Short spear troops and sling troops formed the medium and long-range strike forces of the two armies.
Following these two troops are naturally the crossbowmen and archers.
The so-called strong bows and hard crossbows, the reason why the Qin army was able to dominate the six kingdoms was because of the power of the bows and crossbows. Compared to hand-to-hand combat, the group of long-range troops in the rear are obviously the real killers.
Of course, for this battle, the two armies also took out all the weapons they had at the bottom of the box. For example, the Qin army's bed crossbow, and the Zhao army's catapult. However, compared with Qin Jun's all-out effort, Zhao Jun obviously still had reservations.
Zhao Wei and his three thousand heavy cavalry did not appear on the battlefield, but they could no longer hide in the mountains and forests.
Because this time the Qin army obviously learned the lesson from the Battle of Changping. After arriving at the battlefield, they immediately sent out reconnaissance cavalry to search the vicinity of Xinzheng, fearing that other soldiers and horses were hiding.
Zhao Kuo immediately transferred Zhao Wei's troops back to Xinzheng City.
Anyway, Xinzheng City is big enough, so there is no need to worry about not being able to accommodate a mere 3,000 troops. Even if the Qin army discovered Zhao Wei's troops staying behind, they would only think it was a normal stay.
In any case, with the formation of the two armies completed, a real head-on confrontation finally began.
The horn sounded, and the whimpering sound clothed the battlefield with solemn clothes. Then the drums sounded, and the two armies marched forward after hearing the drums.
Five hundred steps away, Li Mu, who was standing on the chariot, immediately said: "The cavalry on the left and right come out!"
Upon hearing the order, the banner swaggered, and the originally slow drumbeat became slightly more urgent, and red flags followed the flying cavalry in the Zhao army's line.
While running, the messenger passed on Li Mu's order: "The general has orders, the cavalry on the left and right will go out into battle."
Immediately, the cavalry captains on the left and right waved their swords, and the cavalry formation immediately began to accelerate towards the left and right wings of the Qin army in batches, like a front line.
As Zhao's superior force, Li Mu obviously wanted to use his cavalry to strike first.
In several battles, it has been proved that the Qin army's cavalry is inferior to the Zhao army. Wang Lu, who knows that his cavalry is no match, obviously will not sit still and wait for death!
With the red flag waving, the soldiers on the left and right wings of the Qin Army slowly stopped, and then opened their formation, revealing the weapon they used to deal with the cavalry - the bed crossbow!
Yes, the Qin Army did not place this great weapon in the center of the formation to deal with Zhao Army's infantry, but placed it on the two wings to ensure that the two wings would not be easily broken through by Zhao Army's cavalry.
In a battle of this level, the competition is never one's own strongest point, but each other's weakest point. Whoever can last five minutes is the winner.
It took more than a hundred people to lift the bed crossbow. Even if it was left there quietly, it could make people feel the bone-chilling cold.
Dozens of shirtless strong men behind him slowly used their strength to push the winch attached to the bed crossbow, and then pulled the crossbow string made of beef tendon.
Immediately afterwards, several strong men carried an "arrow" that was as thick as a calf and carefully placed it on the bed crossbow. There were still blood-colored marks on the huge triangular-edged iron arrowhead at the front, highlighting its of Wu Xun.
Obviously, this "arrow" has torn apart countless humans and animals.
Because the production of arrowheads is very complicated, and the iron used is fine and large, such arrowheads are used repeatedly, and over time, the blood spots remain.
Although this bed crossbow is indeed terrifying and abnormal, it is obviously not enough to rely on a dozen bed crossbows to withstand the attack of tens of thousands of Zhao army's cavalry.
Therefore, at the same time as the order was sent to release the crossbows, the Qin army's central army sent another order: "Meng Ao's cavalry, go forward to intercept the Zhao army's cavalry."
Faced with Zhao Jun's first move: a massive cavalry attack, Wang Hao's response was a crossbow and cavalry confrontation.
However, before the cavalry collided with each other, Zhao Jun's second move began again!
The catapults located in the rear formation began to exert force. Huge stone bombs and kerosene bombs hit the Qin Army's queue, and instantly the Qin Army's front line became bumpy.
It's a pity that this move may not work well in small-scale battles.
It may be somewhat useful in a city defense battle, but in a battle of this scale, its effect is too small.
The reason is very simple. Zhao Jun also had catapults, but Qin Jun didn't.
It's just that Zhao Jun's heavy-weight catapult is more labor-saving, more accurate, and has a longer range.
Needless to say, it saves effort. When hundreds of thousands of troops are fighting against each other, no one will be short of those 1,800 men;
This point of precision seems a bit lackluster in this boundless front;
As for the range, it only allows Zhao Jun to attack two rounds earlier, which is nothing more than the loss of hundreds of people.
Sure enough, with the two rounds of attacks by the Zhao Army's catapults, the Qin Army's catapults also launched a bombardment. In an instant, the Zhao Army's line also turned into a wavy line.
Finally, when the Qin Army's stone bullets fell to the ground, the Zhao Army's cavalry was already in front of them.
"Let go!" the captain of the Qin army shouted loudly.
