The hook and sickle gun gradually became famous during the Song Dynasty and became the most famous weapon for infantry to fight against cavalry.
But in fact, the hook and sickle gun was not invented during the Song Dynasty. This thing is actually a variant of the halberd.
The side blade of the halberd was bent so that it could be used to hook the horse's legs, and it became a hook-and-scythe spear.
As for the halberd, it has already appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the late Han Dynasty, although it was not a standard weapon, it was widely used.
The halberd warriors under Yuan Shao are a force that is good at using halberds. Among the military generals, Zhang Liao used his halberds to kill the Jiangdong Army in chaos when he fought in Xiaoyaojin. Sun Shiwan was killed by Zhang Liao and hid on a high slope. Later, the weapon used for self-defense was also the halberd.
The halberd was actually quite popular in the late Han Dynasty, but only elite troops or generals could use it. Ordinary soldiers could only use the beggar's version of the halberd-Ge. .
Otherwise, the difference in the amount of iron used prevents the halberd from being popularized in the military. The materials used to make one halberd head can be used to make three daggers.
To put it bluntly, it is a question of whether it can be used or not.
As for Guo Huai, it was not that he had never seen a halberd before, but he had never seen the hook-and-scythe spear in the hands of the soldiers of the North Army. He subconsciously thought that it was a strange weapon and was not the same thing as the halberd.
I really don’t blame Guo Huai for thinking this way.
According to the older generation of generals who have fought against Shu thieves, in the early years of Shu thieves there was a team called Langzhen soldiers. They fought with bamboo pole-like things in their hands. It is not surprising that Shu thieves used any strange weapons! ! !
Moreover, even if Guo Huai knew that the hook sickle was a variant of the long halberd, he probably wouldn't take it too seriously. Even the halberd soldiers could not fight against the cavalry, and even the halberd soldiers were not as effective as the spearmen against the cavalry.
But this thing that Guo Huai was not mentally prepared for gave the cavalry led by Qin Lang a very heavy blow.
After all, Qin Lang is not the kind of general who charges into battle, so when the cavalry charged, Qin Lang did not lead the troops into the battle, but stayed behind under the protection of the guards and commanded remotely.
But now he found that his cavalry began to move slowly after falling into the strange formation of the Shu bandits, and the execution of his semaphore orders also began to slow down.
It's like being stuck in a quagmire.
Qin Lang didn't quite understand the problem here, but the cavalry officers and soldiers on the front line had a very deep understanding of it.
In two directions in front of the Shu thieves, there was a spear array and a shield array. Their purpose was not to prevent the cavalry from charging, but to force the cavalry to slow down.
Originally, this was nothing. According to conventional experience, as long as the two lines of defense were broken through, the Shu thieves in the rear had no long weapons and shields to use as defense, and could not stop the impact of the cavalry. Even if the cavalry was slowed down due to the two lines of defense, , and it would not be able to overwhelm the defenseless infantry.
But this group of shameless Shu thieves actually didn't follow the rules. They not only used that strange long weapon to hook the horse's legs, but also used Miao sword soldiers to cut the horse's legs in close combat at the risk of casualties! ! !
Don’t talk about martial ethics! ! !
When the cavalry was charging, the horse's leg was suddenly chopped off, and there was no need to think about the outcome.
As the horses in front fall to the ground, the impact speed of the rear cavalry will inevitably be affected. In order to avoid these shameless Shu soldiers who hook the horses' feet and chop the horses' legs, and ensure the speed of their assault, the rear cavalry will inevitably adjust their direction to avoid this attack. Avoiding it will also disrupt the direction of the cavalry attack further behind.
After the five thousand cavalry broke into the middle of the Northern Army's formation, they began to become a little sluggish. Not only was the impact formation disrupted, but the impact speed was also forced to slow down.
It's not that we can't continue fighting, but the power of cavalry assault has become much smaller.
What's even more terrible is that at this time, the team of spearmen who had rested in the rear had once again completed their formation, and the overall formation of the Shu thieves also began to adjust. The opponents around them kept changing, pushing this group of spearmen into the enemy again. In front of the cavalry.
At this time, Cao Wei's cavalry no longer had much speed advantage. Even if they had, they could only move with difficulty in the formation and barely maintain some speed.
There was no way to retreat. Behind him were his own cavalry comrades, and beside him were the shameless Shu thieves who were waiting to cut off the horse's feet and hook the horse's legs. The only way was to rely on the final speed advantage to try to kill through the Shu thieves' formation and escape. Go outside to regroup your troops, organize your formation, and then fight back.
But at this moment, what stood in front of the cavalry was another formation of spears.
Cao Wei's cavalry had no idea how these spearmen retreated, how they rested, and how they suddenly appeared in front of them. But they knew one thing, with the current speed of the cavalry, if they wanted to break through this spear formation, they would inevitably suffer heavy losses.
It's not that it can't be flushed, but no one knows how much it can be flushed out.
But now Cao Wei's cavalry had no choice, and neither did Qin Lang and Guo Huai. Who would have thought that using five thousand cavalry to attack five thousand infantry would still be in such a dilemma.
If you charge forward, you still have a chance to fight back. If you continue to fight in this formation, no one knows how many cavalry will be left alive.
