Under the night sky, the battlefield was like a giant wheel.
The hooves of the horses galloped, circling over the chaotic and vast battlefield. Like a flood, the groups of horses cut through the originally dense formation of the Wu dynasty army. Amidst the sparks, blood and corpses were spread out. The plains were filled with fleeing soldiers, as well as organized groups of various sizes fighting fiercely. When the Jurchen cavalry charged over, they were scattered in groups. What appeared before the eyes was a massacre on a large scale.
Under the first charge of the Jurchen cavalry, the Victorious Martial Army that was originally guarding the Daimyo's Mansion was forcibly torn in two. After the elite cavalry broke through the frontal resistance of the army, more than a thousand cavalry units began to attack from all directions, crushing the resistance of this army of sixty thousand people with astonishing speed.
For the soldiers of the Wu dynasty, everything before them could only be described as tragic. On the enormous battlefield where tens of thousands of people were gathered, people were everywhere. The Jurchen cavalry's attack had forced its way in. Anyone who encountered this scene would first feel that it was unimaginable, and then they would feel an enormous and irresistible fear. The morale of the army would waver, and the people around them would be panic-stricken, hysterical shouts and screams. When the Jurchen cavalry charged over, the people around them would move aside and push against each other, only to have their bones and bones crushed and their bodies cut apart by the charging warhorses. On this battlefield where there were people everywhere, no matter where these cavalry went, they would raise a shocking wave of blood and mountains of corpses.
Chen Yanshu, the commander-in-chief of Wusheng Army, was running for his life. Just now, a cavalry troop of Jurchen Taoist broke through the protection of his bodyguards and almost put their blades in front of his eyes. Two arrows even hit his armor — — This troop of Jurchen Taoist came here specifically to take the head of him, the commander-in-chief of the army.
When the Jurchen cavalry appeared in front of the main army, Chen Yanshu was still thinking of relying on the sea of people to give it his all. When those several riders, a dozen riders, charged crazily into the front line, he did not even think of retreating. But everything had really happened too fast.
If infantry wanted to fight a head-on battle against cavalry, they had to rely on airtight formations. When tens of thousands of soldiers were squeezed together, the front lines could not escape, and the rear lines would bravely charge forward, forming a huge human wall that even the cavalry could not break through. However, saying it was one thing. When the threat of death appeared, the front of the formation would also subconsciously want to avoid and retreat. If the entire army was viewed as a whole, the degree to which bravery exceeded cowardice determined whether the formation was solid or not.
The charging team of the Jurchen people quickly smashed the sea of people. Even the experienced generals would be shocked by the flying flesh and blood. Among them, a cavalry team of two thousand people tore through the sea of people and rushed straight to the flag of the Wu Sheng army. Chen Yanshu tried to block this "exhausted" cavalry with the elites of the army. However, the sea of blood that had been stirred up seemed to only arouse the ferocity of the Jurchen people. They resisted the attacks from all directions and crazily rushed toward Chen Yanshu's personal army.
In other words, they were killing everything they came into contact with in all directions, and at the same time, they were still advancing rapidly.
Chen Yanshu's personal troops resisted for a moment, but the huge pressure caused them to suffer heavy casualties. Chen Yanshu was terrified. When someone shot arrows at him in the chaos, he began to retreat quickly, and at the same time, he mobilized other troops in the army to block the attacks for him.
After such a mobilization, the entire army began to fall into chaos. The Jurchen Zhens' slaughter minced everything under the night sky. The control of the entire Victorious Martial Army had already lost its effectiveness, and gradually, the troops on the edge began to frantically flee. Under the leadership of the middle-level officers, the soldiers in the battle formation either fought fiercely or retreated, but the slaughter had become the main theme of the entire battlefield. With so many people, it was really too convenient to slaughter.
More than ten miles away, the Victorious Martial Army had also been scattered and crushed. Nearby on the battlefield was the Jin general Sai La. Groups of Jurchen cavalry charged and killed their way toward every soldier of the Wu dynasty with a distinct symbol.
On the hills, the majority of the troops that couldn't run in time were caught up to by a group of about a thousand cavalry and slaughtered. Large numbers of routed soldiers rushed into the nearby forest, but the Jurchen cavalry circled around the edge of the forest, and then began to light fires in all directions. It was already the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, and the weather was dry. Before long, a large number of open fires began to burn, lighting up the entire forest. On the side of a nearby river valley, nearly three thousand Wu dynasty soldiers were slaughtered and forced into the river. Before long, the Jurchen Zhens began to shoot arrows into the river, and blood dyed the entire surface of the river red.
