Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 3297: What is face?

People who have never actually been on the battlefield will probably have two extremes when they first go to war. One is that they think it is very difficult, will be very afraid, refuse, and escape. They are probably like Kong Rong, who will read scriptures or other things. There is no way to cover up one's own incompetence and helplessness. The other way is to be very brave and feel that the battle formation is just like that. Just charge and kill, and A will be done.

Guanqiu Jian most likely belongs to the second type.

He was young and prone to passion. Although Liu Fu told him to be cautious and even said that it would not matter if all the baggage was burned down and that he would just mobilize it from the rear, Guanqiu Jian felt that he could win, and he also Should win.

 He is too eager to be praised and recognized.

  It is a real compliment, not a false politeness.

This impulse caused Guanqiu Jian to forget something.

  Or something has been overlooked.

Guanqiu Jian's family environment is better than the above, and the successful people he sees when he looks up are all pouring chicken soup to him. Hard work will be rewarded, and bravery will lead to success. .

 So he worked hard and was brave.

At the moment when Guan Qiujian led the men and horses out of the camp, the hussars and horses rampaging along the river and on the pontoon obviously shrank, as if they were a little afraid of Guan Qiujian's arrival. The situation of one and the other was greatly irritating. Guanqiu Jian and his soldiers of Cao's army roared and rushed towards the pontoon bridge occupied and controlled by the Hussars.

 Darkness, fire.

People shout and horses neigh.

 The river surged and the artillery roared.

 Everything is so chaotic, yet so full of rhythm.

 The rhythm of death.

Guanqiu Jian had just led his men to the vicinity of the pontoon when the horse he stepped off suddenly neighed in fright. Then, as if he had stepped on something, he swung his front hooves, neighed, kicked and kicked with all his might, almost knocking him off. Guanqiu Jian got off his horse and came. Guanqiu Jian was suddenly awakened from his beautiful thoughts. He held the horse's reins tightly and even hugged the horse's neck to prevent him from falling off.

While Guan Qiujian was trying his best to control the horse, some frightening sounds suddenly rang in his ears.

　　　　Whoosh! Whizzing! 』

Although the river was rushing beside it, the artillery in Tongguan was rumbling and trembling from time to time, and the screams of the surrounding people and horses were still noisy, this fear that was almost engraved in his bones still made him instinctively He bent down and leaned on the horse.

 In the interplay of darkness and light and fire, a crossbow bolt whizzed by.

 The crossbow arrows fired from the river are as fast as locusts.

　　The soldiers of Cao's army who were charging at the front suddenly fell down in large numbers, including their men and their horses. Most of them were infantry, and a small number of cavalry may have been shielded or attracted by war horses. The horses were injured rather than the people, but the people were also knocked over, and the formation was suddenly in chaos!

　　　Ambush! There is an ambush! 』

Cao's soldiers shouted loudly, but in the chaotic scene, it did not have the proper warning effect.

 Some soldiers of Cao's army still ran forward with inertia, and then stepped on their compatriots, or subconsciously stopped their feet, only to be knocked to the ground by the compatriots behind them.

With the cold river water on one side and the ignited supplies on the other, Guanqiu Jian and others were caught in the middle, enjoying the services of both the ice and fire worlds, and had to endure not to ejaculate...ahem, not to be shot...

  Crossbow bolts and arrows roared and flew one after another.

Although after the first round of arrows and crossbows, Cao Jun quickly blocked the direction of the arrows with his shield, which reduced the damage of subsequent arrows and crossbows a lot, these attacks from the darkness Arrows and crossbows still caused Cao's soldiers to panic.

  Including Guanqiu Jian.

At this moment when the commander should have stood up, given orders and responded quickly, what was Guanqiu Jian doing?

 He was busy competing with his own horse.

 In his nervousness, he failed to notice that his horse had stepped on something. He just thought that his horse was out of control.

The ambition to make great achievements and become a noble general has dissipated at this moment. The only thoughts left in my mind are: why did this war horse suddenly become disobedient?

 Obviously, Guanqiu Jian underestimated the combat effectiveness of the hussars and horses.

Perhaps these two hundred hussars and horses are just a fraction compared to the tens of millions of men and horses in Cao's army camp, but war is not just a comparison of numbers. In this small local battlefield by the floating bridge river, Cao's army was crushed in terms of the quality of its individual soldiers.

 Guanqiu Jian felt that the Hussars were outnumbered, so after a successful sneak attack, he would set a few fires, kill a few people and then run away. The current results must have been very valuable for the hussars, so when he led the troops forward, these hussars should have fled in a hurry when they saw that the situation was not good.

As a result, what Guan Qiu Jian didn't expect was that Hao Zhao not only did not escape, but instead secretly set up some men on the side of the river to lure Guan Qiu Jian into deforming his array, and then waited for him with a barrage of arrows.

