Cao Hong wore a finely made bright silver mirror armor and stood gleaming on a high platform in the camp.
No matter which angle you look at it from, the armor on Cao Hong's body always shines with dazzling light.
But in fact, Cao Hong's heart was not as bright as the armor on his body, but continued to sink into darkness.
Because you can see clearly from the high platform, Cao Jun's cavalry was almost completely suppressed.
Whether it is the basic quality of the cavalry, the physical endurance of the horses, or the tactics of mutual cooperation between the cavalry, Cao Jun's cavalry are quite different.
Cao Hong had some expectations for this gap, but he didn't expect it to be so big.
On the one hand, it is because Cao Hong himself is not good at cavalry command, so he does not have a very clear concept of the gap between cavalry. On the other hand, the previous cavalry confrontations between Cao Jun and the hussars were all small units, and they did not know how to do it.
Under Cao Hong's nose, it is naturally impossible to have any very intuitive impression.
This battle is obviously not easy to fight.
However, it cannot be lost here in Anyi.
At least you can't throw it away now.
Anyi is an important support point in Cao Cao's entire strategy. Once lost, it means losing all the core points of the structure in the Yuncheng Basin. This means that Cao Cao's army can only be defeated all the way, and even retreating to Zhongtiao Mountain is in danger.
, because the Hussars can bypass Zhiguan Road...
Of course, Cao Jun can also defend on the Zhiguan Road, or even set up an ambush, but this means that Cao Jun has to defend a larger area, and the hussars can gain greater battlefield convenience and more breakthrough points.
On the contrary, Cao's army's infantry advantage can only be realized by gathering together, especially the use of the central leading army and the central protecting army, which is the most important.
The hooves of the hussars roared and rolled up yellow dust.
Not to be outdone, Cao Jun's war drums were beating loudly to boost morale.
Cao Hong stared with squinted eyes, hoping that the hussars would lose their patience and launch one or two attacks on the infantry lines without hesitation...
On the battlefield, those who are impatient will always die the fastest.
Just like the game between hunter and prey, it is also a competition of patience.
Some of the traps originally laid by Cao's army on the battlefield were found and marked by the Hussars.
This is not surprising. Cao Hong was even thinking about whether to throw some caltrops somewhere else at night. If the hussars were negligent tomorrow and thought there would be no problem in clearing the area, they could give these hussars
A little lesson.
Suddenly, the large flanking force of hussars began to move forward, which immediately attracted Cao Hong's attention.
coming!
"Send orders to everyone!" Cao Hong shouted loudly, "Stabilize the formation!"
The ordering soldier ran and shouted again.
Cao Hong stared at the flanks of the hussars sweeping in, and couldn't help but mutter, "Come on! Come on!"
…
…
The Hussars are indeed "coming".
As Cao Hong wished, but it was different from what Cao Hong thought...
In the past, the hussars suppressed the battlefield and harassed Cao's army with basically small units of cavalry. But now the large cavalry unit led by Li Li moved with a completely different momentum than the small units.
The combination of iron and blood, the high degree of unity of strength and speed.
In the current era of the Han Dynasty, the only ones who truly brought cavalry tactics to its extreme were the men and horses of General Fei Qian.
If just being able to mount a horse, run, and wave a weapon a few times at the same time is called an "elite", then such an "elite" would be too worthless.
The "elite" of the hussars, simply put, means "costing money".
Um……
This seems reasonable?
First of all, the daily expenses and combat equipment of cavalry are much more than that of ordinary infantry. Even Feiqian still has a large-scale workshop and horse breeding land, but because the combat readiness of its infantry has also been improved, so
It has only dropped slightly, probably maintaining the level of one to four.
In other words, raising one cavalry is equivalent to raising four infantry.
As we all know, when a war horse performs high-intensity exercises on the battlefield, such as sprinting, emergency stops, rapid turns, etc., it will consume a lot of the horse's physical strength. Generally speaking, if a war horse runs continuously for half an hour, it is necessary to control the horse's speed slightly to let the horse run fast.
The war horse takes a breath to lower the temperature of the war horse's blood and prevent the war horse from cooking its own heart...
