flstandardbreds Chapter 513 The Great Battle of Dangyang (5)
Chapter 513 The Great Battle of Dangyang (5)
Its daybreak.
Liu Bei, enraged, pounded on the fence and roared, "Pass on my orders: Gan Xun is to lead his troops to support Meng Jun and join forces with Liao Hua to attack Cao Hong from both sides. Zhao Yun is to break through Xu Huang's blockade as soon as possible and circle around to Cao Hong's rear to eliminate him. Zhang Fei is to launch a full-scale attack to defeat Zhang He."
"Then I ordered Zhang Nan to lead the archers to break up into smaller units and patrol the formation in groups of 'tunqu' (a type of garrison). They were to use their shooting skills to disrupt the Wei army's formation. At the same time, they were to set fire to the Wei army's broken chariots and catapults. With these things, the Chongyu Camp would be unable to launch an attack."
After a day and a night of fighting, the Han and Wei armies were locked in a stalemate, completely in disarray, but there was still order within the chaos.
On the left flank of the Han army, Zhang Fei is fighting against Zhang He, and has suppressed Zhang He at the first line of defense, preventing him from making any progress.
In the middle, Zhao Yun is fighting Xu Huang, suppressing Xu Huang between the first and second trenches.
On the right flank, Cao Hong was fighting Liao Hua. He launched a fierce attack that almost pushed the battle line to Liu Bei's banner. Although Cao Hong's attack was fierce, he also went the deepest. If Zhao Yun could defeat Xu Huang and rush to the right flank to cut off Cao Hong's retreat, Cao Hong would be at risk of being annihilated.
Liu Bei recognized this advantage and thus prepared to launch a full-scale attack, aiming to eliminate Cao Hong first.
With Liu Bei's order, tens of thousands of fresh troops joined the battlefield to launch a counterattack.
The Han army's counterattack quickly caught Cao Ren's attention. Cao Ren summoned Zhang Liao and asked, "Wen Yuan, how's the reconnaissance going? Can we send cavalry to outflank the enemy and launch an attack?"
Although the Wei army has 30,000 cavalrymen plus several thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the cavalry is not very useful in the current situation. Last night, he sent out 5,000 elite cavalrymen, but very few returned. Therefore, Cao Ren dares not use the cavalry easily now and must investigate thoroughly before using them.
Zhang Liao shook his head and said, "This subordinate has discovered that the plan to flank and launch a surprise attack is not feasible. The trenches that the Big Ears have set up on the left and right flanks and behind them are several times larger than those in front, and they are extremely irregular in their crisscrossing. There are also archers and ballistae and catapults defending behind the trenches. If the cavalry charges forcibly, I estimate that more than half of them will be killed or wounded before they even reach the front of the Shu army."
"In other words, the big-eared bandits have completely blocked off the left, right, and rear sides, so we can only attack from the front."
Cao Ren snorted coldly, "Then let the infantry charge. Guo Huai will support Zhang He, Cao Zhen will support Xu Huang, and you will support Cao Hong. All the infantry will advance and launch a full-scale attack on the Shu army. All the cavalry will be under the command of Cao Xiu, who will stay in the formation to protect the king and wait for the right opportunity."
Cao Ren was going all out. Since Liu Bei's defenses were so tight that they wouldn't give the Wei army a chance to launch a surprise attack, he decided against it and attacked head-on. The Wei army's infantry was no less numerous than the Shu army's, and their combat strength was no less than the Shu army's. There was no reason for them to be overwhelmed by the Shu army.
Even if we trade one general for one general with the Shu army and they lose all their infantry, they still have cavalry. What's there to be afraid of?
With this in mind, Cao Ren issued the order for a full-scale attack.
As soon as the order was given, tens of thousands of elite Wei troops rushed to various battlefields, greatly increasing the pressure on the Han army.
On the right flank of the battlefield, Zhang Fei, having received Liu Bei's order, personally led his troops out, brandishing his eighteen-foot spear and charging left and right through the ranks, desperately trying to reach Zhang He's position. As he charged, he roared, "Zhang He, if you have the guts, come and fight your grandpa Zhang for three hundred rounds!"
His voice was so loud that it drowned out the noise of the battlefield. Zhang He shuddered and quickly replied, "Zhang Fei, you brute! You're a general now, but you still think you're just a common soldier! Archers, get ready! Shoot that scoundrel surnamed Zhang to death!"
Zhang He was no fool; in fact, he was incredibly shrewd. Knowing he was no match for Zhang Fei, why would he still try to get closer?
