Chapter 203: Almost lost the game despite having an advantage

"Lin Zhen, Jiao Mu!"

Qu Yi led the charge and stood up to block the pass.

I saw a forest of spears and halberds interwoven into a dense square formation, and with the help of exclusive equipment such as chevaux de frise and antlers, a special formation was set up specifically to block cavalry.

The eight hundred soldiers of the vanguard camp now all gathered around Qu Yi, shoulder to shoulder, man to man. The soldiers in the first three rows raised their spears, while the soldiers at the back took off their longbows and quivers, ready to fight to the death.

Behind Qu Yi, Yuan Shao also mobilized thousands of powerful crossbows and concentrated their use to provide powerful fire cover.

As for Yuan Shao himself, he was commanding tens of thousands of infantry at this time and personally supporting Qu Yi.

The battle flag with the word "Yuan" written on it fluttered in the wind on the west bank of the Bailing River. The dark infantry phalanxes one after another were completely silent at this moment.

In this battle, for the glory of the Runan Yuan family and for his ambition to dominate the Central Plains, Yuan Shao was prepared to fight to the death.

If you don’t succeed, you will succeed!
Rumble~
The horses’ hooves thundered and the army surged like a tide.

Gongsun Zan saw that Yuan Shao had few soldiers, so after entering the battlefield, he ordered his cavalry to charge without hesitation: "Wind formation, gallop!"

In order to defeat Qu Yi's Xiandeng Camp in one fell swoop, Gongsun Zan took the lead in launching the tactic, ordering the cavalry to speed up and gallop, creating a huge momentum, and rushing forward like a strong wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

On the east bank of the Bailing River, dust was flying, war horses were neighing, and iron hooves were rolling, as if they were going to trample everything to pieces.

Tens of thousands of Youzhou elite cavalry, under the command of waving flags, quickly divided into five groups, preparing to use continuous attacks to defeat Yuan Shao's army's defense.

The first wave of attacks was about to come. Qu Yi took his time and commanded the soldiers of the first landing camp to calmly lie down under their shields. When the enemy cavalry rushed to within a few dozen steps, he suddenly shouted: "Fire array, charge!"

The eight hundred soldiers who first entered the camp responded immediately. They jumped up together and stabbed fiercely with their spears.

Although the troops were at a disadvantage and it was infantry against cavalry, Qu Yi's actions were unexpected. Instead of choosing to hold on, he responded with attack and launched a fire array tactic.

Puff~Puff~
The entire battlefield was suddenly filled with the sound of sharp weapons piercing flesh. The sharp spears easily pierced the flesh of the war horses.

The Youzhou cavalry, who were only equipped with leather armor, had no protection at all against the spears and were easily stabbed to death by a single spear.

The soldiers of the Xiandeng Camp did not fear life and death, and fought against the Baima Yicong with a brave and fearless attitude. Their fierce spear tactics instantly and effectively blocked the advance of the Youzhou cavalry and stopped the opponent for a full half hour.

Gongsun Zan's vanguard troops, which were suddenly attacked, fell into chaos.

Yuan Shao, who was standing on a high platform overlooking the battlefield, was overjoyed and immediately ordered: "Prepare the crossbow array!"

"Yes, General!"

"Lin Zhen, volley fire!"

The command flag was waved, the military order was issued, and soon the Jizhou crossbowmen under Yuan Shao strung up their large crossbows. After a brief silence, there was a spectacular sight of thousands of crossbows being fired at the same time.

The orderly volley of arrows darkened the sky, and thousands of crossbow arrows fell on the heads of the White Horse Volunteers like raindrops.

Gongsun Zan's army, which had already been blocked in its attack, suffered this unexpected blow at this moment, and the entire army immediately fell into chaos.

The cavalry troops, lacking armor, were unable to break through the defense of the Xiandeng Camp, and they themselves were hit by a continuous rain of arrows. Their morale collapsed immediately and they no longer had the will to fight.

