Great Han Empire

Chapter 372

"The Journey to the West"

Author: Scarlet Coral
Chapter 7 sweeps like a tiger
Northern Army Changshuiying originally referred to the cavalry composed of Huns and other Huns stationed in Changshui Xuanqu on the outskirts of Luoyang. It has always been the elite of the Northern Army.Since Emperor Xiaoling followed Da Sima Li Hong during the Zhongping period, the scale has gradually expanded. When fighting Xianbei in northern Xinjiang, it was once expanded to tens of thousands of horses.After ZTE, the imperial court rebuilt the Northern Army, and Changshuiying returned to the Northern Army sequence.Changshui Battalion now has a total of [-] cavalry, roughly divided into "armored cavalry" and "hu cavalry". At that time, even the war horses were covered with leather horse armor, and the weapons they used were mostly horse lances and war halberds, which were specially used for charging the battle; Most of the soldiers come from the naturalized Hu tribes, and their riding and shooting kung fu is the best among the armies of the Han Dynasty.

Zhao Guang's troops entered the Changshui camp according to the order, and Liu Tan appointed him as the leader of the vanguard according to the agreement, and assigned him [-] troops, plus his original subordinates, a total of [-] cavalry.Liu Tan also sent him a capable Yamen General to assist him. This man's surname was He Chong and his name was Zai Gan. People in the army called him "Chong Zai Qian". The battalion is extremely brave and good at fighting.When Zhao Guang was about to leave, he begged Pang Hui for Tuobafeng. Together with Luo An and Zhao Neng, he formed his own team.The soldiers of Changshui Camp are famous for being good at fighting and arrogant, but Zhao Guang's father had been the commander of Changshui Camp for many years, and his prestige is still there. When outsiders crowd out.After passing through Zhao Guang and entering the camp, he competed more in martial arts with everyone, and gradually he was convinced.So even though the new official took office in a hurry, everything went well.

Zhao Guang practiced martial arts in the Changshui camp all day long, and his thoughts about Princess Haiya gradually faded. Although he occasionally wanted to check on her situation, he still didn't leave the camp gate in the end.More than ten days later, all the preparations for the three-way army were completed. Generals such as Sima Yi and Pang De opened an altar to worship the heavens, vowed to set off, and the battle of the Han Dynasty to pacify the Western Regions finally officially started.

The army was about to set off, and the Changshui Camp was busy. Fortunately, the Northern Army was a long-time soldier, and the various preparations for the battle were already in full swing. Preparation work.In the account of the chief general of the vanguard team, Zhao Guang, with the help of Zhao Neng, put on his newly distributed battle armor—this is a set of armor specially made for senior officers of the Northern Army, the whole body is silver, and the outer armor is made of fish scales There are sixteen rows of small armor pieces; the inner armor is cut from high-quality cowhide and made of tough brocade, and the chest and back are lined with iron plates.The parts below the belt and the shoulders are still covered with armor to facilitate movement.After putting it on, Zhao Guang raised his spear and danced in the tent. He felt that the armor was not only comfortable to wear, but also there was no hindrance in its operation. "Okay, it's really majestic!" Luo An and He Chong, who were waiting to watch the excitement, couldn't help applauding, Zhao Neng was also pleased, and smiled with his beard.After Zhao Guang danced, he put down his spear and said with a smile: "It's really a good armor, even if you dance with your father's armor at home, it won't fit so well."

"Marquis Zhao is a hero in the world and one of the best generals in the world. His battle armor must also be famous in the world. However, the fish scale armor worn by Zhao Sima is complicated in production and exquisite in design. It was only produced in small quantities after ZTE. The previous armies, both in defense and in use, have been greatly improved. The ones that can be deployed now, looking at the big men, are only the main generals of the Fourth Battalion of the Northern Army." He Chong introduced in detail

"So that's it." Zhao Guang asked Luo An while putting on a cloak over his battle armor, "Luo Yamen, is the team ready?"

"Yes, brothers are all ready to go, my lord..." Luo An sneaked a glance at Zhao Neng in the middle of speaking. Upset? What's the matter?"

"My lord, just now a maid came to the gate of the camp and was stopped by the guards. The officer happened to pass by there, so she asked the officer to give this to the lord." After finishing speaking, Luo An took out a hand-folded stick from his bosom. Pass the silk to Zhao Guang, Zhao Guang unfolds it, and writes a list of beautiful clerical scripts; "Wood, go west all the way, be careful in everything, don't take your own life seriously when you start a war. Haiya." Zhao Guang thought aloud. It was hot, but there was no change on the face.He nodded to Roan, carefully folded the silk, stuffed it into the battle armor, put on the helmet, and walked out of the camp without looking back.

