readytorunbook Chapter 236: The Final Battle (9)
Chapter 236: The Final Battle (9)
As soon as Zhuge Liang gave the order, Liu Bei's heart jumped into his throat again.
He staked everything on this Northern Expedition, and after months of hard work and fighting, the decisive battle was finally about to begin. Once the battle was over, the ownership of Liangzhou would be clear.
It's like a gambler betting all their chips and going through all the procedures. The result is revealed as soon as the dealer reveals the cards. Whether they win everything or lose everything depends on that last swerve. Who wouldn't be nervous when playing such a high-stakes game?
Liu Bei was extremely nervous, but he knew that being anxious was useless, so he channeled his anxiety about the outcome into the motivation to beat the drum. He waved his arms like wheels and beat the drum with great effort.
Seeing Liu Bei personally beating the drums and fighting so fiercely, the soldiers' morale soared, and they fought with incredible ferocity, especially Zhang Bao.
Zhang Bao had always acted as a cheerleader, standing behind Wu Ban and cheering him on. His comrade was fighting desperately, but he couldn't help and could only watch, which made Zhang Bao feel very bad.
Therefore, upon receiving the order to attack, Zhang Bao charged towards the Wei army with all his might, like a lecherous wolf who hadn't touched a woman in three years.
As the martial prowess of the second generation of the Shu Han dynasty, Zhang Bao's martial arts skills were no less than his father's. Wielding a long spear, he charged left and right through the formation, and no one in his path could withstand a single blow.
Wu Ban led his army to follow behind Zhang Bao, rushing into the enemy formation through the gap Zhang Bao had torn open, constantly widening the breach. The Wei army was forced to retreat one after another, and soon they had retreated across the two trenches.
Then the tide of battle began to turn.
The morale of the Wei army was no longer as high as before, and it collapsed even faster after being dealt a heavy blow by Zhang Bao and Wu Ban. Some of them were even brought back to their senses by Zhang Bao's words and began to think about what Zhang Bao had said earlier. After thinking about Xiahou Ba's defeat and Zhang Fei's approach, their morale collapsed even faster.
The most critical thing was that in order to guide the fleeing soldiers, Zhang He first ordered the Wei army blocking the mountain pass to launch a full-scale attack, and then ordered the Wei army on the west side, which was separated by the fleeing soldiers, to launch an attack. Both armies rushed towards Zhang Bao and Wu Ban's side.
Suddenly, three Wei armies appeared at the location where Zhang Bao and Wu Ban were, with a total strength of nearly 20,000 men.
Unfortunately, the Wei army's strength did not translate into combat power. Instead, due to the lack of coordination among the various units, serious chaos ensued on the battlefield. The Wei army at the front was forced to retreat repeatedly, while the Wei army at the rear was desperately advancing in accordance with military orders.
More importantly, these three Wei armies also included Xiahou Ba's routed soldiers. The sudden appearance of Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei entangled Zhang He, leaving him no time to guide and gather these routed soldiers. The panicked soldiers then began to rampage through the Wei army's formation.
"Stop returning it, hurry up and return it to me."
Why the hell did you push me, you bastard, you stepped on me!
"Damn bastard, where do you think you're going? Charge forward!"
The Wei army's formation quickly fell apart, and curses erupted from the ranks. Some soldiers even flew into a rage, swinging their swords at their own men. In short, chaos reigned.
Zhang Bao and Wu Ban ignored this and continued to push forward like bulldozers.
At the same time, Chen Dao and Fan Zhou, who had been left as reserves at the beginning of the decisive battle, Fu Kuang and Zhao Rong, who were guarding the south gate, and Gao Xiang and Yang Qun, who were guarding the west gate, all led their troops to charge forward and followed Zhang Bao and Wu Ban to continuously expand their gains.
To expedite the advance, Zhuge Liang even dispatched his personal guards, entrusting them to Zhang Nan, who had returned with news, to lead the charge against the Wei army.
As soon as the all-out offensive began, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang simultaneously entered a frenzy mode, going all in with unrestrained abandon.
While they were having a blast, Zhang He was in real trouble.
The appearance of the fleeing soldiers made Zhang He realize that he might be attacked by Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun. Without thinking twice, he quickly retreated to create enough distance for his cavalry to charge.
