In the wilderness outside Chang'an City, under the smoke and dust that filled the sky, hundreds of war horses were galloping, with their hooves tumbling, their long manes flying, and their magnificent postures as if they were flying vigorously in the torrent of smoke and dust.
However, Duan Yan had no time to appreciate such a magnificent scenery. All he could think about was "How to get rid of the Dragon Riders", "Why are the riding skills of these guys so high?" "Oh my God, the speed of this terrain is not reduced?"
"Such emotions.
Seriously!
Duan Xuan previously thought that Xiliang Xiaoqi was the most powerful cavalry in the world.
The reason why he lost to King Hongnong before was entirely because of the magic weapon of the Three Treasures of Equestrianism. The opponent greatly crushed the Xiliang Xiaoqi in terms of riding stability and other issues.
But now, since the Xiliang Xiaoqi have been equipped with the three equestrian treasures, their combat effectiveness should naturally be stronger than their opponents. How could they be chased and beaten by their opponents without any ability to fight back?
Phew! Phew!
Two more soldiers fell off their horses while galloping wildly. There was no doubt that they would be trampled into flesh by the dragoon horses that followed and were completely mixed with the soil.
"Damn it!"
Duan Xuan gritted his teeth, stared, and looked back.
He escaped very quickly, and the visual distance was beyond the range of bows and arrows. How could Nanyang's dragon-riding soldiers still shoot his brothers with bows and arrows?
This is incredible!
It's okay if you can't get rid of it. Now you can't even fight back. Can you believe it?
Duan Xuan's mood was just like the scene at this moment, with thousands of horses galloping, trampling that little heart to pieces: "Damn it! What's going on? What's going on?"
"General!"
Suddenly, a soldier rode up to catch up and said loudly: "Their bows and arrows are different from ours. They seem to be specially made, and their range is much farther than ours."
"oh?"
Duan Xuan was stunned for a moment: "Specially made bow and arrow?"
The soldier said with certainty: "Yes, it must be a specially made bow and arrow."
Before, Duan Xuan might have disdained or even not believed that Nanyang could innovate bows and arrows. However, with the constant battles between the two sides and the emergence of so many advanced weapons in Nanyang, Duan Xuan no longer doubted that the Nanyang court had such capabilities.
After all, today's Nanyang can control things like fire and thunder, fuse fire and thunder, and even has the powerful ability to crack mountains and crack rocks.
He can even handle fire and thunder, but there is nothing else in this world that Nanyang can't handle!
Duan Xuan was surprised and turned to look back.
But see...
An arrow flying at high speed missed, passed between two soldiers, and whizzed over.
With a pop, it pierced the arm of a soldier who was galloping forward.
Shocking!
The arrow actually penetrated the soldier's arm, and the bloody arrowhead stuck out at least an inch. The soldier gritted his teeth, but the pain was still unbearable, and he couldn't help but cry out.
He wanted to pull out the arrow, but the barb on the arrowhead penetrated his body, which caused even more pain to the soldier. He screamed at the top of his lungs, then turned over and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Ah, this..."
Duan Yan's eyes were as wide as bells, and he was in shock.
He really couldn't believe his eyes.
There was at least a distance of more than 80 steps, and one arrow actually hit the target, and it was also able to penetrate the soldier's arm.
Whether judging from the distance or the strength, the effective range of this arrow is definitely more than a hundred steps, or even further.
What's even more terrible is that if only one or two of them are willing to fight, every one of the dragon cavalry soldiers has such arrow strength. Everyone can pierce a tree with a hundred steps, which is simply terrifying.
You must know that if an ordinary person's archery skills are not good enough, they can only reach thirty to fifty steps at best. A general can reach between sixty and eighty steps. Those who can reach a hundred steps can definitely be called a sharpshooter.
But......
Such people are rare but rare to find.
Perhaps, among ten thousand people, you may not be able to meet one.
But who would have thought that all the soldiers in the Dragon Cavalry Army would be expert archers.
This is definitely an epoch-making innovation in bow and arrow equipment, otherwise it would be impossible for everyone to be an archer.
Duan Xuan slowed down and turned to look back. His eyes passed over his own soldiers and landed on the dragon knight who followed him.
