Tiger Guards

Chapter 282 Charging into the Camp on Horseback
On the eastern front, as the vanguard soldiers advanced by pushing carts to the beat of drums, three thousand-man squads of Liang soldiers also advanced with large wooden shields.

Many of the large wooden shields were simply doors, made of spliced ​​wooden planks or woven willow branches.

Under Le Jin's command, the defending soldiers held their bows but did not fire, waiting for the enemy to get close before unleashing a barrage of shots.

The Liang soldiers mostly wore half-body armor and carried shields. Although they were the last to arrive, they quickly caught up with the vanguard troops.

It then slowed its advance, moving like a tortoise.

Slowly adjust the large shield to construct a tortoise shell formation.

The tortoise-shell formation moved slowly forward, and when the archers at the rear approached within eighty paces, they began to draw their bows and launch arrows to harass the defenders.

When they advanced to fifty paces, the slingers among the Liang soldiers also began to blindly throw slings.

The first priority on the battlefield is to preserve oneself. Only after preserving oneself can one continue to inflict damage and disrupt the enemy.

The Liang soldiers fought very conservatively, resulting in very low kill efficiency, but they did manage to disrupt some of Cao Cao's archers.

These archers, who were completely focused, were distracted and accidentally released their arrows, which also prompted those around them to release theirs. They quickly reloaded their bows and awaited the order to fire in a volley.

As he approached within thirty paces, Yue Jin roared, "Fire!"

In an instant, bows and crossbows fired in unison, and arrows rained down like rain.

The vanguard soldiers pushed the chariots forward in an orderly fashion, with most of the arrows embedded in the chariots; the Liang soldiers' shield formation was also riddled with arrows, but the damage caused was very limited.

Heavy infantrymen firing in close formation at close range are essentially shooting arrows at shields, so their damage output is destined to be low.

But for the mob, it was a fatal blow.

The defenders remained calm and composed, drawing their bows, loading them, and firing them on their own.

Almost simultaneously, various spears and stones were also thrown at the vanguard soldiers and Liang soldiers.

Similarly, the damage was minimal; the Liang soldiers' projectiles and slingshots also did not cause much casualties.

Only when both sides are engaged in close-quarters combat with blades, or when crossbows are used for close-range sniping, can they inflict rapid casualties!
Cao Cao gazed at the battlefield for a moment, then turned to observe the western front.

In the northwest corner of the camp, the camp defended by Lu Cui was the first to be attacked by fire.

With the north wind blowing, Han Meng's troops set fire to their vehicles and charged at Cao Cao's palisade. Cao Cao's troops behind the palisade and low earthen walls had no choice but to retreat.

The firewood carried by the vehicle contained a mixture of sulfur, nitrate powder, and horse manure, which burned violently and produced thick, choking smoke.

The north wind blew, disrupting Cao Cao's army on the western front. For a time, the smoke obscured Cao Cao's view, making it difficult for him to see clearly.

Almost simultaneously, more than a hundred armored cavalrymen from Zhao Ji's central army spurred their horses forward, throwing grappling hooks with one end of the rope wrapped around the front of the saddle, urging the horses to pull.

Arrows were constantly hitting the knights and horses, but the Cao army's palisades and antlers were being pulled up, torn, and destroyed at a visible speed.

Seeing their fortifications destroyed, Cao Cao's troops, hampered by the smoke, quickly retreated to their respective camps.

Slower-moving Cao soldiers raised their shields to cover their heads, jumped into trenches to avoid the smoke, or retreated to their camp.

Seeing the Cao army retreating from the front, Wei Xing spurred his horse forward: "Your Excellency, shall I charge forward and give them a taste of their power?"

"The enemy's fighting spirit remains; we must not engage them."

Zhao Ji explained, then glared at Wei Xing, who had no choice but to retreat back to his own lines.

The retreat of Cao Cao's army on the front line also affected the Cao Cao's army on the south side.

Sui Gu's more than 3,000 men quickly destroyed the fences in front of them, filled in the trenches, and pushed the remaining vehicles forward.

Soon, seven or eight vehicles belonging to Sui Gu's troops fell into the trap and lost their cover. Cao Cao's archers, who had been waiting for a while, fired a volley of bullets, and Sui Gu's offensive momentum was suddenly halted.

