In the distance, in the Han army's formation, a long line of cavalry poured in like a rushing tide. They opened a diagonal line on the battlefield and swept towards the edge of the Xiongnu's left wing.
"Wooden shield ready!"
One after another, the Xiongnu nobles reacted immediately, and hundreds of wooden shields were pushed to the front of the formation pointed by the Han army's arrows.
The Huns had been playing with cavalry all their lives, and they knew the general rules of cavalry engagement very well.
They knew very well that a cavalry battle did not start with swords, spears, swords and halberds facing each other.
All cavalry battles begin with a guerrilla attack from both wings.
By constantly using bows, arrows, short spears and various throwing weapons to attack the enemy's weak points, tear apart their defenses and disrupt their formation.
"Bows and arrows ready!"
Behind the wooden shields, hundreds of Hun archers squatted down with bows and arrows and began to string them.
After the archers, there were slave soldiers armed with various short spears and stone tools.
These slave soldiers shifted their body weight downwards.
He was always ready to use his own body to deflect arrows from his master. He was also always ready to rush into the Han cavalry formation, pull down the Han men on horseback, and perish with him.
However, the next scene will be forever engraved in the eyes of these Huns.
I saw the Han cavalry galloping from afar. When they were about a hundred steps away from their formation, they suddenly seemed like the tide rushing onto the beach, and like migratory birds flying south. In a short period of time, there might not be enough of them.
The moment of breathing spread out in front of them like a fan.
There were even nobles who sneered at the corners of their mouths when they saw the Han army on the opposite side.
"Be careful!" countless nobles and officers shouted.
Each wooden shield was tilted backwards, forming a wooden wall that could shield all attacks.
However, these Huns were surprised and shocked.
At a distance of about thirty steps, the Han cavalry on the opposite side suddenly loosened their grip on the horse's mane, leaned their bodies, and then drew their bows.
"Xiao Xiao Shuo!"
A rain of arrows filled the sky, flying into the air, and then, with huge inertia, they tilted down like raindrops.
"Eject!" countless Huns shouted.
It's a pity. It's too late!
The Han army's arrows plunged into the Xiongnu formation in a moment.
"Ah!" Immediately, someone was hit by an arrow and wailed in pain on the ground.
Some people even didn't even react by groaning or struggling, and the arrow had already penetrated their heads, and they fell to the ground.
But this was just the beginning, the moment when the Huns' front line was in panic.
The flag bearers of the Han army who followed completed the second round of shooting.
This time, the powerful bow and arrow shot straight at the Huns' military formation.
Many wooden shield bearers were even impaled on the ground with their shields.
When the Xiongnu archers raised the bows in their hands, unstrung the bowstrings, and prepared to counterattack, they found out helplessly that the Han cavalry on the opposite side had already completed their turn. They were moving quickly in front of their own formation just as when they came.
The flank edge of the .
Then, in a moment, they escaped from the effective killing range of the bow and arrow.
This was a trick used by the Huns to provoke the Han infantry phalanx in the past.
correct!
Any exchange between cavalry and infantry archers is seeking death.
Because the cavalry has a large target, archers standing on the ground can find the enemy faster and hit it more easily.
However, cavalry and cavalry come and go like the wind.
Until the horses are tired, the infantry archers can only helplessly watch the enemy wreak havoc in front of them.
They didn't even dare to draw their bows easily.
Because you can only take three shots when faced with an enemy.
Even the well-trained archers of the Han army could only draw three bows at most when facing cavalry charging into battle, and then they would be bumped in by the enemy.
More importantly, humans are not machines.
I want to shoot a bow and arrow with such power that it can kill the enemy fifty paces away.
Not only does the bow string need to be powerful, but the arm strength of the person using it needs to be able to keep up.
Generally speaking, if an archer fires ten bows in a row, he will reach his limit.
If you draw the bow again, you may strain your muscles.
The Huns, not the Han army, did not have high-tech equipment such as crossbows.
The eyes of the nobles in the Xiongnu formation were placed in another place.
"These Han cavalry... these Han cavalry..."
Several generals around King Zhelan were going crazy.
"How could they shoot a bow from a horse so easily?" Someone shook his head repeatedly and shouted in horror.
In the Xiongnu, even the best warriors who were good at riding and shooting could not complete the shooting on the bumpy horseback traveling at high speed as easily as the Han Dynasty cavalry.
