The Ambition of Niu Wei (Votes and Subscriptions Appreciated)

Never turn your back on an enemy!

This seemed to be a motto shared by warriors of every kind, but cavalrymen were the one exception. Even that wasn't quite accurate—it should have been cavalrymen skilled in mounted archery.

Baoyin's mounted archery technique was textbook. Although he was standing on the ground with no horse beneath him, the method he used was the most authentic nomadic style.

Nomadic horse archers had one characteristic: because they rode horses, they excelled at shooting sideways and backward. The main reason was that the horse's head got in the way when shooting forward.

Horse archers usually circled around their enemies, then fired sideways at the enemies trapped inside the encirclement. In a pursuit, however, the pursued party actually held the advantage without stirrups. Every herdsman could master the technique of shooting backward, allowing them to attack pursuers on their heels without restraint.

The pursuers behind them, on the other hand, couldn't stand up on their galloping horses without stirrups. They could only shoot from behind and to the side, or chase until they reached the parallel flank of the enemy ahead. Only then would they have a chance to counterattack.

Another point was that mounted archery engagements were usually fought at fairly close range. Neither side would generally fire until within fifty meters. The first reason was that the bows and arrows themselves were poor and lacked sufficient power, so they had to get close before attacking. The second was that the targets were moving at high speed and were already difficult to aim at. If one fired from too far away, one had to lead the target. But the target was also moving rapidly, and an experienced opponent could quickly adjust his direction and speed after the arrow was released. Thus, in mounted archery,