Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 144 The Rus' were fierce, but the Mongols were even fiercer!
The Rus' secretly calculated that the Kipchaks, in order to deal with the Mongols, had allied with both the Asud and the Rus', demonstrating that the Mongols were indeed difficult to handle. However, weren't the conscripted soldiers essentially Rus' serfs? What fighting power did they possess?
They immediately proposed to be responsible for attacking the unit under Zhao Shuo with the largest number of conscripted soldiers.

This request is reasonable.

Of the Asud, Kipchaks, and Rus' people, the Asud are undoubtedly the strongest in terms of combat power.

For millennia, countless Assyrians have left their homeland to serve as mercenaries in various countries around the world. They once guarded the frontiers of the Roman Empire and served as Attila's vanguard. Today, several Assyrians can still be found among the elite cavalry of European nations.

The Kipchaks and Rus's fighting strength was roughly the same, but upon closer examination, the Rus's were slightly weaker.

Therefore, among the three-race allied forces, the Rus' were actually the weakest.

The Rus' wanted to attack the army under Zhao Shuo with the most conscripts, and the Kipchaks and Assudans could not object.

However, even the wise Kipchak Altai Bek didn't know which of Zhao Shuo's troops had the most conscripted soldiers. But upon closer examination, both the Mongol and Han armies were brought by Zhao Shuo from the distant East. The Khwarazmian army was formed later, and even if it didn't have the most conscripted soldiers, it should have been the weakest in terms of combat strength.

Therefore, the three tribes decided that the Rus' people would deal with the Khwarazmian army.

The Kipchaks dealt with the Han army.

The Asuts fought against the Mongol army.

Central Asians and East Asians have obvious physical differences and are very easy to distinguish.

The Mongol army was definitely positioned in the center.

At that time, we can adjust our own army's formation according to the Mongol army's formation.

However, the Asut and Kipchak people had already fought against Jochi's Mongol army and knew that the Asut's 50,000 troops were probably no match for the Mongol army. Therefore, they agreed to wait until they had won on both flanks before joining forces with the Asut to eliminate the Mongol army.

Zhao Shuo and Jochi's troop deployment was roughly as the three-tribe allied forces had predicted.

Zhao Shuo's main force of 15,000 troops and Jochi's 22,000 troops, totaling 3,700 troops, formed the central army.

The 59,000 troops of the Han Army Eight Banners formed the left wing, and were commanded by Shi Tianni, the commander of the Plain Yellow Banner of the Han Army Eight Banners.

The Khwarazmian Five Banners, with 42,000 troops and the Baluk Battalion, with 5,000 troops, totaling 47,000 troops, formed the right wing, which was commanded by Wu Xian, the commander of the Plain Red Banner of Khwarazm.

Opposite the Khwarazmian army was the Rus' army of 70,000.

"Haha, the Khwarazmian army looks to be less than 50,000, and there should be a lot of conscripts among them."

The Rus' "Grand Prince" Korgi said happily, "It seems that we Rus' people should be the first to win today's battle. Mitchel, now you lead the infantry to charge into the Khwarazmian army's formation. Don't let us Rus' people lose face!"

"understand!"

Michis Lao loudly agreed.

The Rus' army was very different from the armies of the Assud and the Kipchaks.

The Asu and Kipchaks are both genuine steppe people, and all their warriors are cavalry.

But the Rus' had many infantrymen in agricultural areas.

They now have 30,000 infantry and 40,000 cavalry.

Moreover, the Rus' fighting style was completely different from that of troops from other countries.

In short, it means "Charge in formation, don't be fussy, just get to work."

Regardless of whether the enemy force consisted of infantry or cavalry, they always sent their infantry in a direct charge, relentlessly attacking the enemy's vanguard. When the infantry could no longer advance, they used archers and cavalry to flank the enemy, engaging in prolonged hand-to-hand combat. Throughout this entire process, the role of bows and arrows was negligible.

Therefore, it was perfectly normal for Korkhi to order Michisila to lead the infantry in a charge.

Moreover, it must be stated that the most powerful entity among the Rus' principalities today is undoubtedly the nominal overlord of all Rus' people, the "Grand Duke" Korgi.

But the most formidable fighter was the ruler of the Duchy of Galicia, the "Prince" Michisila.

