The soldiers passing through the gate of the sank camp made Ma Chao's mind full of questions. Although the weapon fixed between the two guns was not sheathed, from the shape of the sheath and the style of the handshake handle, Ma Chao determined that the weapon used by this strange team was a sword, and it was a broad sword at least more than twice the width of the narrow sword that is common today. In this way, this moving team was an ancient soldier that had disappeared for hundreds of years - the sword and shield soldiers.

Sword and shield soldiers have not appeared in history. On the contrary, Sword and shield soldiers have dominated the army as the main military in close combat for a long time. However, with the development of smelting technology and tactic evolution, the best weapon among the weapons used in combination with one-handed shields has become common sense.

In the era of cold weapons, weapons and equipment can be divided into offensive weapons and protective equipment according to their purpose, offensive weapons can be divided into three categories: fighting, long shot and guard; commonly used fighting weapons are divided into long and short. Among them, short weapons are usually mainly knives and swords; long weapons are usually made of guns, long swords, spears, and axes.

As for other weapons, there are not many, but it is difficult to form effective combat power in the army for some reasons, so it is almost negligible.

In addition to many well-known factors, the Qin Dynasty became the last winner of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, to a certain extent, because Qin used alloy forging technology when casting bronze weapons. At that time, this forging technology was very advanced. When the Qin people cast swords, they used different alloy ratios to cast swords. The composite sword was made by using different alloy ratios on the sword spine and blade according to actual needs. The reasonable proportions made this composite sword spine tough and sharp, and it was not easy to break. When the soldiers of Qin swept the bronze sword across the six countries to unify China, as the level of iron smelting increased, especially Zhang Qian, who was sent to the Western Regions during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, brought back the refining technology of fine steel. The bronze sword that was popular in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period gradually gave way to the steel sword. The sword body became increasingly narrow and long and the sword edge became sharper.

Knife - As a fighting weapon with strong lethality, there was no advantage in the Bronze Age. Judging from the characteristics of the knife, bronze metal is not suitable for forging and making a knife. The development of knife depends on the progress of smelting technology, the emergence of iron tools, especially the emergence of fine steel, which brought opportunities for the development of knife. Emperor Wu of Han had already started to use long iron swords with ring heads when fighting against the Huns. Although swords were used together until the Eastern Han Dynasty, ring head iron swords were more common. Moreover, in an army composed of farmers who put down their hoes, it was easier to quickly form combat power if they used swords as weapons when the personnel qualifications were mixed. Therefore, by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, swords had become the main weapon for the princes to equip their soldiers.

Sword - As a weapon with a long history, it can no longer be regarded as a murder weapon. After a long period of evolution, the sword has been sublimated into a symbol. Emperors and generals of all generations, regardless of whether they know martial arts or not, are proud of their swords. Princess and Princess also wear swords as decorations. The meaning of swords can be said to be far more than an ordinary weapon. As a symbol of power, the emperor gave the imperial envoy the Sword, but he had never heard of any other Sword swords or Sword spears.

In actual combat, there are different opinions on which is better, using a knife or using a sword. People with wise opinions have different opinions.

Because of the design characteristics of the sword itself, it may also hurt the user while killing the enemy. This double-edged weapon cannot be mastered in one or two years. Don’t a martial artist have a saying? It is called three years of sword training and ten years of sword training. This shows that swords are much easier to practice than swords, but it cannot be denied that swords are difficult to practice while swords are incomparable to swords. Swords with two sides have nearly twice as many effective attack areas than swords, and the attack method is much more complicated than swords. In comparison, most generals in the army still like to use swords when choosing short weapons.

Ma Chao, who was sure he was not confused, was really shocked! Ma Chao, who had been rolling in the barracks since he was a child, knew very well how difficult it was to train a team of swordsmen. Among the infantry, it took three months to train a hundred ordinary people into a team of spearmen, and half a year to train a team of swordsmen. These times refer to the time required to form a basic battle. If you want to train an elite soldier, it would take a lot longer. But if you want to train these people into a team of sword soldiers, it would be hard to say, because cultivating a hundred sword soldiers who can conquer and fight requires more energy and time than cultivating a good intermediate general. And the unit composed entirely of sword and shield soldiers that just passed by him had about 3,000 people. This is definitely a big deal.

If this army is really the elite among Cao's army, then they are definitely a force that cannot be underestimated.

After leaving the camp, two-colored flags were inserted at the waist, and the message soldiers holding horns and drums in hand, and then there were the female soldiers of the female soldiers of the Cao army's beloved female soldiers. The team of these female soldiers was very scattered, and many female soldiers were now sisters-in-law and aunt. These fierce wives led the little girls who were still a little clear and a little stretcher. While walking, they chattered and said they didn't listen. Some of the braver ones pointed at the generals in front of the gate and muttered, which could be judged from the laughter they made from time to time. It was probably a joke from a certain general.

The generals led by Cao Hong turned a blind eye to this, and there was no way! First, these female soldiers had a high prestige among the Cao soldiers, which made everyone who came up with bad ideas have some taboos; second, these big girls and young wives, Zhao Yu is famous for protecting their shortcomings, and offending them is equivalent to offending Zhao Yu. Zhao Yu is not only the general of the female barracks, but also the chief martial arts instructor who has now expanded from Yanzhou Public School to the imperial public school. These generals, including Cao Hong, have children to study there. Behind Zhao Yu, there is a brave and careless Guo Jia, who is supporting him. This Lord Guo is the master who dares to plot even his lord! So as long as they are not doing too much, no matter whether they are spoiled or for other reasons, everyone will regard them as if they have not seen it.

