Yuan Xi climbed up a tree, a cylinder in his hand. After observing the distance for a while, he came down and said to the others, "The Xiongnu have retreated into the valley entrance."
Both Qu Yi and Zhao Yun were knowledgeable about military affairs, and they knew that the opposing Xiongnu chieftain was also a person who understood battle formations. Now that they had decisively retreated, Yuan Xi's side was faced with a choice.
If they pursued at this time, it would be easy to fall into the enemy's ambush.
If they didn't pursue, the enemy might take the opportunity to escape into the mountains and forests, losing their trail.
The three of them remained silent because the current situation of Yuan Xi and Zhao Yun's armies was extremely delicate.
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Both sides wanted to annihilate this Xiongnu army, but they were also competitors.
The commanders thought this way, and so did the soldiers on both sides. When fighting, they didn't exert their full strength, reserving seventy percent for the Xiongnu and three percent for the other side.
Yuan Xi suddenly spoke, "Brother Zilong, this won't do."
"Brother Qu attacked you earlier, it was my fault. How about this, if my troops attack you before we have killed the last Xiongnu soldier, I will give you one of my hands as compensation."
Zhao Yun listened and said without hesitation, "I will do the same."
Qu Yi couldn't help but want to laugh when he heard this. Zhao Yun's personality must be very upright, and he would never have imagined that Yuan Xi's words contained several traps specifically designed for a gentleman like Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun was wary of Yuan Xi, but Yuan Xi was also wary of Zhao Yun.
Ju Yi knew that if Zhao Yun really launched a sudden attack, his side would most likely be unable to stop him at all!
Another pitfall was that, unknowingly, Yuan Xi had turned Zhao Yun into a friendly army that could be discussed with and cooperated with!
You should know that yesterday, the two armies were still preparing to fight to the death under the city walls.
Moreover, after this incident, no matter who won or lost, how could Gongsun Zan not be suspicious of Zhao Yun?
The strategy behind this was the idea that Dong Zhao, that cunning fellow, had come up with for Yuan Xi!
Thinking of this, Qu Yi couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. He didn't know why Yuan Xi's judgment of people was so accurate, that he could just intercept an official who had fled from Yuan Shao's command and make the best use of his talents!
Of course, there was a premise, that if the bet was lost, the possibility of recruiting Zhao Yun would be greatly reduced.
Although Zhao Yun was upright, he was not a fool.
Neither side wanted to lose, and Yuan Xi could not afford to lose even more.
Now, for their respective goals, they were both prepared to go all out.
Yuan Xi thought for a while and said to Zhao Yun, "General Zhao, what are your plans?"
Zhao Yun said without hesitation, "You advance, I advance; you retreat, I retreat."
Yuan Xi smiled wryly in his heart when he heard this.
Zhao Yun's straightforward personality was the most difficult to deal with at this time.
Zhao Yun must have guessed the secret of the cylinder in his hand. He was unwilling to take advantage of him, but he would never foolishly miss a battle opportunity.
Thinking of this, Yuan Xi said, "I suggest launching a full-speed assault into the valley entrance after a quarter of an hour."
"After the enemy retreats into the valley entrance, it is impossible to immediately construct a barricade and pit offensive. Instead, they should retreat several miles and set up camp, leaving room for a three-sided attack, while occupying the hills on both sides to fight from a high position."
"We must take advantage of their assumption that we will not immediately charge into the formation and catch them off guard!"
"However, it will take more than a quarter of an hour for the cavalry to charge in and the infantry to follow up. During this time, the cavalry can only rely on independent support, and casualties may be high."
Zhao Yun said without hesitation, "It doesn't matter. In order to win, there is no distinction between cavalry and infantry."
"But why not attack immediately now?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "This is a fierce battle that may take a long time."
"How can we do it without eating our fill first?"
After speaking, Yuan Xi nodded to Qu Yi. Qu Yi understood and gave an order. His soldiers began to take out dry rations and soybean paste from the baggage carts and swallowed them with the clear water in their water bags.
At that time, the soldiers' wartime rations were made by drying and stir-frying various grains. Eating two or three handfuls would be enough to stave off hunger for most of the day.
