My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 761: Kill Gao Lan in Battle, Hebei Reversal
"The two sides have similar forces, so how could the fight turn out like this?"

Seeing the main force of Liu Bei's army led by Zhuge Jin and Xu Sheng attacking from the south, that is, the right side, Zhang He was shocked by the one-sided tragic scene on the battlefield and could not help but sigh in anger.

Even though he had led troops for more than twenty years, even during the Battle of Guandu when he led Yuan Shao's main force to attack Cao Cao's Guandu camp, he had never felt such despair.

Xu Sheng led the spearmen under Zhuge Jin's command and charged forward with their spears leveled in a relatively uniform manner. Although their pace was not too fast, it was absolutely firm and powerful, and their momentum was unstoppable.

Thousands of halberds advanced at almost the same speed like a wall, as slow as a forest.

Although Cao's army also had enough spears and halberds to resist head-on, their formation was relatively disorganized because they had also been charging towards Zhou Yu's troops head-on.

In such an occasion of fighting in an upright battle array, with long weapons, a neat formation and the soldiers being able to provide timely support to each other, it was very important. If Cao's army lost this point, it was doomed to be crushed.

Countless spears of Cao's spearmen were blocked and deflected by the long halberds of the opposite side the moment they met the enemy. Especially the small horizontal blades on the long halberds were very suitable for locking the long poles of the enemy's weapons.

The formation of Liu Bei's army was more uniform and the weapons were more densely packed. Often after one weapon swept away the enemy's weapon, two or three others would quickly stab in and turn the opposing soldiers into bloody gourds.

The total number of Cao's spearmen was not at a disadvantage, but the disorganized formation meant that they were deployed to the front line sparsely, and there was a gap in the time before and after they met the enemy, so their tactics became like the gourd baby saving his grandfather.

Often, the first row of soldiers would fall down with howling in disarray, and only then would the next row of soldiers come up, and then the vicious cycle would repeat. After the first five or six rows of soldiers were killed to pieces, the remaining soldiers could barely stand in formation and slightly reverse the situation.

Even so, they were still forced by the enemy's charge to have nowhere to move, forced to shrink, and passively stand in formation, because those in the front row who were not in good formation were killed and wounded.

The spearmen in front of them were barely able to stabilize the situation when Ma Chao attacked from behind.

Eight thousand cavalrymen were equipped with breastplates forged with molten steel, and their horses were equipped with high-bridge saddles and double-sided metal stirrups. They were armed with lances and iron sabers, and they swept in with great momentum and the sound of hooves as loud as thunder.

These cavalrymen came from Xiliang and were not good at bows and arrows. They could not compare with the Youzhou cavalry in terms of horse riding and archery, but these Xiliang cavalrymen were not completely without long-range attack capabilities.

During the truce and military training in the past few years, Zhuge Jin had also thought about this problem, how to improve the long-range firepower of the Liangzhou cavalry. The final result of his thinking was to equip these cavalry with a few short javelins, which they would insert into the straps on their backs during combat, and pull out and throw directly when they wanted to throw. The power within twenty steps was still amazing.

The tips of these javelins are made thinner and longer than traditional short spears. Like the Roman javelin, they can penetrate deep into the flesh and are not afraid of bending.

Anyway, the steel production in Liu Bei's camp is getting higher every year, so they can afford to make javelin-like weapons into disposable consumables. Moreover, the easily bent spear head is difficult to pull out after piercing the body, so basically, if it hits the vital points, the enemy will die.

At this moment, Ma Chao's cavalry rushed forward and launched a final wave of javelins, without aiming, and basically threw them based on their feeling when they were close to the enemy.

When they saw the cavalry approaching, some of the spearmen in Cao's army turned around and tried to hold the line. Although their formation was not neat, and perhaps only three or four out of ten people could fight the enemy in time, it was better than nothing.

But even this insignificant resistance was met with a hail of javelins, which made the spearmen howl in agony, and they fell one after another like wheat being cut. Ma Chao's cavalry took advantage of the chaos in the front row of the enemy, and immediately penetrated them, stabbing and killing them crazily.

