Chapter 136 The battle between the pro-army and the dragon against the tiger
Seeing Zhang Liao saying that he had a plan to defeat the enemy, Cao Cao suddenly became interested.
It took him nearly a month to lead the army to the outside of Fancheng.
On the first day when he led his troops to arrive outside Fancheng, he ordered his army to forcefully cross the Han River and launch a fierce attack on the Han army on the south bank.
Although he has countless good generals, his soldiers have the disadvantage of not being good at water warfare.
Even if his offensive was extremely fierce, Guan Yu used the Jingzhou navy to prevent his army from crossing the river. For this period of time, his army was still unable to cross the Han River.
It's just that many corpses of soldiers were left in the Han River.
Although he was personally guarding it, the morale of the Wei army was relatively stable.
But Cao Cao, who was well versed in the art of war, knew that it would be extremely detrimental to him if things continued like this for a long time.
Now that Zhang Liao has a plan to help him defeat the enemy, Cao Cao is naturally happy.
Cao Cao asked Zhang Liao, "What's Wenyuan's plan? Just tell me."
Under Cao Cao's questioning, Zhang Liao revealed his plan: "I have been patrolling the Han River in recent days to observe the situation of the Han River."
"After observation, I found that during this period, it is winter, and the flow of water in Hanshui has become less and less."
"The water level in Hanshui River is not only declining rapidly, but the river channel has also become much narrower."
"The most important thing is that as the water volume of the Han River decreases, many continents and Zhuzhous have appeared in the lower reaches of the Han River."
"I personally set foot on those Zhouzhus and found that although those Zhouzhus come out of the Han River, there are many rocks on them and the ground is hard, which is conducive to the advancement of the army."
"In addition, the downstream sedimentation is serious and the tidal flats are increasing, which is not conducive to the movement of enemy warships."
"Therefore, I thought that I could lead an elite cavalry army, cross the continent and set foot on Zhuguzhu, ford the shallow water, and cross the Han River from the silt deposits downstream."
"In this way, the enemy's naval power cannot be used, while our army can fully utilize the advantages of the cavalry attack."
"After I led the cavalry across the Han River, the king ordered our infantry to follow closely."
"I am leading the cavalry on the south bank of the Han River. If the enemy does not arrive, I can detect the enemy's situation for the infantry behind me."
"If the enemy discovers traces of our army and attacks us with a large army, I will fight with my cavalry."
"With the cavalry covering the front, the infantry can build camps on the south bank of the Han River to defend it."
"In this way, the enemy's defense line along the Han River can be broken."
"If we set up camp in one place, most of our army will be able to set up camps everywhere on the south bank in the future.
If the army crosses the Han River and marches to the south bank without the cover of the Han River, our army's bravery can be fully utilized and it will not be difficult to defeat Guan Yu."
After listening to Zhang Liao's strategy, Cao Cao had a thoughtful look on his face.
After thinking carefully about Zhang Liao's strategy, Cao Cao smiled and said, "This strategy is feasible."
What has always troubled Cao Cao and kept his army from advancing is the Han River in front of him.
But now if he follows Zhang Liao's plan, it is possible for him to break through the Han River defense line that Guan Yu relies on.
As long as Guan Yu's Han River defense line can be broken, with the current strength of the Wei army, it is indeed not difficult to defeat Guan Yu head-on.
Seeing a problem that was bothering him, Zhang Liao proposed a plan to get rid of it.
Cao Cao, who had never seen a smiling face in recent days, showed a rare smile to Zhang Liao today.
He praised Zhang Liaodao: "Wen Yuan was both powerful in terms of military force and well-equipped with strategies. How can any of the famous generals from ancient times compare with him?"
Cao Cao, who was in a good mood, waved Zhang Liao to come forward. He asked Zhang Liao: "Wenyuan, which cavalry do you want to lead?"
After Cao Cao unified the north, he had many cavalry troops in his army. Although they were not large in number, each of them was an elite.
