Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 942 Cavalry Battle

However, under such a blow, the Suzaku Legion still inevitably began to become chaotic.

Then, they discovered that behind them, at some point, smoke was burning.This obscured their view and they could no longer see what was happening behind them.

At the same time, the rest of the Tubo cavalry formation also began to move.They sent a cavalry from each wing, and from the two wings, they attacked the heavy cavalry and light cavalry of the Suzaku Legion who fell behind, and the Tubo cavalry who had fled to the two-wing army from the frontal formation that had been "defeated" before also Gathered together again, they rushed directly to the Chinese cavalry formation of the Suzaku Legion.Divide and encircle the charging front army of the Suzaku Legion, and cut off its connection with the central army of the Suzaku Legion, use superior forces to annihilate the front army of the Suzaku Legion as soon as possible, and then join the battle with the central army of the Suzaku Legion.

And in the midst of a melee, such a transfer would not be easily noticed by the generals of the Suzaku Legion.What's more, the Tubo cavalry consciously lit the hay that had been prepared in the back of their formation, and the battlefield behind them was shrouded in thick smoke, so that the generals of the Suzaku Army could not see the changes on the battlefield at all.

However, just when all the Tubo cavalry generals thought that everything was under control, the muscles on Cao Wei's face suddenly tightened.

He knew this moment was the most critical moment.

Sure enough, he saw two heralds galloping towards him and Gwang Dorje from the two wings of the Tubo army through the thick smoke.

At the moment when the Tubo army ignited thick smoke, Deng Chongxuan also ordered to wave the command flag, so that the two wings of the Suzaku Army launched an attack on the Tubo army at the same time!The two wings of the Tubo army fell into a fierce melee.

Cao Wei knew that in the end, it was impossible to help the Tubo people defeat the Suzaku Army of Xiangfu Kingdom so easily and win the final victory.

Today, in some areas of the battlefield, both sides have advantages and disadvantages.Under the guidance of Cao Wei, the Tubo army divided and surrounded the front army of the Suzaku Army.But Deng Chongxuan is obviously not just Yi Yi's generation, who has a vicious vision and can seize the opportunity at the most appropriate time.Some of his people on the two wings of the Tubo army supported the Chinese army when it was at its weakest, and ordered the two wings of the Suzaku Army to launch a fierce attack.

And until the last moment, the battle between the regrouped frontal formation of the Tubo army and the central formation of the Suzaku Legion was uncertain.In addition, Deng Chongxuan and Wang Chao could not see the fate of their former army under the interference of the thick smoke, but the second army formation of the Tubo army after the thick smoke could not see the situation of their first army formation either.

But until now, Cao Wei and Gwang Dorje still firmly believe that they have the chance to win.They will quickly annihilate the former army of the Suzaku Army, which has become a besieged beast, and then support his other army formations, thus winning the final victory in this field battle.

In Deng Chongxuan's original plan, after the Tubo army was charged by the heavy armored cavalry and caused chaos, the light cavalry on the two wings of the Suzaku Legion took advantage of the situation and shot and killed the Tubo cavalry with fast crossbows. Weak, but still on the two wings of the Tubo army.

The Suzaku Legion has 1000 cavalry, with two cavalry battalions on each side, with [-] light cavalry each, commanded by two cavalry brigade commanders. The cavalry is the main formation.

At this time, the flag bearers on both wings came to the two brigade commanders on both sides holding the brigade commander's flag, and another communication flag bearer pointed the red pennant obliquely forward, and the cavalry on both wings simultaneously Instigate the horses to start moving forward. The brigade commander needs to accurately judge the distance to ensure that he can confront the enemy at the highest speed of the charge.At this time, the distance between the two sides and the enemy is about one and a half miles. They have to keep a slow pace to about [-] paces. The charge at a distance of [-] paces is their most proficient subject. The difficulty lies in how to maintain a dense formation when the speed is gradually increasing. .Under strict training, any cavalry battalion of the Suzaku Legion was able to approach and charge at a distance of up to three hundred steps.

The horses advanced slowly, and four cavalry battalion commanders with flags on their backs jumped out of the formation and came five steps ahead of the right side of the formation. They used lances with small triangular flags and set them up above their heads so that the subordinates in the back row could clearly see them. Seeing the position, these battalion commanders turned their heads from time to time to observe the position of the brigade commander, while the other front row cavalry observed the positions of their respective battalion commanders, controlled their horse speed, and the entire cavalry array advanced straight towards the Tubo cavalry.

Trumpets sounded from the two wings of Tubo, about a few miles away. Although in order to cut off the heavy cavalry of the central army of the Suzaku Legion, some troops on the two wings were transferred over, which was weaker than the central army, but that was only compared to the Tubo people themselves. The number of troops is still nearly twice that of the two-wing cavalry of the Suzaku Legion.

