Chapter 264: Evil Tactics
The next morning, when the sky was slightly brighter.

More than 30,000 Hebei soldiers formed three battle groups on the left, center and right and advanced southward.

Only a small number of vehicles transporting arrows and heavy crossbows accompanied the army, while the rest of the baggage was packed by auxiliary troops and corvée laborers in preparation for the evacuation.

The scouts of both sides collided with each other at the first moment, and the Hebei soldiers, carrying new and old grudges, had a strong desire to fight.

Yuan Shang also deployed almost all of his cavalry forces. From the beginning of the battle, he controlled the battlefield and suppressed Cao's reconnaissance capabilities.

When Cao's army was mobilizing to fight, Cao Cao led more than 300 cavalrymen north to observe.

Shi Huan, who was in charge of outer reconnaissance and vigilance, pointed to the west, where there was a vague cavalry force of a thousand horses, divided into dozens of groups, which had completely cut off the communication channels between Cao's army in Liyang and Cao's army in Henei.

Shi Huan looked serious: "The enemy cavalry arrived at three o'clock in the morning and patrolled for about two hours. Our messengers were unable to break through the siege."

Cao Cao gripped the whip tightly and stared at the west with narrowed eyes. The army in the direction of Henei was currently supervised by the guard Han Hao and the commander of the army Ding Fei, and was still on the march.

If the march goes normally, the vanguard Li Dian will arrive tomorrow morning; most of the troops will arrive the day after tomorrow.

Cao Ren then spoke up: "Brother, I haven't seen the main force of the Hebei Cavalry."

Cao Cao then went to see the three marching groups coming from the north, and indeed there was no large-scale cavalry among them.

The permafrost has not completely melted yet, so there is less smoke and dust during the march.

Cao Ren continued, "The Black Bandits have appointed Qian Zhao as the commander to protect the Wuhuan. If Qian Zhao goes out, he will have at least 5,000 cavalry."

Cao Cao nodded slightly, feeling a little regretful: "It's a pity that my Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are not here."

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are currently under the command of Cao Chun and are still in the marching sequence in Hanoi.

After a whole winter of eating hay and beans, the war horses' physical strength is definitely not as good as it is in autumn.

Cao Ren felt helpless when he heard this. He was the general who was best at attacking in Cao's army. He had a smart cavalry unit under his command, but the size of the cavalry never exceeded a thousand.

After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao established the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, commanded and controlled by Cao Ren's younger brother Cao Chun.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry selected the best troops from each army, and more than half of Cao Ren's cavalry were selected.

The remaining 300-odd cavalrymen were no longer able to launch a powerful attack.

At this time, Zhang Xiu stepped out of the line, rode forward and saluted: "Mr. Mingsong, I am willing to lead the cavalry to fight and force the enemy cavalry to show up."

"Not urgent."

Cao Cao was calm. He raised his head slightly and squinted at the flags nearby. He saw the flags fluttering and rustling. "The north wind is strong in the morning. We must form a formation and hold our ground! When the south wind blows in the afternoon, the whole army will strike back. We will surely defeat Yuan Shang!"

He looked at Zhang Xiu with hope in his eyes and encouraged him: "When our army strikes back, it will be your chance to kill the enemy and gain merit."

"Yes, the general will take your orders!"

Zhang Xiu responded loudly, Cao Cao raised his whip and waved it, smiling: "Let's go!"

Surrounded by more than 300 riders, Cao Cao returned the same way.

At this time, the troops that had left the camp one after another had gathered together to fill the fences and tunnel defense lines dug in the fall.

These siege fortifications that had been excavated and built long ago are right here. If they don't occupy them, the Hebei Army will.

Cao Cao was not in a hurry. After returning to the battlefield, he dismounted and rested, waiting for Yuan Shang to arrive.

After marching for more than 20 miles, Yuan Shang must have reorganized the formation before fighting and let the soldiers rest and recover their strength.

