After a short rest, the Xixia people surged forward with the white ox banner pushing forward.
This time, the young men did not risk their lives against the blades and spears again. Instead, they formed a line and drew their bows, pouring arrows under the command of the foreign cavalry behind them... The order they received was simple: they could retreat after all the arrows on their bodies were shot.
One side's arrows were as dense as rain, and the other side's crossbows were as powerful as thunder. The two sides were separated by a distance and engaged in an all-round non-contact combat, which made the Song army happy and worried.
The good news is that after the Xixia people gave up the frontal melee, the Song soldiers in the battle array would relax a little from a psychological point of view, because face-to-face melee is very destructive to people's willpower. Not only that, compared with the previous melee, which actually temporarily stopped the movement of the outer battle line, if it was just a long-range attack, the Song army at this time could completely put up outer shields, wear heavy armor, and continue to move.
But the worry is that arrows have no eyes. If the Xixia people insist on shooting arrows at each other on a large scale, whether they use shields, rotations, or heavy armor, there will inevitably be a considerable exchange of casualties.
After all, the number of the other side is still too large.
The senior officers of the Song army had to consider the occurrence of considerable casualties.
"It won't continue like this."
Just in case, Qu Duan added a silk horse cover to the Iron Elephant while walking slowly and carefully deducing, "If we continue to waste time like this, their actions today will be meaningless. This action must be just a cover for some other action."
"Where is the cover on the battlefield?" Hu Hongxiu, who was also wearing leather armor under Yue Fei's order, shook his head when he heard this.
"There must be a backup plan..." Yue Fei was fine, but how could he stand facing Hu Hongxiu and Qu Duan. "Minister Hu is a first-rate scout, and this time he has made a great contribution, but he is still a little lacking in the military formation."
Hu Hongxiu glanced at Qu Duan and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Yue Fei finally spoke up to explain for Hu Hongxiu: "Minister Hu is not what Qu Dutong thinks... Everyone can see that the Tanguts must have a backup plan. What Minister Hu meant is that the Xixia people have reached the point of fighting desperately, and they are a group of people who were hastily gathered in three or four days, so everyone actually has hope, it's just a matter of how much."
Qu Duan was stunned for a moment, and instinctively wanted to argue, but thinking of the old woman from the Tangut, he did not refute it after all. And not only the scene just now, but also Qu Da understood in his heart that Yue Fei and Hu Hongxiu were calmer and what they said made more sense.
In the final analysis, the Song army seized the gap in the Xixia people's defense and suddenly attacked here with a deadly attitude. At this time, the Xixia people were not prepared at all, and they were extremely frightened... So at this time, any military action they took was hasty and panic, so the seemingly fierce attack could be easily defeated by the Song army's imperial camp troops who were ready for battle; but at the same time, any military action of these Dangxiang people was also crazy and desperate, so no matter how absurd and useless the attack seemed, it should not be underestimated.
In war, thick armor and sharp swords are of course important, but human will cannot be ignored in this era, especially when there is a huge numerical bonus. No one knows what the Xixia people will do when faced with fear and despair.
In fact, as the shooting continued, an unconventional and bloody situation soon emerged on the Xixia side:
Maybe there were too many casualties in the previous round of hand-to-hand combat, and these warriors are still a little frightened. Or maybe the ratio of casualties when they faced the Song army archers without armor made them feel desperate, so soon some deserters tried to take advantage of the opportunity to appear... This is natural... Many deserters tried to retreat by throwing away their quivers to get away, but what they got in return was the bloody suppression from the foreign cavalry behind them.
One after another, any of the warriors who dared to retreat at this time were directly executed on the ridges of the fields by the foreign cavalry, taking advantage of the height advantage of their war horses and the length advantage of their spears... In the specific process, seven or eight foreign cavalrymen would rush forward and stab the retreating warriors with seven or eight bloody holes. The executed warriors would often just wail a few times before falling to the ground dead.
When the killing efficiency of the supervisors in the rear was higher than that of the Song army in the front, and the incident happened suddenly, these grassroots tribesmen still had a certain obedience to the Dangxiang nobles and the Great Baigao Kingdom under the system, not to mention the existence of the national leader's banner...so the front line was quickly stabilized.
But this way of dealing with things is doomed to not last long.
"I really used up all my arrows!" Finally, someone retreated and shouted to the foreign cavalry who were supervising the battle, speaking in Guanxi Chinese. "I have always been the fastest and most stable archer in the tribe!"
