Chapter 978 Retreat
Logically speaking, there had just been a heavy rainstorm, and although the ground in front of the formation was not completely unsuitable for charging with war horses, charging with fine cavalry at this time was not considered optimal.
But Sima Yi, who was as steady as an old tortoise, finally seized such a rare opportunity at this time.
At this time, nearly 10,000 elite soldiers on the east bank were isolated from the west bank. Not to mention annihilating them all, they would be driven into the water...
Thinking about it better, Zhuge Liang can be forced to retreat without saying anything.
Even if Zhuge Liang refused to leave, the Han army would be severely weakened and unable to launch another attack in a short period of time.
As long as it can be delayed, Zhuge Liang's logistics will definitely not be able to delay him.
And Feng Thief was blocked in the north of Qiaoshan.
As time goes by, won’t everyone have to retreat in the end?
Such a big temptation, even Sima Yi couldn't help but use the fine cavalry to give it a try in advance.
In the battle of Xiaoguan, although Governor Feng killed Cao Zhen and made him cross the water in a hurry, he also exposed his trump card.
Who knows how to use stirrups?
The elite cavalry of the Wei army charging at this time were naturally equipped with stirrups. When they charged, they were different from before.
This was the first time that the Han army encountered a charge by cavalry equipped with stirrups.
"kill!"
The Jingqi, who rushed through the arrow net at the fastest speed, stepped on the mud and water, and rushed towards the Han army camp like a whirlwind.
Facing the elite cavalry, which was much faster than the infantry, Meng Yan's Tiger Infantry crossbowmen had to retreat into the infantry formation in advance after firing two rounds of arrows, pick up their spears and spears, and prepare to meet the enemy.
The Jingqi slammed into the infantry formation.
Many people in the front row of infantry vomited blood on the spot.
These days, the Wei army has been pressing hard.
The Han army was not allowed to set up antlers and trenches at all.
Now we can only use our lives to stop it as soon as possible.
But at the same time, spears were pierced out like a forest of spears. The cavalry at the front were either dismounted, or both men and horses were stabbed through.
Seeing that the first wave of probing attacks by the Jingqi were easily resolved by the Han army, Sima Yi frowned and immediately realized that he was a little too anxious.
However, he quickly adjusted his mentality:
"General Niu, I give you three thousand armored warriors. Listen to my orders and lead the army to attack!"
“No!”
In a bad fight in mud, I have the advantage.
The elite cavalry are temporarily out of use. As long as the Han army on the west bank cannot support them in time, even infantry can kill this elite Han army.
The third wave of Wei troops attacked quickly.
Compared to yesterday, the pace is much faster.
Wei Yan knew that the Wei thief on the opposite side wanted to stay on the east bank forever.
The speed of building the bridge is much slower than expected.
It is much slower to build a pontoon bridge with bridge piles in the water than to simply build a pontoon bridge on the water.
Several floating bridges can be erected in a day. If the materials are sufficient, even a dozen can be built easily.
But it is much more troublesome to build a pontoon bridge with vertical bridge piles. In addition, the time is too hasty and the preparation is insufficient, so one cannot be built in one day.
Night fell quickly, and Wei Yan and Meng Yan finally defended the camp under repeated attacks by the Wei army.
In front of the two armies' formations, a lot of mud had turned into red mud.
Some blood and water had nowhere to go and could only stay in the depression, attracting some fish-loving insects.
Meng Yan, who was a little tired, came to Wei Yan and suggested:
"General Wei, in my opinion, the Prime Minister will be able to build the bridge tomorrow. Then you can lead the army to retreat first, and I will cut off the general's rear."
Unexpectedly, Wei Yan shook his head with an expressionless expression:
"General Meng led the army here before me. His soldiers have been fighting for days and must have been exhausted. This time we retreat, General Meng will lead the army to retreat first, and I will break up the rear."
Meng Yan was secretly relieved when he heard that Wei Yan was willing to cooperate in returning to the east bank.
As for who comes first and who comes last, it doesn’t matter.
He nodded:
“Then it’s settled.”
It’s a June day, the child’s face.
On the second day, the flaming morning glow held up a huge golden-red wheel, which was spitting out from the distant ridge, scattering thousands of rays of light into the light blue sky.
The sun has just risen, and people can already feel the heat.
The blood, mud and water on the ground begin to evaporate at the fastest speed, and by noon, when the sun is at its strongest, they will become dry.
In addition to the dark red soil, there are still evidences of yesterday’s fight.
But Sima Yi seemed to be unable to wait until noon.
When the sun rises, it is a favorable opportunity for the Wei army who is carrying the sun on its back.
This is a small opportunity.