Gongsun Zan wielded his sword to kill the deserters, hoping to stop the decline and regroup.

However, the cavalry and infantry under his command were all scrambling to escape, and they did not dare or want to turn back to fight.

On the contrary, after gaining the upper hand, Qu Yi's army became more and more courageous.

Qu Yi himself held a spear and charged to the front line, laughing proudly: "What Baima Yicong Baima General, they are just in vain, Gongsun Bogui has always been worthy of death!"

The vanguard general Yan Gang could not bear the humiliation and rushed towards Qu Yi: "How dare you look down on my lord? I, Yan, will take your head!"

Yan Gang had followed Gongsun Zan in battle for many years. They had once fought bloody battles with the Wuhuan people in the grasslands together. They had also participated in the battle to suppress the Yellow Turban Army. They had a life-and-death friendship, so the two had an extremely close relationship. Now that he heard someone slandering Gongsun Zan in front of him, he naturally could not tolerate it anymore. He swung his long sword towards Qu Yi and said, "Come and die!"

"Why do you want to kill me?"

Qu Yi looked down on Yan Gang, then raised his hand and said, "Take my flying blow!"

huh~
Yan Gang suddenly heard a sharp sound, and before he could react, the murderous intent was already in front of him.

"what!"

Yan Gang instinctively swung his sword upwards and narrowly deflected the short spear thrown by Qu Yi. However, this attack was just a trick of Qu Yi.

A single leaf blocks your view of the mountain!

The truly fatal move came from the five personal soldiers beside Qu Yi. Without any orders from Qu Yi, they coordinated tacitly and threw the short spears in their hands, attacking Yan Gang from five different angles.

Qu Yi, who was well versed in the Qiang people's tactics, always despised duels between military generals. He believed that victory was the true right way of military strategy, so he would use all his might when fighting against enemy generals.

What era is it now? Is it still popular to fight one-on-one on the battlefield?
Ridiculous trick!
One spear was in front, and five spears followed. In an instant, Yan Gang felt that the spear shadows around him seemed to be coming from all directions, causing this unworthy Jizhou Governor to find himself in a dangerous situation before he could even sit down.

"what!"

Puff~Puff~
He swung his sword and knocked away three spears, but was still pierced by the remaining two spears in the abdomen and chest, causing serious injuries.

"kill!"

Qu Yi raised his hand again and threw the short spear. In just a moment, Yan Gang, who was no longer able to defend himself, was stabbed like a hedgehog and shot to death on the spot.

As soon as Yan Gang died, the vanguard cavalry unit under his command immediately fell into chaos. For an army to lose its commander was like the death of its own soul and mind, leaving only a pile of dead meat to be slaughtered at will.

Qu Yi killed Yan Gang, the governor of Jizhou under Gongsun Zan, on the battlefield. At the same time, he brought the soldiers who had first entered the camp and fought fiercely, killing more than a thousand people in succession.

Wherever the battle flag went, no one could stop him. They all tried to avoid him and were killed by the mere 800 people he led.

Just like that, Qu Yi took advantage of the victory and chased to Jie Bridge in one breath: "I am Qu Yi, who dares to fight me?!"

Qu Yi held his spear in his hand and rode his horse, charging forward with a swagger, loudly challenging others to a fight.

"You bold lunatic, I, Gongsun Zan of Liaoxi, am here to meet you!"

The vanguard general Yan Gang was killed and the morale of the army was crushed. Gongsun Zan could no longer sit still. He immediately held a double-edged spear and displayed the magical skill "Nine Battles of the Liaoyuan" of the Gongsun family of Liaoxi, intending to kill Qu Yi in the battle and win back the city.

The double-edged spear thrust out suddenly, stirring up a prairie fire of war. Wherever it went, red light shot up into the sky and heat waves rolled.

