My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 60 Sun Quan: Just cavalrymen made me cry?

"My lord, it's Zhang Liao!"

"He wants to take advantage of our troops' initial landing and unstable footing to launch a preemptive strike against our central army!"

Lu Meng reacted very quickly and was the first to see through Zhang Liao's intention.

Sun Quan's eyes changed slightly, and he quickly looked up to carefully examine the Cao cavalry that was coming towards him.

It was originally thought that Zhang Liao had few soldiers and would retreat to Hefei and not leave.

However, unexpectedly, the other party took the initiative to kill him.

This greatly surprised Sun Quan.

When he saw that the number of the charging cavalry was only more than 800, Sun Quan's eyes became contemptuous again.

"A mere eight hundred cavalrymen. Among our troops already ashore, our central army alone has at least six thousand men."

"Six thousand versus eight hundred. The advantage is mine. What do I have to fear?"

"Zhang Liao is so arrogant, he dares to challenge me to a fight. This is exactly what I want!"

Sun Quan's domineering aura ignited, and he raised his whip and shouted:

"Pass the order down, order all troops to immediately gather around me and form a battle formation to repel the enemy."

"Order the troops on both wings to immediately encircle him. I will make sure that Zhang Liao never returns!"

Seeing that Sun Quan underestimated the enemy and hearing his deployment, Lu Meng's heart immediately sank.

"My lord, you really don't know anything about military affairs..."

Lu Meng sighed in his heart.

This young lord of his had obviously never seen the power of cavalry. He thought that since he had 6,000 soldiers in his central army, he dared not take the 800 enemy cavalry seriously.

And the order for all units to move closer to the central army and form a battle formation to meet the enemy was even more naive.

Don’t you know the military system of the Jiangdong Army?
The Cao army's soldiers belong to the country, and no matter who the generals are, they will obey their orders.

Therefore, once an order is given, everyone from top to bottom will carry it out immediately without any slackness.

Our Jiangdong Army is a military force where all the soldiers belong to the generals. There are as many thoughts as there are generals.

Such a military system naturally meant that the Jiangdong Army would be slow and inefficient in executing the general's orders.

Zhang Liao's cavalry is as fast as the wind. By the time your order, Sun Quan, is passed down layer by layer, their cavalry would have already rushed towards you.

Lu Meng knew that Sun Quan's response was wrong, but he did not dare to point it out in public. He still gritted his teeth and passed down Sun Quan's order.

So, battalions of Jiangdong troops began to move slowly towards the central army.

In front.

Eight hundred cavalrymen galloped wildly.

A military general with a burly figure and a resolute face was riding his horse and galloping in front of the cavalry, holding a long sword in his hand.

"Sun Jian and his son, Sun Ce, were both legendary generals. I never expected that Sun Quan would be completely clueless about military strategy."

"Okay, Sun Quan, today I, Zhang Liao, will teach you how to fight this battle!"

Zhang Liao raised a scornful smile and pointed his sword forward.
"Brothers, follow me, Zhang Liao, and crush Sun Quan's central army in one fell swoop. Let the people of Jiangdong witness the might of our Bingzhou Wolf Riders!"

Eight hundred cavalrymen roared to the sky.

In a blink of an eye, the cavalry had rushed over seventy steps.

At this time, Sun Quan's 6,000 central troops had not yet completed their battle formation.

On the left and right wings, the troops of Xu Sheng and He Qi, who were closest to his central army, were still more than forty steps away and were slowly approaching.

The confidence on Sun Quan's face disappeared, and a hint of panic finally appeared between his brows.

"Why are the battalions moving so slowly? Quickly get them to move closer!"

"What are you doing, crossbowmen? Quickly shoot arrows to stop the enemy cavalry!"

Sun Quan waved his horse whip and gave orders in a sharp voice.

The command flag waved like the wind and another order was issued.

The archers, who had not yet completed their formation, hurriedly drew their bows and arrows and fired indiscriminately at the oncoming Cao cavalry.

Zhang Liao was already familiar with the Jiangdong army's response tactics.

The eight hundred galloping cavalrymen immediately turned around and circled towards the left wing of the Jiangdong central army.

Arrows rained down, but all missed.

Sun Quan's face changed again, and he hurriedly ordered the archers to continue shooting arrows.

More than a thousand archers hurriedly turned around and released two waves of arrows in succession.

However, these Jiangdong archers obviously lacked experience in fighting against cavalry and were unable to accurately grasp the lead time based on the cavalry's speed.

