Chapter 289 Winter Snow
The first heavy snow in Hebei fell on the land of Heshuo at the end of October.
And just before the heavy snowfall, the Taishan Army's Western Expeditionary Army had already fought three times with the main force of the Han Army in Hanoi. There were countless small encounters, and the two sides fought a bloody feud on the Qishui River.
October 26th. The Taishan Army's Western Expeditionary Army marched day and night, and finally arrived at Qishui Village on this day. On the same day, Cao Cao, the captain of the Han Army in Henan Province, also rushed to the south bank of Qishui River and set up a stronghold 200 steps away from the water's edge.
On October 27, Zhang Wen, the general of Zhendong, ordered Cao Cao to lead two thousand soldiers in the front to wade into the water to attack. Cao Cao refused and planned to continue to defend instead of attack. But Zhendong General Yu Xi sent a message flying, and every moment he sent an order, and there was an endless stream of Yu cavalry sent to Cao Cao's army.
Finally, all the generals under Cao Cao also asked for a fight, saying that they must fight at least one battle no matter what. In this case, Cao Cao had no choice but to fight.
At noon, taking advantage of the warm weather, two thousand men from Cao Cao's army left the stronghold to cross the Qishui River. The military watchtower on Mount Tai on the other side discovered the movements of Cao Cao's troops and immediately sounded the alarm. As a result, the alarm sounded loudly on the north bank of Qishui River.
Ding Sheng, the commander-in-chief of the Taishan Army's Western Expedition Army on the other side, faced the attack from Cao Cao's troops. He responded calmly, took advantage of the enemy's half-crossing, and supervised the Jinquan troops in the front to fight back.
The two sides were fighting fiercely for half a day when a sudden cavalryman suddenly came from the upper reaches of Qishui River. The leader was Li Hu, the flying dragon cavalry general. Under the soaring flying dragon, Li Hu's five hundred cavalry thrust straight into Cao Cao's waist.
Cao Cao's troops, who were still on the south bank of Qishui River, were caught off guard and were knocked down by the bandit's cavalry, causing chaos.
Cao Cao's front army, who was trudging hard, saw the chaos behind them and panicked. They either stepped up to cross the river or retreated directly to the south bank.
As soon as the rear route was taken, Cao Cao, who had already led his troops to cross the river and set up a formation, looked ugly.
At this time, under the banner with the word "Cao", Cao Cao, who was dressed in military uniform and basin collar armor, slammed his bag to the ground.
He said to the officials around him:
"There is no retreat in this battle, and there is death and no life. Today, if we defeat the moth thieves together alive, we will die together on the bank of Qishui River."
Cao Cao came up with blood and courage. He was surrounded by Xu Chu, Shi Huan, Xu Ding, etc. who were all blood warriors. Seeing Cao Cao's heroic spirit, all the bloodlines became excited and promised loudly.
In order to show his leadership, Cao Cao led his troops to the north bank first. His two ministries are following behind.
Among them, Sima Xiahouyuan on the left is crossing the river, and Sima Xiahoudun on the right is on duty on the south bank. The cavalry led by Li Hu charged towards Xiahou Dun's tribe.
The two Xiahou brothers and Cao Cao are real brothers, and they are not the same as Cao Ren and Cao Hong. The Cao brothers are already heroic, have their own tribe, and are very independent, so they will be under Zhu Jun's command.
The Xiahou brothers have long been attached to Cao Cao's group, so they joined Cao Cao's army when he first launched his army. At this moment, they are also Cao Cao's most trusted confidants.
After Xiahou Dun's troops were attacked by Li Hu, Xiahou Dun shouted loudly on the other side of the formation. He asked the drummers on the shore to beat the big cowhide drums on all sides to encourage the whole army.
Then he led his troops to attack Li Hu directly from the front of the formation.
Under the banner of Feilong, Li Hu sits astride a war horse and attacks the front line. Every time a person was killed, a spear was cut off, and then the guards brought new ones. In this way, Li Hu changed six spears in a row, and his clothes were soaked with blood.
As the first seventy-five-year-old brother to follow Zhang Chong, Li Hu served as a cavalryman in Xue's wall. After countless bloody battles, he was the veteran cavalryman in the army second only to Tian Jun.
