My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 102 Great Defeat of Changxi
As time passed, Changxi's army slowly crossed the distance of more than a mile between the two armies and came into view of Liu Bei's army.

While directing his troops to change from marching to battle formation, Chang Xi observed Liu Bei's army opposite him.

This force of Liu Bei's troops was slightly smaller than our own, numbering only about 1,500, with the main force consisting of 1,000 men arrayed in the center.

This group of a thousand people was rather strange. About eight or nine hundred of them were lined up in the center, each holding a very long spear, and almost none of them carried shields.

In front of this spear formation stood a row of archers, and behind them were shield bearers. These soldiers were unarmored and lightly armed.

This was the first time Chang Xi had ever seen an army like this. Although he found it strange, he became even more suspicious that the enemy general was incompetent in warfare.

Upon reaching this conclusion, Chang Xi was overjoyed and determined to seize the opportunity to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. He then immediately ordered an attack.

Chang Xi first dispatched two of his most elite Sima units, each led by a trusted captain, with the front-line soldiers each carrying a shield, and they slowly marched toward Liu Bei's army.

From Chang Xi's perspective, these spears were all just flashy gadgets. As long as the shields blocked the first wave of thrusts, once they got close, this square formation of nearly a thousand men would only be left to be slaughtered.

Therefore, he deployed his two most elite Sima tribes, totaling a thousand men, in one go.

Liu Feng stood at the very front of the line, his palms sweating.

He originally intended to stand with the soldiers to boost morale.

As a result, not only Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao, but also Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang tried to dissuade him as if they were crazy.

There was even a strong sentiment that if Liu Feng persisted in his opinion, they would rather simply withdraw their troops and leave.

Liu Feng had no choice but to back down. In fact, he wasn't just being reckless; he was wearing a genuine suit of iron armor.

The hunting bows that Changxi's army is currently using can't even scratch his oily skin.

But Xiahou Bo and his men didn't care; they were on the battlefield, where anything could happen.

Seeing the fierce opposition from Xiahou Bo and the others, and feeling somewhat afraid himself, Liu Feng readily agreed and made concessions.

He simply assured all the soldiers that he would be with them, watching from behind the great formation as they fought the enemy, broke through the enemy lines, and made great contributions.

It has been more than a month since I took over Xu Sheng's unit in early February.

Xu Sheng's soldiers have become fully proficient in the long spear formation drills, and several level-one exercises have been held. In addition to practical experience, Liu Feng has truly done his best.

Liu Feng was confident that his opponent, Chang Xi, was not strong, and that as long as his side did not make any mistakes, the advanced and epoch-making spear formation would surely defeat Chang Xi.

As the two armies drew closer, the Danyang army remained relatively silent, with no extra sounds from the entire force except for the commands of the officers.

Changxi's archers stopped and began to fire, while Liu Feng's army launched a counterattack.

The arrows from both sides met in mid-air and then fell on the heads of the opposing camp.

The Eastern Han Dynasty not only possessed powerful bows and crossbows, but also had extremely strong armor-piercing capabilities.

The best bow, when paired with a skilled archer, can even pierce through iron armor.

However, this powerful bow is extremely rare, exquisitely crafted, and requires careful protection. Rather than a weapon of war, it is more of an art piece.

Those who could possess such a powerful bow were usually from aristocratic families and wealthy nobles; ordinary people would never be able to even touch it in their entire lives.

The army's bows and arrows were far inferior to these, but they still had some killing power against soldiers protected by leather armor.

The key point is that both Liu Bei's army and Chang Xi's army used even worse bows and arrows. Both sides used hunting bows as their military bows, and these were only good for hunting small and medium-sized animals.

Therefore, even though there were many of these arrows, only a few were actually able to pierce the leather armor and cause injury to the soldiers.

Most of them just happened to hit areas unprotected by armor; less than eleven actually penetrated the armor.

The main fighting will have to be close-quarters combat.

As the two sides entered the sprint distance, Changxi's troops let out a roar and began to quicken their pace.

However, Xu Sheng's troops, led by Liu Feng, remained silent and showed no intention of charging.

Suddenly, Liu Feng's troops shouted out a sentence.

"kill!"

As they roared, all the soldiers stepped forward and pushed their spears forward.

The first rank of Changxi's army, soldiers holding shields, had already rushed forward when suddenly the enemy thrust their spears forward.