At about 10:30 in the morning, the center of Yuan's army arrived one mile away, and Yuan Shang drove his chariot to the front of the battle.

Cao Cao also rode in a chariot, and each of them led more than ten knights to ask questions.

Contrary to Cao Cao's expectation, Yuan Shang remained calm. When the chariot was seven or eight steps away, it stopped. Yuan Shang took the initiative to bow and said, "Lord Cao, how are you?"

"Looking at Xianfu's appearance, Brother Benchu ​​has someone to succeed him."

Cao Cao also bowed and looked at a majestic knight standing near Yuan Shang's chariot. He was dressed in horse and man uniform, wearing a golden helmet and golden armor, with three large white goose feathers on the top of the helmet, and wearing a strange brass mask, and a Fang Tian Ji was dragging on the ground.

This man's dress made Cao Cao very uncomfortable.

But he concluded that it was a fake and couldn't help but smile.

Cao Cao's eyes fell on Yuan Shang's face again, and he spoke: "The black bandits are extremely powerful, and I have no intention of fighting with Hebei. Why don't we stop fighting and repair the situation today? I will open up the passage and let the Liyang guards withdraw. I will send a thousand soldiers to garrison Liyang. From now on, the two families will make peace, and after the black bandits are defeated, we will fight to the death."

"What Cao Gong said makes sense."

There was no smile on Yuan Shang's handsome face: "Unfortunately, there are two things that Cao Gong did wrong."

Cao Cao was silent, so Yuan Shang said, "First, Lord Cao killed the surrendered soldiers from Hebei, and I have the support of the people of Hebei. If I cannot avenge their fathers, brothers, and children, how can I lead the people of Hebei? Secondly, when my father was seriously ill, Lord Cao detained the miracle doctor in the army."

"Don't say such angry words. You are also the leader of a faction. You should know that the black thief is no ordinary man. We both have some energy left. He dare not act rashly. If we fight today, it will be like a snipe and a clam fighting each other."

Cao Cao put his hands on the chariot guardrail and defended himself: "You also know that the two families' food supply was cut off after the Guandu battle. If I had three more months of food, why would I kill the surrendered?"

Yuan Shang just looked at Cao Cao coldly and said, "You are short-sighted. As for the snipe and the clam fighting, haha, you and I will perish together. With the heart of Black Bear, my family will not lose wealth in the future. If you win, how can my clan be spared?"

"Lord Cao should be very afraid of Black Bear, right? Not to mention the extraordinary skills he possesses, just the fact that the Qingzhou soldiers are willing to serve him and regain Huang Tian's great wish... How does Lord Cao feel about this?"

As Yuan Shang spoke, he turned his head and saw an armored knight dragging a Fang Tian Ji. Cao Cao also turned his head to look, and saw the other party raising his hand to take off his mask.

Cao Cao sat in the carriage in shock. Xu Chu, who was in the same carriage, opened his eyes wide and suddenly raised his hand to grab the hilt of the knife, but he did not dare to draw the knife.

Wei Yue took off his mask, squinted his eyes to look at Cao Cao, then looked at Xu Chu, and saw that some of Cao Cao's guards had horrified expressions on their faces.

Only then did he smile with satisfaction and put the mask back on without saying a word the whole time.

Yuan Shang smiled and pointed at Wei Yue. "I heard that Cao Gong ordered people to dig tunnels to investigate the tomb of Marquis Wen. What was the result? Do you know how much I spent to invite him to Hebei? Five thousand gold!"

Cao Cao restrained his expression and stared at Wei Yue's left leg, which was covered by the skirt armor. He also smiled and said, "Don't bully me. You are Wei Yangzu? Yuan Benchu ​​sent soldiers to hunt down Lu Bu, and you narrowly escaped death but broke the tendon of your left leg. Today, you are working for his son again. It's ridiculous."

Wei Yue said nothing, he just felt that Cao Cao's unbridled laughter was a little lacking in confidence and too exaggerated.

