Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 245: The poisonous warrior returns and shocks the world!
In the vast plains, if you want to defeat the majority with a small force, you must make good use of cavalry.

The cavalry who dare to charge into battle are elite, and the infantry who can withstand the cavalry charge are also elite. Therefore, when the infantry and cavalry armies fight head-on, the cavalry will inevitably fail and flee due to the neat formation of the infantry.

Therefore, if one wants to use cavalry to break through the infantry phalanx, the best way is to use the infantry to wear down the enemy's morale, and then the cavalry suddenly rush out, avoiding the front heavily defended by the infantry, and attack the weak areas of the army formation obliquely. By mixing the infantry and cavalry and attacking them together, one can defeat the majority with a small force.

In the Battle of Hulao Pass, Li Shimin left the Xia army alone for most of the day. When the enemy was exhausted, Yuwen Shiji led 300 cavalrymen to charge directly at the Xia army, causing the Xia army's infantry to collapse.

Therefore, the role of trapped cavalry is immeasurable. At the lowest level, they can be defeated by the same number of infantry, and at the highest level, they can sweep away tens of thousands of infantry. If you want to maximize the role of cavalry, in addition to relying on the command of the commander, you must hand over the trapped cavalry to the hands of a fierce general who is good at using cavalry.

During the battle with the Guanxi army, Zhang Yu thought deeply and then entrusted the important task of turning the tide of the battle to Lu Bu and his 800 elite cavalry.

Lu Bu's martial arts may not be the best in the world as described in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but Zhang Yu can be sure that Lu Bu's ability to command cavalry is at least second to none among all his subordinates.

After all, after being captured by Cao Cao, he dared to say to him, "If my Excellency leads the infantry and lets me lead the cavalry, then the world will be at peace." This shows that Lu Bu is outstanding in commanding cavalry. Not only is his riding and archery amazing, but he also understands the essence of commanding cavalry.

Now Lu Bu did not disappoint Zhang Yu. He first helped Zhang Liao defeat Fan Chou, and then cooperated with Gaoping Army to chase and kill the defeated army. After Fan Chou's defeat, Zhang Liao was able to spare his energy and, according to the pre-planned plan, led his elite cavalry to attack Guo Si's troops; while Zhang Yu led a thousand cavalry to break through the enemy lines, completely defeated Guo Si's troops, and helped the right army defeat Li Ying's troops.

Guo Si was killed by Zhang Liao, and his troops fled in defeat, with Gao Shun and Xu Chu chasing them. Later, Zhang Yu and Zhang Liao joined forces and, imitating the way they had defeated Guo Si's troops, sent out cavalry to attack Li Ying's troops.

When they find an easy target and see that the enemy is in chaos and noise, they will push all their troops forward and rush into the formation with all their might, thus widening the gap in the formation, disrupting the order of the formation, and making the infantry panic and make them think they are being attacked from both sides.

By the afternoon, Li Ying's troops were attacked by thousands of trapped cavalrymen, and with the help of Xu Huang and Zhang Yang's fierce attack, the infantrymen turned against their own side and fled. The Guanxi cavalrymen on the flank were restrained by the Yunzhong Army and had no time to rescue Li Ying. They could only watch their formation being broken.

"The infantry marched forward with spears in hand, forming a line and running after it, gathering at a hundred paces to form an army!"

"All the cavalry were to pursue the enemy, and if they saw any disturbance in the enemy's formation, they should break into the formation and attack them."

"The enemy is in disarray, the drums are out of order, send the cavalry to drive the fleeing soldiers into the enemy formation!"

After defeating Li Ying's troops, in order to expand his advantage on the battlefield, Zhang Yu immediately issued a series of military orders, trying to defeat all the troops in Guanxi.

The three formations led by Li Ying, Fan Chou and Guo Si had a total of nearly 30,000 people. Now, with the cavalry charging and the infantry chasing after them, the formation was no longer in place and the soldiers fled backwards frantically.

In fact, from the beginning of the battle to the present, the casualties in the three battles did not exceed 5,000, and at most 2,000 to 3,000 people died. The reason for the current defeat was not that they could not bear the casualties, but that the cavalry charge led to the disorder of the command system and the chaos of the organizational structure, resulting in an avalanche-like defeat caused by panic.