At this moment, the enemy general Liu Chong was pulling out a feather arrow from the quiver under the saddle, and then placed it on the long bow in his hand.
hiss-!
When the long bow appeared, Duan Yan was shocked and gasped.
Because, he clearly saw that there were two round pulleys at both ends of the long bow. Looking carefully, even the bow body had been improved. A large part of it should be made of metal.
After all, under the sunlight, Duan Yan could feel the radiance flashing quickly in front of his eyes. This was definitely not natural sunlight, but the radiance reflected by the metal.
"not good!"
When the bright light flashed and Duan Xuanmohu's vision became clear again, he suddenly discovered that the bow and arrow held by Liu Chong was aimed at no one else but himself.
Whoosh!
The arrow whistled like a shooting star.
Duan Yan's eyes were as wide as bells, and his body tilted slightly in an arc subconsciously. He watched helplessly as the arrow disappeared and whizzed past him less than half a foot away.
puff!
Then an arrow pierced the back of the soldier in front and penetrated at least two inches.
You must know that you are in the middle and rear of the team, at least 120 steps away from Liu Chong.
However, the opponent's arrow missed the effective range, but he was still able to gain his own, and even killed the soldier in front of him with one arrow. It is conservatively estimated that the effective range should be more than 150 steps.
Oh my god!
Duan Xuan's head started to buzz.
He has never seen such a terrifying bow and arrow. Its effective range can reach 150 steps, which is twice or even three times the effective range of our own soldiers!
He couldn't fight in close combat, and he was no match for long-range and long-range combat. After all, Duan Yan was a veteran general for more than 20 years and had experienced hundreds of battles, but at this moment, he didn't know how to fight.
"Walk!"
"Let's go!"
"Don't hesitate!"
There was no other way. Duan Yan could only bend his waist and shout at the top of his lungs: "Quickly, return to Chang'an City quickly. Only when we return to Chang'an can we be truly safe. Their arrows have an effective range of at least 150 steps."
above."
Duan Yan, who has experienced hundreds of battles, can only hope for war horses. This is the only thing that the two sides have relatively close in terms of equipment and quality. As long as they can return to Chang'an before the entire army is annihilated, it will be a victory.
"Hey, you, want to run away?"
Unfortunately, Liu Chong didn't take it seriously.
Anyway, he has no other mission. He is just to play with the cavalry and return to Aoguan within the specified time. As for how many enemy troops to kill and to what extent, there are no rigid requirements.
"Brothers!"
Liu Chong waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Chase me and try the power of this new bow and arrow."
Currently, this new type of bow and arrow is still in the testing stage, and it must go through at least five or six hundred times of drawing and shooting before it can be tested to see if it meets the quality requirements.
Moreover, the strength of ordinary people is too small to reach that extreme state, so we can only recruit some soldiers who are strong and good at shooting arrows for testing.
It is precisely for this reason that Liu Bian gave the task of testing the compound bow to Liu Chong of the Dragon Cavalry and asked him to find some powerful archers in the army to complete the test of the compound bow during this battle.
Judging from the current results, it’s really great!
Liu Chong, who is good at bow and arrow, really likes this kind of feeling. He can only hit others by himself, but others can't reach him. As long as he keeps a distance, he can constantly cannibalize his opponents.
The only regret is that such new bows and arrows have not yet been mass produced. Even our own soldiers can only be equipped with such bows and arrows by a small number of outstanding archers.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As the horses galloped, arrows were shot out one after another.
Xiliang Xiaoqiu people kept falling off their horses and died tragically under the compound bow.
Liu Chong rode his horse in pursuit, twisting his bow left and right to set arrows. The arrows flew out one after another, constantly killing the Xiliang riders.
Perhaps Liu Chong was too focused and didn't realize that the compound bow in his hand was already slightly deformed.
This time, he put the feather arrow on the bow, clamped the end of the arrow between his two fingers, and pulled it back hard. Before he could take aim, he heard a popping sound, and the bow broke directly.
Not only did Liu Chong not miss the arrow, but he was even slapped hard on the face by the bow string, which made him gasp in pain. If the emperor hadn't said it before, he really wanted to throw away this new bow and arrow.
