jdhmnovel Chapter 792 The War of Founding the Nation (2)
Chapter 792 The War of Founding the Nation (2)
Although Zhao Yun was protected on both flanks by his good son-in-law, his forces were too small and he was some distance from the main force of the Han army. If Zhao Yun could be crippled before the main force of the Han army arrived, it would be a great achievement.
Upon receiving the order, Cao Zhang swiftly launched an attack, leading his troops into Zhao Yun's formation to engage the Han army in fierce combat. After a short while, Zhuge Liang ordered a retreat. Zhao Yun and Guan Ping took turns covering the retreat, but instead of retreating directly, they circled back from the left and right flanks.
As the father-in-law and son-in-law retreated, a powerful and explosive rumbling sound suddenly came from the Han army formation.
With a thunderous roar, more than two hundred elephants broke through the ranks and charged madly towards the Wei army.
The elephants' hooves are bigger than washbasins, and when more than two hundred of them run at the same time, the ground trembles.
What's even more infuriating is that these elephants are wearing helmets on their heads. The custom-made iron helmets are so bright that they dazzle the eyes in the sunlight. Combined with their mountain-like size, the impact on the Wei army is enormous.
When Cao Zhang saw the elephants appear, he was completely stunned. He recognized them; Sun Quan had once sent one to Cao Cao, and his brother Cao Chong had even weighed it.
The problem is that although he has seen elephants, no one has told him that these things can be used on the battlefield. How can he fight them?
In addition, although Cao Zhang had seen elephants, his soldiers were not qualified to attend Cao Cao's banquet. Moreover, in that era, information was scarce, and many people had never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it. How could they fight against it?
People instinctively feel fear when faced with the unknown. Seeing the elephant formation charging towards them, many Wei soldiers who were willing to risk their lives for the Han army began to tremble and instinctively chose to retreat.
Cao Ren was also startled by the sudden appearance of the elephant troops, and he gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn the Imperial Household Department, didn't they get any prior warning that the Han army had elephant troops?"
This is not to blame the School Affairs Office for its incompetence. The main reason is that the School Affairs Office suffered too many losses in Jiangling. Even its leader, Zhang Jing, was captured. What use are the remaining soldiers and generals?
Moreover, the existence of the elephant cavalry was kept secret within the Han army. It was used by Zhuge Liang as a trump card. As a trump card, how could it not be kept secret?
Cao Ren knew that blaming the Imperial Household Department would not help, so he decisively ordered, "Elephants are heavy and have difficulty moving. Order Cao Zhang to step back and use the ballistae to deal with them."
Cao Zhang did not dare to confront them head-on, but instead withdrew from the left and right flanks like Zhao Yun, giving up his position to the ballistae.
Soon, hundreds of ballistae flew in and hit the elephants. The elephants were in pain and jumped up and neighed violently. However, the elephants were too big and had too strong vitality. The ballistae not only failed to kill the elephants, but also aroused their ferocity. The more than two hundred elephant soldiers charged at the Wei army even more recklessly.
Nevertheless, by the time they reached the Wei army's front lines, the elephants had lost a third of their numbers, but the remaining two-thirds were enough. They charged into the Wei army's ranks and began to rampage, quickly causing Wei soldiers to fall and their horses to tumble.
The Wei army was not even as tall as an elephant's leg, and even the cavalry were not as tall as elephants. If an elephant rammed into them, it would be like a car rear-ending a semi-trailer—fragile and easily destroyed.
Upon seeing this, Cao Ren roared, "Cut off the elephant's leg! Cut off the elephant's leg! Pass on my order: cut off an elephant's leg and you'll be promoted ten ranks!"
Elephants are not scary; what is scary is the Wei army's fear of elephants. In a short time, the only way Cao Ren could think of to overcome their fear was to offer a generous reward.
With such a generous reward, some brave men will surely emerge. Seeing that they couldn't escape, some decisively swung their knives at the elephant's trunk and legs, its vulnerable parts. If this trend continues, it's only a matter of time before the elephant is completely wiped out.
The question is, will Zhuge Liang give you that time?
Seeing that the Wei army's formation was disrupted by the elephants, Zhuge Liang ordered Zhao Yun to charge into the Wei army's ranks again to quickly reap the rewards. He also ordered Feng Xi and Zhang Nan to lead their troops to follow closely behind Zhao Yun and expand the victory.
