Chapter 3497 Disparity in Strength
The thunderbolt that Li Yuanjing had pinned on him finally came in handy. After suffering heavy casualties, the soldiers of the Zuotun Guard rushed to the front of the Youtunwei formation and tried their best to throw away the ignited thunderbolt. The next moment, they were killed by the soldiers of the Right Guard. Killed by muskets and crossbows.
The thunderbolts fell on the right guard formation, causing huge damage. The always rock-solid array was also slightly loosened, but the left guard failed to take advantage of the opportunity to expand the results.
From ancient times to the present, cavalry has always been the "King of War". Its powerful mobility enables it to dominate the battlefield, so Zuotunwei is equipped with a large number of cavalry. According to the pre-war assumptions, when the infantry attacked the Right Guards array head-on, the cavalry would outflank the two wings and penetrate directly into the Right Guards' ribs. This would not only cause huge damage, but also completely break the Right Guards' defensive posture.
However, when he actually arrived on the battlefield, Chai Zhewei discovered that that was not the case at all.
The cavalry's maneuverability is indeed very strong, and they can easily detour to the enemy's flanks or even the rear. However, the huge power of the firearms makes the cavalry dare not approach at all. Hundreds of thousands of muskets gather in one place to fight in three stages, densely The bullets came in a torrential downpour, even the most powerful cavalry was beaten into a sieve!
Chai Zhewei heard that the Foundry Bureau is currently developing a "breech-loading" musket. Once successfully developed, it will greatly increase the reloading speed. If that is true, how will the cavalry have any advantage over the infantry in the future? ?
Even if a group of old women go into battle carrying muskets, the cavalry will be helpless...
You Wenzhi galloped back from the front. Xu was hit by artillery. His armor was damaged in many places, and blood seeped out from the wounds. He was in a miserable state. He came to Chai Zhewei, After taking a look at Li Yuanjing, he reported: "Commander Qi, the vanguard has already rushed to the front of the Youtun Guard formation. The two armies are in close combat, and the artillery of the Right Tun Guard is difficult to use!"
Chai Zhewei let out a sharp breath.
The power of the artillery is too great! Just like that, a cannonball fell and exploded, and there was a powerful force that sent countless fragments flying in all directions. Often, one cannonball could kill dozens of people. It was really unstoppable!
Moreover, there was no intelligence at all that the Right Tun Guard had accumulated such a large number of artillery pieces. This sudden volley of fire caused the Zuo Tun Guard to suffer heavy casualties and was in such a state of embarrassment that Chai Zhewei even felt "invincible"...
He urged continuously: "Go ahead with the order. The whole army should charge. You must rush into the enemy's formation. You must not let their artillery wreak havoc! You personally lead the supervising team to supervise the battle. Anyone who dares to take a step back will be punished on the spot! Everyone will be punished on the spot! The army is advancing but never retreating!”
He was really frightened by the power of the artillery. Even though he knew that an all-out charge would lead to increased casualties, he couldn't care less.
If we continue to allow the artillery of the Right Guards to bombard them indiscriminately, I am afraid that it will not take long for the Left Guards to become disheartened and their morale collapse.
You Wenzhi glanced at Li Yuanjing again, and when he saw that he was silent, he nodded and responded: "General, please honor your order!"
He turned his horse's head and went forward to deliver the order, and then led the supervising team to hold down the formation from behind. If anyone fled, he would punish them on the spot as a warning, forcing the soldiers of the left guard to rush into the position of the right guard.
However, Youtunwei is not only sharp with firearms, but also powerful in close combat.
Although the rigorous array was loosened due to the damage caused by the enemy's thunderbolts, it remained intact for the most part. The shield bearers were in front and the spearmen were behind, followed by the musketeers and crossbowmen. Advancing step by step, both offensive and defensive, although the Zuo Tuen Guards had a large number of people, their formation was chaotic. They swarmed towards the Right Tun Guards array, but could not disperse at all.
Moreover, the quality of the soldiers of the Right Tun Guard was obviously better than that of the Left Tun Guard.
Originally, the soldiers of Youtun Guard were all recruited. Each of them was carefully selected from the best. They were all tall and strong. After long-term and continuous training, their physical strength was greatly improved. Brave and good at fighting.
Often a shield bearer can withstand the charge of two or three Zuotun guards...
What is particularly important is that the long-term training has made the formation coordination between the soldiers more and more rigorous, and they have a tacit understanding of cooperative operations. Even if the formation is scattered by the enemy in some places, three or five people gathered in one place can attack. Defensively, more than ten enemy troops could do nothing to them.
Sophisticated weapons and equipment, excellent troop quality, and skilled formation coordination made the right guard's combat power significantly superior to that of the left guard, which resulted in extremely serious casualties for the left guard.
