My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 686: Zhang Fei breaks out of the battle and kills Niu Jin

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Guan Yu and Gao Shun were in Fancheng city, one was scraping his bones and the other was joining his legs.

At 3 p.m. that day, on an unnamed battlefield on the bank of the Baihe River, seventy miles north of Fancheng, Zhang Fei finally caught up with the fleeing Cao Ren.

When the Cao army saw the cavalry appear on the southern horizon, accompanied by the rumbling sound of horse hooves, everyone in the Cao army was shocked.

However, Cao Ren was a famous general after all, and his calmness was far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Based on his experience and brief observation, he quickly determined that Zhang Fei's troops were just pure cavalry and the total size of the troops would not be too large.

He had at least a three-to-one numerical advantage, and as long as he formed a rigorous formation, it was still possible to repel Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei's advantage is more reflected in his mobility.

That is to say, relying on the advantage of pure cavalry, they can fight when they want to fight and retreat when they want to retreat. They will only fight if they can win, and run away at any time if they can't win.

"All troops line up to meet the attack! Spear and shield soldiers in the front, halberd soldiers in the second, crossbowmen in the corridor! Anyone who moves rashly and disrupts the formation will be executed!"

Cao Ren quickly gave the order and adjusted the formation while the enemy was approaching in the last few miles.

A considerable number of Cao's spearmen were equipped with shields, so when facing enemy cavalry they were best suited to being on the front line, able to block arrows shot by the cavalry.

In contrast, halberd soldiers need to hold their weapons with both hands, and their armor is often better than that of spearmen, but they cannot be equipped with shields. Therefore, they are placed in the second line to make up for the lack of flexibility of spearmen when being approached.

Because spears and lances only require a single stabbing or stabbing motion to use, and when facing cavalry, there is no need for spearmen to sweep. Once the enemy rushes to a distance closer than the spear tip, the spear is completely useless, and the only way to hit the enemy is to use the spear shaft.

Halberd soldiers and staff soldiers were different, their weapons needed to sweep, strike, hook and peck, and they were not as afraid of close combat as spears. Even if the enemy approached the side of the halberd, the cross-blade of the iron halberd could still hurt the enemy, and the force and heaviness of the iron staff were enough to sweep the enemy and break his bones.

Cao Ren's proper deployment of the formation quickly enabled Cao's army to develop the combat effectiveness to resist cavalry attacks.

The crossbowmen also ambushed in the corridors of each formation, drawing their bows and ready for battle.

As long as Zhang Fei approached, they would decisively shoot arrows, then retreat along the corridor, leaving the front battlefield to the spear and halberd soldiers to perform.

If Zhang Fei keeps fighting, these crossbowmen will continue to output. All the tactics have been repeatedly practiced.

……

On the south side of the battlefield, Zhang Fei had just arrived on horseback. When he saw Cao Ren's reaction, he was slightly surprised.

"Cao Ren actually stopped withdrawing his troops? He even dared to turn around and prepare for battle? Can his army's morale hold up? This army has been running wildly for most of the day, can it just stop like that?"

Zhang Fei didn't know much about military tactics, but he had been fighting for more than twenty years and had a lot of experience, and he also understood the psychology of soldiers.

When Zhang Fei saw the battle formation set up by Cao Ren, his first reaction was to realize that Cao Ren's response method was theoretically correct. In order to avoid being chased and directly defeated, it was indeed necessary to hold on firmly like this.

Ten years ago, when Cao Cao was defeated by Zhang Xiu, he retreated to Xudu after the Battle of Wancheng. At that time, Zhang Xiu pursued Cao Cao, and Cao Cao also used elite troops to cover the rear, resolutely defeated Zhang Xiu's pursuit once, and then dared to speed up and run.

It can be said that Cao Ren’s response today is exactly the same as Cao Cao’s ten years ago. It turns out that they were taught by the same family.

Zhang Fei also knew the "historical battle examples" before, and knew that he seemed to be playing the role of Zhang Xiu in the past. However, Zhang Fei was also rough but meticulous, and his observation of the details of the military spirit was quite profound.

He felt that the morale of Cao Ren's troops today was by no means as stable as that of Cao Cao's troops back then.

The troops in front of us betrayed their teammates who stayed behind in Fancheng and escaped. This was not a normal withdrawal, so they should have been in a panic a long time ago!

As Zhang Fei was observing the enemy's movements, his generals hurriedly asked for instructions: "The enemy is on full alert. Please give us instructions, General Right! Should we also take a break first?"

