Chapter 1044: Success in the East and Success in the West (Thirty-Seven)

The dull drumbeats sounded in the maple forest, and the whistling arrows flew into the air with sharp whistles. In the maple forest, teams of Qin soldiers, some holding spears and some holding swords and shields, walked out in neat rows, forming neat square formations on the slope covered with green grass.

Almost at the time when the ambushed troops in the maple forest showed up, another group of Qin soldiers appeared at one end of the dark cloud chess. They blocked the left passage of the Han army, and on the more distant right side, where the Han army had just passed, more Qin soldiers appeared.

Faced with enemies on three sides and water on one side, the 20,000 Donghu cavalrymen were in a desperate situation. Looking at the Qin soldiers who were still in a strict military appearance and the square formations that were slowly approaching , even Gao Yuan's face changed a little.

"It seems that this battle is really a bit of a head start!" he murmured.

Mugulü was the first to launch an attack, and he attacked the Qin army on the left. Gao Che waved his scimitar and shouted as he led his troops straight into the maple forest. The two led 5,000 cavalry each, while Agu Huai'en led another 5,000 cavalry as support. Around Gao Yuan, there were another 5,000 cavalry, which was the last reserve.

Twenty thousand versus fifty thousand, but the twenty thousand cavalry were trapped in a smaller closed environment. The battlefield with a radius of less than ten miles was indeed a little small for the 70,000 or 80,000 troops of the two warring parties, especially for the cavalry.

The Han army needed to maintain a certain range of activities during the war, while the Qin army's goal was to squeeze the Han cavalry's range of activities as much as possible. When the cavalry was squeezed into a certain area, they would no longer have much advantage over the infantry.

For the cavalry of the Donghu Independent Cavalry Division that was coming at lightning speed, the Qin army's only response was to raise their spears and use foot-operated crossbows to deal with them. As for the cavalry's charge, the most accurate method should be to use a large number of bed crossbows to carry out the first round of long-range strikes, and use foot-operated crossbows in the medium range. Only those who rushed through these two rounds of death blows would encounter their spears, but this time, the Qin army did not have bed crossbows.

Because Li Xin first had to lead his army to Jishi City, turn around halfway, and rush to Wuyun Banner in a hurry. In order to buy enough time, the Qin army could not bring heavy weapons like bed crossbows.

After walking two hundred steps, the Han cavalry had already raised the arm-drawn crossbows. With a shout, the buzzing sound of crossbow arrows continued to sound, and they rushed directly to the foot-operated crossbowmen behind the Qin army. Screams rang out one after another. The difference in the range of the two sides was as much as fifty steps, but this fifty-step distance was enough to determine the effect of the long-range attack of both sides.

After a round of arm-drawn crossbows shot, the warhorses had approached dozens of steps. At this time, the foot-operated crossbows of the Qin army finally began to fight back, but they seemed a little sparse. Just under the targeted attack of the Han army, there were heavy casualties. The gap between the two sides in the military industry was fully demonstrated.

The sparse foot-operated crossbows had limited lethality to the Han cavalry. These cavalry casually hung the arm crossbows beside the saddle and took the longbows from their backs. For them, this was the thing they were most used to. The sound of bang bang rang out continuously. Some of the Donghu cavalry sat on the horses, and some even stood on the stirrups with their feet, shooting continuously.

The war horses moved forward, getting closer and closer to the opponent's spear formation where people kept falling. Only more than ten steps away, the first row of Qin soldiers had already clenched their spears and were ready to stab them hard. When the Donghu cavalrymen were about to go out and die with the enemy, they suddenly turned around and almost brushed past the spears of the Qin army. It was just a little distance, but the spears fell into the air.

The cavalrymen who passed by were still shooting arrows. In order to shoot more arrows in the shortest time, these Donghu cavalrymen did not draw their bows to the full, but only shot half of the bow. However, because the distance was too close and the Donghu cavalrymen were well prepared, these arrows were actually heading for the opponent's face. Even if they didn't die, they made the opponent lose their combat effectiveness in a short time.

The five thousand cavalrymen led by Mugulu were all desperate people who had fought out of the white mountains and black waters. Among the three groups of soldiers, almost none of them who could survive in those places were weaklings. The Qin army they faced was the weakest among the three groups.

In Li Xin's estimation, when Gao Yuan found out that he was ambushed, the most likely thing was to turn around and return the same way immediately, so he concentrated 20,000 elite troops on the right side of Wuyunqi to intercept him. The second possibility was that Gao Yuan attacked him. To capture the thief, you must first capture the leader. The least likely option was to attack to the left, because in that direction, because of the turn of the Siyang River, it was a narrow area. Even if he wanted to break through, it was definitely not a good place, so in that direction The Qin army was at its weakest point.

The Han army indeed only sent 5,000 cavalrymen to that direction, a quarter of the force, but the combat effectiveness of these 5,000 cavalrymen was the strongest among the Donghu cavalrymen.

