Through this confrontation, the morale of the Taihang army was high. On the other hand, on the side of the Xianbei people, in terms of archery, which the steppe people are most proud of, they were actually compared to the Han people, which was undoubtedly a big blow to the nomadic cavalry.

In this situation, Yan Liyou knew that there was no hope of victory, so he decisively turned his horse's head, whistled, and retreated into his own army.

The Xianbei fighting generals are unfavorable, but the victory or defeat of the two armies has not yet been divided!

Taking advantage of the favorable situation in front of him, he retreated to the arrogance of the Chinese army, and at the sound of an order, the drums in the army sounded. Hearing the sound of the drums, the Taixing soldiers immediately stopped cheering, stepped on the drums, and pressed forward in unison!

Looking at the Han army with a strict formation, they began to press on the whole line, and the Xianbei people were slightly commotioned. However, Yan Liyou is obviously not a vegetarian either. In a short moment, the commotion was brought under control. The two pairs of Xianbei cavalry that were lined up at the front shot a rain of arrows when the Han army approached, and then automatically left from both sides of the battlefield, revealing the large cavalry in the rear.

In the era when there were no bilateral stirrups, the cavalry's melee combat ability was too different from that of infantry. Therefore, it is not a last resort, and the cavalry will not rush to attack the infantry in a complete formation.

However, compared to the infantry, which had to rely strictly on formation, the nomadic cavalry had an absolute advantage in speed. Therefore, even if you don't win hard, the cavalry will not necessarily lose. They could have just run away.

Therefore, after the two teams of Xianbei cavalry left from both sides of the battlefield, they did not run far, but went around to the back of their own formation, resting and waiting.

Although the infantry of the Taixing Army numbered less than 1,000 people, it was the core combat force of the whole army. The most feared by Yan Liyou is them. If he fights hard, even if he has 5,000 men under him, he may not be the opponent of the enemy's infantry formation.

This point has been proved by Li Ling, a general of the Han army two hundred years ago. With 5,000 foot soldiers, against 80,000 Hun nomadic cavalry, without falling behind. How terrible is this kind of combat power?

Originally, Yan Liyou didn't think that the foot soldiers of the Taixing Army could have the combat effectiveness of Li Ling's army back then. However, a quarter of an hour ago, Tai Shici's amazing performance made Yan Liyou have to re-evaluate the combat effectiveness of this Han army.

In this way, Yan Liyou can only choose the most conservative tactics, hoping to use the cavalry wheel battle to drag down and collapse this Han army, which looks extremely strong.

The reaction of the Xianbei people was naturally expected by the insolence.

Since the ancient pre-Qin period, the steppe nomadic cavalry has a tradition of "arrays without fighting" against the infantry of the Central Plains. This time, he was able to force Yan Liyou to take the initiative to fight, thanks to Xie Xun's advice, and the severe blow to the nomadic tribes.

However, the Xianbei people's kraft candy-like tactics also made the Taixing army extremely uncomfortable.

There is no possibility of a sudden increase in the speed of the foot soldiers. In order to ensure the tightness of the formation, the infantry even had to effectively control the speed of the advance to avoid confusion. In this way, it is impossible to catch up with those four-legged people who come and go like the wind.

The Xianbei people did not make direct contact with the Taixing army, but only sent one team after another of cavalry to harass the Han army with bows and arrows at a distance of fifty or sixty paces from the Han army.

In order to maintain mobility, the Xianbei cavalry did not dismount, but directly stopped the horse and sat on the back of the horse to shoot arrows, resulting in the insufficient lethality of the bow and arrow. In this kind of counter-shooting, Xie Xun's troops relied on their own excellent weapons and armor and took the advantage. Often, ten enemy soldiers were killed or wounded, and only one of them was killed or wounded.

However, the opponent has a numerical advantage, and the wheel warfare used can restore physical strength in time. In contrast, in order to maintain their combat superiority, the Taimarching Army had to be ready to fight at all times. Everyone is not iron-clad, and if this continues, the soldiers will soon be tired. This forward momentum will also be quickly curbed.

Wait, did you ignore something?

The Han army is not only infantry, but also equipped with more than 1,000 cavalry!

However, in Yan Liyou's heart, he really didn't think too much about the Han cavalry. Compared to the array, the steppe people were far from being the opponents of the Han Chinese. However, compared to horsemanship, Yan Liyou did not think that the cavalry of the Han army could be compared with their steppe people, who had been grinding on horseback since they were four or five years old.

If the Han cavalry dared to attack, the Xianbei cavalry would never retreat. Even if the Han army's armor is strong, but the decision to win or lose depends on the level of horsemanship!

Yan Liyou's personal guards of 500 people, after a fierce battle for a long time, still did not attack, just to prevent the Han cavalry from suddenly killing and breaking their own cavalry.

If the Han army dares to use cavalry, Yan Liyou will send out the personal cavalry that has been retained in his hands, so that they know what kind of cavalry is the strongest!

