Chapter 300: Looking to the North, Cutting Off Life with a Cut
When the Wei army faced a complete collapse, the remaining Han generals no longer needed Guan Yu's command, they knew what they should do.
Not only for the country, but also for themselves, they must kill all enemies in their way.
Before this battle started, Guan Yu had issued one of the two strategic goals after winning this battle.
One is to kill as many enemies as possible on the battlefield.
Especially the 30,000-strong Wei army.
Under the influence of Cao Wei's wrong service system, it was difficult for the Wei army to quickly transform into the national power of the Han Dynasty after surrendering.
Especially the 30,000 Wei soldiers who were loyal to Cao Wei.
For this kind of enemy, if we don’t wipe them all out, why should we keep them?
It is true that most of Liu Bei's subordinates are loyal and will not kill innocent people indiscriminately.
But before the Wei army surrendered, they were still enemies.
How can it be considered killing innocent people indiscriminately if one cuts one's own blade on the enemy?
Loyalty, not pedantry.
It has to be said that the Cao Wei Army is indeed the elite in the world, and there are also some die-hard generals in the Wei Army.
When the Wei army's battle situation completely collapsed, there were still many Wei army troops trying to form formations to fight in the chaotic battlefield.
However, the formation of those Wei armies who are not unified and independent cannot pose any threat to the Han army, which is now highly motivated.
Their move could only block, to a certain extent, the progress of the Han army's sweep of the battlefield.
While tens of thousands of Han troops were strangling the die-hards in the Wei army across the battlefield, Zhang Liao, who was somewhere on the battlefield, also saw Guan Yu coming towards him with a sword.
At the beginning, the formation of tens of thousands of Wei troops became chaotic and crowded under the impact of the defeat of more than 10,000 Wei troops.
But when more and more Wei troops broke out and attacked Wei Jun's formation, Wei Jun's formation had already turned into a bucket with holes on all sides.
The defeated soldiers who were desperate to escape began to scatter out of the holes in the bucket like sewage.
Therefore, as time went by, the originally crowded battlefield was divided into countless battlefields by the defeated troops who fled, the Wei army who stubbornly resisted, and the Han army with high morale.
Fighting is still going on in many battlefields.
But now, the offensive and defensive momentum has been completely reversed.
Under this situation, without the obstruction of a large crowd, Zhang Liao quickly noticed Guan Yu's movements.
Not only Zhang Liao, but hundreds of tiger warriors beside him also saw this scene.
After seeing this scene, hundreds of tiger warriors who followed Zhang Liao closely began to admonish Zhang Liao: "General Wei, leave quickly."
Urgent urging sounds echoed in Zhang Liao's ears.
Since these hundreds of Huben followed Zhang Liao and defeated the 100,000 Wu army, they and Zhang Liao have received too many honors.
For example, they were awarded the title of Huben by Wei Emperor Cao Pi himself. This was an honor that none of the hundreds of thousands of Wei troops in the north had ever received.
Because of this, their fate has long been deeply connected with Zhang Liao.
In the chaotic situation just now, the Wei army that had gathered around Zhang Liao fled or dispersed, and only these hundreds of tiger warriors followed Zhang Liao unswervingly.
Even though they were among the rebels, they still followed Zhang Liao to kill the enemy unswervingly, just like they did outside Hefei City.
But when these hundreds of tiger soldiers saw Guan Yu leading the army quickly towards this place, fear appeared on their faces.
Guan Yu was not Sun Quan. Back then, Sun Quan would have been frightened by the bravery of hundreds of them and fled, making them burst into laughter.
Guan Yu was a world-famous general who was capable of leading an army to kill hundreds of them.
But they can die, but their master Zhang Liao cannot die.
They had received many favors from Zhang Liao in the past, and now it was time for them to repay the favor.
Under the urgent urging, some tigers even stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Liao's arms, trying to escort Zhang Liao out of the encirclement.
But those loyal actions of Huben were stopped by Zhang Liao's sharp shout.
After stopping the tiger ben's actions, Zhang Liao looked at the hundreds of tiger ben guarding him in front of him, and he couldn't help but have doubts in his eyes.
How did he lose?
At this point in the war, the defeat of the Wei army was certain.
So this question appeared in his mind.
Originally, the situation on the battlefield had always been in favor of the Wei army, but almost suddenly, tens of thousands of Wei soldiers were caught off guard and suffered an almost devastating blow. But was this his fault?
He was obviously very cautious and cautious.
Zhang Liao looked at Ma Chao, who was leading the Xiliang cavalry not far away. The defeat of the Wei army seemed to have started since his appearance.
If it weren't for a top-notch cavalry commander like Ma Chao leading the Xiliang cavalry, Sun Li would not have been defeated so quickly.
It was so fast that there was no time for him to react.
But can you blame him for not expecting this?
