"So what's next..." Yao Guangxiao asked.
"Of course, we'll give the Xiongnu a feast of crossbow bolts!" Liu Wei smiled faintly.
Were those five thousand crossbows bought for nothing?
The archery battalion of 5,000 men used 2,500 arrows, and kept 500 as spares for replacement.
The remaining two thousand battalions were divided into three thousand battalions, with five hundred battalions each for the Xiongnu and Xianbei battalions!
This thing is easy to operate; you can learn it in no time.
The two worked together, one drawing the bow and nocking the string, the other feeding the arrows.
It's like a modern heavy machine gun, with one person firing and another handing out the bullets.
In this way, four thousand five hundred arrows can be shot out at once.
Its coverage and density were even greater than the two thousand Xiongnu soldiers that had just been shot at Wujin City, and its lethality was even greater!
There were also bunkers in Wujin city for cover.
These 20,000 cavalrymen, with the sky overhead, were densely packed together as they charged, making them easy targets for the crossbowmen.
No sooner said than done!
Accompanied by a muffled roar of "Wind, wind, wind!"
At Li Su's command, the 2,500 crossbows of the archer battalion began to fire indiscriminately at the Xiongnu cavalry.
The effective distance of 240 steps has now become more than 100 steps.
The arrows are more accurate and more powerful.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The arrows from the archery battalion drew beautiful parabolas, then formed a dark cloud in mid-air.
As the dark clouds fell, a large number of Xiongnu cavalry were lost, with several hundred riders and their horses pinned to the ground.
The three thousand troops on the city wall, along with the Xiongnu and Xianbei troops on the left and right flanks, continued to fire arrows.
Just as Liu Wei had predicted, the Xiongnu were treated to a feast of powerful bows and arrows.
At a mere hundred paces, hundreds and thousands of Xiongnu cavalrymen fell to the ground.
The pile of corpses slowed down the cavalry charge behind them.
Just a hundred paces away from the Han army, it had become a meat grinder for the Xiongnu cavalry.
Adding to the two thousand cavalrymen who had fallen into the trenches earlier, Huyanqimai's twenty thousand cavalrymen had now lost no less than five thousand men.
With one of the four suspensions gone, the casualty ratio is already close to the brink of collapse for a normal army.
Huyan Qimai's heart is bleeding!
How come the bows of the Han people are more powerful and have a longer range than those of the past?
As originally planned, the area within 100 paces would be dominated by the Xiongnu's mounted archery.
Within this range, the Xiongnu could ride on horseback as if on flat ground, draw their bows and arrows, and shoot their opponents with a dense barrage of arrows until they cried out in agony.
Once the enemy caught up, they retreated and continued shooting arrows from horseback until the enemy was tortured to death.
However, the range of Han Chinese bows and crossbows has now exceeded one hundred paces, reaching two hundred paces, or even two hundred and fifty paces!
It was as if the Xiongnu hadn't even drawn their bows and arrows before a rain of arrows had already descended upon them.
This is an absolutely overwhelming blow!
No wonder the two thousand Xiongnu soldiers in Wujin were wiped out so quickly; it must have been the long-range arrows from the Han people.
Huyan Qimai now pinned his last hope on his cavalry, willing to risk his life to gain distance, then engage in close combat and charge into the Han army's ranks.
"Final victory will surely belong to our valiant Xiongnu warriors!"
Huyan Qimai's bloodshot eyes resembled those of a desperate gambler, ready to go all in.
"Pass down the order: forward! Forward! No retreating!" he roared, brandishing his riding whip.
We absolutely cannot lose this battle.
Once defeated, the Han army marched straight into Leyang and Yunzhong, heading directly for Huchuquan's stronghold.
At this moment, the arrows from the Divine Arm Crossbow came in waves, one after another, without end.
The sharp, piercing sound was like the chanting of death.
The soldiers firing arrows were numb, knowing only how to mechanically repeat the monotonous actions of drawing the bowstring, nocking the arrow, and firing.
The Xiongnu cavalry knew they could not retreat, so they desperately whipped their horses, braving a hail of arrows, in an attempt to get close to the Han army's quarters.
If they continue to fight back with arrows from horseback, it will only slow down the horses' charge.
With an unknown number of cavalrymen killed, the Xiongnu cavalry, riddled with arrows, finally approached the spear camp's position.
They spurred their warhorses recklessly into the hail of guns.
The spear pierced the horse's belly and the rider's body.
Blood splattered, and a cloud of blood mist billowed.
Zhang Liao stood amidst the spear formation, suppressing his turbulent emotions, and calmly directed his soldiers to resist the onslaught of the Xiongnu cavalry.
Many of the Xiongnu cavalry who survived the death trenches and the hail of arrows ultimately could not escape the onslaught of the spearmen.
After all, their speed had been slowed down considerably by the two rounds of obstacles.
When they reached the spearmen's formation, they no longer possessed the momentum of their horses at full speed!
*Pfft!* *Splat!*
The sound of spears slicing through flesh echoed incessantly.
Countless Xiongnu cavalrymen were mercilessly stabbed off their horses.
Similarly, some spearmen also perished under the fierce onslaught of the Huns, and as soon as a gap appeared in the formation, the rear ranks immediately filled it.
The archer battalion in the rear had been replaced by soldiers who continued to fire arrows and reap lives.
The spearmen and the Xiongnu cavalry were locked in combat, and soldiers kept falling.
On the city wall, Liu Wei coldly watched the bloody battle below!
If he had seen this scene when he was first demoted from Luoyang to Shuofang, he would probably have been trembling with fear and his hands and feet would have turned ice cold.
At the same time, he will also feel some pity.
However, after only three months, Liu Wei had experienced so much that he had become hardened.
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