Zhou Pulema stands on the north bank of Xiatanggou. Xiatanggou flows down from the northwest tip of Xiaozhu Mountain and runs across it. This is the upstream of Xiatanggou. The water surface is about ten feet wide. The beach is crisscrossed by streams and rocks, overgrown with water and grass, and fields.
The meadow spreads out to both sides, and there are villages to the south. There are dozens of sloping houses, but there is no trace of anyone.
The war breaks out suddenly. Regardless of whether they are officials or bandits, the people stay away. Who dares to show up in front of the dense and cold soldiers? Occasionally, bold villagers show their heads to watch, and they may be regarded as the enemy.
The scouts were hunted and killed. In troubled times, human lives are devalued. Even though the Huaidong Army had strict orders to prohibit disturbing and plundering the people, they had to follow the authority. Under the authority, those who died unjustly had no way to complain.
The stream here has long been explored by the advance sentry cavalry. It is shallow enough to cover a horse's body, and one can wade across it without building a bridge or ship.
There was Zhao Bao on the south bank, and Chen Daozi led his troops to cover the front wing. Although the enemy infantry and cavalry were approaching in mixed formations, their fighting spirit was not firm and they did not dare to directly attack the scattered cavalry formation of the Huaidong Army on the south bank. Instead, they moved farther south.
stranded around the slopes.
There were more than 3,000 cavalry here, either dismounting and leading them, or astride their horses and wading through the water. They were divided into several teams and quickly crossed Xiatanggou. After arriving at the south bank, the armored light cavalry galloped towards the two wings to where Zhao Bao and Chen Daozi led his troops.
Gathered on the slope of the grass slope, two teams of six or seven hundred riders each spread out their sharp awls. The knights reined in the horses, hot steam spewed from the horses' noses, the horses' hooves stepped on their feet, and the turf was trampled, revealing the black
of soil.
Between the two large groups of light cavalry, more than a thousand armored soldiers dismounted, untied the oilcloth bags tied on their horses, took out the walking bows wrapped in them, stretched out the crossbows and other strong bows and powerful crossbows, and the accompanying horses also had packs.
Bear a large number of large shields and Mo Dao.
After the horses were taken away by the troops and taken to the formation, Yuan Zhou watched the scouts here from the top of the mountain in the distance and found that these more than a thousand armored soldiers were slowly approaching the south after reorganizing the formation. They looked like the elite infantry of Huaidong.
The formation is just a matter of riding horses to join the battle.
Between Moshan Mountain and Mengshan Mountain, there are hills, forest ravines, and streams crisscrossing each other, forming a complex terrain that is not conducive to large cavalry groups directly attacking infantry defensive formations.
The greatest advantage of cavalry lies in mobility, in quickly maneuvering into a predetermined battlefield, and in the initiative to choose the battlefield. Rather than fighting on horseback in any terrain, it is more advantageous to fight on horseback.
Facing the enemy troops in Yipo Valley and the precipitous terrain of Douhe, they were tightly organized and defended by a large number of strong bows and crossbows with long ranges. The cavalry dismounted and fought, using swords, shields, heavy armor, broadswords, spears, and infantry bows.
A well-organized infantry array will have more advantages when attacking the enemy's defense line.
Zhou Pu, surrounded by dozens of cavalry, crossed Xiatanggou. Two battalions of infantry had just completed their formation on the slope of the south bank. Behind the formation, there were more than 300 cavalry. With the assistance of the troops, they covered the horses.
The heavy armor and war horses neighed in the open valley, as if they had smelled the bloody smell of the bloody battle.
Zhao Bao came over on horseback, dismounted in front of Zhou Pu, took out a map, spread it on his horse, pointed at the map and introduced Zhou Pu to the current distribution of enemy troops: "The person who intercepts the road ahead is Huang Binghao Guard Camp Zhang Xiongshan
There were about 4,300 troops and horses in our army. They restrained us for a night, and they were scattered at the western foot of Xiaozhu Mountain. They spread out in front of us and were about 20 miles deep. Although they were all Yuanzhou elite soldiers loyal to Huang Binghao, they were also exhausted.
