The 25th Section: The Defeated Dog is Tired and Thin

  So, Hou Cheng was running wildly. Rolling and crawling in a wild run. Running towards his own camp. No matter how awkward the movement was, being able to escape with his life was victory!

  Hou Cheng's escape immediately dispelled the attacking courage of the "Trapped Array Soldiers".

  If Hou Cheng was killed by the enemy after a brave fight, the "trapped soldiers" might launch an even stronger revenge attack because of their leader's death in battle.

  However, Hou Cheng retreated back to his own camp in a most wretched and injured state. The appearance of this scene, although it could not be blamed on the "Trapped Array Soldiers", also made them lose their will to continue attacking.

  The Han army's scouts in the rear saw it clearly and had no choice but to beat the signal for retreat.

  "Troops in ambush" retreat.

  "The soldiers in the ambush" retreated without disorder.

  "The soldiers in the pit" did not forget to bring back the bodies of their comrades when they retreated.

  At this scene, Shen Fu and Yu Jin both changed their faces. Shen Fu was shocked, while Yu Jin was excited.

  What a powerful soldier!

  Looking at the "trapped soldiers" in front of him, who had suffered more than half casualties, Han Jun's military officer Zhang's round face was stretched long. These elite troops were selected by his brother, County Lieutenant Bao Xin, from among thousands of people under his command. Now, under Zhang's command, they had suffered such heavy losses without gaining much in terms of battle results. Zhang felt uneasy as he scolded his brother, who was about to face him.

  He turned his gaze to the group of onlookers standing aside, his heart burning with indignation.

  How did these goods let the thief see something was wrong?

  Shen Fu also saw these onlookers. From the fact that they faced the two armies clashing, and instead of fleeing, they gathered together and took out their hidden knives and swords, it was clear that they were not up to any good.

  These guys are indeed problematic. Master's warning about being careful around them was truly ingenious!

  And the leader of these privately-owned strongmen disguised as civilians also harbored resentment in his heart.

  These county soldiers are really unreliable. First, they lost the county city, and now they can't even take down these few "bandits". The clan leader is also like this, actually believing in what that county commander said, ordering me to disguise myself as a civilian, waiting for an opportunity to rise up and attack from behind.

  This is terrible, I've been seen through. No benefits were gained, and I've gotten into trouble for nothing. That Han military officer, with just a slight movement of his lips, wants me to come here and take the blame. Bah! What kind of thing is this?!

  I've had enough, I'm going back to Wudang!

  Just as he made this decision, someone suddenly tugged at the private army leader's sleeve, pulling him out of his careful consideration. The private army leader said impatiently:

  "What's going on! Look at how flustered you are! Haven't the moths even moved yet?"

  "No, General! Look behind!"

  The leader of the private army turned around, and his eyes immediately widened as if he had seen something terrifying. In fact, in front of him, there was no appearance of a "Godzilla" like cosmic monster, but only a group of people, a group of people wrapped in yellow headscarves.

  "Mothership!! Retreat quickly!!......"

  The leader of the private army shouted loudly, his voice becoming extremely strange due to fear, changing from a male middle tone to a female soprano, reminiscent of Li Yuguang.

  This loud cry immediately resulted in three consequences.

  His private army began to fall into disorder and people started fleeing in all directions; no one wanted to resist. This is the first point.

  Everyone held their breath as the Heavenly Balance Troops, who had been quietly approaching, began to exert their strength and pursue them with a vengeance. This was the second wave of attack.

  Shen Fu led the Tianping Army, beginning to change formation, cautiously advancing forward, preparing to launch an attack. This is the third one.

  Then, things continued to evolve, and the chaotic private soldiers, in search of a sense of security, rushed towards the place where the Han army was stationed, and it was impossible to stop them. The angry Han military officer originally wanted to shoot arrows to kill, but he also feared the reaction of these private soldiers' masters, hesitated for a moment, and the entire Han army's formation had already been broken through by these frightened fleeing soldiers!

  "We lost! We lost!"

  The Han army general with a bitter heart knew he had made another mistake. He decisively rolled up the large flag and called out to his personal guards:

  "Retreat! Retreat!"

  One horse took the lead, and Tian Wei, who was charging at the forefront, was taken aback for a moment. These guys, they haven't even started fighting yet, and they're already running away with their tails between their legs?

  "Halt! Halt at some station!"

  Dian Wei, who had not been able to achieve his desired great victory, was shouting loudly in a state of extreme anxiety. Of course, all the enemies who heard him shout or saw his appearance showed super-level running ability. I believe that even Liu Xiang would humbly ask these defeated soldiers for advice on how to burst out instantly.

