Chapter 87: Alarming the Snake (Second update, please subscribe)
"Sikong, more than a thousand people have gone up the mountain to support Zhang Xiu's flank."
Someone next to Cao Cao said.
"I saw it."
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly, pointed forward and said: "Instruct Shi Huan to attack Zhang Xiu's left front."
"only."
Immediately there were messengers to convey the order.
The top generals of Cao Cao's 30,000-strong army are mainly Cao Hong, Cao Ren, and Yu Jin.
Then according to their status, they are Le Jin, Han Hao, Shi Huan, Zao Zhi, Li Zheng and others, who are middle and upper-level officers.
Then came the personal guards, consisting of Dian Wei, Cao Chun, and Cao Xiu. The rest, Cao Ang and Cao Anmin, were regarded as attendants, with no specific job arrangements.
Now Dian Wei died in the battle of Wancheng, Cao Ren died in the battle of Xinye, Le Jin died in the battle of Niyang, Yu Jin led his troops to make a detour, and was repelled by Gan Ning. On the way here, Cao Hong was commanding the attack on Zhang Xiu from the front.
As for Cao Chun and Cao Xiu, Cao Chun was actually a civil servant, and his military force was not even third-rate. Later, he was able to command the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, but asking him to charge into the battle at this time would be tantamount to death.
Cao Xiu, on the other hand, was too young. According to the bone age measured on Cao Xiu's tomb in later generations, he lived to be fifty years old, so he was born in 178 AD and just turned nineteen this year.
He is currently serving as Cao Cao's personal guard. He is an ordinary soldier, not even a low-level officer, let alone going to the battlefield to kill the enemy.
Therefore, at this time, Cao Cao actually did not have any capable generals around him, so he could only send Han Hao and Shi Huan to attack from the flanks, while the rest, Zao Zhi, Li Zheng and others, led their troops.
However, even if he did not have any powerful generals at hand, Cao Cao was not worried that the enemy would be able to defeat his troops.
Strong generals are only part of fighting, not the whole thing.
Lu Bu is invincible in the world, but he doesn't see what he can do. Liu Bei, who is an enemy of ten thousand people like Zhang, hasn't been defeated repeatedly in battles?
Therefore, compared to fierce generals rushing into battle, Cao Cao paid more attention to his performance on the battlefield.
He accurately found the enemy's weak spot at this time.
Shen Chen on the top of the mountain also discovered Cao Cao's plan, but he still had too little battlefield experience, not to mention that he was a guest army and could not command Zhang Xiu on the battlefield, so he could only resort to tricks.
Seeing that Cao Cao ordered Shi Huan to lead the troops into action, Shen Chen immediately realized that something was wrong and said to his father Shen Zhen: "Father, we have to go and help."
"My son, just say it."
Shen Zhen was also riding on horseback, clenching the steel knife in his hand and saying, "Being a father is never ambiguous."
Shen Chen reined in his horse and pointed to Zhang Xiu's left front and said: "We must support that place."
"Okay, let's go!"
Shen Zhen picked up the whistle and blew it.
The surrounding five hundred soldiers immediately moved closer, and under the leadership of Shen Zhen and his son, they went down the mountain to support Zhang Xiu.
In fact, by this time, the arrows they carried were almost used.
Arrows were originally very special weapons. Killing Cao Ren in the battle of Huangmenting had already used up all the money in the family. Later, the additional arrows were obtained from Gan Ning.
Now that they were shooting randomly, all the arrows carried by the soldiers were exhausted. At this time, they could only choose to fight hand-to-hand.
However, because the distance was too far, when we got to the battlefield, the situation on the battlefield had already heated up.
In the distance, Cao Hong is fighting Zhang Xiu. There are twenty-four generals in the Three Kingdoms in later generations. Cao Hong is not among them, but it does not mean that he is worse than some of the people there.
There was also the feat of overcoming the peak Ma Chao in fifty rounds. He fought Gan Ning for twenty rounds and then faked defeat and left.
Maybe not as good as Zhang Liao and Zhang He, but Fang Soochow is also a man who can squeeze into the top five.
