Chapter 37: Arrayed for Battle

  When charging onto the battlefield, a general's personal bravery can inspire morale but will not have much effect on the outcome of the battle. However, if during the battle one side loses its commander-in-chief, it will have a huge impact on the side that lost its commander.

  Throughout history, whether in China or abroad, high-ranking generals in the heat of battle generally do not personally charge into the fray. They are usually protected within the central army. In the midst of war, the commander-in-chief is like the military flag - the morale of the entire army depends on it. Therefore, in ancient times, people often employed tactics such as beheading the general and seizing the flag to demoralize the enemy. As soon as the general dies and the flag falls, the enemy's morale plummets, and their final outcome is likely to be a crushing defeat.

  Gindaeryuk had just killed several riders and broken through the enemy's heavy cavalry camp, greatly boosting the morale of the 5,000 Goguryeo cavalrymen. However, before they could even celebrate, Gindaeryuk was already dead on the battlefield, not knowing who he died at the hands of, only dying in frustration.

  When Gangdal died, the little courage that Goguryeo's cavalry had just gathered also began to dissipate. Especially since Gangdal was Goguryeo's number one brave warrior and had a great reputation in the army, now he was cut down from his horse in just one round, those Goguryeo people were terrified. Even the most elite troops, if they lose their morale, will not be much different from a mob, the only difference being that they can run faster.

  The phrase "come and go like the wind" is very suitable for these five thousand soldiers of Galdan, who lost their commander on the battlefield after Galdan's death. These Goguryeo cavalrymen, whose morale had been broken again, immediately scattered like birds and beasts. In just a short time, no more than the time it takes to have a cup of tea, these five thousand Goguryeo cavalrymen, who were entrusted with great expectations by Yiwende, were defeated. At this point, they could only curse their parents for not giving them a few more legs, and probably also cursed their horses for not having a few more legs at birth.

  At this time, the several thousand Goguryeo cavalrymen who had not lost many men regarded the large Goguryeo army arrayed on the distant mountain slope as their last safe haven. They all charged towards the army with reckless abandon, as if they did not care about their lives. To them, even the first brave warrior of Goguryeo, Gang Dalae, was killed in a single exchange, so they were no match for the enemy. Now wherever they ran, they felt that the Sui army was closely pursuing them from behind, and in their view, only the tens of thousands of men and horses gathered on the mountain slope could provide them with their last protection.

  Nearly five thousand Goguryeo cavalry were desperately running ahead, with nearly a thousand heavy armored cavalry of the Broken Army Camp chasing behind, just like a pack of wolves chasing a flock of goats. Under Chen Kefu's command, the heavy armored cavalry drove the thousands of Goguryeo cavalry straight into the Goguryeo formation.

  In order to run faster, the five thousand Goguryeo cavalrymen galloped their horses wildly, discarding all the knives, swords, and flags in their hands. At this moment, they would have liked to throw away even the armor on their bodies, just to be able to run back to their camp quickly and get away from the black torrent that was charging behind them.

  In front of him, the defeat of Yizheng Wende was clear. He had originally wanted to let Jindalai lead 5,000 soldiers to slow down the heavy cavalry, and then bring the assembled infantry to advance step by step, finally annihilating the more than 1,000 Sui army heavy cavalry in this wilderness. But at this time, he desperately discovered that even his most brave Jindalai was unreliable, and had already retreated in just a short while.

  What's even more deadly is that he found those defeated troops rushing towards his camp like a flood, and at this rate, the first thing his newly formed phalanx of long spears would have to deal with wouldn't be the Sui army's heavy cavalry, but his own elite 5,000 cavalry.

  "Order all retreating cavalry to retreat to both wings, strictly prohibiting charging into the main formation. Those who disobey will be beheaded without discussion." Yizhi Wende issued the order with gritted teeth, his heart bleeding. This time he led only 10,000 elite troops, and the 5,000 defeated soldiers retreating were his own elite men.

  "General, open up the formation and let them in. These are all young men who have been fighting alongside us for many years, if we don't let them in now, those young men will be done for." Several of Yuchi Jingde's top generals advised.

  "No need to say more, let them in and we're done. Strictly guard the formation, anyone who dares to charge will be killed directly." Yu Zhongwen said ruthlessly. The infantry phalanx was mostly composed of noble private soldiers, which were unreliable from the start. If they opened up the formation to allow the 5,000 cavalry to enter, the heavy armored cavalry of the Sui army would directly charge into the formation, and it would be a disaster. With less than 20,000 infantrymen who had just barely gathered, he didn't have any confidence in facing those terrifying heavy armored cavalrymen. If these were his own elite soldiers, he would have let the Sui army enter the formation himself.

  The infantrymen in front of the Goguryeo army formation shouted at the cavalrymen who were fleeing and scattering, telling them to retreat to both wings. However, those cavalrymen who had already been broken and lost their will to fight didn't care about that anymore, they just wanted to quickly hide inside the formation. They ignored the shouts from the infantrymen, thinking that since they were the commander-in-chief's elite troops, he would definitely let them in.