Yuan Shang waited until Cao Cao's laughter stopped before he said, "Since Lord Cao is unwilling to withdraw his troops, let's fight to the death today." "Humph!"

Cao Cao snorted and laughed, and the drivers of both sides waved their whips at the same time. The two chariots passed each other, and the accompanying knights stared at each other.

When the chariots circled back to the main camp, the knights began to retreat.

Wei Yue was dragging his Fang Tian Ji at the end of the team, his demeanor was lazy and casual.

Cao Cao returned to his camp, and when he returned, he saw the knight in golden armor with three large white goose feathers in front of the enemy camp dismounting swiftly and walking as usual...

Instinctively, Cao Cao looked at Xu Chu, who had better eyesight, and Xu Chu looked very serious.

Xu Chu also looked at Cao Cao, with a strange look that Cao Cao found difficult to interpret.

Without saying a word, the two wings of Yuan's army began to advance. Shi Huan, who was in charge of battlefield reconnaissance, approached the chariot and pointed to the north, saying, "Mingsir, the enemy's eastern line is composed of soldiers from Bohai, Pingyuan, and Hejian. They have the largest number of troops, about 13,000!"

He pointed to the western front and said, "Those are the troops from Weijun, Shangdang, Yuyang, and Julu, about 10,000 people."

Finally, he pointed at Yuan Shang's central army and said, "The enemy's central army has about 10,000 people!"

Cao Cao looked at Shi Huan in confusion: "Who are the commanders of each army?"

Shi Huanlue was embarrassed: "I don't know, after the two battles of Guandu and Cangting, Hebei no longer has any great generals, and most of the people Yuan Shang used are unknown."

As they were talking, the armored soldiers on the eastern front of Yuan's army advanced with shields raised, and Cao's army behind the fences and trenches drew their bows and crossbows and fired.

But Yuan's soldiers advanced in an orderly manner. When they approached the fence, they either used their hooked halberds to cut the hemp ropes on the fence, or they went forward with heavy armor and axes to chop the fence.

Cao's armored soldiers also stabbed with spears and halberds behind the fence, and the casualties on both sides were limited.

Soon after, Yuan's crossbowmen approached. These archers were all wearing heavy armor and masks. They stepped forward under the arrows of Cao's army and aimed and shot at close range.

With only half a drum's close range fire, Cao's army's eastern front position was in danger!
At this time, Yuan Shang led the central army to fight, almost repeating the tactics of the eastern front.

Because of the confrontation between Cao's spear and halberd soldiers and armored soldiers, Yuan's heavily armed axe soldiers found it difficult to quickly destroy the fence.

While they were in a stalemate, the equally heavily armed archers approached the fence and fired at the Cao army's armored soldiers on the other side of the fence at close range, causing a sharp increase in casualties for Cao's army.

Cao Cao had already retreated a hundred steps away, and was shocked when he saw the strange tactics of Yuan’s army.

On a nearby chariot, Guo Jia's eyelids were twitching as he watched.

Yuan's army advanced despite the attacks of Cao's archers, but the enemy's close range shooting was too efficient, and as long as the shot hit the target, it would often break the armor.

If the armored soldiers were shot, they would lose their combat effectiveness even if they did not die on the spot.

Less than half an incense stick of time after the battle began, the front-line soldiers could not withstand the severe damage and retreated uncontrollably.

Without their interference and resistance, the enemy's heavily armed axe soldiers quickly broke through the gaps.

Then the shield soldiers advanced, forming multiple shield lines of defense. The spear and halberd soldiers following behind the shield lines stabbed to death or injured Cao's armored soldiers who were still resisting and refusing to withdraw.

At this time, the messenger of the eastern defense line galloped to Cao Cao's carriage and said, "The Jiyin troops suffered heavy losses! The armies in Yanzhou are unstable!"

