The north wind made the general's flag rustle, and the sun, which had already risen to its highest point, made the hastily retreating Shu army extremely anxious. About a mile south of the fortress wall that was being demolished by Dian Man's army, Wei Yan's two thousand soldiers were hurriedly forming a battle formation, maintaining the formation while slowly marching southward. The battle formation was not well-organized, and could even be said to be quite disorganized, but Wei Yan no longer cared about that. Standing on his horse, Wei Yan looked towards the camp not far to the north, which had belonged to him an incense stick ago, and the worry in his eyes became even more intense. Wei Yan certainly didn't want to delay, but he couldn't abandon his army and flee alone. He knew in his heart that once the Wei cavalry rushed to his side, without the protection of the military formation, his two thousand soldiers would probably be scattered in an instant, and there would be probably not many soldiers who could escape back to Duanshankou. At this moment, as one of the few veterans in the Shu Han army, the Battle of Changbanpo 20 years ago left a very deep impression on Wei Yan, who was less than 30 years old at the time. He was one of the more than ten riders left by Liu Bei. The combined strength of his own and Wu Ban's troops was less than 10,000. If they were blocked by the cavalry and then pressed by the Wei army's infantry, it would be dangerous. If they could retreat to the plateau east of Duanshan Pass, their infantry would be almost safe! At this moment, the Shu army was divided into three parts. Ma Dai's 5,000 infantrymen had already set up camp three miles to the south, and Wei Yan's 2,000 infantrymen were nearly two miles away from the village wall. Wu Ban's 2,000 infantrymen were no match for the 100-man team they had just retreated to. Under the threat of the cavalry so close, they were scattered across the field, in a real rout. The Shu Han's rebellious general Wu Ban, along with a dozen of his personal guards, were at the front of the team, charging towards Wei Yan's army formation which had not yet formed. Wei Yan was very anxious.
It was not that Wu Ban's two thousand soldiers were so valuable, but the truly valuable General Wu Ban himself. The death of Deng Zhi more than ten days ago had already caused Zhuge Liang to reprimand Ma Su and discipline Ma Su so that he dared not change the arrangements that Zhuge Liang had personally approved. He was not as favored as Ma Su. If Wu Ban died in front of him, how could he explain to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang? Not to mention that Wu Ban had a powerful brother, Wu Yi, who was rushing to Lueyang from the south. Just as Wei Yan looked in the direction of Wu Ban and waved the flag to signal Wu Ban to come closer to him, Cheng Xi's cavalry had already moved south and rushed out rapidly along the entrance of the village wall that was torn open by Dian Man's troops. The sound of horse hooves and shouts of killing filled the fields, just like the north wind in winter, rushing towards the south swiftly and fiercely. Faced with the mighty force of thousands of cavalrymen, Ma Dai and Wei Yan's troops were already frightened, and Wu Ban's troops were even worse off. Wei Yan originally wanted to wait for Wu Ban, but he no longer cared about the support and ordered his troops to move southeast and across the stream. Although Wu Ban was important, he was no more valuable than his own two thousand soldiers! After crossing the stream, another thirty feet or so was the foot of the mountain. With the mountain as a shield to resist the cavalry's attack, Wei Yan could calmly move to the camps of Wang Ping and Zhao Yun in the southwest. If things don’t go well, you can go up the mountain to hide! Yes, this small river is the same as the small river in the north of Lueyang City, eight miles southwest of here. Due to the geographical constraints of Longyou, which is mountainous and has few plains, Lueyang City is located in a mountain plain with a small river running through it. Zhang He, Chen Ping and other generals outside Lueyang City naturally knew that the river was called Qingshui. In the eyes of Shu Han generals such as Wei Yan and Zhao Yun, no one took this river seriously, which was frozen on the surface and nearly half dried up, and the deepest part was still less than knee-deep. But in such a chaotic battle, a small river that was almost dry became Wei Yan's reliance for saving his life. There was still some scattered snow on the riverbank, with gravel and thin ice mixed in. Wei Yan led his personal soldiers to the rear of the formation, driving the soldiers across the river as quickly as possible. Some soldiers fell in the panic, but the army did not stop for a moment. And Wu Ban? Let Wu Ban fend for himself! Zhao Yun's camp was in the west, and the reason why Wei Yan led his troops across the river to the southeast was just to find a way to survive the cavalry attack. A little further north, Wu Ban leaned forward on his horse, with only a dozen personal guards beside him. When he saw Wei Yan crossing the river southeast instead of southwest, he realized that this arrangement was obviously to preserve the army. Wu Ban hesitated for a moment, reined in his horse and slowly stopped in front of the river bank, then turned and looked north. The guards urged, "General, hurry up! It will be too late if you don't leave now!" But Wu Ban did not respond. He saw that the Wei army rushing behind him did not seem to have any intention of chasing and killing his troops, but instead rushed directly to the southwest. Wu Ban understood that the reason why the Wei army did not choose to chase and kill his troops was that the commander of the Wei army ordered them to cut off the connection between the western and eastern Han armies. Compared with this strategic goal, a few casualties seemed less important. For a moment, Wu Ban seemed to doubt whether the Wei army ignored him because of his low rank. Wu Ban laughed at himself and shook his head. Who can blame the Wei cavalry for having more cavalry behind them? At a time when the two armies were fighting for victory, his head was not the most important goal.
