Chapter 208 Strikes hard
The three Hun armies continued to advance southward in a large oblique formation, with the western right wing leading the way.

On the top of Zhongdu City, Wang Rou, who was guarding the city’s grain stores, squinted his eyes and looked at the distant hillside to the east.

He explained to his nephews standing beside him: "The Xiongnu suspected that the black bandits would set up an ambush in the east, so they sent the right wing first. This way, the black bandits' ambush troops will be out, and the Xiongnu army can also change its formation to meet the attack."

Given the distance of the Huns, the right wing of the western front, which had advanced four or five miles ahead, would reach the front line and join the battle in another hour.

However, the marching path of the right wing was being disrupted by a circular cavalry formation three or four miles wide. These Hun cavalry had been over-warmed up and their horsepower began to decline.

Liu Qubei led his guards to approach the circular cavalry formation and saw that Tai Shi Wengong was still charging back and forth, but he was also showing signs of fatigue.

When he arrived, he saw Taishi Wengong repelling a dozen cavalrymen and then dismounting to snatch a Xiongnu horse.

After fighting back and forth twice, the horses were shot and killed by the surrounding cavalry.

Before the horse fell, Tai Shi Wen Gong turned back to the armored cavalry that was pierced with more than twenty arrows.

Unfortunately, the divine horse was already tired, and it was walking at small steps while carrying Tai Shi Wen Gong, and had no strength to chase.

However, the cavalry's pursuit and shooting were unable to penetrate Taishi Wengong's armor, and more than a dozen cavalrymen charged with spears.

However, as the horses passed by each other in the clash, five knights were shot down one after another, and they failed to cause effective impact and casualties to Tai Shi Wengong.

The fresh troops that followed Liu Qubei were eager to try, and the besieged Tai Shi Wengong also seemed to feel threatened.

He ignored the harassment from the rangers' arrows, turned his horse around and headed east, with hundreds of rangers chasing after him.

In the middle area of ​​the circular cavalry formation, Liu Qubei saw about 200 Xiongnu knights falling off their horses, most of them died on the spot.

A few people walked towards the periphery, leaning on their spears.

About fifteen miles to the east, on a platform on a ridge, Zhao Yun had smeared his eye sockets with ink and was squinting at the battlefield.

Seeing that the inhuman cavalryman pretended to be exhausted again, he could not help but grit his teeth.

Behind the earthen platform, the knights of the four teams of blue, red, yellow and white all dismounted to rest, and continued to feed fine feed to the draft horses and war horses that were about to be ridden and charged.

They can only charge in four general directions, and after this round of charge is over, it will turn into a melee similar to that of the Huns.

Without professional training and infantry support, they were unable to break through the enemy's lines after the charge and could only disperse and engage in a melee.

Without a stable front to provide cover, it would be impossible to retreat and reorganize the formation. Once caught in a melee, one could only grit their teeth and hold on.

At this moment, Zhao Yun turned to look to the south, and the white air he exhaled floated to the south, gradually rising and dissipating.

More and more sleds and chariots emerged and turned northwest three or four miles northeast behind Guo Huai's formation.

Guo Huai, who was still on the offensive, was frightened and immediately withdrew his troops.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Ling and Linghu Chao's second formation also stopped attacking and formed a rough hollow square formation.

Behind the southern wall, Zhang Yan threw a powerful short spear and watched the Taiyuan soldiers who were shot through the chest and back fall down while gasping for breath.

Some Black Mountain soldiers climbed over the earthen rampart, endured the harassment from the Taiyuan soldiers' arrows, and stabbed the injured Taiyuan soldiers who were unable to evacuate with their spears.

In just thirty or so breaths, the section of the earthen fort guarded by Zhang Yan returned to calm.

The south gate of Wu County on his left was open, and many young men were either riding horses pulling rough sleds, or simply leading horses to drag the door panels.

More than a hundred wounded soldiers have been transferred to the city for treatment, and vehicles in the city have also brought in steaming minced meat porridge.

Zhang Yan watched the latest batch of a dozen wounded soldiers evacuate. This was the first time he had seen such a thing in all his years of fighting.

The wounded were evacuated in an orderly manner. The soldiers scattered behind the walls were in a stable mood and were all watching the sled convoy that was circling three or four miles away.

Soon, when the heavy sled driven by Yuan Shu was ignited, the sleds following behind were also ignited.

On the fast-moving sled, the reeds burned very quickly.

The choking smoke was blown southward by the north wind, and bundles of reeds fell onto the snow and continued to burn.

"Form a formation and defend!"

"Don't retreat, wait for reinforcements!"

"No noise!"

The Taiyuan soldiers who formed a hollow square formation immediately saw that their line of sight with the Huns was blocked. Some sled soldiers braved the Taiyuan soldiers' arrows and dropped bundles of reeds close to the square formation.

Thick smoke from burning filled the snowy field, and coughing and shouting sounds came one after another from the hollow square formation.

The military officers sent by Wang Ling rode their horses around and shouted encouragement, and the three hollow square formations barely maintained stability.

Almost at the same time, the right wing of the Huns, which was only ten miles away from them, began to accelerate and prepare to meet the Taiyuan troops.

Liu Qubei returned to his camp and saw that the infantry could not keep up with the cavalry. He was also unable to suppress the cavalry following on both wings. He immediately sent half of the cavalry to go ahead and he personally went to suppress the other half.

In the main camp of the Xiongnu, Liu Bao watched as the circular cavalry formation moved eastward, about to block his route of advance.

Seeing the Taiyuan soldiers obscured by smoke and dust again, Liu Bao gritted his teeth and couldn't help but stand up from the chariot.

He walked forward and held the guardrail with an anxious look, and saw more and more cavalry pouring out from behind the earthen platform in the east.

Seeing this, Liu Bao smiled and said, "Line up to the east!"

His chariot gradually slowed down, and the Hun infantry passed by on both sides with spears and shields. Just as they changed their formation, four cavalry teams on the east side galloped lightly.

In just over twenty breaths, stimulated by the chariot soldiers' fireworks signals, all the four cavalry teams of blue, red, yellow and white were dispatched, forming a front line three or four miles wide from north to south in front of Liu Bao.

As the cavalry continued to emerge and attack, the Green Flag Team of more than 3,000 riders marched southward and charged directly at the circular cavalry formation.

The Red and Yellow Teams marched along the two sides of the Chanyu's main formation, neither intending to directly charge into the Chanyu's infantry phalanx.

Even though these nomadic slave spearmen have not yet formed a new formation, the cavalry are instinctively unwilling to do so.

The White Flag Team of more than 3,000 cavalry continued to move northward, intending to intercept the supporting cavalry of the Xiongnu left wing group.

When the four teams of blue, red, yellow and white cavalry showed signs of separating, the cavalry on both wings of the Chanyu's main formation also launched a charge. They wanted to buy time for the slave spearmen to change and form a formation.

As long as the spearmen formation is formed, the Hun cavalry can run behind the formation at any time to regroup and form a formation.

The side that can continue to form formations and catch its breath in the melee will definitely have an increasing advantage.

Four or five miles north of the Chanyu's main camp, the cavalry of the left wing of the Xiongnu rushed forward to support.

The circular cavalry formation dispersed almost at the same time, retreating to the right wing, splitting into two groups, attempting to pass through both sides of the right wing infantry.

Trapped in the cavalry formation, Lu Bu no longer disguised himself and charged towards the spearman formation of the Chanyu's main camp.

When the spearmen array turns from south to east, the spearmen on the west side have to detour a long distance to complete the change of formation.

During this gap in the formation, Lu Bu rushed in alone, knocked over a dozen people off his horse.

He grabbed the Fang Tian Ji with his right arm and threw it hard towards where Liu Bao was. Although the Fang Tian Ji was seventy or eighty steps away, it failed to reach Liu Bao, but it pierced through two people and knocked over a group of people.

Lu Bu drew out his Han sword and quickly killed the slave spearmen, while his horse Yin Gan fought back and forth, ensuring that Lu Bu always had room to maneuver and move.

After killing dozens of people in a row, the Qingqi team split into two, one group met the Hun cavalry on the right wing, and the other followed Lu Bu to attack the chaotic right position of the spearmen array.

At this time, Zhao Yun led more than 3,000 cavalrymen to approach the battlefield, and looked around the north and south. He saw that the left-wing supporting cavalry in the north had been entangled, and the right-wing cavalry in the west was divided into two, one supporting the Taiyuan soldiers, and the other was also entangled by the Qingqi team.