"Damn it!"
Liu Chong cursed secretly: "It hurts the lonely king to death!"
Wei Yance from the side immediately stepped forward: "Your Highness, the hardness of this bow is still a little bit low. I will need to take it back and then submit it to Qiqiao Pavilion for further innovation."
"I know."
Liu Chong responded, handed the compound bow to Wei Yan, and immediately replaced it with his own precious bow.
However, he raised his head and stared at the Xiliang Xiaoqi who was a hundred steps away, and took back his precious bow angrily: "Damn it! This bow and arrow are completely out of reach, brothers, chase after me!"
All the soldiers shouted: "Kill—!"
At this moment, Liu Chong, who had used a compound bow, no longer looked down upon ordinary bows and arrows. Although this compound bow still had some flaws, once the innovation was successful, its power would definitely not be comparable to ordinary bows and arrows.
"Your Highness, the distance is too far for us to catch up."
A soldier rode forward and shouted loudly.
"Damn it!"
Liu Chong was furious.
In order to maintain a sufficient safe distance, the two sides opened a distance of about 80 steps.
This is indeed within the effective range of the compound bow, but now there is a problem with the compound bow. It is completely impossible to shorten the gap in a short period of time simply by relying on war horses.
In particular, the equipment configuration of Dragon Riders is larger than that of Xiliang Xiaoqi, which further affects their speed. Unless they encounter special terrain, it will be difficult to make up the gap in a short time.
"Your Highness."
Wei Yan naturally understood what King Chen was thinking, and immediately said: "Now we have arrived at the outskirts of Chang'an. Everything here is plain. It is very difficult to catch up with our opponent."
"What do you think?"
Chen Wang Liu Chong glanced at Wei Yan.
"That's right."
Wei Yan did not hesitate and said sonorously: "Based on the strength of his legs, Uncle Liu Huang who came from Shaanxi County must have entered Chang'an. If we can force this army to Uncle Liu, we may be able to attack from both front and rear."
"oh?"
Liu Chong was surprised. He pondered for a moment and nodded slowly: "It makes sense! I leave this matter to you. Take your troops and horses, and quickly make a detour to force Duan Xuan to the west. There must be no mistakes."
Wei Yan leaned over and cupped his hands and said, "Here."
Immediately.
He waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Brothers, follow me!"
The dragon knight soldiers shouted: "Here."
Rumble—!
The sound of horse hooves rolled away.
The water system outside Chang'an is developed, and it is known as the eight rivers surrounding Chang'an.
Going all the way north from Lantian Valley to Chang'an requires crossing a large number of water system diversions.
If we follow the current pursuit method, it will naturally be difficult to catch up with Duan Suan's Xiliang Xiaoqi.
But if Wei Yan chooses to take a detour, even though he is further away from Chang'an, he can threaten Xiliang Xiaoqi and prompt him to change his route. In this way, even if Liu Chong cannot catch up with Xiliang Xiaoqi, he will most likely be hit by Liu Bei.
superior.
Although this is only a possibility, it is still better than foolishly chasing after the opponent without taking any measures. Anyway, the worst result is that they cannot catch up. That is all. There is no loss to the dragon knight.
Not long after.
Just as Duan Xuan was preparing to attack Chang'an City.
Suddenly, an elite cavalry group appeared on the other side of the river, rushing towards the bridge not far ahead.
"Damn it!"
Duan Xuan suddenly realized something was wrong.
If we just kill them like this, we will definitely be blocked by dragon cavalry in front and behind.
As a result, he would have to fight with the dragon knights, and he would inevitably face greater losses.
Duan Yan deeply understood the terrifying combat power of the Dragon Riders, so he did not hesitate at all and gave a sonorous order: "Brothers, quickly turn to the west and circle back to Chang'an from the direction of Chanshui."
Xiliang Xiaoqi shouted in unison: "Here."
Rumble—!
Duan Xuan's Xiliang Xiaoqi immediately changed its route without any hesitation.
Unfortunately, by the time all Wei Yan's troops passed the bridge, they could not even find their opponent's shadow.
