Three Kingdoms.

 Chapter 3301 The Correctness of the Decision

 The east side of Emei Ridge.

 The place where Zhang Xiu and other soldiers and horses were hiding.

This place is called Horse Face Valley, and the valley is as slender as a horse face, hence the name.

Zhang Xiu took Li Er and two thousand cavalry, quietly hiding in the valley.

Li Er has been a little dissatisfied these past two days.

Because he thought that when he came to the Eastern Front, he could kill the enemy and perform meritorious service, instead of hiding in this inaccessible valley, suffering from the erosion of wind and sand and the scorching sun. Although he didn't say anything, he was already scolding Zhang Xiu in his heart.

He now heard that the battle under Wenxi City was very fierce. More than two thousand cavalry did not go to Wenxi to kill Cao Jun's thieves, but instead recuperated their strength in this valley. He felt it was ridiculous.

 Zhang Xiu said he wanted to ambush Cao Jun. Could it be that he ambushed him in Ma Mian Valley? No matter how Li Er looked at Ma Mian Valley, it didn't look like a place where he could ambush Cao Jun. If we really wanted to ambush, we should go down to Emei Ridge and go to Gufeng Mountain. The other side of Gufeng Mountain is where Cao Jun will definitely pass.

 Li Er did not continue to stay under Fei Qian Zhonglu, but took the initiative to apply to join the Eastern Front Zhang Xiu's banner. This was due to his own considerations. Although he doesn't look like a child of a Shandong classics family, he always talks about how many military books he has read and how much he knows about military tactics, but after all, he has experience in cavalry fighting in Longxi, Mobei.

 Li Er discovered that since Fei Qian brought those artillery pieces from Linfen, some changes had taken place in the battle pattern.

 Cavalry is no longer the protagonist on the battlefield…

 This made Li Er feel a little unhappy and a little uneasy.

 In the battle between Li Er's Mobei and Longxi, what he felt most deeply was the importance of cavalry. Without cavalry, it would be like having no legs on a territory like Mobei Longxi, and they would be teased casually. Therefore, Li Er felt that cavalry was king and the most important unit in the army. Under Zhong Lu Fei Qian's command, the cavalry became an auxiliary artillery force.

 In attacking the camp downhill, artillery became the hero, while the cavalry became a foil.

This is not because Li Er has any objections to Fei Qian. After all, it was Fei Qian who promoted him, and it was Fei Qian who gave him his current status and wealth. It’s just that he can’t figure it out personally emotionally and is not willing to accept this situation, so he would rather Come to the Eastern Front, come to Zhang Xiu's banner. As a result, I didn't expect to arrive at Zhang Xiu's place, and Zhang Xiu didn't move...

 Li Er, like most of the frontier men among the Han Dynasty, couldn't stand the gentry descendants of Shandong. Back then, in Luoyang City, the streets were full of princes, nobles, bureaucrats, and officials. If a tile fell from any house, it would hit three or four officials in the family who were in power, or someone's relative. , the children of so and so, but in the eyes of these people, border men such as Li Er are not "people", they are just dogs, dogs guarding the frontier.

At the beginning, Li Er didn't know what the scriptures said by those high-ranking officials' children and what their prophecies were, so he felt that they were very mysterious and powerful. Looking up to them, he suppressed himself. , like the perspective of a dog that is really crawling on the ground.

But as he studied and grew up in the military, and saw with his own eyes those guys who needed to look up to him back then, after taking off a layer of mysterious skin, he was now ugly, deformed, and even weak, and his heart surged with excitement. What aroused was not only the contempt for these descendants of Han bureaucrats and nobles, but also the accumulated resentment and anger caused by being deceived, insulted, and bullied.

They blindly let the people suffer and endure, but they don't know that the word "endure" is like a huge spring, which will eventually either be crushed or rebound.

So why did Li Er come to Zhang Xiu? To put it bluntly, he still felt a sense of injustice in his heart. He wanted to cut off the heads of those Shandong gentry disciples with his own hands in order to soothe the scars left in his heart.

