Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 482 The Emperor on Horseback
"How could Zhang Yu be here!"

Upon learning that Zhang Yu's troops had appeared on the flank, Yuan Shu's expression changed drastically.

According to Zu Lang's previous military intelligence, wasn't Zhang Yu supposed to lead his troops north to Yongqiu? How did he end up here? It would have taken him at least the afternoon or evening to get here from Yongqiu, so how did he appear on the battlefield this morning?

It was previously mentioned that Zhang Yu, having learned of Zu Lang's secret collusion with Yuan Shu, deliberately led his troops away from the main camp to lure Yuan Shu into attacking. In reality, although Zhang Yu left the camp, he did not reach Yongqiu, but instead lay in ambush thirty li away. When Zhang Liao captured and killed Zu Lang, he immediately notified Zhang Yu.

"I entrust the army to Minister Ji, do not disappoint me!" Yuan Shu pleaded.

Ji Ling looked grim; as the general commanding the army, he was well aware of the awkward situation he was in.

Huang Zhong's cavalry was being relentlessly pursued and attacked by the Tang cavalry, leaving them with almost no fighting strength. On the other side, they intended to use infantry to hold off the Tang cavalry, but who could have predicted the cunning of the Tang generals, who repeatedly sent cavalry to provoke and attack them, leaving the soldiers on the flank exhausted.

The infantrymen at the front have already charged for the third time. If they cannot break through the Tang army's formation, according to the principle that the first attack is vigorous, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted, the infantrymen are likely to be on the verge of collapse.

Given the unfavorable military situation, the sudden appearance of Zhang Yu with his elite infantry and cavalry put immense pressure on him.

Ji Ling wiped the cold sweat from her face. Right now, her only hope was that Zhang Xun could stop Zhang Yu and Kirby's attacks from the flanks.

"Your Majesty, Ling has done his best."

Ji Ling instructed, "Send word to Zhang Xun that the soldiers be on high alert and not retreat. If a platoon retreats, the platoon leader shall be executed; if a squad retreats, the sergeant shall be executed; if a whole unit retreats, the general and his men shall be executed."

"promise!"

When Ji Ling tried to use military discipline to stop Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu did not rush into the battlefield, but waited for a better opportunity.

"Your Majesty, shall we attack the enemy now?"

Summoned by Zhang Yu, Kirby rode alone to the front lines.

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said, "You have done a good job in overseeing the battle, but the enemy's morale is not low, they have been in formation for a short time, and their soldiers are not hungry. It is not advisable to launch a reckless attack."

Then Zhang Yu instructed, "Send a message to Zhang Liao, telling him that if the enemy soldiers charge our lines three times without success, the infantry should advance. And if they see our banners moving, all our troops should advance together, and we will surely be able to defeat Yuan Shu."

"promise!"

The scout rode out at full speed and relayed Zhang Yu's instructions to Zhang Liao.

When Zhang Liao learned of Zhang Yu's arrival, he spread the news to the troops. Upon hearing the news, the Tang soldiers felt a strange sense of relief, and their morale soared. Even the generals, who had been anxious and eager to achieve merit, calmed down and awaited the moment when Zhang Yu's banner would change.

The Tang army's tactic of wearing down the enemy by remaining stationary is causing great distress to the Chen army. For example, when Zhang Xun was ordered to form ranks, while Zhang Yu's troops remained stationary, the soldiers on the flanks had to maintain their formation without any moment of relaxation.

The fighting continued from dawn until noon, and from noon until dawn again. The Danyang soldiers, who had invested too much energy and courage in the first two charges against the Tang soldiers, were gradually losing their morale and energy by the third charge.

Finally, as noon approached, the Danyang army, which had charged in three waves, could no longer hold out and slowly retreated.

At the same time, based on the condition of Chen's soldiers, Qu Yi clearly judged that Chen's soldiers were exhausted, so he waved the big red flag and ordered his troops to launch a counterattack.

The infantrymen, spears in hand, broke free from the shield bearers' protection and advanced rapidly. The triple spears were like a hedgehog, making it almost impossible to attack them.

