In the early winter on the grasslands outside the Great Wall, the cold wind sweeping across the earth carried countless fine cold sand and pebbles, blowing over our heads and faces, gouging every piece of human skin exposed to the air. Sometimes the dark clouds dissipate, the strong wind subsides, and the sun hanging diagonally in the sky stretches out countless tentacles, emitting dazzling light without any obstruction, making people feel dizzy.
The Han soldiers, who cautiously hid behind large square shields as tall as one person, shook their sleepy heads vigorously, trying to keep themselves awake at all times. Because even illiterate ordinary soldiers are clearly aware that facing the Turkic cavalry archers who come and go without a trace, even the slightest carelessness will lead to irreparable and terrible consequences. What's more, they stood at the forefront of the entire formation composed of five thousand Han troops, and were known as the "Dangya Camp".
The general who leads this group of restless soldiers is just thirty this year. Judging from his age, he is still a young general. However, the deep look on his face unreservedly reflects his extraordinary experience, thus revealing a pair of eyes deeply embedded in his eyes. The eyes are even deeper. It was such a pair of eyes that was staring at the vague black color attached to the distant horizon - that was the wolf-like and tiger-like Turkic cavalry.
The Turks wore animal skins, which were slightly hot under the scorching sun. They did not feel cold in the howling cold wind, so that they could concentrate on the fight in front of them. The leading Turkic leader was young, but he was also experienced in the battlefield. The scout's report that "the Han cavalry is not many, so there is nothing to worry about" gave him every reason to believe that today's battle would be another one-sided simple massacre.
The cold wind flowed unimpeded and erratically on the grassland next door, and suddenly turned south and pounced on the Han army's camp. The Turkic leader glanced at the eagle feathers decorated on his armor, raised a smile on his lips, held the long bow in his hand, and ordered his left and right: "Blow the horn and follow me to attack!"
The melodious sound of the horn rode the wind and reached the general's ears, making him a little intoxicated. Before he could distinguish it carefully, the big green horse suddenly became frantic, and his four hooves trampled randomly on the sparse grass. The general patted the mount's neck with his hand to comfort him, and uttered a few words as if muttering to himself: "Has it finally begun?"
The Turkic cavalry, who were far away just now, were already close in the blink of an eye. The Turks have lived in pursuit of water and grass since ancient times. They are not yet civilized, but they are not stupid enough to launch a direct charge against thousands of Central Plains heavy infantry. Instead, a hundred steps away from the Han army, they rode their horses head to tail to form a huge, constantly moving circle. When they turned to face the Han army, they launched arrows to attack them. When they turned behind, they drew their bows and nocked arrows to prepare for shooting. Back and forth, all the time, endlessly. This terrifying formation, which imitates the circling of an eagle to hunt for prey, and can launch attacks on the opponent without stopping, thereby gradually wiping out the opponent's strength and fighting spirit, is the "Eagle Ring Formation" passed down from the ancestors of the Turkic people.
The Han army had no more active countermeasures and could only set up soldiers holding giant shields in front of the formation to block the Turks' bows and arrows. This is the origin of the word "Dangya Camp". However, this is always a passive defense. During the war, only by praying for the Turks to run out of arrows and retreat on their own can a draw be achieved. Tactically backward, the Han army always lost more than it won against the Turks. . Of course, the bows and arrows released by the Turkic archers could not shoot through the thick iron shields weighing fifty kilograms. However, the Turks were skilled in bow and horse and specially found the gap between the two shields to snipe. The bows and arrows rode the wind and shot through the copper and iron walls. It penetrated the human body solidly - screams suddenly erupted from the Han army's formation. The thick breath gushing from the throat, the muffled sound of broken muscles and bones, and the crisp sound of metal hitting each other were constantly emitted from the dying body, making those who were still alive feel horrified.
