Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 478: Light Cavalry in Danger
After seeing Yuan Bhutan's order, Dou Tai immediately shouted: "This is a chaotic order! Our army has not yet established a firm foothold, how can we attack Shanhaiguan?"

Sima Ziru also looked worried. It was his suggestion to station troops in Houcheng. They were a foreign army heading north and had no idea about the terrain of Liaodong. Even the soldiers had not fully adapted to it.

Although Shanhaiguan was built in a hurry, Gao Huan was well aware of the organizational and mobilization capabilities of Su Ze's subordinates, and he was even more aware of Yuwen Tai's abilities. This was definitely a tough nut to crack.

Facing Yuwen Tai, Gao Huan felt a little uneasy.

The order for Yuwen Tai's elder brother Yuwen Luosheng to be killed was naturally given by Erzhu Rong, but Gao Huan also played a subtle role in it.

If Gao Huan had not mentioned Yuwen Luosheng's influence among the people of the Six Garrisons in front of Erzhu Rong, Erzhu Rong would not have been so murderous.

Originally, both parties served under Erzhu Rong, but Gao Huan was not afraid. He had more seniority than Yuwen Tai, a surrendered general, and Erzhu Rong also trusted him. Gao Huan was not worried that Yuwen Tai would take revenge on him.

However, after being captured, Yuwen Tai surrendered directly to Su Ze.

For the sake of Yuwen Tai, Su Ze even personally sent an envoy to deliver a letter to Erzhu Rong, proposing to exchange the dozen elite Erzhu cavalrymen brought by Erzhu Zhongyuan who were unwilling to surrender to Su Ze for Yuwen Tai's family members who stayed in Jizhou.

Erzhu Rong also gave Su Ze this face and sent the widow of Yuwen Tai's brother, including his nephew Yuwen Hu, to Dingzhou.

This made Gao Huan even more uneasy. Su Ze's ability to judge people was recognized by the world. All the talents he could identify showed extraordinary abilities without exception.

Now that Yuwen Tai was so highly regarded by Su Ze and was quickly allowed to try his skills in Shanhaiguan, even Gao Huan felt jealous.

When it comes to employing people, Su Ze always trusts them and does not employ them if he does not trust them. Those who are favored by him are always given enough opportunities to perform.

This was the case with Hou Jing who destroyed Shu in one battle, Yu Jin who faced Erzhu Rong, Dugu Xin who guarded the northern border, and now Yuwen Tai.

To be honest, Gao Huan was a little jealous of these people. Unlike the brilliant Erzhu Rong, Su Ze was not stingy in giving his subordinates opportunities to show off.

In order to gain this opportunity to succeed, Gao Huan even tried his best to flee to Liaodong. Compared with him, Yuwen Tai, a surrendered general, was really lucky.

Gao Huan put away his thoughts and said to Sima Ziru:

"Don't pay attention to the Grand Commander's order for now. Let's repair the city first. Also, Ziru will take in the fleeing tribesmen in the city and find out the situation in Shanhaiguan. Tomorrow, Dou Tai and Wei Jing will follow me out of the city to investigate nearby."

This is almost a normal operation for generals who come from the Six Garrisons. Fighting in the Six Garrisons since childhood has made them develop this habit.

No one understands the cruelty of the battlefield better than the people of the Six Garrisons. If one fails to accurately understand the situation on the battlefield, the consequences will be catastrophic.

It’s not that Gao Huan didn’t believe the scouts’ reports, but the intelligence obtained through personal investigation was more comprehensive.

The next day, Gao Huan led Wei Jing and Dou Tai, and a group of light cavalry out of Houcheng and headed towards Shanhaiguan.

At the same time, Yuwen Tai also led his light cavalry and began to sweep the Khitan tribes near Shanhaiguan.

In March, the land in Liaodong was still covered with ice and unmelted snow. Gao Huan rode to a valley near a stream and his face became serious.

It is very difficult to hide your tracks when fighting at this time of year.

This is because heavy snow rarely falls in March, but there is still ice and snow on the ground, which will leave conspicuous traces once the army passes by.

Why are there so many poems about chasing on snowy nights? It is because snowy nights are the most suitable for chasing. The white snow leaves eye-catching traces, and under the moonlight the cavalry can follow these traces and chase.

Except for snowy nights, there is almost no possibility of pursuit in the dark night, because in the pitch-black wilderness, it is difficult to track, let alone find the direction.

The people of Liuzhen grew up in the North and were very familiar with ice and snow. The traces in the river valley should have been left by a large army stationed in the valley to give water to their horses.

But it was too late. Gao Huan subconsciously lowered his head, and an arrow flew past his ear. The high-speed flying arrow feather cut his ear.

If Gao Huan had not turned around to talk to Dou Tai, the arrow would have pierced his head.

Gao Huan was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. Then he leaned on the saddle and controlled his horse to retreat.

Dou Tai and Wei Jing hurriedly followed, and the cavalry began to retreat to the rear.

Gao Huan originally thought that his reaction was quick, but a group of cavalry quickly rushed out of the forest and quickly chased in the direction of Gao Huan's escape.

Scouts are often elite troops, and the war horses ridden by Gao Huan and his men were even better horses prepared by the Khitans. However, to Gao Huan's surprise, the horses of this team of pursuers were no less powerful than their own horses. Even though they chose to flee at the first opportunity, they were gradually caught up by the enemy.

If he continued running like this, he would definitely be caught up. Gao Huan took out a short bow, drew the bow, turned back and shot an arrow.

