My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 774 The Fire Bull Formation is fake, but the effect of breaking the camp is real
As Cao's army failed in several consecutive days of attacks, they were forced to switch to the "peeling onion" strategy, besieging the enemy and attacking the reinforcements.

Zhuge Jin became more confident, knowing that he could definitely win this battle. The only difference was the twists and turns in the process.

He also took advantage of the opportunity of Cao's army changing its tactics to carefully observe the enemy's latest deployment movements and preparations, discovered some loopholes, and then naturally came up with a plan.

Zhuge Jin did what he said and quickly wrote a letter, which he then sent to Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao, telling them that they didn't need to rush to reinforce and could instead fine-tune the subsequent deployment.

When Zhuge Jin finished writing the letter, Zhao Yun happened to come into the tent with some military matters to ask for instructions. When he saw the letter in Zhuge Jin's hand, he couldn't help but feel curious and asked a few questions casually.

"Is this an urgent report for Ziyi? Could it be to urge him to speed up his march and come quickly? Ziyu, forgive me for being frank, but the current Cao bandit's attacking power is weaker than we expected before the battle.

Perhaps our army can still rely on its own strength to hold out for a few more days, and bleed Cao Cao a little more. Let him stop at the strong camp, the old soldiers are tired, and the morale is frustrated. There is no need to rush Ziyi. Forced marches will also damage the combat effectiveness of the troops, and rushing too fast will affect the state of the decisive battle. "

Zhao Yun and Zhuge Jin have been working together for more than ten years. Zhao Yun is Zhuge Jin's brother-in-law, so he is more willing to speak his mind in private when there are no outsiders around, and he never hides his opinions.

Zhuge Jin also knew that Zhao Yun's reminder was well-intentioned, so he explained lightly: "Don't worry, I know what's going on. This letter is not to urge Ziyi to come as soon as possible.

On the contrary, I asked him to go slowly, go a little to the north, avoid the main force of the enemy, try to rush to the Guantao battlefield along the Baigou River, and cooperate with our navy downstream to advance by land and water.

Most importantly, I gave him a few more days, and asked Zi Zhong (Mi Zhu) and Zi Tai (Tian Chou) to cooperate with him, so that he could make extra preparations and supplies before coming to the Guantao battlefield. "

When Zhao Yun heard that Taishi Ci was not asked to rush but to take his time, he felt relieved and his curiosity was aroused.

Is taking it slow just to drain more blood from Cao? But what exactly does Ziyu mean when she asks Ziyi to make "extra preparations"?
Zhao Yun thought about it and felt that with his status and position, there was no need for Zhuge Jin to hide anything from him. No matter what the plan was, he should be qualified to know. So he asked directly about the doubts in his heart.

Zhuge Jin knew that he would definitely ask questions, so he said smugly, "It's nothing, actually. I was worried that the army would be besieged by Cao Cao for too long and the food supply would be insufficient, so I asked Ziyi to bring more supplies when he came to reinforce.

However, if the cavalry army carries too many heavy carts, it will be easy to be inflexible and be intercepted by the enemy army. At the same time, I also gave Zi Zhong a letter, asking him to support Zi Yi's supply with all his money and food, and to concentrate all the cattle and sheep that can be mobilized recently, instead of giving food. If we win, the whole army will eat meat! "

It is now the end of September, the time of year when the grass is lush and the livestock are fat.

During the years when Zhuge Jin was in charge of Youzhou, he continued to appease the various Hu tribes on the grassland, opened up many border markets, and engaged in large-scale business of sea salt drying and pickled meat.

After seven or eight years of development, those businesses had become very mature. Every year in late autumn, the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes of the three counties would bring large numbers of cattle, horses, sheep, and even wild boars to the market on the border of Yuyang, selling them by the hundreds of thousands.

There is no way around it. When the cold winter comes, all the grass on the grassland will dry up. If the livestock are no longer able to be fed with fresh grass, they will have to be fed with hay that has been cut in advance. Occasionally, they can eat "silage" grass. In short, the cost will be very high.

