As expected, these nomadic cavalry grew up on horseback. Their control over horses was superb. As they got closer and closer to Liu Xin's military formation, the horses galloped faster and faster, and the cavalry group gradually dispersed.
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Liu Xin, who reined in his horse and stood under the commander of the Central Army, had a worried look on his face. He had never seen so many cavalry galloping. The feeling could not be described in just two words: shocking. The enemy
The cavalry was still some distance away from here, but the vibration of the earth had already made him secretly frightened. Snowflakes flew under the trampling of the horse's hooves, and the mountain-like momentum made people breathless.
Liu Xin couldn't help but glanced at the surrounding soldiers worriedly. These young soldiers were still standing as if made of iron, but Liu Xin could feel that everyone was as nervous as him, and he couldn't help but doubt his decision.
Was it a mistake?
Indeed, the Han soldiers in formation were very nervous. Many of their hands were already covered with sweat, but no one thought about taking even half a step back. They just stood there firmly, regardless of life or death.
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Seeing the cavalry of the brigade getting closer and closer, Wenpin raised the red flag in his hand high and waved it vigorously. Then there was a loud "rumbling" sound from the rear of the military formation, which was the sound of the trebuchet starting up.
In the two battles against Luocheng and Yique Pass, the trebuchet played a vital role. The institute made some improvements based on the feedback from the soldiers during use. The current trebuchet not only has a longer range
Far away, the operation is also more convenient and flexible. In the past, trebuchets that required twenty people to operate can now be easily loaded and launched by only ten people. Not only that, the "ammunition" used in the trebuchets is also specially equipped, and
You can't just pick up any stone and put it on the trebuchet and launch it. The advantage of this is that it allows the soldiers to better control the "impact point" without causing the trebuchet to lose its sight due to the difference in size and weight of the stone. "Ammunition
"There are two types, one is the stone bullet used to attack the city wall, and the other is the earthen jar bullet specially developed to deal with it.
What is being launched now is this kind of crock bomb. The so-called crock bomb, as the name suggests, is a kind of crock, but there are many nails in this crock. When the crock is hit hard on the ground and shattered,
The horse-piercing nails in the tank will also be scattered everywhere. At this time, the trebuchet plays a role similar to the minelaying vehicle of later generations.
Since the supplies shipped from the rear were mainly grain and grass, a large amount of equipment had not yet arrived, and there were not many trebuchets in the army, only a hundred, and a single launch could only throw out a hundred earthen bombs.
.These hundred black earthen jar bullets fell from the sky and landed on the cavalry group. Some of them hit the cavalry directly on the head. Although they were just earthen jars, the momentum when they fell from mid-air was enough to make people's heads spin. Some of them hit the cavalry directly.
Then it fell on the snow and soon fell into the snow. No matter where it fell, for so many cavalry, it was like throwing a pebble into the sea, causing only a small circle of ripples.
, and calmness soon returned.
The soldiers controlling the trebuchet did not observe the effect of the earthen bombs. They had already been well trained. After one round of firing, they immediately adjusted the range and prepared for the next round of firing. However, Liu Xin was always paying attention to the front.
One round of earthenware bullets did not cause the enemy soldiers to flip over as expected. When he saw the flying snow stirred up by the horses' hooves on the ground, he suddenly understood and said loudly: "Quick, the second round of stone bullets!"
Yes, there is a thick layer of snow on the ground. If the earthenware jar is dropped on the snow, the bullet may not break, and the horse nails inside will not come out. So what can be used to pierce the horse's hoof? Moreover, even if the earthenware jar is hit by a tile, it will not break.
If the jar breaks, the nail will get stuck in the snow and lose its original power.
As the red flag in Wenpin's hand was waved again, and after another loud "rumbling" sound, hundreds of "stone bullets" roared past Liu Xin's head and hit the cavalry group heavily. This time the "rock bullets" fired
The power was obviously much greater than before. Although the area of attack was limited, the shock caused by the large and heavy stone bullets falling from the sky was no worse than the shocking scene caused by hundreds of thousands of cavalry attacking together.
The nomadic cavalry had never encountered such a situation before, and they were worried that the falling boulders would hit them, and the momentum of the impact was stalled. However, it was only a lag, and the nomadic cavalry were very worried.
He quickly made various strange noises and continued to move forward bravely.
Liu Xin knew that the heavy snow had helped the enemy, and the trebuchets and horse nails would not be of much use this time. He could no longer do useless work here, so he decisively ordered the trebuchets to be withdrawn to the camp and ordered the crossbowmen to prepare.
The person in charge of commanding the crossbowmen was Xu Huang. Seeing that the cavalry had entered the range of the crossbows, he waved the orange flag in his hand. There was a loud "bang" in the military formation, and thousands of crossbows were fired in unison.
Everyone was in darkness. Only the sound of "swish, swish, swish" could be heard, and the nomadic cavalry who were running at full speed fell to the ground one after another. The crossbows not only had a long range, but were also extremely powerful. Some crossbow arrows even shot from the bodies of the riders.