After all, most of Cao Cao's generals came from the north and were very good at training cavalry.
When Zhang Liao came to Cao Cao, he replied, "Among the many cavalry in our army, only the tiger and leopard are the most sophisticated."
"Crossing the river is unpredictable. Only with the tiger and leopard in hand can the chance of victory be greatly increased."
When Zhang Liao proposed to lead the tiger and leopard cavalry, Cao Cao was startled.
Under Cao Cao's reformed military system, his army was roughly divided into three categories.
They are the Central Army, the local army, and the garrison army. The local army is the garrison of the prefectures and counties, and the garrison army is the border defense army.
The Central Army is divided into internal and external armies. The foreign army is stationed outside but is under the direct command of Cao Cao.
The Chinese army is called Wuweiying, which is Cao Cao's imperial guard. The number of troops directly under him was about 100,000 at its peak.
The most elite in the Chinese army are the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
"Tiger and leopard cavalry are all the most powerful in the world. Perhaps hundreds of people will make up for them."
As Cao Cao's most elite pro-army troops, part of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry often followed Cao Cao on expeditions, while part stayed behind to guard the palace all year round.
The leaders of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were mostly led by relatives of Cao Cao. Cao Ren and Cao Chun both served as the leading generals of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
Even the general named Xiahou was not qualified to command this elite group.
Now seeing Zhang Liao directly asking him for the most elite tiger and leopard cavalry, Cao Cao couldn't help but hesitate.
But after only a moment of hesitation, Cao Cao immediately agreed to Zhang Liao: "Yes."
Seeing that Cao Cao agreed to his request, Zhang Liao was overjoyed. With a tiger and leopard riding in his hand, he couldn't help but feel a little more confident in his action this time.
Moreover, Cao Cao was willing to hand over the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to him, which showed great trust in him.
After the death of the leading general Cao Chun, the generals elected new generals, but Cao Cao said: "How can we get the pure comparison! I am not the only one who can control the evil?"
In order to prevent the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry from falling into the hands of untrustworthy people, Cao Cao would rather personally command this ace unit.
Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to fetch the military talisman of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and he personally handed the military talisman to Zhang Liao.
"Tiger and leopard are elite and good at attacking difficult situations.
Whenever Wen Yuan faced an attack, he always led the army as a superintendent. He fought hard to break through the enemy's strongholds, and was unable to defeat any strongholds. Now the soldiers are united with the generals."
"Wanwangwenyuan, don't let me down."
Zhang Liao knelt down and took the military talisman with a heavy mission from Cao Cao's hands.
He paused and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, Liao will fight to the death to defeat the enemy in return for your kindness."
After finishing speaking, Zhang Liao left Cao Cao's tent and went to order his troops.
After Zhang Liao left, Cao Cao asked Xu Chudao, "Zhongkang, do you think Wen Yuan can make a difference here?"
Facing Cao Cao's inquiry, Xu Chu, who had been guarding behind Cao Cao, said without hesitation:
"Tiger and Leopard have never been defeated, so they can do it."
Xu Chu always spoke concisely and to the point.
Xu Chu was able to give this answer because the numerous achievements made by the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry since they formed an army gave him confidence.
But facing Xu Chu's answer, Cao Cao remained silent.
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry has never been defeated, but he once tied with an army.
Bai Mian's elite soldiers will never retreat if they fight.
Those heroic slogans still impressed Cao Cao deeply when he thought of them.
Thinking of that lifelong enemy, Cao Cao couldn't help but look to the west:
Xuande is coming.
In the Wei army's camp, Zhang Liao quickly passed the military symbols and ordered two thousand tiger and leopard cavalry.
Although Cao Zhen, the current commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, doubted that Zhang Liao could obtain the command of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, after confirming the authenticity of the military symbols, he still handed over the ownership of the two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to Zhang Liao.
