Chapter 2733 The Initial Battle

Gao Shun's scouts and Matthew's men met on the banks of the Crisu River.

At the beginning, the purpose of both sides was to get water, and their attention was focused on the river. When they found each other, they were both stunned, and then they spontaneously began to test and fight while sending messages to the rear.

When Matthew received the message, he was establishing relations with the generals left behind by the Kushan envoy.

Ma Xiu now has the support of the Kushan people. Although the Kushan envoys did not leave many troops, the advantage is that these Kushan people know the Western Regions better than the current Han Dynasty. They had been in the Western Regions for a long time before General Hussar sent Lu Bu to the Western Regions, and they were all familiar with the customs and geography of the Western Regions.

The soldiers and generals commanded by the Kushan envoys were called Taksa.

In fact, Guishuang is not as prosperous as it was back then. The drama between the emperor and the powerful ministers is not only unique to China. Once you stand in the wrong team, you will be suppressed, and in serious cases, your whole family will be blamed. Taksa was one of the people implicated in such a drama, so he was sent to the border.

Of course, the military orders issued by the upper echelons of Kushan cannot expressly state distribution, but express the need to protect the interests of the countries in the Western Regions that are friendly to Kushan, protect the Kushan residents in the Western Regions, etc., so for Taksa, he also There is no reason to refuse such a transfer.

Taksa even heard that there might be more drastic changes in the upper echelon of Kushan, which made him feel that maybe coming to the Western Region was a good thing? At least he has avoided the adverse effects of subsequent changes in senior management. After he has achieved some meritorious service in the Western Regions, he can be promoted and return to Guishang?

"Your horse can't do it." "Taksa said to Matthew, "This kind of horse has no strength. 』

Matthew and Taxa were chatting when the message came.

Taksa knows some Chinese, but he is obviously not as fluent as the Kushan envoy. When he speaks, his emphasis is strange. He can only speak one verse at a time, as if longer sentences will get stuck in his mouth. .

Matthew smiled.

He wasn't laughing at Taksa's tone of voice, but at himself.

This question really embarrassed Matthew.

War horses need some fat, but of course the more fat the better. This fat is like the energy stored by war horses. When they run, these fats will be burned, giving the war horses longer running endurance and stronger explosive power. Ma Xiu didn't know that they needed to fatten the war horses, but they didn't have enough supplies. Even the extra night food for the war horses was sometimes not fully prepared.

This time when he came out, things had caught up, and Ma Xiu was able to ride out on those half-raised war horses. After running for a while, he saw that the fat he had finally raised had gone down again, which made Ma Xiu feel distressed.

Taksa's men were like Kushan's war horses, strong and powerful. Like the Han people, they like to wear looser cloth robes, but their armor is completely different from the Han people. The Kushan helmet is very pointed, and most of the armor plates on the body are horizontal. The middle of the armor has horizontal armor plates from the neck to the belly. , the hand and foot guards are also horizontal, like the shell of a lobster.

Many of Taksa's men were Sogdians.

But these Sogdians are very interesting. They seem to be very keen on doing business. Many of them can't even speak Chinese, but they are still looking for people to barter with and enjoy bargaining.

Taksa does not seem to like the Sogdians doing this.

Matthew saw Taksa scolding these Sogdians several times, but it was of no use. When he was scolding, these Sogdians acted like quails. Taksa turned his butt, and these Sogdians continued. When doing business, Matthew couldn't help but lament that no one's scriptures are easy to read.

"What? Discovered the Han army? "Ma Xiu couldn't believe it, "Where are the Han troops? Crisu River? How could there be Han troops here? How many people are there in the Han army? 』

The sudden appearance of the Han army made Ma Xiu a little surprised and worried.

Matthew's worry was noticed by Taxa, and he was a little disdainful.

