readytorunbook Chapter 511 The Great Battle of Dangyang (3)
Chapter 511 The Great Battle of Dangyang (3)
it's dark.
Neither the Han nor the Wei side showed any intention of stopping, but instead continued their relentless attacks on each other by the light of the fire.
Relying on their superior numbers and individual soldier quality, the Wei army continued to advance, filling all the trenches and traps in the Han army's position with corpses, pushing the battle line to within 500 meters of Liu Bei's banner.
But that was the end of it. Liu Bei couldn't really let the Wei army reach him, so he decisively ordered Xia Tong's Heavy Feather Battalion to attack, both to strike the Wei army and to see the strength of this heavy infantry.
Xia Tong was growing taller every day, so he had to change his armor several times. Wearing the armor improved by the steel mill, he took the lead and charged out with a custom-made Mo Dao, slashing fiercely at the Wei cavalry charging towards him...
Then, to the astonishment of Liu Bei and the Wei cavalry, he cleaved the head and neck of the charging warhorse in two. Blood gushed out and splattered all over Xia Tong's face. Before the rider could recover from the shock, he was pinned down by the fallen warhorse.
Xia Tong didn't even glance at the horse carcass, stepping over it and continuing towards the next person. The soldiers of the Chongyu Camp behind him were greatly encouraged by their commander's bravery, and charged into the formation like a maddened pack of beasts, knocking Wei soldiers and horses over.
Riding his warhorse, Wang Shuang rushed forward and, upon seeing his horse split in two, exclaimed in shock, "Damn it, it's the Heavy Feather Camp again! The Armor-Piercing Camp, move out!"
Wang Shuang was a subordinate of Cao Ren. He had suffered losses at the hands of the Chongyu Camp during the standoff with Guan Yu in Jiangdong. Therefore, under Cao Ren's orders, he specially formed an armor-piercing battalion of about three thousand men to target the Chongyu Camp. They were armed with armor-piercing spikes and double-handed hammers, and were also equipped with a small number of chain hammers, intending to use blunt weapons to crush the soldiers of the Chongyu Camp to death.
Wang Shuang was the commander of the Armor-Piercing Battalion. Seeing Xia Tong charging towards them, he decisively ordered the cavalry to retreat, and the Armor-Piercing Battalion stepped forward to engage in a bloody battle with the Heavy Feather Battalion.
Enemies meeting are bound to be furious. Xia Tong flew into a rage upon seeing Wang Shuang, brandishing his Mo Dao and charging forward with all his might, shouting, "You bastard surnamed Wang, I'll kill you tonight!"
The other soldiers of the Chongyu Camp did not have Modao (陌刀), but instead carried Zhanmadao (斩马刀), which required two hands to grip, and followed Xia Tong as they charged towards the Wei army's armor-piercing camp.
The Heavy Feather Camp and the Armor-Piercing Camp were sworn enemies, and they clashed fiercely as soon as they met.
Meng Jun commanded his army to follow behind the Chongyu Camp and encircle the left and right flanks of the Pojia Camp, attempting to join forces with Xia Tong to annihilate the Pojia Camp. However, before they could achieve any success, they attracted even more Wei troops, causing the situation to instantly become chaotic.
Looking at the warhorse that had been split in two by Xia Tong, Liu Bei said excitedly, "What excellent martial arts! Second brother, your disciple is no ordinary person. With proper training, it's not impossible for him to surpass you in martial arts."
Guan Yu angrily cursed, "Damn Cao Ren, he actually created such a freak as the Armor-Piercing Battalion. It's obvious that he's targeting my Chongyu Battalion."
Isn't that obvious? Cao Ren isn't the type to stand his ground. He'd definitely retaliate if he got beaten up, right?
Liu Bei turned his gaze away from the Chongyu Camp and, by the firelight, surveyed the entire battlefield, saying, "The Armor-Piercing Camp is nothing to fear. The real problem is these hateful cavalry. Order all our men to dismount and fight on foot, and then instruct the archers to shoot at any horse they see without hesitation."
The infantry on both sides are now locked in a stalemate, and with the darkness falling, archers might accidentally injure friendly forces even if they shoot at horses instead of men. But who cares about that when the battle is at a stalemate?
However, the stalemate between the two sides also affected the Wei cavalry, as they were prone to running into their own men and dared not charge freely.
