mtl008 Chapter 794 The War of Founding the Nation (4)
Chapter 794 The War of Founding the Nation (4)
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were not a single army but two separate units: the Tiger Cavalry and the Leopard Cavalry. The Tiger Cavalry consisted of heavy cavalry, numbering around 800 men, while the Leopard Cavalry consisted of light cavalry, numbering over 4,000 men.
Although Liu Bei had recovered the horse-breeding lands of Longxi, the recovery time was too short and he did not have the energy to build heavy cavalry. Therefore, he selected elite troops and generals to build a heavy armored battalion to fight against Cao Wei's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
The heavy armor battalion consisted of only two thousand men, built to the standards of the later Beiwei Army. Each man was equipped with a helmet and leather armor made of iron plates, along with a short sword, a hook-and-sickle spear, a Zhuge repeating crossbow, and a hard bow. The hard bow was responsible for long-range suppression, while the repeating crossbow was responsible for mid-range suppression.
These pieces of equipment weighed a total of sixty or seventy kilograms, which was difficult for most people to lift, and it was impossible for them to carry them while running and fighting. Therefore, the selection criteria for the heavy armor battalion were very high, and Liu Bei searched the entire army and only found two thousand men.
It's not that we can't afford to build the equipment, it's that we can't find the right people.
It is worth mentioning that Yue Fei's Beiwei Army was equipped with long and short swords. After discussing and experimenting with Zhuge Liang, Guan Xing changed the long swords into hook-and-sickle spears that were convenient for hooking horses' legs.
Xia Tong, still holding his long-handled broadsword, clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and said, "Yes, sir..."
After speaking, he quickly returned to the formation and began to put on his armor with the help of his auxiliary soldiers.
The armor of the heavy armor battalion was too heavy to wear all the time, so it was placed in front of the heavy armor soldiers before the battle. Upon receiving the order, the heavy armor soldiers quickly got up, had their auxiliary soldiers help them put on their armor, and followed Xia Tong to the battlefield.
At this moment, Zhao Yun's defense line was already on the verge of collapse due to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, relying on their speed advantage, had even separated and surrounded Zhao Yun and Guan Ping and began to retreat inward, attempting to kill the father-in-law and son-in-law Zhao Yun and Guan Ping here.
In this situation, Xia Tong led his troops to the scene and swung his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) at the Tiger Cavalry in front of him. Although the sword failed to cut through the armor on the Tiger Cavalry's head, the force of the blade made the horse neigh in pain and stagger on the spot.
The soldiers behind quickly followed, placed the hook-and-sickle spear on the ground and pushed it hard. The spear blade successfully hooked and severed the horse's leg, and the warhorse could no longer bear it and fell to the ground on the spot.
Then, the heavily armored soldiers, in groups of three, began their operation, slaughtering the Wei army's tiger cavalry.
Tiger cavalry were heavy cavalry, and naturally not as fast or agile as light cavalry. Once they encountered heavy armored soldiers, they were targeted. The heavy armored soldiers worked in groups of three: one raised his spear to block the cavalry's attack, while the other two used hook-and-sickle spears to cut off the horses' legs.
The heavy infantry had practiced this coordinated tactic countless times, so their teamwork was exceptionally smooth, constantly bringing down the Tiger Cavalry, a sight that made Cao Xiu's heart bleed with pain.
These heavy cavalry were the Wei army's greatest trump card. Every warhorse was a priceless steed, and every soldier was a warrior handpicked from thousands. They had never been defeated since their debut, yet today they were repeatedly brought down by the Han army's heavy armor soldiers. It was truly heartbreaking.
More importantly, heavily armored soldiers and horses are all heavily armored. They are fine when charging, but once they fall to the ground, it is very difficult for them to get up again.
As an ancient version of tanks, heavy cavalry had very obvious advantages and disadvantages, and it was difficult to turn the tide when they were targeted.
Seeing this, Cao Xiu did not retreat, but instead angrily cursed, "Charge! Stomp these iron turtles to death!"
Under Cao Xiu's command, the Tiger Cavalry and the heavy infantry quickly became locked in a stalemate, and both sides began to suffer casualties. Although the Tiger Cavalry was not mobile, they were still heavy cavalry, and being hit by them was quite deadly.
Although heavily armored soldiers can sever a horse's leg, they don't always succeed. Even when they do, some warhorses will fall forward and collide with the heavily armored soldiers before they fall.
Heavy armored soldiers were also carrying heavy loads, and once they fell to the ground, it was difficult for them to get up. The two sides continued to hurt each other in this way.
However, Zhao Yun and Guan Ping, who were surrounded in the formation, could not stand by and watch Xia Tong fight alone. After stabilizing the situation, they also began to counterattack.
