Yan Liang looked at the piece of information in his hand and his brows knitted together.
That was about the latest battle situation in Xiakou City. Although Man Chong never sent him a letter asking for help, Yan Liang ordered his scouts to always pay attention to the battle situation in the south.
Once Xiakou fell, Soochow's navy could drive northward from the Han River and join forces with Liu Qi's land army to form a pincer attack on Xiangyang City.
In any case, this is not what Yan Liang wants to see.
The intelligence stated that Zhou Yu's army had surrounded Xiakou City with three circles inside and three outside, and the 50,000-strong army continued to attack for ten days.
Fortunately, Man Chong lived up to his expectations and withstood the Wu attack tenaciously, but he also paid the price of nearly a thousand casualties.
Man Chong is worthy of being the best general under his command.
While Yan Liang was grateful to have such a good general guarding the city, he gradually felt worried in his heart.
Zhou Yu is not an ordinary figure. In history, after the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao was powerful and Jiangling City was indestructible, but he was able to capture it alive.
Now my strength is far less than that of Cao Cao back then. If Zhou Yu is allowed to continue attacking like this, even if he has many favors, Xiakou City will probably be breached sooner or later.
The sound of footsteps sounded, and Xu Shu came in from the outside, with a bit of solemnity between his brows.
"Lord, the latest intelligence from the scouts is that Yuan Tan's army has crossed Bowang City, and the forward is only thirty miles away from Wancheng."
Xu Shu presented the information with both hands.
"So fast."
Yan Liangliang was slightly surprised.
The intelligence was very detailed. In the fire in Duyang, more than 3,000 Yuan troops were burned to death. After putting out the fire, Yuan Tan did not do much rest and recuperation. Instead, with Zhang He commanding 6,000 cavalry as the vanguard, he went south to capture Bowang City at starry night.
Yan Liangyuan thought that after Yuan Tan was frightened, he would spend at least three to five days to stabilize the morale of the army, and he could also take the opportunity to rest and regroup his soldiers. He would then set up an ambush at the front line of Bowang to delay Yuan's army from moving south.
Yuan Tan's rapid advance obviously broke Yan Liang's plan. Now that the last city in the north has been lost, Wancheng, the core of Nanyang, will be directly exposed to Yuan's army.
"Yuan Tan has Xin Piwei as a counselor. He may have seen our delaying tactics. I didn't think of this, so I made a mistake." Xu Shu blamed himself.
Yan Liang waved his hand and said: "Yuan Zhi, why should you blame yourself? It's because this general underestimated Yuan Tan. This boy himself has no ability, but he knows how to use Zhang He and Xin Pi to advise his ministers. It seems that dodging is not the answer after all. It's time
We are going to have a head-on battle with Yuan Tan. "
Xu Shu looked worried, "Although Yuan Du lost thousands of troops and horses in Duyang, his troops and horses are still several times larger than ours. A head-on confrontation may not be easy."
"Never mind the many things. Without a head-on fight, how can we test the strength of the enemy's army and prepare for the next decisive battle? This battle is unavoidable."
Yan Liang's tone was decisive and his expression was resolute.
Xu Shu also knew the truth. So he stopped talking and his face, which had always been indifferent, gradually became enveloped with a layer of solemnity.
Two days later, Yan Liang left a message and hired 3,000 soldiers and horses to guard Wancheng. He led Wen Chou, Lu Lingqi and other generals to lead 9,000 infantry troops north to Wancheng for twenty miles to meet Yuan's army.
Although Zhang He arrived early and had six thousand elite cavalry, he was very cautious and did not attack easily. Instead, he camped on the spot until the main force of the infantry led by Yuan Tan came to join him.
When Yuan Tan heard that Yan Liang had led his army to fight, he was full of revenge and left only 7,000 troops to guard the camp, while he sent out 30,000 troops to attack.
In the afternoon of that day, the two armies met on the east bank of Huoshui.
Dark clouds press down on the earth, making the world feel oppressive.
Woohoo~~
The sound of the horn came from the north, distant and long, as if it came from hell.
Yan Liang slowly raised his head, and saw an earth-yellow flag with the word "Yuan" rising from behind the low hills to the north. Following the flag was an endless forest of spears and halberds.