I wonder who in the world would believe that Guan Yu would put the key to victory in this crucial battle on a notorious person like Ma Chao!
This is just like when Liu Bei came to Japan for the Northern Expedition, he appointed Yu Jin as the forward general of the Han army.
And Ma Chao's reputation and level of untrustworthiness are several orders of magnitude greater than Yu Jin's.
This arrangement was simply unimaginable to the ministers of Cao Wei.
Today's famous officials in Cao Wei were all promoted by Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei.
And what did Cao Cao do to those who might rebel?
Someone directly broke into the military camp to take away his military power, or forced him to commit suicide through various excuses...
Under the influence of Cao Cao's approach, not only Zhang Liao, but even Jia Xu was here, I am afraid that he could not have predicted Guan Yu's move.
This is the different national conditions of Cao Wei and Ji Han.
What Zhang Liao didn't know was that this kind of unreasonable trust existed throughout the history of Ji Han, and that trust also created many laudable characters in Ji Han.
For example, Jiang Wei was loved by countless people in later generations.
It is this kind of trust that is sometimes incomprehensible to ordinary people that allowed the Ji Han regime to survive for decades after Zhuge Liang's death.
Because Zhang Liao didn't understand this kind of trust, he then thought:
Today's defeat of 70,000 Wei troops, except for the sudden appearance of Ma Chao's cavalry army, doesn't the master he served, Cao Pi, have no responsibility?
It is true that Mi Yang's strategy would make everyone angry, and even Cao Cao would be furious even when he was alive.
Cao Cao may be angry and send troops, but he will never let his side be completely led by the enemy.
Before Zhang Liao left Wancheng, Cao Pi once asked Zhang Liao a question: "If our army fights with the rebels in the field, what are the chances of winning?"
Zhang Liao's answer at that time was: "50%."
This is because the opponent is Guan Yu.
But after Zhang Liao answered this answer, he continued: "If we mobilize more elite cavalry from the border and order a general to lead them, we have an 80% chance of winning."
This judgment is based on Zhang Liao's experience in many years of fighting. If you use footwork and cavalry together, you will be invincible.
From the news Xu Chu told him after his arrival, it can be seen that Cao Pi originally issued an edict to Zhang He to lead the Guanzhong cavalry to participate in the battle.
But it is a pity that because of Guan Yu's active retreat, Cao Pi, who was completely overwhelmed by anger and reason, couldn't wait any longer.
But if Zhang He's Guanzhong cavalry were here today, how could it be Zhang Liao who failed!
Victory should have belonged to Wei.
One leader is incompetent and the three armies are exhausted.
Perhaps at the beginning, Zhang Liao's real opponent was not Guan Yu, but Cao Pi, who seemed to be extremely favored to him.
Zhang Liao knew that he was in a dead end today.
Maybe he can escape now.
But the destruction of the 30,000-strong Cao Wei army happened right in front of his eyes. Even if he, a general who was neither his direct descendant nor his relative, escaped in the end, how good would his end be?
Zhang Liao was not a simple military general, he was well versed in the hidden rules of politics.
Thirty thousand Cao Wei's central army was destroyed. Such a miserable result must be unacceptable to both the Cao Wei court and the public.
Such a tragic failure requires someone to calm down the anger of the courtiers and give an explanation to the world.
Such a person could not be Cao Xiu, the deputy general, nor Cao Pi, the emperor. As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he was the most suitable.
Cao Pi's favor towards him before the war was both trust and pressure.
This was a big battle that Zhang Liao could never lose. If he lost, he would pay with his life.
Only in this way can his family be preserved, and maybe he can win a good posthumous title.
How could Zhang Liao, who had already figured everything out, follow Huben's advice and leave the battlefield?
Since he was already facing a certain death situation, he had to act upright before Zhang Liao's death.
Looking at Guan Yu who was approaching, Zhang Liao took off the douchi on his head. He held the Huanshou knife and patted the douchi on his hand with the knife.
When the gold and silver instruments in Zhang Liao's hands collided with each other and produced a unique sound, the sound formed a special melody under Zhang Liao's orderly tapping.
This melody belongs to the Yuefu poem "Fifteenth Military Expedition" that is popular among armies all over the world.
The sad melody began to flow through Zhang Liao's body and quickly spread to the hundreds of tigers around him.
"You will join the army at the age of fifteen and return home at the age of eighty."
Talking to a fellow villager: Who is there at home?
From a distance, it is Jun's house, surrounded by pine and cypress graves.
When I go out and look eastward, my clothes are stained with tears."
Zhang Liao did not sing the content of this poem, but this poem was so widely circulated that everyone present knew this poem.
Because of this knowledge, a silent and sad atmosphere began to pervade these hundreds of people.
After reciting the contents of the poem silently in his mind, Zhang Liao looked to the north.
He murmured in his mouth: "I also joined the army at the age of fifteen, but I was unlucky and could not go home again."
