A soldier beside Cao Zhang quickly lit a "lantern" made of red paper. The soldier let go of his hand, and the red lantern quickly rose into the sky.
This is a simple "Kongming Lantern" made by Cao Zhang in advance, just to send a signal to Xu Huang and Duan Xuan at the critical moment.
Li Shi and Li Huan were directing the Xiliang army to attack crazily, when they suddenly saw such a red "lantern" rising on the slope.
Li Shi's mind was all on the offense, because he had already seen the hope of killing Cao Zhang, so naturally he couldn't care about anything else.
Li Huan vaguely felt something was wrong. He looked up at the "red lantern" slowly rising into the sky, but couldn't guess its purpose.
In the hidden forest, Xu Huang had been staring at the sky in the direction of the camp. A sudden red light came into his sight. Xu Huang became excited instantly: "Young Master has sent a signal! The whole army has obeyed the order and attacked!"
Almost at the same time, Duan Yan on the other side also saw the signal sent by Cao Zhang and also issued an order to attack!
"Kill!" Countless torches suddenly appeared around Cao Zhang's camp, and loud drums and shouts rang out.
Xu Huang and Duan Xuan led their soldiers to fight out. Countless archers raised their bows and arrows, and dense rain of arrows fell towards the Xiliang army in Cao Zhang's camp.
The troops of the Xiliang Army gathered in a relatively small space in Cao Zhang's camp and attacked in a circular formation surrounding Cao Zhang's troops.
The arrows rained down suddenly. They were crowded together and had no time to dodge or take defensive measures. Many of them were shot dead in an instant.
The moment the fire lit up and the shouts of death rang out, a smile appeared on Cao Zhang's face, and he knew that the plan had been successful.
Don't you, Li Jue, want to copy my camp? I will stay alone as a bait, bring in all your troops, and then make a package for you!
"Kill!" Xu Huang and Duan Xuan had been holding back for a long time, and now they were like tigers descending from the mountain, furiously attacking the Xiliang army.
The Xiliang army was completely stunned by the sudden attack. They had no time to organize an effective defense and became the target of massacre by Cao Zhang's army.
"Brothers, our reinforcements have arrived, kill!" Cao Zhang raised his arms and shouted, motivating the soldiers around him.
The soldiers who were originally in despair, saw the changes in the situation around them, and their morale was greatly boosted. They quickly displayed their weapons and started fighting with the Xiliang army rushing from all sides.
Li Huan looked at Cao Zhang's army appearing from all directions in shock. At this time, he realized that despite being careful, he finally fell into Cao Zhang's plan.
Now all the Xiliang troops are concentrated in the camp of Cao Zhang's army. The space is small and difficult to mobilize. They are also attacked by a flanking attack, and they are completely trapped in a passive situation.
Li Shi also heard the shouts of killing from all around and realized that he was surrounded by Cao Zhang's army.
"The whole army continues to attack, kill Cao Zhang first!" Li Shi shouted loudly, and he reacted immediately.
Although enemy troops appeared from all directions, Cao Zhang was still alive in front of him. The defense of the ring formation was about to be broken open. As long as he persisted in charging, he had a chance to kill Cao Zhang before the ambush arrived and win the final victory!
Li Huan also immediately understood Li Shi's intention and shouted loudly: "My men turned around to attack the enemy troops on both sides and buy time for the major general!"
It has to be said that Li Huan and Li Shi are both famous generals of the Xiliang Army who have followed Li Jue for many years. They made the decisive decision in the shortest moment, which is still very courageous. If they were ordinary opponents, their kind of The tactics are still very likely to be successful.
It's a pity that what they met this time was not an ordinary person, but Cao Zhang, who had the ability to travel through time and space, and was extremely resourceful and brave.
Since Cao Zhang dared to use himself as bait, how could he not have thought that the enemy would make a desperate move and attack him with all his strength, since he had already left a backup plan.
"Light up the grain cart!" Cao Zhang gave the order.
After hearing Cao Zhang's order, dozens of soldiers around Cao Zhang immediately raised the torches they had prepared and lit several grain and grass carts on fire!
After the grain and grass carts were ignited, they burned quickly and turned into dozens of "trains" burning with flames reaching into the sky.
"Let go!" Cao Zhang ordered again.
The soldiers quickly cut off the ropes used to secure the "train" and pushed the train hard towards the edge of the slope.
The "train" carried flames that reached the sky, and relied on momentum and inertia to rush from the slope towards the Xiliang army below.
The fire that reached the sky quickly dispersed the Xiliang army that was attacking with all its strength. The flames flew towards the soldiers of the Xiliang army, fell on them and ignited quickly. They were allowed to beat and roll, but they could not be extinguished at all.
The "train" continued to burn after it fell down the slope. The fire spread in all directions according to the wind, sweeping away the Xiliang Army soldiers nearby.
