Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 167 charged the fastest, and collapsed the earliest.

"This is terrifying!" Xu Huang thought to himself, his gaze frequently sweeping over Cao Yan, who appeared frail and scholarly, beside him.

He gripped the handle of the great axe tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, a chill creeping into his heart as he thought to himself:

"Even after crossing the horse traps and caltrops, those Xiliang cavalrymen still had spears nearly two zhang long and shield walls taller than a person waiting in full force... Such layers of ambush were truly terrifying."

Cao Yan knew that in this era, cavalry possessed powerful combat strength and deterrent force.

Apart from Zhao Yun's five thousand cavalry, the rest of his troops were infantry. Facing the enemy's more than twenty thousand Xiliang iron cavalry, his side was undoubtedly at a significant disadvantage.

Therefore, he used almost every means possible to counter cavalry.

At this time, many tactics targeting cavalry had not yet emerged, so the Xiliang army was naturally unable to defend against them.

In the minds of Li Jue, Guo Si, and Zhang Ji, the Western Liang army had long fought against formidable enemies such as the Xiongnu and Qiang people, and in terms of combat strength, it undoubtedly held an absolute advantage over the Central Plains army.

Even Ma Teng and Han Sui, who also came from Xiliang, were defeated and routed.

Moreover, at this time their army was larger than Cao Cao's army, and they had 20,000 powerful Xiliang cavalry.

How could those warlords who only knew how to wage civil war in the Guandong region withstand the onslaught of their own iron cavalry?
"They're getting closer!" Zhang Ji looked at the Cao army line ahead, which numbered less than ten thousand. He narrowed his eyes and a contemptuous smile appeared on his lips.

He calculated in his mind that with his nearly five thousand cavalrymen, he would be able to wipe out the enemy in no time.

At that moment, Zhang Ji cracked his whip and shouted, "Men, follow me and charge forward to take that traitor Cao's head!"

The cavalrymen had rested for a long time and were full of energy. Upon receiving the order, they raised their lances and shouted deafeningly.

Horse hooves pounded on the dry earth, raising clouds of dust.

Zhang Ji's five thousand cavalrymen surged towards Cao Cao's army positions like a black torrent.

In his mind, he had already envisioned breaking through the enemy lines, entering Anyi, and rescuing the emperor, as if victory was already within his grasp.

However, when Zhang Xiu, who was at the forefront and acting as the arrowhead, saw the neat and dark, solid shield wall, an ominous premonition suddenly welled up in his heart.

He tightened the reins, his eyes scanning the ground ahead warily, trying to find something amiss.

This slight worry made him subconsciously slow down his mount.

It was this brief respite that saved his life!
"Hiss!!!"

Zhang Xiu stared in astonishment as his cavalry at the forefront suddenly lurched to the ground, their bodies collapsing amidst the pitiful neighing of their mounts, leaving a long trail in the earth.

The horses' legs, trapped in the pit, snapped under the powerful inertia, making a series of "crack" sounds as they broke.

Some cavalrymen were thrown to the ground and, before they could even get up, were trampled by the horses that followed, letting out shrill screams.

Even the Cao army soldiers, who were on high alert, couldn't help but feel a slight chill upon hearing the horrifying sound and witnessing the horrific scene.

The front-line cavalry fell, catching the rear cavalry off guard and throwing their formation into chaos.

Some tripped and fell, rolling around with their horses.

More often than not, they are moving too fast and can't control themselves, trampling directly over their companions.

The trap area, which was only about fifty paces long, instantly swallowed the lives of nearly eight hundred of Zhang Ji's cavalrymen.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiu felt a chill run down his spine. He gripped his spear tightly, staring at the horrific scene before him, and sighed inwardly, "This trap is truly vicious!"

"Fire arrows!"

At Cao Cao's command, countless arrows rained down like locusts.

The archers were already poised and ready. As soon as the order came, they drew their bows and launched their arrows in perfect unison, their movements fluid and seamless.

The arrows whistled through the air as they flew toward the disorganized Xiliang cavalry.

The cavalry had already charged halfway, and now there was no turning back.

A volley of arrows rained down, and another two or three hundred Xiliang cavalrymen were hit. Some were shot in the body, fell from their horses, and died instantly.

Some were shot at their horses, and both the rider and the horse fell to the ground.

Looking at his men falling one after another, Zhang Ji felt a pang of regret in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Charge! Don't stop!"

