Chapter 1095 Bloody Bronze River

Chapter 1095 Bloody Bronze River

The next day was still a scorching sun, and although the fierce sunshine made the vegetation wilt, it could not stop a vigorous battle from happening.

The sound of drums and horns from the north and south of the Tongdan River estuary rang and stopped. The flags of both warring parties were planted all over the river valley and the plateau like a dense forest. Their soldiers were dressed in military uniforms and stood in clear formation under the scorching sun.

Because there are natural river channels dividing Tongtan River and Zhang River, the two armies formed their own formations and occupied the battlefield area. There was still no direct battle between them near the mouth of the river.

However, on the west side of the river mouth and upstream of the Tongda River, the boundaries are not so clear due to the narrowing and shallowing of the river channel. The previous battles between the two sides for the river mouth also started during this period, so it is no surprise that the battle has already begun.

He Ruodun, the commander-in-chief of the right army of the Western Wei Dynasty, led his 10,000 infantry and cavalry troops to arrive at the battlefield first, arriving as early as dawn and before dawn. However, when He Ruodun's troops arrived, the Qi army had already set up a garrison here, so the two sides immediately started fighting.

When it was still dark, each side only sent dozens of swingers to fight among the riverbanks and tidal flats. As the sky grew brighter, the scope of the battlefield also gradually expanded. Many cavalrymen rushed back and forth in this area, all trying to break into the enemy's position and wreak havoc.

For the time being, this kind of local battle cannot tell the difference in the overall strength of the two sides. The soldiers who fought against each other were mostly brave men who were skilled in bows and horses. On the battlefield, fighting left and right, clutching and crossing, it is already a state where you are in me, and I am in you.

The battle on the field was chaotic and orderly, because their respective goals were to impact and press the opponent's line, so the soldiers on both sides in the melee were also trying to push the battlefield toward the opposite side.

In this way, it is necessary to maintain a close-quarters combat situation, and close-quarters combat is undoubtedly the most serious situation of casualties on the battlefield. Every minute and every second, sergeants fall off their horses. Those with better luck can still struggle to avoid the enemy's front. Those who are unlucky will die on the spot.

Soon the Tongtan water became turbid, and the floating plasma was too thick to dissolve in the muddy water, leaving a layer of blood in the river. The fish and shrimps in the river were naturally disturbed, but luckily they found that a lot of fresh food suddenly appeared in the river. Many swimming fish gathered under the broken limbs and organ fragments thrown into the river. , greedily pecking and sucking these foods.

In this tragic fight, the battle circle continued to move north and south due to the vigorous fighting of the soldiers on both sides, but it has not been completely pushed into either side's front. Judging from the results, it seems that the casualties of so many soldiers on both sides were all in vain, but the fact that war is a consumption of human lives is vividly reflected.

"Hold on, charge southward!"

Gao Lin waved the long horse in his hand, waiting for an opportunity to knock off the enemy knight who was trying to bully him. While he was still struggling in the mud, he assassinated him on the spot with a single blow. He immediately raised his arms and shouted, Inspiring the tribesmen who are still fighting nearby.

As the vanguard commander of the Wei army on the right, Gao Lin also took the lead in the battle. Not long ago, his horse was shot and killed by an enemy cavalry, and he fell into the tidal flats of the river bank. He struggled to get up with the help of his own soldiers to rescue him, but he was injured by his knees. His feet were still stuck in the mud, making it difficult to move at all.

The Qi soldiers naturally noticed the Wei general's embarrassment and tried several times to hunt him down. Within a radius of more than ten feet around Gao Lin, there were already seven or eight enemy soldiers lying dead.

"General, please mount your horse!"

Finally, several Wei army sergeants attracted a free horse and laid the raft next to Gao Lin. The men and horses worked together to pull it out of the mud. However, Gao Lin ignored the mud and blood on his armor and rode his horse around to the sandy river beach in the upper reaches of the west, where he continued to fight with the enemy's cavalry.

While the elite cavalry of both sides were fighting in the formation, the troops behind them did not stand idle and watch the battle. Since this is the most suitable time to launch a charging battle, everyone must build strong forts for defense.

Previously, the Qi army had arrived first and had built a defensive line of Muzha in the south. At this time, they took advantage of the fact that the enemy troops were entangled by their own cavalry and dug trenches outside Muzha. All the excavated soil was tamped inside and outside the Muzha. The combination forms a solid line of defense, which can effectively block the enemy's attack.

On the other hand, the progress of the Wei army's fortifications was lagging behind. Hundreds of carriages were scattered among the battle formations, and the digging of soil and trenches was completely unorganized. It looked like a mess, like a naughty boy's digging game, not like a front line. Strict camp defense front. This is probably because the Wei army was away fighting and there were not many engineers and soldiers accompanying the army, so they could only make do with the simplest things.

Qi General Qi Lianmeng, who was also leading the fierce battle in the formation, also noticed that the defense structure of the Wei army on the opposite side was quite crude and might not be able to withstand the fierce impact of the army. If there were enough cavalry officers to launch a swift and violent attack on the enemy formation, it might be possible. Before the real decisive battle of the Chinese army, the enemy's flank position can be seized in advance, thus forming an outflanking and siege situation.

"Quickly gather the remaining men and horses in the camp, and all come out of the camp to attack the enemy's formation!"

After having this thought in his mind, Qi Lianmeng temporarily retreated from the battle and gave a loud order to his generals.

After hearing this, the general looked troubled and said: "But, but the King of Pingyuan has an order, the camp line must be set up before noon. If the whole camp goes out to fight, I'm afraid it won't be enough..."

"Idiot! The war situation is changing rapidly. We should adapt to changes. How can we just stick to the same old plan!"