The main infantry under Zhang He were quickly slaughtered and collapsed one after another. Thousands of Cao's spearmen and sword and shield soldiers scattered like birds and beasts, trampling on the enemy indiscriminately, and many soldiers were trampled to death.

When the battle was at its most intense, the cavalrymen under Ma Chao's command followed the method of attacking the hearts of the enemies as Zhuge Jin had instructed them before the battle, charging and shouting at the same time.

"Brothers from Hebei! You are all former subordinates of General Yuan! Zhang He betrayed his master and joined the enemy. Now the traitor is about to die. When will you turn against the enemy?"

"Young Master Yuan has already led the Qingzhou Army back! All officers and soldiers can be retained in their original positions anyway!"

These words were rather lengthy, and were not very effective when shouted during a mobile battle on the battlefield. In the chaos, many soldiers did not have time to listen to them. Moreover, on Ma Chao's side, only the officers could remember such long lines.

However, the infantry troops directly under Zhuge Jin could charge and shout at their leisure.

There are indeed quite a few soldiers in Cao's army who were once Yuan Shao's old subordinates, mainly those who were led by Zhang He to surrender. If it was during the era when Cao Cao was powerful, these soldiers might not take such shouting seriously, but now that they are almost broken by the killing, these words seem so harsh.

Even if there are die-hard Cao soldiers who are unwilling to believe Liu Bei's promise, they can't help but weigh it in their hearts: Will their comrades around them and other surrendered soldiers from the opposite side believe it?
As a result, the coordination between Cao's soldiers became increasingly chaotic. Everyone had to divert some of their attention to guard against whether their teammates would suddenly turn against them. Even if it only took up 10% or 20% of a person's energy and attention, it would be very harmful to the combat effectiveness of the troops.

Finally, when Ma Chao's cavalry broke through the weak point of Zhang He's infantry formation for the first time, the total collapse finally spread uncontrollably.

Batches of former Yuan Shao's surrendered troops began to disperse and surrender to the enemy.

Zhang He and Gao Lan were caught in a dilemma and tried their best to resist, but they could not stop the situation from deteriorating rapidly.

"General! We can't fight anymore! Let's retreat! Otherwise, all the soldiers will die in vain!" Gradually, several generals around Zhang He could not hold on any longer. Some of the defeated generals had blood all over their faces, and they didn't know whether it was their own blood or the enemy's or their comrades' blood. They rushed to Zhang He and begged for retreat.

Zhang He's face turned pale, and he was still thinking rapidly, trying to turn the situation around.

At this time, another brave general nearby spoke up: "It has become such a fight. If we can't escape, we might as well surrender! Liu Bei won't do anything to us, and Zhuge Jin won't kill the prisoners!"

These words really scared Zhang He, but he controlled his emotions pretty well and did not show it immediately. He just pretended to smile to calm the other party, then suddenly drew his sword and killed the general who had surrendered on the spot.

The other generals and staff members who asked him to retreat were shocked and took a step back, looking at the commander warily. Zhang He also knew that the situation was urgent and he had to calm people's hearts, so he compromised and agreed:

"Gather all the cavalry and follow me to speed up the retreat! Main force of the infantry, retreat as much as you can! This general will not abandon you!"

When the generals saw that Zhang He agreed to run away, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least they could save their lives and didn't have to fight to the death.

However, most of the 40,000 to 50,000-man army today were doomed. This was because it was impossible for the infantry to withdraw in an organized manner under such a pincer attack. Even if someone managed to escape alive, they would be scattered and defeated, and most likely would not return to the team and fight for Cao Cao again.

The most likely scenario is that they will find a hiding place on the spot and hide themselves there, waiting for the surrounding fighting to subside before pretending to be civilians and returning home.

Only the part of the cavalry that is in good condition has the possibility to use its speed advantage to gain time to break out while the main infantry force of the friendly forces is being surrounded and annihilated.

After Zhang He gave the order, he did not dare to delay any longer and immediately retreated with thousands of remaining cavalry.

