Great Han Empire

Chapter 347 The Swordsman
The speed of the Karasuma iron cavalry is getting faster and faster, and the rapid sound of horseshoes gradually forms a huge roar from both ends of the battlefield. The surging army of cavalry is roaring like a flood that has burst a bank, roaring, pouring down, and the momentum Majestic, the entire battlefield trembled with the violent shaking of the ground.

The iron cavalry of the Han army did not move, they formed a dense cone-shaped formation, like two male lions, quietly lying prone on the left and right wings of the Han army's position, their eyes were full of disdain.In their eyes, Karasuma Iron Rider seemed to be no longer a sharp weapon, but a dying animal.

The Karasuma cavalry arrived in no time, the two sides were a hundred steps apart, and the long arrow in the Karasuma man's hand roared out.

===

On the high platform, Xianyu Fu stroked the three long beards with his hands, and looked at the Karasuma man who was gradually approaching, with a flash of anger and hatred in his eyes.

"Order the Tank Battalion to attack."

The flag was waved, the horn blared, and the iron cones on the two wings suddenly split in two. The cavalry soldiers turned their horses' heads and galloped wildly to the left and right.With the division of the iron cavalry, the chariot battalion ambushed in the iron cavalry formation suddenly appeared.A staggered array of ballistas, like a bloodthirsty beast waiting to be devoured, suddenly opened its bloody mouth.

The Karasuma people were even more excited. They thought that the Han cavalry would not dare to fight, so they set up such a huge formation of chariots to block their attack.

Xiao Shuai raised his head and yelled loudly: "Blow the horn, blow the horn, tell the king that there is a car formation ahead, tell him to attack the two wings, hurry up..."

The horn soldier had just raised his horn when he saw a very terrifying scene. Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering scream from the opposite vehicle array, and countless crossbow arrows rushed into the sky at an unimaginable speed, and shot at himself. .

In the blink of an eye, the crossbow flew over a distance of eighty steps, and went straight into the galloping Karasuma cavalry.Like a giant being hit in the middle, the cavalry suddenly bent down, then howled to the sky and fell down.

The horn soldiers only heard a sound of "嗡...", and then saw the galloping horses suddenly lost control and flew into the air, then fell to the ground, and the iron knight soldiers on the horses fell to the ground The arrows died, some were pierced by crossbow arrows and flew upside down, some flew out with the fallen horse, some were nailed to the horse's back, some were hit by the horse rushing up from behind, and some After being trampled into meatloaf, in just a short moment, the cavalry soldiers in the rows in front of him suddenly disappeared together with their horses, disappearing without a trace like air.

The bugleman stared dumbfounded. His ears were filled with the roar of war horses, the scream of crossbow arrows piercing through the air, the shriek howl before death, and the sound of human beings being trampled to pieces. He didn't even feel any fear. up.

Yang Dian, the young commander who was galloping wildly beside him, suddenly arrived, and his whole body flew up into the sky. Yang Dian screamed helplessly in the air, and countless crossbow arrows instantly shot him into a hornet's nest , more crossbow arrows pierced through his body, and shot bloody into the bodies of the soldiers who followed.

A crossbow bolt shot into the horn soldier's chest with a "sigh..." and nailed him firmly to the horse's back.He took one last look at the blue sky, felt the piercing pain fill his whole body, and before he died, he finally realized that he hadn't blown the horn yet.

===

Karasuma people died in pieces, without any power to fight back.Every step forward, they have to pay a staggering price.

The galloping Karasuma iron cavalry couldn't stop the impact for a while, and continued to run wildly. Although the alarm horn sounded throughout the battlefield, they still attacked tenaciously, and died under the dense crossbow arrows one after another.

Zhang Chun was stunned. Seeing that the Karasuma people were still rushing towards the car formation, he couldn't help stamping his feet anxiously, and waved his hands desperately, shouting: "Get out... order the Karasuma people to withdraw..."

Qiu Liju, Wu Yan and Su Puyan were all in the army commanding the army to attack at this time. They didn't know that their vanguard army had been bloody massacred by the Han army ballista.It is normal for the Han army to use chariot arrays to block their own attack speed, and dense arrow arrays to kill and injure their own soldiers, as it is in war.If you withdraw when you encounter such a fierce battle, why fight?

