The Liao Kingdom also had Iron Kites, which were private guards belonging to the royal family, clan, and nobles.
The Xixia Iron Kites initially imitated the Liao Kingdom, and later absorbed the characteristics of the Kara Khanate's heavy cavalry.
Its armor is very powerful, all using cold forging technology.
Han Qi once sent people to conduct experiments to collect data, using a strong crossbow to shoot at an iron kite armor sixty steps away. Basically, the shot could not go in. Occasionally, one or two shot in, but they happened to encounter a gap in the armor.
Shen Kuo said that the cold-forged armor of Xixia Iron Kites can reduce the weight by two-thirds compared to the Song and Liao armors without losing its defensive power. This data is probably a bit exaggerated, but it is certain that the Xixia cold-forged armor is lighter.
In recent years, the heavy cotton armor produced by Daming is also lined with iron sheets using water hammer and artificial cold forging.
As for Tie Yaozi's horses, most of them come from Ganzhou Racecourse. If you change the name, everyone should have heard of it - Shandan Racecourse!
The Ganzhou Racecourse in Xixia is larger than the Shandan Racecourse.
However, during the Hundred Years War between Song and Xia, the consumption of military horses was too great. Especially when the Song army captured Tiandu Mountain, Xixia lost the horse breeding land there and had to purchase war horses from Hehuang. Then the Song army captured Hehuang again, and Xixia could only improve other areas.
The number of horses raised in the area.
This is not the most deadly.
The real reason why Xixia is short of horses is that the official racecourse has been encroached upon!
Li Yuanhao wanted horses but not food. When there was no food, he sent troops to grab it.
But grabbing food was ultimately unstable. A hundred years later, the horse administration was corrupted, and many pastures were reclaimed as farmland. Those that were not reclaimed as farmland also increasingly reduced the number of horses and instead increased the number of cattle and sheep, such as the Ganzhou Racecourse.
This situation was not reversed until Li Renxiao's reforms.
Li Renxiao even formulated regulations related to the Ganzhou racecourse in the new law, prohibiting private individuals from encroaching on the racecourse and prohibiting the racecourse from raising more cattle and sheep without authorization.
The problem is that Li Renxiao is only fifteen years old now, and he has just ascended the throne and has not had time to make reforms.
What's worse is that with the rise of the Ming Dynasty, Xixia failed to recapture Tiandu Mountain and other horse farms, let alone occupy the Hehuang Valley, and could not even cross the border to plunder. In the face of successive years of natural and man-made disasters, Xixia's horse politics was even more completely ruined.
For example, the Weifu Army continued to increase the area of farmland, increase the grain production there, and even resell military grain to make money. This was impossible before. The fertile Tawai area would rather suffer from famine than reduce horse production.
When the grain is eaten, go to the Song Dynasty to rob it!
In addition to war horses, the number of iron smelters in Xixia is also declining sharply.
Xiazhou Iron Smelting, the largest iron ore industry, has seen a decline in output and quality due to over-exploitation of iron ore.
During the Huizong period of the Song Dynasty, the actual combat effectiveness of the Xixia Iron Harriers had begun to shrink due to excessive losses in successive years of war. The horses were not as good as before, the armor was not as good as before, and even the number of troops was not as good as before. Strictly speaking, they could no longer be considered heavy cavalry.
How could the source of troops be not as good as before?
Because Xixia Iron Kites are basically hereditary. A pair of armor is passed down for several generations, and combat skills are also passed down from family to family.
This can ensure combat effectiveness in the early stage, but problems will inevitably arise if it is passed on for several generations.
First, there were too many casualties in a short period of time, making it difficult to replenish them quickly; second, because of the hereditary meritorious nobles, it was difficult for future generations to maintain their blood.
During the Huizong period of the Song Dynasty, the Western Xia Iron Kites even did not dare to charge into battle. They had to shoot down the Song army with bows and arrows before they dared to charge.
Heavy cavalry who dare not fight in close combat!
