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

Chapter 54: Divine Arm Bow!
The next day, the morning light cut through the night's curtain like a knife, and a cold blue-gray color appeared on the horizon.

Subutai personally led two thousand Mongolian troops and marched forty miles to fight against the Western Xia vanguard.

The Xixia vanguard seemed undeterred by the Mongol army's horrific victory yesterday. Without hesitation, the three thousand Xixia vanguards left their camp and engaged the Mongol army head-on in the open field.

That’s right, it’s a one-on-one fight.

If the main force of Western Xia arrived, which was mainly composed of infantry, even if they had to fight the Mongolian army in the field, they would definitely adopt a strict formation, and fight back and forth, using various means.

However, the 3,000 vanguard troops of the Western Xia army were all elite cavalry of the Western Xia.

As for cavalry engagements, in this era, apart from cavalry charges, most would choose to engage in sparse formations and engage in head-on combat. Soldiers relied on their diligently trained martial arts and horsemanship to seize their own glory.

"kill!"

Subutai swung the large iron spear in his hand with all his might, cutting the Xixia soldier in front of him off his horse. The Xixia soldier wailed in pain, clearly badly wounded and close to death.

"die!"

Without even a glance at the wounded soldier, Subutai drew his bow and shot two arrows, hitting two Xixia soldiers in the back fifty paces away. The long arrows penetrated their chests viciously from behind and exited from the front, gushing blood.

"what!"

In severe pain, the two Xixia knights let out a wail and fell off their horses.

"Humph, that's all!"

At this point, Subutai has made his judgment.

The individual combat power of these 3,000 vanguard troops is actually about the same as that of the 500 cavalry.

But there are too many of them, so it is impossible to wipe them out on the spot. We have to chase them for a long distance.

Mu Huali, who was standing by, also made a similar judgment.

He and Zhao Shuo stood side by side. He turned to look at Zhao Shuo and said, "It seems that it won't be long before Subutai will win. However, the Western Xia army is not in disarray despite the defeat, and their morale is still high. I'm afraid they have some tricks up their sleeves."

Mu Huali was born a slave to a beggar.

After Temujin defeated the Jurqi people, he was impressed by Muhuali's talents and promoted him to a general under his command.

Mu Huali quickly stood out and became Temujin's right-hand man.

This man was both humble and peaceful, yet a brilliant military genius, a true military god. If he had been born in the Central Plains instead of the grasslands, he would probably be comparable to the Tang Dynasty's military god, Li Jing.

Among Temujin's generals, Jochi and Zhao Shuo had the best personal relationship, being like brothers who had fought for their lives together. Mu Huali and Zhao Shuo, on the other hand, had the most tacit understanding of each other. Both were geniuses in warfare, and they admired each other. Sometimes, just a glance would tell them what the other meant.

Zhao Shuo said, "Under normal circumstances, it would not be difficult for Subutai to see through the Xixia people's trap. However, he is now eager to prove himself, and I am afraid he will suffer a great loss."

"Then it will be up to you to take action."

Mu Huali looked at the battlefield and glanced sideways at Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Shuo nodded, his eyes distant, and said nothing.

Of course, Mu Huali would not ask whether to remind Subutai.

Now Subuchitai is eager to make a contribution and his mentality has become arrogant. Even if Mu Huali and Zhao Shuo remind Subuchitai at the same time, he will not take it to heart.

It's okay.

In Mu Huali's mind, Zhao Shuo was invincible in the world. Leading two hundred black cavalrymen, he was enough to provide support for Subutai.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly! Retreat the entire army!"

"The grassland barbarians are powerful. We are no match for them. Let's go!"

Boom~~
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the Xixia people, seeing they were no match for the Mongolian army, turned their horses and quickly fled for their lives. "Thinking about leaving? Daydreaming! Warriors, give chase!" Subuchitai sneered and ordered a pursuit.

No specific orders are needed.

Hunting, the most common form of hunting for the grassland people, was the best form of training for war. They had already mastered the art of hunting down the remaining enemies.

At this time, two generals under Subutai, each leading nearly 600 soldiers, rushed towards the left and right wings, preparing to encircle the Western Xia army in a roundabout way.

Subutai led 800 soldiers and followed closely behind the remnants of the Western Xia army.

On the surface, whether the Western Xia army fled in a straight line or in a curve, there was no chance of survival.

However, in reality, the Subutai people had fallen into a trap carefully designed by the Xixia people.

"Drive! Drive! Drive!"

"Hurry up!"

With shouts, Subutai led 800 Mongolian soldiers and chased forward for 20 miles, and was about to catch up with the Xixia people.

It was at this time that the road ahead suddenly changed. A large road led to the distance. Two dense forests stood on both sides of the road. For military strategists, it was already a very dangerous place.

"Chase!"

Subutai was eager to make a contribution, so after a moment's thought, he rode his horse in pursuit, with eight hundred grassland warriors following closely behind.

"Kill! Kill the grassland barbarians!"

"Leave no one behind! Leave no one behind!"

Just as these 800 people entered the road with dense forests on both sides, shouts of killing suddenly rang out from both sides of the dense forest.

Whoosh whoosh!
With a terrifying hissing sound, cold arrows as horrific as short spears were suddenly shot out from the dense forests on both sides. In just an instant, nearly three hundred warriors fell to the ground!

In an instant, people and horses fell to the ground, and blood and flesh flew everywhere!
"This...how is this possible?"

The situation changed so quickly that Subutai could hardly believe his eyes.

However, nothing is impossible.

In order to win this battle and boost morale, the Xixia people spent a lot of money.

Not only did he send five hundred private soldiers from the King of Yue's Palace, but he also equipped the ambush troops in the dense forest with a thousand Western Xia magic weapons, the Shenbi bows.

Many people in later generations believed that the Shenbi bow was invented by people in the Song Dynasty, but this is not the case.

"Dream Pool Essays" records that during the Xining period, Li Ding presented a side-frame crossbow, similar to a bow but with a stirrup. With the stirrup raised to the ground, it could shoot arrows up to 300 steps and pierce heavy spears. It was called the "divine arm bow" and was considered a particularly powerful weapon. Li Ding, a Tangut Qiang chieftain, surrendered to the imperial court, served in a garrison, and died. His sons were all renowned for their bravery in the western frontier.

In other words, this Shenbi bow was invented by the Xixia people and presented to the Song Dynasty.

The Shenbi Bow is really powerful. The bow is three feet three inches long, the string is two feet five inches long, and the range is more than two hundred and forty steps. It can easily penetrate the heavy armor of the Iron Pagoda!
Of course, as impressive as the Shenbi Bow was, it also had its drawbacks. While ostensibly a bow, it was actually a heavy crossbow that required a foot pedal to restring. It was primarily used by infantry for defense, and it was impossible to draw from horseback.

In other words, in this fierce battle to attack Subutai, the Xixia people's Shenbi bow only had the power of one strike.

But then again, the power of one strike is also remarkable;
Just one volley of fire had severely injured over 300 Mongol warriors. Now, there were less than 500 men left around Subutai.

"kill!"

An old but high-pitched voice, loud and murderous, rang out!

Gao Dechang, the veteran Xixia general, was the main commander of this secret attack.

As soon as the Divine Arm Bow finished firing a volley, he took the lead and rushed out of the dense forest with his four sons and two thousand elite Xixia soldiers who were lying in ambush!
(End of this chapter)