Chapter 60: The Winter of Jiwei (11)

  The chariots continued to advance, and Zhang Long loudly proclaimed the rules of reward and punishment in the formation.

  "In this battle, everyone must strive forward and cannot retreat in the slightest..."

  "Beheading first-class rewards 5,000... Beheading third-class officials promoted one level..."

  "Those who are slightly injured will be granted 1,000 coins... those who are seriously injured will be granted 5,000 coins... the families of those who die in battle will be bestowed with 50 mu of land and 10,000 coins..."

  "Anyone who retreats, behead! Anyone who hesitates to advance, behead! Those who drop their weapons and surrender to the enemy will have three generations of their family implicated, with all males in the household sent to the army as slaves and females sent to the government office as servants..."

  "Whether soldiers or civilians, all are treated alike..."

  As Zhang Long's reward and punishment orders were announced one by one, the morale of the entire cavalry gradually recovered. Although the soldiers were still tense and panting heavily, they gripped their weapons even tighter. The civilians also took out wooden spears and shields from the large carts to prepare for defense against the enemy.

  When the cavalry formation was about one and a half miles away from the Khitan cavalry, more than 100 Khitan cavalrymen emerged from the formation, slowly advancing forward... When they were about 600 steps apart, these Khitan cavalrymen began to accelerate... At a distance of 500 steps, the Khitan cavalry urged their horses to the maximum, shouting and yelling echoed across the grassland, the sound of horseshoes shook the earth!

  "Halt!" Zhang Long immediately ordered the chariot array to stop: "Prepare to meet the enemy!"

  Faced with the charge of over a hundred Khitan cavalry, the soldiers and civilians of Pingzhou were all pale-faced, most people trembling all over, constantly quivering. If they hadn't been surrounded by the chariot array, probably many of them would have already forgotten about military orders and turned to flee.

  Especially the gunners and shield bearers who were in front of the vanguard, were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and the knives and guns in their hands kept shaking.

  Yuán Xíng Qīn, although young, had experienced the Hejian War and was skilled in family-transmitted spear techniques, with exceptional bravery. Seeing the instability of the vanguard, he hastily requested orders from Zhang Long, then dismounted his warhorse, grasped his lacquered spear, and leapt out of the chariot array. Without regard for the Khitan cavalry rapidly approaching from behind, he turned to face the two rows of Pingzhou soldiers in front, swung his lacquered spear into a flower pattern, held it high above his head, and loudly shouted to boost morale. He then turned to face the charging Khitan cavalry, standing alone at the forefront of the chariot array, and cried out: "Khitan bandits, come quickly to meet your deaths!" Under his leadership, these soldiers finally steadied their minds.

  According to the previous deployment, when the Khitan cavalry charged within a distance of one hundred and fifty steps, the archers in the chariot array would successively launch the first round of four waves of arrows. The angle of shooting was biased upwards, forming an arc, which would hit the Khitan cavalry rushing forward at a maximum range of about one hundred twenty or thirty steps.

  But at this moment, all the archers were so tense that they couldn't breathe. It was unclear who didn't hold back the bowstring, and the first arrow shot out immediately. This arrow flew crookedly and high, completely without a clear target. After this arrow was fired, all the archers could no longer withstand the pressure of the cavalry charge. Without regard for distance or the previously arranged "four-stage strike" method, they simply released all the arrows that were drawn on their bowstrings. A dense swarm of arrows flew out in disarray, and then fell to the ground in front of the Khitan cavalry's charging path, not a single one hitting its mark.

  Zhang Long was furious, but he couldn't afford to investigate the mistake. He loudly urged the archers to nock their arrows on the strings. At this time, the Khitan cavalry had already charged within a hundred steps, and the original rhythm of shooting arrows had been completely disrupted. Zhang Long could not control the panicked archers for a while, so he had to loudly order them to shoot at will.

  The previous wave of arrows, although not wounding a single Khitan, revealed the presence of a large number of archers within the chariot array. The Khitan cavalry seemed to be caught off guard, slowed down slightly, and then divided into two teams, avoiding the front of the chariot array and passing by from both sides. This detour caused most of the second wave of arrows shot out in haste by the Pingzhou army archers to fall empty, with only a few hitting the mark, lodging in the arms and legs of several Khitan cavalrymen, but without causing significant injury or anyone falling off their horses.

  The Khitan cavalry rode to both sides of the chariot array and also entered within fifty steps, a distance that was within the range of the mounted archers. Those skilled in horsemanship and able to shoot while riding took down their bows and arrows and shot back at the chariots. However, the number of riders who could shoot while riding was small, and with the rapid movement of the horses, the hit rate of the arrows was very low. This method of shooting, if it did not reach a certain scale and quantity, and could not achieve dense coverage, its effect was extremely limited.

  The Pingzhou army's archers, after their initial tension and panic, gradually steadied their hands on the bowstrings. Unable to cope with the Khitan cavalry galloping around the chariot array, they aimed their arrows at those who were bolder and dared to shoot from a distance. Suddenly, a flurry of arrows shot out, shooting down several bold Khitan cavalrymen, immediately triggering cheers within the chariot array.

  Zhang Long was commanding troops in battle for the first time, his loud shouts were ignored by everyone in the chaos, and he couldn't think of a solution at that moment. He helplessly sighed and decided to ignore those archers who were doing their own thing, turning around to command the gunners inside the cart formation to hold up their guns and defend the carts. These gunners saw that the Khitans didn't dare get close to the big carts, so they slightly relaxed from their tense emotions, and under Zhang Long's command, formed a dense column according to the previously rehearsed formation, with a forest of guns pointing outside the cart, while also cheering on their own archers.

