He and Xu Shu originally had a total of 1,500 soldiers, but they lost nearly half in the battle just now. Now there are less than 800 left with them.
Cao Zhang looked at a centurion and gave the order: "Take your people and stay behind to protect Mr. Yuan Zhi! Others follow me!"
Time was running out, and he did not give Xu Shu any time to stop him. He already led seven hundred soldiers like tigers descending the mountain, waving their weapons, rushed down the slope, passed through the ring of fire, and rushed towards the back of the fleeing Li Shi troops. .
Cao Zhang's army's surprise attack from behind was completely unexpected for Li Shi's troops.
Originally, they followed Li Shi in front and charged with all their strength, desperately facing Xu Huang's troops and Duan Xuan's troops who were constantly charging from both sides, hoping to open a bloody path and escape.
Cao Zhang led his men to charge up from behind, causing them to be attacked from three sides, making them even more concerned about one thing and the other.
The troops led by Cao Zhang had suffered all night, and now they finally had a chance to take revenge. They also burst out with strong fighting power. They attacked fiercely, often killing them with one blow. Li Shi's soldiers were like felled trees. The piece fell.
Li Shi was originally leading his men to charge forward, but the screams of his men behind him were endless. He couldn't help but turn around, and what he saw was that in the light of the fire, Cao Zhang was personally leading his troops to carry out a crazy massacre against the Xiliang army!
Li Shi's heart beat rapidly, and an indescribable anger surged up.
Cao Zhang! How dare he catch up!
At this time, Li Shi was already in a miserable state, his clothes were torn and his face was covered in blood.
He was once well-known in Guanzhong, but now he was ambushed, his prestige was ruined, and he was chased by Cao Zhang.
Now, he was in a desperate situation, angry and full of fighting spirit.
Li Shi turned around, raised the spear in his hand, and faced Cao Zhang's pursuit.
Cao Zhang saw Li Shi's intention and approached step by step with a mocking smile, tall and majestic.
He holds a spear, giving him a sense of insurmountable power.
Li Shi saw Cao Zhang's sharp eyes and knew that he was no match for him, but he was determined to give it a try.
Li Shi raised the spear in his hand, and his whole body seemed to turn into a thunder.
He gritted his teeth and roared resolutely.
His spear pierced Cao Zhang like lightning. Li Shi devoted all his strength, hoping to win with one blow.
Cao Zhang did not flinch. He held a spear, walked vigorously, and stared at Li Shi with confident eyes.
He knew that this was the beginning of a life-and-death battle, a fateful moment.
Spears clashed with spears, sparks flew, and the smell of battle filled the air.
Cao Zhang's steps were nimble and as fast as the wind. Although Li Shi held extremely firm determination, he gradually felt that he was unable to do what he wanted.
His wrist began to ache, and the spear shook uncontrollably.
Upon seeing this, Cao Zhang showed a contemptuous smile and launched another offensive.
Like a ghostly figure, he shuttled around Li Shi, leaving scars that were deep enough to show the bones.
Li Shi could not dodge and could only try his best to block Cao Zhang's attack.
Time passed by second by second, and Li Shi's body was enveloped by Cao Zhang's spear. Gradually, his steps became slow and his breathing became rapid. Even though he knew that he was in a desperate situation, Li Shi had no intention of giving up.
The fighting scene became more and more intense, and thunderous collisions continued to sound.
Li Shi's sweat was intertwined with blood, and his whole body was covered with wounds, but he did not lose the courage to fight. He seized every opportunity and used all his strength to fight back against Cao Zhang.
The spear trembled in Li Shi's hand, like a dragon rising into the sky. The fighting spirit contained in Li Shi exploded to its final potential.
Cao Zhang's expression became solemn. He felt the threat of Li Shi's attack. His original contempt for Li Shi was completely overturned. He knew that if he didn't try his best, he would never be able to defeat this opponent who was comparable to a crazy beast.
Li Shi's target was Cao Zhang's throat, and he hoped to kill Cao Zhang with one move.
At this moment, Cao Zhang showed his extraordinary reaction speed.