At this moment, about one-third of the Iron Kites are not from hereditary noble families.
There is no way, in many Iron Kite families, all the adult males have died. But they still occupy the quota, select brave men from their respective tribes, and "lend" armor to the strong men to join the army instead.
But it is difficult for these brave men who dare to fight and fight to climb to high positions relying on their military exploits and bravery.
The mid-level and senior officers and generals of Tie Yaozi all come from hereditary noble families. Many of them have lost their blood, but they still occupy their positions and refuse to move.
If they really fight, their true colors will soon be revealed.
…
Yang Yizhong was intimidated by the reputation of the Iron Kites. After joining Yang Jin's troops, he immediately distanced himself to avoid their sharpness and rushed towards the Xixia Qingqi further away.
Then they discovered that the iron kites that were chasing after them did not rush towards them, but started shooting arrows from a long distance away. They fired one arrow and then the second arrow. It seemed that they had missed the best opportunity to encircle them. These iron kites planned to
Let’s take a break from shooting.
Brother Richard also saw it and roared: "Issue an order, let Fang Dangqili lead the troops to charge. Don't keep shooting arrows there. He is not leading herdsmen's light cavalry, and he is not facing a large formation of Ming army infantry. Don't dare to fear the enemy again."
If you don't move forward, you will be beheaded even if you win!"
The messenger first blew the trumpet and waved the flag, but the iron kite only rushed forward for a while, then stopped and shot arrows repeatedly.
In desperation, the messenger could only ride to the battlefield and shout.
Before Brother Richard's order could be received, another group of Xixia light cavalry was overwhelmed by the troops led by Yang Yizhong and Yang Jin. Then, they rushed straight to the side of the Xixia infantry formation.
The Xixia infantry there hurriedly turned around to defend themselves against the enemy. In the middle of Yang Yizhong, Yang Jin's knights were divided into six groups, and they swept across the front of the formation one after another.
Then, these Ming Qingqi turned away and attacked Xixia Qingqi from all directions.
On the other side of the battlefield, Li Yu and Liu Zhengyan were also blocked by Iron Kites, and they also opened their distance to attack the Xixia Qingqi.
The Ming Dynasty's Xiaoqi were organized into a small group of 25 people and a large group of 250 people. There were officers at the front, rear, left and right, and they could turn and advance and retreat very quickly.
The Xixia Qingqi are divided into tribes. A chief leads a troop, and the number of people in each troop is not fixed. It all depends on how many soldiers the chief can recruit.
A group of soldiers is led by multiple tribes of nobles, and their command relies entirely on the prestige of the nobles and their tacit understanding.
Herdsmen who ride on horses all year round are actually not as flexible as regular cavalry with strict military discipline when faced with large-scale battles!
At this moment, Yang Yizhong made a turn, and the deputy general on the right automatically took over the command and led six cavalry brigades to escape. These six brigades galloped for dozens of steps, split into two and attacked the Xixia light cavalry from the front.
Each brigade has an officer who leads the charge immediately, and each squad also has a corresponding commander.
The proportion of officers in the Ming Dynasty Qingqi was more than six times that of the Xixia Qingqi.
Relying on the strict army establishment and strict military discipline, as well as the military equipment to crush the Xixia Qingqi, the Ming Qingqi could often disrupt and overwhelm the Xixia cavalry in one or two battle maneuvers.
The Xixia infantry formation was still standing firmly at this time and did not attack the Ming cavalry because the two sides were already fighting together. They continued to shoot arrows, targeting the prairie cavalry cruising frontally. The crossbowmen were killing the prairie light cavalry in large numbers.
And at the beginning of the battle, more than ten homing pigeons flew toward the northeast.
When the Xixia troops dispatched troops to travel long and medium distances, they often liked to use carrier pigeons to transmit signals. This thing was sometimes more effective than smoke.
Brother Richard sent eight thousand light cavalry twenty to thirty miles behind the Ming army. At this time, they had received the carrier pigeon and immediately rushed to the Ming army's grain and grass transfer station.
