Fifty men from Beiliang served as a standard.
A standard crossbowman's combat power far exceeded that of three hundred ordinary armored soldiers. Beiliang's crossbowmen could be used as scouts, but not all of them could become crossbowmen. This time, even without the standard commander saying anything, Li Hanlin and his brothers already sensed that something was amiss. It was definitely not a small scale battle like the usual one deep inside Dragonwaist Province. Li October and the other seedlings were eager to give it a try. They were well aware that after waiting for so many years, the great battle was finally about to begin.
Before the troops and horses moved, the provisions would move first. In addition to the provisions, there would also be a large number of scouts scattered in front of the army like scattering beans, concealing their tracks and quietly cutting down the weeds. As Beiliang's favored elite crossbowmen, they were qualified to carry the sharpest Beiliang sabers, the most penetrative light crossbows, and ride the most explosive, experienced horses. All the crossbowmen were wrapped in cloth and rushed north with their heads lowered. Li October was impatient and increased the speed of his horse. He was only half a horse's length behind the standard commander. He asked quietly, "Standard commander, where is the tiled building? That's the number one military town in Dragonwaist Province. Do we have tens of thousands of brothers following behind us? "
The standard commander turned his head and glared at him. He did not want to answer at first, but after some thought, he said in a deep voice, "Stop talking nonsense. Remember, this time when you encounter the barbarians' horse pens, don't leave any of them alive. Don't even cut off their heads. Don't delay the military situation! If you encounter a large army, turn back. As for the rest, even if it's a group of three to four hundred Beimang cavalry, we'll still fight with our lives on the line. Are you afraid of death? If you are, then scram. "
Li October cursed, "I'm afraid of your grandpa!"
The leader who had been in the military for twenty years was obviously in a very good mood. He smiled for the first time and joked, "I'm really your grandfather. I've been your father and mother all these years for you bastards."
He was already used to the whip that could split open one's skin, not to mention the cursing of the chief. Besides, the chief was not wrong. The Wandering Crossbow Regiment that October Li was in, which was once ridiculed as a hedonistic regiment, was a light cavalry regiment. Before joining the regiment, there were very few gentle, respectful, and thrifty people among them. They were all descendants of generals who were used to riding roughshod over the local prefectures and counties. Occasionally, there were some harmless ones who were prideful in their bones. After joining the regiment, they were all disciplined and well-behaved. Even a fart from the chief was more effective than the earnest advice of his high-ranking father. Li October's eyes sparkled. He didn't dare to nag at Chief Biao. He slowed down his horse and rode side by side with Li Hanlin and Lu Dou. He chuckled and said, "We guessed right. It really is a big battle."
Li Hanlin said grumpily, "Shut up. Do you want a piece of bamboo as a reward?"
Li October said anxiously, "Do you think I'm a chick? This is for new scouts who can't keep their mouths shut. I can't afford to lose face like that!"
"You're not that far off from a chick," Lu Dou said coldly.
Li October's face turned red. He was about to curse, but he soon stopped himself. With his accumulated military merits, this chick was already on the same level as the deputy chief. Only Li Hanlin could compete with him. After a few real battles, Lu Dou's military exploits were outstanding, and he was now fully integrated into the standard. Although he was still a man of few words, even Li October, who used to stare at Lu Dou, regarded him as a brother, and even wanted to present his sister to him with both hands. Lu Dou's relationship with Li Hanlin, Li October, and the others could be considered to be very good. There was a spear pouch hanging from his saddle, and there were more than ten short spears in it. The crossbowmen all carried a powerful crossbow with them, and they even asked about the standard commander out of curiosity. Lu Dou's stubborn temper made him play dumb every time, and he always said that he knew nothing.
Li October's smile disappeared. He reached out and tightened the strap of his soft leather helmet. It dug deep into his flesh. Not only did it not hurt his bones, it even felt familiar. When he first joined the Beiliang Army, he didn't have the qualifications to practice riding a horse. He was only familiar with the military formation as an infantryman. After one day, he fell apart. On the second day, he put on the chainmail that weighed less than 20 kilograms. He felt a burning pain all over his body. Li October's mouth twitched. How did he become a crossbowman? In the past, he used his martial strength to commit crimes in the county. He was injured all year round. Although he was not afraid of pain, he was still afraid of death. Probably because he was sent to the army by his father, he saw him flattering the general who was said to be a family friend. Before they parted, the father and son chatted. Li October even scolded his father for being a good-for-nothing. They were both fourth-rank officials. How could he be a grandson? At that time, his father, who was obsessed with saving face, didn't refute. He just patted Li October's shoulder. Who wasn't afraid of death? But Li October was more afraid of losing face. Maybe from that moment on, Li October wanted to bring home a general in a grand manner. At the very least, he wanted to die in a grand manner on the battlefield.
Li October exhaled. His eyes were firm.
The western border of Liang Mang was famous for being loose on the outside but tight on the inside. They formed a pocket and lured the enemy into the trap. It depended on who had the guts to go to the battlefield and cut off their heads to accumulate military merits.
