The forward part of the Tang Army was swept away, leaving little preparation time for the main force of the Tang Army behind.
To make matters worse, Li Yuanji fled first and the soldiers were concealed in the valley, but the generals who led the army already knew about it. In addition, the 500 cavalry from the forward guarded Dou Jing and returned to the central army in embarrassment.
, also fell in the eyes of some soldiers.
By the time Li Yuanji left, the morale of the military was already unstable.
Although Dou Jing strictly ordered everyone not to leak the information, and wore that extremely conspicuous armor, riding a horse and standing upright under the banner of the Chinese army, the chaos in the Tang army quietly began to spread.
Moreover, Dou Jing, the governor of Bingzhou, did not have much prestige in the military.
He ordered the front army to seal the road, and Shi Chenglu's two troops guarded the front of the army. However, behind the two armies, he circled mules and horses to form another line of defense, hoping to form a circle around the army and defend it.
These measures are quite satisfactory and can play a great role in the face of cavalry attacks.
But when Shi Chenglu saw the smoke and dust in front of him, he immediately became afraid of the Jin bandit who had been taken in by Li Yuan. He led his troops to retreat on the left wing of the front army, and the left wing of the Tang army was immediately in chaos.
On the verge of war, such chaos is simply seeking death.
The soldiers pushed and trampled each other, the chariots and horses rolled to the ground, the soldiers screamed and screamed, and the sky filled with excitement. Many soldiers and low-level officers of the Tang army fell into panic and panic without knowing what was going on.
No matter what kind of army, if this situation occurs during war, it is actually no different from a defeat. The next step is that the general will fail and everyone will retreat.
The panic of wanton infection can turn an elite team into fleeing sheep in an instant.
However, the Tang army was attacked by Daizhou cavalry on the unobstructed road. In fact, from the beginning, they had completely lost the chance to escape.
…………………………
While Li Po was galloping, he was still trying to adjust the army's tactics.
In fact, there isn't much he can do at the moment.
After defeating the forward troops of the Tang Army, the formation of the army has changed. The two wings have been extending forward, and soon protruded forward, forming the two forearms of the army.
The determination of Luo Shixin, Liu Jingsheng and other generals on both wings to strive for merit and fight can be clearly seen.
Simply, Li Po immediately sent an order to slow down the heavy cavalry in front of the Chinese army, while the light cavalry rushed forward and moved closer to the two wings to form the backing of the two wings.
In fact, at this time, the Daizhou Cavalry was also in some confusion.
After all, such a large cavalry combat group is not that easy to command. That is to say, the traveling speed is not fast at this time, and the distance of more than ten miles can still allow the army to make certain adjustments.
Otherwise, when the army really charges, any change of direction will require the guidance of the generals and flags, military orders and the like, and the effect will be minimal.
Li Po, who has been leading large armies in battles for several years, has made extensive research on the use of cavalry tactics and even made some notes.
He believed that a cavalry force of about a thousand men was the most advantageous cavalry combat unit with both flexibility and combat effectiveness.
Once this number rises to 5,000, the army can change direction two or three times during the charge. If it is any more, the cavalry itself will be unable to withstand the continuous changes of direction, causing irreparable chaos.
And when the cavalry army reaches the level of 10,000 people and moves forward quickly, any change in direction may lead to tragedy.
Therefore, a certain amount of buffer time is also required for large-scale cavalry operations.
Just like in the battle with the Youzhou Army last year, he compressed this buffer time to the shortest possible time, so the casualties of the army were much heavier.
If it were a normal battle between two armies, he would stop at this time, listen carefully to the intelligence report, and then arrange tactics.
But this time, it was very similar to the battle against the Youzhou Army. The strategic advantage left too much room for tactics, and as the commander of the army, he would only choose the most advantageous one.
That is to rush over quickly and defeat the panicked enemy as soon as possible, instead of waiting for the opponent to form a formation, then tearing around the infantry formation, or cutting off the food road, patiently waiting for the opponent to run out of food and grass, or taking the initiative to withdraw troops and then
Take advantage of the situation to cover up.
Therefore, when the army was marching, the generals of the Daizhou Army heard the military orders and responded. This process caused some confusion. By the time they saw the chaotic Tang Army, the army had actually been divided into three parts.
The light cavalry was divided into two wings, forming a surrounding trend towards the Tang army.
The heavy cavalry fell behind and became the center of the army, slowly moving forward around Li Po's general flag.
And this was not a whim of Li Po, but because there were many chariots and horses in the Tang army. Once a chariot formation was formed and the heavy cavalry rushed in, it would cause very serious damage to the heavy cavalry.
Therefore, there are many ways to deal with heavy cavalry, which is also the main reason why heavy cavalry gradually became a supporting role in the Sui army.
Amidst the smoke and dust in the sky, the cavalry came on horseback.
The sound of horse hooves has become one, leaving no other sounds between heaven and earth.
