The battlefield was filled with people. Guo Shao rode his horse between the square formations, and his shouts echoed between heaven and earth, like the revelation of the great historical trend and destiny. War is the way to life and death, and a key battle often has far-reaching consequences.
The wind blew up his purple cloak. The tall and agile warhorse under him had black fur that shone beautifully in the sun. The muscular lines of the horse's shoulders were very graceful when it galloped. Coupled with the heavy and powerful sound of her footsteps on the ground, a sense of power emanated from every pore.
The gaps between the squares were not wide, and the black horse ran very fast, always able to dodge obstacles nimbly while maintaining high speed. Guo Shao's feet and legs controlled it easily and freely, without the need for a whip. This wild horse was originally wild and fierce, but it was very human. After following Guo Shao for a few years, a subtle tacit understanding and trust had been established.
Even though the situation was not good, Guo Shao reminded himself that everything was fine, everything was familiar, and the trust and dependence on the battlefield were unbreakable.
He drew his sword, raised it high among the soldiers, and shouted: We have experienced countless adversities, we trust each other and share life and death, and we can overcome difficulties every time. The ancestors of heaven are blessing the Great Zhou.
As the war horses galloped past, the soldiers were excited. Although their faces were covered in dust, they seemed to be infused with some kind of soul. Human potential can be stimulated in fighting spirit.
The men trusted Guo Shao, and Guo Shao also trusted them when he saw their morale. He no longer felt at a disadvantage, because this kind of interdependent trust was not something that any army could have. He remembered Shi Yanchao at the vanguard, who, although he did not discover the enemy in time, fully understood the emperor's intentions, and even Shi Yanchao did not seek credit and completely obeyed the emperor's will; this kind of trust made thousands of troops as easy to dispatch as Guo Shao's hands and feet, and countless people had no doubts or hesitations about one person's will.
Guo Shao longed for victory because he could not afford to lose. He could not step down from the altar of invincibility. He needed to win a battle after entering Northern Han.
Guo Shao was also affected by the atmosphere. He was extremely excited. He raised his arms and shouted, his sentences sonorous and powerful: The warriors of the Great Zhou are not afraid of bloodshed, nor are they afraid of powerful enemies. No matter how difficult the road is, we are fighting for the destiny of China and the smooth path for our descendants for generations to come.
He did not mention the promotion of the officers and soldiers, making money and establishing meritorious service, although many people actually did this, but these do not need to be publicized, they are done in daily life, everyone knows the rewards and punishments, and will trust what can be obtained based on experience. In such a grand public occasion, some beliefs that seem to have little effect in daily life will play a big role, because high emotions will form a large atmosphere in the crowd, and people may not be rational when they are nervous. The performance of the crowd and the individual will be very different
Guo Shao rushed to the left wing and saw that the Zhou army's cavalry had already set out, so he shouted: For the sake of the people of the world!
At this time, Dong Zunhui's voice was faintly heard amid the sound of horse hooves: Fight for the Emperor! The thousands of soldiers were indignant, and suddenly there was a magnificent shout: Fight for the Emperor!
In the vast sky and earth, as people were shouting to vent their emotions, the dark lines of the two armies were shrinking rapidly at a visible speed. The horses on both sides entered the high-speed charge stage, with a speed of more than 100 miles per hour, and 10 steps per second. Even if they were one mile apart, they could fight each other in a blink of an eye.
The soldiers in the front row could already see the enemy's faces and the red tassels fluttering on their spears.
The emotions filled with fear and tension were extremely tense during the speeding, and everyone was in a flash of life and death. The generals in the crowd behind shouted angrily: Kill the Khitan running dogs and kill the real men. Die on the battlefield, and the heroic spirits will never disperse.
Arrows flew all over the sky. In an instant, heavy bangs rang out all around, and the horses actually collided directly with each other.
The Zhou army charged forward without regard for their lives. Although the cavalry of the Northern Han wanted to dodge and the horses were afraid, they could not dodge at high speed. There were horses and soldiers on both sides. Under the collision, some people flew directly into the air.
Screams and neighs of horses resounded everywhere, dust billowed on the ground, and the limbs of the horses that were not dead were struggling in pain in the dust. Sparks flashed between iron and blood, and the metal tearing sound of the iron spear hitting the plate armor was so sharp that it made people's teeth ache, and blood splashed like raindrops.
A Zhou cavalryman, whose breastplate was covered in blood and pierced with arrows, had his right arm injured and even lost his weapon. He yelled and kicked his horse to charge at an enemy cavalryman who was charging towards him, his face twisted with his mouth wide open. The Northern Han cavalryman on the opposite side also yelled in a huge shout, and hurriedly raised his spear and stabbed the man with it. With a loud bang, at the speed of the horse's sprint, the spear head pierced through the chain mail under the plate armor and pierced into the man's abdomen, but the horses' shoulders also collided violently, and the Zhou army wounded soldier fell on the Northern Han soldier by inertia, and both of them fell off their horses screaming.
