"Tai Gong's Six Tao" once stated: One cavalry can serve as eight pawns.
This is not a quantitative ratio that the ancients thought of casually, nor is it the imagination of literati in literary works, but a conclusion drawn from actual combat.
On flat ground, a horse sprints at the fastest speed. Combined with its own weight, the kinetic energy it can generate can knock over eight people in a row.
Note that this is without a saddle or stirrups.
Therefore, although infantry wants to deal with sudden cavalry charging into formation, the best way is to form a formation.
But if the assault cavalry is really not afraid of death, they must attack the already formed formation.
Although it is very likely to be a dead end in the end, the infantry will also have to pay a certain price.
And if the formation of infantry is not determined, it is not impossible to pay a heavy price.
If the charging cavalry is armored cavalry, then the infantry must be even more careful and must make thorough preparations in order to withstand the devastating charge of the armored cavalry.
Facing Sun Quan's formation with building ships as the core, if it were in Cao Pi's time, the Wei State at that time still had a large number of fine cavalry, and maybe he might try to use the fine cavalry to attack in turn.
But the current situation in the Wei Dynasty no longer allows Wang Ling to waste cavalry like this.
Since the first sneak attack on Longyou by Shu captives more than ten years ago, the horse-producing land of the Wei Dynasty has been continuously encroached upon.
In recent years, the situation has become increasingly serious.
In Youzhou, the only horse-producing place in the Wei Dynasty, the quantity and quality of war horses sent to the Central Plains were deteriorating.
This forced the entire Wei army to extend the service time of their war horses.
Even because of the shortage of war horses in the army, the rhinoceros horses that were originally used for transportation according to previous standards were forcibly used as war horses.
Therefore, Wang Ling could not use a large number of cavalry to unscrupulously harass the Wu army's flanks and food routes as previous governors had done with Sun Quan's invasion this time.
After letting the cavalry try to charge without success, Wang Ling did not continue to take the initiative.
Instead, he decisively led the army back to the camp outside Hefei City and quietly waited for Sun Quan's arrival.
"Your Majesty, do you really want to disembark?"
Accompanying Sun Quan this time was Sun Shao, who had been guarding the border for decades.
Having been at war with the Wei army for many years, Sun Shao was well aware of the power of the Wei army. When he saw that Sun Quan was planning to disembark, he personally led the army to Hefei.
He couldn't help but feel worried and advised:
"Your Majesty came here this time just to lure you with your body. Now that Wang Ling has led the army to Hefei, your Majesty's goal has been achieved. Why do you need to take another step and put yourself in danger?"
"Gongli, it is precisely because I am using myself as bait that I have to personally lead the troops off the ship and go to Hefei."
Sun Quan stood on the boat and looked at the Hefei City built on the back of the mountain in the distance with extremely complicated eyes.
Because that was the place where he dreamed of.
But Sun Quan’s tone was serious:
"This Northern Expedition is a nationwide effort. If we continue to make no progress like before, do you know what it means to Wu?"
He didn't wait for Sun Shao to answer, then continued on his own:
"This means that in the future, I, the Great Wu, will only be trapped in Jiangdong forever, and will no longer be able to compete with Han and Wei for the world."
"Gongli, this is a dead end for Da Wu!"
No matter who wins in the end, Han or Wei, Wu will face a situation where it will be surrounded on three sides and eventually trapped to death.
"Instead of being left in a dead situation and slowly waiting for death in humiliation, I might as well fight hard for the last chance of survival."
To be honest, Sun Quan feels a little regretful now.
During the first Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty, he had informed himself that he hoped that Wu would send troops at the same time to destroy the traitors together.
Just thinking of Lu Xun's judgment of the situation at that time, Sun Quan couldn't help but grit his teeth:
"Bo Lu misunderstood me!"
"His Majesty!"
Sun Shao was shocked and turned pale. He quickly looked around and made sure that he was surrounded by the intimate guards of His Majesty's palace. Then he breathed a sigh of relief:
"Your Majesty, be careful what you say!"