Gongsun Zan used "Nine Battles of Liaoyuan" to activate the innate Qi of Binghuo. The flames were so bright that they were like the mighty sun. All things were illuminated and bright. The sky was full of red light, illuminating all directions!

As the best fighter in Youzhou, Gongsun Zan's skills are so amazing that thousands of soldiers are afraid of him!

However, Qu Yi was fearless. He held his spear and laughed wildly: "Hahaha, what a spark that will set the prairie on fire. Well done!"

"Formation!"

At Qu Yi's shout, fourteen of his personal soldiers stood in different corners, holding spears. A strange power burst out from them, and their aura merged with Qu Yi's. Their destiny was connected and their fate was intertwined.

"watch out!"

Dang~
The combined strength of the crowd was no small matter. Qu Yi thrust out his spear, and the powerful force actually pushed Gongsun Zan back several feet, leaving him shocked: "Lin's army? The Seven Deadly Soul-Exterminating Formation!"

The fourteen personal soldiers were divided into yin and yang, and used their own qi and blood to draw the power of the earth veins, which then merged into the core of the formation of Qu Yi, forming an extremely ferocious and terrifying force.

People have seven souls, which are the condensation of vitality in the body. The Seven Deadly Secret Arts is to use the evil energy of the earth to destroy people's vitality.

At this moment, Gongsun Zan only felt that his body was damaged and his blood circulation was blocked. It was obvious that he was injured by Qu Yi's evil spirit: "Ah! I want you to die!"

In a rage, in order to turn the tide of the battle, Gongsun Zan used his profound skills to once again display his unique skill "Nine Battles of the Liaoyuan", turning the power of the evil spirits into raging flames. The raging fire burned the city!

As soon as this move was launched, raging flames swept across the earth, burning the mountains and boiling the sea, and instantly more than a hundred soldiers in the vanguard camp were buried in the sea of ​​fire.

Qu Yi was furious, and once again launched the Lin's military tactics, invoking the power of the Earth Demon, and attacked Gongsun Zan fiercely: "You are struggling to death, I will make you regret it today!"

The two men fought fiercely again. Gongsun Zan's "Nine Battles of the Liaoyuan" was quite powerful, but Qu Yi's "Seven Absolute Soul-Destroying Formation" was simply a natural nemesis for him.

clang~ clang~ clang~
After only a short fight, Gongsun Zan was at a disadvantage again.

Qu Yi's spear was sharp, and he did not forget to attack the heart with words: "Gongsun Bogui! No matter how aggressive you are, your power will eventually reach its limit. How many more of my earthly powers can you withstand?"

Gongsun Zan felt more and more frustrated the more he fought. His "Nine Battles of Liaoyuan" technique was good at attacking but not at defending, while the power of the Earthly Evil ignored the defense of the armor and directly eroded the meridians in his body, destroying his vitality.

Of course, the power of the Earthly Evil was also a huge burden for Qu Yi. However, Qu Yi could let fourteen of his personal soldiers share the damage, while Gongsun Zan had to bear it alone.

"No, we can't get entangled with him anymore!"

The quick attack tactic failed, and they were unable to capture Qu Yi and Xiandeng's camp in one fell swoop. Their defeat was already certain, so it was better to preserve their strength and look for an opportunity to turn defeat into victory.

Gongsun Zan began to consider retreating, but Qu Yi pursued him relentlessly, chasing him for several miles. The two sides kept chasing each other, and Qu Yi chased him all the way to the vicinity of Gongsun Zan's camp, where he arrogantly deployed his troops.

Gongsun Zan's main force had already retreated, his generals had no will to fight, his soldiers had no fighting spirit, and no one dared to fight. They allowed Qu Yi to show off his might there, and no one could stop him.

"Defeated, defeated. I have a great reputation in my life, but I have suffered such a terrible defeat!"

Gongsun Zan was in a panic. All the main forces around him were killed and scattered. Only more than 2,000 White Horse Volunteers remained and followed him.

The defeat in this battle was inexplicable and Gongsun Zan still hasn't recovered from it.

