Tiger Guards

Chapter 650 Unstoppable Courage
The Qiang people in Longnan are isolated from news, which gives them a slight advantage.

As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. When Gao Yanglong and Chang Mao each led seven hundred chariots and cavalry out from the rear of the camp, organized their troops and pressed forward, and erected the Golden Eagle Banner and the Xionglu Banner, the hundred-man spear formations of the various Qiang tribes, which had been advancing in formation, suddenly spread out to the left and right flanks, slowly advancing with their spears, attempting to confront the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's charge head-on.

The morale of these heavily armed Qiang infantrymen from Longnan was not suppressed or weakened. Gao Yanglong on the left flank immediately dispatched Leopard Cavalry to outflank the Qiang spearmen from the outside or from the rear.

Unexpectedly, the dozen or so Qiang soldiers advancing in formation also began to change their formation, forming a '∠'. Gao Yanglong was reluctant to use his Tiger Cavalry to charge the Qiang spearmen head-on.

In his eyes, the value of any one Tiger Cavalryman was no less than that of an enemy 100-man square formation.

He was reluctant to lose his men, but there were also scattered soldiers with bows among the gaps in the Qiang spearmen's formation. As he pondered this, the Qiang spearmen in front of him stood still, and these scattered soldiers with bows advanced through the gaps in the spearmen's formation and began to scatter arrows.

The Qiang people also used the same bow-making techniques as the Han border army, and even used the same powerful bows as the Han border army. It is possible that the archery skills of these Qiang archers were inherited from the Han border army.

Just as the equipment and tactics of Zhao Ji's volunteer troops were highly similar to those of the Tiger Step Army, the ancestors of these Qiang people followed Liangzhou Sanming to annihilate the Eastern Qiang, so the Han army at that time spared no effort in teaching them.

In recent years, the world has been in chaos, but Liangzhou was in chaos before the world was in chaos.

There were many Han Chinese heroes who fled to the Qiang region with their families, clans, and fellow villagers to seek refuge. These people also brought with them advanced production techniques and tactics.

At this moment, when fighting against the Qiang people in Longnan, the only difference between them and the Han army is that the enemy does not have orderly flags and uniforms.

This feeling is more like a battle against Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, or a civil war between the Han army.

As Zhao Ji looked to the left to observe Gao Yanglong, Chang Mao on the right flank launched a direct charge.

Two hundred tiger cavalry and four hundred leopard cavalry were divided into two attack arrows on the left and right, accelerating and charging in a wedge formation.

The iron cavalry surged forward, shaking the ground. The four Qiang spearmen blocking their path all paled. As the distance between the two sides drew closer, the skirmishers and archers among the Qiang spearmen were the first to break formation and turn to run.

The desertion of these stragglers immediately shook the will of the spearmen, and almost in the half breath before the collision, the Qiang spearmen in front of them began to exhibit various abnormal behaviors.

While some spearmen steadied their spears, their shafts braced against the ground as they aimed forward at an angle, their spears piercing through the armored tiger riders and their warhorses, these spearmen were also trampled and rammed by the tiger riders due to their momentum!
Meanwhile, the more wavering spearmen were trampled and rammed by the tiger cavalry; anyone who grazed or bumped into them was killed without mercy.

After the tiger cavalry charge came the leopard cavalry, another round of even more intense trampling.

When Zhao Ji turned his gaze to the right, he saw that four Qiang heavy spearmen squads of a hundred men were in disarray, while the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were still charging and pursuing. The flag-bearing squad of a hundred chariot soldiers, consisting of twenty-nine chariots, was also advancing.

The archers on the carts hurled arrows at the remaining small groups of Qiang people who were instinctively sticking together.

"This is the kind of war I want to fight!"

Zhao Ji pointed to the right and turned to look at Zhuge Jin: "Ziyu and Wenman are here to watch the battle and record the situation of each team."

"Here."

Zhuge Jin agreed, opened his mouth as if to offer some advice, but hesitated for a long time before finally closing his mouth and watching helplessly as Zhao Ji put on his mask, grabbed a long spear, and jumped off the three-story wooden platform.

The long spear was the first to strike the frozen ground, and Zhao Ji, following the momentum, was able to grab the spear shaft with both hands, so his body slowly slid down the long spear and landed smoothly.

Zhuge Jin peeked out and saw that Zhao Ji had already discarded his spear and strode onto the chariot.

Beneath the three-tiered wooden platform, Zhuge Liang, dressed in a two-piece suit of armor covered by a worn-out sheepskin coat and wearing a lamellar helmet, stared blankly at the long spear firmly planted in front of him, its entire blade embedded in the ground.

