Chapter 39: The Iron Cavalry Appears "Brother, whose subordinates do you belong to?" Sun Dalong asked during a break in defense. Although he could be sure that the other party was Han army from their attire, he still couldn't help but feel curious. "Brother Dalong, it's me!" Zhao Erhu turned his head and said with a smile. Because of the helmet and armor covering his face, he didn't expect that the other party didn't recognize him. "Erhu?" Sun Dalong looked at the familiar face in front of him in disbelief. The knife wound on his chest that was causing him a dull pain two days ago was caused by the medicine applied by the other party. The two of them were already very familiar with each other. "How did you..." Seeing Sun Dalong's surprise, Zhao Erhu put away the smile on his face and said solemnly, "Let's get to know each other again, Brother Dalong. I am Zhao Erhu, the second squadron of the first guard garrison under the command of the new Liaodong governor Tian Shijun. Please give me your guidance." While the two were chatting, another Hu man climbed up the ladder. Just as Sun Dalong was about to attack, he saw a flash of cold light, and Zhao Erhu's spear had pierced the opponent's chest. With Zhao Erhu's heavy swing, the pierced Hu man was smashed hard against the city wall and was definitely dead.
Zhao Erhu showed Sun Dalong a simple smile and said, "Brother Dalong, I only need two more heads to become an elite soldier. I was a little hasty, please don't be offended." In order to better manage and select military officers and soldiers, Tian Ze introduced a parallel system of ranks and established nine grades and seventeen levels of military ranks. Although Zhao Erhu was just an ordinary soldier, as long as he killed five enemies, he could be promoted from a combat soldier to an elite soldier. Not only would his salary be increased by one level, but he would also have a greater chance of being promoted to a sergeant. Although Sun Dalong didn't quite understand what Zhao Erhu said, he vaguely guessed it and smiled with understanding. These border troops have been fighting for years and have made countless contributions and hard work, but only a few of them have been rewarded for their merits. The court's food and wages were often withheld, so being able to survive and have enough food to eat was already good enough. Killing one more or one less person meant little to him. What's more, in the current situation, it is difficult to determine whether the city can be defended. We can't even take care of our lives, so how can we have so much time to consider other things? With the assistance of the new force of the Guard Village, the city walls were quickly stabilized. Su Puyan, who was originally quite happy to see the situation improving, suddenly became furious. "All troops, attack. Those five hundred soldiers should not hide. Attack the west wall. I will take Xiangping today!" Su Puyan was like a gambler who had lost all his money and was ready to make a last gamble. Although he seemed reckless, he knew very well that if he made a strong move at the first time, his strength would weaken after the second and finally run out of energy. If he failed to capture Xiangping today, he would probably have to fight with the defenders for a long time. But he could no longer afford to waste energy. If he continued like this, even if he captured Xiangping, it would be hard to say whether he could get a share from the hungry wolf Suli with his greatly reduced strength. He might even lose everything. However, the defenders of the west city wall were not withdrawn by Ji Fang. The two hundred remnants, together with the elite one hundred guards, easily blocked the five hundred Wuhuan troops. The walls on the other three sides were equally solid as a rock with the help of the guards. The Wen County guard garrison was in good condition and fully armed. Although there were less than a hundred people on each city wall, they were like a solid wall of iron and steel, making it difficult for the Hu people to shake them. The situation remained deadlocked. After about an hour, the Hu people had lost most of their fighting spirit, and Suli realized that this time it might not end well. Not caring about Su Puyan's situation at all, Suli ordered his men to blow the horn of retreat. After hearing the horn, Su Puyan's eyes were filled with anger and resentment, but he could only order his tribesmen to retreat.