"No need! This place is only a few dozen miles away from Xinye, so we should be on guard. Cao Ren's battle array is just a bluff. I don't believe that all the soldiers under his command can work together as one.

First, let the light cavalry on the left and right wings shoot arrows to harass and observe the enemy's movements. If the enemy army uses crossbowmen to resist, then let the iron cavalry charge directly! Even if Cao Ren changes his formation, it will definitely be in chaos!"

Zhang Fei decisively rejected the suggestion of his subordinates to rest first and ordered all troops to take action immediately.

Zhang Fei knew the truth that "those who pursue profit within a hundred miles can be promoted to general", but he felt that all truths were relative. At this moment, the enemy's panic should be even greater, and this opportunity must not be missed.

Soon, after only one or two cups of tea, Zhang Fei's cavalry, which had been fully deployed, began to act according to the plan.

A thousand light cavalry were sent out from each wing, mostly equipped with horse bows, to serve as the vanguard to cross the formation, which was considered a "fire reconnaissance" of Cao's army.

The rest of the light cavalry stayed in the rear, keeping a distance from the front army so that they could respond at any time. If Cao's cavalry dared to counterattack, Zhang Fei would not hesitate to push the rear army forward to show Cao Ren some power.

Soon, the two sides were within range of each other's rain of arrows.

Since many of Cao's army's archers were equipped with pedal-operated crossbows, whose range far exceeded that of cavalry bows, they naturally won the opportunity to shoot first.

At one moment, a "buzzing" sound of arrows broke through the air, and more than a dozen riders from the light cavalry sent by Zhang Fei were inevitably knocked off their horses in the first volley of arrows.

Most of the cavalrymen were hit by arrows in non-vital parts, or in relatively solid parts of their armor or horse armor, but they were not seriously injured for the time being, or were only slightly wounded.

Zhang Fei's light cavalry had a very loose formation between the galloping horses, also to reduce the chance of being hit by arrows.

In comparison, although the shooting accuracy of the cavalry bow is much lower than that of the infantry bow and crossbow, because the enemies are standing more densely, it is easy to hit a few of them.

After gritting their teeth and enduring the first wave of arrows, the light cavalry sent by Zhang Fei also approached within the shooting range and began to shoot arrows.

The Cao army's crossbowmen on the opposite side also groaned and fell down from time to time. The spearmen in the back row all held shields, and even if they were hit by the rain of arrows from the cavalry bows, they could not move at all.

……

Under normal circumstances, when horse archers and foot crossbowmen engage in a shooting contest, the foot crossbowmen will definitely have an absolute advantage.

After all, infantrymen are smaller targets, have no horses to be hit by arrows, and their weapons are even more powerful.

However, because Cao's crossbowmen were arranged too densely at the beginning, Zhang Fei's light cavalry were able to hit a lot of extra targets just by blinding them, and they could often hit B while aiming at A. So after three or five rounds of arrow rain, the light cavalry responsible for harassment still had the upper hand.

The exchange ratio between the two sides clearly showed that Zhang Fei had the advantage.

Zhang Fei watched the scene coldly and clenched the snake spear even tighter. He was very eager to know how Cao Ren would respond to this situation.

Could it be that Cao Ren intends to endure such an unfavorable exchange ratio and fight to the death with himself?

When he thought of this situation, Zhang Fei couldn't help feeling depressed, and his mentality fluctuated slightly.

He knew that he had only brought more than 8,000 cavalry today, while the enemy had at least 30,000. If they fought by attrition, even if he had an absolute advantage in exchange, he would still not win, not to mention that exchanging cavalry for infantry was unnecessary no matter how you looked at it.

If the cavalry wants to achieve a decisive victory, the key is to make the enemy lose their composure, loosen up and disperse, and then expand the results of the victory in pursuit.

"Why didn't Cao Ren have any countermeasures? Did he want to just keep wasting time like this? Shouldn't he have ordered his crossbowmen to disperse and meet the enemy? Or should he have ordered his crossbowmen to retreat to the second line, from the tunnel to behind the spear formation... Why didn't he have any reaction?"

Zhang Fei was thinking about it, but he couldn't see clearly for a moment.

After a while, both sides had lost some of their spirit and fighting spirit.

Cao Ren also seemed to notice that such intensive standing and shooting could easily destabilize the morale of the crossbow troops, so he finally made some minor changes.