There was a relatively large fortress there. After it was captured by the Ming army, all the artillery and part of the food were piled inside. Only 300 infantry, more than 200 artillery and hundreds of grassland civilians were defending the castle.
"Blow the trumpet, and the iron kite will stop the incoming enemy!"
Brother Richard was giving orders again, because Yue Fei rushed over quickly, and all the Xixia cavalry intercepted along the way were overwhelmed.
Fang Dang had 1,500 iron kites under Kili's command. This time he had to fight even if he didn't fight, because Yue Fei led 2,000 knights and charged straight towards him.
There are 300 people in a brigade and a squad of 30 people in the Iron Harriers. The proportion of officers is one-half that of the Ming Dynasty Xiaoqi.
Yue Fei didn't dodge or dodge, he didn't even ride and shoot, he charged forward without hesitation.
On either side of him were Xu Qing and Wang Gui, who were leading the team. The three of them were like three arrows, rushing forward without any hassle.
Fangdang Qili bravely fought. Their armor was generally better than Yue Fei's knights, but many of the iron kite hereditary officers became afraid. They were timid and lost the bloody courage of their ancestors.
Yue Fei had a good horse and precious armor gifted by the emperor, and he rushed to the front. His armor was better than an iron kite!
His weapon is the "Zhangba Iron Spear". According to the Song ruler, it is actually only Zhang2, which is about four meters.
The formation of Xixia Iron Kites is relatively sparse, and the distance between war horses is five meters. According to the "Six Tao", it is "the method of easy battle".
The formation of Yue Fei's Xiaoqi was relatively dense, and the distance between the horses was about three meters. In the words of "Six Taoists", it was a "method of dangerous battles".
Dangerous battles test your courage and skills. If you are not careful, you will collide with the enemy cavalry!
Not to mention a hundred years ago, the Iron Kites of fifty years ago would definitely have adopted a dangerous battle formation, but now their courage and skills are not up to par.
Yue Fei was the first to rush into the enemy formation. He was positioned between the two iron kites. He straightened up his four-meter spear and thrust it diagonally forward.
The iron kite was knocked down by the impact, but it did not fall off the horse immediately, but lay on its back crookedly.
Iron kites will not fall off their horses even if they die, because they have tied themselves with hooks and ropes!
This kind of hook rope can also be taken off and thrown out to wrap around the legs of the enemy's horse when the cavalry is hedging. Both the Song and Liao cavalry suffered losses. However, its technical requirements are too high, and it was only available in the middle and early stages of the creation of Iron Kites.
According to records, in the later period, it seems that Iron Kites no longer used hooks and ropes to fight.
Yue Fei stabbed the enemy with a spear, released his hands to slow down the impact, and the gun barrel slid back a few feet in his palm. He immediately tightened his grip and released the force, and swept the iron kite on the other side.
The moment he charged into the formation, Yue Fei had already eliminated two enemies.
Neither of those two people died.
The first one was stabbed so hard that his blood boiled, and he was tied up with hooks and ropes to keep him from falling off the horse. This guy was dizzy and wanted to sit up, but was stabbed again by Yue Fei's soldiers who rushed after him. This Yue Fei's soldiers were on the wrong horse.
Moving forward, the second soldier swung his bone and smashed it out, hitting Tie Yaozi hard on the chest.
The second one was knocked down by Yue Fei's sweep, was stabbed by Yue Fei's soldiers, and was soon hit by Tie Guduo.
The first two rows of the Ming Dynasty Cavalry commanded by Yue Fei all fought with spears. Starting from the third row, they put away their spears and used blunt weapons to attack. This was a temporary charge tactic designed to deal with the iron kites.
In order to facilitate close-range attacks with blunt weapons, Yue Fei arranged his formation more closely, and paid a corresponding price.
The Ming Dynasty Knights who followed were no longer in neat formations, and the distance between the Ming troops was narrow. Many of the Ming Dynasty Knights directly collided with the Iron Kites.