Therefore, not only did Qin Lang order these cavalry to attack forward, but the cavalry trapped in the formation also had this awareness, and they still responded to each other, preparing to break through the obstruction of the spear formation and rush out completely.
Then rushed out.
After all, cavalry is cavalry. Infantry fights cavalry. With equal strength, the infantry wants to completely trap and eat the cavalry. Unless it is Mo Dao soldiers.
But obviously, the big man now has neither the ability nor the financial resources to make the Modao. Even if Zhang Xi is cheated, Zhang Xi doesn't know what the Modao actually looks like.
The Mo Dao of later generations was actually restored based on historical descriptions and was not the genuine article.
This thing, like the wooden cow and flowing horse, has been lost for a long time. There are no unearthed cultural relics. No one knows what Mo Dao actually looks like.
Therefore, even if there is a hook and sickle gun, the hook and sickle gun is not omnipotent. In the Song Dynasty's battle against cavalry, although the hook and sickle gun played a great role, the Song Dynasty also needed to use superior troops to win this victory. of.
With the same strength, hooks, sickles, and spears could not stop the cavalry, and Cao Wei's cavalry was eventually allowed to rush out.
But after rushing out, Cao Wei's cavalry was busy gathering troops and reorganizing the offensive formation. At the same time, they were a little hesitant and did not dare to attack without permission. They were all waiting for Qin Lang's order.
Without him, after an attack by five thousand cavalry, less than four thousand people escaped in the end. One-fifth of the troops were lost in one attack. Who would dare to get into the weird formation of the Shu thieves? !
Qin Lang was also very hesitant. He was also a little unsure whether to continue the attack.
The situation in front of him has completely subverted Qin Lang's military knowledge-can anyone really use infantry to block the charge of cavalry these days? !
Not to mention that Qin Lang couldn't figure it out, even Guo Huai couldn't figure it out. He didn't even have time to order his infantry to follow the pincer attack after the cavalry charge.
This is so unreasonable.
Qin Lang and Guo Huai were a little frightened and did not make further attack orders for a while. At this time, Wu Yi felt distressed and regretful.
What is distressing is that this time five thousand Northern troops were used to deal with the cavalry attack, and their own casualties were not small.
Although it was impossible to count the number of people immediately on the battlefield, Wu Yi took a quick glance with his many years of military experience and could probably conclude that the casualties of his own Northern Army were also over a thousand.
Logically speaking, it is quite remarkable to be able to achieve a one-for-one ratio when fighting infantry against cavalry, but Wu Yi still felt distressed.
These are the elites of the Northern Army. They are not county soldiers who have been recruited for less than two years and trained for less than a year. These elites of the Northern Army are full-time professional soldiers. They have been training for five years.
Although death in battle is the final destination of soldiers, Wu Yi still felt heartbroken. These soldiers were all trained bit by bit by him and Zhang Fei over the past five years.
In one battle, more than a thousand people were killed. If the Wei army attacked a few more times, none of the 8,000 Northern troops he brought would be able to return.
What Wu Yi regretted was that he could have avoided such huge battle losses. The reason for all this was his lack of proficiency in the Northern Army's tactics and his lack of command ability.
In fact, this combat formation was not thought up by Wu Yi or Zhang Fei. The person who actually trained the Northern Army to practice this combat formation was Zhuge Liang.
This is a method of fighting with multiple arms. It can be operated through formations to create a local situation of more attacks and fewer arms. It can also deal with a very wide range of arms, from infantry to cavalry, from plain operations to mountain operations, as long as there is enough preparation. With the space for formation, these Northern troops can deal with various types of arms in various terrains.
Prime Minister Zhuge called this formation - the Eight Formations.
This eight-formation diagram really opened the eyes of Wu Yi and Zhang Fei, but similarly, this eight-formation diagram also has a fatal flaw - it has very high requirements for the generals' ability to make prompt decisions and command.
The formation of the Eight Formation Diagram is always changing. Only in this way can we create a situation in which more people fight less in a short period of time, and it is possible to use infantry against cavalry. But this change requires the leading general to make correct adjustments at any time. .
The best the soldiers can do is to be familiar with formation changes and know what actions should be taken under what military orders, but how to make changes requires the decision of the generals.
Wu Yi really tried his best. He made what he thought was the most appropriate response and what he thought was the most correct command, but he still let the Wei army's cavalry rush out.
If, really, if Prime Minister Zhuge were to command the Northern Army, even if these cavalry could rush out, there would probably not be so many people left.
Another one. If he had waited two days and brought 30,000 Northern troops to Huaili City, let alone these cavalry, even Guo Huai himself would not be able to escape.
But now, there are not so many what-ifs, let’s think about how to continue to block the impact of the Wei cavalry and kill the enemy more effectively.
Regarding the eight formation diagram, "Tang Li Wen Dui" said that it is a formation for joint operations of multiple arms. It is not as mysterious as the legend. Li Jing thought he could do it. But how to coordinate the operation specifically, Li Jing only gave one big Direction, he and Li Shimin were both military strategists, and they would not explain this in detail, so Xiao Hei actually didn't understand how the Eight Formation Diagram worked. As a street writer, my knowledge is limited, so I can only describe it based on my limited imagination. If I write something wrong, please forgive me.
(End of chapter)
