The vast Gobi desert has vast sky and high ground. The Hulu River rolls toward the southeast and spreads for more than ten miles north and south along the Hulu River. Beyond the oasis is the vast Gobi.
On the bank of the Hulu River, on a high slope, Zhang Zhongxia was riding a horse, holding a telescope in his hand, looking westward.
Behind him, three thousand Han and Tibetan elite cavalry, two thousand Han and Tibetan infantry, and hundreds of artillery carriages were filled with murderous intent and ready to go.
Since the Song army advanced to Hexi in the third year of Xingqing, they worked hard and finally had more than 20,000 tiger and wolf cavalry, and more than half of them were stationed at the border fortresses of Dunhuang, Yumenguan and Yangguan to prepare for the invasion of foreign enemies.
Among the cavalry and infantry formations, there were quite a few party men, many of whom had grown their Han buns, and many were bald. They now joined the frontier army of the Song Dynasty and shed blood and sacrificed for the Song Dynasty.
Several horses galloped from the west and came east along the riverside post road. The knights on the horses were strong and strong, with fierce flags on their backs. They were clearly the Song Army's rangers.
"Report!"
The rangers quickly arrived, and the Song Army scouts dismounted one after another and stepped forward to report the military situation.
"How is the situation in Yangguan Town?"
Seeing that the rangers were sweating profusely and dusty, Zhang Zhongxia frowned and shouted sharply.
"General, the enemy has destroyed Yangguan Town and several surrounding villages, burning, killing and looting. There are corpses everywhere. The enemy is heading towards Dunhuang County, which is only twenty miles away from here!"
The scout knelt down to report, and Zhang Zhongxia's heart sank.
"Have you checked how many enemy troops there are?"
According to the imperial military order, the Mongolian army marched south. Could it be said that this was the front army of the Tatar army?
"Back to the general, here are the Gaochang Uighurs. There are three thousand enemy troops, all of them cavalry!"
The scout's words made Zhang Zhongxia stunned for a moment, and then he became angry.
"Three thousand Gaochang cavalry, I thought they were tens of thousands of Tatar troops!"
Zhang Zhongxia's face turned pale and he asked angrily:
Gaochang State, a small country in the Western Regions, a vassal of Mongolia, with only three thousand cavalry, dared to poop and urinate on the head of the Song Dynasty?
"When Gaochang's army attacked, didn't they detect Yangguan and Yumenguan? Have all the scouts gone to sleep?"
I originally thought that the Mongolian army had more than 10,000 cavalry, but who knew that it was only the cavalry from Gaochang, a subsidiary of Mongolia, and it only had 3,000 cavalry.
"Back to the general, the Gaochang army entered after dark. There may be Gaochang merchants leading the way. It is hundreds of miles around, so our army did not detect it."
The scout reported carefully and his voice was much lower.
There are three thousand soldiers stationed at Yumen Pass and Yangguan each, with two thousand cavalry and one thousand infantry each, which can completely block the enemy's invasion.
"Back off! Once the enemy comes, light up the smoke immediately!"
Zhang Zhongxia waved his hand impatiently, and the scouts quickly received the order and headed north on horseback.
"Call the entire army to prepare for battle!"
Zhang Zhongxia immediately issued a military order.
Twenty or thirty miles away, the cavalry arrived in an instant, and the battle was imminent.
"General, destroy these bandits! Then send troops to the west, destroy the Gaochang Kingdom, avenge the villagers, and cut off an arm of the Mongolian Kingdom!"
Commander Du Hui said angrily.
At the Dunhuang border fortress, the Song army stationed ten thousand people, including six thousand cavalry. After destroying the three thousand invading Gaochang cavalry and heading north, it would only take two or three days to reach Gaochang Kingdom. With the cavalry and firearms of the Song army, they are not afraid of being unable to destroy the Gaochang Uighurs.
"Don't worry, kill these bandits first. The Tatar army goes south, and there will be a big battle between our army and the Tatars soon. The Tatar army is the most serious concern of our Song Dynasty. Gao Changguo's little soldiers and crab generals will deal with it later! "
Ever since the Song Dynasty reinforced Xixia, recaptured the land of Hexi from the Mongolian army, expelled the Mongolian envoys, and annihilated Li Quan of Huaidong who had defected to Mongolia, a series of tough measures had been taken, and a fight with Mongolia was destined. A fierce battle.
According to the military situation ahead, the Mongolian army marched southward in three routes. The Mongolian army marched into Shaanxi on the west route and captured the city and territory. It was overwhelming and forced the Shaanxi Jin army to flee back to Henan. The Mongolian army occupied the entire Shaanxi land except the Tongguan defense line and was already bordering the northwest frontier fortress of the Song Dynasty. A confrontation between the Mongolian army and the Song army is probably inevitable.
And these Gaochang cavalry are probably the vanguard of the Mongolian army in the northwest, who want to conquer Hexi. However, both the Mongolian army and the Gaochang army overestimated themselves and made wrong calculations.
"Array up!"