The spear shaft was 16 feet long, and the wooden platform was 36 feet high. This means that when Grand Tutor Zhao leaped with the spear, his body only fell less than 20 feet from the air.

As the spearhead pierced the ground, Grand Tutor Zhao began to slide down the spear shaft to cushion the impact of gravity.

Zhuge Liang glanced at it and immediately concluded... If Grand Tutor Zhao could do it, then he could do it too.

As he pondered, he saw a high-ranking military officer leap down from the wooden platform, spear in hand. The two-and-a-half-foot spear blade hadn't fully penetrated the ground when it shattered against the shaft… The officer lost his balance in mid-air and crashed to the ground with a thud, still clutching the spear shaft. Zhao Ji, on the chariot, had just picked up his bow when he heard the sound and glanced at the unfortunate fellow.

The other eager officers could only obediently descend the wooden steps and quickly jog onto their respective chariots.

The officer, who had fallen and was in pain, was helped onto the carriage by his guards. He was limping, clearly having injured his hip.

With most of the military officers gone from the wooden platform, Zhuge Liang was able to climb it with his folder and assist in recording the changes across the battlefield.

He approached Zhuge Jin and asked, "Brother, is the Grand Tutor really so unrestrained and dashing?"

"Kongming, do not speak too much, but patiently observe and record the battle."

Zhuge Jin then looked at the other military officers who had come up to assist in recording: "Gentlemen, please observe carefully while recording. The subtleties of commanding in battle are secrets not passed down by military strategists. It is truly a great favor of the Grand Tutor that you are able to observe from the sidelines."

"Here."

Everyone responded, each turning in a different direction to take notes.

For example, Zhuge Liang observed the combat methods of three hundred-man squads. Each hundred-man squad had a special symbol totem. He did not need to write down the enemy's number. He only needed to draw the battle flag symbol of the hundred-man squad on paper. Then, based on the observed battle situation, he summarized and recorded it.

It doesn't need to be very detailed; it can use fragmented text or phrases. As long as these texts and phrases can evoke memories of this moment after the war, a more detailed written record can be made later.

While Zhuge Liang was observing, he was also able to glance at the White Tiger Banner where Zhao Ji was located, and the White Tiger Banner began to advance south.

Any Qiang cavalry that managed to break into the camp would be shot and fall from their horses if they got within seventy paces of the White Tiger Banner, their horses neighing and fleeing the battle zone.

The White Tiger Banner continued to advance, and the infantry fighting nearby followed suit, forming the left and right flanks, allowing Zhao Ji to focus more on dealing with the enemy cavalry in the fan-shaped area in front.

He was a ruthless archery machine, whose attack range gradually expanded from the initial seventy paces to a hundred paces.

He alone was enough to overwhelm the Qiang archers, making it difficult for them to launch an effective counterattack. As a result, the archers on his chariots and the infantry advancing on foot could fire more easily, greatly increasing their accuracy.

Zhao Ji acted as a catalyst, greatly increasing the courage of the chariot soldiers and infantry around him. They became more composed in battle and were able to consistently demonstrate their archery skills.

He knew very well that he did not have any special skills, but under the influence of morale, the fighting mentality of the officers and soldiers around him was qualitatively changed, and they could not only perform at their full potential, but also perform beyond their normal level.

If they perform exceptionally well a few more times, their combat skills will improve rapidly.

In the heat of battle, mindset and morale are even more important than skills.

As Zhao Ji approached, the three hundred-man teams that Zhuge Liang was observing also rushed forward with great courage.

The heavy supply wagons, which were originally intended to resist and delay the Qiang cavalry's offensive, have now become obstacles that restrict our pursuit of the fleeing soldiers.

Many of the Qiang cavalry and infantry on the opposite side were so frightened before they could even get close to fight that they retreated in disarray... Those Qiang who managed to get close were shot dead before they even had a chance to fight.

The continuous, high-density shooting, clearing out large areas of no-man's land, brought the Qiang people a great and indescribable shock and horror.

The battle line continued to advance southward, and soon the entire army was on the run, causing the Qiang people to retreat in an unstoppable rout!

Zhuge Liang stopped writing, turned to look at Zhuge Jin, and hesitated to ask questions. His eyes were full of confusion. He felt that he could understand the cause and effect of the changes in various parts of the battlefield, but he also felt that he did not understand anything at all.

In fact, Zhuge Jin didn't understand either, but he maintained a solemn expression, appearing as calm as he should be.

(End of this chapter)