In the face of absolute strength, any trickery will become useless.
As the Qi army launched another offensive, the situation on the battlefield well verified this point. As the Qi army's thousands of divisions and brigades marched forward with heavy soil and pay, the Tongtan River, which could have slightly blocked the enemy's power, was greatly reduced.
It was quickly filled up, allowing the Qi army to advance northward smoothly.
At this time, the Wei army's morale was greatly boosted by their first victory on the right. When they saw the enemy attacking again, although they were quite nervous, they were not too frightened.
Li Taifang, who was in the main camp of the Chinese army, learned some information about the enemy from the captured enemy general Qi Lianmeng, and was told that the enemy army was attacking again in large numbers. He climbed up from the plateau and looked down, and saw that the enemy army did not take aggressive measures like before.
Instead of using a straight charge with fine cavalry, they advanced steadily with a combination of infantry and cavalry. Although the force lacked a bit of momentum to take the lead, it appeared more stable and solid.
Li Tai knew that this time the enemy's offensive would be difficult to force back, and he would still need to rely on conventional tactics to stop the enemy's advance. So he ordered the Chinese army Tian Hong to lead 5,000 infantry and cavalry to advance first to stop the enemy.
The army set up a stable stronghold on the north bank, and he led the rest of the army to set off from the rear, continuing to strengthen the front while personally raiding the formation to watch the battle.
The embankment built by the Qi army was several feet wide, and the main army followed it. Since the embankment that had just been laid was not yet strong and solid, the cavalry troops were not included in the starting lineup. The infantry formation was formed first.
The team headed north first, and after reaching the north bank, they relied on the dike to advance outward.
As troops from the rear continued to pour in, these Qi army soldiers quickly formed an oval battle formation at the northern end of the embankment, and this battle formation continued to expand outwards, and soon reached
The range of miles in a radius.
Tian Hong led his light cavalry to rush towards the enemy formation. The knights formed a more conventional sagittal formation, and the top few elite soldiers held horse spears and rushed in first, as if they were piercing the enemy formation with a sharp blade.
Although the sergeants of the Qi army's infantry formation also struggled to resist the enemy with swords and shields, the natural combat effectiveness gap between the infantry and cavalry made it difficult for them to resist when faced with the huge momentum of the enemy's army and horse.
Soon, several people were assassinated on the spot, causing a small crack to be cut in the formation. The knights of the Wei Army rushed into the formation along this crack, and brandished their swords in an attempt to continue to tear the gap open.
However, the oval battle formation became thicker as it went inside. After breaking through the outer layers, the inside was almost crowded with people. Such a dense crowd was not conducive to the Qi army's counterattack, but it was not conducive to the Wei army's counterattack.
The rushing in also caused great obstruction. The surging crowd in front directly formed a tough and unbreakable barrier of flesh and blood, making it difficult for the Wei knights who rushed in to get close.
Once the light cavalry sergeant loses his mobility, especially in a battle formation where the enemy is densely packed, the consequences will undoubtedly be devastating. So soon there are enemy soldiers from the side slashing at him with swords, and the Wei army knight is trapped
During the tight siege, although they tried their best to withstand a few swords, in the end it was inevitable that both men and horses would be killed by the swords.
The forward momentum was blocked. Not only was it difficult to penetrate the enemy formation, but he directly lost more than ten forward soldiers. Tian Hong also felt that the enemy formation was difficult to shake, so he immediately retreated temporarily, and then formed a column on the side, along the enemy's formation.
They skimmed the perimeter and charged back and forth to kill.
Although it was inevitable to be hindered by the enemy's arrow fire, it was also more effective in preventing the expansion of the enemy's military formation. The sergeants of the Qi army on the periphery saw the enemy's butcher's knife repeatedly passing in front of them.
The people around him were being killed on the spot, and they were frightened in their hearts. They stopped moving forward, and even couldn't help but retreat into the formation, making the formation quite chaotic.
However, the number of cavalry in the Wei army was relatively small after all. The right division brigade alone sent more than 5,000 cavalry, and the number of cavalry currently possessed by the Chinese army was only 5,000 or 6,000.
At present, Tian Hong leads less than 3,000 cavalry sergeants into the battle. Before the enemy's formation is fully opened, the back-and-forth raiding and killing can still be slightly hindered, but it cannot completely encircle it. The previous enemy formation was rhythmic.
The formations were expanding outward layer by layer, and now they were extending outwards while the Wei cavalry was unable to block them. The formation formed was no longer the elliptical formation before, but became an irregular shape protruding everywhere.
With the superiority of its troops, the range of the Qi army's formation was still slowly expanding. As the troops expanded, the internal chaos was alleviated. Under the cover of the outer soldiers, elite soldiers in the formation began to wear heavy armor.
Then they lined up the soldiers in front and advanced fully armed until they reached the front of the battle formation.
At this time, another group of Wei army's fine cavalry rushed over from the side, but these heavy armored infantry were not afraid at all. Seeing the enemy cavalry galloping towards them, they suddenly swung their swords in their hands, stamped their feet and shouted angrily: "Kill
!”
The Wei knight's lance scraped against the Qi soldier's heavy armor, and did not cause any damage to the enemy. On the contrary, because he had no time to dodge the enemy's sword, both his men and his horse were torn apart and scattered all over the place.
Earthly flesh and blood!
Speaking of sophisticated armor and weapons, it has never been exclusive to the Western Wei army. On the contrary, the armed level of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi has always been more sophisticated than that of the Western Wei. The reason why Li Tai was able to develop rapidly and become stronger militarily was because of his early years.
