Chapter 1153 Testing
Chapter 1153 Testing
Tired birds fly north, and the west wind is biting.
The army stopped on the ancient post road.
Li Wei nervously ordered his soldiers to form a battle array, while Zan Jian climbed up a high slope and looked down at the surrounding area.
Before we knew it, the battle had lasted from winter to spring, and there was still no outcome.
He stepped forward.
The river water at the foot of the mountain flows quietly, emitting a cold bronze light.
There is an abandoned fortress on the river bank, but it has long been deserted, leaving only a few large, obscure characters on the gate: Forever and ever.
Most of the courtyard wall had collapsed, and weeds were struggling to grow out from the cracks between the bricks and wood, swaying above the rusty arrowheads.
When the west wind blows, the river whimpers.
Pale petals fluttered in the air, fell into the river, and quickly disappeared.
The sound of horse hooves could be heard as a team of light cavalry approached the abandoned fort.
Zan Jian looked in the direction of the voice and felt inexplicably familiar.
A fast horse, a strong bow, a sheepskin robe, and a face deeply carved by the wild west wind.
They pointed at their own position, and then looked at the soldiers who were placing deer antlers and chevaux de frise.
They watched very carefully, and even had a quiet argument during the conversation.
After a moment, several people mounted their horses and did not move forward in the direction of the soldiers' formation, but walked towards the hills on both sides.
They walked very slowly, as if they were measuring the gentle slope of the hill, or as if they were observing the quality of their own army.
Those who have fought in many battles can judge the quality of an army through too many details as long as they are allowed to get close, especially these light cavalry who are mainly skilled in horse riding and archery.
I don't know which infantry can harass and which can't, they must have died a long time ago...
Wanqi Ke rode his horse up the gentle slope.
He was not at all conspicuous in the crowd and looked like one of the common middle-aged or elderly herdsmen in the northwest.
After walking for a short distance, there was no enemy cavalry coming to harass or drive us away. This was incredible, but perhaps this was reality.
He stopped beside some wild pear trees.
The pear blossoms in spring are extremely beautiful.
When the west wind blows suddenly, the river sings happily.
The pure white petals flying all over the sky reminded him of the snowflakes covering his own wheat fields in winter, and he felt inexplicably happy.
It’s all thanks to Your Majesty!
He turned his gaze to the abandoned dock at the bottom of the gentle slope.
The newly sprouted ferns stubbornly stretched out from the cracks between the bricks, contrasting with the wild roses below.
On the courtyard wall, there are still pictures of mountain people hunting, as well as scenes of herds of cattle and sheep. If nothing unexpected happens, this should be the former residence of a Qiang people's Yijun who moved from the mountains.
What a great place.
If we can defeat Li Cheng and obtain a place with abundant grass and water, suitable for grazing and farming, it might be better than struggling in the mountains of Langu County.
With a "swish", he pulled out the ring-handled knife from the saddle sheath.
The earth was shaking in the distance, and a group of cavalrymen with shining silver helmets were rushing towards this side.
Wanqi Ke waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately struck the drums at their waists.
After the dull drum sounded, the light cavalry that had just been observing the terrain and enemy formation immediately mounted their horses and gathered towards where Wanqi Ke was.
The mountains are continuous and there are many strange rocks.
The light horse hooves stepped on the weathered rocks, raising fine crystal dust.
The Xiongnu riders leaned over their horses and had already drawn out their horn bows made of birch wood and yellow goat horns.
The red tassel on the hilt of the sword in the scabbard jumped, as if it was eager to try and drink blood.
The sky gradually darkened and war clouds arrived unexpectedly.
Wanqi Ke took a look at the cavalry of Chengjun that was getting closer and closer, and with a command, he led more than a hundred light cavalry to move to another gentle slope.
The cavalry general of Cheng Jun refused to give up and chased after them relentlessly.
The heavy hooves of the horses stepped on the gravel, flowers and plants, climbing up with difficulty and stumbling. The sound of the armor leaves colliding, which used to be very pleasant to the ear, now sounded extremely irritating.
"Drop!" A feather arrow pierced through the strange rocks and the green carpet and hit the shoulder of the fastest armored cavalryman of the Cheng army.
The damage is not great, but it is extremely insulting.
Li Chengjiaqi was furious and urged his horse to speed up and rushed forward.
"Duo! Duo! Duo!" Like a layer of hail, continuous feather arrows broke through the air and in addition to the "insult", they had begun to cause casualties.
Some unlucky ones got shot at their horses.
As the horse was charging, its front hooves softened and it fell to the ground, throwing the soldier on its back away.
Or they would neigh in pain and stand up, while the knights would scream in fear and frantically control their horses.
More armored cavalry chased after them, their lances were thick and long, and there was no doubt that they would draw blood from you when they hit your chest.
The lance blade gleamed with cold light and was extremely sharp. If it pierced one's body, even if one was wearing leather armor, the whole person would be lifted into the air.
This is the Diqiang cavalry. Their bravery and ferocity are worthy of applause.
But now they are being played like monkeys...
In the undulating hills, the Xiongnu light cavalry was agile and flexible, and soon distanced themselves from the armored cavalry, then drew their bows and arrows at medium distance and fired repeatedly. Every sound of the bowstring meant a huge threat.
They may not be able to penetrate your armor, but they can knock you to the ground, and then come back to shoot you with arrows at their leisure.
The shooting spots are carefully chosen, just when you are out of breath climbing a hill or getting into a mess around a turn.
