I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 476 Overwhelming Force
A powerful, indescribable iron fist slammed into the Hebei heavy cavalry, who had been forced to a halt by heavy arrows, turning their unstoppable momentum into fear and retreat, making them hesitant to approach.

Zhang Liao and the rest of the Han heavy cavalry charged into the formation. Using double-sided stirrups and high-bridged saddles to secure their bodies, they used all their strength to hook the small branches of their sickle-hoof spears onto the enemy cavalrymen, forcibly dragging them off their horses and trampling them under the hooves from all directions, completely rendering them unable to fight.

This shock came quickly and subsided quickly.

After completing the first wave of attack, Zhang Liao immediately withdrew from the two armies before his warhorses lost speed, leaving behind only the disheveled figures of the Hebei heavy cavalry, as if they had been heavily slammed against the rocks by the waves.

Most of the Hebei cavalrymen were still in a state of panic, unaware of what had happened, when they were already knocked senseless and disoriented.

"Press up!"

The surviving Yuan army cavalry general suddenly roared, "Press forward! Don't let the enemy light cavalry continue firing heavy arrows!"

The reason we were suppressed by Zhang Liao just now was undoubtedly because of the heavy arrows that were fired first!

We cannot allow the Han people to continue firing arrows!
Charge in and continue the fight!

Before Yuan Jun could reorganize his formation, the sound of horses' hooves in front of him suddenly made his expression change drastically!

There were also Han heavy cavalry!

Zhang Liao had surprisingly divided his heavy cavalry into two groups and took turns attacking!
Just like the ocean waves, life goes on and on!

The second clash between the heavy cavalry of Han and Zhao came sooner than anyone expected!
Before Yuan's army could recover, the Han army's heavy cavalry were like two iron hammers swinging back and forth, slamming heavily into the enemy's face again after a short break!

The same fierce impact, the same tug-of-war with sickle-hoop spears, and the Hebei heavy cavalry suffered another significant loss of men!

Where had Yuan Jun's generals ever seen such a fighting style?

Who could possibly come up with the idea of ​​playing a game that doesn't completely eliminate one side?
Before the enemy could regroup, Zhang Liao, who had just withdrawn, had already reassembled his troops in the rear.

Once the second wave of Han heavy cavalry withdrew, Zhang Liao personally led his troops in a third attack!

This kind of attack, which disregards physical strength and even life, is enough to terrify any enemy!

This kind of tactic leaves no way out for them at all!

The frequent, short-duration attacks were rapidly depleting the stamina of the warhorses and cavalry.

Even with the weight reduction from elephant skin chainmail and the effort-saving double-sided stirrups, the warhorses and cavalry could not withstand such an attack for long!
But Zhang Liao was gambling!
The gamble is that before the Han army's physical strength collapses, the enemy's formation and will will collapse first!
Zhang Liao launched a second assault.

This time, Zhang Liao's iron halberd got stuck in the formation, apparently embedded in the body of some enemy soldier.

Retreat and rest.

Then came the third time, the fourth time...

The number of charges by the Han army also surged to the sixth, the eighth...

It's like a celestial dog eating the moon.

Although they could only manage to take a small piece at a time, anyone could see that the number of Hebei heavy cavalry was decreasing little by little, and they were being worn down bit by bit.

at this time.

Yuan Tan, Tadun who had reorganized his troops, and Sun Ce who had turned back to the battlefield had all arrived around this battlefield.

They witnessed the fierce battle between the heavy cavalry of the Han and Zhao armies.

Upon seeing this, Sun Ce gasped in shock: "Hiss—Zhang Wenyuan! This guy usually seems like a quiet, unassuming fellow, how come he's so ferocious in battle? No wonder they say a barking dog doesn't bite..."

"Cough cough!"

The deputy general next to Sun Ce coughed twice in exasperation, reminding him to watch his words.

Sun Ce was shocked by Zhang Liao's reckless fighting style, not to mention Yuan Tan and Tadun who arrived late.

Tadun's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he glanced at Yuan Tan subtly, his face full of resentment.

Fortunately, I sensed something was wrong beforehand and chose to leave early.

If he were to actually clash with the Han heavy cavalry, wouldn't he be repeating the mistake of the Right Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu, losing all the able-bodied men of his tribe?
Moreover, after observing the Han army's tactics, Tadun made a judgment almost immediately—

That Han general opposite us is definitely a Han Chinese from the border region!

Because at this moment, the Han army was like a pack of wolves on the grassland, advancing wave after wave to tear apart their prey.

No matter how large the prey is, once blood is drawn, these wolves will not give up and will fight to the last moment.

The situation of the Hebei heavy cavalry in the center of the battlefield is far more complex than just bloodshed.
As for Yuan Tan... he was completely stunned and stood there.

This is not what he imagined!
Shouldn't heavy cavalry operations be decisive and swift, overwhelming the enemy?
In Yuan Tan's vision, even if the Han army's heavy cavalry was more elite than the Hebei heavy cavalry, the Hebei heavy cavalry would still be able to crush the Han army with their numerical superiority!

However, the current situation is completely out of Yuan Tan's control.

Why were the Han army able to force the Hebei heavy cavalry, who were on a rampage, to stop?
Why were the Han army able to inflict such heavy casualties in battle between the two armies?
And... what about Liu Miao?

Yuan Tan never thought he would lose.

So much so that the first thing he did upon arriving at the battlefield was not to care about the situation, but to search everywhere for Liu Miao's imperial banner.

However, the search yielded no results.

