Beimang's iron hooves passed through the two cities of Wogong, Luanhe and Crane, and was firmly blocked outside Youzhou Pass by the last Xiaguang City that controlled the dangerous pass. If you don't break through this barrier and successfully break into Youzhou, all the cavalry on the eastern front of Beimang will be useless.
Outside the city, two generals from the Eastern Front of Beimang, under the tight guard of no less than a thousand cavalry elite retinues, inspected the battle at the top of the city nearby. The city and the gourd mouth are already in my hands, but as long as Xiaguang City is not breached, it will still be impossible to fight to the death with that 30,000-strong Youqi."
The vanguard General Zhong Tan, who had just been conferred the title of Wang Zhang Xia Na Bo by His Majesty the Emperor, said with a smile: "It's really embarrassing for the General. It's like bringing a big nest of young birds waiting to be fed, and they are noisy every day."
The veteran smiled and said: "After Xiaguang City, the whole Youzhou will be under our horseshoes, and it will not be easy to fight at that time, there will be fighter planes and military achievements everywhere, but how much you can put in your pocket depends on your own ability. "
Zhong Tan, who just went to the city to fight in person yesterday, was full of blood, and said softly: "Now, Yan Wenluan will use his Youzhou pawns to fill the gap in Xiaguang City. Otherwise, Xiaguang City will not be able to defend for at most three days." live."
Yang Yuanzan sneered and said, "Xiaguang City is not Tiger Head City. The city is only so big. How many people can stand on the top of the city? Yan Wenluan throws 6,000 people into Xiaguang City at most to defend the city at one time. No matter how many, let alone the top of the city. In the city, they can only be crowded together to watch the fun.”
Yang Yuanzan looked at the Xiaguang City in the distance where the fortifications had already been stretched, and the crossbow was completely destroyed, especially after his own infantry almost demolished the Lying Gong City and Luanhe City. This summer, Xiaguang City has a lot of rain above its head, and it rains stones one after another. Except for the edge fortresses on both sides between Xiaguang City and Luanhe City, the remaining large and small strongholds have been wiped out by the private cavalry army of the Beimang clan who wants to gain military exploits. , has become the best hunting target early on, and some larger Wubao with a little more troops have also rushed through after converging several or even dozens of family private horses. This move has saved Yang Yuanzan a lot of troubles.
The current Hulukou, after the destruction of the two cities of Wogong, Luanhe and Crane, is actually very suitable for cavalry to gallop long distances. It can be said that as long as Yang Yuanzan's Eastern Front Army wins Xiaguang City, not only will the door of Youzhou be opened wide, but the strength of the cavalry in Youzhou will be absolutely great. Under the premise of inferiority, Beimang's east line can be attacked, and if it retreats, it can retreat to the Hulukou north of Xiaguang City, or even directly exit the Hulukou. No matter how powerful Yan Wenluan's infantry is, can a two-legged infantry beat a four-legged cavalry? Therefore, although Zhongtan's infantry suffered staggering losses in battle, and almost every day two or three thousand-man troops were beaten to the point of collapse, the old general who was frowning on the surface was actually not too worried. Liu Gui, an old friend on the western front, has a little unknown gloat. At that time, Xijing wanted Liu Gui to go to Liuzhou, where the Northern Liang army had no dangerous passes to rely on, but Yang Yuanzan was asked to attack Youzhou, and he was asked to lead troops through Hulukou, a terrifying area that claimed to be able to bury 150,000 Beimang troops. , Yang Yuanzan has no complaints, but looking back now, it is really unpredictable.
From the corner of Zhong Tan's eyes, he caught a glimpse of the old general's demeanor that he was sure of victory. This eminent vanguard general hesitated to speak, but finally swallowed his words, without expressing his guess. Being able to squeeze out Yelu Yuhu and become the new Xia Nabo with less than one year of military service is due to the words of a wealthy tycoon in the Xijing Temple, "One person who planted sandalwood, let my army on the eastern front die less in Hulukou It is tantamount to having 50,000 more brave infantry who are good at attacking cities and villages out of thin air, so we can't do it!" It stands to reason that he has become the same as Xie Xifeng, Kou Jianghuai, Song Li and others in the Central Plains. The son of the Zhong family, a famous general, should be most satisfied at this time, but Zhong Tan always feels that the battle in Youzhou is not so simple.
