(Haha, thank you for the reward from Jianghu Night Talk. Beixiong has another alliance leader. Also, I would like to thank ncil and other book friends for their continuous support. ⊥)
"Report, the enemy has passed good territory."
"Report, the enemy's forward troops are less than thirty miles away."
"Report, the enemy's forward troops are twenty miles away."
Li Po listened quietly and found out the enemy's movements and strength.
There are about 15,000 troops and only 2,000 cavalry. The infantry formation is very strict. The front army, the middle army and the rear guard are well-organized. It is worthy of the title of Hebei's strong army.
It was also Li Po's first personal experience of a war between cavalry and infantry and cavalry mixed arms.
It can be said that the cavalry should have a natural advantage, but Li Po was still a little unsure.
Because he thought of the large shields and spears of the infantry soldiers in Heng'an Town Army, as well as the archers in the team.
If the Youzhou Army was like this, what kind of damage it would cause to the cavalry, he really couldn't be sure without having fought a single battle.
Of course, this worry is only based on how many casualties there will be. Li Po would never think that he would lead more than 10,000 elite cavalrymen and be defeated by 15,000 Youzhou troops in a field battle. That would be
joke.
Once the Youzhou Army leaves the city, the Heng'an Town Army's chance of winning will jump from the original 50% to 100%...
The Youzhou Army marched faster and faster, but after stopping for one night in Liangxiang, the march speed suddenly slowed down the next day.
This is not a sign of withdrawal, it is just the usual rhythm of war as the enemy is getting closer and closer.
At this time, the collision between the scouts of the two armies also became fierce.
The Youzhou Army's desire to find out the enemy situation ahead became more and more urgent, and the scouts of the Heng'an Town Army kept shrinking. However, as the distance between the two armies shortened, they continued to fight with the Youzhou Army's scouts.
These are the brave men of the two armies, chasing back and forth along the Beijuma River, and with the constant spilling of blood, they played the prelude to the battle of the army.
Luo Yi, who was in charge of the Chinese Army, felt increasingly uneasy when he heard the detective reports coming back from the front.
The damage to the scouts was too severe. It was not like attacking a group of rebels at all, but more like fighting another Sui army.
The news coming back from the scouts became more and more clear. The opponents were wearing half-body armor and were skilled in riding. The cavalry they encountered were experienced in many battles. Even these arrogant Youzhou Army scouts had to admit that,
The other party's bravery is better than his own.
If it weren't for the fact that there was no movement at all at Juyongguan in the north and the other party's clothes were inappropriate, Luo Yi would definitely have thought that the person appearing here was a Turkic Jingqi.
There would not be such brave people appearing in groups among the rebel armies of Song Jingang and Wei Daoer, not even among Dou Jiande's army.
Luo Yi had already smelled a strong smell of danger. His intuition told him to immediately order someone to send an order to the front army to stop on the spot and wait for the main force of the army to arrive.
Less than ten miles away on the north bank of the Beijuma River, the Youzhou army gathered together and stopped taking half a step forward.
At this time, Luo Yi had decided to withdraw his troops and return to Liangxiang, waiting to find out the enemy's situation before acting rationally.
This is similar to the battle between the Heng'an Town Army and the Turks at the beginning of the year. The trap was set, but for those generals with a keen sense of smell, it lacked enough temptation.
The trap Li Po laid was more elaborate, so most of the Youzhou army had already entered. The smaller half was still outside because they had not crossed the North Juma River, a tributary of the Juma River.
If they cross the river and come under the county seat of Zhuoxian County, then they will be in the middle of the trap. If they don't defeat the Heng'an Town Army, they won't be able to leave.
But at this moment, they still have some escape routes, because they are not very far from their good hometown.
At this moment, Li Po heard the news that the Youzhou Army was no longer moving forward, and looked up at the sky. It was noon, the sky was a little gloomy, and the south wind was not strong.
Silently calculating the distance between the two armies, they found that they were almost twenty miles away. This was not a short distance, but definitely not a long one. If the Youzhou army could be ruthless, they would soon find out that they were so close.
This cavalry force could still hide for a while when Yuchi Gong, Luo Shixin and others were on the south bank of the Beijuma River.
After pondering for a long time, Li Po no longer hesitated. The two armies were fighting, and everything they could do had been done. Luo Yi also led his army. The rest depends on whose fist is harder.
"Send the order, the whole army should move out, move slowly, maintain the offensive formation, and attack immediately once the enemy is contacted."
"Send the order and blow the trumpet."
In the sound of the order, as Li Po's award flag moved forward, the cavalry army that was waiting solemnly began to surge slowly, and the intensive sound of horse hooves gradually became the only sound in the world.
More scouts separated from the army and wandered back and forth around the army.
The low sound of the horn sounded at the same time, and the sound was transmitted to the south bank, like a relay, to another cavalry army in the southwest.
