Annihilating all the defenders and capturing Gaoyi, Liu Xiang didn't even shed a drop of sweat. This was his favorite battle.
Unlike Cui Yi, he looked dissatisfied after winning the battle. He actually despised the enemy for being too weak. A bunch of Xiaoqi also nodded along and didn't know what to say about them. It was really speechless. Liu Xiang wished that the enemy was getting weaker and weaker.
Well, it’s best if they are all kindergarten children.
He sighed, are the so-called arrogant and powerful generals like this? Those who fight are elites, and those who gnaw are bones. They regard hard battles as leisure and sacrifice as glory.
Liu Xiang didn't want to see them sacrifice, but he needed such troops.
"Zian, do you know what a tough soldier is?"
"If you can fight and are not afraid of death, you are a strong soldier."
The meaning is this, but Liu Xiang thinks it can be said in another way: "Knowing victory without being arrogant, encountering defeat without being arrogant, hearing the drum and forgetting to die, and encountering strength will become stronger. This is a brave soldier."
Cui Yi thought about it for a moment and agreed: "This sounds good. My lord is talented."
After saying this, he began to mutter in his mouth, trying to memorize it, but he always remembered the previous sentence and forgot the next sentence. He asked Liu Xiang several times before he remembered it all.
Then, he happily went to show off to his subordinates.
Liu Xiang heard from a distance that Xiaoqi began to recite something: "Know victory without being arrogant."
I heard cheers again, and some people praised:
"That's us."
"My lord, I deserve such praise."
He shook his head and began to enter the city. The city defense of Gaoyi was already controlled by the infantry battalion, but reports came back that the city had been massacred.
The massacre of a city by the army does not actually mean killing everyone at once. The massacre of a city is a means of boosting morale, it is for money, and it is step-by-step and planned. This is different from the public perception.
After a hard battle, morale was low, and after the city was captured, the general ordered that the sword should not be sealed for seven days, but that the sword should be sealed after three days to bring peace to the people. This was actually a massacre of the city, and it was not just killing people for the sake of killing.
The ministries draw lots to determine which team will defend and which team will enter the city. Then they will divide into teams to enter the city and rob. What they grab does not need to be handed over. Each team will distribute it themselves.
Of course, the officers will get the lion's share. Basically, the killings on the first day will not be too heavy, but people are afraid of competition. If others take more, they will take less, and they will definitely be unhappy.
Therefore, the killing will become more and more serious, and the murderous intention will lead to more and more killings. Once human nature loses its restraint, the crimes will be unimaginable. The massacres recorded in the history books are clear evidence.
Gaoyi is already empty. There are many corpses scattered in the streets and alleys. There are less than a thousand people alive. This is Shangxian County with tens of thousands of households. Even if some of them are in the countryside, at least several people live in the city.
Thousands of people.
Liu Xiang felt that her heart was filled with panic.
"Cut them all! These beasts." Cui Yi roared and wanted to kill all the captured Gaoyi defenders.
The entire Anping Army was extremely angry.
"Examine the captured defenders. I want to know what's going on."
Not long after, Su Wei came to report: Half a month ago, Gaoyi was captured. The battle was fierce and Zhang Niujiao's army was seriously injured. In order to vent his anger and boost morale, he fought for three days.
The man who led the troops left behind was called Wang Dang. He was originally a water bandit from Dalu Ze. He was greedy for money. He looted the countryside a few days ago. Not satisfied with the harvest, he attacked the city. Some people in the city resisted and killed everyone.
It turned into a massacre.
"How many defenders were captured?"
"There are more than two thousand people."
"Behead them all to appease the wronged souls in the city." Liu Xiang didn't like killing prisoners, but he couldn't help it today.
Full of anger, the army rested for a night. The next day, two thousand foot soldiers were left to guard the food, grass and baggage. The civilians were also left in Gaoyi to collect the corpses, clean up the blood stains, and clean the city to prevent the outbreak of the plague.
Seventeen thousand cavalry mounted lightly on foot and crossed the Jishui River to the east to find trouble with Zhang Niujiao. They would not be able to relieve their anger unless they killed him ruthlessly.
