Chapter 792 Strange Road
The power of the Armored Cavalry comes from its powerful impact on the one hand, and its strict discipline on the other.
When Zhang Chong's rallying horn sounded, the armored cavalry scattered everywhere came closer one after another. Some of them had even killed the enemy and were just short of beheading them.
But even with such convenient military achievements, they didn't miss it and rushed towards Zhang Chong.
Soon, in the middle of the eastern battlefield, the armored cavalry of the Taishan Army returned one after another and completed a slightly compact military formation.
At this time, looking at the entire eastern front battlefield, Li Tong's army, which occupied the majority of the strength, had collapsed. Military generals at all levels knocked down their flags. Even the commander-in-chief Li Tong lowered the banner in order to protect himself.
On the front, two of Li's entire army, which originally had five armies, had collapsed, and the rest were crumbling.
It was under such circumstances that Zhang Chong rushed over with about eight or nine hundred armored cavalry.
Generally speaking, when facing the charge of a heavily armed armored cavalry army, the infantry phalanx is not without its ability to fight. In addition to relying on strict discipline and strict military formations to resist, the width can also be increased and the depth reduced.
In the past, infantry formations hoped to deploy large-depth square formations, which could provide a stronger impact. However, when this kind of square formation encountered armored cavalry charges, because the troops were too concentrated, once the enemy cavalry attacked deeply, all layers would be destroyed. The command will be broken, eventually leading to the collapse of the military formation.
Increasing the front width and shallowing the depth of the military formation can enhance the flexibility of the military formation.
That is, the reduction of losses when struck, and the self-recovery ability of the military formation after being successfully penetrated by enemy cavalry.
When enemy armor and cavalry collide with this type of military formation, although these military formations are difficult to resist, they can be very conveniently moved to both sides, and then wait until the enemy cavalry rushes over before closing again.
This is the reason why some military formations cannot be broken down after being repeatedly attacked by cavalry.
In fact, Li Zheng's military formation was arranged in this wide-width, small-depth manner, but it was a pity because all armies had already entered combat mode, and the generals of each army had actually It is difficult to direct and restrain those below.
Therefore, when the command system was disabled and the officers and soldiers faced the charge of the armored cavalry, even if they dodged to both sides, they were unable to close up again. It was a true collapse in a single charge.
But now, when nearly a thousand armored cavalry troops cut into Li Zheng's armies from the northeast, there was almost no resistance, and the closest army fell apart due to their power.
So, all that was left was to catch up and kill those defeated soldiers.
In the process of chasing death and chasing north, Ma Tie, the charging general, saw a camp flag at a glance. That camp flag was at least a military flag belonging to a thousand-man camp.
Among all military achievements, the first achievement in siege is to ascend first, and the first achievement in field battle is to kill the general and capture the flag.
So when he saw the camp flag, Ma Tie's eyes turned red. He loudly ordered the nine subordinates around him to attack the camp flag as he pleased.
Like Ma Tie, some knights from other teams also saw the camp flag, but when they saw Ma Tie leading people to rush over, they gave up unanimously.
After all, Ma's brothers and their old father's old subordinates have a considerable influence in the Armored Cavalry Army.
Although the camp flags are very valuable, the number of them on this battlefield is not that small, so there is no need to bother to offend others.
You see, in the army it is not all about fighting and killing, there is still a need for humaneness.
As a result, Ma Tie caught up with the camp flag almost without any competition. He used his horse's spear to directly fly off the head of the camp flag bearer, and then rode over.
The camp flag slowly fell to the ground, but Ma Tie couldn't reach it, and then it was taken by a knight behind him.
This knight's name is Da Xixing. He comes from the Tuoba Xianbei tribe and can be regarded as a noble chieftain.
When King Zhang pacified Daibei, he directly annihilated the main body of the Tuoba tribe. Then sub-tribes such as Daxi were grazing outside. After learning that the situation was over, these sub-tribes all offered their loyalty to the Taishan Army.
It was under such circumstances that Da Xixing joined the Taishan Army. Because of his strong stature and skill in riding and shooting, he was selected into the Armored Cavalry Army as the most ordinary Armored Cavalry.
Similar to Da Xixing's identity, most of the small chiefs from other ethnic groups and tribes were ordinary armored cavalry.
This is not to say that the Taishan Army does not give ordinary herdsmen opportunities, but even on the grasslands, the truly strong warriors are mostly chiefs from the upper class.
It's not that knights who were born as herdsmen are bad at riding and shooting, but if you want to be able to carry nearly a hundred kilograms of iron armor, you won't be able to do it unless you are strong.
