Guo Shao and others waited anxiously for military intelligence for a long time. At this time, a civil servant finally hurried into the central army tent and held up a report in both hands: Li Du Dianjian urgently reported that the Liao army of about 20,000 cavalry took the lead in attacking the right flank; Luo Yanhuan, deputy commander of the Luo army, was still in the north and was chasing the Liao army's flank to the south. Because the Liao army took the initiative to attack, Li Du Dianjian had to take the lead in fighting the Liao army.
The civil official put the report in the attendant's hand and said: Li Du Dianjian requested an order to dispatch the right-wing cavalry to rescue the emperor.
After hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the big tent looked solemn.
Guo Shao listened to the civil servant's retelling, but he was not in a hurry to read the report. He lowered his head to look at the map on the table. The original situation was that the Great Zhou cavalry was located in the west, Luo Yanhuan's troops were in the north and Li Chuyun's troops were in the south, forming a response; the Liao army was in the northeast as a whole. Li Chuyun's intention was that Luo Yanhuan suddenly drove straight in from the north and took the lead in launching an attack on the Liao army, and Li Chuyun then attacked from the south, attacking the Liao army from two directions.
But the news was becoming clearer and clearer. The Liao army took the initiative to attack early and seized the initiative in time. The main force suddenly turned south. Most of them attacked Li Chuyun, while another part waded across the Wenyu River from the south and headed straight for Youzhou City.
The current situation is that on the east bank of the Wenyu River, Li Chuyun and most of the Liao army are engaged in battle from the west and east; Luo Yanhuan is still in the north, and has a little time difference to reach the Wenyu River battlefield; a part of the Liao army is in the south, and is approaching Youzhou.
Guo Shao understood the situation and thought: Li Chuyun's request for an imperial decree to save the emperor was just a gesture. He could not spare time when he made the report. Li Chuyun had more than 20,000 cavalrymen, and the Liao army also had more than 20,000 cavalrymen. The Zhou cavalry was not necessarily stronger than the Liao army's palace troops. If Li Chuyun withdrew most of his troops on the battlefield, he would be in great danger. He had to wait for Luo Yanhuan to arrive before he had a chance. Moreover, the process of requesting a report and replying to the military order would be delayed, and the timing would be different.
Guo Shao calmed down and said calmly: "Reply to Li Chuyun, the first priority is to stabilize the situation on the eastern front. There are more than 100,000 Great Zhou troops in Youzhou City, and the Liao army has less than 20,000 cavalry to attack. What can they do to me?"
Wang Pu said: Once Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan on the right have defeated the Liao army, we can then cross the Wenyu River and outflank the Liao army's southern route from the rear.
At this moment, drums and trumpets sounded in the central army camp. The drums beat very urgently, which made Guo Shao feel nervous and anxious.
There was a rumbling sound in the sky, as if there was thunder brewing in the distant clouds. At the end of the sight, a thick black line appeared on the horizon, and a large herd of horses was spreading towards this side.
The Zhou army was also crowded with people. Zhao Hu looked up and saw that they were all wearing iron helmets, and the long spears above the crowd were like a forest.
He held the bronze gun tightly in his hand and waited in the queue without saying a word. After waiting for a long time, today he finally saw the Khitan people of Liao. Zhao Hu belonged to the Tiger Guards, and he was surrounded by well-equipped elite infantry of the Zhou army; Shenhuodu was also considered as cavalry infantry, but at this time the real cavalry infantry was used as mobile cavalry, and their matchlock guns could not be used in combat on horseback, so they had to be ranked with the infantry.
The sound of the Liao army's horse hooves could be heard clearly, but the process of waiting for them to get closer seemed extremely long.
A gust of wind blew, and the flags on the army formation were blowing cracklingly.
The heavy sound of horse hooves was like trampling on people's hearts, beating Zhao Hu's heart again and again. He was still filled with fear, but he still had the courage to face it all. He kept telling himself that he was no longer the farmer who was driven and threatened by the gang of thugs. He was surrounded by brothers who were armed to the teeth.
After an unknown amount of time, the captain started shouting, "Each team, check your matches and light any that have gone out!"
After a while, the captain shouted again: Look at the muskets in front of you. Follow the direction of the muskets and tilt them slightly forward. If you can't see the muskets, look at the direction of this flag.
Zhao Hu understood this simple situation, because they were not facing the front, but were located on the side of a square formation. There were square formations in front of them, and the square formations were arranged in a staggered manner. Shenhuo was not in the front; but if the Liao army penetrated between the square formations, the side would be hit by the long-range attack of Shenhuo and other units.
Soon the sound of horse hooves became louder and louder, and the sound of gongs and drums came from the front, and then arrows flew into the sky, and the battlefield was noisy.
Zhao Hu only saw arrows raining down from the sky in front of him, and beyond the swaying forest of spears, the heads of the Liao army appeared and disappeared from time to time, and the shouting was deafening. At this time, no one could hear what was said in the queue, and the generals' only shouting was effective.
The captain shouted: "Do whatever you are told to do. Don't listen to the shouts from far away. Listen to the orders of your own generals. Anyone who retreats from the battlefield will be beheaded."
At this moment, I suddenly saw galloping horses rushing in from the gap in front. Yes, they were the Khitans. The people riding horses and holding bows and arrows were the thugs who burned, killed and looted in Zhaoshuyuan.
The voice of the prepared general roared.
Zhao Hu was in the second row, waiting for his brothers in front to hold their muskets level. After the general gave the order, there were crackling sounds and the smoke immediately blocked his vision.
Change Team
Zhao Hu immediately followed the people around him and took a few steps forward. He had already practiced these steps thoroughly, but the soldiers next to him were muttering to themselves and their hands were shaking.
