery, was far superior to ordinary infantrymen, and they were equally formidable in close-quarters combat.

The general is the courage of the soldiers, and the White Horse is the soul of You Province.

With Gongsun Zan and the White Horse Riders taking the lead, leading the You Province cavalry to constantly counterattack, the battle situation was gradually being turned around by the You Province cavalry.

Especially the Han Fu infantry in the rear, seeing Gongsun Zan leading the army to fight to the death, fighting with Yuan Shao's ambushing troops, also began to pass through Jie Bridge to join the battle.

Noticing this, Gongsun Zan lost his previous impatience.

The huge difference in strength between the two sides, even if Yuan Shao had set up an ambush, as long as the You Province cavalry were united and did not collapse, if they continued to drag on like this, Yuan Shao's army would still have no choice but to be defeated.

(End of chapter)