Chapter 497: Strength Exhausted, the Pass and Mountains Remain Unbroken (Part 1)

Amid earth-shaking battle cries, both sides returned to their formations.

As soon as he was back on the command chariot in his own formation, Cao Mengde immediately summoned the remnants of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry beside him — the last unit of iron-clad horsemen he had left — and raised his sword to give the order:

"Pass the word to every army's commander: our forces are fully prepared and morale is high. The enemy cavalry charging our lines recklessly is no different from seeking their own death... The entire army must not move without orders. Observe the enemy's posture. First, hold firm and inflict casualties. When the enemy slackens slightly, follow my command and move in sequence, alternating as we withdraw south to camp!"

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, temporarily serving as messengers, scattered to deliver the orders — no more need be said of that.

On the other side, Gongsun Xun returned to the White Horse Banner. Once the shouting had subsided somewhat, he too calmly raised his blade and gave the order: "The enemy is all infantry, shields and spears in front, bows and crossbows mixed in behind, and they have an extremely large number of armored soldiers. Cavalry truly finds it hard to close in. Let the armored riders hold for now. Each unit's commander is to personally lead light cavalry and spread out on all sides, using mounted archery to probe the strength and weakness of each enemy camp. Once you have results, report back! Remember this: all cavalry units of the entire army, except for Tian Yu's division which needs rest, must probe each of the seven outer camps of the enemy once before reporting back! But conserve arrows!"

Excluding Tian Yu, there were Cheng Lian, Zhang Liao, Tian Chou, Yang Kai, Yuwen Heita, Yufuluo, and Xubu Jucì — exactly seven commanders. They all acknowledged the order, then each returned to their formation, immediately selected their own light cavalry, and began probing the seven outer camps of Cao's army with mounted archery. Since bowmen and crossbowmen are a crucial element in defending against cavalry, Cao's army naturally refused to show weakness and counterattacked in force.

For a time, arrows flew chaotically from both sides, showers of bolts interweaving. One side stood firm behind great shields, immovable as mountains; the other raced left and right, swift as the wind — a truly heart-shaking spectacle.

In truth, this was flatland. Even commanders could only barely stand on war chariots or horseback to glimpse the battlefield situation... But if someone could look down from a height, observing the entire battlefield from a bird's-eye view, then setting aside the more than ten thousand armored riders massed behind Gongsun Xun awaiting orders, these Northern light cavalry currently engaged and the great infantry formation of the Central Plains coalition army would together form something like a wuzhu coin — an enormous "Square-Hole Brother"!

The square in the center was naturally the great square formation formed by the eight camps of Cao's heavy infantry, while the outer circle was the various light cavalry units of the Yan army, circling the perimeter in the direction of a sundial's shadow. They had received their lord's command to probe every single "small" square formation on Cao's army's outer perimeter. The best method, of course, was simply to ride one full circuit around the enemy formation, then dispatch part of their forces for a round of galloping mounted archery!

It must be said, the Yan army had clear regulations. The thirty-five thousand cavalry deployed for this sortie were fully equipped, yet with slight differences. Setting aside the three thousand White Horse Volunteers, the remaining thirty-two thousand riders, in terms of organization, were exactly twelve thousand armored cavalry, plus twenty thousand so-called light cavalry capable of mounted archery — though in practice their officers generally wore armor... At this moment, Tian Yu's division was not engaged, so the light cavalry participating in this great encircling parade were actually fewer than twenty thousand — but only just barely fewer than twenty thousand!

And nearly twenty thousand cavalry racing and circling around Cao's army's great formation — how utterly soul-shaking was that?!

There was no need at all to feign a charge and trample; the basic intimidating effect of cavalry was already fully manifest.

Cao Mengde's face was also deathly pale... He was not, of course, afraid of these cavalry, but afraid that someone in the outer camps might waver, then collapse outright, drawing in the trampling pursuit of the ten thousand armored riders behind Gongsun Xun, and finally leading to a complete rout.

Of course, events proved that Cao Mengde's worry was actually unnecessary. The very reason these troops had been selected by him was that they represented the finest core of the Guandu main camp, apart from Cao Ren's division... They were not scattered soldiers or stragglers, but armies tightly organized from top to bottom! Even Wen Ping's and Li Tong's troops were fully formed units that had grown up through a full seven or eight years of warfare.