Yuan Xi also mixed some soybean paste and ate two handfuls. The soybean paste was unusually sour and astringent, but at least it had some saltiness, and it could barely be swallowed with the sticky grain paste.
Zhao Yun nodded secretly when he saw this. He thought that this Second Young Master of the Yuan family had a sense of propriety in advancing and retreating in battle, and was by no means as unbearable as he seemed. He was a man who knew military affairs!
If he didn't have a master strategist behind him, he must have been familiar with military strategy since he was a child, and he was no ordinary person!
At this time, the Xiongnu chieftain had already led the team into the valley, and he arranged for some soldiers to ambush on the hillside, while arranging for people to start digging pitfalls.
The Xiongnu soldiers were already tired after a night, and now they were enduring their exhaustion to dig pits, and they felt physically exhausted. Some took off their armor to rest, and some began to take out the dried meat in their bags to eat, so the speed of digging pits became even slower.
When several Xiongnu generals saw this, they shouted, "Eat after you finish digging!"
The Xiongnu soldiers were even more reluctant to listen, and cursed in their mouths.
At this moment, the sound of vibrations came from outside the valley.
The Xiongnu sentry on the hillside shouted, "Enemy attack!"
"Cavalry charge!"
The Xiongnu people felt a chill in their hearts. This was too fast!
How could the other party grasp their movements so accurately from seven or eight miles away?
The Xiongnu general shouted, "Form ranks!"
But it was too late.
A team of iron-clad heavy cavalry and a team of ring-armor light cavalry charged into the valley entrance side by side, attacking the Xiongnu's main formation in the mountain road!
The Xiongnu soldiers quickly pushed out large carts to block them, and the Xiongnu archers on the hillside desperately fired arrows, but it was too late!
In just a few breaths, the iron cavalry broke into the Xiongnu's main formation!
When the Xiongnu chieftain saw this, he shouted, "Kill! Kill them all before their infantry arrives!"
When the Xiongnu soldiers heard this, they roared and rushed over from all directions.
Hundreds of women who had been looted were in the rear formation. Someone shouted, "Run!"
Immediately, with a bang, the women began to flee in all directions. When the Xiongnu soldiers suppressing the formation saw that the meat shield had run away, they chased after and hacked more than a dozen people to death, but they still couldn't stop them.
Seeing their fellow tribesmen in a bitter battle, they had no choice but to give up these women and surrounded the enemy cavalry.
Yuan Xi led dozens of horse archers closely behind the cavalry, and when he rushed into the valley entrance, it was already a melee.
After the cavalry on both sides pierced through the Xiongnu's rear army, the warhorses had no speed and were surrounded by several times the number of enemies. There were enemies in front and behind, and there were archers on the hillside, and they were caught in a bitter battle for a while.
When Yuan Xi saw this, he shouted, "Go up the mountain separately! Kill the archers on the mountain!"
He took the lead in riding his horse up the mountain. After only rushing a few dozen feet, the horse could not go up the slope. He jumped off his horse, drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot at the Xiongnu archers on the mountain while walking.
When the archers on the opposite side saw this, they counterattacked one after another, and the arrows shot at the armor on his body, clanging.
When the archers under his command saw that the usually cautious Young Master Yuan was so personally leading the charge, they were also excited and shouted, arching around Yuan Xi and desperately drawing their bows to fight back.
After another quarter of an hour, the sword and shield soldiers who were at the back finally arrived and joined the battlefield. The entire valley was filled with fighting, and there were soldiers everywhere who were fighting to the death.
The Xiongnu chieftain shouted loudly on one side, and felt cold in his heart on the other. Almost all of the soldiers on the opposite side were armored, which was too unfavorable for them!
Although the enemy cavalry dismounted, the heavy armor and horse spears were crushing them even in infantry combat!
Hundreds of Han women took the opportunity to flee and hide everywhere, hoping to stay as far away from the battlefield as possible.
It would be best if the Han soldiers won. Even if the Xiongnu soldiers lost, they would at most be captured back, which was better than dying on the battlefield.
However, no one noticed that a woman with black and red scars on her face did not run away, but took advantage of the chaos to hide behind the large cart containing wealth and supplies, and was trying to open the boxes on it.