The emergence of stirrups, horseshoes and hard saddles has indeed greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of cavalry.
But Han Sui and Ma Chao actually didn't own many three-piece sets, because large-scale installation requires a lot of money and iron tools.
Xiliang does have iron mines, but mining is not an easy task, and they don't have much money.
The money Ma Teng earned from doing business basically went to Ma Chao to expand his army. Otherwise, when Han and Ma were in internal strife, Ma Teng only had less than 20,000 troops left. How could he expand it to 50,000 or 60,000 now?
So in this case, the cavalry formation was somewhat out of sync. The equipment was better, the cavalry with the three-piece suit was fast, and the Qiang and Di people behind were slower.
Jushou, who saw this scene on the city in the distance, immediately knew that although Guan Yu did not act according to the original plan, it was not a bad thing.
Therefore, he immediately said to the messenger beside him: "Order the attack!"
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
The desolate horn sounded for a long time, and dozens of messengers on the top of the city blew their horns at the same time to ensure that the army, which was several miles long and wide, and numbered as many as 40,000 to 50,000, could hear the order.
Almost as soon as the order was given, the soldiers on Gaolu, Jinglan and Yunlou started the war as a reflex.
The Han Dynasty was already very accomplished in siege equipment. There were several styles of cloud ladders, including ordinary ladders, ladders with barbs, and even ladders that could be pushed like half a pyramid, called cloud towers.
.
This kind of cloud tower is like a moving city with a city wall structure on top. During the process of pushing, the soldiers hide under the wall, and the soldiers below directly push the cloud tower to the edge of the city wall and attack from the cloud tower.
If used in the wild, a large number of crossbows, rolling stones, wood, kerosene, etc. can be placed on the platform of the cloud building. Once the enemy approaches, they will immediately counterattack.
The war had just started, and the archers and crossbowmen on the cloud tower immediately started shooting.
Countless arrows began to shoot into the enemy formation like raindrops. The buzzing sound of crossbows was heard endlessly, and with a terrifying howling sound like ghosts and wolves, they fell into the enemy formation and shot through the enemy including men and horses.
At the same time, the catapult at the rear wrapped a layer of oil with stones, ignited them, and projected them out. The stones flying in the air drew a gorgeous arc in the air like meteors, and finally smashed into the crowd, except for the enemies who were killed.
, the most powerful thing is the splash of kerosene.
After the oil is ignited, even water cannot put it out. After people are splashed, a few people are fine. If a large amount of oil is splashed on them, and most of the Xiliang soldiers have no armor and are all in coarse linen clothes, the whole person will suddenly become a
A person who is on fire will soon become coke.
The horrific killings started before the two sides even got close. In the rain of arrows, the Xiliang troops who were charging forward fell down like wheat being harvested. After the first round of arrow rain, the middle of the charging team actually appeared briefly.
A vacuum belt.
The corpses piled up like a mountain. After the cavalry from the rear rushed over, they were brought down by the corpses in front. For a moment, they were thrown off their backs. Under the strong bows and weapons of the imperial army, thousands of Xiliang cavalry suffered heavy casualties before they could even rush forward.
Seeing how powerful the imperial equipment was, countless soldiers were horrified and their eyes were filled with tears. However, the army was surging like a tide. Those in front were rushing, and those behind were also rushing. Being trapped, they had no choice but to move forward.
However, there were also many people who were very frightened when they saw the death of their comrades around them, and wanted to escape from the chaotic army. A small number of people shifted their direction, causing chaos in the middle of the cavalry charge, with overturning.
"The Han people's bows and arrows are so powerful."
"Sky Fire, this is Sky Fire, we can't fight it anymore."
"The gods are angry, run, run!"
The Qiang and Di people were frightened to death when they saw the rain of arrows that covered the sky and the fireballs from the catapults.
There was chaos on the battlefield.
Originally, Han Sui wanted to use Ma Chao's troops in the front and force them to serve as the vanguard.