Some of the remaining generals followed, but some were obviously frightened by Zhang He's act of killing the surrendered generals before leaving, and thus became disloyal. "Brother, we can't follow Zhang He all the way to the end. Just now, we were about to retreat, and someone suggested surrendering, but he insisted on killing one to establish his authority. If we continue to follow him, we don't know when we will die with him."

Some of the more quick-witted generals began to advise their colleagues in a low voice in private.

Most of the duller generals did not react for a while after hearing the persuasion: "General Zhang is also afraid of shaking the morale of the army. If that happens, we can't withdraw... No matter what, surrendering in the face of a battle is indeed a serious crime. In order to stabilize the people's hearts, killing one person is nothing..."

This statement immediately attracted a rebuttal from a smart person: "Perhaps he is worried that if he rejoins Liu Bei, he will not be able to get past the Yuan family and will be punished sooner or later. Zhang He was the main culprit for General Yuan's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Guandu!"

These words finally woke up several colleagues. Suddenly, it was as if a bright light shone into their hearts, clearing the clouds and seeing the sun.

"Yes! Why didn't I think of that? We are all likely to surrender, except Zhang He! If Liu Bei was just an ordinary enemy, it would be fine to surrender to Liu Bei. But Yuan Tan has already surrendered to Liu Bei, and he is still valued so much. Zhang He was the culprit that caused the Yuan family to go from victory to defeat. Even if he surrenders again, Liu Bei will not do anything to him, but Yuan Tan will find another excuse to deal with him in the future!"

After understanding this truth, several generals of Cao's army felt that they had seen a new path that they had never thought of before.

Most of the people in the army today can surrender! Even if some of them were officers of Yuan Shao, then surrendered to Cao, and now surrender to Liu, it doesn't matter. Because they are not the main culprits, the law does not punish the majority.

But what about Zhang He? No matter how much Liu Bei valued him, how much more could he use him? Once the war in Hebei was over, if Liu Bei completely won Hebei, he would most likely be able to conquer the world.

Cao Cao's grand ambitions were ultimately short-lived, and his title as the most powerful force in the world lasted less than a decade.

In this situation, even if Liu Bei was kind and would not discard his bows and kill himself after all the birds were killed, he would not treat the surrendered generals who came to him in the final stage very well.

After all, these people joined Liu Bei after he had stabilized his power. They could have conquered the world without joining Liu Bei, it would just be a little slower.

If those who defected to Liu Bei did not have a deep hatred for Liu Bei's direct lineage, then everything would be fine. However, Zhang He's status was destined to be far lower than Yuan Tan's.

If Yuan Tan took action to settle accounts with him, Liu Bei would definitely not stop him. And even if Liu Bei turned a blind eye, people in the world would not say anything bad about Liu Bei, at most they would just think that Yuan Tan was indeed petty and could not forget the old grudge from more than a decade ago.

At that time, Liu Bei could punish Yuan Tan a little, demote him a little, cut his title, scold him in public and tell him not to do it again, and the matter would probably be over.

This is just like in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after Cao Cao entered Ye City, Xu You still dared to be arrogant and disrespectful to him, so Xu Chu chopped Xu You off with a knife, and Cao Cao then lifted him up high and put him down gently, publicly and symbolically punishing Xu Chu, and the matter was over.

(Note: In the official history of "Records of the Three Kingdoms", Xu You was also killed for disrespect after helping Cao Cao enter Ye City, but it did not say that it was Xu Chu who killed him, but Cao Cao personally instructed the killing)
Most of Zhang He's subordinates and middle-level officers had not thought of this at first. However, after seeing Zhang He's firm attitude of "willing to withdraw decisively but never surrender to Liu Bei", and even killing one of his own men for this, some of the generals who were watching came to their senses.

As rumors spread like this, the situation on the battlefield became increasingly dire.

He had originally planned to join the breakout, but once he found that the enemy had surrounded him and it was not easy to escape, he quickly chose to surrender directly in a very shameless manner.

Large groups of soldiers who had once fought for Yuan Shao surrendered without any psychological pressure.