Taksa knew that the Kushan people in the Western Regions were defeated by Lu Bu. Although this matter was not publicized to everyone in Kushan, it was not a secret at a certain level. Taksa believed that rather than being a powerful opponent, it was better to say that these Kushan soldiers and generals in the Western Region were slack.

So the sudden appearance of a small group of Han troops made Taksa a little eager to try, "Captain Ma, you go up, shall I go up?" 』

Seeing that Taksa actually took the initiative to ask for help, Matthew was naturally happy to go along with the situation, and repeatedly said that he would let Taksa go first.

Taksa is not stupid either. He took the initiative to ask for a fight, not for Ma Xiu, but for himself. After all, he did not know the current strength of the Han army, so he wanted to find an opportunity to weigh it. The small group of Han troops happened to be the target of his experiment. If he wins, he can use it as a reason to refuse to fight next time. If he loses, he can also be more vigilant and careful.

After all, there is only a small group of Han troops. Is it possible to wait for a large number of Han troops to test the strength of the opponent?

Therefore, Taksa quickly brought his people and met Gao Shun.

Gao Shun's men are chasing the horse thieves on the banks of the Krisu River.

The number of people in Gaoshun is small, so they need less water. The number of horse thieves is large, and they consume a lot of water every day, so there are more people, more water bags, and more horses. Most of the horse thieves who fetched water were not strong horse thieves, so they were basically defeated at the first touch. Those who could run ran away, and those who couldn't ran became the targets of Gao Shun's soldiers, or were shot to death in the river. Or they were chopped to death by the river, and blood flowed down the river, staining a large area.

Taksa ignored the killed horse thieves. He led his men and horses to line up by the river, staring at the Han army on the other side of the river.

"The Han army's armor seems to be pretty good. When fighting, remember to use heavy arrows!" ” Taksa said to his men. When it comes to his own Tocharian, he is naturally very fluent.

It takes a heavy arrow to break armor.

Taksa did not attack as soon as they came up, but instead demonstrated.

Gao Shun also quickly arrived at the riverside and discovered the queues on the riverside that were obviously different from those of horse thieves.

"Sure enough..." Gao Shun snorted coldly.

Gao Shun's eyes stayed on the Taksa queue for a while, then turned away and fell on the Krisu River in front of him.

Most of the rivers in the Western Region are produced by melting snow, so in autumn and winter, the rivers naturally dry up.

Although the river is dry and the water depth is probably up to the belly of the war horse, the mud in the river will slow down the movement speed of the war horse, and the protection of the war horse is obviously not as strong as that of the soldiers. Once it becomes a target in the river and receives damage, Even if they beat back the Kushans in front of them, it would be difficult to pursue the horse thieves and continue fighting.

"Send the order, form the team, divide into three columns, prepare to cross the river!" Gao Shun ordered.

Naturally, Gao Shun could not be intimidated by a team like Taksa.

The people on the opposite side put on a posture of trying to cross over and attack, with the goal of winning without fighting.

If you go around or retreat, your momentum will be lost.

Besides, after finally catching the leader of the horse thieves, how could he give up the attack so easily?

Gao Shun divided into three teams, and the left and right wings went to the upper and lower reaches to cross the river respectively. He himself, with his own soldiers, dismounted and prepared to face the people of Taksa and forcefully cross the river.

The Kushan people didn't know that Gao Shun was better at infantry than cavalry.

Taksa couldn't help but be a little surprised when he saw that Gao Shun's soldiers in the middle had dismounted, then skillfully removed their shields from their horses, and began to gather together and put on extra protective armor. stand up.

Is this the cavalry of the Han Dynasty?

Can it be transformed on the spot?

"They're coming!" Dismount and prepare for battle! "Taksa shouted, then jumped off his horse and took out his sword and shield.

The mud on the riverside is not conducive to the galloping of the Han army's horses, and it is also not conducive to the impact of the Taksa side's horses.