And in an army, a man's courage can be amplified by the collective.

In other words, unless effective killing power is used to shatter the entire army's organizational structure, such an army cannot be broken by other means.

The various cavalry units of the Yan army circled Cao's army once, loosing a ring of arrow showers, then each, relying on the advantage of cavalry, withdrew slightly. The commanders of each unit then began gathering once more beneath the White Horse Banner... By this time, two ke had already passed.

When Cao Mengde saw the Yan army halt their heart-pounding galloping encirclement and archery, he was naturally overjoyed for a moment, and once again summoned the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to deliver orders: "Tell the commanders of each camp: the Yan army has exhausted its tricks! They dare not truly charge and engage in close combat, and their mounted archery intimidation is useless... Let every camp hold absolutely firm. In this battle, our army will surely be able to return to camp in full!"

"What is the situation?"

After a brief wait, beneath the White Horse Banner, Gongsun Xun also began seriously questioning this group of cavalry commanders he trusted most — who were also, quite possibly, the highest average quality batch of cavalry commanders on this planet at present. "Which camp of the southern army has the most bowmen and crossbowmen? Which camp has the most pure crossbowmen? Also, under our army's mounted archery, which camp of the southern army suffered the most damage? And against which camp was the intimidation most effective?"

The commanders dared not be negligent and all reported fully.

The final answers were in some respects clearly within expectations, but in others quite surprising.

For example, the camps with the most bowmen and crossbowmen, and the heaviest counter-fire of arrows, were naturally the two easternmost camps of Wen Ping and Li Tong. This was because their formations were the thickest, and they even bore the responsibility of serving as the rear camp, with many livestock, vehicles, and military supplies hidden among them. The troops with the poorest quality — that is, those least able to withstand the intimidation of the Yan army riders circling around them — were also these two camps. At the same time, in that single circuit just now, the camps where the Yan army inflicted the most casualties and had the highest kill efficiency were likewise these two camps... These were all answers within expectations!

As for the matter of crossbowmen that Gongsun Xun had specifically raised, it turned out that the central three camps had the most — namely, Zhou Tai's formation in the center of the western face, Mao Jie's formation in the center of the southern face, and Du Xi's formation in the center of the northern face.

Clearly, this was determined by the status and political nature of these three units. High-quality powerful crossbows were not easy to produce, and after half a year of fighting between the two sides, during this period of exhaustion, they were actually quite scarce. So good equipment naturally went to the most core units. Mao Jie's and Du Xi's two formations were detachments from Cao Cao's central army — they essentially were Cao Cao's central army. And Zhou Tai's three thousand Danyang troops were the old foundation Liu Bei had built his career on, so they naturally qualified for the same treatment as Cao Cao's central army.

Gongsun Xun lowered his head in thought for a moment, then spoke up again to ask: "In other words, although Xu Sheng's and Chen Wu's two formations are almost entirely armored, you were still able to inflict casualties on them?"

"Just as Your Highness says, casualties are always possible."

The first to answer was Zhang Liao. He had almost instantly grasped Gongsun Xun's meaning. "These two camps are located at two corners of the enemy's great formation, so they can be shot at from two sides simultaneously. Moreover, the bows and crossbows these two camps use for counterattack are indeed the fewest in number. So if we wish to use mounted archery to concentrate the coordinated efforts of all units to inflict casualties, we should indeed start with these two camps... But, if I may speak frankly, these two camps are extremely elite. Not only are they almost entirely armored, they also have a great many large shields, and their military bearing is exceptionally orderly. Inflicting casualties in this way — even if the entire army's light cavalry emptied their quivers — I fear it would only slightly shake these two camps."

Once Zhang Wenyuan had spoken these words, the surrounding commanders had no objections; rather, most nodded in agreement.

It must be said, ever since Zhang Wenyuan had slain Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun, everyone knew he would inevitably be enfeoffed as a marquis after the battle. And in the army, military merit and daring in battle were always respected. Many commanders had still been somewhat unwilling to accept the matter of Xiahou Yuan's head, but after that day's bloody battle, his standing among the commanders had gradually risen... Except for Cheng Lian, whose seniority was simply too great and could still overshadow him by half a head, the other commanders could not help but feel somewhat left behind. As for the youngest, Tian Yu, his failed charge today — it was hard to say whether it was not precisely because Zhang Wenyuan's division was right behind him.