"Brothers! The eldest master will not forgive Zhang He, but he will certainly not make things difficult for us! We have all been deceived by Zhang He's selfishness! Don't risk your life just to keep him alive!"

As the rumors spread, Cao's army collapsed faster and faster.

Zhang He himself led several thousand remaining cavalrymen and fled wildly. Gao Lan, who was originally leading the main infantry, also wanted to retreat with them. However, his men were in such a mess that he was directly surrounded. There were chaotic soldiers all around him, and even his own people were in chaos and blocked the way. He could not escape at all.

"Get out of the way! Anyone who stands in my way will die!" Gao Lan became more and more anxious as he saw this. He still wanted to organize a team, and he was also very angry at Zhang He's decision to abandon the infantry and retreat first.

However, he was also one of the main culprits who surrendered to the enemy at Guandu. He was the only one of the two with a well-known name. He knew that Yuan Tan would not let him go, so he did not dare to surrender easily.

Just when Gao Lan was trying to break out in the chaos, Ma Chao finally spotted a flag formation among Cao's army that was still resisting, so he commanded the main cavalry to charge towards them.

Cao's soldiers along the way had already collapsed, and no one could stop Ma Chao. Ma Chao personally wielded his spear and sword, slashing left and right, killing more than ten enemies in succession, and rushed to Gao Lan, fighting him.

Gao Lan saw a general in bright silver armor coming towards him, and he did not dare to underestimate him. He gathered all his strength and fought hard.

The two spears collided with a loud clang. Gao Lan's strength was actually slightly stronger than Ma Chao's, and he blocked Ma Chao's spear.

But he soon discovered something was wrong. It turned out that Ma Chao's back hand did not use all his strength to push up, but only relied on the full pressure of his front hand. In addition, the weight and inertia of the weapon itself were enough to tie with Gao Lan's full-handed blocking attack. At most, he was only slightly at a disadvantage.

But the advantage of Ma Chao not using his full strength soon became apparent. Ma Chao's back hand pulled back to his waist, holding the hilt of the sword upside down and slashing forward.

The two were originally half a foot apart, and short weapons could not hit each other, so they could only fight with long spears. However, Gao Lan's arm holding the weapon was in a forward position, and Ma Chao's sword was reversed and slashed upwards, just in time to cut a bloody wound at Gao Lan's elbow.

The injury to one of Gao Lan's arm joints caused Gao Lan's strength to be reduced by 20 to 30 percent. Ma Chao drew his spear again to fight back. The spear's force was so sharp and swift that it soon enveloped Gao Lan's entire body.

Gao Lan was slightly injured by the first attack. He fought for more than ten rounds, with several minor injuries on his body. Finally, his spear skills became increasingly disorganized and he was stabbed to death by Ma Chao's spear, and his body fell off his horse.

With the death of Gao Lan, this infantry unit of Cao's army finally collapsed completely and was almost wiped out.

The so-called complete annihilation, of course, does not mean that all of them were killed, surrendered, or captured. There were also a large number of defeated soldiers who fled in all directions. However, most of these deserters would not return to the team and fight for Cao Cao.

Therefore, according to a rough estimate, Liu Bei's side captured at least 10,000 prisoners, or accepted so many surrenders. There were also more than 10,000 casualties, and finally more than 10,000 people scattered and became deserters. It is estimated that after the war, they hid and pretended to be farmers to avoid the war.

Zhang He only brought a few thousand remaining cavalrymen, and taking advantage of the speed of his war horses, he barely escaped back to Dongguan County.

After Ma Chao cleaned up the main battlefield and annihilated most of Cao's troops, Zhuge Jin immediately changed his plan and ordered him to chase to Dongguan County and surround Zhang He. He must not let Zhang He withdraw his troops all the way to the rear base of Yecheng. This group of Cao's troops must be completely wiped out in Qinghe County.

On the front battlefield, Zhuge Jin's own main force would slowly clean up the situation, and with the assistance of Zhou Yu and Xu Sheng, it would be enough, and there would be no need for Ma Chao's cavalry.

(End of this chapter)