Unlike the busy scene in the Cao army camp, the camp that stretched for nearly a hundred miles was full of peace. Since retreating for thirty miles, it has not sent troops to fight the Cao army on a large scale for a long time. Several small conflicts were all for dealing with the Cao army cavalry that harassed the supply line, but there were no casualties at all. Although the food and grass were a little nervous recently, the food was not as much oil and water as before when I first arrived at Guandu, Lord Shenpai had already mobilized enough food and grass from the rear. Now these are

The rice and grain had arrived in Wuchao. I heard that the brothers who went to Wuchao to convey the military order to General Chunyu Qiong came back and said that there was now full of newly harvested rice, plump pigs, sheep, and the number of fine wines. Just listening made people drool. It was all because of the elusive cavalry of the Cao army. If it were not for their trouble, they would have been able to chew barbecue around the bonfire and flowed oil and water along the corners of their mouths. It is said that after these two days, the lord would arrange a large group of people to transport grain there. I believe that such a wonderful day would come.

Of course, not everyone in Yuan Shao's camp was sleeping peacefully. Gao Lan, known as the Four Pillars of Hebei, was on guard. He rode on a horse and carried two hundred choruses to patrol the Central Army camp. Originally, senior generals like Gao Lan didn't have to patrol in the camp themselves even if they were vigilant. They just needed to send deputy generals to inspect the post. But for some reason, Gao Lan felt very irritable when sitting in his tent, either sitting or standing, so he simply brought his personal soldiers out to patrol to pass the boring night.

Before he knew it, most of the central army had been transferred. He was still very satisfied with the situation along the way. Although the months of war made the soldiers very tired, the soldiers on the night were all staying at their posts conscientiously.

This scene greatly alleviated Gao Lan's irritability. These elite soldiers of the central army were all veterans who had followed Yuan Shao for many years. It was these soldiers who defeated Gongsun Zan's arrogant white horse cavalry, making Yuan Shao become the overlord of the north after years of hard fighting. Looking at these straight and straight veterans, Gao Lan couldn't help but think of Yan Liang and Wen Chou, two Hebei generals who were as famous as him.

Through the battle with the Cao army general, Gao Lan knew that Yan Liang was wronged, but it was not too wronged. What was wronged was that the two brothers were confused by the Cao army generals who ignored the rules and fought more and were killed in front of the two armies. What was not wronged was that with the two of them not taking others seriously and belittling the enemy, even if the Cao general did not use such tactics, the two brothers might not be able to save their lives. Xiahou Yuan, Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Wei Yan, etc.... counted one by one. Cao Ying was counted one by one.

Among them, there are many people who are comparable to him. If Gao Lan hadn't been very careful when he went to the battle, he would have followed Yan Liang and the others. And I heard that these people were not the most powerful generals in the Cao army. The one with the highest martial arts was Dian Wei, who was singing on the Tushan some time ago, and he was trembling all over his body. It is said that Dian Wei fought against the world's No. 1 general Lu Bu, who was not at a disadvantage when he fought with him. If he didn't know what the result would be?

Just as Gao Lan was thinking about it, someone suddenly shouted: "Look at General! It seems that there is a fire there!"

Gao Lan was shocked at the moment, and looked northeastward. He saw a fire full of light. The sky was filled with fire. The sky was like igniting the clouds in the sky. Gao Lan is worthy of being a famous general in Hebei. After a moment of looking, he concluded that something happened to Wuchao! He said in his heart: "Oh no!" He plucked his horse and ran towards Yuan Shao's tent.

Yuan Shao, who was drinking too much during the day, was sleeping drunk at this time. He heard a lot of noise outside. He could vaguely hear someone shouting at him. After listening carefully, he heard Gao Lan's voice.

Yuan Shao, who thought something big happened, hurriedly asked the reason. When Wuchao was furious, he did not dare to neglect the tent and summoned civil and military officials. He discussed sending troops to rescue him.

Zhang He said, "I went to save him with Gao Lan."

Gao Lan also said: "Please send an order to the lord, I am willing to go with Zhang He."

Guo Tu, who was already the leader of the counselor, saw that Zhang He had not waited for his words to speak, and Gao Lan even agreed. He said angrily: "No. Cao's army robbed food, Cao Cao would definitely go in person; since Cao Cao came out personally, the camp would definitely be empty, and the lord could entrust troops to attack Cao Cao's camp first; when Cao Cao heard this, he would return quickly: This is Sun Bin's plan to surround Wei and save Zhao."

Zhang He retorted: "No. Cao Cao is resourceful, and he must prepare his own internally to prevent unfavorable situations. If he attacks Cao's camp but does not lead him, Chunyu Qiong and others will be captured, and our subordinates will be captured."

Guo Tu said disdainfully: "Cao Cao only cares about robbing grain, so why don't he leave his troops in the village?" He repeatedly asked to rob Cao's camp.

Yuan Shao thought to himself: "The fire outside is soaring into the sky. I guess the food stored in Wuchao is no longer guaranteed. There is Chunyuqiong guarding it. Cao's army should be in full swing. Although the camp is prepared, there should not be many soldiers. When I attack it, I will definitely conquer Cao's camp in one battle, and then I can defeat Xu Du. By then, Cao Aman will die without a place to bury him."

Just as Yuan Shao thought about it and was about to give an order, a vague song came from outside. Although it was not real, Yuan Shao was very familiar with the tune of this song. It was the "Overside Yuan Shao Comes Over" sung by Dian Wei that day.

Zhang He took the opportunity to say, "Lord! This must be the Cao army's aggressive generals, and we will lead our army to attack! It can be seen that Cao's camp must be prepared, and it is best to rescue Wuchao!"

Guo Tu said: "Otherwise! Cao Cao is full of tricks. He seems to lead me to attack, but he is actually bluffing. Such a plan is something you, a martial artist, cannot see through."
Chapter completed!