Chapter 528: Battle of Wancheng (522)

"This... I have heard that the Han army knows some magic. The Han army did not show it before, so I just thought it was a rumor. I didn't expect..."

Cheng Wu and Hu Zun led the infantry to charge along with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, but they soon discovered that something was not right.

There were flames all over the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry formation in front, and people and horses were thrown to the ground, as if they had been attacked by some unknown attack. With the sound of explosions, the dirt and smoke on the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry side gradually became larger, making it difficult for the infantry behind to see the situation clearly.

But when Cheng Wu and Hu Zun led the infantry into the smoke and dust that filled the battlefield, they felt a chill on their backs.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, who were so majestic half an hour ago, now fell to the ground with missing arms and legs. Because they were still charging, many people on the ground were trampled into meat paste, and they could not be seen in the shape of humans or horses.

This kind of fleshy corpse made many infantry soldiers vomit. However, the distance of several hundred feet seemed so long that Cheng Wu was a little scared.

When the noise in front gradually subsided and the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, Cheng Wu and Hu Zun looked at the current battlefield, and both of them were left with endless shock.

If the bows and crossbows of Ju Yi's Xiandeng Camp were famous throughout the world in the past, then the Han army today can be said to be appalling.

The ground ahead had turned into an "arrow array", completely covered with arrows from bows and crossbows. Every dead Tiger and Leopard Cavalry soldier, including his horse, was covered with arrows so that there was not a single intact piece of skin left.

"General, look! It's General Cao!"

Suddenly, the deputy general next to him exclaimed and pointed in a direction. Cheng Wu looked and found a headless corpse lying not far in front of the Han army formation. The armor and clothes on the corpse looked very familiar to Cheng Wu. Who else could it be but Cao Yan?

Not to mention Cao Yan, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, which had such powerful might just now, now ended up being almost annihilated. It seemed that the Han army relied on some unknown method and their terrifying bows and arrows to massacre all of Cao Wei's most elite cavalry here.

Feng Xi was not too surprised by this result. In the future Opium War, at the Battle of Baliqiao, 20,000 to 30,000 Qing infantry and cavalry faced 8,000 troops of the Eight-Nation Alliance, but only caused less than 50 casualties to the enemy, of which only two British soldiers died and 29 were injured.

You should know that what Britain and France used at that time were ordinary bolt-action muskets. Both in terms of numbers and attack frequency, they were far inferior to Feng Xi's Jingzhou Army today. The number of Jingzhou Army participating in the battle this time was nearly 100,000. Although the maximum range of bows and crossbows may not be as good as that of future muskets, the firepower density is definitely much higher than the level of the Battle of Baliqiao.

The fact that Feng Xi wiped out the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry with only single-digit casualties is the best proof.

This number of casualties is also somewhat speechless. Some horses were shot dead by the Han army, and the horses' bodies killed two unlucky people by inertia; some Tiger and Leopard Knights refused to admit defeat and simply threw their weapons, killing several people. Apart from this kind of people, no one in the Wei army could reach the Han army alive.

Although it is impossible to produce muskets and cannons due to the lack of iron smelting technology, the Han army's bows and crossbows, which have been advanced for more than a thousand years, are equally powerful.

"Let the cavalry go out and attack the enemy's infantry from both sides. The infantry will move forward and cooperate with the cavalry."

Feng Xi took a look at the situation on the battlefield. The enemy's heavy cavalry was completely wiped out. The remaining infantry lost their morale after seeing this scene. If they didn't destroy the enemy now, when would they?
The Han army had less than 10,000 cavalrymen, and if they confronted the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry head-on, they would naturally be doomed. But facing the enemy's infantry at this time, it would be like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

"Bitter!"

Cheng Wu couldn't help but sigh bitterly. Originally, they were supposed to charge with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and wait for them to tear open the Han army's defenses before they pressed forward to reap the rewards. But now, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, who were the spearhead, were annihilated, and they, the infantry who were supposed to reap the rewards, had become fools and rushed forward to die.

"General Cheng, something terrible is happening! The enemy cavalry is charging towards us!"

The deputy general pointed at the Han army's formation, and countless cavalrymen divided into the left and right wings and attacked from the side of the Han army, apparently intending to break through their own team.

As the drums in the Han army array sounded, everyone except some soldiers with special missions followed suit and charged forward.

"Formation!"

Cheng Wu reacted quickly, but his soldiers could not keep up with his orders. The offensive and defensive changes on the battlefield were too fast, and many Wei soldiers had to face the situation of switching from offense to defense before they could react to the bloody scene.

Even though Cheng Wu's side immediately formed a circle with himself and Hu Zun as the core, the scale was too small. The other soldiers were still scattered in a charging posture. By the time they woke up from their dream, the Han cavalry had already arrived in front of them.

The Bao brothers each formed a wing. Under the leadership of their brave generals, the Han army, which was already in high spirits, fought even more fiercely and cut down most of the scattered Wei troops like chopping melons and vegetables.

"It's over."

Cheng Wu already had a general understanding of his situation. In fact, when he saw the destruction of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, he knew that his army was likely to be annihilated.

In this battle, the Wei army originally relied on the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, but they did not expect that the enemy was also targeting the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Now that they have lost the advantage of the cavalry, the Han army can drown themselves with numbers alone.

As for running away, it was nonsense. If Hu Zun and I had not started charging when the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were annihilated, we would have had a chance to fight and retreat. But we trusted the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry too much. Now that the Wei army had rushed to the front of the Han army, it was too late to retreat.

To put it bluntly, the Han army's infantry is now charging at an accelerated speed, and it will take less than a cup of tea to reach the Wei army. Escaping at this distance is simply courting death.

"Don't panic! If Lord Man Chong finds out something is wrong, he will definitely come to pick us up!"

Hu Zun killed the enemy himself and encouraged his subordinates loudly. However, people who shouted and dressed in unusual clothes on the battlefield would easily become targets of the enemy.

"Hmm? This guy looks like a general."

Bao Feng smashed a Wei army general's head and helmet into a hole, turning it into a split watermelon, and looked at Hu Zun who was shouting and giving orders there.

Hu Zun was also confident in his martial arts skills, and even if he could not defeat an ordinary general, it would be easy for him to escape.

After all, now is not the same as 20 years ago, when first-rate generals were everywhere and second-rate warriors could only serve as foils. Now the times have changed, and second-rate generals are the backbone. Although Hu Zun is not the top in Wei, the only ones who are better than him are Zhang He, Wang Shuang, Guo Huai and others. Who would have thought that there are three people in the Han army that are better than him?
Bao Feng quietly mixed in the team and moved towards Hu Zun's direction. In his eyes, this was a military achievement that came to him.

(End of this chapter)