If you want to be strong and healthy, you have to eat meat. But how many opportunities do ordinary herdsmen and even herdsmen have to eat meat?
At this time, when Da Xixing grabbed the camp flag, his heart was beating wildly. In an instant, he wanted to take the camp flag as his own.
But it was only after he calmed down a little and saw that the horse in front of him had already turned around that he realized how dangerous his idea was.
And sure enough, after Ma Tie missed the camp flag, the people there shouted before they could turn around:
"That camp flag is mine, it's mine, no one can snatch it from me."
Because it’s really hard to explain. What is capturing the flag? Then you have to get the flag. What’s the point of Ma Tieguang killing the camp flag bearer? That’s just killing someone. Only by capturing the camp flag can you get the credit. your.
And who is holding the camp flag now? It's Da Xixing. Therefore, purely speaking, this military merit is already achieved by others.
Of course, you can say that since Ma Tie is Da Xixing's superior officer, isn't it just a matter of words to take back the camp flag?
And it just so happens that the Taishan Army's most taboo thing is to snatch military honors. Anyone who is verified must go to Facao. And when you get there, let alone your surname is Ma, your surname is Zhang. Even if you take off the seal and ribbon, the army will be The lightest.
So when Ma Tie came back and saw the camp flag being held by Da Xixing, his face darkened at that time, but he did not say anymore that the flag belonged to him.
Da Xixing had already made his decision the moment Ma Tie came back. He stepped forward on his horse, handed the camp flag in his hand to Ma Tie, and said with a smile:
"General Shi, your camp flag."
At this moment, Da Xixing could feel the strange and surprised eyes of the people around him.
Ma Tie was also very surprised. He kept looking at Da Xixing and suddenly smiled:
"Okay, my Ma family will remember you."
After saying that, Ma Tie was about to pull out his knife and cut the camp flag in the middle so that he could carry it easily.
But Da Xixing hurriedly stopped Ma Tie and said:
"General Shi, no, the intact camp flag is better. I can carry it for General Shi."
Ma Tie nodded, sent the ring-shou knife back, and then emphasized again:
"Then send the flag to the rear as soon as possible. Remember, it belongs to me!"
Da Xixing nodded solemnly.
Then Ma Tie ordered two armored cavalry to accompany Da Xixing and run to the rear while guarding the camp flag.
Looking at their leaving figures, Ma Tie's eyes were very fierce, and then he shouted to the remaining subordinates:
"This is where we are, let's go and grab it again! The greatest blessing in this life has arrived, brothers."
After saying that, he led the excited armored cavalry in pursuit again.
Yes, at this moment, for all Taishan soldiers, this is the place where they can change their destiny.
……
After easily defeating Li Zheng's army, Zhang Chong and his armored cavalry continued to advance deeper. At this time, a small armored cavalry team with a number of fifty cavalry had already penetrated very deep. After chasing the defeated troops for a long time, they finally encountered a counterattack by a group of crossbowmen.
This is a small team of about a hundred people, surrounded by wooden stakes and antlers standing diagonally. Because of this kind of protection, this group of crossbowmen had the courage to provoke the armored cavalry of the Taishan Army.
But most of the crossbows were deflected by the armor of the armored cavalry, but this kind of arrogance angered these armored cavalry.
Leading this armored cavalry team will be Li Zhong from Yuyang.
He was originally a cavalry commander in Huangfu Song's Zhenbei Army. Later, in the decisive battle at Jiye Ze, he and Yan Rou surrendered to the Taishan Army.
Then, he participated in the Northern Expedition to Liaodong, accumulated nine meritorious services, and was promoted to a general of the armored cavalry army.
Even though he is just a general, his level is higher than that of the main battalion of the Taishan Army, and he has his own general flag.
As for Li Zhong, he can be summed up in four words: a proud soldier and a fierce general.
If it is an ordinary cavalry commander, he must be clear about the importance no matter what. This will be the time to pursue and expand the results, and greater military exploits are ahead.
And what's so good about those crossbowmen, so what if they are killed?
But Li Zhong didn't think so. He had to kill these people today just to feel free.
So, Li Zhong quickly ran over with the armored cavalry behind him, eating another wave of arrow feathers in the process. Then he jumped off the horse and rushed into the phalanx of crossbowmen holding the iron bone flower.
In fact, these Li's crossbowmen were also shocked. This was not the first time they had done this. In front of Li Zhong and the others, two groups of Taishan armored cavalry rushed over.
But those people were smart and knew that these crossbowmen had no merit, so they ignored them and continued to pursue them.
