Duel! One-on-One Horseback Riding!

  One of Cao Cao's "Five Elite Generals", ranked only after Zhang Liao, and before Zhang He and Xu Huang, Le Jin's prestige and status were all earned through his sword and spear on the battlefield!

  At this point, he was also called out by the other party in front of thousands of people with the most taboo word "dwarf". At that time, his anger value had a tendency to explode. Le Jin glared at Cao Jiao with eyes full of murderous aura, making Cao Jiao shiver with cold sweat, suppressing his anger and shouting at Zhang Kuang:

  "My lord!"

  Zhang Kuang was naturally not pleased with this audacious and arrogant person, who dared to launch a surprise attack on his own Cao Jiao under Chen Deng's plan. Since the other party's identity was not that of the eldest son of the same clan, the heir of the family, Zhang Kuang did not need to be polite, and loudly shouted at the enemy commander:

  "General, have you received any instructions?"

  If something happens to Mu, then let's fight!

  "My second brother is impulsive and fond of martial arts, I beg you to teach him!"

  You'd better be careful, the person sent by him is not easy to deal with!

  With a confident look on his face, Zhang Kuang smiled softly and said to Yue Jin who had volunteered to fight:

  "Capture him alive then, and let him keep Chen Yuandong company!"

  "Got it!"

  As soon as the words were spoken, one urged the horse forward and advanced towards the middle of the two armies. At the same time, Cao Jiu also stepped forward slowly, waiting for the commanders-in-chief of both sides to return to their respective camps. The two generals then stood in the middle position between the two armies, about a hundred paces apart, each bowing to the other and exchanging names.

  Then both sides grasped their weapons tightly and urged on their horses, charging forward with all their might!

  Cavalry warfare differs from infantry warfare. Apart from the riding skills and martial arts of cavalrymen, the outcome of battles depends to a greater extent on external equipment. Among these external equipment, the most important is the warhorse.

  A qualified warhorse must not only be fat and strong, carrying a knight, but also able to gallop quickly, and must have a gentle temperament, easy to control, and remain calm in the face of changing circumstances. Such a horse can hardly be found even among ten ordinary horses.

  So, even using the prices before the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, a good horse would cost at least 500,000 to 1 million coins. If it's an exceptionally fine horse, it would be worth at least 2 million coins. And in today's chaotic times with wars breaking out everywhere, the price of these strategic resources is even higher.

  This way, wanting to train a qualified cavalryman would naturally cost a lot. Moreover, in this era without stirrups, if one is not skilled in riding, it's easy to fall off the horseback. Even if able to maintain good balance on the horseback, ordinary cavalrymen generally lack sufficient mounted combat capabilities and mostly can only ride horses to shoot arrows.

  The cavalry of Xuzhou's state troops numbered no more than two thousand, and among them, those who were capable of engaging in fierce hand-to-hand combat on horseback without easily falling off, numbered only about three hundred.

  For Cao Jiao, the reason he dared to challenge Yue Jin, who was obviously stronger than him, apart from bullying Yue Jin for being short and not having the conditions to train in horse riding, his greatest reliance was **that fine horse worth 500,000 coins, specially bought from the Western Regions.

  So how is Lejin's horsemanship?

  Le Jin, born into a family of middle-ranking military officers, was not wealthy but as a child could afford to buy an old warhorse for riding practice. After joining the army, he was immediately selected for the cavalry and spent the whole year with his warhorse.

  Thus, excluding Dian Wei and Zhou Cang, who were too heavy to find suitable horses, among the rest of the Tianping Army, Yue Jin's horsemanship was considered the best. Even Zhang Fei and Yu Jin, who along with Yue Jin were known as the "Five Elite Generals", couldn't help but sincerely praise Yue Jin's equestrian skills.

  Although the horse Lü Bu is riding now is just an ordinary warhorse. However, compared to Cao Bao, Lü Bu has a big advantage:

  He is short.

  Cao Jiao was eight feet tall, with a sturdy build, which also means that the war horse needs to bear more weight. Yue Jin was less than seven feet tall [about 1.6 meters], shorter than ordinary soldiers by one head, and although his whole body was muscular, if he were to be compared in terms of weight, he would be three tenths lighter than Cao Jiao.