This time, the tactics were quite simple. Both the terrain and the size of the cavalry army determined that there would not be much room for cavalry tactics.
The main force of the army, eight thousand cavalry, led by Li Po himself, will make an unreserved frontal attack. Yuchi Gong and others will then attack the flanks of the Youzhou Army.
How long this time interval is depends on whether Yu Chigong and others can arrive at the battlefield in time.
In fact, in Li Po's opinion, the combat effectiveness of the Heng'an Town Army's cavalry is far from reaching its peak, because most of the army's generals ride relatively short prairie horses, and the proportion of Hexi horses is increasing.
not enough.
What makes people laugh or cry is that as the battles progressed, the soldiers of the Heng'an Town Army became more and more fond of the prairie horses and no longer disliked them because of their short size.
There is no way around it. The advantages of prairie horses are too obvious. They are easy to raise, hardworking, and their tolerance to cold is much better than that of Hexi horses.
Their shortcomings are also obvious. They lack explosive power and are much inferior to Hexi horses in terms of weight-bearing ability.
Therefore, the ideal state is to charge into battle on Hexi horses and march on prairie horses.
The armored heavy cavalry of the Heng'an Town Army had no room to display their power because they never had the opportunity to set up their formation and attack the enemy's infantry formation head-on.
Just like this time, at a distance of more than 20 miles, Li Po wanted to use the power of his cavalry attack, but he also did not leave any chance for the heavy cavalry to enter the battle.
It can be said that as far as the Heng'an Town Army is concerned, the light cavalry has completely eliminated the heavy cavalry.
Amidst the dull thunderous sound of horse hooves, the army quickly expanded and spread like an inflated balloon, quickly forming a relatively wide front.
Amid the roars of the officers, the well-trained soldiers of Heng'an Town lined up in a row and gradually distanced themselves while marching.
Within ten miles, the army had fully entered an attack state.
The soldiers of Heng'an Town who had experienced battles for a long time looked forward, their eyes slowly becoming bloodshot. They didn't need any impassioned words to boost their morale. They were already as ready as the horses under them to face the brutal battle.
Preparation for the fight.
Behind the army, there was some chaos. This was caused by the new recruits recruited by the Heng'an Town Army this year and the cavalry from Yanmen and Loufan, who were not yet accustomed to such a rhythm.
The war horse began to trot, filling the sky with smoke and dust. The earth was trampled by the horse's hooves, its thick body shaking slightly. This world was also filled with the rumble of the horse's hooves.
The murderous aura gradually chilled the warm south wind, and the god of death began to spread its teeth and claws in the sky, waiting to enjoy the feast that followed.
The overture of the war gradually becomes louder and enters the theme, and the strongest notes may burst out at any time to exaggerate the heroism and cruelty of the war.
"Cavalry, a lot of cavalry..."
In fact, there was no need for scouts to report at all. The smoke and dust in the northwest direction had already alerted the entire Youzhou Army.
Like other generals, shock and fear instantly overwhelmed Luo Yi's mind.
Because they were about to face a large-scale cavalry raid on the unobstructed Hebei Plain.
"Send the order, send the order, defend the enemy on the spot, prepare to engage in battle, prepare to engage in battle."
"Send an order to Luo Zheng and ask him to lead his troops to the north and prepare to attack the enemy's flank."
"Send an order to Zhang Yuanji. Even if he dies, he must defend the front army for me."
"..."
A series of military orders blurted out. It can be seen that as the most skilled general in the Youzhou Army, Luo Yi is not an incompetent person.
As the military order was passed down, the slightly flustered Youzhou Army calmed down, and Luo Yi himself also threw away other emotions.
As the saying goes, "When we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win." Luo Yi got on his horse and moved the flag to the front of the formation without hesitation, inspiring the morale of the entire army with his actions.
It has to be said that Luo Yi was able to rise up in the Youzhou Army and become unique because of his ruthlessness.
But in fact, Luo Yi himself knew at this time that this was undoubtedly a critical moment of life and death. There were no camps, no trenches, no horses to resist, and even the surrounding hills were very low.
In such a place, being attacked by a large group of cavalry, this Youzhou force, which had been soaked in his hard work, was already at an absolute disadvantage.
What a cunning enemy this is. I hope their ferocity is not equal to their strategy...
At this time, he no longer thought about where these enemies came from and how they suddenly appeared on the land of Youzhou, because they had no meaning anymore.
He only knows one thing: every moment the enemy delays, the Youzhou Army will have one more moment to prepare, and the Youzhou Army with a complete formation will be able to fight.
At this time, his intestines were almost green with regret. He had made too many mistakes. He should not have come out with such a small number of troops. He should not have forcefully led the troops forward despite knowing that there was danger ahead, etc., etc., etc.
The most fatal thing is that he should not want to retreat back to his hometown at this time...
In hesitation, he wasted the most precious time. Even if he camped here, it would be much better than the current situation.