While the Chen soldiers were still in a state of turmoil, they suddenly saw the Tang soldiers pushing back, with Ping using a dense forest of spears as his spearhead. Seeing this as a threat, the soldiers hurriedly retreated, pushing and shoving each other, which led to chaos.

As Qu Yi advanced, Meng Ningzhi and Zhang He's troops simultaneously ordered a counterattack. Now, the Tang soldiers, like awakened giants, launched a fierce attack, overwhelming the exhausted Chen soldiers.

Zhang Yu halted his horse on the hill, taking in the chaos of Chen Jun's army.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu no longer hesitated and ordered, "Where is Ke Bi?"

"The general is here!"

Zhang Yu pointed his whip at the right flank of Chen's army and said, "You lead your troops to scout the enemy formation. If you see any disturbances in the enemy formation, order your cavalry to charge repeatedly."

"promise!"

Kirby was greatly encouraged. He mounted his horse and returned to headquarters to coordinate his troops.

"Wave the flag, order the armored cavalry to don their armor, and await orders to charge."

"promise!"

As the command flag was raised, Ma Chao, who was resting cross-legged, was reminded by his personal guards and quickly put on his armor.

Armored cavalry wore two layers of armor: an outer layer of iron armor and an inner layer of cloth-covered iron armor. Lacking auxiliary soldiers, these armored cavalrymen could only rely on infantrymen to help them don their armor, or they would work together to put on their armor.

First the horses put on armor, then the people put on armor.

Before long, all the thousand men and horses were armored. The large horses, now armored, knew they were going to battle. They snorted and pawed the ground, venting their restlessness.

While the National Protection Army was preparing, Ke Bianli's cavalry had already moved.

However, Ke Bi rode his cavalry in a circle, feigning an attack and then retreating when the enemy did not move. After repeating this several times, Ke Bi finally noticed the unusual movement of the enemy formation. The infantry in the front ranks were pushed back by Zhang He, and many of the soldiers in the front ranks retreated, making it impossible for the soldiers on the flanks to form a defensive formation. When they saw the Tang cavalry charging, many soldiers abandoned their positions and fled.

Seizing this opportunity, General Fu Jian, one of Kirby's subordinates, led several hundred cavalrymen to charge into the enemy formation. They first fired a series of arrows, killing several enemy soldiers on the outer perimeter, and then crashed into the main formation.

First, several infantrymen were knocked away, armor and all, followed by dozens more. The battle formation immediately descended into chaos as the infantry, fearing the charge of the cavalry, fled in disarray.

After breaking through the enemy lines, Fu Jian and several hundred cavalrymen abandoned their bows for swords and chased after the Chen soldiers. Taking advantage of the cavalrymen's speed, they killed almost every Chen soldier with a single strike, forcing the Chen soldiers to abandon their flags and flee.

It was mentioned before that cavalrymen used spears for hand-to-hand combat, but this was limited to mounted melee. However, when charging into battle, almost all cavalrymen would draw their swords or lash out with their whips.

As for why a sword was used when charging into battle, the reason is not hard to understand.

Before cavalrymen enter the fray, they will first fire a volley of arrows. However, it takes a long time to switch to a spear after firing arrows, making it impossible to form a smooth movement. On the contrary, switching to a sword is very quick, so when charging into the infantry, they often switch to swords and charge.

Of course, there are exceptions. If it is necessary to use a lance to break through the formation, then after using the lance, one will enter the formation and draw their sword to kill.

The Danyang soldiers who fought at the front put up only a few resistances before being routed by the cavalry led by Kebi, and no matter how much the Chen army officers shouted, it was to no avail.

Seeing that Kirby's charge had an effect, Zhang Yu's eyes turned cold, and he said in a deep voice, "All of you, listen to my command, charge into the enemy lines!"

After saying this, Zhang Yu took his bow, pulled on the reins, spurred his horse, and galloped away, with the banners and flags following closely on either side.

Not to be outdone, Ma Chao excitedly whistled and rode off on his horse.

"Boom!"

Led by Zhang Yu, a thousand armored cavalrymen, holding their lances level, galloped out from behind the Protectorate Guard and slowly advanced towards the Chen army.

As they approached Chen Jun, the horses accelerated, their hooves pounded louder, and the ground shook.

