SFS Chapter 514 The Great Battle of Dangyang (6)
Chapter 514 The Great Battle of Dangyang (6)
Following Liu Bei's order, Xia Tong, who had rested for half the night to recharge, launched another attack, with Ma Zhong leading three thousand men to follow.
Of Ma Zhong's three thousand men, five hundred were archers and the rest were swordsmen and shieldmen. Having witnessed the strength of the heavy infantry, Ma Zhong arranged his three thousand troops into a semi-circle, with the five hundred archers and crossbowmen at the center, and the swordsmen and shieldmen forming a circle to protect the archers and crossbowmen inside the circle and to protect the left and right flanks of the heavy infantry.
Then, led by Xia Tong, they easily pushed across the battlefield like bulldozers and arrived at Zhao Yun's side. After telling Zhao Yun Liu Bei's orders, Zhao Yun pointed to the side and said, "Go help Liao Hua deal with Cao Hong and cut off Cao Hong's retreat."
The heavy infantry's assault capability is too strong. If they were to charge at Xu Huang, they would definitely be able to break through his formation. However, Xu Huang has not penetrated deep into the battlefield. Once Xu Huang's formation is broken, the Wei cavalry will arrive. Therefore, it is better to defeat Cao Hong first.
After sending Xia Tong away, Zhao Yun ordered the army to gradually retreat, preparing to let Xu Huang into the formation to fight again. At the same time, he sent someone to inform Zhang Fei to protect his flank, so as not to expose a gap due to his retreat and give the Wei army an opportunity to seize.
Xia Tong handed over command to Ma Zhong and led the Chongyu Battalion as the spearhead, charging fiercely into Cao Hong's army. With just one charge, he tore a gap in Cao Hong's formation, cutting Cao Hong's army in half.
Having successfully reunited with Cao Hong, Zhang Liao couldn't help but curse upon seeing the Chongyu Camp: "Damn it, it's the Chongyu Camp again! Where's the Pojia Camp?"
Cao Hong said, "The Armor-Piercing Battalion suffered nearly half its casualties last night, and is now crippled."
Zhang Liao said urgently, "We still have to go. Let the Armor-Piercing Battalion hold off the Heavy Feather Battalion head-on, while the rest of us attack the left and right flanks of the Heavy Feather Battalion with all our might. Once we break through the Heavy Feather Battalion's defenses, we'll send ten times the number of troops to press forward. I don't believe we can't surround and kill these iron lumps."
Cao Hong agreed to call for Wang Shuang, and the unfortunate Wang Shuang had no choice but to lead the Armor-Piercing Battalion to attack the Chongyu Battalion. However, they were no match for the Chongyu Battalion and were forced to retreat in defeat. They kept calling for their teammates to come and support them, and it was extremely difficult for them to resist.
The Chongyu Camp, however, was like a mature and steady water buffalo. Although it moved slowly, it made progress with every step, constantly closing the distance between itself and Cao Hong and Zhang Liao.
Moreover, with the arrival of the Chongyu Camp, the pressure on Liao Hua, Meng Jun, and others who were facing Cao Hong head-on was greatly reduced.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Liao Hua decisively abandoned defense and launched a counterattack, leading Meng Jun, Gan Xun and others to press Cao Hong and Zhang Liao with all their might.
Liao Hua and Xia Tong rushed towards each other, getting closer and closer. Cao Hong and Zhang Liao, caught in the middle, were under increasing pressure. Seeing that this was not a solution, Zhang Liao quickly suggested, "Let's break out. To the east is the antler-shaped trench that blocks the cavalry. We can't cross it, so we can only break out to the west and attack Zhao Yun from behind so we can join Xu Huang in attacking Zhao Yun."
Cao Hong agreed, and Zhang Liao turned west and personally charged forward, leading the charge towards Zhao Yun's back.
At the same time, the Wei army from the rear pressed towards Ma Zhong, and Ma Zhong's pressure increased instantly. However, he remained calm and composed despite the alarm, giving the Wei army no chance to break through the defense line and threaten Xia Tong's rear.
As Xia Tong continued to advance, he got closer and closer to Liu Bei's banner. Liu Bei also saw the situation behind Xia Tong and said with delight, "This man named Ma Zhong, facing a Wei army that outnumbers him several times over, not only did he not panic at all, but he also calmly dealt with the situation and commanded with great skill. He is a promising talent."
His biggest disadvantage compared to Cao Cao was his lack of talent, so when he saw talented people, he was overjoyed, as if he had seen a priceless treasure.
Guan Yu chimed in, "It seems that Yizhou also has talented people. The strategist's approach of making good use of the Yizhou gentry is correct. However, Zhang Liao and Cao Hong have been forced to rush behind Zilong, so Zilong may be under pressure."
