Chapter 8: Breaking the Enemy
When the heavy cavalry charge of the ground shook the mountain and broke through the allied army camp from the east, south, and west, the sentry at the camp gate could only shout "enemy attack" before being shot to the ground by the oncoming crossbow arrows. The last image he saw was an endless stream of cavalry crushing from his side.
The fragile wooden fence could not hold back a single charge of the heavy horsemen, and they rode after ride, until the last cavalry passed through the wooden fence, leaving a cloud of powder in the ground.
In this day and age, there is no more destructive class than heavy cavalry.
Each heavy horse is like a tank, and the gathering of thousands of heavy horses is an unstoppable torrent. They ran rampant through the barracks, knocking over tents one after another. The light cavalry that followed up kept setting fires, mercilessly shooting and slashing the enemy soldiers who rushed out of the camp and were sleepy-eyed.
At the beginning of the battle, there was no suspense, and the unsuspecting Zhao and Wei armies were suddenly attacked by the night, and they fell into chaos all of a sudden. And chaos is often the beginning of tragedy.
Perhaps by mistake, the Zhao army camp is located on the south side of the Wei army camp. Therefore, when the prince led 800 heavy horsemen and 3,000 light horsemen to attack from the south, a fire directly caused chaos in the stables. This made the disaster of the Zhao and Wei coalition even more serious!
More than 20,000 furious horses broke free from the reins and merged into another torrent, fleeing in all directions in the night. There was no force that could compete with this force, and everywhere the horses passed, it was all flesh and blood, and it was a mess.
After the cavalry charge was over, the soldiers who had survived looked around tremblingly, calling out to their robes in a daze. The chiefs and uncles were busy looking for their superiors and subordinates, trying to restore order. Unexpectedly, countless infantry came out of the fog at this time.
"They are the devils from the night!" Sun Ergou, a small soldier who was captured after the war, said.
They lined up in a neat square, marched with neat steps, and moved forward calmly. The thick armor covered their expressions, and at this moment, Sergeant Zhao was a little distracted. Black banner, black armor, could it be that the Qin army is coming?
But apparently, this disciplined army did not intend to explain anything. Chang Ge in the hands of the first row of soldiers mercilessly hooked down the Zhao army in front, and the soldiers in the back row handed Chang Ge out of the gap in the front row, harvesting people's lives.
Everyone in the phalanx took a step forward, shouting "wind" in their mouths, and with each word "wind" fell, the death of Sergeant Zhao.
It has to be said that the resistance of the Zhao army was tenacious. Even if you know that the other party is a powerful "Qin army"!
King Wuling's Hufu cavalry shot made the people of Zhao have blood. Although the soldiers of Zhao did not know where the commander was, and only held short soldiers such as broadswords and long swords, they still bravely launched a decisive charge.
It's just that such an unorganized and unlarged charge is so pale and powerless in front of the rigorous phalanx! The only result is to be stabbed into a hedgehog by countless Changge.
Seeing that the head-to-head confrontation was not beneficial, the junior officers changed to a detour, but were shot into hedgehogs by the light infantry on both flanks of the phalanx with their crossbows in their hands.
"Wind, wind, strong wind", "Qin" military array moved forward in an orderly manner, although the speed seemed to be so slow, but it was like a heavy mountain that overwhelmed Zhao Jun! Because Zhao Jun suddenly found that they couldn't think of an effective way to deal with the hedgehog-like phalanx in front of them.
Unsurprisingly, the last line of defense in Sergeant Zhao's heart collapsed. This really doesn't blame them, in fact, they are also a famous strong army in the world, but tonight, too much chaos came all at once.
First, countless cavalry stepped through the camp, and the fire caused their beloved war horses to run wildly and kill the robe, and then countless Changge kept overturning the robe, and falling down meant that they could no longer stand up.
Countless Zhao Jun were flustered, and gathered together with broken weapons under the scolding of the uncle and the subordinate chief. How many enemies came in the night, no one knows. They gathered together entirely on the instinct of iron-blooded military discipline, but unexpectedly, this attracted more crossbow arrows from light cavalry. At this time, Zhao Jun was lonely and dazed.
In the original history, the Qin army effortlessly killed the 130,000 Wei army, but in front of the 20,000 Zhao army, it could not get any advantage. In the end, Bai Qi used 100,000 troops to force the Zhao army to the depression, dug the water of the Yellow River, and drowned 20,000 Zhao troops.
If it weren't for the night attack, if it weren't for the fire that ignited the stables all of a sudden, and caused a great chaos, the Zhao army would have suffered heavy damage with a mere 40,000 Korean troops.
