Sun Ce received Guo Jia's reply in the middle of the night, and only then did he know that Sun Jian planned to storm Yuan Tan's camp to create an opportunity for him to raid. It's just that the plan can't catch up with the change, he was surrounded by Yuan Tan, Guo Jia immediately changed the plan, and left the opportunity for the raid to Sun Jian.

There's nothing wrong with that, Qizheng isn't set in stone. No one can act according to a pre-set plan, and improvisation is the most common situation. The level of strategists and the command ability of generals all include the ability to make decisions on the spot, not only to be able to strategize, but also to make good decisions.

However, Guo Jia's plan has a key point, and it can even be said to be a flaw: he will face 10,000 elites with 600 cavalry, and support it for at least one day, waiting for Sun Jian to break through Yuan Tan's camp. Guo Jia and Zhu Huan couldn't count on it, and they, like him, had the same task, attracting most of Yuan Tan's forces and creating opportunities for Sun Jian's surprise attack.

Guo Jia dared to mention this plan, but no one who was more conservative dared to do so. If he is a little negligent, even if he doesn't die, he will lose his generals and lose his vitality. Not to mention anything else, the six or seven thousand foot cavalry, including Zhu Huan's troops, will definitely not be able to be saved, and even if they win, the losses will be very heavy.

It was too late to change the plan, and Sun Ce turned to thinking about how to achieve the goal. When it was almost dawn, he called Xu Chu, Dian Wei, and Ma Chao to him. He didn't say that this was Guo Jia's plan, for fear that they would scold Guo Jia. Unexpectedly, these people were very calm, and there was no expected excitement or anger at all. Sun Ce was surprised, look at this, look at that.

"You ...... Not worried? ”

The generals looked at each other with blank expressions. Ma Chao asked, "General, should we be worried?" ”

"There are four or five thousand people behind us, and there may be four or five thousand people in front, maybe Yuan Tan will send more people, the ratio of troops is close to twenty to one, and we can't just leave, we have to hold them off for at least a day."

"Oh." Ma Chao blinked, suddenly patted his heart, and said exaggeratedly: "General, I'm so worried." Before he could finish speaking, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. Xu Chu and Dian Chu chuckled and shook their heads. Xu Sheng and Chen Wu smiled similarly, while Guo Yuan and Xie Guanglong laughed like Ma Chao, as if they had heard some nice joke.

A few people laughed for a while, Ma Chao put away his smile and said very seriously: "General, the only thing I'm worried about now is that you are the same as last time, taking a few of them to charge the battle, but not us." ”

Sun Ce was speechless. Are these people brave and fearless, or are they simple-minded? Such a dangerous battle, do you think you are playing home?

"Okay, since you are so confident, tell me how to fight?"

"How else can you fight?" Ma Chao raised his hand. "The advantage of cavalry is speed, rushing up and fighting to kill a few people. The range of the crossbow is long, but the rate of fire of the crossbow is slow, and at a distance of three hundred paces, each crossbow can only shoot one or two times at most. We spread out the formation, attack from the flanks as much as possible, reduce the hit rate, and as long as we get into the formation, the rest is simple, how we want to kill. ”

He smacked his lips again. "It's a pity that there is no equipment, otherwise it would be useless even if Yuan Tan has more people."

Sun Ce's heart moved. "Meng Qi, are you talking about the iron armor of the horse?"

"The general has seen it?"

Sun Ce smiled. "I heard Jia Xu say that Yuan Shao has such cavalry, all men and horses are heavily armored, not afraid of arrows, and can be used to charge into battle."

Ma Chao slapped his thigh, his eyes full of envy. "This is it. If our two hundred horsemen are all armoured, then there is nothing to worry about. Armoured cavalry is the most effective way to deal with foot soldiers. ”

"When this battle is over, we will also try a few sets. Now think about how to fight. ”

Several people discussed it, and finally felt that the traditional infantry and cavalry combined attack tactics were more practical, with infantry breaking the formation and cavalry assaulting. In order to increase long-range lethality, the Yuan army on the opposite side was equipped with a large number of crossbows, which weakened the melee ability. As long as they can break through to the front, the power of the strong crossbow will be greatly reduced, and it is common sense that the crossbowmen's melee ability is weak, and those spearmen, sword and shield bearers alone cannot protect them. The key is how to break to the front, if you hold a shield and charge hard, the loss will definitely not be small, and the close-range shot of the strong crossbow cannot be prevented even if it is a large shield used by foot soldiers.

Just when Sun Ce was scratching his head about this matter, Xie Guanglong said unhurriedly: "General, leave this matter to me." ”

"What are you going to do?"

Xie Guanglong raised his head and glanced into the distance. "I'll go around the edge of the swamp, smash their pots, set a few more fires, and when they're messed up, the general will send cavalry to rush over and cut off the heads."

Sun Ce turned his head and followed Xie Guanglong's gaze to the west, where a few wisps of cooking smoke were rising, looking particularly peaceful under the early morning mist. Sun Ce smiled. These subordinates of Yuan Tan were really careless, probably thinking that he would definitely not be able to run away, so they actually made a fire to cook. It was true that he could not run away, but the smoke indicated the location, and with fire and water, it was much easier to cause chaos. When people are waiting for food to eat, they are also more relaxed, and their vigilance is much lower than usual, not to mention that these people have worked hard all night.

"You stay safe."

"General, it's not that easy for them to catch me." Xie Guanglong waved his hand, called Guo Yuan and the two knights who were on the mission with him yesterday, and the four of them led the horses and quietly walked north. Xie Guanglong went to inquire about the situation yesterday and made some exploration of the nearby terrain. Three miles north of their camp there was a swamp, not too big, not too deep, with some stagnant water, so it was okay to walk with caution, and it was no big problem for a few people to go around to the ambush soldiers.

Sun Ce then arranged the task. "Meng Qi, you are ready, once Lao Xie and them succeed, you will rush forward. Remember, try to create panic and disrupt their formation, and if you can drive them into the swamp, even better. But be careful not to fall into it. ”

"Don't worry." Ma Chao waved his hand with a big grin, his face was indifferent, and he patted the horn bow on his waist again. "When it comes to mounted archery, we're the best. General, what about you? ”

"I'll stay here and keep you the way back. If you don't go well, don't force it, withdraw first, and I'll pick you up. ”

Ma Chao grinned. "General, I won't give you this chance. As long as Lao Xie succeeds and lets us break into the formation, no one can stop us. Ling Ming, what do you say? ”

Pound smiled but said nothing. Obviously, he agrees with Ma Chao's statement. Sun Ce didn't refute him, at this time, even conceit was better than being cautious, and only by punching and rushing could the problem be solved.

"Zhongkang and Zigu, each of you should bring a horse as a meat shield, don't be reluctant. Yuan Tan still has four or five thousand horses on his side, and as long as we win, all the losses can be recovered. ”

"Whoa." Xu Chu and Dian Wei responded, and there was no follow-up. They have always talked little.

Sun Ce's explanation was not over yet, and Ma Chao suddenly spat out. "Oh, this thief is really an expert at setting fires, and this is a good job. General, I won't tell you, wait for my good news. Ling Ming, let's go. As he spoke, he rushed towards the warhorse, jumped on the horse, and galloped away.