The Principality of Galicia was located on the border of the Rus'. Mitchell led the army of Galicia to defeat the Rus' long-time enemies, the Poles and Hungarians, and was highly respected among the Rus', who called him "the ever-victorious one".

Now, if this task of leading the infantry charge is not given to the "ever-victorious" Michisila, then who should be given it?

"kill!"

With a short, clear shout, 30,000 Rus' infantrymen, under the command of Mitchell, set out.

These 30,000 infantrymen were divided into three parts.

At the forefront were eight thousand infantrymen, all clad in lamellar armor, each wielding a massive, trapezoidal shield three feet and eight inches tall in their left hand and a six-pound Norse axe in their right.

The 21,000 infantrymen in the middle were all clad in leather armor, holding spears in their left hands and round oak shields, three feet in diameter and reinforced with iron bars, in their right hands.

Behind them were over a thousand archers, all clad in leather armor. Their primary mission was to provide arrow cover for the infantry in front. When the battle became stalemate, they would coordinate with the cavalry to launch attacks on the enemy from both flanks.

dong dong dong~~
The Rus' three-tiered infantry, each in neat square formation, advanced with heavy steps toward the Khwarazmian Five Banners.

"So reckless?"

Wu Xian had long anticipated that the five banners of Khwarazm would be the first to engage the enemy.
After all, among the left, center, and right wings, the right wing, where the Khwarazmian Five Banners were located, had the fewest members.

Moreover, as is well known, the Khwarazmian Five Banners were the newest troops formed by Zhao Shuo, and their combat strength was the weakest among Zhao Shuo's regular army. The enemy was very likely to use the right flank as a breakthrough point.

But Wu Xian really didn't expect that the Rus' would neither harass with cavalry nor probe with infantry archers, but instead charge straight in with a triple army of 30,000 infantrymen.

Moreover, the shield formation they deployed was actually quite well-organized.

"It seems these Rus' people are quite capable, but the Khwarazmian Five Banners are definitely stronger! Today is the day for my martial arts to be recorded in history!"

In such a crucial decisive battle, commanding tens of thousands of troops to defeat the main forces of nearly twenty Rus' nations would undoubtedly be recorded in history, filling Wu Xian with immense pride.

He swung his right hand down heavily and shouted, "Release!"

At Wu Xian's command, five hundred strongmen swung their hammers almost simultaneously, and five hundred crossbows fired almost at the same time!
That's right, five hundred ballistae.

Zhao Shuo originally had 800 ballistae, but sent 300 to Temujin, leaving only 500. Moreover, Zhao Shuo knew that the Khwarazmian army and the Balu camp on the right flank were the weakest, so he transferred all 500 ballistae to Wu Xian.

Whoosh whoosh!
At Wu Xian's command, three thousand five hundred arrows, each consisting of a spear and three swords, were fired almost simultaneously!
What kind of heavily armored warrior can withstand a critical hit from a single spear and three sword arrows?
What kind of giant shield could withstand a spear and three sword arrows?

No!

Absolutely not!

Moreover, in order to guard against the enemy's heavy cavalry charge, the Rus' heavy infantry formed a dense formation, which further aggravated their casualties!
Puff puff!
In an instant, more than four hundred Ross heavy infantrymen were hit by arrows and pinned to the ground!
"Kill, kill, kill!"

"dash forward!"

"Kill all the Tatar lackeys!"

……

If it were an army of another race, suddenly encountering such a terrifying attack from an unprecedented long-range weapon, they would surely be thrown into a panic.

However, the Rus' people, true to their reputation as a fighting nation, continued their relentless charge forward.

Then let's grant their wish!
"Shoot upwards!"

When the Rus' lamellar infantry were a hundred paces away from the five banners of Khwarazm, at the command of the Martial Emperor, his soldiers fired their arrows upwards!
The distance for an upward shot is much greater than that for a horizontal shot.

Whoosh whoosh!
More than 40,000 arrows rained down on the leather-armored soldiers behind the Rus' lamellar infantry. While they couldn't harm the lamellar warriors at the front, they posed a significant threat to the leather-armored soldiers behind them!

Puff puff!
A volley of fire from the five banners of Khwarazm caused at least four hundred casualties among the Rus' infantry!
Whoosh whoosh!
A thousand Rus' archers immediately retaliated, unleashing a hail of arrows at the Mongol army.

