Chapter 185 Turning
"Wan Sheng!"

The earth-shaking roars instantly drowned out the cries of the Yan army and the refugees. The word "crushing" refers to the situation under the Youzhou city at that moment.

The Yan army of hundreds of thousands was so powerful that they broke through Youzhou and swept across Yan territory, shocking the world for a time. However, once Xiao Yan made up his mind to destroy them, it only took a day.

Ding Badu divided the army into three groups, with heavy cavalry in the front, light cavalry in the back, and mounted infantry following up alternately. As soon as they raised their horses to charge, Cui Tie's troops, which were the first to bear the brunt, or the entire Yan army camp on the southern front, collapsed in an instant.

Not to mention that there were people who dared to resist, even if there were any brave men, once these thousands of refugees were defeated, it would be like a flood that broke through a dam and could no longer be stopped. In the face of the cries of this raging flood, all courage would be shattered and all ambitions would be crushed into fear.

No one dares to stop it, and no one can stop it!

All the camps standing in the way were destroyed in an instant under the hooves of this extremely sharp and murderous army!
Countless military flags, along with the torrent of horse hooves, just kept crashing through the defeated soldiers and refugees who were desperately crying and fleeing, like waves. There was no need to even hack them apart, as these refugees and defeated soldiers were driven away crying for their lives, like rats running away with their heads in their hands.

Almost in the blink of an eye, or just in a moment of distraction, all the camps on the south side were without distinction involved in the collapse.

The so-called "defeating the strong with the weak" and "like a wolf devouring a tiger" means this: engage in battle with overwhelming cavalry and use the advantage of high-speed mobility to make it impossible for the opponent to organize effective resistance. As long as you can maintain mobility and always drive the defeated troops all over the mountains and plains to flee, let alone one hundred thousand, even if there are hundreds of thousands of disorganized and ununited chaotic troops, they will be crushed by a mere eight thousand cavalry!

Yes, that’s eight thousand cavalry.

Once on the battlefield, the situation will not go as expected. According to the generals' prior thinking, there will always be a few capable people among the hundreds of thousands of Yan troops, and a fierce battle is inevitable.

For the cavalry, getting involved in a fierce battle would mean failure. Without high-speed mobility, they would lose their advantages and it would be difficult for them to cause a major rout that would sweep across the entire battlefield.

Therefore, more than 2,000 heavily armored infantrymen were prepared in advance, specifically to fight fierce battles and destroy all obstacles that could block the cavalry's path.

However, the battle went too smoothly from the beginning of the charge. The front line of the Yan army was defeated. Refugees wrapped the defeated soldiers, and the defeated soldiers wrapped the refugees. They all fled to the camp behind in panic, and the camp behind was collapsed again. When the wave of defeat rose, the front wave rolled up the back wave, which was a tsunami that caused the entire Yan army to collapse.

Therefore, the so-called heavily armored infantry did not even dismount, but transformed from infantry into cavalry, replacing each other behind the three cavalry groups and joining in the pursuit that led to the defeat of the Yan army.

After all, during the Tang Dynasty, before and after the An-Shi Rebellion, the equal-field system and other reasons led to the collapse of the fubing system formed during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The number of soldiers was insufficient to guard the borders, and the combat effectiveness of the fubing also declined sharply. Under this premise, the recruitment system began to appear on the historical stage, that is, professional soldiers replaced the fubing, which was a combination of soldiers and farmers.

Before the Tang Dynasty, soldiers from the government had to accept conscription during wartime and be self-sufficient in farming during peacetime. Their energy and financial resources were often only enough to allow them to master one combat function. The same was true in terms of organization. Spearmen were spearmen, sword and shieldmen were sword and shieldmen, and crossbowmen were just archers. After completing their own jobs during wartime, there was nothing else to do.

Since the Tang Dynasty, although the government soldiers have been greatly strengthened, at least all soldiers must know how to shoot arrows, but they are still limited to a few skills. For example, the infantry may have only been able to fight with spears before, but now they have some additional skills with swords and shields. The infantry and cavalry are still clearly distinguished. This is called a "pure team."

Since the conscription system came onto the historical stage, professional soldiers no longer needed to farm to support themselves. They relied solely on the court for support. They were completely full-time soldiers, and they would naturally continue to improve their abilities by serving in the army and eating food.

To put it simply, under the conscription system, even if a soldier loses his weapon on the battlefield, he can pick up any weapon and continue to fight. Infantry can be transformed into cavalry, and cavalry can be transformed into infantry. Although cavalry and infantry will still be organized, for individual soldiers, the boundary between cavalry and infantry is not so clear, and they can deal with complex and changing battlefields more easily. This is called a "flower team."

Moreover, in the late Tang Dynasty, the warlords rose to power and even reached the point where they could compete with the central government. Not only the imperial court, but also the warlords tried their best to train their own full-time professional soldiers in order to strengthen their own strength.