The sound of piercing the air, accompanied by the tearing of the air and the screams of Zhao Jun, swept across the entire battlefield. .
More than a dozen crossbows were fired at the same time, and the huge counterattack force even sent out bursts of dust and smoke in the Qin army's camp.
Although the calf-thick arrows were a little wobbly, they still flew towards Zhao Jun at a very fast speed. The triangular blood-colored arrowheads faintly glowed with cold light under the sunlight.
Everything that dares to stand in front of it will be torn apart.
The "thin" arrow quickly met its opponent, and blood instantly filled the sky.
Zhao Jun's cavalry at the forefront was pierced by Qin Jun's crossbows almost instantly, and almost all of them, including men and horses, were torn into pieces. The piercing whine emitted by the crossbow arrows gradually disappeared after piercing through three levels of men and horses.
The sharp spear head smashed into the soil, and until now, the thigh-thick tail rod was still trembling.
Seeing the Zhao army's forward troops being smashed to pieces, a burst of cheers broke out among the Qin army.
Obviously, the Qin Army was very satisfied with the effect of the bed crossbow. Even the captain of the Qin Army on the side breathed hard to suppress his excitement, and then ordered his soldiers to reload the bed crossbow.
Under the blow of the bed crossbow, the sharpness of Zhao Jun's cavalry was blunted.
But Zhao Bianqi was indeed a force that even the Qin army had to give way to. Almost instantly, the Zhao army's cavalry formed a sharp arrow under the adjustment of the school captain and continued to charge towards the Qin army.
There was no time for sadness and cowardice, and the Zhao army's cavalry almost stepped on the corpses and internal organs of their companions and continued to attack the Qin army.
"Let go!" With a sharp shout, the arrow rain from Zhao Jun's cavalry had already reached the top of Qin Jun's head.
"Protect!" Captains from various places on the left and right fronts of the Qin army shouted.
The shield soldiers of the Qin army on the side hurriedly protected the infantry beside them under their shields. The arrows were inserted into the shields, making a "dinging, clanging" sound. But more arrows still fell on the Qin army soldiers, and suddenly there was a cry in the Qin army camp.
And the Zhao Jun cavalry had no time to be happy, and the school captain who rushed forward quickly shouted: "Protect!"
Immediately, the well-trained Zhao Jun cavalry either hid their body directly to the side of the horse, or directly attached to the horse's back. Of course, the simplest way was to raise the small shield on his left hand.
At this time, the roaring Qin cavalry finally fired a rain of arrows.
Immediately, the clanging sound resounded across the battlefield again. Because the Zhao army's cavalry was already on guard, the Qin army's arrow rain did not have the desired effect. Of course, since the hand shield is small in area after all, it can only protect key parts such as the head and neck. Although it is protected, it is not unscathed.
After a shower of arrows, Zhao Jun's cavalry captain ordered again: "Go around!"
Immediately, Zhao Jun's cavalry began to change their formation, from the front arrow formation suitable for charging to the wild goose formation suitable for fighting.
Zhao's cavalry was about to start fighting with Qin's cavalry.
It can also be seen from this point that the appearance of the Qin Army's cavalry was expected by Zhao Jun, or Li Mu. And Li Mu's idea is also very simple: If you want to fight, then
Just fight.
Li Mu's starting point is: even if the Qin army's cavalry has the help of bed crossbows, it will still be difficult for them to be Zhao Jun's opponent.
Therefore, defeating the Qin Army's cavalry and then attacking the Qin Army's main formation would naturally be Li Mu's first choice.
However, because of the deterrent of crossbows, it is not so easy to defeat the Qin army's tens of thousands of cavalry.
Compared with the cavalry army, which has always been slightly at a disadvantage, the Qin army's situation is much better on the infantry battlefield.
As the horn sounded, the infantry colonel also unsheathed his sword, and the double shield soldiers raised their long shields. Small square formations formed a hook formation and continued to advance towards the opponent.
One hundred and fifty steps away, the Zhao army's first round of catapults attacked, and the Qin army suffered heavy losses. ..
One hundred and twenty steps away, the Qin army's catapults began to counterattack, causing Qin and Zhao casualties.
A hundred steps apart, arrows quenched with golden juice began to rain down intensively. With each raindrop, soldiers from both sides fell to the ground. Every time a soldier fell, another soldier rushed to make up for it.
Less than seventy steps apart, the two armies could already see each other, and the drumbeats of the two armies finally became intensive, and the charging horn finally sounded throughout the battlefield.
The long shield in his hand was held up to his chest and pressed tightly against his body, and the spear was tilted slightly at the command.
All the soldiers finally began to accelerate amidst bursts of urgent horn sounds.
The sound of "ding-ding-ding-ding" sounded, which was the sound of a spear hitting the opponent's shield.
The huge force not only failed to repel the shield, but instead allowed the shield to continue charging without hesitation.
There was only a "bang" sound, and the shields of both sides collided fiercely.
Obviously, this violent collision made both parties behind the shield uncomfortable, but the two of them still persisted with all their strength. No one dared, let alone took even half a step back.
The Changge above his head came down, but was blocked by his own Changge.
Amidst the clanging sound, the Qin and Zhao infantry finally fought together...