The fierce battle lasted for two hours.
The heavy snow under the sky is still fluttering, as if it wants to cover this extremely tragic battlefield, and the dark clouds cannot block the light on the horizon.
The front of the formation of both sides was like a huge meat grinding mill. The corpses of Zuotun guardsmen were everywhere, and their blood melted the snow on the ground and flowed into a river. The huge battle losses caused the morale of Zuotunwei to drop rapidly, and the soldiers were frightened and confused.
Gao Kan stood in the formation with his helmet pierced. Seeing that the enemy's morale was low and unwilling to fight, he felt that the time was ripe and ordered the drums to be beaten.
The war drums of "dong dong dong" sounded in the heavy snow in the winter morning, from slow to fast, converging into a heart-shaking rhythm.
The Youtun guardsmen, who had been in a defensive posture, suddenly became energetic and rushed out of their positions to launch a counterattack against the enemy.
At the same time, the long-silent artillery roared here, and countless shells poured into the rear position of Zuotunwei.
There, it was the clan supporting Jing King Li Yuanjing who mobilized more than ten thousand troops. It was dark before and the battle situation was tense, so Youtunwei had not been able to detect the existence of this army. Now that it was getting brighter, Youtunwei's scouts discovered this silent army. It was inevitable that this army would suddenly join the battle and form a formation. variables, they took the lead in bombarding them with artillery.
It has to be said that Li Yuanjing knew very little about firearms and did not understand the range of artillery at all. This caused the royal troops and horses who had watched the drama in the middle of the night to suddenly encounter artillery shells falling from the sky. They were instantly stunned and screamed and fled in all directions. , the formation was in chaos.
Li Yuanjing was shocked and quickly ordered the entire army to join the battle. This artillery was really powerful. The farther away it was, the greater the damage. He didn't care about conserving his strength and rushed forward to resist the counterattack of the right guard together with the left guard.
Chai Zhewei, whose eyes were bloodshot, sneered in his heart. He had watched the artillery raging for most of the night, but he still couldn't understand the tactical damage of the artillery. His Highness was really a fool. He was far worse than the legitimate sons of Emperor Gaozu. If it hadn't been for Li When His Majesty dies, he will be able to assume the title of "the eldest son of a concubine". Who will pay attention to this good-for-nothing?
Just like this, with no self-awareness, he actually looks at the supreme position...
I am also blind, and I still want to follow Lu Buwei's example and play a "wonderful thing to live in". I really regret it.
However, now that the war has reached this point, he cannot be allowed to give up halfway. He can only bite the bullet and fight on, hoping for a miracle, and perhaps a chance to change his course...
The soldiers of Youtun Guards who had been guarding the position for two hours heard the sound of the drums and immediately rushed out of the position in high spirits and launched a counterattack against the enemy in front of them. Each one was like a tiger descending from the mountain. When charging, they formed a formation of three and three, cooperating with each other. The musketeers followed closely, and the Zuotun guards were caught off guard. They were killed and their horses were turned upside down. They were completely defeated. They were about to be completely defeated.
Fortunately, Li Yuanjing commanded his troops to join the battle at this time. More than 10,000 fresh troops suddenly joined the battlefield, immediately blocking the momentum of Zuo Tunwei's defeat.
Li Yuanjing watched the enemy formation from behind. When he saw this scene, he was overjoyed and ordered repeatedly: "Charge forward. Those who break the formation will be rewarded with a hundred gold coins, and those who talk loudly will be rewarded with ten thousand gold coins!"
There must be brave men under the heavy rewards. The eyes of these royal slaves and guards were all bright, and they launched a fierce charge with howls, completely suppressing the counterattack of Youtun Guards.
Gao Kan was sitting in command. Seeing that the battle situation was not developing in the direction he expected, he was not in a hurry. He raised his hand. The captain next to him immediately raised an apricot flag and waved it vigorously.
In the middle of the camp, an army that was always on alert saw the flag. Hundreds of armored soldiers immediately picked up their horses, turned over and jumped onto their armored horses. They stepped on the stirrups and kicked the horse's belly violently, and the horse was on its hip. He snorted, moved his hooves, slowly accelerated, and rushed towards the endless melee battlefield ahead.
The soldiers of the Zuo Tuen Guards, who were in the midst of a fierce battle, heard a rumbling sound in their ears, like rolling thunder. They looked up in confusion and saw a cavalry charge from the rear of the Right Tuen Guards. Their iron hoofs crushed the ice and snow on the ground. Ju Jia, as if the demon god came to the world, everyone was shocked and devastated!
Armored cavalry! (End of chapter)