Chapter 160
Just as Cao Wu predicted, Zhang Liao not only did not choose to return to Guiyang, but instead went deeper into the mountains.
He and Zhang He chased and intercepted Liu Bei all the way in order to eat Liu Bei's lone army. Unexpectedly, Liu Bei hid all the way and finally entered the lofty mountains of Wuling.
Zhang He was defeated, and his army was the only one able to pursue Liu Bei. Once he evacuated, Liu Bei would no longer be captured.
He didn't understand Cao Wu's plan to enter the province, nor did he understand Liu Bei's strategy of marching westward to Yizhou. He didn't even know whether there would be reinforcements. He only knew that he had to catch this slippery lone army, even if he faced the elusive Wuxi Barbarians.
So he selected a site overnight and found a place to camp where Liu Bei could notice it no matter whether he was facing west or south.
This camp site is right on the edge of the official road. The surrounding trees have been cut down, and the view is high enough to prevent night attacks.
After choosing an address, the next step is to build a camp and then wait for reinforcements that may appear after Zhang He returns from the north.
What he was counting on was that Zhang He was once known as the Four Court Pillars of Hebei. He had been fighting in the north and south for many years, and he was prudent in his military use. He would not leave his army alone in the mountains, and would definitely draw men from Guiyang.
"General Le, General Li, General Yu, General Xu, just one of them will be like..."
Zhang Liao thought to himself as he inspected the camp under construction on horseback.
In the afternoon, the sun was about to set, and the view in the mountains was not good. There was not much time left for them to build a camp.
Then, just as the red sun set behind the mountain, countless voices rang out from all directions.
There were countless mountain people whistling in all directions and everywhere.
"Enemy attack!"
When the soldiers building the camp were at a loss, Zhang Liao shouted.
The Wuxi Barbarians must be commanded by military advisors. They knew that if their camp was completed, they would not be able to attack, so they chose to attack at the moment when the camp was not fully repaired.
Sure enough, countless figures appeared in the surrounding mountains. They were still far away and could not see their faces clearly, but they could vaguely see that their clothes did not look like those of the Han people from the Central Plains.
"Don't panic, get in formation, get in formation!"
Zhang Liao called the commanders, and several commanders rode their horses back and forth between the villages.
The reason why the camp had not been repaired by sunset was because they had spent too much time cutting down trees.
Now it seems that this was definitely a wise decision. These open spaces without tree cover gave them the best buffer.
The enemy rushed out of the mountains and forests and was immediately exposed in front of them. Although the camp was not repaired, they had to pass through this unobstructed area before reaching Zhang Liao's army.
Eight thousand elite soldiers were on the move, the cavalry was forming a team, the infantry was in formation, and the archers were pointing their bows and arrows diagonally at the open space.
However, the Wuxi barbarians were whistling, but no one crossed the open space. They were all milling around the outside, and the fierce look of attacking just now was no longer visible.
Next to Zhang Liaole's horse, he saw a tall man coming out of the crowd, holding a huge ax and standing in front of the Wuxi barbarians.
Zhang Liao narrowed his eyes, remembering another barbarian leader who died under his gun more than a year ago.
Tadun Chanyu, the leader of Wuhuan, was said to be comparable to Moton Chanyu.
Zhang Liao shouted: "This is Zhang Wenyuan of Yanmen! Who are you?"
The barbarian laughed heartily and replied in stumbling Chinese: "Shamoko, the barbarian king of Wuxi, is here. There are 50,000 warriors of the barbarians of Wuxi here. Surrender quickly!"
The mention of fifty thousand people obviously caused a stir in Zhang Liao's army, but Zhang Liao said: "You come from Wuling County, how can you bring fifty thousand people across the mountains? You can deceive others, but you can't deceive me!"
Shamoko slammed the ax on the ground and shouted: "Just come and try it!"
Naturally, this clumsy way of motivating generals could not irritate Zhang Liao, who had experienced many battles.
Zhang Liao knew that Samoko did not dare to attack by force, so he lured him out to kill him, but how could he get what he wanted.
He waved his hand and asked half of the soldiers to build the camp again, while the remaining half stayed here to guard against the opponent.
