My Three Kingdoms is not right

It is located west of Xiapi City, on the banks of the Si River.

The battle cries were deafening, and tens of thousands of soldiers were locked in a fierce battle on the plain.

Lu Bu stood on a high slope behind the formation, his hand on his halberd, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed as he gazed at the stalemate in the battle ahead.

Her temples were slightly damp, and her breathing was a few beats faster than usual.

The current battle situation puzzled her.

The charge of the Bingzhou cavalry has never been so powerless.

"General!" Zhang Liao galloped over, his usually composed face now showing barely concealed anxiety. "Cao Cao's army formation is too resilient. I led my troops in three charges, but we were repelled each time!"

Lu Bu remained silent.

She saw it.

Since the start of the war, her cavalry has launched six charges. Each one was like a hammer striking a leather drum—a tremendous noise, yet utterly ineffective.

The Cao army infantrymen, though pale with fear at the charge of her iron cavalry, still gripped their spears tightly and tried their best to maintain their formation.

This was unimaginable in the past.

Lu Bu's bravery was unparalleled, and her Bingzhou cavalry was invincible!

These accolades were not earned through self-praise, but rather through countless battles fought and forged with the blood of the enemy.

Just a few months ago, when she led less than a thousand cavalry to launch a surprise attack on Yuan Shu's seven-pronged army, those supposedly elite Huainan soldiers would have been routed with just one charge.

Wherever the iron cavalry passed, the enemy army crumbled like mud and sand.

But why isn't it working today?

Lu Bu gripped the shaft of his halberd tightly.

"General!" Wei Yue rushed over, his armor stained with blood, indistinguishable between enemy and personal wounds. "Cao Cao's crossbows are too dense; our horses have suffered heavy losses!"

Her Bingzhou Iron Cavalry was her greatest source of pride. Inherited from the battle tactics of the Bingzhou border army, every cavalry general was a veteran who had followed her for many years, and every warhorse was a fine steed that she had painstakingly purchased from the north.

At Hulao Pass, she led dozens of cavalrymen in a charge, and none of the eighteen warlords dared to stand in her way.

In the Battle of Black Mountain, she led over a hundred cavalrymen in a surprise attack on Zhang Yan's tens of thousands of troops, killing thousands in the process.

But now, with her elite cavalry all out, why are they still unable to break through Cao Cao's defenses?

"General, we can't continue fighting like this!" Song Xian's voice was pleading. "Cao Cao's army's formation remains intact, while our cavalry are suffering continuous losses!"

Lu Bu gritted his teeth.

She saw the cavalry unit on the right being driven back by Cao Cao's crossbows, leaving behind more than a dozen corpses and wounded horses. She saw Hou Cheng's troops on the left flank being entangled by Xiahou Dun's infantry, caught in a melee, their cavalry losing their speed advantage and being stabbed off their horses one by one by spearmen.

This is not the kind of fight she wanted.

The Bingzhou cavalry always had only one tactic: charge, break through, and pursue.

But today, the Cao army she encountered was like a wall.

The military-agricultural colonies provided Cao Cao with ample supplies of grain. With grain, he could forge better armor for his soldiers and ensure his archers had enough arrows for continuous barrages.

The army under Cao Cao's rule was no longer the same force that would crumble due to lack of food when it was besieged at Puyang.

"General!" Hou Cheng rushed from the front lines, his voice hoarse, "Cheng Lian...she's trapped inside!"

Lu Bu was startled and suddenly looked up.

In the Cao army formation ahead, a general's flag bearing the character "成" was waving before disappearing into the enemy ranks.

Cheng Lian was captured.

The fierce general who had followed her in a surprise attack on Zhang Yan's tens of thousands of men with only a few dozen riders, the dashing and fearless cavalryman from Bingzhou, was now being dragged off his horse.

Lu Bu's hand holding the halberd was trembling slightly.

It's not because of fear.