Guan Ping, wielding his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, charged straight at Cao Xiu, shouting as he ran, "Cao Xiu, you scoundrel, I am your opponent!"
As he spoke, he rushed in front of the tiger rider and swung his sword down, smashing the rider off his horse with a single blow. The horse reared up and stomped down hard, and the unfortunate tiger rider could never get up again.
Guan Ping quickly took down the three men. Seeing this, Cao Xiu no longer retreated, but rushed forward and swung his sword down, roaring, "Guan Ping, you scoundrel, stop your arrogance!"
As he spoke, he swung his long sword down, clashing head-on with Guan Ping in a blow that sent sparks flying.
The two charged forward again, neither giving way, their back-and-forth pushing the nearby soldiers aside to make way for them.
Although Cao Xiu was one of the few fierce generals in the Wei army, he was still inferior to Guan Ping. He only lasted for half a quarter of an hour before Guan Ping slashed him off his horse.
Although Cao Xiu was not injured despite being clad in heavy armor, he was still disoriented by the blow. Before he could regain his senses, Guan Ping struck again, using the barb on the back of the blade to hook into a gap in the armor and lift Cao Xiu onto the horse.
Guan Ping, who had captured Cao Xiu, immediately roared, "Cao Xiu has been captured! Why don't you surrender?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Cao Xiu roared impatiently, "Brothers, don't listen to him, don't worry about me, today we're facing certain death, charge!"
Enraged, Guan Ping punched him on the head, knocking him unconscious.
Cao Xiu was captured. The Tiger Cavalry were initially a little panicked, wondering whether they should rush to rescue him. However, after hearing Cao Xiu's order, they ignored it and continued their charge.
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were the Wei army's trump card, both in terms of combat strength and loyalty, so it was impossible to make them surrender simply by capturing their leader.
Not only that, Guan Ping's act of capturing Cao Xiu completely enraged the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry began to abandon their defenses and fight to the death, constantly knocking down heavily armored soldiers and then kicking them with their hooves.
In addition to the Tiger Cavalry, the Wei army also had the Leopard Cavalry. The Leopard Cavalry were lightly armored and moved extremely fast. They flanked the heavy armored soldiers from both the left and right flanks, forcing the heavy armored soldiers to start scrambling.
Zhao Yun and Guan Ping exchanged a glance and charged at the Leopard Cavalry to relieve the heavy infantry. Seeing this, Xia Tong ignored the Leopard Cavalry and focused all his efforts on attacking the Tiger Cavalry. He was determined to annihilate the Tiger Cavalry here today.
Xia Tong always charged ahead. Seeing their general so brave, the heavy infantry were greatly encouraged. In the end, they were even willing to sacrifice themselves, being trampled into mincemeat by the horses' hooves, just to hold onto the horses' legs and create opportunities for their teammates.
Under this desperate fighting style, the tiger riders fell one after another, and an hour passed quickly.
After an hour of fighting, Xia Tong had completely entered a berserk state, forgetting his surroundings and everything else, with only killing intent in his eyes.
Xia Tong once again swung his longsword, sweeping across the ground and striking the horse's head from the side, knocking the horse and its rider to the ground. He charged forward again, but found no target. He looked up in surprise and discovered that there were no more heavy cavalry around. All eight hundred heavy cavalry had been killed by them...
All done...
This heavily armored cavalry, personally established by Cao Cao and invincible for decades, was annihilated by Xia Tong today.
Xia Tong looked back and found that there were less than 500 heavily armored soldiers following him; the rest were either dead or lying on the ground groaning.
With only eight hundred elite cavalry, they inflicted more than 75% casualties on two thousand heavily armored soldiers. They truly deserve to be called Cao Wei's elite cavalry.
Xia Tong was about to charge again when Guan Ping arrived with his troops and shouted, "Stop charging! I'll cover your retreat!"
The heavy infantry suffered more than half casualties, and the rest were exhausted and no longer fit to charge; if they continued, they would be wiped out.
Guan Ping and Zhao Yun took turns providing cover, slowly protecting Xia Tong as they retreated.
Meanwhile, Cao Ren, upon receiving news of Cao Xiu's capture and the complete annihilation of his Tiger Cavalry, had no time to grieve. He commanded his army to launch a full-scale attack, attempting to suppress the arrogance of the Han army.
The fate of the Tiger Cavalry being completely annihilated cannot be changed. The only thing to do now is to take advantage of the gaps opened by the Tiger Cavalry and launch a full-scale attack to turn the tide. Only in this way can we prevent the Tiger Cavalry from sacrificing themselves in vain.