Chapter 4: The Final Battle - Double Zhang Dominates

  Last time, Tian Feng and Guan Gong worked together with the crossbow and catapult, annihilating the first batch of 20,000 soldiers sent by Dong Zhuo's general, Guo Si, to attack Tianshui City. Then they ordered Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren! The two generals led their cavalry troops out of the city, clashing with Dong Zhuo's army, expanding the battle results! Delaying time, not allowing Dong Zhuo's main force to approach the walls of Tianshui City! Waiting for General Li Yu's large army to arrive, annihilating Dong Zhuo's entire army!

  Guo Si also seized the opportunity, ordering his entire army to join the battle, aiming to annihilate Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren's 40,000 Yizhou cavalry! Meanwhile, Guo Si still led a force of 10,000 supervising troops in the rear, shooting down any fleeing soldiers on sight. Guo Si had gone mad! If he failed his master Dong Zhuo again this time, his head would be lost forever - it was unthinkable! Therefore, Guo Si went all out this time!

  Zhang Liao saw Guo Si rushing over, waving the phoenix hook knife in his hand, and shouted to the soldiers behind him: "Today we will eliminate the thieves, and we will not rest until death! I am the commander-in-chief, and I do not care about my life. Please ask all the generals and soldiers to follow Wen Yuan to fight to the end! Charge!" After finishing speaking, he patted his horse, danced with his knife, and personally led the charge against the enemy array.

  Zhang Ren saw Zhang Liao like this, and with a wave of his hand, he pointed to the front line of Dong Zhuo's army and shouted: "I have been with the king and the marshal for many years, and I have never retreated in every battle! Today is the decisive battle, who dares to be afraid of death and retreat? Those who are not worthy of being called iron-boned Hanzi of Shu will be executed on the spot! Today I am the vanguard, and the army forms a goose formation, coordinating with General Zhang Liao to break the enemy. If anyone dares to retreat, they will be beheaded without pardon! If General Zhang Liao dies in battle today, our army will not survive! Kill!" Zhang Ren waved his long spear as a substitute for the military order, and the two armies formed a formation, with Zhang Liao's sharp triangle array in the middle, and killed towards Dong Zhuo's army.

  Let's introduce the Wedge Formation first!

  The wedge formation is also called the cone formation! The wedge formation is a combat formation with a sharp front like a cone, and the cone formation must have a sharp and rapid front, strong and powerful wings. It can break through the enemy's formation by using elite vanguard to attack the enemy in a narrow front, expand the battle results with its wings, and it is a formation that emphasizes offensive breakthroughs. The cone formation is also called the Male Formation.

  The wedge formation is an ancient tactic, and the earliest book on tactics, "Sun Bin's Art of War", records the wedge formation as one of the ten formations. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, this tactic was widely used, and in fact, the wedge formation proved to be a very effective charging tactic.

  According to the Records of the Armaments, the wedge formation is a combat formation with a vanguard shaped like a cone, and is a strong charging formation. It cannot be used by generals who are not extremely brave or elite attacking troops.

  In the film "Red Cliff", the cavalry troops of Cao's army adopted a conical charging formation, with the commander often at the forefront of the array, suitable for brave generals to lead their men in a charge.

  The Goose Formation: The so-called Goose Formation is a type of horizontal deployment, with the left and right wings arranged in a staggered formation, either forward or backward. When advancing, it forms a "V" shape, like a monkey's arms stretching out in front, which is a formation used for encircling and ambushing, but the defense at the rear is relatively weak. When retreating, it forms an inverted "V" shape, protecting the safety of both wings and the rear, preventing the enemy from encircling. If the two wings are composed of highly mobile cavalry, they can receive protection and support from the infantry in the center while stationary, and also exert the powerful offensive force of the cavalry, increasing suddenness. Alexander's battles in India were similar to this type of formation.

  The characteristics of the Goose Formation are that its two wings have a large surface area, with a wide range of attack and a broad depth in the middle, which can avoid our army from being attacked by the enemy for a long time. When the enemy does not use a full-scale assault, it can cause heavy casualties to any type of enemy formation, including square, triangular, and arrow-shaped formations. Due to its stepped shape, it can move up and down to attack the enemy's main general. Since the enemy always attacks our right wing after launching an assault, in necessary situations, the main general can also lead a direct charge from the left wing against the enemy's main general, with high efficiency and good safety.

  The disadvantage of the Goose Formation is that it only divides into two columns, front and back, and cannot hide the two teams of Tongjia soldiers. Moreover, once the enemy launches a full-scale attack, the front army's movement is very clumsy, and the two pairs of archers in the right wing's front row can only be the enemy's meat shield for annihilation. The two wings are quite close, so the effect of arrow attacks is excellent. However, due to the small package angle, it cannot surround the enemy and can only make shooting. In addition, like the Crane Wing Formation, because it is a linear structure, movement on flat ground is not fast either.

