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 barbecue of the scorching sun. Although he didn't say anything, he already scolded Zhang Xiu in his heart.
flipped.
Now he 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 he really wanted to ambush, he should have gone down to Emei Ridge.
The best way is to go to Gufeng Mountain. Over to 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 Zhangxiu banner. He had his own considerations. Although he did not look like a disciple of a Shandong Confucian classics family, he always talked about how much he had read
He didn't know much about the art of war, but after all, he had the experience of 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.
During Li Er's battle between 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 and Longxi, and he would be fooled casually. So.
Li Er believed 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 that 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 status, so he would rather
Came to the Eastern Front, came under Zhang Xiu's banner. But I didn't expect to arrive at Zhang Xiu's place, and Zhang Xiu didn't move...
Li Er, like most frontier men among the Han Dynasty, couldn't stand the gang of gentry children in Shandong. At that time, in Luoyang City, the streets were full of princes, nobles, bureaucrats, and yamen children, and the tiles of any house fell down.
, they can hit three or four powerful officials in their families, or so-and-so’s relatives, so-and-so’s children, but in the eyes of these people, Li Er and other frontier men are not “people”, they are just dogs.
, the dog that guards 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 thought they were very mysterious and powerful. Looking up to them, he suppressed himself.
, just 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 ugly, deformed, and even weak, and his heart surged.
It aroused 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.
Blindly letting 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 grievances in his heart. He wanted to cut off the heads of those Shandong gentry children 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 he resented those Shandong gentry children, and the more he hated why he couldn't hold his head high and roar at those gentry children who insulted and bullied him? Why did he listen to those gentry children again and again?
Are you becoming more and more weird, with more and more excessive demands, unable to be an upright person?
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 he would really become a dog eating shit in the gutter.
.
Later, Li Er felt lucky that he joined Fei Qian.
Fei Qian wanted to stabilize Longyou and Longxi, stabilize the frontier in Jingping, and resist the Western Qiang rebels.
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 property and a small piece of land in Chang'an.
If I can continue to gain military exploits, then under the command of General Hussar, I will definitely have the opportunity to become the chief official of a place in the future, and become the chief of a county or county of eight hundred or thousand stone...
Li Er was so hesitant that he went to Ma Mian 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, and he was thinking about Fei Qian's reply to him...
The war is about to begin, but Zhang Xiu has not found his "position" 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 Hussars 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.
Along with Fei Qian's reply came a battle report from the Northern Territory Protectorate.
Zhang Xiu not only saw Zhao Yun's performance, but also noticed the performance of many people under Zhao Yun, such as Zhang He...
Zhang Xiu knew in his heart that Fei Qian's attitude towards surrendered generals was different from that in Shandong. Therefore, it was only a matter of time that Zhang He would be reused sooner or later based on the abilities he had shown.
Just like Li Dian who is now in Hanzhong.
Of course, seniority has some advantages, but it is not an absolute advantage.
Zhang Xiu 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.
It made Zhang Xiu feel 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 bowed to the ground, "Cao Jun organized his troops to attack the city again. Wen Xi looks like he won't be able to hold on anymore!"
"Can't you hold on 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 laughed.
"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 2,000 cavalrymen 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 Mountains, 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, "Why, 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, "Then...if you were alone...how many enemies could you kill?"
"Is it just me?" Li Er was stunned for a moment, "This... I'll kill five, six, seven or eight, there are always some."
Personal power is always limited and very uncertain.
Any general can kill people like mowing grass and unleash unparalleled power. Most of them just exist in the game.
Therefore, Li Er could not say with certainty how many enemies he could drag on his back when facing a large number of enemy troops.
Zhang Xiu shook his riding whip and drew a circle around the soldiers, "What if we have two thousand men and horses? How many enemies can we kill?"
??????????.??????
"This..." Li Er seemed to understand something.
"Do you understand? What are we? What are we going to do?" Zhang Xiu laughed and lightly swept Li Er's arm with the tail of his riding whip. "After the war, can you go one step further and become a military prince?"
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 was also a question he suddenly wanted to understand...