The sun rose high. Although the climate of the grassland is cool, it can still make people sweat profusely under the June sun. Especially, in the case of heavy armor.

The war has continued for an hour.

Xie Xun's department played really well. From the initial position, they have now advanced four miles. If it is a battle in the Central Plains, these four miles will be able to break through the enemy's front no matter how you say it.

However, Xie Xun's department can only be evaluated: it played well.

Until now, the Xianbei people have been retreating, but the number has not decreased. And the results of Xie Xun's department are also very unknown. Because, most of the injured were rescued by the Xianbei people. Up to now, the beheadings of Xie Xun's department are only twenty-six.

The guerrillas deployed on both flanks also attacked several times. It's just that their results are also not good. The Xianbei people stayed on their horses, and as soon as they saw the Han cavalry dispatching, they immediately retreated backwards, not entangled with each other at all. The cavalry was also worried about the counter-charge of the Xianbei people, and after a little pursuit, they stopped their horses' hooves and returned to the cover range of the infantry.

For such a situation, Yan Liyou is very satisfied.

Maybe the casualties are a little bigger. However, being able to hold back the other party, so that the other party has no time to slaughter the grazing tribes on the grassland, and being able to keep the precious cattle and sheep, these costs, Yan Liyou thinks, are still worth it.

In a few days, more and more herdsmen will respond to Yan Liyou's call to join his army. When the time comes, the balance of strength between the two sides will be reversed.

――At that time......

Yan Liyou knows it in his heart.

However, the Han army in front of him is really strong! Even the cavalry, which is regarded as a soft bone, actually has extremely strong combat effectiveness. With the experience of fighting on the battlefield for many years, the reason for the significant improvement of the combat effectiveness of the cavalry of the Han army can still be seen.

These Han cavalry, it seems, have stirrups installed on all their horses?

Stirrups are such a thing, of course, Xianbei people also know. It's just that among the steppe peoples, who are known for their riding skills, the really good riders don't bother to use stirrups as a "cheating" tool at all. Only those children who are just beginning to learn to ride a horse, in order to make it easier to get on and off the horse, will install a unilateral stirrup on the horse.

――These men are really not afraid of being laughed at......

- Not true!

Yan Liyou's eyesight, even the sandalwood acacia is extremely appreciated. After a period of careful observation, he finally saw what it was that made him always feel strange:

- These stirrups, like, yes, bilateral?

- Bilateral, stirrups?

――Is this the key to the great increase in the strength of the Han army?

It's not hard to prove this. Just make a pair of bilateral stirrups after this battle and verify it yourself.

Having said that, with Yan Liyou's combat experience, the Han infantry in front of him can be said to be quite strong. It's just that no matter how strong the troops are, there will be a limit to fatigue. If there is no mistake in anticipation, these infantry have already shown a tired posture, and I am afraid that they will not be able to support it for long.

Yan Liyou's estimate is not wrong.

Xie Xun's subordinates, since the beginning of the war, have been engaged in a continuous entanglement with the Xianbei nomadic cavalry. Although relying on their own shields and crossbows, they suppressed the Xianbei people and retreated step by step, and the number of enemies shot was ten times more than their own losses. However, after an hour, the fatigue of the soldiers was already extremely obvious.

Even the banquet outside the battle can be seen, Xie Xun himself, naturally knows it.

At this time, the arrogance that had been letting Xie Xun command the troops finally gave an order:

"Mingjin, raise the red flag!"

Jin Duo's voice sounded like an earth-shattering sound. Yan Liyou, who is familiar with the Han army's golden drum signal routine, can be regarded as a great relief in his heart.

Don't look at the Xianbei people relying on the mobility of the cavalry and taking turns to fight. However, their equipment is too rudimentary. In the confrontation with the Han army, each time, the Xianbei people had to pay ten times the casualties.

If these casualties had fallen on a cavalry unit, this cavalry would have collapsed long ago. Even if there are ten troops to share, the Xianbei people are already complaining and demoralized.

However, the ease of the banquet came too early.

The Taixing army has fought so far, but only dispatched Xie Xun's troops and Song Guo and Zhao Yun's two cavalry. The elite of the Taixing cavalry, so far, in order to ensure the physical strength of the mount, has not been on the horse!

Mingjin is a signal for Xie Xun's department to prepare for contraction. But raising the red flag is to inform Lejin:

- The time has come, cavalry, assault!

"Get on the horse!"

"Get on the horse!"

"Get on the horse!"

Lejin's orders were passed down layer by layer by his subordinates. It's only a few breaths, and these elite veterans who have at least followed the arrogance, trained and fought for two years have all been on board. With Xie Xun's department splitting the formation from the middle and giving way to a wide avenue, Le Jin took the lead, leading the rolling iron cavalry torrent, and appeared in front of the Xianbei people in an orderly manner.

Although hundreds of people were acting at the same time, not a single person in the room spoke. In addition to the "rumbling" of horses' hooves, there was only the occasional neighing of war horses. Such a well-trained appearance immediately shocked the Xianbei people!