In a physical collision, both sides are in danger.
Yue Fei, Xu Qing, and Wang Gui, like three arrows, rushed in with the Ming Dynasty Cavalry.
Each team of Ming cavalry has five rows.
All the five platoons of the front team rushed into the formation, and the five platoons of the rear team quickly followed up and continued to attack.
The entire battle was extremely brutal, but Yue Fei, who was at the front, was still uninjured. His four-meter spear swiped left and right, only knocking the enemy cavalry off balance, allowing the following Ming cavalry to deal with it with blunt weapons.
.
After defeating two teams of Iron Kites in a row, the third team of Iron Kites collapsed.
The valiant cavalry charged the heavy cavalry head-on and routed the heavy cavalry directly!
Fangdang Kili, as the commander of the Iron Kites, did not even dare to lead his troops to the front. When he saw the tragic battlefield at the rear, he was so frightened that he led his troops to the side to avoid the battle, which made the Iron Kites under his command even more helpless.
Heart.
More than ten years ago, Fangdang Kili was also brave and fearless of death.
His father died at the hands of the Song Army, and his elder brother died at the hands of the Song Army. He inherited the Iron Harrier armor and determined to avenge his father and brother.
At the beginning, he made numerous meritorious service and was promoted quickly. Later, he followed Brother Richard to the battle and encountered Yang Zhi's firearms troops in a narrow valley. At that time, he did not even join the battle, so he abandoned his horse and armor and followed Brother Richard across the mountains because he ran away.
If you don't run, you will be blocked in the valley from front to back.
After losing his horse and armor, Fang Dangqili returned to Xingqing Mansion in despair.
The production of cold-forged armor is very slow. It took Xixia several years to re-create the equipment of Three Thousand Iron Kites, and the quality is not as good as Fangdang Kili's ancestral set.
During this period, Fang Dangqi's willpower was exhausted and he began to indulge in sexual activities in Xingqing Mansion.
When Iron Harrier was reorganized, he couldn't even bear the heavy armor, and he was out of breath after swinging his horse and wielding the gun for a while.
Since then, he has never fought a decent battle.
They didn't dare to face the Jin soldiers, nor did they dare to face the Ming army. There was a shadow in everyone's heart.
Fangdang Kili took more than 700 iron kites to avoid the battle, and even the iron kites' allies who were trapped in the siege did not dare to save them.
Yue Fei, however, continued to pursue him, not giving Fang Dang Qili a chance to regroup and fight again. Yue Fei's follow-up troops were attacking the trapped iron kites, carrying blunt weapons to hit each of them two or three times.
Fang Dangqili's behavior of avoiding the battle made Brother Richard so angry that he vomited blood.
Brother Richard urgently mobilized 900 people from the Iron Kites on the other side, leaving only 600 Iron Kites with their light cavalry to fight Li Yu and Liu Zhengyan.
At the same time, Brother Richard also dispatched 800 of his personal cavalry to surround and kill Yue Fei, and ordered several Xixia light cavalry to harass him.
But after Yue Fei's knights broke through the battlefield, Li Shifu's troops followed closely.
There are not many people, 300 heavy cavalry and 300 auxiliary cavalry.
All wearing heavy cotton armor and light cotton armor, they were inconspicuous on the battlefield, as if they were a cavalry wearing cloth armor.
Two groups of Xixia light cavalry took the initiative to take advantage of it, and the arrows they fired were all blocked by cotton armor. Even the war horses wore cotton armor to protect themselves from arrows. Another group of light cavalry blocked the front, and Li Shifu led the heavy cavalry to rush over, overwhelming the Xixia Qingqi.
.
The 900 iron kites that were subsequently transferred by Brother Richard were originally going to surround and kill Yue Fei, but at this moment, 300 people were sent to stop them.
They thought that three hundred men were enough. What did they fear from cavalry wearing cloth armor?
"Heavy armor, this is heavy armor cavalry!"
