Niu Jin finally understood how big of a mistake he had made.
He actually thought that Zhao Yun didn't understand cavalry. It was ridiculous. Only after he defeated Niu Jin did he realize that the person who really didn't understand cavalry was himself.
From the beginning of this cavalry showdown, Niu Jin had fallen into Zhao Yun's command rhythm, and any response Niu Jin had was within Zhao Yun's expectation.
Now Cao Wei's light cavalry and heavy cavalry are attacking from the front. The forward troops have broken up and are escaping behind them. The bows and arrows of the enemy rangers were suppressing the two wings, preventing the light cavalry from expanding the battlefield space to the two wings. The heavy cavalry could attack at any time. The light cavalry was trapped in an artificially narrow battlefield, and the speed advantage they were proud of could not be used at all. They can only fall into a comprehensive passive beating.
What's even more terrible is that no matter whether the light cavalry thrust with lances or fired with bows and arrows, they found that they could not threaten the heavily armored cavalry with both men and horses.
Not only the cavalry, but also the war horses are not a threat. They are covered in iron armor.
He can't hurt the opponent, but he is constantly suffering losses. Who wants to meet such an opponent? !
As time went by, Cao Wei's light cavalry suffered more and more damage, and the enemy's heavy cavalry continued to kill all directions. It was only a matter of time before Cao Wei's cavalry collapsed.
When the battle reached this point, even Niu Jin knew that his defeat was certain. The only thing that could be saved now was how much his losses would be.
Anyway, Niu Jin definitely doesn’t want the entire army to be wiped out.
Therefore, Niu Jin ordered without hesitation that the Chinese army should close its formation and not seek breakthroughs on both wings, but should retreat and withdraw directly from the battlefield to preserve as much strength as possible.
But if we just retreat like this, the enemy's rangers will definitely not just watch helplessly, so someone must be responsible for breaking up the rear.
The forward cavalry can no longer be counted on. They have now been defeated and have lost their combat capability.
Therefore, I can only do it myself as the coach.
Without hesitation, Niu Jin led a thousand of his bodyguard cavalry forward to cut off the more than 8,000 Chinese cavalry in pursuit of a chance of survival.
As long as these more than 8,000 cavalry can withdraw from the battlefield and return to Chongquan County, then even if Niu Jin dies here, he will be considered as leaving a fighting force for Cao Zhen, and he will not be unable to face it. The cavalry of Shu thieves.
Therefore, Niu Jin, determined to die, led a thousand personal guards and launched a counterattack in the opposite direction.
By the way, on the way to the charge, Niu Jin did not forget to try his best to gather the defeated front army and let them cut off the rear with him.
Of course, Niu Jin didn't just use light cavalry to die without thinking, he still had some strategy.
Niu Jin took the initiative to attack the heavy cavalry troops, but Niu Jin did not choose to confront them head-on. Instead, he took advantage of the gaps in the battlefield and used a thousand-man team to roam and harass the heavy cavalry on the way forward with mounted fire.
It is impossible for the eight thousand Chinese cavalry to be divided into two wings. There is not enough space, but it can still be done with a small group of more than a thousand cavalry roaming back and forth in the gaps in the battlefield.
Although this is of little use, it can at least contain the advance speed of the heavy cavalry, and at the same time attract the Liangzhou Rangers on both wings to divide their forces to encircle and suppress themselves, giving the Chinese cavalry time to withdraw from the battlefield.
As for Niu Jin's reverse charge, Zhao Yun nodded slightly, expressing his appreciation and recognition.
Putting aside Niu Jin's cavalry command skills, at least his courage and determination are indeed worthy of appreciation.
It is the behavior of a fool to insist on filling in even when there is nothing you can do. Therefore, when Niu Jin's defeat was certain, Zhao Yun was not surprised at all when he decided to withdraw his troops in order to avoid greater casualties.
In other words, a general who does not withdraw his troops is an incompetent person.
Therefore, when the Wei cavalry retreated, Zhao Yun directly ordered the rangers on both wings to stop guarding the two wings of the heavy cavalry and directly speed up, taking a detour to outflank the Wei cavalry's retreat.
Surround as many Wei cavalry as possible and don't let them withdraw from the battlefield easily.
As for the rear-cutting troops led by Niu Jin himself, Zhao Yun just smiled while admiring them.
It is impossible for a thousand cavalry to delay and block the attack of a heavy cavalry of three thousand.
Therefore, Zhao Yun ordered the heavy cavalry to ignore Niu Jin's harassing troops and continue to attack forward, destroying as much as possible all the Wei cavalry in front of them.
As for Niu Jin's raiding force, Zhao Yun chose the same approach as Niu Jin, gathering his own cavalry. By the way, he also mobilized five hundred rangers, and also assembled a team of 1,000 people to launch a force in the direction of Niu Jin. A pursuit raid.
It's been a long time since I personally went to the battlefield to kill an enemy. If I don't stretch my muscles and muscles, the world will probably forget about Zhao Yun. Since you Niu Jin want to die, I dare to bury him.
Zhao Yun personally led the troops to make a surprise attack, which was a treatment that ordinary people could not enjoy.
The last time Zhao Yun did this was in Changbanpo. At that time, Zhao Yun used hundreds of rangers to launch a guerrilla raid against the world-famous elite heavy cavalry Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. .