As wars became more frequent and fighting became more intense, the abilities of professional soldiers would naturally rise to a peak in the mutual development. Even after several decades of development, before the Battle of Gaoliang River between Song, Zhao and Song, the Bianliang Imperial Guards, which had inherited several dynasties, were still the top troops in the world.

As Dingbadu was supported by Liu Rengong with all his resources in Hebei, the word "Hua Dui" was naturally tailor-made for them. It was easy for them to transform from infantry to cavalry.

What's more, in this world, it's not the wolf that devours the tiger, but the tiger that eats the sheep!
At this time, the sky was drizzling, rain and fog filled the air, and there were cries and shouts everywhere, one wave after another pouring towards the city of Youzhou.

And in this wave, the word "Victory" kept ringing faintly, just like the rolling thunder in the clouds, stirring the nerves of everyone in this world, and then shattering everyone's heart and liver.

……

In the army group on the left, Yu Zhong was holding a long-handled crescent-shaped sword, with red eyes, and he led his personal guards to the front of the entire army group, killing anyone who blocked his way. If they encountered a camp that was resisting stubbornly, they would either bypass it and wait for the troops in the rear to take it, or they would directly drive the human wave to break through the fences of the camp, and hack and kill the defenders who dared to resist until they were frightened and merged into the collapsing crowd.

Moreover, at this time, there were too few Yan army commanders who could stabilize their respective camps. Or perhaps many marshals had organized resistance in time, but before they encountered Ding Badu's army, which was like a god of death, they were overwhelmed by wave after wave of panicked crowds, and it was difficult for them to organize any resistance, so they could only flee in defeat.

As the captain of the infantry of Dingba City, Yu Zhong has always been a steady and stable person, not vying for merit or standing out. He behaves very indifferently about everything, and has only been following Xiao Yan's orders since his promotion until now.

However, today, he was ruthless for once. No matter whether it was the Yan army or the refugees, anyone who blocked his way would be chopped in half with a single blow. Then he led his troops to advance, advance, and advance all the way to the city of Youzhou!

By this time, he had almost no troops around him, only his personal guards and a commander, about 500 people. These 500 people may seem like a lot, but on a battlefield of 100,000 people, they are really tiny and completely insignificant.

As a general with no foundation, he has never been outstanding under Xiao Yan's command, and he does not have the great reputation of Wang Yanzhang, Yuan Xingqin and others, so he has always acted harmless.

But his appearance doesn't mean he is really harmless!

A great achievement is before his eyes. Among all the generals under Xiao Yan's command, he is the only one by his side. There is also a cavalry general Ding Badu in the army group on the right. As long as he can kill the so-called Yan army in the first time, and then control the trend of the hundreds of thousands of refugees to disintegrate near Youzhou, it will be a great achievement!
Yu Zhong is over thirty years old, at the prime age for a soldier. How could he not want to become the number one general under General Xiao!

If Wang Yanzhang and Yuan Xingqin could compete, why couldn't he?!

It is easy to disperse the Yan army, but being able to stop the defeated army from continuing to wreak havoc in Yan land is the real achievement!
"Send a message to all the generals. No matter what happens, our army must rush to the north of Youzhou before anyone else and stop the defeated army from advancing northwards."

Yu Zhong changed his mount and shouted to the guards on both sides. Then, his eyes widened behind his mask and he shouted, "Master Xiao's great cause will be accomplished today. He will come to the battlefield in person and fight with us!

I, Old Yu, have always been very kind to you. I have always given you a lot of food. I also know that you are real heroes and have never embarrassed me. But today I still have to beg you for mercy!"

He pointed the crescent-shaped sword in his hand forward, and saw tens of thousands of defeated soldiers, countless camps, and an almost invisible end. Amid the cries that blocked out the sky, it was like the Avici Hell.

Ding Badu was certainly successful, but after all, there were more than 100,000 people on the other side. Even if they did not fight, the people in the front were all covered in blood. Yu Zhong himself was covered in blood, so much so that it was hard to tell whether it was rain or blood.

"This road ahead is my future! Everyone knows that General Xiao never treats us unfairly, but I, Old Yu, am not ambitious and have never made any great achievements. I am even given the nickname 'Yu Mutou' and I often feel ashamed of General Xiao's promotion!
But, today! Today! The opportunity is right before my eyes! I beg you all to help me, Old Yu, show my face in front of General Xiao for once! Just this once! As long as I, Old Yu, don’t die on horseback in the future, I will definitely help you all rise to prominence together with me!”

Yu Zhong gritted his teeth and pulled the reins.

"We only have 500 cavalrymen. Can we break through this damn Yan army?!"

“Fuck!”

The guards behind him could not suppress their excitement and passion, and they trembled a little. Then they cursed loudly without caring about anything: "Don't talk about the Yan army! As long as we can show our face in front of General Xiao, we have nothing to fear even if we attack the Liang army! Captain, there is no need to say anything, we will charge at you!"

