Chapter 174 Mounted Shooting
Li Yangzhou.

The name Cao Yuanjing means that he truly regards Li Yuanhui as an opponent.

Generally speaking, surname plus position is used to address people of high official rank and status. For example, Liu Bei is often referred to as Liu Yuzhou because he was the governor of Yuzhou.

There are also Cao Sikong, Wang Situ, Liu Jingzhou, Sun Taolu, and so on.

Cao Yuanjing called him "Li Yangzhou" in front of the generals behind him, which was undoubtedly an affirmation of his ability.

After a night that was not too long, the sun rose as usual the next day.

The Wei army was still busy setting up camp and building fortifications, while Cao Yuanjing led a group of generals to discuss how to fight this battle.

In the end, everyone basically reached a consensus that after the failure of the night attack, the only way out was to go ashore and attack by force.

Judging from the Yan army's defensive configuration, there would definitely be heavy casualties if they wanted to capture Ruxukou.

But they have no other choice at the moment. If Jiangdong wants to go north to the Central Plains, Huainan must be taken.

Moreover, because Jiangdong relied on the navy, only by opening up the waterway from the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River basin could it ensure that subsequent baggage, food, and military equipment could continue to support the war operations at the front.

Because the area north of Guangling all the way to Xuzhou and Pengcheng is crisscrossed with waterways, it is actually not suitable for large-scale warfare.

Occupying the upper reaches of the Huai River would also allow the navy to attack the Hongze Lake and Huaiyin areas downstream at any time, blocking or cutting off the road to the north.

Therefore, since ancient times, the north and the south have been fighting. In the west, the strategic node is Hanzhong. In the middle, the strategic nodes are Xiangfan and Wancheng.

As for the eastern front, it is the area around Shouchun, Hefei, Zhongli, and Pengcheng.

These strategic locations are often closely related to the rise and fall of dynasties.

Jianghuai, where Li Yuanhui was located, completely covered all the strategic locations on the eastern front except Pengcheng.

In September, late autumn, the autumn wind is bleak and a little chilly.

About seven miles east of Ruxuwu, there was a very flat mudflat where the Wei army began to send out large numbers of small boats to land.

The beacon tower not far away immediately lit up the smoke, and these actions could be seen from the watchtower in Ruxu Wharf.

As Li Yuanhui's military order was issued, the cavalry units of Chang Yanheng and Wang Tong, which had already been fully equipped and lined up, all mounted their horses, and then filed out one after another, rushing towards the Wei army that was landing on the beach several miles away.

The two cavalry units looked disorganized, but in fact they were rushing forward in formations between their teams.

Seeing the dust raised by these cavalrymen, the Wei army seemed to have begun to feel the thunder-like sound of thousands of horses' hooves stamping on the ground.

Moreover, many soldiers became weak in the knees and filled with fear when they saw the large-scale cavalry rushing towards them.

They began to tremble and shiver all over.

As the first batch of troops to land, these people were not elite troops, but miscellaneous soldiers who were used as expendable troops in the past.

They were not equipped with spears, large shields, antler barriers, etc. to resist cavalry. Most of them were holding wooden spears, and some even had sickles and pickaxes.

When the cavalry rushed to a hundred steps, they could still stand, but when they only rushed to a few dozen steps, their legs were shaking like sieves.

However, the cavalry suddenly stopped dozens of steps away, turned suddenly, and then picked up arrows and drew their bows to shoot.

More than a hundred arrows were shot into the Wei army formation, causing all the Wei soldiers in this area to scream. Some were nailed to the ground. Before they could catch their breath, the next cavalry of the Yan army started again.

They kept whistling and launching small-scale arrow rains. Although the casualties caused were limited, it was fatal enough for these soldiers who lacked protective equipment.

Moreover, these miscellaneous soldiers had not yet formed a tight formation. After charging back and forth several times, the Yan cavalry began to approach and shoot intensively, and some cavalry teams directly penetrated the scattered parts of the formation.

