Tiger Guards

Chapter 283 Two Strongholds Destroyed in Succession
“The child’s rampant behavior is no less harmful than that of Lü Bu.”

Cao Cao stood overlooking Liu Dai's camp and sighed to his chief clerk, Wang Bi.

King Bi, dressed in armor, also faced west, his expression more solemn than ever before.

Judging from Zhao Ji's two charges into the camp on horseback, he was already giving it his all.

Such a huge loss can only be made up for by winning!
Seeing that Zhao Ji dared to invest such a large amount of resources, the participating armies would naturally fight with all their might!

Since Lü Bu seized Yanzhou, the Central Plains have suffered from drought and locust plagues for three years.

The dead and wounded horses scattered throughout Cao Cao's camp were a tempting sight for both sides' officers and soldiers in the midst of the battle!
Zhao Ji has already placed a heavy bet!
Wang Bi dared not imagine how overwhelming the attack would be if Zhao Ji's forces launched an assault.

Cao Cao observed the battlefield and saw that Zhao Ji was bringing in cartloads of arrows from behind.

They probably gathered and accumulated arrows in Shangdang and Zhending, and then threw them all over Cao Cao's army.

As the sun rose higher, Cao Cao turned to observe the eastern battlefield and immediately realized, "So that's how it is!"

"Ming Gong?"

"Look, although our army has many archers, we are suppressed by Lü Bu. It is not that our officers and soldiers are not good at fighting, but that the sun is too bright."

Cao Cao pointed at the Liang soldiers who were firing calmly. Above the Liang soldiers was the blazing late autumn sun, its light pale and intense.

When exchanging fire with Liang soldiers, Cao's archers were unable to accurately snipe them.

Wang Bi also realized that when the sun was setting in the west, that was the time for Zhao Ji to launch a fierce attack.

And now, Zhao Ji is waiting for the sun.

After noon, the Bingzhou soldiers, with the blazing sun overhead, launched a fierce and decisive attack on Cao Cao's army!
While the two were observing, Gao Shun's troops had cleared five trenches and were using ropes and grappling hooks to damage Le Jin's fence.

These soldiers hid in the trenches, pulling ropes in groups of a dozen or so, causing the fence to sway at a visible speed.

Fortunately, these fences formed the framework, and a five- or six-foot-high earthen wall was built on top.

The soil was loess dug on-site, not some kind of mixed soil, nor was it a sturdy fortification mixed with glutinous rice juice.

The earthen wall was not sturdy because it had been rained on a few days ago.

As the fence swayed, the earthen wall even showed signs of collapsing!
Le Jin led his armored soldiers to wave and pull with long halberds, attempting to cut the ropes.

However, the vanguard soldiers used the trenches as cover and used powerful crossbows to snipe at the defenders at close range.

The soldiers are skilled in battle, and once they are engaged in combat, each of them can play their due role under the command of an experienced squad leader.

It's impossible for a dozen or so people to be fighting while those behind them are doing nothing.

The front line is only so wide, and almost everyone is doing their best!
Even in the midst of battle, Gao Shun could still command shield bearers to advance and cover the retreat of wounded soldiers.

"Ming Gong!"

A shield-bearing guard called out softly, pointing to the northeast corner of the camp.

When Cao Cao went to investigate, he saw that Han Meng's troops had already stormed into Lu Cui's camp, and the two sides were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The camp was filled with officers and soldiers from both sides fighting each other.

Han Meng's troops still carried Yuan's army banners, wore crimson uniforms, and wore khaki shawls, making them very conspicuous.

Cao Cao looked at him sternly, and at this moment he couldn't help but doubt the loyalty of Lu Cui, this man from Chenliu.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cao Cao noticed a cavalry unit starting to move behind Zhao Ji. He turned to look at a sharp-eyed military officer and asked, "Who's that?"

"The Zhao-character battle flag represents Zhao Yun of Changshan."

A quick answer, based on visual estimation: "There were approximately five hundred riders."

Wang Bi then spoke up: "My lord, Lu Cui and the Chenliu troops are locked in a fierce battle. We request your support."

Liu Dai, south of Lu Cui, was shot and wounded; Shi Huan is currently in command.

To the east of Lu Cui and north of the main camp were the Taishan and Jibei troops under Yu Jin's command; to the southeast of Lu Cui was the cavalry general Wen Ji's command.

Cao Cao is now unwilling to commit either Yu Jin's elite troops or his valuable knights.

This cavalry force consisted of soldiers from Liangpei's hometown; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were Cao Cao's personal guards.

As Cao Cao pondered, a black flag was raised at Lu Cui's camp, and the flag officer stood on a high place, frantically waving the flag.