Several foreign cavalrymen immediately rushed forward with spears in hand, and the voice responded quickly, half pleading, half stubborn and arrogant:
"I'm not kidding you. I just didn't go to Hengshan because I'm old. I have a horse at home, too. I could have given it to you, but I gave it to my grandson temporarily!"
This chaos seemed particularly jarring on the battlefield that had just regained some order, and it directly attracted the attention of Liang Wang Weiming Anhui, who was standing under the white bull banner not far behind, to look up. But when he looked up, he did not find the old soldier who was defending himself, but only saw a group of foreign cavalry who were dispersing and returning to their troops, their spears in their hands already stained red with blood.
At the same time, the young seedlings that were trampled on the ground still stood up stubbornly and, together with the ridges of the fields, covered many things.
Not finding what he was looking for, Weiming Anhui continued to look forward, and then became a little speechless... This was because as far as he could see, at the outermost part of the Song army's marching formation opposite, many shield bearers' shields had already been densely studded with arrows, but they were still moving.
Even looking further inside, on the side of the bow and crossbow phalanx that was staggered from the mixed spear and shield phalanx, many of the outer Song army archers had their bodies half studded with arrows, like hedgehogs, yet they were still able to move freely. They took a few steps, then stopped to exchange crossbows from the Song soldiers behind them, and calmly fired at the Western Xia troops with the crossbows that had already been set up.
Obviously, the Song army archers also wore armor, iron masks and iron scarves, so only a few parts such as the armpits would be fatal.
Of course, the other side did suffer casualties, but compared with the casualties of their own Dangxiang army, it was really disproportionate... In sharp contrast, the Song army's seemingly random crossbow arrows often hit not only the nearby soldiers, but also the foreign cavalry on the periphery, who would be knocked to the ground with their horses.
This is normal. As a member of the Xixia royal family who began to lead troops in his twenties, Weiming Anhui certainly knew the importance of armor. The Bubazi, Tieyaozi, and a few Beiwei troops by the noble's side were all core elites that were firmly remembered by the Song army because of the exquisite and dazzling Xixia armor.
But there is no way now. The national strength of Western Xia is limited. Weiming Chage took away most of the military reserves of Xingqing Prefecture, and the reserves in Lingzhou were also taken to Hexi. In the current situation, Western Xia has done its best.
After watching for a while, thinking for a while, An Hui, who was pressed in front of the formation, was silent for a moment. After a while, for some reason, he did not hesitate anymore, and directly ordered a golden-armored warrior: "The warriors have tried their best today, but Xingqing Prefecture is just ahead, and we must not relax... You go back and tell the king that after the warriors finish shooting this round, send half of the light cavalry to rush up and continue shooting. After the light cavalry finish shooting, let the warriors pick up the arrows on the ground and shoot again, and then the remaining half of the light cavalry will continue shooting. Be sure to keep a distance and suppress them in turns... All those with armor, follow me!"
The Xixia generals were completely shocked, and the golden-armored warrior was immediately ordered to ride away from the team and head towards Li Qianshun's location.
Of course, with Weiming Anhui's move this time, the Song army immediately realized the other party's intention.
"It's the rear of the team!" Liu Qi, who first noticed this, rode over and reported to Yue Fei urgently. "Jiedu, the white bull banner of the Xixia leader is heading to the rear. I think the Xixia people are concentrating their forces to attack the rear of our team!"
"I see." Yue Fei finally became serious, but still showed no mercy. "Deputy Commander Liu, return to the team immediately and do not easily shake the formation you lead!"
"Yes!" Liu Qi hesitated for a moment, but still responded and left.
"Immediately send someone to tell Zhang Jing at the end of the team to keep steady and try not to stop, and to keep up with the whole army." After Liu Qi left, Yue Fei turned his head to the messenger behind him, and then looked at Qu Duan. "General Qu... I will not go to the end of the team. The armored cavalry of the central army is with you. You will command. If you can take down the white bull banner, the Xixia foreign soldiers will surely be defeated, and today's battle will be considered a success. If you can take down the head of the Xixia king, it will be a credit no less than that of Xingqing Prefecture... I will leave it to you."
Qu Duan was caught off guard for a moment, but soon became excited and responded immediately.
However, when Qu Da could not wait to order the armored cavalry in the center to stand still, and then turned his horse's head and was about to gallop to the end of the armored cavalry, he saw Yue Fei and Hu Hongxiu and others leading the big flag to turn into the ranks of civilians near the river and continue to march. He could not help but turn his head and shout: "Jiedu...are you still going to continue to lead the big flag?"