If they could have soldiers to stop Zhang Yu's fierce attack, they would flee for several miles, or more than ten miles. Under the organization of the officers, they would be able to reorganize the army, restore morale, and continue fighting.

But how could Zhang Yu give them such an opportunity? Whether he could achieve a great victory now depended on how he used the defeated army to bring down the rest of the Guanxi army.

The Bingzhou warriors who were chasing them advanced in formation, and the Bingzhou cavalrymen killed the cavalrymen on the left and right, trying to drive the fleeing soldiers towards the subsequent army formation. In the eyes of the fleeing soldiers, the Bingzhou warriors were like ox-headed and horse-faced beasts. If they stayed to fight, they would die, but if they fled to the rear, they would have a chance of survival.

Soon, Li Meng's troops were close to Bingzhou's right army and were the first to learn of Li Ying's defeat. They were also the first to be attacked by a mixed force of Bingzhou's infantry and cavalry.

When Li Meng saw that Li Ying was defeated and the three armies of Bingzhou were advancing together, he knew that the situation was hopeless. In order to avoid being surrounded and killed by the infantry and cavalry of Bingzhou, Li Meng, in panic, ordered his troops to withdraw.

Xu Huang led 800 cavalrymen to chase Li Meng's troops. On the way, he seized the opportunity to find a breakthrough and the cavalrymen broke through the formation. Not long after, Li Meng's troops turned from retreating to fleeing, allowing Xu Huang's cavalrymen to chase and kill them.

When the cavalry of the Guanxi Army saw the infantry fleeing, they did not dare to stay in front of the formation for long, so they retreated with the Yunzhong Army using horse and archery.

The rout of the Guanxi army in the front soon plunged Li Jue, the commander of the central army, into panic and confusion.

Li Jue looked at the crushing defeat in front of him. He really didn't understand why the defeat happened suddenly?

Before the battle, he could foresee that the battle would be difficult, but he was confident that he could use the numerical advantage of his army to drive Zhang Yu and his troops into the Luo River.

However, the fact that the front army had fled so easily was beyond his expectation. After all, he had sent out three formations with nearly 30,000 men, including more than 20,000 elite soldiers, so they should have been able to fight Zhang Yu back and forth.

Now, the front troops were a little tired and suddenly collapsed. It was really hard for him to imagine. Could it be that the elite soldiers under Dong Gong's command in the past were no longer useful?

For a moment, Li Jue's mood fell from the climax to the bottom!
He had offended Ma Teng and was now on Zhang Yu's kill list. There was no way he could rest in peace in this vast world.

No, he has to fight hard and can't just give up like this!
Unwilling to give up, Li Jue said in a stern voice to his left and right: "Notify Zhang Ji, Yang Zheng, Hu Zhen and other generals to prepare for battle. Although the front troops have been defeated, our army is still there. Moreover, the enemy has few soldiers and is exhausted after fighting so hard. If we can stop the Bingzhou troops and reorganize the defeated troops, we still have hope of winning." "Yes!"

The cavalry was ordered to pass on Li Jue's order to the generals, and strive to fight to the last moment. However, after the defeat, the situation was no longer under Li Jue's control. Moreover, on the eve of the expedition, Zhang Yu threatened to investigate only Li Jue and Guo Si, and the rest of the generals would be innocent if they surrendered.

Therefore, after the previous battle, the mentality of the generals changed.

When Zhang Ji received the military order from Li Jue and was hesitating whether to lead his troops forward, Jia Xu, who had been silent for a long time beside him, suddenly spoke.

"General, do you want to die with Li Jue?" Jia Xu asked.

Zhang Ji looked at Jia Xu and asked in surprise, "Why did Wenhe say that?"

Jia Xu pointed to the scene of fighting ahead and said, "The four armies of Li Ying, Li Meng, Fan Chou, and Guo Si have all been defeated. Now Zhang Yu is advancing with his victorious army. Do you think we can turn the tide of the battle?"

Zhang Ji looked troubled and said, "Judging from the current situation, it will be difficult for our army to win. We may be able to barely draw with Zhang Yu!"

Jia Xu said sternly: "Li Jue has held the emperor hostage and massacred ministers. This is unacceptable to the world. Now that it is difficult to win, why don't you surrender to Zhang Gong and ask for the emperor's forgiveness?"

