Tiger Guards

Chapter 651: Taking the Head Start
On the road, Zhao Ang rode a fine horse from Xiliang, carrying a long spear in his right hand, looking dashing and fully armed.

When the Qiang and Di nobles and powerful Han figures from near and far met Zhao Ang, they were all captivated by his charisma.

The Zhao family of Tianshui has always been known for its tall stature, with most of its members possessing imposing and heroic appearances.

From Zhao Yi and Zhao Rong to Zhao Ang, these three generations were so distinguished by their appearance that they were considered to be "possessing both literary and martial talents."

Even though Zhao Ang's son, Zhao Yue, was still of school age, he was taller than his peers and had a handsome face and fair skin.

Those around him, both Han and non-Han officials and scholars, all thought Zhao Ang was handsome and heroic, and Zhao Ang himself was also aware of his physical advantages.

Therefore, while riding and traveling, he maintained his demeanor and demonstrated his superiority to the Han and Hu leaders.

Suddenly, a large group of Qiang cavalry appeared about seven or eight miles to the north, turning out from the side of a low hill. These men galloped across the snow-covered fields.

These Qiang cavalrymen spurred their horses forward, showing no regard for their mounts.

Seeing this, Zhao Ang gently tugged at the reins, feeling puzzled. He didn't know how the defeated Qiang cavalry had retreated from the fields, so he looked up and stared at them along the road.

Upon closer inspection, a dozen or so tanks appeared from around the bend in the road, and on a flag carrier behind seven or eight of them stood a magnificent white tiger banner!

The heavy banner remained firmly drooping, facing south, even as the tanks charged forward.

In an instant, Zhao Ang subconsciously pulled hard on the reins, and his mount, in pain, lifted its front hooves two or three feet high.

"Grand Sima?"

Zhao Ang heard someone exclaim in surprise beside him and immediately turned his head to glare at them. The other person looked horrified, his face was ashen, and even his facial expressions were slow to change.

Immediately, Zhao Ang heard someone shout: "Lord Zhao, this must be a trick by the rebel army! They are just trying to intimidate us!"

Zhao Ang turned around and saw Yao Sheng, the Di chieftain he had recruited in Wudu.

Yao Sheng was well-versed in Han studies. Seeing Zhao Ang looking at him, he confidently declared, "Captain, watch me seize his battle flag!"

"Good! If we can capture the enemy's battle flag, I will report this achievement to the imperial court!"

"Yes, Captain! Behold my skills!"

Yao Sheng smiled, his expression excited, and raised his spear in his right hand, turning back to shout, "Follow me!"

Immediately, more than fifty Di knights rode up and followed. The Di people were weaker than the Qiang and Ba people, and lived in the gap between the Qiang and Ba, acting as a buffer and guarding the gate.

Therefore, the Qiang and Ba nobles around Zhao Ang reined in their horses and watched with smiles on their faces, ready to see how Yao Sheng would die.

The advancing infantry and cavalry filled both sides of the road, attempting to change the marching column into a large horizontal formation.

At this time, it was necessary to delay the enemy's attack. Therefore, as Yao Sheng led his men to meet the enemy to the north, a young leader of the Qiang tribe also led his Qiang cavalry forward on horseback.

As he moved, several young Qiang and Di leaders, confident in their strength, rode out and led their elite cavalry northward.

Meanwhile, the chariot corps that had suddenly appeared was still slowly advancing southward. Behind the chariot corps were more than a hundred tiger riders and more than three hundred leopard riders, and then a mixed corps of people riding in chariots and on horseback.

As these troops gradually revealed their complete movements, Gao Yanglong and Chang Mao, who led the left and right wings respectively, also revealed their Tiger and Leopard Cavalry on both sides of the road, calmly pursuing and driving away the fleeing Qiang cavalry on both flanks.

Meanwhile, the battlefield behind them was still raging. The cavalry of the Shuofang Hu tribes, who belonged to Han Shu, were still galloping lightly on their horses, finishing off the wounded or bloodless Qiang soldiers who had fallen to the ground.

