Tiger Guards

Chapter 285 The Battle for the Ferry
Zhao Jizhong, under a crimson-purple parasol.

Zhao Ji gazed northwards, where Chunyu Qiong upstream had begun releasing fire rafts.

These fire rafts drifted downstream, with wooden rafts in front, piled with firewood, and reed rafts following behind.

On the north bank, Cao Cao's cavalry formed small squads and threw torches close to the riverbank, attempting to ignite the fire prematurely.

Meanwhile, the Hebei soldiers' archers and crossbowmen, who poured out of their camp on the south bank, calmly fired at Cao Cao's army on the opposite bank, relying on the dike.

They prepared too many fire rafts; even if Cao Cao's army burned some, what difference would it make?

These fire rafts were deployed in stages, which would continuously disrupt the entire river crossing operation.

To counter these fire rafts, Cao Ren deliberately placed the pontoon bridges at intervals to create obstacles that would impede the flow of the water.

Unfortunately, Cao Ren's army did not have enough long timbers. Otherwise, if they had prepared earlier, they could have driven wooden stakes into the Bian River, which would have intercepted most of the fire rafts.

If there were enough iron chains, they could also block the fire rafts on the water.

He had nothing but an old boat and a raft.

Zhao Ji raised his hand, pulled off the helmet strap under his chin, placed the helmet on the chariot seat, and took the heavy helmet from the guard.

Donning the iron helmet, which weighed about fifteen jin (approximately 6.5 catties), Zhao Ji fastened the helmet strap, which was two fingers wide. He looked up at the clear blue sky and the cool weather: "Such fine weather is perfect for a battle."

Xu Huang and Wei Xing had already arrived at the car, but they didn't say a word.

Zhao Ji looked at Xu Huang: "Cao Cao wants to help Cao Ren cross the river now, but it's too late. I will personally lead the troops there, and leave this to Gongming. I will not interfere with how to fight. If I need reinforcements, Gongming and Zi'ang can each give me three hundred cavalry. When Zhao Zilong returns with his troops, he can decide for himself how to participate in the battle."

"I will obey your orders!"

Xu Huang and Wei Xing bowed in response. Zhao Ji smiled, raised his hand and pulled off the neck strap, lowering the rolled-up neck armor plates to protect his neck and jawline completely. There were even three layers of armor plates draped over his shoulders to distribute the weight of the helmet on his neck.

Zhao Ji rode his horse, leading his 1,200 riders in single file, and turned north.

Xu Huang then boarded Zhao Ji's chariot. At this time, Zhao Yun began to withdraw his troops, transporting the prisoners, lightly wounded prisoners, and his own wounded soldiers out together.

Seeing that Zhao Ji was personally leading troops north to join the battle, Zhao Yun was inevitably worried. He suggested to Xu Huang, "The enemy's camp in Dongping to the southwest is surrounded by us on three sides. Their troops are uneasy and are already showing signs of collapse. I request that we send more than a thousand infantrymen to attack from the north. This should break through their camp!"

Xu Huang said, "The Dongping camp is under attack from three sides, so we should not launch a strong attack. We should slow down the offensive and force Cao Cao's army to come to the rescue. In this way, we can continue to kill Cao Cao's army."

Xu Huang had experienced many annihilation battles. In any annihilation battle, you have to keep bleeding the enemy until they are weak and tired.

Annihilation does not mean killing all the enemy troops, destroying all command structures, and completely disintegrating the army.

Xu Huang thought for a moment, then turned to Wei Xing: "Zi'ang, send an envoy to General Zhang of Hanoi and ask him to send a thousand troops to help us in the battle. The Dongping camp is being attacked by the Hanoi troops. Since the Attendant-in-Ordinary is not here, it is not appropriate for us to interfere."

This would damage Zhang Yang's reputation, and in any case, the Dongping barracks were already on the verge of collapse.

Zhao Yun's plan was to eliminate them all at once, so that the four captured western camps could form a "卜" shape, making it easier to build new defensive fortifications. At the same time, he would attack and capture the outer camps on the north and south sides of Cao Cao's main camp. Once these camps were eliminated, he could join forces with Lü Bu to encircle Cao Cao's central army.

The encirclement is about to be completed, and Cao Cao's officers and soldiers will be dominated by fear.

Over the years, Cao Cao's army has fought in various places and is well aware of the immense bloodshed they have caused.

Therefore, they also knew what fate awaited them if they were defeated and captured.

Even knowing they would be defeated and die, the vast majority of them did not have the resolve to fight to the death; given the chance, they would certainly flee.

