Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 268: Annihilation in One Battle

On the eighth day of the tenth month of the first year of Jian'an, after Liu Bei had wiped out Zhu Ling, he sent his head to the foot of the city. After the guards and officials in the city identified it, the city immediately became a scene of chaos.

Suddenly there was a sound of fighting in the city, and then the remaining soldiers surrendered.

Liu Bei only stayed in Ling County for half a day, and then he asked Yu Jin, who was stationed in Gaotang, to send some soldiers to garrison Ling County.

He also had the surrendered soldiers of Jiang Qi and Zhu Ling's army escorted across the south bank of the river. As for the thousands of Yuan army's defeated soldiers who had escaped, he was too lazy to send cavalry to pursue them.

The most important thing now is to wait for Yuan Shao to arrive. As long as Yuan Benchu ​​is defeated, even if many of his defeated soldiers escape, there is no possibility of him making a comeback.

Liu Bei was able to distinguish the importance of the two.

The next day, he led the Ruichong Camp back to the outskirts of Yu County. At this time, the military camps were arranged in a triangle shape, and they were set up in a terrain convenient for livestock and water and grass. The baggage carts, chevaux de frise, and wooden fences were placed in an orderly manner front, back, left, and right.

After Liu Bei entered the main camp, he immediately summoned military officials to the tent to discuss matters. In order to prevent Yuan's army from taking advantage of the situation, he led his troops to raid the big tent while many military officers were discussing military matters, leaving the soldiers without anyone to manage them. He specially ordered the captains, military commanders, and military marquises of each camp to come in batches.

Liu Bei looked at the many military officers and officers in the hall and said solemnly: "Today, the world is in turmoil. The princes and powerful people are separatist. The emperor has lost his ancestral temple. The four-hundred-year-old Han Dynasty is about to fall. Among them, the three dukes who have enjoyed the Han Dynasty's food and salary for four generations are the most rampant."

"Yuan Shao of Hebei is a figurehead with no substance. He first discussed establishing an emperor many times, but then plotted something shady. Later, he privately carved seals and awarded officials and titles. Yuan Shu of Huainan privately kept the emperor's imperial seal and spread prophecies about replacing the Han Dynasty. His clothes were all made for the emperor, and the two women in his house actually competed for the title of empress..."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he saw that all the generals were gritting their teeth at the Yuan family after hearing these words. They were eager to help Lord Xuande to suppress the Yuan family's rebellion, reunite the world, and allow the Han Dynasty to rise again.

"The outcome of this battle depends on you all. Liu Xuande would like to express his sincere gratitude to you all."

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he bowed and kowtowed to the generals.

Everyone was horrified and immediately dodged to one side, not daring to accept the envoy's greeting. They all bowed and said, "The people of the world have suffered from Dong Zhuo's tyranny, Hebei and Huainan have been plundered by the Yuan family, Luoyang's ancestral temples have been destroyed, the court has been in chaos, and bandits have disturbed the world. Only the envoy has put the country first and the people at heart. How dare we not follow him until death?!"

"Since you led the army, you have fought bravely, captured traitors and punished tyrants, and exterminated Han thieves. Whenever you go to the battlefield, you will personally face the arrows and stones, regardless of wind or rain. You treat all the generals and soldiers with sincerity and honesty. As the ancient saying goes: Those who know a favor should repay it. How can we be afraid of danger and dare not serve you?"

All the generals spoke passionately, raising their heads, eyebrows, and beards, glaring and clasping their hands.

"Okay, in that case, the entire army will be ready for battle from now on. The saddles, bridles, tacks, and health of the cavalry's horses, pack horses, draft horses, war horses, and military horses will be checked one by one, starting from the sergeant."

"Infantry soldiers should check and inspect all weapons and equipment, including chariots, armor, iron spears, lances, long swords, iron hammers, iron axes, sickles, crossbows, bows, arrows, strings, scattering arrows, bags and other weapons and equipment that need to be carried with them during war. Although this is a complicated matter, it is related to life and we cannot be careless in the slightest."

Liu Bei took advantage of everyone's anger and immediately gave orders in a serious tone.

