Killing generals and seizing the flag before battle is a feat that no general can refuse.
The same was true for Zhang Te who defeated the Wei army's right wing.
After leading his armored cavalry in a roundabout way, he hurriedly removed his armor to lighten the load on his horses, and used his mobility to chase the Wei army's central army's banner and Cao Zhen who was under the banner.
But it's a pity that Juyi didn't give him a chance.
He had a hatred for the annihilation of the Wei state. After the right wing of the Wei army collapsed, he led the Qiang cavalry and drove straight towards Wei Dahu.
The Wei army's defense was particularly weak.
That's because most of the Wei Zhongjun's troops are either supporting the left-wing front, or are fighting with the Hanzhong Army in order to directly capture the 6,000 elite troops of the Han Army.
Therefore, when Zhuyi swept over, the Wei army hastily gathered a force of only three to four hundred men.
It was a mess and there was no formation at all.
He also asked Zhuyi to ride his horse and drive in.
After paying the price of losing more than twenty riders in the front row, the Qiang cavalry, galloping like arrows, like a long flexible snake, snaked past the Wei army's chariot carrying the large banner.
Every time he rode by, he would hold the reins of his horse tightly, tilt his body and stretch his long arms, raise his sword, and strike hard at the large log pole.
Duh!
Duh! Duh!
Accompanied by the collision of metal and wood and the occasional sound of the blade breaking, wood chips about the thickness of the flagpole held in both hands flew flying.
Only half a quarter of an hour later than the fall of the right wing, the flag with the word "Wei" flying in the air finally fell down.
At the same time, the Han army suddenly burst into cheers.
They were all shouting: "Cao Zhen has been killed!"
Therefore, all the Han soldiers thought that they had won the victory, and they all burst out with infinite courage to move forward bravely, striving to get a beheading.
The reaction of the Wei soldiers was completely opposite.
They were awakened by the cheers of the Han army. When they looked back, their faces looked like they were mourning for their heirs.
The banner has fallen. Can Cao Zhen, who is standing under the banner, still be safe?
This common sense makes them lose all morale to fight.
Just like a wooden tower soaring into the sky, when a pillar is removed from the foundation, the entire tower will collapse in an instant.
Inevitably, the entire Wei army collapsed.
Needless to say, the left wing was already in danger. After the banner disappeared from sight, the soldiers turned around and fled in panic, or threw away their weapons and surrendered.
No matter how many people the supervising team killed with their swords, they could not stop the rout.
Cao Zhen and Zhao Yan were unable to save their lives and fled back under the guard of 6,000 elite soldiers.
These six thousand elite troops were originally intended to raid Prime Minister Zhuge's formation.
When Zhang Te led the two hundred armored cavalry and swept in, Cao Zhen knew that the right wing was definitely in danger.
He also immediately ordered the pursuit of these 6,000 elite soldiers, hoping that after the right wing was defeated, he could keep the central army's banner intact and continue to fight against the Han army.
But the defeat of the right wing was too rapid.
Zhuyi's two thousand Qiang cavalry came so quickly.
Only after the great banner was chopped off did the six thousand elites rush back and become the force that escorted Cao Zhen and others from the battlefield.
However, the Han army only pursued for ten miles before giving up.
First of all, it was already getting late, and the soldiers had been fighting fiercely for a long time and did not have the energy to pursue them too far.
On the other hand, continuing the pursuit will not be helpful to the battle situation.
Cao Zhen had already escaped from the battlefield, and it was almost impossible to pursue him and capture him.
Moreover, the prime minister's main purpose of leaving the valley this time was to return to support the other camps of Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei, defeat the Wei troops of Fei Yao and Wei Ping, and ensure that Xiao Pass was not lost.
The actual situation did not allow the Han army to pursue.
After a day of fierce fighting, the Han army paid the price of nearly 5,000 casualties, but gained a lot.
