Chapter 2464 Can’t retreat
The choice between advancement and retreat is difficult for Muawiya at this moment.
He doesn't care about victory or defeat in a moment, gains or losses in a city or a pool. What he cares about is that as long as he makes up his mind at this moment, the road ahead will be narrow. He can only keep his head down and forge ahead, with no way to retreat.
How much heritage can the Hashemite family retain with the glory of the prophet? Can the Uyama family's fierce military strength be able to overthrow the caliphate's rule? Can the benefits gained from marching to the east be able to make up for his losses in resisting the caliphate's orders at this moment...
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For a moment, my mind was filled with confusion.
A long wind swept over the river and stirred up waves. The sun was still high in the sky and scorching the earth. Tens of thousands of soldiers stood silently on the sand by the river.
After a long time, Muawiya looked at the dust gradually rising in the distance, and raised his arms firmly: "The rear team becomes the front team, the infantry retreats, the cavalry forms to stop the Tang army, we return to Damascus!"
Before fighting the outside world, you must first make peace with the inside.
Muawiya finally made up his mind to return to Damascus first to consolidate his power, and then wait for an opportunity to seize the leadership of the Arab Empire.
When he unified Arabia, it was the beginning of conquering the Western Regions and conquering the Tang Dynasty!
The soldiers behind them were well-trained, and after the order was issued, the rear team immediately changed to the front team, and slowly retreated towards the southwest, while the heavily armored cavalry slowly stepped forward, forming a formation at the front, and watched intently as they attacked from the distance. The Tang army.
Under the scorching sun, the dust billows in the distance, making it look like a doomsday disaster and the arrival of the devil.
When the sandstorm rising from the flat ground swept to a place more than ten miles ahead, looking far ahead, I saw groups of Tang Army Qingqi suddenly leaping out of the sand and dust, with the horizontal swords in their hands raised diagonally, reflecting the dazzling sunlight. Shine.
The majestic war horses and vigorous warriors are like a forest of swords flashing with murderous intent!
The Arab army stood still, and Mu'awiya rode behind the heavy cavalry, not missing the opportunity to observe the Tang army's lineup so closely.
Even though he had to retreat temporarily due to weighing the situation today, he firmly believed that one day he would lead the most courageous warriors in Arabia to set foot on this land again and have a vigorous battle with the Tang army!
War and conquest have long been engraved in his blood and will never be erased!
However, no matter how conceited Muawiya was, he had to be shocked by the Tang army in front of him.
The first thing to see clearly from the sand and dust was the opponent's light cavalry. The warriors were wearing leather armor and had powerful horses. The horizontal swords in their hands shone brightly in the sun. The light cavalry charged forward with unparalleled speed.
Then came the heavy cavalry of the Tang Army.
The configuration of heavy cavalry can best demonstrate the strength of a country's military force. The armor of man and horse not only requires a huge amount of money to build, but also reflects iron smelting and forging technology. Each heavy cavalry is a mobile fortress piled up with technology and money!
During his expedition to the Western Regions, he brought a total of 60,000 troops, including more than 10,000 cavalry. Such a force was a powerful force that could not be ignored in the entire Eurasian continent. Even overlords such as the Persian Dynasty could easily defeat them. Defeated, destroyed.
However, at this moment, facing the sudden appearance of the Tang Army's armored cavalry, Muawiya still felt deeply fearful!
Such an army is an important weapon for any country to control the country. Even if a small country can build it, it will never be able to maintain it.
An army can bring down a country!
However, the Tang army placed him in the Western Regions thousands of miles away from the capital...
Doesn't it mean that in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, there is a force that is not inferior to, or even far superior to, this army?
At this moment, Muawiya realized that he knew too little about the Tang Dynasty. His unbeatable record had made him blinded by pride, and he had never realized how powerful the Tang Dynasty was.
Fortunately, he gave the order to retreat. Otherwise, if he had entered the Western Regions so ignorantly, the Tang Dynasty would have sensed the danger and mobilized heavy troops to encircle and suppress it...
Muawiya thanked the prophet in his heart, but his eyes were burning as he stared at the Tang cavalry.
Strong enemy?
Conquering the most powerful army in the world and occupying the most fertile land is the most noble achievement!
Compared with the Tang Dynasty, the Persian dynasty, which used to have hundreds of thousands of iron cavalry across Europe and Asia but now couldn't even put together a few armors, was like a clay sculpture. Even if it was conquered, there would be no pleasure!
