The trumpets sounded one after another, and when they saw the Tang army arriving, Xu Shiji and Zhang Shigui immediately marched forward with their troops.
The elite soldiers of Jin lined up in a strict formation, moving forward like a city wall. The officers shouted loudly in the ranks, asking their soldiers to keep the formation intact.
At this time, the Tang army was actually moving forward, but at a slower and slower pace. It was obvious that they had to confront each other for a while according to the established rhythm of the war.
Of course, this is not because the Tang army was weak, or was at a loss, or even caught the enemy off guard, because there were no traces of the two families, and when the Tang army arrived, their formation had already been adjusted.
Moreover, the distance chosen by the Tang army was very appropriate. Unless they encountered cavalry, the infantry would not be able to cross such a distance and attack quickly.
Sang Xianhe has been in battle for a long time, and Ren Can and Wei Ting are also familiar with the military and will not make such stupid mistakes when fighting.
Sang Xianhe's general's flag was already standing on a high place. Under the battle flag, Sang Xianhe was on horseback. Although the opponent took the lead in attacking so resolutely, it surprised him, but it was only a small surprise.
That's all.
This is a standard Kansai general. He is tall and has a steady temperament. As long as he comes to the battlefield, his ruthless and cold aura will be apparent.
He looked at the enemy formation in the distance with his calm and murderous eyes, and after a moment he smiled contemptuously. He already knew it well, was this to delay the advance of the army and delay the subsequent army crossing the river?
Looking at the messy figures following behind, Sang Xianhe was even more certain that it must be the Henan rebel army that surrendered Li Ding'an. These guys are the best at melee fighting...
From Sang Xianhe's point of view, this was obviously Li Ding'an's move because he did not have enough troops by the river and sent some people to die in order to buy time.
With such speculation, Sang Xianhe immediately issued a military order.
"Send the order to General Ren and ask him to block the incoming enemy. Anyone who steps back will be killed."
Five thousand people are enough. You must know that the people who came here are all the elites of Kansai, not just stragglers. If the army had not guarded the city for more than ten days and traveled so many roads, the soldiers would have been exhausted. Otherwise, Sang Xianhe would have felt
With only five thousand elite troops, Can Can can drive all the enemy troops down the Yellow River to feed the fish.
It can be said that neither Sang Xianhe nor the generals under his command paid much attention to these enemies blocking the road. Li Ding'an from Jin was the best at cavalry. Judging from his performance, the Daizhou cavalry was indeed formidable.
terror.
Just like Qu Tutong in the northwest, he led an army of more than 100,000 to defend key points. The reason he did not dare to take the initiative was that he was afraid of going too far and being defeated by the northwest cavalry.
But now, Li Ding'an wanted to cross the Yellow River and come to Henan to show off his power. In the opinion of Sang Xianhe and others, he made a wrong calculation. Without the help of the cavalry, the Jin people still wanted to fight with the elites of Kansai on the plains.
Fight? Just dream...
A few years ago, even if there were cavalry, the Kansai people would never be afraid of anything. However, times have changed, and the glory of the Kansai army has dimmed quickly in a series of wars.
Always weigh the number of enemy troops or the weight of Daizhou cavalry. In the heart of every Kansai general, this is a matter of shame.
But having said that, the strength of the Kansai army was achieved through fighting. As one of the Kansai generals, Sang Xianhe had every reason to believe that he could get a "small" victory in the near future.
Of course, he didn't realize that when Li Yuan led his army south and he led the army to resist, his mentality was so similar to now. But what was the final result?
However, none of this made Sang Xianhe hesitate, and then he ordered: "Let the archers prepare."
"Send the order to General Wei, lead the troops forward, protect General Ren's right wing, and obey my orders at any time... In this battle, the enemy must be completely wiped out, and not a single soldier can be allowed to escape back to the other side."
Generally speaking, the military orders issued before the army engages in battle are the final adjustments to the army. Once the army engages in battle, it is easy for the generals to reach the front of the army.
Of course, if the two armies fighting fiercely are large enough, or if the strength of the two armies is very different, it will be another matter.
The two armies that met in the wilderness clearly belonged to the former. Their numbers were actually not that large. If the Henan war situation was regarded as a chessboard, they were all vanguard pawns who played a key role.
In other words, the scale of this battle is not large, but it is likely to be a battle that will determine the future direction of Henan. However, Sang Xianhe, who lacks strategic consideration of the overall situation, is obviously a bit slow and cannot realize the key to this battle.
But Xu Shiji and Zhang Shigui, opposite him, clearly knew that this was a matter of life and death, both for them personally and for the army crossing the river.
From this perspective, Sang Xianhe was obviously at a disadvantage, but this did not change the fact that the Tang army was strong and could respond appropriately.
