Chapter 117 Good luck
As the sky gradually darkened, the battle between the Wu and Wei armies at the trailer was extremely fierce. Countless Wu troops attacked, and the Wei army could only rely on temporary fortifications such as camps, trenches, and antlers to fight the enemy.
In addition, Lu Xun ordered a quick attack and the Wu army did have an advantage, so the Wu army's offensive continued until the evening.
With the arrival of Le Chen and Xu Shu's 15,000 troops, General Zhendong Cao Tai's 10,000 troops also arrived at the trailer.
However, the mission of Cao Tai's troops was not to support Man Chong, but to go directly into the mountains, following the path opened up to the south by Langya Prefect Sun Li yesterday, preparing to cross the hills at high speed from the trailer to the south, preparing to cross nearly a hundred miles of hills and head straight for Wankou.
On the evening of the tenth day, Wang Ling's eight thousand soldiers were stationed in the hills three miles south of the trailer. Although the Wu army was large, they had not explored this place. Hu Zhi, Han Zong, and Zhai Dan blocked the incoming Wu army in the hills on the west side of this place. The scale of seven thousand people was enough to make any Wu army that tried to enter the hills return empty-handed.
In addition, Wang Ling did not allow Hu Zhi and his troops to move out of the hills, so from the perspective of the Wu army commander, the Wei army only placed a troop in the hills to protect the flank.
If there were more people in the hills, wouldn't they have come to the trailer camp long ago? However, what Lu Xun didn't expect was the large number of troops in the Wei army and their determination to ambush.
Wang Ling was quite surprised to see Cao Tai leading his men to Xiangnan: "General Cao, why are you here?"
Cao Tai smiled and said, "Your Majesty ordered me to head south from your camp and quickly attack Wankou along the road Sun Li took."
Seeing Cao Tai's excited expression, Wang Ling couldn't help but stroke his beard and said, "It seems that Your Majesty is giving General Cao a chance to avenge himself."
Cao Tai and Wu Jun are old enemies.
As a second-generation general of the Xiahou and Cao clan, like Xiahou Shang, Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen, Cao Tai spent most of his military career following his father Cao Ren.
In the third year of Huangchu, the Wei army attacked Wu from three directions. Cao Ren was still the Grand Marshal at that time and led the central army straight to Ruxu. Cao Tai served as the vanguard of Cao Ren's army.
The war lasted until the fourth year of Huangchu, and the Wei army's offensive along the way gradually declined. Cao Tai, who was responsible for attacking Ruxu, was defeated by the army led by Zhu Huan, the commander of the Wu army. The other two armies under Cao Ren were also defeated by the Wu army one after another.
Cao Ren, who had suffered a great defeat, regarded it as a great humiliation in his life. A few years ago, he had retreated repeatedly in the face of Guan Yu's offensive in Xiangfan, which was nothing, but today, with more people against fewer, he was defeated by the unknown Zhu Huan?
Cao Ren fell ill soon after and died before he could retreat. The remaining troops were led by Right General Jiang Ji back to Shouchun.
Having suffered a defeat, lost his army, and his father, Cao Tai's hatred for the Wu army was deep in his bones. Now the emperor ordered him to attack Wankou, and said that Sun Quan might be there. Cao Tai must not let this opportunity go.
The foreign troops near Yangzhou were responsible for the direct battle with the Wu army to confuse the enemy, the soldiers from the prefectures and counties were responsible for logistics and ambushes in the mountains, the 50,000 central troops were responsible for the final backup, and Cao Tai, who had the strongest desire for war, was responsible for the surprise attack to the south.
Cao Tai, who was about to travel south, could only say that the current emperor was indeed good at selecting the right people for the right positions.
From Wuqiangkou to Wancheng there is a narrow plain at the foot of the mountain. On the north side are steep and difficult mountains, and on the south side are hills that stretch for nearly a hundred miles. Although it is not easy to walk on, it is not impassable.
Cao Tai said to Wang Ling as he said goodbye: "I'm sorry for the hardship you've endured in this battle. I'll go south and you'll go north. I hope we can all be together in the end."
Wang Ling also warned: "Since General Cao is heading south into the enemy's rear, speed must be the priority and don't be stingy with your men and horses."