Not to mention, some Han cavalry had just carried out more difficult projectiles.
"It's their equipment!" King Zhelan said in a deep voice, with a serious expression on his face.
He looked carefully and saw that there were many things on the horses that Han was riding that he had never heard of or seen before.
It is those things that allow Han Qi to easily free his hands, and even use the strength of the horse to complete difficult actions such as shooting and even projecting.
Without these things, the Han cavalry could certainly have achieved some results in the attack just now.
But how could they not leave something in front of their formation?
With these equipment, the Han cavalry can maximize their speed and firepower.
As a result, the other side lost nothing, while our own side suffered at least dozens of casualties.
"Partridge!" King Zhelan looked at a noble beside him and said, "Take your headquarters and go have fun with those Han cavalry!"
"Bale, you follow the partridge, cover and protect!"
"As you command!"
Two Hun nobles wearing rough bronze helmets immediately bent down and saluted.
"Remember, grab some Han army horses for me!" King Zhelan said calmly.
"Yes!" The two nobles nodded, and then walked to the side of the banner.
Seeing these two people, more than a thousand Zhelan cavalrymen in the Huns' formation under the hill began to mount their horses.
Several shamans, holding a magic weapon made of a human head, blessed the cavalry.
"The gods and ancestors are watching you, brave Zhelan knights, go and tear those despicable Han cavalry into pieces!" Holy water was sprinkled on the horseshoes of Zhelan knights. This means that the ancestors and gods have blessed their horses.
Allowing them to run faster and more steadily.
……………………
"The Huns have moved..." Yi Zong stood under the commander's banner and watched the strange movements in the Huns' formation from a distance.
He waved his hand and commanded the flag to wave, and two trumpeters from the Han army, riding on a chariot, blew their horns.
"Woo..."
The sound of the war drums began to become more intense and urgent.
The left wing of the Han army also began to move.
Yi Zong raised his hands flat.
The military formation on the right also began to move out again.
Yi Zong squinted his eyes and looked at the Huns' banner opposite him.
"King Zhelan, how should you respond?"
Any general who leads troops knows one truth very well - offense always has an advantage over defense.
Especially the cavalry duel.
The offensive side always takes the initiative before the defensive side.
The so-called defensive counterattack to win may only happen once in ten times in a cavalry war.
The remaining nine times, those idiots who were stupidly waiting for the enemy to attack, all died, and even their bones were turned into dregs.
This is because cavalry is inherently an offensive force.
The fool who stays in place and allows the enemy to attack does not matter how brave his soldiers are, how well-organized they are, or how high their tacit understanding is.
They will also be exhausted by the constant harassment and attacks by the attacking party.
Eventually, the courage of the soldiers was exhausted, the organization was disrupted, and the tacit understanding turned into chaos.
Then, with just one charge, this army will be completely crushed!
Therefore, from ancient times to the present, all cavalry duels begin with a mutual pursuit between the two wings and a small-scale melee.
When the Chinese army charges, it is to gain advantage on both wings. At least one force must penetrate into the enemy's rear and rear.
For today's Han army, the cavalry's wandering and melee is the Han army's strongest advantage.
The Xiongnu cavalry will be gradually consumed by the Han army's hand crossbows and high-speed moving cavalry in such a battle.
Therefore, Yi Zong is now forcing the Huns to invest strength on both wings.
Of course, the Huns on the opposite side can choose not to instigate on the two wings, but to press forward with the central army, shifting the battlefield from the flanks to the front, or they can concentrate their forces and eat the Han army on a certain side first.
But, the problem is...
The forward pressure of the Chinese army is generally a desperate and crazy behavior.
Once the forward pressure of the Chinese army is defeated, the cavalry that has penetrated both flanks and even behind will definitely be extremely happy.
For the cavalry, there is nothing more comfortable than launching a surprise attack from the enemy's vulnerable back.
As for concentrating on destroying one side of the Han army?
This is tantamount to dreaming.
Because it's completely unrealistic.
If the cavalry cannot defeat them in battle, why can't they still run away?
Many times, cavalry wars often turn the battlefield into a vast battlefield spanning hundreds or even thousands of miles.
The reason is this.
