The Tang Dynasty started from saving Empress Changsun

Chapter 435 Defeat
The black powder exploded bombs, and there were only ten catapults, so the actual lethality caused was very limited.

However, the psychological deterrence brought by this unprecedented weapon is unparalleled.

Xue Yantuo's senior officials knew that it was a gunpowder weapon, but the soldiers at the middle and lower levels did not know it.

They only heard loud noises, and saw billowing black smoke, and the people around the black smoke were either dead or injured, which was really frightening.

Facing this kind of thing comparable to demon magic, they were terrified.Even though Yi Nan was right behind, morale still dropped unstoppably.

Yi Nan saw it in his eyes and was anxious in his heart. He had been guarding against Tang Jun's cannons.

On the way of Li Ji's march, dozens of detective teams were specially sent to approach the Tang army's formation desperately, with the purpose of checking for any suspicious items
He was relieved when he learned that there were no suspicious items.

Then he set up this iron bucket formation to consume the vitality of Tang Jun. He also learned this formation from the Han people, and it is really easy to use.

Especially when used to deal with cavalry, it is simply Tianke.

Just now their cavalry suddenly changed formation, dismounted and formed formation to shoot with bows and arrows, causing great casualties to the Tang army.

Normally, Tang Jun should fill it with human life at this moment, to attack the iron barrel array he placed down.

Who knew that Datang would play a new trick, using a trebuchet to throw the shells out.

Although the throwing distance is only a few hundred meters, it is farther than the bow and arrow, and it is enough to smash their defenses.

As a person who is familiar with the art of war, he knew very well that he couldn't go on like this.

So he ordered to change from defense to offense again, to attack the Tang army's front.

Following his order, more than a dozen messengers set off to bring his order to the generals.

How does a general command an army with noisy voices on the battlefield?
In the film and television works, the general gives any order, and the soldiers who are fighting miles away can receive it and respond immediately. That is purely a dramatic performance.

Before the advent of the telephone and telegraph, this was simply not possible in reality.

Why did Napoleon's restoration fail?
One of the reasons is that the tactical adjustments he made to the actual situation at the decisive moment could not be communicated to his subordinates in time.

And because his subordinates didn't know the specific situation, they were still faithfully executing the initial order, and then there was a problem with the cooperation of the entire army.

Napoleon's main force was defeated, and his men were still fighting the enemy on other fronts.

This situation is the same both at home and abroad.

Because of the inconvenience of communication, specific tactics must be planned in advance.

It is very difficult to adjust tactics after the battle begins, so whoever has a far-reaching and comprehensive plan has a higher probability of winning.

In order to deal with emergencies, the ancients also came up with many methods, such as reserving a mobile force to deal with unexpected situations.

For another example, use drums to convey some simple military orders.

Complicated orders can only rely on the messenger, and the messenger can't just send one wave, but many waves.

In this way, even if a certain messenger gets lost or has an accident, the order can be guaranteed to be delivered.

The Central Plains Dynasty is actually similar, and important information is sent by several groups.

When Yi Nan's order was delivered to the generals, Xue Yantuo's camp started to move again.

Seeing this scene in the distance, Li Ji immediately made a judgment: "Yi Nan has taken the bait, and ordered the vanguard battalion to wait and withdraw to the army."

After he finished giving the order, Li Chengqian asked, "Prince Ying, what about the catapult?"

People can withdraw it, but the trebuchet is so heavy that it is difficult to move it.

Li Ji replied: "Burn it. We only brought more than 300 flowering bombs when we came out this time. We have already put almost all of them just now. There is no need to keep the trebuchet."

"And we have craftsmen who can make new ones at any time if needed."

Li Chengqian nodded and stopped talking, secretly admiring Li Ji's scheming, plotting Yi Nan to death.

Just as Li Ji said, they brought [-] flowering bombs with them this time, seven or eighty-eight of which were used in the few rounds of projectiles just now.

If Yi Nan persisted for a while longer, Datang would really have to use his life to break away from Xue Yantuo's army.

But being unfamiliar with firearms, Yi Nan couldn't hold on any longer, and chose to attack.

"Actually, we are not afraid of colliding with Xue Yantuo people head-on. Regardless of their numbers, they have no chance of winning in a fight."

"It's just that our casualties will increase in that way, so I understand the vital force of the soldiers withdrawing from the army and relying on the formation to kill and wound the Xue Yantuo people."

Li Ji taught: "Besides, the sage handed over the Shenji Battalion to me. One reason is to test its combat effectiveness through actual combat. We must give them a chance to perform."

Li Chengqian nodded and said: "So that's the case, I understand, I don't know if Shenjiying can live up to everyone's expectations."

