Overlord!

Chapter 40
Following Sun Ce's order, Jiang Qin immediately led his troops to launch a fierce offensive against the earth fortress on the high slope.

Zhou Tai, a fierce general under his command, was promoted to Sima because he captured the flag and won the first victory.But his army is full of talents, and he quickly selected a strong general, Xian Yudan, as the forward.

Looking at the name, Xian Yudan knew that he was also a warrior who fled from the north.In history, he was one of the main generals who followed Lu Meng to take Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling armies.

Now he is the head of the village, and he personally took the lead and rushed to the bottom of the earthen castle with the oar shield.

Even in the battlefield of cold weapons, soldiers are not always lined up in dense square formations.Especially in this kind of siege battle, each team of mandarin duck formation erected two scull shields in front, and the archers hid behind the scull shields and shot.Team by team slowly moved forward.

But Jiang Qin took a group of soldiers and a group of crossbowmen directly to the Suitai on the east wall of the earthen castle. This is the highest point of the earthen earthen fort. Among them, they fired continuously from the flanks, killing and wounding more than a dozen of Xian Yudan's subordinates who were attacking from the front, posing a great threat.

Jiang Qin led his troops to approach and roared: "Assemble the archers and crossbowmen, concentrate my forces to suppress this place."

Hundreds of crossbowmen immediately lined up and aimed at the Suitai less than two feet high. The bows and crossbows were fired at once. The five defenders on the Suitai suffered heavy casualties in an instant. One soldier was directly shot and died, and two soldiers died. He was also injured by an arrow, his face was pale, and he lay down in panic under the wall to avoid the rain of arrows.

At this moment, the meaning of elite crossbowmen is finally revealed. The soldiers are well-trained and have excellent archery skills. They can hit three out of six at a sixty-step target, and there is also a one-in-three probability on the battlefield.What's more, the city wall is only two feet high.

Hundreds of crossbowmen gathered and shot, and the arrows fell in disorder, and there was no place to stand on it.Only a few crossbowmen in the window of the turret could shoot a few arrows intermittently, but in the face of the flood-like army, these few arrows could hardly affect the overall situation on the battlefield.

One side of the mandarin duck formation was pierced under the city wall, and the two archers in the team hid behind the shield and shot arrows towards the city wall.

Jiang Qin took the lead, leading a group of soldiers with round cards on their heads, approaching the city wall, holding arrows and stones hard, and attacking the city wall frantically with chisels and hammers in their hands.

This is the most common siege method in cold weapon warfare. Even in the Ming Dynasty, this tactic was often encountered in the battle of the founding of the country. Soldiers fought hard to cut through the city wall, and the defenders had to use planks and plantains to block the gap.

This tactic came about because most of the city walls were made of rammed earth.In order to ensure the quality of the city wall, some perverted generals divided the builders and inspectors into two groups to kill each other.For a rammed earth city wall, if an awl is inserted into the wall by an inch, the person who built the wall will be killed; if the awl cannot be inserted, the person who used the awl will be killed.

Hundreds of soldiers crazily chiseled the wall, even if every inch was an inch, the city wall would still be covered with mud.

The general guarding the city anxiously patrolled around the city wall. The fortress he was guarding was not strong. It had only been built for less than a year, and many parts of the city wall were very thin.Once a gap is cut in the city wall, he has no chance to repair it.

Because there are only more than a hundred soldiers in this small garrison.Now that the war is urgent, the number of people has doubled.But even 200 people couldn't plug the gap at all, and the entire army was wiped out after an offensive frenzy.

Among the 200 people, there are only dozens of crossbowmen, which is not as many as they are, and their shooting skills are far inferior to the teams of elite crossbowmen in the city.

Moreover, Jiang Qin is also a good general. He concentrated his forces to attack under the cover of a large number of crossbowmen, and the guards on the city wall even had no place to stand.

The city gate cannot be opened, and the soldiers cannot go out to disperse the attacking enemy army. If you keep defending like this, you will lose if you defend for a long time!
He could only anxiously hope that the Jiangbei army would come to the rescue in time.If there is no teacher who must be saved outside, then the city must be defended inside.

At this time, Zhang Ying, who was on the north bank of Danglishui, was even more anxious than him.

Sun Ce's army came so fast that he had no time to reinforce the earth fortress on the south bank.There are no young and strong people inside, only more than 200 soldiers, surrounded by thousands of enemy troops, and they will surely fall if they are constantly consumed.This earthen castle was built hastily, and the city defenses were too short and crude.The city wall is only one or two feet long, and it can't stop the enemy's bows and arrows at all.

Once the earthen fortress is breached, the Hengjiang iron chain will inevitably be lost, the entire Yangpu defense line will collapse, and the entire army will be in danger of being suspended.

But at this moment, Zhang Ying was so anxious that his tongue got sore and there was nothing he could do, because Sun Ce's army was guarding on the other side of the river, and he had only one outcome when he rushed forward, and he was attacked halfway.

