Volume Two: The Battle of Hulao Pass Chapter Fifty-Two: Charge! Charge!

Li Shimin raised his hand, and the signaler received the order, quickly waved the flag. The drummers behind saw the command and changed the rhythm, beating even harder, as urgent as a storm. At this moment, Dou Jiande was indeed mounted beneath the great banner, surrounded by twenty thousand elite cavalry, personally overseeing the battlefield. In front of him, ten thousand archers and crossbowmen formed a crescent-shaped array in three layers, bows drawn and arrows nocked, crossbows loaded, all aiming at the Tang army.

The Tang troops were no more than a mile from the archers and only two or three miles from Dou Jiande. The massive character for "Dou" emblazoned upon the Summer army's banner could be seen clearly. At the signal from the drummers, the Tang cavalry split left and right, each squad of five hundred continued to flank, exposing the black-clad, black-armored elite—known as the Mysterious Armor Cavalry.

This Tang force, clad in black, led by several hundred fully armored riders—both men and horses shrouded in iron—though fewer than a thousand strong, their sober attire and lethal armor made them appear as fierce warriors, sharp-eyed and predatory. Under pounding iron hooves, they surged like a tidal wave of darkness, tumultuous and unstoppable, charging directly at the main camp.

Dou Jiande had long known that Li Shimin commanded a force of elite black-armored cavalry, always personally leading them into battle, where they had distinguished themselves in previous engagements. Watching these thousand iron-clad riders thunder straight for the center, he thought to himself: this must be the Mysterious Armor Army—could Li Shimin truly be here?

As the Tang army drew nearer, now barely two hundred paces away, Dou Jiande waved his hand and ordered, "Loose the arrows!"

The Summer archers received the command; over ten thousand drew and released their bows in unison. The first rank fired straight, while the second and third ranks arched their shots. In an instant, arrows swarmed like locusts, dense as a driving rain, cold points covering the sky, all directed at the Tang Mysterious Armor.

Qin Qiong led three hundred of the Mysterious Armor Cavalry, forming the spearhead of the assault—man and horse clad in heavy armor. Their warhorses had been carefully selected from tens of thousands, tall, broad-hoofed, muscular, standing half a head higher than ordinary mounts. Only such beasts could bear the weight of dual-layer armor.

Three hundred Mysterious Armor Cavalry, black-clad, grim, and silent. The riders wore double-layered lamellar armor, wielding long spears and sabers at their waists. The horses were masked and draped in overlapping plates of fine iron, leaving only their eyes and hooves exposed. Black soldiers, black horses, like ferocious beasts from the primordial age, their bodies gleaming with dark metallic sheen, baring their fangs and claws, ready to tear apart anything in their path.

Facing the barrage of arrows from the Summer army, Qin Qiong raised his lance and shouted, "Charge! Mysterious Armor Cavalry, invincible!"

Three hundred Mysterious Armor Cavalry roared in unison, "Mysterious Armor Cavalry, invincible!" The cry was thunderous, echoing to the skies, changing the very air with its ferocity.

The arrows, dense as raindrops, struck the Tang army and their horses. The Mysterious Armor soldiers crouched low, shielding their faces and vital points, feeling the arrows slam against their armor like hailstones the size of pigeon eggs. Painful, but unable to penetrate the double-layered protection. Occasionally, a stray arrow found a gap in the armor, eliciting a muffled grunt from the wounded, but they gritted their teeth, spurred their mounts, and focused solely on the charge. Once they reached the enemy, they would repay the assault tenfold.

Armored cavalry were the kings of the battlefield in the age of cold weapons.

They were heavy, their tactics singular: charge, charge, and charge again. No skill at maneuver, ambush, defense, or mobile archery—the true warrior's desire was direct assault, smashing everything in their path. Where they charged, none could stand.

The history of fully armored cavalry stretched back to the Eastern Zhou, with organized units appearing in the Han dynasty, such as the Western Han’s Yue Cavalry and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms. Through the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, and Sui-Tang eras, they reached their pinnacle, declined in mid-Tang, and resurged with the rise of nomadic tribes in the Song. The Eagle Army of Liao, Iron Kites of Western Xia, Iron Pagodas of Jin, and finally the Mongol heavy cavalry that swept across Asia, Europe, and Africa, were all heirs to this tradition.

Many believe the Mongols relied solely on unmatched mounted archery and light cavalry tactics, but the core of their combat strength was actually their heavy cavalry, armored man and horse alike.

