Overthrowing Wei: Starting with Cao Cao's "I'd rather betray the world than surrender

The dust cloud to the north was becoming clearer. The wind was not strong in the wilderness, but the line of dust never dissipated, indicating that a large number of people had arrived.

Xu Huang squinted and stared for a while, then suddenly chuckled. "Looks like these thieves are quite bold."

Xun You shook his head. "Don't let your guard down."

Li Tong stood to the side, his heart tightening slightly.

Last night, three thousand Yellow Turban rebels were scattered, and now another bandit army is coming from the north. If it really is several thousand strong, we will probably have to fight another battle.

Lu Ding, however, did not rush to give the order. He simply looked at the wisp of smoke in the distance, and after a moment said:

"The cavalry scout northwards."

"The infantrymen shall form ranks in place."

Xu Huang immediately responded.

A detachment of the volunteer cavalry quickly broke off and galloped north along the edge of the hills. The black-armored cavalry soon disappeared behind the distant grassy slopes.

The remaining troops then regrouped.

Zhang Cheng's three thousand infantrymen, armed with shields and spears, slowly unfolded their formation. Li Tong's Shangcai soldiers stood at the rear of the formation; although their numbers were small, they gradually began to resemble a military unit.

The prisoners were held in an open area behind the lines.

More than two thousand people knelt on the ground, and for a moment, there was an eerie silence. The rebel army that had been shouting battle cries outside the city walls just yesterday was now a prisoner of war. The changes on the battlefield were so rapid that there was almost no time to react.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar.

The cavalry that had advanced had turned back, and the leading knight rode up on horseback, dismounting in front of the formation.

"Young master."

Lü Ding looked at the scout: "How many?"

The scout took a breath.

"About two or three thousand, scattered haphazardly, as if they had fled all the way here."

Lü Ding nodded.

"The cavalry will move out first."

"Don't let them scatter."

Upon receiving the order, the volunteer cavalry immediately sprang into action.

Four hundred cavalrymen split into two groups and galloped out from both sides of the hills.

Two long plumes of dust rose quickly across the wilderness, and in less than a quarter of an hour, faint sounds of commotion could be heard in the distance.

Then came the shouts of killing.

Li Tong stood on the side of the formation and saw a large group of figures suddenly dart out from the grassy slope in the distance.

Those people were dressed in disheveled clothes and carrying various weapons, desperately fleeing south.

They had clearly been scattered by the cavalry.

Xu Huang, mounted on his horse, couldn't help but laugh, "These thieves run away at the sight of cavalry."

Xun You, however, said, "Running fast is not necessarily a bad thing."

"As long as they flee south, they will still be on our front lines."

Sure enough, in no time at all, the routed rebel army had already reached the foot of the hill.

They originally intended to bypass the government troops, but as soon as they reached the foot of the slope, they saw Zhang Cheng's infantry already arrayed there.

The shields stood like walls, the spears pointed forward, and the formation was as stable as an iron wall.

The bandits stopped abruptly, but those behind them continued to push forward, creating chaos.

Xu Huang shouted:

"kill!"

The cavalry immediately charged down the hills from both sides, the black-armored cavalry like two torrents rushing straight towards the chaotic army.

The rebel army had no formation to begin with, and it immediately collapsed when the cavalry charged.

Some threw down their weapons and knelt down, while others tried to fight back but were quickly knocked down by long spears.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the bandit army completely dispersed, leaving abandoned weapons scattered all over the wilderness.

More and more people are kneeling on the ground.

As Li Tong watched this scene, he suddenly realized something.

This was no longer a weak army defending the city, but an army capable of overwhelming the enemy in open field battles.

Xu Huang quickly led his cavalry back to the front lines. He shook the blood off his spear and said with a smile:

"More than two thousand thieves."

"Almost all of them are here."

Xun You glanced at the prisoners.

"The area north and south of Ru should be cleared for now."

