The north wind is howling, and the silence is solemn and killing.
The low sound of horns continued to float across the sky, and the rumbling of war drums continued.
The Sui army's strength was about 80,000, and they were arranged into three huge square formations. The most elite Huo Qubing was in the middle, with flags fluttering, armor bright, and trees as long as trees. Each of them, who had experienced hundreds of battles, had a look in their eyes. Full of determination, no matter what is in front of them, they are confident to defeat it in one fell swoop.
After the ambush, the Goguryeo and Jurchen coalition forces on the opposite side suffered about 40,000 casualties. The remaining troops were about 90,000, and they formed a formation two or three miles opposite the Sui army.
Cao Cao knew that the Goguryeo army's individual combat capabilities were extremely weak. Although the coalition forces still had more troops than the Sui army, Cao Cao still put up a defensive posture. The army formation stretching for several miles in the front deployed 8,000 swordsmen and shieldmen, and 5,000 Crossbowman.
On the commander's platform of the Sui army, Han Xin stood with a sword hanging on his waist. He had a panoramic view of the deployment of the Goguryeo and Jurchen coalition forces opposite him, and he could see that the corners of his mouth were already smiling unconsciously.
"General, it looks like he has a winning chance!"
Beside Han Xin, in addition to personal guards and necessary messengers, there were also two soldiers who joined the army, Liu Xuanchu and Song Zhengben.
When Song Zhengben saw Han Xin smiling, he immediately spoke.
Han Xin nodded and said: "Pyongyang fell, Cao Cao was eager to fight a decisive battle with our army, and refused to give up even when he encountered an ambush and his morale was poor. It seemed that he wanted to make a desperate move, but during the decisive battle, he put up a defensive The formation does not dare to take a risk, and is timid before fighting. This approach of his will unconsciously affect the generals under his command. Now everyone in the Goguryeo army is afraid of our Sui generals. Our army is sure to win this battle! "
Liu Xuanchu and Song Zhengben looked at each other and nodded with smiles on their faces.
"General, General Huo is requesting an attack!"
At this moment, the messenger from Huo Qubing's department came on horseback, raised his hands and said to Han Xin.
"No, order Huo Qubing to stand still for the time being!"
Han Xin shook his head and rejected Huo Qubing's request for a fight: "Now is the time to test the endurance of the two armies. The Goguryeo army has shown signs of timidity. They will soon be unable to bear it anymore! Tell Qubing to wait for the opportunity."
Time passed by like this, and Cao Cao suddenly found that there was quite a commotion in the army under his command. The long confrontation made these soldiers unable to bear it. From time to time, some soldiers looked around and whispered to each other, and the formation began to loosen.
Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh when he saw this. Under the same situation, the Sui army on the opposite side always maintained a neat military appearance, as solemn and solemn as a statue. Although he had been racking his brains to train the Goguryeo army into a strong army since he came to power, there were frequent incursions by powerful enemies from outside and constraints from internal political enemies, so the purge of the army was never implemented.
"Lord Molizhi!"
The famous Jurchen general Wanyan Zonghan also saw this. He immediately suggested to Cao Cao: "The morale of your army is unstable. I suggest you immediately organize an elite force to attack the Sui army to mobilize the morale of the entire army."
Cao Cao nodded and immediately ordered: "Cao Hong led an army of five thousand to attack the left flank of the Sui army."
Facing the Sui army was the elite cavalry led by Huo Qubing. Cao Cao had already seen how terrifying this force was in the ambush battle just now. Cao Cao would only choose to attack frontally unless he was crazy.
winter! winter! winter!
The drums of the attack sounded. After receiving the order, Cao Hong rode on his horse, pointed forward with his sword, and shouted: "Forward!"
As Cao Hong moved the flag forward, five thousand Goguryeo soldiers attacked the Sui army formation in front. The shield bearer was in front, and the pikemen behind put their spears on the shoulders of the soldiers in the front row and advanced steadily.
In the Sui army's formation, Han Xin immediately issued an order when he saw this: "Nan Jiyun's troops come forward to fight and defeat the enemy!"
The flag was fluttered, and Nan Jiyun, who was deployed on the flanks at the front, heard the sound and moved. The two armies ran towards each other, the distance between the two sides getting closer and closer. When they were about two hundred and fifty steps away, Nan Jiyun, who had been estimating the distance, raised his hand and waved heavily, shouting: "Fire the arrow!"
Nan Jiyun gave an order, and the dense arrows in the Sui army's formation flew towards the Goguryeo army like a storm with a shrill whistle that pierced the sky.
The shields of the Goguryeo army did not resist. The sharp arrows missed the shields and penetrated the Goguryeo infantry hiding behind. The screams continued.
"Fight back, fight back quickly!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, Cao Hong quickly raised his command flag. The crossbowmen of Goguryeo also raised their crossbows and fired at the Sui army. The arrows flew into the air, but they did not cause much damage to the Sui army. Most of the arrows fell to the ground before they could reach the Sui army. The few that could reach were easily blocked by the Sui army's shields. There was a clanging sound left behind.
Cao Hong's face turned pale in an instant. Only then did he realize that there was a huge gap between his own weapons and equipment and the Sui army. This was a gap in national strength and a technological gap between Goguryeo and the Sui Empire. It was by no means short-term. It can be changed within time.
"Charge over, rush forward and engage the Sui army in close combat, so that their strong bows and crossbows will be useless!"
Cao Hong bit the bullet and ordered, and the Goguryeo army braved the rain of arrows and continued to accelerate towards the front. Soldiers were constantly shot and fell down.
After paying the price of three to four hundred people killed in battle, the Goguryeo army finally approached the Sui army. Nan Jiyun immediately changed his formation, with the crossbowmen retreating and the pikemen stepping forward to form a formation, squatting half-crouching, pointing their spears diagonally forward.
"kill!"
The Goguryeo army running at full speed ran into the Sui army's gun formation. The sharp spear heads instantly pierced the bodies of the Goguryeo soldiers, causing countless casualties.
The dripping blood made the Goguryeo army feel frightened. The soldiers who were already somewhat afraid of the Sui army became even more timid and tremblingly did not dare to charge forward.
When Cao Hong saw this, he couldn't help being furious. He roared loudly, raised the sword in his hand, separated the crowd and went straight to kill the Sui army.
"Dingdong, it is detected that Cao Hong has entered a state of bravery. His force is +3, his base force is 87, and his current force has increased to 90."
Cao Hong rushed forward with his horse, his long sword was drawn out violently, and the head of the Sui soldier who was standing in front of him fell to the ground. Seeing this, two Sui army spearmen in the back row quickly stepped in and stabbed towards Cao Hong, one from the left and the other from the right.
Cao Hong dodged sideways, and immediately struck out with another sword, and the two spears suddenly split into two pieces. Cao Hong laughed loudly, flipped his wrist and slashed with a knife, and the blood of the two soldiers splashed all over him.
When Nan Jiyun saw this, he didn't say a word. He immediately drew his bow in his hand. He spoke late and then quickly, and the sharp arrow suddenly rushed in front of Cao Hong like a shooting star chasing the moon. Cao Hong felt a pain in his throat, black eyes, fell off his horse and died.
