The power of the repeating crossbow carts was greater than that of ordinary bow carts, but it could only increase their casualties, but could not ultimately resolve the charge of the Wei army's knights. Therefore, in the view of Sima Division, although these repeating crossbow carts were a bit tricky, they were nothing to be afraid of.

He only needs to send more knights, and he will eventually be able to break through Deng Zhi's defensive position. What will follow is a one-sided massacre, and those ballistas will also become his trophies.

In his opinion, the serial ballista only increased his casualties and could not change the situation of the entire battle. As long as he could win, the death of a few more people would not matter.

But he did not expect that these quantitative changes would eventually lead to qualitative changes. Before the Wei army's knights broke through the Shu army's defensive position, the corpses on the ground were enough to hinder the Wei army's charge and slow down their impact speed.

Without the impact speed, the power of the cavalry was greatly reduced. They were in a mess in front of the formation. Deng Zhi seized the opportunity to mass fire, causing heavy losses. However, the charge mission they were supposed to complete became elusive, and in the end they only had less than

Thirty knights rushed to the Shu army's formation and were killed in front of the Shu army's prepared soldiers.

The pile of corpses in front of the Shu army's formation became a little taller.

When the last Wei knight was killed, the Shu soldiers could not be excited. Many people thought that this would be their last battle, and no one thought that it would end so easily. They raised their arms in excitement and shouted: "Long live!"

"

"Long live!" The soldiers in the rear also echoed excitedly.

The soldiers cheered. The voices were chaotic at first, but gradually merged into a neat shout. Everyone turned their faces to General Deng Zhi, who was standing on the hillside with his sword in hand.

"Long live General Deng!"

"Long live General Deng!"

A smile finally appeared on Deng Zhi's cold face. However, the smile disappeared in a flash. Although he enjoyed this honor, he also knew that it was not the time to celebrate yet. He touched his chest and bowed slightly to the cheering crowd.

, like an actor taking a curtain call. Then he straightened up, raised his arms, and pressed down hard.

The cheers suddenly stopped, and everyone looked at him eagerly.

Deng Zhi's face felt slightly hot, and his heartbeat sped up inexplicably. He took a deep breath and said loudly: "Soldiers!"

Everyone held their breath and listened to every word he said.

"Ni Wei claims to dominate the world with his iron cavalry. But today, you can see with your own eyes that the iron cavalry is not invincible..."

Deng Zhi exerted all his strength, shouted angrily, and promoted the victory he had just won. He knew that he was at a disadvantage. It was unknown when the reinforcements would arrive and whether they could arrive in time. The only one he could rely on now was himself. If he wanted to persist even more

For a long time, even to achieve the final victory, morale is very important. He built a line of defense with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, which eliminated the advantage of the Wei army's cavalry. Next, Sima Division will launch a more ferocious attack, and he will never retreat easily.

The purpose of boosting morale is to strive for the final victory. However, this victory is likely to belong to only a few people, or in other words, only to Deng Zhi, while the vast majority of the soldiers will die here - for his glory.

This is what is called killing one's own people. Why is the famous general Wu Qi able to dominate the world? Because he can make all his soldiers work for him. It is the fearless fighting of those soldiers who refuse to fight to the death that makes him famous. And those soldiers fought for him

He sacrificed his life not only because of the strict military laws, but more importantly because of Wu Qi's charm and scheming. He could suck out gangrene for ordinary soldiers, so that the soldiers would willingly die for him.

So Wu Qi is a famous general.

Deng Zhi also wanted to be a famous general, so boosting morale and making his men willing to die on the battlefield was a compulsory course.

Enticing them with benefits, moving them with emotion, and encouraging them with energy are all indispensable means.

Deng Zhi was worthy of being born into a wealthy family and was very familiar with this routine. He shouted a few words, which immediately made the soldiers' blood boil with excitement. They wished they could rush forward and chop off Sima Shi's head.

Deng Zhi couldn't let them do this. It was one thing to boost morale, but if it was overdone, it would become a rebellion. He controlled the rhythm, seized the good opportunity when the morale of the soldiers was high, and reorganized the formation. Behind the formation

The deep ditch was about to take shape. Although every soldier knew that it was the line of death and many people would not be able to cross that line, they were inspired by the victory. Each of them clasped the weapons in their hands and stared at the Wei army on the opposite side.

.

Master Sima was a little panicked and his face turned blue. Although he was alert and usually quite smart, after all, it was his first time going into battle. He thought he would have an advantage. His opponent was Deng Zhi, who had never led an army in the first half of his life.

The old scholar should have been captured, but the development of the battle situation was far beyond his expectation. The third wave of charges not only failed to achieve greater results, but suffered an unexpected defeat.

Even though Sima Shi was smart enough and had a city government, he would panic a little when encountering this situation.

After all, he was still young and had only been in the army for two or three years. He was far less mature than his father, Sima Yi, who had suffered under Cao Cao for more than ten years.

Seeing the defense line piled up with human corpses and horse corpses, Sima Division knew that he had fallen into a trap. He ignored the power of those crossbow vehicles and the obstacles that the rapid increase in corpses would bring to the following cavalry. At this time, he

Only then did I understand why Deng Zhi chose such a place to form the formation. The narrow terrain not only restricted the formation of the cavalry, but also accelerated the formation of obstacles.

