Chapter 178: Chu Feng (II)

The dust and smoke raised behind the military formation and the faint sound of shouting and killing made Li Xiaozong's heart tighten suddenly. From the moment the Mandu wolf came to face him with two thousand Mandu banner cavalry, Li Xiaozong's heart began to feel uneasy. He has been an opponent with Mandu Wolf for three years, and he knows what kind of temperament the other party is, so after he found out that something was wrong, the first thing he did was to order Pan Mei to quickly retreat with a man from the Chong Battalion to defend Qingxia, but ...... It's still late.

A qualified general can roughly judge the number of enemies from the smoke and dust raised from behind. Li Xiaozong didn't need to send scouts to inquire about the news, he could guess that Pan Mei's men and horses in the camp were only afraid that they had fallen into a siege at this time. Coupled with Pan Mei's arrogant temperament, she may not still maintain the formation when she retreats, and it is really worrying whether the battalion can be kept under the sudden attack.

"Zhao Sen, you take a folding battalion and go back to support Pan Mei immediately, and you can figure out the tactics according to the situation. If Pan Mei can be saved, then he must be rescued, if Pan Mei is deeply trapped and difficult to rescue, you immediately lead someone to tear the hole, no matter what, you must ensure that the canyon is unblocked! ”

"General!"

Zhao Sen said eagerly: "If I take one more Folding Battalion, you will only have the strength of two Folding Battalions left." Two thousand four hundred infantry...... Mandu Wolf has 2,000 elite cavalry, I'm afraid ......."

"You don't have time to worry about me."

Li Xiaozong said coldly: "I said that since I am your main general today, then you can only obey any of my orders, and you should understand that compared to opening the passage for the follow-up brigade, my side is insignificant." ”

"Whoa!"

Looking at Li Xiaozong's resolute face, Zhao Sen knew that he could not shake the young general's determination. Although Li Xiaozong was cautious enough to lead his troops out of the canyon, he still made the mistake of lightly advancing the enemy. According to the 12 military orders issued by His Majesty the Great Sui Emperor, if someone has ulterior motives to hold on to it, this is already a capital crime.

He didn't know this young general very well, he only knew that he was a member of the Li family in Longyou, and he was the nephew of the great general Li Yuanshan, and Dean Zhou even praised him more than once when he was in the Yanwu Academy. Of course, he also knew that Li Xiaozong was a person who had just been reinstated before the war, and he had almost lost his future and life before.

Originally, Zhao Sen had no respect for such a young and famous general. But today, the resoluteness on Li Xiaozong's face made him sincerely admire.

"General, take care!"

Zhao Sen clenched his fists, then turned around and left.

"Wait!"

Li Xiaozong stopped him and ordered: "Blow the horn, gather the 200 cavalry that scattered out, if Pan Mei can't be rescued, you use these 200 cavalry to tear a hole and kill it." ”

"We only have these 200 cavalry, so it's better to keep them to support the general!"

Zhao Sen said loudly.

"yes......"

Li Xiaozong sighed: "We only have 200 cavalry, and the treasure is amazing." But this is a battlefield, and it is precisely because those 200 cavalry are expensive that they should be used in the most suitable place. Go ahead...... No matter what the battle situation is on my side, you are not allowed to turn back to support, and even if I die here, I don't need you to collect the body. Qingxia ...... It's your position. ”

"Whoa!"

Zhao Sen shouted loudly, rubbed his sour nose and strode away. After taking away a folding camp, the men and horses in Li Xiaozong's hands became thinner and thinner. And the Mandu wolf on the opposite side didn't seem to be in a hurry to attack, but watched with interest as Li Xiaozong divided his troops again.

"Thaler!"

After seeing the rear team of the Sui army split out, Mandu Wolf smiled and ordered: "Give you three hundred-man team, do you dare to tear the Sui army's formation from the middle!" ”

His name was Teller, a burly and sturdy steppe man, with a beard typical of the steppe people, thick eyebrows and angry eyes, and a voice like a bell.

"Why don't you dare, if the general is willing to reward me with a beauty from the Northern Liao region, I dare to take three hundred horsemen to kill Fangu!"

"Ha Lu Ha!"