Cao Tai laughed and said, "I am eager to fight, so how can I slow down? My lord, I will see you after we win this battle."
Wang Ling also said goodbye to Cao Tai in the same way.
After Cao Tainan left, a fierce battle was still going on in the trailer several miles to the north.
Thanks to its advantage in military strength, the Wu army could send troops to attack day and night. Although each wave of attack in the afternoon had less than 10,000 people, it still put tremendous pressure on the Wei army defenders.
After nightfall, Lu Xun's offensive continued. Almost every half an hour, the Wu army would choose a place to launch a fierce attack and try to set fire to the Wei army camp.
With 80,000 troops against 30,000, the Wei army's line was already shaky.
At four o'clock in the morning, both the attacking Wu army and the defending Wei army should be very tired. But the Wu army still organized another wave of offensive. Thousands of Wu soldiers attacked with torches in the dark night, which was not only extremely shocking from the visual point of view, but even the outermost defenders of the Wei army were somewhat shaken.
Man Chong was directing the deployment of troops with bloodshot eyes. Even though he had several generals with a salary of 2,000 dan to take care of the specific battles, Man Chong did not dare to close his eyes and rest. At the same time, the right general Zhu Gai was also beside Man Chong to assist in the command.
But Zhu Gai had already slept for several hours.
Man Chong looked at Zhu Gai, his voice hoarse: "Your Majesty's military order has arrived, asking us to retreat eastward after daybreak. How do you decide the order of retreat?"
Zhu Gai also looked serious: "Although we have to retreat, we must do so in an orderly manner and form a battle array. Otherwise, once the Wu soldiers charge, tens of thousands of people will be left with nothing but armor and weapons."
Man Chong sighed, "It's been almost two days, and there are already 5,000 casualties on the battlefield. I wonder how many more men will be killed or injured tomorrow."
Zhu Gai shook his head and said, "What else can we do? Before daybreak, while the Wu army has no reaction, I will select a few thousand men and line up a few miles to the east. After the large group of troops withdraws, if the Wu soldiers chase us, I will use cavalry to flanke them, and maybe there will be fewer casualties.
Man Chong said, "That's the only way. I'll leave it to General Zhu tomorrow."
Zhu Gai responded, "General Man, what are you talking about? If the Wu soldiers really chase us eastward, our plan will be a disaster. Your Majesty's 35,000 cavalry are only 30 miles east of the carriage."
"If it doesn't work, just drop some more baggage along the way. Wu soldiers have two legs, and your infantry also have two legs, right? How can they be faster than you?" Man Chong remained silent and did not respond. Two more messengers came to find Man Chong, and Man Chong continued to assign military duties.
January 11th, early morning.
The crisp winter air was filled with a solemn atmosphere. The armies of Wu and Wei here numbered more than 100,000, and the Wei army had already begun to retreat eastward, leaving behind the trailer camp and fortifications that had been defended for two days.
The scout promptly reported the matter to Lu Xun, and Lu Xun did not hesitate any longer. He immediately led his 5,000 elite troops into action and immediately ordered all troops to advance at full speed.
After receiving the order from General Lu Xun, Quan Cong ordered his troops to march out while he himself rode on horseback to catch up with Lu Xun's troops who had already walked a mile.
Quan Cong rode his horse quickly to Lu Xun and said, "General, the Wei army retreated so quickly, and the rest of the army will need time to move out. General, do you want to wait for the other troops?"
Lu Xun looked at Quan Cong with a serious expression on his horse: "What are you waiting for? The Wei army is only 30,000 to 40,000 people. After being attacked by my Wu army for a day and a night, they must have retreated because they could not hold out. I will lead the army to catch up first, and all the troops behind will follow as quickly as possible."
Seeing Lu Xun's determined expression, Quan Cong did not dare to say anything more, but followed Lu Xun's army. As for the army led by Quan Cong, they had their own marching order decided the day before, and they just had to follow the plan.
When Lu Xun led his troops to the Wei army camp, it was empty. The Wei army soldiers who were killed or wounded in the positional battle were also taken away by the Wei army's vehicles loaded with baggage.
