mtl008 Chapter 234: The Final Battle (7)
Chapter 234: The Final Battle (7)
Oh my god, what did I just hear?
Zhang Fei not only successfully defeated Xiahou Ba, who was blocking his way, but also herded Xiahou Ba's defeated troops to Zhang He's side like sheep.
When did Zhang Laosan become so smart?
Once Zhuge Liang understood the situation, he was overjoyed. As a veteran general who had fought for many years, he knew all too well what it meant for a routed soldier to charge into battle.
Defeated soldiers are like beasts without the ability to think. When they run away, they only move forward and never consider the big picture. If they run to other places, it's fine, but if they accidentally run back to their own positions, it will be an epic disaster for their own positions that have already been set up.
Because routed soldiers can easily destroy the defensive positions that their own troops have worked so hard to build.
Moreover, routed soldiers can put their own commanders in a dilemma. When facing the enemy, anyone can charge forward regardless of their own life, but what if they are facing their own people?
Take Zhang He for example. When he saw the fleeing soldiers charging towards him, he only had two undesirable options. The first was to do nothing and watch the fleeing soldiers break through his defenses, allowing the Shu army to easily defeat him. No one would choose to do that.
Then we can only choose the second option: shoot arrows to kill the fleeing soldiers and prevent them from rushing towards our own formation. Although this can stop the fleeing soldiers from charging, it poses too great a threat.
First of all, they were his own people. Shooting them would require a great deal of resolve and would also bring him infamy. Zhang He might not be able to do such a thing.
Secondly, even if Zhang He gives the order, the soldiers still need to carry it out. Would the soldiers kill their own people? If they did, wouldn't they feel psychological pressure? Wouldn't they have opinions about their commander? This would greatly affect the morale of the army.
Finally, there were the fleeing soldiers. In their hearts, the friendly troops in the ranks were their hope for survival. They all hoped that the friendly troops could help them. However, they were mercilessly shot down by the friendly troops. What would the fleeing soldiers think? They probably would not only not run away, but would turn their fear of the Shu army into anger towards their friendly troops and accelerate their charge towards them.
In that case, even if Zhang He had the power to turn the tide, it would be too late.
Realizing this situation, Zhuge Liang quickly turned to look at the battlefield. It was already late at night, and the faint firelight on the battlefield made it impossible to see clearly ahead, but he could hear the shouts of battle coming from the mountain pass.
After all, this place is only three miles away from the mountain pass, almost within walking distance, so it's normal to hear the sound.
Seeing this, Zhuge Liang did not hesitate any longer and decisively said, "Order Zhang Bao to immediately shout to inform the Wei army that the routed soldiers have charged into the enemy lines and that there is chaos in their rear. Then prepare to attack. Wait for my order to charge out immediately. Order Guan Ping to lead the cavalry to mount their horses and wait, ready to attack at any time."
The Han army had too few cavalry, less than a thousand men, and they were captured from the Wei army. This number of troops was certainly not enough to launch a frontal attack on the Wei army, but it was enough to pursue and kill them.
Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and continued, "Order Zhao Rong, the assistant commander at the south gate, and Gao Xiangyang and his men at the west gate to assemble and prepare for a full-scale counterattack. Order Liao Chun and Fu Tong at the east gate to prepare and, upon receiving the order, immediately charge out of the camp to attack the flank of the Wei army. Go quickly."
Gao Xiang, who was guarding the west gate, had previously led the way for Zhang Nan. He was now below the arrow tower. Upon hearing this, he immediately turned around and acted as a messenger to relay the orders to the various gates.
The sudden and unusual troop movement alarmed Liu Bei, who was inspecting the battlefield. Liu Bei ran to the foot of the arrow tower and looked up to ask, "Strategist, what's going on? Why are we preparing for a counterattack?"
Zhuge Liang quickly recounted Zhang Fei's performance. Liu Bei was first taken aback, then overjoyed, saying, "Third brother is excellent! Strategist, you continue to command, I'll go beat the drum."
After saying that, he ran to the drum platform, grabbed the drumsticks, and slammed them down hard on the cowhide drum, which was half a meter taller than him.
The nearby Han soldiers were greatly encouraged to see the king personally beating the drums. Only Wu Ban, who had been at the forefront of the battlefield and had not yet received orders, was somewhat bewildered.
What's going on in the rear? Why are the soldiers suddenly so excited? And why is the king personally beating the drums? Could it be that the Wei army has attacked from somewhere else?