On April 20th, the Anping Army marched thirty miles and set up a fortress fifteen miles west of Yitao City for repairs. It was twenty-five miles away from Zhang Niujiao's Chinese army's stronghold and twelve miles away from the siege camp west of the city.
The cavalry detachment intercepted and killed the enemy scouts, blocking their vision.
He left camp at midnight on the 21st, defeated the siege troops at the west gate, and took advantage of the situation to go south and join forces with Guo Dian to wipe out all the bandits at the south gate.
Zhang Niujiao's army retreated, gathered the defeated troops five miles north of the city, and re-established their formation. Zhou Cang's army came out of camp and set up a formation on Zhang Niujiao's flank to assist.
Zhou Cang sent troops to help without hesitation, which moved Zhang Niujiao very much. His confidence soared. The two armies supported each other and wanted to fight the Han army to the end.
The Anping army replenished their food and water and regained their strength, arriving at Zhang Niujiao Formation at noon.
Guo Dian personally led more than 5,000 people to come to help.
There were more than 100,000 people on both sides. The military formation was spread out in the northern wilderness of Yitao County, occupying an area of ten miles, and could not be seen at a glance.
The soldiers of the Anping Army were in the front, the crossbowmen were second, and the chariot soldiers were behind to form the central army. The Yue Cavalry was on the right wing, Guo Dian was on the left wing, and the Xiao Cavalry was in the rear formation.
The Chinese army ordered the flags to be waved, the drums to beat, and the entire army moved forward in horizontal formation. When it was a hundred steps away from the enemy, it stopped advancing. The soldiers in front established a shield formation, and the crossbowmen and chariot soldiers launched an attack.
Yawenba
With range advantage and weapon suppression, the thieves were killed and injured in the front line.
The opponent fired back with bows and arrows. The arrows flew hundreds of steps and landed weakly on the shield, without causing any harm. Zhang Niujiao saw that it was not good. Shooting at him would only increase casualties. He waved his flag and the Chinese army moved forward with shields and launched an attack.
Charge and decide the outcome in hand-to-hand combat.
Without an armored stomach and an iron shield, the light infantry faced arrows falling like raindrops, missing crossbows, and stone bullets. A distance of a hundred steps was like a chasm, and corpses were scattered across the battlefield, but they could not be spread in front of the enemy's formation.
The Anping Army's crossbow is a twelve-stone crossbow. Although loading is slower than a single-man crossbow, it can pierce several people rushing towards them with one shot, making it extremely intimidating.
The soldiers were demoralized and hesitated to move forward.
The Anping Army began to advance slowly, forcing the enemy to retreat.
Zhang Niujiao ordered the supervising troops to press forward, forcing the Chinese soldiers to continue charging. He also ordered the left and right wings to move out to outflank the enemy.
Guo Dian on the left wing took up the battle, established a formation, and fought to the death without retreating.
The right wing rode forward to help Zhou Cang attack Zhang Niujiao's flank. Xiaoqi rode forward to fill the gap on the right wing.
Zhang Niujiao's left wing was attacked, causing chaos. Zhou Cang's front formation attacked the enemy's flank, and the rear formation began to outflank the enemy's rear.
The Chinese army suffered heavy casualties, the right wing was in a fight, the left wing was about to collapse, and the rear was facing outflanking. Zhang Niujiao was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and yelled angrily: "Shameless dog thieves and treacherous villains, all of the same lineage as the Yellow Turban, so...
He didn't care about his kindness and actually became a dog for the army. Zhou Cang, the evil thief, is going to disembowel him."
Chu Feiyan quickly advised: "Commander Qu, calm down, the situation is unfavorable, and retreat quickly. If you can't defeat the Han army, we can't wait any longer. Please give Commander Qu a quick order."
While they were talking, the front line of the Chinese army had collapsed. The left wing was in disarray and was about to be broken through. Seeing that the situation was not good, the right wing retreated without permission. Guo Dian chased and beat them, and they could no longer hold on.
Zhang Niujiao slapped his thigh angrily and shouted loudly: "If we retreat at this time, we will definitely be completely defeated. Are there any warriors who will follow me to kill the enemy?"