The longer Li Er stayed under the command of Hussar, the more disgusted he became with those Shandong gentry children, and the more he hated himself. Why couldn't he hold his head high and roar at those gentry children who insulted and bullied him? Why do you keep obeying the more and more bizarre and excessive demands of those gentry children, unable to live an upright life?

Li Er's biggest struggle at that time was to escape from Luoyang, because he felt that if he stayed in Luoyang for a long time, one day he would either be beaten to death like a dog, or really become a dog eating **** in the gutter. .

 Later, Li Er felt lucky that he was the one who joined Fei Qian.

Fei Qian wanted to stabilize Longyou and Longxi, stabilize the border areas in Jingping, and resist the Western Qiang thieves.

Li Er seized this opportunity to change his destiny, so now he not only has a foundation in Longxi, but also has a small industry, a house and a small piece of land in Chang'an.

If I can continue to gain military exploits, then under the command of the Hussars General, I will not have the opportunity to become the chief official of a place in the future, and become the county chief of eight hundred or thousand stone...

Li Er was so full of ambition that he went to Mamian Valley to eat windy sand.

 Seeing Li Er restless and looking like a hero with no place to play, Zhang Xiu didn't have the patience to communicate with Li Er properly, because Zhang Xiu also had problems of his own. He was thinking about Fei Qian's reply to him...

The war is about to begin, but Zhang Xiu has not found his "positioning" yet.

 Zhang Xiu knew that Fei Qian had the idea of ​​letting him go to the Northern Territory Protectorate, but from the moment the idea came to fruition, Fei Qian's intention was to see Zhang Xiu's performance.

  This is the word "positioning" mentioned in the letter.

At first glance, Zhang Xiu would be like Li Er, patting his chest to show his loyalty to the Hussar and swearing an oath under the three-color flag for the glorious cause of the Han Dynasty. However, after thinking about it carefully, Zhang Xiu felt that It's not that simple.

 Because Zhang Xiu is not the only person who can succeed the Northern Territory Protector.

With Fei Qian's reply, there was also a battle report sent back from the Northern Territory Protectorate.

Zhang Xiu not only saw Zhao Yun's achievements, but also noticed the performance of many people under Zhao Yun, such as Zhang He...

Zhang Xiu knew clearly that Fei Qian's attitude towards surrendered generals was different from that in Shandong. Therefore, according to the abilities Zhang He has shown, it is only a matter of time before he is reused.

  Just like Li Dian who is now in Hanzhong.

 Senior qualifications certainly have some advantages, but they are not absolute advantages.

Zhang Xiu's heart was filled with excitement when he saw the battle briefing in the Northern Territory, but besides being excited and excited, he also felt the gap between himself and Zhao Yun. At least Zhao Yun was choosing whether to fight or not, the target of the attack, and the choice of tactics. Zhang Xiu felt his own shortcomings.

 Wenxi is not the focus. Although the gains and losses of a city and a place are important, they are not the most important issue.

 Winning is not a problem, but fighting well is indeed a problem.

　　『Report! "A soldier came and prostrated himself on the ground, "Cao Jun organized his troops to attack the city again. Wen Xi looks like he won't be able to hold on any longer! 』

　　　Can’t hold it anymore? Zhang Xiu frowned, "Where did Cao Jun come from... Oh, I understand!" 』

 Zhang Xiu slapped his hands fiercely, "That's it, that's it!" 』

 He figured it out and burst into laughter.

　　　　Come here! Send the order, the whole army is here, pack up and prepare for battle! 』

 After the order was issued, the soldiers quickly took action, and the entire Mamian Valley suddenly became extremely noisy.

 In less than half an hour, the formation was ready, and Zhang Xiu led more than two thousand cavalry out of Mamian Valley and headed south along the Dry Water River.

More than two thousand cavalry formed a relatively loose marching formation, marching all the way down the ravine of Emei Mountain, roaring and galloping with majestic momentum.

　　　　General! ” Li Er caught up with Zhang Xiu, gasped, and asked, “Where are we going?” 』

Zhang Xiu glanced at Li Er. After he had figured out the matter, he was naturally in a good mood. He smiled and said, "What, are you in a hurry to go into battle to kill the enemy?" 』

Li Er also responded with a smile, "Not just me, everyone wants to kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds!" 』

 The surrounding soldiers also responded one after another.

