Chapter 721 Return to the Master
Soon, the scouts of the Xiliang Army arrived in front of Fan Chou. The scout captain rolled his saddle and fell off his horse, stepped forward quickly and said: "General, the enemy troops have been spotted ahead."
When Fan Chou heard this, he became energetic and asked quickly: "Where is it, how far away, and how many enemy troops are there?"
"Reporting to the general, the enemy is waiting five miles ahead. The general observed that there are at least 40,000 to 50,000 troops, basically all infantry, and no cavalry is seen." The scout captain replied;
"Okay," Fan Chou slapped his thigh and said, "Damn it, we have finally caught up with these rats. He ordered the army to speed up and rest in front of the Sizhou Army formation. I wanted to see how tight the Sizhou Army could be. With his formation, he can’t stop Ding Xiliang’s cavalry this time.”
Following the command from the Chinese army, the 20,000 cavalrymen accelerated again, rushing towards the front like a rolling torrent.
Time goes back to an hour ago.
Huangfu Chaobo looked at the soldiers around him with a tired look, and couldn't help but feel anxious in his heart. Looking at the situation, it would be difficult to reach Gengxiang today. According to the news brought back by the last few hundred sudden cavalrymen, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry It should be only twenty or thirty miles away from our own army.
According to the speed of the cavalry, the distance of twenty or thirty miles is less than an hour. However, we are still more than ten miles away from Gengxiang, and our infantry still needs an hour to get closer. We still have to fight the cavalry, but now we are on flat ground and there is no defensive advantage at all.
At this moment, He Ruolong hurried over and said: "General, Golden Eagle found that there is a large group of cavalry following us, about 30,000 to 40,000 cavalry, less than 40 miles away from us."
"Well, thirty or forty thousand riders?" Huangfu Chaobo asked, "Why are there so many?"
"It shouldn't be wrong," Zhao Yun said: "Dong Zhuo's army has 20,000 cavalry. If one man has two horses, there are 40,000 horses. Golden Eagle can only see the approximate number. The general estimates that Xu Rong should be sent first. The cavalry is coming to entangle our army, so it should be one person and two horses."
Upon hearing this, Huangfu Chaobo knew that Zhao Yun's guess should be accurate, but even 20,000 cavalry were not something that his more than 40,000 infantry troops could withstand. However, fortunately, all the injured soldiers and civilian craftsmen have been sent back to Gengxiang on horses. Now the more than 40,000 soldiers and horses are all combatable soldiers. However, after a night and day of marching, they are already very strong. Tired.
Thinking of this, Huangfu Chaobo asked: "Is there terrain around here that can resist cavalry?"
A cavalry captain who had escorted wounded soldiers twice said: "Reporting to the general, in less than five miles to the north from here, you have to pass through a mountain pass. From the mountain pass, you have to go seven or eight miles to reach Geng Township. This pass It should be the best defensive location. The pass is about two miles wide, with mountain ridges several feet high on both sides."
When everyone heard this, that was all they could do now. Huangfu Chaobo said: "He Ruolong, ask Golden Eagle to expand the search area and find out the follow-up troops of Dong Zhuo Army and Hedong Army. Zhao Yun, you are still responsible for the rest of the war."
"Yes!" they both agreed in unison;
Zhao Yun stood up and ordered: "The cavalry camp rested for a quarter of an hour, and then moved forward five miles to prepare to intercept the enemy's cavalry. The infantry speeded up and rushed to the pass to fortify and prepare for battle. We are tired, and the enemy is equally tired. After the battle After this battle, we can return to Luoyang."
As soon as these words came out, the morale of the army immediately rose. Yes, after this battle, we can return to Luoyang. Next time, we will come back to avenge Zepao who went there.
Seeing this situation, Huangfu Chaobo suddenly remembered a word - "Don't cover up when you return to the army, don't chase the poor aggressors!"
For a time, more than 40,000 infantrymen quickened their pace and walked towards their destination. Less than half an hour later, the army finally arrived at the mountain pass mentioned by the cavalry captain. Zhao Yun took a look and saw that, sure enough, the terrain here was undulating, with two sides. They are both several feet high mountain ridges with numerous strange rocks, which are not suitable for cavalry operations. In the middle of the two mountain ridges is a mountain road about two miles wide. It is indeed an ideal place for the army to set up defenses.
Following Zhao Yun's order, the army quickly deployed. According to Zhao Yun's arrangement,
The army was divided into two parts. One part quickly deployed defenses, while the other part took the time to rest and eat. If the pursuers had not arrived after half an hour, the two parts of the force would be swapped.
Fortunately, most of the soldiers and horses have never abandoned the baggage trucks that used camels to transport food, and now they can be put to use. With these baggage cars lined up in several rows in front, it is enough to build several rows of horse-repelling walls. In addition, Zhao Yun ordered some debris and rocks to be placed in the middle of the road to create obstacles, so in less than half an hour, the defense was basically ready.
At this time, He Ruolong reported that most of the cavalry was less than ten miles away. Seeing that the defense was well prepared, Zhao Yun immediately ordered the cavalry to retreat and give up the front to Dong Zhuo's cavalry. At this time, most of Dong Zhuojun and Jiang Pei's infantry were still nearly fifty miles away from here. By the time they arrived here, it was probably already tomorrow.
A quarter of an hour later, Hu Yandu led less than 8,000 cavalry back to the front of the formation, and smoothly withdrew into the formation along the passage that had been prepared in advance. Then, not long after, the thundering sound of horse hooves was heard.
Everyone looked up and saw a huge cloud of smoke rising several miles away, and soon saw the overwhelming cavalry rushing towards their position.
"Rumble" The sound of horse hoofbeats stopped two miles away. Among the cavalry, Fan Chou looked at the formation two miles away with a constipated expression. What kind of people are the Sizhou Army? They walked hundreds of miles a day and night with tens of thousands of wounded soldiers, and they were able to form such a tight defensive formation.
However, now that it has reached this point, even if it is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, Fan Chou is ready to rush forward. Otherwise, he really doesn't know how to explain to Xu Rong.
After the army took a short rest, Fan Chou and Jiang Jiandao said: "General Jiang, it's up to you Hedong Cavalry next. Don't worry, as long as you break through the Sizhou Army's vehicle formation, the rest will be left to our Xiliang Cavalry."
Jiang Jian was stunned, and was about to speak, but was stopped by Fan Chou's words: "General Jiang, we are here to help you. We can't help. It's just us guests, and your master is watching from the side." Come on. ”
After a brief pause, Fan Chou pointed at Jiang Jianshen and said disdainfully: "If you don't leave these matters of breaking the formation to the cavalry behind you, why don't you let me, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, go?" In his words, Fan Chou also specifically emphasized the point. Anyone can hear the contempt in the word "cavalry".