Chapter 518 Qianqi
Cao Cao had actually lurked near this hilly land for a long time.
At the entrance of the hilly valley covered with sparse forest, a cavalry group of about a thousand people stood silently.
Could it be that the Taishan Army failed to detect Cao Cao because they have been lurking here for the past few days?
This is not true. There are more than a thousand people and horses, not to mention people eating horse chews, and the feces accumulated every day can be smelled for miles, so why hide it?
The reason why Cao Cao's army can hide is not because they are latent, but because they are constantly moving.
In fact, when You Yi of the Taishan Army came out, they did not see several falcons hovering in the sky above them.
And this is the fundamental reason why Cao Cao was able to avoid Taishan's army.
Falcon taming is not a specialty of the Han people in the Central Plains. It was first used by the Huns, and this type of falcon tamers is a tribe exclusive to the Xiongnu royal family.
But then the Huns were divided into two parts, and then the base was also occupied by the Xianbei people. These special skills that used to belong to the royal family also began to flow into the grassland royal courts.
Among them, the Xianbei and Wuhuan people in the east, who occupy the vast Xianbei Mountains, have a more realistic need for such talents, because there is Haidongqing named Shenying in the Xianbei Mountains.
In Pingyuanjin, Cao Cao met two such falcon tamers from Youzhou's sudden cavalry. They were recruited into the army by the Han family. Later, Lu Zhi's army was defeated miserably in Zhongrenting. The way home was blocked, and they could only Along with Youzhou Tuqi, they went south to Qingzhou.
With the help of these falcons, Cao Cao's journey south was even more powerful.
On July 10, he received a letter from Xun Yu saying that Licheng had been lost. Although he was alarmed, he did not panic because he felt that Xun Yu could stabilize the rear.
Sure enough, on the next day, Cao Cao received Xun Yu's second letter. The letter described his arrangements for the subsequent situation, saying that troops from Qi State were speeding up to return for reinforcements, so that Cao Cao still focused on the frontline war.
But by the third day, Cao Cao no longer received letters from the south. At this time, he understood that there must be something wrong with Dongping Ling.
At that time, Cao Cao was preparing to withdraw his troops and return to Dongpingling.
But is it so easy to withdraw troops?
Not to mention the reason why Ding Sheng on the opposite side should have received Guan Yu's letter, the attacks in the past few days seemed to be a different person, beating and harassing fiercely.
The defense lines of Cao Jun and Taishan Army have long been intertwined. Once Cao Cao orders the withdrawal of troops, the entire Pingyuanjin defense line will inevitably collapse.
It is for this reason that Shen Pei and other Pingyuan generals also disapproved of Cao Cao leaving like this.
Of course Cao Cao was unwilling to give up. He had already taken ninety-nine steps and saw that he was about to recruit Pingyuan soldiers. How could he fall short?
So Cao Cao changed his approach. He selected a thousand elite cavalry from all the cavalry in the army, including the Youzhou sudden cavalry, and took six days of food with him to go south overnight.
On the evening of the second day, Cao Cao rode his horse and traveled four hundred miles a day and arrived near Dongpingling.
At that time, the outer city of Dongping Mausoleum had been destroyed. When all the cavalry generals wanted to fight, Cao Cao chose not to support him despite all opinions and continued to cruise north of Dongping Mausoleum.
Even in order not to be discovered by the endless stream of You Yi from Taishan Army, Cao Cao often stationed himself in one place and had people responsible for cleaning up horse manure.
Even Cao Cao had to dig a hole with his own hands to bury the excrement of Jueying under his crotch.
But don’t tell me, BMW is a BMW, even the shit it poops doesn’t stink. But people are different. No matter how beautiful a person is, their poop still smells.
Then Cao Cao relied on the falcons in the sky to move flexibly in advance, and forced him to lurk nearby for five or six days without being discovered.
But today has come to an end. The dry food they brought with them has been eaten. If they can't seize the opportunity today, they won't be able to survive in the wild.
However, God paid off and finally allowed him, Lao Cao, to seize the opportunity.
The enemy was indeed cunning. They judged and chose to evacuate Dongpingling for some unknown reason. During the retreat, they also prepared to ambush Chen Deng's troops of the Xuzhou Army heading north.
Cao Cao has never met Chen Deng, but it does not prevent him from knowing this person.
As a descendant of the royal family, the Chen family, such as Chen Deng's grandfather Chen Qiu and father Chen Gui, are both well-known in Kyoto. At that time, Chen Gui died for his country, and Cao Cao even wrote a memorial for Chen Gui.
Now look at Chen Deng's heroic appearance and vigorous efforts. When the Xuzhou troops were reluctant to patrol forward, he was the only one who marched north alone, showing his heroic spirit as a Jianghuai hero.
So even a proud man like Cao Cao had to sigh with envy when he saw Chen's son acting like this:
"When you have a son, you should be like Chen Yuanlong!"