Yang Yuanzan suddenly pointed at the city where the situation was going downhill, not surprised but happy, he laughed and said: "Changtan, look, Yan Wenluan finally can't sit still, I thought we dug this old man in Youzhou territory. What a big hole, unexpectedly, it’s just such a little concentration. Disappointed, really disappointed!”
When Zhong Tan saw the tragic battle at Xiaguang City, he was finally relieved.
The geographical location of Xiaguang City can be described as unique. It occupies the only dangerous pass in Hulukou that can be used by large-scale cavalry troops to enter the pass. Therefore, the battle here can only be head-to-head. The Eastern Front infantry under Zhong Tan's command has been able to pour into the city recently. Yesterday Zhong Tan personally led 800 dead soldiers to the city to fight. After half an hour of fierce fighting, he was driven off the city. The battlefield has changed from ants attached to the city wall to hand-to-hand combat at the top of the city, which often means that the city is not far away from being broken. He probably also knew that Xiaguang City was in danger, and this was the first time Yan Wenluan's old battalion infantry appeared on the Hulukou battlefield. Zhong Tan rode his horse forward, without the threat of crossbows at the top of the city, with his own martial arts cultivation and wearing iron armor, he was not afraid of the long-range bows of the few scattered archers at the top of the city. .
Zhong Tan looked up and saw that there was indeed a large wave of infantry from the old battalion of Youzhou supporting the city. They were dressed in the typical "Yan Zhajia" and were all carefully crafted by Beiliang's official craftsmen. This kind of Yan Zhajia consisted of 1,500 pieces It is composed of fine iron armor leaves, and then it is made of tough leather strips and nails. It weighs more than 60 kilograms. It is not inferior to the first-class heavy armored infantry in Western Chu. They are better than the Western Chu soldiers. The Yan family's infantry wore heavy armor and held spears in array to refuse to ride. They once played an effect that stunned the Western Chu cavalry in the Spring and Autumn Wars. The birth of the heavy armored infantry in the Dafeng Dynasty and the formation of the Nine Kingdoms in the Spring and Autumn Period were originally a deformed unit that came into being after the large-scale cavalry gradually became the protagonist of the battlefield, especially after the grassland cavalry became more and more unstoppable. Since the infantry is no longer as flexible as the cavalry, they should simply abandon their mobility and use static braking. Of course, the heavy armored infantry was not originally a precious weapon for defending the city. It was not simply because it was overkill to fight step by step, but because the heavy armored infantry was too heavy to fight at close quarters in the city where every inch of land was expensive. , is not sensible.
However, the four hundred Beimang daredevil soldiers who had already attacked the top of Xiaguang City were beheaded and killed by Yan Zhajia's infantry almost as soon as they met each other.
Zhong Tan turned to a messenger and said in a deep voice, "Let Zheng Lin lead two thousand cavalry to meet the retreat of the siege infantry."
On the top of the city, life and death are judged.
The Beimang pawns were almost exhausted, and one of them still slashed fiercely, but was lifted by the well-armored heavy pawn of the Yan family on the opposite side, and swung the blade at will. The sharp soldier of Yingyan family continued to charge forward, and the cold knife in his right hand instantly pierced the chest of the leather-armored North Mang barbarian. Lifting it up, a barbarian from the North Mang who was waiting for an opportunity to slash him in the face was pulled out from the waist to the shoulder, and a blood groove was opened to reveal the deep bone. The scarlet blood splashed all over the entire face of this heavy step. Very hideous.
A Beimang soldier was knocked out of the city on the spot from a breach in a ruined city.
At the head of Xiaguang city, the iron armor is clanging.
The bloody heads of Northern Mang soldiers were thrown off the wall at the same time by those burly soldiers.
Except for the soldiers who climbed the city, no one was spared. The Beimang siege soldiers who heard the retreating drums hurriedly withdrew the ladder. On top of their heads, heads and corpses kept falling down, as well as the arrow rain splashed by the archers who returned to the top of the city.
This rain of blood and arrows is Xiaguang City's most powerful answer to the "rain curtain" created by the Beimang catapults.
For the first time since the city gate was closed, Xiaguang City raised its gate, and a large group of heavily armored infantry rushed out.
Above the top of the city, Youzhou's heavy armored infantry slid down the ladder and started a one-sided massacre of those Beimang soldiers who could not retreat in time.
Like a flood pouring out of the city, Beimang infantry continued to "drown" in blood.