Luo Shixin was on the right wing of the army. As the right-hand leader of the Daizhou Marching Administration, he already had the right to lead other leading soldiers and lieutenants in combat. This was the result of the expansion of the Daizhou army.
Some generals have stood out from the crowd and are above them all.
Looking at the Tang Army's formation on the left front, Luo Shixin's eyes slowly became bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead were exposed, looking ferocious and vicious.
In this battle, he must rush to defeat the enemy first. Even though he has a good relationship with Liu Jingsheng on the left, he will still do his part in the fight.
He stared intently at the most conspicuous flag in the Tang army. Killing generals and capturing the flag was one of the most dazzling military achievements in an army's campaign.
He wanted to cut off the flag of the Tang Army commander in this battle, and even cut off Li Yuanji's head. At this time, he only had this idea.
And he also saw the chaos on the left wing of the Tang army. How could he let go of such an opportunity?
He pulled out the steel knife, raised it high above his head, clamped the horse's belly tightly, and at the same time completely released the horse's rein. Immediately, the war horse rushed forward to the front of the army.
Luo Shixin shouted loudly, "Kill, kill."
Although he was born with a loud voice, his voice seemed too weak amid the galloping horses. However, his actions still caused the soldiers under his command to burst into roars, and the sound spread from front to back like waves.
"Kill, kill..."
The cry of killing went straight into the sky, and even at this moment, it drowned out the sound of horse hooves. One by one, the sturdy Northland cavalry pulled out their sharp steel knives while galloping, raised them above their heads, and shouted loudly to kill the enemy.
, the forest-like steel sword faced the setting sun, flashing a bloody light.
Daizhou's right-wing cavalry made an obvious turn. Luo Shixin's flag was deflected and suddenly inserted into the Tang army's formation from the side, and the follow-up army rolled up.
With a loud bang, the right-wing cavalry rushed into the Tang army's left flank like a tide.
Prior to this, the left flank of the Tang army was already in chaos, while the Daizhou army was eager to advance. The two armies actually lost the customary process of shooting each other with bows and arrows.
In a series of collisions, rows of Tang troops were knocked out by the cavalry, trampled under the hoofs of horses, and the raised swords fell down like waves.
Blood splattered like rain, heads rolled around, and broken arms were thrown around.
The screams of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were one continuous sound, but they were drowned in the numerous noises on the battlefield and became just notes among them.
A massacre...
On the right wing of the Tang army, it was a different scene. Liu Jingsheng commanded the left wing of the army. Unlike Luo Shixin, this man had always been calm in leading troops, and the right wing of the Tang army was still intact.
Therefore, the choices of Liu Jingsheng and Luo Shixin are completely different.
But this does not mean that he is less aggressive than Luo Shixin in leading an army in battle. He is also one of the most outstanding cavalry generals under Li Po.
He was the first to take off his bow and arrow, and also raised it high above his head.
"Zhang Gong, Zhang Gong."
The order was immediately spread, and Liu Jingsheng rode his horse aside and led the army to make the first turn.
This turn was very easy, because the cavalry army behind him had avoided the front of the Tang army and galloped through the fields beside the galloping road.
Such a change of direction caused the Tang army's first arrow rain to fall mostly into empty spaces.
"Shoot, shoot, shoot..."
After a slight adjustment of direction, the left-wing cavalry had spread out on the side of the Tang army. As they galloped, the buzzing sound of bowstrings could be heard.
Arrows rose from the cavalry formation like locusts and fell towards the Tang army's formation. They were so dark that they blocked out the sunlight.
The rain of arrows from both armies was continuous.
It was completely different from the other side, with arrows crisscrossing through the air.
Some cavalrymen screamed and were shot off their horses by arrows. The horses neighed and fell to the ground from time to time as they passed through the rain of arrows. Daizhou Army began to suffer casualties.
But in comparison, the Tang army was even more miserable. Although the Tang army's infantry all carried round shields, their formations were uneven in the rush to meet the enemy.
It goes without saying how heavy the casualties suffered by the infantry under this most classic long-range attack by the cavalry.
The arrows kept falling with a terrifying sharp whistle, and the infantry's dense formation made it impossible for them to hide and escape, and they could only continue to suffer casualties.
The crisp sound of the arrow hitting the shield and the popping sound when it penetrated the flesh were so intensive that they also tested the soldiers' mental endurance and response to emergencies.
A large number of new recruits were still frightened by the power of the cavalry coming from the wild. When the arrows rained down, many of them had not even raised their shields, and their blood immediately stung others' eyes.
Thousands of Tang soldiers fell to the ground like wheat, and blank spaces appeared in the Tang army formation. Blood was flowing freely, and a large number of lives were lost in an instant.
Thousands of cavalry galloped past the flank of the Tang Army like a strong wind, causing horrific damage to the Tang Army's right wing.
While galloping, the cavalry of the Tang Army finally appeared in front of the army. There were almost a thousand sparsely formed cavalry. They actually exerted force behind the Tang Army and faced Liu Jingsheng's troops.