Tiger Guards

Chapter 523 Blitzkrieg
The sled raced past, its white tiger-striped banner fluttering in the wind.

Inside the carriage, Zhao Ji covered his eyes with a folded black veil, held a bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right, and immediately fired when he saw Xianbei archers on both sides of the road who were about to shoot at him.

There was no time to identify the enemy, but as long as their own chariots charged ahead, the infantry running and resisting on both sides would definitely be mostly the enemy.

Compared to weapons used in close combat, Zhao Ji could more easily enter a state of near-constant microscopic awareness when using a bow and arrow, almost as if it were an instinct, like being able to see more clearly by squinting.

Behind Zhao Ji were two slightly shorter but exceptionally agile bodyguards, one of whom was responsible for grabbing arrows from the rear carriage.

He handed the arrows he had caught to a man in front of him, who then quickly put them into a spare quiver.

As Zhao Ji rapidly fired seven or eight arrows and exhaled to catch his breath, he would turn the quiver around and start taking arrows from the quiver that contained more arrows, regardless of how many arrows were left in the quiver.

The guards responsible for receiving and throwing arrows need to constantly observe the quiver, and not add too many arrows at once to avoid clogging the quiver; when grabbing and throwing arrows, they should try to keep the fletching intact.

To the left and right of Zhao Ji's convoy were the Golden Eagle Banner and the Buckingham Banner convoys, both staffed by elite archers who would clear the way with rapid fire.

Even without aiming for a direct hit, at such close range, simply shooting an arrow can disrupt the enemy's firing and indirectly protect more of one's own officers, soldiers, and vehicles.

With a leader like Zhao Ji who was skilled in archery, the officials, soldiers, and even men, women, and children in the countryside were all motivated to learn archery.

There was no close combat at this moment; it was just chariots charging forward, rapidly suppressing various Xianbei figures with fire.

When the Xianbei were unable to fight back, the chariots and cavalry following behind could coordinate with each other and easily wipe out the resisting or fleeing Xianbei with a large local advantage.

Almost no Xianbei force could withstand or slow down the advance of the three large banner chariots.

However, the Xianbei's various counterattacks were also effective. Every now and then, Han soldiers who were focused on shooting and disregarded everything would be hit by arrows, and if they were unlucky, they would fall off their sleds and chariots.

If they were not knocked unconscious and still had the ability to move, they dared not stand up and could only try their best to crawl to the sides to avoid the charge of the following vehicles.

Even if a sled overturns, you can only dodge it to avoid affecting the main force's charge.

Zhao Ji charged too fast here, circling around the north of Huze and charging along the Xianbei camps.

Meanwhile, the rebel forces of Xiutu Dada on the Qin Straight Road also arrived from the south, once again cooperating with Liu Qubei's right wing rebels to launch a major attack from the south of Huze.

We no longer pursue direct confrontation and immediate capture and defeat; what we want is breakthroughs, continuous breakthroughs.

Each time a Xianbei tribal camp is breached, the enemy loses its organization. Even if a small group of Xianbei people manage to band together and resist, they will soon be surrounded and killed by the subsequent cavalry.

As for the Xianbei people who were defeated and reduced to scattered cavalry and stragglers, they had no ability to protect themselves or resist.

This groundbreaking tactical approach made the Xianbei people, when attacked, disappear layer by layer, like snow melting away with a red-hot iron ball.

All the Xianbei could do was flee, either gathering at the frozen surface of Huze, which the Han army avoided, or slipping through other gaps to escape.

They didn't even have time to burn the hay stockpiled around Huze, let alone damage vehicles, stables, sheds, tents, or earthen houses.

After Zhao Ji had charged for seven or eight miles, he noticed that the horse was starting to tire and could only slow down and continue charging.

We must not give the Xianbei people in the eastern part of Huze a chance to rest, regroup, and launch a counterattack. Even if the offensive is slow, we can still put pressure on the Xianbei people.

Since the Xianbei were unable to launch a large-scale counterattack, the cavalry and wagons that were spreading eastward behind them could easily wipe out the disorganized Xianbei.

After breaking through another small camp, Zhao Ji's convoy began to turn southeast along the Huze ice surface. As the Xianbei people in the camp opposite him were all evacuating, they finally set fire to the haystacks.

These fodders were harvested by Xianbei slaves in the autumn, dried, bundled, and piled up around Huze. They were roughage prepared specifically for the Xianbei herds that came to Huze to fish in the winter.

One place set an example, and as the firelight spread, the Xianbei people also set fires when they evacuated.

Zhao Ji pursued them for another five or six miles, until the twelve horses finally ran out of strength.

There were various small hay and fodder yards and stables with clear planning throughout the battlefield, as well as some horses that had wandered off.

