Tiger Guards

Chapter 516 Fierce Tiger Steps
Dou Jie also went through great lengths to persuade the Uyghur leader to grant him the mission of an envoy.

By some accounts, Dou Jie was also a relative of the Uyghur Dou, as he married the Uyghur Dou's cousin.

But after Dou Jie left, Uyghur Dou's thoughts changed, and no one could persuade him anymore.

After careful consideration, he decided to take matters into his own hands and claim the title and status of this Westerner.

The king and the chieftain have been killed. If the chieftain can be avenged, the royal court and nobles must give him a sufficient reward.

His military prestige from defeating the Han army was enough to make him the de facto leader of the West.

Having figured this out, the Uyghur leader naturally thought, "If I want to be king, I will be king; why should I rely on the Han?"

As for my cousin-in-law Dou Jie's life... does it matter?
My cousin is still alive, so why not just find another cousin-in-law?
The people who are related to him by blood are Dou Jie's children, not Dou Jie himself!
Based on this simple and unpretentious understanding, he would not care at all about a Han Chinese exile son-in-law from a tribe.

However, in order to motivate the tribal leaders and nobles to fight together, Uyghur Dou summoned the nobles of all ranks and made them swear an oath in public: "Now that the Grand Marshal of Han has killed our lord, whoever can kill the Grand Marshal of Han shall naturally become the lord of the west! Anyone who violates this oath shall be trampled to death by ten thousand horses!"

Seeing that the Uyghur leader had taken the lead in expressing his opinion, the other leaders and nobles followed suit and took oaths in turn, with the contents of the oaths being largely the same.

Afterwards, the Xianbei people, who had been watching the battle all night, ate their dry rations and then launched an attack on Xu Huang's position.

After repairing the fortifications for most of the night, Xu Huang had collected and transported the low-lying deer antlers discarded by the central army to his own front lines and piled snow to form a wall.

These snow walls are often just for show; although they may be five or six feet high, horses can easily break through them.

However, within a few snow walls, low antlers are stacked on top of each other, and these antlers serve as a skeleton, with snow piled on top to form a relatively solid barrier.

In addition to low antlers and real and fake snow walls, Xu Huang also built cone-shaped snow mounds with a diameter of more than ten feet every ten steps.

These cone-shaped snowdrifts are firmly compacted and can effectively hinder the cavalry's charge.

The weather was clear and the light was good. The rising sun shone brightly and hung behind Xu Huang's position, gradually rising higher.

Meanwhile, the Xianbei cavalry, large and small, launched their attack from the west, heading towards the sun, some with bows and horses leading the way, others with spears attempting to flank from the south.

Another force of over a thousand Xianbei cavalry launched an attack from the foot of the northern mountain, also aiming to attack Xu Huang's northern flank.

However, Zhao Yun's thousand cavalrymen gathered and rested in a nearby ravine, while Zhao Yun led only a dozen or so cavalrymen to stand on high ground and observe the changes on the battlefield.

To protect his eyes from the glare of the snowfield, Zhao Yun covered his face with two layers of black gauze, which kept him warm and protected his vision.

"General, look! The Grand Marshal's central army's suicide squad has begun to assemble!"

One of the military officers responsible for observing the changes in the battlefield situation spoke up, pointing with his outstretched arm to the position of the assembled and moving suicide soldiers.

Having already killed the Xianbei king Kui Tou in battle, Zhao Ji could not possibly allow his suicide squad to escape his sight.

Zhao Yun glanced back at the suicide squad's position, then stopped observing and focused on the Xianbei cavalry that was trying to launch a flanking attack from the foot of the mountain to the north.

He faced two choices: either immediately lead his cavalry into action and charge forward, drawing the attention of the Xianbei cavalry so that Xu Huang could focus on the main Xianbei force in front of him.

Another option is to allow the Xianbei guerrilla cavalry on the flank to attack Xu Huang's flank, and then, while they are engaged in a fierce battle, Zhao Yun's thousand-odd cavalry can join the fight, catching the enemy off guard and creating a pincer attack.

Zhao Yun was in a dilemma. As a general, he knew very well that Xu Huang's front and flank positions were solid, and the northern flank position could not be easily broken through by a thousand Xianbei cavalry.

Once these thousand-plus Xianbei cavalrymen launch an attack, in order to better maximize their combat efficiency, they will disperse into small and medium-sized cavalry units of varying sizes.

Xu Huang's flank can withstand this level of attack and assault, and the Xianbei cavalry that gets entangled will be scattered and unable to regroup in the short term.

Even if they regroup, they will retreat to the rear, create distance, and reorganize at a relatively safe distance.

In other words, Zhao Yun's choice to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out not only allowed him to defeat the Xianbei cavalry with minimal losses, but also gave him a higher chance of quickly and directly inflicting heavy damage on them, thus reducing the losses on his own side and Xu Huang's side.

Although he had worked with Xu Huang for a long time since entering Xizhou, Xu Huang was now the commander of the vanguard.

However, Xu Huang has not shown him any flag signals requesting reinforcements. Zhao Yun hesitated only slightly before calmly ordering, "All troops prepare for battle. After the enemy cavalry is scattered, attack with me and make sure to crush the enemy in one fell swoop."

"Here!"

Several riders rode away, maneuvering their horses in a zigzag pattern down the snow-covered, gentle slope.

At Xu Huang's position, Xu Huang stood on a chariot behind the defensive line, wearing a heavy armor cloak with a relatively simple color scheme. Dozens of heavily armored chariot soldiers dressed similarly stood around him, all surrounding the battle flag.

This allowed Xu Huang to blend in seamlessly without appearing out of place.