Unbearable. Four thousand infantry on the south side left the north bank of the Yuan River and came in two groups to intercept. Chen Zishou led the main force of the Yuanzhou Army. In addition to the more than 3,000 infantry at the front who hurriedly rushed to Xinyu City, there were about 10,000 troops at the rear.
To the southwest of us, we formed a formation at the southwest foot of Chitugang. There are also about 6,000 troops and horses, a little further away from Xinyu, who are joining Chen Zishou's troops who are rushing to meet Chen Zishou at Chitugang..."
Zhou Pu looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was tilted. It would take at least two hours before dark. He summoned the generals and pointed at the map and said, "Before dark, we must hit the north bank of the Yuan River.
The enemy troops called Chitugang can neither advance nor retreat!"
Although there were only more than 4,000 soldiers and horses from Huaidong entering Xinyu, and it took them two days to travel 300 miles from Yuzhang, they did not show signs of fatigue.
After the Shangrao War, Huaidong's soldiers and horses in Jiangxi almost all had a rest period of more than three months to recruit new soldiers, and the injured old soldiers also returned to the camp. This was the first time they went to the battlefield after rest.
Traveling 300 miles on horseback in two days was not really too difficult for this elite force. If they had not considered the need to enter the battle as soon as they arrived at Xinyu, Zhou Pu and the others would have arrived faster.
Four thousand troops, including light cavalry, armored cavalry and horse infantry, crossed Xiatanggou. They also adjusted their formation slightly and launched a fierce attack before the scattered enemy troops at the western foot of Xiaozhu Mountain gathered towards the center.
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It is said that the Huaidong Army is the strongest army in the world, but before last night, Zhang Xiongshan lacked intuitive experience. He only knew that the elites of the She Family on the Western Front had defeated the Huaidong Army, and it had been difficult to win a victory for several years.
Speaking of the elite of the She family, when Zhang Xiongshan followed Huang Binghao to defend Jiangzhou, he did a good job and kept the elite of the She family outside the city of Jiangzhou. If Emperor Yongxing had not abandoned Jiangning and left, people would have been discouraged and disappointed, and Zhang Xiongshan had lost his fighting spirit.
I am not afraid that She Fei Xiong can really bite Jiangzhou down.
Zhang Xiongshan is the most brave general in Jiangzhou after Chen Zishou, and he has his own arrogance and confidence. What's more, the soldiers and horses under his command are from Huang Binghao's guard camp. Although the number is not large, he has battle training, soldiers' armor and the bravery of the generals.
He is considered worthy of being listed among the strongest soldiers in the world.
When everyone in Yuanzhou was worried that Huaidong might march west along the Yuanhe River to force Yuanzhou, Zhang Xiongshan didn't care. He even wanted to compete with the elites of Huaidong so that he could perform meritorious service on the battlefield and become famous all over the world.
Opportunity.
Yesterday's night battle gave Zhang Xiongshan a slight appreciation of the eliteness of the Huaidong Army, but he still felt that Yuanzhou's army and horses were not used to fighting at night. They dismounted and their horses were mostly from Sichuan and Yunnan, and could not move as fast as those used by Huaidong.
, so that the Huaidong Army took advantage of him last night by taking advantage of the cover of night and the terrain.
Zhang Xiongshan still hopes to have the opportunity to fight in a dignified formation and wash away the shame of last night. He does not think that the elite guards under his command are really inferior to the Huaidong Army.
Watching Huaidong's army and horses wading across the stream and charging murderously along the western slope of Xiaozhu Mountain in less than half an hour on the south bank, Zhang Xiongshan really felt a chill.
Such a short time was not enough for Zhang Xiongshan to gather the soldiers scattered among the western foothills of Xiaozhu Mountain. Only two battalions of more than a thousand soldiers and horses first entered a slope south of Xiatanggou to form an array, responsible for delaying the Huaidong Army.
Zhang Xiongshan only saw that the Huaidong Army left less than a thousand men on the south bank of Xiatang Valley to prepare. The remaining three thousand soldiers were centered with infantry and cavalry.
He swung the sharp long knife at Yuan Zhou's thousands of soldiers and horses arrayed in front of the slope.
The contact line between the two armies was several miles wide. Standing on the ridge of the ridge, Zhang Xiongshan could almost see with the naked eye the process of the disintegration of his own front under the heavy attack of the Huaidong Army.
