Chapter 523: Armored Cavalry Enters the Battlefield
Hefei was originally a small city. Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty conferred Jian Tan the title of Marquis of Hefei, and some construction was done. After the wars and chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, the city was not repaired. After Yan Xiang's death, Cao Cao appointed Liu Fu as the governor of Yangzhou, who took office alone and rebuilt the city from the ruins and built fortifications. The Hefei built by Liu Fu, the Hefei where Zhang Wenyuan defeated 100,000 with only 800 soldiers, was not the current Hefei, but the old city of Hefei not far from Chaohu Lake.

But the Hefei where the Tang and Wei armies are now confronting and fighting is the new Hefei city built by Man Chong in the late Three Kingdoms period.

Even though the new city was not very large, it was located on a high ground and surrounded by many rivers, making it a military town that was built entirely for military purposes. The only people living in the city were the garrison soldiers and their families, and there were no civilians.

The biggest problem is that the new city of Hefei is about 30 miles away from Chaohu Lake, which is even more unfriendly to the Jiangdong regime that wants to attack Hefei from Chaohu Lake.

Because the difference between walking a few miles after getting off the boat and walking dozens of miles is quite big.

For the extra dozens of miles of distance, you will need to add dozens of miles of land supply lines. While the consumption increases, it also gives the enemy many opportunities to take advantage.

The Eastern Wei army mobilized 120,000 troops for this advance, plus nearly 200,000 civilian laborers.

Therefore, from Chaohu Lake all the way to Hefei New City, a distance of dozens of miles, the entire area was in the marching order of the Wei army.

Cao Yan, under the protection of thousands of central army guards and carrying the emperor's flag, was also in the center of the army, gazing at the new city of Hefei from afar. He and General Lu Rengong, who was in charge of commanding the entire army, stood on a high place and watched the dispatch of various troops.

"The late emperor had always wanted to march north, but he was blocked by Ruxukou for ten years. He failed to achieve success in five attempts. Now I have finally led my army to break through Ruxukou. I originally wanted to seize Hefei and Shouchun, but because the army was exhausted after a long battle, we had to retreat to Jiangdong. This time I am going to march north again, and I must conquer Hefei and Shouchun in one go and march north to the Central Plains!"

Cao Yan looked at the new city of Hefei with great enthusiasm. His father Cao Yuanjing had made five northern expeditions but failed to break through Ruxukou. The so-called revival of the Wei Dynasty became empty talk. Last year, he finally seized the opportunity and took Ruxuwu and Dongguan in one fell swoop, and then controlled Chaohu Lake. Only then could he see Hefei, a famous city on the road to the northern expedition.

The commander of the entire army was Lu Gongren, who was appointed as the General of the Northern Expedition shortly before the expedition. The Tang army's intelligence on this point was somewhat delayed, and the mark on the wall that Yin Gong drew was still the Left General Lu.

In fact, it was not easy to lead a large army to besiege such a city. The terrain near Hefei was very complex, with crisscrossing water veins, and it was impossible to set up camp in many places. Each unit needed to respond to each other and demarcate the defense zone in order to form a siege.

Therefore, when the army moves, each unit must deploy troops and set up camp according to the unified dispatch. This not only takes into account many factors such as the number of enemy and our own troops and terrain restrictions, but also requires clear combat objectives for both sides, which places high demands on the commander's command and coordination capabilities.

Although Cao Yan was brave and good at fighting and commanding troops, in fact, even if the emperor led the army in person, he still needed the assistance of veteran generals to properly allocate troops.

The person who has been shouldering this important task since the Battle of Ruxu last year has been Lu Gongren. This famous general who came from the famous Lu family of Wu County, his ancestors were Lu Xun and Lu Kang, father and son of the Wu State during the Three Kingdoms period. Even in the Wei State, he was a highly respected general.

Emperor Xuan of Wei, who was determined to unify the world, spoke highly of the generals of Shu Han, such as Guan, Zhang, Zhao, and even Zhuge Zhan and his son, Fu Qian, Zhang Zun, Zhao Guang, Huang Chong and other second-generation generals of Shu Han who died in the Battle of Mianzhu. However, very few generals of Eastern Wu were praised, with Lu Xun and his son being an exception.

After the unification of the Wei Dynasty, many members of the Lu family went north to serve as officials, so they were called the noble family of Jiangzuo.

When Cao Yuanjing restored Wei in Jiangzuo, the Lu family was one of the first famous families in Jiangzuo to respond. And because Lu Gongren was well versed in military tactics, he had been involved in the formulation of military strategies and specific command matters since the first Battle of Ruxu.

More than ten years later, they finally saw the first obstacle behind Ruxu that blocked their way north.