It is very simple to crack this trick. Move the battlefield to flat ground. When the light cavalry turns and surrounds you, use your super straight-line acceleration ability to catch them. Then attack them directly with your spears and halberds, stab them to the ground, and defeat them completely.
But this battlefield was chosen by the Huns...
Zan Jian stood on the hillside on the other side and saw it clearly.
The Xiongnu light cavalry could have used their speed to shake off these armored cavalry, but they did not. Instead, they kept a proper distance, took advantage of the ups and downs of the hills, which were not conducive to a straight-line charge, and played to their advantage of flexibility and mobility, firing frequently, achieving considerable results.
Some of the royal army's armored cavalry seemed anxious. Some of them directly stuck their heavy horse spears in the mud, pulled out the bow tips, and strung the horn bows on horseback.
Most people did not bring horn bows at all because the horse lances were heavy and needed to be held with both hands, which made them extremely passive.
After the chase continued for a while, the horses under the armored cavalry were already panting heavily, and some were even foaming at the mouth.
He sighed, and finally stopped hesitating. He ordered the deputy commander of the front army, Li Xun, to lead a thousand Liao infantrymen to provide support.
Light cavalry has the advantage in the mountains, but infantry has a greater advantage.
"Boom boom..." After the drum sounded, the young royal family member Li Yu had already advanced with a thousand infantrymen.
The sword and shield soldiers held up their leather shields and shouted loudly.
Behind them were the Yao people, who were armed with a variety of weapons such as bows and crossbows, spears, wooden clubs, and ring-handled swords. They exuded a barbaric aura, and had never fought against the Xiongnu cavalry before, so they didn't know what fear was, and they just rushed forward.
Zan Jian waved his flags repeatedly, ordering the armored cavalry to gather and cooperate with the infantry.
But those reckless ones got carried away, and some of them didn't know where the Hun cavalry had led them into, so in the end only a hundred or so cavalry slowly gathered together and moved closer to the one thousand infantry.
The Xiongnu light cavalry also began to adjust, or more accurately, to prepare to retreat.
However, perhaps wanting to test the combat effectiveness of the infantry, they separated out thirty or forty cavalrymen and rushed directly towards the infantry in the plain of the valley.
The distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer.
A number of bows and crossbows were fired from the Chengjun infantry formation, knocking several cavalrymen in front to the ground.
The remaining thirty riders seemed to have received strict orders and continued to charge forward despite the arrows.
A surprising scene appeared: the formation of the army's infantry was in chaos.
However, they were not disrupted by the cavalry, but a part of the Liao people actually took the initiative to break away from the main group, holding up their swords, shields and spears, and rushed towards the Xiongnu cavalry with a single-minded attitude.
People who admire them will praise them for their courage and fighting spirit.
Those who don't like them will think they are stupid and have never fought against cavalry.
The two sides collided like this.
The Xiongnu light cavalry in the front seemed to be surprised as well. After shooting down more than a dozen Liao people with arrows, they saw that the enemy had rushed to them and there was no time to turn around. They could only abandon their bows and grab swords and fight with them in close combat. They were soon pulled off their horses and chopped into pieces by the swords.
The dozen or so light cavalrymen behind hurriedly turned around and galloped to the high ground on both sides, drawing their bows and arrows.
At such a close distance, every time an arrow was shot, the Liao soldiers who had almost no protection fell down.
At this time, they finally saw some fear in the eyes of the Liao people.
Your mother is a servant! The Xiongnu people sighed in misfortune.
He thought he had encountered Daliang's heavenly soldiers who dared to attack the cavalry, but it turned out that he had encountered a group of stupid barbarians!
After shooting down a group of Liao people, they did not dare to fight any longer and turned their horses around and retreated to the rear.
Wanqi Ke also appeared from behind a hillside with dozens of riders.
The big flags were waving again and again, and the clear sounds of gongs echoed among the mountains.
A moment later, almost all the Xiongnu cavalry turned and retreated to the southeast, gradually disappearing on the distant horizon...
The armored cavalry of the Cheng army, which suffered heavy losses today, finally came out of the mountains after a long time and descended to the plain of the river valley.
They watched the dust slowly falling on the post road in silence for a long time.
Zan Jian also stood quietly on the hillside, looking into the distance.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Yu ran up the hillside excitedly and said, "Commander-in-chief, the Liang bandits have been driven away."
The west wind blew again, causing Zan Jian's gray hair to flutter.
He looked at Li Yu, smiled, and said, "Pingkang Gong won the first battle, which is a cause for celebration. However, the Liang bandits will come again soon, so they must obey my orders."
"What? The Liang bandits are coming again? Didn't they just get defeated?" Li Yu was surprised.
"Yes, but the Liang people have more soldiers, so perhaps they don't care about casualties." Zan Jian said, pointing to the ownerless horse on the opposite hillside.
Li Wei turned his head and was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red.
Most of them were empty horses left behind after their own cavalry were killed or injured in battle, and they had suffered a loss in the previous cavalry battle.
Zan Jian looked at Li Yu and sighed imperceptibly.
This is the Dacheng clan.
I really don’t know what Dacheng will become after all these old guys who grew up in the poor mountains and bad waters of Guanlong and experienced the war years die.
No, maybe there is no future.
The 30,000-strong army has already been discovered by the Liang people. With so many cavalrymen, will they let them go?
Ma Long and Shao Xun could use infantry to deal with overwhelming cavalry, but they might not be able to do so.
(End of this chapter)