Cao Ren's flags shifted, and he sent out scouts. Soon, the Cao army's crossbowmen at the front began to spread out to the left and right, changing from a dense formation to a scattered one.

"As I guessed! Cao Ren saw that the crossbowmen were standing too close together and the casualties from being covered by the cavalry bows were too heavy, so he changed to a scattered formation shooting against scattered formation! Since we have given this opportunity, won't we be blamed if we don't seize it?"

Zhang Fei was overjoyed when he saw this, and thought to himself, then immediately ordered the cavalry in the center of the army to begin the charge - he was seizing the opportunity of the enemy's crossbowmen changing or dispersing their formation in front of the formation.

This is because once the enemy's crossbowmen changed their formation, it would be difficult for them to quickly gather together, pass through the corridors between the formations, and then quickly retreat to the back row. Zhang Fei's cavalry would rush forward and would most likely take advantage of the situation to create chaos.

Zhang Fei deployed another 4,000 men at once, and added another 1,000 archers to each wing, and directly deployed 2,000 cavalry in the center. The 4,000 cavalry and the previous 2,000 cavalry formed a wave, cooperating with each other and crushing Cao Ren.

"Change formation! All crossbowmen retreat to the back row! Stop shooting arrows! Spearmen advance! Halberdmen wait for the crossbowmen to retreat, then block the passage!"

Cao Ren, on the other side, saw Zhang Fei thinking he had seized the opportunity and started a full-scale charge, and immediately ordered another change of formation. Cao's crossbowmen quickly began to retreat hastily, while the spearmen and halberdmen also prepared for battle as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Cao Ren just ordered the crossbowmen to disperse their formation, but it was actually just a feint.

The scattered crossbowmen have an advantage in shooting, as they are less likely to be hit by the enemy's long-range arrow rain. However, the disadvantage of the scattered formation is that they are less resistant to impact and will almost collapse instantly if they are hit.

He deliberately changed the formation to one that was "more advantageous for long-range combat and less advantageous for close combat", creating a flaw and tricking Zhang Fei into coming over for close combat.

Otherwise, Zhang Fei's troops were all cavalry, while Cao Ren's troops were mainly infantry. If Cao Ren wanted to engage in hand-to-hand combat, Zhang Fei could easily avoid him.

In order to force Zhang Fei into a fight quickly instead of wasting time, Cao Ren could only take the initiative to expose some weaknesses.

What he was betting on was that even if Zhang Fei seized this weakness, it would still not be enough to defeat him, but instead he could use it to stick to Zhang Fei.

Both sides have their own considerations and reasons. Who is right can only be determined by facts and actual actions.

War is full of countless accidental and temporary factors, how can you calculate them all so accurately?
If everything can be calculated, the weaker party can just surrender directly, and there is no need to fight.

As a result, both sides held the belief that "I have the advantage, and the other side will definitely be the first to give up in the fight to the end", and they collided with each other forcefully.

Zhang Fei's charge was so fierce and swift as thunder, which was somewhat beyond Cao Ren's expectations.

As Cao's army hastily changed its formation, some of the crossbowmen who retreated slowly had no time to retreat to the back row through the corridor between the spear formations. They were still stuck in the corridor and were stabbed in the back by Zhang Fei's galloping cavalry.

The crossbowmen were charged from behind by the cavalry, so it was natural that they would collapse quickly. Thousands of crossbowmen who were slow to retreat were almost destroyed in an instant.

In an instant, broken limbs and arms flew everywhere, and blood spurted out like a fountain.

Some crossbowmen were even crushed by the iron hooves. Under the huge force, the weak blood vessels and skin on their bodies were broken open by the high-pressure bursting blood vessels. The tiny blood spurting holes formed a huge pressure, which could even make a small but intense blood plasma spray out several feet away.

Zhang Fei did not charge into the front himself, but when he saw the scene in front of him, he felt much more at ease.

Cao Ren's careless change of formation and seduction of himself really violated the great taboo of military strategy! Now, as long as his own cavalry used those enemy's defeated soldiers as the vanguard and disrupted the enemy's own formation, he would win without a doubt!
However, almost in an instant, Cao Ren's next reaction made Zhang Fei's pupils shrink.

"Anyone who disrupts the formation will be killed!" Cao Ren issued a series of orders in a cold and stern manner, using high pressure to calm the morale of the army.

The spearmen and halberdmen in each formation of Cao's army were all severely suppressed by the officers, forcing them to stab and kill without mercy anyone who dared to disrupt the formation, regardless of friend or foe.