As a result, his troops were only halfway through when they were killed by the enemy's long-range weapons. Even if they rushed to the front of the formation and bumped into the front row of gun and shield men of the imperial army, it was like hitting a copper wall.
It's a man who has jumped on his back.
"Big man, big man, big man!"
The most elite troops of the imperial court in the middle roared the name of the big man, their morale was high, like a wall with countless spikes, they rushed towards the cavalry in front, killing the Xiliang army with corpses everywhere.
Most of the regular troops under Guan Yu are actually the Baibo Army and the Black Mountain Army. Most of these people are from Hedong. After eliminating the old and weak, they are basically the best among the best.
When the Xiliang people invaded, the Guanzhong area was already the frontier, and beyond Guanzhong was Hedong. Therefore, before the war, Jushou did a good job of mobilizing the emotions of the soldiers to defend their homes and country, telling everyone that if the Xiliang people were to win, their hometown of Hedong would be
will be devastated.
During the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, the land of Sanfu and Hedong were repeatedly harassed by ethnic minorities from Xiliang and north of Bingzhou. Dozens of nomads such as the Qiang, Di, Huns, and Xianbei took turns coming to Guanzhong to plunder the upper reaches of the Yellow River.
It can be said that the Han people have been deeply harmed by this, so they have long been holding back their energy and want to fight back.
There was nothing they could do about Bingzhou. Lu Bu had already gone north to deal with the Huns and Xianbei. It would be difficult for them to invade Hedong again. But now the Xiliang people came again, which immediately aroused the soldiers' feelings of common hatred, and they were howling and screaming.
Like a wolf and a tiger, he kept slashing with a spear and a big knife in his hand.
Inspired by the twenty-level military merit title system and the two emotions of protecting their homeland, the first wave of Xiliang cavalry charged like waves hitting the steel wall, posing no threat. Then the soldiers stepped on the mountains of corpses and seas of blood,
Move forward without fear.
Rows of soldiers lined up neatly, roaring loudly from their mouths. Generals and officers from all walks of life also charged forward, and soon the collision between large-scale armies, infantry and cavalry was like two torrents, raging against each other.
Together.
"Kill, kill, kill!"
"The Xiliang Qiang and Di people have repeatedly offended my three assistants, and today I will make them pay with blood."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Brothers, get promoted to a higher rank today!"
Many officers in the imperial army kept shouting and stimulating the emotions of the soldiers, and the formation of the soldiers in the first row quickly began to be chaotic. It was not that they were in a state of chaos, but after resisting the first round of charge,
The cavalry behind them completely lost their impact when charging into the formation.
Corpses everywhere and Xiliang Army soldiers running around disrupted the entire battlefield. After there was no collision force, the imperial army no longer needed to form an array, but dispersed and began to attack the chaotic enemies in small groups.
Perform strangulation.
This style of fighting was also the Han Empire's daily way of dealing with cavalry. For example, in the Battle of Junji Mountain, Li Ling's 5,000 infantrymen faced nearly 100,000 Huns. With spears, shields, and spearmen in front, and bows and arrows behind, they killed tens of thousands of people.
Huns.
Although Li Ling was outnumbered and defeated in the end, he was able to achieve such an impressive record with five thousand against one hundred thousand, which shows how lethal this style of fighting was to the nomads.
After using long-range equipment such as bows and arrows, crossbows and catapults to disrupt the formation of the Xiliang Army, they then completely entered the battlefield where the infantry group had a natural advantage.
The surging imperial soldiers were in small groups, working together in division of labor, and their combat achievements were recorded in squads. Some were responsible for parrying, some were responsible for slashing, some were responsible for defense, and some were responsible for chopping off the enemy's head and hanging it on his waist. With perfect cooperation,
Large tracts of the Xiliang army fell, which was attributed to the imperial army.