Armored cavalry were products of their era: designed to allow elite riders to break dense infantry lines, to withstand arrow storms during the charge, and excel in close combat. On suitable terrain, a thousand-pound warhorse at full gallop, paired with a hundred pounds of iron armor, generated unstoppable momentum—once in motion, nothing could stand before them.

The Tang army was little more than a mile from the Summer archers. At two hundred paces, the Summer army began to shoot; at full gallop, the cavalry could cover this distance in ten breaths, enough for only two volleys.

After the first wave of arrows, the three hundred Tang cavalry, protected by their armor, lost only a scant dozen men. Facing the roaring tide of steel, few dared stand their ground. The Summer archers grew nervous as the Tang soldiers drew closer, their palms slick with sweat, their aim faltering. The second volley left the Tang unscathed.

Qin Qiong pressed forward, eyes fixed on the Summer archers—fifty paces! Closer still—thirty! Ten! They were upon them.

"Kill!" he bellowed, unleashing his fury, rising in the saddle and brandishing his spear, leading the charge into the enemy ranks.

The three hundred Tang heavy cavalry followed, stabbing, slashing, trampling—within moments, they had punched through the three-layered archery formation.

The Summer army’s ten-thousand-strong archers collapsed instantly, dead or fled, their bodies strewn across the field.

Having broken through the archers, the Tang army met three thousand elite Summer cavalry head-on.

As the two cavalry forces collided, the momentum of the Tang heavy cavalry sent the Summer riders tumbling—like winter snow melting beneath spring sun, the resistance evaporated in an instant.

Dou Jiande's face darkened. How could he have imagined that Li Shimin, with just over three thousand men, possessed hundreds of sets of such luxurious heavy armor?

He regretted his decision bitterly—had he known, he would not have put archers in the front. But it was too late for remorse.

When the Mysterious Armor Cavalry appeared, Dou Jiande had already stationed three thousand Summer elite cavalry behind. Fortunately, the Tang armored force was small, so he pinned his hopes on these three thousand to stall the charge. Once the horses tired and the assault slowed, the heavy cavalry would no longer be a threat.

The three thousand Summer cavalry were no weaklings; they formed the backbone of Dou Jiande’s campaigns. Yet the Tang Mysterious Armor proved superior, with Qin Qiong—a formidable general—leading the way, cleaving through the enemy as if plowing a field, unstoppable.

Surrounded on all sides by foes, the three hundred Tang heavy cavalry had no time for hesitation. Their very doctrine was relentless advance, fighting to the death. Facing the tidal Summer army, they relied on instinct and practiced repetition—thrusting, retracting, thrusting again.

Dou Jiande watched as the black tide smashed through his ranks, his three thousand cavalry on the verge of collapse. He acted swiftly, deploying another three thousand riders.

With reinforcements joining, the Summer army gradually slowed the Tang charge. The Mysterious Armor Cavalry, having battered through multiple lines, saw their horses exhausted, their momentum fading.

Heavy cavalry depended on coordinated charges and the momentum of galloping horses—once they lost speed, they became nothing more than armored tin cans, ripe for slaughter. The three hundred Tang heavy cavalry, after breaking through two formations, lost their momentum and could not charge further.

Surrounded and divided, several Summer cavalry would beset each Tang rider. In no time, over half had fallen.

Now deeply encircled, Qin Qiong’s armor bristled with arrows, dense as a porcupine’s quills. Fortunately, his heavy armor held; the arrows merely hung from him, a chilling sight.

He was covered in blood—on his face, body, and horse—unable to distinguish his own from the enemy’s. Seeing the distance still separating him from Dou Jiande’s banner and the endless waves of Summer soldiers, he knew it was impossible to break through. Yet the task of breaching the formation was accomplished; now the rest would depend on the follow-up forces.

Qin Qiong continued to charge through the enemy, rescuing surrounded Tang soldiers wherever he found them. His skill with the spear was unmatched, his stamina unwavering, and his horse a prize steed. Through his efforts, he managed to save over a hundred heavy cavalry, gathering them together into a small circle for mutual defense.

But even a tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves; the situation remained perilous, with the Summer army pressing in, their circle shrinking with each assault.

On the battlefield, the thunder of iron hooves, the clash of armor, the shouts of warriors, the screams of the dying, the clang of weapons, the splatter of blood, all mixed with the urgent beat of war drums, weaving a symphony of death.