Seeing that Xu Huang had considered things so thoroughly, Zhao Yun couldn't help but look at Xu Huang with higher regard and cupped his hands, saying, "General Gongming's considerations are very correct. It was this humble general who was too hasty."

“Zilong, there’s no need to be modest. If the Attendant were here, he would certainly agree to Zilong’s proposal.”

Xu Huang spoke in a gentle tone: "It's just that we shouldn't act arbitrarily, so we should consider General Zhang's feelings."

Seeing the two men's polite and courteous manner, Wei Xing said, "I will send someone to see General Zhang right away."

Xu Huang nodded and said to Zhao Yun, "General Zilong, please rest first, and we will fight again later."

"Yes."

Zhao Yun cupped his hands in greeting, turned around, mounted his horse, and led his fellow villagers away on horseback.

Watching Zhao Yun depart, Wei Xing couldn't help but sigh, "General Zilong's bravery is no less than that of the Attendant."

Xu Huang nodded in agreement, showing strong agreement with Wei Xing's viewpoint.

As someone who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, Zhao Ji had always kept him at arm's length, giving him a strong sense that a disagreement could lead to bloodshed.

Zhao Yun also gave him a similar dangerous aura, so whether it was mounted combat or foot combat, he was probably no match for Zhao Yun.

Seeing that Xu Huang remained silent, Wei Xing found a skilled physician and sent him to convey the battle request to Zhang Yang.

In short, they would not interfere with the siege of the Dongping barracks; the specifics of the battle would be left to Zhang Yang to decide, and they would only notify him of the battle opportunity.

If Zhang Yang reacts quickly and launches a three-pronged attack before other Cao army reinforcements arrive, there is a high probability that he will break through in one fell swoop.

If Zhang Yang moves slowly, and the other Cao troops have already entered the Dongping camp to assist in the defense... that doesn't matter. With an attack from three sides and arrows flying everywhere, there is no safe corner in the Dongping camp, and the defenders will be in a very passive position.

The outer perimeter of Cao Cao's army camp to the north was about two miles away from the Bian River embankment.

The reeds in this area have long been cut down, and an irrigation canal that used to connect to the Bian River flows south into Cao Cao's camp.

To protect this private territory, Cao Cao's outer defenses extended northward, reaching directly to the Bian River.

But such barriers only serve a comforting purpose.

When Zhao Ji arrived, the barriers had already been destroyed.

He reined in his horse and waited for the rest of the knights to assemble, observing the situation.

The elite cavalry of Cao Cao's army that had been mobilized were lined up to observe the battle, while Yu Jin, leading the Taishan troops and Jibei troops, had already begun to engage Zhang Liao and Hao Meng in battle.

On the north bank, Cao Ren constructed five pontoon bridges. Between these bridges, Cao Ren's infantrymen forcibly crossed using reed rafts, and over a thousand men had already reached the south bank, forming a crude circular formation. The men moved about, continuously repairing and perfecting the formation. The arrival of Zhao Ji caused widespread panic among Cao's army.

While Zhao Ji waited for the rest of the cavalry to form ranks, on the eastern battlefield, Wei Yue, having heard the news, led over seven hundred cavalrymen, raised Lu Bu's battle flag, and without even forming ranks, took the lead, charging forward with his long, serpentine cavalry.

Zhang Liao and Hao Meng had already breached the western fortifications, and each of them led a thousand men to attack Yu Jin.

Wei Yue's cavalrymen slipped through the gaps in the battle zone and charged straight at Wen Ji's thousand cavalrymen.

Wen Ji dared not sit idly by and wait for his death, so he could only send his subordinate Sima Du with 500 cavalry to charge against him; while he himself led the remaining 600-odd cavalry to face west.

The pale autumn sunlight shone on Wen Ji's face. He could only send messengers to urge Cao Ren's infantry to cross the river, hoping they would leave the riverbank, form ranks, and fight together against the Bingzhou knights on the western front.

At this point, Cao Ren's troops, whose circular formation was already unstable, would hardly dare to make any moves.
On the north bank, Cao Ren, seeing this, could only signal with flags to force his infantry across the river to advance and form ranks, delaying the attack of the Bingzhou cavalry on the western front and giving Wen Ji time to counterattack.

If Wenji is broken through by Zhao Ji in one fell swoop, then Yu Jin will be finished.

If Yu Jin is defeated, then Cao Cao's army on the north bank will be completely isolated from the battlefield!

While Cao Ren was observing the situation, his supervising officer Wu Zhou suggested, "Commander, the situation is critical, and we must prepare for the worst. I also suggest setting up crossbows on the north bank, which would also be helpful in supporting Cao Cao's crossing of the river!"

