The Uighur army ran at high intensity for two consecutive days, covering more than 400 miles in one breath. It was not until spies discovered the main enemy force thirty miles ahead that the 30,000 Uighur army slowed down.
Hedun Modagan, the chief general of the Uighur army, was about fifty years old. He had led troops to fight against the Tibetan army in Tochara for a long time. Now that he was a little older, he retired from the army and became a civilian official, taking up the post of deputy prime minister.
This time the Khan took a fancy to his rich combat experience and ordered him to lead the 30,000 troops of the Yaoluoge tribe to fight against the invading Tang army.
Hedun Modagan was still a little worried. The main reason was that the army he commanded was the Yaoluoge tribe, which was known as the army of the royal family. Many of the captains among them were named Yaoluoge, which was the descendants of the Uighur royal family.
Among the four kings of the Yaoluoge tribe, in addition to Jinhe King Ute who commanded five thousand troops to protect the Khan, the other three kings include Xiongshuo King Wanmei, Ningshuo King Changjin, and Jingmo King Luole. These three Uighur kings are also the three kings of the Yaoluoge tribe.
All the captains of ten thousand men followed him on the expedition.
These Huihe generals are all arrogant and arrogant. It is hard to say whether they can obey their own orders. Especially Basil, who thinks he is the uncle of the Khan. He never takes himself seriously and does not listen to orders at all. He always does whatever he wants. He Dun
Modagan has a very big head.
For example, last night I asked the army to rest for the night, but the three captains of ten thousand refused to agree and still had to march all night. Now the troops are tired and the enemy is thirty miles away. This really makes Hedun Modagan deeply annoyed. At this time
No matter how much you criticize them, it won't help; you have to make up for it.
"The army stops moving forward and rest where it is!"
Hedun Modagan had no choice but to hurry up and let everyone rest for a while before the Tang army arrived.
At this time, one of his subordinates said to Hedun Modagan: "Things are a bit strange. Two days ago, Khan received an express report that the enemy troops were four hundred and fifty miles away. They are still at this distance now. In two days, they have not been in the same place."
move?"
This is a bit strange, but it can be explained. The Tang army is waiting for logistical supplies. Three hundred miles north from here, there are basically no herdsmen.
At this time, Jingmo King Basil stepped forward and said dissatisfiedly: "Prime Minister, why did the army stop?"
Hedun Modagan restrained his anger and explained: "The army has been running for two days and two nights, and the men and horses are exhausted. How can we fight the Tang army if we take a rest?"
"The Prime Minister doesn't understand war at all. The key to fighting a large army is to work hard, carry the power of bravery, and defeat the opponent with one force. Either you had a good rest last night, but if you rest now, not only will you not be able to restore your physical strength, but you will become even more tired, and the soldiers will be even more tired.
Rebuilding yourself is a self-destructive strategy."
Hedun Modagan was furious and scolded Basil: "Last night I asked the soldiers to rest, but you refused and insisted on marching. Now you want to blame me?"
The other two captains of ten thousand men, Xiongshuo Wang Wanmei and Ningshuo Wang Changjin, quickly stepped forward to persuade them that there should be no internal chaos at this time.
At this moment, a low horn sound came from the distance, ‘Woo——’
The main force of the 20,000 Tang army led by Guo Song appeared ten miles away. Everyone ignored the quarrel and ordered the army to mount their horses and prepare for battle.
Guo Song used weak troops to hide his strength, and finally attracted the 30,000 cavalry from the Huihe headquarters. He still challenged with 20,000 troops, while Yao Jin's 20,000 troops detoured behind the enemy, and Li Bing's 20,000 troops detoured behind the enemy.
To the east and west is the Hungu Water. In summer, the water volume is very large, the river is dozens of feet wide, and the water is deep and rapid.
This is why Guo Song decided to arrange the battlefield near the Hungu River. The surging river water saved them 20,000 troops.
Now the biggest advantage of Guo Song's army is that he knows the details of the enemy's army, but the enemy does not know their strength. Since he has set a trap, Guo Song simply makes the trap as perfect as possible.
The team stopped three miles away and quickly formed a military formation. In front were 10,000 crossbow troops, and behind were 10,000 cavalry. The trap was in the crossbow corps, with 3,000 heavy armored infantry hidden inside.
The crossbow troops trained by Guo Song were never just crossbow troops. They also served as other branches of the military, either sword and shield troops or spear infantry. Today's crossbow troops are spear infantry, and their actual role is
Protect three thousand heavily armored Mo Dao troops.
Three thousand heavily armored Mo Dao soldiers were now hiding in the crossbow formation. They were squatting half-crouched on the ground with their long swords placed on the ground. The dense crossbow soldiers in front obscured their figures.