Zhang Zhongxia passed the military order, and the drums sounded. The Song army dispersed in formation, with the cavalry on both wings, the infantry formation in the center, and the artillery carriages in the front. First were the mother and son cannons, and then the heavy cannons and general cannons. The muzzles of hundreds of artillery pieces were faint. Aimed forward.
"General, Gao Chang's army will arrive in a moment. Let them see our artillery and the power of our cavalry!"
Wang Gui looked excited and eager to try.
There are artillery and cavalry. Today, the Song Dynasty's border troops are armed to the teeth and are no longer afraid of field battles and cavalry attacks.
"General, look, the smoke!"
Du Hui pointed to the northwest and shouted loudly.
Wang Gui and Du Hui, originally idle gangsters in Lin'an City, first-term students of Jinling Martial Arts Hall, and Zhang Zhongxia's right-hand men, entered the Hexi Army one after another and are now the mainstays in command of thousands of troops.
Zhang Zhongxia raised his head and saw thick smoke billowing from the beacons in the northwest sky, rising straight into the sky. This was obviously a warning that enemy troops had invaded Dunhuang.
Twenty or thirty miles away, the cavalry arrived in an instant. As smoke and dust spread, the sound of horse hoofs rumbled, and countless war horses came into view, followed by a large number of Gaochang cavalry, which came closer and closer with terrifying momentum.
The Gaochang cavalry came on horseback with a ferocious look. They also noticed the Song army's formation on the shore. They began to scream strangely, and their horses also slowed down and stopped in the field more than two miles away from the Song army's formation.
The Gaochang cavalrymen have two horses per person, or three horses per person. The unmanned horses have large and small bags, and there are also young women tied up. It seems that they have gained a lot.
"General, do you want to fire?"
Wang Gui couldn't wait any longer.
With the range of the general's artillery, it can definitely kill the Gaochang cavalry.
"Don't be impatient. Wait until they charge."
Zhang Zhongxia looked at the murderous Gaochang cavalry and smiled coldly.
Now that they are here, we cannot let them go back easily.
The Song Army's formation remained motionless. In Gaochang's cavalry formation, Mamula observed for a moment and frowned slightly.
The Song army formation in front of them was neat and motionless; the soldiers were fully armored and motionless; the cold light of the cannons that made people laugh was a little hesitant.
Although he did not participate in Subotai's attack on Mianzhou City in the Song Dynasty, he did not miss the attack on Lingzhou City in Xixia. He clearly understood the power of the firearms of the Lingzhou defenders.
They began to fight horses. The front army was wearing iron armor and holding spears and iron rods. The cavalry behind them stretched their bows and set arrows, and slowly ran towards the Song army's position.
The Gaochang cavalry was moving forward like a tide. Although it was not as scary as the heavy cavalry of the Mongolian army, it was still a flow of iron cavalry, which was frightening.
Only those who have seen it can understand its horror. These Gaochang cavalry had never fought in large-scale field battles with the Song army. They did not know the lethality of artillery and firearms, but they still kept distance from each other during large-scale cavalry attacks. The cavalry groups were not dense, but they were obviously a little perfunctory. As a result, they rushed forward in thousands of horses and gradually gathered in one place.
It seemed that they wanted to break through the Song Army's infantry formation in one fell swoop, and then drive the Song Army away and attack the two flanks of the Song Army's cavalry.
"Straight bitch, you don't know whether to live or die!"
Zhang Zhongxia's eyes were cold and stern, and he cursed softly.
These scoundrels of the Mongolian army not only followed the Mongolian army to deal with the Song Dynasty, but also took advantage of it to rob them. They really deserved to die.
"General, this reminds me of the battle to defend the city in Lingzhou."
Wang Gui said softly.
He had just joined the Lizhou Frontier Army that year. As a reserve general, he was fortunate enough to participate in the fierce battle to defend Lingzhou in Xixia, so he still has deep memories.
"I don't want to have such heavy casualties. Besides, these guys are Gaochang Uighurs, not the elite of the Tatar army."
Zhang Zhongxia was startled for a moment, then shook his head.
Lingzhou was a city defense battle, and the Song army was lost in half. In addition, there were too few cavalry in Lingzhou City, so there was no chance for a field battle, and it was just a miserable victory.
In today's field battle, the other party attacked the Song Army's artillery position at all costs, and he did not intend to give the Gaochang cavalry a chance to escape.
"Prepare!"
Zhang Zhongxia issued the military order, and the gunners began to load ammunition, both large and small cannons, in an orderly manner.
Entering within two miles, the Gaochang cavalry began to speed up. The horses were galloping, smoke was billowing, and the ground was shaking, making people's hearts palpitate.
"I'll go! It's the same thing again!"
Thousands of troops and horses came rushing towards them like a flood. Although Wang Gui was shocked, his face did not change. He believed that his artillery would definitely let the Mongolian cavalry on the opposite side know how powerful it was.
In the Song Army's cavalry formation, some knights drew their swords one after another, while some knights held bows in their hands and stared at them, but they did not run out of the formation.
The consistent tactics of the Song Dynasty border army were artillery bombardment, cavalry charge, and finally the infantry settled the battle.
