Warring States Odyssey
At the same time that Li Mu dispatched reinforcements, Huan Yi also sent out additional Qin troops. The two sides' reinforcements arrived almost simultaneously on the battlefield and joined the fighting. By the time Gao Ying and Li Xinghong led their troops to the battlefield, they were a step too late; the Qin and Zhao armies had already engaged in full-scale combat.
This time, the total number of troops invested by both sides on the battlefield has already exceeded 50,000. The entire battlefield has basically become saturated. Because now both sides are not fighting in the wild, but a defensive battle, the front line of the Zhao army left for the Qin army's attack is limited after all, and can only accommodate about 500,000 to 600,000 troops to fight. If you want to increase your forces, you can only use the tactic of adding oil to the fire.
The quality of individual soldiers in the Qin and Zhao armies was basically equivalent, and the command ability and war experience of mid-level generals were also evenly matched. Although the number of Zhao troops was slightly smaller than that of the Qin army, and there was a new army, the Zhao army still had a certain geographical advantage, with most of the positions still in their hands. Therefore, both sides have their own strengths, and at one time, they fought to a stalemate.
Gao Yuan and Li Yinghong were not in a hurry to join the battle, but instead carefully observed the situation on the battlefield from the rear of Zhao's army. At this time, the battlefield was unfolding horizontally in front of Zhao's large camp, stretching for over 2,000 meters, with a depth of about 20-25 rows, approximately 50-60 meters.
At this time, Yuan Xie was in the rear of Zhao's army, standing on a high vehicle directing and issuing commands to various branches of troops through continuous changes of flags. On his left and right, every 200 meters or so, there was a command high vehicle that continuously transmitted Yuan Xie's orders to the combat troops, while also immediately feeding back various situations on the battlefield to Yuan Xie.
Due to the relationship between field of view and angle, mid-level commanders in a sudden battle can only rely on human vision to see the overall situation of the battlefield, but cannot clearly see every local situation, and can only grasp the dynamics of the battlefield through this method.
Watching the battle at close range was a completely different story from watching it from the rear array just now. Gao Yuan also climbed up onto a high vehicle beside Yuan Xie, and as he looked around, the Zhao army and Qin army were already in a state of interlocking teeth. The flags of each unit either advanced or retreated, rose or fell, showing the situation on both sides. The soldiers on both sides all held guns, halberds, swords, etc., fighting fiercely. However, neither side had penetrated more than ten rows into the other's formation, so the battlefield was still basically at a stalemate.
Although Gaoyuan was participating in a large-scale battle for the first time, from the materials he had grasped and his past military knowledge, Gaoyuan also knew that if one side could break through the other's formation first, they would gain the initiative and occupy the advantageous position on the battlefield. In ancient China's large-scale battles, when both sides were at a stalemate, they would often dispatch their bravest generals to lead a small number of elite soldiers in using the "breakthrough" tactic to charge into the enemy's formation. However, most of the time, this role was played by cavalry, such as the Tang Dynasty's Iron Armor Cavalry and the Yue Family Army's Back-riding Cavalry.
The current cavalry is not capable of playing such a role on the battlefield, but if I can choose an appropriate opportunity to put these two hundred soldiers into battle, it is also possible to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's formation. After watching for a while, Gao Yuan basically had a general understanding of the situation on the battlefield.
At the same time, Gao Yuan also arranged these two hundred soldiers in an arrowhead formation. Although Zhao's soldiers could not understand the intention of Gao Yuan's arrangement of this formation, because in this era, whether it was a large-scale battle or a small skirmish, the main formations used were square and horizontal arrays, and this arrowhead formation had hardly been used before. Only Li Yinghong knew that Gao Yuan had used this arrowhead formation when training his cavalry, but he didn't think there was anything strange about it. However, these two hundred soldiers were all Li Mu's personal guards, with very rich combat experience, so they still followed Gao Yuan's requirements and formed the array.
And Gaoyuan led this team with Li Yinghong, charging into the battlefield.
The general on the highland held his own military sword in his right hand and a bronze long sword in his left, charging at the forefront of the entire team, leading this team of Zhao soldiers to enter from a gap in the battlefield and first meet the Qin army.
Two Qin soldiers charged towards Gao Yuan, wielding long spears. Gao Yuan swung his sword with his right hand, "swish swish", cutting off the two spears, and with a swift motion, stabbed one of the Qin soldiers in the chest with his left hand's bronze sword. The soldier didn't even have time to cry out before falling face down. Meanwhile, Gao Yuan's military saber slashed downwards with his right hand, splitting open the other Qin soldier's breastplate, causing blood to gush out as he fell backwards.
After beheading two Qin soldiers, Gao Yuan didn't stop at all, swinging his sword and killing the third Qin soldier. The military knife in his right hand cut off the bronze sword of this Qin soldier, and the bronze sword in his left hand swiftly slashed down. This Qin soldier could only raise his hand to block in a hurry, as a result, his right arm was cut off by Gao Yuan's elbow, let out a miserable cry, and fainted. Gao Yuan took advantage of the momentum to swing his sword horizontally and slash open the throat of the fourth Qin soldier.