Fortunately, the horse traps ahead had already been cleared by their companions, and some of the smarter horses knew how to avoid those deadly traps on their own.

But after they passed the horse trap, barbed wire awaited them...

"Shameless old thief!"

"Damn it!!"

Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu couldn't help but start cursing.

The barbed wire hidden in the grass and concealed in the soil gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

They are just as deadly to horses as horse traps, and are even better concealed. The moment a horse's hoof steps on the barbed wire, the sharp spikes pierce through the hoof instantly, causing the horse to rear up in pain and let out a painful neigh.

The cavalrymen were caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. Some fell off their horses, while others managed to control their mounts, but their slowed speed made them easy targets for Cao Cao's archers.

"Damn it!" Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu couldn't help but curse.

They watched as cavalrymen fell one after another, filled with both anxiety and anger.

Zhang Ji's horse also accidentally stepped on the caltrops, and the intense pain caused the horse to spin in place, almost throwing him off.

He finally regained his footing, staring at Cao Cao's army positions ahead, his eyes filled with rage: "I will make you pay the price!"

A nightmarish distance of one hundred and fifty steps.

Zhang Xiu led the vanguard, while Zhang Ji commanded the central army of 5,000 cavalry. They suffered nearly 2,000 casualties before finally breaking through the first line of defense.

Then came a barrage of crossbow bolts!
These heavy crossbows were much larger than ordinary bows and arrows, with arms made of tough wood and animal sinew, and thick bowstrings that required two people to pull them open.

The crossbow bolts were three feet long, with triangular arrowheads, engraved with blood grooves, and extremely sharp.

Arrows are inherently ineffective against cavalry charging at high speeds.

Often, by the time the arrows were fired and fell in a parabolic arc, the cavalry had already gone far away.

Therefore, Cao Cao's army could only shoot arrows at the Xiliang troops who were blocked by the horse traps and caltrops, while using this to block the Xiliang infantry who were coming later.

When the cavalry gets close, the advantage of crossbows becomes apparent.

When the cavalry were fifty paces away from Cao Cao's army, the crossbowmen through the gaps in the shields decisively fired their arrows.

"Fire arrows!"

"Boom!!!"

A crisp, clear string sound seemed to snap the nerves of the Xiliang army.

The arrows fired from the heavy crossbows carried tremendous force, piercing through the leather armor of the Xiliang cavalry and embedding themselves directly into their bodies.

Some cavalrymen were pierced directly by arrows and fell from their horses.

"what!!"

"Ahhh!!"

Countless screams rang out at the same time.

After a volley of crossbow bolts, the front-row Xiliang cavalrymen fell in unison.

Before the Xiliang army could react, a second and third volley of crossbow bolts came like thunder.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

After the first batch of crossbowmen finished firing, the second batch was immediately put in place.

The replaced crossbowmen quickly nocked arrows and prepared for the next volley.

Their movements were skillful and their teamwork was excellent, clearly indicating that they had practiced countless times beforehand.

Zhang Ji watched as his men fell one after another, and as the heavy crossbows continued to fire deadly arrows, he felt utterly powerless.

The mere fifty paces seemed like an insurmountable chasm to Zhang Ji's cavalry at this moment.

Looking again at the nearly two-zhang-long spear protruding from the shield that was as tall as a man, Zhang Xiu felt a surge of despair.

Zhang Xiu made a decisive move and immediately turned his horse to retreat.

He came to Zhang Ji's side and shouted, "Uncle, the situation is hopeless! Retreat quickly! Any delay and the entire army will be wiped out!"

Zhang Ji was unwilling and was hesitating when Cao Cao's fourth wave of crossbow bolts arrived.

In this round, Cao Cao's crossbow bolts seemed even denser, whistling through the air as they mercilessly rained down on the Xiliang cavalry.

With each resounding twang of the bowstring, Cao Cao's army, like a tireless war machine, ruthlessly reaped lives.

Five thousand cavalrymen, before they could even touch the hem of Cao's army's clothes, had already been reduced to less than a thousand men.

Looking at the few remaining subordinates around him and the battlefield strewn with corpses, Zhang Ji was filled with grief and indignation. "Damn it, is this how people are bullied?"

His forces were already the weakest, and now that most of his cavalry had perished here, he finally broke down and shouted hoarsely, "Retreat! Retreat back to Hongnong!"

(End of this chapter)