Zhang Yang urged his troops to stay close, giving Sui Gu no reason or opportunity to retreat and regroup. Sui Gu could only force the other vehicles to continue advancing and also urged his soldiers to jump into the trenches to fight with Cao Cao's troops inside.

Soon, Zhang Yang reported that there was a trap inside Cao Cao's camp.

Zhao Ji drove his car to within a hundred paces of the fortress. The thickest smoke and fire had passed, and he could vaguely see the crisscrossing trenches behind the fence.

After Cao's army withdrew from the front line, they relied on trenches for defense.

To effectively evade crossbow bolts, the only way to seize the trenches was to force your way in.

If they advance by ground, they will encounter a combined attack from Cao Cao's troops in the camp and trenches, which is equivalent to three-dimensional firepower.

Ordinary infantrymen with shields cannot withstand this kind of damage. When the shield protection is not comprehensive enough, they lose their fighting confidence and are more likely to make mistakes. If they make mistakes, their defensive skills are almost zero.

"Order Han Meng: Do not advance recklessly; proceed with caution and prudence!"

Zhao Ji was in no hurry to launch a direct assault. After giving the order, he said to Han Shu and Gao Yanglong beside him, "The loess ground is suitable for digging trenches and traps. How many tunnels and traps do you think Cao Cao can dig?"

Han Shu pondered, "There can't be only one. His camp has three layers inside and out, so there can be at most two?"

Zhao Ji went to look at Gao Yanglong, who squinted and stared into the distance: "There are at least four lines. The Cao army camp behind the fence is mostly made of rammed earth."

"Yeah, these rats have learned a lot from digging up graves."

Zhao Ji sighed, but if he annihilated Cao Cao's main force, these technical troops would fall into his hands.

"Report~!"

A scout rode up behind Zhao Ji's carriage and said, "Your Excellency, the Chenliu troops are coming down the Sui River, numbering around five thousand!"

"do not mind."

Zhao Ji responded with a sound of agreement, then said, "Notify Zhang Yang."

"Here!"

The scout kicked the horse hard, pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and headed south.

Zhao Ji said to Han Shu, "Go and see who the enemy general is."

"Here!"

Han Shu agreed, put on the demon mask, spurred his horse forward, and was followed by several riders. After advancing fifty or sixty paces, he turned back and reined in his horse: "That's a battle flag with the character 'Liu' on it. It must be Liu Dai from Qiao County."

"As a descendant of the imperial family, he served the traitor Cao Cao; he deserves to die."

Zhao Ji reached for his bow, dismounted, mounted his horse, and the dozens of knights followed without a word, each taking their bows.

Leading the knights northward at a faster pace, the horses then galloped southward, skimming along the outer walls of Cao Cao's army. Zhao Ji spotted figures dressed in military officer armor and quickly fired arrows.

Unfortunately, no splendidly armored figures were seen. The accompanying knights were also galloping and shooting, aiming specifically at the armored soldiers who appeared to be the leader.

After demonstrating a series of rapid-fire tactics, Zhao Ji turned back to his chariot and saw that Cao Cao's army, attempting to repair their defenses, was beginning to retreat quickly from the remaining ramparts on the opposite side.

However, Zhao Ji had no intention of attacking; he did not want to use his precious cavalry to probe Cao Cao's traps.

After returning to the chariot, Zhao Ji hung up his bow: "Spur your horses and charge into the camp!"

"Here!"

The flag officer, Gao Yanglong, selected a battle flag and waved it behind him. Immediately, each of the five thousand-cavalry units dispatched more than two hundred riders, driving more than three thousand naval horses to gradually accelerate.

Without raising much dust, the horses gradually merged as they galloped, pouring into the Cao army's breached fortifications on the opposite side.

In the central camp of Cao Cao's army, on a high platform, Cao Cao was so startled that he stood up, took two steps forward, and reached out to grab the railing.

They watched helplessly as the horses, like a torrent, leaped across the trenches and galloped and trampled across the open spaces between the various camps.

Cao Cao's army rained down arrows, killing and wounding the horses. Horses were constantly falling into trenches and traps, and the pitiful neighing of the horses could be faintly heard.

The horses were even more panicked, running wildly in the open spaces between the camps, not daring to stop.