The counselor standing beside the general couldn't help but became anxious: "Your Majesty, it seems that the investigation was wrong. The number of Turkic cavalry far exceeds a thousand, I am afraid there are as many as three thousand. For the current plan, it is better to retreat quickly and stick to the city. "
The general gritted his teeth and said, "Retreating at this time will inevitably lead to defeat. Let's wait and see."
The rigorous daily training was finally starting to take effect. Although the casualties of "Toya Camp" were increasing, the soldiers were still able to stick to their posts with expressionless faces. The gradually thinning defense line never took a step back, nor did it show any signs of collapse. Now it was the Turks' turn to worry. Seeing that nearly half of their arrows had been used and they were still unable to win, the leading Turk leader had no choice but to lead his men to continue shooting in turns. However, the leader is still full of confidence. After all, his troops are light and fast, and even if they cannot win, they can quickly get out of the battle and remain undefeated.
At the moment of stalemate, God seemed to have changed his mind, and the strong wind turned due north without warning.
A flash of light flashed in the eyes of the Han general who was sitting on his horse with a solemn expression. He drew out his sword and ordered sternly: "The crossbowmen stand up and fire with the wind!" The physical strength of the Han people is far less than that of the Turks, and the shooting distance of the bow and arrow is less than half that of the Turks. Therefore, in order to balance the power of long-distance attacks, a crossbow machine with a foot-pulled string was invented, which had the same range as the Turkic bow cavalry. It's just that the crossbows are slow to prepare and are unprepared during the preparation process, so they can only be placed behind the heavy armored infantry and cannot be placed in the first row. They are greatly restricted in actual combat, but they are better than nothing. The 1,500 strong crossbowmen crawling behind the "Dangya Camp" heard the general order, stood up "swiftly", and relying on the wind, fired at the Turkic "Eagle Ring" formation. The arrows shot by the heavy crossbow are short and powerful. If they penetrate the flesh, they are difficult to pull out. Just one hit is enough to destroy the enemy's combat effectiveness. The Turks were fierce by nature. Although they could continue fighting after being hit by arrows, they were seriously injured after all. The arrows they shot became softer and softer. Some could not hit the Han army at all, and some could not penetrate the heavy armor even if they hit. The short arrows fired by the Han army's heavy crossbows still filled the sky like locusts.
The tide of war has completely reversed.
A rare smile appeared on the face of the Han general. He waved his sword in the air and ordered in a cheerful tone: "The infantry in the center advance slowly! The light cavalry on both wings are sent out to outflank!"
Seeing the Han army's crossbow arrows gradually engulfing the Turkic warriors, the opponent's battle formation, which remained motionless, quickly prepared to attack. "Bastard!" The Turkic leader secretly cursed twice. Although he was dissatisfied, he could only accept the reality and sent an order to his men to retreat quickly.
The more the Turkic cavalry fought, the less confident they became. Upon hearing the order to retreat, they all turned their horses' heads and gradually retreated to the north. The leader was about to retreat after the break, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the Han army's leader in golden armor and red robes, commanding with determination, with fire in his eyes. He turned around again on his horse, used his long bow to deflect the incoming arrow, saw the opportunity, drew the bow, and the arrow shot out. Meteors will shoot towards the Han Dynasty.
There was a big difference when an arrow was shot. The feathers of the arrow cut through the headwind, making a "chichi" sound, running through the Han formation and flying directly towards the forehead of the Han general. The Han general, who was called "Prince" by his subordinates, looked at the overall situation. How could he notice a small, deadly arrow? Just when his life was at stake, a personal guard next to him stood in front of the Han general and shouted sternly in front of his master: "Your Majesty—". Before the word "heart" came out of his mouth, the cold arrow had already shot into the back of the guard's head, penetrated the brain, and came to a stop after it came out a few inches from the right eye. The tip of the arrow cluster almost pierced the nose of the general, but the mixture of brains and blood of the deceased had already been spilled. The faces of the living are full of sorrow. When General Han saw this miserable situation, his eyes went dark and he almost fell off his horse.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
What sounded in the Han general's ears was not the sensational sound of broken bones and tendons, but soft words wrapped around his fingers. The prince gently wiped the sweat from his forehead and calmed down for a moment. Just when he was about to speak, the soft words rang out again: "Your Majesty, after so many years, are you still having that nightmare again?"