Mandu Wolf Da Lu smiled and said: "If you capture Li Xiaozong alive, I will reward you with two beauties from the Northern Liao Land, plus a cold horse from the Northern Liao people!" ”

"Thank you, General!"

Taler smiled, not paying any attention to the more than 2,000 Sui elite soldiers on the other side.

"Boys, follow me to kill!"

He let out a loud roar, took off the mace he was holding on his back, and urged the horse to rush out. Three hundred Mandu cavalry followed him, screaming and rushing forward. It looks like three hundred hungry wolves that have seen their prey. The speed of the Mengyuan cavalry is extremely fast, and everyone is a good hand at the horse. They can even ride wild horses without saddles and pedals, just as naturally as the southerners drive boats.

The three hundred cavalry, with Thaler as the arrow, formed an extremely sharp cone-shaped formation and rushed towards the Great Sui army formation.

This is the first time in more than 100 years that the Mengyuan people and the Great Sui people have confronted each other. Although the scale of this encounter is not large, it is profound. Whether it is Mandu Wolf or Li Xiaozong, they all know the significance of this first battle. Whoever wins, who will take the lead.

If the Mengyuan people slaughtered all the 5,000 Sui troops who passed through the canyon, then the pride of the Great Sui soldiers would be smashed open a gap.

"Undefeated?"

Mandu Wolf looked at the fluttering red Great Sui battle flag on the opposite side, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "What I broke today is your undefeated false name!" ”

…….

…….

"Zhang Zhen, Cui Minlai."

Li Xiaozong ordered loudly: "You two protect the two wings, and you are not allowed to move without my military order." Even if Meng Yuan's cavalry rushes into the Chinese army, you will not be allowed to rescue without hearing the sound of the horn! ”

"Whoa!"

The other two generals Zhang Zhen and Cui Minlai responded at the same time, and turned back to the two wings to preside over the battle formation.

"Archer!"

Li Xiaozong urged the horse forward and went to the front of the battle formation to personally command.

"Shoot the arrow!"

Following Li Xiaozong's order, a row of archers standing at the front drew a special feather arrow from the quiver. The arrow is painted bright red throughout, making it thicker than a normal feathered arrow. After the order, the archers in the first row immediately put this special feather arrow on the bowstring, and more than 100 people shot the arrows out of the bow in unison. Their arrows shoot at a high angle of elevation, and the feathered arrows they shoot are the limit of the range of their hard bows.

More than 100 red feather arrows shot out in a volley, drawing a beautiful arc in mid-air and landing one after another. About two hundred and thirty paces away, there was an extra red line on the ground. This feathered arrow is called a standard arrow. The function is to give the archer a clear idea of when the enemy is in range.

When the hooves of Taller's 300 cavalry jumped over the red line composed of arrows, Li Xiaozong raised the command flag violently.

"First round, throw, shoot!"

More than three hundred archers immediately raised their hard bows and replaced them with expensive armor-piercing cones. This kind of feather arrow can easily tear through the thin iron armor. Unless the enemy is wearing several layers of thick leather armor or expensive chain mail, they will not be able to stop the shot of the armor-piercing cone.

The first round of feather arrows drew an arc in mid-air, and more than 300 feather arrows smashed into the array of Mandu Banner cavalry like hailstones falling in mid-air. The first round of projectiles was a covering blow with little precision to speak of. However, this kind of blow is difficult to defend against because of the large coverage and the fact that the feathered arrows always fall from mid-air. For a group charge of infantry, the archers on the defending side can throw great damage. But for the light cavalry that is extremely fast, the lethality of the projectile is greatly reduced.

The feather arrows smashed into the crowd of Mandu Banner cavalry, and immediately twenty or thirty cavalrymen were shot and fell off their horses. Taler brandished his mace and smashed down two feathered arrows in quick succession, and the wildness in his eyes grew more and more intense. It was obviously not suitable to smash down feather arrows with such a heavy weapon as a mace, but his arms were extremely powerful, and the mace, which was difficult for ordinary people to dance, was as light as a bamboo pole in his hand.

"Kill!"

Thaler roared, and the Mandu cavalry behind him let out a neat roar.

"Phew!"