Did something happen between His Majesty and the General?
"I'm just telling the truth, why should I be careful?"
When Sun Quan thought of what happened back then, he felt angry:
"Lu Boyan once asserted that the Han Dynasty was small and lacked people, and all roads in Hanzhong were difficult to travel. The Northern Expedition would definitely be ineffective and would only waste national power in vain."
"I suggest that I sit back and watch the war between Han and Wei, and wait until Zhuge Kongming is defeated and returns to his army. Whether it is for self-protection or for the success of defeating the bandits, Han will only become more demanding of me."
Having said this, Sun Quan let out a long sigh:
"Unexpectedly, the Han Kingdom... Alas! Wu has missed great opportunities over the years!"
Sun Quan seems to be an open-minded person, but in fact he likes to keep small notebooks.
Zhu Zhi, an old minister of Sun Jian, had recommended Sun Quan as Xiaolian early on, but later he was dissatisfied with Zhu Zhi and was unwilling to speak out, so he felt resentful for a time.
When Ji Yan was convicted by Sun Quan, one of the words was "Ji Yan's father and brother are attached to evil and rebellion", scolding his father and brother for having failed the Sun family in their early years.
When Zhang Wen was implicated by Ji Yan, he was scolded by Sun Quan for "having an old minister."
Anyway, I will silently remember all your faults, and I won’t speak out until the day I can’t bear it anymore.
This incident about Lu Xun was naturally recorded in Sun Quan's notebook.
As long as Lu Xun was still trusted by Sun Quan, nothing would happen.
But in the past few years, Han State has repeatedly won great victories, and Wu State has repeatedly failed to achieve success. In addition, there is Lu Yi beside him who is greedy either intentionally or unintentionally.
As a result, when Sun Quan thought of this incident, he felt like a thorn piercing his heart deeply.
The greater the victory of Han, the more painful this thorn will be.
Therefore, it was not for no reason that he had become more and more distant from Lu Xun in recent years.
Naturally, Sun Shao didn't know what Sun Quan was thinking at this time. When he heard this, he opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say, and finally remained speechless.
As a close confidant of Sun Quan, he naturally heard about this matter.
Now that he had received confirmation from His Majesty, he had to admit that the General had indeed made a mistake in this matter.
"Your Majesty, as the great general, you are still the pillar of our great Wu, and you are also on duty in front of the battle. Your Majesty should be careful with your words."
Sun Quan took a deep breath, tried to regain his composure, and said with a fake smile:
"How could I not know? It's just something I felt in my heart, I said it casually, and it was just a momentary gaffe."
If it weren't for the fact that in the entire Wu Kingdom, no one could compare with Lu Xun in military affairs, and I still had to rely on him to defeat thieves for me, how could I tolerate him until now?
"But the most important thing at the moment is to do the trick well. The longer we delay Wang Ling here, the better."
After saying that, Sun Quan refused to let Sun Shao persuade him any more. He waved his hand and ordered:
"Get off the boat!"
When the horn sounded, the ships following the building boat responded in turn.
Wu Jun on the ship began to formally disembark and disembark.
At the same time, the Wu army guarding the shore sent a large number of scouts to investigate the surrounding situation.
"Your Majesty, the Wei thieves seem to have retreated. It seems that they are going to defend the city."
"Don't take it lightly. The Wei thieves have many fine cavalry and can come and go freely. Our soldiers are far inferior to the Wei thieves in land warfare."
"In that case, Your Majesty, why don't you let me lead the army to explore the way for Your Majesty?"
Sun Shao pleaded again:
"Even if your Majesty wants to go to Hefei City in person, please don't put yourself in danger."
This time, Sun Quan did not force himself and nodded:
"Then I will give you five thousand elite soldiers to serve as the vanguard to explore the road."
"Here!"
The place to disembark is more than thirty miles away from Hefei New City.
Sun Quan had suffered losses here before, so he would not be careless.
Sun Quan walked this section for a whole day before he set up camp fifteen miles away from Hefei City.