But the enemy's pursuers had already taken out their crossbows and shot two more arrows at Gao Huan. Gao Huan's body shook violently. It turned out that his horse's butt had been hit by an arrow.

The warhorse neighed, Gao Huan squeezed the horse's belly, controlled the horse to calm down, and his mind also quickly calmed down. He drew the bow, looked back, and shot another arrow.

A knight in pursuit was shot and fell off his horse, but the enemy's crossbow arrows were faster, so Gao Huan lowered his head and was hit by two more arrows on the horse's buttocks. Seeing that the enemy was so elite, Dou Tai simply reined in his horse, took out his weapon, turned over and dismounted, picked up his weapon, and rushed towards the pursuing cavalry.

Seeing Dou Tai dismount, Wei Jing also wanted to dismount, but Gao Huan stopped him:
"Wei Jing, run away! A Tai is here to cover us!"

Seeing Dou Tai fighting with the cavalry, Wei Jing could only shout loudly, drew his bow and shot down a pursuing knight, then reluctantly pulled the reins to speed up his escape.

The shouts and cries behind him were getting farther and farther away. Dou Tai's bravery did indeed stop the pursuers, but Gao Huan felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. Dou Tai had followed him since the Six Garrisons, and now he was trapped in a place like this for nothing. It was really not worth it!
However, Gao Huan was also frightened by the quality of the pursuing cavalrymen behind him.

Needless to say, in Liaodong, such elite standard cavalry could only belong to Yuwen Tai's troops.

Isn’t it said that Su Ze is as good at using armored cavalry as General Tianzhu?
Where did this elite light cavalry come from?
No wonder as soon as he arrived in Houcheng, the Khitan tribes from all directions fled to the north. Such a cavalry unit was simply a nightmare for the Khitan people.

Their mobility is far superior to that of the Khitan cavalry, and their combat effectiveness is far beyond the level of those tribal cavalry. After all, those tribal cavalry are actually the young and strong men in the tribe, and their main job on weekdays is to graze rather than fight.

Each cavalryman was equipped with a bow and crossbow. Gao Huan also saw them taking out a long-bladed scimitar to fight Dou Tai. Some of them used a lasso and a nail-headed hammer tied with an iron chain to assist in the battle.

It was hard for Gao Huan to imagine how desperate the ordinary Khitan tribal cavalry would be when they encountered such a team.

Even Gao Huan thought about his own cavalry units and how they would respond if they encountered such light cavalry in the wild.

Gao Huan was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and concluded that there was no way to deal with it.

What Erzhu Rong gave Gao Huan was still the heavy cavalry. These bulky cavalrymen would be exhausted to death if they were entangled by such agile light cavalry.

Gao Huan further thought that those maces should be used to break armor and shields. Gao Huan even discovered that these arrowheads were specially made, armor-piercing arrows with angular grooves. This kind of arrow, combined with a heavy longbow, could break through thin armor.

Although it may not be able to break through double heavy armor, as long as it can break through the defense of heavy armored cavalry, it is already a deadly threat.

Gao Huan felt lucky again. It was thanks to his personal investigation that he got the important information about Yuwen Tai's reorganization of the cavalry. Otherwise, he would have suffered a great loss if he had run into him.

It’s a pity for Dou Tai.

Gao Huan had no time to grieve, as his horse was hit by an arrow in the buttocks and after shaking off the pursuers, he finally collapsed due to exhaustion.

Gao Huan killed his beloved horse with his sword, and rode back to Houcheng with Wei Jing.

On the other side, Dou Tai, covered in blood, was escorted to Yuwen Tai.

"Dou Tai?"

Yuwen Tai recognized Dou Tai. He could only say that this guy was indeed brave. He fought desperately for half an hour while being surrounded by many cavalrymen. In the end, he was accidentally stabbed in the arm and was defeated and captured.

Dou Tai looked up and saw Yuwen Tai. He couldn't help but curse:

"You betrayed your master and surrendered! How dare you call your grandfather's name!"

Yuwen Tai was not angry, but smiled and said:

"In terms of the number of times I have betrayed my master, I, Yuwen Tai, cannot compare to He Liuhun."

"So the person you risked your life to protect was He Liuhun. It's a pity that you didn't send more cavalry, otherwise we wouldn't have to fight in Liaodong."

Yuwen Tai said with some regret.

But it was no use regretting at this time, as Gao Huan had already escaped. However, capturing Dou Tai was also a major blow to Gao Huan.

Knowing that Dou Tai was a loyal supporter of Gao Huan, Yuwen Tai did not bother to argue with him. However, he did not intend to kill Dou Tai either. He simply ordered him to be imprisoned in a prison car and ordered the entire army to return to Shanhaiguan.

This time, Yuwen Tai also went out of Shanhaiguan to train his troops. He had just defeated a medium-sized Khitan tribe and did not have many soldiers and horses. In case Gao Huan led a large army here, it would be better for him to go back and rest quickly.

Gao Huan personally led the troops to investigate, and it seemed that Erzhu Rong and the Khitan reinforcements were already in place. After returning this time, Yuwen Tai would not send a small cavalry team to fight again.

As expected, the enemy will not give you too much time, and Yuwen Tai’s actual combat training can only go so far.

Shanhaiguan was about to fall into a long-term confrontation again. Both Yuwen Tai and Gao Huan were carefully testing each other.

At the same time, Hou Jing, who had been stationed in Chengdu for half a year, finally announced that he would move his capital to Ba County and start to attack the Liao people near Ba County.

The title is "Xianwei", because the title cannot be modified, sorry

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(End of this chapter)