Now Han officials and businessmen are buying up unlimited amounts of slaughtered and cured cattle and sheep. Of course, the Hu people are happy to cash in at high prices when the livestock are at their fattest.

So at this moment, Zhuge Jin could easily send a letter to Mi Zhu to mobilize hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep and follow the escort army south.

Mi Zhu only needed a few days to gather so many livestock, and the transportation of these livestock did not require any carts or baggage. They could all be driven by cavalry, just like grazing. If the Han cavalry were not good at grazing, they could also hire local herdsmen from the three counties of Wuhuan or Xianbei to accompany the army. In short, it was very convenient.

After listening to Zhuge Jin's arrangements, Zhao Yun naturally would not question the feasibility of this tactic. He knew that Zhuge Jin and Mi Zhu could do it.

He was just a little confused about the purpose of doing this, so he continued to ask.

Zhuge Jin did not hide anything. He took the copper telescope on the desk and pointed to the direction of Cao Ying in the south. He analyzed:

"Zilong, don't think that I am raising so many cattle and sheep just for meat, military supplies and morale. I made this decision after seeing Cao Ying's deployment.

Cao Cao was delayed by us, and he wasted time changing his tactics repeatedly, so he had no time or manpower to improve and repair the camp. I think he just used the old camp that Gongjin had burned down, and didn't cut wood or dig earth to reinforce it.

Instead, they arranged Cao's baggage carts on the periphery to block the camp, replaced the rammed earth with antlers, and did not dig trenches - I think, as long as we have a large number of livestock, this kind of "temporary mobile camp" can be broken in one go! When the time comes, we can just drive the frightened cattle and sheep to charge!

Anyway, our army is in a stalemate and needs to replenish military rations. If cattle and sheep die, we can just give them to the army to eat, so there is no waste."

Even though Zhao Yun was good at cavalry tactics, he was still shocked when he heard Zhuge Jin's wild ideas.

He had fought for so many years, but he had never thought of such a tactic.

Of course he knew that Cao Cao had wasted time because of repeated changes of plans and confusion, so the camps he built were very hastily, with almost no permanent fortifications, only some mobile temporary facilities.

This was actually very common in the late Han Dynasty and even in the entire history of ancient warfare. For example, it was mentioned in both the performing arts and official history that when "Gan Ning's hundred cavalrymen raided Cao's camp", they first attacked secretly and pulled out the outer antlers, and then the cavalrymen rushed into the camp to create great chaos.
But in the end, because "Cao's army surrounded Cao Cao's central camp with chariots and sticks, Gan Ning was unable to enter", he was unable to attack Cao Cao's tent directly.

At that time, if there were several layers of camps, the outermost ones were built the most solidly, and the middle ones were casually surrounded by food and fodder carts, forming a situation of strict outside and loose inside.

Now Cao Cao placed the temporary fortifications commonly used in the inner camp at the outermost periphery. This was also because manpower and time did not allow it, so he could only do it in such a sloppy way.

Perhaps, Cao Cao had another consideration, for example, he was afraid that his camp was built too strong, and when the reinforcements of Taishi Ci and others arrived, Taishi Ci would not dare to charge head-on.

With Cao Cao's knowledge of military affairs, or military common sense, he could definitely calculate that the first reinforcements led by Taishi Ci and others would definitely be mainly cavalry.

The cavalry attacking the camp is relatively disadvantageous. If a solid permanent fortification is built, the cavalry will not rush to the antlers of the rammed earth foundation, which is suicide. However, if the baggage carts are used as fortifications, the cavalry will feel that there is a chance, which is also a way to lure the enemy.

In history, there are countless examples of using chariots to defeat cavalry. Zhuge Liang's Eight Formations have been used to defeat cavalry, and the Song and Ming dynasties also used chariots to defeat nomads. Even when Qi Jiguang fought against the Tatars on the grasslands, he carefully developed chariots and wrote about them in the "Jixiao Xinshu".

