Cavalry battles are always so fast, fast and bloody.

The sound of hooves was like thunder, the shouts were loud, and the swords were shining brightly. They approached quickly, and then passed each other, leaving countless human corpses and horses without their owners in the open space.

Then, regroup and do it again.

Generally speaking, after a few rounds, the winner is basically determined.

In cavalry decisive battles, it is rare to say how long the battle lasted.

But infantry combat is different.

Ten thousand people sounds like a lot, but when they are lined up in an array and crowded together, it doesn't look so conspicuous.

Just like now, ten thousand steps are divided into ten square formations, three in the front, four in the middle, and three in the back. Each square is only fifty steps wide and twenty steps thick. The general stands in the middle of this square, with his

On the left is the flag bearer and on the right is a drummer.

The flag bearer holds the flag and accepts the general's orders, while the drummer adjusts the pace and speed of all the infantry with the beat of the drum.

The entire Western Army only has 20,000 foot soldiers.

The army under Xiao Ding's direct control was five thousand iron kites and twenty thousand foot soldiers. The remaining armies belonged to the major military divisions, and the number of troops in each major military division was directly controlled by the local wealth.

Those with more financial resources will have a larger army; those with less financial resources will have a smaller army.

Of course, every year, Xingqing Mansion will allocate a certain amount of military expenditures to the major military departments, but this military expenditure is only the most basic guarantee. Therefore, the major military departments under their command usually do not have many troops. Only when war comes,

Only then will civilians of appropriate age be recruited to join the army.

The major military divisions of the Western Army basically maintained some of the characteristics of the past tribal armies, that is, they prepared their own horses, armor, and weapons. And what they captured on the battlefield also belonged to them.

Over the years, several major military divisions close to the Song Dynasty were actually not short of money, such as the Jianing Military Division, the Xiangyou Military Division, and the Zuoxiang Shenyong Military Division. They traded with the Song people and allowed Song merchants to enter their territories in large numbers.

, not only the government, but also the common people are making a lot of money.

And people who have made money will spend more money to buy better armor and weapons.

In fact, these things can be easily accomplished with a little guidance from the government.

The iron smelting technology and weapons manufacturing in the northwest, under Xiao Cheng's planning, are now no worse than those of the Song Dynasty.

The major weapon manufacturing workshops in Xingqing Prefecture also made huge profits because of this.

These weapon workshops are all affiliated to the General Manager's Office.

Today, the biggest business of Xingqing Mansion is the weapons business.

These workshops not only have to produce the best weapons to satisfy the troops directly under the Western Army, but also produce weapons that are of a lower quality for ordinary people.

It is said to be a grade lower, but in the eyes of ordinary people, the quality is already quite high.

In Xingqing Mansion, more than 50,000 people rely on this business to make a living, and they are still living a very prosperous life.

The major military departments purchase weapons from here and sell them to the people.

Almost everyone in the territory under the control of the Western Army carries a knife, and even some women will have a short knife inserted into their belts.

This is how strong folk customs are cultivated.

Armor is too expensive, and a family can only buy one pair, which is for the men in the family who go to the battlefield.

Generally speaking, when war comes, each household will recruit at most one person at a time.

And when this person died in battle, things like armor were usually returned with him.

After all, a pair of armor costs dozens of guan, which is still quite expensive for ordinary people.

This is the case in the south, but the martial arts style is even stronger in the north and west.

After all, the south is on the border with the Song Dynasty, and people do business more often, and there are less fights. In the north, places like Heishui Zhenyan, Heishan Weifu and other places border on the Liao Kingdom, and there is also business, but that is on the surface.

Yes, privately everyone is more keen on looting, so the enthusiasm for buying weapons is even higher. Things like enemy-defeating bows, which are rarely bought by major military divisions in the south, are very popular in the north. That is to say, the Western Army is not allowed to buy them.

Crossbows and divine arm bows are not allowed to be bought or sold, otherwise they will be bought for you as much as they can be produced.

Zheng Jihua in the west, under the control of Red Jin, has always maintained a radical westward strategy, so the arms trade is even more popular.

Everyone in the Western Army carries a sword. This is no joke.

An important reason why Xiao Ding was able to control such a vast territory was that the five thousand iron kites and twenty thousand foot soldiers under his command were the most powerful in the northwest.

No military commander has the power to challenge Xiao Ding's dominance.

Another more important reason is that Xingqing Mansion has been very effective in governing the northwest over the years. Policies have been issued one after another, allowing the numerous ethnic groups in the northwest to coexist peacefully and help each other in the same boat. Food harvests are bumper every year, and business profits are increasing step by step, allowing everyone to

They all feel that this day is very exciting and there is a lot of hope in following the chief manager.

The support of the people and the support of the people are sometimes invisible and intangible, but they actually exist.

