mesbooks Chapter 515 The Great Battle of Dangyang (End)
Chapter 515 The Great Battle of Dangyang (End)
Wang Shuang also had a temper. He had been bullied by Xia Tong for so long that he had long since lost his temper. Seeing that Xia Tong not only did not restrain himself but became more and more audacious, he was completely enraged. He picked up the armor-piercing spike and charged towards Xia Tong, preparing to personally cover the retreat of the army.
Wang Shuang is a rare fierce general among the younger generation of Wei troops. His martial arts skills are no less than those of the Five Good Generals, and he has rich combat experience. No matter how furious he is, he will not charge blindly, but will stand at a distance and keep thrusting.
Relying on the advantage that the armor-piercing cone was one meter longer than Xia Tongmo Dao, Wang Shuang abandoned other moves and only used the thrusting tactic. Moreover, he did not use his full strength, and each time he thrust out, he quickly retracted and then thrust again.
An inch longer, an inch stronger. Wang Shuang could stab Xia Tong, but Xia Tong couldn't stab him. He could only swing his Mo Dao to block, but even the best block can have mistakes. Several times he couldn't block and was stabbed by the armor-piercing spikes that grazed his body. Although they didn't pierce through his armor, it hurt.
After being hit several times, Xia Tong became enraged. Seeing the armor-piercing spike coming again, he decisively reached out, grabbed it, and pulled it to his side. Then, he quickly rushed up along the shaft of the spear and thrust the knife into Wang Shuang's chest with one hand.
Wang Shuang tried to pull the gun barrel back a few times but failed. He decisively let go and retreated, creating distance. Then he picked up the chain hammer on the ground and swung the iron chain at Xia Tong.
Wang Shuang was not only good at wielding a spear, but also at using a chain hammer. For a time, he made Xia Tong very busy and flustered. Finally, Xia Tong, who was forced to the brink of desperation, decisively swung his knife at the iron chain. After the chain wrapped around the knife a few times, he pulled hard in an attempt to pull Wang Shuang over.
But the experienced Wang Shuang released his hands and retreated again the moment the iron chain wrapped around the blade, then picked up the armor-piercing hammer and charged at Xia Tong.
Xia Tong threw off the iron chain and charged forward again, slashing down fiercely. The blade collided with the armor-piercing hammer, sending sparks flying.
Xia Tong ignored him and swung his sword again. The armor-piercing hammer was not as long as the armor-piercing cone. Without the advantage of length, Wang Shuang could only take the hits head-on and desperately slashed at Xia Tong, competing in strength.
The two quickly exchanged more than a dozen blows. Xia Tong's Mo Dao blade was twisted into a twisted shape, and Wang Shuang's armor-piercing hammer not only had more than a dozen nicks on it, but the tiger's mouths of his hands were also drenched in blood from the impact, and his arms holding the hammer trembled continuously.
boom……
After another fierce attack, Wang Shuang could no longer hold on. His armor-piercing hammer flew out of his hand, and he stood frozen in place as if he had been hit hard, unable to react in time. Xia Tong seized the opportunity and decisively swung his longsword at Wang Shuang's neck. However, because the blade of the longsword was dulled, it did not cut off his head. Instead, it hit Wang Shuang's neck like a stick and knocked him to the ground.
Nevertheless, the immense force carried by the knife still caused Wang Shuang's brains to splatter and blood to flow from his seven orifices, making it clear that he was beyond saving.
Xia Tong, however, remembered Guan Xing's instruction not to forget to finish off the enemy. He hooked a broken blade with his toe and threw it casually, accurately hitting Wang Shuang in the throat. Cao Wei's fierce general Wang Shuang died in battle.
Xia Tong stood there, panting heavily, using his sword as a crutch and leaning on the hilt. Wang Shuang's martial arts were no weaker than his. Although he had successfully killed Wang Shuang, he was too exhausted to fight any longer; he would die of exhaustion if he did.
Ma Zhong promptly led his troops forward to protect him firmly in the middle. Before he could even offer any flattery, Xia Tong said, "General Ma, Wang Shuang is also considered a friend of mine. Protect the body well, and I will personally find a place to bury him later."
Ma Zhong agreed, and they used the corpses to cover Xia Tong's retreat. They couldn't let Xia Tong fight any longer, or he would die from exhaustion if they continued fighting.
Below the main banner.
Seeing that the Wei army had begun to retreat, Liu Bei decisively said, "Second brother, you take all the reserves and go forward to try to expand the victory, but be careful not to let the Wei cavalry advance recklessly."
"Yes..." Guan Yu accepted the order and dismounted, leading Zhang Bao and Jiang Wei's three thousand cavalry, along with other infantry, to charge forward. They quickly reached the front and joined Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, preparing for a full-scale attack. Unexpectedly, Xu Huang summoned tens of thousands of archers to aim at the sky and unleash a volley of fire on the front-line positions, killing Han soldiers and even covering their own men.