The Han army formed an array and walked forward to cross the river. Although Taksa could indeed charge and attack on this side of the river, it was just a charge. Then it was very likely that the war horses would not be able to maintain the momentum and rush directly to the middle of the river. , even if you can get some results during the impact, you will inevitably become a target in the middle of the river, and the damage will be even more.

Therefore, the best response strategy is to block the Han army in the middle of the river, so that the Han army is at a disadvantage and you have the advantage. After defeating the wave of Han troops in the middle, the Han troops that circled on both sides naturally retreated. Even if the Han army still wants to fight at that time, the horses on their side are waiting for work. They can save more physical strength than the Han army's horses that go around and cross the river, so they will naturally have an advantage...

Taxa waved his sword and slapped the shield twice, "Give them some snacks first!" Projectile! 』

The men behind Taksa were bending their bows and setting arrows, and there was a sound of bowstrings. Then Taksa saw that many of the arrows that were thrown did not land on the heads of the Han troops who were crossing the river, as he expected. Instead, it landed on the riverside on this side!

At first, Taksa thought he had made a mistake in calculating the distance, but he soon realized what he was doing and yelled at the Sogdian man beside him, "Pig!" Who told you to use heavy arrows? 』

The Sogdians were also unambiguous, "It was the general who told me to use heavy arrows!" 』

Taksa's face was sullen. If it weren't for the fact that they were about to fight, he would have even wanted to chop this idiot with a knife. "Do I need to say more about heavy arrows and light arrows?" ! Use light arrows to project from a long distance, and use heavy arrows to break armor at close range! Next time this kind of mistake happens, be careful! 』

The leader of the Sogdians did not dare to say anything more, then turned to the other Sogdians and muttered something, and then they all changed their light arrows.

The arrows once again soared into the air, whizzing towards Gao Shun and others.

Gao Shun heard the booming sound and put the shield on his head, covering the vital parts of his head and face.

There was a popping sound all around, and Gao Shun's left arm suddenly sank, making a muffled sound. He knew it was a light arrow without even looking, and it would definitely not be able to penetrate his armor.

Arrows continued to fall, but because of the shield and armor, the damage was actually very limited.

After a short while, the arrows stopped.

Gao Shun did not relax his vigilance because of this. He loudly reminded the surrounding soldiers and subordinates, "Pay attention, they are going to change their arrows!" Will definitely shoot again when we get to the river! 』

Sure enough, when Gao Shun and others began to cross the river and began to approach the other side of the river, they heard the sound of bowstrings not far away again, and armor-piercing heavy arrows whizzed out.

Taksa and others thought that under the heavy arrows, they could see the Han troops being shot one after another, because they had previously used armor-piercing heavy arrows to shoot through cowhide shields. If they hit the torso, they would also be shot. It can directly break armor, but they did not expect that those cunning Han soldiers would lower their bodies the moment the bowstring sounded, hiding behind the shield, and the proud heavy arrows could not penetrate the Han army's shield. , just roaring on the shield!

Perhaps some of them hit the bodies of the Han soldiers, but it was not what Taksa and others expected. Seeing the Han soldiers being shot to death in the river, they only staggered for a moment, then quickly stood firm and continued. move forward……

Before Taksa could react to the fact that he had failed to break through the defense, he saw a row of Han soldiers suddenly standing upright behind the low-lying Han army!

"careful! ” Taksa yelled subconsciously, quickly raised his shield, and reduced his frontal area.

A Sogdian on the Taksa side was still grinning stupidly... I don't know whether it was because he couldn't understand the Tocharian language of Taksa, or because he couldn't react...

The next second, Taksa saw the Sogdian's head popping and being pierced directly by a crossbow arrow. He fell to the ground without even making a cry. The blood quickly leached out and dyed him red. Dropped land.

"idiot! fool! ” Taksa cursed.

He had had enough of these Sogdians!

