The biggest advantage of Fanhu in Xishan is that when you leave Xishan, the horses gallop like the wind and gather and disperse like clouds; when you enter Xishan, you can rely on Wuzhai, where the mountains are guarded or hidden.
Therefore, when Xiao Linshi was in charge of Xijing, the Xishan Fanhu rebellion took several years to finally suppress the main rebel tribe.
Since Xiao Linshi did not pay too much to suppress or expel all the Fanhu from Xishan at that time, he was also worried that the Han people in Shuozhou were too powerful and needed to be restrained by forces. In the end, it was enough to just ask them to continue to adhere to the Khitan on the surface. Already.
Now the Xishan Fanhu gave up their biggest advantage, and two thousand Fan soldiers dismounted and gathered in the gorge on the south side of Houerwu. They tried to completely divide the Tongbai Mountain soldiers into three groups and then divide them and annihilate them. Their defeat was doomed. ending.
Of course, what really determines the fate of Xishan Fanhu's defeat is their underestimation of the enemy and greed.
Less than 30% of the Tibetan soldiers who dismounted to fight wore armor, mainly leather armor.
These leather armors can effectively resist the damage of riding bows and short crossbows when fighting at long distances. However, when approaching within thirty or fifty steps, or even within a dozen steps, how can they withstand the Zhemu walking bows and divine arm crossbows? Crossbow-like penetration?
How to resist the slashing and killing of sharp blades after getting close?
The three-foot scimitar held by the Tibetan soldiers is sharp and light. When galloping, they can use superb and precise skills to easily cut open the enemy's head, arms, and even cut off the enemy's abdomen and chest at the moment of galloping.
However, after dismounting, how can one deal with the opponent's seven or eight foot long spear and five or six foot long, thick-ridged long-handled sword that stabs and chops?
What is even more deadly is to dismount and fight. Faced with the rain of arrows that are like a swarm of locusts, and the mountains and forests that are slashing and stabbing with spears and sharp blades, these Tibetan soldiers who are good at riding and shooting want to form an effective formation. Resisting, suppressing, and counterattacking cannot be accomplished with just a few words before the war.
Fighting in infantry formations requires long-term training and continuous bloody battles to hone a rock-solid will in order to form a rock-solid and indestructible battle formation.
The Xishan Tibetan soldiers who dismounted and fought did not possess these.
And they fully thought that the Dai Viet guards they faced this time, and when they repeatedly crossed the border wall and entered Lanzhou and Fuzhou to plunder, they encountered those who only knew how to passively defend in the Wuzhai. The heroic army won't make any difference.
Previously, the Xishan Fan cavalry had repeatedly attacked Shuozhou. In order to protect his valuable troops, Xu Huai, except for a few times to use the terrain to ambush, restricted the precious cavalry from leaving the city to entangle them at other times, not to mention trying to use infantry to surround and chase the enemy. Fan is riding.
At this time, after Xu Huai personally led 600 armored soldiers out of the stronghold, shield-bearers, spear-bearers, sword-wielding soldiers, infantry and archers, and strong crossbowmen formed layers of staggered formations, like a giant blade full of sharp edges heading north. Kill at the mouth of the gorge.
Jie Zhong, Xu Wuqi and others stood in front of the village wall and saw more than a thousand Tibetan soldiers surrounding the gate of the main village of Houerwu. The array was as weak as aged butter. They were attacked by Tong at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye. The Baishan soldiers were huge and cut sharply in a cone like a cluster of fronts. They were unable to form an effective interception almost from the beginning to the end, let alone slow down Xu Huai's rapid advance to the north.
Broken blades and heads flew together, spraying blood that dyed the sky. Almost in the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred Tibetan soldiers were killed and shot in front of Houerwu Village.
The Fan soldiers at the back did not know what was going on. Although they still had fighting spirit, the Fan soldiers in the front were killed and retreated steadily. The Fan soldiers at the back could only retreat to the outside or back. If they moved a little slower, they would become chaotic.
More than a thousand Tibetan soldiers surrounded Hou'erwu. They thought they were surrounded like an iron barrel, but they were cut off by the six hundred Tongbai Mountain soldiers with almost no effort.