In an instant, the Qin army on the left was in chaos. When Mugulu led his team back in a circle, a large number of Qin soldiers had fallen in front of them. The originally neat spear forest was now in disarray.

"Kill!" He roared, drew out his scimitar, and rode his horse straight into the Qin army formation. The spear forest in front had gone, and the sword and shield soldiers in the back were a little panicked. These experienced guys were not willing to miss such an opportunity and rode their horses straight in.

Li Xin was a little surprised, because the Donghu cavalry that fell into his ambush did not seem to panic at all, but responded immediately as if they had been prepared. What shocked Li Xin even more was that the other side had no intention of withdrawing, which made the heavy troops deployed on the right side like a punch with all their strength, but hit the empty space. How uncomfortable it was.

The 20,000 infantry on the right were five miles away from the central battlefield. This distance was set by Li Xin based on his calculations of the speed of Donghu cavalry's withdrawal and the speed of Qin's deployment, but now However, Li Xin felt as if he was trapped in his own trap. A distance of five miles could be reached in a flash for the cavalry, but for the heavy infantry who were fully armed and wearing armor, it was a long distance. In the center of the battlefield, there were five thousand cavalry who had not moved. But with Li Xin's experience, he knew that the enemy must be aiming at his cavalry. Once his 20,000 heavy infantry lost their formation and rushed here desperately, the enemy would definitely attack immediately, which would be catastrophic. The only thing that comforted Li Xin was the general Ying Zhuo he sent in that direction. They did not lose their composure because of the current situation. They still maintained a strict formation and slowly pressed towards this side.

The battle situation on the left side surprised Li Xin. Their side showed signs of defeat on the first day of the battle. If the left side was broken by the Han army, no matter how narrow the area there was, it would be enough for the Han army to escape.

"Jinrong, bring 5,000 troops to quickly reinforce the left wing. You must block it and wait for Ying Zhuo to enter the battlefield. It will be the moment of the decisive battle!" Li Xin shouted loudly.

"Yes!" Jinrong glanced at the Han cavalry who were attacking from the bottom of the hill. He responded loudly.

Compared to Mugulu's overwhelming force, the high carriages attacking Li Xin's main camp outside the maple forest hit a hard bone. Waves of attacks were defeated one after another. The Qin army on the mountain pressed down little by little, and Gao Yuan's cavalry was forced to retreat continuously.

"Speed ​​up, speed up!" Tang Yibiao was anxious. Although Wu Kai had captured thousands of carriages for him in the shortest time, and the 20,000 soldiers who came out climbed on the carriages and rushed all the way to the direction of the dark cloud flag, But for him, who was 70 or 80 miles away from the Dark Cloud Banner, it would take at least half a day to get there. If the time it took Tang He to get back was counted, the king would have to fight Li Xin's 50,000 troops alone in the Dark Cloud Banner for a whole day. If it was on the spacious grassland, Tang Yibiao would not have to worry at all, but the current situation was that the king took the initiative to jump into the trap of the Dark Cloud Banner. In Wu Kai's county governor's mansion, Tang Yibiao took a breath of cold air after seeing the topographic map of the Dark Cloud Banner. The cavalry was trapped here, surrounded by a large number of infantry. , that is, they are trapped in a dead end.

"Hurry up, there is no need to save the horsepower, use the whip, let them run as hard as they can, if they can't run anymore, you can run on foot, we have to rush to Wuyunqi as fast as possible!" Riding on the horse, Tang Yibiao ran back and forth and shouted.

The 20,000 infantrymen had long lost their formation, climbing on thousands of carriages, the wheels rolled over the green grass, and rushed towards Wuyunqi.

In another direction, Helan Xiong was covered in blood, looking at the general flag of Liu Dacheng, which was only a few hundred meters away from him. If Liu Dacheng was captured, the war here would be over. .

"Who will follow me to kill the general and seize the flag?" Helan Xiong shouted.

"I'll do it!" A crisp voice sounded behind him. When Helan Xiong looked back, it turned out to be the female general Guli. Beside him was the inseparable Topler. There were more than a dozen short spears hanging next to Topler's saddle. These things were the gains of He Weiyuan defeating Li Xin's armored cavalry. Topler, who lost an arm, had a deep attainment in throwing javelins. These javelins specially made for the Qin army's armored cavalry were very sharp and durable, and the center of gravity was stable when throwing. Topler suddenly He then fished out a dozen or so. He still had twelve on him.

"And me!" Helan Jie also rushed over.

"Okay, kill Liu Dacheng, seize his flag, and completely defeat them, so we can go to Wulan Banner." Helan Xiong laughed loudly.

"I'll lead the way!" Topler squeezed his horse's belly and rushed forward. His one arm had already grabbed a javelin, and with a roar, he threw it forward with all his might. A Qin soldier who was rushing towards him screamed, and was pierced through the body by the javelin and nailed to the ground.

(Sorry, there is only one chapter today)(To be continued)