Changing horses was not an easy task, so Zhao Ji had no choice but to stop the attack, take the archers to rest on the spot, take out spare arrows, and load arrows into their quivers.

Meanwhile, the other charioteers and spearmen, in coordination with the accompanying cavalry, gathered nearby horses to replace the sled caravan's horses. These newly replaced horses were untrained, so Zhao Ji did not intend to charge again; these horses were only to be used for emergency purposes.

So he began to observe the battlefield and saw that a force of several thousand Xianbei knights had gathered on the frozen surface of Huze and were charging toward him.

Perhaps illuminated by the burning hay nearby, the Xianbei knights charging towards the area came in droves. Upon seeing the three large banners in the afterglow of the fire, they immediately turned their horses around, attempting to break through Zhao Ji's flanks.

All Zhao Ji could do was squeeze the gaps in the enemy's breakout, without forcibly closing them off.

After about five and a half jars and about forty arrows were fired, Zhao Ji finally abandoned his bow, stopped his carriage, and watched as the Xianbei knights who had broken through the encirclement headed east.

The lightly armed cavalry pursuing from behind could not stop their speed and continued to surround and pursue them.

The scattered Xianbei cavalry squads immediately became targets of pursuit, and the battlefield eventually became a scene of overwhelming advantage as the Xianbei fled and the Han army pursued them across the entire front.

However, Zhao Ji still dared not be negligent. He gathered the central army's cavalry and assault group and began to rest and prepare for possible emergency operations.

He also arrived at the upwind side of a burning hayfield, and even from a dozen steps away, he could feel the heat radiation coming right at him.

The haystack was ablaze, so much so that one could not hear the wind howling properly from nearby; all one could hear was the whooshing sound of the flames. More and more sparks were swept up by the wind and then extinguished in the icy wind.

The carbonized black ash that failed to burn completely fell in a flurry, while the white ash that was completely burned off formed a downy texture.

Zhao Ji rubbed his wrists alternately, quietly waiting for dawn.

Given the current battlefield area, not only is it difficult for the defeated Xianbei people to regroup, but the various chariots and cavalry of the Han army pursuing the victory are also not something Zhao Ji can easily gather.

Therefore, before the war began, he emphasized that merits should only be recorded before noon, so as not to hinder the subsequent military operations by waiting for those officials and soldiers who were greedy for merits.

It is important to press the attack and expand the gains, eliminating the enemy's manpower. This is similar to biting through the skin and taking the opportunity to suck blood.

It is also very important to be able to quickly gather troops in order to form the next offensive as soon as possible; this is like taking a quick sip to quench your thirst, and then creating an opportunity to suck up another new target.

The new target is not only to suck blood, but also to chew on flesh.

"Grand Marshal, I like sleds."

A Xiongnu commander handed Zhao Ji a wine flask, but Zhao Ji shook his head. Instead, he took a piece of yogurt curd that the commander pulled out, put it in his mouth, and asked with a smile, "Come again next year. The Xianbei people mostly use sleds. Do you still like it?"

"I enjoyed it. Shooting arrows on the sled was very exciting. I hit at least seven people."

With a small piece of yogurt in his mouth, the commander's mouth was watering, and he spoke with renewed vigor: "I think our sleds will be even better next year than this year's."

Zhao Ji just smiled when he heard this. This time, the sled could only be described as usable; next year's sled would definitely need to be covered with a layer of iron or copper.

Heavy sleds, especially those made of metal sheets and bound with metal plates, are more effective for long-range strategic strikes.

As the sun gradually rose, because the three banners were here, scouts or messengers of the rank of battalion commander or above from time to time came to report on the battle situation in various places.

At this moment, Zhao Ji was only concerned with the choices of Qianman and the royal nobles near Heyin City on the west side. He did not know whether they would launch an attack to seize the empty and temporarily abandoned temporary camp, or continue to observe the changes in the situation.

In a sense, killing the leader himself and severely damaging the noble forces in the royal court who supported him actually provided Qianman with a great opportunity.

Therefore, even if the battle situation is unfavorable, it might still be possible to reach some kind of agreement with the Qianman side.

It's not a big deal for me to think like this on the battlefield, but I'm afraid that Qianman's side might actually have such thoughts.

But Qianman could not possibly surrender and submit to the court or himself. He became the chief of the Xianbei state, but in the end, he would have to be a lackey of the Han people. For Qianman, wouldn't he have been the chief of the state for nothing?

Therefore, Qianman's subsequent surrender was merely to stabilize the situation so that he could secure his position as king.

They probably hadn't even settled in properly before they started thinking about how to rebel against the Han people.

(End of this chapter)