My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 392 Engaging with the Orthodox, Winning with the Unorthodox (Part 1)
Wang Sizheng, clad in heavy armor, scanned the faces of the soldiers around him.

He also knew that Shandong had not experienced any brutal warfare in recent years, and these were soldiers going to the battlefield for the first time.

But these 'young' soldiers showed no fear on their faces, only a desire to make a name for themselves!
Gao Yu's "spending a thousand gold pieces to buy a horse's bones" served as a good example.

Who wouldn't yearn for an honorary title and the privileges it entails?

The soldiers were a privileged class, and human nature is greedy; who wouldn't want even more privileges in their hands?
Gao Yu assigned him 8,000 soldiers, all of them infantry, with only a small number of scouts and rangers constantly going out on horseback to gather information and return.

no way.

Gao Yu's warhorses were too precious, so since he was going to play big this time, he naturally concentrated all his valuable warhorses on the other side.

Dust billowed ahead as two scouts rode up, dismounted, and bowed, saying, "Reporting to the general, the enemy is less than ten li away from our army and is rushing towards us!"

Wang Sizheng was calculating in his mind that it would take time for the scouts to return, and the enemy army was probably already upon them.

These past few days, he and Gao Yu have personally surveyed the surrounding terrain thoroughly. They know very well that this area is a pure plain, without even a small hill. It's flat as a pancake. Such terrain is conducive to marching, and the enemy's marching speed will only be faster than expected.

He had Gao Yu's banners displayed early on, hoping to lure the enemy into attacking first. Without further hesitation, he shouted, "Pass on my order! Form ranks immediately and prepare to meet the enemy! Prepare to meet the enemy!!"

Liu San and Liu Si also shouted along with him!

The two of them had witnessed Wang Sizheng playing the "dead end" card in front of Gao Yu. They admired Wang Sizheng's ruthlessness, not to mention that Gao Yu had repeatedly told them to help Wang Sizheng.

"General, the enemy is about to attack. I will lead the soldiers to fight them off. You will be in charge of the rear command and deployment."

Gao Bin immediately took the initiative to speak.

Although this is a vast plain, it is impossible for eight thousand people to form a straight line. Only a small number will be at the front, and a reserve force will be left in the rear. They also need to be wary of enemy cavalry attacking from the flanks and behind.

Wang Sizheng shook his head.

"You are a relative of the general, of noble status, how can you risk your life?"

"Hahaha, if I were afraid of death, why would I have followed the general here?"

"I'm not saying you're afraid of dying."

Wang Sizheng explained, "I volunteered for this battle. As the commander of the left army, I should fight bravely to inspire my soldiers. How can I cower in the rear?"

"If anything happens to me, Yuanbin, you will take my place. Even if it means fighting to the last man, you must not let the enemy pass. There is only one way for the enemy to get through, and that is to step over our corpses!"

Gao Bin saw Wang Sizheng's resolute decision and said nothing more.

Rumble!
The dense, rapid sound of horses' hooves could be heard from afar, and if you looked down, you could even see the sand and gravel on the ground being shaken.

The sheer force of ten thousand horses galloping is earth-shattering.

Soldiers with better eyesight could already see a faint 'black line' appearing on the horizon, constantly rushing towards their side. This black line seemed to completely overlap with the horizon, dark and oppressive, making it impossible to see its end at a glance.

The soldiers instinctively gripped their weapons tighter, their eyes no longer as resolute as before.

No matter how much you practice martial arts, you can never recreate the real scene of tens of thousands of cavalry charging.

"My comrades! I will fight you to the last moment!" Wang Sizheng drew his sword and shouted, "If we can achieve a great victory this time, it will be a great achievement for us! The opportunity to make a name for ourselves is right in front of us. Trust the general! He will come to our aid!!"

This kind of approach will never go out of style.

The commander-in-chief was willing to risk his life alongside the soldiers, and he also promised them promotions after the war.

This will maximize the morale of the soldiers.

The soldiers were indeed quite capable. They had already set up a wagon formation at the front early on. The wagons were used to transport grain in peacetime and to form a battle formation to deal with cavalry in wartime.

The reinforced hull can effectively withstand cavalry charges and also provide a natural barrier for soldiers to defend against arrow barrages!

Whoosh whoosh!
After closing the distance, the enemy cavalrymen all drew their bows and fired arrows, launching a large-scale barrage!
Countless arrows flew into the sky, tracing perfect parabolas before hurtling towards the army's formation, like a locust plague, densely packed and overwhelming.

"Raise your shield! Raise your shield!"

"Don't panic! Prepare to meet the enemy!"

Wang Sizheng kept shouting, while he himself hid behind the side carriage, with some of his personal guards holding shields to protect him.

The arrow rain was only meant to cause chaos, delay the formation of ranks, and buy time for the cavalry to charge and close the distance. After all, as long as the infantry were not scared out of their wits and quickly formed ranks before the cavalry got close, the cavalry would have no way to deal with the already formed infantry.

Unless it's a life-or-death struggle, disregarding casualty ratios and forcing a charge at the cost of lives, with cavalry taking turns charging.

Ta-da-da.

The sound of hooves grew more rapid and louder. Peeking out, I saw a dense mass of cavalry charging right in front of me!
"shooting!!"

The soldiers had already drawn their crossbows and loaded them with arrows; at such close range, there was no need to aim at all.

With such a large target of both men and horses, it's unnecessary to hit the men; in this situation, shooting the horses would be more effective.

With such a large-scale cavalry charge, once a cavalryman was thrown from his horse, he had virtually no chance of survival, as he would be trampled into mincemeat by the warhorses of his comrades charging from behind.

Moreover, when warhorses fall to the ground, they naturally form obstacles, tripping up more cavalrymen, causing chaos, and disrupting the cavalry's formation. Other cavalrymen, in order to avoid being tripped, can only slow down and go around them, which is extremely deadly.

Once cavalry loses their mobility, they become sitting ducks!

The cavalry at the forefront had already charged to the front of the chariot formation.

The arrangement of the wagon formation was extremely sophisticated. Sufficient space was left between each side wagon for the rider to move around, while the second row of side wagons was placed in the middle of the first row. Cavalry could not charge in directly; if they had to take a detour, it would be like navigating a maze.

They were forced to slow down and split to the left and right. When they turned to the side, their overall size was exposed to the guards even more!
Whoosh whoosh!
The crossbow bolts were fired through the gap!
The well-trained soldiers of the garrison primarily targeted weak points.

For example, the neck, the arm, or even shooting the horse directly!
After being struck by an arrow, the man fell from his horse and screamed loudly before falling silent.

Some of the warhorses that were shot fell to the ground directly, while others, though strong and powerful, did not fall. However, the intense pain caused the warhorses to rear up and, in a frenzy, forcefully throw off the riders on their backs. Moreover, when the warhorses in front suddenly stopped, the riders behind them had no time to dodge and easily crashed straight into them.

This immediately triggered a series of disturbances.

"Keep shooting!"

Wang Sizheng kept shouting. He was at the forefront, and as long as he didn't fall, he was the best encouragement to the soldiers around him!
(End of this chapter)