Before Wu Ban could figure out what was going on, Zhang Bao arrived. After hearing Zhang Bao's explanation, Wu Ban was overjoyed. He grabbed the spear and personally thrust it at the Wei army, shouting, "Brothers, hold on! The Wei army is doomed!"
Zhang Bao was not idle either. He led the army that had been rehearsing for several hours and shouted to the Wei army that was charging forward: "Wei soldiers in front, listen up! Xiahou Ba, whom you sent to intercept General Zhang Fei, has been defeated. Xiahou Ba's defeated troops have scattered your rear guard. Zhang He and Sima Yi are doomed. Why are you still fighting so hard? Run away quickly!"
Although Zhang Bao's voice was loud, it was still no louder than the noise of the battlefield. But it was a different story when thousands of people shouted at the same time. Their voices soared into the sky and instantly drowned out the battlefield noise, easily transmitting the message to the ears of the Wei soldiers closest to them.
But the Wei army was already in a frenzy of killing and couldn't hear anything. They all continued to charge as if they hadn't heard anything. Fortunately, Zhang Bao didn't expect to bring them back to their senses with just one shout. He kept shouting after shouting, repeating it like a broken record.
He knew that shouting was a matter of probability; if even one out of a hundred shouts was actually heard by the Wei army and made them think, then the shout would be considered a success.
Moreover, since Zhuge Liang had not yet given the order to attack, he could only continue shouting while waiting for Zhuge Liang's order to attack.
At this moment, the soldiers were waiting for Zhuge Liang's order to launch a general attack, while Zhuge Liang was waiting for the Wei army's routed troops to charge into the enemy lines. It was unclear what Zhang He was waiting for.
The army numbered over ten thousand, stretching to the horizon.
The Wei army numbered at least 30,000 to 40,000, but the mountain pass was only 3 or 4 li away from the Shu army's main camp. This distance had to be left for attack, so there wasn't much room for the Wei army to hide, resulting in a bulky formation and the rear of the army almost backing onto the mountain.
Zhang He and Sima Yi did not hide in the rear, but stood at the forefront under the battle flag to command and supervise the battle. At the same time, they ordered messengers to constantly travel back and forth between the battle flag and the front line, so as to understand the dynamics of the front line and make new deployments in a timely manner.
When Zhang He and Sima Yi learned from the messenger that the frontline army had finally broken through the Shu army's palisade, but was blocked by another horse-trapping pit, Zhang He and Sima Yi were somewhat on edge. Cao Zhen, standing to Zhang He's left, was even more furious and cursed, "That damned Zhuge Liang actually dug so many pits in his own camp. Isn't he afraid that his own men will fall into them?"
Cao Zhen originally hid in Ji County, preparing to attack the Shu army's Shehu Valley camp when the two sides were engaged in a decisive battle. After receiving a reminder from Sima Yi, he adjusted his deployment and sent a small force to launch a probing attack on the Shu army camp, which resulted in the complete annihilation of the entire army.
Cao Zhen thus learned that Zhuge Liang had already seen through his intentions, so he abandoned his plan to raid the camp. At this time, Zhang He sent another order, telling him to come to the main camp to participate in the decisive battle.
Cao Zhen led a cavalry force that was very fast. They returned an hour earlier and launched a surprise attack on the south gate of the Shu camp. However, they failed to break through the Shu army's antlers and were defeated. They retreated to their main camp to join forces with Zhang He and Sima Yi and waited patiently.
The Shu army was heavily fortified, with traps and treacherous pits everywhere in their camp. Under such circumstances, a cavalry charge would be suicidal. Cao Zhen had no choice but to wait until the infantry broke through the Shu army's main camp and filled in those damned traps before leading his cavalry into the Shu army's position.
Alternatively, he could wait for the Shu army to be defeated and retreat before pursuing them. Once the Shu army was defeated and left the camp to flee, his cavalry would quickly catch up and massacre them.
Only in open, boundless fields can cavalry inflict the greatest damage on infantry.
Zhang He said with equal indignation, "Let's wait. No matter how many horse traps the Shu army has, there's a limit. We can fill them one by one until we've got them all. Without these horse traps, let's see what Zhuge Liang can use to resist our iron cavalry."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion arose behind him. Along with the commotion, a familiar voice cried out anxiously, "General, something terrible has happened! The Shu army is attacking from behind! No, it's General Xiahou Ba who's attacking from behind!"