Chapter 2796: Five Good Generals VS Cao Wei’s Eight Tiger Cavalry (Part 1)
"My dear, Cao Mengde is so courageous."
Watching the fire starting in the direction of Guandu, Zhang Dingbian couldn't help but sigh: "Guandu is not only a gateway, but also a granary and armory. Such an important place, he actually burned it just as he said."
After hearing this, Qin Wu on the side laughed and said: "If you don't burn Guandu, how can Cao Cao retreat safely? Only the fire on Guandu can stop our army's pursuit. If our army still pursues, we will We can only take a long way around.”
"That's true, but if we just retreat, the price will be too high."
Zhang Dingbian still felt that Guandu was of great significance, so abandoning Guandu just for the sake of retreat was obviously not worth the gain, but how could he know the deep meaning behind abandoning Guandu.
"Look, the Governor has sent people to put out the fire."
Qin Wu pointed in the direction of Guandu and saw tens of thousands of Qin troops fully armed, some holding buckets and some carrying sandbags, rushing towards Guandu in multiple directions, apparently to put out the fire.
"There are a lot of good things in Guandu. It would be a pity to burn them down like this. I hope we can save some things."
Zhang Dingbian said in a deep voice, and then waited quietly for the order to pursue, but he waited and waited, but no order came from Zhang Liao.
"What are Wenyuan doing? You are so grinding, you must know that soldiers need to be quick."
Zhang Dingbian muttered to himself anxiously, but the Grand Governor did not issue a pursuit order, and he did not dare to lead his troops in pursuit without authorization, so he could only send people to urge them, but no one came back after several waves of urging guards.
"Something is wrong, something is very wrong. Do Wen Yuan and the military advisor have some secret plan?"
Zhang Dingbian muttered to himself with a puzzled look on his face. No matter how stupid he was, he could see that the several waves of guards sent out did not come back. It was obvious that Zhang Liao deliberately did not order him to pursue them.
After waiting for about half an hour, Zhang Liao's pursuit order was conveyed to Zhang Dingbian in a leisurely manner, and Zhang Dingbian and Qin Wu immediately went to pursue with 5,000 infantry and cavalry each.
This pursuit was not smooth either. There were a large number of traps dug by the Wei army in advance on the road.
If the Qin army was not very experienced in digging traps and could see through most of them based on experience alone, it would have wasted a lot of time trying to crack the traps.
"Damn Xia Houyuan, you can really run. This is the first time I have encountered an army that can run faster than us." Zhang Dingbian couldn't help but curse.
"General, the footprints on the ground were left not long ago. We are not far from the Wei army."
After hearing what his men said, Zhang Dingbian took out his telescope, scanned the surrounding terrain, pointed to the east and asked, "Where is it further ahead?"
"General Qi, the front is Wuchao."
"Okay, speed up the march and try to catch up with the Wei army at Wuchao."
Soon, Zhang Dingbian arrived at Wuchao and caught up with Cao Wei's rear-cutting troops.
I saw Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun leading 10,000 infantry and cavalry, standing in Wuchao and blocking the Qin army's way to Fengqiu.
Zhang Dingbian was very excited when he saw this and immediately prepared to fight. However, after seeing the opponent's general lineup, he was frightened and did not dare to fight.
After all, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Tantaiyu, and Kagutu are all here. Is Cao Cao going to cut off his queen? Still want a decisive battle?
Although Zhang Dingbian defeated Xiahou Dun and Kagutsuchi before, and drew with Tantai Yu who came to rescue, he still knew the actual situation very well.
Defeating Xiahoudun and Kagutsuchi was a fact, but drawing with Tantaiyu was a plus. After all, Tantaiyu came to the rescue. He retreated after twenty rounds of fighting with him, which allowed him to achieve a tie.
If it were a real fight, Zhang Dingbian was not sure of defeating Cao Wei's second most powerful general, Tantaiyu, let alone the three generals Xiahouyuan, Xiahoudun, and Kagutu.
Under this situation, if Zhang Dingbian charged forward, he doubted that he would be able to survive even one round and would be instantly killed by the four opponents.
Zhang Dingbian is not stupid, and naturally he will not give the opponent a chance to attack him. Although he can order the army to attack and avoid direct contact with the opponent's generals, the problem is that the opponent's four powerful generals are too strong. If no one If he stopped and wreaked havoc in the army, it would obviously cause heavy casualties to his own side, and he might even use it to defeat his own army, so he rationally did not order an attack.
