Overlord!

Zhuge Liang was once said to have "managing an army to his advantage, making clever plans to his shortcomings, and managing the people better than generals".

That is to say, he is good at training troops, but not good at conspiracies. His ability as a prime minister is better than that of a general.

But that's because Zhuge Liang almost never had contact with the military in the early stage, and the Shu Han was not strong enough, so he spent most of his energy on running the country and strengthening the army. The Shu Han's strength also left him little room for cunning tactics.

Now, Zhuge Liang followed Zhang Liao to command a large number of elite cavalry, which was a good opportunity to give full play to his general talents.

If a genius in the world wants to show off his extraordinary strategies, how can he not have one or two tricks of the gods and ghosts?
After the Xuanjia cavalry cut off Cao's army's retreat with speed as fast as the wind, Zhuge Liang immediately made suggestions to Zhang Liao: "Since ancient times, the way to use troops is to attack the heart first, and to attack the city below. Fighting with the heart is the top, and fighting with soldiers is the bottom."

"I believe that in this battle, we should focus on attacking the heart and destroy the enemy in one battle!"

Thousands of iron cavalry were marching in such a majestic manner that their tracks could not be hidden at all.

In particular, Yu Jin doubled his scouts to detect the enemy's situation. Not long after these thousands of cavalry appeared in Yandu territory, they were discovered by Cao's army.

But it has no meaning to the situation!
Five thousand cavalry, one man and two horses, were as fast as the wind. Even if Cao Jun discovered the whereabouts of these five thousand cavalry, he would not have time to make any move, and his retreat would be cut off by Jiangdong Xuanjia cavalry.

Zhang Liao and Zhuge Liang majestically stationed their horses on the high slope outside Cao Jun's camp, overlooking the panicked Cao Jun camp a few miles away.

In fact, Cao Jun never thought that Jiangdong could form such a large cavalry in Jiangnan.

Five thousand black-armored cavalry were displayed in such a mighty manner outside the camp. The array was strict, the sun shone brightly, and the flags covered the field. Everyone in Cao's army was frightened.

The cavalry didn't even need to attack the camp, Cao's army was already in shock.

Zhang Liao looked at the heavily defended Cao army in the distance who had dug trenches and set up camp, but had no intention of attacking the camp.

General Sun gave him these five thousand fine cavalry, not for him to use in a bloody battle with the enemy!

All of these black armor cavalry are one man and two horses. The cost of raising one black armor cavalry is especially higher than that of ten disciples!
In particular, the horse farm for these horses is set up directly in the most fertile land of Wu County. Hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land with a yield of ten stones per mu are circled in Baima Stream as pasture.

He, Zhang Liao, commanded these [-] elite cavalry, and his strength and consumption were comparable to [-] disciples. If he could not defeat the enemy with one strike, he would suffer heavy casualties, and he would never have any chance to lead the army in the future!
Zhang Liao knew very well that the reason why he stood out among the generals and commanded these five thousand elite cavalry was entirely because he was born in Northern Xinjiang. He had served under Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, and had seen thousands of Xiliang cavalry, all over the country. Galloping, invincible scene.

If Zhang Liao dared to attack the camp directly with such precious cavalry, even if he won the bloody battle, Wu Hou would be able to strangle him to death with his own hands.

Therefore, Zhang Liao was very concerned about Zhuge Liang's words and asked, "Do you have any good plan to defeat the enemy?"

Zhuge Liang pointed his horsewhip at Cao Jun's camp in the distance and said: "General Sun spared no effort to build such five thousand elite black-armored cavalry, and now it has achieved miraculous results. Zhonglang's light troops doubled their advance, and in a few days they were able to cover hundreds of miles and cut off the enemy's return path. , if we can defeat the stubborn enemy, we will cut off Cao Cao's arm in one fell swoop. The battle in Huainan can be decided!"

"This situation is not only what we see, it also makes the enemy and captives feel frightened. I thought that at this time, I would also attack their hearts, frighten their minds, and force the enemy to land!"