At this moment, after listening to Zhuge Jin's deduction, Zhao Yun couldn't help but feel curious. He wanted to know how the chariot formation tactics, which were obviously very effective against cavalry, could be broken by a herd of cattle and sheep? Could it really break through the chariot formation and allow the cavalry to go in and kill people by relying on the frightened herds of livestock to die in front?

This can only be proven in practice. Zhuge Jin couldn't reason with him, so he could only promise: "Don't worry, I'm here. I've tried it privately. Besides, even if it doesn't work completely, it can at least weaken the enemy.

I am very cautious in doing things. I will not learn the so-called Tian Dan's Fire Bull Formation. I think that might be fake. If the bulls are continuously burned by fire, they will rush around randomly and will not rush in one direction. They may also trample on their own people.

But it is certainly possible to just use loud noises to scare away the herds of cattle and sheep from behind.”

Zhuge Jin had said so much, and considering Zhuge Jin's credibility over the years, Zhao Yun no longer had any doubts, and he just wanted to execute it in actual combat. He didn't know that Zhuge Jin's insights were also based on history - during the Ming Dynasty, the Mongols/Tatars did not know how to break the chariot formation, so they were beaten very hard by the chariot formations of Ming generals such as Qi Jiguang. But later, the Qing army specifically studied the tactics of breaking the chariot formation of the Qi family army, and the specific measures were to force the cattle and sheep to die in front, creating a bloody path to break the chariot formation.

These tactics have been tested by history and are relatively reliable in effectiveness, as long as you don't randomly scare the cows or set them on fire. Zhuge Jin is familiar with history books, so he would certainly use them as reference.

Tian Dan's Fire Bull Formation should have some elements of legend and epic in it. Perhaps in history, Tian Dan used the bull formation to defeat the Yan army, but it is very likely that he did not set fire behind the bulls' tails to scare them. The specific technical means were probably a rumor.

……

Zhuge Jin's several letters were quickly sent out.

The messenger was personally escorted by Zhao Yun and Ma Chao and broke through the siege, so Cao's army was unable to stop him.

Of course, Zhao Yun and Ma Chao themselves would not deliver the letter. They just broke through the weak point of Cao's encirclement, sent the people away, and then turned around and fought back, which can be regarded as "two in and two out".

After hearing this, Cao Cao couldn't help but become angry again, and accidentally smashed a few bronze wine cups.

"Zhao Yun and Ma Chao are both in the Guantao camp. No wonder Zhuge Jin is so confident! He is sure that even if he can't defend the camp, Zhao Yun and Ma Chao will be able to help him break out and avoid being captured alive by our army. How hateful!"

Cao Cao thought to himself that even if he won a great victory this time, he probably wouldn't be able to capture or kill Zhuge Jin. It was such a pity.

However, Cao Cao did not think too much about other things. In the following days, he continued to besiege the enemy and attack the reinforcements, slowly consuming Zhuge Jin.

After realizing that a strong attack was not advisable and would cause too much loss, Cao's army changed their tactics and began to deploy more siege weapons. For example, they began to assemble catapults to slowly smash Zhuge Jin's inner camp walls, deer horn chevaux de frise, and earthen platforms and towers.

Of course, Zhuge Jin's side would not be hit in vain. When it comes to using catapults, Zhuge Jin is more professional than Cao Cao. What's more, in this life, Liu Ye had surrendered to Liu Bei's camp early on.

Before Cao Cao arrived, Zhuge Jin was besieging Guantao County and had ready-made siege weapons. He immediately took out the trebuchets with better quality, longer range and higher accuracy to fight against Cao's army.

The pace of the battlefield slowed down slightly, and the form of war was a bit like the Battle of Guandu twelve years ago.

However, the weapons and equipment and technical and tactical levels of both sides are much more advanced than those of the two armies twelve years ago, giving people a sense of historical accumulation.