About hundreds of Cao's crossbowmen who were slow to retreat had no time to retreat because the corridor was crowded and they trampled on each other.

Seeing Zhang Fei's cavalry approaching from behind, they rushed towards their own spear array in a panic, hoping to squeeze out a temporary way to escape. However, Cao Ren's strict orders and cruel military law made Cao's spearmen merciless. Anyone who dared to "take an unconventional path" and randomly bump into others would be stabbed to death on the spot, regardless of whether they were enemies or friends.

After paying the price of hundreds of people, Cao's army's spear and halberd formation was not in chaos.
Instead, he took advantage of Zhang Fei's cavalry, who originally wanted to stick to Cao's army's crossbowmen to serve as free vanguards, and dragged the enemy into close combat.

Zhang Fei's cavalry had already spent most of their impact force on backstabbing Cao's slow-retreating crossbowmen at the beginning, resulting in a crowd of people and a large loss of impact force, while the enemy's rear troops remained motionless. At this time, the two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat, which was equivalent to a static stand-still fight, and the cavalry's charge advantage was greatly weakened.

Some of the cavalry successfully chased after the crossbowmen of Cao's army who had retreated into the corridor, hacking and killing them and driving them away, causing Cao's army to collapse.

However, Cao's rear guard immediately sent out the reserve troops, who blocked the corridor with halberd soldiers and fought to the death, confronting Zhang Fei's cavalry head-on.

Although many halberd soldiers suffered heavy casualties in the initial charge, subsequent reserve troops continued to come forward to hold off the attack.

Soon, the battle situation in the tunnel turned into a situation where Zhang Fei's cavalry fought desperately but could not break through the enemy formation.

At the end of the corridor, there were some soldiers with halberds who had arrived temporarily and were desperately blocking the exit.

On both sides of the corridor, Cao's spearmen were steadily pressing towards the middle, stabbing and advancing calmly, without any disorder in their steps, and without seeking speed in advancing and oppression.

More and more of Zhang Fei's cavalry were knocked off their horses by the enemy forces pressing on them from three sides. Although they fought hard and killed more enemies at the cost of their lives, it was obvious that this kind of meat-grinding battle was not what the generals commanding the cavalry wanted to see.

When Zhang Fei saw this scene, his expression became more serious.

"Cao Ren is truly a ruthless man. He took the lives of more than a thousand crossbowmen in the rear formation and used up the impact force of our cavalry? He even dragged our troops into a hand-to-hand fight."

After Zhang Fei realized this, he immediately reacted and realized that he must not sit idly by and watch this happen.

He observed the battlefield situation keenly and quickly ordered the last 1,000 cavalry reserves around him to charge forward with him.

"Right General, don't be reckless! You are of high status now. In such a conflict on the battlefield, let your subordinates take the lead!" The generals next to him tried to dissuade him again and again, thinking that it was too reckless for him to send the entire army forward without leaving any reserve troops.

Zhang Fei's status is no longer comparable to what it was many years ago.

In recent years, although he has personally charged into the battlefield in battles, he would always reserve some strength and only do so when the situation has stabilized, such as when he crushed and killed Pang De on the Chencang Road.

It has been a long time since Zhang Fei used this kind of life-and-death strategy of "betting the last bit of reserves".

However, when his generals tried to persuade him to be cautious, Zhang Fei made a decisive decision: "No need to persuade us anymore! Success or failure depends on this one move. Both the enemy and I must do our best! Gather the last thousand cavalry and I will charge into the battle myself!"

We should charge through the tunnels blocking Cao Ren's position. We don't need to completely defeat Cao Ren, but at least we should break through his formation and kill the halberd soldiers blocking the tunnels. That way we won't be stuck with the enemy!"

Zhang Fei issued such a clear order, which meant that there was no possibility of discussion on any decision. His generals followed his orders one after another, and Zhang Fei's last reserve force moved forward decisively.

Zhang Fei was a man of rough but meticulous mind. He also knew that his current status was important, and he knew when he could charge into the battle line himself and when he should hold back.

During the first charge just now, he did not personally lead the charge because he saw that the two armies had not yet engaged in a fight and there were still a large number of crossbowmen in the enemy's front line.

Zhang Fei knew that Cao Ren was also good at using crossbows. If he had charged into the battle formation himself, he would have been too obvious a target and the flag formation would have followed suit. Cao Ren would have seen that the enemy's vanguard would have a big fish to catch, so he might not have ordered the crossbowmen to retreat, but would have forced them to fight to the death and fire the last few rounds of arrows.