When two armies are facing each other, a qualified commander cannot let go of any opportunity that is beneficial to his side.
"Hurry up!"
Although the rain has stopped, the water level in Wugong Water has not dropped at all, except that it is turbider than yesterday.
If it doesn’t rain again in the next three days, the water in Wugong may return to normal.
But who can guarantee it?
Not to mention how long the soldiers on the east bank can withstand the intensive attack of the Wei army is still a question.
So Zhang Bao was very anxious and kept urging him.
Because we had people working all night, we finally made enough bamboo root.
The bridge construction speed today is much faster than yesterday.
“Crash!”
The sergeants struggled to push the bamboo shoots filled with big rocks into the water to serve as anchors, and then fixed them to the bamboo raft with anchor ropes that had been tied to the bamboo shoots in advance.
Coupled with the stakes and ropes across the two banks and the bamboo rafts connected to each other, this kind of floating bridge is much stronger.
Soon, the pontoon extended to the opposite shore at a speed visible to the naked eye.
When the last piece of bamboo raft was fixed to the bridge pile, the soldiers of the engineering battalion couldn't help cheering:
“It’s done!”
Zhang Bao was the first to run up and jumped twice hard.
It was found that even under the current conditions of Wugong Water, this kind of pontoon did not shake like ordinary pontoons.
He was immediately overjoyed:
“Hurry, hurry, tell the Prime Minister that the floating bridge is ready!”
He looked at Wenshi and thought to himself:
My brother-in-law... Bah, I mean, it does make sense for Feng Wenhe to set up a separate engineering battalion.
Before leaving for the expedition, the queen secretly informed Zhang Bao that her little sister had become pregnant by someone.
Had it not been for the upcoming Northern Expedition, Zhang Bao would have rushed to Liangzhou on horseback with a gun and stabbed six transparent holes in Feng.
Why six?
Because the Zhang family, starting from the adults, includes the adults and mother, one younger brother and two younger sisters. Plus myself, isn’t it exactly six?
Although the Zhang family has acquiesced in the younger sister's affairs over the years.
Although I had long expected that such a day would come.
When it really happened, Zhang Bao found that he still couldn't accept it.
It's just that Feng Wenhe was of great use to His Majesty and the Queen, and also saved his own life, so six minus three, there are still three transparent holes to poke.
At present, the engineering battalion has done a good thing, which is equivalent to saving the lives of many soldiers, then... add another transparent hole?
Regardless of Zhang Bao's wild thoughts, Wuzhangyuan learned that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were connected, and sent additional cavalry messengers to urgently order Wei Yan and Meng Yan to retreat.
“General, the pontoon bridge has been built, and the Prime Minister has sent an order to let us find an opportunity to retreat immediately!”
While the Wei army was retreating, Meng Yan personally found Wei Yan and once again conveyed the prime minister's military order.
Wei Yan did not look at Meng Yan. He kept looking at Wei Jun opposite:
"What I'm afraid of is that the Wei thieves may not let us retreat easily."
“Then what’s the general’s plan?”
Wei Yan’s eyes became colder and colder:
"Don't worry, just follow what we agreed last night. General Meng, you and your men will retreat first, and I will stop the rear. Go and make arrangements quickly!"
Meng Yan gritted his teeth:
“Okay, general, take care of yourself!”
At this time, the sun has reached mid-air. According to the experience of the past few days, the most violent attack by the Wei thieves is about to come.
Because after the sun turns to the west, it is not good for the Wei thieves.
At that time, they will basically switch to harassment and use tactics to exhaust the army, trying not to let themselves get any rest.
The saying that if you defend for a long time, you will lose, it means that you have lost the initiative to attack, so you can only defend for a long time.
Just retreating does not mean retreating at the drop of a hat. Arrangements must be made in advance.
At least until after the sun turns west.
On Wuzhangyuan, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty was sitting in a four-wheeled carriage, seeming to be observing the battlefield.
But in fact, he even took out the telescope, and just sat there quietly, with a strange light shining in his eyes.
Yang Yi felt that the Prime Minister had become more and more strange since he went to Wuzhangyuan.
You could say that the Prime Minister was in a hurry to cross the Wugong River, but after arriving at Wuzhangyuan, he always seemed to be taking his time.
You may say that the Prime Minister is not in a hurry, but that doesn't seem like it, otherwise he wouldn't have even sent Meng Yan to Wei Yandong to cross.
Just thinking of the Prime Minister's laughter the night before, and looking at the Prime Minister's expression that was half-smiling but not smiling now, Yang Yi always felt a vague sense of strangeness.
