In an open area thirty miles away from Dingxiang City, the Tang army and the Turks set up a formation, with flags fluttering and Xuantian drums beating. With a wave of the hands of the coaches of both sides, the troops of both sides bravely moved forward and rushed towards their respective enemies.
Although Li Jing gave Yuchi Jingde the task of faking defeat in a fight, Yuchi Jingde had his own calculations. Faking defeat is also a science. He must fake defeat and make sure that the enemy cannot see that it is a fake defeat, otherwise he will be betrayed by the enemy. If you see through it, there will be no point in cheating.
After all, his mission was to eventually lead the Turks' troops into the canyon.
When the two armies and horses were about a mile away from each other, Yuchi Jingde waved his big hand again, and the messenger behind him waved a small flag.
The moment the little flag was waved, roars were heard from the front!
"shoot!"
Following this order, the crossbowman standing in front holding a huge crossbow shot the arrow in his hand high into the sky.
For a time, the sound of bowstrings was heard continuously from the Tang Dynasty's military formation. Whenever the sound of bowstrings was heard, an arrow would pierce the sky and fly towards the sky.
The reason why they shoot into the air is to use the principle of parabola. Only in this way can the arrow be shot farther, and it can hit the right place after it falls. If it is a flat shot, it means one of your own people is shooting your own people.
Before the forward armies of both sides came into contact, the Turkic cavalry was attacked by a hail of arrows.
One Turkic cavalryman fell off his horse one after another, and the horses ran around like headless flies.
Facing the attack of the Tang Dynasty's arrow array, the Turkic commander's face was a little gloomy, but there was nothing he could do about it. The fighting situation between the two sides was different. Most of them were cavalry, while most of the Tang people were infantry, except for the infantry. In addition to broadswords and shields, there are of course bows and crossbows, which are not what the Turks are good at.
It's not that the Turks don't have bows and arrows, or that they don't have good archery skills, but they don't have the crossbows of the Tang Dynasty. Crossbows and bows are two kinds of weapons, and the range and shooting effect are also different. Crossbows are more efficient than bows. , the range is longer, which is also the advantage of the Tang people.
Of course, if the armies of both sides are close, the crossbow will be completely useless. After all, the troops and horses of both sides are entangled. If it is known to shoot, they will have to shoot their own people as well.
The distance of one mile was reached in an instant. It was not that the Tang Dynasty did not have cavalry, but there were not many cavalry. The cavalry was the first to be contacted by the armies of both sides.
However, the number of enemy cavalry was ten times greater than that of the Tang cavalry. Upon contact, the Tang army's cavalry was at a disadvantage.
Fortunately, the infantry behind them followed closely. They were wearing heavy iron armor and were not afraid of the Turkic cavalry. When the Turkic cavalry wanted to approach them and pierce their armor with their spears, the Tang army's infantry would pick up the spears. With the broadsword in his hand, he bent slightly and slashed at the leg of the war horse ridden by the Turkic cavalry.
After fighting for so many years, both sides knew their respective strengths and weaknesses. Although the Turkic cavalry attacked very fiercely, their horse legs were the only weakness of their cavalry. If the horse legs were chopped off, the war horses naturally fell to the ground and fought with the Tang people on the ground. The Turks naturally suffered.
However, this method could only be used by the first group of cavalry. When the second group of cavalry attacked, an infantryman of the Tang Army had his armor pierced by spears and barrels and fell to the ground.
Just from this contact, more than a thousand men and horses were killed on both sides, and even more were entangled together, and the killings were inextricably linked.
However, the Turks are cavalry after all. Even if the Tang army was protected by armor, they were still inferior to the Turks who fought on horseback.
The reason is very simple. If you want to cut a Turk with a big knife, you have to cut upward. The Turk can easily dodge. If you cut the horse's leg now, the Turk's spear is not a vegetarian. This is no longer the beginning. During the impact, the war horse cannot stop and can easily cut off the horse's legs.
The Turks, sitting on their horses, have a panoramic view of everything below them. They can take action whenever they want without any hindrance. The only thing they worry about is being attacked by someone on the other side.
Therefore, although the two sides were entangled, the number of casualties on both sides was two from the Tang army and one from the Turks at most.
The longer the time goes, the more disadvantageous it will be to the Tang army.
After about a cup of tea, Yuchi Jingde had a dark face, pretending to be furious, and ordered to the messenger on the side: "Retreat, Ming Jin retreats!"
The messenger hurriedly took out a small red flag from his back and waved it towards the rear. Soon, a sound of bells sounded from a carriage in the rear, and the sound of drums and cheers just disappeared.
The first batch of crossbowmen turned around and retreated, followed naturally by Yuchi Jingde and other generals. However, the infantry rushing in front were in dire straits. They were entangled with the enemy and it was impossible to escape. So easy.
Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty also had cavalry. Under the obstruction of the cavalry, most of the infantry left the battlefield and retreated to the rear.
Naturally, it was impossible for the Turks to force the Tang people to evacuate so easily. The commander behind them drew out the saber from his waist, shouted and rushed out first.
Seeing this, the other Turkic cavalry excitedly waved their spears and followed their commander in pursuit of the Tang army.
Along the way, Tang Jun abandoned his helmet and armor. Only in this way can he run faster, otherwise it would be impossible to escape wearing bulky armor.
Seeing the armors that were constantly discarded by the Tang army on the ground, the Turks were extremely excited. Many people stopped their horses and picked up the discarded armors on the ground and tied them to the backs of their own horses.
This made the Turkic coach very dissatisfied, and he wanted to scold his men, but he also knew that his men would rely on these trophies to go back and exchange for what they needed, so it was hard to say anything.
But in this way, the pace of the Turks' pursuit slowed down a lot, allowing more Tang troops to escape.
After retreating three miles, Yuchi Jingde took up his position and once again ordered the crossbowmen to prepare for shooting, and the infantry who had escaped also gathered in the rear again.
It's just that the infantry at this moment are a bit unsightly. Because they have abandoned their helmets and armor, many infantry are only wearing red military uniforms. Some have armor, and some only have leg armor. Most of them are incomplete and look very desolate. .
Yuchi Jingde didn't say anything about this. After all, this was also part of the plan. Otherwise, how could he attract the enemy to continue the pursuit.
Sure enough, after picking up the flags and armor discarded by the Tang army, the Turks did not give up the pursuit and mounted their horses again to pursue them.
Seeing the Turks attacking again, Yuchi Jingde immediately ordered the crossbows to fire.
After a round of arrows, the Turks fell to pieces again. This was tantamount to stimulating the ferocity of the Turks. They waved their scimitars and spears fearlessly and rushed towards the Tang army while shouting.
Only this time, Yuchi Jingde did not let his men attack and resist the Turks, but ordered a retreat.