"You need not concern yourselves with the rest. First, slightly shake these two camps, then we shall speak further." Who could have guessed that, faced with the nearly unanimous opinion of his commanders, Gongsun Xun's expression would remain unchanged as he directly issued a military order contrary to his usual style? "All the army's light cavalry are to immediately take turns sortieing, attacking from both flanks. First, empty the quivers of every light cavalry unit onto the heads of these two camps!"

The commanders dared not be negligent and all departed to carry out the order.

Moments later, the soul-shaking exchange of arrows from before erupted once more. But this time, the Yan army concentrated its forces, rotating forward in waves, and in the manner of circling mounted archery, poured all their arrows onto the formations of Chen Wu and Xu Sheng — these two camps of so-called Huainan elite armored troops.

Unlike the earlier fairness, when the Yan light cavalry had spread cloud and rain evenly as they circled the entire great formation, the formations of Generals Chen and Xu now suffered a concentrated assault like a violent storm. Those holding shields were like people sheltering from rain, listening to the relentless crackling upon their shields without a moment's pause. And the slightest carelessness would allow an arrow to fly in through a gap between shields, engaging in a second contest with the soldiers' armor, and thereby causing some casualties.

Cao Mengde stood upon the central army's war chariot, straining on tiptoe to watch for a long time, his heart heavy with worry... He knew perfectly well that this was the advantage in mobility that cavalry possessed by having one more horse than infantry!

Ultimately, the benefits brought by mobility on the battlefield were simply too many. It allowed light cavalry to easily concentrate on a single local corner of the battlefield, creating an enormous local superiority in forces. It also allowed them to use rotation to maintain sustained pressure on infantry. Moreover, cavalry with a huge mobility advantage could easily withdraw after completing an attack to rest and refit.

Correspondingly, under this kind of rotating attack and plunging fire, the troops of Chen Wu's and Xu Sheng's two camps could only hold their ground. Beyond passively enduring the beating, they could do no more than struggle to seize the gaps when the cavalry rotated, using their bows and crossbows to counterattack briefly.

However, even this tactical counterattack exploiting gaps was more disadvantageous than imagined... Because it was only at this moment that the two commanders, Chen Wu and Xu Sheng, discovered a serious problem. Originally, they had imagined that cavalry bows had a slightly shorter range, and with their own bowmen and crossbowmen positioned slightly to the rear, the two should be roughly equal. But now, the Yan army cavalry were using their horses' momentum to shoot in a high arc. The speed bonus provided by the warhorses instead gave them a slight advantage, allowing their arrows to easily clear the outer great shields and fall into the formations of the two camps. Correspondingly, the Central Plains coalition's bowmen and crossbowmen, though protected by great shields and able to counterattack to some degree, were constrained by the critical limit of their range and the Yan light cavalry's constant dodging, and thus often failed to inflict sufficient casualties.

Here, a further word must be said. The late Han period was precisely an intersection point in the spiral contest between bows, crossbows, and armor in Chinese history. It was difficult to see the phenomenon of armor completely triumphing over bows and crossbows as in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, nor was it easy to see the posture of bows and crossbows being invincible as in most of the Qin and Han periods. In other words, whether a well-made recurve bow, at the latter half of its range, could overcome traditional standard iron armor depended on luck and other contributing factors.

And at this moment, the Yan army's mounted archery, compared to the Central Plains coalition's counter-fire, clearly possessed this extra layer of speed bonus from the warhorses, creating a small, yet tangible, effective kill rate.

Of course, the more important point — and the most critical one — was that the Yan army was using superior numbers to bully the few, attacking from two sides while rotating forward. The arrow density of the two sides was simply not on the same level!

In other words, under such a pouring rain of arrows, although the kill efficiency was low due to the constraints of armor and great shields, there was no doubt that, for the two sides engaged, it was the southern army that was continuously and passively losing men!

