Chapter 290: Victory and defeat, life and death
The scene of Zhang Feili killing the Wei cavalry fell in the eyes of 20,000 Wei troops, and the word cruelty would subconsciously appear in their hearts.
And when this idea appeared in their minds, their morale began to decline uncontrollably.
But this scene fell in the eyes of 20,000 Han troops, and it made them look at that majestic figure even more enthusiastically.
In the real history of the Three Kingdoms, there are not many cases of one-on-one battles between generals.
It's just that military generals used their personal bravery to boost the morale of their own side, but it has been mentioned many times in history books.
What does it mean to be an enemy of ten thousand people?
It's not just one person killing ten thousand people.
This title falls on everyone and has different interpretations.
When these three words fall on Zhang Fei, it can be understood that with his confidence in his own bravery, he is not afraid at all even if there are more than tens of thousands of enemies in front of him.
And with his own bravery, he alone can influence the morale of tens of thousands of enemy troops.
In China's thousands of years of history, there were not many generals who could be awarded this honorary title.
And the heroism and spirit of a general who can do this are so inspiring.
Just now, Cao Xiu, a wise general, seized the fleeting opportunity and put the Wei army in a certain advantageous position.
This is Cao Xiu's skill.
But when facing a wise general like Cao Xiu, Zhang Fei is no ordinary person.
A man with a light army and a strong force can overwhelm tens of thousands of men. He is good at consolidating the territory and defeats many enemies. This is called an enemy of ten thousand men. Zhang Feizheng belongs to this category.
Since the situation is changing rapidly, and since Cao Xiu knows how to adapt to the situation, Zhang Fei will use his strength to defeat it.
This is a battle between wise generals and fierce generals in different ways. This is a collision of intelligence and strength. There is no distinction between high and low, only corresponding tactics.
While Zhang Fei was waving the long sword in his hand to continuously kill enemies, he could also devote a certain amount of energy to direct the 20,000 Han troops behind him to advance.
It was simply a shame for him to be in such a comfortable state in front of the 20,000 Wei troops.
But when Zhang Fei's state was seen by 20,000 Han troops, he was indescribably cool.
This is the elegance that belongs exclusively to Zhang Yide, a fierce general from Yan.
As more and more Wei cavalry fell to pieces under Zhang Fei's sword, the morale of the Wei army began to decline rapidly.
Those who did not know Zhang Fei among the 20,000 people in the Wei army couldn't help but have a question in their minds: Is the enemy general in front of me a human or a god?
If Zhang Fei is allowed to continue to kill like this, the Wei army will be defeated.
But Zhang Fei's bravery was well known to everyone, so Cao Pi also took precautions early.
Just when Zhang Fei slashed another Wei cavalryman to death with his sword and moved towards another Wei cavalryman, the same broadsword blocked the direction of Zhang Fei's broadsword.
Zhang Fei looked at this person intently and found that the person blocking him was none other than Cao Wei's mighty general Xu Chu.
Xu Chu was more than eight feet long and his waist was ten inches wide.
Xu Chu, who was trusted by Cao Cao as "my Fan Kuai" and praised as "Tiger Marquis" by Ma Chao, although not praised by the world as an enemy of ten thousand people, was still a man of great courage and courage.
Xu Chu was Cao Cao's personal bodyguard, and Zhang Fei knew him.
When Xu Chu blocked Zhang Fei's massacre with his sword, he immediately looked at Zhang Fei with anger.
Seeing Xu Chu's state, Zhang Fei chuckled.
Is it amazing to have big eyes?
If he met Xu Chu normally, Zhang Fei would definitely have a fight with him.
But now is the time for the battle between the Han and Wei armies. As a former army general, he cannot focus on showing off his personal bravery.
So Zhang Fei began to quickly accumulate strength. After accumulating strength, he continuously waved the long knife in his hand and slashed towards Xu Chu.
Facing Zhang Fei's powerful and heavy attacks, Xu Chu couldn't help but feel surprised when he blocked it with the long knife in his hand.
Zhang Fei had just killed so many of his subordinates, how could he still have such strength now?
Feeling the huge force coming from his arm, Xu Chu had no choice but to use the long knife in his hand to block it.
Xu Chu, who could be relied upon by Cao Cao as his personal bodyguard, was obviously not a simple rough guy.
He knew that Zhang Fei was at his peak now and it was not appropriate to fight head-on with Zhang Fei.
It's best to wait until Zhang Fei's strength is exhausted before he can fight back.
He has a serious temperament and acts cautiously. This is Xu Chu's character.