The Bian River is not very wide, and the two banks can shoot at each other.

By deploying archers in advance, Cao Cao would still have a chance to cross the river under the cover of a volley of arrows.

With only the combined cavalry of Zhao Ji and Lü Bu on the south bank of the Bian River, the main camp collapsed, and Cao Cao had no chance of escaping.

Unless he held out until nightfall, Cao Cao could still use the cover of darkness.

Otherwise, with so many knights chasing and trampling, Cao Cao would most likely have been caught in the chaos of battle.

Upon hearing this, Cao Ren gave Wu Zhou a deep look and said, "Since we've come this far, let's arrange things this way."

Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, and more than 30,000 men remained in the southern part of the Ruying battlefield. Cao Cao had survived to reach the north bank of the Bian River. How could he maintain his cohesion and continue to fight against Lü Bu and Zhao Ji?

Otherwise, Cao Ren would have had no choice but to defect to Yuan Shao in the north.

Although it was a last resort, it was better than the army collapsing and him being captured by the garrison commander while trying to escape alone, and then being handed over to the imperial court.

He had already dealt a heavy blow to Zang Hong's Yanzhou troops at Zhao Ji's suggestion. As long as he was alive, Cao Chun could survive and have the opportunity to serve under Zhao Ji.

If Cao Chun were to take up an official post, it could conversely enhance his status under Yuan Shao.

As Zhao Ji saw Cao's troops begin to move across the river, he turned his head and saw that the flags behind him were gradually becoming orderly, forming thirteen formations of a hundred riders each, arranged in a fish-scale formation.

He gripped his long spear tightly and turned to look at Gao Yanglong on the flag cart: "All troops, charge!"

"Here!"

This time, Gao Yanglong did not carry a flag. Instead, he raised a long banner with crimson and purple tassels, swung it left and right three times, and then waved it diagonally forward.

Eight war drums sounded from four drum carts, and the iron cavalry charged ahead, followed by hundreds of riders gradually increasing their speed and charging forward.

More than a thousand cavalry charged forward, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

The more than 1,000 Cao Ren infantrymen who were moving immediately scattered. The iron cavalry disdained to pursue and trample these scattered infantrymen and charged straight at Wen Ji.

Wen Ji also decisively led Liang Pei's knights in a charge, believing that a charge would offer a chance of survival.

If we remain where we are, we will surely suffer a devastating blow!
The faster the charge, the more the charging knight adapts to high-speed movement, and the faster their reaction speed will also improve.

If you remain stationary, you will be vulnerable to attacks and collisions, and your reaction time and the start of a spear thrust will be slower.

A cavalryman who loses the boost of a charge is nothing!

Even the cavalry general Wen Ji dared not stand in direct confrontation with the iron cavalry.

Not to mention the other Cao army cavalry, who instinctively swerved to the left and right, and so did their horses.

The Iron Cavalry pierced through Lieutenant General Wen Ji's troops!
Wenji's cavalry dispersed, and then squads of Bingzhou cavalry galloped past, each brandishing a spear and thrusting.

Wen Ji did not have many scouts under his command; his main force consisted of elite cavalry who used iron halberds, a common weapon in the Central Plains.

The iron halberd is shorter than the lances of the Bingzhou cavalry. That three-foot difference in length is the difference between life and death!

Zhao Ji's knights and horse slaves rushed forward, so much so that Zhao Ji was completely surrounded and had no chance to stab the enemy.

They could only hang up their lances, draw their bows and fire rapidly, specifically targeting Cao Cao's elite cavalry.

These elite riders were highly skilled and often strayed from the group when riding to avoid being disturbed by their companions.

These valiant riders were like splashes of ink in a still image, very eye-catching.

After the seven cavalry squads, came the Bingzhou mobile cavalry.

After just one round of clashes, Wen Ji arrived in the west and was immediately horrified to see more than three hundred cavalrymen gathered there.

The Cao army cavalry gathered near Wenji's battle flag were also in a state of panic. They were still being urged by their officers to regroup and try to charge again.

After the charge, the Bingzhou knights split into two, with the cavalry maintaining their direction and crashing heavily into Yu Jin's formation.

Two cavalry squads also passed by Wei Yue's knights, both sides wearing mixed scarlet and purple uniforms.

Wei Yue maintained his speed and continued to lead the charge, guiding the cavalry towards Wen Ji's entire formation!

Unfortunately, Cao Cao left the high platform and could not see this scene.

The cavalry he had painstakingly built up by selling everything he owned was on the verge of extinction.

(End of this chapter)