The changes on the battlefield were very fast, when Xue Yantuo's troops stepped out of the army formation and wanted the Tang army to rush to kill them.Tang Jun had already made preparations and began to evacuate backwards.

And a torch burned all the trebuchets to prevent them from being snatched and used by the Xue Yantuo people.

Watching the Tang army's orderly retreat from a distance, Yi Nan said sincerely: "Li Ji is worthy of being a famous general. The fighting power of the Tang soldiers is indeed very strong."

Retreating is more difficult than attacking, and a bad move will lead to a big defeat. Li Ji thinks he can't learn this skill.

However, he didn't think that his own ability was not enough, but that the quality of the soldiers under him was different.

He thought that he could do what Li Ji did if he changed places.

Seeing that the catapult that released the demon method was burned down, the Xue Yantuo people were very excited, their morale began to recover, and they rushed to the Tang army's camp even more bravely.

One side is chasing and the other is retreating, the speed difference seems to be the same.

Soon the Tang army withdrew from the army formation, and the soldiers immediately rearranged the rejecting horses and waited for them.

And Xue Yantuo's army followed closely behind.

But at this time Xue Yantuo's army was divided into two, some infantry attacked the army formation, and some took out their bows and arrows to shoot at the Tang army hiding behind the army formation.

The Tang army relied on chariots and horses as shields for defense, and mainly shot with bows and arrows.

Seeing that the two sides were about to enter the stage of shooting and fighting each other, an accident happened as expected.

Of course, this accident was for Yi Nan.

"Bang bang bang..." sounded everywhere in Tang Jun's formation, and puffs of black smoke rose with it.

Xue Yantuo was startled at first, they are too familiar with this thing, isn't it just a demon method?
It's just why the Tang people use demon methods in the army here?Can't think about it, or is the magic out of control?

It's no wonder they thought so, the shells exploded in Xue Yantuo's army formation and emitted black smoke, so they thought that this kind of weapon was meant to be used in this way.

Now seeing the sound and black smoke coming out of Tang Jun's army formation, I thought there was something wrong with the loss of control.

Thinking of this possibility, the morale of the Xue Yantuo people increased even more.

Yi Nan thought so too at first, but when he noticed the sound kept coming out one after another, he knew it wasn't a firearm out of control, but Tang Ren took out a brand new firearm.

At this moment, his confidence in winning was shaken uncontrollably. Tang Ren's preparations were deeper than he thought.

Shaking his head violently, he stared fixedly at the Datang Army Formation.

I will never admit defeat, this battle must be won, and let the world know who is the master of this grassland and desert.

Moreover, there was no room for retreat now, as long as his rear army dared to take a step back, the front army would be defeated.

At that time, it will not be as simple as failure.

This battle must continue to be fought no matter from which side.

Thinking of this, he felt ruthless in his heart, and said: "I have sent an order to Dadu She, now is his chance to take the blame and make meritorious service, and he must break through the Tang army's formation."

Dadu set up in the front was in pain when he received the order, but he had no choice but to urge the army to attack and then attack.

Triple Strike highlights its strength on the battlefield that suits it best.

With the roar of the firecrackers, rows of Xue Yantuo were shot and fell down, either dead or injured.

The gunfire uses lead bullets, which are known to be poisonous.

Even if they were not killed on the spot, it would be difficult to survive unless the flesh of the shot was dug out on the spot.

Obviously the Xue Yantuo people didn't know this, so the fate of those who were shot was already doomed.

If this was a volley of bows and arrows, Xue Yantuo would not be afraid, but facing this completely unfamiliar weapon, it was difficult for them to control their emotions.

A new panic began to spread, and many Xue Yantuo soldiers began to steal and play tricks, trying to hide behind others and let others stand next to them.

If one person does this kind of thing, countless people will learn from it. More and more people tried to avoid it, and riots began to occur at the front line of Xue Yantuo.

Li Ji, who was always paying attention to the battlefield, noticed this keenly, and immediately ordered: "The last shells should be thrown into the group of Xue Yantuo in front of Shenji Battalion."

His order was carried out immediately, and the craftsmen built a simple rock-throwing equipment as quickly as possible.

First, I experimented and found that it can only be thrown a hundred meters away, but it is enough.

The soldiers immediately threw the remaining shells out, which happened to land at the foot of Xue Yantuo's vanguard camp.

"Boom boom boom..." The familiar voice and black smoke appeared, like the last straw, completely crushing the enemies on this side.

Some people run away at the beginning, and if one person runs away, more people will follow suit, and a chain reaction will happen.