"Your Majesty, it seems that the thief has been prepared."
Standing on a high place and looking at the stacks of camps outside Hefei City from a distance, Sun Shao couldn't help but feel a little scared.
This time, the fleet brought by His Majesty was continuous, but in fact it was not fully loaded with troops.
Unexpectedly, Sun Quan smiled nonchalantly:
"It's better to be prepared in advance. The more prepared Wang Ling is, the more it shows that he is not aware of our true intention at all."
Sun Shao was not as relaxed as Sun Quan.
The bandits' camp is so vast that they will probably have a lot of troops.
If you see through the reality on your side and don't defend and counterattack, you will probably have to fight hard.
I don't know if he heard what Sun Shao was saying. The Wu army had just set up camp when they heard the sound of war drums not far away.
Then, I saw a group of elite cavalrymen from the Wei Kingdom approaching with shouts and shouts, and ran outside the Wu army camp and around the camp.
Various provocative actions were made, and at the same time someone shouted in front of the formation:
"Wu Gou, do you dare to come out and fight?"
The elite cavalry of the Wei army suddenly arrived, causing a commotion in the Wu army's camp.
Sun Quan, however, held his halberd and shouted:
"Don't be frightened by the thieves. The generals will act as ordered. When someone comes, send someone to shout and say that I will personally fight tomorrow."
"Here!"
Wang Ling sent people to challenge him, just to frustrate Sun Quan's spirit, and at the same time to test him.
Naturally, he didn't expect Wu Jun to follow his own ideas.
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, a yellow canopy was indeed found among the Wu invaders. It seems that the thief Sun Quan must be here."
After hearing the report from the people below, Wang Ling's eyes flashed:
"Excellent, I didn't expect Sun Quan to dare to come in person!"
"Send the order, tomorrow the whole army will prepare food at the third watch and set out at the fifth watch. Follow me to defeat the thieves!"
"Here!"
At dawn the next day, Wang Ling had already led his army to the front line of Wu Junzhai and formed a formation.
"Your Majesty, what should we do?"
"The thief has arrived, how can I avoid him?"
Sun Quan had a gloomy face and ordered:
"Let the generals come out of the stronghold to meet the enemy."
Although he was just using his body as bait this time, in order to ensure safety, the number of troops around him would naturally not be too small.
Even if it is not enough to attack the city, it is at least worthy of fighting the thieves on the plains.
The war drums of Dongdongdong sounded, but the gate of Wu Jun's stronghold was opened wide, and soldiers came out one after another and began to line up.
Wang Ling squinted his eyes and saw that the canopy of the opponent's army was indeed moving, and he laughed immediately:
"Sun Quan, suffer death!"
The drums from both sides became louder and louder, and the soldiers' shouts of "drinking" shook the sky.
This is a head-on battle.
The sun rises and sheds golden light, adding a sharpness to the battlefield.
The smoke and dust rise, and the sword shines brightly.
"Puff!"
Both sides fired at the corners of the formation and began to move towards each other with their swords raised.
…
At the same time, at the top of Lu'an City, Wen Qin looked at Wu Jun who was retreating again, his face no longer full of high spirits like the previous days.
In the past few days, the intensity of Wu Jun's siege far exceeded his expectations.
It can be seen that Wu Kou will not give up until he takes Lu'an.
Even the soldiers below felt that Wu Kou was unusual this time.
Some old soldiers even recalled that when Lu Xun led the invasion, they seemed not as crazy as this time.
Wen Qin looked at the bottom of the city, where the Wu army's camps were densely packed and stretched continuously.
It can be seen that Wu Jun has been receiving new reinforcements these days.
In other words, it was simply their rear army.
Such a large number of Wu troops is enough to show that the Wu Kou's main attack direction this time is indeed Lu'an.
Wang Ling delayed sending reinforcements from Hefei for two days, which made Wen Qin, who had not seen the reinforcements, a little anxious:
After all, Wang Yanyun is also a veteran of the Wei Dynasty. He shouldn't ignore the overall situation for his own selfishness, right?
