flstandardbreds Chapter 207 Hao Zhao, what are you waiting for?
Chapter 207 Hao Zhao, what are you waiting for?
Watching Fan Jiang's departing figure, Zhang Fei's lips curled into a confident smile.
This tactic of traversing mountains and valleys, taking detours and infiltrating through obstacles, would have a very low chance of success in the Jiangnan region, but it has a high probability of success in the Jiangbei region.
Because the mountains in Jiangnan and Jiangbei are different. The mountains in Jiangnan, especially the mountains in Sichuan, are full of cliffs that even birds cannot cross. The mountains are almost vertical and very high, with the shortest cliffs being more than ten meters high.
But the mountains north of the Yangtze River are different. Most of them are cone-shaped, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, like pine trees. There is a slope between the bottom and the top of the mountain. Although it takes some effort to climb up the slope, the success rate is very high, unlike the cliffs of Sichuan and Chongqing that make people feel hopeless.
After seeing Fan Jiang off, Zhang Fei led his army to continue advancing. Around 1 p.m., they successfully arrived near Longban. With only ten miles left to go, the scout who had gone to scout ahead ran up covered in blood and said, "General, something bad has happened! We have discovered traces of Wei troops ahead. My five brothers and I were ambushed as soon as we went up the mountain. Only I have returned."
The scout had been slashed in the abdomen and fainted as soon as he finished speaking. Zhang Fei said urgently, "Medic! Doctor! Quickly take a look at him! Everyone else, slow down!"
The army slowed its advance, while over a thousand elite troops stepped out from the main force and charged towards the Longshan Pass in units of garrison, intending to force the Wei scouts back to their positions.
Before engaging in battle, both sides must clear the battlefield, removing any obstructing scouts and potential attack squads, so that they can face each other with peace of mind.
On this point, Zhang Fei and Hao Zhao were in perfect agreement. As soon as the Han army appeared, the Wei scouts retreated to their camp like startled octopus tentacles.
Upon receiving the news, Zhang Fei led his personal guards to investigate. They ran up the first hillside and looked ahead, discovering a camp standing on the hilltop about a mile away. In front of the camp, densely packed deer antlers completely blocked the narrow Longshan Road.
That damn Hao Zhao actually set up more than a dozen rows of deer antlers in front of the camp. How many trees did he have to cut down? So you've been doing nothing but cutting down trees these past two days? No wonder the mountains on both sides are completely bare.
That's not the point. The point is that there are more than a dozen rows of deer antlers. When will it take to clear them all?
More importantly, Hao Zhao wouldn't just watch the Han army clear the area. He would definitely fire arrows at them while they were clearing it. Didn't you see the green branches hanging on those catapults in the Wei army's formation? They were obviously newly made.
Zhang Fei said with a toothache, "Damn Hao Zhao, he's clearly trying to stall for time."
The subordinate whispered, "General, we've just scouted the area. There are Wei troops in the gaps between the two mountain peaks and on the mountaintops. It's impossible to get around to their rear from the sides."
Zhang Fei said with a dark face, "So, we can only launch a frontal assault and clear out these damned deer antlers under the Wei army's arrow rain?"
The subordinate nodded and said, "Yes."
Clearing out the deer antlers under a hail of arrows is definitely not an option; the casualties would be too great and would easily affect morale.
Moreover, Zhang Fei wasn't in a hurry; he wanted to buy time for Fan Jiang, and keeping Hao Zhao tied up here was just what he needed.
However, we can't do nothing, or Hao Zhao will become suspicious.
Zhang Fei was pondering how to break the deadlock when he saw the fluttering flags and an idea came to him. It was summer, and the wind was blowing from the southeast, meaning the Han army was currently upwind.
Although most of the wind was blocked by the mountains, and not much of it actually reached their faces, it was still better than nothing.
Zhang Fei exclaimed with delight, "Send men into the mountains to collect grass and wood, burn all these deer antlers, and then send men into the mountains to bypass the Wei army and build a road encirclement around the Wei army's defenses. This will ensure that after Hao Zhao is defeated, he can only retreat along the Longshan Road and we must not allow them to get around to our rear to attack Huang Zhizhong."
Besides repelling Hao Zhao and getting to Jieting as quickly as possible, he also had another task: to prevent Hao Zhao from flanking him and avoiding his attack on Huang Quan's grain transport team.
