In the valley, Murong Chunhua led his army in a panicked escape.
In fact, he was silently counting the steps in his mind: one thousand steps, two thousand steps... When he counted to three thousand steps, the valley suddenly opened up and he entered a basin about two miles long and half a mile wide.
This is the designated slaughterhouse.
"Scatter!" Guo Luo shouted.
Three thousand light cavalrymen quickly dispersed to the hillsides on both sides, revealing the empty valley.
King Xiutu led his army into the basin, only to be taken aback by what he saw.
There was no way forward—at the end of the basin was another narrow valley entrance, but it was blocked by boulders.
Suddenly, countless flags were erected on the hillsides on both sides.
"We've fallen into a trap!" King Xiutu's expression changed drastically. "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
But it was too late.
On the hillside, Liu Yi stood behind a giant rock, waving his command flag fiercely: "Release!"
The Shenji Battalion was the first to unleash its power.
Twenty field cannons had already been calibrated, their muzzles aimed at the densely packed Northern Di cavalry in the valley.
Liu Yi personally directed the operation, shouting hoarsely, "Fireballs! Fire a volley!"
Boom boom boom boom—!
The deafening roar of cannons echoed through the valley as twenty exploding shells traced arcs and fell into the Northern Di army's ranks.
The projectile exploded in mid-air, and the fragments of iron and porcelain inside rained down.
People and horses were thrown into chaos.
The Northern Di cavalry, having heard from their compatriots that the Yin army possessed thunderclaps, were already wary, and their psychological defenses were even more vulnerable to the terrifying weapon that appeared today.
The warhorses were startled and neighed wildly, thrashing about; soldiers were hit by shrapnel and fell from their horses with screams.
One round of shelling caused at least three to four hundred casualties.
"Second round, solid shot, fire!"
The solid iron ball roared out, carving twenty bloody alleys through the Northern Barbarian formation.
One cannonball even pierced through three cavalrymen in succession, and then slammed into the ground with undiminished force.
"Bow and crossbow battalion!" Lin Yuan's voice rang out.
"wind!"
Two thousand crossbowmen fired simultaneously.
The crossbows fired three arrows in rapid succession like a storm, the composite bows shot out arrows in deadly arcs, and the giant arrows from twenty ballistae pierced through human and horse bodies like spears.
The power of the five-stage volley was on full display at this moment.
The rain of arrows came wave after wave, almost without interruption.
The Northern Di cavalrymen fell like wheat being harvested, and their blood quickly stained the valley red.
"Don't panic! Don't panic!" King Xiutu shouted hoarsely, trying to regroup the troops. "Charge to the valley entrance! Charge out!"
But the valley entrance had been blocked—not by boulders, but by Xi Sheng's two thousand Mo Dao soldiers.
"Mo Dao Battalion, advance!" Xi Sheng roared.
Two thousand brave men marched in orderly steps, pouring into the basin from the valley entrance.
They formed a group of three, holding their long-handled swords horizontally, creating a moving wall of blades.
Sunlight shone on the blade, reflecting a blinding, cold light.
The Northern Di cavalry attempted to charge and break through, but the long and heavy Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) cleaved the rider and horse in two with a single swing.
The wall of knives advanced slowly like a meat grinder, leaving behind a trail of severed limbs and broken pieces.
"Your Majesty, we can't break through!" The lieutenant's face was covered in blood. "The Yin Army's longsword formation is too powerful!"
Wuhan looked around and saw that nearly half of his five thousand cavalrymen had been lost, and the remaining men were demoralized.
He gritted his teeth: "Charge to the slopes on both sides! Infantry can never beat cavalry!"
A cavalry force of about a thousand men turned and attempted to charge up the hillside.
However, the steep slopes made it difficult for the warhorses to travel, greatly reducing their speed.
Meanwhile, on the mountain, archers were waiting for them.
"Aim at the horse's legs!" Lin Yuan ordered.
The arrow struck the horse's leg, causing it to neigh and fall. The cavalryman tumbled down the hillside and was then struck by a rolling boulder.
Despair enveloped the Northern Di army.
But then, the real killer move came.
"Heavy cavalry, charge!"
Guo Luo personally led a thousand heavy cavalrymen, launching a surprise attack from a concealed location on the flank of the basin.
The armored cavalry surged forth like a torrent, crashing into the flank of the Northern Di army in a wedge formation.
The impact of heavy cavalry was devastating.
Armored warhorses, combined with the rider's weight, could charge at speeds of up to thirty miles per hour, with an impact force comparable to a battering ram.
The light cavalry of the Northern Barbarians were as fragile as paper in the face of their heavy cavalry.
"It's over..."
King Xiutu looked at the collapsing army and knew that the situation was hopeless.
"Your Highness, let's go this way!"
The captain of the personal guards pointed to a gentle slope in the southeast corner of the basin, "The defenses there are weak; we might be able to break through!"
Without further hesitation, King Xiutu led over a hundred personal guards in a breakout attempt.
They fought desperately and actually managed to tear open a gap, escaping the basin in a sorry state.
Seeing this, Wu Shangzhi did not pursue them, but only ordered: "Those who surrender will not be killed!"
The remaining Northern Di cavalry were already terrified. Upon hearing this, they all abandoned their weapons, dismounted, and knelt down to beg for surrender.
The battle at Broken Heart Valley lasted for one hour.
Of the 5,000 cavalrymen led by the Northern Di King Xiutu, more than 3,000 were killed, more than 1,000 were wounded, and 1,000 were captured.
Only Ughhan escaped with a hundred or so cavalry.
As for the Western Expeditionary Army, the casualties were less than three hundred, mainly due to losses suffered by the light cavalry battalion when they lured the enemy.
A resounding victory!
In the basin, the smoke of gunpowder had not yet dissipated, and the stench of blood was overwhelming.
Wu Shangzhi rode his horse to survey the battlefield, but seeing the corpses scattered on the ground and the kneeling prisoners, he felt little joy.
This battle was won through careful planning, superior equipment, and advantageous terrain.
Moreover, a total of 7,000 troops, including the Divine Machine Battalion, the Archer Battalion, the Heavy Cavalry Battalion, and the Light Cavalry Battalion, were deployed, which felt like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.
However, this is also a practical example of tactical and troop coordination, and it can boost morale.
Killing five thousand enemies in the first battle will make the Right Wise King feel a great pang of heartache.
"General, what should we do with the prisoners?" a captain asked.
Wu Shangzhi pondered for a moment: "Cut them all down, leave no one alive!"
What? The captain's eyes widened in surprise.
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