At this moment, as soon as Li Hu penetrated the broken stick into the eye socket of a Han soldier, the guard next to him shouted:
"General, an enemy general is rushing towards us from the left."
Li Hu got angry, held his beard in his arms, took the horse silk from the guard, and shouted:
"Come with Mr. Nai and stab these dead ones."
The soldiers howled and screamed, and then they made a horse head and charged directly in an awl formation.
Xiahou Dun, wearing three layers of armor, had just killed a defeated soldier, then held up the soldier's head and shouted:
"I am Xiahou Dun. If we all hold our ground, if the soldiers are in chaos, the commander will kill them. If the commanders are in chaos, the general will be killed. If the commander is in chaos, the team will be killed. Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed!"
The guards behind him also shouted:
"Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed!"
At this time, Xiahou Dun laughed when he saw the flying dragon rider coming towards him:
"What a dog slave, I'm about to kill you."
After saying that, he ran wildly. Even though he was wearing three layers of armor, Xiahou Dun was still as fast as the wind.
The wind was blowing and people were shouting.
Li Hu stabbed with his spear, and Xiahou Dun slashed with his sword. Under the bright sun, dragons and tigers were fighting.
But at this moment, an arrow came from the west and plunged directly into Xiahou Dun's pocket.
This blow hit Xiahou Dun directly on the face, knocking out several bloody teeth, and then he fell to the ground.
Seeing that their leader fell down, Xiahou Dun's soldiers were shocked. Just as they were about to grab him, they were rushed away by Li Hu's cavalry on the opposite side. At this point, Cao Cao's troops who stayed on the south bank of Qishui could no longer stabilize their position and retreated one after another.
The guard next to Li Hu was about to dismount and chop off Xiahou Dun's head when he was stopped by Li Hu, who said:
"Leave this Han general's head to Xu Huang and let's go."
After saying that, he led the guards and continued to intersperse, chasing death and chasing north.
Indeed, it turned out that Li Hu saw that the person who had just shot the arrow was his beloved general Xu Huang. The man was worried that he had made a mistake, so he directly interfered with the Han general with an arrow.
Li Hu was also proud of himself and did not want to steal the military exploits from his subordinates, so he generously gave way.
But as soon as he left, Xu Huang didn't know that there was a Han general waiting for him to behead him, so he continued to chase the others.
As Xiahou Dun was knocked unconscious, Cao Cao's army on the south bank collapsed. This reflected the fact that Xiahou Yuan's troops who crossed the Qishui River had no way out.
At this time, Xia Houyuan saw that he did not know whether his brother was alive or dead. With tears in his eyes, he waved his iron spear and said to the troops:
"At this time, the way to survive in the rear has been cut off. We can only move forward, join forces with the captain, and survive in death."
After saying that, Xia Houyuan trekked towards the north bank with the military flag, and finally landed on the land on the north bank of Qishui with his troops of less than a thousand people, one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Once ashore, the originally narrow tidal flat became even narrower.
Cao Cao's pro-army troops were suppressed on the beach by Jinquan's 2,000 men, with arrows like locusts flying above them, and a thousand men marching in formation in front of them.
Cao Cao closed his eyes in despair:
"Am I, Cao Mengde, going to die here today?"
At this time, Xu Chu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly put on his iron pocket, knocked down his heavy ring sword, and bowed to Cao Cao:
"Don't worry, Colonel. I promise Chu to take care of the general's troubles."
After saying that, without waiting for Cao Cao to speak, Xu Chu took more than fifty of his hometown disciples and ran against the arrows to the front of Jinquan's formation.
That is to say, before the large formation was lined up, everyone witnessed the pinnacle of human physical fitness and martial arts.
Xu Chu lowered his iron pocket, pursed his lips, and strode forward. When he was five steps away from the Taishan Army's front line, he rolled up into a ball and crashed into the Taishan Army's front line.
Xu Chu, who was wearing three layers of armor, hit the outermost circle of the military formation with the impact of a rushing wild elephant. The captain of the Taishan Army was hit directly in the chest by Xu Chu's collision, and his body became Xu Chu's cushion, cushioning the force of the hit to the ground.
