"Journey to the West"

Author: Scarlet Polyp

Chapter 7 swept like a tiger

The Changshui Battalion of the Northern Army originally referred to the cavalry stationed in Changshui Xuanqu, a suburb of Luoyang, composed of Huns and other Hu people, and has always been the elite of the Northern Army. Since Emperor Xiaoling followed the great Sima Li Hong during the Zhongping period, the scale gradually expanded, and when fighting against Xianbei in northern Xinjiang, it once expanded to tens of thousands of horsemen. After Zhongxing, the imperial court rebuilt the Northern Army, and the Changshui Battalion returned to the Northern Army sequence. The Changshui battalion now has a total of 4,000 cavalry, which are roughly divided into 'armor cavalry' and 'Hu cavalry': the armor cavalry is close to the heavy cavalry, and the good horses produced by the river meanders are mostly used, and the knights are wearing thick armor and armor full of iron plates. Hu cavalry is the archer cavalry, equipped with mostly light armor, equipped with two stone hard bows and ring head knives, most of the soldiers come from the naturalized Hu tribes, riding and shooting kung fu armor in the Han army.

Zhao Guang's team entered the Changshui camp according to the order, and Liu Tan appointed him as the chief general of the vanguard according to the agreement, and assigned him 400 subordinates, plus his original subordinates, a total of 500 cavalry. Liu Tan also sent him a capable tooth general to assist, this person's surname is what name Chong Zi Zaiqian, the army is called "rushing in front", on weekdays long sleeves and good dancing, eloquence will be given, but when fighting, he is often the first to rush into the enemy camp, and he is very brave and good at fighting. When Zhao Guang left, he was still begging for nothing, and asked Pang Hui to ask for Tuoba Feng, plus Luo An and Zhao Neng, they formed their own team. The name of the soldiers of the Changshui battalion is the first in the world, and the arrogance is also the first in the world, but Zhao Guang's father has been the commander of the Changshui battalion for many years, and the residual power is still there, so although he feels that the new commander is too young, he does not exclude him as an outsider. After Zhao Guang entered the camp, he competed with everyone in martial arts, and gradually became convinced. So although the new official took office in a hurry, everything went smoothly.

Zhao Guang practiced martial arts in the Changshui camp all day long, and his thoughts about Princess Haiya gradually faded, although he occasionally wanted to see her situation, but in the end he still did not bury a step out of the camp. Ten days later, all the preparations of the Three Route Army were completed, Sima Yi and Pang De and other generals opened the altar to worship the sky, swore to go on the expedition, and the battle of the Han Dynasty to pacify the Western Regions was finally officially launched.

Fortunately, the northern army was all soldiers who had been fighting for a long time, and all kinds of combat preparations had already flowed in a hurry, and the officers and men were in their own duties and completed their respective preparations in an intense and efficient manner. In the main general tent of the forward team, Zhao Guang, with the help of Zhao Neng, put on his newly issued armor - this is a set of armor specially made for senior officers of the Northern Army, with a silver body and a small fish scale armor body, with a total of sixteen rows; The inner armor is cut from the finest cowhide, woven from tough brocade, and the chest and back are lined with iron plates. Armor is still used below the belt and on the armour to facilitate movement. After putting it on, Zhao Guang raised his spear and danced in the tent, feeling that this armor was not only comfortable to wear, but also unhindered in operation. "Well, it's majestic!" Luo An and He Chong, who were waiting to watch the excitement on the sidelines, couldn't help but cheer, and Zhao Neng was also relieved and smiled. After Zhao Guang finished dancing, he put down his spear and said with a smile: "It's really a good armor, even if you wear your father's armor and dance spear at home, it can't be so convenient." ”

"Marquis Zhao is a hero in the world, and he is also one of the best generals in the world, and his armor must also be a famous product in the world. However, the fish scale armor worn by Zhao Sima is complicated and exquisitely designed, but it can only be produced in small quantities after Zhongxing, and it is much improved compared with the armor before Zhongxing, whether it is protection or use. Now that it can be configured, looking at the big Han, it is only the main general of the four battalions of the Northern Army. He Chong introduced in detail on the side

"I see." Zhao Guang put on a big coat on top of the battle armor and asked Luo Andao: "Luo Yamen, the team is ready?" ”

"Yes, the brethren are ready to go, 。。。。。。 your Excellency" Halfway through Luo An's speech, he secretly glanced at Zhao Neng, Zhao Guang saw that Luo An wanted to speak and stopped, and was a little impatient, "Why don't you get up?" What the hell is going on? “

"My lord, just now there was a maid at the camp gate, and she was stopped by the guards, and the lower official happened to pass there, so she asked the lower official to hand this over to the adult." After Luo An finished speaking, he took out a palm-sized silk from his arms and handed it to Zhao Guang, Zhao Guang opened it and looked at it, and wrote a column of juanxiu official books; "Wood, all the way to the west, be careful, don't take your life seriously if you don't fight. Haiya. Zhao Guang's heart was hot, but there was no change on his face. He nodded to Roan, carefully folded the silk, tucked it into his armor, put on his helmet, and walked out of the camp without looking back.

