Chapter 327 Waves

Chapter 327 Waves

Chapter 327 Waves
Wang Sang reacted quickly.

If he could find Shao Zei, then Shao Zei must have also found him.

These so-called long sword troops were sent by the thief Shao to delay them.

"Swoosh! Whoosh!" Dense crossbow arrows flew from the other side of the river.

The soldiers who were breaking the river ice immediately hid behind their large shields, at a loss as to what to do.

A few others were shot directly to the ground, screaming in agony.

Fighting requires courage!

When Wang Sang heard that Shao Xun was heading north, he was so frightened that he dared not to fight him, and now he reaped the consequences.

More than 200 crossbows on the opposite side suddenly launched an attack, and arrows flew like locusts, forcing the enemy back on the spot.

Because they were marching south, they didn't even build a camp. They just roughly surrounded the area with vehicles and placed some deer antlers, chevaux de frise and other things for protection.

After Sergeant Ice-Knocking retreated, panic spread throughout the camp.

Now no one has any objection to discarding bulky possessions. People are just so mean. It was useless to persuade them before. Many people objected and thought they could just take their possessions with them. Now, everyone is panicking and thinks it is acceptable to leave without taking possessions. After all, saving lives is the most important thing.

Looking at the soldiers in the camp in turmoil, Wang Sang felt depressed.

If his brother were here, he would definitely criticize him for being rash and behaved inappropriately, which resulted in the soldiers having no desire to fight.

But he also felt aggrieved.

If my brother had not been defeated by Shao Xun many times before, would I have to be so panicked? There is no need.

I never frowned when I fought against Pei Chun and Sima Yue. I was even very active in cooperating with Shi Chao and Shi Le in the war in Hebei.

It’s really Shao Xun—damn it, it’s too late to say anything now.

"Retreat!" Wang Sang made a prompt decision and gave the order.

He left two thousand men in the camp to confront the three hundred government soldiers on the other side of the river, and sent out all the cavalry to march north to meet the thousand-plus government soldiers who were cutting off their retreat.

As for the 1,000 vanguards that set out half a day earlier, there is still no news of them. It is estimated that they have been surrounded and annihilated by the Shao bandits.

After the order was given, the entire camp began to move in chaos, like ants whose nest was blown up.

Chang Can, deputy governor of the Changjian Army on the other side of the river, was stunned.

In his impression, Wang Mi's army should have gotten rid of the category of refugee army and had some combat effectiveness. But now, how come the combat effectiveness has declined?
If you had known that they were so bad, you should have been bolder in deploying your troops instead of being so cautious as you are now - well, the tactics that seemed "cautious" to Chang Can were already considered "bold and bold" by others.

"Find a place to cross the river." Chang Can put away the crossbow and gave the order directly.

"Yes." The soldiers looked at the commotion on the other side of the river and their morale soared, and they responded loudly.

At this time, hundreds of cavalrymen mobilized by Wang Sang also arrived at the garrison of the government troops led by Chen Yougen.

There were more than a thousand people in total, and those who had nothing to do but practice lance and long spear stood in the front.

In daily practice, those who think they are good at archery are interspersed among the lancers and spearmen.

Those who were proficient in blunt weapons followed closely behind with long axes, wooden clubs and hook-and-sickle spears.

Others carried long swords and held crossbows, eager to try.

The enemy cavalry tried to charge, but after being shot by crossbows, they retreated far away, leaving behind more than 20 corpses.

They circled anxiously, having no way to deal with this group of people armed to the teeth.

Don't think that only with more infantry can you defeat cavalry head-on. This is not necessarily the case.

During the Tang Dynasty, Su Dingfang led 5,000 cavalry infantry to pursue the Western Turks. After reaching the edge of the land, they dismounted and formed a battle line on a high place.

The high ground is not very high. At least you can charge on horseback, but it will slow you down.

The Western Turks surrounded Su Dingfang and tried to charge three times but failed. In the end, due to heavy casualties and severe morale, Su Dingfang finally counterattacked with more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry.

At this time, the cavalry under Wang Sang's command encountered this dilemma. Moreover, their numbers were smaller than those of the palace soldiers, and their armor and equipment were even inferior to theirs. They really didn't know how to break through these more than a thousand heavily armored palace soldiers.

