Chapter 223: Striking North At The Wuhuan
The Wuhuan vanguard army also consisted of five thousand cavalry, and the rear army also consisted of five thousand cavalry.
The central army of ten thousand was ambushed by the fierce fire, and the Wuhuan army leader A Bao was in the vanguard army. He was both the commander of the army and the Great Chieftain of the Yan Branch of Wuhuan in Liaodong. Upon receiving the assembly order from Chanyu Tadun, he led an army of twenty thousand to rush over, but unexpectedly encountered the Cao Army vanguard.
The suddenly attacking Cao Army cavalry caught the Wuhuan vanguard army off guard, and with the fierce burning of the fire, they were already panicked in their hearts, not knowing how to respond, with most people thinking of fleeing for their lives.
The Cao Army cavalry charged forward at full speed, arrows raining down, shooting the Wuhuan army into chaos with men and horses falling everywhere. In an instant, the Cao Army killed into the midst of the enemy army.
Although the Cao Army had not formed any formation, their ranks were not disorganized. They formed teams of a hundred, led by Hundred-man Generals, charging and killing through the Wuhuan army ranks without mercy. They were like countless sharp daggers, tearing the Wuhuan army into scattered pieces with heavy casualties.
Leader A Bao fled northward under the desperate protection of a thousand soldiers. Although he knew the Cao Army was not numerous, he could not control the chaos in the Wuhuan army or organize a counterattack. He was filled with great hatred. He turned his horse around and fled, shouting at the same time, “Quickly order Ku Bu to withdraw immediately!”
Ku Bu was the commander of ten thousand in the Wuhuan central army and also A Bao’s son. Of course, A Bao hoped his son could escape alive.
At this time, the ten thousand central army had already collapsed under the burning of the fierce fire. Ku Bu led two thousand soldiers hiding in a corner not affected by the fire.
The soldiers were throwing countless burned corpses of soldiers and warhorses into a deep ditch, slowly filling it up and creating a slope of flesh and bodies.
Ku Bu saw from afar countless Cao Army cavalry charging out from the forest on the hill toward the vanguard army where his father was.
Ku Bu was burning with anxiety. He wanted to reinforce his father, but most of the warhorses had been burned by the fire and lost their combat effectiveness. The soldiers not burned by the fire had become infantry.
There was no way to rescue his father anymore. At this moment, a cavalryman covered in burns came galloping up shouting, “Young Chieftain, the Great Chieftain orders you to withdraw to the tribe immediately. He will meet you there!”
Ku Bu nodded. He ignored the other soldiers and led two thousand cavalry, stepping on the corpses just filled into the deep ditch, rushing down the slope, and fleeing hastily toward the northwest direction.
This was an extremely spectacular sight: the twenty thousand Wuhuan army fleeing for their lives in chaos, each person terrified by the fire, with no heart for battle.
The five thousand Cao Army cavalry chased and killed through the enemy ranks, leaving a trail of corpses, pursuing for over ten li. More than seventy percent of the five thousand Wuhuan vanguard army had been killed or wounded.
Meanwhile, in another place, the five thousand Wuhuan rear army and three thousand retreating central army remnants were surrounded by Zhang Liao leading twenty-five thousand infantry.
Gao Shun led five hundred elites to intercept the Wuhuan army leader from the north. Gao Shun’s cavalry were ferociously exceptional, repeatedly charging the enemy army. The Wuhuan army’s one thousand cavalry resisted desperately. Although they had numerical superiority, they were far from as well-trained as the Cao Army cavalry, and with low morale, the Wuhuan cavalry could not withstand the Cao Army offensive and retreated while fighting.
Gao Shun held his archery, always staring at the Wuhuan army leader. When a dozen personal guards protected him as he broke out from the left side, his entire flank was exposed in Gao Shun’s view. Gao Shun did not hesitate, drew his bow and loosed an arrow. The arrow was powerful, piercing the neck of Wuhuan army leader A Bao from the side. The leader let out a muffled cry and fell from his horse.
Gao Shun was overjoyed. He brandished his saber and charged ferociously, consecutively hacking down a dozen personal guards, rushing to the side of the Wuhuan army leader. At this time, leader A Bao had not yet died and was struggling on the ground. Gao Shun slashed him with one strike, splitting his neck in two, and the head flew more than two zhang away.
A cavalryman picked up the head on his spear tip and galloped back shouting, “The Wuhuan commander is dead! The Wuhuan commander is dead!”
Zhang Liao had been waiting for this moment. When he saw Gao Shun galloping with the head on his spear, he knew victory was in hand and immediately ordered, “Sound the horns to counterattack!”
‘Woo——woo——’
The Cao Army horn soldiers continuously sounded the horns. Gao Shun led five thousand cavalry to stop the pursuit, quickly reorganized their forces, and charged back, joining the infantry to launch a full offensive against the eight thousand surrounded Wuhuan army.
…….
The news of the complete annihilation of the Wuhuan Yan Branch quickly spread throughout the Wuhuan tribes. The originally not very united Wuhuan Allied Forces began to show cracks, and many Wuhuan tribal armies still on the road turned back.
Even the assembled Wuhuan army began to lose cohesion, all secretly resolving to withdraw quickly if the situation turned unfavorable.