The sun gradually sets, and the camp becomes stronger and stronger.
Zhang Liao and Samoko were facing each other. As the light became weaker, the other party's face was gradually invisible.
At the moment when the light completely dimmed, the whistles all over the mountain suddenly sounded again.
Shamoko pulled out the ax on the ground and pointed it at the sky.
"Boys, charge!"
"Oh! Wuwuwu"
This time it was no longer a feint attack, barbarian soldiers rushed towards Zhang Liao's camp from all directions.
Zhang Liao then discovered that Wuxi Man lived in the mountains all year round and was not afraid of the dark sky at all, and his vision was still very good in the dark night.
It turns out that what they did just now was just to disturb the construction of the camp, but the real purpose was to postpone the attack until night.
"The enemy must have a strategist, otherwise how could a mere barbarian have so many tricks!"
Zhang Liao was thinking in his heart and ordered the arrows to be fired. The arrows rained down like locusts. The Wuxi barbarians hid in the darkness and still suffered many casualties.
"Return to the kingdom of God, return!"
The remaining Wuxi barbarians continued to charge forward without caring about the casualties of their companions.
Zhang Liao rode his horse, and the cavalry behind him had been arrayed for a long time. Zhang Liao raised his hand. As soon as he put it down, the cavalry would charge in the dark, but his hand did not fall down.
Although the place where they camped was a rare piece of flat land, there were still too few and too few flat places in this mountain.
The cavalry charged past, but it was difficult to turn back and continue the charge.
He would not let his cavalry die.
Then we can only have a head-on confrontation.
"Get ready to meet the enemy!"
Zhang Liao and the cavalry formed the first line of defense, facing the barbarians with different weapons, like the mainstay of defense against floods.
Those Wuxi barbarians were all infantry, but their bounce was amazing. A few could jump up and kill soldiers on horseback, but most of them could only avoid the cavalry.
Next, Zhang Liao's infantry waited for them after half of the camp was built, and when one came, they would poke their heads out and kill each one.
However, there are still many Wuxi Barbarians who have passed through the cavalry formation. The Wuxi Barbarians are very powerful in combat. Each of them seems to have the strength of an old soldier. The defensive pressure of the camp is also huge.
With a "swipe" sound, Zhang Liao chopped down a barbarian and suddenly thought of Zhang He.
Zhang He should have faced such soldiers who were not afraid of death.
So what did Zhang He do that resulted in the near-annihilation of his entire army?
Zhang He was so steady that he did not even take the lead in a surprise attack on Xiakou.
He definitely chose to persevere.
So Zhang Liao thought of a possibility.
The Wuxi barbarians are different from the Central Plains soldiers and horses.
Because the Han people want to cultivate the land, they will not all be soldiers anyway. If the ratio of soldiers to civilians reaches 1:20, the regime is already resorting to militarism.
But the Wuxi barbarians, all the people are soldiers.
What is even more frightening is that the Wuxi barbarians were born in the mountains, grew up dealing with ligers and tigers, and grew up fighting each other. They are really brave.
Zhang Liao looked back at the barbarians all over the mountains and plains, and gradually became convinced.
There may really be fifty thousand Wuxi Barbarians.
Fifty thousand elites versus eight thousand elites.
In the darkness, they couldn't see, but Wuxi Barbarians could. The camp was not a city, so it couldn't provide all-round defense.
No wonder Zhang He lost because he misjudged the number of enemy troops in the dark and was eventually exhausted to the point of defeat.
Now that he thinks of this, Zhang Liao will not sit still and wait for death.
He didn't want his cavalry to die in vain, but he himself could charge into the battle.
He searched for signs of the enemy chieftain in the darkness.
Wuxi Barbarians were different from the Central Plains in that they did not fly the Chinese flag. After searching for a long time, they could not find it.
Zhang Liao's heart tightened. Perhaps the Wuxi barbarian's military advisor had expected that Zhang Wenyuan would attack the enemy chieftain.
After all, the same thing happened before.
This military advisor plotted against him at every step. How should he break the situation?
Do you want to be consumed forever like Zhang He?