The endless black cold blade made the already gloomy sky even darker.
The endless crowds of people came fiercely.
Rolling flags like waves connected the sky and the earth. Tens of thousands of people were densely packed, forming a military formation with a radius of a hundred feet, slowly advancing.
The ground rumbled, and the birds jumped up in fright, daring not to land.
Yan Liang swallowed, and his razor-like eyes gradually condensed into a thin line.
Yuan Jun's formation was exactly as he had expected.
At the forefront is a large shield that is high enough to reach people. It is a wooden shield covered with leather that even the most powerful crossbow arrows in the world cannot hope to penetrate.
Thousands of large black shields were arranged in front of them, with layers as clear as fish scales, forming a huge black wall to protect Yuan Jun behind.
And the long halberds that were as long as two people poked out from the gaps in the shield, and the dense cold blades pointed straight forward, as dark as the fangs of the god of death.
After the halberdiers, five thousand crossbowmen followed, and on the left and right flanks were Yuan Jun's powerful cavalry.
The huge formation of more than 30,000 Yuan Jun infantry and cavalry was like a huge beast covered in armor, roaring and roaring, slowly advancing southward.
There is only one word to describe such a military formation - strong.
Yan Liang looked at the behemoth from a distance and couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart. It seemed that Yuan Tan had set up such an iron barrel formation, which was clearly aimed at his Yuan Rong Crossbow.
"It's a mule or a horse. Let's take it out for a walk and talk about it later."
Yan Liang showed no trace of fear, but the look of fear in his eyes grew stronger. He drew his long sword forward slightly and gave the order to attack.
War drums rumbled, and a large formation of nine thousand people on foot and cavalry roared, heading towards the behemoth on the opposite side.
Five hundred steps...
Three hundred steps...
Two hundred steps...
The two military formations slowly advanced and were relatively close.
There was no movement in Yuan Jun's formation, and it was still moving forward slowly and clumsily like an ox.
This may seem like a conservative attack method, but it just suppresses Yan Liang's strengths.
If the enemy does not break the formation and charge, Yan Liang's Yuanrong's repeated crossbows will not be of use. If 9,000 men fight against 30,000 men, Yuan's army will take full advantage of its numerical advantage.
Yan Liang now suddenly realized how uncomfortable Cao Cao felt back then.
During the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao must have relied on his numerical advantage of 100,000 troops to advance southward step by step. Although Cao Cao tried his best to fight, he still could not shake Yuan's army's advance.
Today Yan Liang is also facing the same situation.
In the blink of an eye, the two armies were dozens of steps closer.
Yan Liang could wait no longer and shouted sternly: "Send the order to Wen Ziqin quickly. I have ordered him to lead three thousand cavalry to detour the enemy's flank and make sure to disturb the enemy's formation."
The messenger galloped away. After a while, Wen Chou, who was hiding on the left wing, led his cavalry and galloped away, heading around Yuan Jun's right wing.
The Shenxingqi led by Wen Chou was the best among Yan Liang's best.
Three thousand cavalry flew away like the wind and soon reached Yuan Jun's right flank, stirring up the enemy's nerves.
At the Central Military Department, Yuan Tan saw Wen Chou's banner, and his handsome face suddenly turned hateful.
"Wen Chou, the traitor, is here. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have been defeated by Yan Liang last time. I quickly sent an order to Zhang Junyi, asking him to lead his cavalry to attack and be sure to kill the traitor."
Yuan Tan was so filled with hatred that he decided to change his formation and attack.
Xin Pi, who was accompanying the army next to him, said hurriedly: "Wen Chou is here to induce our army to change our formation. The eldest son must be on top of this thief. He must calm down."
Yuan Tan looked shocked. Although he was angry, he still suppressed it forcefully.
After pondering for a long time, Yuan Tan gritted his teeth and said: "That's all, let's listen to Sir's advice and spare the life of Wen Chou first."
Yuan's army did not change its formation, and the 30,000 men continued to advance vigorously according to the established battle plan.
Wen Chou made several provocations. Seeing that Yuan Jun was not fooled, but had to spare his rear wing, Yuan Jun only used strong bows and crossbows to push back Wen Chou's cavalry, and refused to take the initiative to attack.