  All the cavalrymen began to charge towards the main formation, and many soldiers were shouting loudly there, "You damned slaves, get out of the way and let me in."

  Yeon Gaesomun looked at the approaching Baekje cavalry and the Sui army's heavy armored cavalry pursuing them, closing his eyes in despair and shouting, "Fire arrows! Don't let a single one get through! Fire arrows, fire arrows, fire arrows!!!" In the end, Yeon Gaesomun was yelling like a madman. A commander-in-chief ordering his own soldiers to fire arrows at their allies was an extremely painful thing for him. Yeon Gaesomun thought painfully in his heart, "I underestimated them this time. If I had followed my usual military tactics and strictly required these noble private soldiers to do the same, my 70,000-strong army would not have been pursued so shamefully by just over a thousand people." This was a great humiliation.

  It is unknown which soldier shot the arrow first, perhaps he just shook his hand, but this was like a signal, and the panicked noble private soldiers in the big array began to desperately shoot the arrows in their hands towards the cavalry in front.

  As the whistling arrows flew in, one by one, the unprepared Goguryeo cavalry fell to the ground tens of steps before the hastily formed infantry phalanx of Goguryeo. This was a massacre, with tens of thousands of soldiers firing their bows simultaneously, launching an indiscriminate saturation attack on the approximately 5,000 Goguryeo cavalry. The arrows rained down from the sky, and one by one, the once-brave Goguryeo cavalrymen fell to the ground. In the end, they did not die at the hands of the vengeful people of the Central Plains, but rather at the hands of their own people. Each person fell with a mix of shame, anger, and despair.

  Five thousand men, if they let the broken army camp's one thousand heavy armored cavalry come to kill, it would take half a day. But letting those tens of thousands of Goguryeo people kill, in just a short time, most of these light cavalry were already defeated on the front line. Except for a small number of cavalry that fled in other directions at the beginning, all the Goguryeo cavalry that tried to enter the infantry phalanx fell there, with at least four thousand cavalry falling there.

  The heavy cavalry of the Broken Army Camp, led by Chen Kefu, although they had once driven the Goguryeo people to scatter in all directions, but the actual number of Goguryeo people who died at the hands of the Broken Army Camp was estimated to be only a few hundred. The rest were either trampled to death by their own cavalry horses or were among the more than 4,000 cavalrymen who died under the hail of arrows from the Goguryeo people.

  Chen Kefu did not expect that the commander of the opposing Goguryeo would be so ruthless and actually give such an order to his thousands of cavalrymen. The result was that Chen, who was also a commander, could not accept it at all. Those damned Goguryeans really went through with it! The Goguryeo cavalry fell, and Chen Kefu's plan to drive them back and attack their infantry phalanx also failed.

  Now facing the infantry phalanx of over 20,000 people, which was still a bit disorganized but increasingly dense, Chen Kefu also felt that he was in a dilemma. The current situation made it unwise to continue charging at the enemy's camp. If things went wrong, his thousand men would be completely engulfed by the infantry phalanx, and not even one of them might escape.

  But if they gave up at this time, then the thousands of people who had been fighting for half a day would have no way to go. Whether it was cavalry or war horses, they had all exploded for half a day and could be said to be exhausted. Once they retreated, the Goguryeo people who had slowly gathered would inevitably pursue them, and at that time, these thousands of people would also be completely annihilated. Their only hope was the mountain valley not far behind the Goguryeo people. As long as they rushed in, relying on the mouth of the valley, they could still hold on and wait for reinforcements.

  Chen Kefu's black cloak was now tattered and full of holes, finally falling off his body, revealing the bright silver armor underneath. As the sun slowly rose, Chen Kefu stood out on the entire battlefield with his dazzling white armor, instantly appearing exceptionally majestic and powerful.

  The black war flag, though damaged in many places, still fluttered in the wind. Nearly a thousand heavy cavalrymen from the broken army camps wore black armor with a bright glow, and at this moment, they charged towards Goguryeo under the rising sun, their armor reflecting the light of the sun into numerous glints.

  The Goguryeo soldiers stood firmly with their infantry spears, gazing at the army before them with heavy hearts. The dazzling light from the armor blinded everyone's eyes. Everyone couldn't help but think to themselves, is this really the invincible army of the Central Plains? Indeed, just like heavenly soldiers and generals, a sense of powerlessness rose in each person's heart.

  Chen Kefu still held the spear stained with countless blood, since there was no way to retreat, he could only charge forward bravely, even if there was a last glimmer of hope, he didn't plan to give up.

  "Glory belongs to us, the Broken Army Camp must win!"

  The desperate cry of exhaustion rose again, and all the soldiers in the Broken Army Camp understood that this might be their last charge. But no one in the Broken Army Camp was afraid. Today, they charged with a thousand men, causing the enemy's 700,000-strong army to flee in all directions, and they were proud of it.

  Though there are thousands of people, I will go! Seeking recommendation votes...... [bookid=2209563, bookname="The King's Strategy"]