Chapter 23: The Battle of Ren County [2]

"Ruthless!" Li Cunhuan's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help sighing in his heart, it seems that it is not unreasonable for Li Keyong to dominate Hedong, there are many generals under him!

"Cloth geese march!" Kang Junli stood on a small mound and calmly issued orders. The flag bearers beside him immediately blew their horns. Conveying the order through the horn, the Zhaoyi army soon set up a wild goose marching array.

"It's a pity!" Kang Junli gritted his teeth, his palms were full of sweat. The geese march into the oblique line of the geese flying over them, which is generally suitable for long-range strikes, as well as the archers to harass attacks. Kang Junli's Zhaoyi Army came from Luzhou and other places, and in ancient times Luzhou and other places were Shangdang County. It is a place of abundance of cavalry. But now that Kang Junli is rushing out, he has no time to find a war horse, and he has to saddle the war horse, and after completing this, I am afraid that the daylily will be gone.

However, as cavalry, most of them are equipped with the short bows that cavalry is accustomed to, and they often use goose marching formations, so they are very skilled. Although the geese marching array was not the best way to deal with the cavalry, it was the battle formation that he could set up as quickly as possible. Otherwise, let the cavalry lay out the infantry battle formation, not to mention whether it will be or not, at least it will be in a hurry. It's better to lay down a wild goose marching array or even not to set up a formation. This also shows Kang Junli's command level, decisive enough and quick and wise enough.

Li Cunhuan took a deep look at the commander opposite, although Li Cunhuan didn't know who the other party was, he felt that the existence of the other party gave him considerable pressure. But...... The corners of Li Cunhuan's mouth showed a hint of mockery. Those who have not experienced the power of the Iron Rider will never know how terrible it is to face the Iron Rider.

"Rush!" Li Cunhuan roared, took away the armored iron cavalry and charged slowly.

Kang Junli took a deep breath, and the cavalry on the opposite side put a lot of pressure on him. For the first time, he faced this fully armored cavalryman. After the fall of the Sui Dynasty, the heavy cavalry has gradually withdrawn from the big stage of Chinese history, and has not seen the heavy cavalry for hundreds of years. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the cavalry Xuanjia cavalry under the command of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was still between the cavalry of light cavalry and heavy cavalry, and by the time of Gaozong, light cavalry was the main force. By the middle of the Tang Dynasty, all the cavalry in the Tang Army had been replaced by light cavalry.

Because the price of the armored iron horse is too expensive, Li Cunhuan's armored iron horse is also barely assembled. Cultivating one light cavalry is equivalent to training five infantrymen, which is cheaper in the Northlands, but it is also equivalent to the cost of three or four infantrymen. And a heavy cavalry needs at least two horses, one to carry armor and one to carry people, while normally it should be three.

In addition, the war horse riding behind the battle is also a first-class war horse, otherwise I am afraid that it will collapse in the middle of the road before it runs in front of the enemy. Knights and horses also need to be very strong, otherwise where can they be worn, very heavy armor and harness.

In addition, there is also the price of armor, not to mention the armor of the iron mount, which is only slightly cheaper than the chain mail used by the generals. The knight needed three pieces of armor, the innermost of which was silk, which was commonly known as cloth armor. It can provide a certain amount of protection, especially for long-range weapons such as bows and arrows, and the second layer is chain mail, with his existence, as long as it is not a terrifying long-range weapon such as a bed crossbow, it basically ignores the threat of bows and arrows, and it is also very effective for swords, spears, and guns. The outermost one is the Mingguang Armor, and two huge heart goggles protect the chest. There is also armor leaf protection in other positions, not to mention the defensive power, and it is also first-class equipment in armor.

