Chapter 65: Turkish Archer

The Tang army set up their battle formation on the high slope, still with fifty men in each team.

This time, the gaps between teams were larger, making it easier for the crossbowmen to shoot.

The Tang army had 1,000 foot archers and 1,000 horse archers. The Tang army, which was in a high position, could make better use of this advantage.

"The Turks abandoned their war horses and used their infantry as bows. The deer horns we used to block their way would be useless. This would be a tough battle."

Li Xuan had thought that the Turks would do this.

"The Turks are not good at fighting on foot, and our army is good at fighting on foot."

Wang Sili held a long-handled knife in his hand, ready for hand-to-hand combat.

"General Wang, the north and west are now in your hands."

Li Xuan ordered Wang Sili to command in the north and west.

He personally commanded the south and east.

The Tiaodang Army and the Five-Heavy Armor Battalion had a total of nearly a thousand people.

There are 200 people on each side, and the rest are reserved as surprise troops.

There were 2,500 infantrymen, 500 on each side, and 500 infantrymen were left as a surprise force.

Two thousand archers followed the crossbowmen, waiting for the opportunity to shoot.

Among them, a thousand archers were ready to pick up spears as a reserve.

On average, each person has fifty arrows, and they are not allowed to shoot arrows without restraint.

The Turkic soldiers lined up to climb the long slope of about three hundred steps, looking orderly and full of momentum.

Boli specifically instructed his soldiers to charge when the Tang army shot arrows.

This can save energy to the greatest extent.

"The general who led the Turkic soldiers has some tricks."

Li Xuan held a strong bow in his hand and talked to himself as he looked at the Turkic soldiers who were about to charge forward in one go.

These Turkic soldiers came from many tribes and did not know each other, but they were able to unite together temporarily, which shows their ability.

Li Xuan ordered the archers to start shooting when the enemy was within seventy steps.

The crossbowman shot the crossbow arrow at fifty steps.

Li Xuan required the crossbowmen to focus on shooting at the enemy's heavy armor, and to break the iron armor within fifty steps.

In a solemn atmosphere, the Turkic soldiers were getting closer and closer.

Two hundred steps.

One hundred and fifty steps.

One hundred steps.

Eighty steps...

"Fire arrows!"

"Boom!"

Li Xuan gave an order, drew his bow and arrow, and aimed at a Turkic soldier who seemed to be a small leader.

"Pfft!"

The strong bow pierced through the little leader's armor and he fell halfway down the slope.

At the same time, four phalanxes of archers from the southeast, northwest, and northeast shot arrows at Banpo.

Arrows thrown from this distance are most lethal, and the Tang army archers have superb throwing skills.

Arrows fell from the sky like a rainstorm, hitting the Turkic soldiers' formation.

"Dang Dang Dang..."

"what……"

Soldiers with shields or wearing iron armor could survive.

The life and death of most Turkic soldiers depended on luck.

"Charge, kill the Tang people. God bless us..."

The Tang army's arrows were also a signal for the Turkic soldiers to charge.

They no longer conserved their strength and struggled to climb towards the position of the Tang army.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

Except for the second round of arrows.

The crossbowman pulled the trigger in front.

"Click!" "Click!"

The iron armor was pierced by the powerful crossbow.

Their blood was shed on the barren hillside. The Turkic soldiers behind them did not show any fear and continued to fight.

The heavy soldiers died and the shameful illness ended.

This belief runs in the blood of the Turks and has remained unchanged for hundreds of years.

Instead of making them retreat, small setbacks will make them more courageous.

In a moment, the Turkic cavalry came within thirty steps of the Tang army under a rain of arrows.

The Tang army archers fired five rounds in a row, using the terrain to kill over a hundred people and injure many more.

Li Xuan ordered to stop shooting arrows.

They have to hold on until at least tomorrow. It would be irrational to use up all the arrows at once.

Now the Turkish soldiers were advancing with their shields, so the arrows could not do as much damage as possible. But the crossbowmen were always waiting for an opportunity to aim at the armored soldiers of the Turkish cavalry.

