Tiger Guards

Chapter 511 Circular Arrow Formation
Around 3 PM, the wind and snow subsided.

After a hearty meal, Zhao Ji toured the camp, returned to his temporary tent, and looked at the shield lying horizontally outside.

The shield is covered with today's snow, more than five inches thick.

He stepped forward, picked up the shield, and exclaimed, "I was worried that there wouldn't be enough snow, but now it's perfect for our army to use sleds to pursue the various Hu tribes."

The officers and guards following him were excited, and they too began to yearn for the leader's head.

As dusk approached, the central army of 7,000 men took the lead and set out northward along the Qin Straight Road. During the march, the column shifted, with the lead column slowing down so that the second and third columns behind could accelerate to the left and right flanks, quickly catching up with the lead column.

The fourth and fifth formations behind them quickly followed, while the three formations in front slowed down, adjusted their formation, and maintained a uniform pace of advance.

When the four columns advance and contact the front row, becoming the de facto second column, the entire army's marching column resembles a T.

At this point, the left and right flanks of the front line spread out to the edges on both sides, and the new second and third lines split off to the left and right again and accelerated forward to serve as the front line.

The five square formations in the front row were enough to shield the battlefield of the Qin Straight Road.

Behind them followed a dense procession of sleds, each sled dragging various low-lying antlers.

They were all made of bamboo poles bound together, using simple materials and being lightweight, making them almost useless against well-prepared infantry.

However, if these antlers, no more than three feet tall, are thrown into the snow on the west side of the straight road, they will naturally form a reliable barrier against horses.

When cavalrymen are unable to charge in formation, or are disrupted and slowed down, or are separated from their units, it is a disaster for the cavalrymen themselves.

As the first five square formations approached the designated battlefield, the sleds following behind moved westward and began dropping antlers.

Once deployed, these sleds or chariots formed a crescent-shaped formation facing west, with each formation containing only about a hundred men, enough to resist harassment from sparse enemy cavalry squads.

The crescent-shaped formations, spaced twenty or thirty paces apart, could provide mutual cover and effectively kill enemy cavalry trapped in the antler-shaped obstacles.

When the crescent-shaped formation was formed, the five suicide squads of a thousand men also took their positions according to the order of attack, standing behind the front line, from west to east: black, white, yellow, red, and green.

The daredevil soldiers were to follow Zhao Ji and launch an attack from the gap on the west side of the straight road. After the diagonal attack, they would head towards the hilly area at the foot of the mountain to the east, where they would gather and resist the Xianbei people's eastern advance.

Once the soldiers were well-fed and watered and started exercising, they weren't so cold anymore.

Not only the Han army, but also the Xianbei and various Qiang armies began to move.

Of the three vanguard armies, Zhao Yun's troops were the first to break out of the camp. The entire army traveled by sled or horseback around the northwest corner of Fushi City and then towards the northeast corner, covering a great distance in a flanking maneuver.

So much so that the Qiang cavalry coming out of the west gate had no time to react and could only watch as Zhao Yun's troops galloped across the snow-covered plains.

Soon, Zhao Yun's troops appeared before the Uyghur leader Dou Yan, who was coming out from the north gate. A Xianbei chieftain tried to stop them: "The Han army is going to attack the king. Should we stop them?"

Uyghur Dou squinted at Zhao Yun's troops, who were making a wide-angle maneuver three or four miles away: "It's too late. By the time you've reorganized your men, you won't be able to catch up with them."

As he spoke, Huihedou glanced back at the city gate. Inside the city, Xianbei knights were pouring out, all riding horses slowly at a low speed.

The leader who made the suggestion spoke up again: "What I mean is to take those who left the city first to chase after them."

The other leaders reacted differently upon hearing this, but none of them spoke up in support or opposition.

Uyghur Dou said solemnly, “The king’s military order is for us to urge the Qiang people to march south and attack the Han army’s detachment. We are here to supervise the battle. If we are the first to engage in battle and suffer a defeat, the Qiang people will certainly not be so obedient. They may betray us and serve the Han army.”

Another leader chimed in, "That's exactly right. The Qiang people have surrendered and supported the Han army many times. Like the Xiongnu and Wuhuan, the Qiang people have always loved to be the henchmen of the Han army and cannot be trusted."

Seeing this, the chieftain who had proposed the interception had no choice but to give up, but he was still very regretful and said, "What difference is there between us and the Han people if we plan like this? This will make the Qiang people lose their respect."

The Qiang leaders of the three commanderies sought help from the Xianbei not out of respect for the Xianbei, but because they believed the Xianbei were stronger than the Han army. That was all.

Otherwise, after surrendering to the Han army, the Qiang tribes would have to fight against the Xianbei.

The Qiang people understood the Han army, so when faced with a choice between strength and weakness, they chose to confront the relatively weak Han army and pledge their loyalty to the Xianbei.