Yes, this cute girl or shota with the long face, big eyes and shortsightedness is so stupid.
Among Chang'an's three auxiliaries, a new war horse population is being studied, but it has not yet become a reality. According to the future plan of the hussar, the cavalry horses will no longer be mixed, but will be divided into different uses. For example, light horses may be fast but have poor endurance.
, suitable for short-distance quick charges, while heavy horses have better endurance and are suitable for long-term battles and marches.
The Xiliang horse is tall and can sprint very well, but has poor endurance and is very picky. The Hetao pony horse has high endurance, endures hardships and is not picky, but it just can't run fast...
What is both necessary and necessary often does not feature much in either aspect.
Feiqian's solution to this problem for the cavalry at this stage is to equip multiple horses, use spare horses or a rotation system to ensure that the horses can continue to play a role on the battlefield, but this also brings higher expenses.
Therefore, Cao Jun's attrition strategy is indeed correct from a purely theoretical perspective.
Although Feiqian is powerful at the moment, every link is interconnected and there is very little redundancy.
Take the feeding and care of the hussars' horses as an example. If Fei Qian had not recruited a large number of barbarians to fill the cavalry team, it would be equivalent to free horsemen and veterinarians. Otherwise, Fei Qian would have to add more
Not to mention the additional expenses incurred by adding additional logistics support personnel, it may not be possible to take good care of them!
After all, if there were not these barbarians who have rich experience in animal husbandry, and these stupid guys get together with each other, it is inevitable that they will bump into each other, and even get sick and get infected. If they are not treated in time, it will be useless.
Therefore, in the Hussars, every link and every person is very important.
It is precisely because of this that when Xu Chu and Li Li discovered an abnormal signal in the opponent's Cao army formation, they did not choose to ignore it, but chose to test for cooperation...
The hussars and horses were galloping, getting closer and closer to Cao Jun's formation.
The atmosphere became increasingly tense.
The Zhong Lingjun Zhong Hujun who was in charge of supervising the army in Cao's army was staring at the hussars rushing in the distance while shouting "Stay steady". He didn't know whether he was shouting to others or whether he was shouting.
Listen to yourself.
This was true for both the central leading army and the guarding army. The other ordinary soldiers of Cao's army were trembling more and more. If they were not standing close together, it is impossible to say that even if there was support from the camp behind them, some people would be unable to restrain their fear and turn around and run away!
After all, many of the ordinary soldiers in Cao's army were peasant soldiers.
Going with the wind and investing against the wind is already...
Um?
Anyway, bronze and diamonds can never be on the same channel.
Just like the cavalry has a short sword and the infantry has a long spear.
Cao Hong clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, looking forward to the moment when the hussars would crash into Cao's infantry array...
There were obviously some flaws in Cao Jun's infantry array, and there were also some areas where it looked like he couldn't even hold a spear, but Cao Hong didn't pay attention to these problems at all, because in Cao Hong's heart, these Cao Jun soldiers were used for consumption!
As long as you can spend one more point today, you will have more hope of victory tomorrow!
"Come on! Come on!"
Cao Hong roared.
If the cavalry loses speed and gets stuck in the infantry formation, it often cannot gain much advantage, so it will directly hit them with flesh and blood. The damage will undoubtedly be huge, and it plays into Cao Jun's plan.
Cao Jun hopes that the hussars will fight hard, exchange, and consume!
As long as the hussars slow down a little and the front army cannot advance, the rear army will inevitably be crowded with the front army. At this time, it is the best time to order a stone attack!
…
…
As for the cavalry, when fighting, the separation and separation are unpredictable. As a commander of the cavalry, naturally he does not receive preferential treatment from the infantry generals. He can be like Cao Hong, using flags and drums to order the soldiers from the high platform in the rear, while he is in a relatively safe position.
Generally speaking, the cavalry military academy must advance with the cavalry. They need to be in the front row to command and confront the enemy in person. Therefore, they can easily become the target of the opponent's attack. Therefore, every time a battle occurs, the danger of the cavalry military academy is
Even more than ordinary cavalry. It is precisely because of this that it is easier for cavalry generals to win the hearts of soldiers...
