Chapter 3463 Before and After

Chapter 3462 Before and After

Wilderness, cold wind.

Loess, black sky.

Almost all the leaves on the branches of the few miscellaneous trees were pulled down by the cold wind, seeming to announce the approach of severe winter.

The four seasons of the year, the turn of autumn and winter, are like going from life to death.

But these Cao soldiers tried to escape from the dead.

Human beings' instinctive desire to survive caused these Cao soldiers to burst out with seemingly endless motivation.

Running, howling, and fleeing, the defeated soldiers scattered in all directions.

But there are still many Cao soldiers who cannot avoid the sickle of death.

Like most cold weapon wars, real killings often occur in large numbers after one party is defeated.

After Lu Chang ordered the retreat, the entire Cao army's line immediately collapsed.

Even if the military formation collapses, the casualties will only be the soldiers near the breakthrough. But once the entire army is defeated, death will immediately affect all Cao's soldiers.

The God of Death laughed wildly and pounced down, enjoying the feast of blood and flesh.

"Abandon your weapon and kneel down to avoid death!" Those who resist will be killed without mercy! 』

The hussars shouted skillfully and killed those Cao soldiers who tried to resist or rush to escape.

It's just that in the dark night, Cao Jun's army crashed, like a sand tower collapsing, and Huang Xu and others couldn't stop it at all!

However, the number of casualties among Cao's troops soared sharply in such a short period of time.

In less than a cup of tea, Cao's army suffered almost the same number of casualties as the original battle with the Hussars for so long.

"Where is the enemy general?" 』

Huang Xu shouted and waved his sword.

But under the flickering firelight, he didn't see Lu Chang.

"Here is the general's flag!" 』

Some hussars rushed to where Lu Chang was originally, but saw no one, only the general's flag lying on the ground.

"Ahhh!" A cowardly fellow! 』

Huang Xu was extremely angry.

There were fleeing Cao soldiers everywhere, and the light was insufficient. Huang Xu didn't know which direction Lu Chang had fled to.

After all, this is not Bailang Mountain, and Fei Qian is not a barbarian king with hundreds of thousands of string-controlling soldiers. Huang Xu and the others cannot surround the mountain and make it impenetrable.

At the same time, Lu Chang was obviously experienced. He did not carry anything with obvious markings, and even the escort asked to disperse and escape. This made during the initial chaos, whether it was Huang Xu or the surrounding rangers. Unable to identify Lu Chang's location as quickly as possible under the interplay of darkness and firelight, he could intercept it...

After all, not everyone can carry a small radar and see who has a small logo on their head.

Huang Xu searched angrily and rushed around the mountain for a while, but could not find any trace of Lu Chang.

In desperation, Huang Xu could only go back and recover.

Fei Qian originally did not intend to pursue Lu Chang.

It's not that Fei Qian suddenly had a kind heart, but because Fei Qian's original plan was just to fill the gap. After all, the logistics and artillery baggage hadn't arrived yet. His original plan was just to eliminate some potential dangers during the gap period when Xu Chu had not returned from Suoyang Pass.

Moreover, the distance between the former army camp and Cao Jun's Zhongtiao Mountain camp was not too far. With a distance of fifty or sixty miles, it would not be too difficult for Cao Jun to escape back.

If we really wanted to hunt down and search for the escaped enemy generals on a large scale in the wilderness, it would undoubtedly consume a lot of manpower and horsepower. Fei Qian originally thought it was not worthwhile. But when he heard the report from his subordinates that the results of interrogating the prisoners and surrendering the troops were not led by ordinary Cao Jun military academy, but led by Lu Chang, the commander of the Zhongtiao Mountain Camp, Fei Qian quickly He changed his mind and asked Huang Xu to lead the cavalry team and immediately go to the direction of the Zhongtiao Mountain camp to hunt down Lu Chang.

Yes, a hunt.

The dead Lu Chang has no value other than providing bonuses to soldiers and military academy meritorious service.

What Fei Qian needed was the specific layout of the Zhongtiao Mountain camp and the detailed distribution of soldiers, and no one knew these things better than Lu Chang, the former Zhongtiao Mountain garrison general.