In the blink of an eye, they were riddled with arrows from Han Meng's crossbows. The flag officer and several guards fell from the watchtower, and the black flag also fell to the ground.

At this moment, Yu Jin took the initiative to send a detachment of troops through two trenches and passageways to provide support.

When Yu Jin's reinforcements arrived, Zhao Yun led 500 cavalrymen to charge into Lu Cui's camp. In an instant, the knights charged in formation, and the Chenliu soldiers who were barely able to hold their ground were scattered and immediately collapsed.

Without flank cover, how could these routed soldiers dare to regroup and fight against the Hebei soldiers?

Lu Cui's battle flag fell, and hundreds of men dragged the flag as they fled towards Yu Jin's camp.

The Hebei soldiers pursued relentlessly, while reinforcements sent by Yu Jin were also present in the two trenches and passageways, and were immediately attacked by the Hebei soldiers.

Using the trenches for cover, the reinforcements sent by Yu Jin fought and retreated.

Upon seeing the fleeing soldiers rushing into the camp, Yu Jin immediately sent troops to shout and urge the fleeing soldiers to retreat to the gaps in the south of the camp.

As for the routed soldiers who charged forward, they were all shot down by Yu Jin's troops along with the Hebei soldiers who were chasing them!

The defeated soldiers of Chenliu fled for their lives, and there was always a risk of them falling into trenches and traps.

Han Meng wanted to pursue, but Zhao Yun stopped him and dragged the wounded soldier back to clean up the camp abandoned by Lu Cui.

Zhao Yun had little interest in pursuing the fleeing soldiers. After driving away the lightly wounded prisoners and transporting the wounded soldiers of Han Meng's troops by horse, he began to withdraw.

Lu Cui was swept up by the fleeing soldiers, and these Chenliu soldiers would follow Lu Cui and Zhanqi when they fled; this had become the soldiers' instinct.

Only after escaping the pursuit did Lu Cui reorganize his team.

However, Yu Jin, who was stationed in the north, refused to admit the defeated soldiers, fearing that it would affect the morale of the troops.

Lu Cui could only head south, so Wang Lang opened the camp gates and let five or six hundred of Lu Cui's men in.

The camp was then resealed, and any other small groups of defeated soldiers who came could only scale the fences and walls. On the southern front, Sui Gu's offensive faltered.

Zhang Yang still refused to withdraw from Sui Gu, and urged Colonel Yang Chou to lead troops to assist in the battle.

The soldiers they attacked were from Dongping, and their commander was Lü Zhao.

It was just that the Dongping soldiers were the backbone, and the Qingzhou soldiers were used to fill the gaps.

Most of Cao Cao's Qingzhou soldiers were scattered and assigned to various generals; only Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun had Qingzhou soldiers organized into separate battalions.

The promotion path for soldiers in Qingzhou is blocked; the highest rank they can attain is sergeant or captain.

Different military attributes led to different titles for centurions. Cao Cao referred to them as "Du Bo" or "Du Bo"; the Han army traditionally used "Tun Zhang" or "Tun Jiang," while Zhao Ji's troops were "Bai Ren Du."

As the sun rose high in the sky, the battle on the eastern front reached a stalemate.

Gao Shun's elite troops destroyed a large portion of Le Jin's camp and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Le Jin's forces.

Meanwhile, the Liang soldiers began to rest by relying on the outer walls, taking advantage of the time to rest, while the wounded retreated to replenish their arrows.

Some Liang soldiers, unwilling to eat dry rations, took their shields and scaled the ramparts to cut fresh horse meat.

Regardless of cooking, they immediately sliced ​​and ate the food.

The people of Liang have been starving for years. At the same time that Guo Gong, the governor of Yuzhou, was defeated, Cao Cao's army passed through the area, and the situation was not much better than that of locusts.

Meanwhile, on the north bank of the Bian River, Cao Ren continued to observe the battle.

If they wanted to cross the river from the upper or middle reaches, Chunyu Qiong at the very top would release fire rafts to attack the pontoon bridge; while downstream, Zhang Liao and Hao Meng had more than two thousand men stationed there.

Any attempt to cross the river by force will be met with interference and attacks... and the soldiers crossing the river, without fortifications or stable battle formations, are simply no match for the knights' charge.

While Cao Ren waited quietly, he also sent a letter to Chunyu Qiong.

Unfortunately, the Bingzhou knights blocked all areas, preventing Cao Ren's messengers from approaching Chunyu Qiong's camp.

The unidentified individuals appearing near the battlefield now are unlikely to be innocent!

Seeing that Cao Ren was reluctant to cross the river, Zhang Liao personally came to Lü Bu's front line: "My lord, it is past noon. The soldiers who are engaged in battle have been fighting for half a day and are exhausted. This humble general requests to join the battle."

