Han Gang led more than 20,000 cavalry in the first echelon, this is Han Gang's habit, he is used to charging ahead. Of course, it is also to better observe the enemy's situation. After walking for nearly twenty miles, there was no sign of accidents, and Han Gang's tense nerves relaxed a lot. At the end of the day, the road ahead narrowed, and the wide official road could only accommodate a few horsemen, and the speed of the entire cavalry team slowed down.

But after the narrowest point, the view suddenly became wider. The official road ahead is seven or eight zhang wide, and the sides are gently hilly. To the east and west are a few small rolling hills. The whole terrain resembles a wide corridor. The hillside is lush with trees, the gentle slope is green with grass, and the ground is covered with small flowers of various colors. For some reason, the grass was a little mottled, some of the grass seemed to have been trampled, and there was a lot of dirt and gravel scattered in the grass.

Han Gang didn't notice the strangeness of these hillside turf, he was just a little alert to such terrain. As generals who have led the army for many years, they are very sensitive to this kind of terrain with high sides and low middle. Because this terrain always gives a sense of danger. As a leader, the terrain that is most feared is the terrain such as promenades and canyons, because it is the most dangerous terrain.

"Stop!" Han Gang stood still, and the cavalry behind him also stopped. "Wait for news from ahead." Han Gang said.

Ahead, hundreds of cavalry were riding towards the exit of the official road on the north side of the clearing, and they were the pathfinders to find out if there was anything unusual. Han Gang maintained due vigilance, and although his marshal told him not to worry about it, Han Gang could not agree.

Hundreds of cavalry disappeared into the dust and disappeared on the official road to the north. Han Gang and the others immediately waited quietly, their eyes wandering towards the surrounding hillside. There was silence on the hillside. The wind blows, the trees rustle, and the long grass rolls like waves.

The sound of hooves sounded, hundreds of cavalry turned back, and the leading captain reported loudly: "Report to the general, the road ahead is smooth, and there is nothing unusual." ”

A smile appeared on Han Gang's face. It seems that his worries are a little superfluous, and it seems that Marshal Yang's judgment is correct. Lin Jue, who sent the alarm, wanted to confuse the public and stir up the situation. Indeed, Lin Jue is a traitor to the Great Zhou, and naturally hopes that the Great Zhou will be defeated, and they will fish in troubled waters. That's why they will use some tricks, the purpose is naturally as Marshal Yang said, to delay the speed of the army, so that the Liao people have a chance to breathe.

"Listen to the order and pass through here as fast as you can. Command the next two teams, keep their distance and formation, and pass one team to avoid congestion. Han Gang ordered in a deep voice.

Even if he found out that the road ahead was clear, Han Gang still maintained a certain degree of vigilance, which was a habit cultivated over many years of military career, not because of distrust of intelligence. In fact, his heart has relaxed a lot.

More than 20,000 cavalry officers and soldiers of the front army who received the order were ready, and Han Gang took the lead and rushed out. The cavalry behind him kept up with the formation, and after passing through the narrow entrance and entering the wide official road, the cavalry rushed forward with their horses and whips.

The terrain of the narrow corridor here was as long as Lixu, and when Han Gang arrived in the middle, nearly 8,000 cavalry from the rear had already entered the place through the narrow entrance. The number of cavalry in the entire front team was only more than 20,000, and nearly half of the soldiers and horses had already entered it. whole

Each corridor is enough to accommodate the entire front team's 20,000 soldiers and horses. In other words, the cavalry in the front has not yet left the northern entrance, and the cavalry in the rear has just entered the southern entrance. The entire ambush area could accommodate the entire forward cavalry team. It's not a calculated result, it's just a coincidence. But this kind of coincidence was so terrible that Lin Jue, who was hiding in a dense forest in the north and was paying close attention to the situation on the battlefield, was frightened.

The Liao people are still hiding on the woods and hills and have not moved, what are they waiting for? It's not that they don't attack, of course, but they're waiting for as many fish as possible to come into the net. They want to eat more than 20,000 cavalry in one bite.

Lin Jue couldn't wait any longer, so he gave an order in a low voice.

Han Gang and the others were galloping on the official road, rushing towards the exit to the north. Half of the entire cavalry had already entered, and it only took a stick of incense for all the soldiers and horses to rush out of the exit and out of this treacherous terrain. Han Gang whipped his horse while constantly patrolling the hillsides on both sides. The hillside is still very calm. But Han Gang had an indescribable feeling. I can't say it, but it just doesn't feel right.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Han Gang's mind, and he finally knew why he felt wrong. The calm in the long grass and dense forest on the hillside on both sides was really excessive, and it stands to reason that a large force of cavalry rushed over the mountain road, and the birds and birds and beasts in the long grass and dense forest should be disturbed and fled. Along the way, wherever the cavalry and horses went, there were birds rising into the sky in the fields beside them, and hares and small beasts were frightened and scurried around. But there was no movement on the hill where the two sides were gathered less than a hundred paces, which was obviously wrong.

Before Han Gang could think carefully about this anomaly, he heard a muffled thunderous sound explode behind the hill on the east side.