Wei Yan was still galloping in pursuit, but in his heart he no longer hoped to catch up, but kept praying: "Uncle Liu Huang, you must come, otherwise Duan Xuan will rush back to Chang'an."
*****
Rumble—!
The horse gallops non-stop.
Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Ma Chao, and Yan Xing have already arrived not far outside Chang'an City.
However, they still did not encounter the Xiliang Xiaoqi who was about to fight back.
"Damn it!"
Zhang Fei cursed secretly and looked around, his heart broken: "Is it possible that we are a step too late and the Xiliang Xiaoqi has already returned to Chang'an City?"
"impossible!"
Ma Chao interrupted directly.
His eyes scanned the roads to the left and right, and he said with absolute certainty: "There are no traces of the large group of cavalry here, which proves that the Xiliang Xiaoqi have not returned yet."
"If my guess is correct, they most likely changed lanes temporarily, or they may not have taken this route at all, but one thing is certain, they definitely did not return to Chang'an."
"That's right."
Yan Xing is also well versed in cavalry warfare and understands the marching habits of Xiliang Xiaoqi.
He strongly agreed with Ma Chao's point of view and said with absolute certainty: "I'm not sure whether the thieves have diverted or not, but I can be sure that they have not arrived in Chang'an."
"As long as we send people to guard various places outside Chang'an City, sooner or later we can wait until the other party arrives, and then concentrate our efforts to intercept it."
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei may not have the behavior habits of Xiliang Xiaoqi who stayed up all night, but Ma Chao and Yan Xing were originally from Liangzhou, so they naturally knew the fighting habits of Xiliang Xiaoqi.
Since they were so sure that Xiliang Xiaoqi did not return to Chang'an, Guan Yu naturally dared to make a big bet: "Here comes someone."
Immediately, Guan Pingce came over, cupped his hands and said, "General."
Guan Yu ordered: "Quickly lead people to guard various locations around Chang'an. If there is any enemy situation, send people to notify immediately without any mistakes."
Guan Ping leaned forward and cupped his hands: "Here."
Immediately.
He waved his hand and said loudly: "Brothers, follow me."
Watching Guan Ping lead his troops to leave, Guan Yu did not hesitate and continued to give the order: "Yide will send people to be on guard, and the rest will rest on their horses, and be ready for battle at all times, without making any mistakes."
All the soldiers responded in unison: "Here."
I don't know how long it took.
Guan Yu stared at Chang'an City, and his mind flew away.
Zhang Fei on the side seemed to notice something and asked tentatively: "Second brother, what are you thinking about?"
Guan Yu did not hide anything, frowned and said: "We are so close to Chang'an now, but there is not even a movement in Chang'an City. Don't you find it strange?"
hiss-!
Zhang Fei was surprised and took a breath: "It seems to be true. Is it possible that they know they are not our opponents, so they dare not leave the city?"
Guan Yu shook his head, frowned and said: "Although it is somewhat possible, it is not very likely. If there are no soldiers and horses to fight, it will be self-defeating. But how can there be no movement on this city?"
"That makes sense!"
Zhang Fei nodded slowly, suddenly became serious, and immediately ordered: "Who is coming, quickly send someone to Chang'an City to conduct reconnaissance. If there is any news, report it immediately without any mistakes."
The cavalrymen under his command bowed and raised their hands: "Here."
Not long after.
Then two cavalrymen returned, bowed and cupped their hands and said: "General."
Zhang Fei asked urgently: "How is the situation?"
The cavalryman cupped his hands and replied: "There are almost no soldiers and horses stationed at the top of Chang'an City. It must be an empty city."
Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were stunned: "Empty city?"
The cavalryman nodded: "That's right."
Guan Yu suddenly realized something was wrong.
You know, their original plan was to gather under Chang'an City and launch a general attack on Chang'an's soldiers and horses. If Chang'an was an empty city, then where were their soldiers and horses?
Is it possible...
The soldiers and horses of Chang'an have already fought with the soldiers and horses of Longxian County, or the soldiers and horses of Nanyang?
If it were the soldiers and horses of Long County, the battlefield should be in the northwest, but the news reported by the scouts was in the southeast.