Therefore, at this moment, he was having a fierce fight with Zhang Xiu, the most powerful among the twenty-four generals. The two sides fought for dozens of rounds, and Zhang Xiu was already feeling slightly defeated.
Although Zhang Xiu is on the list, he actually has no impressive achievements. He was only listed among the twenty-four generals because he led his army to kill Dianwei Cao Ang. His own military strength is only second-rate, and he is still quite good against Cao Hong.
For the hard work.
However, Zhang Xiu also knew that it was now a critical moment of life and death, and he had to use all his skills to bring the situation back, so he used all his strength to fight Cao Hong.
While the two sides were fighting fiercely, the army led by Han Hao had already arrived at the right wing of the Xiliang Army. At this time, the Xiliang Army did not make any adjustments at all and hurriedly engaged Han Hao on the flank of Xiji. The formation suddenly fell into chaos.
"Get back, get back."
"Hurry up and add two more troops over there, the enemy is about to come in."
"Hold on, our reinforcements are coming soon."
Although the Xiliang Army's reaction and execution ability were slow, the soldiers were extremely brave and bloody.
After all, these people are all fierce soldiers who followed Zhang Ji and fought out of the Gu basin in Guanzhong. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are veterans of hundreds of battles. Naturally, they cannot collapse in a single charge.
But in the end, due to problems with his formation, someone found a flaw. After a burst of attacks, he was already losing ground and was about to collapse.
Fortunately, Deng Zhao arrived late and arrived at the critical moment when the Xiliang army behind Zhang Xiu was about to retreat, helping them stabilize their position.
"Don't panic, please stay calm. Reinforcements are coming."
Deng Zhao rode on horseback, swung his sword left and right, and chopped down a Cao soldier who had his back turned to him. The second sword was blocked by Cao Jun, and another Cao Jun almost stabbed him off the horse.
The combat literacy and cooperation of Cao Jun's soldiers still surprised him. Fortunately, Huangmenting soldiers also trained for two or three years and cooperated closely. At critical moments, there were tribesmen nearby to help block, which saved him from sacrifice.
After working with a dozen clan members around him to kill five Cao soldiers and clearing the area, Deng Zhao shouted on horseback: "Cao Jun is defeated, Cao Jun is defeated, everyone shouts together."
"Cao's army was defeated, Cao's army was defeated, Cao's army was defeated."
First, there were more than a dozen people around me shouting, and then they spread out and became dozens of people shouting. Finally, all the 1,000 people in Huangmen Pavilion started making noises and shouting.
In fact, there are countless chaotic sounds on the battlefield, including shouts of death, roars, screams, wailings, and the collision of various swords. Even the distant waves of the river and the sound of wind can affect people's senses.
So in fact, unless you encounter someone with a loud voice like Zhang Fei, it is very difficult for ordinary generals to improve the morale of their soldiers by shouting.
But if many people shout at the same time, the voices will be concentrated and distract the enemy and our soldiers.
So when the words "Cao's army was defeated" resounded throughout the battlefield, although it did not disturb Cao's army's morale, it temporarily stabilized the Xiliang army, which was on the verge of collapse.
Many Xiliang troops who were originally retreating began to turn back and continue to participate in the battle.
For a time, the position of the Xiliang Army was stabilized.
However, Cao's army was not affected at all. While shouting "Zhang Xiu is defeated", he continued to launch a fierce attack on the Xiliang army on the flanks. The two sides fell into a stalemate.
The reason why both sides have to shout at each other that the other side is defeated is mainly from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. This is the best way to improve morale.
Later, in order to prevent this situation from happening, the so-called Dao of the Chief General (dao) appeared.
Once the other side declares that the enemy has been defeated, the soldiers will instinctively take a look at the banner. The banner is still there, which proves that the general is still there, and the military morale will not be shaken and they will continue to fight.
But there are also negative teaching materials.
In the Battle of Feishui, Fu Jian planned to retreat a little, wait for the Jin soldiers to cross the river, and take advantage of the situation to attack halfway across the river.
As a result, Zhu Xu shouted, "The Qin army is defeated."
