The real elite of Xiliao were only stationed in Gaochang, with more than a thousand people.
Because the main force must stay in Husihan'er, control the Gyeonggi area of ​​Xiliao, and form a deterrent to further areas. Only when it is determined that a decisive battle will take place, will these elites be the core and the local Dingkou or noble troops be mobilized to go out together.
In the Hezhong area, some elite troops from Western Liao were also stationed there, and soldiers and civilians who had fled from Xixia were also placed there.
These main forces are currently not on the front line!
Therefore, Xiao Chala'abu's task was to use the fortified city to hold back the Ming army and wait for the main force of Xiliao to arrive for support.
Relying on various fortresses in the mountains and canyons to stall for time, Xiao Chala'a Bu has gathered more than 30,000 troops.
Among them, there are 300 Khitan heavy cavalry and more than 800 elite Khitan infantry; 300 Uighur heavy cavalry and more than 4,000 elite Uighur infantry.
There are also more than 28,000 infantry and cavalrymen of various ethnic groups in the original Gaochang. The composition of these troops is extremely complex, including Uighurs, Khitans, and Tubos. There are also various religious beliefs, including Nestorianism, Buddhism, Islam, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism...
They have everything you need. Moreover, their combat effectiveness is rather worrying. Some soldiers are actually no more than civilians.
There are more Gaochang nobles who are coming with troops from their respective territories, and it is estimated that they will eventually be able to gather an army of 40,000 to 50,000 people.
Relying on these troops, it is no problem to drag the main force from Xiliao to reinforce the army.
Xiao Chala Abu initially planned to defend, but Wu Jie, the pioneer general, actually penetrated more than a hundred miles away from Yizhou (Hami) alone.
That's too much!
After the scout cavalry confirmed Wu Jie's strength, Xiao Chala'abu decisively sent troops, determined to eat this Ming lone army.
A cavalry general galloped over and reported the reconnaissance situation: "Xiangguo, the enemy army in the southeast has retreated, and they have all withdrawn to defend Shankou Village. Their cavalry is also suppressed and cannot come out, and it is impossible to come here to support the battlefield.
.”
Xiao Zhala nodded dissatisfied: "Very good, eat this Ming army first, and then go and take back Shankou Village!"
Today's Xiliao still adopts the North and South Academy system.
Those who followed the Yelu Dashi to the west, including the Han people in the north, the refugees from Xixia, and the Islamic natives in the Gyeonggi area, were all governed by the Northern Court of Xiliao.
The rest are all managed by the South Courtyard.
Xiao Weilila served as prime minister, and Xiao Chala'abu served as deputy prime minister.
At this moment, not only Xiao Chala'abu came to the battlefield in person, but also Privy Councilor Yelu Songshan came running.
About 22,000 Xiliao infantry were arranged as left, center and right armies and advanced slowly. 10,000 light armor and medium armor cavalry were placed on the wings. 800 heavy cavalry were hidden behind the central army.
They wanted to take advantage of Wu Jie's arrival the day before yesterday and attack with all his strength while his footing was not yet stable.
Wu Jie set up his camp on a gentle slope, which was originally the beacon tower of Xiliao. There was a small river flowing slowly under the slope.
The creek is extremely shallow, and the bottom is mostly gravel. It can be crossed by horseback, so it cannot be used as a battle barrier.
The auxiliary soldiers and civilians have built a basic fortress and protected the few remaining grain and grass, livestock and supplies in the camp.
When there is a shortage of combat soldiers due to casualties, brave men will be selected from the auxiliary soldiers to temporarily replace them.
Wu Jie picked up the telescope, observed carefully for a while, and asked the three generals around him: "How?"
Infantry general Wang Jun said: "The infantry of the left and right armies were not even in the same formation when they advanced. It is estimated that they were strong men drawn from somewhere. This kind of army is not much stronger than the Xiang army of the former Song Dynasty. It was defeated by my battle."
The soldiers were defeated after a few charges. This means that all the infantry formations in the central army are elite."
Cavalry General Yang Zheng said: "The enemy cavalry may be strong or weak, and many of the cavalry are not even wearing light armor. According to the information sent back in recent years, it is estimated that they are from the grassland north of Tianshan Mountain, and they were urgently recruited from the grassland.
Tribal cavalry. But behind the enemy's central formation, there are some unarmored cavalry hidden. They don't even wear armor when they are in battle, and their horses are extremely handsome. There are auxiliary troops following them. Those hundreds of cavalry should be the heavy cavalry of the Western Liao Dynasty.
Riding without a doubt.”
Standing on the hillside and observing the battlefield with a telescope, you can even see clearly whether the war horses are horses. In ancient times, fighting was really a shameless thing.
Of course, things like telescopes cannot be hidden after a long time.
