Yi Song

Chapter 265 War on the Grassland
The spies and guides led Wang Yan, Fang Tianbao, Wang Buddha and their group and quietly ran up a hill.

The terrain here is not high, and there are clusters of small trees growing in the east and west. In the Mobei grasslands, trees are rare. It is needed to build high-wheel vehicles, felt bags, barrels, and other tools.

They are very precious. Not to mention being used as firewood, the tools they made are also passed down from generation to generation as family heirlooms. It is difficult for trees on the grassland to grow tall. Trees that grow to a certain height are regarded as gods descended from the immortal sky.

There are many piles of stones piled around the trees on this mountain, which are unique items used by local herdsmen to pray for blessings.

Standing on the hill, you can see the flat land in front of you as far as the eye can see. The green grass is like the boundless sea, and the two opposing cavalry, dark and gray, are like the endless waves rolling on the sea.

There are about 20,000 cavalrymen in the southeast. The front is flying a huge red tiger flag, and behind them are the four hexagram flags of Qian, Kun, Dui and Zhen.

The armor is bright, the flags are like a forest, and the equipment and spirit are completely different from the cavalry on the opposite side.

There are about 30,000 cavalrymen in the northwest. Most of them were wearing the unique clothing and hats of the Tatars, and they had all kinds of swords, guns, bows and arrows, and they all looked like old items that had been passed down for generations.

There were not many flags, only a dozen or so flags, and the rest were messy flags of different sizes made of ox tail, sheep tail, cowhide, and sheepskin.

The two armies were less than four miles apart.

But after thinking about it, the more I thought about it, the more confused I became, so I shook my head, threw all the thoughts out of my mind, calmed down, and watched the battle between the two armies.

Some people in the coalition cavalry formation couldn't stand the provocation, so they separated a group of cavalry, about four to five thousand riders, and chased after the vanguard cavalry in a showy manner.

Standing on the hillock, Fang Tianbao watched carefully. The flag-shaking cavalry and the vanguard cavalry, one behind the other, like Tai Chi yin and yang fish, turned into a huge circle and surrounded the coalition cavalry.

The two cavalrymen were less than a hundred steps apart. One was running desperately, the other was chasing desperately, biting head to tail. I saw horse hooves flying on the grassland, dust flying, turning into gray smoke pillars, floating in the air.

The vanguard cavalry was not interested in fighting. After shooting for a while, they galloped away.

Standing on the hill, I saw the two teams running out of the battlefield between the two armies, turning around a hillside, making a large circle, and arriving at a mountain col one after the other.

As if emerging from the ground, a group of cavalry with the Zhen Gua flag numbered about five or six thousand. He quickly ran down the ridge on the right. The vanguard cavalry, which had been fleeing in front, suddenly turned around and turned to the enemy's left side.

After a while, the flag-shaking cavalry on the right rushed forward, gently cut off the head of the coalition cavalry, and then turned to the left; the vanguard cavalry on the left went in the opposite direction, and the front turned and gently cut off the head. Slant the rear of the Union cavalry, then turn to the right.

Less than 500 paces into the enemy's position, the vanguard cavalry turned around and moved parallel. Three thousand cavalrymen drew their bows and set arrows, and fired at the coalition cavalry who was less than a hundred steps away from the side.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, a dozen trumpeters from the Red Tiger Cavalry took out their horns and blew the horns.

Fang Tianbao was a little nervous. He had traveled all over the country and had seen a lot, but he had never seen a scene of tens of thousands of soldiers and horses fighting to the death.

Arrows flew randomly, shooting the coalition cavalry into chaos.

Rhythmic trumpets sounded, and a vanguard cavalry force was separated from the cavalry. About three thousand people gathered into a torrent and rushed towards the coalition cavalry on the opposite side.

It was noon at this time, and the sun was covered by a group of dark clouds, but it could not completely cover it. Golden rays of light shot out from around the dark clouds, like countless curtain beads hanging down.

He grabbed the reins tightly, his eyes widened, and he looked at the two armies in the distance. He couldn't help but think about it, how should I fight if it were me?
Attacking left and right, blooming in the middle?
Advance on multiple fronts, encircle and intercept?
Fang Tianbao rummaged through his mind and dug out some allusions from the art of war books he had read in his mind, the military deeds he had heard in battles, and even the speech passages he heard in the Goulan Teahouse.

They galloped on their horses and drew their bows and arrows.

The dust was flying, and the coalition cavalry surrounded by the two cavalrymen were like a group of headless flies. They were surrounded by two cavalrymen and shot at random. People screamed and horses neighed, and people kept falling off their horses.