They think that Zhang Chun is simply an idiot, directing blindly.The two sides have not yet started contact, and have to withdraw before they start fighting?In this state, how to withdraw?Withdrawing at this time, the attack formation that has been formed will inevitably be chaotic, and if the ready-to-go Han army takes the opportunity to swarm up, the battle will be defeated.

"Don't pay attention to him." Qiu Liju waved his hand and said, "The Han army has a chariot formation, so we will attack both sides of the chariot formation."

"My lord, the Han army's arrow array is too dense, and the vanguard must have suffered heavy casualties."

"If we withdraw, our casualties will be even heavier." Qiu Liju shouted at his young commander, "Order all the ministries to attack the two wings of the Han army's chariot formation."

===

The Han army distributed more than 1000 crossbow carts on the left and right wings of the battlefield, with the purpose of beating the Karasuma cavalry by surprise.Now, their goal has been achieved, and the Karasuma people not only suffered heavy losses, but were also forced to temporarily change positions.

Looking at the battlefield on the left and right wings, Xian Yufu nodded with great satisfaction, "Order the cavalry on the two wings to attack immediately and kill the Karasuma people."

"Order the chariot battalion, fill the crossbow bolts, and prepare to attack again."

===

When the Huns cavalry saw the power of the ballista for the first time, they were excited but also a little frightened.In the past, they heard from their ancestors that the military weapons of the Han Kingdom were very powerful, but they had never witnessed it with their own eyes, and they did not know how powerful the most powerful weapons of the Han Kingdom were.In their eyes, the Duliao Battalion was regarded as the elite of the Han Kingdom, but the Duliao Battalion had no special weapons worth mentioning.Some old Xiongnu soldiers have seen this kind of ballista at the pass of the Great Wall, but there are few ballistas on the pass, so they can't see how powerful it is.Today, they finally saw it. Hundreds of ballistas were fired at the same time. The earth-shattering power left everyone dumbfounded.

If these ballistas were aimed at the Huns, would he still have a chance of surviving?
While Liu Bao was thinking, he glanced at Li Hong beside him.Holding a spear in his hand at this moment, the legendary figure from Northern Xinjiang was looking solemnly at the Karasuma cavalry opposite him, full of murderous aura.The fate of the two has been tightly linked since that day when Li Hong made the oath.One wins and one loses.He never thought that fate would be so magical.

The drums of war were beating.Li Hong looked back suddenly, raised his gun and yelled, "Hoo...ho..."

The Black Panther Yicong responded in unison, roaring like thunder: "Huho...huho..."

The blood of the Xiongnu soldiers surged up in an instant, and they all shouted with all their strength: "Huho...huho..."

"Kill..." Li Hong kicked the black panther fiercely, and the horse jumped out, "Kill up..."

Eight thousand cavalry followed closely behind, like a roaring storm, sweeping towards the Karasuma people.

On the left wing of the battlefield, Yan Rou, Jiang Wu, and Nie Xiao led 1 cavalry in a rush, unstoppable.

The two sides collided, and a bloody fight immediately began.

===

In the chariot formation on the right wing, Captain Zhang Yun sat on his horse peacefully, looked up at the roaring arrows, and said to Yin Si with a smile: "After this battle, the Chariot Battalion will become famous all over the world."

Yin Si stared wide-eyed at the iron knight soldiers rushing back and forth on the battlefield in front of him. He didn't pay attention to what Zhang He said, but just nodded vigorously.

Zhang Yun said with a smile, "Zhongzhi, it's not your first time fighting, why are you nervous? Just smile, just smile."

Yin Si bared his lips reluctantly, his smile was uglier than crying.

"The old man and I hid on the top of the mountain last time, more than 100 steps away from the battlefield." Yin Si said, "This time in the middle of the battlefield, I..." Before he finished speaking, a long arrow roared towards him , He was so frightened that he hurriedly hid behind the chariot.Zhang He picked up his long spear, and the long arrow flew horizontally and fell to the ground.

"What are you running for? Just fight a few more battles." Zhang Xi patted him with a gun and said, "You are so smart, you can't die. After you transform this ballista, it will be much easier to use and its power will increase greatly." what."