Details, everything were insignificant details, but they accumulated into money, and finally put him in a disadvantageous situation.

Should we continue fighting or retreat? Master Sima tried his best to calm down and weighed the pros and cons.

If he wanted to continue the battle, he could only abandon the advantage of the cavalry, dismount the cavalry and fight on foot, and compete with Deng Zhi for position inch by inch. But in this way, Deng Zhi, who has a continuous crossbow chariot, would have a huge advantage, and his cavalry would

In addition to riding bows and a limited number of hand crossbows, they did not have powerful long-range weapons. Facing Deng Zhi who was covered by baggage vehicles and had long-range strikes with repeating crossbow vehicles, he would be at a disadvantage.

If he retreated, his pursuit would be an outright shame. He used 3,000 fine cavalry to pursue 4,000 to 5,000 infantry, and finally returned without success. This is not a record to be proud of no matter what.

What should I do? Master Sima thought nervously. The cavalrymen who had already prepared for the charge pulled their horses and stood quietly in front of the formation, waiting for orders, but they never heard the order.

What should I do? Master Sima was hesitant and unable to make a decision.

At this moment, a fast horse galloped from the east. In order to bypass the Wei army's formation on the river beach, he rushed into Danshui. The horse's hooves kicked up the snow-white waves, and the rushing sound got closer and closer.

, attracted Sima Shi’s mind.

When Master Sima saw the knight's face, he couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. Could it be that Liang Ji had fought with the enemy's ambush?

"Major General, our army is under attack."

"How many enemies are there? How about Liang joining the army?" Master Sima suddenly turned pale and blurted out.

The knight glanced at him in surprise and quickly shook his head: "Major General, this subordinate was not sent by Liang Canjun."

"Oh, then who are you?" Master Sima just breathed a sigh of relief, and was immediately gripped by greater fear. If Liang Ji was not attacked, who would be attacked? A thousand fine cavalry who stayed in Shang County

? Or Wuguan’s father? Could it be that Meng Da came from Fangling and killed him?

In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through Master Sima's mind. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and his voice began to tremble.

"Major General, the cavalry in Shang County was attacked and the entire army was wiped out!"

The knight's voice was not loud, and no one except the Sima Master and a few people around him could hear it. But in the Sima Master's ears, it was undoubtedly a thunder.

A thousand fine cavalry were attacked and the whole army was wiped out? Neither Sima Shi nor the personal guards around him could believe their ears.

"What did you say?" Master Sima widened his eyes and growled in a low voice.

"Major General, the truth is that Wei Ba is coming towards our army with nearly a thousand cavalry, less than fifty miles away from our army."

Sima Shi's vision went dark and he almost fell off his horse. A thousand cavalry? When did Wei Ba have a thousand cavalry? If he really had a thousand cavalry, then the whole army of the thousand cavalry he left in Shang County would not be wiped out.

It was unexpected. But...how could he have a thousand cavalry? From the beginning of the war to now, the Shuhan army has not had any organized cavalry on the battlefield. One thousand cavalry requires at least 1,300 horses, which is not a small number.

, there is no way to hide it from the scouts.

Master Sima was about to cry without tears. Wei Ba actually hid such a trick, which was beyond his expectation and completely destroyed his confidence. At present, he only had more than 1,600 horses left, and Deng Zhi's infantry was in front of him.

The formation is blocking the road, and Wei Ba's cavalry is pursuing them from behind. Danshui is on the left and mountains are on the right. This is a dead place.

What should I do? Master Sima asked himself anxiously: What would his father do if he were here?

During the Battle of Fangling, the moment when Sima Yi ordered the retreat suddenly flashed before Sima Shi's eyes. He couldn't help but lamented, am I going to have to retreat in embarrassment again?

After a brief moment of dissatisfaction, Master Sima immediately issued an order to retreat. Although it was embarrassing to retreat, it was still a choice between losing one's life and losing one's life here. Victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists, and invincible famous generals are just legends after all.

Only the dead are blameless losers. As long as they are alive, they will have the opportunity to turn defeat into victory.

"Retreat!" Sima Shi shouted loudly: "Defeat Wei Ba, and then pursue Deng Zhi!"

With the sound of war drums, the Wei army officers turned their horses. Many people breathed a sigh of relief, especially those knights who had already formed their formations and were waiting for the charge. Facing Deng Zhi's defense, they really had no confidence. Although military orders could not be violated,

But no one had the courage to die in vain. Upon hearing the retreat, almost everyone heard a "bang" in their hearts, and a big stone finally fell to the ground.

Compared with the Wei army's narrow escape, the Shu army with high morale was even more excited. They raised their weapons, stamped their feet vigorously, and let out overwhelming cheers.

"Long live--"

"Long live General Deng——"

Deng Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, his legs softened and he almost sat on the ground.

——

Note: In order to prevent some trolls from getting excited again, let me explain the word "Long Live". Although Long Live has been officially stipulated as a title for the emperor since the Han Dynasty, it has not been implemented as usual among the people. It is also common to say "Long Live" when celebrating. Some things did not officially become a title that only the emperor could use until the Song Dynasty. If you are interested, you can check the "Jia Chong Biography", "Yan Wen Biography", and "Gan Ning Biography" in "Three Kingdoms".

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The fourth update is here.
Chapter completed!