He Chao placed a hundred men at the back because he was worried that if he led his team to rush over, some lucky people from the other side would escape the battle. If it were Zuo Liangyu and his son, he would let them escape from Mount Xikuma. He was waiting It was all in vain.
This group of people did not need to rush to kill, they could just sit back and wait for the rabbit. Whenever a bandit came on horseback, regardless of their official position, they would draw their bows and arrows and shoot them to the ground. Unexpectedly, they actually caught a big fish.
The Xuzhou Mutiny that occurred in December last year resulted in the massacre of Zuo Liangyu's family members who had settled in the city. In addition, Zuo Liangyu had been an orphan since he was a child and was raised by his uncle. After the mutiny, Zuo Menggeng was Zuo Liangyu is the closest relative in the world.
Now that Zuo Mengeng died in the hands of the officers and soldiers, his death was so miserable that Zuo Liangyu, who had lost his son in old age, had veins popping out on his forehead. He was furious and his eyes were about to split. He had no time to shed tears, so he directly picked up the long-handled sword and went to find He. Super revengeful.
"What a super rat! Give me back my child!!!!!!!"
Zuo Liangyu looked around and saw that the target was only ten feet away from him, so he urged his horse to rush towards him, saying that everything he said was in vain. Only by cutting off He Chao's dog's head with a knife could he pay homage to his son's spirit in heaven.
At this time, Zuo Liangyu had forgotten all the ways to escape, and only had eyes for this culprit. Without him to stop him, the father and his son would have smoothly climbed over Xikuma Mountain, crossed the Diao River, and entered Deng. Within the state.
Now that his son has died in the war, Zuo Liangyu is also deeply saddened. Although he could find a woman to have a few more sons after escaping, Zuo Liangyu is determined to accept that he has raised his son since he was a child and is left here dejected. Can't.
Just now, He Chao was fighting with Zuo Jun's cavalry. When he heard someone shouting "Father", he immediately thought that Zuo Menggeng had been beheaded and deceived the other party, so he spurred his horse to check.
Seeing a horse without a rider in front of the rear team in the distance and a corpse lying nearby, he guessed that Zuo Menggeng might have been shot. This was the best thing to do. Wait until Zuo Liangyu was killed. Then you can withdraw your troops and retreat.
"ah……"
Unexpectedly, Zuo Liangyu came to the door on his own initiative, which caught He Chao off guard. While he was still stunned, the other party galloped to a position less than one foot away from him.
Seeing the enemy who had killed his son right in front of him, Zuo Liangyu's eyes almost burst out with fire. Without saying a word, he chopped down from above with a big knife, and a powerful and heavy Overlord Gaidong came.
He Chao screamed in surprise. He didn't have time to see the specific position of the chop. He instinctively used his arms to support it. However, he didn't expect that the opponent's sword was not blocked. The body of the spear was cut into two pieces, and he was frightened. Covered in cold sweat.
In order to gain the upper hand when the cavalry charged and strike first, He Chao asked his cavalry to borrow a spear that was more than ten feet long from the infantry. This could kill the enemy before the sword when the two armies attacked.
As the saying goes, one inch is long and one inch is strong. Before the enemy's horseman's sword falls, the spear in the hand of one's own horseman will knock the enemy off his horse.
The actual situation was also the same. As he was well prepared, He Chao took the lead in launching a wall charge against Zuo Liangyu. Many of the Zuo Army soldiers were stabbed to the core by the opposing spear before they could cut the opponent with their swords.
Using the same two weapons, horse pawns and infantry are used in completely different ways.
Whether an infantryman uses a long-handled sword or a spear, both arms must exert force to make the weapon lethal.
The same goes for horse soldiers using long-handled swords. Only when they are hedging, they will maintain a posture and use the inertia generated by the galloping horses to produce a blunt blow effect.
If the horse soldiers use long spears, since the spears are generally longer than the swords, they have an inherent advantage. Therefore, the horse soldiers can simply rely on inertia to make the spears in their hands extremely lethal.