"Brother Junyi, roughly how many Karasuma people did we kill?"

Zhang He thought for a while and said, "There must be three or four thousand. The Karasuma people are very aggressive. Not only did they not flee, but they attacked even more fiercely. Let's do it again, and I don't believe we can't kill them."

The soldiers of the Chariot Battalion turned a deaf ear to the fighting around them. They crowded around the ballista nervously and busily filling the crossbow arrows, preparing for the next round of shooting.

At this time, the left-wing chariot formation had already taken the lead in loading the crossbow arrows.Zhang Xiao, who had been busy for a long time, wiped the sweat from his brow, and shouted to the Ling Banner Soldiers: "Tell Mr. Xianyu, the crossbow has been reloaded."

===

"My lord, the Chariot Battalion is ready." Song Wen reminded in a low voice.

Xian Yufu pointed at the attacking army in the center that was struggling to advance, and said loudly: "Order Yan, to shrink the formation, speed up the attack, and quickly distance yourself from the left and right sides."

"Tell Master Xianyu and Master Hua to retreat steadily."

"Order the chariot battalion to quickly approach the central army and shoot intensively at the left and right sides of the rebels."

The flag soldiers immediately sent out signals continuously, and the war drums were also sounded intensively.

"My lord wants to use iron cavalry to attack the left and right sides of the rebel army?" Song Wen asked.

Xian Yufu nodded slightly. He looked at the sun moving westward in the sky, and said to himself, "It's already afternoon, why hasn't Lord Liu arrived yet? Bogui's cavalry should have arrived too?"

"My lord, Mr. Liu may be delayed by something." Yu Peng said, "If they can arrive at this time and directly attack the flank of the rebel army, we will win this battle."

===

Seeing the Karasuma people rushing up like crazy, entangled with the Han cavalry and fighting inextricably, Zhang Chun couldn't help secretly admiring their bravery.I told them to retreat in a panic just now, which is indeed a big taboo of military strategists. Fortunately, the Karasuma people did not listen to me.

Suddenly, he found that the left and right sides of the Han army could no longer resist and were gradually retreating. His own army was advancing step by step, and the left and right sides would soon be surrounded, but he was not happy at this time.Due to the obstruction of the left and right attacks, the encirclement time was delayed, and the situation in the middle was very critical. Liu Shi's army would soon be broken by the Han army.Although the two wings met, the center was broken through, and his army could no longer encircle the Han army.Now even if the Karasuma cavalry defeated the Han cavalry, they could not save the crisis.

Zhang Chun immediately thought of retreating.At this point in the battle, it is hopeless to win, it is better to keep the tie.As long as you withdraw from the battlefield as soon as possible, today will be a tie.

"Order Xian Yuping on the left and Zhang Yuntian Qiang on the right to stop attacking and break away from the Han army immediately and move closer to the center to ensure that the Chinese army does not lose."

"Tell Liu Shi that the left and right armies rushed to support immediately, and told him to persevere."

"Tell Karasuma to attack more fiercely and fiercely."

===

On the vast plains on the east and west sides of the battlefield, the cavalry on both sides became more and more fierce.Under the leadership of the Shangguan, the soldiers formed battle formations and charged back and forth.The Qiang people and Huns with disheveled hair, and the Karasuma people with bald heads and shaved heads were all brave and good at fighting.

Liu Bao was holding a spear in his hand, stabbing left and right, and there was no one under his command. Suddenly, the horse was hit by an arrow and fell to the ground. Liu Bao was caught off guard and was thrown more than ten steps away.A group of Karasuma people roared towards them, and Liu Bao's attendants turned pale with fright and rushed forward.Liu Bao jumped up, and while running towards the Karasuma man, he drew his sword in his hand.

The Karasuma man was killed.Liu Bao was not afraid, soared into the air, slashed the enemy soldiers with his right hand, grabbed the horse's mane with his left hand, turned over and landed on the horse's back.At this time, several spears stabbed from the left and right directions at the same time.Liu Bao didn't even think about it, he hugged the horse's neck and flew into the air.

The Xiongnu came from the left, and Li Hong led a few black panthers from the right to kill them. Everyone unleashed swords and spears, and shot long arrows, killing the Karasuma people completely.

