A mark of more than fifty elite cavalry, with strong soldiers and strong horses, galloped northward.
This cavalry army is equipped with the most sophisticated standard swords of the Liyang court. Only from the tight white scene that reveals the quiver, we can see how elite this cavalry army is. It is not the stiff and dense carved feathers. Military strategists recognize that carved feathers are used as arrow feathers, which can provide arrows with better wind resistance, so they are more accurate. At the same time, in order to make up for the loss in shooting range, the physical strength of the archer is even greater. Non-army soldiers are not allowed to draw the eagle feather bow. Among the Liyang frontier cavalry armies who are most familiar with bows and horses today, Beiliang puts more emphasis on crossbows than bows, while Liangliao and Jibei use a mixture of bows and crossbows. Among them, the Jibei cavalry, which is famous for its abundance of archers, even Bows are far more than crossbows. This scouting cavalry army advancing north quickly is under the tutelage of the Jibei Frontier Army. Half of the cavalry soldiers are from outside the Jibei Fortress. Yang Shenxing, the general who has been the emperor of the land in Jizhou for more than ten years, always pays more attention to infantry. As a result, a large number of cavalry soldiers who were good at bow and archery were lost, and they left their hometowns to seek official positions in the army in the hinterland of the Central Plains.
The leader of this scout is Beidi Jianer, who was born in Jibei. He was still a teenager when he left the border with his father. Now he is used to the customs of Qingzhou, because his father was a captain in the Qingzhou Army when he retired from the army, so he For so many years, there is no shortage of wine, delicacies, and rouge beauties, but compared to the native Qingzhou soldiers, there is a father who is always watching the smoke of the battlefield, so he has practiced a good riding martial arts. The last time Qingzhou cavalry rushed to On the battlefield, there were heavy casualties in the battle to aid Huainan King Zhao Ying. Because his father was seriously ill, he had to be the only seedling in his family to guard by his side, so he was able to escape. He is quite respectful to him, so he specially asked him to recruit a group of elite soldiers who are good at riding and shooting, and called him into the big tent last night, and told his veritable spy horse not to leave the army too far. The scouts of the Shangbeiliang Cavalry Army must not be entangled, and must retreat completely. Even at the end of the conversation, the chief general revealed the meaning of allowing him to lead the troops to leave after the two armies fought. As a general, he is grateful, but also dissatisfied. The advancement of local warriors is difficult, and they can only follow the steps, especially when they reach the rank of captain, and they have to compete with each other. With his family background, if there is no accident, he will be very Ten or twenty years later, relying on water to work hard, and then being a small captain with military power in Qingzhou like his father's generation is already invincible. He doesn't care about the threshold and the rules, as for whether the military achievements come from the head of the barbarian in Beimang or the head of the barbarian in Beiliang.
The heavy snow has already melted, and the fields in early spring are full of greenery. There are some unnamed wild flowers on the roadside, clinging to each other, and fresh yellow buds have been drawn out, swaying in the warm spring breeze. Looking around, it is soft And serene.
It's not like a battlefield at all.
The horse's hooves trampled on the soft ground, like a man patting his lover's tender skin with his palms, like a young man in a brothel beating on a jade board with red teeth.
If another month or so passes, when the rape blossoms bloom, the ridges and ridges will spread out, and the scenery of yellow flowers and yellow flowers will fill people's vision.
According to previous intelligence reports, our army will have about a day and a half to advance before officially entering the dangerous area patrolled by Beiliang scouts. Wan Ji's northern cavalry, as the main mobile force, involved the Beiliang Army. In any case, as long as they arrived at the location on time and cooperated with Xu Shilang to assist in the defense, it was impossible to pull out the Qingzhou Army with less than 500 cavalry troops. As the main enemy of the Northern Liang Cavalry Army, the 20,000 Shu soldiers led by a little baby are more likely to be attacked by the Northern Liang Cavalry Army.
But at this warm and intoxicating time, the body of the leader who took the lead suddenly tensed up, and said in a deep voice: "There is an enemy situation! Northwest, six hundred paces!"
After being reminded by the leader, the riders realized that at the end of their field of vision, there were a few still black spots that could be vaguely seen, and they would pass them by at a glance.