"kill! Hit the middle! Kill! 』

Hao Zhao roared, covered half of his face with his shield, and charged forward with his sword in hand.

Why not spread out two wings to counter-encircle Cao's army?

 It's very simple. Under the darkness and firelight, Hao Zhao and others could not clearly see the thorns on the ground. They could only avoid the area where they had been spread before and rush forward.

Hao Zhao directly ran into the Cao army's formation, and cut down one of the Cao soldiers with a single blow. He quickly pushed his shield away from the sword and spear of another Cao soldier, and retaliated with a knife and cut open the exposed arm of the Cao soldier, which was not protected by armor.

Blood spattered out, and the smell of blood suddenly filled the air.

The miserable howls of injury made other Cao Jun soldiers instinctively feel the presence of danger, and couldn't help but restrain their hands and feet.

"kill him! kill him! 』

After finally getting off his horse, Guanqiu Jian finally issued an order like that, but he also gave Hao Zhao the direction of the attack.

Hao Zhao stood at the forefront of the military formation. This position was of course extremely risky, but it also had great benefits.

Most of the Shanxi generals and frontier commanders in the Han Dynasty like to fight on the front line. Not only can they output damage, but also the on-the-spot dispatching is more direct and more effective than commanding at the back line with messengers running back and forth.

Hao Zhao and Cao Jun soldiers have fought many times, and they have a strong psychological advantage. Not only are they not afraid at all, but they are also more agile and brave because of the secretion of adrenaline.

When Guan Qiujian shouted the order, he was discovered by Hao Zhao on the front line in the gap between the chaotic light and shadow crowd.

Hao Zhao chopped down one Cao Jun soldier, then put his shield in front of him, held the swords and spears of the other two Cao Jun soldiers, and shouted at the guards around him: "Five Elements of Thunder!" Fifty steps to the left! 』

　　　　Fifty steps to the left and ahead! ” Hao Zhao’s guards also shouted.

Among the hussars, several people immediately shrank under the friendly shields, then took off the grenades hanging behind them, pulled out the plug, pierced the sealing oil paper, pulled out the fuse, and moved it to the side. As soon as the torch was lifted up, he let out a low shout and threw it in the direction Hao Zhao shouted.

 Three or four grenades flew through the air, and then fell into Cao's army's line.

　　　『Ahhhhh...』

 Cao Jun's soldiers seemed to realize something, and they suddenly screamed in panic and subconsciously avoided, making the already uneven queue even more chaotic.

　　　Boom! 』

 A grenade exploded.

 The grenade that has been improved several times is more powerful and more lethal than the first generation grenade.

To put it simply, the killing radius of a first-generation grenade is only about two to three steps. If it exceeds five steps, it will usually only be splashed by rock and wood chips. The direct damage is very small. However, with the purification of black powder and the fragmentation of grenades, With improvements, the current grenade can do a certain amount of damage within ten steps.

 It is only a certain amount of damage and may not cause death on the spot. Compared with the large-scale lethality within ten or even fifty meters of later generations, black powder is still a little brother.

The air wave of the explosion overturned two or three Cao Jun soldiers near the explosion point, and grenade fragments roared and flew.

Like a sharp blade, a piece of fragment cut a huge wound into the thigh of one of Cao's soldiers, and then plunged into the abdomen of another Cao's soldier without any pause.

 The huge wound opened, exposing the pale leg bones, with irregular twisted muscles and skin on the sides. Blood poured out from the huge wound like a fountain, "Ahhhhh..."

It wasn't until the blood spurted out that the injured Cao Jun soldier seemed to feel the pain, roared at the top of his lungs, and turned over and fell to the ground.

　　　Boom! boom! 』

There were several more explosions.

The broken limbs and pieces of flesh and armor fragments flew up in the thick smoke, and then crashed down together with the dirt and gravel, hitting the armor pockets of the remaining uninjured Cao Jun soldiers.

A stone hit Guanqiu Jian's pocket with a thud, knocking all his pockets crooked.

Guan Qiujian shouted uncontrollably, and was so frightened that he closed his eyes. He staggered, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.

There was panic and shouting all around, and all the soldiers of Cao's army were shouting and hiding. Guanqiu Jian's behavior was not very obvious. After a while, Guanqiu Jian came back to his senses. He only felt numbness on the top of his head, but it was not painful. He quickly lowered his head and looked at himself. He was still intact. His soul had returned to his body.

 He shifted his gaze to where the grenade landed.

The stomach of a soldier of Cao Army was cut open, and the colorful intestines in the abdomen were scattered, and filth and internal organs were constantly flowing out. He was lying on his back on the ground. He was not dead for a while, and his hands and feet were still twitching...

