Arrows fell like rain, hitting the iron helmet and armor leaves, sparks flying everywhere.
This time the shooting time was better controlled, and Li Shi was targeted. It was much more orderly than last time, and the power was significantly improved.
Even with the best armor protection, the guards at the front were severely wounded and shot to the point of being knocked off their feet.
The layer of protection in front of Li Shi instantly became thinner.
Li Shi himself also received two arrows.
An arrow hit the helmet, and the helmet slid away. The impact was so heavy that Li Shi's neck couldn't bear it, and his head sank.
An arrow shot through the shoulder armor, and the sharp arrow pierced his shoulder. With every ups and downs of the war horse, the arrow pulled the muscles, causing excruciating pain.
In an instant, Li Shi felt that he was going to die, and his mind went blank.
The war horse galloped, carrying Li Shi forward dozens of steps in one breath.
By the time Li Shi reacted, they had already rushed to the front of the formation and had no time to turn.
A forest of spears, gleaming swords, and a white face behind a shield rushed toward him.
"Boom -" the war horse crashed into the shield-holding infantry.
"Poof -" the spear pierced the body of the war horse.
The infantry were knocked away, the cavalry was stabbed down, and the war horses were pierced by spears.
No one had time to tense up, and the two sides struggled together.
Because of Li Shi's nervousness, he was unable to issue a volley order in time. The cavalry gave up the volley before the attack and directly charged into the formation. Although many cavalry fired habitually, it was not as powerful as the volley fired by hundreds of people.
amazing.
The infantry was able to escape the disaster and was able to face the cavalry attack in the most complete formation.
Still, they were under tremendous pressure.
The weight of the war horse and the impact brought by its speed were beyond the ability of human beings to withstand it. The infantry who faced the collision head-on were almost without exception either knocked to the ground or directly knocked away.
Except for the first row of infantry who squatted on the ground, kept pointing their spears forward, and waited for the war horses to hit them, most of them didn't even have time to pierce their spears into the bodies of the horses, let alone the knights on the horses.
The sword and shield bearers and spear bearers in the front two or three rows were severely injured in an instant, trampled by the hoofs of horses, flew away and slashed by the spears and swords in the hands of the knights, and they let out shrill screams.
However, Shi Sunrui accurately grasped the direction of Li Shi's attack and increased the thickness of the position in time to avoid being directly penetrated by the cavalry. Countless infantry howled forward, using their bodies to support their companions in front, while
He thrust his spear and fired arrows at the knight on horseback.
Li Shi was so anxious that he kept shouting and speeding up.
Even if he is not experienced enough in combat, he still knows how tragic the fate of the cavalry will be once they lose their speed.
Against the densely arrayed infantry, the sparsely formed cavalry simply could not compete, and would often fall into a situation where they were outnumbered.
The cavalry does not need much space to accelerate. As long as it is half the size of a war horse, an experienced knight can make the war horse charge forward, collide with the opponent, and continuously expand the space.
The personal guards around Li Shi were all experienced knights. When they saw that the situation was not right, they cooperated with each other without Li Shi's orders. Their horses' heads and tails were connected, and they circled in a small area, preparing to protect Li Shi's breakout.
Most of the guards in the Weiwei camp had no similar experience. With only their bravery, they could not stop the cavalry from charging. They watched the cavalry gradually move into action, but they had no choice but to use the spears in their hands to stab the cavalry as much as possible.
The halberd is used to hook and push the knight on horseback.
For such fast-moving targets, halberds are obviously more useful than spears.
But it's just better.
The knights did not dare to neglect, waved their sabers, blocked with their spears, and counterattacked with all their strength.
Looking at the chaotic crowd in front of him, listening to the angry roars of the soldiers on both sides, and the crisp sound of weapons clashing, Li Shi was flustered.
He suddenly realized that the imperial court's Northern and Southern armies were not as weak as he had imagined, and were not as simple as being defeated in a rush.
At this moment, he just wants to leave here.
The shoulder hurts more and the arrow seems to be deeper.
Li Shi felt dizzy and dizzy, his vision blurred, and sweat poured out like syrup.
——
Shi Sunrui's situation was not much better.
Although the situation was as he expected, with the infantry formation blocking the cavalry attack and even trapping Li Shi, he knew that this was all temporary.
The infantry belonging to the guards were not the main force in the field. Their duty was to protect the palace and they did not know how to fight against the cavalry.
It won't take long for these cavalry to leave the battlefield and reorganize their attack.
He was not sure enough whether these infantrymen would have enough courage and physical strength to fight by then.
"Blow the drums, order the archery battalion to cover, and the infantry battalion to attack."
The war drums blasted, and Ju Jun and Wei Jie on the left and right wings simultaneously ordered an attack.
"Fat! Fare!" Ju Jun roared loudly, ignoring the fact that he was sweating profusely and his eyes hurt from the salt, and kept ordering his soldiers to fire with all their strength to block more cavalry attacks.
Wei Jie led hundreds of infantrymen from the infantry battalion to stand out from the position and charge behind Li Shi.
He wanted to block Li Shi's retreat, bite Li Shi tightly, and not give him a chance to launch a second attack.
The infantry battalion is the most capable force in the Northern and Southern armies. Wei Jie originally volunteered to fight against Li Shi for the first time, but was rejected by Shi Sunrui.
Shi Sunrui gave him a more difficult task.
Seven hundred infantry not only had to cut off the retreat of the charging cavalry, but also faced cavalry that might be reinforced at any time. The risk was so great that just thinking about it made one's scalp numb.
But Wei Jie still agreed.
He knew that apart from him, Shi Sunrui had no one else he could rely on.
This in itself is a huge gamble.
After winning, the imperial court regained its strength and gained a glimmer of hope.
If you lose, everyone will die together.
Wei Jie held his long sword high, his beard and hair stretched wildly. "Those who advance will be rewarded, and those who retreat will be beheaded!"
"Kill!" His subordinate, Sima Wei Meng, led more than ten troops to rush to the front.
The cavalrymen who were assisting Li Shi in escaping saw the infantry battalion approaching and immediately understood their intention and did not dare to neglect. Dozens of cavalrymen rushed towards them, drawing their bows and firing rapidly.
Wei Meng was hit by an arrow, staggered and almost fell down.
He grabbed the arrow shaft with his backhand, roared, pulled out the arrow, glanced at the knight charging towards him, jumped up, and when the knight shot him in the abdomen with an arrow, he inserted the arrow shaft into the knight's chest.
, and at the same time knocked the knight off his horse.
More people and horses rushed past them. Wei Meng fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and his eyes lost their brightness.
Wei Jie galloped past Wei Meng's body, glanced at it hastily, ignored his sadness, raised his knife and shouted again.
"kill--"
"Kill -" the soldiers of the infantry battalion roared and rushed forward after Wei Jie.
More knights turned their horses and attacked Wei Jie's formation.
The moving infantry lacks strict protection, which is the best opportunity for the cavalry to attack. A few cavalry charges can intercept the infantry's offensive.
"Guard Battalion, follow me." Wei Jie shouted angrily and rode forward.
A Qiang knight rode his horse and pointed his spear, heading straight for Wei Jie.
It can be seen from Wei Jie's armor that he is a high-ranking official with a weight of 2,000 stones. One kill is worth a dozen ordinary infantry.
Wei Jie sneered, swung his long sword diagonally, parrying the spear thrust by the Qiang knight, then dragged the sword smoothly, and the blade passed across the knight's neck.
The ferocious smile on the Qiang knight's face instantly froze, and his head flew up.