Chapter 171 Battle of Chaohe
Fifty thousand cavalrymen rushed forward like a dark cloud, covering the sky and the sun. The huge sound of horse hooves seemed like thunder in the dark clouds, and the earth was shaking.

The momentum of tens of thousands of cavalry gathered together seemed enough to destroy everything.

The reason why Elifu abandoned Liu Hu's Han army that had been used as the vanguard in the past was because he felt it was not needed this time.

Because in the past when facing the combined infantry and cavalry of the Yan army, they had to face the Yan army using baggage vehicles connected together to form a defensive formation, and using bows and crossbows, long spears, and large shields to fight against the Turkic cavalry.

This has always been a very effective tactic used by the Central Plains dynasties to fight against nomadic cavalry.

Wei Qing once used Wugang chariots to form a battle formation and defeated the Huns in the decisive battle in Mobei.

"Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of the Generals of the Guards and the Cavalry" states: "So the general ordered the armed chariots to form a circle and sent 5,000 cavalry to meet the Xiongnu."

Although Dayan was of Xianbei origin, the proportion of cavalry was very high, exceeding half among the border troops.

But they also learned this method of fighting using chariots in formation, and these chariots could also be used to transport supplies.

The infantry and chariots formed a formation to confront the enemy head-on, while the cavalry either hid in the formation or waited for an opportunity to roam around, taking advantage of their mobility.

But the Yan army directly abandoned their chariots and did not enter the position in advance to set up a large array of chevaux de frise. Isn’t this help from the gods?
Therefore, this time, Ai Lifu planned to show the strength of the Turks in front of the Han army.

With 50,000 Turkic cavalry in the front and 100,000 Han troops under Liu Hu in the back, they rushed towards the Yan army in a mighty force.

Nearly 200,000 troops from both sides were deployed in Youzhou, the North China Plain, and the north bank of the Chaobai River.

Xue Shixiong raised his right arm and shouted loudly: "All troops, line up."

The army of more than 40,000 people was divided into four armies on the vast grassland. The front army, the left and right wings, and the center army stretched for several miles. At this time, everyone felt the ground shaking, which was the sound of the Turkic horses' hooves stepping on the ground.

The war horses began to become restless and snorted loudly, and the soldiers' palms were sweating as they gripped their spears tightly.

At the end of the line of sight, there was a black line, that was the Turkic cavalry. Without stopping, they were overwhelming and sweeping towards the Yan army with an unstoppable force.

Xue Shixiong smiled. His estimate was correct. Now both sides have given up their best fighting methods and choose to face their opponents directly.

What remains for the two sides to compete is their courage and fighting spirit.

"Archers, get ready!" Xue Shixiong gave the first order.

Three thousand crossbowmen and five thousand archers lined up at the same time, with the crossbowmen in the front, shooting straight ahead.

The archers are at the back, shooting missiles at both long and short ranges.

The crossbowmen of the Yan army fought in three rows, but they did not use the three-stage shooting that became famous in later generations. Instead, the elite crossbowmen in the first row were responsible for shooting, while the crossbowmen in the next two rows were responsible for loading arrows.

Then it was handed over to the first row of crossbowmen to shoot.

Seeing the Turkic cavalry finally appearing within the range, the crossbowmen of the Yan army quickly fired a volley after receiving an order.

Thousands of arrows shot at the Turkic cavalry like locusts.

Most of the hundreds of Turks in the front of the charge were shot off their horses. Then bows and crossbows fired arrows at each other, and dense arrows fell like rain, causing heavy casualties to the Turkic cavalry.

The Turks in the past would never have chosen such a tactic.

They would harass and intimidate the Yan army's infantry formation from the periphery, or attack with horse and archery. Such actions could often last for several hours, most of the day, or even longer.

When the troops in the formation are tired, their concentration decreases, and their inner fear reaches a certain level, they will mobilize the cavalry to charge directly into the formation.

This nomadic people originated from hunting, and there is a very classic saying about their tactics, "flying a kite".

This time, because Xue Shixiong gave up the chariot formation, the Turks did not play kite, but faced the Yan army's infantry formation directly, trying to directly charge at the enemy.

After shooting three arrows, the crossbowmen of the Yan army immediately switched positions with the spearmen behind them, and took out their shields, horizontal swords, bone flowers and other close combat weapons, while the crossbows were temporarily thrown on the ground.

After hurriedly firing a round of arrows, the Turks, armed with spears and sabers, collided with the infantry of the Yan army.

The Yan army's spearmen advanced and quickly formed a formation. If they had not received sufficient training and combat experience, they would have been frightened to the point of losing their legs in the face of the Turkic cavalry's charge.

However, these border troops were elite troops stationed in Liucheng, Liaodong all year round, and fighting with barbarians such as Goguryeo, Turks, and Khitans was commonplace.

