Mythical Three Kingdoms

”All the actions of the enemy before were to pin us down or to make us bite, and now we have no way to retreat. Our army and the enemy are mixed together, and the plains of Yanzhou are just too suitable for battle,” Guo Jia said with a bitter smile.

”I completely don’t understand what you’re saying, and how does this relate to us being defeated? Speak nonsense again and watch out, I’ll punish you for demoralizing the troops!” Chen Xi glanced at Guo Jia with dissatisfaction and said, daring to say anything.

”It’s too late to punish me now. If my estimation is not wrong, the three to five thousand men that the enemy lost must have gone to prepare the war chariots. As for Tian Feng’s Stronghold, having only forged an outer wicker fence and leaving the inside open is all for the hundreds of paces needed to accelerate!” Guo Jia said with a bitter face.

Yanzhou was too peaceful. Back in the Spring and Autumn Period, the number of battles that took place in this region was too many. This place once had grand gatherings of war chariots, but that era had passed. Time had erased all traces, and even the sages had forgotten everything that once happened in this region.

”Quickly mobilize Chen Chi, abandon all close combat weapons, arm everyone with heavy crossbows, abandon the bed crossbows, and equip all the issued crossbows, hand over the test-use rapid-fire crossbows and bed crossbows to the Central Army for distribution!” Chen Xi was taken aback, and immediately understood the danger of defeat Guo Jia was talking about.

Speaking of war weapons, if equipped with horse armor, heavy armor, saddles, and stirrups, the heavy cavalry is a killing machine, then the highly restrictive war chariots would absolutely teach heavy cavalry a lesson.

Of course, it’s undeniable that war chariots, due to their great restrictions, have already exited the historical stage, but in a plain’s battle, once these things start accelerating, they could really be deadly. In terms of impact force, even face to face, five hundred war chariots would absolutely be enough to crush a thousand heavy cavalry.

Generally speaking, the greater the restriction, the more powerful the thing is, and war chariots are obviously one of the best among them.

”Slower, slower...” Chen Xi watched the direction where Xu Zhu was slashing and prayed continuously, hoping that Xu Zhu’s actions could slow down enough for his crossbowmen to get into position.

If the crossbowmen weren’t in place and got hit by war chariots, even if Yuan Shao’s war chariots were all of poor quality and could only charge for three kilometers, it would be enough to cause his tremendous defeat. This wasn’t even a battle on the same scale.

”Speed up the diversion of rainclouds from all directions. The biggest problem with war chariots is their wheels. Yanzhou is a plain that is extremely suitable for large-scale battles, but for war chariots, the plain can only be considered a basic requirement!” Guo Jia said calmly.

As he spoke, Guo Jia already started to act. Success or not was still uncertain, but not taking action would only lead to a big defeat, whereas trying might offer a chance to turn the tables. Infantry and cavalry colliding with war chariots was seeking death, but war chariots and cavalry couldn’t avoid being countered by crossbow arrows!

”Divert rainwater from all directions, but control it not to fall,” Chen Xi also started to act, and in an instant, a violent wind sprang up, the whirling sand directly making Yuan Shao’s Army squint their eyes. In this very moment, many of Yuan Shao’s soldiers fell because of it.

At this time, Yan Liang was already prepared in his war chariot. Previously in the Rear Camp, when he saw five hundred war chariots, Yan Liang was shocked, but he understood instantly that this was Jiang Qi’s contingency. But in such a battle situation and such terrain, it was enough to smash tens of thousands of infantry into pieces!

In the Spring and Autumn Era, a country’s strength wasn’t measured by its infantry or cavalry, but by how many war chariots it had. This wasn’t a joke. You should know that when chariots faced infantry and cavalry on the plains, having over a thousand war chariots basically meant killing as many as you have; such battles were utterly one-sided crushing victories!

What Yan Liang regretted was that these war chariots were all converted from supply wagons, unable to endure much torment. After this battle, these five hundred supply chariots would basically be finished.

And because they were supply wagons, they weren’t taken seriously by Lyu Bu’s scouts or Guan Yu’s scouts; otherwise, if real war chariots had been brought over, anyone with eyes would have seen through it.

However, Jiang Qi was in charge of transporting supplies, so more than half of the thousand-plus herding oxen, which were supposed to pull the substandard war chariots, were consumed as a reward for the troops. Yann Liang, although aware of the existence of war chariots, didn’t have a deep understanding of them...

Originally, it should have been two oxen and three horses pulling a chariot with five combatants and one driver. Now, it turned into one ox and three horses pulling that much load. However, the oxen were already eaten, so what else did you expect to do?

Even so, with five hundred prepared war chariots and three thousand soldiers ready for battle, Yann Liang felt victory beckoning to him.

”Truly a talent strongly recommended by Ju Gong. This time, watch me crush you!” The more Yann Liang watched, the more confident he became, and he could not help but reveal the smugness in his heart. Initiating a major battle with Liu Bei’s Army and achieving victory in the first battle was a good omen.

Soon the war chariots were outfitted with the necessary parts, and Yann Liang laughed wildly. He immediately began ordering preparations and arranging his troops.

Speaking of which, Yann Liang only had a cursory understanding of war chariots. Jiang Qi indeed knew more, but he was currently commanding at the front and had only sent a deputy commander to relay a few instructions. After all, war chariots on the plains had always been brainless against non-chariot troops. As long as they didn’t seek their own death, it was difficult to lose...

”Charge, trample through the enemy!” Upon leading the war chariots to the center of the camp and seeing that the situation on the battlefield was dire, Yann Liang, without waiting for Jiang Qi’s orders, excitedly roared the command.

At Yann Liang’s command, all the war chariots began to slowly accelerate, soon reaching the speed of regular cavalry, and then whizzed past Jiang Qi’s position.

”I...” Seeing Yann Liang charging ahead, Jiang Qi was stunned and somewhat tempted to curse outright.

Jiang Qi’s goal was to collapse Liu Bei’s formation, and it wasn’t yet time for the chariots to enter the fray. However, seeing that Yann Liang had already charged, he forcefully suppressed his anger. He’d settle scores with Yann Liang later. Right now, the priority was to have the infantry follow up and crush the enemy. Disobedience of the general’s orders would be dealt with afterwards; it was not the time for nitpicking.

”Where are my oxen?” Jiang Qi almost spat blood in frustration.

Without waiting for Jiang Qi’s order for the soldiers to follow, he realized that the war chariots of Yann Liang Army, which had whizzed past him, were each pulled by one ox, carrying six men, and dragging along another war chariot. How were one ox and three horses expected to sustain a high-speed run for ten miles?

Without two oxen and only depending on the horses’ endurance was pointless. Not every person could possess Inner Qi, and the same was true for horses. Most horses were at best slightly better than those from the Spring and Autumn Period; inherent weaknesses remained weaknesses!

Jiang Qi was confused indeed. To make the deception look convincing, he naturally had to deceive his own people first, which meant he hadn’t told anyone that the thousand herding oxen, arriving with the baggage trains, were not plowing oxen. Killing plowing oxen was a crime, but slaughtering herding oxen was not an issue!

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Under such circumstances, the logistic officers naturally considered the oxen as meat delivered to reward the soldiers. After all, close to the northern areas, there was no shortage of herding oxen, and Yuan Shao occasionally treated his soldiers to a meal supplement, with beef and mutton being the top choices.

For an army of over twenty thousand, nearly a thousand oxen were not finished in a month, with five hundred still left – this was due to the logistic officers being stingy. If they truly indulged, the oxen would have been completely consumed within ten days...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian ) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)