The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Cao Cao guessed correctly.

Liu Bei's reliance was indeed on the Wuhuan cavalry under Zhuge Liang's command.

Although they bore the name Wuhuan, the Wuhuan cavalry were not Wuhuan people, but rather Han Chinese slaves who had been captured by the Wuhuan in the past.

After being rescued by Liu Bei, these Han slaves not only regained their Han nationality, but also received generous care from Liu Bei. Many of them even received cow feathers woven by Liu Bei himself.

In this Wuhuan cavalry, receiving a reward was no longer something to be proud of; the most prideful thing was to receive a cow feather personally woven by Liu Bei.

When Tian Yu was in command of the Wuhuan cavalry, he would often praise Liu Bei to his soldiers. Even though Liu Bei did not enter Youbeiping to command troops, the Wuhuan cavalry believed that Liu Bei was the supreme commander of this cavalry.

Therefore.

Upon hearing that Liu Bei was facing a critical situation due to a strong attack from Cao Cao's five armies, the soldiers of the Wuhuan cavalry were all in high spirits and eager to return to Zhuojun to help Liu Bei resolve his predicament.

Seeing that the morale was good, Tian Yu personally selected five thousand elite cavalrymen and set off day and night to enter Zhuo County.

When they arrived at Zhuo County, Liu Bei was in a winning position in the war. Therefore, Zhuge Liang did not rush to lead his troops south to reinforce him. Instead, he first tested the fighting strength of the Wuhuan cavalry. Only after Tian Yu led the Dai County cavalry to arrive did Zhuge Liang lead 6,000 cavalry south to reinforce them.

Liu Bei took the initiative to challenge Cao Cao because these 6,000 cavalrymen had arrived behind Guanjin. With this newfound confidence, Liu Bei was naturally not afraid of Cao Cao. With equal numbers of troops and skilled warriors, who was afraid of whom?
Although Cao Cao had many fierce generals, Liu Bei had even more elite warriors. In a battle involving tens of thousands of men, the competition wasn't about who had more fierce generals, but rather who had more elite warriors.

The term "suicide squad" signifies tenacity, and its effectiveness increases the brutality of the battle.

Inside the city, Liu Bei was also encouraging his generals: "Tomorrow's battle will determine whether we can truly establish ourselves in Hebei. Whether we will be remembered in history or become just another bandit recorded in history will depend on tomorrow's battle! In this battle, I will stand with you all!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Zhong, Chen Dao, Yang Qun, Ding Li, Liu Deran, Liu He, Zhao Du, Huo Nu, and other generals all proudly accepted the order.

After defeating Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun, the generals' fear of Cao Cao had long since vanished, and they now held Liu Bei in awe, as if looking up at a towering mountain.

In the hearts of all the generals: as long as Liu Bei is there, there is no enemy that cannot be defeated.

The night was still.

The next morning, a somber atmosphere hung over the area outside Kansui Castle.

Cao Cao personally led over ten thousand men to form a battle array in the field, with banners like clouds and spears like a forest; although Liu Bei only led three thousand infantry and cavalry out of the city to confront him, he also arranged his formation to be sharp and imposing.

When the two armies were a hundred paces apart, Cao Cao rode out of formation, raised his whip and pointed at the distance: "Traitor Liu Bei! I have come here on the Emperor's orders with a royal army. Surrender now!"

Liu Bei also rode out of the ranks, his voice booming: "Traitor Cao Cao! I am here by imperial decree to punish the traitor. If you surrender, I will spare your life."

Both sides called the other a traitor. One side had the emperor's decree, and the other had the imperial edict. Although both were hypocritical in their righteousness, they firmly stood their ground.

After their attempts to persuade Liu Bei to surrender failed, Cao Cao and Liu Bei returned to their respective camps and began to mobilize their troops for battle.

Because he was wary of Zhuge Liang's reinforcements not yet appearing and also wanted to test the combat strength of Liu Bei's three thousand infantry and cavalry, Cao Cao did not use his entire army at the beginning. Instead, he sent Cao Chun, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Li Dian with their own four thousand infantry and cavalry to advance first.

The four generals, having been defeated by Liu Bei, were all seething with resentment. Now, with Cao Cao as their ally, they put in their utmost effort, determined to avenge their defeat in front of Cao Cao.