The soldiers' vision was mostly blocked by their shields, so they couldn't see the direction or angle from which the spears were coming.

A series of soft, splattering sounds were heard, and blood blossoms bloomed on the soldiers' bodies.

The arm and shoulder were pierced, but the pain was relatively minor; he just screamed in agony.

If someone is stabbed in the thigh or torso, they will immediately lose their strength and fall to their knees.

The worst outcome was having one's throat pierced. These unlucky souls would have their arteries ruptured, and just as they were about to throw away their shields and reach out to cover their necks, they would be stabbed by even more spears.

The first rank of Changxi's soldiers was almost completely wiped out, while the soldiers in the second and third ranks were terrified and wanted to stop.

But the soldiers behind them were unaware of this, and continued to push the soldiers in front of them forward, constantly squeezing them and pushing them into the muzzle of the spears.

This batch of spears was rushed, and many broke after impacting human bones. However, the cuts after the breakage were still very sharp, and apart from being shorter, they did not affect their lethality at all.

Unfortunately, in an effort to boost morale, most of Changxi's officers were on the front lines, resulting in the heaviest casualties.

This casualty caused Changxi's army to lose command for a short time. By the time the officers realized what was happening and hurriedly ordered the troops to retreat, the large formation of more than 800 men from the two Sima tribes had already collapsed beyond recognition.

The ground in front of Liu Fengjun was littered with corpses and wounded soldiers, blood flowed everywhere, and cries of anguish filled the air.

Liu Feng did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao to attack and expand the results of the battle.

As expected, when Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao launched their attack, they found that the enemy had completely lost their will to fight and was only concerned with fleeing. Even when the blades were cutting into their backs, they did not dare to look back.

Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao only retreated when Chang Xi hurriedly led the main force to provide support.

In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Changxi's two Sima units were completely routed, with casualties exceeding 70%.

At least 50% of them were driven out by the spear formation, and the remaining 20% ​​were pursued by Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao.

If the main forces of both sides hadn't been so close, allowing Chang Xi to quickly reinforce the fleeing troops, the soldiers of these two Sima tribes would have been completely annihilated.

At a glance, there were at least six hundred corpses and wounded on the ground, but fewer than two hundred managed to run back to Changxi's main position.

Moreover, these people had completely broken down, and fear spread from these survivors to everyone else's hearts.

Even Chang Xi was filled with fear, because he didn't even know why he had been defeated.

It should be noted that although these two Sima tribes only numbered eight hundred, they included four of his core garrisons, all of whom were veterans with an armor coverage rate of over 80%.

The captain leading the team was also his trusted lieutenant, and he was determined to crush the enemy's morale in one fell swoop.

In the end, it was he who was completely crushed, and he lost so badly.

Although they still had three divisions with 1,200 men, plus more than 100 defeated soldiers, they could still muster 1,300 or 1,400 men, which was not much less than the enemy's numbers.

However, the combat power of the two sides has been completely unbalanced.

Otherwise, let’s run?
The thought of escaping suddenly popped into Changxi's mind.

But the enemy cavalry were watching them intently.

Changxi knew that the reason the other side hadn't made a move was to conserve the strength of their warhorses to watch him.

If he were to flee, the entire army would collapse completely, and those fifty riders could easily catch up. Whether they wanted to capture him alive or kill him in battle, he would be at their mercy.

Especially with Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao eyeing him menacingly, although Chang Xi was somewhat confident in his own martial prowess, he still did not want to face them, let alone fight them both.

If I don't run, I can't just keep fighting, can I?

Chang Xi glanced at his confidants, whose faces were ashen, and then at the terrified soldiers. He knew he couldn't continue fighting now.

It's not that Changxi's tribe is really that bad; it's just that their previous defeats were too quick, too devastating, and too mysterious.

They felt like their team had just made it to the front lines when they lost, and were then mowed down like vegetables, retreating in disarray. Even the survivors couldn't explain how they lost; they only knew that their front lines suffered heavy casualties, and their side collapsed.

How can Changxi continue fighting like this?
The three Sima tribes I have are not even as good as the two Sima tribes I just fought. If we continue to fight, won't we only lose even more miserably?

