Chapter 423 Thank you Prime Minister Xiao for your support. I will become famous all over the world! Let the Huns have a taste of the power of my Fire Bull Formation!
Anyi.

A scout rushed into the city and delivered the news that the Qin-Xiongnu coalition forces were attacking from the south to Liu Bei's desk.

"Prime Minister, Xiaozhi, it is just as you two expected."

"Cao Ren thought that I was leading the main force to attack Huguan, so he couldn't wait to take advantage of the situation and attack Anyi!"

"The fish is hooked!"

Liu Bei smiled and raised the intelligence in his hand to several advisers.

The 70,000 troops that headed east to Jiguan were actually just going under the banner of Liu Bei as the emperor. They were just a bait.

Cao Ren and Yu Furuo naturally didn't know that Liu Bei and Xiao Fang were both in Anyi, and had prepared a tight net, waiting for the two thieves to fall into their trap.

Xiao Fang smiled and turned his gaze to Ma Su:

"You Chang, Cao Ren and Yu Fuluo have taken the bait. Have you prepared your secret weapon to defeat the Xiongnu cavalry?"

Ma Su stood up quickly and bowed:
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I have everything ready. We are just waiting for Yu Fuluo to fall into the trap tomorrow!"

Xiao Fang nodded slightly in satisfaction and turned back to signal Liu Bei with his eyes.

Liu Bei's fighting spirit was aroused. He stood up and waved his hand, shouting:

"Pass on my order. Tomorrow the entire army will line up behind the city and destroy the Xiongnu cavalry in one fell swoop!"

The generals accepted the order with great enthusiasm, and were all eager to fight.

Ever since they learned that the Huns had sent troops to help the Pseudo-Qin and flouted the majesty of the Han Dynasty, all the generals became indignant and filled their hearts with anger, wishing to kill all the Huns without leaving a single survivor.

After retreating for several days, the day of the decisive battle finally arrived today. The generals were naturally extremely excited and eager to fight.

So when Liu Bei's order was passed down, all the 30,000 soldiers were excited and their spirits were boosted.

The army rested in Anyi for one night and had a hearty meal the next day. Around noon, 30,000 troops marched out of Anyi City and lined up with their backs to the city.

Dark clouds covered the sun and the sky was grim and gloomy.

Thirty thousand Han soldiers stood in solemn silence, and dozens of military formations of varying sizes stood tall in front of Anyi City like a majestic fortress.

Battle flags rolled like waves, weapons and armor stood like a forest, and a murderous aura rose above the army formation.

Liu Bei was wearing golden armor, holding a sword, standing on his horse in the center of the army, looking towards the north with a cold gaze.

On the top of the city wall behind him, Xiao Fangru stood leisurely, gently waving a feather fan and glancing far to the north.

Wind blows.

Below the northern horizon, a rolling torrent rises slowly and then sweeps southward in a mighty force.

In the blink of an eye, countless cavalrymen and countless battle flags, like soldiers from hell, approached with a cloud of dust in the air.

The Qin-Xiongnu coalition forces are coming!

Fifty thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry formed a battle line that stretched for several miles and advanced in a black mass.

The 30,000 Han soldiers all fastened their armor, clenched their swords and guns, and their nerves were tense.

Thirty thousand versus seventy thousand, the enemy's strength is twice that of ours!

The Han army soldiers were naturally clear about this.

Even though they were all veterans of hundreds of battles and elite warriors who were not afraid of death, their palms were filled with sweat at this moment.

just.

His footsteps and the weapons in their hands were firmly rooted to the ground, without any movement.

In this battle, they are determined to fight to the death!
A few hundred steps away.

In the center of the coalition army, Cao Ren was squinting his eyes, sizing up the Han army's formation from afar.

"The Han army actually lined up with their backs to the city?"

Cao Ren muttered to himself, with a hint of surprise and confusion in his eyes.

They have twice the military force advantage.

According to Xun You's prior deduction, the Han army left behind in Anyi would definitely stay there and not go out, so as to avoid being outnumbered.