At this moment, Guan Yu and Ma Teng each led a thousand cavalry to the battlefield and attacked the Xianbei and Wuhuan armies respectively. Seeing such a large-scale Han cavalry, the Wuhuan army, which had just experienced a fierce battle, had no formation and low morale, immediately fell into chaos and panic. The moment Su Puyan saw such a large number of Han cavalry, he felt as if struck by lightning and was completely stunned. His eyes were filled with disbelief, fear and despair. Faced with such a situation, he knew that no matter what he did, it would be of no avail. His people were finished! Ma Teng looked at the group of exhausted and defeated soldiers fleeing in panic with fierce eyes. They saw the tragic scene of the fight on the south wall clearly, and their hearts were already filled with anger. The cavalry fought in units of 100, directly forming the most lethal horizontal formation, divided into two rows, and started killing directly. The Wuhuan army, which suffered heavy losses and was in a depressed state, was unable to organize an effective resistance and fell down one by one like harvested wheat. In order to attack the city, many Wuhuan soldiers temporarily left their war horses behind. Without their horses, they were like tigers without claws and fangs. They could neither fight nor run away, and could only die under the sword. As for the Xianbei side, although their strength was relatively preserved and they had three thousand cavalrymen supporting them in the rear, Guan Yu arrived too quickly. With the talent of might activated, the sense of oppression brought by the cavalry increased dramatically, and the Xianbei cavalry, who were already fearful, became even more confused. The Xianbei soldiers who were attacking the city and were retreating to the rear could no longer hold on. In their eyes, the blades of the Han army seemed to be on their necks. Even though Xiaoshuai kept scolding them, they still ran desperately to the rear, and a large number of soldiers rushed directly towards the nearest Xianbei cavalry. The Xianbei cavalry, which was originally preparing to charge to stop the enemy, suddenly stopped moving forward. Even though Suli ordered the killing of many fleeing soldiers, it was still of no avail. Guan Yu knew that the opportunity could not be missed, so he led his cavalry in a goose formation, and used himself as the spearhead to fiercely penetrate into the Xianbei army. The defeat was like a landslide. Surrounded by a group of fleeing soldiers, the Xianbei cavalry was unable to organize an effective counterattack. The morale of Guan Yu's army continued to rise in such a smooth battle situation, and its combat effectiveness became stronger and stronger. Guan Yu himself directly activated his invincibility, and no one could defeat him with his long sword. Seeing this situation, Suli, who was in the rear, made a prompt decision to abandon the thousand cavalrymen in the front and ordered them to stop the fleeing soldiers and counterattack on the spot. It's not that he is cruel, but he really has no other choice. Cavalry that cannot charge is useless. If the defeated soldiers are allowed to hinder the charge and break up the formation, there will inevitably be a great rout from which there will be no chance of recovery. With such a short sprint distance, the enemy would arrive in less than ten breaths. Even if he ordered the front troops to withdraw from both wings, it would be too late. Instead of doing this, it would be better to use the time gained by the front to create opportunities for the troops in the rear. Just when Suli divided the tribesmen in the rear into two groups and prepared to launch attacks from both wings in order to give full play to the advantage of military strength and avoid the front being defeated again, he suddenly discovered that the formation of Guan Yu's army had changed. Guan Yu's army, which was originally charging in a goose formation, encountered resistance from the Xianbei cavalry in the front and arrogantly left only a small part of the cavalry to charge the center, while most of the cavalry deployed to both wings, as if to swallow up the entire Xianbei army. The entire army changed from a "Λ" shape to a "W" shape. Seeing this, Suli was overjoyed. The Han general was so arrogant and stupid! The Xianbei cavalry under his command are not a bunch of trash like the Wuhuan. Suli, who originally planned to play it safe and encircle the enemy, immediately changed his tactics and ordered all troops to merge together and attack the Han army's arrows.
They have an absolute advantage in manpower, and even if their war horses cannot charge at their optimal speed, it is enough. As long as they could break through the enemy's spearhead consisting of a small number of cavalry, the Han army would inevitably be defeated. Looking at the Xianbei troops gathering and rushing towards him, Guan Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, did not make any move, and continued to kill the surrounding Hu cavalry. The distance between the two sides was rapidly closing. Under the constant shouting of the charging Xianbei army, the defeated Xianbei soldiers in the front fled to the two wings one after another, and were once again surrounded by the Han army and slaughtered wantonly by Guan Yu's army on both wings. Suli didn't care. In a battle between cavalrymen, the greatest achievement was not achieved in a head-on confrontation but in the pursuit. As long as they could break through Guan Yu, any sacrifice would be worth it. This time he wanted to teach this greedy Han general a profound lesson. However, when the two sides were less than half a mile apart, the light cavalry serving as the spearhead beside Guan Yu moved to both sides and slowly slowed down. Afterwards, a hundred personal guards, who had been ready for battle and were wearing Ming Guang armor, with even their horses covered in armor, and armed to the extreme, came up. "This! This is!" Suli's eyes were full of horror. (End of this chapter)