Chapter 1108: Border Pawns Are Difficult to Use

Chapter 1108: Border Pawns Are Difficult to Use

The Wei army on the north bank launched another attack, but a considerable number of the Qi army soldiers on the south bank had not yet completed their formation, and some of the troops that had completed their formation had not yet reached the battle position.

Some teams were moving towards the viewing platform where the emperor was supervising the battle, but when they saw the Wei cavalry riding their horses and rushing south, they subconsciously stopped and were not in a hurry to go forward to fight the enemy. No matter how the commanders shouted and reprimanded, the soldiers just hesitated to move forward.

"There are hundreds of soldiers in the front line, all of whom are heroes who can fight ten thousand with one. Tens of thousands of troops came south before, and they couldn't do it, let alone a few thousand enemy troops!"

Faced with the urging and orders of the commanders, many brave soldiers in the team said coldly.

The commander was furious upon hearing this, and immediately ordered the soldier to be dragged out of the ranks and severely punished. However, before the guards could even get close, other soldiers in the ranks who were equally dissatisfied responded, and some even drew their sabers and held them tightly in their hands.

Seeing this, the commander felt that he could not offend the public, so he did not dare to use force. However, he was worried that he would be punished by the emperor for being too slow in dispatching troops, so he could only slow down his tone and said earnestly: "The reason why the army was not allowed to return to the south before was that the emperor had his own considerations, which you soldiers could not guess. But now the strong enemy is about to attack. If you can't work together to resist these enemies, how can you soldiers be saved?"

"The emperor is a celestial being, and his will is far-reaching. Who can guess it? His breath can turn into wind, his anger can turn into thunder, and he can drive away the enemy with a shout. Why should he rely on the humble soldiers!"

These soldiers had seen the scenes of the soldiers being abandoned and even killed in the previous battle. Now they couldn't help but vent their dissatisfaction in their hearts, and even dared to make disrespectful and mocking remarks to the emperor.

In response to the commander's persuasion, some soldiers raised their hands and pointed at the river and the enemy formation in the north, saying bluntly: "The enemy is still outside, and the soldiers will inevitably die in the ditch. On the contrary, they can still hide in the enemy's formation and survive!"

Similar disputes between soldiers can be seen everywhere in the central army camp, and not many soldiers can gather in time. In some units, not only the soldiers have a negative attitude, but even the commander is waiting and not in a hurry to move forward.

Because the Qi army on the north bank had left behind a lot of armor, staffs and equipment, and there were many Qi army corpses on the road to the south, which needed to be cleaned up. But even so, because many soldiers did not gather forward in time, the situation of the Qi army became quite bad.

Gao Yang stood at the viewing platform and saw that there were only more than 10,000 imperial guards and some other scattered troops gathered here. Since he gave the order until the enemy was about to arrive at the camp, there were less than 20,000 soldiers gathered to meet the enemy and fight. He was naturally shocked and angry, with cold sweat on his forehead. He looked around and said angrily: "Why don't the troops in the camps come quickly?"

"The enemy army is coming quickly, and it will take time to mobilize troops. Your Majesty, please retreat to the main camp for the time being and dispatch troops from the center to encircle and suppress the enemy!"

The imperial guards commander who was nearby also realized that the situation was not good. Seeing the enemy approaching, he hurried forward to advise.

The emperor's position was too close to the battle line at the moment, and there was only a distance of more than ten feet between him and the Tongdi River. Once the enemy attacked here and established a foothold on the south bank, the stray arrows alone could harass and threaten the safety of the emperor.

If the emperor continues to stay here, it will not only be useless, but will also make the soldiers feel constrained in the battle. If something unexpected happens again, I am afraid that the whole line will collapse in an instant.

Some generals were in a hurry and said more bluntly: "Most of the soldiers in the camps are garrison soldiers mobilized from various borders. They have been in the border for a long time and have not received much grace. In times of crisis, they have their own thoughts and I am afraid that they cannot be mobilized in time. Your Majesty should retreat temporarily, and let some guards fight the enemy. Even if the battle is not favorable, Your Majesty can still fight again with the whole army. Don't stay here and take risks!"

After hearing this, Gao Yang was ashamed and angry, and drew his sword and roared: "What's there to fear about a mere Qiang bandit! I am the emperor of the Great Qi, how can I be forced to retreat by the threat of the bandits? I should stay here to kill the enemy and defend my country!"

Whether it is his strong character or his inner self-esteem, Gao Yang was not allowed to flee. Especially now, the negative and resistant atmosphere in the central army camp made him feel a sense of crisis.

Staying here can at least ensure that the more than 10,000 imperial guards here are still loyal and brave enough to fight. However, if they have to retreat to the central army tent, if the situation on the battlefield deteriorates further, what will happen to the soldiers in the various camps who are already not very obedient to the dispatch? It is really unpredictable.

Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor still insisted on staying here, the generals felt helpless for a while. Naturally, they did not dare to abandon the emperor and leave, so they could only make up their minds to stay here and hold on to the enemy.

Gao Yang's persistence was not completely ineffective. The other generals of the various camps did not waver when they introduced the emperor's guard of honor. They still stayed in the original place and really did not dare to watch the death without help. They still led their troops forward, but each led their troops behind the battle formation of the imperial guards and did not dare to rush to the front line. After all, no one could say when they would be attacked from both sides, so it was safer to stay behind the formation.