"As long as our town's banner keeps marching, the morale of the Xixia people will continue to decline." Yue Fei raised his hand on his horse without even turning his head. "Compared to the peripheral soldiers and General Qu, it's much easier. Let's take a break today and watch General Qu succeed!"
Qu Duan sneered and turned his horse around again, but turned back again and shouted loudly in the noisy battlefield: "Jiedu Yue... I also want the command of the other armored cavalry in the formation!"
Yue Fei raised his hand again on his horse, still without turning his head: "Xuan!"
Following these words, dozens of Yue Fei's elite guards who also served as messengers jumped out of their horses and headed towards Qu Duan. For a moment, Yue Fei was left with only Hu Hongxiu and a large banner behind him.
Of course, the banner is still moving forward.
"Woo~~"
The Western Xia people acted quickly. Qu Duan had just gained command of the cavalry, and had not yet ordered the cavalry to turn their horses around and take action when a horn suddenly sounded from the side and rear of the imperial camp. The sound was powerful and penetrating. The next moment, the soldiers of both armies, attracted by the sound of the horn, saw with their own eyes that the eye-catching white ox banner was indeed rushing to the rear of the team with great momentum, and did not stop until it was more than a hundred steps away from the Song army formation. It was as if the king himself was holding a bow and fighting at the front line.
At this moment, the surrounding Xixia foreign cavalry and Zhuang Linglang seemed to go crazy for a moment, and suddenly burst into shocking shouts of killing, and this madness immediately swept the entire battlefield. The foreign cavalry and Zhuang Linglang swarmed forward and shot at the Song army regardless of life and death. From time to time, the foreign cavalry without any armor rode their horses and howled into the Song army in front of them under the rain of arrows from both sides, seeking some kind of replacement in a suicidal way.
Of course, this attack, which was too obvious, was met with concentrated sniping by the Song army and could not be carried out. However, the Xixia people still found a new suicide attack tactic - many Xixia cavalry, after throwing the quiver to the boy, chose to gallop and throw the spear!
It can only be said that the Xixia people's move was, firstly, unexpected and a sudden outbreak; secondly, it was a swarm of infantry and cavalry, with continuous suppression of long-range arrows and close-range suicidal spear throwing. Although the momentum was more powerful than the previous surprise attack, it still had a certain rationality... Therefore, the Song army's formation finally began to waver, and the frequency of casualties in many formations in a short period of time exceeded the total of all previous casualties.
What was even more terrible was that the uneven quality of each unit was clearly evident. Some military formations were obviously shaken, and the rotation of military formations became out of control, forcing the marching commander to come forward personally to adjust the formation and enforce military discipline.
For a time, the number of wavering soldiers executed by the Song army on the battlefield actually exceeded the direct casualties in this situation... The situation was no different from before.
The casualty pattern on both sides in this battle was strange from the beginning.
"Your Majesty." Amid the shouts and cries that almost shook the Helan Mountains and the Yellow River, the only remaining warrior in golden armor on a ridge three or four hundred steps away from the front line could not help but remind his king. "Before leaving, the King of Liang asked me to leave a message for the king, asking him to rotate the Zhuanglinglang and the light cavalry, and the light cavalry should also be divided into two groups, with the front and back formations supervising the front formations, using the wheel tactics, and continue to exert pressure..."
Li Qianshun, who was nearly fifty years old, had a flushed face. He was slightly startled when he heard the words, but then he slowly shook his head: "It doesn't matter... When King Liang said this at the time, he probably didn't expect that my White Bull Banner would be so powerful once it moved. Only with such a strong force around can King Liang be more easily successful at the end of the team... Don't rotate."
The warrior in golden armor hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement.
The Xixia people outside were like an overwhelming force, almost drowning out the sound of the waves of the Yellow River... and at the rear of the Song army's imperial camp, the old-school commander of the imperial camp's central army, Zhang Jing, and his subordinates also suffered an unprecedented blow.
This is indeed the weakest point of the entire queue... Unlike the imagined long strip array with its back to the river, its weak point must be the center of the strip. Weiming Anhui was keenly aware that it was impossible to hold down the two ends of the Song army array in front of him and attack the middle, which would be a dead end. On the contrary, since the enemy army array was always moving, and the Xixia army's goal was not to annihilate the enemy or defeat the enemy by the river, but to prevent the enemy from continuing to move, then at this time, the weakest point of this moving queue naturally became the tail of the long strip.