But after handing over the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to Zhang Liao, Cao Zhen reminded Zhang Liao that the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had suffered heavy losses in the previous battle at Hanzhong, and many of them had just been replaced.
After knowing that most of the two thousand tiger and leopard cavalry in front of him were newly recruited, Zhang Liao had no worries in his heart.
He looked at the bear and tiger generals riding on tall horses in front of him, and his heart was full of confidence.
Today is not the first time Zhang Liao has commanded the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
In the twelfth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao went on an expedition against the Yuan brothers and Wuhuan.
At that time, Cao Cao personally led the vanguard troops to climb Bailang Mountain, and suddenly encountered enemy soldiers. There were many enemies, and the generals following Cao Cao were frightened and wanted to retreat.
In the atmosphere where Cao Cao's army was "feared by both left and right", it was Zhang Liao who overcame all opinions and tried his best to persuade Cao Cao that he should take advantage of the Hulu's disorderly formation and engage in battle immediately instead of waiting for backup.
At that time, Zhang Liao's tone of urging war was high, and Cao Cao agreed to Zhang Liao's suggestion.
Cao Cao personally granted the command he held to Zhang Liao for temporary use.
Because of Cao Cao's conferment, Zhang Liao was actually the commander at the time.
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, which was the main force in the raid at that time, was under his command.
At that time, Wuhuan had a large number of people, and the leader of Wuhuan, Tuadun, was extremely brave.
However, under the command of Zhang Liao, Cao's army was as fast as the wind, and the Wuhuan captives collapsed. Zhang Liao even beheaded Taodun, who was Zibi Maodun, with his own hands.
In that battle, more than 200,000 Hu and Han soldiers surrendered.
This battle made Zhang Liao famous.
Because of this experience, Zhang Liao was confident when facing the opportunity to command the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry again today.
After ordering all the tiger and leopard cavalry, Zhang Liao immediately led the two thousand tiger and leopard cavalry behind him toward the location he had just chosen.
The tiger and leopard cavalry moved like wind and galloped like thunder. Under the leadership of Zhang Liao, they soon arrived at the lower reaches of the Han River.
But after arriving here, Zhang Liao unexpectedly saw a change.
When he saw the other side, there were about 3,000 Han infantry patrolling the coast.
The three thousand Han soldiers were all wearing heavy armor and white-feathered helmets, and they were dressed like the powerful soldiers Zhang Liao had heard about.
Liu Bei’s pro-army—Baijie soldiers!
Zhang Liao saw a general with white horses and silver spears looking at him in front of the three thousand white soldiers on the opposite side. Zhang Liao thought secretly in his heart:
Could it be that that person was Zhao Zilong from Dangyang back then?
The old man on the tiger and leopard cavalry behind Zhang Liao also felt heavy in his heart after seeing the familiar enemy uniforms.
At this time, Zhao Yun, who was patrolling the weak points of defense on the shore, also saw the two thousand elite cavalry appearing on the other side.
After seeing the two thousand fine knights, Zhao Yun's eyes condensed.
Tiger and leopard riding!
Facing Cao Cao's pro-army, Zhao Yun couldn't be more familiar with it.
His white soldiers suffered heavy losses, wasn't it because of the elite in the world before him?
After seeing the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry appear, Zhao Yun did not hesitate at all.
He was very familiar with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's tactics. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were best at attacking with force to defeat the enemy quickly.
Zhao Yun issued an order for the white soldiers behind him to form a formation, with spears in front to resist the horses, and bows and crossbows behind them, ready to shoot at the enemy.
The White Guards were an elite force that Liu Bei started to form when he was in Xinye.
Because Liu Bei lacked war horses at that time, Liu Bei could not transform his own troops into cavalry like the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
Liu Bei regarded Cao Cao as his lifelong enemy. In order to restrain the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, he specially forged his own Baijie soldiers into heavy infantry.
Although the Baili soldiers were formed by Liu Bei, it was Guan Yu and others who trained them in the past.