Chen Yougen climbed to a high place, looked for a while, then drew his heavy sword, ran forward, and shouted: "Follow me and kill!"

There was a sound of drums on the hillside.

A total of eight hundred soldiers formed neat rows and charged towards the direction of the enemy cavalry.

Their pace was not fast and they maintained their physical strength well. Some brave crossbowmen even moved forward far after reloading and tried to shoot the cavalry.

The archers were also eager to try. They scattered on both sides of the lancers and spearmen, moving slowly, waiting for the enemy to get close so that they could surprise him with the powerful bows in their hands.

The enemy cavalry was forced to move, keeping a long distance, and then going around the flanks or even the rear of the palace soldiers, looking for opportunities.

But what chances could there be in such a short half hour?
The soldiers were breathing steadily and were calm, and it was obvious that they still had plenty of strength and energy.

After circling around, the enemy cavalry found no good opportunity, so they rode away again.

Chen Yougen became impatient and asked someone to raise the flag.

A moment later, the four hundred soldiers who stayed on the small hill mounted their horses, holding thick lances in their hands, and rushed towards the enemy cavalry with the force of thunder.

"Your mother's maid!"

"Kill the thief!"

Nearly a thousand cavalrymen from both sides engaged in a fierce battle in the wilderness.

One side was armored heavy cavalry, and the other side was light cavalry. After just a brief confrontation, Wang Sang's troops suffered a great loss and were directly defeated.

Some people were running around in a daze.

Chen Yougen led the infantry forward.

With a hook of the sickle spear, the warhorse fell to the ground in pain.

The enemy cavalry was skilled, leaping off their horses in mid-air and rolling on the ground to relieve the impact. Just as he was about to stand up, he heard a crisp "bang" and a long axe hit him hard on the head.

Others were even more miserable. They were knocked off their horses by long wooden clubs, spitting blood from their mouths. They struggled for a long time but were unable to get up.

A soldier stepped forward and stabbed his heart with a heavy sword, ending his pain.

"Swoosh! Whoosh!" Dense arrows shot out.

Any enemy cavalry that came running around had to undergo this "test". Obviously, most people could not pass it, and often both the man and the horse were shot into hedgehogs.

The battle lasted only one or two sticks of incense, and hundreds of enemy cavalry were killed in pieces. The remaining people were all terrified, and when they found that the horse lance cavalry were about to charge again, they immediately turned their horses around and fled.

Chen Yougen cut off the last head with all his strength, looked at the enemy cavalry retreating in panic, and sneered.

The combat effectiveness formed by the coordination of infantry and cavalry is much stronger than that of simple infantry or cavalry.

The key is that infantry - especially heavily armored infantry - often cannot keep up with the speed of cavalry, which is the biggest shackle. You still need horses, lots of horses!
Even if it is not a war horse, but just a poor horse or even a mule, it has great value.

Horses are fast, but their horsepower is limited. As long as I bring a few more mules and take turns riding them, I will be able to catch up with your horses that can no longer run sooner or later.

Once they catch up, the heavily armored infantry under his command can kill the enemy cavalry to pieces.

It’s just too expensive. Too expensive.

"The cavalry will move forward and harass the enemy's main force." After defeating the enemy cavalry, Chen Yougen began to give orders: "The infantry will line up on the road. Even if we die today, we must die on this road."

"Yes." The soldiers responded loudly.

******
On the south bank of the Wei River, a large flag with the word "Shao" on it was flying high.

A ten-mile journey may take half a day or even most of a day if it is in the mountains.

If it is on a plain, it will probably take half a day to walk.

But when you give up your guard and march at full speed, it may take less than an hour to arrive.

Shao Xun looked at the vast wilderness around him and decided to take the risk.

He dispersed the several hundred cavalrymen of the Yicong Army far away to serve as a guard, then took the six thousand soldiers of the Silver Spear Army, left the baggage train behind, and advanced at full speed.

They didn't even wear armor, and only carried three major items: guns, bows, and swords. During normal marches, they usually wouldn't carry guns on the road as it would be too cumbersome.

At the beginning of the hour of Wei, thousands of people arrived at the south bank of the Wei River, and then found the frozen river surface and crossed it in a large number.