It was because for the first time she realized that her iron cavalry was not enough.

Lü Bu organized two more charges.

The first time, Wei Yue led 500 cavalry in an attempt to outflank them from the left, but was intercepted by Xiahou Yuan's light cavalry. These Cao army cavalry did not engage her directly, but instead constantly harassed and divided her forces. Wei Yue could not catch up, could not shake them off, and ultimately suffered over 100 casualties as she retreated in disarray.

The second time, Lü Bu personally led the charge, heading straight for the central army. Her strategy was to capture the leader first; if Cao Cao were killed, his army would surely fall into chaos.

But she didn't even get to see Cao Cao.

Xu Chu led his imperial guards and cavalry to meet them. The general was tall and imposing, wielding a long sword and possessing immense strength.

Lu Bu fought her for over thirty rounds, gaining the upper hand, but he couldn't break through her defenses. In that brief moment of delay, Cao Cao's army had already regrouped, separating her from the rest of the troops.

Lü Bu had no choice but to retreat.

If it weren't for the extraordinary steed she was riding, Red Hare, she almost wouldn't have made it back.

"Sound the retreat." Her voice was hoarse, as if it were being squeezed out of her throat.

The gong rang out urgently, piercing through the clamor of the battlefield.

The Bingzhou cavalry retreated like the receding tide, and Cao Cao's army did not pursue them. They simply advanced steadily for a distance, regrouped, and continued to maintain that suffocating sense of oppression.

Lu Bu stood on the high slope, watching his cavalry retreat in squads.

The armor was tattered, the flags were askew, the horses were panting heavily, and the soldiers looked exhausted.

In less than two hours of fighting, they had already lost nearly 20% of their troops.

This was a loss she had never suffered since she raised her army.

"Cao Cao..." Lü Bu murmured the name.

She has experienced defeat before.

But she had never been afraid before.

Because she knew that as long as her halberd was still intact, and as long as her Bingzhou cavalry remained, she could turn the tide.

But today, she felt somewhat lost.

Chen Gong rode uphill, her face pale, but her tone remained calm. "Our army has lost its fighting spirit; it is not advisable to fight again today. Please order a return to the city and make other plans."

"Any news from Zang Ba?" Lu Bu asked.

Chen Gong shook his head: "Zang Ba has not yet arrived. Perhaps he has been stopped by Cao Cao's army."

Lu Bu sneered: "Forget it, I never expected anything from them anyway."

"Back to the city!"

She turned her horse around, pretending not to see the relieved expressions on the faces of the generals around her.

Perhaps, from the very beginning, the idea of ​​killing Cao Cao on the banks of the Si River was too optimistic.

Chen Gong is right, Cao Cao is not so easy to deal with.

-----------------

The sound of gongs echoed along the banks of the Si River as Lü Bu led his army back to Xiapi. The city gates slowly closed, shutting out the silent and unyielding lines of Cao Cao's army outside.

On the city wall, Lü Bu removed her helmet, letting her long hair fall loose over her shoulders. She leaned against the crenellations, gazing at the lights gradually illuminating the Cao army camp in the distance, remaining silent for a long time.

His generals arrived one after another, but they all stood at a distance and dared not get too close.

When this lord is in a good mood, he is incredibly warm and affectionate, treating everyone like sisters; but when he gets angry, he is violent and cruel, and whoever provokes him is doomed.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

"General," Chen Gong's voice remained calm.

Lü Bu didn't turn around: "Gongtai, are my iron cavalry already insufficient?"

In today's battle, her proud Bingzhou cavalry suffered repeated setbacks against Cao Cao's well-organized formation. Cheng Lian was captured, Wei Yue and Hou Cheng lost many men, and even her personal charge could not break through Xu Chu's obstruction.

This was a setback she had never experienced since she rose to fame at Hulao Pass.

Chen Gong's tone behind him was as calm as ever:

"General, you're overthinking it. Our army has not been defeated in today's battle."