As long as the arms and waist and abdomen are strong enough to withstand the huge reaction force produced when hitting the target, and the gun barrel does not break suddenly, the long gun will be much more lethal to the enemy's pawns than the broadsword during high-speed collisions.
Even a horseman wearing thick armor can hardly withstand the huge impact of a spear in an instant. Even if it is not pierced, it will be knocked off the horse.
The cavalry of the left army mostly used broadswords, but they suffered a big loss when charging. They had to use their knives to deflect the opponent's spears before they could chop.
A master with superb martial arts can combine the poking and chopping movements in a very short period of time. Otherwise, the power of the sword can only be unleashed when the two sides are in close combat.
If the horsemen of both sides are fighting on the spot, the broadsword is of course more powerful than the spear. Without targeted training, the spear will be inferior to the sword in terms of mastery.
Anyone who is in the military can probably use a broadsword very well. Even if he has no strength at all, he can use it in one and a half moves, and he can scare the opponent if he swings it on horseback.
In close combat, He Chao's cavalrymen, who used long spears, suffered a lot, but the lieutenant didn't mind, because he had more people and was more focused on the initial sprint stage.
Of the four hundred horsemen of the left army, no less than thirty or forty of them were shot down by arrows. Including those who were dismounted by spears, the total number was nearly two hundred, which was close to half of the total strength.
He Chao also lost roughly the same size of soldiers, but in the case of equal numbers rather than equal proportions of battle losses, He Chao is absolutely acceptable. In this way, in the end, he will have more troops than Zuo Liangyu.
Melee combat with long spears is very disadvantageous, and He Chao has nothing to do with it. No matter how powerful Zuo Jun's soldiers and horses are, they can't fight three of them one by one, right?
The cavalry he brought were not very elite, but if it was difficult to fight three against one, and they were killed to death by the other party, then there was no need to think about intercepting Zuo Liangyu, and they all went back to their hometown to farm!
"Death to the rats!"
Zuo Liangyu raised the knife and cut off He Chao's spear. He was about to split his enemy in half, but the size was just a little off. The blade was right against the tip of He Chao's nose and saw the opponent's saddle.
"wishful thinking!"
He Chao was so frightened that he wanted to turn his horse and run away, but the opponent's sword was still stuck in his pommel. When he saw this, he simply threw away the useless spear, grabbed the blade of the sword, and snatched it from Zuo Liangyu. A weapon.
Zuo Liangyu was a tall man with great physical strength. Last year, he killed Zhang Xianzhong and fled, almost dying on the spot. But He Chao didn't give it in vain, and he knew in his heart that the loser in this kind of tug-of-war would most likely be hacked to death.
The two sides were in a stalemate. Zuo Liangyu suddenly got wise and deliberately pulled the knife handle back. When He Chao pulled hard in his direction, he suddenly let go.
He Chao didn't react in time, and his body leaned back with the inertia. He suddenly lost his position, his back was facing down, and he was almost lying on the saddle.
Without waiting for the opponent to get up, Zuo Liangyu opened his bow and nocked an arrow. The whole movement was smooth and smooth, and he aimed the arrow cluster at the position where the opponent's head was rising in the blink of an eye.
As long as He Chao gets up, he can shoot his dog's head off with one arrow, and only then can he avenge the loss of his son!
He Chao heard something wrong, it seemed like the sound of a bow string opening and closing, and he secretly thought something was wrong. When he touched the saber on his waist, he suddenly had an idea. He lay down and pulled out the saber, grabbed it in his hand, and then used force towards Zuo Liangyu's position. Throw.
Zuo Liangyu was unable to dodge and was stabbed in the chest by a waist knife, and immediately shot He Chao in the thigh with an arrow.
Because he was wearing thick armor, important parts like his chest were most protected. The waist knife was only just short of the chest and did not hurt the skin inside at all.
"Ah... Zuo thief! I will fall in love with you..."
But He Chao was indeed shot through the thigh by Zuo Liangyu, injuring the bones. Blood spurted out suddenly, causing him to scream in pain on his horse.
"Suffer death!"
