Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 120: Defeat at Pingchuan
The army set out in the early morning, and scouts from both armies chased and fought in the valley, trying to find out news about each other.

In the morning, the cavalry led by Zhang Yu drove out the Xiongnu cavalry and took over the small hill in Pingchuan Zuoyuan first.

It is called a small hill, but it is actually a protruding part of the mountain. It is surrounded by trees on both sides and overlooks the North Plain. It is one of the rare dangerous places on the North Plain. If you control and occupy the high ground, you will be able to overlook the North Plain.

After the cavalry reached the high ground, the generals followed Zhang Yu's instructions and 1,500 men dismounted to build fortifications. Although it was called building fortifications, the operation was actually simple. The cavalry used the spears they had prepared in advance to surround the hill and build something similar to a chevaux de frise to prevent the Hu cavalry from climbing the hill and charging.

It may seem absurd for cavalry to dismount and fight, but in reality, cavalry must be able to dismount and fight on foot. For example, in the Battle of Yehuling, the Mongols defeated the Jin army because Mu Huali led 5,000 cavalry to dismount and charge, breaking through the army formation for Genghis Khan and thus defeating the Jin army.

Or during the battle between Li Ji and the Xueyantuo, because of the narrow terrain, the Tang army dismounted and formed a battle line, and charged forward together, defeating the Xueyantuo army who had also dismounted and fought on foot.

Or in the Battle of Sarhu, the Tatars would also dismount and fight on foot in order to break through the Ming army's formation, using heavy armor to break the formation.

Therefore, due to the complex terrain and high intensity of war, the East Asian cavalry not only had to know how to charge into battle and be good at riding and shooting on horseback, but also had to transform into infantry when necessary and be able to defeat the enemy's infantry.

Now Zhang Yu wants to delay or defeat the Xiongnu soldiers in Zuoyuan, so building fortifications and taking advantage of the terrain is the best strategy. If he insists on charging with cavalry, the narrow terrain of Zuoyuan will make it difficult for the two armies to deploy, and they will eventually fall into a melee, which will expose Zhang Yu's disadvantage of having few soldiers and horses.

Soon after the Yicong cavalry occupied the hillside and set up chevaux de frise, hundreds of Xiongnu cavalry came galloping, eyeing the Han soldiers on the high ground covetously.

Apparently, the Xiongnu enemy general realized later that the Han army had occupied the high ground. In order to prevent the Han army from defending the high ground, he deliberately sent cavalry to retake the high ground.

Zhang Yu, who was on the high ground, urged his soldiers to form a battle line when he discovered the Hun cavalry.

"Form a formation and shoot!"

With flags waving, each cavalry commander led two hundred soldiers under his command to form a battle array and deployed them according to the rehearsed infantry tactics.

The Han soldiers held long spears in the front row, using the spears that had been placed before to form a spear formation. In between, other Han soldiers stood with bows, sticking arrows into the mud. With years of experience in riding and shooting, they looked at the Xiongnu soldiers on the high ground and were not anxious to shoot arrows.

"Woo~"

The Xiongnu cavalry blew a horn, and first more than a hundred cavalrymen rushed up the hill to see if they could use the bows and arrows in their hands to injure the Han soldiers on the hillside.

"嘘嘚~"

Although the sound of the cavalry's galloping was scary, the Yicong cavalry on the hill were not afraid at all. When the Hun cavalry was about to enter the range of their archery, several signal arrows were shot and the Yicong cavalry poured out arrows.

"Whoosh!"

A wave of arrows flew through the air like a swarm of locusts, knocking many of the Hun cavalry who were riding and shooting to the ground.

Before the Hun cavalry could react, the next wave of arrows poured out, knocking down many Hun cavalry again.

Two waves of arrows directly scared away the Hun cavalry. The enemy abandoned more than 20 corpses and fled down the mountain in a panic.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu smiled with satisfaction.

The Rangers often have preparatory actions before horseback archery, such as slowing down the horse to make it easier to aim. All the Yicong cavalry under my command are familiar with horseback archery. Now, if we use dismounted foot archery to fight against mounted archery, it will be much easier to deal with them if we grasp the rules of horseback archery.