The Taishan Army soldier in front stepped forward with his hands on the ground, and the soldiers behind him immediately reached up and prepared to stab Xu Chu, who was still on the ground. But Xu Chu jumped up and slashed east and west with the sword in his hand, shattering the steps in his hands.
Afterwards, Xu Chu was like a whirlwind, causing a rain of blood directly in front of the Taishan Army. Xu Chu's hometown disciples also rushed into the military formation wrapped in iron armor at this time. In just one moment, the Taishan Army's hundred-man garrison, the garrison general was killed and the garrison deputy was seriously injured. Six generals were killed and two of the team generals were killed. Without the military officer Jia Yong, the military formation collapsed.
But the chaos didn't stop yet. Xu Chu chased the defeated troops and rolled back to the Taishan Army's formation behind.
Half a moment later, the second hundred-man garrison of Taishan Army collapsed.
After that, in a shorter period of time, the third hundred-man camp collapsed.
……
Ding Sheng, who had been watching the formation behind Jinquan's troops, discovered the commotion and collapse in front of Jinquan's formation early.
He pointed at Xu Chu's position and was shocked:
"I thought Commander Qu was already unparalleled in the world. Who is this? He has such courage that no one else would deserve."
Ding Sheng's words left the Taishan generals around him speechless.
Many of them are arrogant and brave, but no one thinks that just a few dozen people can defeat three hundred-man formations in a row. This hundred-man formation is a strict formation of the Taishan Army. They fought like this just by relying on their own bravery. Who is this person?
Is this not a heavenly being?
The mood of the generals was swaying, but of course Ding Sheng couldn't let this man continue to act like this. He never thought about going up on his own. Just kidding, with that bravery of the thief general, was he going to die if he went up?
Ding Sheng didn't intend to let his subordinates fill it in. He wasn't such a person either. Who is Ding Sheng? The most intelligent general of Taishan Army, he uses his brain to fight!
Ding Sheng waved his troops and ordered two hundred yellow crossbowmen from the Chinese army's tent to come forward. At the same time, the drummer was ordered to beat the group drums.
So, six shirtless men in yellow scarves shouted chants and beat the big cowhide drum hastily. The sound of the drums reached the Jinquan in the front line.
At this time, Jin Quan's eyes were blood red, and he gritted his teeth as he watched Xu Chu wreaking havoc in the formation in front of him, but he could do nothing. Arrangement in a large formation is a military formation killing method. Generally speaking, personal bravery is useless in front of a large formation.
But this is only for most people, but for a warrior of ten thousand people like Xu Chu, especially when he is wearing three layers of armor, the formation is so powerless.
Because no matter how many Taishan soldiers there are, due to space limitations, there are only three or four people in front of Xu Chu. How can this be enough for Xu Chu to kill?
At this time, the sound of drums from behind the formation reached Jin Quan's ears. He was overjoyed and immediately raised flags for the flag soldiers, ordering the formations that encountered Xu Chu to separate from both sides.
The flag was waving, and each team responded to the flag, then changed formations on the left and right, and separated from the middle amidst the roar of the robes in the middle.
Xu Chu, who was killing people in the formation, suddenly found that the place before him was empty, as if the sea had been split open, leaving only him and his hometown disciples.
Then he saw a group of people opposite him, and Xu Chu subconsciously yelled:
“Raise the pillars!”
The fifty disciples from the hometown immediately swung out their big pillars from behind, and then formed a pillar formation in front of Xu Chu.
Xu Chu, who was behind the shield formation, waited for a while but did not encounter the expected arrow rain. He was puzzled and watched through the slit.
They saw that the thieves who were running towards them did not stop, but continued to run towards them, running directly to a distance of less than twenty steps from them.
Then he saw these people take out something from their backs. Xu Chuzheng recognized it as the Han Army's big yellow crossbow.
At this moment, even the bright sun could not warm Xu Chu, and he seemed to be in an ice cellar. Looking at the hundreds of yellow crossbowmen opposite, Xu Chu cursed subconsciously:
"Hot girl."
Then Pei Ran smashed the formation in front of Xu Chu with great force.