  So, the enemy and our side, one chasing and one fleeing, ran out of three or four miles. Suddenly, the fastest running county soldiers cheered in unison. The Han army's military candidate stretched his neck to take a look, and the "Bao" character large flag that was flying in the wind appeared prominently in the distance!

  Thank goodness you've finally arrived, brother...

  The Han army's county and national troops, who should have appeared on the battlefield two quarters of an hour ago, arrived late and rescued the fleeing defeated soldiers.

  It's better to have come than not to have come at all.

  The Han army officer, who should have been complaining at this time, was actually muttering to himself like this.

  County Lieutenant Bao Xin looked at the battle in front of him and let out a light sigh, knowing that his entire plan had completely failed.

  Originally, under Bao Xin's command and control of the army, even with 1,500 men, mostly new recruits, it wouldn't have taken this long to reach the predetermined battlefield. However, on the way, Bao Xin's army encountered a harassment by a Yellow Turban cavalry!

  That's right, it's the Yellow Turban cavalry!

  In these times, without the help of stirrups and high saddles, it takes many years to train a qualified cavalryman. Moreover, warhorses are expensive and have always been watched with suspicion by the Han court. Having one or two at home is no big deal, but if you have too many, you will be judged as wanting to rebel.

  Due to the above restrictions, in the Yellow Turban Army, the number of cavalry was even less than that of crossbowmen. For example, in the Henan Yellow Turban Army led by "Bo Cai", among the 100,000-strong army, they could deploy 1,000 crossbows, but the number of cavalry never exceeded 500.

  However, Bao Xin encountered a troop of fifty elite Yellow Turban cavalrymen on his way to reinforce the army!

  These Yellow Turban cavalry not only had horses, but each cavalryman was also equipped with a small crossbow. They employed the standard pincer movement tactics of Han army cavalry, constantly encircling the Han forces at a distance of about 100 steps.

  Although Bao Xin's army was also equipped with more than a hundred strong crossbows, it was difficult to aim at the enemy during the march. Although Bao Xin had corresponding tactics to deal with this situation, his subordinates were mostly temporary recruits and lacked training, so they could not use those tactics effectively.

  Those Yellow Turban cavalry were extremely slippery and never approached the positions where strong crossbows were located. They specifically looked for places that the crossbow machines could not protect, and launched surprise attacks on those areas. As long as the Han army was slightly lax, these cavalrymen would charge up, shoot arrows at the densely packed crowds, and then turn around and escape.

  Facing this, the Han army used several hundred years of time to summarize the effective tactics, and Bao Xin, who was seriously lacking in cavalry on his hands, could only be helpless.

  Where did these cavalrymen, bandits come from?

  Bao Xin could not have imagined that his opponent in front of him was originally a good friend, and a subordinate of the cavalry general Cao Cao.

  In the Battle of Changshe, Zhang Kuang successfully ambushed a Han cavalry unit that was pursuing him. More than twenty Northern Army soldiers were captured and under Zhang's persuasion, joined the Heavenly Peace Army.

  With these men as the backbone, combined with the complete set of war horses and crossbow equipment captured in the ambush, they formed the small cavalry regiment in front of Bao Xin.

  Of course, there were more than a dozen war horses in Bao Xin's army. However, the riders of these precious war horses were all mid-to-high-level officers in the army. Was it necessary for Bao Xin to take these officers and go into battle with a small force against those Yellow Turban soldiers?

  However, under such unfavorable conditions, Bao Xin still led these new recruits to rush forward. Being able to achieve this under the harassment of enemy cavalry shows a glimpse of Bao Xin's strong abilities.

  When the Han army merged with the defeated soldiers, under Bao Xin's command, they remained neat and orderly. Looking at the enemy's tight formation, Zhang Kuang, who was wounded in battle, secretly thought it was a pity and did not entangle with the enemy, turning around and leaving directly.

  Bao Xin did not take advantage of his numerical superiority to launch a counterattack, but instead regrouped his defeated troops and restored their combat effectiveness. As he watched the Tianping Army disappear from view, Bao Xin suddenly smiled faintly.

  This opponent has some meaning.

  "Are you crazy? Believe me, I'll remember this."

  He muttered to himself, turned his horse's head and gave orders for the whole army to retreat.

  Person: Bao Xin.

  Bao Xin was one of Cao Cao's staunch supporters. His death in battle is also related to Cao Cao. When He Jin was killed and Dong Zhuo entered the capital, Bao Xin, as a cavalry commander of the central Han army, was recruiting troops in his hometown of Mount Tai.

  According to the author's setting, at the time of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Bao Xin had not yet been transferred to the central army and was still a member of the state troops under Yan Province. This gave him the position of Duwei, but it is clear that the local military Duwei was far inferior to the cavalry Duwei of the central army. The gap between them would take Bao Xin five years to bridge through promotion.