Arrows and crossbows from both sides were exchanging, and Taksa gradually became anxious. He peeked behind the shield and saw several Han army shields connected front to back. They were almost approaching the river bank. Taksa quickly grabbed the handle of the knife with his right hand. He shouted, "Get ready for battle!" 』

Gao Shun buried his head and face behind the shield. The thick shield gave him a very strong sense of security.

This is the third generation of hussars standard equipment. It seems to be the same as the original shield, but in fact it is completely different from the shield used by the previous big man. The earliest Han-made shields were made of wood, and covered with a layer of cowhide. Moreover, due to the difference between cowhide and wood, the quality of the shields was also uneven.

Since the Hussars entered the main pass, the research and development of weapons has not stopped because the situation is relatively stable. Now, the shields held by Gao Shun and others are still made of cowhide on the outside, but there is a large part of the inner tank It was changed to fine steel, and the weight control is similar to the original wooden shield. Although it looks thinner, in fact, the protective power is further strengthened. It is said that there is a newer shield, which is made of stainless steel and has a sandwich in the middle. However, it is said that it is not equipped for the time being because it is expensive.

The weapons and armor worn by Gao Shun and others are also equally sophisticated.

It's the same as making shields. All weapons have numbers and hidden marks on them, which can be used to identify the place of origin and model, as well as the craftsman and user, etc. Once there is a problem, whether it is a quality problem or some other problem. , you can find people.

Gao Shun didn't skimp on his armor, so he actually wore the same armor as his other subordinates. When he put a cat in the queue of soldiers, it was like a drop of water flowing into a river, and outsiders couldn't tell the difference at all. That one person is the general, so naturally there is no way to make any targeted arrangements in advance.

The arrows still whizzed in, piercing the shield from time to time, and sometimes piercing Gao Shun's battle skirt. However, because the armor of the battle skirt was stacked on top of each other like scales, it would not have been able to penetrate unless the angle was tricky. , even if it penetrates the first layer of hard armor, it will be blocked by the second layer of cowhide and the third layer of silk, and it will not penetrate too deeply into the flesh.

So despite the fact that Gao Shun and others were constantly being hit by arrows, it was actually like a heavy stone hitting the armor, and the pain was inevitable. After the war, there must be bruises and bruises under the armor, and the real There wasn't too much blood from the broken armor.

Of course, when you get closer, the power of the arrow will naturally be greater, and the risk of being shot will be greater. Therefore, how to step from the river to the river bank as quickly as possible, and then enter the opponent's array, so that the opponent's rear With the archers in the row out of action, it became the most dangerous and difficult section of the road at the moment.

Gao Shun glanced at the opposite shield and saw it moving. He knew that the opposite side was going to block him on the river bank, so that the opposite side would have a relatively hard river bank under their feet, and they could only fight by stepping on the shallow river mud...

Gao Shun made corresponding strategies.

Behind the shield, Gao Shun held the copper whistle in his mouth, and then blew a brief signal. At the same time, he hung the knife behind the shield, and then took out the cavalry short crossbow from behind.

The cavalry short crossbow is not as good as the powerful crossbow used by the infantry, but it is shorter and easier to carry. The strung one can also be unstrung directly with the arm without relying on the strength of the legs, feet, waist, etc., although it is slightly lacking in power and cannot shoot through thick walls. Armor, but at close range or against unarmored and thin-armored targets, it still has considerable lethality.

Gao Shun blew a short whistle again, which indicated that he was ready to shoot, and the target of the shooting was the opponent's lower body.

This is of course not that Gao Shun himself has any special hobbies, but on the battlefield, the opponent is also holding a shield. In addition, Gao Shun and the others are using cavalry short crossbows. If they target the opponent's upper body protected by a shield, the effect will definitely be not good.

After being baptized by the opponent's arrows again, Gao Shun seized the gap and blew a long whistle. Then like the soldiers around him, he tilted the shield slightly to the left, revealing the hidden object behind the shield. the short crossbow, and then drew the hanging knife...

The crossbow bolt roared out!