Yancheng County and Liucheng County are about a hundred miles apart. This area is covered with mountains, hills, undulating canyons, and ravines. Only small pieces of plains between mountains and rivers hit the plains. It is said that "seven mountains, one water and two fields are divided into fields". Large areas of fields are covered by forests, and only small areas of plains have been reclaimed, and villages are distributed.

On a hill about fifty miles away from Yancheng County, several Sui army scouts were staring at a vast army below the mountain in the woods. There was a word "high" on the banner of the team. This should be the army of Gao Kaidao, with a population of about 20,000, sharp swords and spears and shining armor. It can be seen that it is an elite army.

After observing for a while, the Sui army cavalry immediately turned their horses and ran down the hills. They took another shortcut to Yancheng County.

Zhang Xuan received a report from the cavalry at noon and found the main force of Gao Kaidao's army, with about 25,600 people.

In the room, Zhang Xuan marked the seat of the Gao Kaidao army on the map. It is currently about thirty miles away. Luo Shixin next to him asked the scout who reported the news and said, "How many cavalry are there and how well are there?"

The scout brigade commander bowed and said, "Reported to the commander and generals, there are not many enemy cavalry, only hundreds of people. They should belong to the category of whistle-snooping. There are no formal cavalry, but the infantry equipment is quite elite. Compared with the Xiaoguo Army, except for the lack of war horses, the rest of the equipment is exactly the same. It is more elite than ours, and the morale is also good. The marching team is very neat and it is definitely not a mob."

Zhang Xuan frowned slightly, which seemed to be inconsistent with what he imagined. Ge Qian's remnants actually turned into an elite army. For a moment, Zhang Xuan pondered without saying a word.

At this time, Li Jing said slowly: "I don't think that the general does not have to worry too much. Equipped equipment does not mean that the army is brave and good at fighting. Gao Kaidao has not been able to capture Liucheng County for a month, and there are only thousands of defenders in Liucheng County, and the rest are temporary civilians. This shows that the combat effectiveness of the Gao Kaidao army is not strong. We should not be confused by the illusion of the other party. As the general said, delaying the decisive battle time is not good for us, and it is likely to attract reinforcements from Goguryeo. The general must make up his mind."

Zhang Xuan nodded slowly. Li Jing was right. This was his choice of war. Even if he failed, he would have to fight. Hesitation would affect morale.

"Transfer my order, the army is ready to attack!" Zhang Xuan finally issued an order to attack.

‘Woo--’

The low horn sounded in the field, and the dull and rhythmic drum sounds echoed among the Sui army. This was a war that had not yet been known for its outcome. Although Zhang Xuan had made sufficient preparations, he could not predict the outcome of this battle for the first time, and they could only do their best.

In the open field, the two armies were each arranged in their own formation. The Sui army had a two-wing formation, with 4,000 central troops, and 3,000 left and right wings on both sides. Zhang Xuan personally took charge of the central army, Luo Shixin on the left wing and Su Dingfang on the right wing. The army was neat and murderous.

Gao Kaidao's army was also on the left and right wings, but the number of others was the dominant one. There was an additional 5,000 troops to reinforce the rear army, with 10,000 troops in the middle, and Gao Kaidao personally commanded the commander. The commander of the left wing was Han Zhiming and the commander of the right wing was He Paisheng. Both of them were Gao Kaidao's confidant generals, and each led 5,000 troops to the left and right wings.

From the perspective of weapons, the weapons of both sides are similar, both composed of spear army and sword and shield army. They are both standard weapons of the Sui army, but the high-piercing army has an advantage in armor. They are all Mingguang armor, while only officers above the brigade commander of the Sui army are equipped with Mingguang armor, while ordinary soldiers are basically leather armor.

However, Zhang Xuan also has two secret weapons hidden, one is a heavy armored infantry composed of 500 people. This is one of Zhang Xutuo's legacy. It is currently the first time that Zhang Xuan has been involved in the battle. They are located in the central army and are also Zhang Xuan's killer weapon.

In addition, Zhang Xuan also deployed a secret weapon, which is Pei Xingyan's three thousand cavalry. This is Zhang Xuan's joint infantry and cavalry tactics. He first hides the cavalry. The two sides fought fiercely until the critical moment, and the cavalry fought out and crushed the opponent. This tactic played a huge role in the battle against Dou Jiande.

Gao Kaidao looked at the Sui army opposite coldly. The number of troops on the other side was far inferior to his. He had an absolute advantage in military strength. This was also the fundamental reason why he had no scruples to fight the Sui army. The other side had only 10,000 people, which was his chance to defeat Zhang Xuan and become famous all over the world.

"Master, the other party has no crossbowman!" a spy rushed forward and shouted.

Gao Kaidao laughed to the sky, pulled out his battle knife and ordered: "Strike!"

‘Dong!Dong!Dong!’ The sound of drums that shook the sky and the earth sounded.

