September 10th, at dusk.
The Zhao army rushed to the designated combat location, the northern foot of Yunzhong Mountain.
After several days of continuous rain, the weather has become more changeable. In the evening, thick fog begins to spread quietly, and the dusk clouds appear even more lonely under the setting sun.
At this moment, Li Tong had no intention of paying attention to this intoxicating sunset.
Li Tong is the captain of Dongying, one of the three standing camps in Handan. In addition, he is also the cousin of Li Dui, an important minister of the State of Zhao and Yaqing.
"General, a scout was found five miles away," the scout said.
"General, the main force in Loufan is less than three miles away from our troops."
"General, Loufan's cavalry has entered the valley entrance..."
The scouts' urgent reports kept ringing in his ears, making Li Tong clearly aware that a fierce battle was about to come!
Yunzhong Mountain belongs to the branch of Luliang Mountain, connecting Hengshan Mountain to the east and Luliang Mountain to the west. The connection between Yunzhong Mountain and the main line of Luliang and Chongshan Mountain form several depressions where Yuanzi River and Sanggan River meet. This is also the only road for Loufan's army to reach the plains.
The State of Zhao set up a pass here, which was Ningwuguan.
Ningwuguan opens two more valley entrances, one south entrance and one north entrance.
Because it was not yet known where Lou Fan's army would attack first, Zhao Yong ordered Lou Fan to lead Dai Di's troops to guard the north entrance, while Li Tong led the Dongying headquarters to strictly guard the south entrance.
They were ordered to never let Lou Fan leave Ningwuguan.
Now it seems that Lou Fan's army is heading towards the south entrance.
The rumble of horse hoofbeats could be heard from time to time in Li Tong's ears.
"Line up and prepare for battle!"
"Blow the trumpet and beat the drum!" Li Tong shouted to the soldiers nearby.
"Woo... Wu..." A row of soldiers at the bottom of the hillside suddenly puffed up their cheeks and blew the huge horn horns hard, and the high-pitched and sharp horns drifted in the wind. The sound of the bugle behind the enemy's rear is a signal for the retreat of the front army, while the sound of the bugle before the start of the battle is to invigorate the enemy, but the rhythm is different.
In front of the battle formation that had been set up, countless spears were laid flat, and the army was surging. Then the drums beat loudly, and the seemingly dense army of infantry slowly pushed forward in coordination with the chariots, like a steady push of sword light, or like a huge blood-red wave rushing forward.
Zhao's army is still mainly composed of chariots and infantry, and Zhao Tong also distributes a small number of roving cavalry on the left and right flanks to harass and respond.
As for Loufan's army, almost all of them were cavalry, and the wide entrance of the valley allowed them to set up their positions and quickly bully them with their superior strength. It seemed that the formation wanted to swallow up the 10,000-strong army of Beiying.
Suddenly, drums were beating loudly in the mountains, people were noisy, and shouts from both sides were noisy. People can't help shouting when they are in fear, nervousness or other exciting conditions.
*
At the northern foot of Yunshan Mountain, Lou Sui was still very quiet. There were only a few coughs occasionally coming from the side, and the occasional grunt of a horse shaking its head and nose.
At this time, a scout carrying a flag galloped from afar, approached, dismounted, and loudly reported to the building: "The king sent an order, ordering the general to immediately lead his troops to Nankou Pass to assist the Nankou garrison! "
Lou Huan took the token and put it in his arms, pulled out the long sword from his waist, waved it in the air, turned around and shouted to everyone: "Second and third sons, it's time for me to wait, fight for the king, and fight for the king." Fight for the Kingdom of Zhao!"
"Fight for the King, fight for the Kingdom of Zhao!"
"Fight for the King, fight for the Kingdom of Zhao..." The shouts soaring to the sky sounded again.
In the mountains and plains, chariots are not conducive to fighting Hu cavalry, and the border guards on the Daidi border are basically cavalry and infantry.
*
Zhao Yong was riding on a horse at this time, his body covered with thick armor, and even his face wore a ferocious visor. Although he couldn't see the tragic scene in the distance, Zhao Yong had already known through the intelligence from the scouts that Lou Fan had already fought with the South Route Army.
"Your Majesty, I have received the king's order and led the army from the north to the battlefield. They broke out on the left flank of the army at Loufan." The scout knelt down and reported.
"Your Majesty, please send troops!" Pang Nuan bowed and said.
Zhao Yong nodded slightly, turned his eyes and slowly glanced around for a week. He was surrounded by a dense cavalry army, which was Zhao's new army cavalry brigade.
Zhao Yong immediately picked up the newly improved shorts from the ground, banged them on the ground, and shouted loudly: "Loufan is unjust and betrays the alliance and betrays me! Today I will personally take you and the others to eliminate Loufan's troubles!"
"Power! Power! Power!"