Cao Cao turned his head to look, and saw that Cheng Yu's Yanzhou Army, which had engaged the battle first, had been exhausted. A large number of Yuan's troops broke through the fence defense line and trapped the Yanzhou soldiers who had not had time to evacuate, causing heavy casualties among the Yanzhou soldiers.

Cheng Yu's battle flag was forced to move closer to the central army and entered a nearby camp before it stabilized again.

Cao Cao suddenly looked at the western front again. The fighting on the western front was just beginning at this time, and it was different from the fighting on the central and eastern fronts.

Yuan's army on the western front adopted conservative tactics, with shield soldiers in the front and bows and crossbows in the back, fighting with the defenders through projectiles and lob shots. The battle was lively, but the killing effect was limited.

Guarding the western front were Zhang Xiu and Le Jin, with Zhang Xiu in front and Le Jin behind.

At this time, Cao Ren could not help it. He put on his mask, jumped on his horse and walked to the front of Cao Cao's chariot: "Brother, the enemy's army is at its peak. Please retreat."

"No problem."

Cao Cao's tone was very firm, and Cao Ren did not try to persuade him any more. He took the lance handed over by his personal soldiers, and immediately rode his horse and led more than 300 cavalrymen to charge forward.

Dozens of Yuan army shield soldiers who had already crossed the fence set up their shields on the spot to form a semi-arc-shaped low wall.

The knights led by Cao Ren were divided into seven groups. When the fifty-plus knights led by Cao Ren were about to attack the shield wall, these shield soldiers stood still and resisted the attack, and were immediately thrown into disarray.

A dozen knights couldn't stop their charge and crashed into the trench, where they were blocked by the fence. These people were trapped in the crowd and could not turn around. In the blink of an eye, they were stabbed and hooked down by spears and halberds.

Cao Ren reined in his horse and stabbed the shield soldier who fell in front of his horse to death with his spear. He just felt the impact of the arrow in his side, but nothing else.

He immediately turned his horse around and was about to retreat, but another wave of arrows from Yuan's army came at him, and several more knights around Cao Ren were hit by arrows.

During the time that Cao Ren was fighting for, the second group of armored soldiers in the rear rushed forward to the vicinity of the trench, attempting to defeat and drive away Yuan's army that had crossed the fence.

Almost immediately, the crossbowmen who had reloaded their weapons cooperated with the archers and inflicted heavy damage on the reinforcements in just a dozen breaths.

Cao Ren's eyes were red with anger. Yuan Jun's evil tactics of risking one's life in exchange for another's were too brutal!
Elite veterans who have experienced battles will inevitably be seriously injured if they are shot at close range, and being seriously injured is no different from dying in battle.

As soon as the fight started, the morale of the veterans was suppressed.

How many veterans are there in Yuan’s army?

Now the whole bloody battle is based on grief, anger and hatred. Once this blood and energy dissipates, Yuan's army will return to its original state.

But before the courage of blood feud faded, they had already exchanged for enough elite troops of Cao's army!

This life-changing tactic, as long as it doesn't lose money... is very likely to continue!
Cao's army has been suppressed throughout the battle!
Cao Ren naturally had no intention of retreating. Before he could think, he heard the majestic knight holding the battle flag beside him shouting, "General! The Liyang defenders have left the city!"

"what?"

Cao Ren looked back and saw thick black smoke rising from Liyang City. He was quite short and could not see what was happening below the city.

It was not convenient for him to move on his own, so he stood on horseback with the help of the knights on both sides. Sure enough, he saw that the gate of Liyang City was opened, and the defenders in the city pressed northward, encircling and blocking Cheng Yu's Yanzhou soldiers!
At this time, the war drums of Yuan army approached and sounded. Cao Ren turned around and saw Yuan Shang's big banner began to move forward!
Cao Ren was surprised, and Cao Cao was also horrified. He really didn't expect that Yuan Shang was so good at fighting that he actually led his personal guards to launch an attack!
And this kind of evil tactic that caught Cao's army off guard made him feel miserable.

(End of this chapter)