Both sides of the two wings are light cavalry, and the routines in the charge are similar to each other. For example, the main formation has not officially started charging, and both sides send out cavalry to start fighting.However, there is still a difference in detail. At this time, the rangers sent by the Suzaku Legion began to retreat to the two sides to get out of the middle, while the Tubo cavalry and ranger skirmishers rushed directly to the formation of the Suzaku Legion cavalry, trying to harass them. The Suzaku Legion marched forward, and the speed had not yet rushed.These squads scattered to the two wings, shuttled in front of the formation and shot light arrows with riding bows.

This tactic is somewhat similar to the "Lava tactic" most commonly used by Liao cavalry. In fact, all nomadic cavalry seem to have similar tactics, including the Huns in the Han and Tang Dynasties, and the Jurchens and Mongols behind them.This kind of tactic can be said to be fatal to troops with weak combat will and poor sense of discipline, and it can even be used against all odds. When the army leaves the formation or wavers, the group in the back formation looks for the opponent's weak position to conduct a concentrated charge, which in turn causes the entire enemy formation to collapse.

But just like the shocking battle between the Liao army and the Xiangfu army in Shipeng Valley years ago, the Tubo cavalry's effective harassment in the past is more like a disturbance at this time. The horses in the first row of the Suzaku cavalry A mask is made of leather armor on the head, and there is an arrow-letting cloth curtain on the chest, which can resist light arrows that shoot at a relatively small angle.A total of only five or six horses were shot and wounded, and the second row of cavalry with spears quickly stepped forward to fill up.

And the best efforts of the Suzaku Legion's rangers also limited the opponent's performance, and the two thousand five hundred cavalry on each side continued to advance against the harassing light arrows.

The gentle speed brought up the chaotic sound of horseshoes, and the two sides approached [-] steps. The flags of the two cavalry brigade commanders leaned forward again, and the trumpeter blew the second advance horn. Jump up and start jogging.The command of cavalry is different from that of cavalry, which can stand in the rear and command, but cavalry has to charge forward, and it has to lead while charging and command at the same time.

The two brigade commanders paid no attention to the light arrows flying from afar, and ran while observing the formation on their side. At this time, each of the [-] cavalrymen under their command began to jog, and there were surges everywhere. The horse heads and the battalion commanders in the front row of the queue effectively controlled the team, and the formation was not chaotic due to harassment.The horseshoes on the gentle slope were no longer a chaotic sound, but the dense hoofbeats gradually merged into a rumbling sound, which was like fairy music to the ears of the brigade commander and battalion commander.

The distance between the two sides was only [-] steps soon, because of the reason of facing each other, the two brigade commanders only had more than [-] steps. The flat array was like a moving wall of horses. , retreating in front of the dense cavalry.

Most of the weapons of the Tubo cavalry were long spears and broadswords, as well as maces and knives. At this time, the array looked neat from a distance, and they were also jogging at this time.

The blood of the two brigade commanders on the two wings surged, and they roared: "Three speeds!"

Another sound of the forward horn, the flag bearer turned the brigade commander's flag in a circle and leaned forward. The four battalion commanders gave orders loudly, and the pennant gun leaned forward again.A total of [-] cavalrymen on the two wings of the Suzaku Legion heard the sound of the horn, and at the same time they accelerated their horses.

None of the harassing Tubo rangers dared to stand in front of the soldiers, so they fled to the sides one after another, aiming at the two wings with bows and arrows, and the Xiangfu army on the two wings was shot down, but this loss had no effect on the overall cavalry formation.

The armies of the two sides finally approached the range of long-range bows and arrows. To put it simply, they were shooting arrows at each other on horseback. However, compared to the messy bows and arrows of the Tubo people, the quick crossbows of the Suzaku Legion's light cavalry fired in volley every time. And it's four bursts, plus the armor of the Suzaku Legion is stronger than that of the Tubo cavalry, it's not 01:30.Under the combination of these factors, the ratio of casualties before the two sides met can be imagined. Before they rushed together, nearly a thousand of the Tubo cavalry on the two wings died, while only more than 100 of the Suzaku Legion died.

The Tubo cavalry felt this gap, so they wanted to rush to fight nearby, so each cavalry speeded up unconsciously, but in this way, the gap caused by different horsepower and riding skills immediately appeared. The tidy charge formation became longer and longer. The Tubo general who commanded the two-winged cavalry did not fail to notice this, but the huge casualties caused by the long-range attack also forced the commander to get closer and change the distance. Into hand-to-hand combat.

Compared with the already messy formation on the two wings of the Tubo cavalry, the formation of the cavalry on the two wings of the Suzaku Legion is only slightly messier than before.

At this time, under the advance, the distance between the two sides is only the last hundred steps, and it only takes a few breaths of time.

"Charge!" The two brigade commanders shouted against the biting cold wind, and four trumpeters around the brigade commander blew their horns loudly.The four battalion commanders leveled their black flag guns.

"kill!"

The cavalry of the Xiangfu Kingdom shouted collectively according to military regulations, and the spears erected in the first row were leveled, followed by the spears in the second row.The Tubo cavalry also sounded their horns. They also leveled their spears and raised their swords. Both sides started the final charge.

(End of this chapter)