Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

In the northeast direction of Jianghuai City, Li Shiming's imperial entourage was desperately fleeing towards the Huai River ferry in the hour that Xue Che had bought with his life.

But what he didn't know was that -

Zhang Shijie's naval forces had already arrived at the ferry crossing ahead of time.

Chu Ning's army is pursuing them at full speed.

Guo Ziyi's death meant that the last pillar of the Tang Dynasty in the northern frontier had fallen.

The Battle of Jianghuai lasted from dawn to morning, from inside the city to outside the city, and from the south bank of the Huai River to the north bank.

Finally, the curtain fell.

The Great Chu won, the Great Tang lost.

From this moment on, the sky over the Central Plains will be completely changed.

Guo Ziyi, the last great general of the Tang Dynasty, used his own blood and that of 150,000 soldiers to play the final elegy for this ancient empire.

The morning light, like blood, illuminated the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on both banks of the Huai River.

It also illuminates the beginning of a new era.

However, the beginning of this new era was soaked in too much blood and carried too many lives.

But history has always been like this.

The victor is king, the loser is villain; history is forged in blood and iron.

Guo Ziyi's name, along with that of this bloody battle, will be recorded in history.

Become a legend.

It became a swan song.

It marks the end of an era.

Just as Guo Ziyi was about to die in battle.

On the north bank of the Huai River, the wasteland has become a living hell.

The bloody battle that began yesterday and continues to this day has completely stained this land red.

Zhao Yu's 30,000 White Horse Cavalry and Ma Chao's 30,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry took turns attacking the defensive positions built by Li Guangbi's 40,000 Tang troops, but they were unable to break through them.

Li Guangbi, this famous general of the Tang Dynasty, was far more prudent in his military tactics and more resilient in his defense than Zhao and Ma had anticipated.

The battlefield he chose was extremely treacherous—backed by a tributary of the Huai River, a ditch about ten zhang wide, with two impassable swamps on the left and right sides, and only a flat area about two li wide in front for the cavalry to charge.

The Tang army constructed three lines of defense here: the first was a death zone consisting of horse traps and tripwires; the second was an iron wall consisting of chariots and chevaux-de-frise; and the third was a dense square formation of archers and spearmen.

Even more terrifying, Li Guangbi divided his 40,000-strong army into four independent square formations, arranged in a triangular pattern.

Each formation can operate independently, yet also support each other.

No matter which direction the Chu cavalry charged, they would be attacked from the flanks from the other three directions.

"The eighth charge!"

Zhao Yu reined in his warhorse, his silver armor stained with blood, his face grave.

He gazed at the still-solid Tang army defense line ahead, a rare hint of anxiety flashing in his eyes.

Since last night, the White Horse Cavalry has launched eight all-out charges, losing at least five thousand riders, yet they have failed to even break through the Tang army's second line of defense.

Those damned horse traps and tripwires greatly reduced the speed of the cavalry's charge.

The archers behind those wagons always fired their arrows at the most critical distance.

Those spearmen formed a forest of spears that was like steel thorns.

"General Zhao!"

Ma Chao rode over, and this fierce general from Xiliang was also in a sorry state—his helmet was nowhere to be found, and his face was blackened by smoke.

"We can't keep fighting like this! Our Xiliang cavalry has already lost more than 4,000 men! If we charge twice more, both of our cavalry units will be wiped out!"

Zhao Yu gritted his teeth: "That old scoundrel Li Guangbi is too cautious in his military tactics. He doesn't seek victory at all, he only wants to stall us. Look—"

He pointed to the large banner with the character "Li" in the Tang army formation: "From last night until now, his formation has hardly changed."

"No matter how we attack, he only makes minor adjustments and never makes any rash moves. He is waiting, waiting for the outcome of the battle on the south bank."

Ma Chao's face turned ashen: "Then what do we do? Are we just going to stand by and watch?"

The two were silent.

A cold wind swept across the battlefield, bringing with it a strong smell of blood and burnt flesh—the smell of burning warhorses.

In the distance, rhythmic war drums echoed from the Tang army ranks, Li Guangbi trying to boost morale. Meanwhile, on the Chu army's side, the frustration of repeated failed charges was quietly spreading.

Cavalrymen value momentum above all else.

Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.

Now, after eight unsuccessful charges, many soldiers are showing signs of fatigue, and the warhorses are at their limit.

"We must break this deadlock."

Zhao Yu spoke slowly, a resolute glint in his eyes: "Li Guangbi's defense seems perfect, but it has a fatal weakness—"

"What weakness?" Ma Chao asked urgently.

"He's too cautious."

Zhao Yu said, word by word: "Because of stability, the formation changes are slow; because of stability, the reaction to emergencies is slow; because of stability, no one expects us to use extraordinary measures."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "I have a plan, but it requires sacrifices."

"Sacrifice?" Ma Chao raised an eyebrow. "What's the sacrifice if we can break the formation?"

"Warhorse." Zhao Yu slowly uttered these two words.

Ma Chao was taken aback.

Zhao Yu continued, "Li Guangbi's defense is based on those three lines of defense."

"Horse traps and tripwires are designed for charging warhorses, while chariot formations and chevaux-de-frise are used to block the charge of cavalry, and archers and spearmen are used to kill cavalrymen who have charged into the formation."

"All of this is based on the premise that cavalry needs warhorses to charge."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes: "But what if we don't charge with warhorses? Or rather, what if we use warhorses, but not for charging, but for—"

"What for?" Ma Chao asked, his breathing quickening.

"Fire attack."

Zhao Yu uttered these two words, each one as heavy as a thousand pounds: "Tie oil-soaked cloth strips to the horse's tail, light them, and drive the warhorses toward the Tang army's position."

“When warhorses are startled, they will run wildly without regard for anything else, trampling through horse traps, crashing through chariot formations, and charging through a hail of bullets.”

"In order to protect themselves, the Tang army would inevitably have to shoot arrows at these mad horses and adjust their formation to avoid the charge—"

He looked at Ma Chao: "That will be the best time for our cavalry to charge."

Ma Chao gasped.

Using living warhorses as sacrifices in a fire attack?

This plan is too ruthless.

For cavalrymen, warhorses are not only mounts, but also comrades-in-arms.

Many cavalrymen had a deep bond with their warhorses, treating them like brothers.

Sacrificing warhorses in this way could be a more severe blow to morale than defeat.

but……

Ma Chao looked at the still-solid Tang army defense line, at the Tang army flags still fluttering in the morning light, and gritted his teeth.

"How many horses do you need?" he asked.

"At least a thousand horses."

Zhao Yu said in a deep voice: "Divide into three waves, each with more than three hundred horses, and attack from three directions at the same time. We must prevent the Tang army from supporting each other and completely disrupt their formation."

“A thousand horses!” Ma Chao closed his eyes.

A thousand warhorses means a thousand cavalrymen losing their mounts.

These cavalrymen would have to dismount and fight on foot, becoming the first casualties in the ensuing charge.

But war has always been this cruel.

"it is good!"

Ma Chao suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with the resolve of a soldier: "What does sacrificing a few warhorses matter when it comes to victory!"

"Leave this matter to me!"