Ma Dai never expected that at this moment he was the most watched person on the entire battlefield.
Seeing Cheng Xi's cavalry rushing towards him from afar, Ma Dai hurriedly ordered his soldiers to stand still and form two square formations in the east and west to protect themselves.
Ma Dai's troops were marching from east to west, so it was reasonable for them to be divided into two defensive groups according to their formation.
But the war has reached this point and we can no longer use ordinary means to guess the outcome.
In order to motivate the soldiers and make the entire army take turns to attack the Shu army camp yesterday, Qian Zhao managed to hold on to an exchange ratio of 1 to 7 or 8, and at the cost of nearly 3,500 people, destroyed most of the camp defenses outside the camps of Wei Yan and Wu Yi.
The casualties at Wei Yan's side yesterday were less than 500.
Yesterday evening, the morale of the generals in the army was so low that the emperor had to meet with the generals in person and hint at official positions and rewards in his words.
If the emperor had not come in person to boost the morale of everyone from top to bottom, I'm afraid Qian Zhao's entire army would have been on the verge of collapse early this morning.
The Wei army fought so hard just to break through the Shu army camp today.
Then drive straight in.
Wei Yan was forced by Cheng Xi to retreat to the southeast, and Ju Fu was instantly defeated and fled by Cheng Xi.
And Ma Dai now wants to join forces with Zhao Yun's troops? The Wei army sent out all its elite cavalry to prevent this from happening!
First, Cheng Xi's troops swept past Ma Dai's troops from east to west. After the entire army rushed past, they blocked Ma Dai's troops from both the west and south sides, and confronted Ma Dai half a mile away.
At this time, Sun Li and Cheng Xi were in sync with each other. They worked together with two of his captains and divided into three teams. They cut past the eastern half of Ma Dai's army formation, and like sharp saw teeth, they scraped flesh and blood from the army formation again and again.
Ma Dai's army formation was almost immediately unstable.
Ma Dai had no choice but to bring the two slightly separated army formations together. Going west to Zhao Yun or south to the mountain was not an option, so he could only gather together to protect himself for a while.
It would be fine if there were reinforcements, but where were Ma Dai's reinforcements at this time? Whether it was Zhao Yun, Wang Ping, Wei Yan, Wu Ban, or Ju Fu, there was not a single soldier who could come to help!
Sun Li was also well versed in military tactics, and he knew that Ma Dai's troops' actions were absolutely irrational, so he ordered two captains from his own army, plus Sun Li, a total of three generals, each to lead a thousand cavalrymen, and they actually circled Ma Dai's army at a distance of an arrow, and began to show off their military power!
"Long live!"
Sun Li tore off his helmet, with white steam coming out of his head. He raised his spear high in his right hand and shouted triumphantly.
"Long live, long live, long live!"
First, the personal guards followed Sun Li in shouting, and then Sun Li's three thousand knights shouted together, and then Cheng Xi's troops also shouted loudly.
Xiahou He's troops followed behind the remnants of Wu Ban's troops. After the killing, the few remaining Shu troops had almost reached the foot of the mountain. At this moment, they also shouted along with Sun and Cheng's troops.
The loud shouts of tens of thousands of Wei cavalrymen were as loud as the earth, and instantly relieved the pent-up anger in the hearts of the Wei soldiers who had marched from Chang'an and Luoyang for a long time to fight in Longyou.
Cao Rui, who had already joined forces with Dian Man and was marching towards the west, heard the cheers of "Long live the emperor" from the south, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
Jiang Wei rode his horse about ten feet in front of the emperor, stepped on the stirrup and looked into the distance for a moment, then raised the long sword he was wearing and shouted "Long live the emperor" in a loud and enthusiastic voice.
For a moment, the 4,000 cavalrymen of the emperor's headquarters, together with more than 10,000 men under Dian Man and Qian Zhao, shouted "Long live" throughout the winter wilderness of Longyou.
How could the Shu army not hear such a roar like a mountain roaring and a tsunami? Wei Yan and Ju Fu beside him looked at each other. One was a veteran and the other was a young general. They both saw horror on each other's faces at the same time.
Wu Ban was forced to the foot of the mountain. He was unable to stop Xiahou He's cavalry from chasing and killing his own soldiers. In the end, he gave up the effort to gather the remaining soldiers and let them flee to the mountain. He then went southwest to look for Wei Yan.
On the battlefield east of Lueyang, the Wei cavalry were marching on the plains, while the four generals of the Shu army, Wei Yan, Wu Ban, Ju Fu and Ma Dai, were all in a mess at this moment.
Such an outcome is not unexpected.
The correct way of military strategy is to rely on numbers to win. The Wei army has more soldiers, is more willing to fight to the death, and has cavalry to suppress them.
If such cavalry cannot divide and defeat Wei Yan and Wu Ban, whose original strength is only 11,000, then the central army of Wei might as well go to Yanmen to cultivate the land.
The whistling sound on the battlefield was heard four miles away at the scene of the confrontation between Wei and Shu under the city of Lueyang. To Ma Su and Zhao Yun, it sounded like distant and unclear thunder in the daytime.
Since we were facing the east, with such roaring sounds, and from the watchtower we could see the army moving back and forth, it was certain that Wei Yan's troops had been defeated!
Ma Su's face turned pale, and his lips could not stop trembling: "General Zhao, General Zhao, why hasn't the Prime Minister come to this point yet?"