"How long will it take for General Qin Wu to arrive?" Zhang Ding asked to the left and right.
"There's about half a stick of incense left."
"Stay back first and wait until General Qin Wu arrives."
"promise."
On the other side, Xia Houyuan and his party, who were responsible for cutting off the rear, also discovered Zhang Dingbian's troops who were chasing them.
Seeing this, Cao Chun said: "It seems that Zhang Dingbian does not intend to fight immediately, but is preparing to wait for reinforcements from the rear."
"How about we take the initiative to attack and defeat Zhang Dingbian one by one, and then repel the Qin army that caught up later." Kagutsuchi added.
Logically speaking, Kagutsuchi, as a surrendered general of Japan, should be suspected by Cao Wei's senior officials. After all, most of Japan was occupied by the Qin Dynasty, and even the Shinto religion surrendered. As the protector of the Shinto religion, Kagutsuchi should be more sympathetic to the Qin Dynasty. .
However, the fact is that not only was Kagutsuchi not under suspicion, but he still held a very high status in Cao Wei. The reason was naturally the national integration policy promoted by Qin in Japan.
The Qin Dynasty directly burned all books and historical materials, forced all Japanese people to change their Chinese surnames, learn Chinese characters, intermarry between Han and Japanese, and other policies, which fundamentally destroyed Japanese civilization.
If things continue like this, in just a few decades, the Japanese will forget their history, forget their own nation, and completely integrate into China.
Nationalists like Kagutsuchi would naturally find it difficult to accept the complete assimilation of Japan, so in his eyes Himiko, Susanoo and others were all Japanese traitors.
After knowing this, Cao Cao drew a cake to Kagutsuchi and promised that as long as he could defeat the Qin army and wait for the coalition to conquer Yingzhou in the future, he would allow the Japanese people to govern themselves, thus gaining Kagutsuchi's sincere allegiance.
Kagutsuchi's words of taking the initiative to attack made the generals present very excited. After all, Zhang Dingbian only had 5,000 men now, but they had 10,000. They also had an absolute advantage in the general lineup, and they would definitely win if there was a war.
After hearing this, Xia Houyuan shook his head and said: "Zhang Dingbian is not sure that he will not start a war with our army. Once I take the initiative to attack, he will definitely retreat. Will our army pursue him or not?"
If they chase, regardless of whether they can catch up, the Qin army coming from behind can pass through Wuchao and catch up with the main army that has not yet reached Fengqiu.
You must know that our mission is to end. "
Hearing this, the generals all nodded in disappointment. It was indeed not appropriate to take the initiative now. Their mission was to cut off the rear, and there was no need to fight with Zhang Dingbian.
Soon, Qin Wu arrived with a pursuing army of 5,000, and the strength of the Qin army's pursuing army also reached 10,000.
But when he learned that Xiahouyuan, Xiahoudun, Tantaiyu, and Kagutu were all among Cao Wei's 10,000 Duanhou army, Qin Wu, who was originally excited, fell silent for an instant.
"Brother Qin, your military rank is higher than mine. It's up to you to decide whether to fight or not?" Zhang Dingbian asked in a deep voice.
Qin Wu looked at Zhang Dingbian speechlessly. He originally thought that this man was quite honest, but he didn't expect that he was also a cunning master. Let him make the decision at this time. If he fails to win, wouldn't the responsibility be all his?
Qin Wu hesitated and asked: "Brother Zhang, tell me honestly, if a war breaks out, are you sure you can stop Tantai Yu?"
After Zhang Dingbian hesitated for a moment, he shook his head and said: "Although I don't want to admit it, Tantaiyu's strength is indeed superior to mine. Brother Qin, why don't Tantaiyu leave it to you, and I will deal with brother Xiahoudun and Xiahouyuan? "
"..."
Qin Wu didn't know what to say. After all, the most powerful one in the Wei army was Tantai Yu. If he couldn't even defeat Zhang Dingbian, then he was definitely no match. Letting him fight alone was not asking for death.
After comparing the strength of the enemy and ourselves, Qin Wu really didn't have much confidence to start a war, so he said: "Wait a little longer, we are not the only two groups pursuing troops. When Xu Huang and Gao Shun arrive, it will not be too late to start a battle with the Wei army."
