Despite recent encounters, the Khitans have not taken advantage.
But Yelujing was still full of confidence in the Khitan warriors.
Because he still has an ace army in his hand that has not yet been deployed.
Iron kite.
Many people think that Iron Harriers are Xixia's special forces.
In fact, this is not the case. Tie Yaozi was the elite among the elites of Khitan from the very beginning.
"Zi Zhi Tong Jian" records: In the second year of the Later Jin Dynasty, when King Qi of the Later Jin Dynasty opened his fortune, the Khitan Lord ordered Iron Harriers to dismount their horses from all directions, pull out their antlers and attack the Jin army.
At this time, the grandfather of the founding emperor of Xixia, Li Yuanhao, was still a fertilized egg!
It was just that Xixia saw that the Khitan elite iron kite was very powerful, like a kite beating a bird. The name had a nice meaning, so they imitated the name. It was also improved. Originally, the Khitan iron kite was just a man wearing iron armor, and could fight on foot or on horseback.
It became a heavy cavalry with both men and horses, and its reputation surpassed that of the Khitan's Iron Kites.
The Khitan saw that Xixia's Iron Kites were powerful, so they also improved their own Iron Kites and renamed them Tielin Army.
It's just that the north is bitterly cold, and the northwest of the country has strict environmental requirements. They have to be fed refined grains from time to time except during wartime, and the cost of raising them in captivity is extremely high. The cost of making an iron kite is enough to raise four or five times the number of ordinary cavalry.
Therefore, there are not many iron kites in Yelvjing's hands, but they are all trusted by wealthy family members, and every knight is a warrior who has fought hundreds of battles.
Yelu Xiezhen went out to ask for orders: "The last general is willing to go!"
This future Khitan general has performed well in the encounters these days, advancing and retreating freely, and has shown the style of a famous general.
This time Yelu Jing went south to rescue Nanjing, and the biggest gain was this Yelu Xiezhen.
Yelujing said: "I will send three thousand iron kites to your control, and we will cooperate with your clan troops. It must be decided in a battle..."
Yelv Xiezhen was overjoyed. Tie Yaozi's reputation was as loud as thunder in his ears.
As the soldiers and horses gathered, Yelu Xiezhen took the lead and jumped out.
On the opposite side, Luo Youdu saw two groups of cavalry emerging from the Khitan army formation.
Luo Youdu smiled and said to Murong Yanzhao: "Deputy Commander, the next step is up to you! Give them some color and let them know what a true hero is."
Murong Yanzhao had a resolute look on his face. For a person like him, saving face is more important than life.
Especially when a military order was issued in front of Luo Youdu, he had to behave well no matter what.
Murong Yanzhao is fierce and tough, but he still has some thoughts to sit in this seat, and he understands the matter of hugging his thigh.
On the surface, Luo Youdu and Zhao Kuangyin have a good relationship. Murong Yanzhao and Zhao Kuangyin grew up wearing the same pair of trousers, and one hand has already hugged Zhao Kuangyin's thigh. As long as he hugs Luo Youdu now.
Then the Zhou army, aren't they walking sideways?
As the dull and dense war drums sounded rapidly, the Wuqiandian front army under Murong Yanzhao roared towards Yelu Xiezhen.
The two leading troops were approaching like lightning and were about to enter the effective firing range of the Khitan soldiers.
Yelu Xiezhen calculated the distance and felt something bad in his heart.
The enemy's lineup is really too loose.
The Central Plains soldiers always pay attention to formations in combat. The opponent's cavalry formation is a cone-shaped cavalry formation, which is a formation suitable for cavalry assault.
But when they rushed towards them, the cavalry formation actually fell into chaos and was scattered, which was almost the same as the scattered formation they had specially dispersed in order to shoot and retreat.
Isn't this the beginning of a battle, so you're going to mess up your position?
It doesn't feel like a journey of hundreds of battles at all.
"Is it possible that they want to compete with us in riding and shooting?"
Such thoughts flashed through Yelu Xiezhen's heart, and his face suddenly changed. He thought of something... riding a crossbow.
Yelv Xiezhen had followed Xiao Siwen for many years and was deeply involved in the culture of the Central Plains. He did not like Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics, but he was very interested in the biographies of historical figures, especially those about war.
He knew that the cavalry of the Han and Tang Dynasties mostly used crossbows. They used crossbows to make up for their own weakness in riding and archery, and they had excellent results in fighting the Huns and Turks who were good at riding and archery.
However, riding crossbows are expensive to make and difficult to load on horseback. On the battlefield, there are few opportunities to fire a second arrow, and they are easily captured by the enemy.
That is to say, the common equipment of the Han and Tang Dynasties, which coexisted with economic strength. From the end of the Tang Dynasty to the present, more than a hundred years ago, it was rare to ride a crossbow into battle.
"Is the opponent equipped with a crossbow?"
Yelu Xiezhen reacted to these thoughts in just a split second and shouted loudly: "Spread out, spread out to the left and right!"
Crossbows are more powerful than bows and arrows, have a longer range and are more accurate.
If you really want to shoot each other, you will definitely suffer.
The moment the Khitan cavalry dispersed, countless crossbow arrows and flying stones came like locusts, overwhelming the sky!
The sound of thousands of crossbow arrows piercing the air gathered together, forming a roar of air currents that echoed throughout the battlefield.
The hundreds of Khitan cavalry rushing at the front burst into mourning, and most of them fell off their horses without even saying a word.
The Khitan cavalry in front wearing ordinary leather armor could not block the power of the crossbow arrows, and some even directly pierced their bodies with the crossbow bolts.
Some of the iron kites located at the rear were unlucky enough to cause damage to the pond fish.
Even though the armor is thick, it still can't stop the crossbow arrows!