Zuo Liangyu, who was eager for revenge, pulled out the knife, took out a heavy arrow from the arrow kettle, and shot the chest without seeing the head. At such a close distance, the turtle grandson had nothing to wear.
"Whoosh...poof!"
Suddenly, there was a sound of breaking through the air. This sound was all too familiar. Someone must have fired an arrow at him. Zuo Liangyu, who was sitting on the horse, immediately dodged to the side, but because the time was too short, he had no time to turn sideways and was still shot. shoulders.
"Don't let the left thief hurt my Xie Rong!"
When the four soldiers under He Chao saw their master was injured, they immediately came to the rescue. Two of them shot, and the other two rushed to kill. Because the target suddenly dodged, one shot missed and the other hit the target. Although the prey was not killed, it was still on the spot. Failed.
"hateful!"
Although Zuo Liangyu wanted to kill his enemy, he just lay on the horse and pretended to be dead, letting you do whatever you want with his legs. As long as he didn't get shot in the torso, he could save his life.
Until now, Zuo Liangyu still planned to fight off the reinforcements first and then kill He Chao. However, seeing that there was still a steady stream of enemy soldiers rushing towards them behind these four people, Zuo Liangyu had no choice but to grit his teeth and give up the target, and ran away.
"Ah ah ah~! It hurts me so much! Chase me quickly! If we don't kill the left thief today! We will never withdraw our troops!"
He Chao grinned and screamed on his horse. He was hit by an arrow in the thigh, as if his bones were shot in half. If Zuo Liangyu escaped from now on, he would have received the arrow in vain. Even if he chases him to the ends of the earth, he will still be cut into pieces.
Our side was outnumbered and the other side had no fighting spirit. Even so, we still suffered a big loss and our head was almost chopped off by Zuo Liangyu. He Chao was a little scared thinking about it. If he hadn't just adapted to the situation, he would have gone to find Zuo Mengeng now.
"Pfft...ugh!"
Just as He Chao was thinking about it, there was a sudden sound of a sharp weapon entering the flesh from his waist, followed by a sharp pain. He Chao lowered his head and saw that there was a sharp arrow stuck in his left waist.
"Whoosh...poof!"
Just when he was wondering, another arrow suddenly hit the deputy general's chest, causing He Chao to tilt and fall from his horse on the spot, with a large mouthful of blood spurting out of his mouth.
Although Zuo Liangyu was driven away by his own soldiers and fled before the battle, he could still use his special skill, which was to use a "returning arrow" when the opponent's general underestimated the enemy and thought that the danger was over.
While fleeing in multiple ways, he turned around and saw He Chao standing up in the distance, so he made a plan and fired two arrows with his backhand. With great force and precise control, both of them hit the enemy's torso.
When Zhang Xianzhong led his army to attack Nanyang before, he was also beaten to disgrace by his move. If he hadn't run fast, he would have been killed by Zuo Liangyu.
The "Eight Kings" were not killed, but He Chao became the scapegoat. Even if the other party did not die on the spot, he would still die. One life is worth another, and Zuo Liangyu felt a little relieved.
Seeing that the master of the family was seriously injured and very likely to die, He Chao's soldiers pursued him like crazy, vowing to chop off the left thief's head.
The 400 cavalrymen who fled north with Zuo Liangyu had been killed by He Chao's troops, leaving only about 30 cavalrymen. Only eight cavalrymen were able to come over and continue to flee with the commander-in-chief.
Behind them were no less than fifty or sixty cavalry, all led by He Chao's tooth generals. If the head of the family died in the battle and Zuo Liangyu escaped, it would be difficult for them to return.
Acknowledging the new master is a matter of course. The top priority is to kill Zuo Liangyu. Firstly, to avenge Xierong, and secondly, the head is worth five thousand taels of silver!
Zuo Liangyu's soldiers and horses were killed and only nine of them were left. Compared with the enemy and ourselves, there were five or six to one. Is there any better situation than the current one?
If you kill the Zuo thief, you will not only receive money from Hong Shaobao, but you can also get promoted. However, it is much easier than fighting the rogue bandits. If you think about these things clearly, He Jun's soldiers and horses will fall behind and bite them.