The Beimang 2,000 Cavalry Army, which was closest to the city, began to charge faster after receiving the Zhongtan Army Order, launching a round of cavalry and shooting, trying to suppress the Xiaguang City infantry's out-of-city formation as much as possible while rescuing their own soldiers and retreating. At the same time, the infantry bow on the top of the city, which had a longer range than the cavalry bow, resolutely gave up shooting the Beimang infantry and turned to the Beimang cavalry army who were harassing the heavy stepping out of the city. The cavalry general Zheng Lin raised his arm and gave a pause. The cavalry stopped moving forward and began to retreat fifty steps slowly. Most of the arrows from the city head fell on the ground between these fifty steps. On top of that, Zheng Lin turned around again and looked around, a little depressed. Except for the siege infantry who retreated urgently from both sides of the cavalry, the culprit who really prevented more of their cavalry from rushing to the battlefield happened to be those nearby who were supposed to be responsible. The infantry phalanx for the subsequent siege, otherwise they only need to give them 2,000 cavalry to block the city gate. Since the number of bows and crossbows in Xiaguang City is not enough to pose a big threat, then 4,000 cavalry will completely stop that infantry. Going out of the city, the worst can make it impossible to spread out the formation comfortably.
Zheng Lin's cavalry army can be described as the elite on the Eastern Front. Except for the spears they didn't carry because they didn't expect to charge into the battle, they have all kinds of bows, lasso and throwing axes. Compared with the leather armor of the ordinary prairie cavalry, it can be called a luxury cover.
Zheng Lin's stationary and stationary cavalry stood out from the rest of the retreating Northern Mang infantry.
Soon there were several cavalry reinforcements rushing through the infantry with difficulty, and there were almost 3,500 cavalry in total, but the fighters on the battlefield were always fleeting. With the skillful help of nearly a thousand auxiliary soldiers in charge of transportation, they have calmly lined up outside the gate of Xiaguang City, as dense as hedgehogs. But for some reason, this infantry did not place the three axes, antler wood, barbed wire and repelling horses in front of the formation to hinder the cavalry's charge. Zheng Lin couldn't help but feel a little strange. Xiaguang City is the last important town on the Hulukou line of defense. Even if he never thought about going out of the city and riding on foot, why should the city store these military items as a symbol? Zheng Lin smiled, no Even better, those large-scale refusal horses with four slanted woods, chiseled holes for inserting iron guns, and another simple refusal horse that has been explained countless times by the army in front of the scene, really make Zheng Lin such a cavalry. The general's scalp tingled just by hearing it.
Zheng Lin carefully observed the distribution of arms of the Youzhou infantry, and it was indeed as good as the group of well-mannered military fighters said. The strongest shield soldiers with the strongest physical strength erected a large shield almost as tall as a man in front, and the rear row was sharp. Spears protruded obliquely from between the shields, and on the rattan iron wall, rows of "spear forests" were formed that could make their cavalry feel cold even in midsummer. Then came the archers who could draw their bows to kill the enemy earlier than the cavalry, and the waist-opening and kicking crossbows with a longer range than the infantry. Zheng Lin subconsciously lifted his butt off the horse's back, trying to see more clearly, but it was difficult to find out more about the inner mysteries of this old Yan family battalion pawn.
A cavalry commander who came to Hulukou from the Beiting Grassland smiled and asked: "General Zheng, what do you say, or let me lead the troops to charge first? It's okay to try the depth."
Zheng Lin looked at this young commander. He was the eldest son of a certain Daxi Tidi who occupied a large area of water and grass in the north. He was young and energetic. Waiting to break through Xiaguang City and go to Youzhou to start a massacre. It is said that this kid has discussed with a group of noble children from Beiting with similar backgrounds. Let's stare at the place called Yanzhi County and sip hard. Even the men in the Liyang Central Plains will drool over there. They are all sold to Xitiao, big and small in the grassland, earning both money and favors.
Zheng Lin, as a descendant of the Southern Dynasties Yi family, did not have a good impression of these Beiting Xitiao descendants. In the past 20 years, there have been countless cases of Beiting minor nobles daring to domineering in the Southern Dynasty Xijing City, but Zheng Lin still shook his head and said: : "The 4,000-man infantry is the old battalion of Yan Wenluan in Youzhou. It is the direct line of the direct line. Let's not rush into the battle lightly. General Zhong just asked me to cover the retreat of the infantry. Don't be greedy for merit."
