The two brigades of the trapped camp were also lined up in a standard infantry formation, slowly moving forward, and the officers and clerks of all levels shouted neat slogans with the soldiers of the whole brigade.

"The will to fall into battle, there is death and no life!"

"Fallen soldiers, I am invincible!"

The heavy infantry rhythmically beat the shield in their hands with their scabbards, and with the sound of slogans, the momentum of the world's strong army was naturally displayed!

Ma Teng, who was watching the battle from behind, Zhang Ji's army was the first time to see the military might of the Bingzhou Army on such a regular battlefield, and he really admired it from the bottom of his heart.

When the two sides were one hundred and fifty zhang apart, the Lianzhu cannons in the Bingzhou army began to fire, and each giant crossbow arrow could effectively destroy a large shield, and often could also shoot and injure the heavy infantry of the Xiliang army behind the shield.

They are also heavy infantry, and the cast iron technology of the Xiliang Army is obviously at a disadvantage, and the armor is relatively brittle and hard, and it is easy to break after being hit hard.

Feeling the threat of the cannons, the Xiliang Army began to gradually accelerate, but the Bingzhou Army still shouted slogans and marched forward.

At the time of a hundred zhang, the longbows and crossbows of the Bingzhou army entered the firing range, and for a while, the arrows above the heads of the Xiliang army rained down.

The Western Liang army suffered a big loss at this distance, and only a small number of longbows and hard crossbows came into range to counterattack.

Most of the archers who changed from cavalry to infantry still used cavalry hunting bows, which had a short range, so these archers could only hide behind large shields like spearmen.

And the crossbowmen who bravely stand up and fight back are often taken care of by the state army and become hedgehogs.

After the long-range suppression was successful, the crossbowmen of the state army could aim as much as they wanted, and the slow *** sure strike made the hit rate significantly higher.

The Xiliang infantry could only rush forward as fast as possible to close the distance between the two armies, as they had done with all the opponents who had encountered the state army before.

Seeing that his infantry had successfully attracted all the firepower of the Bingzhou army, Guo Yan sent 5,000 Xiliang cavalry to attack from his left flank, hoping to take advantage of this opportunity to use the cavalry melee to kill and injure the infantry of the Bingzhou army.

As soon as the Xiliang cavalry came up, they rushed with all their might, and the speed was still very fast, but Lu Bu did not send his own cavalry to meet it.

He had already delegated command to Xu Rong, and he believed that this cavalry could still cope with the trapping camp.

Xu Rong is already a veteran of the Bingzhou Army, and his qualifications are enough to be promoted to division commander, in fact, Lu Bu has also decided to promote Xu Rong after the Guanzhong Campaign.

When Xu Rong saw the Xiliang cavalry rushing up, he guessed Guo Yan's thoughts, and decisively ordered, "The spearmen continue to suppress the enemy infantry with their repeaters, and the cavalry is shot with cannons, and all the crossbowmen also shoot at the enemy cavalry." ”

The crossbows of the Bingzhou army have spread to all infantry units except the hoplites, so the crossbow attacks of the three thousand spearmen can still suppress the Xiliang infantry hiding behind the big shield and not daring to show their heads.

The crossbows of the cannons and crossbowmen all turned to the Xiliang cavalry that rushed up, and ten thousand arrows were fired in unison.

However, Guo Yan has also learned a lesson from the previous battle, and when the Xiliang cavalry charged, he also ordered loudly, "Disperse, don't get together, all spread out, and lie down!" ”

The five thousand Xiliang cavalry distanced themselves from each other, and the power of the Lianzhu cannon decreased significantly, and Xu Rong also adjusted in time, "The Lianzhu cannon concentrates on shooting the big shield, don't worry about the cavalry." ”

Finally, the archers of the Xiliang infantry also came into range, and they flashed out from behind the big shields one after another, firing at the crossbows of the Bingzhou army.

However, the difference in armor protection and rate of fire makes the long-range advantage of the state army obvious.

Courage cannot replace the gap in strength and technology, and the casualties of the Xiliang army are often several times that of the Bingzhou army.

Finally, the Xiliang cavalry also rushed to a distance of eighty zhang, and they shot with hunting bows and crossbows.

The hoplites in the trap reacted quickly and halted their advance, connecting their shields into a shield wall that could effectively protect themselves and their allies, while the conjuring forces could continue to shoot arrows from the gaps between their shields.

Li Wei observed this period and felt that he had a preliminary understanding of the operation of the infantry of the Bingzhou Army.

It seems that he can only rely on the advantage of numbers, but he forgot about the Ma Tengjun who watched the battle at the back, and his numbers did not have an advantage.

Li Wei ordered the infantry of the Xiliang Army in the center and on the right to also attack, but the big shield and hoplites still largely offset the long-range advantage of the Bingzhou army.

This gave Li Dao the hope of winning, and he was like a gambler who had placed his entire bet.

At this time, Xu Rong's right side had already started hand-to-hand combat with the Xiliang army.

The shieldmen in the front row slammed and shoved each other, the spearmen struggled to get their spears out of the gaps in their shields, and the longbowmen in the back rows could use projectiles to kill and injure their opponents hiding behind the shields.

This is also the reason why the state army has popularized the repeater crossbow today, and still retains two longbowmen per infantry squad.

Xu Rong saw that the two sides were already in close combat, and immediately issued a new order: "Rolling attack tactics, shield men advance, spearmen throw guns to prepare, crossbowmen to prepare, and longbowmen continue to throw." ”

The first time this tactic appeared was in the real battle with the Montenegrin army.

An untrained opponent, even with the same hoplites, will be caught off guard by the same large shield.

The infantry of the state army shouted slogans, and the specially selected shield bearers began to ram their opponents with their shields.

The Xiliang infantry was defenseless, and was either knocked backwards or knocked to the ground.

Those who retreat are lucky, and those who fall will be stepped on by a pair of big feet.

With space, throwing guns and even cannons will swarm in, and the big shield can defend against the bow and crossbow, but not against the throwing gun.

The big shield of the Xiliang infantry was constantly broken, and Guo Yan was worthy of putting the five thousand heavy infantry on his back into it in advance.

Li Dao had already seen that his three-way infantry had been in close contact with the infantry of the Bingzhou Army, although the number of the two sides was almost the same, but whether it was tactics or equipment, or individual ability, the gap was comprehensive.

All this is not something that he can make up for by training some hoplites and equipping them with some large shields, and it seems that the solution to the problem still has to rely on the Xiliang cavalry.

He ordered Yang Ding to lead 20,000 cavalry to attack from the left flank, and Duan Xuan to lead 20,000 cavalry to attack from the right flank, and at the same time to attack the flank of the Bingzhou army.

He repeatedly reminded Yang Ding and Duan Xuan that they must pay attention to the cavalry of the state army.

Lu Bu smiled slightly when he saw Li Dao's cavalry from the left and right flanks at the same time, "Jin Riyan, you lead your three cavalry brigades to attack from the right flank, Zhao Yun, you lead the guard brigade and the heavy brigade to attack from the left flank, and after defeating the enemy cavalry, flank the enemy's infantry on both flanks." ”

Kim Il-pan led three cavalry brigades to fight out from the right flank, with the first brigade in front, the second brigade, and the third brigade in the rear, forming a cone formation and charging straight at the enemy cavalry.

The cavalry of the state army skillfully used standard cavalry attack tactics to give full play to their cavalry and archery skills.

Although the Xiliang cavalry is also a first-class cavalry in the world, its equipment protection, long-range attack, and tactical coordination have all fallen behind, and the defeat is expected.

(End of chapter)