My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 504 A Surprise Attack!
Shanyang City.

It gets its name from its location south of the Taihang Mountains.

The south side of a mountain and the north side of a river are considered "yang" (positive), and this has been the rule followed in naming conventions since ancient times.

A hundred miles to the northeast, the mountains are covered with dense forests, but most of the trees have become bare, which can still provide some 'concealment'.

There were about four or five hundred knights sitting on the ground, holding extremely precious flatbreads in their hands. Their food and treatment were quite good, which showed that these four or five hundred knights were definitely the elite of the elite.

Not to mention the armor, horn bow, and ring-pommel sword placed beside him; only elite troops could possess such meticulously crafted iron armor.
Although there weren't three horses for one person, it was still a standard one person with two horses: a trot and a warhorse, only without any auxiliary soldiers accompanying them.

These small groups of elite knights were dispatched to cause minor disruptions; they couldn't be deployed in a large-scale operation.

Ta-da-da.

A rapid sound of hooves rang out, but the knights resting on the ground paid no attention. There were several hidden sentries on the perimeter, and the enemy could not possibly charge so openly towards them.

really.

Soon, several riders came galloping over. As they approached, they dismounted and quickly walked to a middle-aged man.

This man had the physique of a typical ancient general: tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a powerful arm, and his eyes were full of imposing presence, like a fierce tiger.

"Report! General!"

Have you detected any enemy activity?

"The enemy army is besieging Shanyang City. Fifty miles to the southeast, an enemy grain transport convoy has been spotted."

"Great! We've finally waited for this!"

Wei Xiaokuan suddenly stood up, but still asked very steadily, "How many grain transport soldiers are there?"

"We dared not get too close. At a rough glance, there were about a thousand people."

Wei Xiaokuan frowned, his expression showing a hint of regret. "It's a pity... I wish there were more."

The escort mission wasn't large in scale, so the amount of grain being transported was likely not too much, but it wouldn't be too little either.

"Issue my order: the entire army, prepare to attack!"

"Here!"

The guards beside him began to pass down the military order to prepare for the attack, leaving two guards behind to help Wei Xiaokuan put on his armor!

Wei Xiaokuan came from the Wei clan of Jingzhao in Guanzhong, and Su Chuo was also from Jingzhao.

Erzhu Rong made a change in his approach to personnel management.

Originally, the north was in turmoil, and many people from the Six Garrisons came to seek refuge with him. The Six Garrisons were located in the harsh frontier, and the people from the grasslands were all very brave.

The Guanzhong region is similar; it is also a place of constant turmoil. Chaotic places are like breeding grounds for venomous insects, always producing a group of brave and valiant people.

Erzhu Rong didn't trust the people from the Six Garrisons very much, after all, Gao Yu's prestige in the Six Garrisons was indeed very high, and Heba Yun was a typical example.

Now that Guanzhong has been transformed into Erzhu Rong's second stronghold, he has begun to make extensive use of the talents in Guanzhong.

In terms of literature, there was Su Chuo; in terms of martial arts, the representative figure was Wei Xiaokuan.

The people in Guanzhong had no connection with Gao Yu, and Gao Yu's influence in Guanzhong was very low.

The Battle of Luoyang was the battle that established Gao Yu's prestige.

He led 3,000 Xuanjia soldiers to break through the 300,000-strong Southern Liang Northern Expeditionary Army, and these 300,000 defeated soldiers mostly fled eastward.

Hebei, Shandong, Henan, and even Nanliang.

To put it bluntly.

General Gao Erlang's reputation was much higher in the Southern Liang Dynasty than in Guanzhong.

While Luoyang was in chaos, Xiao Baoyin was also causing trouble in Guanzhong, so news was relatively scarce.

When Yuan Ziyou wanted to send Gao Yu to Guanzhong, Erzhu Rong refused to allow it. Besides the fact that Guanzhong was a natural place for separatism, there was another reason... he did not want Gao Yu to exert influence in Guanzhong.

Gao Yu already had good relations with the powerful families in Hebei and Shandong, and if he were to become close with the Guanzhong region as well...

Erzhu Rong didn't know who to trust, or where else besides Shanxi could become his base of operations.

Wei Xiaokuan led the most elite Qihu cavalry under Erzhu Rong's command. He quickly put on his armor and then mounted his horse.

"Come on, you few lead the way!" Wei Xiaokuan said confidently on horseback. "Hmph, everyone says that even the ordinary soldiers under the traitor Gao Yu are exceptionally brave. Today I'll see for myself!"

………………

On the road.

The grain transport team was a long and impressive sight.

Oxen, donkeys, and discarded inferior horses were pulling grain carts, while auxiliary soldiers stood guard on the side.

Besides.

The convoy was led by supply soldiers who cleared the way, and also followed by supply soldiers who guarded it from the front and back.

The procession was so quiet that you could even hear the wheels rolling and the stones being crushed.

Qin Fangtai was at the very front of the group. He was originally a brigade commander under the Feixiang Zhechong Prefecture. After receiving a reward from Gao Yu, he was quickly promoted to captain because Gao Yu praised his martial arts skills in public. He had a higher rank and better treatment.

but……

After Gao Yu decided to launch an attack on Hanoi County, Qin Fangtai, who was nearby, was also quickly summoned to Ji County and given the task of escorting grain supplies.

He looked around. The army was besieging Shanyang in front, but that didn't mean the rear was safe.

Transporting supplies may seem safe, but it is actually easy for the enemy to target.

"Cheer up, everyone! Delivering the supplies safely will be a great achievement!"

The convoy continued forward.

Whoosh whoosh!

A series of arrows whistled through the air, and looking up, one could see a dense rain of arrows, like a swarm of locusts, shooting towards the caravan!

"Damn it!"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"

Qin Fangtai reacted quickly, immediately shouting a reminder to those behind him, "Don't panic, quickly form a formation!!"

The crowd remained somewhat panicked.

Although the grain transport soldiers were still local soldiers, the local soldiers in Hebei were not like the local soldiers in Shandong. Before going to the battlefield, they had undergone two or three years of intensive training by Gao Yu.

Although they had never been on the battlefield, the Shandong soldiers were already well-trained elite troops before they went to war.

The Hebei soldiers still fell short of this standard.

Rumble!
In reality, there were only four or five hundred riders, but the momentum they created was like ten thousand horses galloping.

"Kill!"

Wei Xiaokuan rode his horse, taking the lead and charging ahead!

The cavalry's long-range volleys were always intended to create chaos, not to inflict large-scale effective casualties. The goal was to prevent the enemy from forming ranks and to buy time for the cavalry to charge.

after all……

Even if armored cavalry charged, they would be helpless against the already formed infantry squares, unless they recklessly charged into the formation, which would often result in huge casualties. Under normal circumstances, they would not recklessly charge into the formation.

Cavalry soldiers are still very valuable.

Truly elite cavalry soldiers are not simply those who can ride horses; otherwise, they would only be considered mounted infantry, used for traveling but dismounting to fight in actual combat.

True cavalry soldiers, in addition to knowing how to ride a horse, must also be able to skillfully perform various actions on horseback, which is virtually impossible to achieve without long-term training.

True elite cavalrymen are just as valuable as modern pilots.

Are horses and airplanes precious?
precious.

But they are far less valuable than someone who has mastered the skill.

Wei Xiaokuan quickly rushed to the front, holding a horse spear, and was overjoyed after seeing the situation!

The chaos created by the rain of arrows bought them precious time, preventing the grain transport soldiers from forming a square formation.

(End of this chapter)