Lu Bu sat upright on his stool, sipping his cup. Upon hearing this, he raised his eyebrows to look at the battlefield: "Hao Meng couldn't hold Cao Ren. It's your duty to keep two thousand men on Cao Ren. Yuan Chang's offensive is not going well, so he will ask me for help."

As he spoke, Lü Bu turned to look to the south, where the Chen army was fighting steadily. After seizing the fortifications, they and the Cao army each occupied their own fortifications and exchanged fire under their green shields.

From a distance, it doesn't look very lively.

From beginning to end, Lü Bu never placed any hope in Chen Guo's troops.

If Chen Guobing were truly a capable and skilled warrior, he would not stand idly by and watch Guo Gong perish.

Back then, Guo Gong was able to gain a foothold in the Liang Kingdom because of the support of King Chen.

As a result, King Chen was unable to hold out alone and could only watch as Guo Gong was destroyed.

Chen was a land of abundant resources and manpower. The King of Chen was a vassal king of the Han dynasty. He stayed within the territory of Chen and did not annex other counties. Therefore, Cao Cao lacked a pretext for attacking him.

Otherwise, it's uncertain whether King Chen would have been able to hold out.

As they were talking, Yue Jin, who was fighting on the front line, was hit by a crossbow bolt. His troops and key soldiers from Dongjun, who had been inspired by Yue Jin to fight, immediately fell into panic.

Gao Shun immediately led the last hundred reserve soldiers into battle and stormed into Le Jin's camp.

Immediately afterwards, Le Jin's battle flag as a vanguard captain was cut down.

But as Zhang Liao had predicted, Gao Shun had lost the ability to pursue and did not want to pursue. After dispersing the remaining troops, he immediately held the camp.

Wounded soldiers were frequently brought to Zhang He's camp for treatment.

They were eating smoked and salted horse sausage slices, which made Zhang He's officers and soldiers extremely envious.

Around 2 p.m., Zhang He immediately began to prepare the team, feeling it was time for him to take action.

As he expected, several knights galloped into the camp, and the lead messenger shouted: "Lord Attendant, Zhang Junyi's troops, carrying all their arrows, are heading to the central army to assist in the battle!"

"Yes!"

Zhang He responded loudly, turning his head and raising his arm, shouting: "Slay the traitors!"

His clansmen and fellow villagers raised their spears, halberds, bows and crossbows and cheered in unison. Zhang He was pushed and shoved by his personal guards to quickly mount his horse and began to direct the various teams to set off in an orderly manner.

As they passed Zhang Yang's position, Sui Gu and Yang Chou, whom Zhang Yang had sent out, were still launching a fierce attack on Lü Zhao's camp.

Lü Zhao was not a famous general under Cao Cao, yet he was able to defend so well that it was impenetrable, which surprised Zhang He.

But it was also considered normal, as after the Yanzhou Incident, military officers in Yanzhou who were scholars were generally not trusted by Cao Cao.

Lu Zhao was previously unknown, but he will surely become famous after this battle.

If Lü Zhao can do it, then so can I!
Seeing that the marching column was stable, Zhang He immediately led his guards to break away from the army and went to inquire about Zhao Ji.

When he arrived, Zhao Ji was having a meal with dozens of military officers. In front of Zhao Ji was cooked horse meat, which was being sliced ​​and chewed with gusto.

Zhang He dismounted fifty paces ahead, quickly approached, and bowed, saying, "Attendant-in-Ordinary."

"After Junyi regroups, he will launch the first attack. I will send cavalry to assist him. Once the camp is breached, the knights will charge into the enemy camp. Junyi's job is to ensure that his officers and soldiers do not block the way."

Zhao Ji tossed his large, muscular fist to Zhang He, his eyes gleaming: "We don't have much time. I'm going to break through two of their camps in quick succession! I'll get close to Cao Cao's central camp and see if he dares to come forward and supervise the battle!"

"Yes, I will understand!"

Zhang He gripped his muscular physique and said, "After breaking through the camp, I will organize the officers and soldiers to prepare for a strong attack."

"Don't be too nervous. The next camp is where Cao Cao's stables are located, so it should be mainly composed of cavalry. If they refuse to fight on horseback, they'll just die in their camp!"

Zhao Ji raised his hand to gesture for Zhang He to eat the meat. Zhang He subconsciously raised his hand and took a bite of the tendon meat. He then took a few steps forward and sat cross-legged on the ground, sitting with Wei Xing.

Seeing this, Wei Xing pushed a bowl of murky, rice-soup-like sweet wine to Zhang He.

(End of this chapter)