Under the cover of the arrow rain, the Wei army accelerated its retreat and quickly retreated past the first line of defense of the Han army to the place where the Wei army had initially launched its attack. Then, Cao Xiu led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to circle around from the left flank and insert themselves into the middle of the Han and Wei armies, heading straight for the Han army.
After such a long and fierce battle, the trenches in the battlefield area between the Han-Wei front and Liu Bei's banner had long been filled with corpses, allowing the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to charge freely.
Moreover, Cao Xiu did not charge blindly. He circled around the Han army's formation, entering from the left and exiting from the right, then exiting from the right and entering from the left again. He always hovered on the outer perimeter of the Han army without penetrating deep into their territory. This angered Guan Yu, who ordered Zhang Bao to lead his cavalry to attack. However, the Han cavalry was too few and their horsemanship was not good enough. They were no match for the Wei army's elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. They were defeated in just one engagement and had to shrink their defensive line to watch the Wei army retreat.
Seeing the swaggering Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and others' desire for cavalry reached its peak. In an era where cavalry reigned supreme, not having cavalry would be a huge disadvantage.
Just then, Liu Bei sent an order, commanding them to abandon the pursuit and retreat to their positions to clean up the battlefield.
The Han army had no cavalry and could not pursue the enemy. Halfway there, the Wei cavalry suddenly attacked, and the infantry had no time to build defensive fortifications and could only be slaughtered.
Therefore, although Liu Bei wanted to order a pursuit to expand the victory, he was afraid that if they caught up, they would not only fail to achieve any merit but also be slaughtered.
We've already won this battle; we should just consolidate our gains and there's no need to create any further complications.
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and the others dared not disobey orders and quickly withdrew their troops to return to camp to report. Liu Bei also jumped off his chariot and walked quickly toward them, excitedly shouting from afar, "This battle was fought brilliantly! After this battle, Cao Wei will no longer be able to invade Jiangnan."
As Liu Bei said this, his face trembled with excitement, for the benefits gained from this battle were immense.
First of all, this battle was a direct and forceful defeat of the Wei army, achieved purely through strength without resorting to stratagems. This proved that the Han army had the strength to confront the Wei army head-on, giving the world hope for the restoration of the Han dynasty. This political impact far outweighed any military benefits gained.
Secondly, this victory also propelled Liu Bei's personal prestige to its peak, which would make the subsequent stability of Jiangnan and various reforms much smoother.
Finally, just as Liu Bei said, after this battle, Cao Wei was unable to invade Jiangnan again in a short period of time. Liu Bei gradually shifted from strategic defense to strategic counter-offensive. After fighting Cao Cao for so many years, he overwhelmed Cao Cao in all aspects for the first time. Liu Bei was so excited that he wanted to bow to Cao Cao, who was retreating.
Zhang Fei cursed and said, "It's a pity that our cavalry is too few to be a match for the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. If I had a Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, I would never let Cao Cao retreat across the Yi River."
The feeling of winning but being unable to expand the victory and having to watch the enemy escape was so frustrating that Zhang Fei wanted to bang his head against a wall.
Liu Bei laughed and said, "Don't worry, even if you don't chase after Cao Cao, you won't live much longer. That scoundrel Cao is already terminally ill, and he's been sitting in the carriage for two days and one night. I don't believe he can survive."
Two days and one night without food, drink, sleep, or even going to the toilet—even Liu Bei was almost at his breaking point, let alone Cao Cao.
Upon hearing this, the generals burst into laughter, all praying that Cao Cao would kick the bucket and die as soon as possible.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with his generals, Liu Bei continued, "Zilong, you lead the cavalry to see Cao Cao off. Don't attack, just keep an eye on him. The rest of you, retreat to your original positions and continue to defend to prevent the Wei cavalry from suddenly returning. Anguo, immediately clean up the battlefield and treat the wounded. Save soldiers from both sides, save as many as you can."
The area around Dangyang is a plain, and cavalrymen can come and go like the wind, making it very likely that they will launch a surprise attack. Therefore, we cannot relax our vigilance now and must defend it strictly until the Wei army has completely retreated across the Han River before withdrawing our troops.
The Han army could choose not to pursue, but it was essential to keep track of the Wei army's movements at all times. This is where the cavalry came in handy.
Finally, Liu Bei handed over the task of treating the wounded and cleaning up the battlefield to the experienced Guan Xing.
Guan Xing not only had the emergency medical skills to save the wounded soldiers' lives, but he also knew how to do ideological work to quickly win back the surrendered soldiers. Who else could do this job?