Huha is the slogan of the Mengyuan cavalry charge. It is almost the same as the Great Sui army shouting forward when it charges.

"Second round, flat shot, put!"

Li Xiaozong issued another order, and more than 300 archers lowered their hard bows and raised them slightly, and the feather arrows shot out in an instant. After the second order was issued, Li Xiaozong immediately waved the order flag and said: "The third round, shoot and release!" ”

The archers focused their eyes on the cavalry at the front of the enemy, and in the third round more than 300 feathered arrows shot out in a very dense manner. The feathered arrows shot were like a huge fist, slamming into the oncoming Mandu Banner cavalry. Taller swung his mace in front of him, and flicked away three or four feathered arrows in succession, but finally there was some gap, and one feathered arrow tore through his leather armor and burrowed into his shoulder.

The pain made the burly steppe man even more violent, and he ignored the feathered arrows that trembled on his shoulders, urging the war horse to crash straight into the Great Sui army formation.

"Archers retreat!"

Li Xiaozong ordered loudly: "The giant shield hand is forward, and the long lance hand is arrayed!" ”

About a hundred soldiers with tall shields quickly took over the archers and rushed to the front, and with the command of the captain, a hundred huge shields slammed into the ground, as if a wall had suddenly appeared on the ground. The lancer in the back rushed behind the giant shield and put the lance on the giant shield, and the lance was raised.

The well-trained soldiers of the Great Sui Right Xiao Guards completed the change of formation in a very short time. In an instant, the military formation turned into a hedgehog shrunk into a ball.

Boom!

The cavalry of the Mandu Banner slammed into the giant shield fiercely, and the soldiers who were half-squatting on the ground and carrying the giant shield on their shoulders were knocked over, and were trampled by the war horses that followed closely, and the wails immediately rang out. However, the Mandu Banner cavalry that trampled on them was also poked to death by the long lance raised from the opposite side, and the twenty or so cavalrymen who rushed to the front completed their mission and paid for their lives after knocking a hole in the shield array.

"Kill through the Sui people's military formation and cut down their banners!"

Half of his body was already soaked in blood, and Thaler smashed the head of a Great Sui soldier with a stick, and the leather helmet was smashed and deflated, and bright red blood and white brains burst out together, mixed with many broken bones. The Great Sui soldier fell limp before he could utter a shout, followed by a rib crushed by Taler's horse.

Taler took the remaining 200 cavalrymen and tore through the shield formation of the Great Sui like knives, but he was trapped in the lance array and could not extricate himself. The dense lance made the cavalry fall into a quagmire, and it was impossible to give full play to the speed advantage of the light cavalry.

For the first time in his life, Taler fought with the Sui, but not for the first time. He had led his troops to slaughter other tribes on the grassland several times, and those small tribes who did not respect the orders of the banner lord of Mandu had to die. He is a man of great strength and is a well-known warrior in Mandu Banner.

But today, this warrior found that he could not use all his strength.

Those hateful Sui people, their lance array is like the natural nemesis of the cavalry! As soon as the cavalry that came and went like the wind fell in, the knights sitting high on horseback became the target of those lancers.

Thaler kept wielding his mace, killing four Sui lancers in succession. But his war horse only took one step forward.

Just when he swept away the Sui soldiers in front of him with a stick, two long lances stabbed from the left side, and with a pop, the belly of his war horse was slashed open, and when the lance was pulled out, the internal organs of the war horse mixed with sticky and smelly blood Hula fell out at once.

The horse let out a wail and slowly fell, and Thaler fell with it.

Before he could stand up, a long lance stabbed him in the chest. He rolled out of the way, but there was a sharp pain in his calf.

Thaler let out a scream, and when he looked down, he saw that his left leg had been pierced and pinned to the ground by a long lance. He tried to swing his mace and smash the damn lance, but before his arm could be raised, he was stabbed by a second lance, and the next second, the third lance went into his lower abdomen, and the next second, the fourth lance went into his heart.

Five or six Great Sui lance hands surrounded the tall grassland man who fell to the ground, constantly raising the lance, and then poking it down fiercely.

Moments later...... Where can you still see the man's face?

The fishy smell of the viscera and the stench of feces are mixed together and are disgusting.