Therefore, this time he wants to annihilate Hao Zhao's army completely, rather than simply defeating or repelling them.
As for whether he could do it, Zhang Fei wasn't worried. His forces were three or four times that of Hao Zhao's, and they were in a narrow area like the Longshan Road. If he still couldn't do it, Zhang Fei might as well quit the army and go home to hold his grandson.
At Zhang Fei's command, the Han army rushed into the mountains to gather grass and cut firewood. Although it was summer and the grass and trees were green and not suitable for burning, don't forget that this is the Qinling Mountains. There are still many dry grasses and branches in the mountains that were not cleared last winter, which can be collected and set on fire.
In addition, Hao Zhao only cut down the tree trunks to make antlers, but didn't bother to deal with the cut branches. Many of them were just left lying around in the mountains, and people just picked them up.
Half an hour later, dozens of Han soldiers, carrying shields and bundles of dry branches and firewood, arrived in front of the Wei army's deer antlers. Upon seeing this, the Wei army immediately opened fire with arrows.
The distance between the first row of antlers and the last row of antlers is about 80 or 90 meters, a distance at which arrows can still be very lethal.
But the Han army had shields. Each squad of soldiers was divided into two groups: one group raised their shields to defend, while the other group stuffed dry grass under the deer antlers and then set it on fire.
Dozens of fire sources were ignited simultaneously, quickly setting the first row of deer antlers ablaze. The Han army did not linger, and after ensuring the fire would not be blown out by the wind, they quickly withdrew.
It is worth mentioning that the Wei army's deer antlers were all made from newly cut wood, which contained too much moisture. Although they did not ignite into a large flame when lit, they produced a lot of thick smoke.
The Wei army was downwind, and the wind blew the thick smoke all towards them.
"Cough cough cough..."
Hao Zhao, who was commanding the Wei army at the front, was choked by the smoke and coughed violently. He quickly squatted down, covered his mouth and nose with his hands, and cursed: "Damn those ring-eyed thieves, they are so shameless! Everyone squat down and keep your breathing, be careful not to choke on the smoke."
Smoke rises, meaning that as long as you crouch low enough, you won't choke on it.
Hao Zhao squatted on the ground, watching the raging fire, showing no intention of sending troops to rescue him.
First of all, the deer antlers blocked the Shu army, but they also blocked them. If they wanted to get through, they would have to move the deer antlers aside. Why bother?
Secondly, when he was setting up the antlers, he also dug many small traps on the ground, the kind that could pierce your instep if you stepped in them. With these things around, wouldn't it be crazy for him to run over and put out the fire?
Last but not least, he didn't intend to fight Zhang Fei to the death. If he couldn't hold him off, he would retreat. There were so many beacon towers and fortresses behind him, providing ample depth for his retreat. He could set up obstacles for Zhang Fei as he retreated, and if Zhang Fei didn't mind the effort, he could slowly set them on fire. He could afford to wait it out.
The first row of antlers burned out quickly and the fire successfully spread to the second row, but because the tree trunks were too wet, the fire was not very large.
Zhang Fei then ordered his men to advance with shields on their heads. Once they got close to the deer antlers, they threw dry grass and firewood into the fire from a distance to fuel the flames.
One soldier was rather reckless. He jumped over the burning embers of the first row of antlers, intending to get closer before throwing the trap. However, he accidentally stepped into a trap with his right foot and immediately screamed in pain.
The screams startled the other soldiers. The comrades quickly threw their shields to the ground, stepped on them, and went to the wounded soldier, helping him back to the front lines.
Zhang Fei rushed over and, seeing the bamboo skewer piercing the wounded soldier's instep, said, "Quickly, find a medic."
After seeing the wounded soldiers off, Zhang Fei stared at the burning flames and cursed, "Damn Hao Zhao, I didn't realize you were such a cunning bastard."
Having learned their lesson, the Han army was much more careful when adding firewood, and the flames burned slowly; the deer antlers were still burning by nightfall.
However, both sides felt that they should remain calm, so neither was in a hurry.
As evening fell, Zhang Fei stood on high ground, peering through the thick smoke from the deer antlers at the cooking fires rising from the Wei army camp, and muttered to himself, "Hao Zhao, Hao Zhao, I'm waiting for Fan Jiang to arrive, what are you waiting for?"