Moreover, Yi Zong felt that the Huns might not be able to deal with the Han cavalry on any wing.
He raised his hand and pressed it down.
The flag soldiers behind him immediately understood and made the flags dance and the war drums roar.
The Han army's cavalry in the distance heard the sound of drums, and the officers turned around one after another, and then they saw the waving flags.
"The whole army obeys the order!" The Han general wearing a helmet raised his head and shouted loudly to his comrades: "Let's go behind the Huns' buttocks and fuck these bastards hard!"
"No!" He was responded to by the cheers of the entire army.
The impact just now, everyone had a great time!
There is nothing more satisfying than shooting at the Huns like that, but the Huns are helpless and can only watch you evacuate!
So, after this Han army moved away from the Huns' military formation, they began to turn along the edge of the flank. Their intention couldn't be more obvious - watch out! Labor and capital are going to get behind your butt, will you come?
At the same time, the Han army's central formation, with two thousand cuirassiers, was still slowly moving forward.
But no one dared to take his attention away from them for even half a second.
Because they are so visible, so high-profile, and so dangerous.
At least King Zhelan never took his eyes away from them.
"As long as the Han army doesn't move, the cavalry will be the main force!" King Zhelan raised his whip and said to his left and right confidants.
"Father!" Zuo General Hu Mei, the eldest son of King Zhelan and the next generation successor of the Zhelan tribe, said: "I once heard Lan Tuoxin, the envoy to the Han Dynasty, say that there was an army in the Han Dynasty that was covered with iron armor.
, cavalry who even have thick armor on their horses...maybe these are the cavalry!"
King Zhelan nodded after hearing this.
He had also heard about this matter.
However, before today, all the Xiongnu regarded it as a joke and a myth.
The whole body is covered in armor, even the horse is wearing armor?!
How wasteful and exaggerated this is!
But, today, when a Han army cavalry, wearing heavy armor, bright clothes and angry horses, appeared on the battlefield with an extremely high profile, the Zhelan tribe knew that myths and legends had become reality.
The Han Dynasty was so exaggerated and so prodigal!
The cavalry in front of me, although not like the legend, even the men and horses were packed into an iron sheet.
But, it is also extremely terrifying.
All the Zhelan nobles showed solemn expressions on their faces.
On the contrary, the lower-class soldiers and slaves looked indifferent.
To them, it doesn't matter what the enemy looks like or what weapon they use.
Just rush over and pull them off their horses.
Everyone will be dead!
Some people even joked: "Are these Han Dynasty crazy? The cavalry in their central army walks slower than a turtle. What combat effectiveness does such cavalry have?"
King Zhelan and other nobles also had similar thoughts.
In their opinion, although the Chinese cavalry in the Chinese army looked majestic, they were arrogant.
But most likely, speed is their weakness.
Just like the Han heavy infantry they had encountered in the past who wrapped themselves in an iron can, they just looked scary.
However, the Han army on the opposite side did not let them think more carefully.
With the sound of intensive war drums, the situation on the battlefield changed again.
The Han cavalry that had just passed by Zhelan's left wing regrouped and reorganized in a safe area about 300 steps away.
Then, they mobilized their horses and drew a diagonal line towards the left flank of Zhelan's military formation.
"Are they going to retreat?" Zhelanguduhou Partridge, who had just been ordered to intercept and invite a fight, stuck out his tongue and licked his lips: "Where can it be so easy?"
"Warriors, charge! For the great Huns, for the ancestors and the gods!" Partridge pulled out the bronze dagger from his waist and shouted: "Let these Han people see the power of the great Zhelan Cavalry!"
"Wow!" More than a thousand Zhelan cavalrymen drew out their weapons and shouted.
Then, like a landslide, they sloped down from the hill.
The sound of the hoofbeats of more than a thousand horses made the entire earthquake rumble.
……………………
"Eh!" Sima Zuo of the Southern Army looked back and saw the Hun cavalry leaning out of the Hun army formation on his body. A sarcastic smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said to Sima of the Northern Army's right camp next to him: "Zhang
Sima, the wild boar shooting game has begun, shall we compete?"
The Han Army Sima who was riding on the horse showed a smile at the corner of his mouth and said without fear: "Bijiubi, the husband of the Northern Army is not afraid of you and Qiu Ba of the Southern Army!" (To be continued.)