Guan Qiujian looked at the scene in front of him with fear. His original ambition had now been greatly shaken, and a sour stench rose up from his throat.

He vomited profusely... The morale of Cao's army collapsed, and the hussars naturally became more and more brave.

Hao Zhao used his shield on his left and his sword on his right, smashing and slashing, killing three or four people in an instant. He was as brave as a tiger and was unstoppable.

　　　『Kill the enemy general! Seize Cao Ying! 』

Hao Zhao raised his sword and shouted.

　　　『Kill the enemy general! Seize Cao Ying! 』

Other hussar soldiers behind Hao Zhao also roared, and for a while they even covered up the sound on the Tongguan side.

Who would have thought that just one or two hundred hussars and horses would want to rob Cao's army's camp with tens of thousands of people? !

However, if Hao Zhao and others are really allowed to take advantage of the situation and rush into the camp, even if the camp is still in the hands of Cao Jun in the end, it will cause serious damage to the morale of Cao Jun. Think about it, a camp of tens of thousands of people was rushed in by one or two hundred people. Not to mention how much damage was caused, Cao Jun's face was completely lost!

Thinking of this, Guanqiu Jian felt that his crotch was a little wet. He didn't know if it was stained blood, gastric juice from his vomiting, or some other liquid.

He was completely shocked by the murderous intent displayed by Hao Zhao and others, and was also frightened by the grenades. He did not even have time to think about whether Hao Zhao and others would really seize the camp, and whether it would be possible for them to arrive with so many grenades. Here, after all, two hundred people are attacking a camp with tens of thousands of people. Even if they really succeed in rushing in, it will probably be a suicidal attack.

It's just that the posture displayed by Hao Zhao was indeed very intimidating.

Not only did they ambush the archers and attack from the side, but they also killed and wounded many Cao soldiers in succession upon contact, and they also had that kind of terrifying weapon...

So Guanqiu Jian immediately decided to return to the camp and close the camp gate to at least ensure that the main camp was not lost.

 As the saying goes, a gentleman does not establish what he is.

　　『Withdraw! Retreat to camp! 』

Guanqiu Jian ran away with his tail between his legs.

 He suddenly realized that only when he is alive can he be a great man, and if he dies...

 Compared to this little life, what is face?

So, what about faith?

Guanqiu Jian fled back in embarrassment. It was embarrassing, but he survived!

congratulations!

He indeed blocked Hao Zhao from the camp, but he also blocked the remaining Cao soldiers and laborers from the camp.

　　　『Cowardless people! Hao Zhao held up his **** sword and shouted outside the camp, "Come out and fight San Lily with grandpa!" 』

Guanqiu Jian said with a livid face, "Fire the arrow!" Shoot the arrow! Don't let the thieves get close to the camp! 』

 Arrows whizzed down.

Hao Zhaolue raised his shield, fired a few arrows, laughed, and withdrew from the range of the arrows.

Although Hao Zhao is brave, he is not single-minded. He knows that with his strength, even if he really charges into Cao Jun's camp, he may not be able to cause much harm to Cao Jun. The reason why he decided to seize the camp The purpose of this situation was to force Cao Jun to close the camp gate to prevent the soldiers from Cao Jun's camp from coming out continuously.

 After all, Hao Zhao and others are also made of flesh and blood, and it is impossible for them to be tired all the time.

 When Guanqiu Jian really fell into the trap and fled back and closed the camp gate, it meant that the soldiers and laborers of Cao's army on the riverside were completely abandoned.

Hao Zhao can easily harvest, destroy, and then evacuate...

In fact, if Guanqiu Jian is given another chance, or if he is allowed to slowly plan after the war, he will definitely have a better response strategy, such as using shield soldiers to advance in front and using the advantage of many people to crush Hao Zhao to death. . Or they can fight head-on, send a small team to go around and burn the pontoon, completely trap Hao Zhao by the river, etc.

 It’s a pity that there is no if for war.

Hao Zhao burned the grain, grass and supplies that Cao Jun had piled up by the river. Finally, he also burned the pontoon bridge, and then Shi Shiran retreated...

 After Hao Zhao retreated and burned the pontoon bridge, the Tongguan garrison also retreated.

 The two sides had no contact or any communication in advance, but on such a night, the Tongguan defenders, Sima Yi, Hao Zhao and others made an exquisite cooperation, as if they had planned it dozens of times in advance.

 But that’s how combat is, it’s not about how many hindsight moves you can come up with after the war, but how well you can turn your head on the spot!

　　Just like being a keyboard warrior ten thousand times on the Internet, it is not as good as being able to speak up and say a word when seeing injustice in reality.

 …

 …

 In this era, communication can only rely on yelling, and information can only rely on guessing.