The cavalrymen got on their horses one after another, picked up the short swords and halberds beside them, and picked up the bright royal flag with the big character "Zhao" written on it. The flag fluttered in the wind.
Following Zhao Yong's order, the cavalry climbed up the slope in front one after another. When the cavalry reached the top of the hill, they suddenly descended and accelerated, and the rumble of horse hoofs resounded throughout the world.
The cavalry formed a row and spread out in all directions with Zhao Yong's central army as the center.
After climbing over a hill, the noise suddenly became louder, the war drums were rumbling like thunder, and the horns were loud and sad. Zhao Yong's eyes narrowed slightly and he discovered that the person beating the drums in the battle formation of the Zhao Kingdom's Central Army was none other than Lou Huan himself.
Looking down, I saw that the battle situation in the mouth of the valley had fallen into a stalemate. With a slight advantage, Lou Fan's army divided Li Tong's troops and Lou Yan's troops into two battle groups. Arrows in the air were missing and black shadows were flying around. The troops are already at hand-to-hand combat, and you can see sword and shield soldiers, coordinated chariots charging and killing, and halberd soldiers running in all directions.
Loufan's cavalry was highly mobile and slowly surrounded the Zhao army. Fortunately, they were fighting in a valley, which prevented them from completely establishing a large-scale cavalry formation.
"Kill!" Zhao Yong roared angrily and rushed down to kill him first! The riders behind them also shouted loudly: "Kill!"
The roar of horse hooves faintly covered the rumble of thunder in the valley. The knight in red armor was like a torrent of blood, filling and swallowing up the brown earth.
"King! King! King!"
Zhao Jun's formation suddenly let out a shout that reached the sky. Zhao Yong's personal visit to the battlefield and the surging momentum of his cavalry brigade obviously greatly boosted the morale of Zhao Jun.
"Power! Power! Power!"
The cavalry rushed down the hilltop and headed straight for the right wing of the building. Lou Fan was obviously well prepared. At this time, chariots and infantry were already deployed on the right wing, and a horse team was wandering back and forth.
Amidst the roar of horses' hooves, there were shouts of killing from the front. Everyone was yelling all day long, their voices full of ferocity, resentment and fear.
Zhao Yong squinted his eyes, his body rising and falling as the horse ran rapidly. He held the dagger tightly with one hand and held the reins in front of him with the other, breathing heavily.
The cavalry brigade charged directly at a square formation of more than a thousand people on the enemy's right flank and charged straight away from its front.
The front line of the cavalry brigade was composed of fifty riders in a row. Under the rapid impact of the spears, "Boom!" a blood mist suddenly arose, and the force directly overturned the defensive shields placed in front of the formation. However, several cavalrymen in the front row were immediately knocked off their horses by the enemy and disappeared within the battle group in an instant.
The rear cavalry rushed in from the gap and spread in all directions. But the spear array on the floor, under the cover of the chariot, was like a man-eating mouth full of thorns, dragging the knight under the horse and devouring his bones from time to time.
The horses rushed into the phalanx, gradually slashing around, chasing the infantrymen running around, screaming one after another.
The rear row of the cavalry brigade also gradually pressed forward. In the more open valley, the front row of the cavalry gradually extended to both sides. Having lost the power to swoop, the cavalry began to poke at the front row of the phalanx with long guns in hand. With the help of stirrups, it was very convenient to turn the guns and dodge with little effort.
Loufan's weapons were backward, with fewer armors and stomachs, and the spears were shorter than those improved by Zhao. Standing in the array, they basically couldn't reach the Zhao cavalry in front, and if they didn't move in the array, they could only be passively poked.
Moreover, Zhao's cavalry did not just stand in one place, but constantly moved around looking for weak breakthroughs.
Foot soldiers from the building kept screaming and falling to the ground, and the phalanx began to gradually become turbulent and swaying. Finally, with a loud shout from the center of the team, the right wing phalanx collapsed.
Lou Fanren had never seen this kind of fighting method before. They couldn't understand why the Zhao people became better at riding than the barbarians. They could mount a horse and wield a sword effortlessly.
It seemed like a long time to break up the phalanx, but in fact, from the time the cavalry brigade intervened on the battlefield to the end, it only took a short two-quarters of an hour.
A Loufan cavalry brigade that was fighting with Li Tong's troops suddenly reacted when they saw the Zhao cavalry suddenly intruding from the right wing of their army, and then saw the king's flag dancing in the wind, and then struggled to get rid of Li Tong, who was in a stalemate with them. Department, spreading towards Zhao Yong.
After the two thousand cavalry of the New Army rushed into the battlefield, although they broke through a square formation on the right wing of the Loufan Army with lightning speed, they failed to break up its deep right wing formation. Now that there is no wide enough route for horse racing, several regiments have been actively divided, and under the leadership of their respective hundred-man leaders, they are looking for new fighters.