Just as Chang Xi was hesitating, Liu Feng's troops made their move.
First, a hundred or two lightly armed infantrymen surged out from the side. They searched the battlefield in front of them and carried or pulled out some of the Changxi soldiers who could still be saved from the battlefield.

Then, the spear formation that had instilled endless terror in Changxi's army began to move.

Treading on the corpses and blood scattered on the ground, the spear formation, like a city wall piled with sharp blades, crushed towards Chang Xi's troops.

Changxi looked at the gun formation in front of him, which, although not perfectly aligned, was at least maintaining a complete column of advance. Then he looked at his own soldiers, who were trembling and had no will to fight.

He hesitated for a moment, sighed, threw the long sword in his hand to the ground, and then dismounted.

"Let's lower it."

With Chang Xi's words, "Let's surrender," the entire Chang Xi army breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, Changxi himself quietly relaxed.

"We surrender! We surrender!"

One of his trusted men quickly led a few soldiers to the front of the battle line and shouted to the enemy that they had surrendered, afraid that the enemy would not know and continue to crush them, which would be a real disaster.

The next moment, Changxi felt a cramp in his calf.

The opposing side completely ignored their surrender and continued to advance step by step, like stone statues.

Chang Xi and his men were dumbfounded. Were they going to kill them all today?
But that doesn't make sense. What grudge do we have against each other?
Besides, his men are seasoned veterans who have been through many battles. Does the other side really not care?
Fortunately, a command came from behind the spear formation.

"All troops halt!"

The spear formation finally stopped in its tracks at this point.

Looking at the gun formation less than twenty or thirty paces away, a word suddenly came to Changxi's mind.

Orders and prohibitions.

"Have you all surrendered?"

A somewhat childish voice rang out. Changxi turned his head and looked over, only to find that the other person was a boy who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old.

The young man was dressed in exquisite iron armor, riding a horse, and surrounded by armored guards on all sides, clearly indicating that he held a very noble status.

Chang Xi immediately bowed deeply, prostrating himself on the ground, and shouted to the youth, "Chang Xi surrenders! We are convinced!"

Liu Feng, riding on his horse, blinked. This Chang Xi was indeed extraordinary. No wonder he was the kind of person who could play the game of three rebellions and three surrenders with Cao Cao back then.

For an ordinary person, rebelling against Cao Cao once would result in the extermination of their entire family, but Chang Xi managed to rebel three times.

Moreover, if it weren't for Yu Jin, that sycophantic sycophant, insisting on flattering Cao Cao, Chang Xi might have even survived and perhaps even created the Fourth and Fifth Anti-Cults.

It should be noted that Chang Xi surrendered for the third time because Yu Jin, lacking martial ethics, had him executed when all the other generals in the battle were defending Chang Xi.

At that time, those who protected Changxi included Zang Ba, the Sun brothers, Xiahou Yuan, and Zhang Liao.

Even Cao Cao, upon receiving news of Chang Xi's death, couldn't help but lament, "Chang Xi surrendered, choosing to submit to Yu Jin instead of coming to see me. Was this not his fate?"

Without the previous two pardons, Cao Cao's words would have been utterly meaningless.

However, given the two previous pardons, Cao Cao's willingness to say such a thing basically meant that he would definitely let Chang Xi go a third time.

Liu Feng, who was familiar with this history, even wanted to ask Chang Xi how he managed to do it, but unfortunately, he didn't know either.

Liu Feng nodded, and then, under the pressure of the spear formation, Xiahou Bo's personal guards and unarmored light soldiers stepped forward to surrender, disarming everyone.

Chang Xi and the others behaved themselves, even taking off their armor and squatting to the side.

Even at this point, Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao were still somewhat incredulous. Even with their composure, they still couldn't quite believe that all of this was real.

In his very first battle after leaving his hermitage, Liu Feng defeated Chang Xi's 2,000 men with only 1,500... no, 800 men.

After all, Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao felt that they had not participated in the battle at all, but were just watching from the sidelines. In addition, the two hundred light soldiers under Liu Feng's command had not actually participated in the battle either, but only did some cleanup work.

In other words, the young master actually defeated 800 against 2000 on the spot and accepted the surrender of 1200.

Liu Feng's troops suffered only twenty-odd arrow wounds and a dozen-odd knife wounds. Apart from a few seriously injured, none of them died on the spot.