Seeing Yuan Tan being so calm, Yan Liang couldn't help but feel a little surprised, and thought to himself: "This Yuan Tan is really not comparable to Liu Biao and the two dogs. How much ability does he have? It seems that he is determined to push him over this time." ."
"Brother Yuan, the formation of Yuan's army is not in chaos. If we wait like this, our army will be at a disadvantage. If we don't let my little sister lead the heavy cavalry to attack, there will be a conflict in the center and the enemy's formation will be overwhelmed in one fell swoop."
Lu Lingqi also saw that the situation was not good and generously asked for a fight.
Yan Liang said calmly: "There must be strong bows and crossbows hidden in Yuan's army. If our army attacks with heavy cavalry, it will suffer the same fate as Gongsun Zan and his white horse Yi Cong was annihilated."
While they were talking, the two armies had reached a hundred paces.
Seeing that Yan Liang was not allowed to fight, Lu Lingqi said anxiously: "If we don't attack with heavy cavalry, once the two armies engage in battle, our army will have no chance of winning. Brother, you can't hesitate any longer and make a decision quickly."
That's right, you need to make decisions quickly.
Yan Liang shouted with his sword eyebrows and said loudly: "Send the order and the whole army will retreat."
The entire army retreats!?
Lu Lingqi was shocked. She never expected that her sworn brother, who was a master of military skills, would suddenly make such a big mistake.
The confrontation between the two armies is imminent, but they are only more than a hundred steps apart. If the entire army withdraws, the enemy can immediately launch a full-scale pursuit. If the formation changes at that time, the nine thousand soldiers and horses will fall apart in an instant and be slaughtered.
"Brother, withdrawing troops before battle is a taboo in the art of war. We..."
When Lu Lingqi was about to be persuaded, Yan Liang waved his hand decisively and said: "There is no time to explain anymore, please withdraw your troops!"
Yan Liang issued the order to withdraw the troops without any explanation.
The golden sound rang out in unison, and the nine thousand soldiers who were preparing to fight had their heads covered, but they didn't expect that their leader would order the withdrawal of troops at this critical moment.
Yan Liang, however, couldn't control much and had already ordered his horse to go first.
As soon as the general moved, the other soldiers didn't have time to think too much and turned around and retreated south.
Yuan Tan, who was on the opposite side, couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw Yan Liang withdrawing his troops. He said excitedly: "The thief Yan Liang has withdrawn his troops at this time. God is really going to destroy him. Send the order quickly and the whole army will form a formation to pursue him."
When the order came out, the shield array in the front row burst open, and the tens of thousands of Yuan's infantrymen behind them surged out with shouts of death, while the crossbowmen hurriedly fired arrows, raining arrows towards the enemies retreating south.
On both wings, Zhang He received the order and rushed out with his cavalry to pursue Wen Chou's army who was retreating at the same time.
Nine thousand officers and soldiers of the Yan Army retreated in the wind. Arrows rained down from behind them. Soon, hundreds of people were unfortunately shot.
The 30,000 Yuan troops were like tigers and wolves, chasing after them, getting closer and closer.
In the blink of an eye, Yan Liang had retreated three miles away, and suddenly there was a ravine in front of him that was more than a hundred feet long and one step wide.
Fortunately, this inexplicably appeared ravine was not too wide, and the Yan Army soldiers who retreated in a panic jumped over it in one step.
However, Yan Liang, who was riding his horse across the ravine, reined in his horse and turned around, dragging his sword and facing the pursuing enemy. A mysterious look gradually appeared in his brows.
In a short time, all nine thousand of his men had crossed the ravine, and the wave of Yuan soldiers who followed them were nearly dozens of paces away.
When Lu Lingqi saw that Yan Liang was stationary and refused to leave, she couldn't help being surprised again. She rushed forward and shouted: "Brother, the enemy's army is approaching. Why are you still here? Get out quickly."
However, Yan Liang turned a deaf ear to his adopted sister's persuasion and faced the oncoming enemy force majestically without any fear.
After a sneer, he waved his hand and shouted: "The time has come, set fire to this general!" (You are welcome, your support is my greatest motivation.)