  At this moment, Cao Jiao went up to the array, for safety and also for show, he specially put on a silver-glowing "Ming Guang Armor", the fine iron long gun in his hand was also forty kilograms heavy. In comparison, Yue Jin's body had only a simple piece of protective leather armor, and a long-handled ring-headed knife, the weight difference between them was even more pronounced.

  In this way, the difference in the quality of the mounts on both sides has actually disappeared. When the two sides confronted each other and clashed, the spectators could see that the speed of the two horses was actually almost the same.

  "Then!"

  Two horses rubbed shoulders and crossed each other, the two military officers on horseback constantly changing their body postures, the "war aura" on their weapons shining brightly, fiercely colliding, issuing a clear and crisp sound. In this round, both sides left some energy, just probing each other, so no battle results were achieved.

  Rushing past the opponent's shadow, Yue Jin pulled the horse's head, first slowing down, then turning a small circle, and turning around to prepare for the next impact. At the same time, Cao Jiao also turned his horse's head, restarted, and rushed towards Yue Jin!

  This is the real battle situation of the martial generals fighting alone on horseback.

  In fact, every time the two sides clash and exchange horses, it usually only takes one or two seconds. Most of the rest of the time is spent turning the horse's head and controlling its speed. So in such a battle, the most exhausted are not the riders, but the horses under them!

  But if so, it would be a big mistake to think that the duel of martial arts is very boring.

  In the process of rapid horseback riding and swift position changes between the two sides, it was actually a moment of life-and-death test.

  If one is not careful, being knocked off a galloping horse at high speed can be enough to take half of one's life away, not to mention the massive killing power gained by weapons in the process of mutual collision.

  Even a small knife can pierce through heavy armor and cause fatal damage in this situation. So, every round, the warring parties are like they've taken a turn at the gates of hell.

  Those who dare to fight dozens of rounds with their opponents in such a situation can be considered as "braves" or "warriors".

  "Hmm..."

  After the previous rounds of fighting, Le Jin and Cao Jiao had a rough understanding of each other's real strength on horseback. As the battle progressed to this point, it gradually became more intense. The soldiers on both sides stared intently at this rare good show, cheering and cheering for their own side.

  The sun had already set in the west, and it would be dark in another hour. Cao Jue's whole body was covered with sweat, and even the strong wind brought by his beloved horse running at high speed could not dissipate this sweat. This sweat included hot sweat, cold sweat, and horse sweat splashed out by his horse during its intense gallop!

  After exchanging more than a dozen rounds, Cao Jiao's heart sank. His opponent was just a low-ranking soldier, probably not even a squad leader, but his horseback riding skills were so strong that he couldn't help but feel a genuine sense of fear.

  Strength, agility, skill, horsemanship... In all aspects, Cao Jiao couldn't gain an advantage. Especially the opponent's "Battle Qi" was so powerful that it was something he had rarely seen in his over a decade of martial arts training!

  He is already a well-known "thousand-man breaker" in Xuzhou. After dominating Xuzhou for several years, the strongest he has encountered was only able to split the autumn colors with him. And yet, his opponent was able to comprehensively suppress him in over ten rounds, making him one of the best among the "thousand-man breakers".

  Another round.

  The short figure of the opponent grew larger in Cao Jiao's line of sight. Cao Jiao aimed at the enemy's body, exerting great force to swing his long spear and thrust it again.

  However, the opponent did not use a long-handled ring-headed knife to knock open the spear like in the previous round. Instead, he twisted his body on horseback and dodged the spear from under his armpit. At the same time, the blade of the knife in the opponent's hand was reversed against Cao Jiao's head, a diagonal cut!

  Cao Jiao was so frightened that his soul almost flew out!

  Just as the sword was about to behead him, Cao Jue somehow managed to summon the strength to drop his spear and make an "iron board bridge" shape with his body. He leaned back and fell onto the horse's back. The blade whizzed past Cao Jue's face, and he could almost feel the chill emanating from the edge of the sword.

  With just a "clang", Cao Jiao's neck was lightly touched, and his whole body sweated profusely as he let out a terrified scream:

  "My head..."