Chapter 2106 The gap between soldiers
There are only two ways to solve the slow movement of refugees. One is to speed up the refugees, and the other is to slow down Cao Jun''s pursuit. But it is basically difficult to make the refugees speed up, or in other words, even if a lot of work is done, it is impossible for the refugees to immediately become like soldiers, knowing how to coordinate and cooperate with orders and prohibitions.
So there is only one way left, which is to slow down the pace of Cao Jun''s pursuit as much as possible.
A few days ago, Zhuge Liang didn''t feel much nervous during the fierce battle outside Fancheng. After all, at that time, it could be said that Zhuge Liang had planned for a long time, and then watched it come true step by step. At the beginning of the war, Cao Jun''s behavior trajectory had been predicted, but now, Zhuge Liang was very helpless for this refugee who did not play cards according to common sense.
In the understanding of Zhuge Liang, Liao Hua, Xu Yu and others, whether it was because of the order of General Hussars or the pity for these Jingzhou refugees, they all felt that these refugees should understand that human life is the most important, so it is important to run for their lives as soon as possible. Not quite the right thing to do? Is it the most important thing for refugees to do?
It''s a pity that the positions are different, and the angles of thinking are also different.
When you arrive at the refugee place, fleeing for your life is important, but the pots, pans, and pans around you are equally important. Even the hussars have repeatedly declared that there will be new farm tools in Guanzhong, and even cattle and sheep can be rented first, etc. policy, but these refugees still feel that all things are not as good as their own, and they have to bring those things that Zhuge Liang and Liao Hua think are cumbersome.
Zhuge Liang even saw some refugees pushing the stone mill all the way, and finally gave up the idea of ??rolling the stone mill all the way to Guanzhong...
Human life is undoubtedly the most expensive, but in the minds of these refugees, their own lives are often humble, and they are not even worth a few grains of rice!
Zhuge Liang did not pin his hopes on the refugees. It was not an easy task to retreat from Wumingwubao to Wuguan. , until...
Fortunately, Liao Hua successfully destroyed most of Cao Jun''s ships, so that Cao Jun could not pursue them by water. Otherwise, Zhuge Liang would face the most embarrassing situation, and he would not even be able to use his tactics.
This time, Zhuge Liang suggested that Xu Yu rush to Wuguan for help, and he and Liao Hua stayed behind to delay Cao Jun''s pursuit. In the original plan, Xu Yu and Liao Hua stayed behind, and Zhuge Liang went to Wuguan... After all, Zhuge Liang''s force is worth, well, when he picks up the long sword, he can probably defeat one or two refugees, which is roughly equivalent to none.
However, Xu Yu was injured. Although he was treated, it was impossible for him to go into battle immediately, so he could only adjust it, but this also caused Zhuge Liang to face more dangers. If you are not careful, let alone defeat, even your own life will be ruined. Wealth and wealth are sought in danger, everyone knows this sentence, but when they are in danger, most people will shrink back, and there are very few people who can really bravely meet them.
Zhuge Liang has weighed the pros and cons many times, but after the final decision, he was still a little nervous.
Liao Hua could sense Zhuge Liang''s nervousness from the sidelines, so he said: "Kong Ming''s deployment of refugees here is just...if something goes wrong, they can retreat quickly..." Liao Hua''s meaning was very clear, if he couldn''t hold back Cao Jun, then let Zhuge Liang go quickly. Let these refugees slow down Cao Jun''s footsteps...
『We evacuate, Cao Jun will pursue! Zhuge Liang restrained his nervousness and tried his best to make himself look more relaxed, "If what is expected is correct, the cavalry will arrive first, and the infantry will follow... If Cao Jun sees a crowd of refugees, he will definitely drive them away and confuse our troops. , if we wait here for an attack, we may be in trouble. 』
Liao Hua agreed with Zhuge Liang''s opinion and said: "Therefore, we should attack him!" 』
『Exactly. 』Zhuge nodded.
『Then...what should be done? ’ Liao Hua asked.
Zhuge Liang turned his gaze to Danshui aside.
Cao Jun really launched a large-scale pursuit...
After Cao Jun occupied Fancheng, they also argued with each other about whether to continue the pursuit. The coach Xiahou Dun was a little hesitant, the young general Cao Xiu said that he would not come again when the opportunity was too late, and he had to pursue it, while Cao Renmo was worried that there might be a trap.