His army was coming in large numbers, and he had already made preparations to set up camps on all sides and besiege Anyi.

However, unexpectedly, the remaining Han army once again did not play by the rules and dared to line up their battle line with their backs to the city!
So crazy?

Or is there some trick involved?
Cao Ren's heart trembled slightly, and he looked carefully at the Han army formation, wanting to confirm whether Liu Bei was in the Han army formation.

"General Cao, if the Han army were to leave the city and die, wouldn't that be exactly what we want?"

"What are you waiting for? Order an attack immediately and wipe out these 30,000 Han troops. Then, won't it be easy to capture Anyi City?"

Yu Furuo was not as alert as him. Instead, he was extremely excited and urged him excitedly.

Cao Ren's vigilance was interrupted by Yu Fuluo.

At this point, both armies have deployed their troops, and the situation is hopeless, so they have no choice but to fight.

If we retreat at this time, the morale of the army will definitely change and the formation will be disrupted.

If the Han army seized the flaw and took advantage of the situation to attack, his 70,000-strong coalition army would be in danger of defeat.

The arrow is on the string and must be shot!
"Liu Bei, even if you are in Anyi, even if you are cheating again, so what!"

"I have 50,000 Xiongnu cavalry at my disposal, what do I have to fear?"

Cao Ren forced all his speculations away, took a deep breath, and whipped his horse whip:
"Great Chanyu, please split up two groups of cavalry and immediately go around to the two wings to attack the right formation of the Han army and disrupt the Han army's formation!"

Yu Fuluo laughed and immediately issued an order to the Chanyu, ordering the Left Wise King Huochuquan and the Right Wise King Qubei to each lead 8,000 Xiongnu cavalry to attack, feinting an attack on the left and right wings of the Han army.

The command flags waved and the horns sounded.

Two groups of Xiongnu cavalry rushed out, bypassed the front of the Han army, and attacked its flanks.

Inside the Han army.

Liu Bei's mouth curled up slightly when he saw this situation. If Xiao Fangzheng and his team had predicted in advance, Cao Ren would definitely use his cavalry advantage and use the common tactics of the Xiongnu cavalry to first send out light cavalry to harass his flanks in order to force him to change his formation.

Once the formation changes, there will inevitably be a brief flaw. At that time, Cao Ren will seize this flaw, launch a frontal attack with the main force of the Huns, and break through his own formation.

"In that case, let's take advantage of their trick!"

Liu Bei smiled coldly, whipped his whip and issued an order.

The Han army quickly changed its formation as if it had rehearsed beforehand, and a large number of archers and spearmen and shieldmen turned to the left and right wings.

If the defense on both wings is strengthened, the defense in the middle will naturally be weakened, and flaws will appear in an instant.

The center of the coalition forces.

As the most famous general of the Qin State, Cao Ren saw through the flaws of the Han army at a glance.

The corners of his mouth curled up in a ferocious way.

"Great Chanyu, the enemy's center has been breached.

"I beg you to mobilize all your troops immediately, attack head-on, and break through the enemy formation in one fell swoop!"

Cao Ren raised his whip and gave the order boldly, but he also added a warning:
"Remember, the cavalry charging in front must wear armor and hold shields to prevent the Han army's crossbows!"

Yu Fuluo raised the long sword in his hand and laughed wildly:
"Warriors of the Great Xiongnu, follow this Chanyu to defeat the enemy and kill all the Han dogs!"

"After we capture Anyi City, you will be allowed to plunder it for half a day. You can take as many women and gold as you like!"

When they heard that women and gold and silk were to be robbed, the Huns instantly became excited, and the crazy and excited roars of beasts resounded throughout the wilderness.

With the sound of a horn, nearly 40,000 main forces of the Huns rushed out like a flood breaking through a dam and attacked the center of the Han army.

The earth was shaking, and the dust was rolling in like a sandstorm, and the ears were filled with the thundering sound of horse hooves.

The charge of forty thousand cavalrymen was so terrifying and powerful.