The Xiliang army's offensive at the foot of the slope was instantly blocked, and their formation was instantly dispersed.
Li Shi didn't expect such a change. He smelled the strong smell of sulfur, smoke, salt and other fire starters in the air.
Li Shi suddenly realized that the so-called "grain and grass carts" were all fake, and it was Cao Zhang who had disguised the fire starter to deceive them.
Cao Zhang took advantage of the terrain of the slopes in the camp to defend tenaciously at first, and now turned these trains into a powerful tool to counterattack and block the Xiliang army's attack.
Li Huanzheng organized his men to resist the attack of Xu Huang and Duan Xuan from both sides. He turned around and saw the sky-high fire burning under the slope. He realized that the situation had changed and quickly rushed to Li Shi's side.
"Shi'er! This is not the way to go. If we delay any longer, we won't be able to kill Cao Zhang. We may even be annihilated!" Li Huan found that the fire had blocked Li Shi's offensive. They could no longer continue to attack Cao Zhang and immediately He made a judgment and reminded Li Shi.
Li Shi had also realized that the previous plan would not work. The fire prevented them from rushing up the slope to kill Cao Zhang. Xu Huang and Duan Xuan's charge on both sides was too fierce. The Xiliang army had already suffered heavy losses and fell into a comprehensive situation. Passive.
Li Shi felt extremely unwilling, but he had no choice. Seeing Cao Zhang right in front of him, he was unable to kill him.
The overwhelming ambush came, and the Xiliang army was completely unable to resist it. The outcome of defeat was irreversible.
Li Huan looked at Li Shi and persuaded: "Shi'er, obviously we made a mistake in our judgment. Cao Zhang used himself as a bait to lure us into his camp. It was difficult to take advantage of the Xiliang army's charge when we were trapped in a small space, and then launched Attack us with an ambush.”
"He has prepared these trains a long time ago, just to stop us at the last moment and buy time for his reinforcements."
"Now we won't be able to kill him no matter how much we waste, and the losses will be even more severe if we delay any longer. We cannot blindly fight to the death. We must quickly organize a breakout and return to Chang'an first!" Li Huan suggested to Li Shi.
Li Shi felt unspeakably aggrieved. He suffered the loss of being dumb when facing Cao Zhang twice, but he had no temper at all. This was another huge blow to him.
But after all, he is Li Jue's son and a famous general in Xiliang, and he also understands that now is not the time to care about personal emotions.
The failure of this battle was not enough to put them into a desperate situation. As long as they retreated to Chang'an, they would still have a chance to make a comeback.
Retaining your strength and breaking out as soon as possible is the most correct decision now!
"Okay, break out first!" Li Shi responded helplessly.
"I'll open the way in front, you follow me behind!" Li Huan was afraid that Li Shi would be in danger if he walked first, so he protected him behind.
"The whole army breaks out with me!" Li Huan roared and took the lead in riding his horse forward. The soldiers of the Xiliang Army immediately followed him and rushed out to kill.
Li Shi turned back and glared at Cao Zhang on the slope, filled with resentment in his heart, but at this time he was unable to fight anymore, so he could only turn his horse's head and lead the Xiliang army that was originally attacking the slope, preparing to evacuate with Li Huan.
The Xiliang army began to break through, and no one continued to attack Cao Zhang's army on the slope. The crisis for Cao Zhang and Xu Shu was completely resolved.
Xu Shu also calmed down at this time. At this time, he could only admire Cao Zhang's courage and strategy from the bottom of his heart.
Cao Zhang saw Xu Shu's expression from the corner of his eye and was very satisfied. This was also the result he wanted.
As a lord, he needs the counselors around him to help him, but this does not mean that every move and plan must be explained clearly to his subordinates.
A lord with no secrets and no sense of distance will also lose his due majesty.
Another important reason is that once there is no secret in front of subordinates, there is an invisible danger, and it is easy for others to take targeted actions.
Cao Cao was exploited by Jia Xu because of his lustful characteristics, which led to the tragic deaths of Cao Ang and Cao Anmin.
Although Cao Zhang adheres to the principle of employing people without suspicion, it does not mean that he does not have basic wariness, so he will not tell the people around him the details of his arrangements in advance, and always maintains a certain degree of mystery.
But now he won't pay too much attention to Xu Shu beside him. His eyes are always looking at Li Shi who is leading the troops to break out, with a sneer on the corner of his mouth.
Want to break out and escape? It's not that easy!
"Yuan Zhi!" Cao Zhang greeted Xu Shu beside him.
"Yes." Xu Shu responded quickly.
Cao Zhang told Xu Shu: "You stay and protect yourself. I am going to steal Li Shi's retreat now! I want them to know that if they attack my camp, they must pay the price of death!"