While the Qi army was still adjusting its battle formation, the Wei army had already launched a charge towards the south bank.

Li Tai knew that the Qi army still had a huge advantage in terms of military strength, and the current dissension was only a temporary phenomenon. If the Wei army's offensive was stopped by stubborn resistance and was no longer as fierce as before, so that the battle situation turned into a stalemate, then not only would the enemy troops on the south bank rise up to resist, but even the defeated troops on the north bank who had already abandoned their weapons and fled the battle would probably have a new wave of waves.

So the most important thing now was to break the Qi army's defense line on the south bank of Tongdi River, and directly attack the inside of its battle formation, so that Qi Lord Gao Yang would flee in panic, and then his troops would not be a threat!

So when he launched the attack again, he did not hold back at all, and the first to launch the attack was the armored cavalry composed of a full 300 soldiers of the Hundred Cavalry Battalion. Although this number is not large, the armored cavalry is the undisputed king on the battlefield, especially when entering the siege formation, it is even more unstoppable!

Seeing the enemy's heavy cavalry rushing south, the Baibao Xianbei soldiers of the Qi army lined up along the river all looked solemn, holding their long spears tightly in both hands.

Since the war began, the Qi army has been the active attacker due to its strong military advantage. In order to facilitate the advancement and retreat of troops and horses, it did not build as dense and varied defensive fortifications as the Wei army during the land acquisition. Now facing the enemy's counterattack, there is no solid defense line to defend. The only thing they can rely on is their own flesh and blood and weapons in their hands.

The Baibao soldiers are indeed well-armed, far beyond the ordinary soldiers, and the armor on their bodies is not inferior to the heavy cavalry. However, due to the lack of the coordination of the armored war horses, the heavy cavalry fighting against the enemy on the ground is still somewhat dwarfed.

But even so, these soldiers are still fearless. Seeing the enemy cavalry rushing over, they immediately roared and stabbed out with their long spears, vowing to defend their emperor to the death.

These Baibao soldiers were worthy of the reputation of being able to fight one against a hundred. They were not only extremely cruel when killing their friendly soldiers, but also extremely brave when fighting against the enemy.

Soon, the two sides collided without any tricks. Although they were in a disadvantageous situation of fighting cavalry with infantry, there were still Baibao soldiers who relied on their powerful arm strength and fierce fighting spirit to directly hold the long spears in their hands against the enemy's armor. Although they were also repeatedly pushed back by the impact of the enemy's cavalry, and even the palms of their hands holding the spears were shaken to pieces, they actually used force to knock the enemy cavalry off the horse's back.

Of course, such an extreme situation still requires the coordination of strength and angles in all aspects to occur. Most of the Baibao soldiers at the front of the array were directly knocked to the back by the great force of the heavy cavalry. Those who were lucky enough could still get up and continue fighting with the help of the robes, while those who were less lucky died on the spot.

However, under the fearless resistance of these Baibao soldiers, the momentum of the heavy cavalry of the Wei army was weakened to a certain extent after rushing down the embankment. When they rushed into the enemy infantry formation in the rear, their momentum was no longer as fierce as at the beginning.

The Qi army also had rich experience in fighting heavy cavalry. They did not directly confront the enemy cavalry in front of the charge, but separated on both sides, constantly throwing out trip ropes, using ropes to pull and limit the running speed of the enemy cavalry, carefully avoiding the enemy cavalry, and mainly attacking from the side and rear of the people and horses.

This is certainly a set of tactics summed up with rich experience, but in the process of implementation, there are also a lot of mistakes and casualties. Not to mention the people who were trampled by the enemy cavalry and chopped and smashed by the swords and spears, even if they were lucky enough to put the trip rope on the enemy cavalry, they would inevitably be carried away and fall in a hurry. In such a chaotic battlefield, the chance of standing up safely after falling down is relatively slim.

Five hundred heavy cavalry rushed south, tearing a gap in the enemy's southern bank line, and then directly disrupted the battle formation of more than 2,000 people in the rear. The thousand-man teams on standby on the left and right sides hurried forward to support, fearing that these enemy heavy cavalry would break out of the encirclement and charge directly at His Majesty the Emperor.

Although the Wei army's heavy cavalry rushed into the enemy's formation on the south bank, the thousand light cavalry that followed encountered obstruction in the process of rushing in.

Originally, the heavy cavalry charged, the light cavalry tore apart, and the infantry followed closely to divide and annihilate the enemy soldiers. However, the Baibao soldiers of the Qi army who were defeated soon gathered back, and through killing people and shooting horses, and fearlessly counterattacked, they cut off the Wei army's light cavalry troops in the middle, so that they could not follow the offensive of the heavy cavalry in front, and used their life-and-death battles to intercept hundreds of Wei army light cavalry soldiers on the embankment so that they could not go south.

Li Tai stood under the banner and saw how fierce the enemy was. He grasped the horse spear beside him several times, but he did not charge forward himself. Instead, he shouted to the front line: "Shoot the enemy soldiers in the front line to stop them. The army continues to move forward!"