Zhang Liao's tone was full of regret and unwillingness.
When his words were heard by the surrounding Huben, many Huben felt moved and shed tears.
They can't even go back.
Although they knew that staying with Zhang Liao would lead to certain death, none of the Huben soldiers abandoned Zhang Liao at this time.
Not everyone in Cao Wei was ruthless.
It's a pity that affection is paid by mistake.
When Zhang Liao finished playing the melody of "Fifteen Military Expeditions", Guan Yu had already fought his way to Zhang Liao.
After seeing the long sword in Guan Yu's hand knocking away a Wei soldier so that there was no obstacle between him and himself, Zhang Liao bent down and picked up a long spear on the ground.
In the previous battle, the halberd in his hand had been discarded somewhere.
Although he had always used a halberd to kill enemies in the past, he knew everything. For Zhang Liao, the gun was also the weapon he was good at.
After picking up the spear, Zhang Liao did not hesitate for a moment. He was like a swift wild leopard, holding the spear and pounced towards Guan Yu in front of him.
The moment Zhang Liao rushed towards Guan Yu, hundreds of tiger warriors around him also held sharp swords and killed the hundreds of Han troops brought by Guan Yu.
Facing Zhang Liao's violent attack, Guan Yu did not show panic on his face. He had already expected this scene.
Even though the two were good friends in the past, the meeting before the war broke out between them.
Now the two sides are just enemies. If they meet, they will only fight to the death.
The spear in Zhang Liao's hand stabbed Guan Yu at an extremely tricky angle.
Guan Yu calmly raised the sword in his hand to block it, and then slashed Zhang Liao's body with the sword in his hand.
Facing Guan Yu's powerful and heavy blow, Zhang Liao calmly raised his gun to resist his attack.
After the first move of the exchange, Guan Yu and Zhang Liao briefly separated.
But soon the two of them rushed towards each other and started fighting again.
Guan Yu has been known as the enemy of ten thousand people for decades. As an enemy of ten thousand people, he has always focused on offense.
Zhang Liao was also famous for his bravery.
When he was determined to die, he did not care about his own safety and only focused on launching a fierce attack on Guan Yu.
Precisely because both of them focused on attacking, the fight between the two had already reached a climax from the very beginning.
The light of the gun and the shadow of the sword continued to circulate around the two people, and the rapid and ferocious sound of the collision of the gun and the sword also reflected the fierceness of the fight between the two.
Guan Yu and Zhang Liao were good friends, so they often discussed each other in private.
The scene happening now is just like the scene when they were competing in Xuzhou and Xudu.
It's just that compared to previous sparring matches, today's fight between the two was filled with fierce murderous intent.
When masters fight against each other, they all use killing moves from the beginning.
Just now when Zhang Liao wanted to attack the Han army's formation, Guan Yu had fought with Zhang Liao.
The brief confrontation was interrupted soon after by the arrival of most of the reinforcements from both sides.
Zhang Liao's move was obviously to continue the battle between him and Guan Yu just now.
Even if it counts as death, if he can die at the hands of Guan Yu, it will be his pride.
When Zhang Liao and Guan Yu were fighting, the infantry of both sides began to fight each other.
Although Zhang Liao's hundreds of tiger soldiers attacked with the intention of death, the ones Guan Yu has brought are all brave and unafraid of death.
In addition, the Han army clearly has the upper hand on the battlefield, so after realizing that Guan Yu is here, Han troops are constantly gathering towards this place spontaneously.
Soon, Zhang Liao's hundreds of tiger soldiers fell into a numerical disadvantage.
With an absolute disadvantage in numbers, no matter how brave those hundreds of tigers were, they could not escape death.
One by one, Wei soldiers fell down, and they all screamed involuntarily before dying.
And these screams were constantly reaching the ears of Zhang Liao who was fighting with Guan Yu.
To make hundreds of Huben willing to die for him, Zhang Liao treated them like father and son in the past.
Now that he heard that the tigers he had adopted as his adopted sons died tragically beside him, the sadness in Zhang Liao's eyes became even more serious.
Under the screams one after another, Zhang Liao's mind was unconsciously distracted.
Masters compete with each other and cannot be distracted for a moment.
Zhang Liao's bravery is not as good as Guan Yu's.
Now his mind was distracted by the screams around him, which made his offensive less violent.
After Guan Yu noticed this, he seized the opportunity in time.
A sharp blade struck Zhang Liao in the waist while he was distracted.
The huge force knocked Zhang Liao away and fell heavily to the ground.
After Zhang Liao fell to the ground, a pain that invaded the bone marrow instantly spread throughout Zhang Liao's body.
His waist was completely covered with blood, and in the waist where blood was constantly pouring out, a large piece of flesh and blood had disappeared, leaving only cold white bones.
Guan Yu's sword had cut off all Zhang Liao's vitality.