Three Kingdoms

Yuan Shao stared closely at Gongsun Zan's formation in front. He would be lying if he said he was not nervous. In the past, when Yuan Shao led the army, he mostly fought against mountain bandits. The Yellow Turbans were mostly county soldiers. For example, he fought against the famous Gongsun Zan. This is the first time that Liaodong's powerful armies have fought against each other...

Like every junior brother, all Yuan Shao can hope now is that his army can be stronger and more durable, although most of the time this wish backfires.

In this early spring day, Yuan Benchu ​​finally took the first step towards becoming a powerful local warlord.

Seeing that Gongsun Zan's cavalry troops had almost crossed the river and were in formation, Tian Feng reminded him in a low voice: "Ming Gong, it's time to give the order..."

Yuan Shao clenched his already sweaty hands, tried to make his voice steady and strong, and said: "Send the order for General Qu to come forward!" In fact, this operation was still very dangerous, allowing Gongsun Zan to successfully cross the river and give up twenty miles of land. Regarding the terrain, choosing a relatively flat area for the battle was to allow Gongsun Zan to underestimate the enemy and to create favorable conditions in an unfavorable situation.

Actively attack the cavalry with infantry, and use Fei Qian's previous crossbow tactics to allow Gongsun Zan's cavalry to be hit by crossbows without the cover of his infantry, and then conduct a countercharge instead of traditional infantry engagements. This strategy, which violates the traditional art of war, is a strategy proposed by Tian Feng to underestimate the enemy.

When Yuan Shao gritted his teeth and made up his mind to use Tian Feng's strategy, all the generals were frightened. Only Qu Yi agreed and volunteered to serve in the front...

Qu Yi can be regarded as a Central Plains native of Xilianghua. During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the Pingyuan Qu family took refuge in Xiping and gradually became a local surname. As a result, Qu Yi mastered some of the Qiang's warfare techniques in Liangzhou, and fought with the Xiping people. He had many acquaintances with some handsome men in Liang, and had some understanding of Xiliang's cavalry. Later, after Qu Yi returned to Jizhou, he relied on his bravery to become a general of Han Fu, the shepherd of Jizhou at that time.

But after all, Qu Yi grew up in Xiliang, so his personality is also very outgoing, carefree, and doesn't pay attention to what he says. He is a big-mouthed person, so he doesn't get along with Han Fu to some extent...

Later, when Yuan Shao arrived in Jizhou, he instigated Qu Yi to rebel with little effort and made him a general under his command. This time against Gongsun Zan, he sent Ju Yi to the front line.

When Gongsun Zan defeated the remaining power of the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou, at a time when the numbers were overwhelming and the morale was high, the other generals were a little worried. Although there were previous cases of Fei Qian, no one dared to guarantee that they would be able to successfully replicate it. Only Qu Yi patted his chest...

Gongsun Zan originally faced Yuan Shao across the river to the north of the boundary bridge. As a result, Yuan Shao retreated twenty miles and set up a formation. Gongsun Zan saw that the south of the boundary bridge was all flat land, and the surrounding area was open and there was no cover for ambush, so he left 30,000 infantry. The formation followed up, and he took the lead in crossing the boundary bridge and arriving in front of Yuan Shao's formation with three thousand white-horse Yi Cong in the center and five thousand cavalry on the left and right wings.

But Yuan Shao's seemingly weak behavior hides murderous intent...

When, with the sound of war drums, Qu Yi led 800 elite heavy infantry and a thousand powerful crossbows in formation, the ambitious Gongsun Zan underestimated the enemy and made the same mistake as Niu Fu, and actually shot Wang Zhan directly. , trying to get ahead in one fell swoop.

Gongsun Zan saw that all his cavalry had crossed the river and had not been hit by the so-called half-crossing attack. In addition, the place was flat and there was no sign of any reinforcements. At the same time, he bullied Gongsun Zan. Yuan Shao's troops in Qu Yi's forward attack were few, so he did not wait for the follow-up infantry to follow up, nor did he delay any further, so he ordered Baima Yi to immediately attack from the center, and the two wing assault cavalry followed up. He attempted to use his usual The heavy cavalry group's charge tactics crushed Yuan Shao's forward, and even swept away Yuan Shao's central army.

Normally speaking, there is not much of a mistake, because cavalry is normally one to three against infantry, and after forming a battle formation, it is one to five. Qu Yi only has about 2,000 men, and Gongsun Zan has 3,000 white horses. There is nothing wrong with justice in theory.

It's a pity that this world has never lacked malicious intentions. Tian Feng's strategy is just for this moment to come...

