I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 424 This is the chiseling tactic!
Sima Qian and Su Wu had no idea that Liu Ju's current formation, which looked like a reverse bow, was the most classic "bow and arrow tactics" of the Mongol cavalry, also known as the "arc strategy" in later generations.

The ones launching the charge now were actually just the crossbow cavalry detachments hastily assembled by the crossbowmen at both ends of the arc, with only three hundred people in each team.

There was a detachment on each side that launched a charge, with a total of no more than 600 people.

"Archers meet the enemy!"

Seeing this, the Right Sun King Tiefu would not just sit there and wait for death, so he immediately gave a loud order.

However, he knew nothing about the situation of the Han army at the moment, and seeing that the Han army had taken the initiative to launch a charge, he still had some concerns in his heart. He did not immediately order the Hun army to launch a counterattack, but first tested the defense with archers.

In his opinion, the Han army only used such a small number of troops to launch a charge, which should also be a test or lure. Any rash action would most likely lead to falling into a trap.

In fact, the Mongol cavalry used the "arc strategy".

The detachment that charged first was indeed doing so to provoke and lure the enemy, while the real elite main force was waiting in the center of the arc. Once the enemy was provoked and began to pursue, the elite main force would immediately launch a powerful counterattack and disperse the enemy in one fell swoop.

The words fell.

The front row cavalry of the Xiongnu army drew their bows and drew their arrows, and as soon as the Han cavalry came into range, they would fire at least a thousand arrows.

"Sima Jianjun, His Highness has ordered a charge. Is this a signal for us? Should we open the city gates and charge out at the same time, and attack the Xiongnu army from both sides with His Highness?"

Su Wu could no longer contain himself upon seeing this, and in his nervousness he could not help but make a proposal to Sima Qian.

"General Su, please be patient and wait a little longer!"

Sima Qian also frowned, looking at the huge Xiongnu army outside the city with burning eyes, and finally shook his head.

"The enemy has not yet been contained by Your Highness, and their formation remains solid. They will definitely be on guard against us."

"And most of our soldiers are infantry. Although we can use chariots as a barrier to approach the Xiongnu army, it will be very difficult to engage in close combat with the enemy in a short period of time. If the enemy suddenly turns its spears around and charges at us, I'm afraid it will be difficult to resist. By then, Jiaohe City will be handed over, and I'm afraid that Your Highness's plan will be ruined."

"Besides, with His Highness's means, if he needs us to leave the city to assist, he will definitely give us a clear hint."

"At the very least... we have to wait until the Xiongnu's formation is disrupted first, so that we can attack them from both sides. Otherwise, if we rush out of the city, we will give the enemy a chance to defeat us one by one. Although I have never led an army, I know that this is a taboo in military strategy."

The terrain of Jiaohe City was too perfect. The Han army was able to hold it, making it impossible for the Huns to take it but unwilling to give it up.

If the Huns occupied Jiaohe City, they would also put the Han army in a dilemma. They couldn't just lay siege and stalemate in a place where the Huns could provide easier support, right?

"That's true... Then let's just wait and see what happens?"

"Just wait and see what happens."

The two men quickly reached a consensus, but they sent people to pass on the message. The 5,000 Han troops in the city were also ready for battle, and the 3,000 soldiers of the Gu Shi who could control the bows were also assembled.

What they are most worried about now is the confrontation between the Han cavalry and the Xiongnu army.

Although they were not sure how many cavalry Liu Ju had temporarily assembled this time, they knew that their number would definitely not reach the 20,000 of the Xiongnu army, and they were still at an absolute disadvantage.

Even if they had ambushed two thousand people before, it could not change this reality.

"Close!"

Suddenly, both of them fell silent, looking across the Hun camp without blinking at the Han cavalry approaching the enemy formation.

"Prepare!"

Several miscellaneous kings in the Xiongnu army had also drawn their bows and arrows, but their arrows were different from those of others. They all had "mingdi" to indicate the direction of shooting.

Once this arrow is shot, thousands of arrows will be fired at once. Anyone who doesn't shoot will die!

This was the core of the Xiongnu army's military order, created by Maodun Chanyu, who killed his father and established himself as the emperor a hundred years ago. It was this man who contributed to the rise of the Xiongnu, and it was also a means of achieving dictatorship. At the same time.

The two crossbow cavalry detachments of the Han army were already two hundred steps away from the front line of the Xiongnu.

It was not known whether the two crossbow cavalry detachments failed to control the speed of their charge and were unable to move in unison, or whether they did it on purpose, but one arrived slightly faster and the other slightly slower.

"Let go! Fold!"

The faster ones would suddenly take out their strung crossbows when they were two hundred steps into the enemy formation, and then charge forward a few dozen steps. As soon as they came into the range of the crossbows, they would point the crossbows at the enemy formation and pull the trigger.

Then, regardless of whether they had gained anything, they quickly turned back when they came within the range of the Hun's longbows.

Those who were a little slower in this matter followed suit, and then there was another round of powerful crossbow salvos, which also returned quickly.

In this way, the two crossbow cavalry detachments only rushed out a "√" route in front of the enemy formation, and the charging routes intersected to form an "X", and finally returned to the other end of the Han army's arc. It seemed that the two detachments had only completed a position exchange.

"Ah! Ah! Ah..."

"Xilulu!"

Even so, the screams of the Hun soldiers and horses continued to be heard in the rain of arrows.

The Huns were only wearing armor, and their horses were completely uncovered. How could they resist the powerful crossbows, even the arm-drawn crossbows with less power?

In this one attack alone, the Han army inflicted hundreds of casualties on the Xiongnu front line.

But the Huns did not fire a single arrow, because the Han army's crossbow cavalry did not even enter the range of the Hun archers.

"how so?!"

"Why can the Han cavalry use crossbows on horseback?!"

"I just saw clearly that the Han army stood up from their horses when shooting crossbows. Why did the Han army's riding skills suddenly become so powerful?"

Many Hun generals and soldiers were shocked by the screams.

They had never seen such Han cavalry, which was obviously different from the previous Han cavalry.

Perhaps they would soon understand the role of the double stirrups and begin to imitate them, but Liu Ju had already thought about it. Although this thing was helpful for the Huns who were good at volley shooting, raising 80 points to 100 points and raising 50 points to 100 points were two completely different concepts.

Moreover, they do not have powerful crossbows and definitely cannot achieve immediate results like the Han army, so there is nothing to worry about.

Just when the Huns had not yet recovered from their shock.

"The Han army is coming again! Get ready!"

The Huns had no time to think of a countermeasure and had to immediately meet the enemy again.

Because while these two crossbow cavalry detachments were on their way back, two other crossbow cavalry detachments of the same size had already set out from both sides of the arc formation and launched a charge towards the Huns' front line in the same way.

The two previous crossbow cavalry detachments automatically rotated to the rear.

Rest your horse!

Get the crossbow!

"I understand. This attack is like chiseling. It keeps chiseling into the Xiongnu formation until it breaks through. This is the 'chiseling tactic' that Your Highness mentioned to us before!"

Zhao Po Nu finally understood the essence of the "chisel tactics" and his face flushed with excitement.

(End of this chapter)