The north bank of the Wei River was littered with corpses, most of them were bandits, with a small number of government soldiers.

The soldiers of the Silver Spear Army continued to advance without looking around.

Shao Xun walked in front, breathing slightly heavily.

He glanced at a soldier on his left and said with a smile, "Zhang Damao, are you tired?"

Zhang Damao panted heavily and smiled embarrassedly: "I'm a little tired."

Shao Xun laughed and said, "Catch up with the enemy army, kill them and take their heads, and then take their property. If you think about it this way, don't you feel less tired?"

Zhang Damao smiled shyly and said, "I want a piece of silk to make a new dress for my mother when I get back."

"There will be." Shao Xun nodded and said.

After saying that, he looked at the person on his right and said, "Yang Qin, this is your first time on the battlefield, are you afraid?"

Yang Qin is the son of Yang Bao, the lieutenant of the Luoyang Duzhi Army. He is fifteen years old and has been serving as a personal soldier to Shao Xun for a year.

“My Lord.” Yang Qin was young and panting heavily. He spoke incoherently, “I… I’m just afraid… I’ll be forgotten.”

"You're not afraid of death?"

"I'll die if I die." The young man was very concerned about his reputation and couldn't stand being accused of being afraid of death. He stiffened his neck and said, "But after I die, I will be... forgotten by others. I can't stand it."

"It will not be forgotten." Shao Xun looked at the rear guard of the bandit army that was vaguely visible in the distance and said, "Protecting our hometown and resisting foreign aggression, how could it be forgotten?"

After saying that, he took Yang Qin's arm and said, "Try harder, hold on. Kill him and make his head roll!"

"Kill him and make his head roll!" Zhang Damao and Yang Qin shouted in unison.

"Kill him and make his head roll!" More people responded, and the voices gradually rose, one after another, and spread throughout the wilderness.

Looking down from the air, a few hundred steps ahead, the palace soldiers led by Chang Can had mounted their horses for the second time and were repeatedly harassing Wang Sang's retreating army.

Wang Sang sent some people to deal with them, but due to low morale, the effect was not very good. Moreover, they had horses, so if they couldn't charge forward, they would mount their horses and retreat temporarily, looking for another opportunity to come back.

Wang Sang seemed to have discovered the fact that the Silver Spear Army was chasing them.

He was extremely anxious, and sent some people to cover the rear, trying to stop the pursuers.

The pursuers quickened their pace.

From a distance, it looks like a silver wave crashing into the cliff with great ferocity.

After the first wave, there is the second wave, and so on and so forth...

"Boom, boom, boom..." The first drum beat sounded.

The speed of the silver wave suddenly increased.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The second drum beat sounded.

"Huala!" The sound of spears being put down came one after another.

Arrows were shot from the other side.

The arrow takes advantage of the wind and flies fast and sharp.

The personal soldiers rushed to Shao Xun's side, with large shields stacked up one after another, providing tight protection that could probably block even a powerful crossbow.

Shao Xun held a knife in his left hand and held Yang Qin, who was already unable to run, in his right hand. He said with great enthusiasm and a smile, "The enemy army is approaching. Charge forward and defeat them!"

"Boom, boom, boom..." The third drum beat sounded.

The soldiers began to trot and rushed forward with their spears held high.

The waves crashed against the cliff, breaking it into pieces.

The two thousand bandits who were left behind were unable to resist for even a moment and were instantly scattered.

Yang Qin gently broke free from Shao Xun's arm and held his sword across his body to protect him.

Zhang Damao has disappeared.

More people came out of the crowd and chased after the enemy, shouting like thunder.

Wang Sang's army in the center was frightened, and its formation became increasingly disorganized and gradually out of control.

He stood on the spot and ordered the entire army to stop retreating and turn around to fight the enemy.

The silver waves surged over again, smashing down heavily, causing the cliff to completely collapse.

The waves poured in through the cracks, breaking the cliff into pieces, and then surrounding and submerging it.

The collapsed soil and rocks floated up and down in the waves, gradually melting into nothingness.

No one can reverse this trend.

In the face of the overwhelming trend, anyone who tries to stop it will only be crushed.

(End of this chapter)