Biaochang's eyes and pupils are dilated, nervous and excited, unlike his father who fought on the Jibei border, although he won the nickname "Chulinhu" in the military arena with his outstanding martial arts, he even Now even his father is not his opponent, but his father often reminds him that fighting on the battlefield is no more like fighting in the army, and it is not a group of martial arts in the rivers and lakes. Life and death are often a thin line. Originally, he didn't care too much. But this time when he went out with the army, his father actually asked him to wear armor and hold a knife, and for the first time, his father himself put on the old chain mail that he smuggled out of the Jibei Army in the early years. The father, who he mistakenly thought was a toothless "old" tiger, slashed his shoulder with a knife in the blink of an eye, and put the knife on his neck. He only needed a little more force to cut off his head. At that moment, he really understood what his father meant by exchanging injury for death. After bandaging his father's wound, his father told him earnestly that veterans of the frontier army, such as father, who came from a low background, can survive to this day only because of one thing, and that is luck. In the army, I don't know how many disciples of aristocratic families who rely on themselves to be beautiful and flamboyant, but their bodies were incomplete when they first fell into battle.
The second officer of the scouting team followed quickly, with a trembling voice, "Jiang Biaochang, what do you say? To fight or not to fight?"
The leader let out a breath, narrowed his eyes and said, "To be honest, the higher-ups mean that we are not allowed to go to war without authorization. Even if we take those four or five barbarians from Beiliang, it may not be pleasing."
The Qingzhou scouts who ran forward at a constant speed did not launch a charge and chase, nor did they stop because they did not have the order from the leader. They just got closer to the small group of Beiliang scouts.
Probably influenced by the leader's calmness, the nervous deputy also began to calm down. Although he was facing the Liangzhou crossbowman, who was known as the number one scout in the world, his side had a total of fifty-one riders. Almost all of them are the top elites in the Qingzhou Army. The deputy deputy complained that as a scout, he was strictly ordered to scout the enemy's situation with a "mighty" system, which is really unreasonable, but on the one hand As an imaginary enemy, the Beiliang Cavalry Army has to guard against several large armies. Secondly, this is not the territory of those barbarians. I believe that Beiliang's crossbowmen dare not go too deep into the hinterland, so since there is no way to really take on the responsibility of scouting horses , it doesn't matter whether they give full play to the maximum effect of their scouts. Now it seems that it was a blessing for them to be overcautious by mistake. Dividing four or five enemy heads is a great deal of credit, especially since the opponent is still the Beiliang iron cavalry who has been invincible for twenty years. The two officers and the three officers have all moved up a level or two.
So Biao mate looked 350 paces away with a ferocious expression. For some reason, the cavalry still didn't move. Could it be that they were frightened out of their wits, but they could gradually see each other clearly. After confirming that the enemy was only a handful of five cavalry, and that there were no other enemy troops lurking nearby, Deputy Deputy Biao couldn't help grinning and said, "Mr. Jiang Biao, there are five heads of northern Liang barbarians in total. Although they are not enough to fit our teeth, but Mosquito legs are also meat, three are yours, and one is enough for me and Lao He!"
The leader shook his head and said: "This is a good start. There must be more meritorious service in the war. I don't lack this for the time being, and I am still young, but Lao Song, you are different from Lao He. Don't make enough military merits this time." , I can only retreat from the pitiful lieutenant position, if you don’t complain, I will fight for you, so this trip, one of you can’t get away, and the other three will be given to the brothers.”
The Deputy Biao, who was nearly forty years old, clasped his fists and said, "Lao Song is not hypocritical, he must keep it in his heart!"
The two scouts were about three hundred steps apart.
Meet on a narrow road.
But at the moment when Qingzhou Tanma Biao gave the order to raise his bow, the Wu Beiliang scout turned his horse's head and began to retreat, taking it easy and doing it with ease.
Biao's deputy, Lao He, has the most irritable temper among the Biao Qingzhou scouts. If it hadn't been for many drinking mistakes and bumping into his head, he should have been a serious captain long ago, and he would be regarded as an official. Otherwise, no matter how brave you are, you won't let those civil servants take it seriously in Qingzhou official circles. Therefore, in this contact battle, Lao He was more jealous than Jiang Biaochang and his peer Lao Song. He wished that the war horse under his crotch would have four more legs. The rare three-hundred-jin strong bow in the world is already the double limit of the arm and the longbow for an ordinary archer to shoot twenty consecutive shots on the battlefield, but Lao He's exaggerated arm strength and the high-quality big bow made by the old Shu Liang craftsman are enough to support it. Lao He shot thirty consecutive shots and had more than enough strength.