The fighting style of the Huaidong soldiers is very simple. They use light cavalry on both wings to compress Yuanzhou's army's formation. The infantry is in the middle, with a large shield in front to cover the rain of arrows shot by Yuanzhou's army. Behind them are the Huaidong armored soldiers, holding crossbows or swords.
Or they could hold spears and spears and directly press forward to engage in the battle, first balancing the Yuanzhou Army's combat power on the defensive line.
Then he used the armored cavalry from the left wing, passing through the gap between the infantry and light cavalry, and stabbed a sharp awl directly at the feet of Yuanzhou's army. The armored cavalry, including man and horse, weighed more than a thousand kilograms, and the impact force generated after speeding up
, cannot be resisted by a shield wall with dozens of large shields connected together. Although the spears hurriedly erected between the large shields pierced the coats of the horses one after another, and perhaps several Huaidong soldiers were pierced together with their horses.
But more Huaijia cavalry rushed into Yuanzhou's army and trampled them everywhere, stabbing with their carbines, bringing out a shower of blood, which spread like rain.
A single attack by the armored cavalry caused the Yuanzhou Army's array of more than a thousand soldiers and horses in front of Xiatanggou to crack like an irreparable crack in a piece of porcelain, directly affecting the front line where the two armies were in contact.
Under the strong cracking blow of Huaidong Army, Yuanzhou Army had no chance to adjust its defense line. The left wing called Huaidong Jiaqi to attack and caused chaos. The cracks on the surface of the porcelain quickly spread to the entire surface under the action of pressure. Yuanzhou Army's position almost disappeared in the blink of an eye.
time, irreversible chaos will occur.
The Huaidong Army's light cavalry on both wings charged in decisively, and the waving sabers shone with silver light in the air, so dazzling in the bloody storm.
After the infantry defensive formation was pried open and disrupted, the light cavalry could cut through the entire defensive formation more efficiently, not to mention that the Huaidong Army still had an absolute numerical advantage. After the defensive formation was penetrated by the Huaidong cavalry, Zhang
Standing on the ridge of the ridge, Xiongshan could hardly see any decent counterattack from his own side, and the entire defensive formation collapsed.
In less than a stick of incense, the more than a thousand elite military battalions that Zhang Xiongshan was proud of were beaten to pieces by the Huaidong Army.
Mom and Dad will have one less leg.
The more than a thousand soldiers south of Xiatang Valley were defeated so easily, and a battalion of soldiers was rushing to join them in a valley to the south. This group of soldiers could not see the battle ahead, so they received Zhang Xiongshan's military order.
, determined to go to the south of Xiatanggou, join the friendly forces, and make the defensive formation thicker, so that the Huaidong Army could not leave the Xiatanggou coast and move southward.
Only Zhang Xiongshan, who was standing on the ridge watching the battle, could clearly see the fate of this group of troops. When they walked out of the valley, they would meet the blades of the Huaidong Army heading south.
Collapse faster than before.
"Damn it, I don't believe that Huaidong's soldiers are all made of iron. Deng Fu, please gather your troops and rush down the mountain with me!" Zhang Xiongshan's eyes were red, his blood was gushing all over his body, his hair and beard were all standing up, and his arm was holding a gun.
The veins are like horns, and the voice of the order is like a roar or a roar, which seems to arouse the fighting spirit and fighting spirit of the more than 600 cavalry around him.
When Lieutenant General Deng Fu saw how sharp the Huaidong Army's attack was, and when he saw that Zhang Xiongshan wanted to lead them down the mountain to attack the tiger-wolf-like Huaidong Army horses, his face turned livid and he cursed in his heart: Aren't you going to die?
Of course Deng Fu understood what Zhang Xiongshan meant. If the Huaidong Army's advance could not be slowed down, it would not even take two hours for the Huaidong Army to go from Xiatanggou to the north bank of the Yuan River. However, they did not have time to gather at the western foot of Xiaozhu Mountain.
Five to six thousand soldiers and horses will be stabbed to pieces by the Huaidong Army.