No matter how strong and brave Zhang Fei's martial arts were, or how sophisticated his armor was, it would be extremely dangerous if he was shot at by thousands of crossbows.

From the perspective of a famous general like Cao Ren who was "good at using crossbows to snipe enemy generals", as long as Zhang Fei could be replaced, Cao Ren would be willing to pay the price even if thousands of crossbowmen were completely killed by enemy cavalry.

That's Zhang Fei! Killing Zhang Fei would definitely distort Liu Bei's strategic deployment and cause major problems in Liu Bei's mentality and decision-making.

So, Zhang Fei also knew this, and he didn't rush in the first round just now.

But the situation is different now. The crossbowmen that Cao Ren had sent forward before have either retreated to the rear or been attacked from behind by his own cavalry. They have been defeated and most of them have been killed or wounded.

Now that the two armies were in a stalemate, Cao's army was unable to organize and cover their arrows, otherwise they would only accidentally injure more of their own people.

At this point in the battle, the charge only depends on personal close combat skills. Zhang Fei also has excellent armor such as a steel-filled breastplate to protect himself, and he is also confident in his martial arts, so of course he has to be aggressive.

A thousand of the most elite cavalry quickly approached Cao's army formation and targeted the weakest points of Cao's army.

Zhang Fei took the lead, swinging his snake spear like the wind, striking left and right, and killing several Cao army halberd soldiers who were blocking their way.

Several enemies, relying on the fact that their weapons were as long as Zhang Fei's, wanted to rush forward to take advantage of the situation, but they were all knocked away by Zhang Fei along with their weapons. After the long halberds were swept away, the Cao army soldiers only felt a tingling sensation in their arms, and then they were pierced directly.

"Anyone who stands in the way will die!" The elite guards around Zhang Fei also fought bravely and desperately, fearing that the general would be in danger, and they forcibly broke through the layer of blockades of Cao's halberd soldiers.

Cao Ren on the opposite side soon noticed the changes on the battlefield and discovered that Zhang Fei was personally leading the charge and leading the troops. The pressure on Cao's army suddenly increased a lot.

Cao Ren was unwilling to see the passage between the army formations being directly broken through, as that would allow the enemy cavalry to distance themselves again and would prevent them from being stuck in a positional battle.

In a hurry, Cao Ren ordered Niu Jin, a general known for his bravery, to lead his cavalry to block the entrance.

He asked Niu Jin to wait behind the corridor formation first. Once the halberd soldiers blocking the road ahead were killed, Niu Jin would continue to block the road on horseback!

Niu Jin accepted the order generously, roared like a tiger, called on the elite cavalry around him, and galloped towards the direction of Zhang Fei's breakout.

……

Zhang Fei fought desperately again and again, leaving five or six scratches on his fine steel breastplate.

But every scratch on his steel armor was earned at the cost of at least a dozen lives of Cao's soldiers.

The double-sided metal stirrups that fit the iron boots and the Takahashi saddle that fits the body bring extra impact stability to a brave general like Zhang Fei, which is absolutely unimaginable for ordinary people.

Ever since double-sided stirrups and high-bridge saddles became popular among cavalry, the impact capability of cavalry against infantry has far surpassed what it used to be.

Even though Cao's army gradually learned this tactic after the Battle of Hanzhong, it only gave Cao's cavalry more advantages when fighting against Liu Bei's infantry.

However, it would be difficult for Cao's own infantry to completely reverse the situation in a battle where infantry was used to defeat cavalry.

Especially when the enemy is very good at taking advantage of this and maximizes the impact force, the tearing force of the cavalry's unstoppable advance and drilling through a single point is simply unstoppable.

Finally, the halberd soldiers that Cao Ren used to block the entrance were completely killed by Zhang Fei himself. A military commander and four Qujunhou all fell under the swords of Zhang Fei and his generals in the process.

As the scene before him suddenly became clear, Zhang Fei waved his spear and shouted, commanding his friendly troops to swarm out of the gap and rush behind Cao's army, trying to increase the distance and re-form the battle formation in order to change tactics and fight again.

At this moment, Zhang Fei also noticed that another army suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

This enemy army was not infantry, but pure cavalry like his own. Cao Ren probably felt that both sides were just one step away from victory, so he wanted to stop him at all costs, and temporarily sent up the cavalry reserve to act as a fire brigade.

