When fighting in the Hexi Corridor or on the edge of the desert, it is common for cavalry with strong mobility not to stay in the camp.
But it would be unbelievable if even the spare war horses were not placed in the camp.
Unless, the Shu Cavalry has never been stationed here.
Deng Ai, who never waited until the sound of the war horse's neighing, finally realized, could it be that Scar Pu was not here?
Seeing that Zheng Pu's banner was still stretched in the wind, he sent more than a hundred infantrymen with shields and oars to test it to see how many soldiers and horses there were in the Han camp, as well as the number of pits, iron caltrops and other roadblocks outside the camp.
The result was surprising.
The soldiers were all close to the wooden fence of the camp's low wall, but they did not encounter any pits or iron caltrops buried in the sand. Moreover, the defending Han troops who were originally sparsely scattered on the camp's low wall not only did not kill them with bows and crossbows, but turned around and returned.
went!
Empty camp?!
Deng Ai narrowed his eyes, stared at Zheng Pu's paper and pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and waved again.
It also made the drums of the Chinese army advance thunderous.
The more than a hundred soldiers who had already reached the edge of the camp formed a small circular formation on guard, and three more hundred-man troops were separated from the Wei army's formation and came quickly.
They are all light soldiers carrying small bucklers and short blades, and wearing simple leather armor.
His skills are also extremely strong.
Rushing to the front of the camp, three or five people squatted in a tacit understanding, squatting or standing up straight, holding their shields against their shoulders, forming a series of stairs, which allowed Pao Ze to run smoothly and use the force to jump into the camp.
At this time, there was still no unexpected sound of fighting in the camp, and there was no faint smell of blood. The deathly silence made people feel even more uneasy.
"Ji Ga~~"
As more and more light soldiers jumped in, the wooden door of the camp groaned as it was pushed open from the inside out.
And a moment later, even the low wooden fence blocking the view was pushed down.
It also allows everyone to witness the reality.
It turned out to be a camp within a camp.
I saw that where Zheng Pu's banner was, there was still a small tree with a banner embroidered with "Dare to Die". There were only about 500 heavy infantry waiting in a tight formation. There were no strong bows or powerful crossbows behind them, let alone the long-famous
Yuanrong's crossbow is in front.
But no one thinks it can be easily defeated.
Because the two sides of the heavy infantry phalanx were more than two feet wide and covered with trenches filled with sharpened wood and spears, which even galloping horses could not cross. Moreover, these heavy infantry were divided into two parts, and the outer ones were
They hold large oars and spears, and those inside hold ring-headed knives and hooks. Coupled with the heavy armor on their bodies, ordinary crossbows cannot disturb the formation at all.
In other words, the projectile tactics used by the southern Huns' cavalry could no longer be used; the infantry of the Wei army who did not carry crossbows and thunder chariots had no choice but to fight in close quarters if they wanted to break the formation.
But in a head-on battle with light leather soldiers and heavy infantry, what are the chances of winning?
Everyone fell into silence as they saw that there was only room for a hundred people to fight in front of the heavy infantry formation.
Hiding the truth?
Or is it to lure the enemy deeper?
Deng Ai, who was clearly seen by the troops stationed in Ma, condensed his eyes for a moment and murmured in his heart.
Ni Shu's Xiliang cavalry were not here, so he knew that the two thousand infantry and three hundred Guanzhong elite cavalry who stayed behind to contain the forest camp on the gentle slope of Quwu Mountain would surely die.
But he couldn't tell whether Scar Pu was in Quwu Mountain or at the Fortress of Guanyin.
If it was at Quwu Mountain, he could at least fight to the death with superior force, but if it was at the Fortress of Manyin, then his hope of sending troops to create an opportunity for Hu Zun to seize Manyin would be out of the question.
Naturally, when facing battle, there is no room for hesitation.
Soon, the drums in the Wei army's formation were beating like thunder, and soldiers from all departments filed out, stepping on the whistles of their respective generals, and looked at Zheng Pu's big banner.
"kill!"
"Kill! Kill!"
The Wei soldiers marched forward step by step, their faces filled with the morale of defeating the weak with numbers.
But the heavy infantry of the Han army remained silent.
"Viscosator!"
Liu Lin, standing under the banner of Dare to Die, gave orders in an angry voice.
"promise."
With a brief commanding sound, the heavy infantrymen took out the ghost mask from their waists and covered their faces. With the grooves of the armor making a slight "click" sound, their eyes began to become cold and numb.
The indifference and numbness of life and death.
It has been eight years since the death camp was established, and it has always maintained an organization of 500 people.
Only those who are killed or injured in battle will be replaced by others. Because the heavy infantry of the death camp is different from other heavy infantry, the treatment of these people is comparable to that of a hundred generals, and they are all "one in a thousand" in the army.
.
Moreover, there is an unwritten military rule in the death camp: when facing battle, face the ghost, and there is no retreat until death.
Gein Once they face a battle, it will be the moment to decide the outcome of the war.
Retreating means that the leader will die, the general will fall, and the entire army will be defeated.