Only more than 6,000 Wei troops were killed in the battle, but more than 4,000 people were trampled to death, and tens of thousands of people were captured before the battle!
The most important thing is that the Wei army, which went from rushing to fight to fleeing hastily, had no time to burn the baggage and grain, and all of it was captured by the Han army.
There are tens of thousands of vehicles, enough to support 50,000 soldiers for more than a month!
Even the Prime Minister, who has always been prudent, couldn't help but beam with joy and laugh calmly after hearing the result of this battle.
It was not just a matter of a day or two for him to worry about food and supplies.
With so many prisoners and baggage, pursuit was naturally impossible.
Therefore, the prime minister let the entire army rest for two days, and then asked the prisoners to transport heavy supplies of food and fodder, and then came to Xiaoguandao to fight again with the strength of the victory.
But it came to nothing.
Wei Jun Fei Yao and Wei Ping's troops had already relieved the siege and retreated.
Even Guo Huai's troops in Pingxiang City retreated.
Previously, after they received a message from Cao Zhen to prepare for a flanking attack, they began to organize their troops and horses, and frequently sent many scouts to find out about the Prime Minister's return journey, and also found out about this field battle.
Cao Zhen was defeated and returned. Not only did their strategy of attacking from both front and back become a mirror image, but they also needed to retreat quickly.
Otherwise, when the Prime Minister arrives with his army, they will become the enemy from both sides.
However, just because they retreated does not mean the battle is over.
Cao Zhen, who was being escorted by elite guards and fled back, returned to Gaoping City, and together with the broken troops who gathered along the way and returned one after another, the number of troops reached about 20,000. The more than 10,000 people who were missing must have been forced to death by hunger and cold at night, or they took the initiative.
Or they got separated passively.
After suffering a disastrous defeat, these two thousand people were unable to fight again for a short time, but they had no worries about defending the city.
Therefore, Cao Zhen left Zhao Yan in Gaoping City, and rushed to Zuli County with his personal guards to join Xiahou Ru tribe, and besieged the city with Fei Yao and others who also retreated to Zuli County.
Moreover, the camp was set up in a deep ditch and a high fortress, creating a state of long-term confinement.
The strategic intention is obvious.
The failure of the field battle also meant the failure of the strategy to open Xiaoguan Road. Accepting the reality, he chose his original plan: to trap Zuli County.
If the Han army comes to rescue them, they will attack their camp at great cost.
If we don't save it, we will knock down Zulicheng and restore the connection between Hexi and Guanzhong.
This time he didn't need to worry about the grain road being attacked.
The grain and baggage had been transported and stockpiled in advance; and the defenders in Gaoping City were sufficient, so there was no need to worry about the Han army being able to breach the city.
Moreover, the Wei army still maintained an advantage in terms of military strength.
Cao Zhen, who led an army of more than 100,000 people, went through several months of offensive and defensive operations, and after deducting the defense of Gaoping City, he still had an army of 80,000 people when he gathered all his troops and settled in Zuli City.
The Han Dynasty also lost more than ten thousand people in the battle.
With the strength of the Han army in Longyou, it would still be a difficult battle to save Zulicheng.
The only advantage we have is that the vigor of the soldiers is at its peak, and the captured baggage and grain has eased the pressure on the rear.
Therefore, after the prime minister returned to Longyou, he did not immediately lead the army to Zuli; instead, he asked the soldiers from all ministries to go into the city to rest, collect prisoners, work on the army on New Year's Eve, and supervise the capital to provide pensions to the soldiers who died in battle and other trivial matters.
Anyway, the Wei army did not attack the city. Wei Yan and Guan Xing's troops in Zuli City have sufficient food and high morale, so there is no need to worry for the time being. Since the Wei army likes to camp in the ice and snow, let them stay there for now, there is no need to pay attention to it.
Naturally, things happen in advance.
Jiang Wei and Zheng Pu were also frequently summoned by the prime minister to discuss the next strategy.
