Chapter 23 Times have changed, cavalry is no longer invincible
When Cao Cao saw that Lu Yan had made arrangements, he rode back to Luoyang.
The next thing he had to do was to gain favor in front of the emperor and the ministers, and then he would quietly wait for the news from Lu Yan.
Not many of Zhang Ji's generals have left their names in history. There is only one nephew, Zhang Xiu, and at worst, Hu Che'er.
If he had only one man, Cao's army would be much higher in terms of numbers and combat power.
The only regret is that the number of cavalry on Cao's side is too small.
Looking at nearly half of the Xiliang cavalry, Zhao Yun's eyes almost turned red with envy... No, he was attracted to their horses.
"Boom!" The sound of Xiliang Army's horse hoofs came closer.
From a distance, he saw a dark front that suddenly appeared in front of him. Zhang Ji sat on his horse and said to the adjutant beside him: "Send someone to see whose army it is."
"Here!"
The adjutant passed on the order, and soon several mounted scouts rushed out.
After a while of tea, the scouts saw the big banner from a distance.
A large flag with the word "Lu" and some flags representing Cao's army, the scouts quickly passed the news back.
"Cao? Lu?" Zhang Ji thought for a moment, and then he was horrified and lost his voice: "Could it be Chen Liujun, commanded by Lu Yan under Cao Cao?!"
This exclamation made even the surrounding Xiliang soldiers look a little surprised.
Unlike Emperor Xian and his ministers who were imprisoned in the palace and had no information, Zhang Ji, who guarded Hongnong, was always paying attention to the general trend of the world.
Zhang Xiu came to Zhang Ji on horseback and asked: "Uncle, even Yuan Shu and Wen Hou were defeated by Lu Yan one after another... If Lu Yan is really coming, then we will be in trouble."
"It's not that we are in trouble..." Zhang Ji looked at the big flag with the word "Lu" in the distance that was blown by the wind, and murmured: "It's because Te Niang is in big trouble!"
The two sides were separated by about two or three miles, facing each other at a distance, and the battlefield was quiet.
Zhang Ji was afraid of Lu Yan's strength and did not dare to charge rashly, so he planned to wait until the troops of Li Jue and Guo Si arrived.
Lu Yan saw Zhang Ji's army stagnant and knew that he was waiting for the follow-up army.
Since there were too few cavalry on our side, the gains outweighed the losses by taking the initiative to launch an attack, so we could only set up a formation first to stabilize the position.
Although everyone was waiting, Lu Yan was not idle.
"Horse traps, dig them all for me a hundred steps away from the front of the formation!"
"Crossbowmen, archers, always ready!"
"Shieldmen, spearmen, line up in front!"
Frequent orders were issued, and the well-trained soldiers arranged and changed their lineups according to their daily training content.
...
Both sides are waiting,
Sure enough, not long after, Li Jue and Guo Si's army arrived!
"What's wrong? Why is Zhang Ji holding back?" Li Jue and Guo Si saw Zhang Ji's troops stopped in front, and doubts arose in their hearts.
However, they now command their own soldiers separately, and they no longer dare to be as close as before.
Two armies came to the left and right of Zhang Ji's army respectively.
Zhang Ji generously shared his information with Li Jue and Guo Si, and invited them to meet in front of his battle line.
"Lu Yan's army under Cao Cao?" Li Jue frowned, "This guy is said to be invincible in every battle. Even Lu Bu suffered at his hands."
"Lü Bu invaded Yanzhou and was defeated only when Cao Cao led his army back to Puyang. The rumors about Lu Yan from the outside world may be exaggerated," Guo Si said.
Guo Si's explanation was obviously more acceptable to Zhang Ji and Li Jue.
"It is said that Guo Jia and Lu Yan used a trick to severely injure Lu Bu first. Lu Bu was unable to exert his strength and then defeated Puyang." Zhang Ji expressed his guess.