With one breath, he killed four Qin soldiers in a row, but also stirred up the fighting spirit of the Qin army. They raised their weapons and rushed towards Gaoyuan like a swarm of bees. Gaoyuan let out a loud roar and charged into the Qin army's formation, his right knife and left sword unstoppable. The Qin army's spears, halberds, swords, and other weapons would be cut off whenever they collided with Gaoyuan's military saber, giving him an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield. As a result, Gaoyuan killed or injured over ten more Qin soldiers in a row, breaking through four or five rows of the Qin army's formation.
Li Yinghong held a pair of swords and closely followed Gao Yuan's back. Although her swords were not as sharp as Gao Yuan's military knife, they were also high-quality precious swords that had been tempered multiple times in this era. Her sword movements were even faster, with the two swords swinging out like a whirlwind, dazzling everyone and making them unsure how to defend themselves. Several Qin soldiers who had their weapons cut off by Gao Yuan managed to dodge him but couldn't avoid Li Yinghong's pair of swords. As a result, in no time at all, six or seven Qin soldiers fell under Li Yinghong's swords.
Behind the two, the 200 Zhao soldiers also raised their weapons and charged at the Qin army together. Although the individual martial arts skills of these 200 Zhao soldiers were not as good as those of Gao Jianli and Li Yiqing, they were all elite soldiers handpicked by Lü Buwei to serve as his personal bodyguards, and their combat effectiveness was not to be underestimated. With Gao Jianli and Li Yiqing opening the way in front and also protecting their flanks, the two could focus on fighting the enemy army head-on without having to divide their attention left and right.
As a result, Zhao's charge also went very smoothly, breaking through more than ten rows of Qin army formations in a row, like a sharp stab, piercing into the Qin army formation. However, the casualties of the Zhao army also exceeded 30 people, but overall they were still able to maintain the shape of the arrowhead, which was also related to the slow speed of the infantry charge.
Just then, in front of the plateau, two Qin army generals with swords and shields blocked his way. Apparently, the commander of the Qin army also noticed this sudden attack by the Zhao army, so he hurriedly mobilized troops to come and intercept. The plateau did not speak, swinging his sword and slashing towards the Qin general on the left, while Li Yinghong also launched a dual-sword attack on another Qin general. The soldiers of the Zhao army also engaged in an intense battle with the Qin army.
Kougen naturally knew that if he didn't quickly defeat these two men, he wouldn't be able to break through the Qin army's formation. Therefore, with a flourish of his sword, he launched a fierce attack on this Qin general, but this Qin general apparently had a defense against Kougen's military saber, holding up a shield and protecting himself like an impenetrable fortress.
The Qin general is using a circular shield commonly used among the armies of various states, with a diameter of about 60-70 cm. The surface is slightly convex, with a wooden base and an iron rim around the edge. The convex surface is covered with two layers of cowhide. In the center is a bronze embossed beast head.
Although the plateau cut five or six knives in one breath, the defensive power of this round shield was very strong. Although the military knife was extremely sharp and could chop open the cowhide, it chopped the surface of the round shield into flying wood chips, but it couldn't chop through this round shield, so it couldn't defeat this Qin general.
Taking advantage of the plateau's slightly weakened momentum, the Qin general immediately counterattacked with his sword, but after only two exchanges, his bronze sword was cut off by the plateau's military knife. He had no choice but to hide behind the round shield again. This time, however, the plateau also changed its tactics and did not continue to chop at the round shield with its military knife. Instead, it suddenly charged sideways into the round shield.
This Qin general obviously didn't expect that Gao Yuan would use this move, and Gao Yuan used his entire body to charge forward, so the whole person along with his shield was knocked flying by Gao Yuan. The over ten Qin soldiers behind him also weren't prepared, some threw away their weapons to go save people, while others momentarily didn't react, swinging the spears and other weapons in their hands as they charged forward. As a result, this Qin general's back was hit twice, and when he fell to the ground, he knocked down three or four other Qin soldiers.
Gao Yuan took advantage of the momentum to charge forward with his sword, and before the Qin general could get up, he stabbed him to death. The other Qin general who was fighting fiercely with Li Yinghong was also forced to retreat repeatedly by Li Yinghong. Of course, the Qin army also retreated continuously. Seeing this, Gao Yuan suddenly threw out the bronze sword in his left hand, and the Qin general dodged too late, being stabbed in the left ribs by the bronze sword. Li Yinghong immediately attacked with both swords, and the Qin general was hit by three or four swords in a row, finally falling to the ground dead.
Gao Yuan picked up the round shield from the ground, with his right sword and left shield, continuing to charge at the Qin army. At this time, the morale of the Zhao army was greatly boosted, under the leadership of Gao Yuan and Li Yinghong, they continued to penetrate deep into the Qin army's formation, breaking through seven or eight rows in one breath. At this point, the Qin army's formation had only three or four rows left.
At this time, Gao Yuan also killed his way up, holding a round shield and charging forward towards the Qin army in front of him. Although the combat effectiveness of the Qin army was not inferior to that of the Zhao army, at this moment, their morale had already been suppressed by the Zhao army. Moreover, several Qin soldiers recognized Gao Yuan as the man who descended from the sky like a comet on that night and killed over 200 Qin soldiers in a row, causing them to lose heart. Seeing Gao Yuan charge forward with his shield, several Qin soldiers involuntarily dodged to both sides. Although two Qin soldiers blocked Gao Yuan's path, they were also forcibly pushed open by him.