Lü Ding did not speak immediately. He glanced at the official road to the north, which led to Pei State.

After a moment, he suddenly said, "Continue north."

Li Tong was taken aback.

"Heading north?"

Xun You, however, already understood.

"Since the rebel army is fleeing north, things must be quite unsettled in Pei State as well."

Lü Ding nodded.

"While they are still unstable."

"Chase after them."

Upon hearing this, Xu Huang's eyes immediately lit up.

"it is good."

"Perfect timing to play a few more matches."

The order was quickly issued, and the prisoners were divided into several groups and escorted back to Shangcai.

Lu Ding left Zhang Cheng's troops with 1,000 men to guard the city, while the rest of his troops marched north in formation.

The cavalry remained in front, followed by the infantry.

The army formation on the wilderness slowly moved northward. Li Tong led the Shangcai soldiers to follow behind the formation. Looking at the orderly advancing army in front of him, he suddenly felt a little dazed.

Just a few days ago, he was merely a local militia leader guarding a county.

Now, however, he has already led his troops out of the country and pursued the thieves into the county.

Such a change in the situation feels almost unreal.

As the sun rose higher, the group crossed the hills and entered the northernmost territory.

The villages along the roadside are noticeably fewer, with only a few fortified villages occasionally visible.

The fortified walls were high, and the gate tower was tightly shut. This was clearly a place of self-defense forced upon them by banditry.

Xu Huang, mounted on his horse, glanced at the fortified villages and suddenly said:

"If we can gather all these fortified villages together, we'll have a considerable number of soldiers."

Xun You nodded: "In chaotic times, the one thing that is never lacking is people."

Just then, another scout came galloping up from ahead.

"General!"

"There's a fortified village ahead that's surrounded!"

Xu Huang was taken aback.

"thief?"

The scout nodded.

"Approximately a thousand people."

They are currently attacking the dock.

Lu Ding immediately said, "Speed ​​up."

Xu Huang had already spurred his horse forward.

The four hundred volunteer cavalrymen instantly accelerated, their hooves thundering.

Before long, an earthen embankment came into view.

The fortified walls were not very high, but they were extremely thick.

Outside the fortress, a large group of Yellow Turban rebels were gathered, pushing wooden ladders and desperately climbing up the fortress walls.

People were also putting up resistance on the wall, with stones and pitchforks constantly being thrown down.

The fighting between the two sides had become extremely chaotic.

Xu Huang burst into laughter upon seeing this.

"Perfect timing!"

He raised his long spear.

"Rush!"

The cavalry, like a black torrent, charged straight at the enemy formation from the flank.

The Yellow Turbans were focused on attacking the fortified village and never expected that cavalry would suddenly arrive.

In just one exchange, their formation was broken.

Some people screamed and ran away, while others were knocked over by warhorses.

The cavalrymen swept across with their long spears, and the enemy troops scattered in all directions.

The defenders on the fortified wall were taken aback at first, but soon burst into cheers.

Xu Huang charged deep into the enemy ranks, killing several men in succession.

In less than fifteen minutes, the bandit army completely collapsed.

The remaining men threw down their weapons and fled in all directions.

The cavalry chased for a while, but did not pursue them further.

When Lü Ding's infantry arrived, only a pile of corpses remained outside the fortress.

The gate to the village slowly opened, and a group of local militiamen came out.

The leader was extremely tall, dressed only in a coarse cloth short coat, with broad shoulders and back like a wall, and the thick-backed knife in his hand was dripping with blood.

He stood in front of the gate, appearing taller than the wall behind him.

Xu Huang, riding on his horse, suddenly raised an eyebrow.

"What a strong man."

Xun You also glanced at it and said:

"This person does have some presence."

The burly man walked to the front of the formation, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Thank you for your help, General."

His voice was deep and powerful.

Lu Ding looked at him and asked:

"Where are you from?"

The man replied:

"Qiao County, Pei State"

"Xu Chu".