However, these are all money, Li Cunhuan roughly calculated, Li Kuangshou spent enough money and food for 2,500 people to pull up a 20,000-strong infantry. It is equivalent to one armored iron horseman, which is equivalent to eight ordinary infantrymen.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. The power of the armored iron cavalry under Li Cunhuan was also revealed. Although the speed of the armored iron cavalry was slow, it was enough for the Zhaoyi army to calmly shoot four or five rounds of arrows, but it was one thing to shoot out, and it was another thing to shoot the enemy. Except for one or two unlucky ones. The other armored Iron Riders were covered in arrows on the surface, but in fact the arrows were no more than stuck in the second layer of chain mail. However, in this way, it gave the Zhaoyi Army on the opposite side a feeling that the guy on the opposite side could not be killed.

They didn't know that the armored iron rider on the other side looked like it was full of arrows, but in fact it was not scarred at all. You must know that at that time, the heavy infantry only wore a piece of infantry armor on the outside, and a leather armor on the inside, plus a broadsword or plate axe. This kind of defense is already amazing, and the weight of the armor is only more than forty catties. And the armor of the iron cavalry is half as heavy as the heavy infantry, and the more important person looks as if it is made of steel!

"Retreat from the latter! No mercy! Kang Junli personally pulled out his sword and slashed an escaped Zhaoyi soldier to death, roaring angrily. The tooth soldiers under his command also drew their weapons expressionlessly and acted as a warlord.

The Zhaoyi army has no choice, although they are afraid of the enemy, but for now, they are still more afraid of Kang Junli. The pikemen lined up in four rows, and the cavalry spears that temporarily served as infantry pikes formed a field of guns, and the crossbowmen in the back nervously drew their swords or axes at their waists, and if there were no accidents, they would engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

"Boom! Thundered! "The sound of the armored iron rider trampling the earth was like thunder. Although they had not yet rushed in front of them, the pikemen in front were already under tremendous pressure. They moved uneasily, their palms clenching their spears nervously. Big drops of sweat ran down their faces.

During the battle, Kang Junli underestimated the psychological pressure of the armored iron cavalry, and he thought too highly of the soldiers under him. They were cavalry, not professional infantry. When the armored iron cavalry was about to make contact, finally a pikeman could not bear the dull pressure. They began to retreat, trying to "cede" their positions in front of them to their comrades. The pikemen's formation is disorganized.

Some pikemen nervously raised their spears a few points, and some put down their spears a few points, so that the whole gun forest was uneven.

"A rabble!" Li Cunhuan snorted coldly, the horse lance in his hand did not move, and galloped along the war horse, the horse lance easily blocked a spear and pierced into the chest of a panicked pikeman.

The pikemen were lined up in a paper-tied formation, and the rolling iron horsemen paused in front of the pikemen, and then returned to their normal speed. The crossbowmen behind them didn't have time to react at all, as if they had encountered a rolling flood, they struggled slightly, and then disappeared into the rolling torrent.

"Defeated! Defeated! Kang Junli couldn't imagine that the opponent was so powerful, he already thought that the cavalry on the opposite side was very powerful. I didn't think it was much more powerful than he estimated. On the one hand, of course, there is a temporary transfer of the Zhaoyi Army under him, but more importantly, the enemy is too strong, and there is a momentum that can move mountains and reclaim the sea.

"General! Come on! Otherwise it will never be too late. Kang Junli's subordinate general hurriedly persuaded Kang Junli.

Kang Junli didn't seem to be able to accept this kind of incident, his face trembled, his eyes glowed blood-red, and he roared angrily: "No! I didn't lose, go up with me and stop the enemy! Stop the enemy! Otherwise, our army will be defeated! ”

Kang Junli's face showed hesitation for a while, and then it turned into a determined look and gritted his teeth. whispered to Kang Junli: "General, offended! The hilt of the knife slammed into the back of Kang Junli's head, Kang Junli didn't expect that his cronies would suddenly do it to him, and when he reacted, he already felt that the scenery in front of him was confused, and he fainted quickly.

Kang Junli's subordinates hurriedly supported Kang Junli, and said to the left and right tooth soldiers: "What are you still doing, hurry!" Take the general out of here! Fast! Several tooth soldiers hurriedly set up Kang Junli and fled.