Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5339 Cardia
The warm summer sun shines on the earth, and the lush green grass stretches to the horizon like a carpet, gently undulating with the terrain. The clear river flows swiftly, and everything seems like a paradise on earth.

Horse hooves crushed the grass, horns startled the birds, and column after column of Arab armies filed in from north to south, lining up between the two rivers to await their arrival.

Shield bearers and archers are positioned in the front line to suppress and kill the enemy from a distance when they approach, while heavy infantrymen with shields and scimitars are positioned in the rear to both withstand the charge of enemy cavalry and to advance into the enemy ranks at any time.

Light cavalry were positioned on the left and right to launch surprise attacks on the enemy's flanks or to cut off the enemy's rear, while heavy cavalry were positioned at the rear, moving with the general's banner. In critical moments, they could use the passages opened by the front troops to rush straight into the enemy's center.

Over the years, under the leadership of successive Caliphs, the Abbasid Caliphate has waged wars in the east and west, and in the south and north, and has long developed a mature tactical system. It was with this kind of formation that they first exhausted the strength of the Persian elephant cavalry, and then concentrated their heavy cavalry to defeat the Persian elephant cavalry in one fell swoop, seizing the lands of Mesopotamia from the Persians and completely establishing the Abbasid Caliphate's dominant position.

Now the roles have reversed, with the attacking side being the Tang army that has come from the east on a distant expedition. They seem to be stronger than the Persian army of yesteryear, but the Arab soldiers are full of confidence and high morale.

The Arab army was positioned upstream of the river where giant logs blocked the waterway. Tang warships could not proceed and had to dock. The soldiers inside the ships were already fully equipped and ready to go. As soon as they reached the shore, they quickly filed ashore and assembled in a very short time.

Scouts went out to get close and observe, and soon relayed a steady stream of intelligence about the enemy.

Su Dingfang and Yang Zhou, fully armored, marked all sorts of intelligence on the map from the rear, making the enemy and friendly forces situation clear as if they were reading the lines on their palms.

Yang Zhou carefully memorized the enemy's formation, pondering its strengths and weaknesses as well as possible changes in formation. After a while, he smiled and said, "The enemy's formation looks well-organized, with complementary strengths and weaknesses, and they even have dozens of catapults deployed in the rear... Why do I feel like I've returned to the chaotic Spring and Autumn Period?"

The nearby officers and captains laughed upon hearing this.

This rigid, methodical formation is far too inflexible, inevitably reminding one of the style of "declaring war" and "facing the chariots in the middle" during the Spring and Autumn Period.

In those days, when two countries went to war, they would first send envoys to denounce the other side's "rebellious" and "unjust" actions. Then, the two sides would settle the score at the agreed time and place. If either side failed to act in accordance with the agreement and instead "used deception in war," even if they won, they would be despised.

This tactic was already outdated during the Warring States period...

"According to the scouts' visual assessment, this kind of catapult uses the lever principle to throw stones. It takes seven or eight people to operate one catapult. Its range is limited and it can only be used for close-range attacks. As for its accuracy, it is not worth mentioning. It can be somewhat useful for siege warfare, but it is completely useless against our mobility in open field battles, unless they are willing to launch indiscriminate attacks on both friend and foe."

"Compared to these catapults, our artillery has a much longer range. Before engaging in battle, we should bombard their front-line longbowmen with artillery fire, and then use muskets and crossbows to kill their light cavalry on both flanks. By combining long and short fire, advancing layer by layer, and finally having our heavily armored cavalry charge, we can achieve a great victory!"

The lieutenants and captains kept offering suggestions.

This is the norm in the Tang Dynasty army today. Whenever tactics are discussed before a battle, everyone is allowed and encouraged to speak, brainstorm, and have a lively discussion, so that every officer can have a sufficient sense of participation in the war.

Of course, once the strategy and tactics are confirmed, everyone, regardless of their previous views, must obey them unconditionally.

Yang Zhou listened carefully, then shook his head: "Our warships can only carry a limited number of horses and armor, enough to arm no more than five hundred armored cavalry, which is too few for a full-scale charge."

Scattering a limited number of armored cavalry across an excessively long battle line not only fails to unleash their overwhelming impact but also risks trapping them in enemy lines, holding them back until they are exhausted.

Some suggested, "Why not follow the example of Emperor Taizong?"

"Ok?"

Su Dingfang was quite interested: "Tell me about it."

The captain said, "When Emperor Taizong was still the Prince of Qin, he would personally brave arrows and stones and charge into battle whenever there was a war. For example, in the Battle of Hulao Pass, he personally led his 3,000 'Black Armor Iron Cavalry' to defeat 100,000 enemy troops, breaking through the enemy lines and inflicting a great defeat on the enemy army... The situation of the battle back then is similar to that of today."

Su Dingfang was very pleased: "Students of the academy?"

"Yes, I graduated from the Military Academy and was taught by Lord Wei."

"Excellent, excellent! This young man is both knowledgeable and able to apply what he has learned. He is a promising young man!"

The empire is now prosperous and powerful, but whether it can maintain its prosperity depends on these young people. It is truly gratifying to see that there are successors, and that even a mere student from an academy can speak eloquently here.

"Just do it!"

Su Dingfang said to Yang Zhou, "I will lead the heavily armored cavalry to guard the central army and wait for the right opportunity to strike. You will lead the light cavalry to penetrate from the right flank, disrupting the enemy's rear and cutting off their retreat as much as possible. We have come a long way on a long march and are fighting on foreign soil. We cannot afford to get bogged down in this battle. Let's treat this battle as a decisive one and achieve our goal in one fell swoop!"