Behind Qu Yi, Yuan Shao saw victory was within reach and immediately ordered his troops to pursue the enemy without hesitation: "All troops, attack!"

Yuan Shao was overjoyed after defeating the main force of Gongsun Zan's White Horse Volunteers in this battle. He did not even keep any reserve troops and directly sent out all the soldiers he had, hoping to kill as many as possible and eliminate Gongsun Zan's manpower to the maximum extent possible.

While the main force went out to pursue the enemy, Yuan Shao himself advanced slowly, carrying only a few dozen powerful crossbows and over a hundred halberd-wielding guards.

More than ten miles away from Jieqiao, the soldiers in front shouted "Victory!" "The enemy has been defeated and our army has won a great victory! Victory! Victory!"

When the messenger brought the news of victory, Yuan Shao was overjoyed and immediately dismounted and took a rest.

As it happened, at this time, Gongsun Zan led more than 2,000 fleeing cavalrymen and suddenly returned to the battlefield and appeared nearby.

Gongsun Yue pointed to the fluttering battle flags not far away and said to Gongsun Zan, "Brother, there are more than a hundred people here. Should we kill them all before leaving?"

Gongsun Zan was upset at the moment and didn't think much about it. He nodded slightly and replied casually: "Yes, I will transfer 300 cavalry to you. Move quickly and don't linger in the battle."

"Yes!"

Obviously, Gongsun Zan didn't know that among the more than one hundred people he met at this moment, there was a powerful enemy, Yuan Shao. He didn't take the more than one hundred people in front of him seriously, and just thought of them as a group of stragglers.

Gongsun Zan, whose mentality was broken by Qu Yi, now only thought about escaping, fearing that he would be caught up by such an evil star as Qu Yi. The opponent's Lin Zhi army and the Seven Absolute Soul-Destroying Formation were almost causing him psychological trauma.

After receiving the military order, Gongsun Yue excitedly led 300 cavalrymen to charge forward. Having suffered a defeat at the hands of Qu Yi, he now wanted to take revenge on the enemy in front of him.

He led his cavalry to circle the formation and surrounded Yuan Shao. Then he launched the military strategy: "Wind formation, rush and shoot!"

On horseback, the bowstring vibrated and rang, and then arrows rained down.

Tian Feng, the deputy driver, directly pulled Yuan Shao, wanting him to retreat behind a low wall and hide there.

However, at this moment of life and death, Yuan Shao, who was always good at making plans but lacked decision-making, finally made a decisive decision.

Yuan Shao threw his helmet to the ground and shouted angrily: "Why are you hiding? A real man would rather rush forward and die in battle. Do you think you can survive by hiding behind the wall? Soldiers, follow me and kill the enemy!"

Yuan Shao's blood boiled, and he faced the rain of arrows, brandishing his famous sword Tai'a and commanding the crossbowmen to fight back: "Counterattack, counterattack, counterattack if you want to live!"

The sword of might and power is fearless in the face of the enemy and is mighty and unyielding. Yuan Shao's life-threatening battle at this moment just happened to inspire the mighty sword intent of the Tai'a sword.

I saw the mighty and powerful sword light piercing through the clouds and mist and rising into the sky.

Under the shining sword light, the accompanying personal soldiers were greatly encouraged. They were full of fighting spirit and set up a crossbow formation with the powerful crossbows in their hands whose range far exceeded that of the cavalry hunting bows.

The front-row soldiers of Yuan Shao's army were fearless and brave. In order to survive, they raised their crossbows and aimed and shot.

The crossbow was extremely powerful, and its arrows were powerful enough to penetrate armor. After a burst of fierce shooting, it killed and injured many of Gongsun Zan's cavalry.

The mighty sword intent caused unusual changes in the celestial phenomena. A strong wind blew in front of the battle formation, and sand, rocks, smoke and dust filled the air. Gongsun Zan and Gongsun Yue thought that the main force of Yuan Shao's army was approaching, so they did not dare to fight. Thousands of soldiers were defeated by Yuan Shao and his one hundred personal guards.