The commander laughed and said: "Whether it is greedy for meritorious deeds or not, I will have to make a conclusion after I lose. Which of the thousand prairie boys under me is not an elite cavalry army who is as good as playing horses. General Zheng, since you If you don’t dare to rush into the formation, then just wait and watch me rush through the formation.”
Zheng Lin said with a blank face: "Oh, then I will just wait for the good news."
The young commander laughed loudly, took the lead, and rushed to the heavily defended infantry phalanx.
A thousand cavalry consists of two hundred cavalry in a row, and a large distance is drawn between the five rows. The first two rows are dominated by the tall "heavy cavalry" who are short and tall, and everyone holds the original spear, or It was an iron spear captured from Beiliang Wubao, and the armor it wore was better than that of the last three rows, and it moved forward quickly. This kind of grassland nation uses extremely familiar cavalry to charge the formation. Its formation is simple and flexible. When in formation, the last three rows of light cavalry will suddenly speed up the charge, rushing out from the gaps of the iron cavalry, or cavalry shooting dense arrow rain or throwing short spears, if the enemy's infantry phalanx can maintain a stable formation, then the heavy cavalry Don't be in a hurry to rush into the formation, slide out from the two wings of the phalanx around the arc, followed by Qingqi one by one, if you can't find fighters on both sides of the infantry phalanx, return to the original place, and repeat until the infantry phalanx shakes and there is a trace of loopholes , the iron cavalry will launch a truly deadly powerful charge, cutting a breakthrough for the rear light cavalry.
The grassland cavalry who galloped recklessly on the territory of the Dafeng Dynasty in the past, with the various benefits brought about by the Hongjia north run, both armor and weapons have been greatly improved.
It's a pity that the enemy this thousand-man cavalry army faced was Yan Wenluan's heavily armored infantry, the Northern Liang frontier army.
It is not the embroidered pillow dynasty that was boasted by some wealthy literati as "all the dynasties of the past dynasties perished with the weak, but the great ones perish with the strong".
When it was discovered that only a thousand riders were charging alone.
This infantry phalanx made a shocking move. It violated the common sense of the law of war and brought down the shield wall and gun forest that were the essence of the horse repelling formation.
Only between three hundred steps and one hundred steps.
Under the fierce shooting of a large number of bows and crossbows that showed their sharpness, the thousand cavalry who shouted loudly turned on their backs, and lay down for a total of more than 600 cavalry.
And the next scene is also completely different from what is said in the military book. The infantry formation did not continue to shoot large-scale infantry bows, but only accurately shot and killed the dozens of rangers who were trying to get out of the frontal battlefield when they saw the opportunity, while the front row regrouped. The shield holds the spear.
It's like saying, cavalry charge? Then please come!
After discovering that his commander-in-chief had been pierced through the chest by an arrow, the remaining 300 riders in Beimang rushed over like crazy, regardless of life and death.
Hit those sharp refusal guns.
After a bump.
The entire infantry phalanx is still as stable as a rock!
before the shield.
Among the spears!
More than 300 Beiman war horses, without exception, were all pierced by the two and a half feet long spears on the spot!
On the top of Xiaguang City, there was a short, one-eyed old man, accompanied by the Youzhou General Huang Fuping and the Governor Hu Kui, two Northern Liang frontier officials. From the beginning to the end, the old man didn't even look at Bei Mang Qianqi Instead, he looked out of the gourd mouth further north, and said to himself: "In three days, the four cavalry armies will all be able to enter the gourd mouth, right?"
…
Outside the gourd mouth, the 20,000 Youzhou cavalry army was divided into two. General Shi Yulu and Fan Wenyao led 2,000 cavalry each and continued northward.
Yu Luan, deputy general of Youqi, led 16,000 cavalry in person, and greeted the arrival of the two cavalry on the spot. At that time, the Youzhou cavalry would serve as guards for the latter.
Although the combined number of the latter two cavalry armies is just over half of the Youqi.
But Yu Luan knife did not have the slightest resentment.
…
Two days later, a cavalry army of 10,000 people broke away from the army first and rushed into the gourd mouth.
There are ruined fortresses, and there are no beacons.
Devastated.
The strong wind passed by the city of Wogong, which was no longer a city, like weeping and complaining.
These 10,000 cavalry didn't stop at Wogong City, but when they passed around the city, all the cavalry pawns spontaneously drew out their Beiliang sabers and held them high.
Big snow dragon ride.
Just go south without a sound.