It penetrated through and directly shot the horses behind them to the ground.
The cavalry's offensive was obviously blocked. The cavalry behind them collided directly with the fallen cavalry in front. If the rider accidentally fell off the horse, he would soon be trampled to pieces in the rolling torrent.
The firing of the crossbow requires a lot of strength. After three consecutive times, the crossbowman will be unable to continue firing and will need to rest for a period of time before continuing. This is the best time for cavalry to attack. These nomadic cavalry often harassed the borders of the Han Dynasty.
I was familiar with the power of the Han army's crossbows, so I wasn't very afraid. However, the Han army I encountered this time was different. They seemed to fire particularly many crossbow arrows, and they shot very far, causing them more damage than usual.
Much larger. However, the nomadic cavalry knew their situation very well. They could only rush forward with all their strength, and then rush forward again. There was no room for retreat. Otherwise, they would be hit by the horses behind them without the enemy taking action.
They were shattered into pieces. Now that three rounds of crossbows had passed, it was the best time for them to charge. These nomadic cavalry seized this opportunity well, and the speed of the cavalry group's attack was obviously accelerated.
However, the nomadic cavalry miscalculated this time, and they were greeted by waves of crossbows. Because the crossbows used by Liu Xin's army had been greatly improved, a crossbowman could easily fire five consecutive rounds.
After firing a round of crossbow arrows, the sky finally became silent. No stones fell, and no crossbow arrows were fired. The relieved nomadic cavalry speeded up again. Many of them had already taken off their bows and arrows, and they could only hit half the distance.
There was a shooting exchange with the enemy's archers.
Xu Huang looked behind him. The crossbowmen were indeed unable to fire for the sixth round. They needed to rest now, so he waved another yellow flag. The crossbowmen stepped back one after another, and the archers stepped forward quickly.
"Buzz" was the sound of tens of thousands of bowstrings. Tens of thousands of feather arrows shot out of the air, mercilessly harvesting the lives of the nomadic cavalry. At this time, the military formation set up by Liu Xin was still far away.
Out of range of the nomadic cavalry.
Bei Gong Boyu and Liu Bao were behind the army. They couldn't help but feel a little worried when they saw their tribesmen falling to the ground one after another. They were both ruthless people, and they would never be soft-hearted even when they were treating their own tribesmen. But this time it was different. They watched helplessly.
They watched with disbelief as their men were shot into hedgehogs before they even rushed to the front of the formation, and the losses were very heavy. Even these two hard-hearted people were a little moved. This time on the expedition, they killed almost half of the young men in the clan.
All the men were brought out. If the entire army was annihilated, it would be a heavy blow to the entire tribe.
However, the cavalry attack cannot be suspended casually, otherwise the formation of the attack will be lost. The combat effectiveness of the immobile cavalry may not be half that of the infantry. Although they grew up on horses and are proficient in riding skills,
But the main method of combat is mounted shooting. Although they can also wield scimitars on horses, their power is much inferior to that of mounted shooting.
The ability of the nomadic cavalry on horseback and archery is indeed extraordinary. Although there are no stirrups, and despite the dense rain of arrows from strong bows and crossbows, the nomadic cavalry still rushed within the range of their bows and arrows. They picked up their bows and nocked arrows one after another, while riding and shooting.
A desperate counterattack began. Arrows were flying. Whether in the cavalry or in the infantry formation, people were constantly hit by arrows and fell to the ground. The screams before death were endless.
These nomadic cavalry did not attack the infantry formation in front of them. Just when they were only a short distance away from the infantry formation, the entire cavalry group suddenly split to both sides. They still insisted on the tactics of riding and shooting and did not want to engage with the infantry.
At this moment, a large black flag was raised in the infantry formation, which was Liu Xin's commander's flag. As the commander's flag was raised, the infantry formation suddenly moved, and they actually took the initiative to face the nomadic cavalry. This kind of
This situation has never occurred in previous battles. The nomadic cavalry, which was moving in a roundabout direction, had their sides suddenly exposed to the infantry.
Under the attack of stones and arrows, the nomadic cavalry who could still maintain their formation suddenly became a little panicked. Some people wanted to turn their horses' heads and use the power of the horses to attack the infantry formation.
They want to quickly move to both sides, distance themselves from the infantry, and conduct another round of mounted shooting. What the cavalry is most afraid of during the movement is that there is no clear purpose. Although with their superb riding skills, there is no clear target between the cavalry.
As for the collision, the movements were obviously paused, but the speed inevitably slowed down. For cavalry, speed is also an important part of combat effectiveness, and slow speed is sometimes fatal to cavalry.
But now, these nomadic cavalry made a fatal mistake. They slowed down. At the same time as these nomadic cavalry slowed down, the speed of the Han infantry suddenly accelerated, and soon the infantry formation collided with the cavalry group.