The Xiongnu cavalry who were shot back seemed to realize that the Han soldiers on the hill had superb archery skills, and gave up the idea of charging to retake the high ground. Instead, they retreated more than 200 steps to reorganize their troops and wait for the follow-up troops to advance.

"The roaming soldiers go out to the battlefield, pick up the arrows and return to the camp!"

Seeing that the Xiongnu cavalry had given up the siege, Zhang Yu sent out more than ten brave men to pick up the arrows that had been shot before in order to save arrows.

During the confrontation with the Xiongnu cavalry, Zhang Yu took advantage of the high ground and had a clear view of the situation on Youyuan.

Now on the right plain below, the Han army led by Zhang Yi was deploying their troops. From the marching formation, under the command of the command flag, the troops of Yanmen and Taiyuan gradually turned into a square formation, while the troops of Shangdang led by Wei Xuan moved into the mountains and forests.

Zhang Yu looked into the distance and saw smoke and dust ahead. It was obvious that the Xiongnu rebels were about to reach Pingchuan, and the war was about to break out.

Before the Hun army approached, Zhang Yu personally went to the front line to inspect the troops and sent people to contact Zhang Liao and Lu Bu again to ensure that the two could see the command flag on the high ground.

Zhang Liao and Lu Bu were arranged by Zhang Yu to stay in the woods behind the high ground, and were responsible for looking after the cavalry's horses.

As time reached 14 p.m., the main force of the Huns had arrived at the Pingchuan battlefield.

If we look down from a high place today, we can see that the Xiongnu troops have also deployed their troops on the two plains on the left and right, but their numbers are greater than those of the Han army. They are so numerous that they fill the river valley, which is daunting.

The Xiongnu may have relied on their large numbers and used their troops very aggressively, so they took the lead in attacking the Han army. However, because Zuoyuan's Xiongnu soldiers had suffered losses before, the commander did not directly line up to fight like Youyuan did, but discussed with Zuo and Zuo how to attack.

Soon, there was a change in the Xiongnu soldiers on Zuoyuan. Under the order of the commander Luan Timo Che, more than half of the thousands of Xiongnu cavalry dismounted, with those holding shields in front, spearmen in the middle, and archers scattered in the ranks.

"Woo~"

Because they had been recruited by the Han army for many years, the Xiongnu rebels marched a bit like the Han army. At the command, the Xiongnu soldiers first arranged their battle array in a mess, and then, under the command of the flag, they lined up in several rows and marched in unison towards the high ground.

Unfortunately, although they learned how to form a battle array from the Han army, they did not master it. After less than a hundred steps, their formation became chaotic. Under the scolding of the Xiongnu general, they reorganized their formation and attacked the Han army on the high ground.

In just a few breaths, the Hun soldiers were within the shooting range of the Han army's archers.

Shi Yi did not order the archery to be shot, but instead estimated the distance, drew the bow and shot the whistling arrow.

The whistling arrows flew through the air, making a sharp sound!

The next moment, the whistling arrow pierced the throat of the shield-holding Hun soldier. The Hun soldier whimpered and fell to the ground dead.

Except for Shi Yi, the rest of the arrows were shot into the Xiongnu army formation.

The signal arrow hit the enemy, indicating that they were within range. Without Shi Yi saying anything, the soldiers under his tent drew their bows and arrows one after another, aiming at the Hun army formation.

In an instant, the sound of arrows breaking through the air was heard, shooting towards the Hun army formation.

One howled, two wailed, three wailed, and under the attack of the Han army's arrows, the wailing sounds soon spread throughout the phalanx.

It's not that the Hun archers didn't shoot back, but because there were shield soldiers in front of them, they could only shoot aimlessly.

Although the projectile still had lethality under the potential energy of gravity, it was not very lethal because it was difficult to identify the enemy. In particular, because of the barricades, the archers were stationed in a rather scattered position, which greatly reduced the lethality of the projectile.