"Why don't you cherish your life, you bastard! A hundred layers of gun arrays have rushed over, and you are just a bunch of bastards, why don't you just die!"

Zhang Fei didn't waste time talking to anyone, he just charged forward with his spear in hand, attacking the enemy. His followers also followed with roars of tigers, the sound of killing shook the sky.

"Zhang Fei has just pierced through dozens of spears and halberds, he must be exhausted! Don't be afraid of him! Follow me to kill this villain! Whoever kills Zhang Fei will be granted a title of Marquis of a Thousand Households by the Prime Minister!"

A marquis of a thousand households is at least a rural marquis.

This reward was not something Niu Jin made up on the spur of the moment. Cao Cao had already discussed the reward with the top leaders of Liu Bei's camp, and the generals below could naturally quote it at any time.

Encouraged by Niu Jin, Cao's cavalry also bravely charged towards Zhang Fei, who seemed exhausted.

Although they also knew Zhang Fei's bad reputation, it seemed that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it now, so why not take it?
The enemy army has double-sided stirrups and high-bridge saddles, which are very powerful when charging on horseback. But Cao's army also has these equipment now!

In the past in Hanzhong, when fighting cavalry against cavalry, Pang De suffered from the disadvantage in equipment and was killed by Zhang Fei in the Chencang Road.

Now two or three years have passed, and Cao Jun has also learned the lesson that Pang De paid for with his life!

He, Niu Jin, can also have a fair fight with Zhang Fei, who is exhausted from a bloody battle!

Niu Jinhu roared and fought fiercely, waving his sword and rushing towards Zhang Fei.

"Dang!" With a loud sound, the snake spear and the big knife collided, each of them exerted a huge force.

"General Wuming, I have blocked countless swords in my life, even my second brother's sword. Do you think you are worthy of it?" Although Zhang Fei's physical strength had declined greatly, he still tested Niu Jin's strength with just one move.

He was annoyed that Niu Jin wanted to take advantage of him, so he used all his strength, stabbing and swinging wildly, attacking with several spears like thunder and a landslide.

Niu Jin didn't expect that Zhang Fei would become stronger as the battle went on. The force from the spear came like a raging storm, and soon made Niu Jin's sword scattered.

The sword that was originally swung as fast as the wind seemed to weigh a hundred pounds, and it was extremely sluggish and dull when swung.

Niu Jin was horrified and was hit in the shoulder by Zhang Fei's spear while he was still in a daze. Then he was stabbed and swung hard, piercing through and flying out.

Zhang Fei shouted loudly and continued to charge, which soon made Cao Ren realize his own weight. The Cao army's elite cavalry that blocked the road were also torn open by Zhang Fei and retreated to both sides.

Perhaps Cao Ren could stabilize his formation and prevent it from being defeated by Zhang Fei, but if he, Zhang Fei, wanted to fight his way through the enemy's formation, no one could stop him.

Cao Ren repeatedly wanted to lead his personal cavalry to rescue the situation, but was stopped by his generals, who advised him not to take such a risk.

Zhang Fei took advantage of the situation to widen the gap in the enemy formation and supported the friendly cavalry that was originally trapped in the enemy formation, and they all rushed out towards the gap.

Although Zhang Fei's cavalry suffered heavy casualties in the repeated fighting because they were stuck to the enemy, but with Zhang Fei's support, at least they were not surrounded and annihilated as a whole, and they were able to rush out with the wounded and disabled troops to join the enemy.

Zhang Fei rescued his old subordinates, but he felt a little scared in his heart.

In today's battle, he decided to charge head-on into Cao Ren's army upon his arrival, and ended up almost falling into danger.

If they had been stuck and surrounded by the enemy just now, even if these thousands of cavalrymen did not all die, they would at least have suffered heavy losses and would have been unable to intercept the enemy.

Now that they had finally broken out, Zhang Fei didn't dare turn back and engage in a head-on battle with the enemy.

He just wanted to restrain his troops, use the speed advantage of the war horses, move to the flank first, create some distance, reorganize the formation, and then look for an opportunity.

“Although we fought our way through the enemy’s formation and escaped from the encirclement, Cao Ren was really strict in disciplining his troops.

He led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to retreat at a speed of 70 miles a day, and he was able to stop when he said so. When the troops turned around to fight, they did not lose their morale and flee. There are not many opponents as difficult to deal with as him in Cao's army. "

Zhang Fei thought to himself and no longer dared to look down on Cao Ren.

(End of this chapter)