"Even if he, Lu Yan, can scheme again and a group of infantry array in the field, what do we have to fear?" Li Jue sneered disdainfully.
Li Jue's words made Zhang Ji and Guo Si couldn't help but nod in unison, "We have 20,000 cavalry in total, and the opponent only has 30,000 infantry, so what do we have to fear?"
In the wild battlefield, there are 20,000 cavalry, and the world-famous Xiliang cavalry is still there.
Facing 30,000 seemingly mediocre infantrymen, isn't that just cutting melons and vegetables, destroying the dead?
"Perhaps, over time, they have forgotten the horror of being dominated by the Xiliang cavalry!"
"In this case, today we will reawaken the deepest fear in their hearts!"
Watching Li Jue and Guo Si singing in harmony, Zhang Ji suddenly suggested:
"If we join forces, we don't have to worry about anything anymore. Li Jue, your cavalry is the strongest. How about you attack the central army?"
"Huh!" Although Li Jue snorted to express his dissatisfaction, he was indeed the strongest among the three. "You attack from the flanks first. As long as we rush into their formation at the same time, Cao's army will be finished immediately."
"good!"
“It’s a deal!”
Lu Yan stood on the temporary command podium and looked at the movements of the three teams of Li Jue, Guo Si, and Zhang Ji from a distance.
Seeing that the opponent's troops began to mobilize frequently, Lu Yan immediately said to Xia Houlan beside him: "Zi Heng, let me know, the Xiliang army is about to start attacking!"
"Here!"
"defense!"
"defense!"
...
Orders are conveyed one after another to the lowest level, the corps commander, who then manages his soldiers.
Xu Huang looked at this army with neat appearance and condensed momentum, and a sentence suddenly emerged in his mind: "This is how a strong army should be!"
Lu Yan turned his head and glanced at Xu Huang, and said: "Gongming, I know that you are rigorous in running the army. Our Chenliu County is short of a general like you. If you don't mind, would you like to come to Chenliu to show off your general talents?"
"
Xu Huang looked at Lu Yan's eyes, which were clear and bright, as clean as the white snow covering the branches.
"But Xu is still a subordinate of General Yang..." Xu Huang hesitated.
"There's no need to worry. Mr. Cao has already made an agreement with General Yang. You don't have to go back to him if you want." Lu Yan continued.
"That being the case, Huang is willing to serve under Duke Cao!" Xu Huang bowed apologetically to Lu Yan.
"Great! We have received help from a famous general again!" Lu Yan was delighted, helped Xu Huang up, and said, "May I ask what position Gong Ming holds now?"
Xu Huang replied with some embarrassment: "I am just a Cavalry Commander now."
Lu Yan was a little surprised. Yang Feng might have been named a general of chariots and cavalry because of his merits in escorting the troops.
Xu Huang has repeatedly made military exploits and provided many ideas for Yang Feng, but now he is just a cavalry captain?
No wonder it was easier to persuade Xu Huang than imagined. It turned out that he was resentful of not being able to recognize his talent...
Lu Yan thought for a while and suddenly said with some embarrassment: "My authority is not very high. Now I can only give you the position of a general for the time being. After defeating the Xiliang army, Duke Cao will reward you for your merits."
"Huang leaves it to the arrangements of the general and the lord." Xu Huang hadn't thought that far yet. He was still worried and asked: "General, the Xiliang army is the best in the world, and Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and others are even more so.
There are tens of thousands of Xiliang cavalry..."
Although Xu Huang didn't finish what he said, Lu Yan understood his worries after hearing this.
"Gongming, this era has changed. Infantry defeating cavalry is nothing new."
"You're talking about...the Battle of the Border Bridge?"
"That's right!"
"But General, Qu Yi's men who died first are also rare elites in the world."
When Lu Yan heard this, he laughed, pointed at the Beiwei army standing quietly at the front of the array in the distance, and said:
"Look at that army wearing black iron armor. After this battle, they will definitely leave an indelible impression on the Xiliang Army!"