The stars in the sky are sparkling, and there are so many that they seem to have been widely sown into the infinite space with those bright particles. The waning moon hangs out its shape toward the sky in the center of those sown particles.
With a sickle-like silhouette, Ma Chao and others were waiting there quietly, gearing up and looking forward to the battle.
It was the beginning of autumn and the end of summer, and the wind was still blowing at night on the Loess Plateau. The wind was not strong, but it became the only sound in everyone's ears on this plateau with thousands of ravines.
Occasionally, there would be the roar of some wild animals, but then it would pass by and only the sound of wind would remain.
The silver-gray moonlight filled the earth, casting a hazy coat on Ma Chao and others.
After waiting for nearly half an hour, Ma Chao and the others heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves in all directions. Looking far ahead, they saw an endless stream of cavalry coming into view under the moonlight, one after another.
The station chosen by Ma Chao was on a high slope. The slope was relatively steep, and defensive measures had been taken, so he could hold on temporarily. Hearing such a shocking sound of horse hooves, Ma Chao could conclude based on his own experience that the Qiang coming
There should be around 100,000 people.
He sneered and said to the people around him: "Xian Lingqiang thinks highly of me, Ma Chao, too much. A mere three hundred people actually mobilized a hundred thousand people. It seems that my prestige in their minds, Ma Chao, is still undiminished."
ah!"
After hearing this, everyone laughed, and with bows and arrows drawn, they circled the camp, preparing to meet the enemy.
Qiang cavalry from all directions suddenly ran to the bottom of the high slope. Before Ma Chao and others fired an arrow, the Qiang cavalry roared and fell to the ground. Many horses' hoofs were stuck in narrow traps.
In the pit, don't break the horse's leg. The horse will be ridden
The soldiers fell to the ground one by one. Because the horse pits were distributed irregularly, they fell in a dense mass, which blocked the path of the cavalry behind them. Some cavalrymen did not have time to rein in their horses and directly fell on the cavalry in front.
Trampled the past.
"Fire the arrows!" Ma Chao shouted at the right time, and he and his men shot arrows one after another, without missing a beat, and the Qiang people fell down in response.
Wumenghu rushed over from behind. When he saw the cavalry in front falling to the ground, he felt unhappy. He took off his bow and arrow and shouted loudly: "Fire the arrows, give me all the arrows and shoot them to death!"
At the command, the Qiang people took off their bows and arrows one after another and began to shoot arrows at the surrounding high slopes.
Ma Chao and others only fired three waves of arrows. Seeing the Qiang people firing arrows, they had already taken defensive measures. They took out their wooden shields and erected them into a short protective wall. The people hid behind them and heard "Du Du".
The sound of the arrow hitting the wooden shield was like a snicker.
This kind of wooden shield is double-sided. Each side is covered with a layer of cowhide. There is a slight gap between the cowhide and the wooden board to reduce the impact of the arrow and prevent the arrow from penetrating.
The wooden shield penetrated and instead injured the person holding the shield.
Waves of arrows fell, but Ma Chao and others were unscathed, but the wooden shields were covered with arrows.
Seeing that the people on the high slope had lost the ability to fight back, Wumenghu thought that he should kill many of them, so he ordered the cavalry to gallop upwards and temporarily stopped the arrow attack to avoid accidentally injuring his own people.
At the same time, the Qiang cavalry that keeps coming are gathering here in dense numbers. Looking down from the high slope, a black mass of people stretches for a long distance. This kind of troop appearance is very spectacular. The cavalry coming from behind cannot get close.
Gao Po could only stare there and let the people in front fight.
When Ma Chao and others saw that the rain of arrows had stopped, they immediately had their shields turned over, dropped them on the ground, drew their bows and fired arrows at the cavalry who were about to climb up the hill. These people's arrow skills were all very accurate.
, some can even pierce two people with one arrow. Once the arrow is released, it suppresses the Qiang cavalry that rushes halfway up the slope. One by one, they turn over and fall off their horses. When the horses see that their master is dead, they flee backwards, and some stop.
Standing there without moving forward.
Seeing this, Wumenghu had no choice but to withdraw the attacking cavalry. Since it was difficult for horses to climb this steep slope, they would fall over if they were not careful, so it really cost the Qiang people a lot of effort.
"Shoot! Shoot for me again! Their arrows are limited, use them up! I don't believe they can last for half an hour!" Wumenghu raised his saber again and shouted loudly.
After Ma Chao heard this, he ordered his men to remove the arrows that had been shot on the wooden shield, then raised the wooden shield and gathered the arrows together again to take protective measures.
Another wave of arrows rained down from the sky. The people under the wooden shields were well hidden. No one was injured or injured. Even the horses were gathered together by them, and protective measures were taken around the stable to block the arrows.
The intrusion of arrows.
The entire camp was filled with arrows, so densely packed that within a short time, there were tens of thousands of arrows.
Because continuous shooting is too strenuous, the Qiang people in the front row also looked tired, their arms were a little sore, and the intensity of the shooting gradually weakened.