The vanguard general Zhou Tong, who was Guo Shao's archery teacher, then rushed over in person. Even he was shocked by the scene he saw. Most of the first wave of cavalry had been killed, and there were many cases of both men and horses being killed on the battlefield. It was extremely tragic. The remaining ones had penetrated deep into the Northern Han cavalry.
Zhou Tong bulged his eyes and gripped his spear tightly. At this moment, he had no intention of retreating. He could not let down his brothers who had already risked their lives to charge forward. The horses' hooves were still roaring. Zhou Tong shouted: "I will sacrifice my life for my country. Today is the day!" and he led his armored soldiers to charge forward.
At that time, the young commander of the left wing, Dong Zunhui, also led the cavalry to counterattack the enemy's large cavalry from the inside. Dong Zunhui held a good bow decorated with gold and gems, and was covered with heavy and fine iron armor. However, no matter how noble his birth was, at this moment, there was only brutal and rough killing, and only dust, dry grass and desert in his eyes.
The bustling city of Tokyo is far away. The strings and orchestras are no longer there. There is only the sound of horse hooves and shouts. Dong Zunhui shouted: The strong survive and the weak die.
The sweeping cavalry was rushing in all directions like a torrent of mud and rocks. Two groups of cavalry moving in opposite directions approached each other and passed each other. Suddenly, the bowstrings crackled like fried peas and arrows rained down.
Dong Zunhui skillfully drew his bow and arrow. At this moment, the enemy's horses were charging diagonally in front, which was a more perfect angle than a head-on attack. Given the speed of the horses on both sides, the bows and arrows had greater lethality, and if they were shot from the side, they could hit people even if they were randomly shot.
Dong Zunhui's body was very straight on the horse, and the action of drawing the bow was full of power and grace. He paused slightly when he was sitting on the horse with the bow fully drawn. His figure was like a statue. He saw his target clearly and fell off the horse with a snap. It was very accurate. Born into a family of military generals, the young general was well trained since childhood. Every action was methodical and very effective.
Unlike the cavalry that charge into battle, the light cavalry that mounts archers not only need the courage to not fear death, but also the patience to maintain their physical endurance as long-range fighters. Although the movements of Dong Zunhui's personal soldiers are different, the movement process is almost the same. In order to save physical strength, the excellent cavalry archers do not have any unnecessary fancy movements.
A large number of knights from both sides kept falling off their horses in the crowd, and the cavalry team added many empty horses running with the army. In this contest, both sides had high-speed horses and strong armor-piercing ability of bows and arrows. The Northern Han cavalry suffered heavy losses. Although the Zhou cavalry was also light cavalry, they were equipped with plate armor and even the important parts of the horses were protected by leather armor. The Zhou army's plate armor could not be worn, but at this time, they would still be shot through by a strong bow.
There was a ding sound of metal collision, and Dong Zunhui clearly felt a weight on his shoulder, but he didn't even look at it. He calmed down, drew the arrow and drew the bow string, seizing the moment of the confrontation to continue riding and shooting.
The left wing was already in a mess, and the Northern Han army had intended to use its superiority to outflank the Zhou army's flank. But the Zhou army launched a counterattack instead. The cavalry tactics were very mobile and were always moving during combat, so it was not so easy to be outflanked. At this moment, the entire wilderness seemed like a big whirlpool, with the cavalry of both sides charging back and forth. It was not a big melee, but it was already a cannibalistic battle.
On the front, Shi Yanchao did not tremble, and did not even care about tactics. He had already led his troops to attack the central infantry phalanx of the Northern Han army directly from the front.
Boom boom boom! Right in front of the Northern Han army soldiers, a group of heavily armored cavalry rolled in. Even the horses had the same roar of iron hooves trampling on the ground as the armored ones. The terrifying momentum was indescribable in the hearts of the Northern Han army infantry holding long spears. At this time, people would instinctively doubt whether flesh and blood bodies could stay here and stop the torrent of iron cavalry.
But the soldiers deployed in the front were usually heavily armored elite soldiers, and the Northern Han army infantry square formation was still standing there ready to meet the enemy. The first row was soldiers holding square shields and spears, with the square shields placed on the ground and the spears placed on top of the shields; the second row extended their spears from the gap in the middle of the line, with the tail of the spears against the ground, and the soldiers held them with their feet, while the soldiers stood on horseback to stabilize the spears; the third row also extended their spears, but the part extended was closer. The three rows were arranged in a staggered manner, making the front of the square formation look like a huge machine covered with iron spikes.
In the northern region, cavalry is everywhere. As the strongest type of soldiers, cavalry has always been the most valued and guarded formation. Each country also has a lot of infantry, but infantry pays more attention to guarding against cavalry than the southern region.
The square formation was ready, and the torrent in front of them rushed over from far to near, from slow to fast, savagely. Ah, before the Zhou army's cavalry rushed in, the Northern Han army had already shouted loudly. When people are under extreme psychological pressure, they can't help but shout out.
Anyone who retreats half a step will be killed. The general raised his sword and pointed at the cavalry that was about to rush in front of him with a hoarse voice, shouting loudly, "Whoever kills the heavy cavalry will be rewarded handsomely."