Because in this place, the Song army's emergency combat formation needs to maintain protection on both sides at the same time. Moreover, although it is not known whether the formation at the front of the queue is mainly composed of Zhang Xian's most elite troops in the front army of the Imperial Camp, Weiming Anhui can still see that Zhang Jing's troops at the end of the team are still slightly inferior to those at the head of the team.
In addition, as a veteran, Weiming An Hui noticed another important battlefield factor early on, that is, in early summer, the breeze blows from south to north, which originally made the Song army's advance smooth, but on the other hand, if the tail of the Song army was "pursued" from the rear, the Song army would have to retreat against the wind.
In fact, Zhang Jing's troops encountered this extreme dilemma right from the start.
His combat formation was constantly under fire from the Xixia light cavalry and Zhuang Linglang on the flanks, while from behind he was also under attack from the real Xixia core combat power... arrows and javelins almost suffocated his men, and because they had to withstand attacks from both sides at the same time, they were unable to even rotate their troops.
But at the same time, he received orders that he was not allowed to send out cavalry to counterattack without authorization, nor was he allowed to stop the troops' advance.
In desperation, Zhang Jing could only order his troops to hold up their shields and retreat.
But that was not all. Soon, a worse situation emerged. The Xixia people at the rear began to consciously look for loose soil, wrap it with cloth, and whenever the wind blew, they would blow the soil with the wind. Then some armored Xixia cavalry followed the dust and launched a close combat attack.
For a time, the losses of Zhang Jing's troops far exceeded those of other places.
But they were not really afraid of losses. What really damaged their morale was that, in the current situation, they could not launch any effective counterattack against the army in the rear and could only passively take the beating, passive deaths and injuries, and they could not even discover and help their own dead and wounded soldiers in time, and could only be forced to abandon them... and the corpses of the Song army's imperial camp soldiers left on the ground were picked up with spears by the Xixia people who were constantly pursuing them as a provocation. The few wounded were even reduced to tools for the Xixia people to provoke the Song army when there was no dust.
Less than a quarter of an hour after the war suddenly became intense, Zhang Jing, who had been the main commander of Emperor Zhao's army since Huaishang, became furious and immediately allowed a few of his subordinates who had gone out to fight back without authorization.
Frankly speaking, as a veteran of the Western Army who was able to participate in core military discussions, Zhang Jing was very clear that the two orders he had received before were absolutely correct and rational... He knew the fundamental significance of this battle, which was to persist in marching. As long as they could ensure that they could launch an attack on the empty Xingqing Prefecture tomorrow, they would win. He also knew that if he rushed out with a team of foreign cavalry and a team of armored cavalry, they would be destined to become prey to the Western Xia light cavalry.
However, the problem is, even if he knows it in his heart, how can he control his emotions? In the Battle of Yaoshan, his people died much more than this time, but the problem is, are the main force of the Jurchen Western Army the same as the group of tribal soldiers hastily gathered by the Xixia people to save the situation? Are dying in battle the same as being able to passively take the beating?
The elite soldiers who followed him into the pass this time cost him 100 strings of cash a year to support each one! Yet they were shot to death by a group of barbarians wearing blue cotton jackets, and they couldn't fight back?
Moreover, if they continued like this, by the time they set up camp at dark, the entire army would probably have less than a thousand casualties, except for the few teams he led, who would probably have five hundred deaths!
Who can bear it?
"Is that what Lao Zhang said?" Qu Duan, sitting upright on the Iron Elephant, frowned upon hearing this. "Are there so many casualties back there?"
"Let the commander-in-chief know that our commander said that the casualties were not serious, but he just couldn't stand it." Zhang Jing's messenger pulled his mount in a circle and replied anxiously. "Our commander also said that if the governor doesn't come to support within a quarter of an hour, he..."
"The governor is not here." Qu Duan interrupted and reminded the other party condescendingly. "The governor has given me the command of the central army and the dispatch of all cavalry."
"Then it's the Commander-in-Chief!" The messenger with a Guanxi accent kept urging. "Commander-in-Chief Qu, my commander said that if the Commander-in-Chief doesn't come to rescue within a quarter of an hour, he has only one thing to entrust to you..."
"What is it?"
"Please ask the commander-in-chief to avenge him!" After saying this, the messenger ignored Qu Duan and rode back.
Qu Duan was stunned for a moment, and finally understood the information contained in Zhang Jing's words. He couldn't help but sneer, then turned around and looked around: "Old Zhang is anxious."
However, the surrounding armored cavalry, including Yue Fei's personal guards, were all silent after hearing this. They just looked at Qu Da without saying a word. Qu Da also came to his senses again and then sneered.