“Prime Minister, I’m afraid that the Wei thieves may not let General Meng and the others come back as they wish. Why don’t we make more preparations?”
Hearing Yang Yi’s words, the prime minister, who was like a sculpture, moved to show that he was a living person:
“Everything that needs to be done has been done, and the rest depends on God’s will. What preparations are needed?”
The bridge has been built, and the military order to retreat has been passed down long ago. The strong crossbow troops here have been doing their best to cover the two wings on the other side.
As the commander-in-chief, since he sends his generals to the front, it means that he must trust them completely.
"retreat!"
"quick!"
The Tiger Infantry Army, which had finally crossed to the east bank at the expense of many comrades, once again stepped onto the pontoon bridge and retreated to the west bank.
“Da Sima!”
"It's now."
Sima Yi looked up at the sun and saw that it was already heading west, which meant that he could no longer wait.
Shulu's performance these days far exceeded his expectations.
Even though it rained heavily and the martial arts water surged, the morale of the Shu captives by the waterside did not drop at all.
These elite soldiers are truly terrifying.
This further strengthened Sima Yi's determination to keep them on the east bank.
“General Niu, this time, you will personally lead the army into battle! Then I will send people to cover you on both sides.”
Niu Jin, who couldn't wait for a long time, said loudly: "No!"
This time, Sima Yi learned his lesson and did not send elite cavalry into battle immediately.
Three thousand armored soldiers, led by Niu Jin, began to line up and move forward.
On the two wings, fine cavalry were arranged to constantly wander back and forth. As soon as the Shu captives showed a slight weakness, they would swarm up.
Looking at the shining armor on the Wei thief, Meng Yan's expression changed drastically, and he said to Wei Yan in a hurry: "General Wei..."
“Don’t worry, let’s go!”
Wei Yan stared closely at the armored men who were shouting and pressing forward, and shouted without looking back.
Meng Yan hugged his fists heavily, turned around and walked towards the pontoon behind.
“The whole army retreats and defends the stronghold!”
Wei Yan had long seen the Wei cavalry in front of him. Without the cover of the Tiger Infantry, no matter how arrogant he was, he would not expose his flank to the enemy's cavalry.
Niu Jin was overjoyed when he saw the Han army's actions:
"The Shu captives are timid and have begun to retreat. The whole army advances!"
“Drink, drink, drink!”
Three thousand armored soldiers quickened their pace.
Entering the range of the crossbows, the soldiers at the front raised their big guns, while the rest subconsciously lowered their heads slightly to protect themselves as much as possible.
It’s just that the imagined arrow feathers did not arrive.
Sima Yi quickly sent messengers from the rear:
“General, the Shu captives are retreating to the west bank!”
Hearing this, Niu Jin laughed loudly: "This is the time to make a great contribution sincerely!"
The elite soldiers of the Wei army began to quicken their pace.
Heavy infantry move forward in formation, slower than almost all arms.
In addition to the heavy armor on their bodies, which consumes a lot of physical strength, it is also because their formation cannot be easily disrupted.
Seeing that the enemy had already entered within a hundred steps, Wei Chang was a little anxious: "Sir?"
"Wait!" Wei Yan spat out two words indifferently, and then asked, "How many people in the Tiger Infantry have not crossed the water?"
Hearing this, Wei Chang quickly turned around and ran back. After a while, he ran back: "Sir, there are more than a thousand people left."
Wei Yan nodded: "It seems that when they finish crossing, it will be our turn."
When Wei Chang heard this, he was a little stunned. How could the Wei thieves allow us to safely cross westward?
“Defeat them, and you’ll be able to cross the water back safely!”
Wei Yan straightened up suddenly, drew his sword and shouted:
“The whole army is ready!”
“Wow!”
The Wei army was only fifty steps away from the camp.
At this time, the archers guarding the entrance of the village shot the first wave of arrows sparsely.
Only this time, the Wei army was covered in armor from top to bottom, and the damage of the arrow feathers was greatly weakened, not to mention that the arrow feathers were not dense enough.
Ten steps further, the Han archers all shouted, turned around and ran back to the camp, closing the gate tightly.
This phenomenon made Niu Jin’s heart beat loudly!
At this time, the Shu captives are probably thinking about crossing back to the west, and their army has no intention of fighting.
As a general who was favored by Sima Yi, Niu Jin naturally knew how much Sima wanted to trap the Han army to death.
Since he has taken over the position of vanguard from Da Sima, he cannot let Da Sima down.
At this thought, Niu Jin shouted loudly: "Kill!"
"kill!"
The shouts of killing shook the sky.
“Boom!”
The wall of the Han military camp fell down, revealing the dense formation behind it.
