The Liao army's rough shouts and laughter rose and fell from time to time. A Khitan voice said that things that could not be done in their own territory could be done after entering the city. Women and property, killing people and setting fires
Xiao Duli rode his horse to the front row of the cavalry vanguard. In the dust in the distance, three cavalrymen sent by the Hedong Army were running towards him side by side.
In the dry autumn wind, the sand and stones are flying, and the yellow sand is everywhere. The ancient and dilapidated Daizhou City is deep in the dust, like a relic left from ancient times. Thousands of troops are deployed in the wild, and the iron armor and swords are flashing with cold stars.
Xiao Duli watched for a while, raised his hand and shouted loudly in Khitan: Stop!
He turned his head to the deputy generals around him and said: Things are a bit strange, don't get close for now, send someone to investigate.
The generals reined in their horses one after another as ordered and observed the scene ahead. One by one, the troops formed a battle formation with their backs to the city. After the commander reminded them, everyone felt that the situation seemed like they were about to start a battle.
Xiao Duli looked for a long time, then looked up at the sky, and only heard a buzzing noise in his ears.
At this moment, a horseman suddenly came galloping from a gap in the formation. The knight in leather clothes had no time to dismount, so he pressed his chest and said anxiously: "General, something bad has happened. Xu Jun's elite soldiers rushed to our rear from the southwest, burned our camp, and are now attacking Yanmen."
Xiao Duli's eyes widened, and veins immediately bulged on both sides of his forehead.
The soldiers were in an uproar, and someone shouted: We have been tricked!
Xiao Duli asked the knight: Who is he
The knight said: Xu Junmajun is strong and powerful, one man rides two horses, everyone wears fine armor, they must be the imperial guards
Damn it, hasn’t Dong Zunhui arrived in Xinzhou yet? Xiao Duli glared and cursed.
One general said: "Yang Ye and Dong Zunhui are in the same group. They let them in quietly. Another said, it won't be that fast."
Xiao Duli was confused. He couldn't figure out whether Dong Zunhui ran too fast or the information from the scouts was wrong. But the situation before him was that his retreat was suddenly cut off.
The vanguard was cut off and the army turned around. Xiao Duli made a prompt decision and shouted, then he turned his horse around as well.
Not long after, a streak of fire suddenly flashed in the distance, and the flag in the thick smoke was quickly submerged.
Boom boom boom A huge roar sounded after the fire flashed, like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, and it roared fiercely. The sound shook this ancient land and tore through the dead silence of the sky in Hedong.
The iron ball flew through the yellow dust, flying lower and lower over the knights' heads. With a heavy bang, the iron ball hit the dry ground and immediately jumped up, hitting the ground and causing the earth and rocks to break and fly.
The warhorse that was so close at hand suddenly stopped in shock and raised its front hooves in the dust.
The knight behind him suddenly fell back from his horse, his head exploded like a watermelon, and the yellow ground was splattered with blood and even flesh.
The shouts of people and the neighing of horses could be heard everywhere, and at this time the Hedong Army was still nearly a mile away.
The sound of the cannon was like a bamboo pole poking a hornet's nest inside and outside the city of Daizhou. At once, drums and trumpets sounded. Someone was shouting something, and every time he shouted, a shout rang out among the soldiers and horses, and then the Chinese shouts of thousands of soldiers and horses were heard: Long live the country!
A surge of cavalry appeared, and a large group of Han cavalry moved northward. The horses in front ran faster and faster, rushing faster and faster like a mudslide. The sound of horse hooves rolled like waves, and yellow earth flew over the ground like smoke.
The Liao army's vanguard obeyed the order and did not turn around. Instead of running, they advanced. The two groups of horses rushed towards each other. In the flying sand and rocks, the smoke raised by the horses' hooves spread like the smoke of a burning fire.
When the two armies met, there was a crackling sound like frying beans everywhere. It was the sound of the powerful strings of the military bows vibrating.