The sun shone down from the Helan Mountains and then rippled on the Yellow River. It was a magnificent scene, but the war continued. Bows and crossbows were still fired outside, and the Xixia people were still ruthless and refused to retreat. Every moment, blood was soaking the land and young crops on the line of battle hundreds of steps away. At the same time, Yue Fei and Hu Hongxiu continued to lead the big banner and continued to move forward slowly. Then suddenly, the horns of their own family sounded behind them.
"Did the Jiedushi expect this, so he deliberately transferred the command of the cavalry?" Hu Hongxiu looked back and couldn't help but reveal his doubts.
"Yes." Yue Fei did not defend himself, or rather, he was too lazy to defend himself. "But it was not that complete... I had expected the Xixia people to go to Zhang Jing's place, and the two thousand armored cavalry of the central army were originally prepared to ambush them in the formation, but I realized it when they were right in front of me. On the battlefield, no matter how good the idea is, it is just an idea, and people's hearts still have to follow, otherwise the gain will outweigh the loss... In addition, it makes sense for the commander-in-chief not to go into battle himself, so I simply let Qu Dutong do it, and he just wanted to get some credit."
Hu Hongxiu nodded immediately: "Qu Dutong should have the same idea as the governor. I just saw him order the 2,000 armored cavalry to turn around, but then they dismounted and did not move. It seems that he also has an ambush in the battle formation, waiting for the rear army to naturally retreat to the front, and then launch a surprise attack."
Yue Fei nodded in approval.
"But they still took the initiative in the end." Hu Hongxiu sighed. "In fact, the strategy of Jiedu and Qu Dutong was the best. If Zhang Tongzhi could be more patient..."
"Why would Zhang Jing abandon his own soldiers for the sake of the overall situation?" Unexpectedly, Yue Fei chose to shake his head this time. "It's not like the time in Jingdong. The bravest of the two sides wins when they meet on a narrow road. Both sides have no choice, so we asked General Tian to make a sacrifice. This time, the overall situation is on my side. How can I sacrifice one unit for the sake of being safe ? Therefore, when the Xixia people retreated just now, I realized that Zhang Jing, a commander of the imperial camp with such qualifications, is arrogant in his bones. If I force him to do it, he might fight for his life... At that time, it would be in vain to ruin the morale and people's hearts of the whole army."
"Having said that, how did the Jiedushi expect Qu Dutong to go to the rescue?" Hu Hongxiu thought for a moment and continued to ask.
"Because the emperor often lectured him about his inability to rally his allies and subordinates during marches and battles, he still said he was dismissive of such things, but he still took it to heart... Compared to his personal military achievements, he was actually more afraid of being disliked by the emperor."
"It's hard to be a general." Hu Hongxiu was slightly startled when he heard this, but he avoided the topic of the government, which he was not good at. "You have to consider your relatives and friends, your merits and demerits, your superiors and subordinates, and you have to ensure that the overall situation is not lost."
"What kind of difficulty is this?" Yue Fei sneered upon hearing this. "It's not like the Jingkang Incident, when so many people risked their lives just to survive. We don't need to worry about it, but who wants to go back to that time? The so-called difficulty of our army now is only the difficulty of not being blamed for the great victory."
Hu Hongxiu also laughed for a moment, but after he finished laughing, he sighed again: "The Xixia people don't need to care about it at this time."
"So that's why." Yue Fei turned his head and looked towards the west, towards the Helan Mountains. The Xixia people there were still going crazy. "The Xixia people thought they could survive by doing this, but we know better than them that they lost their chance early on... Because we have experienced more desperate situations than they have, we knew from the beginning that they were using the wrong strength... Without armor or weapons, and gathering in a hurry, how can we win even if we are crazy and ruthless? We are just deceiving ourselves."
"There are many similarities in the world, not only before and after, but also not far apart, and between the north, south, east and west. It is absolutely impossible to change... Didn't we deceive ourselves so many times in the past? What was the result?" Hu Hongxiu also turned his head and sighed. "Only our country is bigger, and we can still survive step by step. What about the Xixia people?"
Yue Fei nodded in vain.
As Yue and Hu were talking more and more, two or three miles away, in the direction of the early summer breeze, as Qu Duan hesitated and decided to come to the rescue, the two thousand armored cavalry of the central army finally launched a surprise attack, greatly alleviating the predicament of Zhang Jing's troops. At the same time, the various emergency formations of the Song army also followed Qu Da's previous order and used this surprise attack as a signal to let go. For a while, the armored cavalry and light cavalry, which had been extremely frustrated, attacked together, swarming out from the gaps expected by the infantry formation, and launched a full-scale counterattack against the Xixia people.