Too hard, too close.
The soldiers in Xu Chu's first row holding the pillars could not withstand the impact, and the pillars tilted, and then more and more arrows rained down on them.
Even though they were wearing armor, Xu Chu's children from his hometown suffered heavy casualties. But even if they died, they would still hold on to the big frame in their hands, because Xu Chu was behind them.
They can die, but Xu Chu can't.
Ding Sheng's two hundred big yellow crossbowmen were divided into four formations and fired four rounds in a row, directly filling the open space where Xu Chu was with arrows.
After a while, there was no one left in the fifty-man formation. Just when everyone thought that the wave of warriors had been wiped out, the pile of corpses shook for a while, and then they saw Xu Chu with disheveled hair and three arrows stuck in his body, looking like a ghost.
As soon as he stood up, he saw the scene where all his children were dead, and he roared, as sad as a night owl. The Taishan officials who had just put down their big yellow crossbows were horrified by the howl and backed away.
The screams also reached Cao Cao on the beach. He heard Xu Chu's screams and his eyes were blood red.
Cao Cao pulled out his sword, pushed away the guards and shouted:
"Those who are willing to die with me, Lao Cao, step forward."
Cao Cao is a great man, and the charm of a great man is never because of his family background, but because no matter where he is or in trouble, there are always people who are willing to follow him forever, even to the underworld.
So, Cao Cao's loyal soldiers all stepped forward. No one said anything, but they said everything.
Cao Cao cried loudly. He cut off his bun, bit it in his mouth, and cried:
"If I, Cao Cao, don't die today, I will bring your descendants to glory and wealth!"
Then Cao Cao bit his bun and carried a knife to launch a desperate attack. Shi Huan and Xu Ding beside him protected him in the middle, and then there were hundreds of people, all of them evil ghosts who did not live, but only wanted to die.
The attack of Cao Cao's troops was beyond Taishan's expectation, and the front troops gave way one after another, allowing Cao Cao's troops to reach the place where Xu Chu was fighting.
When Cao Cao came to kill him, he saw the bloody Xu Chu wailing like a wild beast. He immediately hugged Xu Chu, took off his cloak and bound Xu Chu's wounds.
Xu Chu lay in Cao Cao's arms and cried:
"All dead."
Cao Cao said softly:
"Zhongkang, you go to bed first and go back to camp. Let's drink together. Let's take the share of these dead brothers and drink together."
After speaking, Cao Cao sent Xu Chu to the back of the formation.
At this time on the north bank, Ding Sheng in the Chinese army was about to dispatch Zhao Rong's troops in the rear formation, preparing to annihilate this powerful force on the north bank.
But just then, he saw Li Hu's swimming flag on the south bank, carrying a red flag and running back and forth on the opposite bank.
Ding Sheng knew what this meant. This was the arrival of Han reinforcements from the south bank, and Li Hu told him that they could not intercept them.
Seeing Cao Cao's troops who were almost surrounded, Ding Sheng was so angry that he dropped his bag and cursed:
"Hot girl, this is just one step away. No, Nai Gong has to eat him today."
Ding Sheng's Hun was famous in the Taishan Army, and precisely because he was the most chivalrous general in the Taishan Army, Ding Sheng arranged a visitor for himself to remind him when he was on top.
So Ding Long, a member of his family, sang loudly:
"Ding Daqi, have you forgotten Qu Shuai's trust?"
This singing directly called back Ding Sheng's reason. He looked at the red tide of the Han army appearing in the distance with confusion, and sighed:
"Cry the gold and withdraw your troops."
In this way, the first battle between the Western Expeditionary Army and the Han Army ended.
After the war, only more than 300 of Cao Cao's troops returned to the south bank of Qishui alive, leaving behind 600 corpses.
Later, after hearing the battle, Sun Jian and Zhao Rong's troops cleared the chaos on the south bank of Qishui River and crossed the river again to attack the Taishan Army. They were blocked by Ding Sheng three times, and both sides suffered heavy casualties.
Then, the heavy snow came in November, covering up the blood on the battlefield and forcing both sides to cease fighting and confront each other.
(End of chapter)