  This formation is excellent when using archers. However, the Yizhou Iron Cavalry were all mounted archers at that time, so the combination of the wedge formation and the goose formation could complement each other perfectly. It can be said that Zhang Liao could charge forward bravely, with Zhang Ren's goose formation protecting his left and right wings! When Dong Zhuo's army charged into the goose formation, they would inevitably be attacked from both sides by Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren's armies, and be defeated separately! This is the brilliant part of using these two formations simultaneously! The simultaneous use of these two formations was decided by Zhang Liao and Guan Yu after several days of discussion! Normally, Liu Bei's Yizhou Iron Cavalry only used the wedge formation to charge. Therefore, this reform can be said to have a historical position in the Liu Bei army! Zhang Liao is indeed a famous general of the Three Kingdoms!

  At this time, in front of the two armies, Guo Huai's cavalry could only charge towards Zhang Liao's triangular formation, and the infantry also charged from behind. Although Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren had coordinated before, they had only done so once during a drill, but now they were facing actual combat, and both remained calm and composed!

  Zhang Liao showed no concern for his rear, entrusting it to Zhang Ren. He charged into the enemy ranks with his phoenix-headed sword in hand. Zhang Ren saw this and used his pointed steel spear to guard both sides of Zhang Liao, while Zhang Liao led his troops in a sudden acceleration, charging straight at Guo Si's army! At the same time, Zhang Ren also ordered his soldiers to form a fan shape, closely following Zhang Liao's troops on both sides and rear.

  When Zhang Liao and Guo Huai's army were only a few hundred meters apart, Zhang Liao ordered the spears to be thrown! The 20,000 cavalrymen simultaneously threw out the long spears in their hands, and the 20,000 long spears flew through the air straight at the front army of Guo Huai's cavalry. Countless front-line cavalrymen of Guo Huai's army were pierced to death by the long spears thrown by Zhang Liao's army!

  Zhang Ren saw Zhang Liao's army throwing long spears, and at the same time, he closely followed behind, ordering the left and right wings to throw long halberds. The flying halberds continued to pierce the remaining cavalry of Guo Si's vanguard, and it was only then that the two armies had just clashed. The vanguard cavalry of Dong Zhuo's army, led by Guo Si, suffered countless deaths and injuries before even engaging with Liu Bei's army!

  The long spears and lances pierced through the majority of Guo Si's vanguard soldiers, most of whom were cavalrymen. Because they ran fast, they were at the front, so they died first!

  But it didn't end there, Zhang Liao continued to wield the phoenix hook knife in his hand, and the soldiers behind him drew their bows and shot arrows at the horse's scabbard, cutting off the paper cutouts. At the same time, Zhang Ren also cooperated with Zhang Liao's orders, drawing his bow and shooting arrows from both wings, following closely behind Zhang Liao's army, also cutting off the paper cutouts on the horse's scabbard.

  Tens of thousands of people simultaneously drew their bows and shot arrows, all at a rapid pace. Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren were equipped with only about thirty arrows each, but the four thousand cavalrymen had ten arrows each, totaling forty million arrows. Counting them up, there were hundreds of millions of arrows, although they were all randomly shot forward, but Guo Si's troops were all in front of Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren! The sky was filled with arrows flying through the air, Dong Zhuo's army, Guo Si's unit, those who rushed forward quickly were all shot into hedgehogs, some were hit by dozens of arrows, others were hit by a few, countless deaths and injuries!

  The two armies have not yet officially clashed! Guo Si watched clearly from behind, and at this time he secretly estimated that with just these two moves by Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren, he had already lost nearly 15,000 to 16,000 men! And he would soon have to re-estimate! Because Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren's actions were not yet over!

  Only when Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren etc. were within tens of meters of Dong Zhuo's army, led by Guo Si, did they simultaneously give the order for their cavalry to shoot all three sleeve arrows from each sleeve crossbow! The number of people in Dong Zhuo's army who fell to the ground was countless, as the two armies were close and the event occurred suddenly, with most of Dong Zhuo's army unable to dodge in time! They were shot dead by the sleeve arrows, although some were also injured by the sleeve arrows, but those who were injured basically lost their ability to continue fighting!

  At this time, the two armies had been fighting for less than a quarter of an hour, and Dong Zhuo's army could be described as having blood flowing like rivers and corpses piled up like mountains! Now many of Dong Zhuo's generals have lost their faith in continuing to fight, and their confidence is being undermined by Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren.

  Tian Feng stroked his beard and muttered to himself on the city tower, "The Great King has such an iron army, and such loyal and brave generals! What fear is there of the heroes of the world? What worry is there that the great Han will not rise again? Is the day when we will recreate heaven and earth still far away?"