Now Chen Deng was fighting with the ambush troops of Guan Yu's tribe outside the hills ahead, shouting to kill Zhentian, which could be heard even in the valley where he was.
And compared with Chen Deng, his brother-in-law Bian Bing is just a dead wood.
First, he brought an army of more than ten thousand but was unable to break through the thieves' line of defense. Then he made an appointment with Chen Deng to send troops together, but they were at odds with each other and planned to consume the friendly forces.
It's not impossible to do this, but what Bian Bing did was too low-level and would only make Cao Cao disgusted.
At this time, Cao Cao's face was covered with stubble, and he was already in a miserable state after being in the wild for many days, but his haggard body did not affect his excitement at the moment.
He kept swaying back and forth on this piece of earth and rocks, listening to the fierce sounds of fighting floating in the distance, and the fingers holding the riding whip turned white.
He suddenly felt that the sound of fighting in the distance was more intense than before. He quickly raised his head to look outside the mouth of the valley, and sure enough, a heroic cavalryman was galloping towards him.
The person who came was none other than Cao Chun.
Before Cao Chun had time to dismount, Cao Cao had already rushed over and asked:
"Whose reinforcements are coming from outside Qiuwai?"
Cao Chun took a quick breath and said quickly:
"Is it from Zang Ba?"
Cao Cao wondered:
"Zang Ba? Isn't it Guan Yu?"
Of course Cao Cao knew about Zang Ba, the Langya bandit and the watchdog of Xuzhou. He originally thought that this person was just a first-rate grass bandit, but he did not expect that he would choose to send troops to assist Chen Deng.
But the results brought by Cao Chun were not what Cao Cao wanted.
He has been lurking here for so many days, suffered so much, and filled himself with so much horse manure. He can't just annihilate a few bastards.
Just when Cao Cao was thinking about it, Cao Chun had already jumped off his horse and asked:
"Brother, do we want to send troops? I just looked at the battlefield from a distance, and Chen Deng is no match for him. The Taishan bandits participated in the ambush of two school captains. They only attacked one school and already defeated Chen Deng's army. I’m worried that even if Zang Ba joins the battle later, I might not be able to defeat him.”
Cao Cao took a breath of air and said in disbelief:
"I'm afraid it's not possible. The two captains of the Taishan Army only have 4,000 soldiers, and it was previously discovered that Chen Deng's army had 5,000 soldiers. How could it be so bad? And how many people did Zang Ba have here?"
Cao Chun made a rough estimate in his mind and came up with a rough number:
"More than four thousand people are afraid."
Cao Cao covered his forehead and realized such a terrible fact for the first time.
That is, the Taishan Army actually has stronger ones.
He had only fought against the thief Ding Sheng twice before, so he unilaterally believed that the Taishan Army's combat power was just like this.
It is indeed more powerful than his subordinates, but at most it is similar to his core Tiger Step combat power.
But what now? The two captains of Guan Yu's department could match twice as many soldiers. This was something he had not expected at all.
By now, Cao Cao suddenly thought that the full name of Guan Yu's tribe is:
"The Taishan Army Left Army Marshal's Department."
If you can be on the left side of the army, you must be the champion of the entire army! It turns out that someone had told him a long time ago. So now there is such a problem, that is, the original plan to use the Qiwai battlefield as bait to lure Guan Yu's troops has failed.
Yes, two captains can handle the battle, so why do we need more reinforcements? And if Guan Yu's troops don't show up, then there's no point in Cao Cao continuing to hide here.
So, Cao Cao thought for a moment and decisively ordered:
"Mount the troops and mount up, follow me to support Chen Yuanlong!"
The generals of the cavalry shouted loudly in response, and then thousands of cavalry rolled up to the level post.
……
It's still a battlefield outside the hills.
As Zang Bajun suddenly appeared on the battlefield, the officials of Taishan Army and Chen Deng Army had mixed reactions.
In addition to continuing to fight hard on the front line, Chen Guang, who was preparing for the entire army, also stayed in the rear with three troops, so he was the first to see Zang Ba's troops coming from the south.
Chen Guang's heart condensed, but he was not panicked. He and Guo Mo had naturally thought about this situation when they chose to line up and fight.
The enemy has reinforcements, don’t I?
So, Chen Guang ordered the soldiers around him to decisively shoot three cloud-piercing arrows into the sky.
The sharp sound of whistles and arrows pierced the sky, making Chen Deng on the battlefield startled. His original joy of seeing the source of Zang Ba's army was diluted a bit.
Afterwards, Chen Deng squinted his eyes and saw a black mass appearing from the entrance of a mountain valley in front. Then the black mass gradually enlarged and soon spread on the mountain line in front.
Chen Deng swayed and supported his whole body on the car roof with both hands before he managed to stand.
He saw clearly the flag coming from the opposite side, with the word "高" written on it. It was the elegance department he had been looking for before.
He should have thought long ago that since the Elegant Department got here before him, it must be nearby.
