Chapter 403 Guan Yus Nostalgia (2/2)
Xu Chu was different. He tilted his head to the side and innocently asked his opponent, ”What do you mean by we're not your enemy?”
”ZHONGKANG!! PAY ATTENTION!!” Dian Wei yelled at his junior.
”I-I'm sorry!”
Guan Yu snickered, ”I meant what I said, Xu Chu. My enemy is Zhang Tong, not you or Cao Cao.”
”Then, why are you fighting us?”
”ZHONGKANG!!” Dian Wei bellowed again.
Guan Yu sighed, ”Leave it at that, Dian Wei. You'd better tell your lord to retreat. All of you might have been tricked by Zhang Tong.”
Dian Wei snorted, ”What do you know. You're working for a traitorous self-proclaimed emperor! I don't want to hear that from you.”
”Then, do you know that Zhang Tong's men haven't crossed the river yet, right?”
”That's none of our business.”
Guan Yu took out a scroll, which he had written in advance. He threw it to Xu Chu, ”Give this to Cao Cao. Tell him that I have a proposition for him.”
Xu Chu caught it and nodded, ”Sure!”
Dian Wei's face twitched. He glared at Guan Yu in suspicion. Since this enemy was making their job easier to accomplish, Dian Wei did not mind playing along.
.
While Guan Yu, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei got stuck in the center of the battlefield, Cao Xiu and Li Dian had troubles trying to keep up with the heavy cavalry cataphracts and the fierce charger Xiliang troops.
Li Dian was forced into a melee fight with the armored riders as they threatened to flank the center battalions. As light cavalry was no match against the armored ones, his forces were killed one after another.
Cao Xiu did better in the latter half of the combat. As Xiliang cavalry units had lighter armors than the cataphracts, his men managed to cause damages to the chargers.
Still, both generals failed to suppress the flank attackers and were forced to retreat.
Yet, Cao Cao, Guo Jia, and Cheng Yu did not reveal a sign of anxiety. They smiled as if everything was going according to their plans.
Guo Jia monitored the flank that Li Dian had fought. He sent a signal, and his men ignited arrowheads of their ballista bolts in flame.
All archers at the flank aimed at the direction of fleeing cavalries.
On the field where the fleeing ally units were retreating, Cao Cao's men had placed several black sacks there.
They were Pu Jing's developed gunpowder!
Li Dian baited the cataphracts into the prepared traps.
The hidden ballistae fired their burning arrows, and the arrowheads found one of the gunpowder sacks.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
The ground erupted while the unsuspected cataphracts were caught in the explosion.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
A similar incident happened on the other side. Cao Xiu drew the Xiliang chargers to the prepared trap and caused an explosion.
.
The gunpowder explosion alarmed Guan Yu, who had never experienced the devastation of hot weaponry.
At this moment, Dian Wei believed that Cao Cao had the upper hand. He laughed, ”Surrender, red face! You are no match for my lord!”
Guan Yu returned the mockery with a grin, ”I can't serve him, not now anyway. Well, Xu Chu. Don't forget to give that to your lord.”
Without waiting for the reply, Guan Yu turned around and shouted, ”Retreat! The enemy is using sorcery!”
.
Li Ru watched his men getting slaughtered one after another with an indifferent expression. As he knew that these Xiliang cavalries and cataphracts were copied beings without life and soul, he did not mind losing them to wither down Cao Cao's forces.
Still, watching the new weaponry of Cao Cao at work was a unique experience for the strategist.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.
'Even Cao Cao is using sorcery like Zhang Tong or Khan. They really influenced future warfare.'
While Li Ru was mumbling to himself, he did not forget to gesture, telling his aide to follow up instead of retreating.
Unlike the soft-hearted generals who cared for their soldiers or the long-term management, Li Ru placed all his chips into one gambling.
'Win big or go home. That's that.'
During the first hour of the fight, Li Ru had sent in three waves of cavalry while Guan Yu had taken 10,000 to engage against the center army of Cao Cao.
He still had 15,000 Xiliang cavalries, 5,000 cataphracts, and 20,000 infantry. They were more than enough to pressure Cao Cao with another big wave.
*BWOOO*
Four units, which numbered 20,000 horsemen, galloped forward, charging toward the flanks of Cao Cao Army. They ignored the tattered Cao Xiu's units and Li Dian's units, which shocked Cao Cao's forces.
20,000 footmen, which separated into four battalions, also rushed toward the center. They ignored the retreating group and Guan Yu and charged at the enemy.
Although Guan Yu was reluctant to continue fighting, he rejoined the battle as he wanted to save his men's lives.
Even Cao Cao raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had thought that the enemies would have retreated after the display of explosive weaponry.
He was impressed, ”That's quite a strong mind their general has. Who is it that is leading Yuan Shu Army?”
At this moment, Xu Chu passed the note that Guan Yu had given him to Cao Cao. Dian Wei also informed his lord about their commanders.
”We only saw two banners. They were [Guan] and [Li], my lord.”
Cheng Yu confirmed the report, ”I think he's Li Ru. He's a former strategist under Dong Zhuo, but he joins the Xiongnu during their invasion along with Ma Clan.”