"Boom!"

Even in the noisy sound of the horse's hooves, the voice was still particularly harsh, and Han Gang heard it clearly. The next moment, three red fireworks rose into the sky behind the eastern hills. Leaves three trails of white smoke in the air, followed by a series of explosions.

"Not good! There is a case! Han Gang shouted. Subconsciously reined in the horses and raised his hand to signal the cavalry behind to slow down.

There was chaos on the official road in an instant, and the galloping war horses rose up one after another, making neighing sounds. But the whole army came to a halt.

"Do you see that? Do you hear that? Han Gang's eagle-like eyes scanned the hillside and asked everyone around him in a deep voice.

"I heard it, it seemed to be the roar of firearms. There are also fireworks bombs. The people around him were strangled in the restless war horses.

"It's a little weird, it's a little weird. That's someone warning us. There must be a ghost on the hillside, and we are afraid that we have been ambushed. The hillside is a little scary, and there's definitely something wrong with that. We have to withdraw, withdraw immediately. Han Gang said coldly.

"Huh? Not really. Maybe it's a trick on someone. Didn't Marshal Yang say it? Someone is trying to deliberately prevent us from arriving at Xijin Mansion in time......" said a general beside him with a frown.

But his words were immediately interrupted by Han Gang, who shouted categorically: "Turn back, turn back immediately, no matter what it is, we can't take risks." Command the rear team, stop entering, and immediately turn around and retreat.

The front team becomes the back team, withdraw! ”

When the cavalry heard this, they turned their horses' heads one after another, and the soldiers in the rear also turned their horses' heads and prepared to retreat when they received the order. At this moment, the low sound of a horn sounded on the hillside, and as the horn sounded, countless figures appeared among the long grass and trees. The longbows were as full as the full moon, and with a terrible cry, the sound of the bowstrings rolling through the sky was like muffled thunder, and the dense rain of arrows like dark clouds with a whining sound that broke through the sky had been poured down.

The next moment, muffled snorts, screams, exclamations, curses, dying moans, and the mournful screams of war horses resounded all together. The sudden rain of dense arrows fell in the cavalry formation on the densely formed official road, and in a short period of time, it caused great casualties.

In the era of cold weapons, the power of bows and arrows was the best. The bow and arrow are far away, you can snipe the enemy from a distance, and if you use it well, you can inflict a lot of damage on the enemy, and you can save yourself. The Liao people were able to crisscross the north for two hundred years, which was longer than the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and they could compete with the powerful Great Zhou, relying on their riding and archery skills. When the elite soldiers and horses of the Liao people fought with the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou, the most troublesome thing was not anything else, but the might of their bows and arrows. Moreover, the Liao people have been riding and shooting since elementary school, and almost all of them are all kinds of leaders. Civilians shoot arrows with great accuracy, let alone those in the army.

And the Liao people are equipped with longbows and arrows, according to some estimates, their bows and arrows are half a stone stronger than the bows and arrows equipped by the Great Zhou soldiers and horses. The soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou Dynasty are equipped with a stone bow, according to the standard of one stone and one hundred catties, a stone bow is very in line with the actual equipment, and generally adult men can pull a stone bow. But the Liao people are different, their bows and arrows are generally two to five stones. Its strength and range are stronger and farther than those of the Great Zhou. Before the conclusion of the Yanyun Alliance, the Great Zhou had made a northern expedition to the Liao State, and there was a large-scale battle between the two sides. In that battle, the Liao people took the lead in the bow and arrow shooting before the war by virtue of the strength and range of the bow and arrow. When the soldiers and horses of the two countries were firing against each other, the Liao people began to release arrows outside the range of the Great Zhou archers, and shot thousands of Great Zhou soldiers and horses in a few rounds, which directly led to the defeat of the later battle. It can be said that there must be a reason why the Yanyun Alliance was established.

The problem is that this is not something that can be solved by simply building a strong bow and arrow, the bow is too strong, and the archers of the Great Zhou Dynasty cannot pull it at all, or it requires a huge amount of strength, resulting in a lack of strength, which will affect the combat effectiveness. This is not something that can be solved by simply strengthening the bow and arrow.

At this moment, the slopes on both sides are about 100 steps away from the official road, and the longbow and arrows have exerted great power, but they don't have to worry about accidentally injuring their own people. Although the soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou Dynasty were equipped with elite equipment, the powerful arrows of the Liao people could still penetrate the armor and cause damage. This is the power of the arrow.

In less than a few dozen breaths, the Great Zhou cavalry was shot and killed, and thousands of people were wounded. The casualties of the dense formation under the dense rain of arrows were shocking. The formation was also in disarray.

"Retreat, retreat! Evacuate! Han Gang shouted loudly and ordered, he wanted the soldiers and horses to retreat to the rear official road, which was open and a live target. The other party's key ambush sites are also on both sides of this open field.

But the official road was congested, and the order to retreat would only make the formation more chaotic, and tens of thousands of cavalry who had entered the ambush circle were crowded together, and it was impossible to retreat in a mess.