About an hour later, General Ya returned to the battlefield at the foot of Xikuma Mountain with the injured soldiers and the body of former commander-in-chief Zuo Liangyu, and joined the generals, guerrillas and others who were cleaning up the battlefield.
The general who commanded the battle, He Chao, had died due to excessive blood loss. General Ya and a group of soldiers knelt down and kowtowed to his body three times, muttering a lot of words of gratitude. No one shed tears, but everyone's expressions All in a state of indifference and sadness.
Then he placed Zuo Liangyu's body with five sharp arrows stuck in his back next to him, as a way of repaying his kindness for taking care of everyone for many years. From now on, they will hang out with the new master, and the two parties will say goodbye. We no longer owe each other.
After finishing cleaning up, it was already afternoon, and there was only an hour before sunset. Everyone was working hard to return to the camp on the north bank of Han River, opposite Gucheng, before sunset.
As Zuo Liangyu's men chose to surrender one after another, his 3,000 infantry and 300 horsemen were sent to the south bank in batches by the chief military officer Ma Ke.
Miao Youcai, in the name of Hong Chengchou, stayed behind and waited for the pursuers from the north to return. Feng Ju wanted to lead his troops eastward along the north bank of the Han River to ensure the safety of Fancheng.
Ma Ke had the largest number of troops, so he acted as the main force in the encirclement and suppression of Zhang Xianzhong. He along with Hong Chengchou broke out of camp and marched towards Xiangyang. Li Wanqing was in charge of the rear of the palace and was temporarily stationed in the Gucheng area. If the bandits advancing westward came back, they would be driven back.
Since most of Zuo Liangyu's troops had surrendered and Xiangyang was in urgent need, Hong Chengchou was afraid that the place would be lost, so he no longer waited for his pursuers to return before rushing south to aid Xiangyang.
The purpose of killing Zuo Liangyu was to allow the army to have no worries and go all out to suppress the rebellious thieves. Killing the Zuo thieves was the first priority and aiding Xiangyang was the most important.
If Xiangyang falls, it will be equivalent to the previous stage. All the intensive deployment effects of the prince and the court will be in vain, and the preemptive strike will be fatally struck by the rogue bandits.
Moreover, judging from the battle reports sent from Xiangyang, the rogue bandits were already attacking the city in large numbers. Xiangyang was in danger, and Hong Chengchou must be very anxious.
Fortunately, they have not fallen yet. Even so, we cannot take it lightly. Luo Dai has already led 5,000 horsemen to rush to the rescue, and Liu Guoneng's more than 20,000 soldiers followed suit.
As the main force in the attack, after it was determined that Zhang Ni was the main force in the siege of Xiangyang, Ma Ke and Yang Guozhu were the last to break camp and set off.
Hong Chengchou was also forced by the "Eight Kings"'s previous plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain. He had to think carefully about everything. Only when he was sure that Xiangyang was besieged could the army go south, so as not to be led by Zhang Ni.
Moreover, according to the battle report, Tang Tong lost contact with Jiang Mingwu and the other two general soldiers Yang Yufan and Mou Wenshou. There is no latest report on this matter yet.
Tang Tong's entire army was wiped out, and Jiang Mingwu retreated to Xiangyang City with him. This meant that half of the official army responsible for the southern line of suppression had been defeated by the rogue bandits, and it was still unknown whether the remaining troops could fight again.
The four commander-in-chiefs on the northern front had just finished the battle. One ran away, one stayed behind, and the other two rushed south to help.
This is equivalent to saying that the main force in suppressing the rogue bandits temporarily became the defenders of various cities controlled by Fang Kongzhen, the governor of Huguang.
The 100,000-strong army led by Hong Chengchou was first tricked by Zhang Ni into escaping, and then suffered a major defeat in the mountains.
Only now could we smell the rogue bandits, and the situation seemed to be very passive for the army's advance and suppression.
Hong Chengchou, who was frowning, was sitting in the carriage and was thinking about how to write a report to the East Palace and the imperial court...