The smoke that had just risen was slightly dispersed in the wind, and the horses in front seemed to be running in front of them. Fortunately, there were two layers of chevaux de frise blocking them, which made people feel a little relieved. As the gongs on both sides sounded, the crossbowmen of the Zhou army fired arrows one after another, and Khitan soldiers kept falling off their horses.
Some Liao cavalrymen galloped past him. As Zhao Hu approached, he saw a Khitan man leaning sideways on his horse, drawing a bow, probably only a dozen steps away. He could even see the Khitan man's face and his yellow teeth when he opened his mouth. Zhao Hu's heart was tense, and his mind was blank.
An arrow flew over, Zhao Hu's heart tightened, but he had no time to react. Suddenly there was a scream, and the soldiers next to him dropped their muskets.
More arrows flew towards him in a chaotic manner. Zhao Hu felt as if his head was hit by a nail, and then saw an arrow bounce out in front of him.
The generals were shouting, Zhao Hu gritted his teeth and raised his muskets with the others. His eyes casually caught a Khitan man in front of him who was riding a horse and drawing a bow. His eyes were aimed at the target, and the three points were in a straight line.
After a while, the familiar voice of the Tenth General rang in my ears: Release
Zhao Hu cursed in his heart, "Beat you son of a bitch!" and then, while pulling the trigger, he turned his face to the left, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth slightly. According to his superiors, this would prevent his ears from being deafened. Suddenly, the sound of gunpowder exploding rang in his ears.
As for whether I hit the target or not, I had no idea. When I opened my eyes and turned around, there was a vast expanse of white smoke in front of me. The situation in front was chaotic, and I didn't even know where the enemy soldier I had just aimed at was.
The officer who changed teams yelled.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, there was a sudden loud bang, and a horseman in the smoke hit the chevaux de frise in front of him, followed by the horse's miserable neigh. The galloping horse fell down without stopping, fell heavily to the ground, slid forward for a while, and hit the second row of chevaux de frise. The cavalryman was even more miserable, and he just fell on the chevaux de frise. The sharp spear heads directly pierced the guy's armor and torso. The guy was forked on it like a skewer of meat, and blood splattered everywhere.
All the Zhou army soldiers were stunned for a moment, but some of them finally understood that the general had just issued an order to change teams. Zhao Hu also retreated.
But the story was not over yet. A moment later, another rider rushed up again. The horse was driven upwards, as if trying to jump over the chariot guns on the corpse. Zhao Hu opened his eyes and saw the horse's front paws jumping high, but the horse's belly immediately hit the chariot guns. There was another scream, and the man and the horse stumbled and fell on the chariot guns. The man and the horse rushed forward, and a violent force brought the chariot guns forward, knocking over a large section of the volley, and the heavy man and the horse fell to the ground with a bang.
In the blink of an eye, the cavalrymen behind rushed over, shouting strangely and hearing the crackling sounds of strings.
The heavy sound of the horses' hooves trampling on the ground was terrifying, and the tall cavalrymen roared and rushed forward. The Zhou army holding the bronze fire guns were terrified.
Let the generals shout.
The Zhou army soldiers, who had just been replaced and were not yet ready, fired a flurry of musket fire in a disorderly manner, but they were completely unable to stop the Liao cavalry charge, which had rushed to the front in an instant.
Screams rang out, and the troops turned around and ran. Zhao Hu also retreated in a hurry. At this time, the ten generals shouted: Retreat to the sides, don't crowd in the middle
At this moment, even if Zhao Hu wanted to kill the enemy, he could only run away. How could he stop the charging cavalry with a musket that had just been fired and not reloaded
Everyone rushed to run. Soon Zhao Hu remembered why the ten generals asked everyone to run to the sides because the Zhou army infantry behind them formed a dense formation, with three rows of long spears facing the front, leaving no gaps.
He tried his best to squeeze back, and screams continued to be heard in his ears.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a pain in his back. An arrow shot into his back. There was no iron armor behind him, only leather armor. Zhao Hu felt his feet go weak, his steps became unsteady, and he dropped the bronze gun in his hand.
Suddenly, a strange cry came from his ears, and there was a buzzing sound on his head. Stars appeared in front of his eyes, and he stepped on empty air and fell to the ground. The heavy horse hoof almost brushed his face and splashed dust all over his face.
Zhao Hu's eyes widened, he struggled for a few times, and climbed up with all his strength. He reached out to touch the hilt of the knife at his waist and pulled it out with a swish.
In an instant, a horse galloped towards him, with a fierce look on his face, holding a spear and charging at him. Zhao Hu held a single sword in his hand, and he could not remember any of the sword techniques he had practiced thousands of times. He swung the sword twice randomly, and the spear stabbed him without any explanation. Zhao Hu did not even come to his senses, but he knew in his heart: it was over.
The spear, with the force of the horse's charge, struck Zhao Hu's breastplate. He felt the sound of the armor being pierced, his chest felt cold, and his whole body seemed to be drained.
Zhao Hu was stabbed by the impact of the spear and fell backwards to the ground. He could no longer feel where his limbs were and his whole body was out of control. He suddenly felt the severe pain, as if his whole body had fallen into hell and there was only endless suffering.
He opened his eyes, which were becoming increasingly blurry. At this moment, his father's wrinkled face and his mother from his hometown flashed before his eyes one by one. Xu Erniang still seemed to be a beautiful young lady, with a shy look in her eyes.
A dark shadow suddenly appeared in front of Zhao Hu, who was lying on his back. It was a horseshoe, something as big as a horseshoe, which quickly covered the entire sky in front of him.