After the battle, the Tieyaozi officers shouted in fright.
Seeing that three hundred iron kites were overwhelmed, and Yang Yizhong and Yang Jin led the valiant cavalry to defeat the Xixia light cavalry and circled the side and rear of his Chinese army, Brother Richard finally panicked at this time.
He asked more infantry to form a formation and retreat, and he also led the central army to move forward to strengthen the rear infantry formation, so as to ensure his own safety.
Yue Fei was still chasing the iron kites, and while he was running away from the battle, the formation of the iron kites was completely chaotic, and they were unable and did not dare to turn around and fight.
Yue Fei, Xu Qing, and Wang Gui chased the iron kites and kept encroaching.
The surrounding Xixia Qingqi did not dare to look at Chong. They were so frightened that they only dared to shoot arrows at the Ming Qingqi from a distance.
Fangdang Kili didn't know how far he had fled. At first, he didn't think about escaping, he just led his troops to temporarily avoid the battle. But he became confused and fled, unable to organize an attack at all, and he didn't even dare to stop running away for a moment.
He looked back again, only to see that the Iron Kites under his command had been cut into several pieces by the Ming army.
The Ming cavalry general who was at the forefront was leading more than a hundred cavalry in hot pursuit, and his own cavalry were beaten to death on horseback one after another.
Yue Fei led his troops and charged closer and closer. The remaining iron kites behind Fang Dang Qili were finally frightened and fled in all directions, hoping to leave the battlefield alive.
There were only a few people left around Fangdang Kili.
Yue Fei's horse sped up again, and the iron kites in front of him evaded one after another, leaving Fangdang Qili alone.
Yue Fei chased after him and fired a shot, but Fang Dang Qili actually came back with a carbine.
While evading, Yue Fei urged his horse forward. He hung up his spear, drew out his mace, and hit Fangdang Qili on the left shoulder with the mace.
Fangdang Kili felt that half of his body had been smashed, and he was leaning on the horse and could not sit up straight.
Yue Fei's horse speed slowed down slightly and he struck out with his mace again.
Fang Dang Kili Kuang vomited blood, his body hung on the horse and he passed out. His internal organs were all bruised, and he probably wouldn't survive.
"Assemble the team and rush back!"
Yue Fei shouted.
The heroic cavalry led by Yue Fei, Wang Gui, Xu Qing, Yang Yizhong, Yang Jin, and the heavy cavalry led by Li Shifu successively attacked the pro-army cavalry and iron kites transferred by Brother Richard.
There was no chance to escape and they were immediately surrounded and annihilated.
Brother Richard has no choice. He has no fresh force that can be used.
Although there were more than 30,000 Xixia cavalry on the battlefield, most of them were tribal cavalry. Once the Iron Kites were defeated, they were useless against the elites of the Ming Dynasty!
Even before the Iron Kites fled, they were defeated countless times by the Ming Dynasty's cavalry. Each time they fled far away and came back to shoot arrows.
As for the infantry, they were even more useless. Apart from shooting the cavalry of the Ming Dynasty, they could only stand there and watch for the rest of the time. They did not dare to move in a large area. Once they started to move, the formation would be messed up and the whole army might collapse.
Brother Richard now only has a thousand pro-army cavalry left, as well as a few iron kites who fled back from the gaps in the infantry formation.
He was protected by tens of thousands of infantry and surrounded by the Ming army.
The Ming cavalry was unable to break through the infantry formation for a while, but Brother Richard was unable to continue fighting and did not even dare to order a retreat.
There were more than 20,000 Xixia light cavalry left on the battlefield, but most of them fled far away to the outskirts of the battlefield, not knowing how to fight against the Ming's brave cavalry and heavy cavalry.
Perhaps, this is the secret of the Jin cavalry back then. A thousand cavalrymen were able to defeat tens of thousands of Liao and Xixia armies.
Facing the heavily armed armored cavalry, no matter how many prairie light cavalry they are, they are just decorations.