"Crash landing?" Zhang Liao didn't expect Zhuge Liang to have such ambitions.

When he led troops for the first time, the two armies failed to catch up, so he was about to make an emergency landing of five thousand enemy troops?
These are five thousand elite soldiers!

At first, Li Ling fought thousands of miles with an army of five thousand, but the Xiongnu Chanyu suffered heavy losses and failed to capture it. It was not until Li Ling ran out of arrows that he was forced to surrender.

Thinking of Li Ling, Zhang Liao's pupils suddenly trembled. He looked at Zhuge Liang and asked, "Do you want to imitate the Huns' method of besieging Li Ling and force him to surrender?"

Zhuge Liang nodded enthusiastically and said: "I will surround the enemy with 15 people and mobilize the army. God will punish those who are guilty. If they don't surrender, they will die. People will be frightened, and the soldiers will be frightened. The three armies will be reduced to birds."

15 people!
Zhang Liao smiled. As a famous general with outstanding general abilities throughout the ages, Zhang Liao immediately understood the meaning behind Zhuge Liang's words and asked: "Do you want to station your troops and rein in your horses, waiting for the army to encircle you?"

Chen Wu on the side laughed excitedly and said: "As Gong Jin said, with the strength of our three armies, the enemy will be frightened. Just shoot the arrows to persuade them to surrender, and the enemy will hear that my 10,000+ people are coming." , how can you not escape overnight?"

But under the siege of five thousand cavalry, how could Cao Jun escape?

Zhang Liao immediately said: "This is a good plan. Send an order to the soldiers to shoot arrows at the enemy camp to persuade the enemy to surrender. Then order a group of iron cavalry to burn all the weeds and ships to the north, making the fire in the north burn like daylight, completely cutting off Cao's army's return path!"

Thousands of cavalry moved very quickly, and soon Cao Jun in the camp saw raging fire from the north, dyeing the sky red for dozens of miles, from the wilderness to the north of the military camp to the hundreds of garrisons left by Cao Jun along the Huaihe River, as well as Cao Jun's troops. The boats crossing the river were all wiped out by Jiangdong's cavalry.

It is now after the autumn harvest, and the fields are full of dry weeds. The fires have burned up a lot of land in the north.

Thousands of horses of Cao's army could no longer be supplied. More importantly, all the ships returning to the north of the Huaihe River were burned by Jiangdong's cavalry.

The more than [-] people in the camp have become turtles in the urn.To the south is hundreds of miles of Zeguo in Sheyang, to the north is a barren land, and further away, Jiangdong's main army of more than [-] people is marching here!
Even Yu Jin could not doubt the authenticity of Jiangdong's army's appeal to surrender.After all, the enemy's vanguard cavalry alone numbered more than 10,000, and it was reasonable to expect that the main force in the follow-up force would have [-]+ people.

The key point is that the statement was written by Zhuge Liang. He was brilliant in writing and had a great reputation. He said: "When the front of my battle can cut off flying birds, when the Marquis of Wu is angry, millions of people will lay down their corpses. The power of a general must be dedicated to killing. If not, If you surrender, you must pile up all the corpses to build a palace in the capital, and kill the three armies in the plains!"

In other words, anyone who does not surrender from Cao's army will be killed without mercy, from the commander-in-chief of the three armies to the soldiers and soldiers!

They all bowed their heads to build a view of the capital.

Even though Yu Jin issued an order overnight, anyone who dared to secretly hide Jiangdong Army's message would die, but the news that Jiangdong's 15 troops would surround and kill Cao's camp's [-] soldiers quickly spread among the army.

Sergeant Cao had no doubt about the authenticity of this proclamation. After all, Wu Hou had never been a lenient person towards his enemies!

From Liu Biao to Huang Zu, from Yuan Shu to Lu Bu, too many people have proved this with their lives.

No one who was ordered to be killed by Marquis Wu escaped!

And they knew very well how many crimes they had committed in Guangling.Along the way, they killed and looted, carried out large-scale salt and defilement, killed and injured two to three thousand households, and killed tens of thousands of people.