The Hun soldiers resisted the accurate arrows and rushed to the spears at the cost of nearly a hundred casualties.

"kill!"

The Xiongnu soldiers had ferocious faces, holding shields and swords, and cut off the spear tips with one sword, trying to kill through the gaps between the spears. The Han soldiers behind the spear formation were very calm, holding spears and moving forward to stab those who tried to rush through the barricades; the archers who were used to riding and shooting were very calm, and they still dared to shoot with bows at a distance of only a few steps.

Because the enemy were crowded, Shi Yi only took slight aim, drew his bow and shot.

At a distance of less than ten steps, the bow and arrow exerted their most terrifying killing power. Shi Yi's arrow actually broke the shield in the Xiongnu soldier's hand, and the arrow pierced into his forearm, causing the Xiongnu soldier to wail. The soldier holding the spear took the opportunity to thrust his spear forward and stabbed the Xiongnu soldier who was shot in the forearm to death.

A few Xiongnu soldiers managed to break through the outer barricades and rushed in. However, the Han army spearmen quickly gathered and stabbed two spears at the same time, directly stabbing a Xiongnu soldier to death.

Another Hun soldier crouched in and shot an arrow at his cheek before he could be happy. The severe pain made him roll on the ground and he eventually died from the pain.

"Kill!"

"Whoosh!"

"Oh~"

All kinds of sounds merged into a noisy battlefield, filling everyone's eardrums, stimulating everyone's adrenaline, and making them more devoted to the fight.

Zhang Yu patrolled the army formation with a bow in hand. If he saw a fierce Hun soldier charging into the army formation, Zhang Yu would shoot his head without hesitation to scare the surrounding Hun soldiers.

The Xiongnu soldiers climbed the hill to attack, and the Han army fought with the help of chevaux de frise. The fight between the two armies was bloody and tragic. The 2,000 infantrymen selected by the Xiongnu charged the army twice, and even though they broke through the outer chevaux de frise, they could not break through the Han army's spear formation.

If we compare the Huns' infantry performance with their cavalry performance, the gap is obvious, and they are no match for the Han army. In Zhang Yu's eyes, the Huns' infantry performance is only slightly higher than that of the Yellow Turban rebels in Neijun.

"Whoosh!"

Archers shot arrows from the gaps, causing dozens of casualties. The Xiongnu soldiers, who had been struggling to break through the Han army's defense line, could not bear the casualties and turned around to retreat along the hillside.

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes to observe the retreat of the Xiongnu soldiers. Seeing that they were fleeing in disorder, he immediately seized the opportunity and ordered, "Order an attack!"

"promise!"

The desolate sound of the horn resounded through the sky, and the morale of the soldiers from all units was boosted. The infantrymen stood up and charged back with their cold spears in hand. They stepped over the corpses left by the Hun soldiers, rushed out of the chevaux de frise, chased down the retreating Hun soldiers, and turned their retreat into a rout.

At the same time, the flag representing the charge of the armored cavalry was secretly raised. Zhang Liao and Lu Bu, who received the charge signal, led the armored cavalry to charge along the gentle slopes between the mountains.

If the five hundred cavalrymen were compared with the four thousand cavalrymen who came before, the number was not much. But now the two thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen dismounted and fought, and retreated because they failed to capture Gaoqiu. When they retreated, they were counterattacked by the Han army's infantry, which directly turned into a rout.

The already narrow Zuoyuan and the defeated army hindered the Xiongnu cavalry from exerting their strength. They didn't know whether to step forward to rebuke the defeated army and let them flee, or to step forward to intercept the armored cavalry that rushed out of the woods.

While Luan Timo was hesitating, ten armored riders were in front, and the rest were following closely behind. The rumbling sound of horse hooves could be heard from afar, making the Xiongnu soldiers who were being chased even more panicked.

Zhang Liao, wearing heavy armor and holding a spear, charged forward, and both he and his horse crashed into the fleeing Huns' formation. His spear was flying, and screams were heard wherever he went. No one dared to stop the charge of his armored cavalry.