Well, so to speak, Shandong generals later mostly used infantry to dominate. Could this be also a factor?
After all, when the situation goes wrong, the infantry general has horses and can turn in at any time, and the infantry under his command can be thrown to the opponent like a gecko's tail to block the road. If it is a cavalry general, it is very likely that he will
Being surrounded by enemies and unable to return, there were more and more infantry generals left in Shandong, and more and more people chose the infantry formation.
After all, Guanzhong is different from Shandong. As a cavalry military academy, being on the front line and commanding is a basic requirement for almost every cavalry general.
The same is true for Li Li.
He led his cavalry towards Cao Jun's flank, and also directly led and commanded from the front line.
As the hussars approached Cao Jun's line, the sound of war drums rang out in Cao Jun's camp. As the ordering soldiers shouted, some arrows with white tail feathers as signs were shot out and stuck diagonally on the ground.
Above. This serves as a sign to warn the hussars, and can also boost the morale of your infantry line.
During normal field battles, the cavalry usually uses a huge array of scattered skirmishers to harass the enemy's infantry line. The frontline commander controls the timing of concentration and dispersion, luring the enemy's infantry line to scatter or waver, and then
Then take the opportunity to launch an assault, causing the entire enemy formation to collapse.
But it is obvious that Cao Jun's infantry will not leave the protection of the camp, so there is no temptation or pull.
Similarly, it is impossible for the hussars to run wildly without restriction and throw away the infantry line in their formation, giving Cao Jun a chance to counterattack from other directions in the camp.
Li Li didn't care at all about the long-range light arrows thrown out of Cao Jun's camp. On the one hand, the lethality of these arrows depended entirely on the gravity of the falling body. In fact, their armor-piercing ability was not strong. On the other hand, these arrows were not powerful at all.
There is no accuracy. Occasionally, if you happen to be shot, you only need to cover your head and face, and protect the weak parts such as the horse's face and door.
When approaching Cao Jun's formation, Li Li suddenly ordered the cavalry around him, "Turn!"
"Show the flag!"
The guard took the order and deftly unfolded the rolled-up flag that was originally carried on his back.
The tricolor flag was immediately pulled straight by the wind, and it stood out among the bright red tassels.
The hussars began to turn on the edge of Cao's firing range.
The tricolor flag began to waver and rise and fall.
…
…
"What are the Hussars doing?"
Cao Hong frowned.
"Like a demonstration?"
The guard on the side responded.
Cao Hong was silent and frowned.
The hussars seemed to have feinted a shot and did not actually attack Cao Jun's array, which made Cao Jun's infantry array, which was originally extremely nervous, heave a sigh of relief.
I don't know how many soldiers of Cao's army were gasping for air at the same time, just like the sighs in a cross talk theater.
In the eyes of others, the Hussars' change from vertical to horizontal seemed to be just to "scare" Cao Jun, or they were trying to force Cao Jun to change their formations in this way and create a loophole.
But Cao Hong felt that the Hussars were not so stupid.
Horsepower and manpower have a certain limit in a short period of time. If the hussars run hard for a while but get nothing, it is equivalent to a loss!
Unless there is something else...
"General, where is the stone cannon..." the guard asked from the side.
Cao Hong frowned and thought for a moment, "Don't move for now."
The hussars are moving at high speed, not to mention whether these catapults can perfectly predict the advance of the hussars' movement. Even if they can accurately predict the advance of the hussars, will the hussars turn again?
It is difficult to ensure accuracy in the vertical direction, and you can only win by covering it. If it is used to hit the horizontal movement...
That’s so difficult!
As a result, this big killer in Cao Jun's camp could only remain silent.
"What is this going to do..."
Cao Hong suddenly thought of something, and there was a bit of doubt in his eyes.
…
…
Just when most of Cao's soldiers thought that the hussars would just go around in a circle and go back, Li Li shouted in the queue of hussars: "Cavalry to the outside! Throwers! Prepare to cover!"
The copper whistle sounded and was passed from the front to the back of the queue over and over again.
The hussars, which were roughly parallel to Cao's army's formation, began to exchange positions as the order was issued.