Li October finally encountered the Northern Barbarians with this mission. It was a group of elite cavalry that was only slightly inferior to the Northern Mang's ferocious general Dong Zhuo's Crow Fence. The key point was that there were two hundred of them, and the one in the lead wore bright clothes and heavy armor. He didn't have a spear in his hand, only a beautiful broadsword. Li October, who was hiding with Li Hanlin and Lu Dou, knew that this was a Beimang field officer patrolling the border. As long as the relationship between the Beimang royal family members and the nobles was strong enough, they would be given a fancy title. They would borrow troops and horses from the generals to go south. When they returned, they could show off to others. As for the number of troops they brought, it was the same as the family's wealth. Beiliang's crossbowmen loved this kind of reckless flower vase. They would kill them if they ran into them. However, they usually didn't have more than a hundred cavalrymen protecting them. The three cavalrymen who were the first to investigate the situation didn't dare to act rashly. Li Hanlin was the sergeant, so he ordered Li October to go back and report the situation. He and Lu Dou continued to watch from afar.
Both sides of Liang Mang had their own secret signals. Their whistles were similar to the chirping of birds. However, after twenty years of confrontation, they had learned more or less everything. They had to communicate with each other in all kinds of strange ways. Compared to the jokes made by many lousy scouts during the Spring and Autumn Period, they couldn't be mentioned in the same breath. For example, when the two sides launched a surprise attack, they had long been intertwined. Due to the similarity of their secret signals, when they saw each other in person, they almost thought that they were on the same side. The crossbowmen and horse guards of Liang Mang's border were, without a doubt, the world's most cunning, as well as the world's best scouts. Li October brought back a military order from the label chief: Since the enemy insisted on continuing to go south, they had to either eat all the meat in their mouths or choke themselves to death. There was no other choice!
Although they were called northern barbarians, in fact, most of the people in Gusai and Longyao were the remnants of the Spring and Autumn Period. The faces of the soldiers were almost the same as Beiliang's.
Faced with the sudden and silent attack, the two hundred Beiliang light cavalry didn't panic. The deputy reined in his horse and turned around. He came to the side of the young royal family member and whispered to him in the language of the royal family. The young man raised his eyebrows. His face was full of ridicule. He seemed to shake his head to stop the deputy's suggestion. When he first saw the Beiliang crossbowmen in an encirclement and suppression situation with their crossbows flying like locusts, the young general's sneer grew. Other than the two quick waves of crossbows, when the soldiers from several directions came into contact with each other at the same time, the cavalry on his side were all killed by the Beiliang cavalry without exception. Only then did he frown. However, he still had no intention of retreating. He pressed one hand on the back of his horse and gently calmed the warhorse that had become violent after smelling the scent of blood. The deputy was deeply worried. Other than his bright armor that was different from normal soldiers, the rest of his equipment was the same. He held a spear in one hand and a saber at his waist. There was a shelf in front of the saddle for weapons. If it was a long journey, hooks could be added to the side or back of the saddle. The crossbow and quiver would be placed there.
The young man watched with great interest. He didn't mind at all that his two hundred cavalry didn't seize the advantage at all. He even let his personal guards, including the deputy, fight. He stayed in place and watched this bloody battle where the horses died faster than the men.
A real cavalry battle wasn't like those battles created by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There weren't two generals who were kicked in the head by a donkey before going to the front of the formation to kill each other. Whoever lost would be defeated like a landslide. It was also very rare to see a general stop his horse in the middle of the formation and continue to stab the enemy with his spear and spear despite being surrounded. When thousands of cavalry, especially tens of thousands of people charged at the same time, other than the rain of arrows, what followed was a huge injury that penetrated each other like a knife. Once a rider passed by, they had to do their best to charge forward. Even if the warhorse could pull back a step, they still had to charge forward with all their might. After a spear was stabbed, because the spear was not easy to pull out, they had to abandon the spear and switch to a saber. Only speed could win the impact. In a rapidly moving formation, if a rider on one's side stopped for no reason and became a wooden stake, then they would be guilty.
For a small scale cavalry battle like a scout, the principle didn't change. Regardless of whether it was a pursuit or a retreat, speed was still number one. However, scouts had more leeway to display their individual martial strength.
It was a big taboo for a general's armor to be too conspicuous. First, most of the armor was inlaid with gold and silver, making it very flashy but not practical. Second, it was too eye-catching. It was as if they were begging the enemy to kill them. This member of the imperial tent whose surname was either Yelü or Murong didn't have this awareness at all. Very quickly, two Beiliang crossbowmen, who looked like sergeants, tore through the already thin formation and charged forward. The young cavalry general wasn't in a hurry to draw his blade. He waited until a Beiliang blade chopped down before drawing his blade. Like a shocking rainbow, the bold blade knocked away the cold blade and took the opportunity to cut off the crossbowman's arm. He then lifted it up and cut open the crossbowman's neck. Blood flowed like a stream. He didn't stop and cut off his cheek. His majestic horse didn't move. In an instant, the dead sergeant's horse brushed past him. Before he put away his blade, he didn't forget to use the tip of his blade to lightly poke and push the undying sergeant's corpse off the horse. He didn't even look at the corpse.
The series of continuous moves were very flashy, but in the end, he still killed someone. He had a high level of martial arts, which far exceeded the scope of cavalry, so he had the qualifications to do so.
He shook his wrist and performed a beautiful spinning blade. Using the language of the Southern Dynasties, he smiled faintly and said, "It's also the world's most famous curved blade. It turns out that the Beiliang blade is only so-so."
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