Therefore, even if some people have certain ambitions in their hearts, in such a large-scale situation, they can only carefully hide their ambitions and not dare to reveal them at all.

If you dare to show your fox tail, someone will definitely chop it off with a single click of a knife.

In Zhang Yuan's words, the northwest has developed so smoothly over the years. The foundation of the General Manager has been basically laid. All that is left is a crisis. As long as a crisis can be successfully overcome, the cohesion of people's hearts will inevitably rise again.

A new level. No one can shake the great cause of the general manager.

In Zhang Yuan's view, the crisis before him was the calamity that Xiao Ding had to overcome.

Dongshoujiang City had been defeated, and Chen Cang led thousands of people back to Zhongshoujiang City.

Yelvhuan's army approached Zhongshoujiang City, and the Liao army's cavalry came out in all directions, cutting off the communication between Zhongshoujiang City and the outside world. They were just waiting for the decisive battle between Xiao Ding and Xiao Siwen of Dunning Lei Village to determine the winner.

Once Xiao Ding fails, Yelvhuan will definitely send his troops to attack Zhongshoujiang City, and then advance to Xishoujiang City, approaching Xingqing Mansion in one fell swoop.

Of course, if Xiao Ding wins, a cunning and cunning guy like Yelvhuan will definitely retreat in a hurry.

Therefore, the battle in front of us is extremely critical for the Western Army.

You absolutely cannot afford to lose.

Therefore, Xiao Dingcai came in person.

Therefore, Xiao Dingcai brought five thousand iron kites and 20,000 pacesetters.

Fight with all your strength.

Looking at Bubazi walking forward to the sound of drums, Zhang Yuan took a deep breath.

At this time, he finally understood the reason why brothers Xiao Ding and Xiao Cheng were unwilling to call themselves alone.

The elite of the Western Army came out for a life-or-death decisive battle.

The Liao people were just a partial force sent out at will.

If you lose, for the Liao people, it can be regarded as a minor injury like a broken arm or leg at best.

After a period of rest, he recovered again.

Bubazi are true heavy infantry.

The body armor weighs more than thirty kilograms, and he holds a spear. He has a hammer on the left side of his waist and a short knife on the right.

During the battle, as long as the formation is in order, they can even challenge the cavalry.

The spears are like a forest, advancing slowly, with a full sense of oppression.

Even if they need to fight alone when the queue is broken up, their combat effectiveness is still quite strong. They throw away the spear in their hand, hold a hammer in one hand, and a steel knife in the other hand, and they are full of lethality.

As soon as Bubazi and the Liao infantry clashed, he immediately gained the upper hand.

The infantry of the Liao army were suppressed until the infantry retreated.

Then, the cavalry on both sides couldn't hold back and began to appear.

First, the Liao army's cavalry wanted to assist their infantry and inserted themselves through the gap in Bubazi's formation. Bubazi immediately stopped moving forward and tightened his stance to resist the cavalry.

However, the Western Army's cavalry encircled the Liao Army's cavalry from the outside and killed them indiscriminately.

The two sides are entangled layer by layer.

From the time the sun rose to the west, the battle still showed no sign of stopping. Instead, it became more intense because of the repeated reinforcements from both sides.

The Chinese army flags held by the generals of both sides have not moved even a little bit since the war began.

Sometimes the main battlefield will be closer to Xiao Siwen's side, and sometimes it will be closer to Xiao Ding's side. Moving closer to that side naturally means that the other side has the upper hand.

Bubazi from another battle camp was sent out. Behind Xiao Ding, there were only less than 3,000 Bubazi who were waiting to join the battlefield.

Seventeen thousand Bubazi have already entered the battlefield, and nearly 20,000 cavalry. Now only less than 3,000 Iron Kites are left by Xiao Ding's side.

"It's getting dark soon!" Zhang Yuan said suddenly.

"It looks like we're going to fight at night!" Xiao Ding looked very relaxed.

"Can Mogusi activate as agreed?" Zhang Yuan was a little worried. "Or shouldn't he be allowed to lead people there? Those Beizu fortune tellers may not even recognize him as the old leader in the past."

Xiao Dingyi smiled and said: "Mogusi is still waiting, he is waiting for who can gain the upper hand. If we gain the upper hand, he will definitely attack and help us succeed. If Xiao Siwen gains the upper hand, then he

He will attack us. Didn't you notice that the cavalry under his command have been wandering around the edge of the battlefield since the battle began? It seems very lively, but in fact they have not put in a lot of effort."

Zhang Yuan smiled: "This bitch is quite at ease. I'll wait until the war is over to deal with him slowly."

"No, if we win, they will definitely be the docile ones." Xiao Ding said: "The Bei Zubu tribe is also the majority. Even if we surrender another group this time, there are still more of them on the prairie.
To be continued...