That's why Fei Qian specifically asked Huang Xu to continue fighting to avoid the situation where some soldiers would stop and chop Lu Chang with a sword.

Huang Xu also knew the key to this matter, so he immediately led his men and horses towards the Zhongtiao Mountain camp, followed the traces of Lu Chang and others, and arrested them.

Fei Qian called out the soldiers stationed in the former army camp and asked them to clean up the battlefield and take care of the prisoners.

Although he won, Fei Qian had some doubts in his heart.

What is Cao Jun here for?

Will the folks open the door and deliver food?

To say that Xu Chu left the former army camp was indeed a bit imprudent.

But if Cao Jun wanted to raid the former army camp, shouldn't he be "quick, accurate and ruthless"?

As a result, Cao's army came, but they were hesitant and acted abnormally. The attack did not look like an attack, and the lure did not look like a lure. What on earth did they come for?

Do you think the weather is nice and you are here for an autumn outing?

Feiqian is difficult to understand.

Fei Qian's doubts are indeed justified.

However, the current situation of Cao's army's defeat is another reality facing Fei Qian.

So Fei Qian could only put aside this doubt for the time being...

…

…

Tongguan.

War brings not only death, but also geographical changes.

For example, Tongguan Ban Road, under the fire of this war, was widened by at least one parking space!

This change is surprising, but also seems to be expected.

Cao Jun seemed to have been prepared to resist step by step very early, just like a gecko with its tail cut off, one section after another.

Of course, the terrain restrictions are also an important reason why Cao Jun's strategy can work.

Cao Jun's attack on Guanzhong was difficult due to the terrain restrictions. Now Guanzhong's attack is also due to the terrain restrictions, and the cavalry cannot be deployed.

These battlefield limitations of nature work on both sides at the same time.

When Zhang Liao broke through the camp in front of Niutouyuan in Tongguan, he led only more than 2,000 soldiers and horses, less than 3,000 people.

There are not many people, but on such a road, it is already saturated.

It also tests the commander's ability to control the battlefield troops. Otherwise, if he is not careful, his troops will block his route and suffer losses that should not have been caused.

Therefore, Zhang Liao fought very steadily.

Occasionally, there will be Cao Jun teams who want to fight and block, and some teams want to bypass Niutouyuan, similar to what Zhu Ling did before, and go around to sneak attack Zhang Liao's logistics, but these people are not Zhu Ling's opponents at all. They were discovered before they even got through the earth plateau, and suffered heavy casualties under the strong crossbows and hard bows.

Advancing step by step, the combat mode of multi-arms coordination, Zhang Liao's tactical offensive, on such a road, is really like a bulldozer. Seeing Zhang Liao coming, Cao Jun tried to deal with it, but couldn't stop it!

The speed of advancement is not fast, but it is stable enough.

On Zhang Liao's flank, the tower ships are cruising back and forth on the water, and Zhu Ling is in control of the plateau.

This allows Zhang Liao to concentrate on dealing with Cao Jun in front.

And Cao Jun at Tongguan, facing the advancement of Zhang Liao and others, is also helpless.

In a head-on confrontation, it is completely unbeatable!

There are brave generals, elite soldiers, and high technology...

Cao Jun retreated all the way.

Zhang Liao continued to clean up the remaining troops, and then sent the prisoners and surrendered soldiers to the rear line, not hurried or slow, with tension and relaxation.

This made Cao Zhang and others extremely painful. Perhaps they would rather face a vicious opponent who would either defeat them in one breath or fall into their trap, rather than accept Zhang Liao's slow knife cutting flesh, especially when they knew clearly where Zhang Liao would attack and when he would attack, but they just couldn't bear it!

This is like having surgery in a hospital in the future. The anesthetic was not completely penetrated. In the confusion, you can feel the doctor cutting your skin and then scratching your bones. You can't struggle or get rid of it!

The Cao army retreated step by step, and Zhang Liao pressed forward step by step.