Unless Yu Jin surrenders with more than [-] troops and more than [-] horses, the Jiangdong cavalry will kill and refuse to surrender after the defeat.

The soldiers had worked hard to plunder such a small amount of supplies, and they did not want to die in vain.

A mutiny almost broke out in the camp that night, forcing Yu Jin to withdraw his troops immediately.

There were only a few hundred people in Yu Jin's direct line, and they could not suppress the nearly rioting soldiers. They were forced to agree to withdraw their troops, which barely stabilized the morale of the army.

Yu Jin himself had no choice but to withdraw his troops.

The Jiangdong cavalry came so fast that the food route behind them was cut off, and they could only survive less than half a day relying on the food and grass in the camp.

Regardless of whether Jiangdong's army has 15 troops or not, once the army's food supplies are exhausted, his entire army will collapse without a fight.But to complete the withdrawal in front of thousands of Jiangdong cavalry is as dangerous as snatching food from the mouth of a tiger.

Therefore, Yu Jin could only order the three sergeants to take the initiative to go out of the camp and form an array, hoping to defeat the Jiangdong Xuanjia cavalry in one battle.

If the enemy can be defeated in battle, his predicament will be solved, and even the situation of the Huainan War will be solved.

Naturally, it is impossible for Zhang Liao to carry out his intention. The art of war states: "I want to fight. Although the enemy has high forts and deep ditches, those who have no choice but to fight me must attack them and save them. I don't want to fight. Even if I draw the ground and defend it, the enemy Those who are not allowed to fight with me must behave as they please."

In this battle, Zhang Liao and Zhuge Liang vividly demonstrated the key points of the art of war.

The cavalry wanted to fight with them, so the enemy had to take the initiative to fight even if they had high bases and deep ditches.

I don't want to fight with them. Even though they are close at hand, the enemy can't fight!

The mobility advantage of the cavalry made it impossible for Yu Jin to advance or retreat!The disciples in his camp could only watch Jiangdong general Zhang Liao leading more than a thousand cavalry several miles away, waiting, while the main force of thousands of cavalry was missing.

When Jin Zhan moved forward three miles, Zhang Liao led his troops to retreat five miles.

After Yu Jin moved forward five miles, Zhang Liao led his troops to retreat ten miles and left the battlefield directly. He called off his troops today.

Yu Jin couldn't ask for a battle, and the soldiers were hungry after a long battle. They traveled nearly twenty miles back and forth. At the end of the day, except for the appearance of Jiangdong's cavalry, they didn't even fire a single arrow.

That night Yu Jin had confirmed that Jiangdong Cavalry would not fight him.

He himself also knew that the enemy's cavalry had taken advantage of it, but when Cao's army collapsed and collapsed, how could he use his cavalry to fight him to the death as he intended?

But the current situation is that even if he escapes at night, he has nowhere to escape.

The only place he can go is the Huaiyin line, and then find a ship to return to Huaibei.

Even if the enemy did not send cavalry to investigate and saw that his camp was empty, it would only take half a day for the cavalry to catch up with Cao's retreating army.

When the time comes, Cao's army, which is tired and sleepy, will be crushed to pieces by the cavalry in a single battle.

So Yu Jin and other soldiers rested all night, and in the early morning of the next day, he ordered the soldiers to organize their troops, beat drums, and return in array.

That is to say, the three armies retreated slowly with strict formations.

Sure enough, just after dawn, Cao Jun saw Jiangdong's cavalry coming slowly towards the morning light from where the rising sun rose in the east.

Seeing Cao's army marching forward, Zhuge Liang showed admiration and said to Zhang Liao: "Cao Cao is able to dominate the Central Plains because he has the right man. The enemy generals manage their troops in a strict manner, and they advance and retreat in a measured manner. Although they are faced with difficulties, their banners are not in chaos, and the morale of the troops is especially high." Steady, we have underestimated the enemy."