This proves that they must have fought with the soldiers and horses from the direction of Nanyang.
Chang'an is an empty city.
Doesn't it mean that Yuan Wei put all his troops on the road to Nanyang?
"not good!"
Suddenly, Guan Yu was stunned!
Zhang Fei was even more stunned!
The two of them seemed to have realized the seriousness of the problem: "Let's leave Chang'an quickly and go straight to Lantian. Chang'an may have gathered all the soldiers and horses, preparing to fight to the death with His Majesty!"
Ma Chao and Yan Xing didn't dare to ask any more questions, so they could only nod their heads and promise, preparing to ride straight to Lantian County.
suddenly.
Whoosh!
A loud arrow suddenly rose into the sky.
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others followed the direction of the sound and all turned their heads to look.
Without any hesitation, Guan Yu gave a sonorous order: "Let's go, rush for reinforcements first, and then go to Lantian County."
drive-!
Two thousand fine cavalry went straight to the direction of the rising arrow.
Turned a corner.
really.
There was smoke and dust ahead, and a large number of cavalry were rushing towards Chang'an City.
In the swirling smoke and dust, a large banner with black characters on a yellow background fluttered in the wind, and the big "Duan" character, hundreds of steps away, was still eye-catching.
Guan Yu didn't know who General Duan was, but he was sure that he was definitely not from Nanyang. He did not hesitate and gave the order:
"Brothers, intercept!"
"Here!"
At the moment, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei faced each other from the front, while Ma Chao and Yan Xing each led two hundred elite cavalry, taking detours from the left and right directions in an attempt to maximize their interception range.
"Damn it!"
Duan Yan, who was riding his horse, saw an obstacle ahead, and his heart suddenly went cold: "There is an ambush in the direction of Chang'an. It seems that it will not be so easy for us to return to the city."
"General!"
The soldiers beside him pointed at the cavalry in front and shouted loudly: "Look, the equipment of this cavalry is definitely not Liu Chong's dragon cavalry. Their combat effectiveness should not be that strong."
In an instant, Duan Xuan's cold heart started to burn again. Looking carefully, he found that the equipment of this troop and horse was indeed average. Even the weapons in their hands were not the standard weapons of the Nanyang Cavalry.
Some of their weapons are Huanshou swords, some are spears, and some are horse spears. Some of their weapons are even spears and maces. They are all diverse and not unified.
no way!
This cavalry was originally the Xiliang Xiaoqi under Zhang Ji.
Their equipment was originally very miscellaneous, and they had no time to regulate such a cavalry team according to the rules and regulations of the Nanyang court, so they appeared to be relatively miscellaneous.
certainly!
In fact, it is indeed a no-name brand.
However, even if it is a miscellaneous team, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and Yan Xingzai are definitely elite.
Duan Xuan didn't know the details, but he only knew that they were a miscellaneous army. He did not hesitate and gave a sonorous order: "Brothers, rush over and fight back to Chang'an. We can survive!"
"Brothers!"
Duan Yan raised the weapon in his hand high and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Charge me!"
All the Xiliang knights echoed sonorously: "Kill—!"
Rumble—!
A rich neighing sound, accompanied by the sound of people shouting and horses neighing, resounded across the wilderness.
But this did not deter Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at all, but instead aroused their desire for war.
Especially Zhang Fei, his eyes suddenly brightened, flashing fiercely, he kicked his horse violently, and immediately like a black lightning, he faced the huge wave in front, and plunged directly into it:
"kill-!"
This roar!
It's like spring thunder popping out of the mouth, and thunderbolts shaking from the tip of the tongue.
Immediately, the several Xiliang soldiers who were attacking were so frightened that their livers and gallbladders were broken, their eyes were as wide as bells, and the spear in their hand even hesitated for half a minute. Before it could be pierced, Zhang Fei swung a cold light like the moon.
, and sweep it away directly.
Phew! Phew! Phew!
The severed limbs and arms were flying around wildly along with the bright red juice.
Zhang Fei didn't take any action, but once he did it was a killing move, and the sound of killing a wolf sounded again:
"Zhang Fei from Yan is here, anyone who stands in my way will die!"