Faced with the desperate situation of being intercepted by the puppet Tang thief army and pursued by the puppet Tang army, the Hengyang Ming army, which had been on the run for many days, finally had nowhere to escape. The Ming army officials, including Cheng Hongan, were desperate.
Made a last ditch effort!
The more than 20,000 Ming troops did not continue to flee, but stopped to rest and recuperate!
Because they knew very well that they had no way to escape, the road heading east was blocked, and the puppet Tang rebels were arriving from behind. At the same time, their continuous escape for several days also greatly consumed the physical energy of the soldiers.
Turning to another direction to escape is just a repeat of the current situation. As for breaking out into several groups, it is even more undesirable. Now that they have more than 20,000 people, they still have a chance to make a last stand. If they take the initiative to break out into several groups,
, the puppet Tang bandits are not stupid, especially the 800 enemy cavalry who have been wandering around them!
I'm afraid that as soon as our troops are divided, they will swoop in!
For the 800 cavalry, there is no way to attack Cheng Hongan's more than 20,000 people. However, if Cheng Hongan takes the initiative to divide his troops, the troops with less than three or four thousand people will basically lose their lives in vain.
Besides, once the troops disperse and break through, it can basically declare the complete collapse of the Hengyang Ming Army!
After all, a dispersed breakout is a breakout at best, but at worst it means that everyone is running for their own lives, and only one can escape. Under such circumstances, even if some people escape, don't expect to be able to bring them back.
Organized.
If this is the case, it is better to make a final desperate fight!
After a brief rest, the Ming army moved. This time, they did not march quickly, but listed the standard columns of the Tang army!
This kind of standard column was also used by the Tang Army to enter the battlefield and conduct large-scale square formation maneuvers on the battlefield. Each square formation marched in six columns. When it reached the combat distance, it would change from column to horizontal column.
Then list the standard line formations.
The Dubiao New Army, which likes to copy the Tang Dynasty Army, will naturally not forget to learn this kind of column!
And when more than 20,000 Ming troops marched silently in columns, only about one kilometer away in front of them, one after another Datang Army infantry phalanx wearing blue clothes and red trousers also marched towards them in this standard battle column.
The Ming army is coming!
The infantry phalanxes on both sides did not make much noise, only the sound of heavy and dense footsteps and the sound of marching drums!
And about a few kilometers away from the rear of these two armies, there was also a Datang Army approaching. This was the forward force of the First Army that had been pursuing them all the way.
On a small high ground in the north of the battlefield, there are eight hundred Tang cavalry!
However, a few hundred meters away from them to the west, the 500 cavalrymen of the Ming Army were stationed here silently. They remained motionless, staring at the 800 cavalrymen of the Tang Dynasty!
What was different from the usual head-to-head confrontations between the Ming and Tang armies in the wild was that this time both sides did not carry heavy field artillery!
In addition to infantry and cavalry, both sides only have some shotguns, and these shotguns are also mixed in the infantry phalanx!
This will be a battle without the participation of heavy artillery.
Time passed bit by bit, but the generals on both sides seemed not to feel the passage of time. The troops were moving very slowly. It was the same for both sides. The speed of movement was even slower than the walking speed of normal people.
Some, and if they walk just a hundred or two hundred meters, they will stop and organize their formation!
The sun gradually changes from red in the morning to incandescent at noon, bringing more warmth to this cold winter land!
At noon, when the sun is at its highest point of the day, the distance between the two sides is already close to only three hundred meters!
This is a distance that even infantry can reach with a single charge!
But at this time, the soldiers in the front row of both sides stopped advancing in unison, and then the soldiers in the back row continued to keep up and spread out, and finally the column became a horizontal formation!
Half an hour later, both sides completed their formation!
If you look down from the sky at this time, you will find that the formations of both sides are almost exactly the same, with standard inverted glyphs listed.
In the front row are two huge phalanxes composed of many small phalanxes of four to five hundred people, and behind these two huge phalanxes is a slightly smaller phalanx!
This was also the combat formation often used by the Tang Army when division-level troops launched large-scale field battles.
The formation is relatively average, taking into account both firepower and depth, and can be used both offensively and defensively!
After the two sides formed their formations, Hao Bainian, who was riding on his horse, took a look. The Ming army on the opposite side still seemed to have no intention of taking the initiative to attack, but Hao Bainian was also unmoved!
He immediately said a few words to the messenger behind him, and then, the flagman behind him waved the flag. At the same time, a messenger horse also rushed towards the first cavalry detachment.
After receiving the signal, Lu Yuzhi did not move, but continued to wait for the arrival of the messenger!
Soon, the messenger brought Hao Bainian's order: "Your Majesty has your order, the cavalry will try to attack the enemy's left wing to look for fighter opportunities!"