Therefore, they could only refuse to give in an inch, and the enemy would not be able to advance until their enemies were killed.
Deng Ai had also heard about this heavy infantry unit belonging to Zheng Pu, and had no hope of a miracle of defeat.
But he knows what the weakness of the heavy infantry is - although their heavy armor can provide more protection, it will also increase the consumption of physical strength. As long as they maintain a steady stream of attacks, they can be exhausted, and then they will be killed at will.
.
It just so happens that, with an absolute advantage in military strength, he can use his own bodyguards as a supervising force to drive the soldiers to "kill the elephant to death due to the many ants".
However, he was inevitably extremely anxious in his heart.
He worried that he didn't have that much time.
For example, before the Wei army could attack and kill these heavy infantry, the two thousand infantry and three hundred Guanzhong elite cavalry at the rear were defeated by the Xiliang cavalry against Shu before they could reach Scar Pu's large banner!
Then he was driven backwards, leaving him no chance to fight to the death.
"Beat the drum! Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed!"
Seeing that Deng Ai, whose soldiers had attacked the death camp two or three times but could not shake it, gave orders with a strong voice and almost a roar. He did not forget to send the Southern Xiongnu Rangers to the rear to support them, hoping to delay the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.
But it was too late.
One wrong move and you lose everything.
From the moment he thought about the success of breaking through the Manyin City Fortress and decided to do his best to get out without giving up the favorable location, he became a puppet at the mercy of Zheng Pu!
He was taken advantage of every step and stepped into the middle of the Han army!
Before the Southern Xiongnu cavalry arrived at the woods on the gentle slopes of Quwu Mountain, they discovered that countless Wei soldiers were driven towards their deaths by Xiliang cavalry.
Yes, they have lost.
When Deng Ai continued to drive troops to Yuwei County, Jiang Wei led more than a thousand Xiliang cavalry to fight out of the gentle slope camp.
Instead of charging directly into the infantry formation, they took the lead in surrounding and killing the three hundred elite cavalrymen who were wandering around on guard.
The general who was in charge of two thousand infantry was immediately stunned.
He never expected that the Han army would hide the Xiliang cavalry here.
Moreover, he had just set up camp, and there was no time to set up roadblocks such as ravines, pits, or horse barriers.
Outside the wilderness, if there are not those three hundred Guanzhong elite cavalry to support them, the infantry without chariot formations or camps to rely on is no different from cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
Therefore, he made a very wise decision.
Instead, half of the soldiers were ordered to guard the perimeter with spears and horse guns, while the rest of the soldiers pushed the Wuhan Iron and Steel chariots and baggage vehicles in a row, pointing at the three hundred elite cavalry in Guanzhong to form a chariot formation to defend themselves before they were strangled to death.
But this was also a decision that made the situation of the war never turn around again.
In line with the tactic of "the enemy is divided and we are dedicated", Jiang Wei gathered almost all the Xiliang cavalry here, except for the hundreds of cavalry who were acting as suspects in the desert. Just like before, he used a group of two hundred cavalry to harass Deng Ai's march.
Qianqi, now being led by Supervisor Xu Zhi, was hiding more than ten miles away, waiting for a fighter plane.
And the commotion scene when the Wei army general divided his soldiers into two groups and reorganized their formations was the opportunity he was waiting for.
"Woo~ho!"
"Oh~~ha!"
Immediately, he took the lead and led thousands of Xiliang cavalry towards the formation.
The distance of more than ten miles is only between the heels of a war horse whose speed has been increased to the extreme.
The soldiers of Wei looked at the dust that was kicked up by countless horses' hooves, and listened to the whistles from far to near. Everyone's face was filled with fear, and they had no chance to change their formation to meet the enemy.
When the Xiliang cavalry, who were also good at riding and shooting, charged, they used their bows and crossbows to shoot at the soldiers holding spears and rifles on the outside, causing them to squeeze into the inner car formation under the instinct of survival.
Naturally, this move undoubtedly plunged the originally chaotic formation into complete chaos.
Xu Zhi only led his cavalry to pass twice, but the panicked Wei soldiers no longer ignored the scoldings of generals at all levels and started to chaos before entering the battle. When Xu Zhi saw the gap in the Wei army's array, he drove his horse through it.
After that, the victory was sealed.
But Xu Zhi did not order the surrender.
Instead, they continued to use bows and crossbows to drive them to Yuwei County to flee.
As for the three hundred elite cavalry in Guanzhong, no miracle could happen under the encirclement and suppression of Jiang Wei's thousands of cavalry.
The southern Xiongnu cavalry sent by Deng Ai happened to encounter the scene where the Wei army was defeated for thousands of miles, and the Han army was trailing behind. After being slightly stunned, their commander ordered to turn north and head towards the Helan Mountain.
Xilu fled.
This is not surprising either.
I would like to ask, the ordnance given by Wei has been transferred to Shuofang County, and Deng Ai's defeat has been determined, why do they still fight for Wei?
This approach also put Deng Ai into a desperate situation.
Without the early warning from the Southern Huns' cavalry, by the time he heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves and saw the wailing soldiers coming in defeat, it was already too late to pull back the soldiers who had come out to attack the Han army's death camp and defended it.