The active retreat of the crossbowmen in Beiliang made this Qingzhou Tanma courageous.
Lao He squeezed the horse's belly hard, and roared: "Kill the enemy!"
The Wuqi Beiliang scouts didn't seem to be in a hurry, but no matter how the Qingzhou scouts drove the horses forward, the distance between the two sides was always about 150 steps, which was far beyond the range of the horse bow.
I don't know who was the first to call out "kill the barbarians" among the Qingzhou scouts, and soon shouts similar to "kill the northern Liang barbarians" came and went in the cavalry.
The five Liangzhou crossbowmen turned their heads almost at the same time.
Jiang Biaochang felt inexplicably uneasy.
The following scene quickly made the standard commander who was riding and shooting on the border both worried and relieved. What was worried was that the battle was about to break out, and what was relieved was that the enemy, who was already at an absolute disadvantage in strength, accelerated away, leaving only the The next four riders are used to prevent one's own pursuit.
The four crossbowmen riding Liangzhou began to turn around.
The range of the horse bow is not as good as that of the step bow. It is a solid fact. It is not that the Qingzhou army is not equipped with light crossbows, but there are not many of them. Wen Taiyi and others spoke in the middle of the court. Jing'an Road, especially Qingzhou and Xiangfan City, have always lived a comfortable life. Outside forces do not enter, and Qingzhou is generally a comfortable time behind closed doors. For a long time, without war and even more In Qingzhou, which relies heavily on the combat power of the navy, the military's limited inventory of good crossbows has gradually become the favorite plaything of officials and eunuchs. From the perspective of the Qingzhou cavalry who have been in contact with light crossbows, they are certainly not bad. , is a valuable and good thing, but it is too rare, maintenance is also troublesome, and only in terms of range, it is inferior to the horse bow.
Then this Qingzhou explorer drew his bow when he was about a hundred paces apart, and was horrified to find that the four riders raised their arms and raised their crossbows almost at the same time as them!
In fact, if the horse bow at this distance is shot immediately, the aim is already quite reluctant, and it is even more difficult to break through the armor and injure the enemy. It has always been the military law of the Qingzhou Cavalry Army to bow before taking a step or so.
Lao He, the vice-president with the most physical strength among Tan Ma, became the first strong man to shoot an arrow.
Eighty-five steps from both sides, Lao He, who was holding his bow like a full moon, shot an arrow through the air with a bang, which was a straight line that was completely unreasonable, which showed the terrifying physical strength of this scout.
The crossbowman in Liangzhou subconsciously bent over and turned his shoulders sideways, and the eagle-feathered arrow that had pierced his chest almost brushed against his armor.
The confident Lao He was shocked.
At eighty paces, Beiliang's four cavalry not only raised their arms and raised their crossbows, but also began to shoot and kill the enemy cavalry.
With a dull puff, a Qingzhou explorer who was drawing his bow and gaining momentum suddenly fell backwards, with a crossbow arrow nailed into his forehead and pierced through his head.
A young scout who hastily shot a soft arrow because he was too nervous, saw a black spot the size of a grain of rice suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, and his throat was shot through in the next moment. He threw away the horse bow, covered his neck with his hands, and fell off the horse's back .
Jiang Biaochang tilted his head slightly, and a Beiliang arrow smeared a blood groove on his cheek, but the hands of this outstanding Qingzhou cavalry soldier did not tremble at all, and there was a bang.
Even though the barbarian riding in the distance made an evasive gesture, his entire shoulder was still pierced through his armor and nailed into his flesh and blood.
Qingzhou Biao deputy Lao Song not only dodged the crossbow arrow, but also the first feather arrow was very accurate, but he was just dodged by the Beiliang cavalry who was facing him by bending over his horse.
The Liangzhou crossbowman with the arrow in his shoulder, the one who bent over to hide the arrow, and the two riders who had already killed each other, all of them started shooting at other arrows when the three leaders of Qingzhou Tanma shot their second arrows. When the Qingzhou cavalry set up their arrows and drew their bows, they were already shot from crossbow arrows.