Zhang Ji's expression changed slightly, and he said, "I followed Li Jue to kill Wang Yun and occupy Chang'an. I wonder if Zhang Yu will tolerate me!"

Jia Xu smiled and said, "When Zhang Yu sent out his troops, he said that he would pardon all the generals in Guanxi, except Guo and Li. Now Lord Zhang wants to defeat Li Jue. If you can turn your back on the enemy and help Lord Zhang defeat Li Jue, and make great contributions, how can Lord Zhang not tolerate you?"

"Besides, Mr. Zhang's surname is Zhang, and the general's surname is also Zhang. Both families are from the Zhang family. Considering this, how could Mr. Zhang not treat the general well?"

Zhang Ji frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly relaxed and said, "In this case, I will listen to your opinion, turn against the enemy and support the Han Dynasty."

"General, you are wise!" Jia Xu praised.

It is not difficult to understand why Jia Xu went to Zhang Ji. He was not optimistic about Li Jue's military expedition this time, so in order to seek safety, he went to Zhang Ji's army to avoid being harmed by the war.

Now that Zhang Yu had defeated the three generals, Jia Xu knew that Li Jue was doomed. If he did not jump ship now, he would be dragged down by Li Jue. Therefore, the best way was to lend a helping hand to Zhang Yu at the critical moment. After all, adding icing on the cake was better than doing nothing.

Of course, in Jia Xu's eyes, Zhang Yu's defeat of Li Jue had already been recognized by him. In order to get a good status under Zhang Yu's command, Jia Xu didn't mind helping Zhang Yu.

Zhang Ji's idea was even simpler. He and Li Jue were only political partners. Now that Li Jue was in danger, he would not die with Li Jue. Moreover, Jia Xu had a good relationship with him and was a resourceful person. At this time, it would be no problem to listen to his advice.

After Zhang Ji adopted Jia Xu's advice, he immediately sent Zhang Xiu to lead cavalry to raid Li Jue's troops, and sent people to surrender to Zhang Yu.

While Li Jue was waiting for news of the generals' dispatch of troops, his son Li Shi came in a hurry and shouted, "Father, something bad has happened. Zhang Ji has surrendered to the enemy and has turned against us. Now he has sent Zhang Xiu to lead his cavalry to attack our army!"

Li Jue was immediately furious, broke the whip in his hand, and said angrily: "Zhang Ji, you old dog, how dare you betray me!"

"Father, everyone is divided and our army has been defeated. It is better for us to escape now and hope to rise again later!" said Li Shi.

Hearing this, Li Jue exhaled, and seemed to have aged many years in an instant. He said, "I have offended the emperor and expelled Ma Teng. Therefore, although the world is big today, I am afraid there is no place for you and me to live in peace!"

The nephew Li Xian said: "I have a close friendship with Yang Qiu of Anding. Now you can lead your troops to Anding to serve him, and then contact Ma Teng and Han Sui to see if we can reconcile."

Seeing Li Jue sighing, Li Xian whipped his horse and continued to escape with the crowd, supporting him.

When the soldiers saw their commander fleeing, they had no intention of fighting and immediately dispersed. And with Zhang Ji's betrayal, the Guanxi army had no intention of fighting the Bingzhou army.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Yang Zheng and Hu Zhen feared that their betrayal would lead to Wang Yun's death, so they fled in all directions.

Lu Bu had long been resentful of the two men who had surrendered and then rebelled again, so he led his cavalry to fight them. He joined forces with Liu Bei's army that arrived later to defeat the forces of Yang Zheng and Hu Zhen, beheaded Yang Zheng, and captured Hu Zhen.

Zhang Yu pursued the enemy to the north and defeated Hu Feng together with other troops. After that, he broke several formations in succession and led the infantry and cavalry in pursuit from afternoon to dusk. He chased for twenty miles before stopping.

In the Battle of Luoshui, Zhang Yu, with less than 30,000 soldiers and horses, cut off the retreat route, turned his back to the Luoshui River, mobilized his soldiers and drove his cavalry to defeat the 100,000-strong army from Guanxi, and thus shocked the world!
(End of this chapter)