  Guo Si's face was covered in cold sweat, and he thought to himself: "What kind of army is this? They're too strong, too good at fighting! The two armies haven't even officially clashed yet, but I've already lost over 20,000 men. My vanguard has been completely annihilated! As for the remaining troops, I estimate that there are less than 3,000 left. This army is unbelievable! Too unbelievable! If they fight like this, who can defeat them? The Yizhou Iron Cavalry's combat strength has suddenly skyrocketed and has already surpassed the Xiliang Iron Cavalry of old to become the number one cavalry in the world! The current Yizhou Iron Cavalry fears no one under heaven! The Yizhou Iron Cavalry is invincible under heaven! At this moment, Guo Si didn't even need to fight to know that his army would be completely annihilated by Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren's 40,000 cavalrymen. It would be a Pyrrhic victory at best, and he would be left with almost nothing. What's more, the current Guo Si had lost all confidence in defeating this army. Now, Guo Si was praying for the arrival of the world's number one brave general - Lü Bu, to save him from defeat!

  Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren shot out all the long guns, bows and arrows, and sleeve arrows, and immediately ordered the cavalry to draw their waist knives and engage in a fierce battle with the enemy! The horse knives used by the Yizhou cavalry at this time are different from those of the Xiliang cavalry and the former Qiangnu cavalry. The horse knives used by the Yizhou cavalry at this time are similar to but not exactly the same as the future Mongolian war knife. At this time, the horse knife specifically used by the Yizhou cavalry belongs to the category of wide back and thin blade, with a heavier knife body, which is beneficial for increasing the force of chopping and slashing. The Mongolian horse knife has smooth lines, and the handle is generally slightly curved towards the blade direction, making it more convenient for riders to control and less likely to fall off. However, the Mongolian cavalry knife is thinner and lighter than the military horse knife. The Mongolians' excellent horsemanship mainly relies on utilizing the speed of the horse to form a strong impact force to drive the horse knife to complete slashing and other tactical actions. The Zhanma knife is different from the above two types of knives in that: the handle is longer without a hand guard, the blade is slender, the edge is sharp, with a knife tip and blood groove, so besides being able to complete actions like chopping, slashing, and hacking, it can also be used for stabbing and poking. Often, stabbing and poking can quickly make the enemy lose combat effectiveness. The function of the blood groove is not to let out blood, but mainly to create a gap between the muscle and the knife body when the knife enters the human body, making it easier to pull out the knife and perform the next tactical action. This is the same principle as the blood groove on a stabbing knife. In addition, the Zhanma knife can also be held with both hands, which is not possible with the above two types of horse knives. At this time, the horse knife used by the Yizhou cavalry was made by integrating the strengths of various schools.

  Zhang Liao himself wielded the phoenix hook sword in his hand, personally taking the lead to clear the way for Kan Ze, killing all of Dong Zhuo's soldiers who dared to block him. The cavalry behind him swung their sabers, continuously reaping the lives of the enemy troops! Close combat, swift and fierce fighting merged into one.

  Zhang Liao sat on his black horse, swinging his large knife left and right, every time Zhang Liao's knife flew out, it would knock down several or more of Dong Zhuo's soldiers. He was extremely powerful, and in the brief moment when the two armies clashed, Zhang Liao's entire body was stained with fresh blood, like a bloody man.

  Gao Sheng sent out many generals, but they were all cut down by Zhang Liao's Phoenix Hook Knife! However, at this time, Dong Zhuo's army also began to fight desperately. At this time, Dong Zhuo's army knew that retreating would mean death, and advancing might not necessarily mean death. Although Zhang Liao was commanding cavalry, he was being blocked and slowed down!

  Dong Zhuo's army died in batches, but they were immediately replaced by another batch!

  Kuo Tsui watched with a secretly shocked heart, this troop's combat strength was high to the point of making him feel chilled!

  At this moment, Zhang Ren made a move. The cavalry under his command formed a row of geese and quickly rushed up, surrounding Dong Zhuo's army from the left, right, and rear. Zhang Liao's army was in the middle, and Dong Zhuo's army had no time to respond before being killed by Zhang Ren from both sides. Those who managed to rush to the back of Zhang Liao's formation were even more miserable, as Zhang Ren personally guarded the rear with a pointed steel spear, making it impossible for anyone to escape. Every time Zhang Ren charged out with his spear, blood flowers flew everywhere! Zhang Liao's bravery gave people a sense of majesty, while Zhang Ren's bravery gave people a sense of elegance. His spear technique was similar to that of Zhao Yun, as they were fellow disciples. Therefore, their techniques were almost identical, except that Zhao Yun had created his own unique martial art on top of it.

  Kong Rong was sweating profusely at this time, with nearly 20,000 of the 100,000 troops killed or wounded by Liu Bei's secret weapon. Meanwhile, Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren had slaughtered nearly 30,000 troops. Could Liu Bei's army still emerge victorious? At this point, the remaining 100,000 troops, excluding the supervisory team of 10,000 soldiers, were less than 40,000 on the battlefield! As for Zhang Liao and Zhang Ren, they still had more than 30,000 troops, making it a stalemate between the two armies. Kong Rong no longer had an advantage in terms of troop numbers!

  Guo Ze is waiting, waiting for a hero to rewrite the ending!

  My sister got married today, wishing them a happy marriage!