Chapter 40: Fierce Battle (1)

  Everything was going as expected.

  The previous episode had no effect on the arrival of the pursuing soldiers, and in the face of a pack of wolves, the scattered bodies of dead soldiers made the hasty retreat even more convincing.

  Looking at the enemy army, although everyone can't hide their dusty faces, they are in full formation, with neat rows and columns, and everywhere is filled with the cold light of metal armor, their military appearance is quite impressive. Just this momentum alone is greatly different from those greedy and reckless pursuers we encountered earlier.

  Although it's only early autumn, the scorching sun still lingers, and with the rolling dust smoke approaching, the cold oppressive feeling of the bayonet's reflection makes one hold their breath and concentrate, even though they are far away and well-hidden, and can't help but sweat in their palms.

  Although those who were lured with two or three large cakes to temporarily perform as actors, their performance was really clumsy. Those who were forced to come because they had committed a crime and were threatened that if they didn't come they would die, but if they came they might still have a chance to live, were also all disheveled and demoralized, performing very poorly, and after being chased up, having no hope of escape, put up a desperate last stand in front of the valley before turning defeat into rout, and were killed while fleeing in all directions.

  But the "charm" of His Imperial Majesty was truly unspeakable, as if the yellow shadow that had just entered the valley was about to be covered up. The enemy army, which had already deployed its formation on the battlefield and slowed down its pace to reorganize, suddenly boiled up like a pot of oil poured into ice water, like flies seeing blood, no longer maintaining their proper cavalry formation, rushing out of line like a burst dam, chasing each other in front and behind, pulling out a long string. Even the officers who tried to stop them were swept away by the tide.

  Pay no attention to those refugees running around in a flurry with their big and small bundles. There is only one thing that can stop them from fleeing - the blockade right in front of them.

  When the vanguard of the enemy army found that the number and appearance of these "Feathered Forest Army" were not quite right, they ambushed and launched a surprise attack. Boulders and logs rolled down with a loud roar, instantly cutting off the enemy army in the valley into two segments.

  Because of the terrain, I arranged for General Gao Dafu to be in charge of the defense. He, with his rich battle experience, did not disappoint me. From a distance, one could see that the enemy who first entered the valley was hit by rolling stones and logs, their flesh and blood splashing everywhere as they dodged and scattered, disrupting their formation. Later, it was discovered that the time was too short, and the preparation of the rolling stones and logs was insufficient, so people were ordered to cut down large trees on the mountain, without processing them, and push them whole into the valley.

  The whole big tree, with branches and leaves, fell on the cavalry's head, which was pushing forward and backward. The dense and unprocessed branches were the best obstacles to hinder the cavalry. Some of them still had fresh green colors and the fragrance of grass and wood, and they crashed down under gravity, sweeping horizontally and even directly piercing through the bodies of the cavalrymen who were trampled by the horses. On the other hand, the ambush troops rushing out from the mountain slope easily killed the remaining cavalrymen who were struggling in the midst. Finally, countless torches, dry branches, and other flammable materials were scattered around, mixed with green branches and leaves, and set on fire, producing a rolling smoke that suffocated and burned almost everyone inside, also cutting off the enemy's plan to rush into the valley with a large army.

  Following common sense, the valley is actually the best place to ambush, and the army's narrow terrain forms a long snake shape, making it difficult for the numerical superiority to unfold, making it an easy target. Therefore, it is also a place that the opponent needs to pay special attention to.

  But I never thought that I would turn things around. The crowded army at the valley entrance became a good target, and countless bows and crossbows emerged from the slopes on both sides, with thousands of arrows fired in unison, and a surprise attack from the rear caused heavy casualties in a short period of time.

  With a whizzing, dense, and piercing sound, the densely packed arrows shot forth with an overwhelming force, bringing with them countless silver gleams that traversed the sky, falling upon the enemy's formation like a downpour of rain, stirring up innumerable, densely packed, and fatal blood flowers.