When Ma Chao saw this, he immediately ordered: "Get ready for rockets!"
With an order, three hundred cavalrymen took turns going to the bonfire in the camp and lit the arrows that had been tied up. When all three hundred people were finished, they put their wooden shields on their backs. After Ma Chao's order,
At the same time, he turned around, braved the enemy's arrows and began to counterattack, shooting arrows one after another into the dense crowd of Qiang people.
Immediately afterwards, there were screams, many people fell off their horses, and dots of fire began to strike back at the dense crowd of Qiang people from time to time.
However, two or three wolf cavalrymen were not careful enough when they turned around, and were hit by arrows in the body. Although they were bleeding profusely, they still persisted in fighting. In the end, when there was really not much chance to fight back, they all
He collected the arrows on the ground and jumped into the bonfire with the arrows in his arms. After his whole body was burned, he rushed forward from the high slope.
Such a scene made Ma Chao and all the Qiang people never think that this spirit of fighting to the death is the real essence of the wolf cavalry. They only ask where the enemy is, not how many there are, and they will not rest until death.
In the open battlefield, the three wolf cavalry endured the severe burning pain and rushed towards the group of Qiang people. They pierced the bodies of one or two people with bundles of arrows in their hands, and then they died again.
Holding a Qiang cavalry in his arms, the fire ignited the Qiang cavalry. The horse was also burned when he sat down and ran wildly like crazy, alarming more than a hundred Qiang people around him to dodge.
However, because it was too crowded, it was impossible to hide. The fire spread to the surrounding people. Everyone got off their horses and patted the burning fire on their bodies. For a while, there was chaos below the high slope.
Ma Chao saw the opportunity, had an idea, and immediately shouted: "Push down all the bonfires. Taking advantage of the chaos of the Qiang people, stop shooting, pull out all the war horses, and rush out with me!"
Two hundred and ninety-seven wolf cavalrymen followed Ma Chao's instructions. They first pushed down the bonfire and then fired sporadic rockets, causing the Qiang people to become more chaotic.
Immediately afterwards, everyone was holding a long spear and wearing a steel knife at their waist. They got on their horses and started to dive downwards following Ma Chao!
"Get out!"
Ma Chao took the lead and rushed down the high slope with all the cavalry. With the advantage of swooping, the impact of the horses, and everyone's courage to look forward to death, he rushed into the chaotic Qiang people with overwhelming force.
A big hole was opened in the Qiang people's siege!
Ma Chao's spear shook, and the wolf cavalry behind him showed no sign of weakness. The spears were like a forest, and the fast horses were running wildly. Coupled with the Qiang people's fear of Ma Chao, many Qiang people did not dare to fight and retreated without fighting, but they could not retreat far.
,people
People were crowding, people were bumping into each other, and horses were colliding with each other. There was a huge chaos among the thousands of troops. The Qiang people were crying and roaring, and the horses were neighing. After being rushed in by this small force, the command was immediately
Failure.
"Block! Block! Block them!" Wumenghu kept shouting loudly, trying to rush over with his men, but instead he was pushed aside by the soldiers coming from the other side. He stood in the wrong position, waiting with Ma Chao
The people were far apart, and they could only watch Ma Chao scurrying left and right among the Qiang people.
And the Qiang people's fear of Ma Chao made them more courageous.
After a short while, Ma Chao led 297 wolf cavalry to successfully break out of the Qiang encirclement and withdrew all the way to the east without losing a single soldier.
"Chase! Chase me!" Wumenghu shouted, "Don't leave Ma Chao!"
As a result, thousands of Qiang people began to chase Ma Chao and others eastward.
When Urd came with his army, Wumenghu had already led his men to chase Ma Chao. He couldn't help but cursed: "Wumenghu is useless! Ten thousand people have the front, but they can't resist three hundred people! Send the order
All my troops, chase after me! Whoever kills Ma Chao, I will make him the deputy king of Qiang!"
The order spread everywhere, and the deputy Qiang King's temptation made everyone move forward bravely. The 90,000-strong army dispersed in all directions, covering the sky and rolling up waves of sand and dust. On the Loess Plateau with thousands of ravines, only Qiang people could be seen.
The cavalry was all over the mountains and plains.
When Ma Chao saw one hundred thousand Qiang people chasing after him, a smile appeared on his face.
After running all the way east for almost ten miles, Ma Chao shouted to his men: "Blow the horn and send a signal!"
The whimpering horn sound suddenly sounded, melodious and far-reaching, spreading everywhere!
Ma Chao and others reined in their horses, turned their heads, climbed up a high slope, and shouted to his subordinates: "Soldiers! Now is the time to show your courage. Soon, our reinforcements will arrive, and the emperor will march in person."
, with an army of 300,000, we will completely defeat the Qiang people in this battle, come and fight with me!"
(PS: If I can make it back in the afternoon, there should be another chapter. If I can’t, I’ll have to leave it tomorrow. Please forgive me.)