Zhang Liao, wearing heavy horse armor, charged into the enemy's territory as if he was in an empty space, which made Lu Bu very envious.

If he had a vest, he was confident that the impact he would demonstrate would be no less than Zhang Liao's, and might even be more terrifying than Zhang Liao.

But envy aside, as a cavalry general famous in the Central Plains in history, Lu Bu dared to lead dozens of cavalry to attack Zhang Yan's army of ten thousand people. His courage was no less than Zhang Liao.

Even without the support of horse armor, Lu Bu still charged into the battle line with his spear. After stabbing the enemy's chest with the long spear in his hand, he drew out his ring-handled sword and chopped horizontally and vertically. Using the momentum of his horse, he charged forward and killed several Hun soldiers in an instant. His bravery was horrifying.

Under the heavy cavalry charge, the Xiongnu soldiers had already collapsed, and one Xiongnu soldier after another fled forward. The Xiongnu cavalry in front of them were powerless to stop them. If they joined the battlefield now, wouldn't they attack their own people?

Soon, Luan Timo Che made a decisive decision and ordered the troops to retreat, with the cavalry covering the rear and blocking the enemy, while his troops withdrew to a few miles away to reorganize.

Zhang Yu looked at the desperate situation and couldn't help laughing.

He thought that today would be a tough battle, but unexpectedly the Hun soldiers were not good at fighting on foot, and when they retreated, they did not stay behind to cover the rear as usual, but retreated directly, leaving their backs to them.

If he did not charge, he would have wasted the opportunity given by the Huns.

"Come here, tell the infantry to withdraw and the cavalry not to engage with the enemy cavalry!"

"promise!"

Victory is victory, but Zhang Yu had a clear assessment of the situation. At this point, he had only defeated the infantry. If he pursued too far and lost his formation, the Huns would seize the opportunity.

Zhang Yu didn't feel happy for long, because he suddenly heard a cry like a landslide from the right plain on the opposite bank. This cry was not the encouragement of victory, but the cry of soldiers, and even the wail of defeat!
what happened?

Zhang Yu looked towards Youyuan suddenly, only to see that the Han army's formation had been mixed with the rebels. Judging from the situation, the Han army was at a disadvantage.

However, if Zhang Yu could look down from the sky, he would certainly discover that the flank of the army should have been the Shangdang County soldiers led by Wei Xuan, but now there were flags of the Xiongnu rebels. His Shangdang soldiers were in a rout, and the Xiongnu rebels followed the flank and had already cut into the Han army's phalanx.

Zhang Yu looked unhappy now. Although he did not have a God's perspective and did not know the changes in the Han army, from the perspective of the battle formation, the Han army must be at a disadvantage and on the verge of collapse.

After a while, the scouts who had climbed high and far away came running over and said in a low voice: "Sir, the flank of the army has been broken by the rebels, and the center of the army has been invaded by the rebels!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's heart was already filled with shock. The flank was broken and the center was attacked by the rebels. Doesn't this mean that the army will be defeated!

Zhang Yu didn't expect that his army would be defeated just after he won a small victory in Zuoyuan!

"How to do?"

Looking at the soldiers and officers around him who were unaware of the situation, Zhang Yu suppressed his distracting thoughts and pondered over his next countermeasures.

We can't continue to defend the high ground. If Youyuan's army is really defeated, we will be surrounded on all sides.

But he couldn't just withdraw. If he did, he could still retain his vitality because he had cavalry under his command. However, since the army was defeated, it might be chased by the Xiongnu soldiers who had the ability to pursue, and Bingzhou's troops would suffer heavy losses.

"Come here, pass on my military order!"

"Order Zhang Liao and Lu Bu to retreat two miles and regroup their troops, so that they can mount their horses and provide cover for our army. The rest of you should lead the troops and horses out of the forest and withdraw five miles."

Seeing that everyone had questions to ask, Zhang Yu stretched out his hand and said in a deep voice: "The military situation is urgent, everything depends on me!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)