Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Wei Yan remained silent, then raised his hand, signaling the drums to sound within the Han army's formation.

Immediately, the Han soldiers, who had appeared listless to Cao Xiu, Li Qian, Li Zheng, and other Cao generals, slowly retreated through the gaps in the formation towards the rear.

As an entire small layer of Han soldiers retreated in this manner, the appearance and condition of another group of Han soldiers appearing before the Cao generals were completely different.

Perhaps they still couldn't hide the fatigue of a forced march, but their morale remained remarkably high, and there was no sign of pallor from hunger.

Cao Xiu subconsciously tightened his reins, his heart clenching. Realizing he had fallen into a trap, he couldn't help but be surprised that Wei Yan, whose reputation was not particularly prominent, possessed such abilities.

The Han soldiers' inability to conceal their hunger was genuine. Cao Xiu had even captured a small group of straggling Han soldiers along the way, and they had confirmed the information about the Han army's dwindling supplies.

According to the captured Han soldiers, the Han army had slaughtered horses and cooked the meat the previous night to boost morale, with each soldier receiving a small piece of horse meat and a bowl of thin porridge with only a few grains of rice before beginning their swift retreat.

It was because of this evidence that Cao Xiu was convinced of the Han army's food shortage.

But the current state of the Han army undoubtedly proved that Wei Yan had persuaded a considerable number of trusted Han soldiers to reduce their food intake in order to feign a food shortage.

Even during the pursuit, he continuously directed those pale-faced Han soldiers to provide cover for the main force of the Han army, which maintained its combat strength.

'However, the number of soldiers reducing their food intake must be close to five thousand, which means the Han army's actual usable force is only about fifteen thousand…'

'In comparison, our army not only exceeds twenty thousand, but also includes nearly six thousand elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. With such an advantage, what is there to fear?'

Despite Cao Xiu's thoughts, the realization that the Han army genuinely seemed to possess some conditions for a desperate last stand made him feel vigilant and wary. He dared not be careless and quickly directed the Cao army to form ranks, preparing for a fierce battle.

However, even so, after self-assessment, Cao Xiu remained confident in defeating the Han army. Both sides were making their final deployment arrangements.

In order to maximize the advantage of their troop numbers and the power of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, under Cao Xiu's command, the Cao army quickly transformed into a goose-wing formation, with its flanks staggered rearward.

Protected within the Han army's formation, which emphasized frontal defense, Guo Jia and Pang Tong continuously observed the changes in the Cao army, their expressions showing a hint of seriousness.

"Shiyuan, is the Cao army's commander Cao Xiu?" Guo Jia confirmed.

"It should be Cao Xiu without a doubt," Pang Tong replied.

"If so, this man truly deserves the praise of 'Thousand-Li Colt'…"

Guo Jia commented.

By the end, Guo Jia, who was usually jovial, had a completely stern expression.

Pang Tong nodded slightly, agreeing wholeheartedly.

This time, in order to lure the Cao army out of the city, the Han soldiers lost in the fierce attack alone exceeded two thousand, plus countless deliberately abandoned supplies. Wei Yan even committed all of his personal troops, deliberately starving them to create a false impression. The price was considerable.

Therefore, they had to wipe them out as much as possible…

In the short time that Guo Jia and Pang Tong were talking, under the command of their respective generals, the two armies clashed violently.

Knowing that the Cao army had been marching for a long time and had little strength left, and to avoid excessive losses, Cao Xiu, needing a quick victory, did not hold back or hesitate.

During the initial frontal clash, when both sides were briefly deadlocked, Cao Xiu unhesitatingly directed the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry on the left and right flanks to attack the Han army from the sides.

From a high-altitude perspective, the Han army's rear was blocked by the Zi River, and the other three sides were vaguely surrounded by the Cao army, seemingly wanting to swallow the Han army whole.

However, what Cao Xiu didn't know was that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Far behind the Cao army, a white line was slowly approaching.

This was the White Horse Volunteers, relying on their high mobility across You and Yan provinces, having rapidly traveled here after receiving the plan formulated by Guo Jia and Pang Tong.

Not everyone can emulate Xiang Yu's miracle of burning the boats and breaking the cauldrons, but the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind is not difficult.

After luring the Cao army to encircle them, the undefended rear would expose a fatal flaw, like the snake's vital spot.

Zhao Yun led the White Horse Volunteers slowly approaching the edge of the battlefield, until the drums coming from the Han army could be heard in the distance.

This was a pre-arranged signal in the plan.

Advance upon hearing the rousing drums!

This meant that the Cao army had completely engaged in fierce battle with the Han army.

The next moment, Zhao Yun raised his Yejiao Spear, shouting the White Horse Volunteers' slogan, and resounding heroic responses arose.

"Where righteousness lies, life and death we defy! Heaven is our witness, the White Horse our credence!"

In an instant, tens of thousands of White Horse Volunteers suddenly transformed into a rolling tide, rushing swiftly towards the direction of the drums.

Fast!

Too fast!!!

The Han army's cavalry also had many branches, but in terms of cavalry speed, the White Horse Volunteers were undoubtedly the fastest.

Fast in maneuvering, fast in charging, and even faster in firing arrows.

By the time Cao Xiu discovered the tens of thousands of White Horse Volunteers suddenly appearing in the rear and was terrified, the distance between the White Horse Volunteers and the Cao army was only about a thousand paces.

By the time the panicked Cao Xiu wanted to hastily direct the rear to turn around and form ranks to block the White Horse Volunteers, and tried to recall the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry pressing forward to contain the White Horse Volunteers, a storm of arrows had already poured down on the densely packed rear of the Cao army.

On a chaotic battlefield, one of the most terrifying situations for an army's commander was undoubtedly a surprise attack on the rear guard when completely unprepared.

Perhaps, a commander with a global perspective could clearly compare the combat power of the two armies, but for the ordinary soldiers, this sudden attack was a near-devastating blow to morale.

Especially when the attacked was the rear guard, which was often the weakest in combat strength. Almost at the first moment the White Horse Volunteers rained down arrows, the formation maintained by the rear guard showed severe distortion.

Many Cao soldiers in the rear guard, and even a small portion of the rear guard were young men who had never experienced field battles, facing the sudden attack, almost instinctively showed signs of scattering and fleeing away from the White Horse Volunteers.