Li Guangbi ordered the seven armies to form a six-flower formation, with the Chinese army in the center and six square formations distributed on the left and right. No matter which direction the Hexi Army attacked from, the Chinese army could support it as quickly as possible, so it was the most capable of both offense and defense.
Good formation.
Li Siye ordered Tian Zhen and Bai Xiaode to attack the Liuhua formation from the left and right directions, waiting for an opportunity to use the impact of the war horses to defeat the Tang army. Li Guangbi himself was quite good at stabilizing the formation, and ordered each formation separately to avoid any retreating and fleeing troops.
Killing the front team and the general in the middle army made it clear that they would fight to the death with the Hexi Army.
The front rows of the square formation on his left and right raised their shields and spears, and the dozen or so rows behind him each held their bows, arrows, and powerful crossbows, and fired arrows at the left wing of the flying tiger cavalry that was flying towards them on fast horses.
Tian Zhen led the cavalry on horseback to avoid the flying arrows. When the horse rushed towards the cold light spear thrust out from the shield array, it automatically slowed down. He held the horse's rein tightly with one hand and quickly avoided it, holding the right hand.
He used his horse to kill one of the shield-wielding warriors, but someone quickly came up as a substitute and set up the spear without flinching at all.
The Flying Tiger Cavalry's attack was like peeling potatoes, using the advantage of the horse's long spear to kill the enemy's front row, but the rear quickly replaced them, and the Tang army's powerful crossbows continued to consume the Flying Tiger Cavalry's strength.
Seeing that the two flying tiger cavalry attacks were not making progress, Li Siye decisively waved the flag and ordered them to retreat. Tian Zhen was quite upset and was about to lead the cavalry to charge again. Li Siye ordered people to beat the cymbals again.
They had no choice but to gather up the left cavalry in frustration and return to the main formation of the Flying Tiger Cavalry.
He came to Li Siye's horse and crossed his arms, lowered his head and said gloomily: "My lord, in order for me to retreat, the courage of these Tang troops is not iron-clad. As long as they charge twice more, they will definitely be able to defeat the Liuhua Formation."
Li Siye shook his head while holding the riding whip and said: "Flying Tiger Cavalry is my hard work and it is valuable. One less horse and one less person is equivalent to losing a piece of meat. They should not be wasted in such a battle. Besides, Shuofang Army's Liuhua Formation is ready.
Naturally, we can’t force it.”
He ordered the three armies: "We lead the cavalry to retreat slowly, leaving two Tang cavalry teams on each side to monitor nearby. No matter whether the enemy troops are retreating or advancing, they must maintain their formation, just like migrating sheep, they must keep up with the team at all times.
Once you are alone, you will become the prey of tigers and wolves. It is easy for a team to stabilize its formation, but it is difficult to maintain the formation at all times. You must always be careful not to expose any flaws."
Not long after the Flying Tiger Cavalry retreated, Li Guangbi rode out of the formation and stood on the top of a mountain not far away. He saw five or six small groups of flexible cavalry scattered around the Liuhua Formation. His face instantly darkened.
The position where he led his army was still a hundred miles away from Mianchi in front and a hundred miles away from the county seat behind, so he was unable to occupy favorable terrain. He would inevitably be monitored by enemy cavalry along the way, which for him was equivalent to
Dilemma.
After Li Guangbi thought about it for a long time, he decided to move forward. However, he was not crazy or arrogant. It was just that no matter whether he advanced or retreated, Li Siye's flying tiger cavalry would follow him like flies. Moreover, he had a back-up move, Pu Gu.
The 7,000 Huihe troops led by Wynn were conducting a sneak attack on the Hexi Army's heavy artillery battalion behind enemy lines. Once he succeeded in cutting off the enemy's food and fodder, it was not impossible for him to win.
Shuofang's army advanced steadily. In order to prevent being attacked by the enemy, he ordered each army to have one meal a day and then set up camp to rest after dark.
When he ordered each army to set up camp, they also arranged it strictly according to the formation. They dug trenches and set up rafts to prevent the enemy from stealing the camp. The soldiers lay down in armor and turned a blind eye at all times, so that they could indeed neutralize the attack.
It is in an invincible position, but it consumes a lot of physical strength of the soldiers.
…
After Yan Xiaosi received the military order from Li Siye ahead, he immediately stopped marching and stationed all the artillery battalions in Xin'an County. Han Haijun and the auxiliary troops set up camp here relying on the county town, and they were integrated with the county town.