However, the Rus' people preferred close combat, and archers held a low status in their army, so their fighting ability was naturally weak. Furthermore, their numbers were small, and all the Khwarazmian bannermen wore iron armor, resulting in negligible casualties against the Khwarazmian bannermen.

Soon, the distance between the two sides was seventy paces.

Both sides fired another volley of crossbow bolts, inflicting over four hundred casualties on the Rus' leather-armored soldiers.

At fifty paces, the Khwarazmian Five Banners' divine crossbows unleashed their power!
The Shenbi bow has a length of three feet three inches, a string length of two feet five inches, and a range of over two hundred and forty steps. Within a hundred steps, it can penetrate heavy armor!

Normally, according to Wu Xian's habits, these crossbows should have been fired at a distance of eighty paces. However, the Rus' foremost foot soldiers were not only clad in lamellar armor but also carried massive shields, making their defenses too formidable. Wu Xian only gave the order to fire the crossbows at fifty paces.

By now, the Divine Arm Bow is no longer a rare find for Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Shuo issued three thousand divine crossbows to the five banners of Khwarazm.

Three thousand divine crossbows fired simultaneously, and another three hundred or so Rus' heavy infantrymen fell!

Thirty steps away.

Persian crossbow!

Although these crossbows captured from Khwarezm were not as powerful as the Divine Arm Bow, their power within a range of thirty paces was still considerable!
Three thousand Persian crossbows fired simultaneously, killing more than three hundred elite Rus' infantrymen!
At the same time, the five banners of Khwarazm launched a final volley of upward fire, causing more than four hundred casualties among the Rus' leather-armored infantry!

Before the two armies even clashed, the Rus' eight thousand lamellar infantrymen had already suffered over a thousand casualties!

In addition, the Khwarazmian warriors fired three rounds of upward-firing, causing casualties of 1,300 soldiers behind these lamellar infantry!
"Tatar lackeys, what sharp crossbows!"

Such heavy casualties secretly alarmed the skilled and experienced Michis, the old man.

But this only alarmed Michis, not enough to shake his confidence in victory.

The Rus' had never relied heavily on archers, preferring to achieve victory through close combat. Now, with nearly 28,000 of their 30,000 infantry remaining, the moment for close combat had arrived once more. In Mitchell's mind, the Rus' were still the more likely to win!

He shouted, "Put down shields, raise axes, charge! Slaughter all the Tartar dogs!"

"kill!"

Nearly seven thousand lamellar infantrymen shouted in unison, threw away their giant shields, and charged toward the five banners of Khwarazm, wielding axes in both hands.

The axe handle is six feet long, and the whole axe weighs six pounds.

With a full swing, it can pierce through heavy armor and sever a horse's leg in one blow!
Facing them was the Balu Camp under Zhao Shuo's command.

The soldiers of the Balu Battalion were also dressed in heavy armor and wielded heavy axes.

However, although both are heavy axes, the heavy axes of the Balu Camp are much heavier than those of the Rus', each weighing up to ten pounds! If the Rus' Nordic heavy axes can penetrate heavy armor, then the Eastern heavy axes of the Balu Camp warriors are specifically designed to penetrate heavy armor!
There was no way around it; the technological level of China in this era was far superior to that of other places, and its steel production was also much higher.

The hypothetical enemy of the Chinese heavy infantry was always the enemy's heavy infantry or heavy cavalry.

The Rus' lamellar infantry primarily faced enemy light cavalry, but could also intercept enemy heavy cavalry when necessary.

This resulted in a significant difference in the weight of the two tomahawks.

"go to hell!"

"kill!"

……

On the front lines, a thousand heavily armored soldiers from the Balu Battalion and a thousand Rus' armored infantry had already begun close combat.

While the Balu Battalion was the regular army of Khwarazm, the Rus' were also a regular army!

Both sides were fearless and their armor was not significantly different.

The difference lies in the fact that the heavy axes of the Balu camp were much heavier and more lethal than those of the Rus'. However, the Rus' heavy axes were lighter, giving them a greater advantage in maneuverability.

The only advantage the Balu Battalion warriors had was that their heavy axes were made of wootz steel, making them far sharper than the Rus' battle axes.