Seeing that the Huns who had quickly left the circular cavalry formation before were trying to regroup, Zhao Yun immediately pointed his spear at the enemy and said, "Follow me to chase and kill them. Don't let them regroup!"

He rode his horse forward, and his knights followed him, bypassing the fighting Green Flag Team and chasing after the tired Ten Thousand Cavalry.

Before, it was Lu Bu who held back the ten thousand cavalrymen, and now it is Zhao Yun's three thousand cavalrymen who are holding them back, so it's not a loss no matter how you look at it.

Smoke obscured the battlefields in the north and south. The last black flag team gathered and approached, waiting to meet up with Tai Shi Wengong.

The stalemate lasted until about 11:30. The three hollow squares of the Taiyuan soldiers dared not advance or retreat. Most of the chariot soldiers had completed their mission. Except for a few who controlled their horses and drove their chariots back, most of the chariot soldiers also joined the battle, harassing the Xiongnu cavalry or disturbing the Xiongnu right-wing infantry and hindering their actions.

The black bear couldn't see the location of Liu Bao's flag, so although Lu Bu was having a great time killing it, he was unable to get close to it.

Around twelve o'clock, Wang's troops in Zhongdu City went out of the city in an attempt to rescue Shanyu's troops.

The Hun left wing infantry in the north also approached quickly, and the bundles of reeds thrown at this time were burned out one after another.

The sun shines everywhere, and the snowfield reflects the white light.

The Huns who participated in the battle, the people of Taiyuan began to feel uncomfortable in their eyes.

The Chanyu's main camp was already in chaos, the slave spearmen had completely lost order, and the cavalry of both sides also broke away from the entanglement, turning into cavalry teams of dozens of people, chasing and fighting around the Chanyu's main camp.

Many of the cavalrymen from the Blue, Red, Yellow and White teams dismounted and fought on foot, following Lu Bu to kill the spearmen.

"General Qu, the chariot soldiers request to fight again!"

A personal soldier quickly climbed up the wooden building: "They are preparing to burn the right wing of the Xiongnu and block their infantry."

"Allow the chariot troops to attack on their own."

Black Bear turned around to look at the line of sleds behind the wooden building, and saw that only about 200 sleds had returned.

The straw bales have been reloaded, as the reed bales have been used up, and what is being loaded onto the truck now is actually green hay.

He glanced at the charioteers, then his eyes moved away. Yuan Shu's team of six drove the other two heavy sleds and took the lead.

He returned to the north side of the wooden building. The north wind blew in his face, and the broken pieces of ice that were blown up fell on his mask.

His eyes felt a little moist, and he raised his hand, and Lu Bu and his horse disappeared in the melee.

A dozen breaths later, the card fell into his hand and was thrown at the Black Flag Team waiting to join the battle.

The card fell two or three miles behind the Black Flag Team. Lu Bu, dressed in a white robe and cloak that had been restored to brand new, rode his horse lightly.

As it approached the Black Flags, each of the Black Flags' hundred-man squadrons began to blow the horn.

The sound of the horn urged more than a dozen small groups of four-color cavalry teams that were fighting along the way to avoid it.

In the melee, Liu Bao held on without moving.

As long as the left and right wing infantry arrived, he would definitely be safe.

The enemy's cavalry that is entangled will also suffer heavy losses.

Three or four miles to the east, we can see Tai Shi Wen Gong charging on his horse from a high place, and in front of him there are only a dozen layers of infantry.

Liu Bao held the guardrail tightly with both hands and his breathing became heavier.

Seeing that the enemy was rushing to three miles away, he used his halberd to cut the waist and abdomen of a Hun cavalryman.

Soon we were two miles away, and the speed was getting faster and faster.

Almost instantly, Liu Bao noticed that the elite tribal warriors in front of his car began to waver, and some of them dodged to the sides.

Liu Bao still held on, gritting his teeth and not saying a word, for fear that if he opened his mouth he would lose all his courage.

Lu Bu charged almost straight towards the Chanyu's banner behind the chariot. When he got close, he controlled his horse and leaped, knocking down a group of people with his powerful horse.

Lu Bu leaped up from mid-air and slashed down with the Fang Tian Ji in both hands.