At the very least, Zhao Jun will buy enough time for the Wei army behind him to deal with it. It's a pity that tonight, the heavens are on the side of the Korean army. As a result, the Zhao army was attacked at night and collapsed.
Countless defeated soldiers fled north, and this is really not to blame them, losing their horses and weapons, losing the command of the commander, they are just lambs to the slaughter. If they regrouped, they dared to charge against the tenfold Qin army, and tonight, fleeing for their lives was the only choice in their subconscious.
This is also the plan of the prince, the fog and the dark night cover up the unfavorable factors of the scarcity of his own troops, the night attack has already caused the Zhao and Wei coalition forces to panic, and the fire will make this panic intensify. Panic or fear is contagious.
When the slogan of "wind" resounded in the camp, everyone would subconsciously think that the Qin army was coming, after all, this was the unique slogan of the Qin army. In particular, the black clothes and black armor confirmed the thoughts of ordinary soldiers. South Korea advocates Mude, and the military uniform is naturally green. In order to pretend to be Qin Jun, the crown prince brought enough ink, which also made the current situation occur.
Jia Yan, the chief general of the Zhao army, stumbled into the tent of the Wei army.
Just when the tiger rode into the camp, Jia Yan was lucky and got up in the middle of the night to release water. Seeing the thousands of horses sweeping over, Jia Yan knew nothing to do. The oncoming heavy cavalry was dressed in black clothes and black armor, which was the symbol of the Qin army. Your own defense is lax and it is difficult to block a blow. After arranging for the guards around him to inform the deputy general to resist, Jia Yan fled first in the name of discussing the military situation with the commander of the Wei army, Mangmao.
If he had stayed in command, maybe tonight would have been different. But history never ifs.
Wang Ziran knew that in the original history, Jia Yan was captured. A general who cherishes his life will certainly not resist stubbornly. This is also the reason why Prince Ran chose to attack Zhao Jun first.
At this moment, Mang Mao was also in a panic. Because of a qiē, it came too suddenly.
The shouts of killing were incessant outside, and the roar of the word "wind" was getting closer and closer. Their captains and marquis are desperately seizing the time to assemble their troops. The soldiers were like headless flies looking for clothes, weapons, and superiors, and all kinds of noise and scolding were endless.
"Prime Minister Mang, the Qin army is attacking the camp!" Jia Yan said as he rushed into the Zhongjun tent with a hurried face.
"What? Qin army attack camp? Where did the Qin army come from? Isn't the Qin army eight hundred miles away? Mang Mao looked panicked.
It's incredible, obviously the day before yesterday, he only besieged Huayang, and the South Korean messenger for help set off less than two days, and this will not yet reach Xianyang. How could there be a Qin army attacking!
"It's true, Prime Minister. The enemy troops outside are all black-clad and black-armored, and they are roaring with the wind in their mouths, and they can't be wrong. Thinking that the 20,000 good sons and daughters under his command were being slaughtered at the moment, Jia Yan couldn't help but feel a pain in his flesh. But the defeat and loss of officials is small, and the loss of life tonight is big.
"How many Qin troops are there? Who will the Lord be? General Jia, where is your army? "Since it is determined that it is the Qin army, it is no longer a matter of thinking about how the Qin army came, but how to resist.
"This" Jia Yan looked embarrassed, he couldn't say that he was too scared to see the current situation and ran to ask for help.
"General Jia, the military situation is urgent, please speak quickly!" Mangmao was already in a hurry. It's too chaotic outside, Jia Yan came so quickly, and he still expects to get some news.
"Prime Minister, I'm afraid my 20,000 troops are over. The Qin army came too suddenly, there were their cavalry in all directions, the sky was dark, and there was fog, and I really couldn't see how many there were. However, as far as I can see, at least 40,000 troops attacked our battalion from the south. Jia Yan casually said a number and first clarified his responsibility. After all, who would have expected that the group of madmen of the Qin army would attack the camp at night, and in the middle of the night and the fog, it would be completely impossible to see the figure thirty steps away. Now it can only rely on the Wei army.
"Report!" A man broke into the tent of the Chinese army.
"Prime Minister, now there are enemy cavalry assaults in the east, west, and south directions of the camp, and they are incompetent, and the phalanx that was hastily assembled has been scattered by the enemy's heavy cavalry. The enemy army is still setting fire everywhere, and the morale of our army is low, please make plans as soon as possible! Adjutant General Li Deyu reported.
"General Li, please be sure to block the Qin army! If we disperse and reassemble, I don't believe we can't stop a tired army. Mang Mao said a little angrily.