  As the troops with better combat effectiveness need to be deployed on the battlefield, most of the new recruits on both sides of the mountain are responsible for long-range support. As a supplement, I assigned an experienced old soldier shooter to each fire unit to specialize in measuring distance and aiming, specifying a shooting direction for the whole team during each round of simultaneous firing, and continuously directing the adjustment of angle and force during combat, correcting the killing range and distance. The benefits of doing so are that even people who have just learned to pull bows and shoot arrows can easily get started, and it can also provide an ideal face-killing effect.

  Moreover, since it is a free-falling projectile shot upwards, there is no need to aim at all. The dense and continuous attack, the light cavalry without shields or other protective gear has no way to defend against the falling arrows from above, splashing into the crowd with dense and dense blood flowers, constantly taking away a large number of lives.

  The opponent was indeed formidable. In the face of rolling stones and wooden logs, many people collided with each other, but he managed to rein in his warhorse. After a brief pause, he was about to charge forward to respond, but a large number of flaming torches fell from above, causing most of the horses to be frightened and unable to move forward. A few adventurous ones tried to cross over, but they were not able to outrun the speed at which the flames spread, and they all fell into the fire, screaming continuously. All that could be heard was the sound of killing and shouting from the front lines. The commander-in-chief immediately turned around to fight again, but the valley entrance was only so big, and in the midst of the army's advance and retreat, it was unknown how many people were shot down by both sides.

  But the other side understood the principle of making a concerted effort and did not stop moving due to sudden casualties. After a brief chaos, heavy casualties were paid, and they quickly recovered, decisively abandoning the lost vanguard, and the front and rear armies quickly completed the transition, turning back to charge.

  The attempt to split the troops and charge at the mountain slope where the shooters were located was thwarted, with repeated casualties and setbacks in the continuous trenches and horse stables. After quickly regrouping and charging back along the original route, our main force had already taken position.

  As they approached, it was discovered that at some point, the abandoned and overturned vehicles on the way had been turned over, revealing the lower sections of trenches that could hold people. Countless soldiers' shadows were hidden behind them, clearly divided into front and rear formations, with dense layers of pikemen, archers, and heavy infantry crouching and standing.

  Unfortunately, the Tiger Guard was annihilated before they could even sound a warning, leaving me with little time to prepare. The rolling logs and wooden barriers I had set up were quickly depleted, enough to block their path but not sufficient to inflict significant casualties. The number of abatis and trenches in the rear was insufficient (although I had already mobilized refugees to continuously transport supplies from the rear), so the remaining gaps could only be filled with the bodies of my soldiers.

  For a time, flags and banners were flying everywhere, shouts of killing rose up, arrows flew like rain, and ambushes seemed to be everywhere.

  But soon they gave us a lesson with their powerful performance. What kind of army is this, powerful? I used the principle of "ten surround, five attack, double then divide" from the old ancestor Sun Tzu's Art of War, and launched a pincer movement on both sides. Originally, we should have taken advantage of the enemy's chaos, charged forward to cut off several blocks, and dispersed and defeated them one by one with our superior military strength.

  But the opponent's strength was also too absurd, from the initial stone-throwing and wooden trench ambush, to the previous arrow-like rainstorm sweeping and killing, to the sudden emergence of ambushing troops and violent slaughter, leaving no time for preparation. After a brief panic, they were still able to maintain their strong morale, and as the casualties mounted, their ferocity was stirred up from the chaos, organizing themselves to charge forward with abandon, trampling on the bodies of their comrades and ignoring the hail of arrows. Under such large-scale cavalry dense charging, my prepared troops had no advantage, and I had to change our purpose.

  In ancient times, a slightly larger-scale battle, due to the limitations of communication conditions and battlefield environment at that time, after the battle started, the commander-in-chief could no longer directly command each unit in the melee. Moreover, the battlefield changed rapidly, and a gust of wind or a rainstorm could turn the tide of the battle, and even turn defeat into victory was not unheard of in history.

  Like in those YY novels, where the protagonist can easily command tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops with ease, advancing and retreating effortlessly, moving swiftly like the wind, and striking wherever they point. Such scenarios are basically impossible in real-life situations. It's really frustrating to see how those abnormal protagonists manage to do it.

