There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 178: The brave one wins when we meet on a narrow road
The Han cavalrymen mounted their horses one after another. Although Bai Nan had long ago issued orders for the cavalry to prepare for battle, in reality, the cavalrymen had only just begun to mount their horses and start running.

Still too poor!
Unlike the Qing army, the Han army did not have a systematic horse breeding system, so everything had to be started from scratch, including the selection and breeding of horse breeds, which was difficult to solve at present, not to mention the supply of warhorses.

Under normal circumstances, a well-equipped cavalry unit would have far more warhorses than cavalrymen.

Even if we don't say one person needs two horses, we should at least have enough spare horses to prevent too many horses from being lost due to injury, death in battle, or other reasons, and to replenish them in time as combat power.

The Han army didn't have that kind of advantage; they were really just one rider and one horse. If the horse got sick or uncomfortable, then the cavalry would have to be reduced in number.

Even in actual combat, cavalrymen would keep their horses still as much as possible unless they were actually charging into battle, in order to conserve the horses' energy.

Because the enemy can change horses, but they don't have any to change; once their horses can't run anymore, they simply can't run anymore.

"Splash! Splash!"

"Clang!"

Upon receiving the order to attack, the 700 Han cavalrymen quickly mounted their horses and drew their sabers from their waists in perfect unison.

The cavalry battalion's commander was named Wu Liehu, which was indeed the same village militia leader who had previously captured Fuzhina alive.

Although the Han army appears to have a large number of soldiers, when you add up all the new and veteran soldiers, very few of them are skilled enough to ride a horse and have a natural talent for it.

Wu Liehu was one of them. He wasn't originally a cavalryman, but after the battle of Chenzhou, the Han army captured a lot of warhorses, and the cavalry battalion was expanded. So he signed up and naturally became a cavalryman.

It had to be done logically, since they had captured Fu Zhi alive. He wasn't a huge name in the Han army, but he wasn't insignificant either. The list of those transferred to cavalry was personally signed by Nie Yu.

Don't misunderstand, cavalry is a rare type of soldier, and the list of recruits is only for General Nie Yu to review.

After that, relying on his horsemanship talent and personal bravery, Wu Liehu rose through the ranks like a rocket to become the commander of the cavalry battalion of the Second Division.

They're all new recruits, so it's a matter of who's the best fighter and the best horseman to become the captain!

Wu Liehu gripped his saber tightly, it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. This was his first real battle leading the 2nd Division's cavalry battalion: "All troops, prepare! Advance at a trot!"

"Dudududududadadada..."

"Dudududududadadada..."

The bugler sounded the charge, and 700 Han cavalrymen moved at the sound, beginning to trot slowly.

As I ran, I gradually increased my speed.

From a slow four-beat trot (the horse's normal walk), to a quick two-beat trot, and then to a true gallop with three beats per step...

As the cavalry increased their speed, their formation also changed rapidly, transforming from a scattered formation into an orderly one.

All the Han cavalry spontaneously separated themselves, dividing into 100-man cavalry ranks, with each cavalryman occupying a 1-meter square.

The cavalry line then split into seven evenly spaced columns. The seven hundred cavalrymen ran in great order, like a moving square formation accelerating at full speed, or perhaps a moving city wall.

Well, don't get me wrong, this isn't what's called a wall charge, because real wall cavalry doesn't operate like that at all.

In a typical wall formation, the cavalry would all run tightly together, without any gaps. Charging all at once like this would almost certainly result in the cavalry huddled together and falling off their horses.

True wall-formation cavalry is generally composed mainly of musketeer cavalry. After forming a wall formation, they aim to cover the enemy with firepower to counter the charge of traditional cavalry, rather than letting the wall-formation cavalry charge on their own.

The Han army used very ordinary cavalry in a line formation, which effectively left gaps in the cavalry's charge, preventing them from crashing into each other in a chaotic mass.

From the very beginning, Nie Yu had no intention of developing traditional cavalry. Traditional cavalry was already outdated. If he were to develop cavalry, he would develop musket cavalry. And the only charging formation he practiced from beginning to end was the horizontal formation!
The horizontal formation is not particularly special, but it is not difficult either, and it does not require much skill from the cavalrymen on horseback.