 Zhang Xiu laughed and nodded, "So...if you were the only one...how many enemies could you kill?" 』

"Only me? ” Li Er was stunned for a moment, “This... kill five, six, seven or eight, there are always some. 』

 The power of an individual is always limited and very uncertain.

Any general can kill people like mowing grass, and explode with unparalleled power. There is a high probability that they only exist in the game.

 Hence, Li Er cannot say with certainty how many enemies he can drag on his back when facing a large number of enemy troops. Zhang Xiu shook his riding whip and drew a circle around the surrounding soldiers, "What if there are two thousand of us?" How many enemies can be killed? 』

 ‘This…’ Li Er seemed to understand something.

"understand? What are we? What are we going to do? ” Zhang Xiu laughed and lightly swiped Li Er’s arm with the tail of his riding crop. “After the war, can you go further, from a military prince to a captain... But you have to think about this problem carefully...”

Li Er quickly said, "Thank you, General, for your teaching." 』

Zhang Xiu waved his hand and did not continue to discuss this topic with Li Er. Instead, he raised his head slightly and looked at the mountains and rivers in the distance, watching the earth quickly move backward under his feet.

 This is also a question that he suddenly wanted to understand...

 In front of heaven and earth, no matter from any angle, human beings are so insignificant.

Mountains and rivers have existed for eternity, but people are just lost in the blink of an eye.

 Only when you think small can you see other greatness.

 Like individuals and armies.

In front of a huge army, a single individual is like a stone on the ground, whether it is hard rock or soft sand, but it is insignificant and insignificant.

If you are so arrogant that you think you can stand up to thousands of armies by yourself, you will most likely follow in Lu Bu's footsteps, indulge yourself in illusions, and ultimately lose all your previous achievements...

Zhang Xiu finally understood the "positioning" issue emphasized by Fei Qian, not only his own personal "positioning", but also his "positioning" for his soldiers. If you want to become a general, you cannot simply go into battle to kill the enemy and charge into battle.

 This is also the reason why Fei Qian deliberately did not explain the details of the order clearly.

If Zhang Xiu can only become a general who cannot think independently and only knows how to act according to orders, then he may become an excellent front-line soldier, but he will always stop here and cannot continue upward, so there is no need to say anything. The Northern Territory has protected...

Those who have no ideas, do not know how to summarize, and only follow orders will inevitably lose themselves in the end, and can only be involuntarily dragged down by the rolling torrent of history...

 Li Er looked around him. He is surrounded by horsemen and knights. The expressions of everyone were either excited, or leisurely, full of fighting spirit, or calm and leisurely. There was no timidity, no fear, no fear of possible death, only a strong desire to fight, and the horses galloped into a majestic wave. The torrent is moving forward inexorably.

The anxiety and irritability in Li Er's heart also calmed down at this moment. He suddenly felt that he had become a fish in this torrent, swimming happily in it. The war horse seemed to sense Li Er's change in mood, and raised its neck and neighed.

Li Er bent down, patted the neck of the war horse, then looked at his comrades around him, suddenly raised his arm and shouted, "The hussar will win!" The hussar will win! 』

　　『Shout! You must win! 』

 The smoke and dust billowed like a yellow dragon galloping.

 …

 …

On the other side, Cao Xiu, who was also on his way, was very worried.

 All the way from Gufeng Mountain, the worries in Cao Xiu's heart not only did not lighten, but instead became heavier.

 Because Cao's army does not have many horses, the movement speed of Cao's army often depends on the slowest one.

Cao Xiu brought a baggage cart, so the marching speed of the entire army was determined by the buttocks of the horses.

Thinking about this problem can’t help but make people a little frustrated.

A huge empire, a prosperous dynasty, its territory expansion is not determined by those brave soldiers and clever counselors, but by the range that the buttocks of these horses can reach...

The shortcomings in the bucket may be considered a commonplace issue by many people in later generations, but not many people can actually solve the shortcomings in a targeted manner.