At this moment, Xiao Chalaa Buye was holding a telescope and carefully observing the movements of the Ming army camp. His telescope was made by entrusting merchants to buy folk goods from the Ming Dynasty with huge sums of money, and then asked craftsmen to study and imitate them and upgrade them.
Chariot general Li Siping said: "My chariot battalion can instantly defeat the enemy's elite Chinese army."
"Then let's go to war!" Wu Jie said with a smile.
Five thousand versus thirty-three thousand, the advantage is mine!
Although official and unofficial records of Yu Dayou’s famous battle, the “Great Victory at Anyinbao”, vary, there are three points that can be determined:
First, Yu Dayou's troops did not exceed 5,000 (the most outrageous records say there were only a few hundred); second, the enemy had at least tens of thousands of cavalry (the most recorded was 100,000 Mongolian cavalry); third, Yu Dayou defeated the many with less.
Chase the enemy and beat them hard.
Wu Jie's tank is slightly different in appearance and configuration from Yu Dayou's, but overall its long-range firepower is slightly weaker.
Yu Dayou was simply crazy. Each tank was equipped with five artillery pieces - three Furlong cannons and two Zhuzhu cannons.
And Wu Jie is only equipped with three French cannons.
Several village gates slowly opened, and eight hundred cavalry rushed out first, advancing dozens of steps to patrol on guard.
Subsequently, the wheelbarrow chariot placed behind the camp at the bottom of the slope was pushed out of the camp from various troop dispatch channels.
A chariot has 5 drivers, 2 of whom are helmsmen and observers, and the remaining 3 are responsible for pushing the cart and artillery assistants. There are two small wheelbarrows behind the chariot, each with 2 drivers and artillery assistants.
It is loaded with sub-barrels and ammunition.
There is also a commander and a deputy commander, who also serve as musketeers. There are also 3 free musketeers, including the two commanders, there are 5 musketeers.
The remaining six people are all gunners and assistant gunners.
By the way, there are several spears inserted in the front and sides of each chariot to prevent enemy cavalry from attacking, and baffles are also installed to protect against enemy bows and arrows.
The above 20 people belong to the chariot group, and there are 15 cold weapon soldiers behind the chariot.
The 15-person combat team includes sword and shield wielders, spearmen, boring and palladium wielders, and sword wielders... When defending, they are responsible for killing scattered enemies who rush through the hail of bullets. When attacking, they are responsible for attacking those being shot.
The enemy's formation was disrupted by artillery.
What?
Do the chariots need to be linked together to form a formation?
Do horses and caltrops need to be placed around the chariot?
It's not necessary at all, it will hinder my chariot charge!
"Those wheelbarrows are all filled with legendary artillery?" Xiao Chala'abu was confused as he held up his binoculars.
Yelu Songshan reminded: "You must not underestimate the enemy. After all, the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Jurchen barbarians. Even if the Ming army in front of you is only a few thousand, it cannot be underestimated. You can first send the tribal cavalry from the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain to try. They rarely have armor.
Go like the wind, you can evacuate quickly even if you are defeated."
Xiao Zhala didn't listen to the suggestion. Those Tianshan grassland tribe cavalry were conquered by Yelu Dashi before they annexed the Eastern Kara Khanate.
Many of them belonged to the Khitan tribe, which was also considered the basic base of Yelu Dashi at that time.
But now that the effect has weakened, it doesn't matter if some of them die.
However, they saw thousands of grassland light cavalry beginning to outflank the two wings of the Ming army. Seeing that the Ming army's cavalry did not move out, but instead hid in the car formation, they became bolder and divided into dozens of small groups to prepare for rounds of charges and tests.
The Ming army's chariots were arranged in a standard hollow formation, with Wu Jie, his soldiers, and cavalry in the center of the hollow formation.
A prairie cavalry squad with dozens of riders took the lead in charging towards the vehicle formation.
Several tank commanders facing them raised flags to indicate that their tank groups were about to engage in battle.
Among the drivers, the chief, deputy helmsman and artillery observer were carefully observing the distance of the approaching cavalry.
The main and secondary gunners of each tank are always ready to fire. And the other seven drivers and artillery assistants, some pick up the sub-cannon and are ready to hand it out, and some are squatting on the ground ready to load ammunition at any time.
"About two hundred steps (300 meters)." the chief helmsman and observer shouted.
The commander held a copper whistle in his mouth, a flintlock gun in his left hand, and a small flag in his right hand.
"Hush!"
The whistle blew and the flag waved.
The chief gunner and deputy gunner operated the artillery to fire. Once a shell was fired, they immediately took out the sub-barrel. The driver and artillery assistant next to him instantly handed over another sub-cannon. This sub-barrel was installed in, the artillery was ignited again, and the sub-barrel was continued to be replaced.
barrel.
The first three shells were all fired in a total time of only 20 seconds.
The fourth round took a little longer because the assistant who handed the barrel stood farther away.
To be continued...