This dragged on for another seven or eight days. Cao Cao thought several times that Taishi Ci's reinforcements would definitely arrive, but in the end Taishi Ci arrived a few days later than Cao Cao expected.

It was not until the second day of October that Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao finally went back to the lower reaches of the Baigou River, sailed upstream along the river, and came to reinforce Zhuge Jin.

On the third day of October, Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao fought a fierce battle with Cao Hong and Cao Xiu's cavalry on their way to Guantao.

In the end, Cao Hong and Cao Xiu suffered great setbacks and lost a lot of troops, so they had to retreat temporarily. Taishi Ci tore open a gap and approached Guantao County.

Of course, even if Cao Hong and Cao Xiu were temporarily repelled, there was still an outer camp that Cao Cao had just captured and abandoned by Zhuge Jin standing in front of Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao. Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao still could not directly join forces with Zhuge Jin.

Cao Cao had already surrounded most of Zhuge Jin, leaving only the side facing the Baigou River unencircled. If Taishi Ci wanted to completely help Zhuge Jin out, he had to break through the Cao army's encirclement camp and fight a fair and square battle.

The Cao army on the opposite side had also made sufficient preparations.

Cao Cao himself was quite unhappy when he heard that the cavalry of Cao Hong and Cao Xiu fought at a disadvantage and were killed by the enemy and had to retreat.

With a cold face, he immediately summoned Cao Hong and Cao Xiu, who had retreated in defeat, and inquired about the battle situation in detail.

But when he heard that not only Taishi Ci but also Zhang Liao was coming, Cao Cao's inner resentment was slightly relieved, and he did not blame Cao Hong and Cao Xiu so much.

"The enemy army actually sent in Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao to reinforce them at the same time. It's no wonder that Zi Lian and Wen Lie are no match for them... Fortunately, the enemy army is all cavalry. As long as they dare to charge the camp head-on, our army still has a great chance of winning!

Humph, the camp I have set up these days may seem to have no antler barricades, but only temporary enclosures made of movable cart poles. But in fact... Heh, as long as Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao charge in, they will definitely be trapped in a desperate situation and unable to extricate themselves! "

Cao Cao deduced this in his mind, and his originally unwilling heart calmed down a little.

He has been commanding troops for nearly thirty years, and his foresight and foresight are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

When setting up camp this time, the camp was not built solidly. On the one hand, the battle plan was changed repeatedly, which resulted in the manpower and material resources being unable to be used consistently from beginning to end, and in the end it could only be hastily built like this.

On the other hand, Cao Cao's deliberate connivance also played a role.

It was also through this battle that he learned and applied what he had learned, and discovered that Zhuge Jin's deceptive deployment of "the outer camp was built hastily, and became stronger as you go deeper into the camp" was very effective in luring the enemy into the battle, and then launching a fierce attack and bleeding the enemy.

Since Zhuge Jin can do this, why can't Cao Cao do it?

At this moment, although the Cao army's camp looks very temporary and simple on the outside, if you really break in, you will find that the defense depth is very deep, enough to make any cavalry unit sink into the quagmire.

All the impact kinetic energy would be absorbed by such deep layers of chariot formations, and then the cavalry units rushing in would be surrounded and destroyed.

Cao Cao was even confident that even if Zhao Yun and Ma Chao rushed from the inside to the outside and Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao rushed from the outside to the inside, he would be able to submerge the four enemy generals in the vast sea of chariots!

Under Cao Cao's confident mentality, Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao quickly launched an offensive operation to "rescue Zhuge Jin."

Zhao Yun and Ma Chao in Zhuge Jin's camp also seemed to be ready to make a move, preparing to break out with the help of both inside and outside forces.

Cao Cao prepared his troops and fought bravely, regardless of the heavy casualties and heavy losses suffered by his army in recent days. He was ready to switch from offense to defense and give the enemy a good show of strength.

Whether it is better or just a poor imitation depends entirely on your actual performance.

(End of this chapter)