"good."
Zhang Dingbian immediately agreed. After all, although he was eager to make meritorious deeds, he would not fight an uncertain battle, so it was safest to wait for the army at the rear.
On the other side, the Wei army saw that reinforcements from the Qin army were coming, but they still did not start a fight with them. Some generals could not sit still.
After all, if they wait any longer, the number of the Qin army will only increase, but neither Xia Houyuan nor Cao Chun agree to take the initiative to attack, because there is little point in trying to fight with the Qin army, and it will also consume the Wei army's physical strength.
"Why don't you let me challenge him first and see if I can lead the Qin army to attack." Xiahou Dun said.
After Xia Houyuan pondered for a while, he nodded and agreed. After all, if Tantai Yu went, Zhang Dingbian might not dare to fight, but if Xiahou Dun, his subordinate, was defeated, Zhang Dingbian should not have so many worries.
Xiahou Dun was overjoyed when he heard this, and then jumped to the front of the two armies alone and shouted: "Zhang Dingbian, do you dare to fight your grandfather Xiahou Dun again?"
Although Xiahou Dun lost to Zhang Dingbian before, he felt that it was because he broke through before the battle and was not familiar with the surge in power. Now that he has mastered it, if he faces Zhang Dingbian again, he will not lose easily even if he cannot win. defeat.
Regarding Xiahou Dun's provocation, Zhang Dingbian ignored him at all. After all, Xiahou Dun, who had just broken through to the God of War, was the weakest among the Gods of War in Cao Wei, even worse than Kagutsuchi. There was really not much sense of accomplishment in defeating him.
Xiahou Dun saw that Zhang Dingbian did not fight, so he yelled and wanted to provoke Zhang Dingbian to fight. And his level of scolding was indeed good. He really made Zhang Dingbian angry with the scolding, but Qin Wu stopped Zhang Dingbian from letting him go. Go to war.
Xiahou Dun scolded Zhang Dingbian until Gao Shun arrived with his army, but failed to motivate Zhang Dingbian to fight, so he had to return disappointed.
Although Gao Shun's arrival added 5,000 troops to the Qin army, the increase to the Qin army was limited because he was not trapped in the camp.
Among Zhang Liao's army, there are four elite armies: the Po Barracks, the Fallen Camp, the Euphorbia Soldiers, and the Flying Tiger Army.
The Flying Tiger Army was brought to the battlefield of Dongjun by Li Cunxiao. The three elite armies of the Pojun Camp, the Fallen Camp, and the Euphorbia Soldiers were either heavy cavalry or heavy infantry and were not suitable for pursuit battles, so they were not sent over by Zhang Liao.
After seeing Cao Wei's rear-end formation, Gao Shun was also shocked. After all, more than half of the Wei army's fierce generals on Cao Cao's side were here. Coupled with Cao Chun's five thousand tiger and leopard cavalry, it was no wonder that Zhang Dingbian and Qin Wu did not dare to fight directly. , this is really not sure of winning.
"The most difficult thing is Cao Chun's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. With only 15,000 men and horses, we may not be able to defeat 5,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry." Gao Shun said seriously.
You don’t have to say that. Qin Wu and Zhang Dingbian complained in their hearts,
The combat power of the ordinary Wei army is naturally weaker than that of the Qin army, but the combat power of the 5,000 tiger and leopard cavalry selected from the 300,000 Wei army is an elite army ranked high even among the Qin army.
The Hubao Cavalry has performed brilliantly in the three Central Plains wars, and also caused a lot of trouble to the Qin Army in the previous battles. It is an elite army that has truly withstood the test of actual combat.
Gao Shun knew how powerful the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry was, and couldn't help but sigh: "The formations practiced by the trapped camp can restrain the cavalry, but it's a pity that the trapped camp is not there, otherwise under such terrain, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will definitely be killed without leaving a piece of armor."
"You're not talking nonsense."
Qin Wu said with an annoyed look.
Zhang Dingbian nodded in agreement, and then asked helplessly: "What should we do now?"
"Keep waiting." Qin Wu and Gao Shun said in unison.
"That's all we can do." Zhang Dingbian sighed.
An hour later, Li Dingguo, Xu Huang, Zhang He, Lu Junyi, Guan Sheng and other generals arrived one after another with their troops, and the number of troops pursuing the Qin army reached 30,000.