Luo An looked at Zhao Guang's back with some concern, and asked Zhao Neng in a low voice, "Old Zhao, are you okay?" Hey, I should have given you the epistle first. ”

"Adults have grown! It should be fine. There are some things that it is good to keep in mind, but what will happen in the future, who can say clearly? Zhao Nengyi pulled Roan, "Let's not delay, the military order doesn't wait for anyone!" ”

The general of the expedition to the west and the Marquis of Shouyang Pang De used troops, and he has always sought a stable word. Among the generals of the Han Dynasty, there are many people with outstanding military achievements, but if you talk about the person with the smallest loss in each battle, it is not Pang Lingming. The people of the time commented on Pound's use of soldiers: "The formation is strong, the knot is hard, the column is deep, it is invincible, and it is the last to attack and control." Some of the old brothers even laughed at him as "General Xuanwu" - a title that later spread widely among the Han army, but Pang De was at ease.

Tactical stability, and even more so strategically. Therefore, from the very beginning, Pound resolutely opposed Sima Yi's bold plan to divide the troops into three routes. At the military meeting, he once proposed-for-tat that the use of troops in the Western Regions should be combined in one place, step by step, and take all the way to establish authority and deter the overall situation, so that all countries can be subdued. This old plan to seek the country, coupled with his prestige in the army, won the majority of support in the military council for a time. However, Sima Yi insisted that the purpose of taking the Western Regions this time was completely different from the previous ones, and the old law was definitely not advisable. He waved his hands fiercely, and his firm voice resounded through the tent: "The Han Dynasty has been established for four hundred years, and it has determined the Western Regions, and then it has been lost, why not?" The cover has not won the hearts of the Westerners. However, if they are not of our race, their hearts will be different, and if they are educated, they will not be able to succeed in a hundred years. Therefore, the best strategy is to seize its country, and to take the people of the Central Plains to live together for a long time, so that the characters and customs are gradually no different from China. "Sima Yi cited a large number of examples to convince everyone that it was not enough to make the Western Regions subjugate, and the purpose of this war was to break their old state structure as much as possible and use the Han Dynasty system to redivide and manage the Western Regions." This is a long-term strategy, so it is necessary to divide the army into three ways to completely wipe out the nations. ”

"What Zhong Da said is reasonable, but after all, he has to take risks!" Pang De looked at his army, which was neatly equipped and dignified, and exuded an overwhelming momentum just by marching, and thought with some concern - it was not that he did not have confidence in the combat effectiveness of the troops, on the contrary, he knew the elite degree of this army, which could be said to be superior to the domestic armies of the Han Dynasty. "That's why these soldiers are as precious as gold! If the loss is too much, tell me how to explain it to the emperor! At this moment, the deputy general Jiang Wu rode his horse from the front team and said to Pang De, "Dashuai, at the foot of Beishan (a branch of the Tianshan Mountain Range) in front, there are traces of the Yanqi army, and its soldiers seem to have tens of thousands. ”

"Hmph, seeing that our army is not numerous, did you come with great swagger? It's ridiculous! Pang De faintly grasped some key points, and laughed at Jiang Wu, "It's just right, let's go, old man, let's go and have a look." ”

After ordering the troops to assemble in a group, Pound immediately rose to a high position and observed the enemy formation. The other party really came with the strength of the country, and the troops were stacked like mountains, swords and guns were like forests, and there seemed to be 50,000 or 60,000 horses. However, when we looked closely, we found that although the enemy troops on the opposite side were numerous, they were obviously unprepared—there was no barrier in the entire enemy formation. The enemy's position was also quite scattered, unable to line up, out of columns, and it seemed that they were not in control of each other, and many soldiers even left their weapons under the sun and sat on the ground to watch. "Although there are many people, they are just a rabble!" Pound stroked his beard and came to a conclusion. With a wave of his hand, he said: "Order the Changshui Battalion Iron Cavalry to attack!" ”

At the foot of the North Mountain, in the Yanqi array. Looking at the Han army slowly gathering on the plain in the distance, Bai Ying, the king of Qiuzi, felt a faint uneasiness in his heart. Qiuzi was originally a military power in the Western Regions, but since he was pacified by Ban Chao, he has completely abandoned the idea of competing for hegemony in the Western Regions. For more than 100 years, the successive kings of Qiuzi have been at ease in internal affairs, resting with the people, marrying and friendly with the countries externally, and advocating Buddhism introduced from Tianzhu internally, although the national strength is at its peak, but the people have long been negligent in the war, although the army has tens of thousands of people, in fact, it is useless. This time, the Han came west again, and Bai Ying didn't want to resist, but was told by his brother-in-law King Yanqi that the Han came with no more than 10,000 people, and the strength of the two countries could be ten times greater, so why should he surrender lightly? Although Bai Ying was a little afraid of the Tianwei of the Han Dynasty, he was the lord of a country after all, and after thinking about it for a long time, he finally made up his mind and brought 30,000 horses and Yanqi to join the army, a total of 50,000 troops, to stop the Han army. Bai Ying held the Buddha bead in his hand hard, and made a wish to the Buddha in a loud voice, "The Buddha blesses, and the disciple doesn't want to use the sword lightly, but the situation is forced to save his life this time。。。。。。 ”