The prince nodded, shook his head, smiled and said to the person beside him: "We have been fighting for decades, and yet we are still having nightmares like a child. It's really ridiculous."
The princess beside the pillow was over thirty years old, but her charm was still there. She was half leaning on her husband's chest and said, "Where is it? Thanks to the prince who has guarded northern Xinjiang for more than ten years, the Turks have not been able to set foot in the Central Plains. This is known to women and children all over the world. Yes, who in the world dares to laugh at the prince?"
As soon as these words reached the prince's heart, his mood suddenly improved, and he suddenly sighed: "How many people have fought in ancient times? Those soldiers who died on the battlefield are more qualified to enjoy the praise of the world than me..." There was silence for a few seconds. After that, the prince asked, "What time is it now?"
The princess concentrated on distinguishing the sound of the night watch floating in the distance, and said with certainty: "It's Mao hour."
"Well, it's almost time. It's time for me to get up." He lifted the brocade quilt and raised his voice slightly, "Here comes someone!"
King Zheng Rong of Youyan is the younger brother of the current emperor Zheng Yong. It has been twelve years since Mao Sui recommended himself to guard the northern border on behalf of his eldest brother. He has also lived well under the baptism of Shuofeng in Saibei.
After Zheng Rong finished dressing, washing, and eating, he walked to the back hall of the palace's Yamen. At the beginning of the morning, counselor Zhongli Kuang was already waiting there. Zhongli Kuang was a young man. He passed the imperial examination in his teens, but failed to pass the imperial examination. According to the law, if a person is not selected as a Jinshi, he can be replaced as an official after a few years. However, Zhongli Kuang has an aloof and sinister temperament, is unpopular, and has never been able to succeed. It was not until he gradually realized his destiny that he was hired as a staff member by Zheng Rong, who was eager for talent. It has been ten years since he came. In the past ten years, Zhongli Kuang has gained great insights in handling government affairs and war planning, and has become the most important counselor in the Youyan Palace. However, his gloomy personality has never changed.
King Youyan himself also valued Zhongli Kuang deeply. As soon as he entered the back hall, he bowed slightly and said in greeting: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Zhongli."
Zhongli Kuang responded naturally and said: "Since I have received the royal family's support, of course I have put all my efforts into it. Why bother?"
"Hey~ I, the king, and your husband are both great ministers of the Han Dynasty. They are loyal to the country and ask for orders for the people. How can you say that you, sir, are being hired by my king?" Zheng Rong said with a smile, "Okay, sir, what's your opinion about You Yan?" What government affairs need my attention?”
"No." Zhongli Kuang answered simply.
Zheng Rong had some displeasure on his face and asked: "You Yan and his party have tens of thousands of soldiers and many Li people. How can nothing happen?"
"Youyan's wealth is second only to Jiangnan in the world. There are 500,000 households and 2 million households. Of course, there will be some things. However, in recent days, there have been no floods, locusts, droughts, earthquakes or fires, nor have there been any floods or large-scale demolitions thousands of miles away. The above punishments are just trivial matters. The imperial court has a government office and the palace has staff, so I can do it myself. If the prince is bothered by all these trivial matters, what else do you need me to do?" Zhongli Kuang's words were aggressive, but he didn't stop talking about them. Logically speaking, Prince Zheng could only let him continue, "But this matter must be handled by the prince himself." After saying that, he took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to the prince.
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------
PS. Agricultural infantry has never been a good way to fight against nomadic cavalry. It was not until after the Industrial Revolution that Napoleon's expedition to Egypt to eliminate the Mamluks marked the complete decline of traditional cavalry. The multi-arms joint operations described in the article use "Mongolian-style" mounted and archery combat methods. Except for Liu Yu's "Queyue Formation", there are few examples in actual history. (To be continued)