Lu'an City's wide moat now has eight pontoon bridges erected side by side.
Not to mention letting the war horses gallop, even large siege equipment can cross the river safely.
"How is the construction of the temporary car going?"
Zhuge Ke stood on this side of the floating bridge, looked at Lu'an City opposite, and asked.
"General, we have only built half of it. It will probably take some time to finish it all."
"It's too late!" Zhuge Ke looked at Lu'an City, "The scouts in the east have sent word that reinforcements from the Wei thieves will arrive tomorrow."
"Tomorrow we will raise an army to attack the city. Also, we will send an order to the east gate to hold it for at least three days. If it exceeds three days, it will be recorded as a meritorious service. If it takes less than three days, it will be dealt with according to military law!"
"Here!"
…
"kill!"
On the outskirts of Hefei City, the soldiers led by the generals of Wei and Wu should be cautious.
But at this time, both sides were already fighting with each other.
Wang Ling is also considered a brave general. Although he is old, he is still riding forward, shouting and cheering for the soldiers who take turns to fight.
Sun Quan did not hide it, but directly placed the canopy in the most conspicuous position, just to let the soldiers know that the emperor was with them.
"Kill the thief!"
Different from the Wu soldiers we saw in the past, Sun Quan brought out the imperial guards this time.
His courage is beyond the imagination of ordinary Wu soldiers.
But when he saw a Wu Jun general wearing thick armor, he roared like a lion and a tiger, threw away the broken halberd in his hand, and pulled out his long sword with a "choking" sound.
The sharp blade shone brightly under the sunlight.
This knife is a little weird, a little different from the usual ring-shou knife.
I saw him raise his knife and give it a sharp crack!
"Qiang!"
"Gah!"
…
Several consecutive blows actually cut off the two halberds in front of him.
Wei Zu seemed to be shocked. He did not expect that a mere general on the other side would have such a precious sword.
Before they could react, General Wu Jun was laughing wildly:
"Come on, thief!"
The bright snow passed by, but after hearing the "chi la la" sound that made people's teeth hurt, the armor on Wei Zu's body actually cracked.
If it weren't for the protection of this armor, he would probably be disemboweled on the spot with this knife.
"happy!"
Sun Shao was a little worried at first, but as soon as Wu and Wei came into contact, he realized that his troops were very sharp.
Although the Wei army was brave, their weapons were not as good as their own, so they were gradually pushed back.
At this time, only a whistle was heard.
A group of cavalry suddenly appeared on the flank and cut in from where the two sides were fighting.
Sun Shao was afraid of making a mistake, so he quickly said to Sun Quan:
"Your Majesty, this battle has greatly boosted morale. The traitorous cavalry has arrived, so why not retreat for now?"
In this battle, not only did they gain the upper hand, but they also forced out the enemy's hidden cavalry.
Sun Quan seemed to be very satisfied with the performance of his soldiers. He looked relaxed and nodded: "That's good."
The golden gong sounded, and the two sides began to break away from contact.
"I didn't expect His Majesty's Imperial Guard to be so sharp."
Sun Quan shook his head, and then let out a long breath:
"I finally know why the Han Dynasty can defeat the Wei thieves repeatedly!"
He pointed his whip at the retreating soldiers and said in a low voice:
"These weapons for the soldiers were newly made by the Han Dynasty and were only sent to Dawu two months ago."
"I thought that the previous weapons of the Han Dynasty were already very sharp, but I didn't expect that the latest batch sent to them was actually much more powerful than before."
Sun Shao was shocked: "Han?"
Sun Quan nodded: "Yes, it is the Han Dynasty."
Without any preparation, how could he easily lead his troops off the ship and come to provoke?
Thinking again of the armor and weapons of the armored cavalry collected in the palace, Sun Quan's eyes became a little hot:
"When my knights come back from the Han Dynasty, the fine knights of Wei will be nothing more than a native chicken and a dog's ears!"
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