"Thank you, General..." Liu Bao fell back on his horse and shouted loudly.

"If you die, the Huns won't have a big Shanyu." Li Hongda laughed, "Brother is such a good equestrian..."

Suddenly he discovered something, turned around and roared, "Wu Yan, stop for me..."

Khan Lu Wang Wuyan, who passed by, looked back and was startled. It was the face he least wanted to see. The leopard still had loose long hair, and it was still so murderous. It hadn’t changed at all. .Wu Yan violently kicked the horse's belly and ran away.

===

Under the command of Zhang He and Zhang Xiao, the chariot battalions on the left and right flanks quickly moved their ballistas to rush towards the left and right attacking army of the rebels.

"Brother Junyi, we are two hundred steps away from the rebels." Yin Si pointed to the battlefield in front of him, and shouted loudly, "We can shoot now."

"Push another fifty steps." Zhang Yun shouted, "Shoot after seeing clearly, don't kill your own people by mistake."

Zhang Xiao on the left wing didn't care about these things, he was already impatient, "Shoot... dense volley..."

The ballista trembled, and the arrows roared.

The rebel soldiers were caught off guard. Like leeks on the ground, they were cut down one after another by the sharp blade, and a huge piece fell down in the blink of an eye.Zhang Yun, the leader of the rebel army, was also shot into a hornet's nest, and fell on the battlefield where corpses were strewn all over the field.

The rebel soldiers were hit hard, and they immediately receded like a tide.

===

After Yan Liang received the order to speed up the attack, he immediately asked Gao Lan to take command in the center, and he led the guards to the front.

The main general is not afraid of life and death, and takes the lead in taking the lead, which greatly boosts morale.Not only Gao Shun and Li Yun felt honored to fight side by side with the world-renowned Lord Hutouyan, but even the other soldiers were full of enthusiasm and boundless vigor.The speed of the assault suddenly increased.

Seeing that Liu Shi couldn't resist, he rushed forward with his personal guards.But unfortunately, he met Yan Liang.Yan Liang swung his sword, no one could stop him, he cut down seven people in three strokes.Liu Shi drew back and hurriedly retreated, and the guards around him also tried their best to rescue him, but at this moment, no one could stop Yan Liang, who was already red-eyed.Yan Liang stared at his huge eyeballs, roared angrily, and attacked with all his strength, he chopped down three people in one breath, and then cut Liu Shi in half with a volley.

The central army lost its main general, and there was a sudden chaos. After several hours of fierce fighting, the soldiers were even more exhausted, and the entire defense collapsed in a blink of an eye.

Yan Liang raised his sword high and roared loudly: "Brothers, kill the Chinese army, kill Zhang Chun..."

"Kill..." The morale of the soldiers of the Han army was like a rainbow, shouting loudly, and rushed towards the central army like a tiger out of its cage, and rushed towards the rebel banner.

===

There are only 3000 people guarding the Chinese army. Under the command of Zhang Chun, they have already gathered under the big banner and formed a dense array.

Liu Shi died, and the central army collapsed. At the same time, the left and right armies were also attacked by the Han army's heavy ordnance, and they were retreating in embarrassment.The game is doomed.

Zhang Chun smiled miserably, waved his hands and shouted: "Order the soldiers of the Chinese army to resolutely block the enemy's attack and protect the banner."

"Let Xian Yuping and Tian Qiang try their best to prevent the soldiers from fleeing, and lead them back to the central army."

"Order the Karasuma cavalry to withdraw the Chinese army immediately."

===

Xian Yufu saw that Yan Liang led his troops to break through the middle of the rebel army, raised his hands and cheered happily, and shouted loudly: "Order the cavalry on the left and right wings to break away from the Karasuma people, and immediately attack the left and right armies of the rebel army, and kill the rebel infantry." pawn."

"Order Mr. Xianyu and Mr. Hua to move closer to the chariot battalion immediately to prevent the Karasuma people from attacking the chariot battalion."

At this time, Song Wen received the message from the messenger, hurried up to the wooden platform, and shouted excitedly: "My lord, Lord Liu's army has arrived."