One trap after another was broken, and the Cao army officers and soldiers in the small camp were also greatly shocked, to the point that the archers stopped firing on their own initiative.

But how easy is it to calm a frightened horse down?
Seeing this, Zhao Ji gritted his teeth and said again, "Release another batch!"

Gao Yanglong picked up the second flag and waved it. He quickly organized the horses to charge again, this time with only two thousand horses.

The Bingzhou knights also stood up, all of them angry, watching the scene of the charge.

On the southern battlefield, Sui Gu broke through the fortifications and entered. Seeing the herd of horses trampling towards him, he cleared away many traps in his path.

The horses' neighing could not be heard, and Sui Gu felt a pang of heartache watching it. He couldn't help but turn back to look at Zhao Ji's chariot two or three miles away.

At this time, the vanguard troops on the eastern front broke through the fortifications.

The Cao army, facing off head-on, quickly withdrew through the trenches, while the Liang soldiers soon approached and, relying on the Cao army's fortifications, began to fire indiscriminately at Le Jin's camp.

Gao Shun's troops continued pushing the carts forward, easily seeing through Cao Cao's trap.

Squads of soldiers jumped into the trenches and engaged in bloody battles with Cao Cao's troops inside, avoiding any ground fighting.

The vanguard troops advanced in all directions, making rapid advances through the trenches, and Cao Cao's army could not stop them at all.

Gao Shun entered the defensive perimeter and directed the attack from close range.

Under his command, the Liang soldiers behind the ramparts launched orderly volleys, suppressing the Cao army's archers and providing cover for the vanguard troops.

Meanwhile, some of the horses released by Zhao Ji have already crossed various camps and arrived at the eastern front.

Many of Cao Cao's archers stopped shooting at these stray, out-of-control horses.

When Lü Bu saw the horses, he felt even more that his daughter's betrothal gifts were far too meager!

He spurred his horse closer to observe, and said to those around him, "Order all troops to be vigilant against Cao Cao's counterattack!"

"Here!"

A dozen or so cavalrymen dispersed to relay orders, while Lü Bu continued to observe the advancing speed of the vanguard troops.

Gao Shun remained as composed as ever, showing no intention of letting Liang soldiers cross the barriers to join the battle.

Since Liang Guobing followed Lü Bu into Ge Township, he had been fighting defensive battles and lacked experience in open field battles.

Allowing them to defend and fire under the cover of the walls is where they can perform most consistently.

At the central camp of Cao Cao's army, Cao Cao couldn't help but go to Xu Chu's camp. There, Xu Chu was pacing back and forth impatiently. His more than two thousand brave soldiers had already lined up and were waiting for the order to join the battle.

As he observed the situation, Shi Huan quickly ascended the high platform: "My lord, Liu Dai is seriously injured!"

Cao Cao suddenly turned around and stared at Shi Huan, who quickly replied, "It was probably shot by Zhao Yuansi."

"Gong Liu will take over."

"Here."

Shi Huan calmly answered, turned around and quickly walked down the wooden steps, took the helmet from the guard, put it on, and led his personal guards across the trench to take over.

After passing through the camp of General Wen Ji, he arrived at the western outer camp, where the garrison soldiers were shooting and observing from close to the western ramparts.

Inside the camp's main tent, Liu Dai, wounded by Zhao Ji's arrow, lay supine on a wooden bed as the army doctor bandaged him.

Shi Huan saw that Liu Dai had been shot in the waist and abdomen with an arrow, and that Liu Dai was holding the severed arrow shaft tightly in his hand.

Upon seeing Shi Huan, Liu Dai handed over the arrow shaft, his face ashen: "It is Zhao Yuansi. The Protector-General must not be careless."

"Ah."

Shi Huan caught the blood-stained arrow shaft and, sure enough, saw the familiar four blackened characters 'Arrow of Zhao' on it.

Feeling that the shimmering silver armor he was wearing was a bit too conspicuous, Shi Huan immediately said to those around him, "Change my armor!"

Immediately, a heavily armored guard began to remove his armor and exchange armor with Shi Huan.

After changing into his armor, Shi Huan hurried to the front line, but Zhao Ji was not seen attacking outside the camp.

Meanwhile, Lu Cui's camp to the north was under fierce attack by Han Meng, with smoke and fire obscuring the view.

(End of this chapter)