Faced with such a situation, Cao Mengde was naturally greatly alarmed... He dared not send aid to these two camps while the Yan army cavalry still possessed such high morale and ample arrows. To aid them would inevitably require the cover of his only two thousand cavalry. But the Central Plains coalition's sole remaining two thousand cavalry were nothing more than the defeated remnants of the Yan army from that day's bloody battle. Sending them out now would likely only add to the chaos.

Moreover, he dared even less, with the Yan army in such a posture, to directly order infantry to move to support them, or to order Generals Xu and Chen to withdraw. For that would be giving the Yan army cavalry an opportunity to charge and force a decisive engagement.

Yet, to his consolation, although casualties indeed numbered in the hundreds, Xu Sheng's and Chen Wu's two camps actually gritted their teeth and held on. Moreover, they took the initiative to concentrate the wounded in the center of their formations, and seized the time to make every effort to rotate soldiers between the front and rear ranks, seeking a chance to catch their breath... Such quality made Cao Mengde, even in his relief, sigh inwardly at Liu Xuande's skill in training troops.

"Go and tell Generals Chen and Xu respectively: arrows are precious. Once our army's arrows are exhausted, the enemy's arrows must also be nearly gone!" Watching the second wave of Yan army riders advance once more, and seeing the counterattack efficiency of the two camps drop sharply, Cao Cao understood the situation perfectly, yet could only grit his teeth and order the messengers to boost morale. "As long as they endure two more volleys of arrow rain, our army can calmly alternate and withdraw southward... When that time comes, I will have Du Xi and Mao Jie shift to the front to shield them!"

Immediately, riders galloped toward the two camps at the ox-horn corners, which were currently taking a beating.

"Go and pass the word to the other commanders as well." Watching the Yan army's relentless shooting, Cao Cao issued another order. "Order the entire army to carefully check their arrow reserves... If the enemy's arrows are shot empty and our army moves south, we will need arrows to guard against an enemy charge! Be sure to conserve them! Also, have Generals Wen and Li prepare the livestock and arrows, ready to distribute them to the other formations!"

Cao's army riders once again scattered in all directions.

On the other side, as the Yan army continued rotating and shooting without pause, Xu Sheng's and Chen Wu's troops had essentially begun to simply endure... Even though the ground was littered with arrows, the southern army's bowmen and crossbowmen within the strike zone simply dared not counterattack anymore. Because counterattacking meant shifting the shields above their heads, and shifting the shields above their heads meant an ever-increasing probability of death that even wearing iron armor could not prevent.

Beyond this, compared to the Yan army, which relied on rotation tactics to maintain the stamina of both men and horses, the two units of Chen and Xu, taking the beating, had already begun to show signs of physical exhaustion... Holding up shields, continuously shooting arrows in counterattack, and drawing heavy crossbows were all very strenuous.

As one side declined and the other rose, the southern army bowmen and crossbowmen's abandonment of the fight in turn emboldened the Yan light cavalry. They began to draw closer and closer to the enemy formations, loosing their arrows at a more oblique angle, causing the arrows' power to increase further.

Suddenly, an exceptionally piercing scream rang out right beside their ears!

Chen Wu, who had just finished listening to Cao Cao's messenger, abruptly looked up, and froze along with the messenger beside him. It turned out that just over ten paces away, a shield-bearer had stumbled and fallen in agony. This allowed Chen Wu and the others to clearly see that an arrow had actually penetrated the soldier's iron-faced great shield, pinning his hand to the shield's grip handle! The soldier, in his agony, rolled over with the shield, directly causing a chaos in the surrounding area. Immediately, a shower of arrows flew in, turning a bowman who had lost his cover and this shield-and-spear soldier into hedgehogs.

Whether it was some malice of Heaven, the bowman died on the spot. This shield-and-spear soldier had been struck by multiple arrows front and back, yet still had breath, and lay there struggling and howling continuously.

Chen Wu said not a word. Braving the possible danger, he stepped forward directly, ended his subordinate's suffering with one stroke of his blade, then hurriedly returned to the messenger's side and spoke with grave seriousness: "Lord Cao's words are correct. I have no other message, but I must ask you, sir, to be sure to report the situation here to Lord Cao!"

The messenger nodded repeatedly, turned, left the formation from the rear, and rode away.