At this time, Xu Chu seemed to be on the defensive in the face of Zhang Fei's fierce offensive. He was even retreating with his men and horses, but he himself was not in much danger.
And he also stopped Zhang Fei from continuing to kill his subordinates.
This prevented the morale of the Wei army from plummeting.
At this time, the Wei cavalry around them had retreated, and they were gradually surrounded by the approaching infantry from both armies.
Even as Xu Chu continued to retreat deliberately, the spears of the Wei army behind Xu Chu were already a few steps away from Zhang Fei.
Soon those thousands of spears will stab Zhang Fei's body.
Although Zhang Fei was constantly forcing Xu Chu back, the situation on the battlefield was all in his sight.
So after swinging a knife at Xu Chu for the last time and making Xu Chu's arm numb, Zhang Fei drove the horse under his crotch and quickly retreated.
Like an eagle with its wings spread, he jumped into his own military formation.
If Zhang Fei wants to fight, Wei Jun will have to suffer.
After the battle, they were about to leave, but the Wei army could not stop them.
Zhang Fei's state of coming and going with ease undoubtedly stimulated Wei Jun's eyes even more.
And when Zhang Fei's state fell into Cao Xiu's eyes, the look of fear on his face became even deeper.
At the same time, anger also rose in Cao Xiu's heart.
Zhang Fei simply regarded his 20,000-strong army as nothing.
However, no matter how brave Zhang Fei is, at this juncture when the two armies are about to fight, his bravery can only go so far.
What follows is a battle between the two armies with real swords and guns.
The armies of Han and Wei each numbered 20,000, and these 40,000 armies formed square formations and advanced towards the enemy.
In front of the formations of the armies of both sides were thousands of flag-waving men with neat steps and spears in their hands.
Thousands of flag-bearing warriors on both sides held spears shining with the aura of death, and under the command of their respective generals, they continued to approach the enemy.
Ten steps, five steps, three steps, and finally the spears meet.
Thousands of spears collided with each other in the air, making bursts of piercing screams.
When these bursts of piercing screams completely covered the ears of the 40,000 troops, many of the flag-waving men in front of the armies of both sides fell instantly.
Then bursts of shouts of killing began to cover up the screams of clashing spears, becoming the mainstream sound on the battlefield.
Today's Battle of Fan Yan is a serious decisive battle in the wild.
In an orthodox field battle, there are not many fancy plots and tricks. If there is a good strategy, it will often be released before the battle.
When the two armies begin to fight, what really begins to compete is the commanding art between the generals and the eliteness of the soldiers.
There is only the unpretentious coming and going of each other.
Under the command of their respective generals, the pikemen on both sides continued to thrust towards the enemy on the opposite side.
When the sharp spear tip pierces the enemy's body, in addition to making a popping sound, there will often be a splash of blood when the spear tip is pulled out.
More and more soldiers from both sides in the front began to fall, and then the soldiers in the rear began to step forward on the corpses of their comrades under the urging of the general.
Many soldiers were still alive when they fell to the ground.
But their comrades didn't even think about helping them up. Instead, they stepped decisively over their bleeding bodies and continued to move forward.
And this scene not only happened in the Han army's formation, but also in the Wei army's formation.
This scene is cruel, but this scene is very real.
This was the true form of ancient warfare.
bloody.
When large-scale field battles began in ancient times, there was no end in sight; there was only a matter of victory or defeat, and a matter of life and death.
And this kind of victory or defeat is often formed by the accumulation of bones of tens of thousands of soldiers.
As the armies of both sides continued to approach, large swaths of blood mist began to fall in front of the two armies.
There was so much blood mist that, blown by the cold wind, it even confused the eyes of the soldiers on both sides.
A large amount of blood mist drifted between the two armies with the wind, and finally fell on the soldiers of both sides, dyeing the armor of the soldiers at the front of both armies red.
However, although there were a lot of casualties on both sides as soon as the two armies fought, the soldiers on both sides showed no intention of retreating at this time.
Because they are currently the most elite soldiers in China.
Although as Liu Bei and Cao Pi established dynasties one after another, these two armies were divided into Han and Wei armies, but not long ago, they were all Han armies!
The reason why Cao Wei has the strongest national power is simply because most of the legacy of the Eastern Han Dynasty was inherited by Cao Wei.
Perhaps the Eastern Han Dynasty founded by Liu Xiu, the founder of the Han Dynasty, was not as prosperous as the Western Han Dynasty.
But this is only compared with the Western Han Dynasty.
If the Eastern Han Dynasty is placed alone in the long river of Chinese history, the military might displayed by this dynasty cannot be ignored.