This is hardly an overwhelming advantage.

In the blink of an eye, the shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and the sound of battle axes cutting into flesh were completely intertwined!
The two sides clashed head-on without any fancy moves. Roughly five Balu battalion soldiers could be exchanged for six Rus' heavy infantrymen, making them almost evenly matched!
However, just as the Balu camp and the Rus' lamellar warriors clashed, the Khwarazmian Plain Yellow Banner and Plain Blue Banner were mobilized as the commander's flag waved!
Two elite cavalry units flanked and forcefully rammed into the midst of the Rus' armored infantry and leather-armored soldiers.

The Plain Yellow Banner is in charge of those leather-armored soldiers!
Zhenglan Banner was responsible for participating in the siege of the armored soldiers!

They all raised their armor-piercing scimitars!

Apart from one Han Chinese 1,000-household unit in each of the Plain Yellow Banner and Plain Blue Banner of Khwarazm, the rest were all elite soldiers from the Khorasan region!
The Khorasan cavalry and cavalry from other places fought in very different ways.

Cavalry in other regions used swords to slash and spears to thrust in close combat. However, the cavalry of Khorasan preferred to directly utilize the speed and impact of their warhorses, using their scimitars to "drag" the blade.

The term "dragging the saber" refers to a cavalryman charging at an enemy on horseback, gripping his scimitar with the blade facing forward, his right arm outstretched, allowing the saber to move at high speed along with the horse. At the moment of contact with the enemy, the momentum of the charge allows the blade to slice directly through the enemy's body.

This swordsmanship has two advantages. First, cavalrymen don't need to exert much effort to chop, making it very energy-efficient. Second, after the blade cuts through the enemy's body, it will naturally slide away, eliminating the need to painstakingly pull the sword out of the enemy's body as with a chopping motion.

However, as iron armor became more and more widespread, the Sasanian cavalry's "dragging sword technique" became increasingly impractical.

Later, with the invention of the "armor-piercing Schöshl scimitar," this method continued to shine.

Later, it was adopted by the Mongols, and as the Mongols conquered the world, this "dragging knife technique" became famous far and wide.

After the old man in the mountains formally submitted to Zhao Shuo, he presented 20,000 "armor-piercing scimitars" that had already been forged, which Zhao Shuo then distributed to the Khwarazmian Eight Banners.

For today's battle, Wu Xian equipped all the Plain Blue and Plain Yellow Banners of Khwarazm with "armor-piercing Sheshir scimitars".

"kill!"

With a loud shout from Li Quan, the soldiers of the Khwarazmian Plain Blue Banner, each wielding a scimitar-like blade, swept past the rear of the Rus' armored warriors!

How fast must a warhorse be?

In less than five minutes, Li Quan's Plain Blue Banner army had already broken through the gap between the Rus' lamellar infantry and leather-armored warriors. In a flash of cold light, a layer of the Rus' lamellar-armored warriors' rear guard was ruthlessly shredded, and at least three hundred Rus' lamellar-armored warriors perished!
The Khwarazmian Plain Yellow Banner achieved even greater results, inflicting over four hundred casualties on Rus' leather-armored warriors in a single battle!
"what!"

Although Michis was the most skilled fighter among the Rus', he had never seen such sharp blades and such swift fighting style, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

In his original thinking, although the Khwarazmian army's crossbows were powerful, the Rus' warriors were fearless and brave. As long as they endured heavy casualties and charged forward, the final victory would surely belong to the Rus'.

Unexpectedly, in such a short time, the Khwarazmian cavalry inflicted such heavy casualties on the Rus' infantry!
Moreover, this rate of casualties will continue.

Unfortunately, while other peoples' infantry could use bows and crossbows to counter this tactic, the Rus' were the least likely to rely on them. Their infantry were utterly helpless against this absurd cavalry warfare!
You Altai Burke, you bastard!
Are you sure this is the weakest army under Zhao Shuo's command?

Are you sure that a large number of them are conscripts who are like serfs?

We Rus' people have really been wronged by you.

Perhaps, all 30,000 infantrymen will perish here!

In fact, Grand Duke Korgi of Rus' thought so too.

He quickly shouted, "Charge! All cavalry, charge! Stop their cavalry!"

(End of this chapter)