Li De was also helpless after hearing this, sometimes it was really not what Mang Mao thought. Continuously broken through the phalanx by the enemy's heavy cavalry, the soldiers were already cold. Especially at the border between the former army and the Zhao military camp, the defeat of the Zhao army and the attack on the camp brought great panic. The only way to do this is to rely on your own 30,000 cavalry to resist the enemy's heavy cavalry, and buy yourself time to reorganize the phalanx and boost morale.
Although the current chaos in the camp is like a pot of porridge, according to his own experience, the enemy will not exceed 50,000. No matter how big the momentum is, no matter how thick the fog is, the terrain on the east and west sides of Huayang City is dangerous, and the north gate faces the Wei State itself, so they only have a total of 10,000 troops in the other three gates. The remaining 120,000 troops were all at the south gate, and the large battalion stretched for ten miles, which exposed the weakness of the enemy's sparse forces.
"Report!" The Chinese army Zuo Wei Leopard broke in in a panic.
"It's a big deal, Prime Minister. The stables were set on fire, and the horses were scattered. ”
"What?" Mang Mao and Li De were taken aback. If the cavalry is gone, what will they use to fight the enemy?
"Prime Minister, how is it now? Please also make plans quickly! Wei Bao said.
"Prime Minister! Now there are enemy troops on three sides! It's better to send someone to Beiying to gather troops! Li Dejian said.
"Prime Minister!"
"Prime Minister!"
"Wei Junzuo, you go to Beiying now to gather soldiers and come to support immediately. All the guards, follow me to stop the enemy. Gather the rout army along the way, and those who do not obey the order will be killed! Looking at Mangmao, who was lost and at a loss, Li De immediately issued an order.
"Yes!" With the backbone of the Lord, the people in the big tent quickly took action.
The closer you get to the Chinese military tent of the Wei army, the denser the Wei soldiers encountered. Like the rest of the cavalry, the Tiger Cavalry advanced at a slower pace and suffered casualties.
The Wei army, who was not afraid of death, slowed down the charge of the tiger cavalry with his body, and on the way less than a mile away from the Wei army's central military tent, the phalanx organized by Li De resolutely resisted the tiger cavalry.
The battle was extremely fierce, and one side desperately rushed forward, in a vain attempt to kill the commander of the Wei army; One side resisted to the death, waiting for the whole team of robes in the rear to come to support.
No one is not afraid of death, but in this bloody battlefield, those who are afraid of death will only die faster. Each of them slashes or stabs the other with their weapons, only to kill or be killed by the other.
In general, South Korea suffered fewer casualties, on the one hand, because they were wearing armor, and on the other hand, the length of their weapons was significantly superior to that of the other side. Watching his men fall one by one, Li De's heart was dripping blood. There is no way to do this, only if you consume the other party, the reinforcements from the northern camp will turn defeat into victory when they arrive. The opponent's "Qin army" is heavily armored is an advantage, but fighting for a long time will greatly consume physical energy, and when the opponent's physical strength is weakened, it is the time to turn defeat into victory.
The prince naturally knows the other party's plans, and now he is fighting for time. The other side has now delayed its own attack, and the army in the rear is definitely gathering. If you can enter the Chinese army tent earlier and capture or kill Mangmao, your side will win, if the opponent gathers the army first, you can only lose.
Thinking of this, the prince aimed at Li De at a glance, although he didn't know who the other party was, but since he was standing under the command of the commander, he would definitely lose the enemy's courage to kill this wing.
Li De also had the same thoughts, although he didn't know the identity of Prince Ran, but the large number of guards around him exposed Prince Ran's noble identity. Killing an opponent will greatly reduce your own casualties.
So, two people with the same idea invariably commanded their soldiers to rush to each other. If you look down from the sky at this time, you will find a bizarre scene, red and black collide fiercely, and each side tries to engulf the other. Shouts, roars, the clashing of weapons. Every moment someone falls, and the person who falls never gets a chance to get up again.
Human life was so cheap that a Wei sergeant fiercely plunged the knife in his hand into the chest of a Korean soldier, and the young Korean soldier fell weakly. But in the next second, four or five Chang Ge swept down this Wei army, followed by countless Chang Ge piercing his neck and abdomen. This is just a very ordinary portrayal of the battlefield. No matter how strong the personal martial arts are, there is no place for them in this narrow battlefield, the only thing to rely on is the comrades around them, and the only thing to do is to hand over the weapon in the hand to kill the other party and then greet the other party's stabbing weapon. And life and death are left to heaven to decide.