He was extremely angry and decisive about this.
He immediately ordered the money to be paid, and asked the generals to lead the infantry to return to the camp to defend themselves. He himself took more than a thousand Guanzhong's elite cavalry to meet Xu Zhi's thousand cavalry.
He wanted to buy time for the infantry to return to camp.
As long as the infantry can be returned to the camp and a strong crossbow formation is set up, even if he is defeated, he can follow the example of Li Ling in the past and rely on the chariot formation to return slowly.
And there is no need to worry about being trapped in the enemy's position.
All he had to do was kill the defeated soldiers a little, so that they would not dare to run forward again, and he would be able to block the charge of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.
However, he overlooked one thing.
He was born in the Central Plains and was lonely and poor at a young age. In terms of command alone, he could not compare with Jiang Wei who was at the border and was skilled in bow and horse. Even Xu Zhi and Zhang Te were definitely better than him.
The Qianqi led by Xu Zhi was slightly slowed down as he wished.
However, he quickly divided the cavalry into two groups on the left and right, making a detour to clear the way for the charge. The two hundred armored cavalry, who had been walking slowly and sparing no effort, launched a charge.
However, the defeated troops hindered the speed of the light cavalry, and the two hundred charging cavalry had to be trampled past, which also killed Deng Ai's hope of reversing the situation.
And it also put him in danger.
It takes space and time for the cavalry to turn around.
Xu Zhifen's Xiliang cavalry were attacking from the left and right, and in the middle was another armored cavalry charging towards him. He had no way to avoid it.
There is only the lesser of two evils.
He made a prompt decision and ordered the elite cavalry from Guanzhong to turn their horses and return in a roundabout way.
This approach caused Guanzhong's elite cavalry to lose more than 400 cavalry in an instant.
Because when the cavalry that was charging in a long line were making a detour, the rear team was intercepted by the Xiliang cavalry who arrived in a detour!
Alas, the right thing is to cut off the tail and survive.
However, sometimes the courage of a strong man to cut off his wrist cannot "survive" as he wishes.
When Deng Ai returned from a circuitous route, he found that even if he bought time, the infantrymen could not return to camp.
It's not that the death camp that has been besieged all the time is chasing them one after another.
At this time, the death camp was powerless.
Not only was Cai Cai's refusal to give an inch allowed countless corpses lying in front of the formation to block the pursuit route, but also because there were more than two hundred heavy infantrymen sitting or lying in the death camp, and everyone was sweating profusely and panting.
Like a cow.
There was no other way. Wearing nearly 80 kilograms of armor and holding swords and spears, we fought fiercely for more than half an hour. Moreover, it was a scorching hot autumn in July. No matter how elite the warrior was, he would lose strength from exhaustion.
And this was the result of Liu Lin dividing his soldiers into five teams and taking turns to fight.
The infantry of the Wei army were unable to return to camp, but Jiang Wei, who had not driven away the defeated troops, crossed in with his cavalry and cut off their way back to camp!
Likewise, the morale of the Wei army's infantry, which had no way to advance or retreat, suddenly collapsed.
And because Deng Ai burned the camp, garrison and pontoon bridge in Mingsha Mountain before the troops were sent out, and the previously claimed tactic of Pingxi General Hu Zunhui driving troops to attack the Han army from behind did not appear, many people did not wait for the Han army to shout.
After saying that if you surrender, you will live, you spontaneously threw down your sword and spear and fell to the ground to beg for survival.
The defeat is like a mountain falling, that's it!
Seeing this, Deng Ai, knowing that there was no way he could save his life, turned his horse again and headed towards the fortress of Guanyin.
Jiang Wei, who was busy collecting prisoners, saw that the overall situation was decided, so he sent five to six hundred cavalry, led by Zhang Te, and came with Xu Zhi to chase him.
Unless Deng Ai is executed, I will not stop fighting.
The oath taken before the war was not just to boost morale.
Deng Ai, who fled with more than 500 elite Guanzhong cavalry, was chased by Zhang Te and Xu Zhi. His troops became increasingly dwindled, and by the time they reached the river, only more than 200 cavalry were left.
He was not caught up and killed by the Xiliang cavalry.
Their morale was also shattered. Some of them spontaneously slowed down their horses in order to surrender to the Han army, while others turned around and headed for Quwu Mountain.
Deng Ai had no time to care about this.
And luck finally favored him once.
The pontoon bridge set up by the Han army on the bank of the river to transport grain and fodder was not demolished, allowing him to successfully cross the river.
However, when he drove his horse to the fortress of Jianyin City, he discovered that fate was playing tricks on people.
Hu Zun is not here!
There are no traces of the Fortress being attacked!
In desperation, he reined in his horse and murmured, "If your husband doesn't have five pots of food to eat when he is alive, he will have five pots of food to cook his ears when he dies."
Immediately, he slashed the blade across his neck and cursed loudly, "Hu Zun is a common man, you are a rat who is greedy for life and afraid of death! I will fight to the death with eight thousand steps, but you dare not die for the country!"