Both armies were light infantry. The Tang army did not bring any strong armor or large shields. It can also be said that the Tang army was not actually prepared for a fierce battle with the enemy. Their only purpose of this trip seemed to be to go to the river and kill Li Ding.
It's just blocked on the other side of the river.
Xu Shiji and Zhang Shigui were determined to fight to the death, but they also led light infantry who were not fully prepared and had many signs of a hasty battle. They had no spears, no heavy infantry to advance, and even a shortage of arrows. They could not fight.
Exchanging fire with the Tang army from a long distance.
When the Tang army stopped and stretched out some jagged spears from the dark front of the formation, Xu Shiji and Zhang Shigui knew that the worst situation had occurred.
The Tang army obviously planned to hold on for a while, wait until you are exhausted, and then cover up and kill you. This tactic alone was enough to make the advancing Jin people pay a lot of blood as a price.
The soldiers stepped on the ground unhurriedly, surging forward, shields, armors, swords and guns constantly colliding, noisy but complete, they merged into the sound of the golden sword, spreading throughout the world, waiting for the one who shed blood.
The moment comes.
Xu Shiji and Zhang Shigui both chose the third row, where they could see the enemy formation clearly, react a little, avoid the coming arrow rain, and not let themselves die in front of the formation immediately.
.
Are you smart? Not necessarily. This is the experience gained after getting a bloody lesson. It has nothing to do with talent or knowledge. It only shows that they have experienced a lot of fighting and their status is such that they can choose a good one.
position, but their positions do not allow them to completely avoid danger.
When the Tang army formed a formation and stopped moving forward, Zhang Shigui felt a chill. This was obviously the worst-case scenario that he and Xu Shiji had discussed before.
They will have to withstand the baptism of arrows later, rush to the front and rear of the formation, and use greater strength to break through. And he is more worried about whether these guys can withstand such a test under his leadership. After all, he just came here.
Soon, he had little prestige among this unfamiliar army.
The only good thing may be that the Tang army on the opposite side has few spears and no thick shields, so it doesn't seem to be difficult to break through.
Xu Shiji on the other side is much more confident than Zhang Shigui, because he has stayed in Hedong and Bingzhou for a long time. It is true that the Daizhou cavalry is famous all over the world, but the infantry in Jinland should not be underestimated.
They were filled with old soldiers from Shandong and Hebei. They had been in battle for a long time and were diligent in their daily training. The reason why they had not become famous outside was just because the King of Han was better at cavalry, leaving little room for infantry to display.
Compared with the good-looking Kansai soldiers opposite him, the guys on the left and right in front of him were more like a group of hungry wolves. Their determination to kill the enemy and their will to fight were like balls of flames, burning brightly above the heads of the army.
When they become a whole, they are not afraid of casualties. Once they move forward, they will never stop easily. Being in such a group makes Xu Shiji feel both proud and very uncomfortable.
Because none of this seems to have anything to do with him, Xu Shiji.
When it came time to engage in battle, he and Zhang Shigui were completely reduced to foils, because the soul of this group had already been formed, and both of them were incompatible with it. Obviously, they needed more time to blend in and lead the way.
Leave a unique mark on the military.
Therefore, this battle is just the beginning for both of them. Of course, if they lose, there will be no need to mention anything.
When the first rain of arrows rose into the sky, the leading captain in the first row raised his sword high and roared into the sky. This was more effective than the horn of attack. In an instant, a strange roar erupted in front of the formation.
Voice.
The soldiers in the front row waved their steel knives above their heads, quickened their pace, and then started running. The army seemed to be freed from restraints, and surged forward quickly like a flood rushing out of a dam.
The arrows fell, some were nailed to the round shields on the soldiers' heads, and some penetrated into the human body, bringing out scarlet blood. At the same time, there was a loud sound of falling to the ground and screams.
The crowd fell like wheat. If it were the Henan Rebel Army back then, it is possible that just this one blow could destroy the will of most people and let the army see the dawn of victory, but this little blood cannot extinguish it.
The desire of the Jin army to fight.
The following soldiers stepped on the corpses of their comrades and quickly approached the enemy. As they got closer, arrows rained down continuously, causing heavy casualties. The Henan surrender troops following behind immediately fell into chaos.
Some people stopped, and some people turned around and ran. Shen Fan led four people to the front of the army, staring at a broken shield, and kept shouting at his subordinates in a trembling voice, "Don't run."
, don't run, you will die if you run, keep close, keep close, you will survive if you get through it.
When the army was moving forward, Shen Fan, the corps commander, was quite competent. He at least knew that turning around and running away was the stupidest move. Either his head would be chopped off by his own people, or he would be stepped on by his own people. There would be absolutely no good outcome.