Faced with the charge of the Song cavalry, the Xixia people, who were already blood-thirsty, chose to meet them head-on.
The war suddenly entered the decisive stage.
To be honest, human life is fragile, so anything can happen on the battlefield. There were commander-level officers in the imperial camp who were hit by stray arrows, and some archers wearing leather armor were shot like hedgehogs but were still alive and kicking. Similarly, there were Tangut nobles who had passed down the family for generations but suddenly made their families extinct, and there were also crazy Tangut boys who rushed to the front of the Song army and threw spears and successfully escaped.
However, these miraculous low-probability events will always be easily eliminated based on the huge numbers of the warring parties, and will be replaced by things such as armor, weapons, training level, morale, etc. that actually affect the exchange ratio between the two sides.
Thanks to these factors, the Song army gained the upper hand, but the Xixia people, who should have retreated, still had no intention of retreating and they were holding on.
By the river, Hu Hongxiu and Yue Fei were still moving slowly. Looking at this scene, although a little dazed, they were not too confused... Yue Fei had experienced the entire Song-Jin War, from Hebei to the Central Plains, and had seen too many distorted expressions of human nature in war. Hu Hongxiu had just returned from the Western Xia Kingdom and knew something about the Western Xia people. They knew very well why the Western Xia people were so crazy.
To put it bluntly, whether it is the White Bull Banner or defending the country, they are certainly reasons, but for these low-level Xixia tribal members who cannot even enter the army, these are just reasons.
The country of Western Xia was warlike and devoted to Buddhism and witchcraft. That was how the lower-class people lived. It has been better in recent years, but it has not changed the nature of the country.
Of course, they are living people after all, and they will soon be awakened by the blood and then completely collapse.
However, just when the entire Western Xia army was going crazy, one Western Xia army wisely chose to retreat... Under the White Ox Banner, Western Xia Liang Wang Weiming Anhui did not hesitate at all. After seeing the large number of Song cavalry rushing out aggressively, he directly chose to retreat according to the tactics of this battle.
In fact, Weiming An Hui's army was currently commanding the only temporarily assembled armored cavalry of the Xixia people, all of whom were sons of nobles from Xingqing Prefecture. Logically, he had no need to retreat, and he could even take advantage of the favorable wind and the courage to defend his country to fight Qu Duan.
However, isn’t this for the greater good?
What is the overall situation? The overall situation is that the main force of the Western Xia army is still unarmored light cavalry. Facing the armored cavalry of the Song army, they should take the initiative to retreat, lure the Song cavalry out of the protective range of the army formation, and then use the advantage of the light cavalry to wear down the enemy.
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with Weiming Anhui's actions.
However, when the Xixia commander left the front line and moved to the safe rear, he was shocked to find that the main force of the Xixia had made a huge and fatal mistake at some point. The tribal light cavalry actually squeezed together with the Song army's armored cavalry and light cavalry, and then engaged in direct hand-to-hand combat with the Song army's armored cavalry and light cavalry.
This means that when the Song cavalry gains the upper hand, the crowded formations of the Western Xia army will leave the entire army with no tactical space to properly evacuate... When the light cavalry loses its room for maneuver, it also loses its greatest tactical role, and is likely to lose its flexibility and retreat across the board.
Last night, Li Qianshun kept telling me why we had to fight this battle? After I decided to go to the front line myself, what message did I leave for Li Qianshun? Why did I choose to retreat just now?
After all, isn't it because of the mobility of the light cavalry that it can only be effective in the wild? This is the only advantage of the Xixia army facing such a well-disciplined army at this time!
But in the current situation, how should we deploy light cavalry to hunt down the Song army's armored cavalry?
"The Song army's armored cavalry didn't fall for it." A golden-armored warrior beside Weiming Anhui became a little anxious and pointed directly at Qu Duan's flag. "It should be Qu Da. Qu Da is leading this army personally. I'm afraid he has to go back."
Following the other party's pointing, Weiming Anhui took a look at the direction of Qu Duan's flag, and suddenly his face turned pale.
Before he could say anything, a tribal leader nearby made a judgment with a dark face: "He is not going back, he is going to turn around and attack our light cavalry from the outside."
As soon as these words came out, several knowledgeable golden-armored warriors and several tribal leaders were all pale. At this time, they had realized the problem just like Weiming An Hui, just as Qu Duan on the opposite side realized the problem... At this time, the Western Xia light cavalry and Zhuang Linglang were too crowded.