Prince Ran was closely surrounded by the tiger's guards, and after fighting for so long, from time to time some guards fell down with all their strength. The heavy armor on the tiger rider's body protected them and greatly consumed their bodies, and the prince had seen with his own eyes that a fierce soldier did not dodge one of the opponent's assassinations because of exhaustion, and he could have avoided it according to his strength. However, the body's reaction slowed down due to the exertion of energy, and he fell down helplessly.
It is undeniable that the arrival of the crown prince greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers. But because of this, Tiger Rider also had to be distracted to protect Tai Ziran. Looking at the somewhat panting tiger rider beside him, Prince Ran's palms sweated. The expected reinforcements, the Macedonian phalanx infantry, had not arrived for a long time, and the cavalry had been exhausted too much, and it was time to make a decision.
Li De couldn't help but be happy in his heart, and the "Qin Army" on the opposite side was obviously overwhelmed. The army of Kung Fu Beiying can be assembled without a stick of incense, and then he will become a hero who can turn the tide, and even become a famous general in the Wei State. On the other side is the Qin State of the Tiger and Wolf Army! Let the Wei State have been defeated repeatedly in the past few decades!
Just when Li De was fantasizing about defeating the "Qin Army" and becoming famous all over the world. The bad news pulled him to reality, and suddenly there were killing cries from the north side of the camp. It didn't take long for the heralds of the North Camp to take the Huayang defenders out of the city, and the North Camp was now making every effort to resist the firm position and report it to Li De. As for the coach Mangmao, he learned the news one step earlier, but he ordered Li De to be responsible for resisting the Qin army in front of him, and he went to rectify the defeated army first to come to support.
Li De was shocked at first when he heard the bad news, but as a veteran of the battlefield, he knew that anxiety was useless. For today's plan, only by killing the important people on the opposite side can we regain the morale of the army. I just wanted to order my soldiers to let the northern camp hold on, but I didn't expect a sharp arrow to come only towards the door in front of me.
At the last moment, what Li De saw was a rapidly magnifying arrow, and then his head went black, and he fell to the ground unconscious.
A young "Qin Juntun Commander" put down the crossbow in his hand and swung his fist excitedly. At the same time, Prince Ran, who had been paying attention to Wei Jun, also discovered the fall of the opponent's "boss" at the first moment. Although he didn't know what was happening on the other side, Prince Ran knew that this was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. So he shouted, "Mangmao is dead, and those who descend will not be killed!" ”
Immediately afterwards, Prince Ran's personal guards also shouted, "Mangmao is dead, and those who descend will not be killed." Wei Jun looked at the "Mangmao" who was still standing under the banner of the commander just now, how could there be a commander under the banner at this moment. Li De never dreamed that his practice of pretending to be the coach to boost morale would become the fuse of the rout of the Wei army at this moment. Li De's personal soldiers naturally knew that the real boss Mangmao had long been missing, that is, he was stunned, and the entire battlefield was filled with the slogan "Mangmao is dead, and those who surrender will not be killed".
Soon, the first Wei army dropped his weapon and turned to run. People have absolute blind obedience when they are panicked, there is the first and there is a second, and countless Wei troops who were still fighting to the death at the moment ago dropped their weapons and fled for their lives in the blink of an eye.
Wei army, defeat is decided. Wei Army, the general trend has gone.
The rest of the matter was very simple, and the Han army pursued the Wei army as much as they could. The Wei soldiers, who fled for their lives in panic, crowded and trampled on people. Paoze, who was still fighting side by side just now, has become an opponent on the way to escape, and in order to survive, everyone ruthlessly slashed their weapons at each other. Some people were cornered and forced to jump into the icy Yellow River, and some wanted to kneel down and beg for mercy but were trampled into flesh by the people behind them.
Dawn has finally arrived, and the haze has cleared.
Mang Mao and Jia Yan were captured by the river not far from the battlefield, and the commander of the Zhao-Wei coalition army was wiped out. Half of the high-ranking generals of the Chinese army were killed in the rebellion, and half were captured.
150,000 Zhao and Wei allied troops killed 70,000 and captured 80,000. After the Wei and Qi states in the lower reaches of the Yellow River thawed, dead bodies could be seen floating in the Yellow River from time to time.
Later historical records record that "in the twenty-third year of King Yao, Zhao and Wei attacked my Huayang." Gaozu led an army of 40,000 to attack Huayang, breaking the combined forces of Zhao and Wei, beheading 70,000 and capturing 80,000. The princes were shocked, and the name of Jin Han was restored to the world. ”