Han officials

Chapter 243 Neither Hu nor Han [12]

Seeing this scene before him, Budugen, who was protected by layers of shields, had a gloomy expression.

It's happening again; he hates these kinds of "surprises"!
However, from Wei Zhe's perspective, the scene before him was far from a surprise.

Despite the fact that the nomadic peoples on the grasslands are often portrayed as unparalleled horsemen and archers, very few of them are actually skilled at riding and drawing a bow.

Most of the time, the nomadic people on the grasslands seem to ride horses swiftly, but when they shoot arrows, they either dismount and shoot from a standstill.

It was only because the Hu people had been hunting foxes and rabbits with bows since childhood that they had developed excellent archery skills, which is why the number and quality of archers on the northern grasslands far exceeded those in the Han territory.

Thus, mounted archery became the greatest strength of the steppe armies.

Young people in later generations, misled by movies and TV dramas, can never imagine how difficult it was to draw a bow and shoot arrows on a warhorse at high speed in an era without double stirrups and high-bridged saddles!
Because this requires three things to be done:

First, one needs to maintain balance forward, backward, left, and right while riding a galloping warhorse;
Secondly, one can free one's hands and simply use one's legs to control a galloping horse;
Finally, do both of the above, and then draw your bow and shoot!
These three seemingly simple requirements could only be met by four or five thousand men under Budugen's command.

In reality, let alone double-sided stirrups, the Xianbei army probably didn't even have single-sided stirrups.

After all, even the Han army used to regard single-sided stirrups as women's horse tack, let alone the Hu people on the grasslands.

The more proud a knight is of his own riding skills, the more likely he is to refuse to use a single stirrup.

However, on the other hand, Budugen did want to learn from the Han people, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough craftsmen in time.

If Wei Zhe had given him another six months, the Xianbei army in front of him would probably have undergone a complete transformation.

But for now, let's just obediently accept the rain of arrows from the Han army!

Fortunately, both armies' horses were fast, so it didn't take three arrows; after two volleys of arrows, the two sides were already locked in a bloody battle.

A deafening roar was heard, like a flash flood crashing against a dam, and blood splattered and scattered in the air.

The sounds of breathing, roaring, clashing metal, and the pounding of hooves filled the battlefield, creating a cacophony of noise.

However, amidst the raging torrent, the Han cavalry on the left wing, clad in iron armor and led by Zhao Yun, still managed to overwhelm the Xianbei army in front of them, with countless Hu people falling from their horses in the blink of an eye amidst the barrage of spears and halberds.

Treading on the path paved with the corpses of the barbarians, Zhao Yun on the left flank charged straight through the enemy formation.

As for the 10,000 cavalry on the right flank, they were a step behind Zhao Yun and broke through the formation a moment later.

Then the two armies switched directions, with the former going left and the latter going right, and they even used the horse archery that the nomadic people of the grasslands were best at to greet them.

Amidst wave after wave of arrows, countless Xianbei people fell, their faces filled with humiliation.

To be defeated by the enemy using the very methods they are most proud of is perhaps the greatest humiliation for them!

But Budugen paid no attention to any of that and charged straight at Wei Zhe's central army.

He treated Wei Zhe the same way he had treated him at the gates of the surrendered city.

At that moment, at this moment.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed as if their positions had been switched.

Unfortunately, Wei Zhe refused to engage Budugen in battle, instead staying close to the edge of Budugen's central army.

Even when they occasionally clashed, it was always just a brief encounter; their main strategy was to flirt without ever sleeping together.

In just a short while, Budugen, who was already burning with anger, went completely berserk.

With Wei Zhe on his mind and in his eyes, he stuck to Wei Zhe like a leech.

Thus, Wei Zhe used only four thousand personal cavalry to tie down Budugen's central army, preventing him from paying attention to other matters. Furthermore, during the provocation, Wei Zhe's personal cavalry continuously added fuel to the fire with counter-attack arrows.

This tactic actually has a more common name: the "Mangudai tactic".

Unfortunately, even though Wei Zhe's army was equipped with the three treasures of cavalry, the "returning arrow" was still a difficult archery technique, and currently only Wei Zhe's personal cavalry could barely master it.

Gradually, the battlefield at the foot of Langjuxu Mountain split into two parts.

On one side, Budugen led the central army to overwhelm Wei Zhe with superior numbers.

No, to be precise, Wei Zhe was using the "Mangudai tactic" to outmaneuver Budugen.

On the other side, Zhao Yun and Yan Rou led the Han army on the left and right flanks, circling and shooting back and forth.

Because they were always on the move, even though the Xianbei had more archers, they ended up at a disadvantage in the mounted archery contest and unknowingly fell into a defensive position as time went by.

"An eye for an eye" is perhaps the best description of this great battle.

As time passed by, before we knew it, the sun was high in the sky.

At this moment, the two battlefields are far apart due to their movement, and they can no longer see each other.

But Budugen wasn't worried at all; in fact, he believed the scales of victory were already tipping in his favor.

After all, the terrifying Xuanjia heavy cavalry was on their side, while Fu Luohan and the others only needed to deal with the ordinary Han soldiers.

Fifty thousand cavalry against ordinary twenty-five thousand cavalry, even if they cannot win, they should not be defeated.

As for his side, needless to say, because Wei Zhe's personal cavalry always kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far, and circled around, Budugen had the illusion that he could catch up with a little effort.

In fact, in order not to give that Xuanjia cavalry any time to prepare, Budugen dared not relax.

Even though Xianbei cavalrymen were frequently hit by arrows and fell from their horses during the pursuit, Budugen never changed his mind.

It should be noted that the 20,000 cavalrymen he led were the elite of the central Xianbei.

They were all elite troops; with 20,000 men against 4,000, his chances of winning were even greater than on the western front.

In Budugen's view, as long as he beheaded Wei Zhe, it wouldn't matter if they lost the western battlefield.

At that time, he only needs to hang his head in front of the army, and the remaining Han army will surely suffer a great loss of morale and chaos.

In this way, the fruits of victory will naturally be within easy reach!

In contrast, Wei Zhe wasn't so confident at the moment.

Perhaps it was because his subordinates were not skilled enough, or perhaps the requirements of the "Mangudai tactics" were too high, but in any case, the actual combat performance of these four thousand elite cavalry was just so-so.

Of course, it could also be a matter of time.

After all, the "Mangudai" tactic is essentially a war of attrition that uses retreat as a means of advance. It involves cavalry feigning a rout to lure the enemy out of their formation and pursue them, and then using maneuver to encircle and annihilate the enemy.

The initial luring phase is quite quick, usually involving small-scale harassment and rapid retreats to gradually provoke the enemy and stretch their battle lines. However, the attrition phase is much more grueling, mainly relying on the advantage of mounted archery to continuously weaken the pursuing forces.

Once an opportunity arises, a battle that could last for days or even months could be resolved in the blink of an eye during a counterattack.

In other words, Wei Zhe chose an excellent opportunity; otherwise, it would have been virtually impossible for the Han army to gain an advantage in cavalry archery against the steppe armies.

(End of this chapter)