There is a certain truth in the saying "Guoheng was destroyed by weakness, but Han alone was destroyed by strength."
In later generations, in major forums, a "truth" that was regarded as an iron rule was often circulated: "Ancient armies would often be defeated if their battle loss ratio exceeded 10%."
But this "truth" is too absolute and cannot withstand scrutiny.
Because in Chinese history, there are many examples of battles in which the battle damage ratio far exceeded 10%, but they still fought and won in the end.
The battle loss rate that a truly elite division can withstand is definitely higher than this.
And perhaps casualties were an important factor in the army's defeat, but it was not the decisive factor.
There are many important factors that affect the defeat of an army, such as the commander's personal ability and charisma, the eliteness of the army, the weather on the battlefield, etc.
Therefore, although many soldiers on both sides have fallen, the fighting spirit of both sides is still high.
As the military formations of both sides get closer, the spear is no longer suitable for the current battlefield.
So almost at the same time, the armies of both the Han and Wei Dynasties abandoned their spears and pulled out the ring-headed knives from their waists.
The Han Dynasty was an era of great progress in smelting technology, and during this era, a highly lethal weapon appeared - the Huanshou Sword.
It is said that when the Huanshou sword was produced, it was originally used by cavalrymen to slash on their horses.
But later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty discovered that the weapon Huanshou Dao was extremely lethal, so he ordered the Huanshou Dao to be gradually popularized for use among the Han infantry, and it gradually became the main standard weapon of the Han Army's infantry.
Or the Huanshou knife used by the infantry has been modified by craftsmen, but after the craftsmen's modification, the Huanshou knife has not reduced its power.
The moment the infantry troops on both sides took out their swords, it meant that both sides were about to enter a more brutal hand-to-hand combat.
The elite soldiers on both sides were not afraid of the ensuing hand-to-hand combat.
After the soldiers on both sides drew their swords from their waists, they strode forward under the command of the command flag and the junior officers beside them.
Soon after, the infantry formations of both sides began to engage in close combat.
To fully utilize the power of the Huanshou Sword, there is only one way to use it, and that is to cut straight.
The extremely sharp ring-headed sword, under the force of the soldiers' chopping, once it falls on the enemy, even if the enemy is wearing armor, it will inevitably cause great damage.
Just as the soldiers from both sides approached and slashed the enemy with their swords, countless wailing sounds sounded from the armies of both sides almost immediately.
When the pike troops from both sides were assassinating each other just now, the main sounds from the two armies were shouts of killing.
But now when the two armies began to engage in hand-to-hand combat, the soldiers on both sides only let out miserable wails. This shows the tragic situation on the battlefield and the lethality of the Huanshou Sword.
Groups of soldiers from both sides fell down under the enemy's sword attacks, and countless broken arms and limbs began to fall at the feet of the soldiers from both sides.
A lot of blood spurted out from the broken arms and limbs and the corpses of the two armies, just like the Han River not far away, and began to slowly cover the feet of tens of thousands of troops on both sides.
A river of blood is forming at an extremely fast speed.
As time went by, even though the Han soldiers were no less elite than the Wei army, their military formation gradually retreated under the attack of the Wei army.
This is because the Huanshou sword in the hands of the Han army is not as good as that in the hands of the Wei army.
The emergence of Huanshou Dao is due to the development of iron and steel smelting technology in the Han Dynasty.
Although there are iron mines in the south, the generally backward south lacks corresponding advanced smelting technology.
At this time, steelmaking technology had already appeared in the north.
Given this gap in technology, the strength of the Huanshou Sword in the hands of the Han and Wei armies was naturally different.
Perhaps this gap is not big, but in this kind of protracted war, any small gap will be invisibly amplified.
For example, the Huanshou sword in the hands of the Han army was more likely to have gaps.
This is one of the reasons why Guan Yu said that "the northern army is strong".
Cao Wei's strong national power is reflected in all aspects.
Fortunately, the Han army was an elite division, and there were fierce generals like Zhang Fei in the Han army who were constantly killing the enemy to boost morale. This made the Han army and the Wei army generally evenly matched.
It's just that this situation can't be maintained for too long.
As the Han army has more and more gaps in the ring, the situation will gradually move towards the unfavorable side of the Han army.
Although the Han army's front army retreated slightly, although it was not obvious, it was noticed by Guan Yu and Zhang Liao, the main generals at the rear of both armies.
Zhang Liao, who was riding a horse, looked in the direction of Guan Yu and murmured to himself:
"Use the right combination to win with the unexpected."
"Now that the main troops have gathered together, and the situation is not good for you, when will your surprise troops be deployed?"
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!