Cao Zhang dodged to the side, and Li Shi's spear grazed his chest, but did not hurt Cao Zhang.
Cao Zhang's eyes revealed coldness and ruthlessness. He thrust out the spear mercilessly, stabbing Li Shi's abdomen at an angle, and the spear pierced his body fiercely.
Blood spurted out instantly, and Li Shi let out a painful roar. A trace of helplessness and sadness flashed in his eyes, and he already knew his ending.
Cao Zhang sneered, pulled out the spear, and watched Li Shi fall into a pool of blood with difficulty, losing the last breath of life.
Cao Zhang put away his spear, looked at Li Shi's body with cold eyes, and roared: "The enemy general Li Shi has been killed!"
The soldiers around Cao Zhang roared in victory together. Their shouts resounded throughout the world and quickly spread the news that Li Shi had been killed.
Li Huan was leading his troops to charge forward when he suddenly heard a chorus of roars coming from behind him, and an ominous premonition arose in his heart.
Sure enough, the defeated Xiliang army immediately came to report to him: "General, the young general was chased by Cao Zhang, lost to him, and was beheaded by Cao Zhang!"
"Alas!" Li Huan let out a long sigh of annoyance. He could imagine that Li Shi must have had a fever and turned around to fight Cao Zhang, which was why he was killed.
But the current situation did not allow him to grieve and feel sorry for Li Shi. He had to rush out with the remaining troops to fight for the last glimmer of hope.
"Everyone, charge me, we must break out!" Li Huan shouted loudly, leading his troops to advance quickly and charge.
With Cao Zhang's army attacking from three sides, the soldiers of the Xiliang Army were already in extreme panic. However, Li Huan, as the main general, took the lead and led everyone to break through with all their strength. The morale of the soldiers of the Xiliang Army was greatly boosted and they all followed. He fought hard to kill together.
With their full charge, they really broke out a bloody road. Li Huan led thousands of soldiers to break through Cao Zhang's army's attack and fled frantically towards Chang'an.
Cao Zhang beheaded Li Shi and continued to lead his men in pursuit. Soon he met Xu Huang and Duan Xuan, and the three of them joined forces.
Cao Zhang knew that Li Jue still had a lot of troops in Chang'an, and wanted to pursue Li Huan and capture Chang'an in one go. It was almost impossible, so he ordered not to pursue, but to massacre the Xiliang troops in the camp who had no time to escape.
The shouts of death were accompanied by the soaring fire and lasted until daylight.
Of the 30,000 Xiliang troops led by Li Huan and Li Shi, only less than 5,000 fled back to Chang'an with Li Huan. Thousands more chose to surrender to save their lives. Nearly 20,000 were attacked and killed by Cao Zhang's army. Lost lives.
Cao Zhang's troops had only sacrificed nearly a thousand people by holding on to the camp and attracting enemy troops as bait. They suffered few casualties in the subsequent fighting. In the entire battle, the casualties were less than two thousand.
Cao Zhang used his mind and courage to achieve a feat of defeating more with less.
Xu Huang and Duan Xuan led their soldiers to clean up the battlefield.
Xiahou Ba and Li Jin escorted Zhong Yao, Xiahou Shang and Xia Houru and returned. Xiahou Ba had already told them Cao Zhang's arrangements and there was no need for them to actually meet Ma Teng and Han Sui.
Seeing Cao Zhang's great victory, Zhong Yao, Xia Houba and others were extremely excited.
Xia Houshang and Xia Houru also had triumphant smiles on their faces, and they repeatedly praised Cao Zhang for his brilliant strategy.
Cao Zhang smiled and praised everyone for their bravery, and asked Xu Huang, Duan Xuan, Zhong Yao and others to go back to rest first, leaving the three Xiahou brothers and Xu Shu alone.
Xia Houshang and Xia Houru thought that Cao Zhang wanted to ask them about their distress. Unexpectedly, Cao Zhang's face darkened when he looked at the two of them, and loudly ordered: "Come here, get Xia Houshang and Xia Houru, who are collaborators with the enemy, for me." Come on, launch the beheading!"