In less than half an hour, the more than a thousand soldiers who had already lined up on the shore left behind hundreds of corpses and were driven into the water by the Yan cavalry. They hurriedly returned to the boats and retreated.

The Wei army generals who were watching the battle saw the Yan army's cavalry tactics and began to think of ways to break them.

For the Yan army, this was just the most basic tactic. It was to use high mobility, charge, and intimidate, and then deliver a fatal blow after shocking the opponent.

After watching the Yan cavalry attack like the wind and throw missiles back and forth, the Wei army quickly realized that if they wanted to fight against the enemy cavalry, they could only use infantry formations and long spears and large shields to resist. In addition, they also needed a large number of crossbows with a range greater than the cavalry bows used by the Yan cavalry to restrain the enemy's high mobility and sudden approaching missiles.

Moreover, fighting against cavalry places very high demands on the infantry, and it is impossible to accomplish such a task without being elite.

Therefore, Cao Yuanjing immediately decided that in this battle, they should first send their respective elite troops to land. Only by gaining a foothold on the north bank could they fight with the enemy.

As a result, the most combative Danyang soldiers under Cao Yuanjing were sent to the battlefield. Their mission was very clear. After landing, they had to quickly form a formation to fight against the Yan cavalry and establish a foothold so that subsequent troops could continuously land on the north bank.

The first Danyang soldiers who went ashore were all holding shields. Then they formed a tight formation one by one, and then moved forward like a wall. The Danyang soldiers behind them quickly landed one by one, and then quickly formed a formation.

There were spears and large shields in front, and behind them were archers and crossbowmen.

When the Yan army saw that the Wei army had dispatched its elite troops, they wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Wei army had not yet established a stable foothold and had not yet formed a formation to quickly drive them into the river. However, this time the Wei army's large and small warships were close to the shore, and the archers fired thousands of arrows, forcing back the Yan army's cavalry's attempt to charge directly into the battle formation.

However, as the 3,000 Wei troops completed their landing, the Yan cavalry began to use the same old tactics again. The cavalry charged back and forth faster, and paid great attention to keeping distance, raising clouds of dust.

They kept whizzing past the front of the Wei army, and the archers of the Wei army could not shoot arrows at will, because they were always moving within the range of the Wei army's arrows. Occasionally, they would rush forward and shoot arrows while galloping, and then ride away.

He also pretended to charge from time to time.

At this time, the generals of the Wei army were constantly shouting to maintain order and basic formation. If there were casualties caused by the Yan army's close cavalry and archery, they would immediately arrange for replacements.

The Yan army's light cavalry took turns to attack, and continued to charge and harass in teams, but they always stayed within the reach of the enemy's arrows, or approached and shot arrows before quickly leaving.

Chang Yanheng, in particular, led dozens of cavalrymen around him, riding and shooting like the wind, causing continuous casualties to the Wei army's infantry.

He himself never missed his target, and each of his arrows took out a soldier in the front row of the Wei army.

And he almost shot at one area, which was replenished several times in a row and even caused a gap.

The Wei army officers behind him kept urging the soldiers behind him to go forward and maintain the formation.

But the soldiers behind him were too timid to move forward. Even if they gritted their teeth and held up their large shields, it was difficult to avoid the dense shooting of the Yan army.

This repeated cycle of running and shooting harassment may last for an hour, two hours or even longer.

In addition to constantly causing casualties with archers and cavalry, sometimes there seemed to be a lot of yellow dust, but in fact there were only a hundred or so cavalry bluffing; sometimes they would suddenly form a large group and approach the army formation to intimidate, forcing the defenders to panic and cooperate with the infantry's attack.

As time goes by, even the most solid formation will become loose due to fatigue of the soldiers. At that time, the cavalry will either crush the enemy with ease or chase them back to the enemy.

Winning is just a matter of time.

(End of this chapter)