Zhang Liao was a typical Kansai warrior. He had the arrogance of a frontier warrior. He was not as humble as Zhuge Liang. He snorted contemptuously and said, "He is just struggling to the death. Since he likes to advance and retreat, I will help him." !”

After finishing speaking, Zhang Liao immediately ordered to the heroic general Cao Xing beside him: "You lead the cavalry and lightly break into the enemy's formation to find out whether it is true or not!"

Cao Xing was also the general who surrendered to Lu Bu's army, but his vision was far different from Zhang Liao's. Unlike Zhang Liao who led his troops to the south, he surrendered after being defeated, so his status was completely inferior to that of Zhang Liao, the Zhonglang general, so he could only Served as cavalry Sima under Zhang Liao.

But as a fierce general in Bingzhou, he was also brave and good at fighting. He had the strength to shoot a bow left and right. He was a talented general among the Jiangdong cavalry.

He couldn't wait to crush Cao Jun. Hearing this, he immediately jumped out with his spear and led a group of fifty cavalry towards Cao Jun's formation.

Fifty cavalry galloped forward, their flags fluttering, and their charging momentum should not be underestimated.

Cao Jun's display was immediately attracted, and he was forced to stop, turn his halberd and bow and crossbow, and prepare to meet the enemy.

But the advantage of the cavalry is really too great. As a cavalry general, Cao Xing is well versed in the art of war, and if he cannot be controlled, he will be in vain;

He would not attack the opponent's heavily guarded military formation at all.He only led his troops to look for opportunities and attack the enemy's empty and weak areas.

The cavalry traveled for several miles and finally found a place where hundreds of enemy generals were slack in defense. They rushed directly into the formation and beheaded more than ten levels before exiting.

Seeing this, Zhuge Liang was even more impressed and said: "The enemy's troops are well-organized and well-trained. They are by no means a ragtag group that collapses in a rush. And this is especially true at this time of withdrawal. The general is really talented."

Chen Wu laughed and said: "If we can defeat this enemy, wouldn't it show our great merits? How can it be useless to defeat a mediocre person?"

If dozens of people move at once, the enemy's formation will be in chaos, and the whole army will immediately take advantage of the situation to attack and break through the enemy's formation in one fell swoop, it may not be enough to win.

While the two were chatting and laughing, Cao Junzhong finally couldn't help it and sent a right-wing cavalry to intercept Cao Xing.

If Jiangdong's cavalry is allowed to come and go freely like this, dozens of cavalry will attract our own troops to stand in formation every time. Three or four of them day after day, I am afraid that our own side will be exhausted and collapsed without fighting.

Zhu Ling personally commanded more than [-] cavalry on the right wing. He galloped and quickly approached Cao Xing's troops who were fighting out of the formation.

Zhu Ling jumped on his horse, raised his spear, took the lead, and stabbed a knight in black armor directly under his horse!

This scene made Zhang Liao furious in an instant. These were elite black armored cavalry, and training for each one was extremely difficult.

The loss of one knight is at least equivalent to the loss of two or three apprentices.

So Zhang Liao immediately galloped forward and drew dozens of his guards, roaring out and heading straight for the prisoner formation, shouting: "Zhang Liao is here!"

His fierce energy roared, and the enemy was instantly invincible. Zhang Liao instantly killed three knights and rushed to Zhu Ling under the banner.

Zhu Ling was instantly frightened by this demonic warrior whose whole body was covered in blood and was so angry that he opened his eyes wide in horror. He tried his best to resist with his spear, but he only felt a huge force coming towards him. The spear was swung away directly!

Immediately, the cold long blade penetrated his chest. Zhang Liao instantly stabbed him among the three armies, and then he drew the sword with his left hand and stabbed his head directly.

This scene shocked Cao Cao's cavalry so much that they did not dare to fight again.More than three hundred cavalry were directly killed by hundreds of black armor cavalry from Jiangdong, and the morale of the army collapsed.

Zhuge Liang was even more amazed: "Zhang Zhonglang's bravery can be compared with the gods and ghosts! The ancient summoning of tigers was nothing more than this." (End of this chapter)