When the battle of Tongguan was reported to Chang'an in Guanzhong, even the most pessimistic people who had been singing the bad news could not help but stand up and say, "The Cao army is now in the big trend! Shandong is not worth mentioning!

"Do you need to say this? !

"You didn't say that before!

This caused others to laugh and ask if the person's previous bad words were his own, and why he didn't continue to sing the bad words now?

Those people would be full of emotion, and say with conviction that if they had not been warning the general of the cavalry all the time and asked him to treat it with caution, how could there be today's results? Their expressions were proud, as if the merits of the soldiers fighting on the front line were not worth a few words from them.

Everyone laughed, and they all regarded it as a show.

However, in Guanzhong, an extremely optimistic atmosphere did begin to rise.

『Cao's army... is finished! 』

『Then Shandong... hehehe! 』

『Shandong is a good place! 』

『That's, that's...』

The war has not completely stopped, and some people are already planning to get some benefits.

When they need to fight hard, these people will hide, or say that they are ill, and they have to take care of the old and young at home, and they can't afford such a heavy responsibility, but when they find that the benefits are right in front of them, these people will stand up and say that they can do it and are ready!

Indeed, everyone carries the flowery sedan chair.

But who can tell whether these sedan bearers are real people or ghosts in human skin?

Even if Zhang Liao knew these things, he didn't care too much. His attention is now on the front line and how to fight.

Cao's army set up many traps on the Tongguan Slope Road, which made Zhang Liao have to be particularly careful when advancing, otherwise he would be injured if he fell into the trap.

In the dark night, even if the fighting stopped, there would still be occasional loud screams.

Some were injured and disabled, and others were suffering from war syndrome.

The wounded and sick were okay, there were special logistics camps for the wounded and sick, there were doctors to treat and take care of them, and then they would be transferred to Guanzhong when they were more stable, but the soldiers with war syndrome in the general military camps were not easy to deal with.

Maybe everything seemed normal during the day, talking and laughing, but at night they would suddenly cry and howl, the sound was shrill and terrifying.

This battle caused countless casualties.

Even after cleaning up, all kinds of corpses will still leave various marks in the air and on the ground, including but not limited to the smell of blood and decay. Even when you sit down to rest, you may sit on something left by someone.

Even soldiers who are used to seeing life and death will be affected to some extent, not to mention those new recruits who have not experienced many wars before and have only seen blood during training.

Some people grow up, and naturally some people cannot adapt.

Therefore, almost every time Zhang Liao stopped to rest, he would patrol the camp with his men every hour at night. According to the military manual, as a commander, he only needed to patrol the camp once a night, but Zhang Liao did not slack off at all.

So, Zhang Liao encountered the "letter" from Cao Jun's scout.

The letter from the "old friend".

Because Zhang Liao was in the training camp, the soldiers who received the letter immediately found Zhang Liao.

"Old friend?" Zhang Liao frowned.

Looking at the words "Respectfully send Zhang Wenyuan's letter", Zhang Liao suddenly felt that these words were a bit dazzling.

"Letter"?

I, Zhang Liao, in Cao Jun, who else can be called "letter" with me?

Zhang Liao did not open the letter immediately, but looked up at the sky.

He was born in Yanmen, from a poor family, or even a very poor family.

So he didn't have many friends in his hometown.

When I was under Ding Yuan, I only had a few friends. Later...

"Hehe..." Zhang Liao suddenly smiled, "Come here, seal it and send it directly to Pang Lingjun!"

Zhang Liao suddenly remembered that at some point in time, someone had encountered a similar situation, and suddenly an old friend came to visit...

Now it's just a letter, but...

Who knows?

Zhang Liao's guard asked: "General, don't you want to read it?"

Zhang Liao shook his head, "No."

...

...Not only Zhang Liao was making a choice, but also the people in the Zhongtiaoshan camp were making a choice.

After Dong Zhao received the letter for help, he said it was a "false report"!

And for these military schools that Dong Zhao originally lacked trust in, they were naturally skeptical.

In military terms, Lü Chang was their superior commander, and they stood aside when their superior commander was in trouble. Even if they said afterwards that it was Dong Zhao who stopped them and had sufficient reasons, they would still be regarded as disloyal people. If they wanted to be promoted, they would probably have no hope in this life.