None of the four cavalry continued to target Jiang Biaochang, the chief and the second officer, so soon four Qingzhou cavalry fell off their horses, all of which were face and throat without exception, which were enough to kill.
However, most of the panicked Qingzhou scouts not only lost their accuracy, but the northern Liang barbarians on the other side were obviously very good at dodging. Even the two arrows of General Standard and Standard Deputy Lao Song failed to kill the enemy.
Jiang Biaochang's arrow was exquisite. Not only did he not deliberately seek a fatal arrow, but he even gave up shooting people. Instead, he directly chose to shoot the horse's head first. Amazingly, just pulling the rein slightly, the Liangzhou war horse, which had a heart-to-heart relationship with its master, turned its head, which caused the arrow to just cut off a large piece of flesh on the corporal's thigh, without damaging the war horse in a short time. force.
Jiang Biaochang could no longer care about the fear of the enemy's combat power, and roared: "Steady! If you are not sure, shoot the horse!"
He knew that after entering forty steps, it was destined to be the most powerful and also the last arrow of his side.
Not only the three Beiliang riders who remained on their horses, but also the pawn who fell off his horse and rolled to the ground to lose his momentum. He also followed the three robes, and he shot the third crossbow arrow in a posture of kneeling on one knee. .
Old Deputy Biao's eyes were red, his arm muscles swelled, he drew his bow vigorously, and shouted: "Go to hell, barbarian!"
However, an awkward and suffocating scene happened to all the Qingzhou scouts. Except for the injured Beiliang barbarian who fell off his horse, the rest of the three crossbow-wielding horsemen changed slightly without any action from their masters after firing their crossbow arrows. The charge route, the seemingly negligible thin line, is from death to life.
This scene taught Jiang Biaochang two things.
What is a border veteran, what is Liangzhou Dama.
All the Qingzhou detectives who had put down their horse bows had no time to think, subconsciously shouted the word "kill", drew out their swords, and galloped on their horses.
Liangzhou scouts, who had one more round of arrows than Qingzhou horse bows, also began to silently draw their swords and continued to charge forward.
Three cavalry, against forty-one cavalry, the two sides with disparity in strength, one roared vigorously and the other was abnormally silent, just bumped into each other.
Jiang Biaochang and Biao's deputy Lao Song almost joined forces, and they failed to completely keep the Northern Liang corporal. It's not that the corporal martial arts of the crossbowmen surpassed the two of them. In fact, if they fought alone, Qingzhou's Biao Any one of Chang Biao's deputy has a better chance of winning, especially in dismounted battles, Jiang Biaochang is more sure of winning, but when the two expected that the speed of the horses on both sides reached the limit, Liangzhou's horses suddenly accelerated again, showing that Qingzhou The cavalry felt terrifying and unfamiliar with the huge explosive power. It was this explosive power that allowed the Beiliang corporal not only to avoid two stabs, but to have a bloody gash in the back by Qingzhou Biao, but he was able to continue to move forward. He cut open the formation of the Qingzhou cavalry army before, and stretched out his arm neatly, and the head of a Qingzhou cavalry pawn jumped high.
The "two armies" passed each other.
Among the three riders, only the corporal leader broke out, one man and one horse, slowing down, turning the horse's head silently and lonely, preparing for the next round of charging.
The two cavalry rushing to the formation had already killed the three cavalry on their way to the battle.
And the Beiliang wounded soldier who was the first to fall from his horse, even before he died, fought on foot, shot one to death with an arrow, stabbed another to death with a knife, and then was slammed into the chest by a Qingzhou war horse, and fell into a pool of blood .
Jiang Biaochang, who almost gritted his teeth, turned his head to look at the only Beiliang cavalry soldier left, and glanced at the dying cavalry pawn a dozen steps ahead of the cavalry.
The Beiliang manzi replaced the fifteen riders under Lao Tzu's command with three riders, a total of fifteen riders!
The extremely annoyed Qingzhou leader drew his bow again, aiming the arrow at the wounded Beiliang soldier who was already lying in a pool of blood.
Only a dozen or so steps away.
An arrow shot into the pawn's head.
On the ground, the eagle feathers trembled.
In the Central Plains, there are not only literati's scolding for Beiliang.