Because Fu Jian's troops were too large and too bloated, a large number of soldiers could not see where the big banner was. The two sides had not yet fought, so the Jin soldiers shouted "The Qin army has been defeated."
So the Qin army in the front thought they were really defeated and ran back one after another. The Qin army in the back didn't know what was going on and continued to march forward.
In this way, the front and rear troops collided and squeezed each other, and it suddenly turned into a large-scale stampede. Hundreds of thousands of people were together, and it was more lively than a big star's concert. Once panic started, fear of human-to-human transmission, it would be a disaster.
Then Fu Jian lost to the Jin army in such a confused way.
Therefore, when the two sides fight each other and shout that the other side has lost, it can be regarded as a traditional Chinese art with thousands of years of war history.
It's just that Deng Zhao did this to boost the morale of the Xiliang Army, which was on the verge of collapse, and Han Hao did this to defeat the morale of the Xiliang Army.
The only pity is that Guan Yu is missing from this battle.
Otherwise, Guan Yu would have rushed in and beheaded Han Hao first, and when the general was knocked down, Cao's soldiers would definitely be defeated. Just like Yan Liang in the Battle of White Horse, when Yan Liang died, Yuan's army, which had the numerical advantage, collapsed instantly.
Just when Han Hao led his troops to attack the Xiliang army's left rear formation, but Deng Zhao arrived in time to save the situation with difficulty, Shi Huan over there also began to lead his troops to attack Zhang Xiu's left front army formation.
In fact, there are no flaws here, but Cao Cao's on-the-battle command is much better than the half-baked Shen Chen. He did this not to break through the Xiliang Army, but to shake the entire formation of the Xiliang Army from the side.
Among the Thirty-Six Strategies, there is a trick called to alert the snake, and in "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses" there is also an idiom called throwing stones to ask for directions. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States to the War of Liberation, such tactics were common and countless.
Cao Cao asked Han Hao to attack the Xiliang Army's exposed flank. Even if the Xiliang Army barely resisted, it could only be regarded as struggling to hold on. Then he sent Shi Huan to attack Zhang Xiu's other side, which would definitely put great pressure on the flank.
.
As a result, Zhang Xiu's front was blocked by Cao Hong, and the front left and rear left flanks were caught in the flames of war. The entire formation was in serious chaos from the left end. Even Shen Chen was exhausted fighting fires everywhere.
Soon, when Shi Huan was fighting a fierce battle with the left front wing of the Xiliang army, the reinforcements led by Shen Zhen and Shen Chen's father and son had arrived at the rear. Shen Chen originally wanted to support Zhang Xiu's front army, but suddenly realized that if he went, then
You will fall into a very passive situation.
Being led by the nose by Cao Cao.
So he simply stopped supporting the front army, and instead joined forces with Deng Zhao to launch a fierce attack in the direction of Han Hao's army.
In fact, the number of soldiers and horses led by Han Hao is not large. After the Xiliang Army stabilized their position and received support from Deng Zhao, their numbers fell into a disadvantage. At present, they can only fight to a stalemate, and there can be no more
inch forward.
As soon as Shen Chen and his son arrived, they posed a serious threat to his commanding general in the rear. As a last resort, he could only retreat a little temporarily. Cao's army in front saw the general retreating and followed suit.
The crisis at the rear was relieved in a short time.
In the distance, Cao Cao stood on a high slope by the river bank. He saw this scene from a distance and sneered: "It's a very smart choice, but it's just that. Let Zao Zhi come over."
The messenger immediately went to find Zaozhi.
Zaozhi is located on the left front of Cao's army and on the right of Zhang Xiu's army.
After being summoned by Cao Cao, he immediately rode over.
"Sikong."
"You lead our troops and attack Zhang Xiu's right army immediately."
"only."
Zao Zhi took the order and left.
Cao Cao scanned the entire battlefield. Now Zhang Xiujun had been fully mobilized by him, and there were flaws everywhere. When Zao Zhi began to attack the opponent's right army in the distance, he raised the sword in his hand and shouted: "The whole army attacks!"
"Dong dong dong dong!"
The thunderous sound of war drums sounded, and all Cao's troops began to charge towards Zhang Xiu.