My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 158: As fierce as a tiger! Xiao He: The time, the place, and the people are all right for me. I will beat the three Caos to tears!
"Wenyuan, there's something wrong with the enemy. What should we do?"

Xu Huang also noticed that the situation was different.

Zhang Liao sighed and said helplessly:
"All three Caos have charged, including Master Ziwen. How can you and I retreat?"

After saying this, Zhang Liao swung his sword and shouted:
"Beat the drums! All troops, advance! Drive the enemy down the Yangtze River!"

Xu Huang naturally understood what Zhang Liao meant.

If the three people with the surname Cao all rush forward, even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, even if you know that Liu Bei is cheating, you have to bite the bullet and rush forward.

To put it bluntly, even if you know there is a fire pit ahead, you have to jump in!
Xu Huang sighed, then swung his axe and called on his troops to advance.

"Boom-boom--"

The sound of war drums rang out across the plains.

More than 20,000 Cao's infantry, dozens of large and small military formations, moved forward with a roar, following the Tiger and Leopard Iron Cavalry, and pushed towards Liu's Queyue Formation on the riverside.

And this moment.

Not only Liu Bei on the flagship, but also Xiao He, who was far away on the south bank, was on a watchtower, watching the battle of Ruxukou on the north bank from afar.

"Show me too!"

Guan Yinping, who was standing beside him, looked anxious and couldn't help but snatch the telescope from Xiao He's hand.

Faced with his fiancée's "unreasonableness", Xiao He could only smile bitterly and shake his head.

"Cao's cavalry is charging, Bowen. Just as you expected, Cao's cavalry is charging."

"But can this Queyue Formation really stop Cao's army..."

Guan Yinping muttered to herself, a hint of worry flashing across her pretty face.

Xiao He smiled.

Just kidding, that's the Queyue Formation!

This formation was created by Emperor Wu of Song, Liu Yu, who was known as "a tiger with the power to swallow a thousand miles".

This formation was created by the founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, who was an extraordinary military commander, specifically to deal with the cavalry of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

In those days, in order to recover Guanlong, Emperor Wu of Song led his navy into the Yellow River, advancing westward along the river and heading straight for Guanzhong.

At that time, the Xianbei people who rose in the northern frontier had established the Northern Wei Dynasty, occupied the land north of the Yellow River, and mobilized tens of thousands of cavalry to block the westward advance of the Song army.

In order to get rid of the obstruction of the Xianbei people, Emperor Wu of Song set up the Queyue Formation on the north bank of the Yellow River, and with more than 2,000 people he severely damaged tens of thousands of Xianbei cavalry.

However, the conditions for setting up the Queyue Formation are quite harsh.

First, you have to line up with your back to the river. The river behind you will serve as a barrier to protect your rear and prevent the enemy cavalry from bypassing your rear.

Secondly, you also need a powerful navy, relying on the tall ships and huge warships to provide support with long-range arrows.

In addition, this Queyue formation is only for defense and not attack, so you have to make sure that the enemy is eager to fight and will take the initiative to attack you.

All of these conditions are met in today's battle.

Back then, Liu Yu had his back to the Yellow River, while today, Liu Bei has his back to the Yangtze River.

The Song Dynasty’s navy was powerful back then, and the navy commanded by Guan Yu today is equally invincible across the Yangtze River.

At that time, the Xianbei people were eager to stop Liu Yu from seizing Guanzhong. When they saw the Song army landing, they naturally wanted it more than they could have hoped, and they immediately launched an attack.

Now that Cao's army has discovered that Liu Bei is planning to build a fort at Ruxukou, they have no choice but to stop him at all costs.

With everything going on, from the right time to the right place and the right people, how can we not win?
Xiao He then asked Deng Ai to bring up a lazy chair, lay down with his head tilted back, and waited for the outcome of the battle on the north bank.

North Shore direction.

Cao's cavalry rushed to within an arrow's reach.

Huang Zhong, who possessed the skill of a divine archer, naturally had an extremely accurate sense of distance and shouted, "Shoot!"

As soon as his fingertips loosened, the arrow in his hand flew away from the string.