Just when Lu Gongren was telling Cao Yan about their deployment, they suddenly saw flags waving on the city wall of Hefei and the sound of drums. The faces of both of them changed slightly. Do they really dare to send troops?

Hefei, what is this place? This is the source of Zhang Liao, the famous battle hero of the Wei Dynasty.

That is a famous tourist attraction where famous scenes can be compiled into a collection.

Do you think we haven't read "The Biography of Zhang Liao"? How can we not be on guard against your cavalry raid?
The Eastern Wei army actually placed ten thousand-man guards in the front, armed with large shields and spears, and equipped with bows and crossbows, in formation to guard against the Tang cavalry. But the two men really didn't expect that under such circumstances, the enemy would still dare to send out cavalry.

Zhou Shixiong, the eldest son of General Longxiang Zhou Qiu, who was granted the title of Zhechoulang Jiang by Li Yuanhui, was the first to rush out of the city gate of Hefei's east gate, followed closely by 200 armored cavalry composed of Zhou's descendants.

Zhou Shixiong led the way with a spear in hand. Arrows shot at him and bounced off his helmet and armor. Long before leaving the city, he saw four infantry formations lined up outside the city, with chevaux de frise and spears in place as a warning.

But these four infantry formations could only be lined up in a row, each responsible for their own guard area, and could not be arranged in a straight line. There were large gaps in between. Zhou Shixiong would naturally not be stupid enough to lead his elite heavy cavalry to directly charge at the opposite formation. Instead, he went straight through the gap in the middle and rushed straight towards the Wei army that was camping and digging trenches behind.

"The enemy cavalry is not numerous. As long as we block their retreat route, we will be able to annihilate them." Right General Zhu Song said excitedly.

Zhu Song was the son of Zhu Jun, the former Right General and Duke of Guangling. Zhu Jun died of illness in the army years ago, and his son Zhu Song inherited his title and troops, and was still appointed as his father's position, Right General. Because of his bravery in battle, Cao Yan valued him very much.

Cao Yan and Lu Gongren naturally understood this, but because of their different identities, they were able to hold their breath and not make a fuss.

At this time, Zhou Shixiong had already led 200 elite cavalrymen through the infantry interception area and began to attack the Wei army in formation behind. The infantry that had not formed a formation were like lambs to be slaughtered under the impact of the heavy cavalry and would be turned into powder in an instant.

The Tang cavalry charged forward, slashing with swords and stabbing with spears, and trampling on horses. The horses collided with human bodies, and then there was the sound of bones breaking. Swords and spears slashed and stabbed as much as they could, causing terrible casualties to the Eastern Wei infantry. In an instant, blood and flesh splattered, and screams continued.

Cao Yan watched the battle situation from afar. Even though he knew that the impact of cavalry was powerful and terrifying, it was the first time for him, who was born in the south of the Yangtze River, to see such a heavy cavalry entering the battle line.

This is just a few hundred cavalrymen, but what if there are thousands or tens of thousands of cavalrymen? What kind of terrible impact will it cause?
Lu Gongren had seen this many times, and after years of using troops, he was used to the scene of his side being attacked by the enemy. What he had to do now was not to marvel at the bravery of the enemy's cavalry, but to order an encirclement!
This opportunity is rare. If we can encircle and annihilate the enemy's cavalry unit, it will be worth it even if the casualties are more than three times.

Therefore, Lu Gongren immediately said: "Your Majesty, you should immediately order the front troops under General Han Ling and General Wang Boxiong to quickly close together and trap this cavalry team here."

Upon hearing this, Cao Yan nodded and said, "Just do as the general says, go quickly!"

At this time, Zhou Shixiong led the armored cavalry to break into the team of the left general Liu Renshan. Liu Renshan's father was an old brother who followed Cao Yuanjing to conquer the world. He died in battle under the city of Liyang. He inherited his father's title of Duke of Pengcheng County. He was also valued by Cao Yan because of his knowledge of military affairs. Compared with the right general Zhu Song, although their backgrounds were different, they were both considered confidants of the emperor.

Liu Renshan immediately began to shout loudly, trying to organize a defense, but the more than a thousand people in front had been completely defeated. Liu Renshan could only lead his personal guards to form a formation and order the archers to shoot arrows at his own defeated soldiers. This prevented his main formation from being breached by his own defeated soldiers.

However, when Zhou Shixiong saw a temporary infantry formation appearing in front of him, he simply bypassed it instead of attacking it directly.

Although Liu Renshan's main force escaped the embarrassment of being overwhelmed by hundreds of cavalry, the adjacent right army suffered a great disaster.

The armored cavalry rushed into the formation directly and the army was completely defeated.

However, this also gave the outer units time to form a line. Lu Gongren began to command the units to slowly move closer together, trying to form a siege.

But in Hefei, another cavalry team rushed out from the city gate.

(End of this chapter)