And once Qu Duan led these two thousand armored cavalry along the outer line, cutting through the Song army's formation and pushing northward, there would be no need to wait until someone could not hold on. This battle would probably result in a total defeat, with rivers of blood.
After hesitating for a moment, the gray-haired Weiming Anhui suddenly turned his head and gave an order: "Follow me and charge back!"
The surrounding warriors, whether in gold or iron armor, were all shaken. Although they didn't know why, it was a fact that the light cavalry had abandoned their strengths. Now the situation was already disadvantageous to them. If they went back at this time, what would happen if they failed?
But soon, the King of Liang gave a sufficient reason: "We only saw the big banner withdrawing from the front, but no one rushed back. I am afraid that the morale will be damaged. Moreover, the king is in the front, and we can't let Qu Da go there! On the contrary, if we can succeed in the first charge and defeat Zhang Jing, or capture Qu Da, we can retreat from this battle unscathed, and the Song army will not dare to continue marching."
The reasons are sufficient, but the same thing applies: what if we fail?
Because the safety of the king was the only concern, the golden-armored warriors beside the white ox banner were the first to respond. Many other tribal leaders and noble sons' leaders were speechless when they saw King Liang and the golden-armored warriors make the decision.
A moment later, the horn sounded again, and the White Bull Banner immediately turned back.
This time, this conspicuous large banner was thrust into the Song army's formation without hesitation. At this moment, on the Yinchuan Plain, the last decent fighting force of Western Xia was completely unrestrained and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the well-equipped Song army.
The enemy was coming with great force. Zhang Jing no longer cared about any military orders and directly ordered his troops to stop marching northward and instead set up a battle formation on the spot to face Bai Niu Hu.
Seeing the sudden change here, Qu Duan changed his tactical choice for the second time. He reined in his horse, turned around with the Iron Elephant with a silk cover, and personally charged towards the white bull banner, but from the flank, as if trying to completely cover the white bull banner.
There was a chaotic fight between the two sides in three places.
The battlefield here was no different from the surrounding places for a moment, with blood and flesh flying everywhere and lives as precious as paper. But there was no doubt that Qu Duan's 2,000 armored cavalry were not only extremely strong, but also had been conserving their energy, so Qu Duan had a slight advantage at the beginning.
At this point in the battle, both sides were fighting for consumption and waiting. But there was no doubt that the Song army was the stronger side, especially those unarmored and crowded light cavalry and fighting men, who were unknown when they would collapse, and then trigger a chain reaction.
However, as the fierce battle continued for more than a quarter of an hour, an active evacuation finally occurred. But the first to evacuate were not the light cavalry of any Western Xia tribe, but the armored cavalry of Xingqing Prefecture in front of Qu Duan. These noble sons of Xingqing Prefecture who were temporarily recruited were the first to lose their discipline after discovering that they could not withstand the armored cavalry of the Song army.
At first, it was just scattered nobles' sons, then groups, and finally the entire army was shaken and collapsed. These people finally hardened their hearts and turned around to flee, leaving Liang Wang Weiming Anhui and the king's Bai Niu Banner, as well as the infantrymen who were descendants of the tribes at the foot of the Helan Mountains, to be surrounded by the Song cavalry led by Qu Duan.
The benefits of this are obvious. They can escape back to Xingqing Prefecture and assist the king in continuing to defend his homeland.
The price of this was also very obvious. It was all their fault that Bai Niu Banner and Bu Ba Zi were surrounded. It was conceivable that once Bai Niu Banner was submerged, countless tribal light cavalry and Zhuang Linglang on the battlefield would be drained of their strength and would collapse directly. However, due to the extremely tight formation, it would be difficult to turn around for a while and they would fall into the massacre of the Song army.
The afternoon sun is neither too hot nor too soft, and the Yellow River flows neither too fast nor too slow.
The Buba tribes on the periphery were caught up in the massacre, and many of them began to try to jump into the river. Their destruction was almost imminent, but Weiming An Hui, protected by the golden-armored warriors, still sat under the white ox banner, but he did not utter a word... A familiar tribal leader took off his armor and jumped into the river, and tried to persuade him to join in, but he turned a deaf ear to them.
The golden-armored warriors also realized what King Liang meant. This Shangfu, whom Li Qianshun had been wary of for half his life, was determined to hold on until the last moment to buy time for the king and even for the noble children of Xingqing Prefecture who had just betrayed them.
If you cannot win this battle, you can still defend the city. If you cannot defend the city, you can still escape... The Dabai Gao Kingdom has been established for a hundred years. No matter whether it is useful or not, there should always be someone who tries their best.