For Cao Jun, it is good to be able to expand the results of the battle, but if the poor are chasing fiercely and encountering an ambush, then it is naturally not beautiful. When Cao Cao chased Dong Zhuo back then, he also played stud and lost everything. Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren were both present, so they tended to be more cautious.
But the problem is that Cao Xiu is not happy.
The root cause of Cao Xiu''s reluctance is not, well, it cannot be said that it is completely selfish. After all, if this hussar army is really concealed and killed, throwing away their helmets and armor and fleeing in all directions, even if they cannot take the enemy''s head It is of great benefit to Cao Cao''s overall situation, but under the cover of this big sign, Cao Xiu still has some small thoughts about striving for success.
Although Cao Ren and Cao Xiu teamed up to defeat the Jiangdong soldiers in the fight against Jiangdong, it was considered a great achievement, but this merit was basically done by Cao Ren and supported by Cao Xiu. Some were distributed, including Hu Qi''s part, so what really fell on Cao Xiu''s head could not be regarded as a lot. But now, Hu Qi went back to cooperate with Cao Cao, and Cao Xiu went to Xiangyang to cooperate with Xiahou Dun, but after such a trip, Cao Xiu suffered repeated defeats in the vicinity of Fancheng. Not only did he not get any new merits, he even lost troops!
How can Cao Xiu swallow this bad breath?
What''s interesting is that normally speaking, when most of the ship was burned, Xiahou Dun naturally hesitated, which is normal. General Cao Ren held a conservative attitude. Even if Cao Xiu made a strong proposal, there was a high probability that he would be biased towards Cao Ren''s opinion. However, Cao Xiu said some very crucial words and immediately changed the final decision.
『In the old days of fighting in Jiangdong, the leaders were exhausted in Beijing, and the corpses were in the sun, Jiangdong was terrified! ’ Cao Xiu looked at Xiahoudun and Cao Ren, and cupped his hands and said, ‘Now, although Uncle Zixiao retreated the bandit soldiers with three arrows, the hussars didn’t suffer much damage, and it’s not enough to break my heart. ? 』
Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren looked at each other, and then remained silent.
In some respects, Cao Xiu''s words are not wrong. After all, from the very beginning to the present, he has basically been at a disadvantage when fighting against hussars. After all, it can''t be said that he has the advantage right now. Back a little, and then just give up the opportunity to continue to expand the advantage...
『What’s more, there are still a lot of people in Fancheng, but the bandit general retreated lightly...』 Regarding this point, Cao Xiu said with some disdain, "If someone defends the city, there will be these people, at least ten more days!" To retreat so easily, or something has changed, or the thief will be timid! Even if you take a step back and say that in the name of benevolence, she has little desire to sacrifice, so she retreats... Hehe, if this is the case, how can such a woman''s state of mind be able to fight? ! 』
『The key points in Jingxiang here, if a certain place is changed, even if there is one soldier in the battle, we will try our best to delay the time to achieve the overall situation! ”Cao Xiu talked eloquently, “Fighting against the city, as little as one for three, as many as one for five, such a favorable location is to be abandoned lightly! If the rebel soldiers are determined to fight, and we can exchange 3000 soldiers for more than 10,000 of us, and it can delay time, why not do it? Now the enemy general cherishes life and death, dare not fight to the death, abandons the city and flees, from this we can see that the hussars have no will to fight, if they don''t chase now, when will they wait? 』
Does it make sense?
seems to sound reasonable.
So Cao Jun took the cavalry led by Cao Xiu as the vanguard, and Cao Ren led the infantry behind, and began to pursue Zhuge Liang and others. In order to make it easier to march along the Danshui on the mountain road, Cao Xiu put the heavy armor in Fancheng and converted it into a light armor state, just to speed up the pursuit. Anyway, in Cao Xiu''s view, Zhuge Liang and others were scared out of their wits. There would be too much of a threat.
However, in fact, Cao Jun was ambushed by a trap set by Liao Hua and others before his pursuit reached Wumingwubao...
Thirty Cao Jun cavalrymen appeared in the field of vision, looking very cautious. The first two cavalrymen held the reins in one hand and a halberd in the other. Sudden change.