At this time, Hedun Modagan also saw the opponent's troop formation clearly. He was a little hesitant. Decades of experience told him that the layout of the Tang army was very unreasonable. The crossbowmen actually accounted for half of the total force.
They were all open at 28%, and 30% of the crossbowmen were a bit too much, but the opponent had 10,000 crossbowmen. There must be a trick here, but he couldn't see where the opponent's trap was?
The 30,000-strong army was eager to attack, but the three captains of 10,000 were impatient. They were eager to destroy each other with a powerful impact.
"Woo——" Jingmo King Basil took the lead in blowing the attack horn.
Basil brandished his spear and shouted: "Kill!"
"Kill--"
Ten thousand troops took the lead in launching their attack, and thousands of troops rushed towards the Tang army three miles away.
Hedun Modagan was shocked. It was Basil again. This man actually didn't take him seriously at all.
The other two captains of ten thousand were a little more rational, and they hurriedly stepped forward to persuade: "Prime Minister, the matter has come to this, there is only an impact!"
Hedun Modagan gritted his teeth and said: "Each of the two armies will leave five thousand troops, and the other armies will attack!"
The trumpet continued to sound, and another 10,000 troops were killed. Twenty thousand troops rushed towards the Tang army like an overwhelming mountain. Dust was flying in the sky, as if the mountains were collapsing and the earth was cracking. It was shocking.
The crossbowmen of the Tang Army were motionless, but as dignified as a mountain. Each crossbow arrow pointed upward at a 45-degree angle. The effect of their experience in hundreds of battles and cruel training was fully demonstrated at this moment. They did not panic at all and waited patiently.
The enemy troops came forward to fight.
Three hundred steps...two hundred steps...one hundred and fifty steps, the war drums beat, 'Boom! Boom! Boom!' The drum sound was rapid and powerful.
The crossbow soldier held the crossbow with one hand, flicked the fire stick with the other hand, and lit the match of the paper fire mine at the front of the arrow shaft. The paper fire mine was an inch-long tube, a bit like a firecracker, but more powerful than a firecracker.
They no longer had to wait for orders and fired one after another. Seven thousand crossbow bolts were shot into the sky intensively, emitting white smoke and shooting overwhelmingly at the approaching enemy cavalry.
The Uighur cavalry raised their shields to meet the crossbow bolts. They were the royal army and were equipped with the best equipment. Leather armor, spears, swords, and shields were not only complete in variety, but also of high quality.
But what they encountered was not ordinary crossbow bolts, but fire-thunder crossbows specially equipped to deal with cavalry. The crossbow bolts exploded intensively in the team, and the one with the greatest impact was not the soldiers, but the war horses.
The horses were frightened and began to neigh and run around, losing control. This is the first taboo for cavalry attacks. Twenty thousand cavalry galloped and the team was very dense. The powerful cavalry inertia could not be stopped at all. The team must be highly unified, which requires cavalry.
You must have strong horse control capabilities and cannot stagnate or lose control of your horse, otherwise it will cause extremely serious consequences.
However, the fire and thunder arrows of the Tang army had the effect of disturbing the war horses. Thousands of war horses were frightened and either accelerated and ran wildly, or stopped, or ran around in the team.
I saw horses falling down one by one, while the cavalry behind them rushed forward without stopping, trampling on the horses and cavalry on the ground, and continued to advance.
One round of fire and thunder arrows caused the enemy to lose 3,000 soldiers, but at this time, the enemy was already 70 steps away. The war drums of the Tang Army sounded again, and the crossbow soldiers retreated one after another, shouldering their crossbows and picking up their spears.
, they transformed into a spear army.
Three thousand heavy-armored infantrymen suddenly appeared at the front of the team holding Mo knives. They squatted half-crouched on the ground, the handles of their knives touching the ground, standing still. A flash of sword light appeared in front of them, forming a terrifying forest of knives.
The cavalry at the front screamed in fear. They waved their spears desperately, trying to open a way out, but the long swords did not move at all. The cavalry were like big waves hitting the rocks, and the waves suddenly broke.
The Mo Dao pierced one corpse after another, causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere. The corpses instantly piled up into a long wall. The cavalry behind them jumped onto the pile of corpses and attacked the heavy armored infantry below.
The heavy armored infantry fought fiercely while retreating, keeping distance. They were like a wall of swords, blocking the cavalry's attack.
Immediately afterwards, the horn of the Tang army sounded again, ‘Woo——’
At the sound of the trumpet, ten thousand cavalry rushed out from the left and right, like two sharp swords, cutting into both sides of the enemy army.