Xue Yantuo's army in this corner defended by Shenji Battalion was defeated, and their defeat also drove more unsuspecting people to flee.

The Xue Yantuo people in the rear, who didn't know and mistakenly thought that the magic of Tang Dynasty was out of order, continued to rush forward excitedly.

Then the two collided, and Xue Yantuo's entire front army was in turmoil.

Yi Nan's eyes were tearing up when he saw this scene of horror, why did the vanguard battalion retreat?Don't they know the consequences of doing so?

In the end, thousands of words merged into one sentence: "Dadu She, I will kill you."

In his mind, the culprit of all is Dadujian, if not for his incompetence, how could he be so.

At this time, one of his subordinates persuaded: "Khan, get out quickly, or it will be too late if you don't leave."

Another subordinate said: "The defeat of the front army is a foregone conclusion. We can't let them affect the rear army, otherwise we will really be finished."

Yi Nan naturally understood this truth, and immediately said: "Order the rear army to retreat, and kill all the routs who try to attack the rear army."

Someone is going to deliver the order immediately.

At this time, don't blame him for being ruthless and merciless in attacking his own people. If he doesn't do this, it would be cruel to everyone if he let the routs disperse the well-organized rear army.

However, Li Ji soon told him that you were thinking too much.

In the camp of the Tang army, Li Ji saw the defeat of Xue Yantuo's former army, and immediately ordered: "Order the infantry to chase and expel Xue Yantuo."

"Then send an order to General Hou, and his cavalry can move, directly attacking Xue Yantuo's rear army, completely disrupting the entire battlefield."

Hou Junji, who had watched it for a long time, was very excited, raised his halberd and shouted: "Brothers, follow me."

"Come on." With an order, five thousand cavalry who were waiting in full formation jumped out of the army formation and charged towards Xue Yantuo's rear army.

Yi Nan noticed Tang Jun's movements at the first time, and secretly thought it was bad.

Although he had nearly 4 people in his hands, and Tang Jun's cavalry seemed to be only [-], he knew that his chances of winning were very small.

He had seen the combat effectiveness of the Tang army with his own eyes. In field battles, one was used as five or even ten. That's how the Eastern Turks were defeated with fewer hits and more.

This is also the reason why he took the initiative to learn the method of infantry in the Central Plains.

What's more, their morale is fluctuating at this time, and it is still unknown how much combat effectiveness they can exert in the face of the Tang army's attack.

But he knew that he had no room to retreat, so he immediately ordered his men to meet the enemy.

[-] cavalry rushed out from the queue and went up to Hou Junji's cavalry.

The two cavalry charged towards each other, and the distance quickly narrowed to more than a hundred meters.

The two sides took out their bows and arrows and shot at each other for a round, then threw them away, then drew out their weapons, took a posture, and rushed towards each other with their heads sullen.

"Bang bang bang..." It was as if two waves collided fiercely, and dozens of hundreds of lives died in the collision at that moment.

"Accelerate, accelerate, accelerate..." Hou Junji shouted excitedly while slashing.

He used one of Datang's famous tactics 'piercing through', and he himself was the peak of the charge.

After a while, he died, but he didn't care about it at all. He just waved his weapon and slashed and killed the enemy in front of him, enjoying the pleasure of the weapon eating through the enemy's body.

Since he was punished last time, it had been a long time since he had experienced the feeling of going into battle to kill the enemy, so he was particularly excited at this moment.

It only took a short time, maybe only five or six minutes, maybe only three or two minutes, and the two sides had already passed by and changed positions.

However, Xue Yantuo's cavalry had been cut into two from the middle.

The two sides charged forward for a certain distance, and then stopped the horse and turned the horse's head at the same time as if there was a tacit agreement.

"kill."

It was another round of acceleration, and another staggered pass to exchange positions, but after each staggered pass, their respective formations would become much thinner.

Especially Xue Yantuo's cavalry, whose formation has been torn apart.

After another round of charging, Hou Junji quickly gathered his troops. Taking this opportunity, he estimated the number of people, and there were only a little over 4000 people.

On the other hand, Xue Yantuo has reduced staff even more, and by visual estimation, there are only 4000 people left.

Three to four times the battle loss ratio, this is a statistic that everyone can be proud of.

However, Hou Junji didn't show any joy at all, instead he cursed and said, "It's specially brewed, it's a few days without soldiers and you're unfamiliar, and you'll be laughed at when you go back."

After muttering something, he raised his halberd again and shouted, "Boys, keep charging with me."

While shouting, he rushed into the enemy line again.

The [-] Xue Yantuo cavalry could no longer hold on and were completely defeated.

(End of this chapter)