The front cavalry of the Liao army let go of the reins, clamped their legs around the horse's back, bent their upper body and moved flexibly with the horse's up and down and left and right movements, pulled the bowstrings with both hands, and in the misty dust, the black shadow of the long shuttle was very terrifying, and screams were heard everywhere.
Soon, the battlefield was filled with the sound of killing, the sound of dancing weapons looming, and the men and horses seemed to be struggling in the mud.
The Hedong cavalry was no match for the Liao army. They could not advance and could only charge back and forth nearby. In the chaotic battle formation, several Hedong cavalry were directly defeated by the Liao army. But the Liao army did not dare to pursue them because a large group of infantry from the south was spreading towards the battle formation.
When Xiao Duli led his troops past last night's camp, he saw black smoke everywhere, corpses lying everywhere, and the place was in a mess.
All the generals around him were in a state of panic. Xiao Duli had no time to think about what was happening. Anyway, several bigwigs in the North Courtyard told him what to do. Who should he go to now
Xiao Duli was still able to keep his composure. After seeing the situation in the camp with his own eyes, he immediately said: "Reinforce Yanmen Pass immediately and make sure to protect the retreat route. Xu's army has come a long way and is exhausted. If you want to survive, you must kill them."
While pointing to the directions of various tribes and mobilizing troops, he took out a thick old map and looked at it again.
The Hedong area is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the terrain is like a river. There are plains and rivers between the continuous mountains. The Daizhou area within Yanmen Pass is like a right-leaning Sichuan character: the Yanmen Mountains are to the north and the Taihang Mountains and Wutai Mountains are to the south.
Now Xiao Duli was caught in the corridor between two mountain ranges. To the southwest was the direction of the Xu army and Dong Zunhui's troops, and to the southeast was the Daizhou Hedong army and Yang Ye's troops. Once the road out of Yanmen Pass was blocked, the north and south could not enter.
Xiao Duli followed the Liao army northward to the foot of Yanmen Mountain, intending to reinforce along the way to fight for Yanmen Pass.
Not long after they marched, they saw a group of Xu army infantry waiting on the road leading into the mountains. The war horses were behind the square formation, and it seemed that they were infantrymen on horseback.
If we don’t fight, we will die. Defeat the enemy camp,” Xiao Duli ordered.
The Liao army's northern wing vanguard cavalry immediately approached Xu's camp. This place has reached the end of Yanmen Pass. The mountains are gentle, but the ups and downs are endless. The cavalry advanced on the undulating terrain. At first glance, it seemed that the mountains and plains were full of horses.
Shouts and horse hooves echoed through the mountains. The Liao army surrounded Xu's army from both sides and attacked the two wings on the hillside. It was obvious that Dong Zunhui's troops could not carry heavy artillery, so the Liao army easily approached the phalanx.
However, Xu's army had the advantage of terrain, and the Xu's infantry perfectly utilized their offensive and defensive strengths in this terrain. The Liao cavalry had no sprinting speed when attacking from above, so it was difficult to break through the formation; and the two rows of heavy infantry holding long spears in front of Xu's army were difficult to break through with their dense long spears; the rows of firearmsmen in the back took advantage of the height difference and aimed their firearms at the Liao's horses in rows.
Ding Dong, suddenly there was a sound of guqin strings, and the string instruments and drums in the crowd of Xu Jun started playing military music. The music was mixed with the noise of shouting, cursing and weird screams, which seemed very abrupt and strange.
This light force of Xu's army even brought musical instruments with them during the raid. Their equipment was really luxurious. They looked good, and their flags were made of silk, with a tiger pattern embroidered with gold thread. The soldiers' clothes were mostly made of leather, and their armor was also very bright. The red tassels on their helmets looked like red flowers in spring. In this remote borderland full of yellow earth, these people's clothes were out of place.
The sound of the strings was mixed with the whirring of arrows, and the Liao army's cavalry archers were the first to shoot.
