In fact, Zhang Xi's ambush plan was very superficial, and even many traces of the battle could not be erased in time. Cao Ren had already led his troops back.
But fortunately, it was already dark when Cao Ren came back. His vision was not very good, it was too dark to see clearly. In addition, Cao Ren had just been defeated by Guan Yu and was so uneasy that he had no time left. Check if there is anything strange in the camp.
It wasn't until Cao Ren entered the camp that he realized something was wrong. At this time, Zhang Xi had already lit a fire behind the camp and notified Zhang Yi to cut off Cao Ren's retreat.
At this time, Cao Ren still had 4,000 cavalry in his hands, while Zhang Xi and Zhang Yi had only 5,000 soldiers in total. If they really wanted to fight back, Zhang Yi's side might also suffer heavy losses. Cao Ren could even use this victory to boost the morale of the army and regain a foothold, while greatly weakening Fancheng's defense strength.
But at this time, Cao Ren had no time to think about whether to fight back, but only thought about how to break out of the encirclement.
After all, Cao Ren did not open a map and did not have a God's perspective. In Cao Ren's opinion, the two thousand soldiers he left behind in the camp did not last a day and were gone. So it is really hard to say whether his cavalry has a chance of winning. .
It was already dark now, and it was so dark that it was impossible to see how many enemies were around. The rear camp was already on fire and could spread to the front camp at any time. Under such circumstances, if you refused to leave without fighting, you would be courting death.
Of course, the most important thing is that Cao Ren's cavalry had just returned from a defeat. Their morale was already low, and now something bad happened, their morale was in chaos, and they might blow up the camp or collapse at any time. Cao Ren didn't dare to gamble.
Therefore, after Cao Ren saw Zhang Ni's ambush troops coming out, he made a decisive decision, commanded the entire army to turn their horses, drew his sword and pointed in the direction of Zhang Ni's ambush troops and shouted loudly, "Generals and soldiers, the time to fight for your life has come, follow me and fight out." .”
After speaking, Cao Ren waved his sword, and the cavalrymen subconsciously drove their horses, hoping to launch an attack on Zhang Yi's military formation.
Zhang Yi was naturally prepared for this. He immediately sent out spearmen and shield soldiers to form a cavalry defensive position, and then asked the crossbowmen to launch fire to try to stop the cavalry from rushing out.
After all, Cao Ren had four thousand cavalry, while Zhang Ni had only three thousand infantry. In addition, Zhang Ni had no chariot formation, so the defense line could only be set up in a straight line, and the defensive area was relatively flat.
As the cavalry continued to attack, although Zhang Yi commanded his soldiers and killed many cavalry, the defense line was always retreating.
At this time, Zhang Xi finally finished setting the fire and led the remaining two thousand people to surround Cao Renjun's back.
Zhang Xi's timely appearance finally caused chaos for Cao Renjun.
After all, they were facing a flanking attack, and they didn't know how many enemies there were, and there were fires all around. Under this situation, Cao Renjun's soldiers subconsciously looked for that familiar figure, hoping to get instructions from the general to tell them What to do next.
But no one saw where Cao Ren was.
Now Sergeant Cao's soldiers were even more panicked. They didn't know what to do. Faced with this situation, should they continue to attack and find a way out, or should they surrender? !
Cao's army immediately split. Some people continued to attack Zhang Ni's defense line. Some people had dismounted and knelt down, put down their weapons, and waited for Zhang Xi to come from behind and surrender.
As the fire grew bigger and bigger, more and more people surrendered. Zhang Xi and Zhang Yi finally joined forces and worked together to control the situation.
No matter what, we can't stay in this camp anymore. The fire is getting bigger and bigger. If we stay any longer, we will burn ourselves.
It is better to take these prisoners and horses back to Fancheng first, and wait until Guan Yu's reinforcements arrive.
But what about Cao Ren? !
Both Zhang Yi and Zhang Xi vaguely remembered that there was a person who once raised his arms and shouted in Cao's army, and organized the soldiers to break out of the encirclement? !
Zhang Xi asked the prisoners of Cao's army, but they didn't know. In the end, there was an unlucky guy who was recognized as Cao Ren's personal soldier. After some questioning, Zhang Xi found out what was going on.
Cao Ren, just become a croaker.
After inciting his soldiers to attack Zhang Ni's soldiers and briefly pushing Zhang Ni's defense back, Cao Ren changed out of his conspicuous armor. Under the cover of his own soldiers, he gave full play to his subjective initiative and learned from the spirit of the yellow croaker. Zhang Ni slipped through the gap in the defense line.
He was running so fast on horseback. Zhang Ni was busy blocking the cavalry from rushing into battle, so he didn't pay attention at all, so he was run away by Cao Ren.
This soldier was also unlucky. He ran slowly, and the situation was chaotic. He couldn't keep up with Cao Ren's fleeing team for a while, so he was left behind.
When the prisoners heard this, Cao Ren ordered them to fight with all their might, and the result was that the purpose was to create a way for him to escape. Okay, let's stop having any evil thoughts now, and just be prisoners honestly.
Zhang Xi also didn't expect that Cao Ren would be so shameless. But when he thought about it carefully, he seemed to think it was nothing.
There is no such thing as the idea of equality for everyone these days. In order to escape for one's life, isn't it normal for a general to force his soldiers to fight to the death to open a gap?
It's just that Cao Ren was a little unreasonable. He didn't even say hello when he ran away, and took his subordinates with him. Well, this is very bad.
But then again, Zhang He could abandon his soldiers and climb the mountain to escape, so why shouldn't he, Cao Ren, be allowed to imitate the yellow croaker and escape? !
Right, you can't have double standards in life, right? !