The next moment, a Tiger and Leopard Rider was hit in the face by an arrow and fell off his horse with a scream.

Almost at the same time, more than three hundred sharp arrows whizzed out from the Queyue Formation.

"Puff puff!"

Screams suddenly rang out, and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry at the front were nailed to the ground in groups.

"Ziwen, be careful!"

Cao Chun shouted a warning while running, rode his horse in front of Cao Zhang, and swung his sword to block the incoming arrows.

At this moment, Cao Zhang also noticed something was wrong and shouted:
"Uncle Zihe, the enemy has no more than 500 archers, yet their arrows have killed and injured so many of our brothers. They must all be skilled archers!"

Cao Chun shot his eyes towards Liu Junzhen, and immediately brandished his sword and shouted:

"The enemy is good at shooting. Don't attack head-on. Move around from the side immediately—"

Cao Chun's expression suddenly froze, and he stopped giving the order midway through.

According to the usual routine, if the enemy's arrows are found to be too powerful during a frontal attack, they will change to a detour from the side, use the mobility of the cavalry to create a flaw in the enemy formation, and then take advantage of the situation to break into the enemy formation through the weak point.

But at this moment, Cao Chun suddenly realized that the Liu army formation in front of him had no side or rear!

Because this semicircular formation is standing with its back to the water at both ends, the entire curved surface is frontal and there are no flanks at all.

Behind this formation, the Yangtze River serves as a natural barrier!
How can you go around this? You can't just ride your horse along the Yangtze River to get behind their backs, right?
What's more, there are naval ships on the river bank behind them, like more than ten arrow towers guarding them.

"Could it be..."

Cao Chun felt a chill on the back of his neck and took a deep breath.

He suddenly realized that he had unknowingly jumped into the pit that Liu Bei had dug for him.

Liu Bei must have calculated that they would attack them halfway across the river with their cavalry, and he specially designed a semicircular formation with chariots as barriers to prevent their cavalry from charging.

Just as Zhang Liao had reminded him before, Liu Bei knew that he might be attacked halfway across the river, but he still dared to force his way to the north bank. He must have been fearless!

"Big Ear Thief~~"

Cao Chun realized that he had fallen into a trap and cursed inwardly with gritted teeth.

Cao Xiu, who was standing beside him, saw that Cao Chun was about to retreat and shouted:

"Uncle, the enemy has less than a thousand men. No matter what formation they deploy, if our five thousand cavalry are startled and retreat, it will destroy our military prestige!" "Furthermore, if we retreat now and the big-eared thieves set up camp on the north bank, how will we explain this to the Prime Minister?"

Cao Chun was shocked, and the idea of ​​retreating that had just emerged in his mind was immediately dispelled by Cao Xiu's words.

Cao Xiu was right. If his five thousand cavalrymen were forced to retreat by eight hundred enemy troops, where would Cao Xiu's face be?

What is the reputation of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry?
Losing face is secondary. If Liu Bei sets up camp at Ruxukou, their army of hundreds of thousands will be blocked north of the Yangtze River, repeating the mistakes of the Battle of Fancheng!

Being on the tiger's back, he could only charge forward under the arrows of Liu Jun.

Cao Chun quickly weighed the pros and cons, brandished his sword and shouted:
"Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, listen to my orders, keep charging, charge forward with all your might—"

The five thousand elite tiger and leopard soldiers could only roar and roar as they continued to run wildly under the sharp arrows of the Changsha soldiers.

at last.

After suffering hundreds of casualties, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry at the front finally rushed to the front of the Queyue formation.

The next moment, they were dumbfounded and hurriedly reined in their horses.

If the enemy in front is a flesh and blood body, we can naturally rely on the impact of the cavalry to charge forward in one breath and break through the enemy formation.

But what is blocking their way is a chariot!
If you hit it head-on, wouldn't it be like hitting a hard plate and smashing yourself to pieces?

However, the war horses had already sped up, and how could they stop in time? Hundreds of cavalrymen still crashed into the chariots.

The sounds of collisions and the neighing of war horses immediately arose everywhere.