Nowadays, there are different types of hussar horses, and the cavalry has also begun to evolve towards different specialties.
Everyone is different, even if they are the same cavalry, there will be some subtle differences.
For example, some people are good at bows and arrows, some are good at using swords and guns, and some are good at throwing, especially the barbarian cavalry...
The slings used by the Hu people were originally used for herding sheep. Some guys who are good at slinging can even use a long shepherd's whip to roll up the stone and accurately hit the horn of the first sheep!
This skill is almost comparable to that of an archer who can pierce a Yang with a hundred steps, but it has no use after the Hu people became Han cavalry. But no one expected that after Fei Qian used grenades, this stone-throwing skill would be used again. It became popular among the cavalry ranks.
Because this skill can be used to throw larger "stones"...
As for why not use a crossbow?
The range of the cavalry crossbow is too short, and due to material limitations, even after improvements and reductions, the weight of the cavalry crossbow is still not light, which makes many cavalry prefer bows to cavalry crossbows. Of course, some talented archers Cavalry with poor skills will still use cavalry crossbows, after all, it is more convenient.
As for the infantry crossbow, and even the double-man rhubarb crossbow with a longer range, it is undoubtedly a big burden for the cavalry and is generally difficult to carry. So in the final analysis, it is because of the characteristics of the cavalry and the current technological limitations that the hussars are An unusual path has been taken along the line of evolution.
Cao Jun was thinking about how to deal with the cavalry, and of course the hussars were also thinking about how to deal with the infantry.
After Sima Yi "sacrificed" his blood relatives and opened up his meridians, he suddenly discovered the heavy armor and heavy arrow archers, which undoubtedly became a nightmare for the infantry line.
But as mentioned before, it is impossible to have both on the battlefield. The heavy-armored and heavy-arrow cavalry that restrains the infantry will be tightly controlled by the medium-mounted lancers, and the medium-mounted lancers will in turn be suppressed.
The infantry formed a dense formation with spears and formed barbecue skewers.
In order to break the simple conflict between rock, paper, scissors, the Hussars mixed tigers and bugs into the mix...
The sticks are the heavily armored archers, and the bugs are the throwing soldiers.
The tiger eats the chicken, and the bug eats the tiger's stick.
In the game, mounted archery is always roaring back and forth, with arrows flying like rain. However, in fact, this kind of mounted archery is often based on suppression and does not seek to kill. It often consumes a huge number of arrows, which is like clanging.
Listen to the sound, I couldn't shoot a few people directly. The real standard of actual combat cavalry was created by Sima Yi. Perhaps it is not Sima Yi's original creation, but the archer cavalry that Sima Yi first summarized and reported to the martial arts hall.
tactics.
Sima Yi wrote in the war record reported to the Military Academy, "As a master of cavalry and archery, if he gallops at a distance of fifty paces, he will shoot at the weak ones, and the flying arrows will roar like rain. Although the enemy has the advantage of armor,
If they gather together to resist, can they hurt me even fifty steps away?"
Avoiding direct melee combat with infantry is the core focus of mounted archery tactics. Although cavalry has a high profile and strong impact, it may not always be able to defeat infantry in close combat.
Especially when the infantry's swords and spears are lengthened.
Just like at this moment, the spearmen of Cao's infantry put their spears on the shields in the front row, forming a dense array, like a hedgehog spreading its spikes.
A close or zero-distance hand-to-hand fight with Cao Jun was not what Li Li wanted.
Therefore, Li Li wanted to try a new tactic, and he wanted to fight against Cao Jun.
Get close to a very close distance, and just enough to avoid the cold weapon attacks of the infantry.
Even the opponent's bow and arrow!
Normally, infantry archers would never be placed in the first row to shoot against cavalry, and because of the relationship between their own shooting range and the cover of the front row soldiers, although infantry archers have stronger bows
Crossbow, but it is undoubtedly extremely difficult to keep up with the movements of the cavalry and to seize the fleeting shooting window among the people.
The rapid and powerful copper whistle sounded again!
As the order representing the attack was issued this time, the cavalry archers who were good at bows and arrows quietly moved to the outer row, turned their horses' heads, and rushed towards the somewhat lax Cao army's array!