Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1669 - 1608: The Breakout Begins
"In an hour, the fire will have subsided. Once it rains, we can break through from there," Zhou Yu said, seemingly unconcerned.
When forming the formation, Zhou Yu had his back against the burning military camp of the Northern Huns. With the fire now raging, it was impossible for the Miscellaneous Hun forces to launch an attack from the fire field. Although the situation looked dangerous, escaping was actually quite simple.
"I don’t think it’s that simple," Chen Xi said, squinting his eyes as if trying to discern something from the heat-distorted flames.
"Don’t you still have your guards?" Zhou Yu laughed heartily.
"I don’t believe you, Duke Zhou, would depend on others so easily," Chen Xi replied with a teasing smile toward Zhou Yu.
"There are certain things that are best left unused if possible, wouldn’t you agree?" Zhou Yu said calmly to Chen Xi, making it impossible to determine whether he was bluffing or speaking the truth. But upon hearing this, Chen Xi’s eyes narrowed.
"Let’s drag it out for now; I don’t agree with breaking through the fire field anyway." Chen Xi shrugged. "If it’s too easy, the more likely it is there’s a trap laid for us."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu placed his hands on the frame of the chariot, stared into the distance, and after a moment of contemplation, said, "If that’s the case, the situation could be dire."
"Estimating from the worst possible scenario is more in line with our usual practice, isn’t it?" Chen Xi chuckled dryly, realizing the situation seemed a bit problematic. "We can still pull off a withdrawal."
"The real question is how ruthless the Northern Huns can be. If they’re bent on taking us down even at the cost of their own lives, we might not be able to break through," Zhou Yu said, staring at Chen Xi. He didn’t believe that Chen Xi had shown all his cards, just as Chen Xi didn’t believe Zhou Yu had displayed all his abilities.
"Even if it comes to that, we can still break through," Chen Xi said, gazing into the distance. "But before that, we need to break out from here; otherwise, if we fall into the scenario we’re imagining, it would be too disastrous."
"The time has come; my reserve troops are almost recovered," Zhou Yu said, looking at the dust rising from the northwest. "However, I think you ought to improve General Hua’s intelligence; while brute force can be very impressive at times, using one’s brain can sometimes make things simpler."
"Oh, that’s easy for you to say. If you could make Sunx Bofu use his brain, some people are just not suited for that. I’ve always believed that doing what suits oneself best benefits everyone," Chen Xi said with a smile. "Prepare to break through. Although the direction isn’t perfect, don’t you think it caught the Miscellaneous Hun and Northern Huns off guard?"
"It almost caught me off guard," Zhou Yu said with a sneer, glancing around. The northern military formation suddenly opened up, and the previously maintained balance was instantly broken under the impact of Zhou Yu’s held-back four thousand troops.
The Northern Hun commander, Kun Wan, was a capable strategist. It was because of this cunning that he devised a strategy to counter the Military Spirit Legion, and it was because of this cunning that he believed the Han army breaking through was the best tactic.
Technically, there was nothing wrong with these conjectures. Unfortunately, neither Chen Xi nor Zhou Yu had even considered breaking through from the south. Although the southern defenses looked relatively weak, in such situations, lax defenses in the south clearly indicated a trap, no?
The main difference between Chen Xi and Zhou Yu was that Zhou Yu advocated for breaking through the eastern fire field, while Chen Xi knew General Hua’s intelligence would never mask his intentions, so from the beginning, Chen Xi aimed to break through the north.
Zhou Yu attempted to persuade Chen Xi, but General Hua blatantly charged from the north without any concealment. Since Zhou Yu was used to Sun Ce’s intelligence, he had nothing more to say.
This intelligence truly rivaled Sun Ce’s, relying solely on courage and morale-boosting in battle. However, generally speaking, without inhibitive means against the enemy, even the best strategies are useless if brute force is all they possess.
Hua Xiong roared as he charged from the north like thunder, making no attempt at disguise. Before the Miscellaneous Hun Elite Cavalry in the north could reorganize under the command of the Northern Hun officers, Hua Xiong’s cavalry was already three hundred paces away.
As the northern Miscellaneous Hun Elite Cavalry managed to turn around, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was two hundred paces away. As the Miscellaneous Hun began their charge, the Danyang Elite on Zhou Yu’s flank suddenly opened their continuously maintained formation, and the four thousand archers Zhou Yu had held in reserve fired upon the battlefield, showering arrows and fiercely attacking the turning Miscellaneous Hun. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
At that moment, the southern Miscellaneous Hun Elite Cavalry noticed the chaos in the northern formation and immediately shifted from their previous steady combat style to launching a sudden assault towards the Han army’s right wing under the leadership of the Northern Hun warriors.
However, before the Northern Huns could attack, the right wing, under Cheng Pu’s command, contracted back into the main formation, giving the Xiliang Iron Cavalry space to accelerate and counter-charge, initiating an attack on the Miscellaneous Hun Elite Cavalry.
In response, Su Puyan at the vanguard immediately spread his forces into two groups, retreating to their original positions, with one part assisting the Xiliang Iron Cavalry’s fierce attack on the Miscellaneous Hun, while the other took advantage of the chaos to charge into the altered formation of the northern Miscellaneous Hun, increasing their chaos from being attacked on multiple fronts, rendering them incapable of effective defense.
"Retreat!" Zhou Yu shouted, seeing the Wuhuan on the flank completely disrupt the Miscellaneous Hun’s formation, while the four thousand reserve archers scattered their arrows with fury, causing utter chaos amongst the Miscellaneous Hun Legion facing Hua Xiong’s ferocious charge. He ordered Wen Pin to cover the retreat southward with Chen Xi.
"Zijian, attack the western Miscellaneous Hun and send someone to notify Tadu to abandon the weak sheep and use oxen and horses to charge the Miscellaneous Hun’s main formation," Hua Xiong, seizing the chaos, led dozens ahead to the chariot of Chen Xi and Zhou Yu, at which point Chen Xi immediately gave orders.
The combat power of the Military Spirit Legion was not just for show; even without the power of the Military Spirit, their formidable strength was enough to crush other legions. Furthermore, amidst such attacks on both vanguard and rear, as well as being surrounded, the Miscellaneous Huns could not hold out for even a moment. The Xiliang Iron Cavalry escorted Zhou Yu and Chen Xi to safety.
"This kind of assault cavalry is indeed suitable for breaking formation and rescue," Zhou Yu said with a smile as he broke free, "but we’re still far from being out of danger."
"Hu Feng, take twenty men and notify Tadu!" Hua Xiong shouted to Hu Feng beside him, upon hearing Chen Xi’s order. Although they had broken through, without delaying the enemy for a significant period, the quickly trained archers of Eastern Wu couldn’t possibly escape.