After a while, Qu Yi saw Yuan Shao's main camp was attacked, and immediately led his troops back to rescue Yuan Shao: "My lord is under attack, follow me!"

Relying on the record of defeating Gongsun Zan, at this moment, Qu Yi's appeal in the army is unparalleled.

He waved his hand and tens of thousands of people responded immediately.

"Brother, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences!"

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Gongsun Yue immediately persuaded Gongsun Zan to withdraw his troops, and consoled him by saying, "This battle was only a minor setback. The main force of our army is still intact, and we still have the strength to fight again. As long as we regroup, we may be able to avenge today's humiliation!"

Gongsun Zan had already begun to think of retreating, and now, taking advantage of Gongsun Yue's persuasion, he went along with it. He did not dare to stay where he was, but turned his horse around and retreated to the north in a clean and neat manner.

Cavalry have four legs, so they can naturally run faster than infantry. Gongsun Zan and others came and went like the wind and soon escaped.

Yuan Shao fought bravely until the enemy had completely retreated. It took him a long time to come to his senses and say, "I am not dead?"

Beside him, Tian Feng, who was personally commanding the battle on the battlefield for the first time, was also ecstatic at having survived a disaster: "My lord, you are blessed with great fortune and must be protected by God. How could you die so easily?"

Everyone who survived the disaster was thankful for having escaped death.

However, looking around, he found that of the more than one hundred followers who had originally been with him, only fifty or sixty were left, and all of them were seriously injured.

Although Yuan Shao was ecstatic, he was also terrified: "I was careless, I was really careless this time. I actually made the same mistake as Gongsun Zan, who underestimated the enemy. I almost made a mistake that will haunt me forever."

The situation just now was extremely dangerous, and he was almost hacked to death by the enemy.

You know, if Gongsun Zan knew that he was here, he would lead his troops to attack regardless of everything, and the outcome of the battle would be really unpredictable.

Yuan Shao took this as a warning and decided that if there was another major war like this, no matter how victorious the front line was, he would never allow himself to leave the protection of the army.

As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Yuan Shao made up his mind that as long as he went on an expedition, he must keep at least 5,000 men by his side. Otherwise, if he continued to put himself in danger, he might really die unexpectedly one day.

After ordering people to stay and clean up the battlefield, Yuan Shao wanted to lead his army to chase and kill Gongsun Zan himself, but Tian Feng, the deputy driver, stepped forward again to dissuade him: "My lord, don't do that. Most of our troops are infantry, while Gongsun Zan's men are cavalry. It would be unwise to pursue them rashly."

Qu Yi also agreed with Tian Feng's opinion: "That's right, our army was able to win mainly because of the advantage of the terrain. Now that we have fought a big battle, our physical and mental strength has been almost exhausted. We are really unable to continue the pursuit."

Both of them were straightforward people, and although what they said made sense, it made Yuan Shao very embarrassed.

He is a leader. Even if the decision he made is wrong, as his subordinates, you should persuade him privately. Why are you refuting me in front of so many people?
As the lord, don’t I have any dignity?

Yuan Shao was getting furious. If it weren't for the need to maintain his reputation as a courteous and humble person, he would have wanted to kill Tian Feng, his subordinate who was so disrespectful to him.

However, Tian Feng was a famous scholar in Jizhou, so Yuan Shao could only choose to "follow the good".

Tian Feng had no idea what Yuan Shao was thinking and thought that Yuan Shao had taken his advice to heart. He made another suggestion without much tact: "My lord, our army defeated the enemy fairly in this battle. We should inform the people of Jizhou of this result. This way, the people's hearts will be settled."

Hunting down Gongsun Zan can wait, but boasting about one's achievements should be done quickly rather than slowly.

(End of this chapter)