Guan Yu frowned and said, "The Wei army has at least 30,000 cavalry on this mission. So far, only 5,000 or 6,000 have charged into the formation. The rest of the cavalry are resting and recuperating. If I'm not mistaken, the cavalry should be flanking us and attacking our left and right flanks or even our rear. And there are the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. I wonder when and from which direction they will attack?"
Liu Bei said, "Second brother, don't worry. Since we know that the Wei army has cavalry, how could I give them the opportunity to flank us and launch a surprise attack? The trenches on the left and right flanks and behind us are much more numerous than those in front. The casualties suffered by the Wei cavalry in a surprise attack will definitely be greater than those in a frontal attack."
Liu Bei was also someone who learned by doing. This time, the defensive fortifications were copied from Zhuge Liang. During the decisive battle of the Northern Expedition, the defensive fortifications built by Zhuge Liang caused Zhang He and Sima Yi to suffer heavy losses. So this time, Liu Bei didn't think twice and simply copied Zhuge Liang's defensive fortifications perfectly.
After Liu Bei ordered the entire Han army to dismount and fight on foot, the cavalry in the formation became the main targets of the Han archers.
Cavalry is faster and more powerful than infantry, but infantry is more agile than cavalry. They can shoot an arrow and run away. Cavalry is blocked by the crowd and cannot catch up in a short time. For a while, the Wei cavalry encountered cold arrows from all directions.
Chang Diao, who had taken command of all the cavalry from Wang's hands, was furious. He ordered his army to charge forward with all their might, crashing into both the Han and Wei armies, trying to break through the battlefield and reach Liu Bei's banner. However, he forgot that Liu Bei's defenses were the strongest.
Who is Liu Bei? He is the commander of hundreds of thousands of Han troops. As the commander of the three armies, how could he be easily killed by the enemy and brought to the front line?
Seeing Chang Diao leading his troops toward them, the archers waiting under the banner quickly stepped forward and formed ranks, ignoring the friendly forces in front of them, and decisively pulled the triggers when they aimed at the Wei cavalry.
A dozen or so ballistae were also aimed at the cavalry, and a dense rain of arrows rained down on the Wei cavalry. One cavalryman was particularly unlucky. He had just been riddled with crossbow bolts and hadn't even hit the ground when a ballistae bolt as thick as a child's arm shot straight at him in the chest. The force of the bolt sent him flying off his horse and crashing to the ground, where he was dead.
Other Wei soldiers suffered the same fate. Even Chang Diao was hit in the shoulder by an arrow. Chang Diao pulled out the arrow shaft, glanced around, and knew that there was no way to retreat. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue charging, preparing to rush into the formation to kill the Han crossbowmen and take one of them down with him before he died.
The cavalry was too fast. The crossbowmen only had a chance to fire one arrow. After firing, before the crossbowmen could reload, the Wei cavalry, with more than one-fifth of their troops killed or wounded under the barrage of arrows, rushed to the front of the battle line.
Unfortunately, there was also a trench covered with wooden planks in front of the crossbowmen. After the crossbowmen grabbed the ropes and pulled the planks away, the Wei cavalry were doomed. They couldn't stop running at high speed and fell into the trench like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
The cavalry in front instinctively slowed down, but the cavalry behind, unaware of the change ahead, did not slow down and ruthlessly crashed into the cavalry in front, knocking the cavalry into the trench and falling in themselves.
The trenches were quickly filled in, and the cavalry that hadn't fallen into them were slowed down by the trenches, losing their greatest advantage: impact.
At this moment, the crossbowmen also changed their arrows and pulled the triggers again at the Wei army that had been forced to stop by the trenches, and the Wei cavalry suffered another fatal blow.
Chang Diao was the first to fall into the ditch, but it must be said that he was really lucky. At the moment of falling, he jumped off the horse and landed in another part of the ditch, avoiding being crushed by the horse. Fortunately, Liu Bei was worried that the ditch was too close to the banner and might injure his own men, so he did not put bamboo skewers in the pit. Otherwise, Chang Diao would be a hedgehog by now.
Chang Diao struggled to climb out of the trench and roared at the soldiers, "Everyone, abandon your horses and fight on foot. Follow me back to the rear!"
He realized that the big-eared bandits had dug countless trenches in front of the banner, and that archers were stationed behind the trenches. Even if all his troops were killed in battle, they might not be able to fill the trenches and reach the other side.
No wonder that big-eared thief set up his banner so close; he was using himself as bait to fish for fish.