In a decisive battle between two armies, the formation is of utmost importance; if the formation is disrupted, a massacre is inevitable.
Zhao Yun and Guan Ping charged into the enemy formation and began a frenzied slaughter of the Wei army. The Wei army was already in disarray due to the elephants, and with Zhao Yun and Guan Ping's attack, their formation became even more chaotic.
The wounded elephant soldiers went completely berserk, charging forward relentlessly with their hooves pounding the ground and whipping their trunks like whips. Their bodies swung like mountains, crashing and ramming about. The Wei army wanted to cut off the elephants' legs to disable them, but the elephants' hides were too thick to cut with a single blow. The Wei army didn't have a chance to make a second cut; if the elephants didn't die with one blow, it would be the soldiers who died.
Seeing their comrades' heads trampled into mud by elephant hooves, the Wei army finally gave up the temptation of rising ten ranks and quickly retreated.
Retreating was fine, but the problem was that there were comrades behind him. This retreat instantly knocked his comrades to the ground, causing the elephant to trample two or three to death with a single hoof.
Cao Ren angrily said, "Go find a rope. Two people in a group, grab the rope and go around the elephant from the outside, trying to trip it up."
Elephants are too big, and once they trip, it's hard for them to get up. Moreover, once they fall, the Wei army won't give them another chance to get up.
Wei Jun quickly found dozens of ropes, grabbed both ends of the ropes, and began to circle around the elephant, trying to trip it up. However, the elephant was too strong, and many times the elephant was fine, but Wei Jun, who was holding the ropes, was tripped up and dragged.
Left with no other option, Wei Jun increased the number of people holding the ropes, using their numerical advantage to outmaneuver the elephants. As a result, some elephants were indeed tripped up. Although many were still carried away by the elephants, only a minority of elephants were tripped up, but it was not zero.
As long as it's not zero, it proves that this method is effective, and the number of elephants is limited, so taking down one means one less elephant.
Wei Jun used this method to trip the elephants repeatedly. As soon as an elephant fell, dozens of spears would immediately pierce its neck, trunk, and even eyes. Due to its size, the elephant could not get up for a short time and could only cry out in pain until it bled to death.
On the Han side, Zhuge Liang actively deployed troops, employing a piecemeal tactic to continuously send soldiers into the Wei army's ranks.
In a battle between two armies, the worst thing is not being unable to break through the enemy lines, but rather that once a breach is made, the main force cannot follow up in time, resulting in the suicide squad sacrificing themselves in vain.
Zhuge Liang understood this principle, and he also understood the principle of striking while the iron is hot. Therefore, he kept a close eye on the battlefield and quickly followed up after the elephant tore open a gap, preparing to launch a full-scale attack and not give the Wei army any chance to breathe.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang's attacks were extremely sharp. The Wei army had just been knocked down by the elephants and had not yet rearranged their formation, or even gotten up, when the Han army arrived in front of them.
Seeing the Han army pressing forward like a tidal wave, Cao Ren's face was grave, his eyes narrowed into slits as he actively deployed troops to respond quickly.
Cao Pi was also influenced, and he walked to the front of the war drum, took the drumstick, and personally beat the drum to cheer on the soldiers.
Encouraged by Cao Pi's drumbeats, the Wei army finally slaughtered all two hundred elephants, relieving them of their rear concerns and allowing them to fight the Han army with ease.
Before they could even catch their breath, Zhang Fei arrived, charging into the formation and wielding his spear, killing three men in succession. He roared with all his might, "Zhang Yide, the General of Chariots and Cavalry of the Great Han, is here! Who dares to fight me?"
Zhang Fei's reputation was so great that it cast a greater psychological shadow on the Wei army than the elephant formation, causing the Wei army to instinctively retreat in fear.
The key point is that the Wei army hadn't recovered from the attack of the elephant formation, and hadn't even had time to catch their breath when Zhang Fei arrived. They had no time to prepare at all. In such a rush, how could they possibly resist the ferocious Zhang Fei?
By sending Zhang Fei up so early, Zhuge Liang was essentially throwing out his trump card right away, a classic example of not playing by the rules.
The effect of the "royal bomb" was excellent, immediately stunning the Wei army and leaving them in a dazed state. As long as the main force followed, the Wei army would remain in this dazed state until the end of the battle.