It has to be said that Weiming An Hui's action was successful. The armored cavalry led by Qu Duan and the soldiers under Zhang Jing all noticed this side and gave up the pursuit. They were determined to capture the golden-crowned Dangxiang nobleman who was being guarded at all costs by the golden-armored warriors under the white ox banner.
And then they succeeded.
The blood-stained white ox banner that still looked extremely beautiful was snatched away by Wang Jing's subordinates at the risk of their lives, and the golden crown with a slightly bent outer beam was snatched away by Qu Duan's subordinates. The surrounding Xixia tribal cavalry also began to gradually disintegrate as the banner fell, but the head with gray hair and beard was angrily thrown into the Yellow River by Qu Duan.
The King of Liang of Western Xia, who made indelible contributions to the archaeology of Western Xia in later generations, was buried in the Yellow River with his head and body separated. The tomb he built at the foot of the Helan Mountains was now empty, and it was impossible for any words to be passed down through it to let his name be passed down to future generations.
There is no way. Even now, the name Weiming Anhui has been forgotten for a long time. After confirming this person's identity, everyone was disappointed... It should be noted that with Xingqing Prefecture in front, the battle is a foregone conclusion. Compared with the great achievement that will be achieved tomorrow, a so-called King Liang is really worthless.
The collapse caused by the fall of Bainiu Banner continued and swept across the entire riverside battlefield. Yue Fei, who took over the command again, did not hesitate at all and directly ordered the entire army to retreat.
After receiving the signal, the cavalrymen woke up from the bloody and pointless pursuit. All the attacking troops, including Qu Duan and Zhang Jing, returned to their ranks, and then the entire army reorganized and continued their march.
In any case, the Xixia people's attempts to stop and delay the Song army in the wild completely failed, and the Song army repelled the Xixia people. They marched until sunset that day and stopped at the river bank about 20 miles south of Xingqing Prefecture.
At this time, although it was almost dark, they could still see the Western Xia Royal Palace, or rather the dark shadow of the Western Xia Royal Palace, located between the city of Xingqing Prefecture and the Yellow River. The building was too conspicuous.
No one asked to launch a night attack or anything like that, so Yue Fei directly ordered the entire army to continue camping properly, then treat the wounded, bury the dead, organize the ordnance, report the shortage of ordnance, and then eat and drink their fill. The Jinshi accompanying the army told some anecdotes, and finally the entire army had a good rest for a whole night... and that night, the Xixia people did not attack after all.
On the second day, which was the early morning of the tenth day of April, the Song army got up early, had a big meal, and then began to adjust the formation of the entire army. This time, it was no longer a complicated emergency formation, but a restoration of the normal structure of the entire army, and a simple standard marching formation with infantry in the center and cavalry on both wings.
The only thing worth mentioning is that the rafts in the river were untied in public and allowed to disperse, the baggage was opened and distributed as much as possible, and everyone received the maximum replenishment of military equipment and supplies. The six thousand civilians also held bows and swords, guarding the wheelbarrows containing rations and military equipment, and lined up behind the formation.
The morning light shone from above the Yellow River behind them. The Xingqing City in the distance was not without movement. The scouts reported clearly, but even without the scouts' reports, the Song army could see clearly that the royal palace in the east of the city and the Buddhist temple in the north of the city had been partially burned down by the Xixia people to ensure the safety of the city's defense.
Although it is known that the defense of the city has always required the cleaning of the houses outside the city, it is still rare for the Xixia people to take the initiative to clean up their own palace. It seems that the Xixia people's determination to defend the city is still unshakable, and it seems that there is still a story to be told about this battle.
However, after yesterday's battle, no one doubted today's success or failure anymore... They were very sure that the Xixia people had been stabbed in the heart by their own people and were so weak that they could not withstand any more blows.
"Jiedu." Perhaps because yesterday was a bit unlucky, Qu Duan couldn't hold back and urged Yue Fei directly. "March!"
The surrounding military officers, including the Vice Minister of War Hu Hongxiu, all looked at Yue Fei. To be honest, they could no longer hold back.
Yue Fei, who had been standing by the river for a long time, narrowed his eyes and looked up along the green smoke rising from the Xixia Palace in front of him. He saw the Helan Mountains, which looked like a galloping horse, facing him. He finally stopped hesitating and raised the spear in his hand high, then smashed it down again:
"The entire army is marching westward. Today we swear to conquer the Helan Mountains and put an end to the century-old cause of our country!"