The training standards of the White Soldiers are: each soldier wears heavy armor, which can protect against cavalry arrow attacks to a certain extent.
And each of them can fire a powerful crossbow, carry fifty crossbow bolts on their backs, hold a long spear, and wear a sword around their belts.
Because the physical requirements for Bai Jie soldiers were very high, Liu Bei was extremely strict in the selection of Bai Jie soldiers.
Among Liu Bei's troops, the welfare benefits enjoyed by the soldiers of the White Guards are the most superior.
Therefore, the Baili soldiers are all powerful and elite soldiers, and their combat effectiveness can be said to be second to none.
When Cao Cao was on his southern expedition, he personally led the tiger and leopard cavalry to pursue Liu Bei. If it weren't for the desperate protection of the white soldiers, Liu Bei's life or death would have been uncertain.
After Liu Bei took control of Jingzhou, the Baijie soldiers' manpower resources were greatly replenished and they became a strong army.
Zhao Yun's reaction was quick, and Zhang Liao's reaction was not slow either.
Almost the moment he saw Zhao Yun, he waved his sword and ordered the tiger and leopard cavalry behind him to kill Zhao Yun.
After Zhang Liao waved his command, he took the lead, holding a long sword and killing the enemy like lightning.
If you encounter an enemy, fight.
After Zhang Liao rushed out, the two thousand tiger and leopard cavalry behind him also waved their swords and screamed towards the white soldiers.
Since they were named after tigers and leopards, from the day they formed an army, they did not use stray shots as a means of attack like the Xiliang cavalry.
What they want to do is to tear apart all the enemies in front of them with unparalleled momentum like tigers and leopards.
Just like when they followed Cao Chun to attack Nanpi, like when they followed Zhang Liao to defeat Wuhuan.
In order to increase the lethality, the tiger and leopard riders hold modified swords.
Everyone in the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is a hundred-man general in the army. This specially modified sword can be fully wielded with their strength.
And once this kind of broadsword cuts on a person's body, unless he is heavily armored, the enemy will die immediately upon contact.
More than two thousand cavalrymen on tall horses, howling like two thousand tigers and leopards that had been hungry for a long time, rushed towards their prey quickly.
More than two thousand war horses running at full speed caused waves of roars on the tidal flats filled with water.
At this moment, in this small area, it seemed that the heaven and earth were shaking because of the roaring sound of horse hooves.
The water on the ground was lifted up by the horses' hooves, and the water splashed into the sky, turning into streams of mist that filled the eyes of the two soldiers.
When the white soldiers who were already in formation saw the tiger and leopard cavalry charging towards them with terrifying momentum and boiling evil spirit.
The veterans were okay, but the hands of the new recruits were sweating from nervousness in this cold weather.
Because the river here is narrow, Zhang Liao used it as a breakthrough.
The narrow river was crossed in just a moment by the galloping horses of the Northland.
But looking at the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry getting closer and closer to him, Zhao Yun always remained calm.
When the tiger and leopard were on horseback and were about to reach in front of them, Zhang Liao, who was rushing at the front, had his horse's head almost touching the spears in the front row of the Baijie soldiers. Zhao Yuncai shouted and ordered the soldiers behind him to fire arrows.
All Baili soldiers carry powerful crossbows, and the arrows fired from the crossbows are extremely lethal, especially at close range.
Although there are many new soldiers in the Baijie army, they are usually well-trained, and Zhao Yun has won the hearts of the soldiers.
Therefore, at Zhao Yun's order, thousands of roaring crossbow arrows were fired at the tiger and leopard cavalry not far away.
It's my friend's birthday tonight, so the update may be late, but it will be updated.
There will be two updates tonight. The second update is the first one that has been successfully ordered. It will be around four or five in the morning.
I said I added it before, so I can no longer treat it as a monster with missing chapters.
The more you owe, the worse it is.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!