In addition to the enemy's heads, captured materials can also be used as meritorious deeds. The most typical example is war horses. A war horse is worth tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The top war horses can even reach millions of dollars. After being handed over,
, according to the valuation, you can get a lot of rewards.
Therefore, the imperial troops on the entire front line were going crazy. Some were desperately killing the enemy, some were constantly snatching war horses, weapons and equipment, and some were targeting the enemy's armored officers and generals, with fierce looks in their eyes and howling.
Rush towards them.
Killing an ordinary soldier has limited military merit, but if you can kill a general or even capture a general alive, the merit reward obtained can make a family of more than ten people rest on the merit book for the rest of their lives.
This is the charm of the twenty-level military merit title system, and it is also the reason why Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty could instantly empty out the national finances accumulated for decades after the war.
Guan Ping led his bodyguards into the battlefield. He was rushing back and forth on the battlefield like a nimble butterfly. He was waving a big knife in his hand. People kept falling in front of him. The bodyguards around him were also going crazy.
Riding horses and charging wildly, the Xiliang army had no chance of winning in front of the imperial army, which was armed to the teeth.
The most terrifying thing was that the killing lasted for a long time. Guan Ping's horse was hit in the neck by a knife from nowhere in the chaos. He had no choice but to dismount and fight on foot. As a result, the Xiliang army's knife hit his armor.
There wasn't even a mark left on it, it was very solid.
There are two reasons for this. One is because most of the Xiliang army is from ethnic minorities. Their weapons and equipment are very primitive and there are few iron tools. In addition, the metallurgy and manufacturing technology are not very good, resulting in weapons that are not sharp enough and difficult to hit.
Wear ordinary armor.
The second reason is the local method of steel-making in Qingzhou. Most of the generals' armors are steel armors, and the manufacturing method is the most advanced Mingguang armor in the late Han Dynasty. Not to mention the weapons of the Xiliang army, even the weapons of the various princes in Guandong are difficult to defeat.
wear.
Therefore, just as swords can be circulated among the people in ancient times, but keeping armor privately is conducive to rebellion. Armor is the second life of soldiers. The Xiliang army is already at a huge disadvantage in terms of weapons and equipment.
"Our army has won. We are surrounded by two wings. Han Sui must not leave!"
After Guan Yu captured Ma Chao, he quickly withdrew back to his own formation and ordered Guan Hai to tie up Ma Chao and take him to Luoyang. He climbed up the Cloud Tower and commanded the battle from high altitude.
His general's flag was flying high and waving constantly, and he ordered the troops on the left and right sides, such as candidates, Cheng Yin, Li Kan, Ma Wan, Liang Xing, Zhang Heng and other Guanzhong warlords to quickly mobilize their troops.
Double-team him.
With their joining, almost the entire imperial army was dispatched.
If you look down on the entire battlefield from a high altitude, you will see dense crowds of people surging in the middle. It is the regular army of the imperial court that has held back the main force of the Xiliang Army.
The soldiers and horses of the Guanzhong warlords from both sides quickly surrounded them. Many of them had cavalry. They inserted themselves into the enemy's formation like chisels from both wings, cutting off the Xiliang army's charge and blocking all their retreat and advance paths.
The war raged from morning to evening, with the entire battlefield filled with smoke, blazing flames, and blood and limbs flying everywhere. Ownerless horses fled in all directions, weapons, armor, and flags were scattered on the ground, blood flowed, and corpses formed mountains.
Starting in the afternoon, the imperial army had achieved an absolute victory on the frontal battlefield. It not only repelled the Xiliang Army's attack, but also began to counterattack, rushing past like a raging river.
Thousands of Xiliang people fell. Han Sui and Ma Chao recruited mostly coalition forces from various tribes. After seeing the strength of the imperial court, they could no longer hold on and fled in droves.
"Victory, victory!"
"The great man will be victorious, the great man will be victorious, brothers, keep on killing!"