However, Zhang Fei did not want to face the cavalry with their speed, so as soon as Zhang He moved, he ordered Zhao Yun to lead the cavalry to attack the Wei army, while Zhang He ordered Cao Zhen to lead the army to intercept them.
Before Zhao Yun could even rush down the hillside, he saw the Wei army charging towards him. However, he remained calm and quickened his pace, charging towards the Wei army. He swept his spear out and easily knocked several of them away.
Cavalry cannot turn around in time during a charge; they can only keep charging forward, reining in their horses and turning around only after reaching a safe distance, and then charging in the opposite direction.
The two cavalry forces collided head-on, and countless soldiers were knocked to the ground or trampled by their horses.
Many were knocked to the ground and unable to get up, but quite a few escaped the enemy cavalry and continued their charge without being hit.
Zhao Yun was one of them. After charging past the Wei cavalry, he did not turn back to attack Cao Zhen but continued to advance towards Zhang He's main camp.
Cao Zhen was not so lucky, because in front of him was a mountain, and on the mountain stood tens of thousands of Han soldiers led by Zhang Fei. Seeing that his own cavalry had already followed Zhao Yun through the enemy formation, Zhang Fei decisively ordered his troops to fire arrows.
Arrows rained down on the Wei cavalry, who fell in droves like waves of wheat in the wind. Even Cao Zhen himself was caught off guard and had to frantically parry with his weapon to escape with his life.
Zhang Fei didn't expect to kill all the Wei soldiers with arrows. After he finished shooting, he immediately ordered a charge. Tens of thousands of Han soldiers roared and rushed down the hillside to attack the Wei army.
The poor Wei cavalry were slowed down by the mountain blocking their way, and had no advantage whatsoever against the Han army charging down the slope. In addition, the Han army had more troops, and they were quickly defeated and fled in disarray.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yun led 800 cavalrymen, only half of whom managed to break through the Wei army's cavalry formation. However, Zhao Yun never turned back and continued to charge towards Zhang He's main camp without hesitation.
Seeing Zhao Yun charging towards him, Zhang He decisively ordered his men to fire arrows. With Zhang He's command, arrows rained down on Zhao Yun mercilessly, but Zhao Yun parried them all with his spear.
He was in trouble after he broke free from the cavalry behind him. People were constantly being hit by arrows and fell to the ground screaming. Zhao Yun, however, turned a deaf ear to the screams behind him and continued to mercilessly charge towards the main Wei army formation.
Finally reaching the front of the battle, Zhao Yun yanked the reins hard, and the warhorse reared up in pain, its two front hooves mercilessly trampling on the shields of the Wei soldiers blocking its way.
The Wei soldiers behind the shields couldn't withstand the pressure and were trampled to the ground, causing the shields to tilt. Zhao Yun then spurred his horse, and the warhorse charged into the enemy camp, stepping on the shields.
The moment he entered the camp, Zhao Yun swept his spear out, knocking down several Wei shield soldiers who were blocking his way. The Han cavalry who had survived the rain of arrows from the Wei army rushed into the formation through the gap Zhao Yun had torn open, quickly catching up with Zhao Yun and protecting him on both sides.
The consequences of being slapped in the face by Zhao Zilong of Changshan were predictable. Zhao Yun charged into the enemy formation like a tiger rushing into a flock of sheep, rampaging through the enemy camp and throwing the originally calm Wei army formation into chaos.
Looking at the invincible Zhao Yun and the rapidly spreading chaos in his own formation, Zhang He felt a chill run down his spine, and his eyes revealed an unprecedented fear.
He thought of the Battle of Changban, where Zhao Yun charged in and out of Cao Cao's million-strong army seven times, leaving none of Cao Cao's generals daring to fight him.
Zhang He thought the past was gone, but he never expected that the tragedy of Changbanpo would repeat itself in his own life today. Damn it...
Zhang He cursed, his lips trembling, "Damn Zhao Zilong, he's over fifty and still working so hard, is he really that serious?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than shouts of battle came from the southwest. Zhang He instinctively turned his head and saw thousands of Han soldiers rushing towards him, preparing to attack his flank.
Zhang He was furious. It was one thing for Zhao Zilong to bully him, but how dare a bunch of small fry attack his flank?
Do you really think I, Old Zhang, can't lift a knife anymore?
Zhang He immediately ordered, "Zhongda, you personally lead your men to drive the Shu army back on the flank."