"General, one mile!"
Wang Gui's voice was already trembling.
The sound of the Gaochang cavalry's hoofbeats was earth-shattering and thrilling. Many archers in their cavalry formation had already drawn their bows and nocked arrows. They were facing forward and were about to draw their bowstrings.
"fire!"
Zhang Zhongxia no longer hesitated and immediately issued the military order.
The flag officer ordered the flag to be lowered, and the gunners pressed the red-hot iron solders on the fire door in unison.
"Puffy!"
Suddenly, the earth collapsed, earth-shattering artillery fire resounded across the Gobi Desert, pungent smoke billowed up, and 100 7-pound solid iron balls roared out, rushing straight towards the galloping Gaochang cavalry.
Another burst of artillery sound sounded, and 100 5-pound solid iron balls roared into the sky, with black dots flying all over the sky.
The cannons opened fire, and the pellets tore through the air and shot towards Gaochang's cavalry formation like hail.
Zhang Zhongxia remained calm and watched the battle and collision between firearms and cavalry, iron and blood.
The sound of artillery continued, iron balls and pellets flew all over the sky, the screams of people, the mournful sounds of horses, the roar of artillery, and the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke and blood.
Countless Gaochang knights fell from their horses, dead or injured, and their flesh and blood were blurred. The smoke and dust were full of corpses, blood, and injured people and horses.
The artillery battery fired five or six rounds, and the Gaochang knights suffered numerous casualties. They spread out further, getting closer and closer, and headed straight for the Song army's formation.
The Song Army cavalry slowly mobilized their horses, and torrents of steel poured out to counter the Gaochang cavalry.
There was a pause in the sound of artillery, the sound of iron hooves was earth-shattering, and smoke was billowing. The cavalry from both sides moved toward each other, and the darkness covered the sky and the ground, and they ran towards the other side shrouded in smoke and dust.
Finally, the two torrents collided. In an instant, people were overturned, horses neighed, and people screamed. Both sides were covered in flesh and blood, and countless people fell down. Soon the two sides rushed through the formation, leaving behind them stumps of broken limbs, swords, guns, shields and sticks, corpses of men and horses, and countless injured.
"Puffy!"
There was another earth-shattering sound of artillery, and the assembled Gaochang cavalry suffered numerous casualties. They had no choice but to rush towards the Song Army's cavalry formation for a second time.
The cannons and small artillery roared continuously. It was not until the Song Army cavalry and Gaochang cavalry encountered each other that the Song Army's artillery fire stopped.
After another charge, most of Gaochang's cavalry were lost. The remaining ones did not dare to turn their horses and charge again, but fled directly to the west.
"General, look, it's the cavalry from Yangguan and Yumenguan!"
Du Er pointed to the sky to the west. Thousands of troops and horses swept in, and happened to meet the fleeing Gaochang cavalry.
"Niang's, finally caught up!"
Feeling sorry for the casualties of his own cavalry, Zhang Zhongxia issued the military order with a dark face.
"Du Er, you personally lead the cavalry in pursuit and kill all these beasts for me. Remember, I don't want to live!"
He will never be merciful to executioners who dare to harm ordinary people.
"General, this is Mamula, the commander of the Gaochang Cavalry. He was knocked unconscious by our artillery. What should we do with him?"
Wang Gui rode over, his face full of excitement.
And behind him, there were several Gaochang prisoners tied up. One of them is Ma Mula, the coach of Gao Changjun.
"All the prisoners, including him, had their heads chopped off and their bodies were thrown into the desert to feed the dogs!"
Zhang Zhongxia said sternly without even looking.
What bullshit Mamula, he doesn't care at all.
"General Song, I am the son-in-law of King Baershu of Gaochang. If you kill me, neither the Great Khan of Mongolia, Ogedai, nor King Baershu of Gaochang will let you go!"
Mamula had woken up and chirped.
The general in the army who knew Uighur language stepped forward to report, and Zhang Zhongxia sneered again.
"Tell him, we won't let go of his bullshit King Gaochang. And we won't let him go, either! And his bullshit Wokuotai Dahan!"
The general translated loudly, but Mamula turned pale and shouted "spare my life" repeatedly. Song Jun pushed him down and executed him on the spot.
"General, what should we do next?"
Wang Gui looked at the pursuit scene in the distant fields. The Song Army cavalry completely controlled the battlefield, and there was no longer any suspense in the battle.
"Report this to Commander Yu of Zhangye. If my prediction is correct, there will definitely be fierce battles between Song and Meng. I just don't know, will my Hexi Army be involved?"
"General, you are the emperor's favorite general. There will definitely be a chance for us to go on an expedition! By then, we will kill all the Tatars and they will never dare to run wild in our Song Dynasty again!"
Wang Gui said excitedly.
There is another war, and this is a good opportunity to make achievements.
"I hope so!"
Zhang Zhongxia nodded and looked towards the eastern sky.
This battle is probably just the prelude to the Song-Meng war. I don’t know if the northwest of the Song Dynasty is already turbulent?