  There were still several brave Khitan cavalrymen who charged to the edge of the big cart, making a gesture as if they wanted to jump in on horseback, but were pointed at by a forest of guns and had no choice but to turn their horses around and retreat.

  The Khitan arrows were few in number and not very accurate, but the people in the chariot formation were densely packed, so it was not difficult to hit them, which also caused casualties among the Pingzhou army. On the edge of the chariot formation, a few gunners who were slightly careless were shot by the Khitan cavalry's arrows, causing a commotion. Zhang Long hastily ordered the knife-shield men to close in on the outermost row of gunners, providing them with cover.

  After a brief exchange of arrows, the Khitan cavalry saw that the cart formation was heavily guarded and could not find an opportunity to break in, so they dropped more than ten corpses and retreated far away, no longer approaching the big cart, and gradually returned to their own array.

  Zhang Long wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly rearranged the troops, reorganizing the soldiers. He then ordered someone to go outside the chariot formation and cut off the heads of the Khitan people who had been shot dead, obtaining more than ten. After counting, there were seventeen people in the Pingzhou army who were hit by arrows, among whom ten were lightly injured, four were seriously injured by arrow wounds, and three unfortunate soldiers were pierced through the throat by Khitan arrows and died on the spot.

  One of the civilians was also hit by a stray arrow and had his shoulder injured. He showed Zhang Long the wound on his shoulder: "Zhang Gong, I'm injured, I've come to collect that thousand dollars."

  Zhang Long took a look at the wound of the civilian and saw that it was only a scratch, so he said in a bad temper: "This doesn't count!" Seeing that the civilian still wanted to explain, he immediately glared and said: "Don't make excuses, this kind of injury is nothing!" The civilian saw him get angry and reluctantly muttered as he left.

  Just now when the battle was joined, Zhang Long's mind was in a mess. At this moment, he reorganized his thoughts, concentrated his archers, and once again emphasized the sequence and timing of shooting arrows. Finally, he shouted loudly: "Without my order, whoever shoots an arrow on their own will be dealt with according to military law!"

  At this moment, the two armies are facing each other a mile apart, and neither side has made any further moves. Just now, Yuan Xingqin's action of boosting morale in the front row was seen by Zhang Long, who called him to his side and praised him for a while before asking: "Yuan team leader, what do you think is good now?"

  Yuan Xingqin curled his lip and said frankly, after the previous battle, he somewhat looked down on Zhang Long's command. He was also from a high-ranking family with a deep foundation in martial arts, although young, but had strategies in mind. Moreover, Yuan Xingqin was one of the first to join the Yi Er army and had made achievements in Hejian, only because of his good relationship with Zhao Zili did he abandon the Yi Er army and join the Pingzhou army, so he had a proud air about him. However, since Zhang Long was currently his superior, he couldn't say anything, so he just said: "Naturally, we'll follow the previous plan, we'll push forward strongly, I'll lead the team at the front, and Yu Hou will control the chariot array, I don't believe we can't break through. It's just that Yu Hou must command those archers well this time, can't be as chaotic as before." His words unconsciously carried a hint of blame.

  Zhang Long was a straightforward person and did not delve into the disrespect in Yuan Xingqin's words. He only felt that others were telling the truth, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed for a moment. After spending some effort to reiterate the military order again, he ordered the chariot array to move forward and pressed on towards the Khitan cavalry.

  After the baptism of the first battle, the Pingzhou army and civilians in the chariot array all looked different, with a lot of confidence restored. Zhang Long's command of the archers also gradually got on track, after all, the Pingzhou army had been rehearsing together for seven days, and after the initial tension and chaos, they had the chariot array to rely on, and everyone's minds were much calmer.

  Relying on the long range of the infantry bow, Zhang Long commanded the archers to start firing arrows in sequence from a distance of 150 paces outside the Khitan cavalry formation. Although the distance was too far and no casualties were caused, it made the Khitan cavalry formation appear loose. The Khitan cavalry obviously did not want to take this loss, so they left the front battlefield and gave up the front road, but surrounded the chariot formation on both sides, monitoring and looking for weaknesses in the chariot formation.

  The Khitan troops divided into more than 20 cavalrymen and began to gallop back and forth on both sides of the chariot array. These cavalrymen were skilled in mounted archery, and the arrows shot from horseback were fast and accurate, causing heavy casualties in the chariot array. Zhang Long ordered the archers to engage in a counter-shooting with the Khitan cavalry, but the enemy was riding horses and galloping quickly, making it difficult for the arrows to take effect. Zhang Long then ordered covering fire, managing to shoot down a few Khitan cavalrymen. However, this method of shooting was too costly for the Lulong army, with a poor exchange ratio and a large consumption of arrows.

  If this road is far, the outcome of Zhang Long and Pingzhou Army will not be good. Because the initiative on the battlefield is completely in the hands of the Khitan cavalry, the location and time of the battle are entirely up to the Khitan cavalry, whether day or night, the Pingzhou Army must maintain the integrity of the chariot array with great willpower and physical strength at all times. As long as this state lasts for three to five days, the entire army will be exhausted by the Khitan cavalry's tactics of following from a distance, constantly harassing, and seeking opportunities to break through. This is the fundamental reason why cavalry are invincible when facing infantry on the grasslands.

  Unfortunately, the White Wolf Mountain was only fifty miles away from Yu Pass, and where both sides met was even closer to the White Wolf Mountain, so all of the above unfavorable conditions did not exist. When the shadow of the White Wolf Mountain gradually became clear in the twilight of the setting sun, the exhausted Pingzhou army finally saw Li Chengzhong's troops coming to meet them, and both sides converged together, with cheers erupting on the grassland.