Therefore, the rapid switching between the crossbowmen and the spears and shields according to the formation and the changing formation method has been engraved in their bones. The Turkic swords and the Yan army's spears also flashed cold light in the eyes, and both sides caused a large number of casualties in the first moment of the formation.

Some Turks dodged the thrusts of the spears and, with the impact of their horses, crashed into several Yan soldiers. Then, because their horses had no room to maneuver, they were quickly killed by the Yan soldiers.

More Turks drove their war horses directly into the Yan army's spears, leaving several bloody holes on both the horses and the men.

The frontline soldiers with spears and large shields temporarily curbed the Turkic charge, and the crossbowmen at the back who had already drawn their secondary weapons also began to charge forward.

Only the longbowmen were still behind, and they could kill the enemy at a distance by shooting arrows.

Elifer was a little surprised to see the front army blocked, but he immediately ordered the cavalry on the left and right wings to attack across the board.

First, help the cavalry in the middle to break through the infantry formation of the Yan army.

Seeing the Turks moving, the Yan army also moved.

All the infantry of the Yan army were in the center, and the left and right wings were all cavalry.

These included heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and volunteers and followers from various tribes.

Xue Shixiong divided the three thousand heavily armored cavalry into ten teams, five teams on each side.

They were all led by the brave generals in the army.

As the military order from the central army was issued, the cavalry on both wings also began to move.

The Youzhou Turks, who had been famous throughout the world since the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, charged straight towards the Turkic cavalry group.

The two wings were all fierce generals in the front. On the right was the Tiger Guard Xue Wanjun. He was Xue Shixiong's son. Holding a long spear, he galloped through the enemy group like a tiger into a flock of sheep. The Turkic cavalry died if they were touched, and the blood and flesh flew everywhere. The heavy cavalry led by him was like an arrow that shot directly through the Turkic flank formation.

Luo Yan, the Tiger Guard general on the right, was not at a disadvantage at all. His original spear had been broken, so he replaced it with a long sword, and continued to swing left and right like a mad tiger.

The counterattack led by the two fierce generals directly suppressed the Turkic formation and momentum, and even the main formation at the back was a little shaken.

Seeing that the enemy's formation was in chaos, Xue Shixiong immediately gave orders to attack on all fronts, with the central army pressing forward.

Afterwards, the light cavalry and volunteers from various units also launched a charge under the command of the command flag.

At this time, they were hit by a fierce rain of arrows, suffered heavy losses in close combat, and were counterattacked by the Yan army's cavalry.

The initial murderous aura of the Turkic cavalry had disappeared by less than 10%. They were originally herdsmen from various tribes. They did not have the iron will of the Yan army. They had to rely on one blow to defeat the enemy. Their morale rose quickly and fell quickly. When their dream of plundering the enemy's property was shattered, they began to hesitate and began to miss their wives and children at home and the property they had seized.
Instead of gaining any advantage, he was killed by the Yan army in the Central Plains. This was definitely unacceptable.

Elifer also realized the seriousness of the problem, and he knew he was too impatient. But it was too late, and the Yan army's full-scale counterattack had already begun.

In this battle known as the "Battle of Chaohe", the Yan army, with its weak force of less than 50,000 infantry and cavalry, defeated the coalition force of 50,000 Turkic cavalry and 100,000 Han troops in one fell swoop.

After the Turkic cavalry was defeated, they launched a counterattack, which also disrupted Liu Hu's troops. They trampled on each other, and both sides swung their swords at their allies in order to escape. The Yan army was defeated like a reversing pearl curtain.

Among them, the Tiger Guard General Luo Yan almost captured the Turkic Yehu Elifu alive, but although he escaped, his big banner was seized by Luo Yan, and he was stabbed in the buttocks by Luo Yan, causing him to be unable to ride a horse for several months after this battle.
After the battle, the Yan army counted the results of the battle and found that they had seized 30,000 cattle and sheep, 7,000 war horses, beheaded 18,000 people, captured more than 5,000 Turks, and more than 10,000 enemy troops.

When the news of this battle reached the main battlefield of Julu, Shibi Khan summoned the generals of various tribes overnight and issued an order to withdraw the troops.

Order all troops to retreat to Bingzhou through three channels: Zijing Pass, Hongshang Pass and Jiuguan Pass.

As for the seized items, take them if you can, and abandon everything you can’t take.

It was precisely because of Shibi's decisiveness that the remaining 200,000-plus Turkic troops were prevented from being besieged by the Yan army.

The victory in the Hebei Campaign finally allowed the Luoyang court to breathe a sigh of relief.

But before one wave subsides, two more waves arise.

The Eastern Wei invaded Jianghuai, and the Western Yan attacked Longyou.

Both sides chose a critical time period, the autumn harvest.

(End of this chapter)