Chapter 105: Zhao Qin's First Battle (4)

  Looking at Zhao Jun's vanguard steadily advancing, a relieved smile also appeared on Gao Yuan's face as he commanded from the rear array war chariot. It seems that his hard work over the past few months has not been in vain, and the cavalry and infantry he trained have already shown initial results.

  Li Mu's troops, both cavalry and infantry, were not newly recruited soldiers, but well-trained veterans with rich combat experience. As long as they adapted to the new equipment and tactics, they could immediately go into battle and fully exploit the advantages of these new equipment and tactics.

  Of course, the highlands are not to be underestimated now. After all, Zhao Jun can only be considered to have a slight advantage now, and it is still far from winning. Moreover, when the reinforcements sent by Qin Jun to the left and right armies arrived on the battlefield, they gradually stabilized the situation on the two battlefields on the left and right. The war chariots of both sides galloped horizontally on the battlefield, and the infantry charged back and forth, killing each other for a while, making it difficult to distinguish between them. However, at this time, the battle returned to the traditional mode of chariot warfare.

  The general ordered the cavalry to re-enter the battlefield, but this time they did not directly charge into the fray. Instead, they attacked the Qin army's flanks from the outside, as the infantry accompanying the chariots had also joined the battle.

  However, the Qin army had been paying attention to the movements of the Zhao army's cavalry. As soon as they saw the Zhao army's cavalry move out, although it was not a direct entry into the battlefield like before, they immediately moved out to meet the Zhao army's cavalry. Therefore, the Zhao army's cavalry thought that in order to launch a pincer movement against the Qin army, they had to defeat the Qin army's cavalry first. The two sides' cavalry immediately engaged in battle again.

  The battlefield on both wings is still in a stalemate, but in the middle road, Zhao's army has already advanced forward by 50-60 meters.

  In fact, the Qin army fighting in the middle route was very depressed, because they found that the number of Zhao troops was not more than their own, and the individual combat effectiveness was not stronger than their own. But somehow, they just couldn't stop the sudden advance of the Zhao army, and they were also struggling to fight back.

  But at this time, the battle in the middle had also been going on for about 30 or 40 minutes. The Qin soldiers had somewhat figured out the Zhao army's tactics and understood that the two shield bearers and two long halberdiers at the front were mainly used to block themselves, allowing the long spear bearers and crossbowmen behind them to attack without danger. Therefore, if they continued to fight like this, they would definitely be at a disadvantage, so changes had to be made.

  After all, the mid-to-low-level officers of the Qin army had very rich combat experience and knew that to break through the Zhao army's tactics, they had to break through the defensive line of the small teams of the Zhao army. However, the four-man defense line formed by the Zhao soldiers was very tight, and they only defended without attacking, even if there were opportunities. It was not easy for the Qin army to break through the Zhao army's defense. Moreover, the four long spearmen and four crossbowmen behind the Zhao army would not allow the Qin army to attack their companions recklessly. As long as the four people in front could hold on for a while, the people behind could immediately launch an attack on the Qin army.

  Even if the Qin army could sometimes kill or injure one or two defending soldiers, others would immediately rush up to reinforce the defense line. As a result, many Qin soldiers tried to break through the Zhao army's defense line by force, but either fell under the long spears of the Zhao soldiers or were shot down by arrows and crossbow bolts, either dying or retreating from the battlefield wounded. Although other Qin soldiers quickly filled in the gaps, it was difficult for them to launch a continuous attack on the Zhao army's defense line, making it even harder to break through the Zhao army's defense line.

  Of course, there were also some Qin soldiers who found it difficult to break through the front line, so they planned to bypass the Zhao army's front defense line and attack from the side. However, the distance between each small team of the Mandarin Duck Formation was only a little over three meters wide, leaving almost no space for breakthrough attacks on the sides. Moreover, even if a small number of Qin soldiers managed to break through the front line of defense and attack the Zhao army's flanks, each small team of the Mandarin Duck Formation had two halberdiers who could use javelins for long-range attacks during battles. When enemy troops bypassed the front defense teams and attacked the flanks of the Mandarin Duck Formation, the task of these two halberdiers was to protect their own flank security. Therefore, they did not leave any gaps for the Qin army at all.

  Although the Qin army was also fighting with all its might, it was still unable to withstand the Zhao army's advance and could only be forced to retreat step by step. However, the Qin army had a large number of troops and was well-trained, and at this time the Zhao army was only advancing steadily without disrupting the Qin army's formation. Therefore, although the Qin army retreated, it did not become disordered and was still far from collapsing. Of course, if they continued to fight like this, the Qin army's defeat would be inevitable.

  However, the battle on both wings changed. After the cavalry of both sides joined the battlefield, the Qin army's cavalry had a clear gap with the Zhao army in terms of number and combat effectiveness. Therefore, after the two armies clashed, the Qin army's cavalry was defeated by the Zhao army without much effort, and then the Zhao army's cavalry launched an attack from the flank of the Qin army.

  At this time, Wang Jian and Meng Wu, who were commanding the rear of the Qin army, also clearly understood that the overall situation of the Qin army had gone, and if they continued to fight, it would be a defeat. Of course, the Qin army still had reserve forces, currently except for 100 war chariots, there were about 10,000 reserve troops, including 5,000 bowmen and another 5,000 infantrymen, while the Zhao army, except for 100 war chariots, all other forces had been put into battle.