Pugu Huai'en led the Huihe army to attack Xin'an. He thought he saw the artillery camp and baggage of the Hexi Army in progress, but he did not expect that the other party shrank back, which made him unable to swallow.
Huaien came with great ambitions, how could he return without success? Moreover, the Huihe soldiers under his command were not his troops, but the soldiers of his son-in-law, Prince Huihe. During this period, Weng and his son-in-law got along quite happily.
, but Pugu Huaien also felt embarrassed inside.
Since the Uighurs entered the Central Plains, they have only assisted the Tang army in a few small battles, but have not won any key victories in key battles. The son-in-law of the Uighurs really wanted to save face for his father-in-law, so he crossed his arms on his horse and said: "
Father, there is no need to worry. My Huihe cavalry is not only good at fighting in the field, but also good at attacking enemy camps. I promise you that we will capture this small Xin'an County town before sunset so that you can go back and communicate with Li Situ conveniently."
Wynn wanted to refuse, but Li Guangbi's aloof and indifferent face was printed in his mind. Although that man would not put his inner thoughts on his face, his respect for others depends on his performance. He didn't want to put his own in the first battle.
I lost my face and had no choice but to wave my riding crop and say, "Then give him a little beating."
The Uighur Army paid a heavy price for this sentence. They charged at the Hexi Army's Mupai camp three times in a row, but were all shot back with powerful crossbows by Han Haijun who was guarding it. Yan Xiaosi's artillery camp was already quite short of ammunition, but it was also
When the Uighur cavalry approached, it was ignited, and the iron fragments in the barrel flew out, knocking the approaching enemy horses to the ground.
The Uighur army retreated after five consecutive attacks. Duan Xiushi found an opportunity and led the Han navy cavalry to attack and pursued the enemy for more than thirty miles. Pugu Huai'en retreated all the way around Mianchi and retreated to Sanmenxia.
During the retreat, Pugu Huaien did not forget Li Guangbi, but his old face really had no place to stand. He only sent one person to report to Li Guangbi who was in a dilemma, and said that he had led the Huihe army to retreat to the county seat after his defeat.
Li Guangbi angrily threw the official document in his hand on the ground and said loudly: "How can he abandon our army without caring about his face? He held the Uighur cavalry in his hand and fled back to the county alone. Do you know that our tens of thousands of brothers in the Shuofang army are because of him?"
Defeat and get into trouble?"
The generals around him were silent. Feng Changqing looked up at him and chose not to speak.
Li Guangbi glanced at everyone, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said with a kind smile: "Don't worry, everyone. Although our army has been constantly harassed by the Flying Tiger Cavalry recently, the overall strength is still strong. Now the Tang Army's logistics and artillery battalions are
Without any losses, our attack has no meaning, so retreating in time to prevent losses is what we should do now."
Feng Changqing stood below and nodded secretly, breathing a sigh of relief quietly.
Another tooth soldier under his command said: "Hurry up and follow the Uighur envoy sent by Pugu Huai'en to the county seat to find him. Tell him that our army is retreating slowly and we need him to lead the Lingbao garrison and Uighur army.
Respond."
The soldier got on his horse and quickly followed the Uighur envoy towards the county town.
Now Li Guangbi only has the main force of Shuofang's army beside him, and there are very few cavalry under his command. Now Li Siye's flying tiger cavalry is watching nearby, and he can only retreat slowly and step by step, just like a traveler who suddenly breaks into the forest, facing the dangers around him.
, he could only hold the weapon, tighten his nerves, and retreat slowly. If he made even the slightest mistake, the surrounding jackals would pounce on him and bite his neck off.
In war, the positions of hunter and prey are often exchanged, and initiative and passivity are also often switched. Once the army falls into passivity, it is very difficult to gain the initiative.
Li Siye only used a small group of cavalry to harass Li Guangbi, while the rest of the troops led their horses in hot pursuit. Usually, when only about a hundred cavalry were approaching, tens of thousands of troops were required to form a defensive formation. The energy and physical strength of Shuofang's army were severely exhausted, and Li Siye was extremely worried.
Eun was regarded as the last straw by Li Guangbi.
At noon on May 3, the second year of Qianyuan, Li Siye decided not to play the cat and mouse game and took the initiative to lead the flying tiger cavalry to attack the Tang army. He, Tian Zhen, and Bai Xiaode each led a detachment to attack the Liuhua Formation from three directions. The Tang army was killed.
At first, they thought this was just a small group of flying tiger cavalry attacking, but the thousands of cavalry following the hundreds of cavalry came rushing in, completely cutting off their hopes and illusions.