The offensive of Gao Kaidao's army was launched suddenly, and 20,000 troops were divided into three large formations, and they rushed towards the Sui army with a huge burst of shouts, roars, and horse hooves rushing throughout the field.

Under the banner, the Sui army camp still had no movement, but behind the banner, five thousand Sui soldiers began to quickly change their weapons. They placed their spears on the ground, took off the long bow from behind, pulled out a soldier arrow, and put the bow on the arrow. The long arrow was tilted upward at a 45-degree angle, and the sharp wolf-tooth arrow flashed with a cold light.

Zhang Xuan rode on the horse and watched 20,000 thieves sweeping in the distance. The 10,000 central troops were like surging waves, rising and falling on the fields. Zhang Xuan also showed a cold smile. He had long abandoned his simple power and bloody battle. In addition to the ability of soldiers to fight on the battlefield, he also focused on the use of tactics and strategies.

He has been dealing with various rioters in the past nine years since Daye, and he has long known the characteristics of rioters in the battle. The army in front of him looks like a mountain torrent and is coming fiercely, but they are weak afterwards.

As long as the morale of the bandits is effectively weakened, their combat effectiveness will decrease sharply as their morale fades, and archery shooting is undoubtedly the best means of attack.

Qin Yong behind him was a little nervous, and he whispered to Zhang Xuan: "Master, the thief army has entered two hundred steps!"

Zhang Xuan nodded. Their tactics have been fully trained and they will never miss them.

Dust was flying, yellow fog was everywhere, and the army that opened the way was getting closer and closer, two hundred steps, one hundred fifty steps, one hundred twenty steps, one hundred steps.

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It has gradually approached the kill range of the longbow.

At this moment, the Sui army's bow formation was launched. Amid the sound of war drums, the first row of battle flags covering the bow soldiers were all lying down. A series of strong winds passed by, and five thousand arrows rose into the air, forming a dense rain of arrows in the air, making a strange sound, roaring at the top of the thieves' heads.

Thousands of thieves running in the front suddenly fell over, and the long arrow shot through the helmet, and the head was instantly shot through. Although the bright light armor effectively saved the soldiers' vitals, the arms, thighs, necks, and faces that were not covered by the armor became the targets of arrow attack.

Hundreds of war horses mixed in the team were also shot and fell down with a tragic neighing, pressing the horse soldiers under them. More than 600 soldiers were killed and injured in a rain of arrows, which made Gao Kaidao's army's crazy arrogance frustrated.

However, their attack did not stop, and they continued to fight towards the Sui army camp. At this time, the second wave of arrows hit again, and there was another crowd of people and horses. At this moment, their vanguard troops were less than fifty steps away from the Sui army camp.

"Cum again!"

Zhang Xuan shouted loudly, and he knew very well that he could shoot three rounds during training, and he could shoot through armor within fifty steps.

The third most critical round of arrow formation of the Sui army was launched. A drum sounded, and five thousand longbows were fired at the same time. A dense rain of arrows rose into the air, forming a long cloud of black arrows in the air, instantly turning into black dots, shooting towards the bandits head-on.

The Sui army's crossbow arrows dominate the world. They not only have long range, but also have strong strength. Within fifty steps, even the bright light armor cannot withstand it, especially when it is shot from the air, the arrows descend with their own gravity, making the bright light armor of the Gaokaidao soldier a decoration.

The soldiers and arrows roared like raindrops, so dense that they were breathless. The long arrows fell down. The powerful and heavy armored arrows pierced the infantry's leather armor. The soldiers were shot into the arrows and fell to the ground, and the wailing sounds were everywhere. The soldiers in Gaokaidao fell down one by one, with blood splashing everywhere, and they died tragically in the wailing sound. The morale of the enemy disappeared sharply. They began to shake, retreat, and fled in all directions, as if the strong wind blew through the dark clouds, and the clouds cleared and the fog dissipated in an instant.

"Retreat!" Gao Kaidao saw the soldiers' casualties and injuries, so he had to order the retreat. The bandit army retreated like a tide.

The first wave of attacks of Gao Kaidao's army was disintegrated and they were hit hard. The Sui army only fired three rounds of arrows, and the 20,000 troops were reduced by 1.5%, and nearly 3,000 people were killed and injured.

Gao Kaidao, who was watching the game behind, gasped. For the first time, he learned Zhang Xuan's changeable tactics. From a spearman to a archer, the army's training was far superior to himself. He finally understood why Zhang Xuan's army could win every battle. It was training. The training of various tactics could be fully utilized on the ever-changing battlefield, which made Gao Kaidao's confidence begin to decline rapidly.

The confidence of the main general Gao Kaidao has subsided, not to mention ordinary soldiers. The originally high morale has rapidly subsided under the powerful bow and arrow of the Sui army. The slogans that had just shouted as loud as a mountain also disappeared, and everyone was nervously considering their retreat.
Chapter completed!