As rivals who had fought for decades, Zhang He was well aware of Zhang Fei's strength and the gap between them. Therefore, no matter how dire the situation became since the start of the battle, he always maintained a distance of more than 100 meters from Zhang Fei, which infuriated Zhang Fei, who yelled and screamed in anger.
Watching Zhang He constantly deploy his troops, Zhang Fei was so angry he wanted to tear his teeth out. Although he had the strength to take the head of a general from among ten thousand soldiers, what could he do if the enemy's commander refused to fight him?
After several more attempts, Zhang Fei still couldn't reach Zhang He. He was almost shot by Wei soldiers' arrows and was tragically discovered. It was impossible for him to fight Zhang He one-on-one, so he had no choice but to retreat back to the formation and do the same job of commanding the army as Zhang He.
Shortly after retreating to their main camp, reinforcements from both sides arrived simultaneously, and under the command of their respective generals, they once again engaged in a bloody battle.
On the central route, Zhao Yun encountered the same predicament as Zhang Fei. Xu Huang knew Zhao Yun's formidable martial prowess, so instead of charging forward, he hid in the rear to command, maintaining a greater distance from Zhao Yun than Zhang Fei and Zhang He did. Even if Zhao Yun wanted to charge, he couldn't get past him.
In large-scale battles involving hundreds of thousands of people, individual martial arts skills are not very effective, and if the enemy commander keeps avoiding you, there's not much you can do.
Conversely, if pursuing the enemy commander puts oneself in danger, resulting in being wounded or even killed, the impact on one's own side would be enormous.
Therefore, when Zhao Yun saw that he could not catch up with Xu Huang, he simply gave up and focused on his command duties without daring to be distracted. In addition to dealing with Xu Huang in front, Zhao Yun also had to defend against Cao Hong's army, which had already rushed into Liao Hua's formation. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if Cao Hong broke through his defenses.
Fortunately, with the arrival of reinforcements, Cao Hong faced the greatest pressure among the three Wei armies, and was unable to break through Zhao Yun's formation in a short period of time.
With reinforcements for both the Han and Wei armies, the two sides were evenly matched and could easily turn into a protracted war.
Seeing that his army was once again locked in a stalemate, Liu Bei frowned and said, "It seems we need to find a way to break this deadlock."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Bao immediately stepped forward and volunteered, saying, "Your Majesty, please let me go. Our cavalry are already starving and thirsty."
The Han army also had cavalry. After all, they had taken Longxi, and it wouldn't be right not to have some warhorses. However, the Han army had only a few thousand cavalry, all of whom were commanded by Zhang Bao, their good nephew.
Upon hearing Zhang Bao's words, Guan Xing, whose legs were aching from standing on the bus all day, hurriedly said, "I'll go with Xingguo."
Liu Bei sternly refused, saying, "It's not time for the cavalry to take the field yet. You stay put and Anguo, you're not allowed to go anywhere. Just stay in the carriage, listen and observe, and learn how to command large-scale battles. Chen Dao, listen to my orders. If Guan Xing dares to run away, knock him out and drag him back to Jiangling."
Zhang Bao was not allowed to fight because it was not yet time for the cavalry to engage in battle.
It was even simpler to prevent Guan Xing from fighting. Liu Bei never intended for Guan Xing to participate in this battle; he brought him here only to learn. Therefore, Guan Xing was only allowed to watch from the sidelines and was absolutely forbidden from fighting on the front lines.
Liu Bei had even made up his mind that when it came to a life-or-death moment, he would personally charge into battle and die on the battlefield to ensure Guan Xing's safe retreat.
The reason is simple: Guan Xing is a brilliant strategist, and a very young one at that. As long as Guan Xing is allowed to grow up smoothly, even without his own Han dynasty, there is still a chance for revival. But if Guan Xing dies and he lives, how many more days can he live at his age?
Therefore, Liu Bei absolutely forbade Guan Xing from taking any risks and insisted that he stay in the carriage and watch obediently.
Guan Xingchao and Zhang Bao shrugged helplessly and stepped back. Zhang Bao did not dare to disobey the military order and retreated back to the formation to calm the horses.
Liu Bei surveyed the battlefield and said, "The Wei army's chariots and catapults have been almost completely destroyed. The Chongyu Camp can launch another attack. Order Xia Tong to support Zhao Yun and break through Zhao Yun's lines to attack Cao Hong's rear. Order Ma Zhong to lead the archers to cooperate with Xia Tong's operation."