Lu Xun acted decisively. Since they were carrying baggage and wagons, they would not be able to move fast. Lu Xun chased the Wei army eastward for less than five miles before he ran into the rear guard of the Wei army.
When Man Chong saw Lu Xun chasing him, he hurriedly ordered his already tired soldiers to form a formation to fight back.
Zhu Gai's nearly 10,000 cavalrymen were stationed on the north and south sides, while Man Chong's remaining 20,000-odd soldiers in the middle took nearly two quarters of an hour just to set up the formation.
As Lu Xun's 5,000 troops confronted Man Chong, Zhu Gai and others, the rear troops of the Wu army gradually caught up.
The Wu army had nearly 40,000 troops, and the Wei army had nearly 40,000 troops, which were lined up one li apart. Seeing that the strength of his own troops was almost the same, Lu Xun led the 40,000 Wu troops, who had already formed a battle array, to push eastward.
There were eight large formations of 5,000 men in total, with a distance of one hundred feet between each formation. Accompanied by the beat of golden drums, they advanced slowly but unstoppably toward the east, giving a feeling of "slow as a forest".
The Wu army pressed forward step by step to the east. When there was still half a mile between them, the Wei army formation of more than 20,000 people under Man Chong had already become unstable. Following Man Chong's order, the Wei army infantry abandoned the baggage vehicles and ran eastward.
Ordinary soldiers don't understand national plans or strategies. If they are in a military formation, they can rely on the number of people around them to muster up the courage to fight. But if they start to run away, all the expected formations will explode and then turn into a rout.
Fortunately, Zhu Gai's cavalry was still there. Seeing the infantry in the middle began to flee eastward, Zhu Gai's cavalry began to move towards the middle from the north and south sides, intimidating the advancing Wu soldiers.
However, the Wu army had 40,000 men after all. Zhu Gai's cavalry of less than 10,000 men could only prevent the Wu army from pursuing in small groups, but could not prevent the Wu army from advancing.
More than 20,000 people have already fled! Vehicles and baggage are scattered everywhere, and many soldiers have even lost their armor while running. How can this be fake?
Lu Xun immediately issued an order, leaving 3,000 soldiers to occupy the trailer camp, and the remaining 30,000 or so soldiers to pursue eastwards at the fastest speed without any hesitation.
As the infantry arrays on the north and south sides of the Wu army began to approach Zhu Gai's cavalry, Zhu Gai no longer insisted and retreated eastward behind the Wei army's infantry that was dispersing eastward.
When Wu Jun saw this, he also started running in pursuit.
As the saying goes, "Extreme joy leads to sorrow", and as the saying goes, "Misfortune will eventually bring good times".
After the Wu army chased for more than ten miles, they killed many Wei soldiers who could not run along the way, but at this time they saw Jia Kui's 6,000 infantrymen lined up in the middle of the road.
Pan Zhang, the fierce general of the Wu army who was chasing in the front, sneered and immediately led his men to rush towards the Wei army camp.
The Wei army blocking the road only had a few thousand men, and he had 80,000 men behind him, so why should he worry? He just charged forward!
Pan Zhang charged into the Wei army formation, and the Wu army that followed him also joined the battle. Under the continuous attack, the formation of Jia Kui's 6,000 Yuzhou soldiers began to shake.
Lu Xun thought that the battle was coming to an end. As he sat on his horse and stared at Jia Kui's army formation not far away, his expression changed in a few moments, from complacency to hesitation and frown, and then to extreme fear.
There was no other reason, just because Lu Xun heard the sound of horse hooves coming from afar, low and roaring, obviously much more than the number of Zhu Gai's 10,000 cavalry. Like the sound of a landslide, it was slow and gradually getting louder.
Lu Xun's eyes opened wide, and he broke out in a cold sweat on such a cold winter day.
Dear fellow book lovers, let me report that this southern expedition is coming to an end and will end in chapter 120.
Regarding the slow pace mentioned by many book friends, this is the first time that Yizhen has written such a large occasion and arrangement, and he has no experience. The story is indeed a bit worse than the previous part. Today’s two chapters have tried to change the writing style a little.
As for the results of Lu Xun, Sun Quan and other Wu generals in this battle, they will be revealed in the next two days. Please read on!
(End of this chapter)