In front of heaven and earth, no matter from any angle, human beings are so insignificant.
Mountains, rivers and rivers have existed forever, but people are just lost in the blink of an eye.
Only by considering yourself 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, it is insignificant and insignificant.
If you are so arrogant that you think you can hold off thousands of armies by yourself, you will most likely follow in Lu Bu's footsteps, become obsessed with yourself in illusions, and eventually lose all your previous efforts...
Zhang Xiu finally understood the "positioning" issue emphasized by Fei Qian, not only his own "positioning", but also his "positioning" for his soldiers. If you want to be a general, you can't just go into battle.
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 is protected...
Those who have no ideas, do not understand summary, and only follow orders will eventually lose themselves and can only be involuntarily swept down by the rolling torrent of history...
Li Er looked around him. He was surrounded by knights and horses. Everyone's expressions were either excited, leisurely, full of fighting spirit, or calm and leisurely. There was no timidity, no fear, and no fear of possible death.
Panic, only strong desire to fight, galloping on horseback, forming a magnificent torrent, moving forward indomitably.
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 the change in Li Er's 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 must win! The hussar must win!"
"Shout! We will win, we will win!"
The smoke and dust are billowing like a yellow dragon galloping.
…
…
On the other side, Cao Xiu, who was also on his way, was quite 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 did not have many horses, the movement speed of Cao's army often depended on the slowest one.
Cao Xiu brought a baggage cart, so the speed of the entire army was determined by the buttocks of the horses.
Thinking about this issue carefully, it can't help but make people feel a little frustrated.
A huge empire, a prosperous dynasty, its expanding territory is not determined by those brave soldiers and clever counselors, but by the range that these rogues can reach...
The shortcomings in the bucket may be considered a commonplace problem 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 Zhiguanxing 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 Zhi Guanxing, although Cao Xiu's troops had been 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 directly to the plateau at any time.
As if rushing over, "Our formation, I'm afraid... what should we do?"
After leaving the ambush, Cao Jun's soldiers 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 there was a slight movement.
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 the battlefield many times know in their hearts that if the psychological problems of the soldiers are not solved, if these ordinary Cao soldiers were to engage in battle with the hussars, they would probably collapse on the spot and flee in all directions.
In fact, this situation is not only here in Cao Xiu, nor in the feudal dynasty of China. 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 a headwind situation, it is like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun.
In the land of Shandong, everyone competed together. Therefore, Cao Jun, who was slightly less bad, stood out. But now that he found that he could not drag the hussars into the quagmire of consumption, Cao Jun, who had many soldiers and generals, had to face a problem.
A very difficult question.
With these ordinary soldiers of Cao's army, you may not be able to gain much advantage in field battles, but if you don't bring these soldiers, you will not 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 temporarily block the hussars, but you can only hold on for a while. The reason is very simple, Cao's soldiers are not as elite and heavily armored as they can be.
The infantry can move in an array, but 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 around the outside of the infantry array, but it will be difficult for the infantry to stand firm.
When moving, you are inherently in a more passive situation.
Of course, if the infantry array is coupled with baggage vehicles, a relatively stable defense line can be formed, and it will also give Cao'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 Elements Thunder...
That thing is really too destructive to a dense array.
It would be nice if I only brought elite infantry with me...
Cao Xiu glanced at the ordinary soldiers of Cao's army who could even hold spears in seventeen or eight different postures, and was speechless.
In order for these ordinary soldiers of Cao's army to maintain a dense formation under the attack of the Five Elements Thunder, it would be more practical to think of other ways to resist the hussars and horses.
For example, traps and horse rejections.
Juma must be very familiar to ordinary soldiers of Cao's army.
It can be said that wherever there is a military camp, there will be a horse-rejection array. Generally, when a large army is camping, in order to prevent the enemy from attacking the camp, a horse-rejection formation with a distance of dozens of steps is set up around the camp.
But the problem is, the horse cannot move.
"Is there any movable horse?" Cao Xiu asked the guard at the side.
"A mobile Juma?" The guard was a little dazed. He couldn't imagine what a mobile Juma would look like.
"Yes! That's 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...