The young and vigorous King Kru on the side looked down on his brother-in-law's cowardice. He also had a calculation in his heart: if he could take this opportunity to annihilate this Han army, his prestige would definitely increase greatly, and at that time, would there still be anyone in the small countries who dared to resist the might of our army? Brother-in-law, a guy who has no future, occupies a large piece of rich land, and it is useless anyway, so it is better to bring me the capital to dominate the Western Regions in the future.

The two of them were thinking about their own thoughts, when they suddenly heard an exclamation from the front of them: "Buddha! The Han army rushed over. "What!" Both of them were shocked, and when they looked around, they saw that thousands of cavalry with bright armor left the Han army's position, formed a cone-shaped formation, and quickly attacked this side. The Han army saw the grand occasion of its own army, and it was only attacked with thousands of people? What were they thinking? Do you think you have a vajra body?

It was the 4,000 cavalry of the Changshui Battalion who attacked the combined forces of Yanqi and Qiuzi. I saw that A rode in front, Hu rode behind, as the enemy formation approached, the main general Liu Tan waved his hand, and the rear Hu cavalry separated the two wings and scattered, into the shape of crane wings, pulled the bow and arrows, and began to fire a volley at the enemy formation, A horse rode closer to the center, into the shape of a sharp arrow, picked up the horse lance, spear, shouted and began to assault.

As soon as the soldiers on the outer layer of the Yanqi and Qiuzi army formations wanted to raise their spears to meet them, they were shot down by a rain of arrows, and before the soldiers in the back row could react, the iron cavalry had already plunged into the formation fiercely, quickly cutting through the enemy formation. Zhao Guang white horse silver spear, rushed to the forefront, the spear momentum is like a rainstorm pear blossom, the enemy often a face, then cover the neck and fall, the horsemen see that the main general is so brave, morale is also greatly increased, after breaking into the enemy formation, one by one will be like a tiger into the flock, killing the enemy like chopping melons and vegetables. "Spread out! Disperse quickly" Zhao Guang saw that the momentum of the breakthrough had been completed, so he commanded the forward team to change formations in a loud voice. In a few breaths, the sharp arrows turned into countless iron hammers, spread out and smashed in all directions, overturning the enemy in rows like a tsunami. The front of the coalition army suddenly collapsed, and the soldiers threw off their armor and fled backwards. What are you kidding, where is this enemy army, it is clearly the Asura Demon that the elders said! The power of ghosts and gods is beyond the power of manpower to resist.

"My Buddha is compassionate! Hurry up! Escort! Han Qi was still a hundred zhang away, and Bai Ying, the king of Qiuzi, couldn't support it anymore, and shouted loudly, and the king of Yanqi next to him, Klu, finally couldn't bear it anymore, grabbed his collar and shouted: "Brother! The Han army has only scattered 10,000 horses in the front of our army, and we still have 40,000 troops, as long as it is carefully arranged, the advantage is still on our side! "Uh。。。。。。h Woo。。。。。。 As if answering Crewe, the sound of a vigorous horn came from the Han army's position in the distance, and the main formation of the Han army finally moved.

"Nonsense! Until now, you still want me to die, don't think I don't know what your heart is! Those in front are demons! What else to resist, everyone should run for their lives. Bai Ying hurriedly pushed Kru away, surrounded by the attendants and turned to flee. Crewe sighed, looked around, and found that the warriors who had relied on him in the past were also full of fear, and he couldn't help but be disheartened, watching the Han army not far away divide and surround the crying coalition soldiers like hunting, and take their lives, and the last trace of the dignity of the king burned in his heart. He drew the scimitar from his waist and said in a loud voice; "All the warriors of Agnini, today's calamity is caused by me alone. You can bring your own people to escape. As a king, Krewe can't ignore the slaughter of the people in front of him, and if he is willing to die with me, follow him! Buddha bless Agni! After speaking, he brandished his war knife and rushed forward alone, and the generals around him saw it, gritted their teeth, and followed their own kings and killed the Han army.

It was a battle, the Han army won a great victory, beheaded more than 10,000 people, forced to land 20,000, Yanqi King Kru fought to the death and did not retreat, was devoured by ten thousand arrows, died in front of the battle, at the age of twenty-three, Pang De felt his heroism, so he ordered the death to be buried according to the customs of Yanqi. The Han army suffered casualties in this battle, a total of 449 people.