Because when these Tibetan soldiers surrounded Houerwu, they deliberately tilted inward, thinking of mutual defense with the Tibetan soldiers entering the mouth of the gorge. Therefore, after being cut off, only a hundred or so Tibetan soldiers retreated outside the mouth of the gorge. More
The Tibetan soldiers could only disperse and flee inside the rugged gorge.
"Get your mother back here!" Xu Huai grabbed Niu Er, who was fiercely murderous and was about to chase after a Tibetan soldier leader.
You can take advantage of the opportunity to kill one or two more enemy soldiers, but if you leak the opportunity, how many of your brothers will be killed by the enemy?"
Xu Huai led 600 soldiers out of the stronghold. The first step was to kill more than a thousand Tibetan soldiers who were besieged in front of the stronghold and block more Tibetan soldiers inside the mouth of the gorge.
The next thing they had to do was to block the nearly 300-foot open gorge, instead of taking advantage of the chaos to capture the heads of one or two hundred Tibetan soldiers. Xu Huai even ordered the bowmen and crossbowmen not to stop to shoot at the two wings.
Defeat the enemy.
Xu Huai's goal in this battle was definitely not just to capture two to three hundred heads of Tibetan soldiers.
We finally managed to lure out the main force of Xishan Fanhu, and also lured so many Tibetan soldiers into the inside of the gorge. If we miss the chance of serious damage or even total annihilation, and let most of the Tibetan soldiers escape, don't say that this will happen again.
If you eliminate the opportunity, it will be a hundred times more difficult to open the Western Mountain Passage to the east bank of the Yellow River.
Although military strategies are usually taught in peacetime, when Xu Huai asked the generals to lead the troops in battle, they should put aside the traditional thinking of assigning merit to the leader and prioritize the completion of combat tasks. However, it is obvious that this kind of reshaping of thinking cannot be achieved in a short time.
Completely transformed.
Xu Huai grabbed Niu Er beside him, but there were still many generals on the left and right. Regardless of the integrity of the formation and the operational requirement to quickly penetrate to the north of the gorge mouth, he became murderous and chased the fleeing Tibetan soldiers on both wings.
Fortunately, most of the soldiers were still clear-headed and could follow the front line to advance north quickly. The few soldiers who spread out to the two wings to pursue the defeated enemy quickly noticed that no colleagues were following up on the left and right. They realized the problem and quickly resumed their positions.
Shrink back.
Of course, the Tibetan soldiers in front of Wuzhai cried for their fathers and mothers after being killed. Although the two wings of Tongbai Mountain's northward marching array were slightly confused, they were unable to seize the opportunity to counterattack.
The terrain inside the gorge is broken and rugged. The ground is uneven and full of rocks. This restricts the Tongbai Mountain soldiers from rushing to the inside to quickly kill and pursue them. At the same time, it will only cause the Tibetan soldiers who are fleeing to the inside to be more confused and scattered. There is no need to worry about their shortcomings.
It will be reorganized in time.
However, there are still more than a thousand cavalry waiting at the outside of the gorge, a large proportion of which are elite armored cavalry from the Motu Department. They can even gallop to kill in a whole team, or they can organize bows and crossbows to get closer and kill; and they only need to ensure that
As long as the gap in the north is not blocked by Tongbai Mountain soldiers, the Fan soldiers on the inside of the gorge can escape from this gap after the initial chaos and get back on horseback to participate in the battle.
What Xu Huai had to do at this time was to withstand the approaching attack of the more than a thousand well-ordered cavalry, and drive two to three armored soldiers into the gap like nails to complete the final cut.
Six hundred armored soldiers charged out of Hou'erwu Village. In order to ensure a sudden and sharp charge, they had to leave the stronghold quickly. There were not many cavalry in Wuzhai. Except for a hundred cavalry who were organized into reserve troops, everyone else dismounted.
Going out to fight in the stronghold - of course, the cavalry compiled by Tongbai Mountain Soldiers are all good at both riding and infantry, and their armor is also the most complete.