Among them were over seven hundred knights who initially used draft horses to pull crossbow carts. After a simple formation, they headed south along the road, intending to use these large crossbows for harassment in the event of an encounter. While ordinary crossbow bolts could indeed disrupt enemy formations, their harassment effect was quite limited against well-prepared and well-organized infantry formations.

Only powerful bows and crossbows at close range, or large yellow crossbows for covering fire at medium to long range!
In any case, the cavalry of the various barbarian tribes in Shuofang held these crossbows in awe and relied heavily on this powerful weapon.

But before these crossbow carts were fully towed, another battle broke out as the pursuers chased the routed Zhao Ji.

Through his mask, Zhao Ji looked at the knight charging at him with his spear about a mile away, about four hundred paces away, and wondered about the man's bravery: "Doesn't he recognize my White Tiger Banner?"

The young Tiger Warrior, who was specifically responsible for handing him arrows, also glanced into the distance: "He probably doesn't really know him."

"They're so out of touch with the world."

Zhao Ji sighed, then switched to a longer arrow, drew the bowstring taut, estimated the trajectory and speed of the enemy's charge, and released the bowstring.

The bowstring made a slight snapping sound. Without even looking at the shooting result, Zhao Ji tossed the bow, which might have caused hidden injuries, into the carriage at his feet, reached out to grab the spare bow, and with his other hand, he drew an arrow and nocked it.

With a slight adjustment to his shooting stance, Zhao Ji fired an arrow at the enemy's cavalry, predicting the arrow's trajectory in order to quickly correct and refine the error between himself and the bow.

Despite being nearly a mile apart, Yao Sheng was completely unaware of Zhao Ji's launching motion, and didn't even see the trajectory of the arrow as it rose into the air.

All he knew was that he should accelerate his charge after covering a distance of one mile!
His cavalrymen also spurred their horses on desperately, trying to reach Yao Sheng before he went into battle and shield him from the enemy's blades.

Just as these riders were about to catch up with Yao Sheng, Yao Sheng was struck in the face by an arrow, and his skull shattered.

Such a terrifying scene unfolded before the fifty-odd Di cavalrymen. As they were still in shock, another arrow fell into the ranks of riders. Before a knight could even cry out, he was struck in the chest and thrown from his horse.

Just as he was about to bounce up and roll northward with the momentum of his landing, a knight behind him couldn't dodge in time. His horse's leg struck his back, giving the landing knight an even greater force to the north, while the horse's leg was broken. Together with the knight it was carrying, the horse rolled sideways to the north.

Before the Di knights could rein in their horses and slow down, another arrow fell from a distance of about two hundred paces. This time, it pierced through the leather mask of one of the knights. The man's head snapped back, and he rode off at full speed with his chin held high. Tiny drops of hot blood, mixed with white steam, gushed out from the gaps.

After running for twenty or thirty steps, the knight finally fell off his horse.

During this time, two more arrows fell into the charging cavalry. One arrow hit the horse's neck, causing the horse to lose control and fall, tripping several riders behind it. The other arrow missed its mark.

Zhao Ji didn't even look at the results of the battle. He fired eight arrows in quick succession with the new bow before taking a breath to observe other directions. The quiver in front of him was immediately replaced with a new one containing eight arrows.

The arrows were inserted into the quiver, and to prevent them from falling out, a tuft of sable tail was stuffed inside.

The sable tail stuffing inside the quiver provides friction, which helps to stabilize the arrow without compromising its flatness and alignment.

Zhao Ang watched helplessly as Yao Sheng was shot to death with an arrow within two or three hundred paces, as if he himself had been the one whose head had been split open by that arrow, leaving his mind blank.

"It is Zhao... Grand Marshal."

A Tianshui county official beside him muttered something, then quickly snapped to attention and shouted at his attendant who was leading the horse, "Hurry up!"

In his anxiety and terror, his voice became shrill and choked with sobs: "Run!"

Before his attendant could react, the county official suddenly gasped and raised his hands as if to grab something.

Before him, Zhao Ang turned and raised his hand, thrusting a spear into his throat.

After a brief exchange of glances, Zhao Ang drew his spear and pointed it diagonally north: "Beat the drums! Charge!"

(End of this chapter)