Lu Yuzhi nodded immediately and said: "In return, our department will take action immediately!"
Attacking the enemy's left wing looking for a fighter plane? He knew very well that what Hao Bainian wanted was not a fighter plane for his cavalry, but a fighter plane for the main force to attack!
And this is also the meaning of his cavalry unit's existence on the battlefield!
Compared with the infantry in the square formation, which is difficult to maneuver, his cavalry can quickly carry out large-scale roundabout maneuvers, and even directly go around the enemy's weak points!
This is a huge battlefield where tens of thousands of people are fighting. The frontal width of the battlefield alone has reached nearly 600 meters, and the combined depth of both sides has reached more than 1,000 meters.
Although this distance and area may seem small, it is definitely unrealistic if you want those infantrymen wearing thick armor to walk hundreds of meters continuously.
At this time, the role of the cavalry is reflected, even magnified!
Lu Yuzhi knew very well that Hao Bainian hoped that he could force the Ming army to change its formation through large-scale tactical maneuvers. Once the Ming army moved, the infantry of the main force would have a chance!
Under normal circumstances, this would be the time for the artillery on both sides to show off their majesty, but now both sides are not carrying artillery, so this time it is not the artillery that kicks off the war, but the cavalry!
After receiving the order, Lu Yuzhi thought for a moment, then got on his horse and ordered at the same time: "Mount!"
The two words "mount the horse" cannot be said carelessly among the cavalry. They are one of the most important combat orders. Normally, no cavalry officer will ever say these two words, because once they are said
If you use these two words, it means that the battle is about to break out!
For the cavalry who must try their best to preserve the physical fitness of their horses at all times, even when they enter the battlefield, they lead their horses into the battlefield, and when they mount their horses, it is time for them to launch an attack!
The ordering soldiers repeated Lu Yuzhi's order: "Mount the horse!"
Suddenly, the cavalrymen began to mount their horses one by one!
In the Ming army formation in the distance, when they saw the cavalry of the Pseudo-Tang rebel army on the opposite side starting to get on their horses, there was obviously a trace of panic, and soon, their cavalry also mounted their horses one after another, and then began to line up!
The cavalry of the Puppet Tang rebel army are mounted. No matter what they want to do, the cavalry of the Ming Army Supervisor Biao must also mount their horses to prepare for battle and then stop them!
After all, the best one who can fight against cavalry is cavalry!
Regarding the actions of the Ming army, Lu Yuzhi remained unmoved. Instead, he waited for his cavalry to mount their horses and line up in order, then slightly raised his right hand with a black leather glove and pressed forward slightly: "Follow me.
The official is here!"
As he said that, he started to advance slowly on horseback. The cavalry in the rear were also divided into about five small square formations to follow. In the middle of each small square formation were the cavalry officers and messengers of each small square formation!
Those who wear messengers usually walk on the side of the cavalry square, and they wear different military uniforms. They will also put on an extra white vest.
The officer's orders are delivered through these messengers, and then these messengers are delivered to the rhythm of the trumpet!
Lu Yuzhi's cavalry moved. Although the speed was very slow, they could not be ignored on this battlefield!
And it is even more impossible for the Ming army to ignore them!
When Lu Yuzhi's cavalry came towards his left wing, several infantry phalanxes on the left wing of the Ming army began to change formations!
At the same time, the Ming army's cavalry also moved!
But at this time, Lu Yuzhi's cavalry had already begun to speed up!
The jogging cavalry phalanx made a dense sound of horse hooves, which spread throughout the battlefield!
The cavalry of the Ming Army were waiting in tight formations, and they also began to speed up and charge towards them!
To cause trouble for the enemy's infantry, he first had to kill the Ming cavalry in front of him, so Lu Yuzhi did not hesitate at all and ordered the cavalry to start the final sprint!
Seeing that the two sides were getting faster and faster, and at the same time they were getting closer and closer. Then, the Ming army's cavalry moved first, and some of their elite cavalry actually bent their bows and shot arrows directly on the horses!
Arrows flew out, and Lu Yuzhi's cavalry troops inevitably suffered casualties. One after another, cavalrymen were shot and fell, but this did not affect the charge of Lu Yuzhi's cavalry at all!
They trampled on the corpses of their comrades and ran into the Ming cavalry array on the opposite side with overwhelming momentum!
The horses were galloping, and the sabers were constantly being raised and lowered. Any Ming cavalry blocking the Tang cavalry array fell to the ground one after another!
And along with the Ming cavalry fell, naturally the Tang cavalry also fell!
The cavalry from both sides rushed past. Wherever they passed, the neighing of horses and the screams of knights continued to sound!
Like a comb, they passed through each other's formations, leaving behind dead and wounded people and horses without knights on the ground!
At the same time, Hao Bainian on the top of the mountain waved his hand and ordered: "Send the order, attack!"