Arrows flew like locusts, their clanging sounds never ceasing.

Cao Cao wanted to avenge his defeat, and the generals in Liu Bei's camp also needed to make contributions. Generals such as Huang Zhong, Chen Dao, Yang Qun, Ding Li, Liu Deran, Liu He, Zhao Du, and Huo Nu, under Liu Bei's constant orders, either attacked, defended, or made flanking maneuvers.

These three thousand infantry and cavalry were all fierce generals and brave soldiers selected by Liu Bei. Although there were few of them, they were easier to command. On the other hand, Cao Chun and his four generals had already been defeated by Liu Bei. Even with Cao Cao's support, their morale would not be boosted. Instead, they would be intimidated by the bravery of Liu Bei's troops.

Even so, Cao Cao did not send any additional troops to participate in the fighting, and focused half of his attention on the scouts' reports.

Although Cao Cao did not know where Zhuge Liang's troops were hiding, he believed that by remaining still and observing the situation, he could adapt to any eventuality.

In addition, Cao Chun and his four generals were sufficient to deal with Liu Bei's forces, so Cao Cao was not worried that the battlefield situation would get out of control.

If Zhuge Liang had never appeared, Cao Cao's advantage would have been even more obvious.

After all, Cao Cao was closer to Liu Bei. If Zhuge Liang refused to appear, Cao Cao could launch a surprise attack when Liu Bei's army was exhausted and capture Liu Bei first.

Having sensed Cao Cao's intentions, Zhuge Liang, who was hiding in the rear, no longer waited. Six thousand cavalrymen circled out from behind Guanjin City, forming a dark and menacing formation.

"The Wuhuan people are truly a bunch of useless fools, allowing Liu Bei to obtain so many warhorses." Looking at the six thousand cavalry reinforcements that had arrived, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel envious.

Why does the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry still only have 500 riders?
It wasn't that Cao Cao didn't want to expand his forces, but rather that he didn't have enough warhorses capable of handling the heavy loads of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

If Cao Cao could easily acquire warhorses like Liu Bei, and then select those suitable for the heavy burden of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, he would have dared to expand his force to two thousand cavalrymen, and even have three horses per rider!
If Cao Cao truly had such a formidable Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, who would dare to stand in battle against him?

Back then, Gao Shun's 800 elite troops charged out of the city and routed Cao Cao's proud elite soldiers. Cao Cao still vividly remembers the shock he felt.

This is also why Cao Cao insisted on building a heavily armed elite army.

But Cao Cao had greater ambitions; he didn't want heavy infantry, but rather heavy cavalry.

Upon seeing Zhuge Liang's banner, Liu Bei was overjoyed: "My strategist has arrived!"

Six thousand cavalrymen charged into the battlefield, further intensifying the already tense and deadly atmosphere.

Cao Cao had learned about Zhuge Liang's achievements over the years and knew how formidable he was. He dared not underestimate him and ordered generals such as Yu Jin, Xu Chu, Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao, Cai Yang, Feng Kai, and Yin Shu to lead the troops into battle in batches.

Of the 6,000 cavalrymen under Zhuge Liang, very few had names, but they were not without fierce generals and soldiers. The reason they had no names was simply that they had not yet become famous.

Today's battle will surely allow the fierce generals and brave soldiers among the six thousand cavalry to display their due renown.

"Order Colonels Liu Wu and Yan Shuo to lead 1,000 elite cavalry to attack the left flank of Cao Cao's army."

"Order Colonel Lu Zhen and Gongsun Jie to lead 1,000 elite cavalry to attack the right flank of Cao Cao's army."

"Order Colonels Qi Huan and Cheng Duan to each lead one thousand elite cavalry to attack Cao Cao's central army."

"."

At Zhuge Liang's command, the cavalrymen charged like tigers released from their cages, heading straight for Cao Cao's army.

Fierce generals like Liu Wu, Yan Shuo, Lu Zhen, Gongsun Jie, Qi Huan, and Cheng Duan, though not very famous, were all rising stars among the Wuhuan cavalry in recent years.

War is imminent; there is no luring the enemy, only a direct assault. (End of Chapter)