Facing a double attack, Cao Zhen finally couldn't calm down anymore.
The situation is different, the state of mind is different, and the decisions made are naturally different.
Before the retreat was opened, Cao Zhen had to calmly hold on and try his best to prevent the Shu thieves from breaking through the defense line. When the back road had just been opened, Cao Zhen also knew that he still needed to retreat calmly and not suffer too much loss. But when the back road was opened, he could already retreat. However, at this time, he encountered Shu thieves attacking from both sides, and he could explain at any time. When on the battlefield, Cao Zhen really couldn't calm down.
The reason for holding on calmly for so long was to fight for a way out alive.
Now that the way to survive is in front of him, Cao Zhen himself is facing a life and death dilemma. I can't blame Cao Zhen for losing his judgment. There are not many famous generals in history who can continue to remain calm in this situation.
There was a time when Xiang Yu committed suicide in Wujiang River.
For this reason, Cao Zhen's response was to order Dai Ling to lead a thousand soldiers, divide the rear wing to intercept in advance, lead the troops to take a detour, and retreat at full speed.
The so-called retreat at full speed actually means fleeing for one's life. No matter how beautifully Cao Zhen said it, he wanted the entire army to flee for his life now.
If the previous retreat while fighting could be considered a strategic retreat, the military order to retreat at full speed will inevitably cause the soldiers to completely lose their will to resist, and then the entire army will be in chaos and scramble to escape for their lives.
Cao Zhen actually knew this, but he couldn't help it.
While fighting and retreating, the 7,000 men in his hands would not be able to withstand the attacks from the front and rear of the Shu thieves. Sooner or later, it would turn into a rout, and at that time, the direction of the rout's retreat would be out of Cao Zhen's control.
It would be better to directly choose "full speed retreat". Everyone runs towards Tongguan and uses the soldiers as their cover. This way, at least you have a greater chance of escaping.
As for the cavalry pursuit of the Shu thieves, whoever is a general does not have a good horse at his hip.
As long as he could reach Wang Chang's army in the rear, Cao Zhen believed that Wang Chang would lead his troops to intercept the Shu thieves' pursuit. Wang Chang had never let Cao Zhen down.
As for Dai Ling, Dai Ling felt like crying.
Asking myself to lead a thousand infantrymen to block the attack of more than a thousand cavalrymen, and requiring them to hold them back for at least a quarter of an hour, is not a military order. This is asking me to die.
But Dai Ling can't say that he won't go. If he doesn't go, General Cao Zhen will kill him on the spot. If you disobey orders on the battlefield, what else can you do if you are left? !
Therefore, Dai Ling had to accept his fate and lead his troops to the rear, using a thousand infantry to "buy time" for General Cao Zhen.
And Wang Chang, who has never disappointed Cao Zhen, has indeed not disappointed Cao Zhen.
When Zhao Yun led his troops to abandon the pass and break out of the siege, Wang Chang immediately calmly mobilized his troops and asked five thousand soldiers to enter the pass as soon as possible to put out the Tongguan fire. At the same time, he ordered other soldiers to stop attacking and defend on the spot to prevent Zhao Yun's cavalry from raiding and harassing.
Although Zhao Yun finally chose to take a detour and break out of the encirclement without entangled with the attacking Wei army, at least Wang Chang's military order was correct.
After Zhao Yun led his army to bypass the Wei army on the main battlefield and retreat to the left wing, Wang Chang was not idle. He quickly gathered his soldiers and prepared to meet General Cao Zhen.
Wang Chang knew very well that now that General Cao Zhen was facing the attack of the Shu thieves, he was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. If he wanted to withdraw his troops safely, he must have someone to respond, otherwise he would be entangled by the Shu thieves and unable to escape.
Therefore, Wang Chang did not disappoint Cao Zhen. He was already gathering his troops and preparing to meet Cao Zhen.
But Wang Chang did not expect that the battlefield situation in the rear would change so quickly. Zhao Yun, who had already fled the main battlefield, led his cavalry to fight back, and immediately entered the battlefield and directly attacked General Cao Zhen's rear flank.
Once Zhao Yun succeeds in attacking General Cao Zhen's rear flank, the retreating Wei army may fall into chaos, and it may be difficult to respond.
But the problem is that Wang Chang has only gathered seven or eight thousand soldiers. He is really powerless when there are still some soldiers who cannot come to gather for a while.
Lead troops to rescue? !
The infantry will definitely not be able to outrun the cavalry, and it is even possible that the soldiers led by Wang Chang have not yet arrived, and the soldiers led by General Cao Zhen have already been routed. In this way, the soldiers led by Wang Chang will probably be defeated by their own troops. The soldiers attacked and finally fell into chaos.
Therefore, Wang Chang decided not to rescue, but to set up defenses on the spot and wait for General Cao Zhen to break out.
Wang Chang knew very well the significance of his decision. In fact, he gave up the rescue of the seven thousand Wei troops who were attacked from both sides and only rescued General Cao Zhen, who had escaped from the rebel army.
Although it sounds cruel, Wang Chang doesn't think this decision is difficult at all. In this era, Cao Zhen is much more important than the seven thousand soldiers.
If Cao Zhen died in battle, it would be a disaster for the Wei State, and the seven thousand soldiers would just need to be recruited.