They sacked Jinyang Palace in the Eastern Wei Dynasty and captured many skilled craftsmen.
This war has gone deep into the heart of the Northern Qi Dynasty. When the decisive battle comes, there will naturally be no hidden secrets. All the best weapons are deployed. As these heavy armored infantry enter the battle, the situation on the battlefield changes again.
A transformation has occurred.
When the Wei army's cavalry fought with these heavy armored infantry, they were like waves crashing on the rocks. They were only shattered into pieces by the collision, but it was completely unable to shake these elite soldiers armed with heavy armor.
With these heavily armored elites as the vanguard, the Qi army advanced more smoothly, and its formation quickly expanded again. Soon, tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry troops were gathered on the north bank of the Tongda River.
Li Tai saw that the men and horses in front of him were in vain, and that several attacks only increased casualties, so he ordered the men and horses in front of him to withdraw to the main formation, and instead used small artillery trebuchets to attack the enemy's dense battle formation protected by heavy armor.
Carry out bombing and counterattack.
Since the enemy's current formation is still very dense, the effect of this counterattack is also quite sharp and significant. Every artillery stone that hits the target can basically hit the target directly, and it will cause many casualties in the process of bouncing. So much so that every stone bullet attack can cause a commotion of several feet within the enemy's formation.
The most effective way to avoid stone bullets is to disperse the personnel, making the dense formation looser. But once this is done, many soldiers will have to escape the protection of the heavy armored infantry and be exposed to enemy cavalry again. Under the blade.
"Heavy armor lines up the front line, the remaining soldiers are divided into two wings, the cavalry quickly assembles and attacks!"
After suffering several waves of shelling, Xue Guyan noticed that the range of the enemy's stone cannons was not too far, so even after stopping the advancing formation, he chose to temporarily avoid the enemy's edge, and Yu Tong Formation was formed along the Dan River, and more mobile cavalry were dispatched to attack and destroy the enemy's artillery vehicles.
The offensive of the Qi army marching north slightly adjusted, and the pressure on the Wei army was no longer as great as before. Li Tai also seized the time and sent another 5,000 troops to the front. The troops led by Tian Hong in the front united together, relying on the The artillery carriages formed up and moved forward.
These trebuchets on the battlefield are not the Heyang cannons that Li Tai relied on to attack the city. They are just ordinary-style instruments that were temporarily built when he was stationed in the south of Wusu City. Therefore, their range and power are relatively limited. They can only be used when the distance is relatively close. The enemy can only be attacked under certain circumstances, so Li Tai did not put it into use immediately.
The construction of the Heyang Cannon requires high material strength and precision, as well as the placement location. It requires too much energy, but the results in positional warfare are relatively limited. If it can be transported and placed more flexibly, then he will try Try to launch an attack on the other side first, seize the southern river beach, and then set up artillery to bombard the Chinese army camp high above the ocean, sending this guy flying with his head covered.
As the Qi Army's cavalry units rushed forward, the battle became fierce again. This time the Qi Army's cavalry entered the formation with a clear purpose, which was to destroy the trebuchets in the Wei Army's battle formation.
Because the Zhuozhang water cuts vertically down the east side of the Piyuan where the Wei army's central army is located, while the west side gradually rises and connects to the mountains, so the front is slightly narrow.
A frontal attack by the Qi army would not be conducive to the preparation of the army's battle formation. Now it is known that the enemy has trebuchets that can effectively attack dense battle formations. Of course, they must be destroyed before launching a general attack, so as to ensure the smooth advancement of the future war. Therefore, the Qi army now sent thousands of elite cavalry, led by its general Xue Guyan, to continuously attack the Wei army's battle formation.
Li Tai was observing the battle between the enemy and ourselves around the trebuchet on the hillside. Suddenly, a group of soldiers from the flank army rushed to the front of the banner. They looked excited and kowtowed to Li Tai in a sad tone and said: "I beg the Lord for your mercy." Send the last generals out to fight the enemy, kill the bandit general Xue Guyan, and avenge General Guo Yan!"
Hearing this, Li Taicai recognized that these people were the soldiers who had previously delivered supplies to Duanliang City with Guo Yan. Among them were Guo Yan's disciples and his subordinate Pao Ze. However, regardless of the distance of the relationship, they were all because of After Guo Yanshe lost his life in the battle, they were able to successfully withdraw.
When they saw that the enemy general Xue Guyan who killed Guo Yan was still fighting on the front line and showing off his power, these people were extremely angry and couldn't help but go forward to ask for a fight, hoping to avenge Guo Yan.
"When the two armies are fighting, life and death are common. How can we disrupt our battle formation due to personal grudges! You will return to the formation quickly, recharge your batteries, and kill the enemy when you have time!"
After Li Tai listened to these people's appeals for war, he pondered for a moment and then frowned and said.
After everyone heard this, their faces suddenly darkened. Just as they were waiting for Yingnuo to retreat, they heard Tang Gong's order: "Inform all the armies, although the thief general Xue Guyan is not a noble one among the thieves, he has done great harm to my general.
To be detestable, no one will be left alive in this battle. Anyone who can be killed in battle will be given the title of Duke of the county and a reward of ten thousand pieces of silk!"
"The last general will take your orders! Thank you Lord for the reward, and kill the thief general Xue Guyan!"
Since the start of the war, this was the first time that Li Tai had formulated a reward for a certain enemy general in battle, and it was so generous. Therefore, as the reward was announced, the soldiers in front of the battle suddenly became more and more excited and responded loudly to the order.