There was a shout from the Xu army's formation, and the soldiers, braving the casualties in the rain of arrows, shouted in unison, and the formation remained stable. Suddenly, a gong sounded, a square flag was waved forward, and the sound of firearms exploding in a row was heard.
Although the lead bullets were small, their shadows could still be seen faintly, and they flew towards the Liao army like sand and gravel.
Ah, a Liao soldier covered his face with his hands, blood seeping out from his fingers and dripping down, he screamed and neighed on the horse's back. There were also war horses falling on the slope, struggling and falling, and the cavalrymen screamed and rolled down the hillside.
The sound of muskets continued, and the Liao army suffered many casualties. The cavalry that rushed to the front could not move forward in the face of the dense long spears. There was chaos and noise on the two hillsides for a long time, and soon the Liao army retreated.
After a while, the Liao army regrouped their cavalry and attacked the phalanx from the front, so at least they were no longer attacking from above.
Soon the sound of gunpowder exploding could be heard again in the mountains, and the noise of drums and music could only be heard on the battlefield. There was no human habitation in the other mountains, and it was so terribly quiet that the noise on the battlefield seemed like a dream.
Xiao Duli rode forward and watched the Liao elite cavalrymen who were charging forward fall down on the road. His heart was bleeding. The Liao army cavalry was the most powerful force in the world at that time. Even if they relied on a lot of money and well-equipped Xu army cavalry, they could not get an advantage in the tactical combat power of horse battles.
However, under duress, he could only send his elite troops to charge the infantry front, but to no avail. Xiao Duli felt a surge of frustration.
The cavalry charged quickly and finally rushed to the Xu army's formation. The fearless Liao army warriors drove their horses straight to the front. The horses neighed in fear, but could not stop the speed of the charge and crashed into the front.
Bang bang, the firearms behind the square formation were raised and fired at him. Blood splattered on the Khitan soldier's chest, the iron bone flowers in his hands fell, and his whole body was shaking like a sieve.
Ah, the Khitan man let out a final scream as a spear pierced his waist.
The Liao cavalry rushed forward one after another, and several more cavalry rushed in immediately. The square formation in the middle of Xu's army was in chaos, but the infantry did not retreat, but swarmed and besieged the Liao army.
After only a stick of incense, the Liao army could no longer bear such casualties and continued to attack, so they gradually retreated and reorganized their troops.
The deputy general Yelu Huer suggested: It would be better to call on the Xi soldiers and infantry, with sword and shield soldiers in front and archers in the back, and use projectiles from eighty steps away to consume Xu's army.
Yang Gun also said: "What Deputy General Yelu said makes sense. Xu Jun's firearms have a short range and can't reach more than 80 steps. Even if they can, a weak crossbow cannot penetrate Lu silk, let alone firearms."
At this time, Xiao Duli received a report: A large group of Xu Jun cavalry on the left wing approached
Upon hearing the report, Xiao Duli sighed: The situation is urgent, it's too late.
He looked at the scene ahead and knew that he dared not bypass this group of infantry, and this road would make it even harder to shake off the pursuers. The road after entering the mountain was relatively narrow, and the army could not move around and it was easy to get stuck. When a large number of troops were trapped in the mountains, they would be more likely to be intercepted and pursued.
Yang Ye's troops were in the south-east, Dong Zunhui's cavalry was in the west, and the road to Yanmen in the north was blocked. Xiao Duli turned his head and looked to the east.
The new book of Sha Mo, the veteran author of Zongheng, has been released. Sha Mo could have made a living with his looks, but he chose to rely on his writing skills, and the plot is very exciting.
Introduction: Calm and immovable like the earth, deep and profound like the secret Ksitigarbha scroll suddenly appeared in the world, the golden phoenix came to the world again, the north and the south competed for supremacy, and the clouds were thick. The palace was full of intrigues, and the battlefield was bloody. With the world as the chessboard and all living beings as chess pieces, heroes and beauties played a great chess game. The brocade-clad princes and princes wrote my Spring and Autumn Annals
Link: