Chapter 340 Battle of Kaifeng (4)(1/2)
"Quick! Close it quickly!" Zhao Tai's general Liu Dun shouted while pushing the cart.
Two Qi troops, one on the left and one on the right, pushed the vehicle and quickly closed it like two sliding doors.
After Subotai received the order, he led the cavalry and rushed forward at a gallop, trying to enter the allied camp through the gap opened by the heavy cavalry.
At that time, tens of thousands of cavalry will rush in, and the cavalry will rush left and right, which will definitely disrupt the enemy's army and cause the horse to trample the company camp.
The Mongolian cavalry galloped over, shouting strangely, but when they approached the gap, they suddenly saw two groups of enemy troops, one on the left and one on the right, pushing carts across the front.
The Mongolian cavalry in front could not slow down enough, and the horse collided with the cart. The cavalry was directly thrown away by inertia, and its body drew an arc in the air before slamming into the camp.
"Kill!" The Qi army behind the cart immediately drew out their sabers and chopped the Mongolian army thrown in into pieces.
Seeing this, Subotai was shocked and reined in his horse. However, the Mongolian cavalry behind him did not slow down because they were not aware of the situation ahead.
For a moment, the Mongolian army in front pulled the reins violently and slowed down. The cavalry behind did not slow down and immediately bumped into the cavalry in front. The Mongolian cavalry immediately fell into chaos.
"Fire arrows!" Liu Dun, who was wearing heavy armor, immediately brandished his sword and roared.
The Qi army's divine arm bows and crossbows immediately aimed at the Mongolian army who was blocked from the cart.
The crossbowmen of the Qi army stood behind the cart, holding a large crossbow flatly. The sharp crossbow arrows were aimed at the unshielded Mongolian cavalry in front of the formation, and then fired a thousand arrows in unison.
"Swish, swish, swish", the crossbow arrows were hung by strong winds and brought up air waves, and the Mongolian cavalry, crowded in front of the formation, could not escape at all.
In an instant, the front of the formation was filled with the sound of arrows hitting flesh, the screams of Mongolian cavalry, and the neighing of war horses.
After one team of Qi army crossbowmen finished shooting, they immediately retreated to reload their arrows. The rear row of crossbowmen stepped forward alternately, aimed at the Mongolian army again, and quickly fired another arrow.
Now Zhao Tai's men and horses, after experiencing many wars, are no longer rookies on the battlefield.
After the soldiers of the Qi army fired an arrow, they immediately retreated in an orderly manner, then quickly stepped on the bow and pedal, struggled to pull the string of the crossbow, and then inserted the arrow again.
Judging from the Qi army's tactical movements at this time, they rushed between the two cavalry and separated the Mongolian heavy cavalry from the light cavalry, and they were able to do so without panic or disorder.
Everyone is loyal to their duties and can be said to be an elite force.
After one team of the Qi army finished shooting, another team shot again, and arrows were missed continuously. The Mongolian cavalry in front of the formation could not jump over the cart. They crowded in front of the formation and immediately became a target.
Seeing that his subordinates suffered heavy losses, Subotai hurriedly ordered, "Retreat!"
The Mongolian cavalry in front of the formation heard the order, waved their swords to block the arrows, pulled their reins, and hurriedly left the coalition camp.
At this time, the Mongolian heavy cavalry that rushed in ran into the dense spear formation of the Song and Qi coalition forces.
The heavy cavalry collided with the spears and the horses were stabbed to death. However, the inertia brought by the huge mass of the cavalry caused the Song army holding the spears to collide and fly backwards.
The Song Army's spear line was knocked backwards and dented, but it still blocked the cavalry.
As a result of this blockage, the heavy cavalry entering the camp lost their speed. When the leading Mongolian general saw this, he was instantly horrified and led the cavalry to charge left and swing, trying to break through the obstruction.
However, in the camp, the space for the heavy cavalry to move was limited. The Mongolian cavalry could not increase their speed at all, so they had no impact. They were forced back by the heavy infantry armed with spears one after another.
Looking upstairs, Zhao Tai saw this and immediately shouted: "Master Zhizhi, don't give them a chance. When the enemy cavalry loses speed, immediately wrap up on them, pull them off their horses, and destroy this heavy cavalry."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kui immediately waved the command flag himself, "Wrap them up, knock them off their horses, and annihilate this enemy cavalry."
As soon as the order was given and the war drums beat, the heavy cavalry troops in the camp surrounded them from all directions with their long guns drawn, compressing the space for the heavy cavalry to move.
Soon the heavy cavalry was compressed in one place. The long gunmen of the coalition forces stabbed the knights on their horses, knocked the cavalry off their horses, opened their armor, hacked them to death with axes, or smashed their bones to death, hammering the Mongolian soldiers inside.
Outside the coalition camp, a man on horseback was stationed at Wokuotai under the banner of the emperor. The corners of his mouth twitched and his bulging eyes showed an expression of disbelief.
Wokuotai had rich experience in battle formations. When he saw the cavalry led by Subotai being blocked and retreating in panic, he knew that the heavy cavalry rushing into the camp was in danger.
"Wow, Ben Khan fell into the trap!" Wo Kuotai was instantly furious, "Zhao Tai, the traitor, knew that Ben Khan intended to mobilize the defenders in the camp to find flaws in the camp, so he deliberately sold Ben Khan a flaw to lure him to attack
Camp. Thief, you are angry with me!"
Upon hearing this, many Mongolian generals reacted instantly, and immediately realized that the heavy cavalry charging in was a disaster.
Raising a cavalry costs a lot, and raising a heavy cavalry requires an even more terrifying investment.
In their heyday, the Jin Kingdom and Xixia had only a few thousand heavy cavalry. Mongolia was powerful, but there were not many heavy cavalry.
The three thousand heavy cavalry that rushed in accounted for almost half of the Mongolian heavy cavalry. If all of them were included, it would not be easy for the Mongolian cavalry to deal with the infantry of Zhao Tai and the Song Dynasty.
Wokuotai understood that he had been tricked out by Zhao Tai again, and he was anxious. He couldn't help but put his feet in the stirrups, his buttocks left the saddle, stood up on the horse, and looked at the coalition camp in the distance.
Sure enough, after the heavy cavalry broke into the camp, the coalition forces did not appear to be in chaos as imagined. The heavy infantry of the coalition forces hidden in various parts of the camp surrounded the heavy cavalry with their spears and continued to compress the space for the heavy cavalry to move.
Compared with the infantry, the advantages of the cavalry lie in their mobility and impact power. Once they lose these two advantages, they will be vulnerable to the formation of the infantry.
At this time, the Mongolian cavalry entering the camp was losing these two advantages under the squeeze of the coalition forces.
The coalition soldiers wrapped up and stabbed the Mongolian cavalry with spears, while those with axes and bone hammers chopped off the horse's legs. The Mongolian soldiers fell off their horses with heavy hammers.
Seeing this, Wo Kuotai reacted quickly. When he saw that the heavy cavalry was in danger of being surrounded and annihilated, he immediately roared angrily, "Blow the horn to let the heavy cavalry break out. Order Subutai to turn around immediately and support the heavy cavalry to break out."
The horn sounded for the Mongolian central army, and Subutai retreated in a hurry. When he heard the military order, he gritted his teeth, pulled the reins of his horse, and turned his horse's head. "Warriors, dismount and fight on foot. Break through the enemy's army for me and support the heavy cavalry to break through."
"
Seeing that the heavy cavalry was trapped and in danger of being wiped out, the Mongolian army immediately sent troops to rescue them.
Facing the coalition camp, the Mongolian cavalry could not play its role. They could only dismount, hold shields and scimitars, and rush towards the coalition camp.
Although the Mongolian army was good at cavalry, the Mongols swept across the Eurasian continent and were also very brave in infantry combat.
Wokuotai gave an order, and nearly ten thousand Mongolian soldiers dismounted in unison, and then charged forward with shields and scimitars, followed by a large number of people with bows and arrows, running with bows and arrows, and throwing arrows into the camp.
Lose and open the way for the warriors in front.
Liu Dun stood behind the cart and saw the Mongolians dismounting and rushing over. He immediately shouted in a hurry, "Fire arrows!"
The crossbowmen behind the vehicle array fired continuously. The shields of the Mongolian soldiers holding their shields were pierced by crossbow arrows, and people kept falling to the ground. However, they did not stop charging, but instead started running faster and faster with howls.
"Peng" made loud noises again and again, and the Mongolian army suffered a lot of casualties. Finally, they rushed to the front of the vehicle formation, collided with the large vehicle, and tried to overturn the vehicle.
The soldiers of the Qi army stood on the cart and stabbed with their spears to prevent the Mongolian army from advancing. The two teams fought each other at hand-to-hand combat, with blunt weapons directly hitting their faces. They committed suicide with blood and flesh splattering, and the situation changed.
At this time, the Mongolian army tried to rescue the trapped heavy cavalry in the camp and rushed in desperately. However, the Qi soldiers blocked them and guarded the gap. The two armies roared like an angry wave and fought desperately.
On the battlefield, Zhao Tai's Liu Dun tribe was locked in the gap between the Mongolian heavy cavalry and the dismounted light cavalry.
In front of them were the Mongolian light cavalry who were fighting inward. Their swords and shields were in front of them, and the archers were shooting behind them. Behind them were the Mongolian heavy cavalry who were dismounted.
After they lost their speed, they became the target of the coalition forces on horseback. Many heavy cavalrymen dismounted and fought on foot, charging towards the gap from the inside out.
The heavy cavalry were wearing heavy armor and were difficult to damage with swords. The Qi army picked up their bone hammers and swung their maces, which only caused their heads to bleed.
Liu Dun was the heavy infantry under Zhao Tai. Facing the frontal impact of the Mongolian light cavalry, the Qi army had the advantage of armor and stomach. The Mongolian cavalry, who dismounted and fought on foot, used scimitars and bows and arrows, so it was difficult to harm them in heavy armor.
The Qi army.
The Mongolian army's heavy cavalry were wearing iron armor, and their defensive capabilities were not inferior to those of the Qi army. However, the weapons of these heavy cavalry were mainly lances.
This kind of weapon is very powerful when struck on horseback, but it cannot be used in a dense crowd when dismounted and on foot.
The Mongolian heavy cavalry did not have suitable weapons to defeat the Qi army's heavy armor, but the Qi army was equipped with iron bones, maces, battle axes and other blunt and sharp weapons, and hammered the Mongolian army wearing iron armor to death.
The battle lasted from morning to noon, with the Qi army firmly locked in the gap, while the coalition forces in the camp bravely moved forward to harvest the Mongolian army in the camp.
Although Ogootai, the commander-in-chief of the Mongolian army, mobilized his troops and attacked the allied camp like crazy, he was unable to rescue the heavily encircled Mongolian heavy cavalry.
At this time, as the last heavy cavalry fell, the coalition forces had cleared the Mongolian troops in the camp, and the Mongolian troops continued to fight outside, so it was meaningless to rush into the camp.
"Great Khan, the heavy cavalry is finished!" Yang Weizhong, under the banner of the Great Banner, persuaded: "Let the attacking soldiers withdraw!"
Wo Kuotai's eyes were red, his face was full of pain, and he was unwilling to accept it. But the facts were in front of him, and he could only accept the reality, gritted his teeth and said: "Withdraw troops!"
On the battlefield, the horn of the Mongolian retreat sounded, and the various Mongolian troops that were besieging the coalition camp immediately retreated like a tide.
In the coalition camp, the Song and Qi coalition forces that had repelled the Mongolian army couldn't help but burst into cheers as they watched the Mongolian army abandon thousands of corpses.
"Victory!" The soldiers of the two armies raised their weapons and shouted excitedly.
The Song army was rarely able to win such a victory in foreign wars. When they saw that they had defeated the Mongolian army, they were very excited and felt that regaining the three capitals was not a dream.
Among the cheering crowd, the 10,000 Li troops who followed Zhao Tai were particularly shocked.
They had lived under the coercion of the Mongolian army for a long time. After being forced by Zhao Tai to resist the Mongols, they had always been terrified, worried that the Mongolian army would retaliate.
In their subconscious, they were very afraid of the Mongolian army and thought it would be difficult for them to defeat the Mongolian army. However, they did not want to follow Zhao Tai and actually repelled the Mongolian army's attack.
Looking upstairs, Zhao Kui said excitedly: "Guorui, all the Mongolian heavy cavalry have been lost. Our chances of winning this battle have increased by one point!"
Zhao Tai smiled and said: "Mr. Zhizhi, I think after today's battle, the Mongolian army will probably not continue to attack our camp. They can't defeat us, and they are worried about Guanzhong and Nanyang being attacked. I think Wo Kuotai can only give up.
Kaifeng, retreat to Luoyang and Guanzhong to set up defenses. We have won this battle!"
Zhao Kui and Quan Zi looked at each other after hearing this, with excited expressions in their eyes, "If this is the case, Bianjing can be restored, and we will achieve unparalleled achievements."
~~~~~~
The Mongolian army retreated to the camp, everyone was dejected, and the morale of the army suffered a great blow.
In the Mongolian army commander's tent, Wo Kuotai put his hat on his head and threw it to the ground, "Zhao Taina killed my three thousand cavalry, I and you are not the same."
In today's battle, the Mongolian army lost 3,000 heavy cavalry, and thousands more men and horses were killed or wounded in the attack on the coalition camp.
In this morning, nearly ten thousand people were killed and injured by the Mongolian army, which was unacceptable to Ogedai and many Mongolian generals.
Yang Weizhong said in a deep voice: "This Zhao Tai is indeed cunning. He saw through the Great Khan's strategy, so he took advantage of it, showed weakness in advance, lured our troops to rush into the camp, and then set up an ambush to annihilate our troops who entered the camp."
To be continued...