  To know, the larger the military formation, the more levels of command are required, and the longer the cycle of transmitting orders and battlefield changes. Therefore, what the commander-in-chief can do is to minimize the possible uncertain factors through pre-war planning and preparation, so that after the war starts, a large part depends on the deployment of troops before the war and the training level and combat experience of officers and soldiers. The commander-in-chief makes certain adjustments or issues some overall strategic orders in response to specific situations, corresponding to the battlefield situation.

  As the iron torrent rushed forward, the front row of horses suddenly fell down in a neat and orderly manner, colliding violently with the rear team. The sound of men and horses screaming and struggling together filled the air, revealing a large number of pre-dug hoof pits that had been exposed by the movement of the chariots. Many more were hastily dug during the battle. The enemy seemed to disregard casualties, using their bodies to pave the way as they advanced in waves. More knights, regardless of life or death, hesitated not at all and flew over from above, quickly covering up most of the traps with corpses, soon stepping onto the first row of chariots.

  Suddenly, the soldiers wearing bright armor and holding shiny iron shields emerged from the rear of the chariot array and stood up in a neat formation. A large patch of dazzling light scattered out, momentarily blinding the eyes of the approaching cavalry, and even some horses were startled and jumped up. This brief moment of distraction was enough to make the enemy pay a sufficient price. The dense thrusting long spears easily knocked down a large number of cavalrymen, with the front row stabbing and pulling down, allowing the rear row to charge forward and stab again, and more cavalrymen with the advantage of height and impact were caught off guard, colliding with the forest of guns until the people in the back regained their sight. The infantry continued to retreat, trampling and killing each other.

  As the war drums quickened, the enemy also accelerated, and the following cavalry crashed into the dense shield wall like a surging tide. The soldiers behind desperately charged forward, while the halberdiers on the sides repeatedly stabbed and thrust through the gaps, but were knocked down by the enemy's horsemen after several rounds. Then, the charging men were also pierced by the long spears of the top layer, and the spearman in the back row stabbed the chest of the incoming men, but before they could pull out their spears, they were cut down by the swift knives of the following cavalry. Occasionally, there were also horsemen who trampled on the shields, flashed through the gaps in the gun forest, and crashed into the formation, knocking down a large number of people under the tremendous impact. At the same time, many people were pierced to death by multiple spears. In an instant, arrows from the enemy's rear array fell, piercing many bodies, and people continued to fall, only to be replaced by others. Even if there were survivors who lost their lives in the trampling of friendly and enemy forces, once a melee was formed, it became a test of everyone's willpower and strength. Until all the enemies in front were killed.

  After reading everyone's comments, I'm ashamed, everyone's concern has made me blush. Occasionally, I even feel embarrassed to look at my own comments again. It's been a month since the last update, but here I can only say sorry.

  Although I also want to try the famous Cantonese dish "Dragon and Tiger Fight", but even if I stewed a cat, it would be useless. Recently, there were four typhoons in a short period of time, with storms, heavy rain, and floods. It's as if those turtle sons from across the strait who like to stir up trouble and cling to people's thighs have provoked heaven's wrath and public outrage. As a result, I had to work night shifts every night, and the city was suddenly hit by strong winds and flooding one night, turning my workplace into a scene of birds flying and fish jumping in the water. Then came several days and nights of cleaning, disinfection, and epidemic prevention, accompanied by frequent power outages and water cuts. My mood is as gloomy as the rainy weather.

  The house leaked due to the rapid and high floodwaters, and even the cat's documents were not spared, all soaked in yellow soup. Moreover, it was time for the annual audit of the unit, working overtime day and night to make up for the documents, looking more haggard by the day. Writing also had to be delayed again and again.

  It's not easy to get to Mid-Autumn Festival, and finally, the pirated version has appeared. On a website called Wen Xin Ge, a guy named jard186 copied "Fantasy Tang Dynasty" and even talked about his "creative" thoughts in the afterword, leaving me speechless. I don't know whether to be grateful or sad that someone is willing to plagiarize, at least it means my book still has some market value. What's sad is that they not only reprinted it without permission but also changed the title. I heard a reader left a comment saying that even pirated books have appeared. I really don't know what to feel (although I often read pirated books too!). I hope that reader can introduce me to the situation with the pirated book.