Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 600 White Horse? I'll Make Sure You Come But Never Return!

Anyone with eyes could see that Gongsun Zan was also intentionally depleting Han Fu's forces, but in a way, this was a calculated move. Gongsun Zan's every word and action aligned with military strategy.

However, with the Yuan army's steadfast defense, the Boundary Bridge was like a bridge to the Yellow Springs of the Nine Hells.

No matter how the generals sent by Han Fu tried, they couldn't shake the Yuan army's defense line.

After repeated attacks and defenses from both sides, two and a half hours had unknowingly passed.

Facing the heavy losses of infantry sent by Han Fu, Gongsun Zan remained unmoved.

After two and a half hours of fighting, Han Fu's infantry losses were probably close to twenty thousand, and the Yuan army's casualties were also significant.

The half of the Boundary Bridge on the southeast side that stretched across the Qing River seemed to be soaked in blood, turning a frightening red, and the Qing River was no longer clear, but a glaring red.

More importantly, after Han Fu's generals repeatedly led their troops in fierce attacks and were repeatedly repelled, the infantry's morale had almost dropped to freezing point.

"Incompetent fools!"

Gongsun Zan sneered, which made Han Fu's generals feel both ashamed and angry.

After leading 50,000 infantry in fierce attacks for a long time, not only were there no results to speak of.

As the overall morale declined, the more they fought, the more perfunctory they became.

Immediately, Gongsun Zan continued to say.

"What I'm saying isn't about you…"

This eased the expressions of Han Fu's generals slightly, but Gongsun Zan's next sentence made their expressions extremely ugly.

"What I'm saying is that all the Jizhou soldiers from Han Fu down are just useless good-for-nothings."

Li Fu, who was the main general in charge of the infantry under Han Fu's command, could no longer bear it and retorted.

"Since General Gongsun thinks we are not worthy to be with you, why not break through the Boundary Bridge yourself?"

"Hmph, that's exactly what I intend to do."

Gongsun Zan replied proudly, which made Li Fu a little stunned.

It was already difficult for the infantry to gain a foothold on the other side with archers suppressing them and shields protecting them, let alone cavalry.

However, seeing that Gongsun Zan didn't seem to be joking, Li Fu couldn't help but sneer, not stopping him, but instead looking like he was enjoying a good show.

Gongsun Zan sneered, then directed his cavalry to slowly approach forward.

Not only did Gongsun Zan personally lead the White Horse Cavalries to the front of the Boundary Bridge, but even the other cavalry also advanced a hundred steps to the edge of the Qing River.

Zhao Yun, who was in charge of guarding the left flank, naturally did the same.

Seeing this, Guo Jia was still a little puzzled, but when he arrived at the edge of the Qing River, he suddenly realized that in the fierce battle that lasted for half a day, the water flow of the Qing River, which originally had a high water level, had unknowingly slowed down.

'Did Gongsun Bogui secretly send people to the upper reaches of the Boundary Bridge to try to block the river?'

Guo Jia's eyes narrowed slightly, and he instantly reacted.

Only in this way could he explain why the Qing River's water had rapidly decreased in just half a day.

Gongsun Zan didn't rush to cross the river. The river water was still continuously and obviously slowing down, and the bottom of the Qing River was obviously covered with silt. Gongsun Zan decided to wait a little longer.

Letting Han Fu's infantry fight with the Yuan army for half a day had also caused considerable casualties to the Yuan army and consumed a lot of their physical strength.

Therefore, Gongsun Zan, who was stationed at the edge of the Boundary Bridge, shouted to the Yuan army on the other side from afar.

"Yuan Benchu, you have fallen for my trick. Do you really think that my White Horse Cavalries can't cross this Qing River? Or do you think that sending people to patrol within thirty miles of the upper reaches can prevent it?"

As soon as these words came out, there was an obvious commotion in the Yuan army on the other side.

Under Gongsun Zan's reminder, the Yuan army on the other side also noticed the obviously decreasing Qing River.

Previously, under Gongsun Zan's repeated dispatch of infantry to attack fiercely, the two sides had fought fiercely for nearly four hours, with countless casualties, and all their attention was attracted by the Boundary Bridge.

No one really noticed when the Qing River's water began to slow down.

At this moment, Gongsun Zan faintly felt Yuan Shao's extremely ugly face.

The Yuan army's defense of the Boundary Bridge relied on nothing more than the terrain.

On the narrow Boundary Bridge, the speed of the cavalry could not be brought into play.

But once Gongsun Zan could directly lead the cavalry across the riverbed, the terrain that Yuan Shao relied on would instantly disappear.

And the decrease in the Qing River's water level couldn't be concealed for long even if Gongsun Zan didn't speak up. Now that Gongsun Zan took the initiative to reveal it, it would only make the Yuan army's morale plummet even more.

As the Qing River's water level continued to drop slowly and obviously, a quarter of an hour after the Yuan army began to riot.

A chariot appeared on the other end of the Boundary Bridge, and Yuan Shao's voice, which seemed to contain unwillingness, came from afar.

"Gongsun Bogui, what does it matter if you win this battle? The Boundary Bridge will be temporarily given to you, and we will fight again in the future."

Immediately, after leaving a unit to continue guarding the Boundary Bridge and starting to destroy it, the rest of the Yuan army began to retreat slowly.

This scene obviously raised the morale of the Gongsun army by more than one level, and there were not a few soldiers with ferocious smiles on their faces.

What the cavalry was best at was not attacking fortifications, but chasing and killing.

After the Boundary Bridge, the nearest Ganling City was nearly a hundred miles away. Could they escape?

Guo Jia's brows furrowed even more subconsciously.

In this situation, if Yuan Shao led a large number of cavalry to chase and kill for a hundred miles after the Yuan army retreated, even if there was a military genius to command for generations, it would inevitably evolve into a great defeat.

With the bravery Yuan Shao had shown in the past year, and the wisdom of the advisors under his command, how could he be so unwise?

In this situation, retreating meant death, and holding on still offered a glimmer of hope.

'Could it be… is there an ambush set up after the Boundary Bridge?'

Guo Jia instinctively flashed this thought, and then instantly dismissed it.

Unless it was a layout like "Ambush from All Sides", otherwise, without an absolute advantage in military strength, setting up an ambush was extremely dependent on the terrain.

And what was the terrain after the Boundary Bridge?

Not to mention Gongsun Zan, even Guo Jia was very clear about it.

Large swathes of plains made it impossible to set up an ambush that could limit the cavalry.

No ambush?

But Guo Jia still felt that something was wrong, ten wrong things meant a hundred thousand wrong things.

Yuan Shao was by no means such a mediocre and incompetent person, and he would never be unaware that retreating and fleeing at this moment would only lead to a great defeat.

'Yuan Benchu… definitely has a backup plan, but where is the backup plan?'

Guo Jia frowned and thought hard, constantly scanning the battlefield, but he still couldn't figure it out for a while.

However, seeing that the Yuan army began to retreat and Yuan Shao's chariot disappeared into the army formation, about to disappear from sight, how could Gongsun Zan accept this?

"Yuan Benchu, don't you think that you can escape by imitating your brother, the Jingxiang Chariot God Yuan Gonglu, driving alone and speeding wildly for a hundred miles?"

Gongsun Zan laughed loudly, and then pointed with the horse lance in his hand and shouted.

"Where are the White Horses?"

"Here!"

The White Horse Cavalries replied in unison, their voices shaking for several miles.

This also made Qu Yi, who was guarding the opposite bank of the Boundary Bridge at this moment, subconsciously caress the saber at his waist, and said in a cold voice.

"Hmph, White Horse? I'll make sure you come but never return."