Just when Wu Ban was hesitating whether to cross the river eastward like Wei Yan in order to survive, he was surprised to find that in the direction of Zhao Yun's camp in the west, a smaller group of cavalry was rushing towards the Wei army! Wu Ban was overjoyed. He snatched the general's flag from his guards, held it high in his hand, and took the lead in crossing the river eastward. The Shu army soldiers who were running around in the field saw that their general had crossed the river and they also ran to the other side of the river. Cheng Xi led his troops from north to south. When he saw a group of Shu cavalry rushing towards him from the west, he did not get angry but laughed. He immediately ordered the military flag to turn slightly to the west and then rushed straight towards them! It was exactly Ju Fu's troops. Infantry battles still have stalemates, and the victory or defeat cannot be determined in a moment. However, cavalrymen and horses, galloping at high speed, face to face, the huge momentum drives the weapons forward, and it is not only a test of blood and courage, but also the hard training in the barracks every day. The 1,000 cavalry led by Ju Fu has only been in the army for about five years. Although he had conquered Nanzhong with Zhuge Liang, he had not experienced such a large-scale battle with the Wei army. In contrast, the 3,000 cavalry led by Cheng Xi were much stronger than the Shu cavalry in terms of combat experience, formation training and even the composure of the soldiers. The strong will win immediately, while the loser will only die quickly. The two cavalry units of Wei and Shu, one with 3,000 soldiers and the other with 1,000, decided the winner almost instantly. In just the first collision, the Shu cavalry lost 500 cavalry, accounting for more than half of the total number. The spears rushed towards the armor of the opposing cavalry with the speed of the horses. The spear tip swiftly tore through the armor's defenses, piercing the enemy's body, spurting out blood and hot steam. Or the spear directly penetrated the gap between the breastplate and the helmet, piercing the neck of the knight on horseback. This scene was repeated countless times. Obviously, more Shu army knights fell, fell off their horses, and were trampled by the horses behind them. Even if they did not die immediately, they would be killed by the horses' hooves. The two cavalry armies staggered, and the casualties of the Wei army's cavalry were less than two hundred. Cheng Xi seemed to have anticipated this outcome, and his expression was calm. He rode at the head of the team, slowly turned his horse's head, and notified his guards to wave the military flag. The cavalry on both wings went ahead, and the cavalry in the middle went behind, forming a goose formation and charging towards the remaining 500 cavalry of Ju Fu's tribe. Ju Fu's face was pale and bloodless at this time. He originally just wanted to follow Zhao Yun's orders, cover up for Wei Yan's and Wu Ban's troops who were retreating southward, and then retreat. Ju Fu, who boasted of a bright future, never thought of dying here! Life and death are just a matter of thought. Ju Fu was shaken and immediately lost his will to fight. His way back to the west was blocked by Cheng Xi's troops, and he could not break through the Wei cavalry. In desperation, Ju Fu had no choice but to cross the river to the southeast and escape, just like Wei Yan had just done. Seeing the Shu cavalry crossing the river to the southeast, Cheng Xi reined in his horse and slowly stopped, and was stunned for a moment. This is a mountain plain extending from the southwest to the northeast. The area north of the river is much larger than the south. Wei Yan, Wu Ban, and Ju Fu all crossed the river. Cheng Xi felt that if he pushed too far, the Shu army on the opposite side would either form a formation against the mountain or directly climb the not-so-steep mountains on both sides. The cavalry couldn't go up the mountain... After figuring out the key, Cheng Xi actually sneered, made a prompt decision, and led his troops to the southwest, intending to surround the west side of Ma Dai's troops that were approaching Zhao Yun's camp. The 3,000 cavalrymen under Xiahou He also arrived at the battlefield. After Cheng Xi's charge, the battlefield was much clearer than before. Since Cheng Xi had already gone west, Xiahou He led his troops to cross the river eastward and chase after the scattered Wu Ban's troops. The battle situation changes rapidly and no one has the ability to predict everything. Wei Yan, who personally blocked the Wei army at the camp, was able to lead all his soldiers to the southeast of the river, cross the river and find a way to survive by relying on the mountain terrain. Wu Ban also made a quick decision and crossed the river to the east. Although he was still being hunted by Xiahou He's troops, he temporarily saved his own life. Ju Fu, who lost 500 cavalrymen in just one charge, also crossed the river and fled towards Wei Yan, thus avoiding the most direct threat from Cheng Xi's troops. On the contrary, the 5,000 soldiers of Ma Dai's army, who were originally at the back and farthest away from the battle, were first blocked from retreating by Cheng Xi, and then surrounded by the pursuing Sun Li's army.
Sun Li's career path was quite unusual. He first served as the prefect of Xuzhou and Langya counties, led county troops south to participate in the war, and was highly regarded by the emperor at the grand review outside Shouchun City. Later he was transferred to Luoyang. When the emperor was hunting in the suburbs south of the city, he stood in front of a tiger and thus became famous in Luoyang. Afterwards, he was summoned by the emperor himself to serve as a general in the central army. To be honest, when Sun Li fought in Huainan that day, he was just leading the county soldiers to a stalemate with the Wu army in the mountains. He did not have a strong army under his command, nor did he receive a key task. But today is completely different. Three thousand elite cavalrymen at his side are enough to inspire courage to any general. (End of this chapter)