The Tang army's crossbow was created to kill and injure soldiers.

The Turkic archers were seventy steps away from the Tang army's front line.

Now it's their turn.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

Although the Turkic cavalry bows were not as powerful as the Tang army's infantry bows, it was very spectacular to see thousands of bows shooting together.

The sound of bowstrings was endless, and arrows rained down on the Tang army.

The black spots in the sky blocked out the sun, making people feel creepy.

The Tang army's archers reacted quickly, they put down their bows and arrows and picked up their shields.

The crossbowmen also hid behind their shields.

The Turkic army's arrows were not unlimited, and were even less than those of the Tang army.

As long as the fighting gets close to each other, the Turkic archers will not dare to shoot randomly.

Twenty steps.

Ten steps...

"Boom!"

The deer antlers that were originally stuck in the chevaux de frise were knocked over by the Turkic soldiers using their spears.

The Turkic soldiers charged even more fiercely, reaching within five steps.

Two chariots blocked their way.

The spears used in the battle formation were all two feet long. They could attack the other side through two chariots, and both sides had large shields in front to support them.

But the Tang army was well rested and well versed in battle formations.

The Turks, wearing iron armor and carrying heavy troops, rushed up the high slope, which took a lot of effort and they were not good at fighting on foot.

"Destroy the Turks."

"Achieve success."

"kill!"

The Tang army had been ready to attack. They suddenly shouted and stood up, while at the same time they tightly grasped the spears on the carts and thrust forward.

"Dang! Dang..."

"Pfft!"

The sound of metal, and the sound of spears penetrating flesh.

The Turkic soldiers at the front were hit by spears before they could attack.

The man in iron armor was hit.

The Tang army also had hundreds of soldiers holding long spears, who directly pierced the Turkic iron armor, and blood flowed when they returned the spears.

The Turks were numerous and powerful, and as one row fell, another row rushed forward.

In addition to the clash of weapons, there were also two different kinds of eyes staring at each other.

The Turkic warriors didn't care and tried their best to thrust out with their spears.

Some Turkic soldiers even jumped directly onto the Tang army's chariots. Although they would become the target of public attack and be stabbed to death immediately, they bought time for other Turkic soldiers to stab them.

"Crack!"

A Turkic soldier inserted an iron spear into the gap of the Tang army's shield. The Tang soldier was wearing leather armor and was pierced by the powerful spear.

Dadun almost fell to the ground, but fortunately the soldiers behind him supported him in time.

Several Turkic soldiers climbed onto a chariot and were able to briefly exchange stabs with the Tang army. Although they all died in the end, one Tang soldier wearing iron armor was injured.

Unable to break through the Tang army's defense for a while, the Turks could only use their numerical advantage to wear down the Tang army.

"Shhhhhh!"

The crossbowmen in the gaps between the teams continued to fire crossbow arrows.

In less than ten steps, the Turkic soldiers hit by the crossbow arrows would inevitably fall to the ground.

Li Xuan, holding a strong bow, was not idle either. He appeared in the middle of a gap and kept pulling the bow to its full strength.

He had the ability to shoot accurately from a hundred paces away, and aimed at the Turkic leader who was dressed differently.

These people are equivalent to the escorts and team leaders of the Tang army. Killing them will disrupt the formation.

"Pfft!"

"Be careful……"

"Brothers, be careful, there are Turkic archers."

Soldiers of the Tang army at the frontline fell one after another, all of them were shot in the face, extremely tragic.

Li Xuan also noticed this situation.

He put the arrow on the bowstring and looked down with sharp eyes.

Forty steps away, a Turkic archer wearing a fur hat and holding an ox-horn bow was seen bending over and looking for prey.

It was as if he had the sixth sense of being a great archer. The moment Li Xuan stared at him, he felt like his hair stood on end.

The moment he turned his head, he drew the ox-horn bow and pointed it at Li Xuan who was in the middle of the army formation.

"call out……"

But he was a step too slow. Li Xuan shot an arrow first, piercing his body, and he died in the attacking team.

(End of this chapter)