After two rounds of arrow rain, eight hundred cavalrymen were hit by arrows, but only a few of them were almost unharmed.

There are only three shots in battle.

After these three rounds of arrow rain, Zhang Liao and his cavalry had already rushed to more than ten steps away from the left wing of the Jiangdong army. "Protect the left wing, stop the enemy cavalry, stop them--"

Sun Quan finally lost his composure, waving his whip wildly and shouting orders in a trembling voice.

It's too late.

The point Zhang Liao chose to break the formation was exactly the weak point in the Jiangdong army's formation.

Before the Jiangdong army on the left wing could change its formation and direction, eight hundred cavalrymen had already rushed over.

Landslides and landslides!

The cavalry was like an indestructible giant blade, which instantly broke through the Jiangdong army formation with ease.

Zhang Liao led the charge, slashing wildly left and right with his long sword, knocking the panicked Jiangdong soldiers to the ground like grass.

The eight hundred cavalrymen behind him rushed in through the gap like a flood breaking through a dam.

In the blink of an eye, a huge gap was torn open on the left wing of the Jiangdong army.

The formation that stretched for dozens of steps was like a glass wall. It was shattered at one point and collapsed in an instant.

The left is collapsing!

Zhang Liao charged forward courageously, leading the cavalry to continue their charge.

Wherever they went, the Jiangdong soldiers along the way were swept away like fallen leaves by the wind, and were scattered all over the place, crying and howling like ghosts.

Collapse across the board.

The 6,000-strong Jiangdong Central Army collapsed across the board. The soldiers were like frightened birds, fleeing towards the river behind them.

Under the central army flag.

Sun Quan's body was stiff, his face frozen in a moment of dumbfounded anger and bewilderment.

"why?"

"How could I, with six thousand men and horses, who clearly had the upper hand, be overwhelmed by a mere eight hundred of his cavalry in the blink of an eye?"

"This, this, this..."

Sun Quan was already incoherent, and was completely in a state of endless shock and confusion.

"My lord, I've heard that Lü Bu is best at using cavalry to break through enemy lines. His Bingzhou Wolf Riders once defeated tens of thousands of Black Mountain troops with only a few thousand!"

"Zhang Liao is an old general of Lu Bu. He's using Lu Bu's cavalry-driven tactics to break through the enemy's formations!"

Only then did Lü Meng shout a warning and then advised:

"Our army is in disarray. Zhang Liao is clearly coming for you, my lord. Please withdraw to the shore immediately and board your boat to retreat to the river!"

"If you delay any longer, once Zhang Liao rushes in, you won't be able to escape!"

Sun Quan shuddered violently.

What bold words of vowing to take Hefei, what thoughts of achieving great victory and establishing prestige, what the majesty of the Lord of Jiangdong...

At this moment, all of them were frightened away by Lu Meng's words.

"Retreat, quickly protect me and retreat to Feishui—"

Sun Quan screamed loudly, turned his horse around and fled towards the shore.

Lu Meng called on his personal guards and followed Sun Quan closely, protecting him all the way to Xiaoyaojin.

The flag with the word "Sun" on it was quickly chopped to the ground.

The central army collapsed and Sun Quan's general flag fell, which was naturally the most fatal blow to the morale of the Jiangdong army.

Tens of thousands of Jiangdong troops who had already landed turned around and retreated in a panic towards the shore.

Zhang Liao commanded 800 cavalrymen, like a tiger among a flock of sheep, crushing the retreating Jiangdong soldiers back and forth.

Inside Hefei City, Li Dian also led 5,000 infantrymen to charge out and take advantage of the situation to kill the enemy.

The 40,000-strong Jiangdong army was defeated and fled.

As the setting sun fell, the Jiangdong army finally retreated to the Fei River after paying the price of thousands of corpses.

Supported by Lu Meng, Sun Quan stood on the deck in shock, looking at the Cao cavalry on the shore from afar, mocking their show of force.

The Jiangdong soldiers around him were all dejected and terrified.

Sun Quan knew that this great defeat resulted in the loss of not only thousands of soldiers, but also the complete destruction of military morale.

The army's morale has collapsed, how can we attack Hefei again?

The battle to capture Hefei, which he personally led, ended in a great defeat just as it began.

"boom!"

Sun Quan pounded his fist on the ship's bulwark and gnashed his teeth.

"Why was Liu Bei able to defeat Cao Cao, but I, Sun Quan, was defeated by a mere Zhang Liao? I don't understand, I just can't understand!"

(End of this chapter)