Even Cao Xiu knew where his shortcomings were, but he was still helpless and unable to change them.

 Among his troops, many were ordinary Cao soldiers.

Of course, Cao Xiu could also use his own troops as the vanguard and rush to Wenxi like he did at Zhi Guanxing last time, and let the following troops go slowly. However, Cao Xiu's troops are not unlimited. It's not like steel and iron bones can't be injured...

After the last battle at Zhiguanxing, although Cao Xiu's troops were supplemented to a certain extent, there was a gap between the newly added soldiers and the original veterans, both in terms of combat skills and mutual cooperation. a lot of.

Under such circumstances, if Cao Xiu rushed to Wenxi, his troops might be dismembered on the way...

"General, if we encounter hussar cavalry in the wild," Cao Xiu's guard looked around with some uneasiness, especially the Emei Mountains in the distance, as if a group of cavalry would fly over the land at any time. As if rushing over, "Our formation, I'm afraid... what should we do?" 』

After leaving the ambush, the soldiers of Cao's army felt as if they were naked. The hussars would rush out from nowhere at any time and fall into the bushes. They were full of fear and nervousness, and if there was any slight disturbance, they would fall into the bushes. Just a few random screams, and then it is often confirmed to be a false alarm.

This state of affairs worried Cao Xiu and the elite guards directly under Cao Xiu.

Because these veterans who have been on many battlefields know in their hearts that if the psychological problems of the soldiers are not solved, if these ordinary Cao soldiers and hussars engage in battle, they will probably collapse on the spot and flee in all directions.

 In fact, this situation is not only in Cao Xiu, nor in the Chinese feudal dynasty. It is a common problem faced by all troops with elementary peasant soldiers as their combat effectiveness. On the surface, it seems that there are many people and the battle can be fought with the wind, but once it is in the headwind, it is like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun.

 In Shandong, everyone competes together. Therefore, Cao Jun, who was not too bad, stood out, but now that he found that he could not drag the hussars into the quagmire of attrition, Cao Jun, who had many soldiers and generals, had to face a very thorny problem.

With these ordinary Cao soldiers, you may not be able to gain much advantage in field battles, but if you don't bring these soldiers, you won't even have a chance to fight.

According to Cao Xiu's experience, if you use a dense infantry formation, plus giant shields and spears, you can indeed temporarily block the hussars, but you can only hold on for a while. The reason is very simple. Cao's soldiers are not able to move in an array like the elite heavy infantry, so they can only stay in place. Because the hussars move fast and have strong impact, the cavalry can be divided into small groups to circle the outside of the infantry array. However, once the infantry is entrenched, it is difficult to move, and they are inherently in a more passive situation.

Of course, if the infantry array is combined with baggage vehicles, a relatively stable defense line can be formed, and it will also give Cao Jun's ordinary soldiers psychological comfort, and a certain level of morale can be maintained without the vehicle array collapsing.

But the problem is that the hussars are now also equipped with five-element thunder...

That thing is too destructive to a dense array.

It would be great if I had all the elite infantry with me...

Cao Xiu glanced at the ordinary soldiers of Cao's army who could even hold spears in seventeen or eighty postures, and was speechless.

 In order for these ordinary Cao soldiers to maintain a dense array under the attack of the Five Elements Thunder, it would be more practical to think of other ways to resist the hussars.

 For example, traps and horse rejections.

 Jima must be very familiar to ordinary soldiers of Cao's army.

 It can be said that wherever there is a military camp, there is a horse. Generally, when a large army is camping, in order to prevent the enemy from attacking the camp, a horse-repelling formation with a distance of dozens of steps is set up around the camp.

 The problem is, the horse cannot move.

　　　　Is there any movable horse? ” Cao Xiu asked the guard on the side.

　　　　A mobile horse? 』The guard was a little sluggish. He couldn't imagine what the moving Juma looked like.

"right! This is it! "Cao Xiu turned to look at the baggage carts behind him, and suddenly thought of something. If he put the Juma on the baggage cart, or used the baggage carts to build the Juma...

 (End of this chapter)