About ten miles to the south, the battlefield of the Victorious Martial Army was also indescribably tragic. The speed of its collapse was slower than that of the Victorious Martial Army and the Victorious Martial Army, but the chain of horses had also smashed through the resistance of the infantry troops, and had already cut the entire battlefield into several large pieces. Inside and outside the battlefield, the morale of the troops was also collapsing, and a small portion of the troops had already begun to flee in disorder.
On the edge of the battlefield, a group of about a thousand Jurchen cavalry circled around the fleeing troops and swept through them.
On this huge battlefield, Ning Yi could no longer find Qin Shaoqian's position. Not long after the battle began, he had led the two thousand most precious cavalrymen of the Victorious Martial Army toward the Jurchen Zhens. But no matter how precious this troop was to the Wu Rui Camp, first of all, the warhorses of the Wu dynasty were inferior to the warhorses of the Jurchen Zhens, and secondly, the quality of the Wu dynasty's cavalry was much worse than that of the Jurchen Cavalry. This cavalry charge was incomparably tragic, and the casualties were quite heavy.
Seeing that the situation in front of him was collapsing and that several groups of Jurchen cavalry were charging over from different directions, frankly speaking, Ning Yi really wanted to leave. His current position was surrounded by fields, and he couldn't find any high ground that he could occupy. Moreover, he was surrounded by all kinds of troops. If his convoy wanted to make a big move, everyone would begin to flee in disorder.
During his time in Qi County, Ning Yi had discussed with Qin Shaoqian about the use of the elm cannons. If he had a large army to support him, he could choose a narrow and long area to face the enemy head-on, which would be quite effective against the Jurchen cavalry. Even if the terrain wasn't suitable, if he had a large army to support him, the cannons could be placed in the front and be of great use. However, the cooperation of the army was indispensable. But right now, even if the cannons were placed on flat ground, he still wouldn't know where to aim them.
Their original plan this time was to fight the Jurchen Zhens in the vicinity of Camel Mou Mound. Either Yao Pingzhong would succeed in raiding the camp, and the army of more than a hundred thousand would surround the Jurchen army and wipe them out in one fell swoop, or Yao Pingzhong would fail and the army of more than a hundred thousand would gather together and fight the Jurchen Zhens head-on. However, before they arrived, the Jurchen Zhens had already arrived, and the scouts hadn't even informed them in advance.
Qin Shaoqian was aware of this point, and he also realized that Ning Yi's elm cannons might not be of much use. That was why he had asked Ning Yi to act on his own, and if things didn't work out, he would have to run away as soon as possible. However, Ning Yi also didn't want to be the first one to collapse.
The three hundred people under Yue Fei had already assembled. Under the training of this young general, the formation of the three hundred people had been trained very well, but they were still nervous and apprehensive, and all the soldiers had some fear on their faces. On Ning Yi's side, there were also three hundred people, all of whom were Takeshi's elites. Those who had followed Ning Yi to Luliang Mountain were all here. Although they weren't arranged in a dense formation of a large number of infantry against cavalry, most of them didn't have any fear in their eyes.
Of course, some of the technicians were still afraid.
Standing on top of the carriage and watching the front line of slaughter gradually spread over here, Ning Yi was actually also afraid. In the later legends, Yue Fei dealt with the Jurchen chain horses and even the heavy cavalry Iron Buddhas by chopping off the legs of the horses. However, during this period of time, Ning Yi understood a little and knew that the main point was not to chop off the legs of the horses.
When the warhorses charged over, chopping off the legs of the horses was common knowledge for all those who had experienced battle. Only in the legends would it become a "secret book". Because the main point was not such a simple matter. The main point was how to let the soldiers in the front line calmly, efficiently, and accurately deliver their swords and spears to the legs of the horses when more than ten warhorses swept over like tanks in the future.
Even if they hit the horses, there was a ninety percent chance that these soldiers would be crushed to death.
They might have to go through countless simple and boring training, require strict discipline, and need the tempering of war to be able to train such soldiers. After having them, what they needed to do was to exchange their lives with the warhorses. Only then could the infantry truly have the power to fight against the cavalry. Right now, the three hundred people trained by the young general were far from this quality. As an armed militia, they just didn't collapse and run away.
