Yun Chong and Cheng Kai observed the Tianzhu enemy's formation through the telescope tube with solemn expressions.
This was the first time they were fighting against the soldiers and horses of this Tianzhu country, and they couldn't tolerate the two of them being careless. After all, what we know about Tianzhu is limited to the descriptions of the caravan guards and the vague explanations given by His Majesty before the expedition. Who knows what troubles this Tianzhu country will have in using its troops.
Seeing the Tianzhu infantry pressing down the ten-foot-long spears in their hands toward the front of the formation, the sword and shield soldiers covering both sides, the archers assisting inside, and the cavalry running around on both sides of the formation, Yun Chong and the two people could not help but frown. Wrinkled.
Cheng Kai stepped on the stirrups and leaned forward to look in the direction of the Tianzhu soldiers and horses: "My dear, how can it be a phalanx of ten thousand people? Isn't this too much?
Don't they know that with such a concentration of troops, once the formation changes, it will greatly delay the fighter's opportunity?
Wouldn't this be a living target for our horse archers? "
Yun Chong thought thoughtfully for a while, then shook his head silently: "More than that, you only saw the shortcomings of Tianzhu's 10,000-man formation, but you didn't see the power of this phalanx.
With a formation of 10,000 men, they built themselves into an iron barrel, capable of attacking when advancing and defending when retreating.
In addition to shooting with bows and arrows, our cavalry can take advantage. Once they attack close to their formation, they will immediately encounter a fierce counterattack.
As you just said, these spear formations are the nemesis of our cavalry.
No matter where you attack, you will be surrounded by five thousand people and annihilated in one fell swoop.
Moreover, there are no gaps in the array of tens of thousands of people, so we can only cover up the enemy gradually from the outside.
Why is this formation so similar to what His Majesty said before the expedition? Horse shield phalanx? "
"Macedonian Phalanx?"
"Yes, yes, it's the Macedonian phalanx, but isn't this the Roman way of using troops?
Alas, as time passed, I could not remember clearly what His Majesty said.
The military governor is also confused as to what country's formation this formation is. "
"Warlord, isn't this kind of battle formation the same large infantry battle formation that our ancestors used during the Warring States Period to form cavalry and infantry phalanxes because they lacked horses?
And it’s not as good as the battle formations of our ancestors. What about the chariots? What about the catapult? Where's the crossbow? Where is the horse? Not a single one. "
Yun Chong put down the telescope and pondered for a while: "There are indeed similarities but similar results. Since the rise of cavalry, this type of large infantry formation, which is a living target for bows and arrows, has rarely been used.
During our Northern Expedition a few years ago, we also had infantry phalanxes.
But that was also in conjunction with the cavalry's front, middle and rear armies charging with clear priorities.
The governor estimates that either this battle formation is incomplete, or the Tianzhu people lack cavalry.
The five to six thousand cavalrymen opposite them were unable to effectively support the charge and defense of the infantry.
If we had encountered such a battle formation more than ten years ago, without the cover of crossbows, archers, sword and shield soldiers, and relying only on cavalry to attack such a large phalanx of ten thousand people, it would have been a really difficult problem.
Now! "
Yun Chong and Cheng Kai both looked at the fifty artillery pieces spread out behind them, showing strange smiles.
"I bet you one hundred taels of silver, how many people can be killed by one explosive bullet?"
"The final bet will be ten, within three numbers!"
"Seven, give or take two."
"The messenger."
"exist!"
"The war drum is the trumpet, and all the soldiers are ordered to stop the previous close combat to cover up the charging order. All the soldiers and horses charge in a roundabout way, using strong bows and powerful crossbows to surround and kill.
Delay them, wait for the main army to arrive, and wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop. "
"Got the order!"
On the yellow sand wilderness full of chilling atmosphere, the dragon's war drum sounded again, resounding throughout the sky.
The soldiers and horses who had already dispersed in all directions and were standing ready in the wilderness, ready to charge at any time, were stunned for a moment when they heard the sound of war drums from the center of the army.
Then, under the command of the flag-bearer, he put away the various weapons in his hands for melee combat, and took down the light bow, iron tire bow, big yellow bow and other long-range shooting attacks from his back.
The 15,000 soldiers and horses of the trapped army were even worse. The serial crossbows in the saddles on the horses were directly loaded on the crossbow strings and hung at the waist, ready to be taken off at any time to shoot the enemy.
When the sound of the war drums fell, all the soldiers and horses pulled their reins and wandered around following the flag bearer's flag, staring intently at the five enemy formations of ten thousand people that were gradually being surrounded.
Thousands of cavalry can cover thousands of people.
Not to mention tens of thousands of cavalry!
Coors was riding on his horse, with a solemn expression he stopped looking at the dragon cavalry wandering around the periphery of his side's formation, and turned to look at his side's coach, Vias Hardy.
"Commander, the enemy army of the Great Dragon has suddenly changed its formation. They are no longer in a formation that can charge and engage in close combat at any time!"
Wyashardi looked around at the gradually encircling dragon cavalry: "Don't be nervous, these short dragon cavalry are unable to attack our phalanx without a large number of infantry cover.
This is a powerful battle formation passed down from Alexander the Great thousands of years ago.
Without infantry cover, Dalong's cavalry would be knocked off their horses by spears if they were more than ten steps away from us, and then trampled to pulp by the enemy's own horses behind them.