Qi Lianmeng glared and scolded after hearing this. As he left the front line, his vision became more comprehensive. He saw that the enemy's military strength here was not very strong. He was afraid that it was not as large as the 15,000 infantry and cavalry of the left front army led by him. If he just defended and built camps, he would undoubtedly miss the opportunity to fight.

After hearing this, the general did not dare to say anything more. He immediately returned to the camp and ordered to suspend the offensive. He summoned the other armored soldiers in the camp and led out another 5,000 elite cavalry.

With these 5,000 elite cavalry on the battlefield, the number of Qi troops on the battlefield suddenly reached more than 8,000. The situation that was originally deadlocked suddenly tilted significantly. The battle circle that had been swinging left and right on the river line was immediately pushed northward for more than dozens of feet. The Qi army's elite cavalry waded directly across the water and formed a battle formation on the north side of Tongdi River.

Qi Lianmeng was naturally excited when he saw the immediate effect of the reinforcement. He immediately waved his hand and ordered to charge forward, not giving the enemy a chance to reorganize their troops and fight back.

As the Qi army launched a charge, it gave people an unstoppable shock. The soldiers of the Wei army on the opposite side also changed their colors. Even Gao Lin, who had led his troops to fight bravely in the battle, saw the huge gap between the enemy and us. His face turned pale and his mouth was dry. Although he had already made a plan to fight, he became a little lacking in confidence at this moment.

Nearly 10,000 enemy cavalry launched a charge, which was far from being resisted by ordinary battles, so Gao Lin also led his troops to retreat to the main battle. Based on this, the soldiers in the main battle of the right wing of the Wei army a few miles away also showed visibly nervous faces. Before the commander gave the order, the soldiers distributed outside the battle line retreated to the inside one after another.

"Charge! Don't give the enemy a chance to catch their breath."

While charging, Qi Lianmeng saw the enemy army retreating in a hurry, and even many chariots carrying supplies were left behind. He felt that his plan was correct. While shouting, he also rode his horse forward, wanting to completely break through the enemy formation in one fell swoop.

Although it is not wise to advance alone, the enemy formation here has become chaotic. If it can be broken in one fell swoop, even if other enemy troops come to help, it will be difficult to intercept and siege our formation under the impact of those defeated troops.

If the enemy is strong, they will break through the enemy formation here and retreat in an organized team. If the enemy is weak, they will continue to charge and fight fiercely. The ability to advance and retreat freely and come and go like the wind is the fundamental reason why cavalry has absolute control over the battlefield.

Qi Lianmeng was once Erzhu Rong's confidant. After the demise of the Erzhu family, he joined Gao Huan. He was still brave and strong after half a lifetime of military service. He had rich combat experience and was naturally quite keen in understanding and grasping the opportunities on the battlefield. Seeing that the enemy was exposed to the state of defeat due to the situation, he accelerated his attack on the enemy formation.

At this moment, the cavalry units of the Wei army withdrew from the formation one after another, leaving only the infantrymen with low mobility still trapped in the formation. These infantrymen were scattered among the chariots, and there was not even a complete formation. I am afraid that there would be few left after the cavalry group rushed.

Just when Qi Lianmeng was sure that he had a good chance of winning, some small accidents happened to the units charging in the front. Several riders suddenly fell to the ground while running. It turned out that they fell into the pit trap dug by the enemy before. Moreover, there were some sharp short spears arranged in the trap. Anyone who fell into it would be pierced to death immediately.

"It's just a trap trail, no need to bother, keep charging!"

Qi Lianmeng just sneered after learning about this, and didn't take it seriously. He felt more and more that the enemy was really out of tricks.

Even if there were no traps, the cavalry of the brigade would inevitably fall behind or fall off their horses when running at high speed. These were all normal losses of cavalry attack. Although the traps increased casualties to a certain extent, because the traps of the Wei army were dug in a mess, and the pits were mostly narrow and shallow, they could not trap and kill a large number of soldiers, and the lethality was limited and could be completely ignored.

Of course, this was from his perspective as the main general. After seeing their comrades being trapped and killed on the spot, the soldiers were more or less vigilant in their hearts, and their momentum was slightly restrained, no longer as unrestrained as at the beginning.

However, this slight restraint did not have much impact on the overall momentum, and soon the Qi army soldiers rushed into the enemy formation.

The Wei army's chariots were scattered in the formation, and some Qi army soldiers had no time to turn their horses to avoid them, so they simply ran into them with their horses.

However, an accident occurred after the collision. The seemingly thin wooden box walls of these chariots did not break after being hit by the high-speed running horses. Instead, the Qi army soldiers were subjected to a huge recoil force, and some of them broke bones and even died of bleeding.

It turned out that these chariots were not as simple as they seemed on the surface. The boxes were filled with heavy earth and stones, and they were nailed to the spot. The chariots themselves were much taller than ordinary frames. The side edges of the chariots were also inlaid with sharp spears. They were deliberately covered by tent cloth before. They looked ordinary from a distance, but when they got closer, they were found to be solid, tall and sharp roadblocks.

When the Qi army rushed into the chariot formation, hundreds of knights were killed by surprise. Although hundreds of casualties were not noticeable in this cavalry brigade of nearly 10,000 people, they were all concentrated in the front. More than half of the casualties were directly in the front of the formation, which was a great blow to morale!

"Avoid the enemy vehicles, avoid these enemy vehicles!"

The lesson that Paoze learned with his life immediately alerted the other Qi soldiers who were lucky enough to survive and shouted warnings repeatedly. After receiving this reminder, the soldiers in the rear also took care of themselves. They no longer ran wildly, but split into the enemy's formation.