Seeing Loufan's cavalry brigade running towards Wang Jia in the distance, Li Tong hurriedly ordered his Chinese troops to move closer to Loufan's right wing. But unfortunately, chariots and infantry could not stop the movement of the cavalry.
When Zhao Yong saw Hu Qi running towards him, a sneer flashed across his lips, "You're here just in time!"
This Loufan cavalry brigade had about two thousand cavalry and was led by Prince Ji Kui of Loufan. He was overjoyed when he saw that Zhao Yong was surrounded by only more than a thousand cavalry and no chariots. If I take the opportunity to kill King Zhao, I will achieve unparalleled achievements, be revered by thousands of people in Loufan Kingdom, and become... the new King of Loufan!
However, before he could react, he saw that the Zhao cavalry on the opposite side had turned their horses and charged him first!
Ji Kui suddenly laughed and said: "Whoever captures the King of Zhao will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!" Then he slapped his horse and ran away against him.
Zhao Yong held a wooden shield in his left hand and a short sword in his right hand. Under his visor were his cold eyes. This was his first time in battle. Although he remembered martial arts, he had never killed anyone with his own hands. However, Zhao Yong did not show any nervousness at this time. All he thought about was how to kill the opponent. Sometimes there is no need for a reason to kill, because this is a battlefield.
On the battlefield, if you don’t kill, people will kill you!
"Kill!" Zhao Yong roared again. The knights around him also shouted "Kill!"
The shouts of killing from both sides shook the air for a moment and made it tremble.
The first thing the Zhao State encountered was a shower of arrows, but the arrows had no effect on the Zhao State's elite cavalry who were fully armored. The knights leaned over and used wooden shields to protect their vital parts and the heads of their horses. Occasionally, a few unlucky knights were knocked to the ground and immediately submerged in the torrent of steel.
The two cavalry brigades were only a hundred feet apart, and the distance of a hundred feet was fleeting.
A sudden cry came from the front, and Zhao Yong reacted quickly. He slowly laid Chang Si flat and tightly clamped it under his arms. He clamped the horse's abdomen tightly with his legs to remind the horse to accelerate the impact.
A moment later, before Zhao Yong could react, the long cavalry sword suddenly penetrated the chest of the enemy soldier. Under the inertial impact of the long cavalry sword, the simple cloth armor on the enemy soldier was not enough to withstand it. Every cent. For a moment, Zhao Yong's palm seemed to feel the wonderful touch of flesh and blood from the sacrificial pole.
The strong horse was hindered for a moment but did not stop running. Chang Shu led the enemy soldiers to slide forward for a long distance. The thick blood had penetrated the red tassel and reached the barrel of the gun. Zhao Yong's hand slipped and Chang Shu immediately let go. .
Zhao Yong hurriedly controlled the reins to rein in the horse, then turned around, pulled out the scimitar from his waist with his right hand, and gasped for breath. This was a completely subconscious action.
At this time, Zhao Yong's mind went blank. The face of Hu Qi suddenly flashed before his eyes. It was completely different from the face of people from the Central Plains. Hu Qi was about 20 or 30 years old. He had a long beard on his chin and his skin was very rough. , there are deep sun spots on the skin, and the skin is tanned yellow and dark.
Although the two horses missed each other for only a moment, the man's face and expression were deeply imprinted in Zhao Yong's mind for some reason. The man's eyes first flashed with a trace of determination, followed by gnashing of teeth and hatred, and then at the moment Changsheng rushed closer, his expression suddenly turned into unwillingness, fear, and finally panic and helplessness that passed through his chest.
Killing is no big deal, especially killing on the battlefield, killing as a king. But when Zhao Yong killed someone with his own hands and saw a living human life disappear in front of him, killing was no longer just a concept. No matter whether this person was noble or humble in life, the feeling of being in his hands from birth to death is so wonderful. Zhao Yong felt a different kind of pleasure from this!
Zhao Yong was suddenly shocked! He shook his head hastily, trying to get this terrible feeling out of his mind.
There were corpses left on the ground in front of them, including those of Zhao Jun and those of Lou Fan Jun, but it was obvious that most of them were the corpses of Hu people.
Not far away on the opposite side, the Loufan cavalry, who had been so aggressive just now, seemed to have been frightened out of their courage. Ji Kui looked at the group of Zhao cavalry opposite them in surprise, as if they had walked out of hell. He didn't understand, didn't understand how Zhao Ren did it.
"kill!"
"kill!"
But before Ji Kui could think about it, the Zhao cavalry had already charged him again.
"Retreat, retreat quickly!" Ji Kui suddenly turned his horse around and ran towards the outside of the battlefield first. He didn't care at all at this moment about the punishment he would receive for escaping from the battlefield without authorization. He just wanted to escape from the group of evil spirits in the blood!