It is necessary to curb the momentum of the Huaidong Army's southward attack, so that the scattered troops and horses at the western foot of Xiaozhu Mountain can buy more time to gather, and it can also buy Chen Zishou more time to form an formation at the southwestern foot of Chitugang, and also give Cao Cao more time to form a formation.
Teng won more time to deploy defenses in Xinyu City.
At present, it seems that the simple foot formation formed hastily cannot withstand the powerful impact of Huaidong's foot cavalry.
Although all four cities of Xinyu City were destroyed, the city wall is still intact. As long as there is time, we can only set up enough obstacles on both sides of the four city gates to pull more soldiers up the city wall, which can be condescending.
Use bows and crossbows to kill the approaching Huaidong soldiers and horses. If you have more time, you can also ask Chen Zishou to lead the main force to choose a more precarious terrain at the southwest foot of Chitugang. He can even build simple fences to block the horses and dig trenches.
, forming more protective obstacles around the perimeter of the formation.
Time, what is in short supply right now is time.
The generals in the guard camp must be veteran soldiers who have followed Huang Binghao for many years, and their loyalty can be used. However, it is difficult to say that the morale of the generals of the main force led by Chen Zishou is as good as that of the army. If the main force led by Chen Zishou were arrayed in front of the slope like just now, even if there was
With fifteen or six thousand soldiers and horses, Zhang Xiongshan doubted whether he could withstand the impact of the Huaidong Army in front of him.
Chen Zishou must be given more time.
However, Deng Fu didn't know how much time he could buy with the more than 600 cavalry behind him rushing down Zhang Xiongshan.
Deng Fu was originally dissatisfied with Huang Binghao. Chen Zishou did not hesitate to anger Huaidong and sent troops to Xinyu. At this time, he had no determination to die for him. He said to Zhang Xiongshan: "Boss, it is not a good idea to intercept directly from the front. Why don't you and I split up?
The team will go around the forest on both sides of the mountain and attack from the flanks, which will surely disrupt their formation..."
"It's really a good plan!" Zhang Xiongshan did not doubt anything else, and immediately divided his troops with Deng Fu, asking him and himself to lead more than 300 cavalry each, separate down the mountain, and attack the two wings of the Huaidong Army. Deng Fu deliberately took a detour to go farther.
From a distance, he saw Zhang Xiongshan leading his troops in contact with the light cavalry on the left wing of the Huaidong Army, and then galloping up from the right wing. Seeing the light cavalry on the right wing of the Huaidong Army approaching, Deng Fu immediately led his troops into the sparse forest on the right.
The Jiangzhou cavalry dismounted from their war horses, most of which were selected from Yunnan. They have short legs and a short body, and their leg strength and walking speed are not as heavy as those of the Huaidong war horses. The advantages and disadvantages were very obvious when they engaged in the battle last night. But the short-legged horses are short.
The advantage of the footed horse is that it is easier to drill through the woods and climb hills than the Huaidong war horse, allowing Deng Fu to escape the pursuit of the Huaidong Qingqi on steep slopes and woods.
When Deng Fu led his troops out of the woods again, and turned back to harass the Huaidong Army's flanks, he saw Zhang Xiongshan on the left flank with less than a hundred riders running towards Xiaozhu Mountain. He could still clearly see
I saw Zhang Xiongshan with several arrows stuck in his shoulder.
Deng Fu was so frightened that he led his troops to flee to the northwest toward Mengshan Mountain, completely ignoring the fact that the infantry at the western foot of Xiaozhu Mountain was defeated by the Huaidong Army in one blow. When Deng Fu led his troops to flee to a ridge at the eastern foot of Mengshan Mountain,
On the top, looking back at the battlefield to the southeast, I saw six or seven thousand soldiers and horses on the north bank of the Yuan River and at the west foot of Xiaozhu Mountain. None of them could slow down the Huaidong Army's advance. The last three troops actually refused to fight.
And when they were defeated, the mountains and plains were filled with defeated soldiers and deserted soldiers.
Deng Fu was confused for a moment: Will Chen Zishou defend at Chitugang or escape? If he wants to defend, can he hold it? If he wants to escape, can he escape? Cao Teng may be able to enter Xinyu City in time, but with three to five thousand men and horses with low morale,
Can you help Chen Zishou contain the Huaidong Army from behind and give Chen Zishou a chance to breathe?