Shortly after he left, the arrow rain that had lasted for nearly the greater part of a shichen finally came to an end. Chen Wu, already nearing numbness, felt half heartache and half relief. The heartache was, of course, for the heavy casualties his own division had suffered — a full four to five hundred men lost, essentially taking a beating on behalf of the entire army. The relief was that, from his vantage point on the front line, he could see more clearly than Cao Cao that the Yan army riders now were clearly the last wave of rotated light cavalry!

In other words, the precious arrows of the Yan army's light cavalry had finally been shot empty! These cavalrymen, who had looked so awe-inspiring, now found that their last effective means of inflicting casualties against Cao's army's such elite heavy infantry great formation had completely vanished along with the exhaustion of their arrows.

In truth, had he not understood this principle, Chen Wu would have long since ordered his entire unit to charge with shields raised, disregarding everything. And he believed that Xu Sheng on the other side would only have charged faster than him... Because that feeling just now — of being able only to passively take a beating, suffering continuous casualties amidst the beating, and at a rate that grew ever faster — was truly not something a normal person could endure.

Cao Cao also let out a complete sigh of relief, and the entire Central Plains coalition army let out a sigh of relief.

And almost immediately, Cao Cao issued another order, but it was addressed with a melancholy tone to the only two remaining Cavalry Detachment Commanders, Xia Hou and Che Zhou: "The matter is already settled. Boren, go to General Chen's formation; Commander Che, go to General Xu's formation. First escort the wounded soldiers to my position, then immediately combine forces in one place, first north then south, to screen the army's formation movements!"

This was a matter of course, and the two commanders naturally hurried to receive their orders and carry them out.

Transporting the wounded within the great formation was naturally quick, taking no more than a quarter hour, and then the two thousand cavalry hurriedly went to form ranks on the northern side, preparing to screen the position swap of the Chen Wu and Du Xi battalions behind them... but this process took a full quarter hour and more.

The reason was very simple: although they knew the opponent was already out of arrows, and knew the great infantry formation behind them would likewise screen them, facing cavalry more than ten times their own number, as survivors of the previous bloody battle at Guandu, these Cao army cavalrymen were truly somewhat cowed.

They spent a long time before selecting a safe distance to form ranks alongside the great formation.

From the start of the battle until now, a full hour and more had already passed, and the sun had already shifted considerably westward... After the Cao army cavalry held their bows and completed their screening, the already impatient Du Xi moved first, pulling his formation out from behind the cavalry and swiftly heading southwest, then quickly establishing position.

Immediately after, Chen Wu gazed at the corpses on the ground, let out a sigh, and ultimately put the larger picture first, immediately ordering his troops to pass through the cavalry and Du Xi's formation, shifting his formation eastward.

They succeeded. The Yan army light cavalry, lacking means of attack and wary of the opponent's bows and crossbows, only probed once midway, and after encountering bow and crossbow fire, immediately withdrew, then sat and watched as Chen Wu's unit, which they had been whittling down for the better part of the afternoon, moved to a relatively safe position in the middle of the great formation, and sat and watched as Du Xi's unit, with high morale and intact organization, arrived at the northwest corner of the great formation and successfully established position.

Not only that, because Du Xi's unit carried a considerable number of crossbows, the Yan army riders had no choice but to withdraw even further. And the two thousand Cao army cavalry hurriedly passed rearward through the great formation and headed south.

Next, it was almost imaginable: after the position swap of Xu Sheng's unit and Mao Jie's unit at the southwest corner succeeded, the entire Cao army would, with an utterly unhurried manner, alternately screen one another and slowly move south, all the way back to Guandu.

Xia Hou and Che Zhou repeated their old trick, using cavalry holding bows to secure the formation's footing, then Mao Jie moved first and successfully established position... but at that very moment, a sudden shock erupted!

Suddenly, a unit of Yan army light cavalry charged straight forward. Without time to circle and shoot from horseback, they directly loosed a volley of arrows onto the heads of Xu Sheng's unit, which had already put away their shields and was preparing to shift formation!

—————I am the dividing line that still has a bit of stock—————

"When infantry faces cavalry on level ground, without relying on mountains or rivers, without constructing fieldworks, without erecting camp fortifications, and arrays on the plain — though the formation may be intricate and ingenious, it is in truth placing oneself in deadly terrain." — Zibo's Art of War

PS: There's more...

(End of Chapter)