“A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall” is an ancient Han saying, but it is also a bloody lesson for all humanity. If you can’t win, flee—it’s a principle even dogs understand, let alone humans.
Seven days later, Chanyu Tadun finally faced the 130,000-strong army personally led by Cao Cao with his 100,000 cavalry.
The 200,000 allied forces was just an exaggerated claim by Chanyu Tadun. In reality, he could only assemble 150,000 to 160,000 troops. Subtracting the annihilated Yan Branch and the tens of thousands who turned back midway, Chanyu Tadun ultimately assembled only 100,000 troops.
But even with only 100,000 troops, Chanyu Tadun believed he could thoroughly crush the Cao Army.
In the wilderness, the armies of over 200,000 finally met. On one side was the boundless 100,000 Wuhuan army, on the other was the neatly arrayed 130,000 Cao Army.
“Attack!”
Chanyu Tadun waved his battle saber and shouted.
“Woo——woo——woo——”
Horn sounds rose and fell echoing in the wilderness. The 100,000 army launched their attack. They had no formations, the whole army pressing forward with full force—it was always the traditional battle tactic of nomadic peoples, and also the characteristic of cavalry.
Cavalry could of course use formations, but that was something the Han Army did. Nomadic peoples were all soldiers; where was the time for training? They fought solely on momentum.
But this momentum came fast and went fast too. If the attack went smoothly, the cavalry would be extremely fierce; if the battle went poorly or suffered heavy losses, these cavalry fled faster than anyone. It had been this way for thousands of years, never changing.
Cao Cao coldly watched the charging cavalry and ordered, “Catapults prepare, cavalry prepare!”
Twenty thousand cavalry were ready, with Cao Chun, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhen each commanding five thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, plus five thousand Bingzhou flying cavalry commanded by Gao Shun. They were deployed on both flanks of the main formation, the soldiers eager and ready.
Over a thousand medium catapults were also ready, with ten soldiers operating each one.
The catapults would launch fire oil mud wrapped in oiled paper. It was mixed from charcoal powder, sulfur powder, pine resin, and fire oil into mud. When projected, it scattered in the air, hence called “heavenly maidens scattering flowers.” It was very effective against massed cavalry charges.
Because it contained sulfur and charcoal powder, after burning it not only had corrosiveness but also temperatures of several hundred degrees. Once hit by the fire oil mud, it would easily burn through leather armor. The intense scorching would make the Wuhuan cavalry endure unbearable pain, causing them to lose combat effectiveness.
The cavalry were getting closer, already within a hundred paces.
“Launch!”
Packages of fire oil mud were ignited and then launched. The burning fire oil mud scattered in the air, flying everywhere, pattering down like raindrops on the cavalry and warhorses.
Small clumps of fire oil mud reaching several hundred degrees hit the cavalry, sticking to leather armor and warhorse skin. The intense high-temperature burning immediately threw nearly ten thousand Wuhuan cavalry into chaos.
Warhorses neighed, cavalry screamed. In the chaos, the cavalry collided with each other, men and horses falling everywhere.
Immediately after, the second volley of fire oil mud soared into the air, scattering and blanketing the Wuhuan cavalry.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes watching the enemy army’s chaos. He was secretly shocked in his heart, not expecting the unassuming black mud to have such powerful effect.
This was still a suggestion from Gan Ning, for him to use fire oil mud against the Wuhuan cavalry, and he gave him the latest formula, an improvement over the previous one he had obtained, with stronger adhesiveness, making it easier to stick to bodies and burn.
This made Cao Cao sigh inwardly. When it came to jointly dealing with foreign tribes, Gan Ning was never ambiguous. Even if it meant letting himself gain large numbers of warhorses and grow stronger, he prioritized the righteousness of the nation and did not haggle over gains and losses.
This point about Gan Ning made Cao Cao greatly admire him.
“Chancellor, the enemy army is beginning to retreat!”
Cao Cao’s thoughts were pulled back. He looked at the enemy army starting to retreat in the distance and coldly ordered, “Cavalry, charge!”
“Woo——” The Cao Army horns sounded. Twenty thousand cavalry suddenly charged out, overwhelming toward the fleeing enemy army in pursuit.
Immediately after, the 100,000 army also ran forward, chasing the fleeing Wuhuan army.
Merely five volleys of fire oil mud had chilled the courage of the 100,000 Wuhuan cavalry. The sky full of firelight and heart-wrenching screams exceeded the Wuhuan people’s cognition. They naturally thought this was gods aiding the enemy.
Plus the tribes were already disunited, so of course at this time they would prioritize self-preservation, with fleeing being the best option.
Chanyu Tadun’s shouting and yelling was useless. The first flight of a few small tribes triggered the total collapse of the army.
The Wuhuan cavalry were utterly defeated, chased and killed by the Cao Army for dozens of li, with over 30,000 heads taken, countless surrenders, and Chanyu Tadun also dying in the chaos.
Cao Cao then divided his forces to strike the various tribes, capturing hundreds of thousands of Wuhuan citizens. Cao Cao relocated the hundreds of thousands of citizens to Hebei, where they were ultimately assimilated into the Han people.