The flagpole of the large banner, which was as thick as a calf, was cut off by a halberd. The banner suddenly fell to the east and landed near Liu Bao's chariot.

The horses pulling the carriage were frightened and the driver had difficulty controlling them.

The chariot turned on its own, causing chaos to spread outward from the center of the array of more than a thousand elite Xiongnu infantry.

Immediately afterwards, more than 2,000 Black Flag Teams charged with spears, and the core defense of the Chanyu's main camp was instantly broken.

A dozen miles to the north, the reconnaissance Wuhuan cavalry turned around and ran in tacit understanding the moment the Chanyu's flag was cut down.

Thirteen or fourteen miles northeast of the Chanyu's main camp, more than 4,000 soldiers of Yang Feng's vanguard army, who were standing in formation and watching, saw the Chanyu's flag fall and immediately joined the battle, charging towards the nearest Huns' left-wing infantry group.

Some Black Mountain Army scouts who stayed here also quickly headed north to bring the sudden battle report here to Guo Xian in Qi County and Yu Digen further north.

Black Bear withdrew his gaze from the Chanyu's main camp and looked down at the three hollow square formations of Taiyuan people who were holding their ground nearby.

At this moment, the chariot soldiers who attacked for the second time were more courageous, and some of them drove sleds directly to attack the phalanx.

The bales of hay which the sleds were loaded with had caught fire and were burning fiercely, forcing the frightened horses to charge away.

How could Crazy Horse in this state be afraid of a three or four-layer human wall?

When horses are no longer afraid of people, it is people's turn to be afraid of horses.

First, a burning sled rushed into Guo Huai's hollow formation, followed by a second one.

More than a hundred sleds further away were also set on fire, making it impossible for the Hun's right-wing infantry to advance or retreat.

When Black Bear looked north again, he saw that the Chanyu's main camp was finally defeated, and the defeated infantry and cavalry swept away Wang's troops who were pouring out of the capital.

Without waiting for them to separate, the pursuing cavalry intentionally increased the intensity of the attack in the northern area.

The cavalry that had charged forward showed signs of regrouping in the north, forcing the defeated Hun cavalry and infantry to passively correct their retreat direction and head west and southwest.

They soon joined up with the right-wing infantry group, which was unable to stop them and was swept away to flee westward.

After noon, Black Bear saw the Black Mountain Army's Yang Feng's vanguard troops coming down the mountain and biting the Xiongnu's left-wing infantry in the distance to the north, so he smiled and said, "Send a message to the military doctor and send out chariot soldiers to treat our wounded soldiers!"

After saying that, Black Bear also walked towards the wooden ladder, went down the wooden building, and boarded the sled that Yuan Shu had been driving before.

He personally shook the reins and drove the sleigh to Wu County.

After walking seven or eight miles, Zhang Yan came up to him and asked, "General Qu, should we give chase?"

"No hurry. Wang Ling and Guo Huai don't know the strength of our army. They dare not retreat easily."

After the black bear said this, he shook the reins and drove the sled away.

Zhang Yan looked at the departing sled and smiled, then turned around to look at Wang Ling's hollow square formation on the other side of the earthen wall and couldn't help but smile even more brightly.

When Black Bear arrived at the east gate of Wu County, various simple chariots and soldiers came out of the north gate and moved eastward along the low earthen wall, stretching for three or four miles.

The black bear came near Li Feng, where many pottery jars had been prepared. Every time he passed a pottery jar, he raised his hand and put about two or three catties of red berries into it.

The military doctor and apprentice who had been waiting for a long time immediately crushed it with a wooden pestle and poured in hot water.

Into the last jar, he threw all the magic berries he had accumulated over the past six months, and three apprentices crushed them.

After doing all this, without even bothering to talk to Li Feng, he climbed up to the wooden building on the north side of the city wall.

The view here is better, and we can see the panicked Hun cavalry trying to escape along the ice of the lake.

But the ice was still thin and could not withstand being trampled on.

As soon as he stood firm, he saw two or three hundred Hun knights falling into the broken ice.

The armchair was also brought in and placed by his personal guards. He sat down, took off his mask, and basked in the warm winter sun.

The personal guard brought a cup of hot tea. Black Bear held it in both hands and blew on it, and couldn't help but smile.

After this battle, masks are no longer needed.

(End of this chapter)