"Military glory is right in front of you. Kill one person and you will become a public servant. Kill a hundred people and you will become a doctor. For the sake of future generations of the family and the continuous succession of descendants, we must let them go!"
Seeing that the Xiliang army began to retreat, the imperial army, which was red-eyed, roared like wild beasts and pursued them with swords.
For them, except for the enemy who dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender, all other enemy soldiers who were still running were military merits.
After the reform of the military system in the Han Dynasty, in addition to the original soldier system, there was also the Military Division and the Military Affairs Department. The Military Affairs Department was responsible for logistics, and the Military Division was the staff. It could also be understood as the political commissar, in charge of supervising the battle team and responsible for military discipline.
From bottom to top, even the lowest-level military units have military advisors. These people are usually graduates of the Taishan Academy Military Academy. They are responsible for recording military exploits, supervising discipline, and strictly controlling battlefield requirements.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Not killing prisoners, not taking credit, and not escaping are the three major disciplines of war. In addition, there are also burning corpses after the war, handing over the harvest, and recording
Meritorious service, statistics of soldiers killed in battle, etc.
Since the soldiers' military exploits and posthumous rosters were controlled by these people, many people did not dare to offend them.
And although they generally do not go to the battlefield, their promotions and rewards are related to the accuracy of their records and the income captured after the war, so they often choose to be selfless and will not protect soldiers.
This made the regular army of the imperial court strictly abide by the record of not killing prisoners. As long as they had no weapons in their hands and surrendered on their knees with their hands raised, they could basically avoid death.
Some people may wonder, could it be that after Chen Mu traveled to the past, he was influenced by Liu Bei and started to talk about humanitarianism?
Not really.
In fact, Chen Mu has lost countless people to his hands over the years. If it is necessary to kill prisoners, with his temperament, he will not be any worse than Bai Qi and Cao Cao.
It's just that he doesn't want to kill too many people.
It's not that he has a compassionate heart, but for two reasons. First, the more soldiers kill, the more rewards they will receive. Even if there are mountains of gold, silver, and copper mountains, tons of copper ore and gold mines are transported to Qingzhou Wharf and sent to the Mint Supervisor.
Even if you make money, you can't afford to squander it like this.
Second, it is not easy to massacre on a large scale in the cold weapon era, but too many people die, which may lead to a rampant plague. In that case, it will not be tens of thousands or tens of thousands of deaths, but tens, millions or even tens of millions of deaths.
Even if you are not careful, you may be infected with the plague.
Therefore, in order to prevent the imperial court from giving out too many rewards and the danger of plague, Chen Mu strictly issued an order prohibiting the killing of prisoners.
After all, it is much better to capture prisoners and force them to work in farming and mining than to kill them directly.
Under such iron laws of the battlefield, the war soon turned into a pursuit. Guan Yu personally led the pursuit and pursued it for a day and a night before he stopped his troops and returned to clean up the battlefield.
After the Battle of Yong County, the officers and soldiers counted their merits and killed nearly 10,000 people and captured tens of thousands. The heads and corpses were piled up like mountains. Except for the corpses of our own people, which were left to be registered and buried, all the corpses of the enemy were burned.
, to avoid the occurrence of plague.
Fortunately, the slaves produced a lot of oil. After the war, the army spent several days just sorting out the corpses and digging mass graves. The oil was spilled and burned for three days and three nights. There was a burning smell over the entire Yongxian city.
The smell of corpses is disgusting.
Just when Guan Yu defeated the Xiliang army in Yong County, Duan Yan, who was stationed in Chencang, repelled the invading Zhang Lu army of Hanzhong. At the same time, Xu Huang of Qixian County also repelled the Xiliang army who came from Anding Linjing.
military.
This battle in Guanzhong can be said to be a complete victory.
Half a month later, taking advantage of this momentum, Guan Yu personally led his troops to go on an expedition. He defeated Han Sui again in Long County and expelled him from Longguandao.
Through the passage, troops can enter Xiliang at any time and sweep across Longxi.