But just when Chen Deng's mood took a turn for the worse, the ministries under his command were completely opposite.
On the new defense line composed of Chen Duan and Chen Shi, these Jianghuai soldiers naturally had no vision. Like Guo Mo's entangled troops on the opposite side, they were blind men on the battlefield.
But they could hear the wild cheers of the robes behind them.
Just listen to them shouting:
"Reinforcements have arrived!"
These four short words gave these Jianghuai children infinite power. In fact, they rely on these four words to support themselves until now.
This battle was too hard, really too hard.
Is Chen Deng’s army weak? No, on the contrary, they can be said to be the top players in the Jianghuai region.
You say that Danyang soldiers are proud of the southeast, but Chen Deng's army has not fought with these people and won in battle. From the formation of the army to the present, for more than a year, they have enough food and soldiers, they have received the kindness of the Chen family, and they have the same contract. It can be said that whether it is combat experience, material equipment, or spiritual will, they are all sufficient.
Let's talk about Chen Deng's two hundred cavalry. Even though they may not be many in number, they travel across the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and earn the reputation of "Jianghuai Strong Riders".
There are no horses in the Jianghuai area, so Chen's ability to support these two hundred horses shows how much money and resources were spent.
But, but why did this battle end like this?
It can't shoot as far as the enemy, and it can't stab the enemy's length. Even if they fight hand-to-hand, they are facing armored soldiers wearing armor and fighting equipment, and most of them have Jianghuai's characteristic lightweight leather armor.
Even when it comes to fighting will and fighting skills, they are far inferior.
The thieves on the opposite side can use bows and arrows at a distance, rifles at close range, and swords at close range. Some of them even have their own fighting tools. In short, everyone is a veteran who is good at fighting.
And if the above is just the difference in soldiers, then the grassroots tactics displayed by the Taishan Army made Chen Dengjun feel even more desperate.
Taishan's army marched forward in unison, with Shi's generals commanding from outside.
Once a general dies in battle, he will be immediately replaced by a military officer to maintain command of the front. But if the whole army collapses, they will not retreat, but will form formations in threes and threes and attack intermittently.
I really don’t know how they solved the problem of command during wartime. They are all officials, so why would he listen to another person of equal rank?
It's really puzzling.
In addition, some Jianghuai military officials also discovered why there was such a big gap between the two sides in terms of combat continuity.
In fact, so far, Chen Deng's army has dispatched at least six divisions and nearly 3,000 people. And the opposite side has only dispatched less than 2,000 people so far. How can they be so resistant to fighting?
It turns out that the gap between the two sides lies in the rescue of the wounded.
Although Chen Deng's army selected Jianghuai brave warriors to form its army, both its organizational construction and military law design followed the Han army's military system and did not exceed this era.
And what is the background of this era? That is, people are divided into three, six or nine levels. The most important thing in the army is naturally the military officials at all levels. Therefore, once these people are injured and fall to the ground, half of their subordinates will have to protect their own military officials and retreat to the rear.
This resulted in such a result.
Every time a general of the Han army fell to the ground, at least five soldiers from Quanshi would protect the general and retreat to the rear.
And what about the Taishan Army? Everyone in the army is equal. Generals and front-line officers only have responsibilities and no distinction in life.
When General Shi was injured and fell to the ground, he was replaced by the commander of the left army, who was also carried back to the rear by the auxiliary soldiers behind him.
Generally speaking, when an officer is injured and falls to the ground, he will first be pulled back to safety by the robes in the rear, and then carried back to the rear by the auxiliary soldiers in the rear for treatment.
What is the difference between the two?
The generals of the Taishan Army were very thieves. The hand crossbows in their hands were specially designed to shoot at the officers on the front line of the Han Army, wounding them but not killing them. Therefore, the Jianghuai troops on the front line often only lose one or two men, and every one of his soldiers has to be withdrawn.
And what about the Taishan Army? You can kill six or seven people in a row and still maintain an offensive posture.
So this is the result:
That is, even the Jianghuai soldiers are sharp and dare to die, but they are not resistant to fighting.
It can be said that such a high efficiency in the use of force as the Taishan Army is rare in the world.
In fact, both people and forces are capable of continuous growth. However, the Han army that fought fiercely with the Taishan Army in Hebei in the past was either annihilated or captured.
The Han soldiers in the Qingxu area had never fought such a high-intensity battle with the Taishan Army, so naturally they could not learn from the experience of failure.
Now Chen Deng has Jianghuai troops. If they can survive this battle, there is no doubt that a more powerful Jianghuai army will stand in the southeast, which is bound to have a profound impact on the southeastern pattern.
But the premise is that they can survive!
This is the secret of cold-weapon military warfare, and it is also the essential reason why an army will collapse if it suffers one-third casualties.
In wartime, if the problem of manpower allocation for rescuing the wounded cannot be solved, then there is no need to mention resilience.
(End of chapter)