Qu Yi ordered the heavy infantry to lie behind the shield to prevent the cavalry of the white horse Yi Cong from being shot and wounded. When the enemy's cavalry was dozens of steps away, these infantrymen suddenly raised dust and shouted, and launched a countercharge towards the white horse Yi Cong in front. Thousands of crossbows were fired together, forming a crossfire to block the following white horse Yicon cavalry.

Baima Yi never expected this move at all. He was panicked under the intensive attack of crossbows, and was attacked fiercely by the opponent's heavy infantry with halberds. The weakness of the heavy cavalry in melee combat in a non-charge state was fully exposed. At the same time, the forward path of the cavalry on both wings coming from behind was also blocked. They were huddled together with the white horse Yi Cong and were unable to use their weapons, making them easy targets for powerful crossbows.

This unprecedented situation not only left White Horse Yi Cong and other cavalry at a loss, but even Gongsun Zan was stunned. There was no effective measure to break the deadlock for a while, and many cavalry continued to lose their lives in the chaos.

With the continuous attrition, the morale of the cavalry such as the White Horse Yi Cong also continued to decline, and then most of the cavalry collapsed and fled...

Yuan Shao, who had never thought that such a situation would happen, was overjoyed, and blood rushed to his head with excitement. He also made a fatal mistake, causing the entire army to pursue Gongsun Zan with Qu Yi, striving to defeat Gongsun Zan in one fell swoop, while Yuan Shao himself had only Dozens of crossbowmen and two hundred halberd infantry were left behind.

The cavalry on both sides of Gongsun Zan behind Baima Yicong actually did not suffer a very big blow. Therefore, after passing the panic period, they regrouped, bypassed the front area where the fierce battle was taking place, and found the cavalry behind. Driven by instinct, Yuan Shao's main formation rushed towards Yuan Shao's banner.

Although the reassembled Gongsun Zan cavalry were not white-horsed cavalry, when they attacked, they were not able to compete with Yuan Shao's own formation, which only had a few hundred men...

Yuan Shao's face, which was flushed with excitement, suddenly turned pale. The sound of the horse's hooves was like a trumpet, making him tremble as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Tian Feng stepped forward and said, "Lord, retreat quickly! I'll stop the rear!" He then surrounded Yuan Shao and relied on a broken eaves and broken wall beside him, so that the soldiers could gather together and try their best to resist.

Suddenly bows and arrows rained down, men and horses screamed and fought hard, and Yuan Shao was in danger.

The soldiers in Yuan Shao's formation were also very frightened. Seeing that their morale was constantly being depleted, many of them began to retreat gradually, hoping that others would push forward so that they could hide behind the broken wall.

At this time, Yuan Shao made perhaps the wisest decision in his life. He took off his bag, threw it to the ground, and then shouted loudly: "A man is fighting to the death, but he is running away from the evil behind the wall?"

After saying that, he raised his sword and rushed forward. Tian Feng and the guards around him could not let Yuan Shao really rush to the front line, and quickly stepped forward to protect him. However, it was precisely because of this that all the soldiers in Yuan Shao's formation saw the general. Despite their desperate efforts, they all regained their fighting spirit and bravely withstood the attack of Gongsun Zan's cavalry.

Then Yan Liang, who was on the battlefield, discovered something strange about the formation and quickly led his troops to rescue him. Seeing that they could not do anything, Gongsun Zan's cavalry retreated again...

As Gongsun Zan's cavalry retreated, the Battle of Jieqiao came to an end.

For both sides, in fact, in this short battle, except for Gongsun Zan's Baima Yicong and Qu Yi's Xiandeng camp, which suffered greater losses, the other troops did not suffer great losses.

However, the entire situation in Jizhou has undergone a fundamental change. The myth that Baima Yi has never been defeated has been shattered like a soap bubble. This has also led to the collapse of Gongsun Zan's image of a god general who has always been very good, and the entire The Jizhou gentry and even the entire Hebei region have re-adjusted their evaluation of Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan...

This battle is actually a clever combination of people's hearts and strategies... To prevent anyone from criticizing others, I will briefly describe it... In fact, during this battle, Yuan Shao took the initiative to retreat twenty miles and acted against the art of war. Gongsun Zan let the cavalry pass first. The moment He formed the formation, he had already fallen into a trap... At the moment when Yuan Shao faced danger, he bravely took a step forward, and only then did the entire Hebei gentry truly convert... And Gongsun Zan's retreat, perhaps At that time, he just thought it was a tactical retreat adjustment, but in fact he had lost all opportunities... But Yuan Shao was also cunning... After taking off his helmet, he was no different from an ordinary soldier... and Sun Jian's hat-tricking is a bit different but has the same effect...