From time to time, small groups of cavalry rushed out of the two cavalry groups that were circling around, wielding sabers and lances, and wiped out the small groups of coalition cavalry scattered outside. Knife in the east, knife in the west, like a sharp blade, constantly cutting the dough, making the originally large dough thinner and thinner. The two cavalrymen spinning around were like ropes around their necks, pulling tighter and tighter.

At a certain critical point, as the trumpet sounded, the two cavalry forces separated from the main force and divided into several branches. Like seven or eight sharp knives, they strangled the few remaining coalition cavalry until they were dripping with blood.

There are also two thousand cavalry, slowing down and cruising outside to guard. Any coalition cavalry who was lucky enough to escape would be shot and slashed by them, and either annihilated or beaten back.

In less than half an hour, the four to five thousand coalition cavalry who followed were wiped out. The Red Tiger Cavalry took away the unharmed horses and the surrendered prisoners, leaving corpses all over the ground and quickly disappeared.

Fang Tianbao was stunned. It took him a long time to come back to his senses and ask the spies and guides.

"Are the Mobei cavalry always so brave and elite?"

The guide replied meaningfully: "Before, the Mobei cavalry was brave and resolute, just like the coalition cavalry. After following the commander, he followed the orders and restrained them like an arm.

In the past, they were composed of individual wolves, but now, they are composed of groups of wolves. "

Wang Yan on the side nodded in agreement: "Yes, ten thousand cavalry who cooperate and cooperate can defeat ten thousand cavalry who fight independently, and they can be captured easily. The coalition cavalry seems to have the advantage in numbers, but they come from more than a dozen tribes. Each has its own leader, who is temporarily pinched together.

Wanting them to obey orders and advance and retreat in a controlled manner is wishful thinking. This is their fatal weakness. The Commander-in-Chief has grasped this point and tried it just now. The coalition forces are unorganized and undisciplined, and even more disorganized than we imagined. Presumably Jieshuai will launch an attack soon. "

Soon, as the horn sounded, 10,000 cavalrymen were fired from the left wing of the Red Tiger Cavalry. They rushed towards the right wing of the coalition cavalry and quickly fought together.

I saw more than 20,000 cavalry fighting together, blood and flesh flying everywhere, it was very tragic. But the strange thing is that the cavalry on the center and left wings of the coalition army seemed to be shrinking and watching from the sidelines.

Wang Yan immediately saw the clues and asked: "Which tribe is on the left wing of the coalition cavalry?"

The spy looked at it and replied affirmatively: "It's the three tribes of Menggu Qiyan, Taichiwu, and Talie. They have nearly ten thousand young men. They really have spent all their money."

Fang Tianbao also understood the meaning, "The three tribes of Menggu Qiyan, Tai Chiwu, and Talie hate the Zhenwu Department the most. If they start a war with the Song Dynasty Zhenwu Department coalition led by Jieshuai, they will definitely try their best. Jieshuai sends troops. To fight against other members of the coalition forces, Qiyan's three tribes will definitely help each other to the death, just to defeat our army.

Now that the Commander-in-Chief sends troops to attack them directly, the coalition forces nearby will hesitate to move forward. After all, they don't have that much hatred against the Zhenwu Department and the Song Dynasty. If you are not forced into a life-and-death situation, you will definitely not fight to the death.

Chaoshuai really sees through people's hearts. "

Seeing that the other soldiers and horses of the various coalition forces were hesitant to move forward, with the sound of a horn, a group of red tiger cavalry rushed out from the flank and joined the melee with the three Qiyan tribes. The rest of the Red Tiger Cavalry slowly moved forward, making the other coalition forces, which were already hesitant, even more afraid to act rashly.

More than half an hour later, the 20,000 red tiger cavalry defeated Qiyan's three troops, killing and wounding more than 8,000 cavalry.

The victorious Red Tiger Cavalry took advantage of the victory to pursue and stormed the Meili Jibu, the leader of the alliance's formation.

The leaders of Meili's Jibu, Tuotuolian and Chahun, originally had reservations about forming an alliance to fight the Red Tiger Cavalry. Seeing tens of thousands of red tiger cavalry charging towards him menacingly, he hesitated for a moment, turned around and ran away with his men.

If there is one, there are two; if there are two, there are four.

Soon, all the coalition forces collapsed. The red tiger cavalry army was divided into dozens of troops and horses, chasing the scattered troops and horses.

The overall situation has been decided, another victory!
Wang Yan said happily.

(End of this chapter)