Liu Bei said, "I believe Zilong can hold out. Order Liao Hua to ignore Cao Hong and Zhang Liao and continue to advance, trying to push through the first line of defense and completely trap Cao Hong and Zhang Liao in their formation. Chen Dao, you lead the White Feather Army to attack Cao Hong's rear and relieve the pressure on Zilong."
The army launched a new attack based on Liu Bei's orders.
On the Wei side, Xu Huang, who was constantly observing the battle, sensed the crisis and quickly said, "Zidan, go and take over the army under General Cao Hong. Block the Shu army and prevent Liao Hua from returning to the first line of defense. Then, order the army to attack Zhao Yun's formation through the gap between Zhao Yun and Liao Hua, and support Generals Cao Hong and Zhang Liao."
At the beginning of the war, Zhao Yun and Liao Hua were on the same front. Now, Zhao Yun has not moved much, but Liao Hua has been forced to retreat to the rear defense line. This has created a gap between Zhao Yun and Liao Hua. If the Wei army does not care about the cost, it can completely rush into Zhao Yun's formation through this gap.
"Yes..." Cao Zhen accepted the order and quickly went to take over Cao Hong's rear army, which had been cut off by Xia Tong. He then attacked Ma Zhong and Liao Hua to prevent the Shu army from advancing, while sending troops to attack Zhao Yun's flank in an attempt to bring back the besieged Cao Hong and Zhang Liao.
The current battlefield situation is as follows: Cao Hong and Zhang Liao broke through to the west to escape the pincer attack of Liao Hua and Xia Tong, but were surrounded by Liao Hua, Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and even Chen Dao. However, Zhao Yun was also attacked from both the front and the rear by Cao Hong, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang. Cao Zhen continued to attack from the gap between Zhao Yun and Liao Hua.
The Wei army was too numerous and its attack too fierce. Zhao Yun gradually could not resist and was forced to retreat to the west to join Zhang Fei. As a result, the Wei army broke through the central defense line of the Han army. Seeing this, Cao Ren decisively mobilized troops to pour in from the center. Now the entire defense line was in chaos. The Han and Wei armies were intertwined, like mung beans and red beans poured into the same sack and stirred evenly, indistinguishable from each other.
Both sides then entered a phase of command failure and a test of willpower. The battlefield was littered with piles of corpses and flying limbs, and the blood flowing out completely stained the ground red mud. Not only did the mud fly everywhere when you stepped on it, but some people even got stuck in the mud for a long time and couldn't pull themselves out.
After several hours of fierce fighting, around 5 PM, Cao Cao, who had been sitting on his chariot like a meditating monk, finally raised his head, pressed his hands on the armrests of his chair and struggled to stand up. He glanced at the battlefield, then collapsed back into his chair, saying weakly, "Zixiao, that's enough. The Shu army has suffered more than half its casualties, and we have achieved our objective. We can withdraw now."
The Shu army suffered more than half its casualties, while the Wei army suffered even greater casualties. But Cao Cao didn't care. His purpose in launching this battle was to bleed Liu Bei dry, sacrificing a thousand of his own men to inflict eight hundred wounds on the enemy. Now that his goal had been achieved, there was no need to linger in the battle.
Cao Ren nodded, then turned and instructed the messenger to relay the retreat order to the frontline generals. At the same time, he ordered Cao Xiu to lead the cavalry to prepare to launch an attack at any time to cover the army's retreat.
That's right, the cavalry was used to cover the retreat.
With Cao Ren's order, the generals at the front retreated in an orderly manner, taking turns providing cover, according to the plan agreed upon before the battle.
"You want to run away? Did you get my permission?"
Xia Tong, who had been toyed with like a kite by Wang Shuang for most of the day, was furious when he saw that the Wei army was about to retreat. He broke away from the army and charged towards Wang Shuang at top speed.
Wang Shuang hadn't expected Xia Tong to be so reckless. Instinctively, he retreated into the formation to hide. He could hide, but with so many Wei soldiers, it was impossible to hide from everyone. Xia Tong, who had rushed forward and was no longer restrained by his teammates, completely let loose and wielded his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to slaughter everyone in the formation.
Ma Zhong, whose army of three thousand had suffered more than half its casualties but had always protected Xia Tong, said with delight, “The Chongyu Camp should stop forming a battle formation. The formation is too slow to advance and can’t keep up with the Wei army. Forming a battle formation is meaningless. Let’s all spread out and fight in groups of three.”
The heavily armored soldiers, trapped in the formation, all ran wildly. Ma Zhong then gathered his troops and acted as a fire brigade, rushing to whichever group of heavily armored soldiers seemed to be in danger.
As a result, the Wei army could not hold out, especially Wang Shuang. Seeing his comrades falling one after another and Xia Tong continuing to advance, forcing the army to be unable to retreat effectively, he became furious. He picked up his armor-piercing spike and charged at Xia Tong, shouting, "Xia Tong, you dog, I'll fight you to the death today!"