The crossbow arrow passed through the iron armor and pierced the body.
Although he was not killed immediately, he also lost his combat effectiveness.
Yelu Xiezhen turned around and looked back. Within the effective range of the crossbow, he saw ownerless horses running around. The injured horses neighed in grief or went crazy or fell down, knocking the Khitan soldiers on their backs to the ground.
Guya
Yelu Xiezhen's heart was bleeding. He had lost hundreds of his subordinates in this encounter.
But he had no time to care too much at the moment.
The cavalry in the Central Plains were equipped with crossbows, but they never used crossbows to win. Instead, they used crossbow arrows to tear open a hole. They forced their way in through the hole and took advantage of the situation to tear the opponent in half.
really!
After firing the crossbow bolts, the Central Plains cavalry on the opposite side gradually gathered into a cone-shaped cavalry array while moving and began to accelerate their impact.
Yelv Xiezhen thought hard and made a countermeasure.
Duizi!
Use your clan troops to curb the opponent's impact, trade your lives for disadvantage, and then use your iron kites to break through the enemy's formation to gain an advantage!
Yelu Xiezhen roared loudly, steadied the turbulent soldiers, gritted his teeth, and waved his mace to urge the horses to charge.
The two cavalry units collided heavily.
Victory and defeat are determined by a high level of competition.
This short Khitan tribe cavalry faced off against the heroic cavalry riding tall horses. It has not yet formed an organization, and the result can be seen at a glance.
Murong Yanzhao shouted loudly: "Run over, run over directly, and kill these scum to pieces."
Murong Yanzhao knocked a Khitan cavalryman to the ground, with a trace of anger in his eyes. These beasts really didn't want their lives.
While sprinting, he discovered that the opponent still had three thousand cavalry that had not moved.
Murong Yanzhao, who had experienced many battles, was also aware of Yelv Xiezhen's tactics at the first time. He left two thousand cavalry to block the opponent's rest and 3,000 cavalry, and personally led 3,000 to forcefully break the formation.
As long as you kill the cavalry in front of you before the opponent's cavalry takes action, you can directly rush to the three thousand cavalry on the opposite side in three directions to stabilize your advantage.
But the opponent's resistance was stronger and more tenacious than he imagined.
Luo Youdu in the rear looked at the battlefield situation and watched Murong Yanzhao take the lead with his crossbow cavalry and gain the initiative on the battlefield.
Luo Youdu felt a little sour in his heart.
The Crossbow Cavalry is undoubtedly a weapon on the battlefield, but its price/performance ratio is very poor.
Although the crossbow cavalry is small, the smaller the crossbow arrows are, the more difficult it is to make. To exert its power, the better materials are needed.
The cost of making a mounted crossbow is higher than that of an infantry crossbow. When it comes to practicality, the mounted crossbow is obviously not comparable to the infantry crossbow.
In other words, Huainan was recovered, life became easier, and four thousand mounted crossbows were made.
As soon as the news spread, Li Chongjin, Zhang Yongde, and Luo Youdu were instantly moved and asked Guo Rong for it.
However, although the Palace Front Division, the Guards and Military Division, and the Royal Camp Division are all under the Imperial Army, there are still differences between them.
The Palace Front Division is the force that guards the palace, and it is Guo Rong's personal bodyguard.
There are some differences between the Imperial Guards who guard the imperial city and the Guards and Military Division who guard the capital.
Four thousand cavalry crossbows were allocated to Guo Rong and given to the Palace Front Secretary.
Murong Yanzhao was given two thousand, which was very valuable. He was reluctant to use it in the previous encounters. It was not until today that he took out the unique skill at the bottom of the box.
However, compared to Murong Yanzhao's attack, Luo Youdu felt that the opponent's response was more exciting.
During the battle, the Khitan general showed extraordinary military prowess by making split-second contingency decisions.
"The attack was beautiful and the defense was brilliant. I really found a good general!"
Luo Youdu couldn't help but praise.
Pan Mei was also sincerely convinced and said: "The enemy general noticed the crossbows based on the formation change made by the deputy capital commander, otherwise they would not have become so fast. If they had not dispersed in time, the casualties would have been even greater."
Luo Youdu smiled and said: "Compared with this, I admire the opponent's general's instant courage even more. If not, the deputy commander would have made a great contribution this time."
During their conversation.
The Khitan Iron Harriers had already begun to take action and faced off against the two thousand cavalry left by Murong Yanzhao.
They are also the northwest horses who are good at assault, and they are also the best warriors.
The two sides collided fiercely with each other, blood and corpses spurted out, and the broken limbs fell from the horse's back to the ground...
The battlefield is like a meat grinder, taking away fresh lives.
Looking at the Khitan Iron Harrier, whose fighting power was slightly better than that of Murong Yanzhao's tribe, a strange color flashed in Luo Youdu's eyes. This must be the Khitan's trump card.
Sure enough, he has some skills.
Fortunately, Murong Yanzhao was rich in experience and kept an extra mind and did not attack them all.
Otherwise, it is possible for the opponent to turn defeat into victory.
It's really interesting. In normal times, these rough guys are more brainless than the others, but on the battlefield, no one is an idiot, and each one is more capable and capable than the other.
Pan Mei looked at the battlefield and reminded: "The left and right wings are a bit consumed. Do we need to send troops to support?"
Luo Youdu shook his head and said: "We have the upper hand in the current situation. The other party has not sent reinforcements yet, so we cannot act easily. After the other party cannot hold on, we will take corresponding measures based on their movements."
"Maintaining the status quo!"
Pan Mei thought it was reasonable and said nothing more.
Luo Youdu looked towards the direction of Baoguang Temple and heard the noise. They were also fighting there.