  The number of chariots can be mutually offset, but if the Qin army puts these 5,000 infantrymen into battle, the Qin army can still hold on for a while. If used well, there is also a possibility of winning.

  But Wang Jian did not choose to continue fighting, and instead ordered the troops to retreat. Because Wang Jian was very clear that the Qin army could increase reinforcements, and the Zhao army could also send more troops from the main camp to reinforce. This would go on indefinitely.

  In addition, the purpose of this expedition was not to defeat the Zhao army, but mainly to let the Qin army soldiers exercise and maintain a tense state. Also, it was to probe the bottom line of the Zhao army. Now that these two goals have been basically achieved, withdrawing the troops before the Qin army shows obvious signs of defeat can be considered a draw. The impact on the morale of the Qin army is not significant either. If they were really defeated by the Zhao army, it would be bad. After withdrawing the troops, discuss with the other generals how to deal with the Zhao army's cavalry and infantry.

  As the horn in the rear of the Qin army sounded, the fighting Qin army also began to withdraw from the battlefield.

  Although the Qin army was already at a disadvantage, it had not yet reached the point of collapse. The formation and array of the Qin army were still largely intact, and most of its soldiers were seasoned veterans who had experienced many battles. As they retreated, the Qin army maintained relatively good order, with each unit withdrawing in sequence without any signs of chaos. Despite being pursued by the Zhao army, the Qin army did not suffer heavy casualties.

  At this time, Wang Jian also ordered the 5,000 crossbowmen who were left to guard the Qin army to launch a counterattack and cover the retreat of the Qin army. Although the Qin army was currently retreating and blocking the line of fire for the crossbowmen, they could use a throwing motion to jump over the retreating soldiers and strike at the pursuing Zhao troops. This was also the first time in this battle that the Qin army's crossbowmen had room to maneuver.

  A shower of arrows fell from the sky, and many of the pursuing Zhao troops also fell to the ground with arrow wounds. At this time, both sides were retreating and chasing each other, with some parts interlocking like dog teeth, so the Qin army's rain of arrows also mistakenly injured many comrades, but overall, the casualties of the Zhao army were still much greater than those of the Qin army.

  After the second batch of arrow rain shot by the Qin army fell, the retreat horn also sounded in the rear array of the Zhao army. The Zhao army quickly retreated from the battlefield, and the two armies quickly opened up a distance. The power of the third batch of arrow rain of the Qin army had already been reduced by half, and when the fourth batch of arrow rain fell, the Zhao army had basically exited the range of the bow and arrow, and almost all the arrows were inserted into the ground at an angle.

  The general couldn't help but secretly blame himself. If he had ordered the retreat a little earlier, the Zhao army wouldn't have suffered this barrage of arrows. It was because he hesitated for a moment, wanting to see what would happen next, that he wasn't able to give the order in time, resulting in several hundred more casualties for the Zhao army. It seemed he still needed some tempering.

  However, this was just a small detail in the battle. At this time, the distance between the two sides had already opened up to over 100 meters, and they were no longer within the range of the crossbows. Therefore, the crossbowmen on both sides also stopped shooting arrows and retreated to cover their companions, thus ending the first formal battle between Zhao and Qin.

  At this time, the Qin and Zhao armies had already returned to their respective teams, but on the battlefield, they left behind a large number of corpses, dead war horses, broken war chariots, shattered helmets and armor, and damaged weapons. The highlands also let out a long sigh, no matter what, for the first time independently commanding the battle, it was finally completed, from the situation, this ending is not bad, of course, the overall gains and losses still need to be summarized after returning to camp.

  But for now, they can't return to the camp immediately, because the battlefield still needs to be cleaned up. After the soldiers from both sides returned to their respective teams, they each dispatched hundreds of miscellaneous soldiers to collect the bodies on the battlefield and also search for seriously injured companions.

  It was only when clearing the battlefield that soldiers from both sides could get along with a relatively mild attitude, each searching for the bodies of their own companions, collecting swords, guns, spears and other weapons, picking up lost war horses, and damaged but not seriously damaged chariots. And basically, they were looking for their own, without taking those of the opponent.

  The Qin and Zhao armies had been fighting for decades, with many soldiers on both sides being old acquaintances. This was especially true for the menial workers who collected the bodies of the dead, as they were not formal soldiers and did not have a high casualty rate. As a result, there was little change in personnel over time, and some people had even gotten to know each other. Therefore, while collecting the bodies of their own soldiers, some people would also exchange greetings, such as "You're here again this time", "How's it going lately?", "What happened to that guy we met last time?" And sometimes they would even remind each other, "There's still one of your guys over there who hasn't died yet, hurry up and take him back, maybe he can be saved", "This guy is a big shot on your side, this armor isn't for ordinary soldiers" and so on.

  But this time the number of Qin army corpses on the battlefield was clearly more than that of Zhao, and when most of the Zhao army's corpses had been cleared away, less than half of the Qin army's corpses had been removed.

  At this time, the highlands also ordered that the various armies of the Zhao army would return to their camps one after another. However, the Qin army could only stay on the battlefield for a while longer, waiting until all the bodies on the battlefield had been collected before they could withdraw back to the big camp.