Xian Yufu suddenly turned his head and asked eagerly, "The direction?"

"They are on the west side of the battlefield, which happens to be the enemy's flank." Song Wen said excitedly, "Did you order Master Liu to lead his troops to attack the enemy's central army immediately?"

"Attack immediately."

"Tell the Chariot Battalion to get ready, as soon as the Karasuma people catch up, shoot them immediately."

===

Li Hong, Liu Bao, Nie Xiao, and Jiang Wu each led their men and horses to retreat while fighting, leaning towards the middle of the battlefield.

Qiu Liju hesitated when he heard the order to retreat.Wu Yan and Su Puyan turned around and ran away without hesitation. They suffered heavy losses today, and if the fight continued, Karasuma's cavalry would be gone.

"Your Majesty, the Han army is small and has suffered heavy losses. It can't hold on anymore." A red-eyed young commander pointed to the Han army retreating westward and said angrily, "Let's catch up, kill him for a while, and then go directly to the army." Gather to the Central Army."

"Kill..." Qiu Liju didn't hesitate anymore, raised his spear and pointed forward, shouting wildly: "Follow me to kill..."

===

Liu Yu's army finally arrived.

Ten thousand infantry rushed to the battlefield with overwhelming momentum.Gongsun Zan's cavalry rushed to the front, and the majestic Bai Ma Yicong faced the retreating Karasuma people head-on and killed them.When Wu Yan and Su Puyan saw Gongsun Zan's iron cavalry suddenly appear on the battlefield, they were taken aback. They hurriedly led the soldiers and galloped towards Jicheng, fleeing for their lives first.

Li Hong and Liu Bao led the iron cavalry to chase after the retreating left army of the rebels, hacking and killing wantonly.The soldiers on the left side of the rebel army were out of their wits and fled.The general of the rebel army, Xian Yuping, led a few soldiers to hack and kill the fugitives, trying to prevent the soldiers from fleeing, but the morale of the army was lost, and killing more fugitives was useless.Soon, he was also surrounded by deserters and started to turn around and run away. Xianyu Ping panicked and didn't choose his way. Before he ran far, he tripped over the corpses on the ground, and was trampled to death by the raging crowd.

Qiu Liju led his troops in wild pursuit.Nie Xiao and Jiang Wu led the army to lead him to the front of the Chariot Battalion.

Seeing Karasuma coming again, Zhang Xiao happily pulled off the helmet on his head and smashed it to the ground, "Shoot, shoot for me..."

The Karasuma people suffered a devastating blow again. Thousands of people were helpless and were blown down like straw by the violent hurricane.Qiu Li's soul flew into the sky, and he turned around and ran away with the army.

===

Zhang Chun watched helplessly as his army on the right dispersed under the trampling of the iron hooves of the Han army, while the soldiers from the army on the left had long since deserted and were running desperately on the plain. As for the Karasuma cavalry on the left and right wings At this time, he had run away without a trace.

Zhang Chun sighed, and under the guard of his own soldiers, he jumped on the horse, took one last look at the battlefield, and rode away.

The banner of the rebels collapsed.

"Order all the cavalry to return after chasing for five miles." Xian Yufu gave the last military order, then looked up at the sky.

The sun is setting in the west, the setting sun is like blood.

===

Li Hong and Xian Yufu led the generals to pay a visit to Liu Yu.Liu Yuxi smiled and helped them up one by one.

"Subject, you are the general of Zhenbei now, so you don't need to do this great gift anymore." Liu Yu said with a smile, "You need to rely on the general to suppress the rebellion in Youzhou."

Li Hong bowed respectfully and said: "Everything is obeyed by the adults."

Liu Yu said with a smile: "My son, that's wrong. You are the general of Zhenbei, and you are in charge of the military affairs of the three states and two counties. Of course, you have the final say on the suppression of the rebellion." He pointed to the generals standing around Said, "The soldiers under my command are now under your command, and you can recruit them as you like."

