Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1785 - 1666: Thinking as a Whole
Actually, when Cheng Lian began using the crossbow mechanisms to shoot the strong oxen pulling the chariots, Yizhong realized something was amiss. However, once the war chariots start racing, it’s easy for them to speed up, but not so easy to stop them. In this period where oxen pulling carts aren’t controlled by nose rings but by the skills of the cattle herders, slowing down is very challenging, at least not something that can be done swiftly.
Therefore, upon discovering the Han Army had crossbow mechanisms with exceptional power and an astonishingly fast stringing speed, Yizhong developed the thought of retreating, since he had already successfully destroyed half of the Han Army’s front camp, which was already enough to boast about.
Unfortunately, the galloping war chariots can’t stop just because you say so, so Yizhong had to order a gradual slowdown while preparing to charge out from the sides after deceleration.
After all, with the Han Army’s front camp already destroyed and significant results achieved, there was no need to expend more manpower. As for the loss of dozens of war chariots, in Yizhong’s view, it wasn’t a significant loss. Having dealt a heavy blow to the Han Army’s morale and demonstrated the strength of the Dingling people, he had accomplished his mission. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
However, just as Yizhong was gradually slowing down the war chariots and preparing to turn and retreat, the tung oil jars launched by the Han Army inflicted a truly fatal blow on the war chariots.
The further north you go, the higher the oil content of the timber. From the first glance, Zhuge Liang’s response to these war chariots was to set them on fire. This wood, which seemed to be either pine or fir, was perfect for burning - once it caught fire, it was hard to put out.
The reason why Zhuge Liang could recognize the type of wood at a glance was simple; Huang Yueying often tinkered with wood materials, and over time, even if it was pine wood converted into planks, Zhuge Liang would recognize it. This was natural, given his fiancée’s profession.
Beneath Zhuge Liang’s gentle and refined exterior lay a burning heart. In his view, any problem solvable by fire was not a problem at all. So naturally, upon seeing the pine wood, Zhuge Liang’s first reaction was to set it ablaze!
As kerosene tanks were thrown at the war chariots and shattered around them, the pungent smell of kerosene filled the air, causing Yizhong to almost lose his soul in terror.
"Retreat!" The cries of agony arose with the flames, conveyed outward. However, if war chariots could retreat just by shouting "retreat," they probably wouldn’t have been phased out of the battlefield. Hence, more chariots, unable to stop their brakes, charged directly into the fire.
With more kerosene tanks smashing down, the war chariots made of dry pine wood were almost instantly ignited by the kerosene. The soldiers on these chariots were utterly unable to resist such terrifying flames.
The ever-rising flames on the battlefield quickly consumed each mighty war chariot. The characteristic kerosene was incredibly difficult to extinguish, and, adhering to the pine wood frames, ordinary methods were losing effectiveness, making the fires burn even more fiercely with every oil tank that fell.
Nearly half of the war chariots were ignited by the falling oil tanks from the sky. The flames tormented and anguished the strong oxen and warhorses, causing them to go berserk and attack all around. The front camp suffered near-total destruction, yet the personnel had long since evacuated, leaving only chariots colliding with chariots on the scene.
The burning frames, dragged by strong oxen and warhorses, wreaked havoc on everything in front. In such a situation, even Yizhong’s legion talent that could maintain the chariots’ balance became meaningless.
All he could do, and the only thing he could do, was to order the brakes to be pressed down, locking the wheels in place.
Those who have driven know that modern cars have a feature called anti-lock braking. Because once a high-speed vehicle locks its wheels, the powerful inertia is enough to cause the vehicle to flip over, or even, given an excessive speed, spin in a 360-degree circle without issue.
Having no other choice, Yizhong had to forcibly brake. A few seconds after the flames arose, many war chariots that braked abruptly were flung out, and Chen Gong even saw some frames hurled into the air, dragging both warhorses and strong oxen up before crashing heavily to the ground.
That sight made Chen Gong shiver. The kind of impact force, even if Inner Qi Manifestation suppressed Inner Qi, would shatter anything crashing into it into pieces.
Though the situation was dire, with many overturning, the madness was finally restrained to some extent, and the chariots in the rear managed to successfully decrease their speed.
At this point, Yizhong couldn’t be bothered with anything else. Although the impact force of oxen pulling chariots was far superior to warhorses, their maneuverability was too poor. Therefore, if things continued on, and they came under concentrated fire from the enemy’s crossbows and kerosene, it would likely be a dead end even for him.
Thus, having forcibly controlled the speed, Yizhong promptly avoided the fire zone and the kerosene launch points, maneuvering the chariot frames to charge out from the sides.
The cavalry and chariots allied with him also immediately followed Yizhong, charging out from the sides. Similarly, Zhuge Liang did not have anyone intercept them on the flanks. Thus, Yizhong, leading half of the chariots and Dingling cavalry, with the accomplishment of destroying the Han Army’s front camp, successfully broke out.
"Hey, there’s black smoke over there," Chen Xi said, glancing around and changing the subject, refusing to directly answer Xun Yu’s question. Jia Xu and the others did not intervene in the debate between Chen Xi and Xun Yu, leaving the two in a bit of a standoff until Chen Xi accidentally noticed black smoke rising from afar.