The Dashi Kingdom conquered the powerful Parthian Kingdom, but I used a Macedonian phalanx of 50,000 people to counterattack their army of hundreds of thousands, opening up hundreds of miles of territory for the great king.
As long as we help each other, the dragon's cavalry can't rush in at all. "
"But the last general just saw that everyone on Dalong's cavalry seemed to have a crossbow."
"We also have archers to fight back, and we have shieldmen to cover us, so there's no need to be afraid!"
"Report, please inform Commander Hadi that all soldiers have formed their formation."
Wyashardi drew out the dagger from his waist and pointed forward: "Blow the trumpet to attack.
Completely tear the encirclement of the dragon cavalry into pieces, capture their general Dalong alive with only a few thousand people to protect them, and let them know how powerful we are! "
Under the scattered notes of hundreds of brass trombones, Tianzhu's phalanx of 50,000 soldiers marched steadily towards the front to attack.
The target was the dragon cavalry wandering outside the five Macedonian phalanxes, forming a huge encirclement.
As Yun Chong and Cheng Kai said, without the assistance of artillery and infantry phalanx, it is a very difficult problem to rely solely on cavalry to attack such a tight formation of ten thousand people.
But there is no if, Dalong has artillery in hand, and there are as many as fifty.
"Report, Cavalry Superintendent, General Cheng, the enemy forces in Tianzhu launched an attack on our cavalry encirclement with four square formations united in the center and one square formation in the center."
"Send the order, beat the drum and sound the trumpet, raise the artillery barrel by three fingers, and do not accidentally injure the robe. The cavalry will shoot the enemy on their own."
"Got the order!"
Amidst the rhythmic sound of bronze trumpets of Tianzhu soldiers and horses, the sound of dragon war drums suddenly sounded and the trumpets were melodious.
The slowly wandering dragon cavalry clamped its horse's belly and galloped away quickly following the flag-bearer. While bowing and arrowing, it gradually narrowed the formation of the encirclement circle.
"Fire the arrow!"
Smoke and dust billowed, flags flew, and when the siege was reduced to within the range of the longbow, as one of the battalion soldiers loosened their bow strings, tens of thousands of arrows shot toward the surrounded enemy formation.
Then, the soldiers and horses of each battalion began to bend their bows and set arrows in an orderly manner.
Under the clear sky, a rain of arrows composed of various types of arrows suddenly fell, covering the five enemy formations in the center.
The sound of the arrows clanging against the shields, mixed with the screams of Tianzhu soldiers and horses, instantly echoed over the yellow sand wilderness with the sound of horse hooves.
In the tight phalanx of Tianzhu soldiers and horses, some gaps instantly appeared.
Wyas calmly waved the dagger in his hand: "The shield men cover, the archers fight back, and charge quickly."
Yunyang looked at the changes in the enemy's formation and immediately put down the telescope in his hand: "beat the drum to send the order, cover it with a wave of upward shots, and immediately widen the distance to prevent the enemy archers from returning fire.
Let me fly the kites of the Tianzhu soldiers and horses, and I want to see if their two legs can outrun the four legs of our war horses. "
The rumbling drums suddenly changed. The dragon cavalry immediately raised the bows and arrows in their hands, and fired another wave of upward arrows at the enemy in the center. Then they put away the bows and arrows smoothly and pulled the horse's reins away. distance from the enemy formation.
At the same time, the dragon cavalry who quickly rushed to open the battle line also received a counterattack from the Tianzhu soldiers and horse archers.
However, due to the rapid attack of the horses, the battle line was once again deepened, and they were equipped with sophisticated armor. Only a few dragon soldiers and horses were injured under the rain of arrows.
"Marshal Hardy, they immediately distanced themselves after releasing their arrows. Our bows and arrows don't have enough range."
Vyashadi also discovered his own shortcomings. Looking at the encirclement that had once again expanded, he glanced at his wounded soldiers who were covered in arrows and broken, and couldn't help but grit his teeth.
"The despicable dragon man is capable of fighting like a knight.
After the order was sent, all soldiers and horses stopped attacking, retracted the defense line, and the archers were ready. As soon as Dalong's enemy troops tightened their encirclement and attacked again, they would immediately release arrows. "
"yes!"
"Report, report to the warlord, the enemy has stopped attacking our encirclement, and has withdrawn its defense line on the spot. It seems that it is waiting for our soldiers to shrink their defense line again and fight back with bows and arrows."
Yun Chong looked regretful and sighed: "Bouxing, you are discouraged before the string of this warlord's kite has been let go. How can we fight this battle?"
"Warlord, the enemy has retracted its defense line and the soldiers and horses have gathered together. Let's fire! One hundred taels!"
Yun Chong smiled calmly and waved the flag in his hand suddenly.
"Two rounds for test firing, five rounds for rapid fire, one solid bullet and one split bullet each."
"Got the order!"
"Marshal Hardy, the enemy does not dare to shrink the encirclement and attack us!"
"Great, it seems they are also afraid of our archers' counterattack.
Let's shrink the defense line and conserve our strength. I want to see if their horses can keep running. When they reach the point where they are exhausted and can no longer run, that's when we attack and surround them... "
A loud rumbling sound interrupted Vyashardi's confident words.
Fifty smoky fires bombarded Tianzhu's phalanx of 50,000 soldiers and horses.