Therefore, Xu Huai and the others were unable to use their horses to cover their flanks at this time, and could only use their infantry to form a formation to withstand the impact of the enemy's cavalry.
Although the leader of the Motu tribe had previously underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Tongbai soldiers and made a fatal mistake by ordering two thousand Tibetan soldiers to dismount and enter the gorge to fight, at this moment he also realized the intention of the Tongbai soldiers to seal the incision.
Almost at the same time that more than a thousand Tibetan soldiers were killed in front of the stronghold, a group of more than a hundred armored cavalry came quickly from the woods outside the mouth of the gorge, hoping to occupy the northern gap first.
Both sides arrived at the gap at about the same time.
Facing the brave Tibetan soldier who was riding on horseback and rushing to the forefront, Xu Huai slashed forward with the long-handled halberd in his hand like thunder, splitting the head of the war horse from the side.
Xu Xin'an and Han Qi were beside Xu Huai. Two spears shot out like dragons at the same time. One spear pierced the horse's chest, and the other spear pierced the horse's right shoulder bone. The three of them worked together to stop the horse.
This fanqi tried to rush directly into their formation with his men and horses.
Niu Er was as strong as an ox. He held up an iron shield and rushed to the side. A war horse pushed against it, and they slammed into each other without giving up an inch.
Niu Er's aggressive behavior is a bit overwhelming, but he also doesn't know how to retreat.
The impact caused all the bones in his body to break apart. Seeing the Tibetan soldier on horseback rising into the air, slashing down from top to bottom with the scimitar in his hand as fast as lightning, he was unable to dodge at this moment.
The halberd knife in Xu Huai's hand turned into a sword, and then quickly like a phantom, he dragged an arcing shadow diagonally, slicing off the right arm of the Tibetan soldier diagonally above Niu Er, blocking him from attacking Niu Er.
Xu Huai's change of sword posture has reached the level of proficiency. The foundation is based on the change of strength. It is difficult for others to change the posture of the sword so quickly like him. He can control an area of one foot, five or six feet on the left and right with a long sword like a master.
The battle situation within.
The man was also very skilled. He slashed the spine of Xu Huai's halberd with his sword. He stood still on the fallen horse's head for a moment. The next moment, he suddenly shrank back to avoid Han Qi's stab from the side.
A shot came.
Xu Huai watched the Tibetan general jump back and run away. Even if he realized that he must be a core figure in the Motu tribe, it was impossible to chase this man alone and cause the left and right formations to become scattered.
At this time, Xishan Fanhu did not have a brave general who needed him to fight with all his strength, and he was not qualified to escape from this Fanhu. At this moment, he came out of Houerwu and took the lead in charging into the battle. In addition to ensuring that the 600 armored soldiers went forward and charged through
In addition to being able to contain the possible rapid counterattack of the Fan Cavalry as quickly as possible, it also needs to take into account the safety of Niu Er and other elite soldiers to avoid unavoidable casualties.
With Xu Xin'an, Han Qi, Yin Peng, Niu Er, Yan Xiaoyi, Shen Zhen'e and other brave generals following Xu Huai in front, there was no need for Guo Junpan to join in the fun at the front.
He was at a later position in the front line, and a mulberry foot bow was frequently unstrung. Together with the dozens of foot bows in the formation, they suppressed the archers of the peripheral cavalry and prevented them from accurately shooting the generals who were charging at the forefront.
The Xishan Fanhu cavalry carry carved bows on their backs and carry scimitars on their waists. This determines that their core combat attack is guerrilla flanking, and they are by no means good at attacking in confrontations.
Once their impact speed was forcibly suppressed, they rode on horseback and seemed to have a commanding advantage, but the three-foot scimitar directly restricted them from using this advantage.
They even had to bend down to block the spears thrust by the Tongbai soldiers, which made them very clumsy. They watched helplessly as more sword and shield hands of the Tongbai soldiers rushed to the front and squeezed them with their big shields.
Divide them up and turn them into live targets for bows and crossbows to shoot and spears to stab. It would be difficult to turn around or run away...