"I originally thought that if we could hold out until tonight and wait for Wu Yi to lead his troops here, we would be able to increase our manpower and hold our defenses, and maybe even destroy the Wei army on the other side."
"Who knows, who knows..."
Having said this, Ma Su even had a hint of tears in his voice.
Zhao Yun had roughly guessed at this moment that the battle situation was indeed as Wei Yan said last night. With the antlers and trenches outside the camp removed, they only had 11,000 people. How long could they hold out? Moreover, the Wei army had many cavalrymen, so they could only pray for the protection of the spirit of the late emperor in heaven to protect Wei Yan and Wu Ban as much as possible.
And Jufu...
At this moment, Zhao Yun had already sentenced Ju Fu to death in his heart.
Having served in the army for nearly forty years, Zhao Yun has experienced both big victories and small defeats.
Thanks to the natural strong mentality of the fierce general, or the calmness and composure he gained from long service in the army, Zhao Yun stood up suddenly and stared straight at Ma Su.
"Youchang." Zhao Yun said to Ma Su in a deep voice, and it was the first time he called Ma Su by his name so affectionately after the Northern Expedition.
Ma Su looked up anxiously and confusedly, and met Zhao Yun's eyes.
Zhao Yun looked east again, then turned and said, "According to the current situation, the Wei army under Lueyang City in the west is holding back, and Wei Yan in the east has obviously been defeated. It is possible that they will break through to our east in half an hour."
"You Chang, do you have any strategy to deal with the enemy?"
After hearing the roar of the Wei army in the east, Ma Su was extremely nervous. He smiled bitterly as if he had lost all his strength. Then he said slowly: "The Prime Minister won't let us retreat. General Zhao, what else can we do now?"
Zhao Yun looked at Ma Su with a look of disappointment, and said with a firm and calm face: "The reason why the Prime Minister did not allow us to retreat was to stop the Wei army from advancing southward along Lueyang!"
"If you are unable to do so, I am willing to lead the battle here for you!"
Ma Su seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. He swallowed his saliva and said hurriedly: "I will listen to General Zhao's words! Please give the order, General Zhao!"
After hearing what Ma Su said in person, Zhao Yun stretched out his right hand in front of Ma Su.
Ma Su was stunned for a moment, then he took out the military token given to him by Zhuge Liang and put it in Zhao Yun's hand.
"I don't have any orders for you." Zhao Yun said expressionlessly, "I'll take care of things here on my own! General Ma, go to Wang Ping's camp immediately!"
Ma Su did not hesitate. He knelt down at the table and kowtowed lightly to Zhao Yun. Then he got up and walked out quickly.
Zhao Yun sighed softly, and ordered all the baggage vehicles in the camp to be transported out and quickly formed a battle formation at the foot of the mountain in the south.
Outside Lueyang City, the camps of Zhao Yun and Wang Ping were actually quite strange in shape.
Wang Ping's 4,000 men camped at Duanshan Pass, two miles southeast of Lueyang City, blocking the Wei army's way south through this route. Zhao Yun's 11,000 infantrymen extended from the plateau on the east side of Duanshan Pass to the small river in the north.
The camp was two miles long.
Zhao Yun's assignment at this time was to build a simple defensive fortification at the southernmost end of his long and narrow camp from north to south as quickly as possible.
This allowed the remaining 10,000 soldiers under his command to calmly move along the southern part of the camp and onto the plateau in an attempt to survive.
If the Wei army wanted to attack the plateau, they would have to abandon the advantage of cavalry and attack from the bottom up, which would certainly be more difficult.
Moreover, Zhao Yun had already explored the surrounding geographical water sources. If the army could be withdrawn to the plateau, it could be connected with Wang Ping's camp at the Broken Mountain Pass in the west, and the two sides of the mountain could support each other.
The most important thing is that there is a small river behind Wang Ping’s camp that can be used as a water source!
After all, he was a veteran general in the army, and the military order issued by Zhao Yun at this moment was indeed the only correct choice at the moment. When Ma Su presented this plan to Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun also made key suggestions when he chose this place to encircle the east side of Lueyang City.
Zhao Yun took into consideration three factors: there was a plateau that could be used as a retreat route, there was a camp that could control the main road, and there was a water source at the foot of the mountain for water.
Nearby, there is a mountain area with no water source, no support, and can be surrounded on all sides. It is located exactly south of Lueyang City and two miles west of Zhao Yun’s camp. It is the Duanshan where Deng Zhi’s entire army was wiped out.
It's only a difference of two miles. If you choose the wrong location for the camp, your situation will be completely different.
From the perspective of General Cao Zhen, who was west of Zhao Yun's camp, since His Majesty had already won, the better option would be to wait for His Majesty to lead his troops to the east of the Shu army and then attack the Shu army camp from both the east and the west.
Therefore, Cao Zhen remained motionless and confronted the Shu army's camp.
Due to the limited viewing angle and the obstruction of the camp, Cao Zhen could not see the people in Zhao Yun's camp gathering towards the south.
On the eastern battlefield, Cao Rui, who was stationed in Huan Fan's 4,000 cavalry, came to the outside of Sun Li's troops. He had heard from Sun Li that it was Ma Dai who led this Shu army.
Cao Rui looked at the ministers around him and said, "Prime Minister, Minister Yang, you two are both wise men. Ma Dai is trapped in the cavalry formation and there is absolutely no way he can escape. What do you think the Wei Dynasty should do to him?" (End of this chapter)