Now, Zhao Yun, who is over sixty years old, once again takes up the gun and launches another surprise attack on the enemy. Only this time, the person who really needs to risk his life is Niu Jin.
Not to mention, this time when he rushed into the formation, Zhao Yun really vaguely found some of the feeling of galloping on Changban Slope.
And Niu Jin. Niu Jin did see Zhao Yun leading his troops to raid in his direction.
In fact, at this time, Niu Jin still had battlefield space to move, and he could lead his troops to retreat before Zhao Yun's surprise attack arrived. But Niu Jin knew that he could not retreat.
Once Niu Jin retreats, or moves to the two wings to avoid Zhao Yun's surprise attack, he may be attacked by the Liangzhou Rangers on the one hand, and may also disturb the morale of the army.
Niu Jin's purpose as the commander in chief was to reassure all the retreating Wei troops and let them know that the commander would not abandon them easily, so that the Wei cavalry could retreat in an orderly manner.
But if even Niu Jin chose to retreat and escape, then the Wei army that was still in the process of retreating would not retreat in an orderly manner, but would completely collapse.
Therefore, Niu Jin could not retreat before the main cavalry of the Wei army withdrew from the battlefield. He had only one choice - to face Zhao Yun's surprise troops and launch an attack.
Moreover, this is also an opportunity for Niujin now.
The enemy coach gave up command and took the initiative to launch an attack on himself. If Niu Jin could seize this opportunity and kill the enemy coach, he might be able to turn the tide of the battle and turn defeat into victory.
Of course, Niu Jin also knows that this hope is not great.
At this point, Niu Jin couldn't help but know that he had completely underestimated Zhao Yun, whether it was his courage, strategy, or decisiveness.
Since Zhao Yun dares to launch a surprise attack on himself, it means that Zhao Yun is sure of victory. Otherwise, with the situation so dominant, there is no need for Zhao Yun to take the risk to personally attack him.
However, the current battle situation has collapsed to this point, and the enemy has already attacked again. Even if there is only one in ten thousand chance, Niu Jin must win.
Probably, this is the price you have to pay for underestimating the enemy.
Therefore, Niu Jin did not hesitate at all. He led the remaining 800 rangers to face Zhao Yun's more than 1,000 rangers and launched a frontal charge.
In this charge, Niu Jin did not direct the team from the rear.
More than 800 light cavalry faced a thousand rangers. There was no need for command in a battle of this scale. Therefore, Niu Jin stood at the front of the team and led the assault.
And coincidentally, Zhao Yun's choice was the same.
Just like that, the two commanders in this cavalry duel came face to face on the battlefield.
Success or failure in life and death often occurs in an instant.
Niu Jin knew that Zhao Yun was very brave in martial arts, but Niu Jin thought that his martial arts were not too bad, and he still felt a little lucky in his heart.
Now both of them are around sixty years old. If Zhao Yun has aged faster in recent years, then it's really um, well, Niu Jin knows how wrong he is.
Just for a moment, the cavalry of both sides crossed each other. Niu Jin didn't even see clearly how Zhao Yun drew his gun. He just relied on his years of battlefield experience and intuition to sense the danger. He subconsciously dodged sideways but still didn't completely dodge. He was shot by Zhao Yun. It penetrated directly through the flank.
With Zhao Yun retracting his gun and the speed of the horses on both sides, the penetrating wound on Niu Jin's flank was torn into a large tear by the spear, and blood spurted out.
This time, half of Niu Jin's strength was taken away, and the pain was so severe that he could hardly hold the big knife in his hand.
In fact, at this time, Niu Jin had almost lost his combat capability. If he escaped under the protection of cavalry at this time, no one would blame him.
But Niu Jin did not retreat.
You always have to pay a corresponding price for the mistakes you make.
He first looked at the less than 700 cavalrymen who were following him after a frontal attack, and then looked at the 8,000 main cavalrymen who were desperately retreating in the distance. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the blood flowing from his waist and abdomen. Li Li raised the sword in his hand and made the gesture of cavalry charge again.
Facing such Niu Jin, Zhao Yun nodded solemnly, showing respect for Niu Jin's integrity, then shook his head slightly, raised the spears in his hands, and all the cavalry speeded up and charged! ! !
This time, Niu Jin had no room for luck. He was stabbed in the chest by Zhao Yun with a solid spear. With the help of the sprint of the mount under his crotch, Niu Jin was directly knocked away by the sprint and fell off the horse.
Then there is no more.
Under the impact of the cavalry, those who fell off their horses had only one fate, and that was to be trampled to pieces by the horses.
The commander-in-chief was killed, and the remaining cavalry of Cao Wei lost the courage to continue fighting.
The only thing that made Niu Jin slightly relieved was that after his delay, the Liangzhou rangers were not able to surround all Cao Wei's light cavalry, and more than 3,000 cavalry escaped from the encirclement.
At this time, Zhao Yun had no way to pursue these cavalry. His primary purpose was to eat Cao Wei's light cavalry that had been surrounded by the rangers. This was not a difficult thing after Niu Jin's death.
In the cavalry showdown outside Dali County, Zhao Yun's Liangzhou Legion won a complete victory.
(End of chapter)