Such a record is probably unmatched even by the top generals of all time.
Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao felt a heat rising from their bodies. Could it be that their lord was truly favored by the gods?
He started his business with great difficulty, but eventually gained control of a state. Now, his son is also so outstanding, truly a young hero.

Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao concluded that their lord and son would not be confined by a single province in the future, and that they, as his trusted subordinates, would surely rise with their lord and son, and that they would have a great chance of being ennobled and their sons granted titles and privileges.

Originally, Liu Bei arranged for Xiahou Bo to be the main general and Chen Dao to be the deputy general. However, when the battle finally started, Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao gave the command opportunity to Liu Feng. This was because Liu Feng's usual performance was amazing and he was trustworthy.

As long as Liu Feng doesn't go to the front lines and stays in a safe area, what does it matter if they lose?

The two of them never expected that Liu Feng could win, and win so easily and so decisively.

Next, Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao will only lower their stance further. As long as Liu Feng doesn't want to take risks himself, the two of them will definitely obey his every word.

Liu Feng held a small meeting with Xiahou Bo, Chen Dao, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Cao Meng, and others, but in the end, Liu Feng made the decision alone.

First, an envoy was sent to Tancheng to report the victory and convey the good news of the complete annihilation of Chang Xi to Liu Bei and the elders of Tancheng.

Secondly, Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao led Liu Bei's troops to escort Chang Xi to Zeng County to accept his surrender. After Zeng County was occupied, the Donghai County troops from Lanling were sent to replace them, allowing them to return in triumph to Tancheng.

Third, after Xiahou Bo and his men take Zeng County, Chen Dao should escort Chang Xi to Tancheng, where they will join Liu Feng's troops and continue north to assist in the battle at Kaiyang.

Liu Feng, along with Xu Sheng's troops, escorted Chang Xi's surrendered soldiers and headed towards Tancheng.

After discussing the matter, everyone went their separate ways.

Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao, along with their cavalry and personal guards, escorted Chang Xi straight to Zeng County.

Changxi has been operating in Zeng County for quite some time, and must have accumulated a considerable fortune.

Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao originally wanted to ask Liu Feng to choose between Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang to go with them to take over Zeng County, but Liu Feng firmly refused.

There's no need for Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang to get involved in this kind of thing.

If Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao can maintain their integrity, there is no need to send anyone to supervise them.

If Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao had already made their plans, then sending Pan Zhang would not only fail to supervise them, but would actually allow them to share the spoils on the spot, given Pan Zhang's greedy and fond-of-wine nature.

If Xu Sheng were sent over, the outcome wouldn't be much different; one would simply agree immediately, while the other would only half-heartedly comply.

Therefore, Liu Feng simply let Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao handle everything.

After all, Chen Dao in history was loyal, resolute and incorruptible, and was known as "Little Zhao," which doesn't sound like someone who would be corrupt.

Consider it as sending Chen Dao to supervise Xiahou Bo.

Liu Feng himself led a large force to set up camp on the spot, pacified the soldiers, comforted the surrendered troops, and treated the wounded.

For this expedition, Liu Feng invited four doctors, all of whom were renowned surgeons from Xuzhou.

These surgeons were naturally reluctant to go on the expedition, but the governor personally ordered that Prince Liu Feng personally invite them, promising not only high consultation fees but also that they follow the army from the rear and be specially protected by people.

It was only after so many conditions that they reluctantly agreed.

The reason we only invited four wasn't because we were unwilling to invite more, but because we simply couldn't manage it.

Tancheng County, as the seat of the prefecture, had so many high-quality doctors; other places couldn't even muster four.

As for ordinary doctors, Liu Feng politely declined, as there were too many quacks and incompetent individuals among them.

Inviting these guys here would probably not be for treatment, but for harm.

Dear readers, I've updated 60,000 words in four days. Could you please give me some monthly votes to cheer me on? 10,000 words a day is something only a writer can understand. Besides, I'm getting old, and my memory is really declining. I'm not sure about some basic knowledge points and have to check them on Baidu. It's easy to make a silly mistake if I'm not careful. I'm so grateful to all of you readers for helping me catch the bugs.

I humbly request that you, dear readers, give this old man some encouragement.

Thank you to all the readers who have supported the old man. Without your support, the old man really couldn't have made it through. Thank you everyone!
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(End of this chapter)