After Gongsun Zan, Tian Kai and other Youzhou military officers heard this, the smiles on their faces were a little unnatural.Three years ago, they were Li Hong's superiors, but now Li Hong has become General Zhenbei and has become their superiors.When Gongsun Zan looked at his old friend Xian Yufu, he was very moved.Xian Yufu is now a general of Zhonglang, and even Tian Zhong, a veteran who used to guard the gate in the City of Endless, is a captain.If he stayed in Xiliang and fought side by side with Li Hong, he would at least be a general now.Military merit, without military merit, even if you have a background and money, you can't buy General Zhenbei.

Li Hong hurriedly thanked him.Then he exchanged pleasantries with Gongsun Zan, Tian Kai and others.

"When I rushed to Xiliang, I thought I could be with brother Bogui, but I didn't expect you to come back." Li Hong smiled, "This time when we return to Youzhou, we must have a good get-together, and I treat you."

Gongsun Zan smiled and said, "Okay. When Jicheng is captured, we'll go to the old place and get drunk."

===

When Li Hong returned to the camp, Zhu Mu, Song Wen and others had already calculated the number of casualties on both sides.

While flipping through the pages, Li Hong asked Zhu Mu, "Brother Gongding, did you enjoy fighting with Xianyu Yinbu?"

Zhu Mu smiled and said, "Thank you sir. It will be the same next time. As long as there is a war, I will go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. Sir, please don't leave me behind."

"Just this time, there will be no next time." Li Hong said with a smile, "If something happened to you, how should I explain to Zhong Yuan and Xiao Lan? Don't make an example."

"My lord, then you..."

Li Hong looked at him, shook his head helplessly and smiled.

In this battle, the Han army lost more than 8000 infantry and more than 5000 cavalry.The rebels killed and injured more than 2 infantry, 1 cavalry, and more than 2 prisoners. The rest of the rebels all fled back to Jicheng.

The 3 infantry army lost a lot except for the chariot battalion. Gaoshun's Hanoi soldiers were almost finished. If you add the 3000 people lost in the attack on Changping City and the 1000 people lost in the encounter outside Jicheng City, the army moved in. In just a few days after Juyongguan, more than 1 elite infantry were lost.If the 5000 people in the Chariot Battalion are deducted, there are only more than 3000 soldiers in the Fifth Battalion.

"If there is no Chariot Battalion to show its power this time, our loss will be even greater." Xian Yufu put down the paper and sighed, "We must reward the Chariot Battalion heavily."

"There is a serious shortage of infantry now." Zhu Mu said worriedly, "Master Liu only has 2 infantry. If you attack Jicheng with more than [-] people, you will definitely not be able to take it in a short time."

Li Hong thought for a while, then asked Zheng Tao: "Shouyan, do you have any news from Zilong?"

Zheng Xin shook his head, hesitated, and said, "I just received a report from a scout, saying that Lucheng was taken back by the rebels."

Xian Yufu was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Is this news accurate?"

"Accurate." Zheng Xin said, "The scouts said that the rebels have already built a pontoon bridge on the Gushui River."

"My lord, send cavalry to Lucheng and Yongnu City overnight to block the enemy's retreat." Song Wen said anxiously, "Once the Karasuma cavalry escapes back to Liaoxi and Liaodong, the matter of suppressing the rebellion will be delayed for a long time. time."

Li Hong looked at Xian Yufu and said, "Tomorrow, you and Yan Rou will take Nie Xiao, Jiang Wu and Liu Bao's cavalry battalion to Lucheng."

"If Zilong leads the army to attack Lucheng again, what will happen to Yongnu?" Xian Yufu asked.

Li Hongchang sighed: "It's impossible to eat them in one bite. The Karasuma people still have [-] cavalry, and they are far superior to us in terms of military strength. They can't be blocked. Even if we block Lu City and Yongnu, Karasuma people can also go back to the outside of the Great Wall via Yuyang."

"My purpose of sending Zilong to the east of the Gushui River is nothing more than to force the enemy to fight a battle. Now that the battle has been fought, our goal has been achieved. Now Zhang Chun's rebels are very few left. Even if he fled to Feiru, he could barely survive for a while. Without the support of the Karasuma people and the Xianbei people, he would be defeated sooner or later."

"Zilong has done a good job. It doesn't matter whether he is in Yongnu now. The important thing is that he doesn't attack Lucheng again. If he loses troops and generals just to attack a meaningless city, I can't spare him."

===

(End of this chapter)