Just now, when the Female Zhenren began to charge, Ning Yi stood on the roof of the carriage and watched. The thousands of cavalry of the Female Zhenren charged forward with great momentum, and the front line of the Wu Rui Battalion also put up a tenacious resistance. However, of these thousands of cavalry, only a hundred or two hundred were truly killed. The three shouts arranged by Qin Shaoqian boosted morale, but at the front line, morale alone could only make people wield their swords fervently. They didn't even know what they had cut. When the Female Zhenren's charge broke through the formation for the first time, their casualties plummeted.
The shouts of war spread over, and the waves of slaughter of the Female Zhenren spread in all directions. The orders for the nearby troops to advance were also quickly issued — most of the people near Ning Yi were scattered carriage soldiers and volunteer soldiers who had rushed over from all directions. Some of them were still brave, and under the leadership of the officers beside them, they began to kill their way forward. There were also some who began to flee. The Female Zhenren cavalry was already charging over, and there seemed to be hundreds or thousands of them. The panic and chaos in the surroundings became even more obvious. Then, even more defeated soldiers spread over like a tide, and many people began to flee.
At the front, Yue Fei held a steel spear in his hand, watching all of this coldly.
Zhu Biao, who had already returned, came up to the back of the carriage and looked around. "Should we help enforce military law?"
Among Takeshi's guards, there were also quite a few people who were watching all of this with furrowed brows. Most martial artists were brave, and when they saw such a large battle, they would not hesitate to charge forward and risk their lives. At the same time, they could not bear to see these people fleeing before the battle had even begun. However, Ning Yi still shook his head. "We have to leave later as well. They have been defeated too quickly, and there is no point in stopping them with just a few hundred of us."
Zhu Biao was silent for a moment. "We can't set up our cannons."
In such a crowded and chaotic battlefield, even if they did set up their cannons, a volley of fire would only kill their own people.
The night sky was noisy, and sparks of fire spread out. The cavalry swept across the battlefield, raising waves of blood. Scenes of death and serious injuries appeared in large swathes. It was an indescribable scene. Standing on the carriage, Ning Yi clenched his fists tightly. This was the first time he had experienced such a large-scale battle since coming to the Wu dynasty, and it was also such a large-scale defeat. He had already experienced many things in his life, but personally experiencing such a scene was a different matter. At this moment, he really wanted to lead his men and charge forward, and he also wanted to set up the elm cannons and give the Female Zhenren a head-on blow. However, even if he used all his brain power to calculate, it would be meaningless. At the front, Qin Shaoqian and the others were still fighting. This was because they had no choice but to fight. If they did not fight now, they would lose even their last chance to escape.
Another cavalry unit of about a thousand men came from the side and arrived near the battlefield.
The Female Zhenren general leading this cavalry unit was called Su Kena. As the cavalry unit slowed down slightly, he was also observing the situation on the battlefield.
"It's time to go." Ning Yi said. He then raised his hand toward the nearby Takeshi's men. "I know you all want to charge forward, but while there is still a chance, we have to … escape back to Qi County. Go to the side first. There's no need to go too fast … "
Even though the carriage was moving slowly, it still caused a crowd. Fortunately, the route Ning Yi chose wasn't an escape route, so he hadn't caused everyone to swarm and scatter. Not far away, the Female Zhenren general Su Kena pointed. "Over there, the Wu dynasty's carriages will definitely have all kinds of military supplies and equipment. All of you, follow me! Then it's ours! "
"Wahhhh —!" The Female Zhenren cavalry unit erupted in a frenzy of shouts. Soon after, the cavalry surged forward, stabbing straight into the panicking crowd.
The cavalry charged into the battle formation, setting off a tidal wave of blood, followed by another wave of defeat and escape. From a distance of two hundred meters, separated by a thick crowd, Ning Yi looked in that direction.
"They're coming for us." Zhu Biao turned his horse around and gestured to his surroundings.
"This is troublesome …" Ning Yi frowned and muttered, "Continue moving and prepare for battle."
Not far away, Yue Fei, who had also noticed the situation, began to move his troops. On this side, the carriages were still moving to the side, but the experts of the Takeshi army who were good at fighting had already gathered here. Even further away, a fierce battle was taking place on the battlefield. The Female Zhenren cavalry unit was charging over like a flood. Not long after the entire plain had turned into a battlefield of carnage, Ning Yi and the others were caught up in this vast battle and became a part of it.
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