RPAGF Chapter 285 Paralyzed for a Long Time
Chapter 285 Paralyzed for a Long Time
"Try to find a recessed spot in the mountainside to hide in, and use your shield to block the rolling logs, rocks, and arrows coming from the mountain to wear down the enemy's weapons. The soldiers who go in shout and yell in the canyon to give the enemy the illusion that our soldiers are launching a night assault."
"Let the enemy soldiers exhaust their stones, logs, and arrows. I don't believe there are many weapons stored on the cliff. In just two days, we can completely deplete their reserves. Then we can attack directly through the canyon from the gentler slope on the west side and easily eliminate 20,000 enemy soldiers."
The dozens of men in the tent discussed the matter for a while, and it seemed that this was the only reliable method. However, Zhao Yun's main force would arrive outside the canyon in two days. Wasn't it a bit too long to spend two days wearing down the enemy's troops and weapons?
"There's no other way. When Commander Zhao comes to see the terrain of this canyon and the cliffs on both sides, he'll understand our difficulties and won't blame us for wasting time. Let's do it this way. Everyone go back and select the soldiers with the strongest arms and the best physical fitness to report for duty. I'll lead them into the valley!" Zhang Fei said decisively after listening to everyone's discussion.
Everyone was shocked to hear that Zhang Fei was going to personally enter the valley. The saying goes that a general should not venture into dangerous places; if something happened to Zhang Fei, the cavalry force of over 3 men could be paralyzed for a long time.
Although the empire had a large reserve of leaders, a relatively clear system for promotion and transfer, and logistical supplies were controlled by him, preventing the threat of a private army, Zhang Fei's tenure as the third brigade commander was still excessively long.
Both the leaders and soldiers were used to Zhang Fei's leadership, and the newly arrived brigade commander would likely need a long time to stabilize the morale of the more than 3 cavalrymen. Such a situation absolutely could not be allowed to occur during the expedition to Central Asia. Therefore, everyone advised against letting Zhang Fei personally enter the valley.
But Zhang Fei was no longer a reckless man who didn't know when to advance or retreat. He knew that those who entered the valley tonight, even though they carried high-quality steel shields, might not be able to withstand heavy objects falling from a great height, and not everyone could find a cliff face to take cover. In the end, many soldiers would be killed or wounded.
In other words, the soldiers who go in must have very firm confidence and the courage to face death, otherwise they will not be able to achieve the goal of creating a false impression to confuse the enemy.
Zhang Fei knew his own strength. In the 20 years he had served in the army, only Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and Huang Zhong were stronger than him. The others, such as Xu Chu, Chen Qun, and Guan Yu, could only fight him to a draw. In the emperor's words, his strength was such that "a single roar could frighten away a million enemy soldiers." Although that was an exaggeration, a few stones would not be able to hurt him.
Therefore, he insisted on personally entering the valley to give the soldiers the impression of leading by example, so that they would be willing to risk their lives and face death calmly. Despite the innkeeper's attempts to dissuade him, Zhang Fei's men could only send as many men as possible to protect him.
The selection of personnel took more than two hours. After lunch, Zhang Fei, holding a 3-meter-long and 2-meter-wide steel shield in his left hand and his steel spear in his right, led more than 500 warriors stealthily into the canyon. The brigade headquarters sent more than 30 of its strongest soldiers to protect Zhang Fei as he marched into the valley, followed by more than 400 brave warriors selected from the entire brigade, ready to die for their cause.
They were walking along just fine. Zhang Fei had gone more than fifty meters into the valley and was about to turn the first bend when a soldier behind him suddenly tripped over a stone, and the huge steel shield was thrown out, making a loud clanging sound.
It turned out that when they entered the valley during the day, the Dayuan soldiers on the mountain threw down many stones and logs. Although Zhang Fei retreated quickly and the number was not large, some soldiers still tripped over them in the darkness, causing them to fall. Their steel shields fell to the ground with a loud "clang," accompanied by a continuous echo that reverberated through the valley.
Zhang Fei's expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, "Help him up, quickly get out of the way!" As he spoke, he took the lead and moved towards the two mountain walls, raising his steel shield to protect himself from falling rocks, logs, and arrows.
The more than 500 soldiers were spread out to avoid being blocked by the steel shield of the person in front of them when they landed, but instead bounced off and injured other comrades. Therefore, each soldier was more than 10 meters apart. Upon hearing Zhang Fei's words, some advanced and some retreated, creating even more distance, and then took cover on the mountain walls on both sides.
The Dayuan soldiers on the mountain were still excited after defeating Zhang Fei during the day. It was just getting dark, and the soldiers not on duty that night were still awake. Hearing people coming from below, they knew Zhang Fei wanted to cross the valley under cover of night, so they all started throwing logs and stones down at him.
There weren't many recessed cliff faces that offered direct cover, so most of the 500-plus warriors worked in small groups, using steel shields to create makeshift shelters—two above their heads and three in front—to withstand the rain of stones and arrows falling from above. A few unlucky soldiers were struck by excessively heavy rocks, fracturing their arms, and were pulled to safety by the others.
Instead of rushing to the cliff faces where they could take cover, Zhang Fei brazenly stood in the middle of the road and shouted, "You, Zhang Fei, are here! My disciples, come and smash as many as you can!" All the soldiers around him were rudely driven to the sides by Zhang Fei to take cover.
Although the Dayuan soldiers on the mountain couldn't see clearly what was happening below, they could still hear the loudest noises. Hearing Zhang Fei's arrogant shouts and boastful laughter, they understood the meaning behind the sounds, even though they didn't understand Chinese. So, they hurled stones, logs, and arrows at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei truly lived up to his reputation as a warrior capable of taking on ten thousand men. A stone weighing dozens of kilograms fell from the mountain, struck his shield, and bounced off with a loud thud before Zhang Fei's arm didn't even tremble. This result further boosted Zhang Fei's confidence. He paced back and forth along the road, shouting and yelling at the mountain, urging the Dayuan soldiers to expend even more stones, logs, and arrows.
The hundreds of soldiers who had taken refuge at the foot of the cliff were relieved to see that Zhang Fei was unharmed and cheered loudly. Then, at Zhang Fei's command, they started shouting and yelling wildly.
This created the impression among the Dayuan garrison on the mountain that there were many troops in the valley and that the Hua soldiers were breaking into the valley overnight. This led them to recklessly consume logs, stones, and arrows in order to deplete their supplies within two days and create a safer environment for the valley breakthrough on the third day.
Hearing the commotion below the mountain, the Dayuan soldiers were indeed fooled. The 20,000 Dayuan soldiers kept pushing huge stones and logs down the mountain, while the archers fired arrows indiscriminately without stopping.