The only requirement was that the cavalrymen must absolutely obey military orders. Wherever the officers led the charge, even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, and charging in meant certain death, you had to charge forward without hesitation.

Three-quarters of a cavalryman's fighting power comes from courage!
When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave are invincible!
"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

With the thunderous hooves of their horses, the Han cavalry were moving faster and faster. Wu Liehu lay sprawled on his horse, his saber gripped tightly in his hand, his heart pounding with increasing apprehension.

The Han army had 700 cavalrymen, and the Qing army's cavalry suffered heavy losses, but still had more than 2500 men.

Could 700 men really win against 2500? Wu Liehu didn't know, nor did he want to know, as he drew ever closer to the Qing cavalry.

The Qing cavalry had already charged through several waves, and their horses were nearly exhausted. Now, as they were fleeing, the horses were further strained, inevitably slowing them down.

The Qing cavalry slowed down, but the Han cavalry did not slow down at all.

They had been resting and recuperating for half a day, and their warhorses were full of energy, capable of maintaining high speed for an hour.

They can run for an hour; the Qing cavalry won't be able to escape!

"kill!"

The Qing cavalry, numbering nearly 800, seeing that they could not escape, decided to fight back fiercely, turned their horses around, and launched a counter-charge against the Han cavalry.

Good heavens, their charge was exhilarating! Wu Liehu and the remaining 1700-plus Qing cavalrymen were completely dumbfounded!

How could this possibly turn into a lamb being led into the tiger's den?

"Charge, all troops!" Wu Liehu immediately drew his sword and issued the order.

"Dudududududadadada..."

The bugle call to charge sounded again, and all the Han cavalrymen quickly drew their swords, ready to meet the charging Qing cavalry.

The Qing cavalry still in the rear were completely stunned. Several generals tried to send troops to provide support, not because they were willing to forgive and forget past grievances and settle their differences in the face of battle, but because they all knew that if these 800 cavalrymen were wiped out, the rest of them would be trapped as well.

Unfortunately, it was too late!
The Han cavalry were already very close to the Qing cavalry, and now the Qing cavalry were charging in the opposite direction, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

"Kill the clear dog!"

"May the Great Han Dynasty prevail! May the Great General prevail!"

Without any particularly loud slogans, the two cavalry units of roughly equal strength clashed head-on almost instantly.

No, it shouldn't be a head-on collision. Rather, it was a Qing cavalryman trying to rein in his horse and escape by taking a detour, only to be slashed down by a Han cavalryman who charged up and fell from his horse.

In a narrow encounter, the brave prevail; in cavalry battles, victory or defeat can be decided in an instant!

Clearly, the Qing army lost, and lost terribly. Despite having the same number of cavalry, or even a hundred more, the Qing army suffered a complete defeat, almost to the point of total annihilation.

Of the 800 Qing cavalrymen, only a few managed to escape in time; the rest were all devoured by the overwhelming Han cavalry, leaving not even bones or scraps behind.

Caught off guard, the Qing cavalry, as well as those watching from the rear and preparing to provide support, were also stunned.

"Demon...demon!"

"Traitors are all demons, run!"

That's terrifying, absolutely terrifying.

These Qing cavalrymen saw it clearly: the rebel cavalry had run head-on into their own cavalry that was turning around and charging. How dare they do that?

Aren't those rebel cavalrymen afraid of dying?
When cavalrymen charge head-on, horsemanship and martial arts skills become almost irrelevant; a collision almost always results in death or serious injury.

That's right, one party is killed and the other is injured, or both are killed and both are injured.

This kind of life-or-death cavalry fighting style is rarely seen in cavalry battles. Most cavalrymen will rein in their horses and turn around in time when they are about to collide.

Moreover, even if the horses are reined in and turned around, the formation will become chaotic, and the more chaotic the cavalry, the more likely they are to be defeated in cavalry battles.

The rebel cavalry, however, were different. Their formation was perfectly orderly. After the first column of rebel cavalry rammed into their cavalry, they also suffered considerable casualties, with many falling from their horses.

However, the rebel cavalry in the second and third columns showed no fear or intention to slow down; instead, they continued to accelerate.

With this acceleration, the morale of the Qing cavalry collapsed, and a large number of cavalrymen broke out of formation and fled. They were then overwhelmed and routed by the unstoppable Han army formation!
(End of this chapter)