Only the Tang Dynasty, and only the Tang Dynasty, could be Mu'awiya's opponent!
Muawiya's eyes were shining and his fighting spirit was high!
He reined in his horse and was about to turn around and evacuate. He would go back to Damascus to strengthen his troops. After seizing the supreme power of the caliphate, he would definitely come back to fight the Tang army for a showdown!
However, before he turned around, he was shocked to find that Tang Jun's armored cavalry not only did not stop, but was gradually speeding up...
Black iron helmets, both men and horses, the long sword in the knight's hand is raised diagonally. Thousands of blades are pointed at the sky. The sharp and bright blades are like pieces of steel forest. The horse's hooves are walking briskly, Gradually accelerating, the sound of hoofbeats coming together was like thunder from the sky, hitting people's hearts and stimulating their blood vessels. Even from a distance of more than a hundred feet, the wall-like pressure rushed towards them like a mountain falling apart. !
Muawiya opened his eyes wide and watched in disbelief as the Tang army hurriedly arrived in front of him. Without even stopping to reorganize their formation, the Tang army launched a charge with heavy cavalry!
Among all his tactical knowledge, heavy cavalry, a great weapon on the battlefield, is of course extremely powerful. A hundred or ten men can often determine the outcome of a medium-sized war, but its weakness is also very prominent, and that is Because both men and horses were wearing heavy armor, the overall weight was too great, which was not only inconvenient for long-distance attacks, but also unsustainable in long-term battles.
All heavy cavalry must sit down and rest for a while before launching an attack, giving the warriors, especially the war horses, sufficient time to recover.
The scene before him completely subverted his understanding...
Was it that the Tang army was too arrogant and did not pay attention to the brave Arab warriors?
Or did the Tang army have another way to quickly restore the strength of the heavy cavalry?
However, he could no longer think too much at this moment. The large infantry was slowly retreating. A rash counterattack would only cause chaos in the formation. The heavy cavalry of the Tang Army charged forward with great momentum, but the light cavalry on both sides dispersed far away. , roaming on the wings of the heavy cavalry, once they find the Arab infantry array in chaos, they will rush over without hesitation.
The speed of light cavalry is much faster than that of heavy cavalry. If they are driven into the formation, using the natural restraint of cavalry against infantry, a disastrous defeat will be inevitable.
Muawiya made a prompt decision, raised his arms high, and loudly ordered: "All infantrymen come forward, set up shields, erect spears, and resist the enemy!"
"Boom!"
Following his order, the infantry who were originally standing behind the cavalry and responsible for breaking up the rear quickly ran forward for a distance, leaving the cavalry behind, and formed a square formation. The shields were at the outermost periphery, and inside were densely packed spears erected diagonally. , just like a steel hedgehog huddled up!
This is the most effective phalanx of the Arabs. It is not very effective against light cavalry. After all, the light cavalry can quickly turn and run to the two wings when approaching the battle, and then use bows and arrows to shoot and kill neatly arrayed soldiers...
However, it can often work wonders against heavy cavalry that are relatively slow but have extremely strong inertia.
Heavy cavalry are heavy, have strong impact, and have greater inertia. It is impossible to turn during the impact of thousands of troops. An accident will cause one's own horse to fall and be trampled. A chain disaster is enough to cause future disasters. When he reached the enemy's position, he injured most of himself.
Of course, no matter how solid the phalanx is, it cannot stop the impact of the heavy cavalry.
The huge kinetic energy carried during the charge can easily knock the outermost shield hand into broken bones and tendons, and then be trampled by iron hoofs into a pile of minced meat. However, the spears raised high in the back row were like wave guards, which offset the impact of the heavy cavalry bit by bit. In the end, human lives were used as buffers. By the time the impact of the heavy cavalry disappeared, it was already gone. Deep into the array, the heavy cavalry at that time lost their powerful impact and were trapped in a tight siege, just like a tiger without teeth, waiting to be slaughtered.
Mu'awiya did not want to tangle with the Tang army here. The strength of the Tang army was beyond his expectation. His original lifelong belief had been shaken. Moreover, he was unwilling to pay a heavy price. Even if it was a tragic victory in the end, the gains would outweigh the losses. , shaking the foundation of his rule in Damascus, and thus affecting his plan to compete for the throne of the caliphate.
He decided to give up on these more than 10,000 infantrymen.
As long as the Tang army's cavalry rushes into the formation, he will decisively lead the cavalry to withdraw from the battle group and return to Damascus... (End of this chapter)