“Wei Yan is here, the thief is here to take his life!”
Wei Yan took the lead and personally led the army to charge out.
The general goes into battle to kill the enemy in person. Although it is dangerous, it can greatly boost morale.
Under the leadership of Wei Yan, the Han army marched forward bravely.
Niu Jin never expected that the Shu captives had clearly crossed the water to the east, and the remaining ones did not defend the stronghold, but actually dared to turn around and fight back.
In order to compete for credit forward, the original formation was already a bit chaotic.
Now he was caught off guard again, and Wei Yan waved his long sword, cutting through the wind and thunder waves, and suddenly broke through the front line of the Wei army.
"kill!"
This is a contest between the elite infantry of Han and Wei.
Although the Han army led by Wei Yan did not have a high armor rate due to the need to cross the water, the victory was due to its suddenness and large number of people.
The heavy infantry of Niujin are better than those with high armor.
Although he broke through the front line of Wei thieves, Wei Yan knew that this was not enough.
If you can't defeat the infantry in front of you in time and wait for the Wei thief's elite cavalry to react, then you will be in danger!
He stared closely at the handsome flag where Niu Jin was, and the long sword made a clanging sound.
Even under strong sunlight, Mars can still be seen shining.
That was the result of the long sword striking the Wei thief's weapon or armor.
Niu Jin can be regarded as a fierce general. How could he shrink back when he saw Wei Yan like this?
At once he shouted: "Kill the prisoners!"
Under the protection of their personal guards, the two men began to fight with each other with daggers.
Just when Niu Jin saw Wei Yan's face with an unknown smile, his heart suddenly trembled!
"kill!"
A cavalry army of less than two hundred suddenly rushed out from the Han army camp. The leader was Wei Chang, who began to look for opportunities to enter the battlefield.
Niu Jin, who thought it was a bad fight, realized that he had been tricked.
The formation is already messy, and the commander is unable to escape. What will be the fate of the infantry who are suddenly attacked by the cavalry?
Wei Chang led this small group of cavalry and clashed back and forth, making the Wei army's formation more and more chaotic.
The Wei cavalry on the two wings in the distance wanted to rush over, but were shot back by powerful crossbows from the other side.
Only the elite cavalry on the side and front can catch up.
But things happened too suddenly. By the time they reacted, Niu Jin's handsome flag had been chopped down by Wei Chang who rushed into the rear!
“General Wei is dead! General Wei is dead!”
The fall of Shuai Qi became the last straw to overwhelm the Wei army.
Fighted like a mountain, Niu Jin wanted to shout that he was not dead, but in the end he could only retreat back under the threat of the people below.
The elite cavalry of the Wei army that had just arrived did not dare to advance easily in the face of their own defeated army, and watched as the Han army retreated to the stronghold again.
“Happy!”
Wei Yan carried the big sword and laughed.
Blood dripped down the handle of the knife and onto his body, but he didn't care.
“Send the order and prepare to cross the water!”
Although people feel very angry about retreating this time, although they are extremely reluctant to retreat.
Wei Yan dared to speak out against the prime minister in private, and it was normal for him to express his dissatisfaction with the withdrawal of troops when he was furious.
It’s just that he has been leading troops for many years after all, and he has seen the Wei army’s continuous attacks in the past two days that are not willing to stop for a moment.
How could Wei Yan not understand that in this case, retreating was indeed the most correct choice.
After all, no one knows whether the level of martial arts will skyrocket again.
Since the first pontoon can be washed away, it is natural that the second pontoon may also be washed away.
After slaying three thousand Wei army armored warriors, Wei Yan finally came to his senses and began to lead his army in retreat.
The Prime Minister, who was far away on Wuzhangyuan, put down the telescope in his hand and smiled slightly:
“Wei Wenchang is so brave!”
Then he remembered something again and sighed inaudibly.
ˆPS:
Many people think that Zhuge Liang knows how to observe the sky and cannot be trapped in the heavy rain. They also think that the author is deliberately belittling the prime minister in order to elevate the protagonist.
But don’t think about it. In the novel, he didn’t expect it to rain in the upper valley, allowing Sima Yi to escape death.
In historical facts, it is true that heavy rain caused the Wugong River to surge, and Meng Yan was trapped on the east bank of the Wugong River.
Even in modern times, how accurate is weather forecast? Everyone has no idea how accurate it is?
How do some people think that the Prime Minister can perfectly solve problems that cannot be solved by modern technology?
You have to understand the author's shame, right? There's really no way to brag about this.
So when Prime Minister Lien Lien said "God's will", he was speaking from his heart, but no one believed him.
Haotian: Do you think I don’t want face?
(End of this chapter)