Therefore, Wang Chang always paid attention to the movements of Cao Zhen's subordinates and was ready to send troops at any time. As soon as Cao Zhen came close to his army, he would immediately send thousands of soldiers to meet him. The remaining soldiers would stick to their original positions to resist the Shu thieves or be defeated. impact.
It has to be said that on such a chaotic battlefield, it is still difficult to completely block a general's escape route.
In today's battlefield, unless you are surrounded by people like an iron barrel, or encounter a force majeure natural disaster, such as the flood in Fancheng, it is not easy to trap a general who is dedicated to breaking out.
Therefore, Cao Zhen still managed to retreat behind Wang Chang's army under the protection of his personal guards.
At this time, Wang Chang had no time to say hello to Cao Zhen. On one hand, he had to face the attack of the Shu thieves, and on the other hand, he had to send people to "channel" his defeated troops to gather behind the army formation, and use bows and arrows to "channel" them.
Cao Zhen felt relieved when he saw such a reliable Wang Chang. If he returned to Luoyang safely this time, he must report to the emperor and recommend Wang Chang to be reused.
As for Dai Ling, Cao Zhen was also puzzled. This guy actually ran faster than him. He was supposed to intercept Zhao Yun's cavalry, but he led his troops to retreat to Wang Chang before he did? !
But at this time, Cao Zhen couldn't investigate whether Dai Ling led the army to intercept Zhao Yun. Everyone abandoned the soldiers and ran back, so no one could tell anyone.
Another thing, Dai Ling is still useful now.
It is not enough for Wang Chang to lead the troops alone to intercept the Shu thieves. Cao Zhen must form a second line of defense as soon as possible and cooperate with Wang Chang to withdraw troops alternately.
Therefore, Dai Ling is still useful now. Cao Zhen needs him to gather the defeated troops who escaped and lead the remaining Wei troops who have successively withdrawn from the Tongguan front line to organize a second line of defense on the spot.
Yes, Cao Zhen, who fled behind Wang Chang's army, was no longer in danger. He finally regained his composure and made the right decision.
In the current situation, the Shu thieves who have completed the merger are still pursuing and attacking, and the battlefield has fallen into chaos. If he wants to save the main force of the Wei army from retreating as much as possible, Cao Zhen must do this.
Moreover, now Cao Zhen is finally no longer at a disadvantage in terms of total military strength, and he no longer has to worry about being attacked from two sides.
Cao Zhen, who had regained his composure, finally showed his qualities as a famous general. Although it was a temporary second line of defense, it was still somewhat useful. Coupled with Wang Chang's hard fighting, it did make the Han army somewhat Rat-proof device.
The total strength of Zhao Yun, Zhang Xi, Su Ze, and Wei Yan who have completed the merger is about 20,000, while the Wei army that is crossing to cover the retreat has a total strength of about 20,000, excluding the 5,000 who went to Tongguan to put out the fire. Wei Jun.
There is not much difference in the strength of the two sides. If the Han army continues to attack, it may be able to continue to kill the Wei army in melee. But without the advantage of encirclement, if it continues to fight in chaos, the casualties will definitely not be small.
Faced with this situation, Zhang Xi and Zhao Yun briefly discussed it and decided to give it up as soon as they could, and first eat the more than 4,000 Wei troops who were already trapped in the encirclement.
Anyway, Tongguan has been lost, and letting Cao Zhen run away has become a fait accompli. It is better to get the military exploits that have been pocketed first.
Therefore, the Han army had no intention of confronting the Wei army. Zhang Xi personally led the army to confront Wang Chang, and the remaining three men, Su Ze, Wei Yan, and Zhao Yun, divided their forces to encircle and suppress the Wei army trapped in the formation.
Cao Zhen was so angry that he could only watch helplessly as the Shu thieves killed or persuaded his comrades trapped in the Shu thieves' formation, but Cao Zhen was helpless. After all, these so-called comrades were all abandoned by him, Cao Zhen. To add to the sadness here, it would be better to lead the army to retreat and retreat into Tongguan.
The two sides had a tacit understanding, one would not pursue, and the other would withdraw slowly. Xia Houshang, who was behind Tongguan, finally led his troops to the main battlefield.
At this time, Cao Zhen was a little hesitant. With the reinforcements brought by Xia Houshang, Cao Zhen really thought about whether to launch a counterattack.
However, after carefully weighing the current morale and combat effectiveness of his soldiers, and then asking Xiahou Shang for his opinion, Cao Zhen decided that it would be better to withdraw his troops proactively.
There is no other way. The soldiers under his command are now thinking about withdrawing to the pass to eat a mouthful of hot army rations. They have been tortured by the shadow of food shortage these days and have no intention of staying on the Tongguan battlefield to fight.
Xiahou Shang Xiahou Shang clearly told Cao Zhen that what he brought was the last imperial guard in Luoyang, and he must not lose too much.
There is not even a single forbidden army beside the emperor now. This army must return to Luoyang in an organized manner and cannot be wasted on the battlefield of Tongguan.
Now that the way back is clear, what Cao Zhen should do most now is to keep his remaining troops, withdraw to the pass, and pursue other strategies, rather than risk a counterattack. If something happens again, no one can save him.
Don't forget, when you, Cao Zhen, sent troops to attack Guanzhong, you "sent troops without authorization." Now that you have failed to attack Guanzhong and lost so many elite troops, in the end you will lose all the emperor's remaining imperial troops.
Xiahou Shang said that Cao Zhen immediately provoked his spirit, and then decisively ordered to retreat.
(End of chapter)