What was even more deadly was that the 400 Changsha soldiers on the chariots were all holding 10-foot-long spears. When they saw the enemy cavalry approaching, they stabbed them without hesitation.

Screams followed.

Hundreds of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were like paper, and were pierced through by General Liu's spears.

Everyone was thrown to the ground!
After suffering countless casualties, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry finally stopped their charge and began wielding their weapons, hacking at the chariots and Liu Jun's army on them.

How could a chariot's defense be broken by mere swords and guns?

The swords and spears of Cao's army were like hitting a wall of iron and steel, and could not shake the chariots at all.

The Changsha soldiers hiding in the chariots took advantage of the chariots' protection to easily avoid Cao's attacks, and instead used the long spears in their hands to continuously kill and injure the enemy cavalry.

The archers of Liu's army in the chariot formation, as well as the archers of the navy on the river bank, calmly shot arrows and killed the Cao army crowded outside the chariot formation.

Screams rang out one after another, and a semicircular blood mist rose up around the Queyue Formation.

"What kind of formation is this that can completely restrain my Tiger and Leopard Cavalry?"

Cao Chun's face was distorted, and his eyes were filled with astonishment.

Looking at his subordinates, who were like paper, being stabbed to death by General Liu's spear, Cao Chun finally came to his senses.

Liu Bei's semicircular chariot formation was designed to use infantry to defeat cavalry, and was specifically designed to break his Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

This is the reason why Liu Bei was so confident and dared to challenge him!
Now his 5,000 cavalrymen had hit a wall. If they continued to attack with such force, their entire army would be wiped out.

No, we can’t be so stubborn anymore, we have to retreat!

Cao Chun's thoughts raced, he gritted his teeth and shouted:

"All troops, listen to the order, retreat, retreat immediately——"

Cao Zhang, who was not far away, heard the order to retreat and became angry and shouted:

"Uncle Zihe, if we retreat like this, where will our dignity be, and where will the prestige of our Cao family army be?"

"We can't retreat, no matter what—"

Cao Xiu was unwilling to retreat and shouted:

"Uncle Zihe, hold on a little longer. Once the infantry advances from behind, we will surely be able to break the Big Ear Bandits' formation!"

These two young members of the Cao family, one was eager to make achievements to prove himself to his father, and the other was blinded by the obsession with revenge, and both refused to retreat.

Cao Chun was furious and shouted:
"By the time the infantry advances, my Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will have been wiped out. This is the elite force of the Cao family. How can we allow you to act rashly?"

"Retreat, retreat—"

Cao Chun ignored the two fools and insisted on ordering a retreat, turning his horse around and ready to turn back.

Cao Xiu had no choice but to grit his teeth and ride away.

"Uncle, if we retreat, by the time the infantry arrives, the enemy will have already built their walls, and Ruxukou will fall into the hands of the big-eared thieves."

"We can't retreat, we can't retreat—"

However, Cao Zhang rode forward, stopped Cao Chun, and tried to dissuade him.

at this time.

Inside the Queyue Formation, Huang Zhong had already drawn his bow and arrow, the cold tip of the arrow locked onto Cao Chun.

He was wearing heavy armor, riding a top-quality Liaodong horse, and surrounded by personal guards. He could also shout and give orders to the soldiers. He must be a general of Cao without a doubt.

No matter who he is, just shoot him with an arrow first.

"go with!"

With a low shout, an arrow flew out and went straight to the back of Cao Chun's head.

Cao Chun had his back to the Queyue Formation and was arguing with Cao Zhang, so he had no time to notice the cold arrow coming from behind.

"Uncle, be careful!"

Cao Zhang, who was in front, suddenly felt the cold light coming at him, and hurriedly shouted to warn, without thinking too much, he reached out and pushed Cao Chun aside.

Cao Chun turned his body and the sharp arrow passed by his ear, but went straight to Cao Zhang.

It’s too late to avoid it!
"puff!"

An arrow hit Cao Zhang's left eye.

"what--"

A heart-wrenching howl was heard, and Cao Zhang covered his eye that was hit by an arrow and fell off his horse with a bang.

(End of this chapter)