Protecting him is protecting the battle flag.

Even if a small group of Xianbei cavalry charged in, they wouldn't notice anything unusual.

After a year and a half of development, the army's junior and mid-level officers were able to handle various tactical responses and coordination issues independently. The Xianbei cavalry charged alongside the elite infantry, and the more than 6,000 infantrymen on the two-mile-wide battle line showed no fear.

They held crossbows and aimed carefully; at this moment, there were approximately four thousand crossbows and some heavy crossbows.

There were also over a thousand heavy infantrymen skilled in archery, who stood in the rear ranks in standard archery stances.

Furthermore, a small number of elite crossbowmen formed emergency squads, directly under the command of the battalion commander, responsible for localized sniping.

"Hold on!"

A battalion commander crouched on the ground, observing the spacing between the Xianbei knights through the gaps in the wagon formation. He shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice arrogant and domineering.

Anyone who dares to fire indiscriminately and incites others to fire will be severely punished!

Unlike the restrained crossbowmen, when the Xianbei knights rushed within a hundred paces, the archers began to fire rapidly.

After three relatively synchronized volleys, the archers, due to differences in individual skill, could no longer maintain a volley, and the arrows continued to rain down on the enemy.

As the three volleys of arrows fell to the ground, the Xianbei cavalry at the forefront of the charge advanced to within forty or fifty paces, then began to draw their bows and, at a distance of about thirty paces, fired what they believed to be a precise arrow.

However, the more than 4,000 crossbowmen behind the wagon formation remained still. Almost in the blink of an eye, the Xianbei cavalry slowed down, but the charging cavalry did not lose speed. Some leaped over the snow wall, while others failed and crashed into it.

Furthermore, horses kept tripping over the low antlers, falling headlong into the midst of the riders with long, pitiful cries.

Fifteen paces from the chariot formation, there were cone-shaped snowdrifts arranged by Xu Huang. These snowdrifts served to divert and converge the charging Xianbei cavalry.

"Right now..."

Xu Huang silently chanted in his mind, and almost simultaneously, four thousand crossbows fired at the same time. The Xianbei cavalrymen charging at the front line almost came to a standstill in an instant, followed by men and horses falling to the ground.

"Kill the thief!"

"Kill!"

As soon as Corporal Hao Zhao pulled the trigger, he heard shouts from various military officers and the drums suddenly blared. He grabbed his halberd and, without distinguishing between himself and his comrades on either side, scaled the low wall of the wagon formation. A few Xianbei cavalrymen who had rushed into the front of the formation were thrown into chaos, either being shot by short spears or being sniped by elite archer squads.

"kill!"

Hao Zhao stared wide-eyed and shouted. He had a pair of long legs and charged at the front, using his halberd to knock down a Xianbei cavalryman.

The opponent discarded his lance and, even if he fell off his horse, clung to Hao Zhao's iron halberd with both hands.

As the opponent fell, Hao Zhao gripped the halberd tightly with both hands and thrust it forward with all his might, twisting and turning it. The Xianbei cavalryman stared wide-eyed and screamed in agony, gripping the halberd even more firmly.

Hao Zhao couldn't pull out his halberd. At this moment, a companion caught up and slammed his spear into the mouth of the cavalryman. The cavalryman's hands immediately went limp. Hao Zhao pulled out his halberd and saw another cavalryman approaching. He swung his iron halberd and deflected the spear that the cavalryman was thrusting out.

In an instant, a companion rushed in from behind, thrusting his spear into the opponent's chest, knocking him off his horse.

Before Hao Zhao could catch his breath, he saw more Xianbei cavalry charging towards him with spears, but they were unable to pick up speed.

As a result, the elite crossbowmen behind them had already taken up positions on the wagon formation. One of the crossbowmen pulled the trigger, and Hao Zhao only felt a strange noise above his head. The cavalryman five steps away was hit in the face by the crossbow bolt, and his body swayed and fell in front of Hao Zhao.

The opponent continued rolling without slowing down. Hao Zhao jumped over and, without thinking, continued to charge forward. Some Xianbei cavalrymen who had fallen from their horses also drew their swords or spears and rushed forward to fight.

Hao Zhao wielded his iron halberd swiftly, deflecting the spear thrust at him and easily piercing the opponent's left chest.

Seeing another spear thrusting at him, Hao Zhao abandoned his halberd, grabbed the spear that was thrust at him, and pulled it away.

The opponent's spear was too long, and he rushed towards Hao Zhao as well. The two immediately grabbed each other, wrestled, and grappled.

Hao Zhao quickly straddled the other person, his arms being longer, easily gripping the other person's neck.

With his blood boiling, Hao Zhao gasped for breath, staring intently into the other's eyes until the other stopped struggling before letting go... But then, feeling it was inappropriate, he clenched his right fist and punched the other's nose, instantly smashing it and causing blood to flow.

Seeing no unusual movement from the other side, Hao Zhao got up to find a long-handled weapon, only to find that his charging companions had already rushed a dozen steps ahead, leaving only a few people around to be beheaded.

Hao Zhao drew his sword, quickly untied the head, and tied it around his waist when a Tiger Step Corporal tossed him another head.

Hao Zhao caught the head, which was covered in blood and grime, and hung it on the other side of his waist.

After rubbing his hands in the snow to remove the bloodstains, he picked up his halberd and strode towards the battlefield.

At this moment, Zhao Yun led more than 800 cavalrymen in a charge, chasing the routed riders westward.

Upon seeing the retreating Xianbei battle flags, Zhao Yun immediately abandoned his routed troops and launched a surprise attack to the southeast.

(End of this chapter)