After all, the leader might not remember who came during the New Year and other festivals, but he would definitely remember who didn't come.

In any case, they still had to show their proper appearance.

The head of the military school said that since Lü Chang asked for help, they would naturally help him, but Dong Zhao said that this was a false request for help, saying that the false report said that it was a general of the Cao family, and General Lü Chang's surname was Lü, not Cao...

The military school thought that it might be the Cao army, not the Cao family. After all, the person who came to report the news was dying, and it was normal for him to say something wrong. Moreover, it was only fifty or sixty miles away from the front camp of the cavalry. Even if there was any problem, people should be sent out to investigate immediately. How could they just say "false report" and let it go?

After arguing for a while, Dong Zhao finally compromised and made arrangements.

The military school was satisfied and left.

Dong Zhao watched the military schools leave with a cold look.

'Sir, why do you accommodate these soldiers?' Dong Zhao's confidant said dissatisfiedly, 'A bunch of lowly embryos who don't know the height of the world!'

'Shut up!' Dong Zhao said in a deep voice.

'Only...' The confidant lowered his head to answer, but his expression was obviously still angry.

'These are all dying people, why bother...' Dong Zhao said slowly, 'The dead... are the greatest...'

The confidant's expression eased a little, but after a moment, he said nervously, 'If that's the case, why... why...'

'Why are you still here?' Dong Zhao said.

The confidant nodded.

Dong Zhao smiled and waved his hand, 'You don't need to know this... I have my own arrangements. Go and do your work. The key now is those craftsmen, not these military schools... Do you understand? The craftsmen must be prepared and protected! There must be no mistakes! '

Dong Zhao spoke seriously, and his confidant naturally responded with a serious face, and then retreated.

Dong Zhao sat alone in the big tent, looking at the position that originally belonged to Lv Chang. He was silent for a long time, and suddenly smiled, "Don't blame me... Everything depends on your own luck..."

...

...

Lv Chang wore an ordinary soldier's armor and hid in the ravine with a dozen of his closest guards.

He was disheveled and had no demeanor of a so-called general.

The dozen guards also looked nervous, looking up at the sky above their heads from time to time, and their whole bodies would immediately tense up at the slightest movement.

The distance of fifty or sixty miles now seemed like a natural moat.

Lv Chang knew that if the cavalry knew that he was leading the army, they would definitely search for him, so he didn't dare to go straight in the direction of Zhongtiao Mountain, but ran diagonally for a long distance before finding this unknown ravine to hide.

'There are cavalry rangers outside! 'The guard who climbed up to the top of the ditch and then climbed down hurriedly whispered, 'It's everywhere! What should I do? I can't go back! '

In order not to attract the attention of the cavalry scouts, Lü Chang and others abandoned their few war horses and pretended to be ordinary soldiers to escape on foot. This method undoubtedly saved Lü Chang's life.

Because the cavalry paid special attention to those riding war horses...

But as those riding war horses were caught up by the cavalry, Lü Chang's abandonment of horses and walking was likely to be exposed.

Expect those guys to swear to die and never say anything even if they were beaten to death?

And walking also has a big problem, that is, the speed is slow.

Because they have to go around and avoid the cavalry scouts, the original one-day journey may take two days or even three days!

And in this process, they may be discovered at any time and be blocked and surrounded by the cavalry.

Lü Chang sent out guards to try to scout in different directions to see if there were any weak spots to pass through, but in the end, they found that there were cavalry scouts everywhere!

Hiding in the ravine, the cavalry rangers could not see Lü Chang and his men unless they came close, but who knew when these cavalry rangers would come to their faces?

And it was not a good thing to hide in the ravine all the time, not having food and water was enough to kill people!

One day, two days, you can still survive if you save some, but you can't even run away for three or four days!

"General, what should we do?"

The guards asked Lü Chang, but found that Lü Chang seemed to be in a trance, and he didn't know what he was thinking about. He was immediately startled and looked at each other, "General? General? ! !"

Lü Chang turned around, "I figured it out!"