But who would have known that there was a bad guy here, leaving other big fish alone to torment them.
The wooden stakes around these crossbowmen can only defend against cavalry, and are useless against heavy walking.
When Li Zhong rushed into the formation with fifty horsemen and cavalry, he chopped with swords and axes, and soon killed all the crossbowmen.
Are there many hundred-man crossbowmen? One person was only given two, and Li Zhong said it was not enough to kill him.
But just when Li Zhong was about to go back and mount his horse to continue the pursuit, he looked at the empty front and was stunned:
"Where's my horse?"
In this way, this group of fifty armored cavalrymen had no choice but to sit here cross-legged because they lost their horses, watching the friendly troops continue to question Zhubei.
Li Zhong and the others were mad because those war horses were hung with all the head skills of their team, and the biggest capture was a camp flag. Now these are all lost.
Not only that, those Pao Ze running from the rear also recognized Li Zhong and the others. After seeing these people lose their horses, they all laughed, and then waved the various flags captured in their hands even harder.
In this case, Li Zhong and the others were really furious, but there was nothing they could do.
……
The armored cavalry of the Taishan Army continued to drive the broken troops up the slope in front, where Li Zheng's main formation was located.
About three thousand elite warriors were guarding the slope, looking at the crumbling battlefield ahead.
Among them, Li Zheng, Li Dian and some elders of the Li clan are here, and judging from their positions, the tragedy of the battlefield becomes even clearer.
The armored cavalry of the Taishan Army roared wildly and continued to break through the squads one after another, and then there was a massacre.
More and more of the Li family's children can no longer maintain the phalanx, and everyone is concerned about saving their lives. The enemy's Ma Shan and Huanshou Dao easily harvested their lives.
They were pushing each other, and there was no room to even lift the weapons in their hands. Then they were pierced together by the horses behind them, like a skewer of meat.
The tears in Li Zheng's eyes could no longer be held back. He had three generations of Li family, and his grandparents had to endure countless hardships and sins to develop the Li family to this level.
But it only takes one day, no, just half an hour, to destroy the foundation of three generations.
Ever since he agreed with Li Dian and let Li Dian do what he did, the Li family had already fallen into the abyss.
Li Zheng raised his head hard, trying to let the tears flow back. He understood that all of them would die here today.
Although at this time, he, Li Zheng, still had a chance to escape, but with so many people dead and injured, how could he, Li Zheng, have the face to live?
Suddenly, a young clan member named Li Chen roared towards Li Dian. He waved his fist and wanted to hit Li Dian, but Li Dian easily dodged it and even had time to trip him to the ground.
Li Chen, who failed to hit the target, did not get up to fight back. Instead, he lay on the ground and cried loudly:
"It's all you Li Dian, it's all you, how many of our children have you killed!"
Li Dian's face was very embarrassed and ugly. He didn't want to explain, but in the end he said:
"You agreed to attack."
As a result, all the clan members who wanted to attack Li Dian verbally fell silent, and the originally tragic atmosphere dissipated.
Yes, they agreed, and they were even the ones who encouraged Li Zheng to do this.
But they never thought the ending would be like this!
But soon, they changed their minds. Isn't it you, Li Dian, who is the biggest responsible? These people just didn't notice for a moment and were bewitched by Li Dian.
At this moment, the shirking of responsibilities by these relatives is not really of any use. In fact, they just don't dare to accept this responsibility and dare not go down to see their ancestors like this.
In fact, although these Li family members are "stupid" and lack political acumen, as an emerging rich family, they are not afraid of death.
At this moment, no one was thinking about living an ignoble existence. They were just worried that they would not know how to face their ancestors if they went on.
Li Dian also didn't want to live. He was also prepared to die in battle with everyone.
But at this moment, Li Zheng, who had been silent, spoke. He said to Li Dian calmly:
"Li Dian, go to Yuan Shao and ask for reinforcements."
Li Dian was stunned. There would be no reinforcements from Yuan Shao at this time. He wanted to explain, but looking at his brother's face, he finally sighed and accepted.
Afterwards, Li Dian rode his horse, left Li's main formation, and galloped towards Yuan Shao in the middle.
He was sad and sad in his heart. Although he just retorted that everyone agreed, in his heart, Li Dian understood that it was his selfishness that killed his clan members.
But even so, my brother still wants to keep me alive. I am really, really, unbearable.
But the grieving Li Dian didn't know that after he left, all the clan members asked Li Zheng why he let Li Dian go, but Li Zheng just said ruthlessly:
"My Li family died in a battle with Yiluo. What does it have to do with Li Dian?"
Yes, we have been strangers since then.