Suddenly, a war horse of Cao Jun''s front foot sank halfway, and then heard a tooth-piercing click, and suddenly fell to the ground, throwing the rider on the horse far away!
『There is an ambush! alert! 』
『Enemy Attack—』
Amidst the miserable roar, Cao Jun shouted, and then quickly assumed a fighting state, with his eyes wide open, holding a shield, holding a bow, looking around, observing the changes and movements of every light and shadow .
However, everything was quiet. Cao Jun''s soldiers had expected the rain of arrows like locusts, and the swords and guns of Hanguang did not appear. The mountain haze was slight, and in the forest, the treetops swayed slowly and calmly, and an old crow flew across the sky, quacking as if laughing at Cao Jun''s fuss.
"what happened? ! 』
From the queue, Cao Jun cavalry commander Qu Chang, who was in charge of the former army, saw that everything around was quiet and there seemed to be no danger, so he pushed aside the guards and went to the front to ask the Cao Jun cavalry who had an accident.
『I, I don’t know either…』
The unlucky cavalryman of Cao Jun was bruised and swollen, his face and arms were scratched, and his **** look was somewhat embarrassing, but it was not fatal. Similarly, the horse lying on the ground and whining was not dead, but its front foot was broken …
『Gan! ”Cao Jun Quchang got off his horse, checked it, and couldn’t help jumping up and cursing, “This is done by the damned hussars! Specially used to trap horse legs! Here, here too, and...』
Jun Cao couldn’t help cursing, looking left and right, and pointing, “You can’t go this way, and you can’t go ahead…”
Before Cao Jun Qu Zhang finished speaking, the vegetation in the forest on one side shook, and a crossbow flew out from under the shadow of the tree, and plunged into Cao Jun Qu Zhang''s chest and abdomen in a blink of an eye!
Perhaps Cao Jun will not get off his horse to give instructions, and he will not be the target of the hussars'' snipe. It is possible that another unlucky guy died, but he showed behavioral characteristics different from ordinary soldiers, and immediately became the one who spread out to ambush The best target for snipers.
Cao Jun was horrified, and subconsciously raised his shield again, and the knife-wielding man was on guard. After a while, he didn''t wait for the follow-up attack and looked at each other. Then he roared angrily, and cautiously raised his shield to force him. He moved towards the direction where the crossbow was fired, but there were no traces of people left.
Although the sun is high in the sky, there are still many places hidden in darkness under the shadows of the mountains and trees. Under the swaying vegetation, they all seem to be smiling sinisterly at Cao Jun with malicious intentions.
Such a strange situation caused Cao Jun, who had lost the commander at the grassroots level, to immediately have a disagreement. Some people thought it was just an accidental problem. He didn''t complete the military affairs, and he was afraid he would be punished, while the other part felt that this must be an ambush by hussars, and that there might be more traps ahead, so he had to go back and report to Cao Xiu first.
Different opinions led to different results. Those who insisted on moving forward led a dozen people forward, and then immediately encountered a new ambush. Liao Hua and others who suddenly rushed out of the mountain forest easily harvested the heads of the people. All the horses that could still walk were taken away, leaving only a mess on the ground.
As expected, those who retreated were publicly punished by Cao Xiu, saying that they not only lost their masters, but also retreated without permission. , but encountered a freshly baked pit in the horse''s leg again on the way!
These small pits did not hurt much, but they were more insulting. Cao Xiu was furious, and he arrested the team leader who assumed the responsibility of the striker and whipped him twenty times. After all, these vanguard troops who were originally responsible for detection and pathfinding not only failed to complete the task of detection marks, but also fled back. They were not killed as deserters. Cao Xiu had already restrained himself very much.
Cao Xiu lined up on the spot and ordered his soldiers to search the surrounding forests, but found nothing. Although some traces of activities were found, he did not catch or run into these ambush hussar soldiers. War horses cannot enter the mountains, and the speed of pursuit on foot is naturally not as fast as those hussars who have already retreated. It is impossible for Cao Xiu to leave the target in front of him and delay too much time in the mountains. return.
Cao Xiu stepped up his vigilance and dispatched soldiers to the front to detect again, but the sad news came from the troops that went forward immediately. The first group of more than ten Cao cavalry on the mountain road ahead were completely annihilated. When Cao Xiu arrived at the scene of the incident, before he could investigate clearly, another bad news came from ahead, and he was ambushed again, and nearly half of the more than thirty people were lost.