Just as Huihe Dou and others were discussing the matter, Zhao Yun's troops quickly moved in, hugging the edge of the northern hills and gradually disappearing into the distance. After Zhao Yun left, some small groups of Qiang cavalry poured out from the west gate and broke away from the main force, charging towards Zhao Yun's empty camp.

Having learned their lesson before, they slowed down as they approached the camp this time, but without encountering any resistance from the defenders, they quickly broke into the camp. Like mice that had fallen into a barn, they suddenly didn't know what to grab.

Under their influence, the Qiang infantry and cavalry that emerged from the west gate charged southwards in uncontrolled frenzy.

Xu Huang and Zhang Liao also abandoned their camp and advanced northwest together.

Under the influence of the Qiang tribes at the west gate, the Qiang people pouring out from the south gate fared no better. The leaders of the various Qiang tribes found it difficult to command and control them, and the Qiang infantry, cavalry, and slaves from each tribe charged south, bypassing Xu Huang's forces.

In their haste to enter the camp and loot supplies, some Qiang people tripped over deer antlers in the snow, got injured, fell from their horses and hit the walls, and some even died on the spot.

The survivors, disregarding their grief over their companions' misfortune, hastened to scale the wall and rush in, scrambling for any usable supplies within sight.

Some of the Qiang knights who entered the camp first abandoned Xu Huang's central camp and headed east to Zhang Liao's camp. In Zhang Liao's camp, they encountered more than 3,000 Xiongnu followers led by Xiutu Dada.

Soon, Xiutu Dada used his superior forces to repel and drive away the Qiang cavalry who intended to plunder, and led his followers to pursue them into Xu Huang's camp.

Organized Xiongnu militia clashed with a larger number of Qiang people who were focused on plundering and only instinctively resisted and fled.

The knights of both sides clashed back and forth, and the Qiang knights or infantry who seized enough supplies broke through in the chaos, some even refusing to return to Fushi City.

As a result, Xiutu Dada's troops fought with increasing ferocity and even showed signs of driving the Qiang people out of the central army camp.

As the battle raged here, the Qiang infantry and cavalry who poured out of the east gate of Fushi completed their assembly. The infantry advanced towards the Qin Straight Road, attempting to coordinate with the southward-moving Xianbei vanguard cavalry to launch a pincer attack on Zhao Ji's central army.

The Qiang cavalry from the east gate, intending to flank Zhao Ji's western flank, encountered the cavalry of Xu Huang and Zhang Liao, who were advancing north, and the two sides engaged in a chase.

The poorly equipped Qiang cavalry suffered losses in the confrontation and gradually tended to engage in close combat, no longer charging bravely, and were unable to harass the infantry formations of Xu Huang and Zhang Liao that were advancing in formation.

The Han infantry formations were too fierce, and small groups of Qiang cavalry were unable to effectively harass them.

Even a small number of Qiang cavalry, numbering only a few dozen, would not warrant the use of crossbows by infantry phalanxes; a volley of arrows from foot soldiers would suffice to repel such a small force.

In the central battlefield, five square formations were arranged in a large horizontal formation along the Qin Straight Road, relying on sleds and chariots as anti-cavalry fortifications, and firing crossbows and arrows at each other to exchange fire with the vanguard of the Xianbei cavalry who were advancing south.

The Xianbei vanguard cavalry formed two huge circular horse-riding arrow formations on each side of the Qin Straight Road, with two to three thousand cavalry on each side.

The Xianbei knights caught in the crossfire instinctively galloped forward, launching rough volleys as they approached the southern tip.

Following the two massive circular archer formations were the Xianbei cavalry, still waiting for their chance to charge.

At this time, the Qiang infantry, emerging from the east gate of Fushi, formed a dense shield formation in an attempt to attack the western flank of the central army.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Ji mounted his armored warhorse, raised his sword and swung it westward, leading over a hundred cavalrymen out through the western opening.

As he moved out, the Zhongjun Chess and Card Hall raised a black flag and waved it, repeatedly pointing westward.

Han Shu, who commanded the Black Flag Suicide Squad, raised his hand to put on his armor, mounted his own armored warhorse, and shouted: "Black Flag Suicide Squad! Charge with me! The Grand Marshal is ahead!"

"Bang the drum!"

In the Black Flag Corps, the drums sounded. The Black Flag Corps' suicide soldiers all rode on sleds, with one charioteer, one spearman, and one crossbowman on each sled.

Horses can run faster when pulling sleds and can wear thicker leather armor.

Amidst the drumbeats, the Black Flag Team, led by Zhao Ji and over a hundred iron cavalry, charged into the circular horse-riding arrow formation on the west side of the straight road. Immediately, both sides became entangled in a chaotic melee.

The Qiang infantry were intimidated by Zhao Ji's iron cavalry and could only watch as the Black Flag Daredevil Sled Team passed through the front of the formation.

Before they could engage in battle, Xu Huang and Zhang Liao's infantry, who came from the south, charged in on sleds, and a chaotic battle ensued.

The Qiang people were not used to the sled-chariot charge tactics and were immediately crushed.

(End of this chapter)