Yu Zhong let out a sigh of relief, then burst into laughter. "Kill him!"

------

In the east city of Youzhou, on top of the city wall, the wall of the Yichang Army's main camp built next to the city wall was crowded with Yichang Army soldiers who were standing on tiptoe and looking south.

Sun He and several generals from Cangzhou were also standing in front of them, but they were all dumbfounded.

Just as the sky was getting light and the rain and fog were still thick, a loud roar suddenly erupted from the south, which alarmed the Yichang army. Moreover, Sun He and others had already ordered their troops to climb up to the city walls and prepare to defend to the death.

However, as soon as I looked to the south, I saw this unforgettable scene.

In the rain and fog, it was impossible to see anything. An overwhelming wave of defeated troops swept to the north. The density of the heads and the loud cries were enough to make people's scalps numb. The seemingly invisible pursuing army had only a few thousand people. Judging from their formation, it was clearly the Dingbadu that had been defeated in the south some time ago. Everyone was horrified.

Is there really someone who dares to fight against tens of thousands of troops with only a thousand cavalry?

"Ding Badu, when did you become so brave..."

A general from Cangzhou murmured to himself, somewhat incredulously.

Sun He also had no answer and could only remain silent.

"General Sun, what should we do?" someone asked.

"This……"

Sun He frowned, looking at the Yan army camps outside the East City, which were already in a panic and looked in danger, and he was actually somewhat tempted.

At this moment, a loud shout suddenly rang out.

"Commander Xiao's order!
All the troops of Yichang Army must not move rashly! Each of them must guard the city gates and prevent the Yan army from rushing into Youzhou! General Xiao will quell the rebellion at the foot of the city. After the rebellion is settled, General Xiao will personally take over the Yichang Army.

Reward according to merit!"

Sun He and others turned around hurriedly to look, only to see several cavalrymen dressed in Yichang Army uniforms but wearing bamboo hats, holding a token and galloping back and forth in the camp.

Then, before they could react, they heard a sudden cheer from the entire Yichang Army camp.

In an instant, all the generals from Cangzhou turned pale and were at a loss.

However, they did not need to do anything. The soldiers under them seemed to have received arrangements in advance and rushed into the city from the east gate. Yuan Xingqin's troops in the city did not stop them at all. Instead, they joined them and closed the city gates without hesitation, just watching the hundreds of thousands of people under the city gradually develop into a total defeat.

-

Yingzhou.

In the valley, carts loaded with gold, silver, food and fodder kept pouring out of the valley mouth, and there seemed to be no end in sight.

On the hillsides on both sides of the valley entrance, in the newly built camp, Feng Dao stroked his beard and from time to time asked the bad guys beside him to record the total amount of military supplies transported out.

Beside him, Fu An wiped his sweat and panted a little, saying, "Mr. Feng, this batch of grain is the last one I can buy. If you want more, you have to go to Zhao to buy it..."

Feng Dao smiled slightly, waving his folding fan in one hand, and said, "It's not enough. Commander Fu may really need to go to Zhaodi."

"not enough!?"

Fu An was horrified. Despite being sweaty, he said anxiously, "Mr. Feng, please don't lie to me. We have been transporting supplies to Gaoliang River every day these days. How can it not be enough?"

"It's really not enough." Feng Dao shook his head: "Time is running out, I won't explain any more, Commander Fu, please leave quickly."

Fu An was helpless. As the person in charge of the bad guys left here by Xiao Yan, he was originally working for Feng Dao, so he had to walk down the hillside and get on the horse again.

But immediately, he couldn't hide his doubts after all, and asked through gritted teeth: "Mr. Feng, it is a foregone conclusion that General Xiao will take Youzhou, and he can rest slowly in Youzhou afterwards. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"What Commander Fu said makes sense, but it's also not reasonable."

Feng Dao laughed loudly, then waved his feather fan, looked to the north, and said, "Commander Fu, do you think that General Xiao will definitely rest in Youzhou?"

"What else?" Fu An frowned and said, "After such a great battle, if we don't rest, won't the troops..."

"That's why we have to quickly transport the rewards and military supplies to Youzhou." Feng Dao laughed and added, "With the military supplies and the rewards for the troops, General Xiao can continue to transport them without stopping."

"Turn into?"

"Commander Fu, don't forget Mobei."

Fu An was startled, then without hesitation, he suddenly jumped on the horse and led a few bad guys away in a hurry.

Feng Dao continued to stay in the camp, stroking his beard and looking to the north.

How could he not know about his own lord?
Turn in, turn in.

Only by taking advantage of the situation to establish the overall situation outside the northern desert in one fell swoop, Hebei can truly become Xiao Yan's back garden from then on.

Not to mention the Queen of Mobei, even if she wasn't there, perhaps General Xiao would go out of the border and chop off ten thousand heads to intimidate people outside the border.

However, why wait when you can pick up something ready-made?
(End of this chapter)