Even if Yuan Tan was very confident, he would not have thought that Liu Miao would be defeated so quickly, to the point that even the emperor's banner was abandoned.

The only explanation is that Liu Miao never even came to the front lines!

At this moment, Yuan Tan felt that the humiliation he had suffered was even greater than the scene he had imagined Liu Miao playing with his wife, Lady Wen!
He always regarded Liu Miao as his greatest enemy!

But Liu Miao seemed completely indifferent to him.
Yuan Tan was filled with indignation at all of this.

until……

He witnessed the Han army's heavy cavalry launching wave after wave of overwhelming attacks.

Is this a plain?

Do not!
This is clearly at sea!

The Han army is like the ocean waves!

Yuan Jun was like an isolated island, forced to endure the onslaught of the Han army without any power to fight back... "How could the battle have turned out like this?"

Yuan Tan bit his tongue hard, and the expression on his face gradually became ferocious.

"Why can't our heavy cavalry from Hebei ram through?"

Why did they remain stationary, allowing the Han army to launch an attack against them?

Even now, Yuan Tan was unaware of his fatal oversight.

As for other things, no one explained them to him...

Yuan Tan stared intently at the center of the battlefield.

The Hebei heavy cavalry, which Yuan Shao had built with a huge investment and used almost half of the taxes from the Northern Zhao, did not show any signs of being well-funded or strong.

in contrast.

This army, on which everyone has placed their hopes, is like a heavy bronze cauldron tied to a roof beam with a thin thread. Who knows when that thread will suddenly snap, and the heavy bronze cauldron will crash heavily to the ground, smashing a hole in the sky above this land!

Something needs to be done!
Yuan Tan's mind raced.

Guanzhong military soldiers?

But Yuan Tan once again exhibited the old problems of the Yuan family—

indecisive!

The Guanzhong warriors were his last trump card!
If he really loses here, he will lose everything!
Yuan Tan suddenly turned his head, and his fierce gaze made Tadun, who was being stared at, tremble violently.

"Chanyu, please send troops to harass us from the flank!"

Tadun was startled!
Given the current state of the Han-Zhao heavy cavalry, wouldn't it be suicide for him to go down there?

But Yuan Tan's gaze left no room for refusal!

He suddenly drew his longsword.

"Tell the Chanyu the truth, the army has run out of food!"

"If we lose this battle today, how will the Chanyu and his Wuhuan cavalry cross the Jiao River? How will they cross the Yellow River? How will they return to Liaodong?"

"If I am defeated, then the Chanyu and all the Wuhuan cavalry under your command will be buried with me!"

"If all these able-bodied men die here, then the Wuhuan will be completely finished!"

Tadun's eyes bulged as he glared at Yuan Tan: "What did you say?!"

"I've endured so much loneliness for this very moment!"

Yuan Tan's face showed disdain.

"Will you help me win this battle and ascend to the highest position together, or will we lose this battle together and utterly destroy the future of the Wuhuan? This matter is for the Chanyu to decide!"

At this point, Tadun was so anxious that he started cursing!
He hadn't expected Yuan Tan to be so ruthless!

Tadun was frantically exploiting Yuan Tan, but wasn't Yuan Tan also completely binding the Wuhuan to himself?
Now, we're all in this together, facing life and death together! There's no turning back!

"Damn it! You Han people are all bad!"

Despite the criticism, Tadun ultimately chose to compromise.

What other option is there but to compromise?
Should we cut off supplies and crawl back to Youzhou hungry? Or should we fight Yuan Tan now and be wiped out by the Han army on the other side?
"Humph!"

After venting his dissatisfaction, Tadun began to regroup his troops, intending to attack Zhang Liao's main camp from the flank!

Sun Ce, who was also watching the battle, realized Tadun's intention and picked up his spear again to join the fray!

"A defeated general dares to continue meddling in this matter?"

Sun Ce cracked his neck: "Very well! Let's seize this opportunity and behead that dog Tadun!"

Sun Ce led the Han light cavalry to meet them head-on, while his troops guarded the western flank, preventing the Wuhuan cavalry from interfering with the Han-Zhao heavy cavalry who were about to decide the outcome of the battle.

After Sun Ce excitedly killed another Wuhuan chieftain, he looked up and gazed into the distance, but his heart sank.

"Why is Tadun's wolf-headed royal banner not here?"

The lieutenant also looked up to observe.

A moment later, he exclaimed in alarm, "General! There!"

Sun Ce looked up into the distance, his eyes wide with fury!
Tadun's royal banner suddenly appeared on the east side of the battlefield and charged straight towards Zhang Liao's main camp!
"Found in the east and attack in the west!"

Sun Ce spat out these words through gritted teeth!

He hadn't expected that Tadun had deliberately laid out bait to lure him into biting!
"You really are willing to spend that much! You piece of trash!"

Sun Ce cursed angrily, but his heart was filled with anxiety!
Although the Han army's heavy cavalry had the advantage, they were still outnumbered!

If Tadun were to seize the flank and allow the Hebei heavy cavalry in the formation to react, the outcome of this battle would be uncertain!

"General! Look to the east!"

"Nonsense! I saw him! Tadun is right there!"

"No! Further east!"

Further east?

Sun Ce looked eastward in bewilderment, then his pupils suddenly contracted.

There, smoke and dust were rising again!
However, after seeing the flag clearly, Sun Ce suddenly burst into laughter!
"finally come!"

The banner that came from the east, with its imposing momentum, bore the character "吕" (Lü).

(End of this chapter)