Well, no matter what, after Cao Ren ran away, it was not known when he would come back again, but the 10,000 soldiers Cao Ren brought with him were completely accounted for here.
It can be considered a big victory.
Now Cao Ren has temporarily retreated, Guan Yu has led 15,000 naval troops to camp ashore, and Guan Ping has led 5,000 naval troops on the Han River as support. Fancheng has temporarily lifted the alarm.
Of course, both Guan Yu and Zhang Xi were sure that Cao Ren would definitely make a comeback. According to the report from the expedition, Cao Ren's rear army, led by Xia Houshang, was only about three days away from Fancheng. Cao Ren escaped this time , there is a high probability that he will meet up with Xia Houshang.
As for whether Cao Ren will lead his troops immediately, or continue to rest and wait for reinforcements, this is not yet known, but the common judgment of Guan Yu and Zhang Xi is that the next time Cao Ren comes, I am afraid it will not be as easy to deal with as this time.
To be honest, Guan Yu and Zhang Xi didn't understand why Cao Ren was a general after all. How come this battle was like a child throwing a tantrum.
It's completely below the standard.
However, it is not appropriate to study these matters in detail for the time being. Guan Yu is more concerned about when the 10,000 reinforcements from Nanjun will arrive.
As a mature commander, it is impossible to wait until a war breaks out and then think about where to find reinforcements.
If there is no invasion by Cao Jun, and it is just daily guarding, the current number of people is enough. But knowing that Cao Jun is invading, and still relying on these people to hold on, is too funny.
How many people are there in Xiangfan? Cao Cao is not a fool and will definitely find out. The next time Cao Ren comes, he will definitely not go south with only 20,000 horses.
When Guan Yu set out from Xiangyang City to assist Zhang Xi, he left Ma Liang to handle government affairs. When Ma Liang came from Jingzhou, he had already told Guan Yu that Wang Ji had organized reinforcements and asked Fei Yi to lead the team. Rushed to Xiangyang.
Yes, Fei Yi led the team. Guan Yu really didn't know that Fei Yi was actually capable of both civil and military skills.
Zhang Xi was not surprised that the future General Ji Han would be fine if he didn't know how to lead troops.
But Guan Yu is still worried. After all, not everyone can lead ten thousand people to march without making mistakes these days. Even if they are only marching within the country, they have to deal with the food, drink, and diarrhea of ten thousand people, and they must also ensure that these people The marching and fighting power are really beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.
Not to mention, Guan Yu is in urgent need of reinforcements now. He certainly hopes that the reinforcements will arrive in Xiangyang as soon as possible. Otherwise, during this battle, he will always worry about instability in the rear, which is not a problem.
The journey from Nanjun to Xiangyang is only about two hundred and fifty miles. A normal march will take about seven or eight days, and an urgent march will take four or five days. Now that five days have passed, Guan Yu is a little anxious waiting. .
And Cao Jun on the opposite side will arrive at any time.
While Guan Yu was anxiously waiting for the reinforcements led by Fei Yi, Cao Ren of Cao's army finally joined Xia Houshang.
Xiahou Shang was also a little dumbfounded. It had only been a few days. Why did General Cao come back with only a dozen cavalry guards? !
Could it be that Fancheng had already been conquered and the general felt that he was marching too slowly, so he came to urge him in person? !
Well, Xiahou Shang also knew that this possibility was too low. After all, when Cao Ren came back, he was in a mess, and even the armor was not his.
After Cao Ren met Xiahou Shang, he didn't mention his record. After all, he couldn't afford to embarrass this person in front of juniors.
He just took over the 10,000 troops led by Xia Houshang without saying a word, and then camped on the spot, waiting for reinforcements.
I was so angry that I went to Fancheng with 8,000 cavalry and 2,000 infantry. As a result, my entire army was wiped out and I fled alone. Now I only have these 10,000 infantry. If I bring them again, If you go to Fancheng, you will really die.
After experiencing two defeats, Cao Ren finally calmed down, weighed the comparison of military strength between the two sides, and decided to camp halfway. At the same time, he continued to order Zhang Liao and Zang Ba to quickly come to reinforcements.
After gathering the reinforcements, Cao Ren had a total of 60,000 soldiers, including 50,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry.
With such a lineup, whether it is an siege or a field battle, Cao Ren has the confidence to compete with Guan Yu and Zhang Xi in Fancheng.
Cao Ren waited for six days, and finally the Xuzhou reinforcements led by Zhang Liao and Zang Ba arrived. He no longer stopped to rest, and took these 60,000 people, plus Xiahou Shang, Zhang Liao, and Zang Ba, and set out together to attack Fancheng again. .
And Guan Yu finally waited for the news that Fei Yi led his army into Xiangyang.
Once Fei Yi led his army into Xiangyang, Guan Yu breathed a sigh of relief and let Ma Liang, Fei Yi, and Liao Hua take charge of Xiangyang.
Ma Liang and Fei Yi are mainly responsible for handling government affairs, and at the same time maintaining good relations with the Xiangyang family to prevent them from betraying their backs.
Liao Hua was responsible for controlling Xiangyang's defense and completing the recruitment of Xiangyang's descendants as soon as possible.
It has only been more than a month since Xiangyang surrendered. It is not easy to fully digest the more than 20,000 soldiers surrendered in Xiangyang.
After all, it was a ready-made combat force. Although it was not reliable, Guan Yu did not want to simply and crudely send these surrendered soldiers to the front line of Fancheng to be used as cannon fodder. Of course, he was also afraid that if these surrendered soldiers rebelled a while ago, they would instead impact his army.
Therefore, Guan Yu still hopes to slowly digest these reduced soldiers and expand his strength.
But these all take time.
(End of chapter)