Cao Xiu was afraid that he would be caught in an ambush by dividing his troops again, so he took every step and no longer sent a small team forward. Instead, he divided the troops into two parts, the front and the back, and pursued them in turn. In the past, and then the cavalry roared to clear up.
Although this action has achieved certain results, some hussar soldiers were killed, but Cao Xiu''s own damage was several times!
Under the light and shadow of the woods, the bridle ropes and hair-cutting wires made the cavalry of Cao cavalry impossible to defend against. Afterwards, they even learned to be obedient. Once they entered the dark woods, one of them must be holding a long halberd in the air, and the other would be slashing on the ground...
Even so, the speed of Cao Xiu''s pursuit was greatly slowed down.
Liao Hua did not attack by force. He was just taking advantage of his familiarity with the terrain to harass and attack Cao Xiu non-stop. All terrains are suitable for drinking horses, and flat areas are always limited, so these places are naturally the areas that Liao Hua focuses on.
Every time Cao Xiu takes a rest, there will be a few or a dozen Cao soldiers missing or dead. The hussars and horses seem to be tireless, spying on Cao Xiu and others in the mountains and forests all the time. It will be attacked in a blink of an eye. Although the casualties are not many, it has seriously affected the morale of Cao''s army.
Cao Xiu tried to set up bait several times, even at the risk of trying to lure Liao Hua, but Liao Hua was not fooled, he was not like Xu Yu who could not move when he saw an enemy general, but cautiously implemented Zhuge Liang''s strategy , repeatedly harassing Cao Xiu, and only launching a fierce attack when he was sure that he could eat up the sporadic troops of Cao Jun in one go, and then retreated in a blink of an eye, making Cao Xiu hard to defend.
If Cao Xiu had a force several times larger than Liao Hua, then Cao Xiu could pursue and attack Liao Hua regardless of damage, and could even overwhelm Liao Hua even if he used these moves, he would still be chased and flee in panic. But the problem is that Cao Xiu''s cavalry is not many, and he wants to pursue speed and has removed his heavy armor. In this winding and rugged Danshui River, under small-scale battles, the skill gap between soldiers is enlarged...
The cavalry under Cao Xiu were just cavalry, and they would be fools when they got off their horses. If there were no grassroots commanders, sometimes they would not know what to do when they were attacked.
Hussars, as long as they are veterans of more than one year, they are almost all-rounders. In the annual military competition, a group of victorious guys can go to Chang''an to meet the Hussars. It will be promoted, coupled with the gradual popularization of military education and the welfare benefits of professional soldiers, so that the soldiers under the hussars seldom appear in the situation of being completely passive and only screaming and moving. Most of the soldiers are automatic. Spontaneously learning more combat skills, and even practiced on his own after training.
When large-scale soldiers fight, it is not very noticeable, but the smaller the number, the more small-scale the battle, the more obvious the gap between the soldiers. The hussars can pretend to hide, snipe with crossbows, dig traps, and even know how to bandage and treat themselves. Once Cao Jun is injured, he will just hold the wound and scream...
The two sides launched a tug-of-war in the mountains. Cao Xiu gritted his teeth and fought forward, while Liao Hua was haunted and seized every possible opportunity to attack Cao Jun. Cao Jun was in a state of tension all day long, and his nerves were tense all the time. .
If a person is nervous for a period of time, it is not a big problem, but if he is nervous all the time, he will either become a salted fish in the end, lying down and being dragged by others, or he will overreact. So when Cao Xiu was repairing and setting up camp that night, the defense measures were so good that even Liao Hua couldn''t find a loophole to attack, but Cao Xiu''s soldiers in his own camp, I don''t know if it was because of the strange screams of the old bustard at night, or some other scare. In the middle of the night, he howled the enemy''s attack, which almost caused a roar in the camp. If Cao Xiu hadn''t reacted quickly and controlled it properly, Liao Hua might not have continued to attack, or the whole army would have collapsed.
Under such a situation, even Cao Xiu, who is very energetic, can''t continue to forcefully chase him. He can only tear his face and ask Cao Ren for support...
(end of this chapter)