After arranging the combat troops and cavalry, Liu Bei changed the topic and began to dispatch other people. He clapped his hands and smiled, "In addition, the auxiliary soldiers, craftsmen, military doctors, horse doctors, and cooks will build chevaux de frise, dig pits for horses, and nail wooden nails to the carts, and check all the food and fodder such as herbs, rice, and beans."

Dozens of clerks who were busy at their desks on both sides of the military tent heard the envoy's words and hurriedly took up their pens to record them in the books, and corresponded with each other in the official documents, for fear that any words would be missed, resulting in unclear delivery of the military orders, which would then hold their subordinates accountable.

What I fear most is the endless stream of words when the envoy gives orders. No one knows what the military officers who are busy at their desks are thinking.

Liu Bei glanced at the generals in the camp and chuckled, saying, "In this battle, the infantry will fight against the cavalry. Yuan Shao has 10,000 cavalry under his command. We must not underestimate him."

"We have tens of thousands of troops, and we have set up camp several miles away. If Yuan's army comes with a large force and attacks one of our camps, I will lead the Wugang chariot formation to rescue them. If the enemy's 10,000 cavalry charge left and right, their sharp force will be unstoppable, and our chariot formation is not stable, they will break through and we will surely crush them."

"The enemy cavalry outnumbers our Tiger Cavalry by nearly ten times. If we attack without authorization, we will be easily surrounded. Moreover, if the enemy wants to fight, we have to fight. If the enemy does not want to fight, we can only watch. The enemy is in a strong position. The enemy will become the host and take the initiative. After a long time, our army will lose its morale and will not be able to resist for long."

When Liu Bei said this, the generals' eyes widened. They were stunned on the spot and they all muttered in their hearts: "Is that damn Yuan Shao so powerful?!"

If he was strong, how could he be beaten so badly by us? Wherever we attacked, we were broken through.

What the hell are those famous Hebei generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou? Weren’t they both defeated?
The heads of Qu Yi, Jiang Qi, and Zhu Ling were not unseen, and some people had even carried them in their hands.

Although Yuan Shao has more people this time, can he still succeed?

Liu Bei couldn't help but smile, and continued: "Although Yuan's army should not be underestimated, it is not something that Yuan Benchu ​​can control the infantry and cavalry with ease. Although the army is large, it will be disturbed by it, resulting in defeat."

"The secret of a good general's use of his troops lies in his single-mindedness, not in the number of men, but in their quality."

Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh.

It's not that Yuan's army doesn't have a few elite troops, but they were either killed by Yan Liang or easily given away by Wen Chou and Qu Yi. Now Yuan Shao is bringing so many soldiers to the decisive battle, but how many of them are truly basic backbone officers? If they show the slightest concern in the life-and-death fight, they can be defeated on the spot.

The infantry was defeated. With the current use of cavalry, can they break through his dense gun formation and attack the city?
Liu Bei then said simply: "If Yuan Shao leads his infantry and cavalry slowly, the Han army should first set up a chariot formation to wait for the enemy, and then try to split the enemy cavalry in two. I will personally lead the Huben Cavalry and the Ruichongying Cavalry, with all the horses abandoning their heavy armor and only the soldiers wearing armor, and quickly go around behind or to the left and right of Yuan's army, catching the enemy off guard, panicking, and finally disrupting their own formation."

"The infantry will continue to attack and will not withdraw until they are exhausted."

At this point, Liu Bei smiled slightly and said, "The key to this battle is to abandon the cavalry horses, military horses, and pack horses, and go straight out after them regardless of casualties, break through the enemy's formation and return, go in and out again, until the Yuan army is completely defeated."

“Even if the enemy wanted to flee, the Han army could chase them for more than 30 miles after breaking through the enemy lines and behead them.”

"With 1,700 cavalry, we defeated Shao's 100,000 armored troops and wiped out Hebei's elite troops in one battle. This is enough for us to watch."

Liu Bei clapped his hands and spoke with a smile on his face.

Yuan Shao, if you dare to mobilize your army, I will defeat you and show you how to do it!
One battle will destroy all your spirit.

(End of this chapter)