Luo An looked at Zhao Guang's back with some concern, and asked Zhao Neng in a low voice, "Old Zhao, are you alright? Hey, I should give you the letter first."

"My lord has grown up! It should be fine. Some things, it's good to keep them in mind. Who can say clearly what will happen in the future?" Zhao Neng pulled Luo An, "Let's not delay, military orders don't wait for anyone!"

General Zhengxi, Shouyang Hou Pound used troops, always seeking a word of stability.Among the generals of the Great Han Zhongxing, there are many who have outstanding military exploits, but when it comes to the ones who suffer the least damage in each battle, it is impossible to count them.People at the time commented on Pang De's use of troops: "Build a solid formation, build a strong fortress, line up deep, stand in an invincible position, and control the enemy by attacking later."Some old brothers even laughed at him as "General Xuanwu"-this title was later widely spread in the Han army, but Pang De was at ease.

Seek stability tactically, and even more so strategically.Therefore, from the very beginning, Pound resolutely opposed Sima Yi's bold plan to divide the army into three groups.In the military discussion, he once proposed tit for tat that when deploying troops in the Western Regions, one should work together, step by step, take the road to establish prestige, deter the overall situation, and thus make all countries surrender.This old-fashioned strategy for seeking the country, coupled with his reputation in the army, won the support of the majority in the military discussion for a while.But Sima Yi insisted that the purpose of seizing the Western Regions this time is completely different from the previous ones, and the old method is definitely not advisable.He waved his hands violently, and his firm voice resounded through the camp tent: "The Han Dynasty established the country for 400 years, almost settled the Western Regions, and then lost it, why? It's not enough to win the hearts of the West. However, the barbarians are not my race, and their hearts It must be different, and if it is educated, it will not take a hundred years. Therefore, the best strategy is to seize its country, and use the people of the Central Plains to realize it, and live together for a long time, so that the customs of the characters will gradually become the same as those in China." Sima Yi cited a large number of people. For example, to convince everyone that it is not enough to make the countries of the Western Regions surrender. The purpose of this battle is to try to break the old state structure and re-divide and manage the Western Regions with the system of prefectures and states of the Han Dynasty. "This is a long-term strategy, so the army must be divided into three groups, in order to completely wipe out the countries."

"What Zhongda said is certainly reasonable, but after all, we have to take risks!" Pound looked at his army, which was well-equipped and stern, and exuded an overwhelming momentum just by marching, and thought with some concern—he was not serious about the troops. He has no confidence in his combat effectiveness. On the contrary, he knows that the elite level of this army can be said to be superior to all the armies in the Han Dynasty. "Because of this, these soldiers are as precious as gold! If there are too many damages, how can I explain to the emperor!" At this moment, the deputy general Jiang Wu rode over from the front team and said to Pound, "My lord Shuai, at the foot of Beishan (a branch of the Tianshan Mountains) ahead, we found traces of Yanqi's army, and it seems that there are tens of thousands of soldiers."

"Hmph, seeing that our army is not large, why are you so careless and pouring your country's strength? It's ridiculous!" Pang De faintly grasped some key points, and laughed at Jiang Wu, "It's just in time, let's go, old man, let's go together Go see."

After ordering the troops to assemble, Pound immediately went up to observe the enemy's formation.Sure enough, the opponent came here with all the strength of the country, with troops stacked like mountains, swords and guns like forests, there seemed to be 6 to [-] horses.But after a closer look, it was found that although the enemy army on the opposite side had a large number of people, it was obviously insufficiently prepared-there was no barrier to resist horses in the entire enemy formation.The enemy's formation was also quite scattered, unable to line up or line up, and it seemed that they were not in control of each other. Many soldiers even abandoned their weapons under the sun and sat on the ground to wait and see. "Although there are many people, they are nothing more than a rabble!" Pound stroked his beard and came to a conclusion.With a wave of his hand, he said, "Order the Changshuiying iron cavalry to attack!"

At the foot of Beishan Mountain, Yanqi is in the formation.Looking at the Han army slowly gathering on the plain in the distance, King Baiying of Kucha felt faintly uneasy.Kucha was originally a military power in the Western Regions, but since it was pacified by Ban Chao, it has completely abandoned the idea of ​​fighting for hegemony in the Western Regions.For more than a hundred years, the successive kings of Kucha have been at peace with their internal affairs, resting with the people, marrying and being friendly with other countries, and admiring the Buddhism introduced from Tianzhu at home. Although the country is powerful, the people have long neglected wars. Thousands of people are actually useless.This time the big man came to the west again, Baiying didn't want to resist at first, but was told by his brother-in-law King Yanqi that the big man came here with only a few thousand men and horses, and the combined strength of the two countries can be ten times, why did he surrender lightly?Although Bai Ying was a little afraid of the might of the Han, she was still the lord of a country. After thinking for a long time, she finally made up her mind and brought 3 horses to join Yanqi, a total of [-] troops, to stop the Han army.Bai Ying firmly grasped the Buddhist beads in her hand, and repeatedly made a wish to the Buddha, "Bless the Buddha, I don't want to lightly use weapons, but the situation forces me to do so. If I survive this time by chance, I will build a seven-story pagoda in the capital to enshrine it. ..."