 The unknown is the mystery.

 Even the hive mode relies on pheromones.

 A little pheromone drifted to the Zhongtiao Mountain camp...

 ‘Stop whoever comes! 』

　　　『Stand still, if you don’t stop, shoot the arrow! 』

The soldiers on the sentry post at Zhongtiao Mountain shouted loudly, trying to make the people on the official road stop.

 But the visitor did not stop, but shouted loudly, "Tongguan is in danger!" quick! Send reinforcements quickly! Tongguan camp was broken! The camp is in danger! Send reinforcements quickly, reinforcements! 』

　　　『Stop, stop! ” The soldiers at the Zhongtiao Mountain sentry were also shouting, “Stop going forward!” Stand over there! 』

 The person who came was still shouting and did not stop.

Warning arrows whizzed down.

The soldiers on the sentry post obviously wanted to warn, so they did not shoot him directly as soon as they came up. However, perhaps due to the influence of the mountain wind, or perhaps because the soldiers' hands were crooked, the man who came suddenly screamed and fell to the ground with a pop.

"I..." The archer on the sentry post was dumbfounded. "I didn't want to shoot him to death... What should I do?" 』

　　　What else can be done? Just say that you will die when you come, that's it..." Another sentry said.

“Wait a minute, what did he shout just now?” 』

　　　Ah...ah! It seems, it seems that the Tongguan camp was attacked! Tongguan asks for help! 』

The Cao Jun sentry on top of the sentry trembled and almost fell from the height. He hurriedly rang the warning gong, and then quickly reported to Guo Jia.

Guo Jia was startled and hurriedly ran out of the tent, then walked along the hillside towards the highest watchtower.

The night wind on Zhongtiao Mountain is howling, blowing the vegetation on the mountain, and the leaves are rustling.

Maybe it’s because of the terrain, or maybe it’s because there’s such a big river surrounding it, but the wind on Zhongtiao Mountain is particularly strong. Sometimes it’s like a ghost crying or a wolf howling, which is heart-stopping.

Due to the mountain topography, the Zhongtiao Mountain Camp cannot directly see Tongguan. You must climb to the observation deck on the top of the mountain to see across the ridge and see the Tongguan Camp on the other side of the river.

 But it’s just that you can see it.

The sound of the Tongguan camp and the earth-shattering sound of artillery were almost inaudible here in Zhongtiao Mountain. Even if there is no howling night wind on Zhongtiao Mountain, the sound will rapidly attenuate as the distance increases. Therefore, when Guo Jia climbed to the high platform, he could only see the abnormal flames rising from the Tongguan camp. But he didn't know and couldn't hear any sound.

 Except for the night wind whistling in my ears.

Near the pontoon bridges, there was something obviously wrong with the swaying firelight at Tongguan Pass. However, Cao Jun did not have effective communication equipment at the moment and could not transmit effective information to the Zhongtiao Mountain Camp.

Guo Jia can only rely on guessing.

The most prudent strategy is, of course, to ignore everything. Anyway, it was only the Tongguan Camp that was attacked. What does it have to do with the Zhongtiao Mountain Camp under his command?

 The problem is that Tongguan Camp is equivalent to Cao Cao’s rear area of ​​a series of camps in Hedong!

If you don’t know that something happened in Tongguan Camp, then you have nothing to say, but now you clearly see something unusual in Tongguan Camp, and someone reported it...

　　　　Come here! Guo Jia shouted in a deep voice, "Where is the person who reported the news?" ! 』

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　log over in the sentry post saying that the incoming visitor was too seriously injured, and after running to the mountain to give a warning, he ran out of energy and accidentally fell into the mountain and died..."

 The sentry obviously did not dare to say that he was killed accidentally, even in this case. It would be much better for the messenger to fall to his death, hide and seek, or kill himself with an arrow behind him, than to admit that he missed the target.

　　　Fell into a mountain stream and died? ” Guo Jia was stunned.

 Something seems wrong, but it’s not a big problem.

Although Zhongtiao Mountain has only one name, it is not a mountain peak. The sentry posts must be built in dangerous places. It is possible to fall to death accidentally even in the daytime, not to mention at night.

 ‘Send the order, beat the drum and gather the generals! 』

Guo Jia got off the observation deck, his legs and feet were shaking a little. When he first heard the warning, Guo Jia couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. When he blew it on the observation deck again, he felt chills all over his body. If Tongguan failed, he would be completely dead and all the dragons would die!

Although he felt somewhat surprised, Guo Jia still did not dare to bet that Tongguan would be fine. He convened the military academy overnight, readjusted the defense arrangements of the Zhongtiao Mountain camp, and then dispatched General Lu Chang with three thousand troops and horses to return. The army rescues the Tongguan camp!