Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

Using chariot tactics to combat cavalry is, from a later perspective, not particularly novel.

But at this time, it was a method that surpassed the era.

Although chariots had been used in much earlier dynasties, those chariots were nothing like the specialized vehicles later developed specifically to counter cavalry.

The chariots of that time had two wheels and at most could accommodate two to three armored soldiers.

As early as the early Chu Dynasty, such chariot forces had been completely phased out, and large-scale cavalry units had become the absolute main force in warfare.

Subsequently, with the improvement of cavalry equipment, the advent of stirrups and high saddles, and the coordination between heavily armed cavalry and ordinary light cavalry, the cavalry developed crushing tactics against infantry.

Therefore, during the period before the Liang Dynasty when the northern nomads swept south, cavalry had already evolved into the dominant force on the battlefield.

After this, because the southern powers were unable to acquire a large number of warhorses, they began to consider infantry tactics to counter cavalry.

After continuous exploration and improvement, chariot units became an important type of troops capable of restraining cavalry in the early years of the Great Sheng Dynasty, and General Deng Yuanjing further enhanced and shone brightly on the battlefield beyond the frontier.

Of course, the tactic of using chariot formations to staunchly face cavalry was not first devised by General Deng Yuanjing; it had been previously employed.

For example, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a famous general once used chariots to form a defensive formation with their backs to water, relying on specially adapted infantry chariots, and with several thousand elite infantry, they shattered tens of thousands of cavalry.

But this was a special case; chariot troops were not a common military method, and by the early years of the Liang Dynasty, this tactic had nearly vanished.

Therefore, when Lord Qin saw the circle of large wagons, he was so astonished.

But the situation had come to a head, and there was no turning back after launching the arrow.

Lord Qin, gritting his teeth, loudly ordered, "Flank them! Strike the rear!"

The layout in front of the entire chariot formation was extremely tight. The supply wagons could directly block the cavalry's charge, while the soldiers armed with crossbows, spears, and pikes, relying on the large wagons, could wait at their ease for the enemy.

To ensure the high mobility of the cavalry, the Liang Army's warhorses were either not armored or only armored at critical points.

Cavalry like this could not possibly charge headlong into such a chariot formation.

Therefore, the first thing that came to Lord Qin's mind was a maneuver that every high-end cavalry commander must master: flanking!

Looking back in history at the top cavalry commanders, the process by which they won some key battles often seemed simple: it was a flank.

A flanking maneuver could break myriad formations.

So what if the enemy was prepared?

It simply meant the flanking wasn't distant enough, then flank even further!

Of course, the further you flank, the stronger your command over your own troops must be.

But no matter what, flanking was the only choice in this situation.

Using the high mobility of the cavalry, they would constantly clash within the enemy's formation, search for cracks, and then pierce through in one fell swoop, completely disintegrating the stable military array from the inside.

The elite cavalry of the Black Armor Army closely followed Lord Qin, sweeping past Dou Jiande's central army enclosed by the large wagons like a whirlwind, striking hard at the flanks, then moving along the front of the chariot formation to locate a breach.

However, after charging all around the circle and reaching the rear of Dou Jiande's central force, they found that the defense here was also incredibly tight!

The soldiers of the summer army were equally well-prepared, without any openings for breakthrough.

Lord Qin was stunned.

And the soldiers of the summer army were also stunned.

They looked at each other, somewhat confused and at a loss.

Clearly, they had not expected that the solid rear army would indeed be put to use!

When Li Hongyun had ordered Su Dingfang to arrange the formation, he had commanded him to encircle the area with all the large carts, not minding if the size was a bit smaller, but ensuring that any direction — front, back, left, or right — was impregnable.

Especially at the rear, with Su Dingfang personally in command.

Su Dingfang and the soldiers responsible for the arrangement were even more puzzled.

To set up an ambush within their own central army was already preposterous enough, but to also strengthen the defense of the area behind the central army?

What did that mean?

Did they believe that Lord Qin would lead 3,500 men to charge hard against an army of 70,000 that would not only break through but also make it from the front line to the central army and then flank around to the rear of the central army, slicing through them as if cutting up melons and vegetables?

To be honest, this seemed to somewhat underestimate the summer army's combat strength.

In the eyes of most, even if Lord Qin could breach the front army and reach the central army, it seemed impossible to continue into the thick of it.

But unexpectedly, Lord Qin did indeed break in!

Had there not been large wagons strategically placed at the rear beforehand, the elite cavalry of the Black Armor Army might have broken through by now.

But at this moment, the entire central army's formation was like a hedgehog balled up, impossible to tackle!

Some of the Liang cavalry were growing impatient, having circled this chariot formation for quite a long stretch and continuously exposed to the random shooting of arrows from within the wagons. Seeing that there was no way to advance, they became anxious.

Just then, someone spotted a relatively large gap in the rear part of the wagons.

This gap was big enough to let three warhorses pass through side by side.

The cavalry, who had been seething with fury, began attempting to charge through this point.

However, the moment a few cavalrymen tried to push through, Su Dingfang was already raising his long pike, thrusting fiercely towards the Liang cavalry's horses.

In an instant, countless long spears and pikes stabbed out from the gap, impaling the few cavalrymen who thought they might be lucky enough to sneak through, and knocked them off their horses.