The 30,000 Han soldiers were fearless. They held their swords and spears tightly and did not move back a single step.

Looking at the approaching enemy cavalry, Liu Bei's eyes were as hard as iron, and he shouted:
"Send the order to Ma Su, take action!"

Zhao Yun issued orders urgently, and the command flags fluttered like the wind.

In the middle formation.

Ma Su, who had been standing on his horse for a long time, looked at the vast number of enemy cavalry. There was no fear on his young face, only fiery excitement.

He turned around and looked at Xiao Fang on the top of the city wall with gratitude.

He knew that this opportunity to achieve merit and gain fame was given to him by Xiao Fang, who was the prime minister of the Han Dynasty who intended to promote him.

"Prime Minister, don't worry, I, Ma Su, will not let you down!"

"This time, I will become famous all over the world!"

Ma Su took a deep breath, drew his sword, turned around and shouted:

"Order the front troops to form a battle array and show our fire bull formation to scare the Xiongnu out of their wits!"

The war drums are beating.

The spearmen and shieldmen in the front row immediately moved to the left and right wings, leaving a gap several dozen steps wide.

Thousands of wooden cages hidden in the formation suddenly appeared.

Those thousand wooden cages actually contained thousands of cattle!
Each of these cattle had a sharp blade tied to its horns, and their tails were wrapped in linen soaked in kerosene.

Moreover, the eyes of each yellow cattle were covered with black cloth, making it impossible to see the situation outside clearly.

Fire Bull Formation!
This was the weapon that Ma Su came up with to defeat the Xiongnu cavalry during the military meeting at Baibo Pass that day.

He was well-versed in military strategies and history books, so he naturally remembered that in the history of war, the famous general Tian Dan of the Warring States Period had defeated the Yan army, which was mainly composed of cavalry, with a formation of fire bulls, and successfully restored the State of Qi in one fell swoop.

Therefore, Ma Su suddenly had an idea and thought of imitating Tian Dan and using the fire bull formation to defeat the Huns' cavalry.

The Fire Bull Formation cannot be set up casually.

After all, cows are not humans and cannot obey orders. Once they are frightened and become mad, they may even crash into their own people.

Therefore, under the guidance of Xiao Fang, Ma Su improved the arrangement of the fire bull formation. He first controlled the yellow bull with a wooden cage, blindfolded the bull, and opened the cage door when releasing it. This ensured that the bull would rush in one direction instead of rushing around in all directions and disrupting his own formation.

After finalizing the details, Liu Bei issued an edict, ordering the army to retreat to Anyi while collecting oxen from various counties in Hedong and sending them to Anyi to join the group.

Ma Su led thousands of soldiers to build wooden cages overnight and install sharp blades on the yellow oxen to complete the fire bull formation.

I have planned and prepared so much, just for this moment.

And in front, 40,000 Hun cavalrymen had rushed within a hundred steps like a rolling torrent.

At this distance, it is impossible to retreat back to the city. The only hope is Ma Su's fire bull formation.

The hopes of tens of thousands of soldiers inside and outside the city were all placed on Ma Su.

This big man, the newly crowned top scholar, went to the battlefield for the first time and faced such a huge battle and shouldered a heavy burden. The pressure was as heavy as a mountain.

Ma Su's face showed no sign of anxiety or tension. He took a deep breath and said calmly:

"All troops, listen up! Light the oxtail immediately!"

When the order was given, thousands of soldiers immediately lit torches and set fire to the sackcloth on the ox's tail.

The sackcloth was soaked in kerosene and instantly burned fiercely, burning the ox so much that it howled in pain, kicked its four hooves wildly, and rammed the cage door like crazy.

"Open the cage door and set the bull on fire!"

Seeing that the time was right, Ma Su gave the order decisively.

When the order was given, the doors of thousands of wooden cages opened almost at the same time.

Thousands of suffering fire bulls galloped out, neighing and rushing towards the Hun cavalry rolling in front of them.

(End of this chapter)