"Here!"

Yang Zhou stood up and, together with the other officers, responded in unison.

……

The scorching sun, like molten gold, baked the plain between the two rivers.

Hot winds whipped up dust as they swept past the Arab army, which stood ready for battle.

Arms stood at the front of the battle lines, his gaze sharp, as his army deployed like precision instruments: at the front, longbowmen silently checked their bowstrings, their longbows capable of piercing chainmail from a hundred feet away; behind them stood heavy infantry as imposing as mountains, their chainmail and round shields gleaming in the sunlight, their spears forming an impenetrable defensive line; on the flanks, light cavalry moved like a restless storm, harassing the enemy with mobility and arrows; while the true trump card—the elite heavy cavalry—remained hidden behind the lines, like black thunderbolts poised to strike, waiting only for the enemy lines to falter before charging in and delivering the decisive blow.

Hundreds of people were busy around dozens of catapults, the most powerful weapon in Ctesiphon. It had once been incredibly effective in defeating the Persian cavalry; even the strongest armor could not withstand a stone falling from the sky.

Arms stood proudly on his horse, sword drawn, his gaze fixed on the horizon where a metallic cloud slowly approached, its black armor and red tassels shimmering like ocean waves in the sunlight.

Those were Tang troops who had come on a distant expedition.

They marched silently, their black armor reflecting a cold light under the blazing sun. In the center, beneath the crimson banner bearing the character "Tang," Su Dingfang stood reined in his horse.

He gazed at the distant battle line meticulously constructed by the Arabs, his face calm and serene.

"Order: Crescent Moon Formation, position the cannons in front."

The order was given, and the Tang army's formation flowed like mercury spilling onto the ground. At the forefront was not a thick line of infantry, but three rows of soldiers armed with flintlock muskets. Behind the musketeers were the true weapons of mass destruction—cannons. More than a hundred small cannons had been adjusted to their firing angles, their dark muzzles pointing to the sky, their bronze-gleaming barrels imposing and heavy. Beside them were piles of oil-filled shells sealed in earthenware jars.

Then, heavily armored infantrymen, clad in iron armor and wielding broadswords, appeared like a moving mountain of knives.

On both flanks of the formation, light cavalry spread out like the wings of a goose, with bows and crossbows readily available. In the center of the entire crescent-shaped formation, Su Dingfang and his five hundred men behind him were fully armored, their masks pulled down, revealing only their eyes, like towering steel behemoths.

The battle was initiated by the Tang army.

Amidst the mournful bugle calls, a hundred cannons fired simultaneously, their deafening roar filling the air with smoke. Projectiles, accompanied by muzzle flashes, rained down on the enemy positions. Upon impact, the fuses burned out, causing the projectiles to explode from the inside out. Cotton wadding soaked in kerosene was ejected from the high-temperature, high-pressure interior of the projectile, igniting instantly upon contact with air and setting anything it clung to ablaze.

The three rounds of artillery fire were completed in an extremely fast pace, and the shield bearers and longbowmen at the front of the entire Arab army were engulfed in flames.

The longbowmen didn't even have time to fire a single arrow, because the cannons' range far exceeded that of the Arab longbows...

Su Dingfang squinted at the enemy positions engulfed in flames in the distance and asked the captain who came to report the battle results, "How much artillery damage have you suffered?"

The captain said, "More than half."

Su Dingfang shook his head and sighed.

The power of artillery is enough to shake the heavens and earth and move mountains and fill seas, but the forging of its barrels has never been able to get rid of the rut—the smelting technology is substandard, which makes the durability of the barrels extremely limited, either causing the barrel to explode or the rifling to wear down and the barrel to be scrapped.

This is also the biggest reason restricting the use of artillery at present: logistical support cannot keep up, so it cannot be used indiscriminately.

"Musketeers and crossbowmen advance to inflict casualties on the enemy's infantry."

"Here!"

Messengers carrying command flags rode through the battle formation, relaying the commander's orders to each unit.

The musketeers and crossbowmen at the front crossed the artillery positions, running forward while pulling the triggers and drawing their bows taut.

Bang bang bang!
Whoosh whoosh!
The projectiles flew straight through the air and struck the enemy's body, while the arrows fell into the enemy ranks after tracing an arc. The enemy infantry, lacking armor protection, fell in droves like wheat in autumn, with rivers of blood and screams of agony.

A dark cloud rose from the enemy's rear, as the catapults finally began to unleash their power.

However, the Tang army had already made preparations. Upon seeing this, the musketeers and crossbowmen immediately moved to the flanks, not only avoiding the heavily armored enemy infantry coming from the front, but also causing the enemy's trebuchet attack to miss. Before the next round of trebuchet attacks, the Tang army's artillery fired again in a salvo.

Boom boom boom!
One after another, oil bombs landed on the enemy's heavy infantry formation. Flames and black smoke enveloped the enemy, and the heavy infantry appeared and disappeared in the sea of ​​fire. The high temperature scorched their iron armor, and in no time, the enemy soldiers were screaming in agony. Many soldiers even took off their armor and fled in all directions.

Then, musketeers and crossbowmen fired from both flanks toward the center, and the infantrymen who had lost their armor were slaughtered.

Ams watched the carnage on the battlefield with eyes wide with rage.

How could the Tang army completely suppress my tactics? It seems that every tactic can be countered by the Tang army, which is impossible!