With such a massive and imposing charge, Yuan Shu immediately recognized this powerful army that had fought across the north and south and achieved remarkable military exploits.

"Zhang Yu actually dares to charge into the enemy lines?"

Seeing the Tang banner approaching the army formation, Yuan Shu was shocked and astonished, saying, "Is he not afraid of death?"

Yuan Shu, who rose to power through family background and political means, could not understand Zhang Yu's thoughts, nor did he know that it was precisely because Zhang Yu had the ability to conquer the world on horseback that he was able to intimidate the Hebei region and make the arrogant people like Ma Chao, Qu Yi, and Ke Bi submit to him, rather than harboring rebellious thoughts.

Startled, Yuan Shu's face immediately darkened, and he asked, "How do we deal with armored cavalry?"

Zhang Yu charged in a different direction than Ke Bi. Ke Bi led his cavalry to charge the front, causing the infantry to scatter. Now, in order to completely rout Yuan Shu's army, Zhang Yu personally cooperated with Ke Bi to attack the front.

"Ji Ling?"

"Your Majesty, we have several hundred cavalrymen on the flank; they might be able to hold them off to some extent," Ji Ling said, forcing a smile.

Seeing Zhang Yu urging his armored cavalry to charge the square formation, the hundreds of cavalrymen that Ji Ling had mentioned finally moved out under the urging of their officers.

However, after only a brief encounter with the armored cavalry, dozens of the hundreds of Chen cavalrymen were shot dead, frightening them into retreating without daring to confront them.

Without Chen Qi's obstruction, the armored cavalry pushed their speed to the maximum, their overwhelming momentum like a steel torrent, leaving everyone feeling powerless.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Yu drew his heavy bow and shot from horseback; a soldier holding a spear fifty paces away was struck in the throat by an arrow and died instantly.

In order to break the formation, Zhang Yu only drew his bow once before switching to his horse spear and charging straight into the Chen army's ranks.

At high speed, the 500-pound iron cavalry, now with wings on its back, was like a tiger with wings, unstoppable!
"boom!"

The rout at the front had already affected the outer ranks of the troops. Unable to withstand the charge of the armored cavalry, they all fled in disarray, leaving the inner ranks to bear the brunt of the impact.

The sound of impact rang out, and the soldiers who were hit were sent flying or pierced by the long spears of the armored cavalry without even uttering a sound.

Zhang Yu's spear remained embedded in the chest of the enemy soldier. Now, he drew his sword and whip, fighting left and right, killing and wounding nearly ten people, like a demon king in the world.

Behind Zhang Yu, a thousand armored cavalrymen charged into the fray one after another. Unlike Kirby's charge, the armored cavalry's charge was devastating, instantly causing the rout of thousands of infantrymen. The aftermath was like a boulder thrown into a lake, creating a huge splash that rippled for a long time.

Unlike the boulder thrown into the lake, the armored cavalry could move and charge elsewhere. Now, the armored cavalry followed Zhang Yu's banner, breaking through one formation and then charging diagonally into another.

The routed soldiers previously defeated by Kirby and Zhang He might have slipped through the gaps, as the soldiers in the rear would have stopped them to maintain the order of the formation. However, in this rout, they encountered armored cavalry charging from the waist, which made them even more panicked. The disoriented routed soldiers ran around wildly, causing an even greater rout.

Kirby's three thousand cavalrymen, seeing the armored cavalry clearing the way for them, now followed behind, charging and killing the surrounding enemies for the armored cavalry, causing more of the enemy's troops to be overwhelmed.

Zhang Yu didn't know how long he had been galloping when he felt a dense barrage of arrows approaching from the front, blocked by a dense array of enemy soldiers. But he was already engrossed in the battle, ignoring the formidable enemy before him, and charged into the enemy ranks, causing blood to fly everywhere. The enemy soldiers were thrown into chaos, their armor riddled with arrows like a hedgehog. Finally, with the combined charge of his cavalry, Zhang Yu routed the enemy forces before him.

After spurring his horse into battle, Zhang Yu realized that he had already broken through the formation and attacked from the right flank to the left flank.

Zhang Yu looked around and saw that, led by him, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, and Meng Ning had all charged into the Chen army's formation, and the Chen army was now in complete chaos!
(End of this chapter)