Leaving aside the fact that Cao Cao's troops were using the Battle Avoidance Medallion tactic in large numbers to create conditions for his forces to retreat in Chenliu County, Yang Rui had chased after Xiahou Dun, Lu Qian, Li Dian, Man Chong and the twenty thousand Cao soldiers under their command to the vicinity of Pingqiu County. As it was getting late, they temporarily stopped for a night. ({?} [{?} {?}
Early the next morning, Yang Rui led fifty thousand elite soldiers and rushed toward Pingqiu County.
From the east bank of the Ji River where Yang Rui's troops were stationed, it would take less than an hour for the fastest cavalry to reach the vicinity of Pingqiu County. However, when Yang Rui and his troops arrived at Pingqiu County, most of Cao Cao's troops had already retreated.
Pingqiu County had once again hung the token to avoid battle. The number of troops remaining in the city was slightly more than before, about ten thousand. This was the result of Yang Rui's scouts using their flying pets.
The scouts at the front also reported that about twenty thousand Cao soldiers had left Pingqiu County early in the morning and were heading in the direction of Fengqiu County. At this point, they had already advanced a third of the way there.
In other words, Xiahou Dun, Lu Qian, Li Dian, Man Chong, and the others in Pingqiu County had left earlier than Yang Rui's troops.
At the same time, based on the number of Cao soldiers in both directions, Yang Rui could confirm that the number of Cao soldiers in Pingqiu County shouldn't be too different. There shouldn't be more Cao soldiers hiding in the city.
After confirming this, Yang Rui didn't stop at Pingqiu County. He also didn't send troops to surround Pingqiu County. Instead, he commanded all his troops to continue chasing after Xiahou Dun's army.
To buy more time and opportunities, Yang Rui, Gao Shun, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, and Taishi Ci led the sixty thousand cavalry (forty-five Sixth Grade heavy-armored cavalry and fifteen Sixth Grade heavy-armored bladesmen) in pursuit of the enemy. Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Guan Hai, and Yu Jin led the remaining soldiers in pursuit.
Yang Rui used the speed of the cavalry to his advantage. In particular, both types of cavalry were Sixth Grade soldiers. Their speed and other attributes were superior to the Sixth Grade cavalry.
On the other hand, the speed of the Cao army was much slower. When it was close to noon, Yang Rui and the other 600 cavalrymen had already caught up with the Cao army. When they were halfway to Fengqiu County, they caught up with the Cao army.
At this time, the sentries led by Yang Rui had already made use of the advantage of flying pets to investigate the situation of the twenty thousand Cao soldiers commanded by Xiahou Dun.
One had to admit that Cao Cao's troops were quite disciplined. Even though they were retreating in an emergency, their formation wasn't messed up at all. Moreover, the ones at the very back of the army were a mix of halberds, spearmen, and archers.
These soldiers were the perfect counter to cavalry that excelled in pursuit. If the 600 cavalrymen led by Yang Rui and the others had charged forward without knowing the situation, some losses would have been unavoidable, even if the Sixth Grade cavalrymen couldn't defeat the Cao army.
Fortunately, Yang Rui had the help of his flying pet. He was able to understand the situation in advance and avoid possible losses. This also gave Yang Rui more options.
"Hyah! Hyah! Hyah … … "
"Go! Go! Go … … "
"Kill!"
"… …"
In the end, Yang Rui stealthily moved alongside Xiahou Dun's troops for a short distance. He then chose the center of Xiahou Dun's army and charged forward. Dust and smoke instantly filled the air. The Cao army was thrown into chaos.
The Cao army might have defensive measures in place when they retreated, but they were arranged in a long snake formation as usual. This was the most effective method of marching for the current situation in the game.
However, this way, the entire army was in a situation where the front and rear couldn't take care of each other.
Under the charge of Yang Rui's cavalry, a large portion of the Cao army was routed. The soldiers that couldn't escape were forced to charge forward and clash with the high-speed cavalry. Many of them were slaughtered as if they were vegetables.
With the advantage in terms of Grade, offensive power, and other aspects, as well as the advantage in numbers, Yang Rui led the 600 cavalrymen to charge back and forth a few times, killing over ten thousand Cao soldiers and causing great chaos in the Cao army.
However, Yang Rui knew when to stop. Before the Cao soldiers on both sides could react, he had already gathered his men and left. He didn't even clear the battlefield of any valuable items.
Yang Rui's main goal in pursuing the enemy was to tie down Xiahou Dun and the Cao army, creating a situation similar to Xu Huang's army and buying time for the rest of the army to arrive.
Ambushing the Cao army and inflicting damage to them was secondary. After all, the sixty thousand Sixth Grade knights had all been converted using skill books. They were an organized force, and there were quite a few of them. At this stage of the game, they could be considered 'precious'. Even the slightest loss would be heart-wrenching.
Yang Rui's cavalry gave up on fighting Xiahou Dun's army head-on. Instead, they harassed and intimidated the Cao army. This forced the Cao army to temporarily stop their march and focus on dealing with Yang Rui's army.
Just as Yang Rui thought that this would delay the Cao army's retreat and allow his army to catch up, the Cao army led by Xiahou Dun and the others made a new move.
The Cao army used less than an hour to gather all the troops at the front and rear. They then split into large groups and began to disperse, continuing their retreat towards Fengqiu County.
In Yang Rui's opinion, if the Cao army were to face highly mobile cavalry in such a way, it would be no different from sending them to their deaths.
Each group of Cao army had around 10 soldiers. Yang Rui only needed to use his cavalry to break them down one by one. It would be as easy as blowing off dust.
However, reality proved that Yang Rui had underestimated the enemy's retreat arrangements. When Yang Rui led his cavalry and charged towards a group of Cao army on the outskirts, this group of soldiers and the nearby groups seemed to have noticed the movement of Yang Rui's army from afar. They quickly retreated towards the center.
Meanwhile, the groups further away did the exact opposite. They quickly came from the side and formed a pincer attack on Yang Rui's army, forcing Yang Rui to give up on this charge.
Most importantly, the Cao army was able to change their defense while moving. In other words, they were defending without affecting their marching speed. Even if Yang Rui wanted to use feints to delay the Cao army's marching speed, he couldn't do it.
Yang Rui immediately realized that he was facing a strange formation. Presumably, Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao's army also had experts who were proficient in formations!
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