The youthful and vigorous King Kru of Yanqi looked down upon his brother-in-law's cowardice.He also had some calculations in his mind: If he could take this opportunity to annihilate this Han army, his prestige would definitely increase greatly. By that time, would there be any small countries around Zhou who would dare to resist our army's prestige?Brother-in-law, a worthless guy, occupying a large piece of rich land is useless anyway, why not use my capital to dominate the Western Regions in the future.

The two were thinking about their own thoughts, when they suddenly heard an exclamation from the front: "Buddha! The Han army is rushing over." "What!" Both of them were shocked. Looking around, there were thousands of armor The distinctive cavalry left the Han army's position, formed a cone formation, and quickly attacked here.The Han army saw the grand occasion of their own army, and they attacked with only a few thousand people?What are they thinking?Do you think you have a diamond body protector?

It was the [-] cavalry from the Changshui Camp who attacked the coalition forces of Yanqi and Kucha.I saw Jia cavalry in the front and Hu cavalry in the back. As they got closer to the enemy formation, the general Liu Tan waved his hand, and the Hu cavalry in the rear separated their wings and spread out, forming the shape of crane wings. Shooting, the armored cavalry moves closer to the center, forming a sharp arrow shape, holding up the horse lance and spear, shouting and starting to charge.

The soldiers on the outer layer of the Yanqi and Qiuci army were just about to raise their spears to meet them, but they were shot down by a rain of arrows. Before the soldiers in the back row could react, the cavalry had already plunged into the formation and quickly cut open the enemy's formation. .Zhao Guang's white horse with a silver spear rushed to the forefront, the spear was like a pear blossom in a rainstorm, and the enemy would often fall down clutching his neck as soon as they met each other. Seeing how brave the general was, all the riders' morale was greatly boosted. For a flock of sheep, killing the enemy is like cutting melons and vegetables. "Spread away! Scatter quickly!" Seeing that the intrusion has been completed, Zhao Guang commanded the vanguard to change formation loudly.Within a few breaths, the sharp arrows turned into countless hammers, spread out and smashed in all directions, overturning the enemies row by row like a tsunami, and they died if they touched them.The front line of the allied forces collapsed immediately, and the soldiers dropped their helmets and armor one after another, and fled backwards.What a joke, this is not an enemy army, it is clearly the Asura demon that the elders said!How can the power of ghosts and gods be resisted by mere manpower.

"My Buddha is merciful! Hurry up! Guard!" The Han rider was still a hundred feet away. King Baiying of Kucha couldn't bear it anymore and shouted loudly. Finally, King Kelu of Yanqi couldn't bear it anymore and grabbed his collar and shouted. Said: "Brother! The Han army only broke up 1 troops in front of our army, and we still have [-] troops. As long as we arrange it carefully, the advantage is still on our side!" ..." As if answering Crewe, the sound of horns came from the Han army's position in the distance, and the main formation of the Han army finally moved.

"Nonsense! Now you still want me to die, don't think I don't know what you have in mind! Those in front are demons! Why resist, everyone run for their lives." Bai Ying hurriedly pushed Ke away. Lu, surrounded by attendants, turned and fled.Crewe sighed, looked around, and found that the warriors who used to rely on were also full of fear, and couldn't help being disheartened. He watched the Han army not far away divide and surround the crying coalition soldiers like hunting, and took their lives. The last trace of the dignity of the king was ignited in my heart.He pulled out the scimitar from his waist and said loudly: "All Agni (another name of Yanqi) warriors, I alone caused the disaster today. You can bring your own troops to escape. As the king, Crewe Can't ignore the slaughtered people in front of me, and follow me to death, follow me! Buddha bless Agni!" After speaking, he waved his sword and rushed forward alone. The generals around him saw it, gritted their teeth, and They all followed their king and killed the Han army.

In this battle, the Han army won a great victory, beheading more than 23 people and forced to surrender 440. King Kru of Yanqi fought to the death and was devoured by thousands of arrows. .The Han army suffered a total of [-] casualties in this battle.

(End of this chapter)