The two armies with banners waving faced each other across the river on both sides of Danglishui. The soldiers on both sides yelled and cursed, but their mentality was completely different.General Sun Ce showed off his might and was triumphant.However, Zhang Ying's subordinates shouted angrily and cursed.

A ranger scout rode up to Zhang Ying and reported: "Lieutenant, two of the three pontoon bridges on the Dangli River have been blocked by Sun Ce's army, and only the farthest hanging bridge has not been occupied by Sun Ce's army. But it's twelve miles from here."

Zhang Ying scolded angrily: "There are twelve miles away from here, which Sun Ce deliberately left behind. Our army detoured for twelve miles, and Sun Ce dared to cross the river from here and drive directly to our camp."

The guard on the side asked anxiously: "Then what should we do? There are only one or two hundred soldiers in the fortress, and they are besieged by thousands of enemy troops. It is only a matter of time before they fall. Your eldest son Xian is still among them, Captain."

Zhang Ying was also helpless, and Sun Ce's army was as fast as the wind, approaching with lightning speed, and had completely occupied the right time and place.

The victory of this military battle is also.It is the realm that all generals pursue in the art of war.

The outcome of a war is never limited to a frontal fight between the two armies. The swiftness of the army and decisive execution are more important than hand-to-hand combat most of the time.When marching and fighting, always march first!
Faced with such a situation, Zhang Ying could only shout loudly: "The only way out now is to fight to the death, and all armies will fight to defeat the enemy. The enemy's army has arrived suddenly, blocked the fortification of the city, their spirit has fallen, and they are outnumbered. The strength is weak. Immediately cross the pontoon bridge, advance troops to defeat the enemy, and make achievements today!"

Zhang Ying was not a mediocre general. His subordinates marched forward bravely and marched in two ways.

But in the battle across the bridge, the defender really has too much advantage.Zhang Fei led more than 20 cavalry in front of Dangyang Bridge, and Cao Jun's elite dared not pursue them.The famous Sui Dynasty general Mai Tiezhang led the elite soldiers to cross the bridge and even died in the battle. He had to rely on the continuous attack of the follow-up army to successfully cross the river.

Sun Ce's troops guarded the riverside, just as Ling Cao said, waiting for work with leisure, killing and wounding many enemy troops.Dead bodies were strewn across the bridge, blood stained the entire pontoon bridge, and flowed into the Taotao River. Soldiers continued to fall into the river, and the river was bleeding!

Zhang Ying personally held up the flag and stood at the bridge to encourage the soldiers, shouting: "The enemy's arrows are limited, and there are more than a hundred people in the area, and they will not be able to stop our army with thousands of people!"

The soldiers who had retreated due to the random shooting of the enemy's bows and crossbows regained their courage when they heard the words.Although the defenders of Yangpu Village were not as numerous as Niuzhu Camp, they still had more than [-] troops.

With such a huge troop size, it is not something that a few hundred crossbowmen can stop when they block the wall.

Zhang Ying was determined to fight, and he had garrisons to restrain the enemy, forcing them to divide their troops and fight against each other.The size of the army is five or six times that of the enemy. If the battle cannot be won, the enemy army cuts off the iron chain across the river, and the army gathers in large numbers, then there is no hope of victory.

So even though the casualties were heavy, he still fiercely attacked forward.

On the south bank of the river, Sun Ce rode on a horse and stood on a soil slope. Watching the intense, anxious and bloody battle, he said with emotion to the nearby generals: "Zhang Ying is indeed a mighty general. Sheng, fought bravely, if not for our army's swiftness and seizing the geographical advantage, this victory would not have been easy."

Chen Wu took the initiative to ask for a fight, and said: "General, the crossbowmen and arrows are exhausted. The soldiers on both sides are fighting fiercely, and the anxiety is indistinguishable. I ask to walk to help the battle, smash the front and break the sharp, and repel the enemy's offensive."

Sun Ce raised his eyebrows and looked at Chen Wu with a smile.This is what a truly strong army should look like.

Dare to fight and fight, get on the horse to look for opportunities, get off the horse and shoot at foot, block the wall and advance without hesitation.

Sun Ce has always believed that in the 5000 years of the Central Plains, the army of the flourishing Tang Dynasty should be the most perfect and most in line with his ideal appearance of a strong army.

Brave and fearless, with a decisive fighting spirit, he dared to see blood with the bayonet and attacked fiercely.For example, in the battle of Li Shiji's destruction of Xue Yantuo, the Tang army chased and killed Xue Yantuo for hundreds of miles with six thousand cavalry, and encountered Xue Yantuo's main force.So Li Shiji ordered all the soldiers to dismount, and led the long spears to form a formation to charge at them. He defeated the enemy army, beheaded more than [-] ranks, and captured more than [-] men and [-] horses.

With this kind of high morale, will to fight, and fierce spirit, daring to fight to the death, even in any cold weapon era in the world, this is the top existence.

Now that Chen Wu has such arrogance, Sun Ce is naturally willing to support him: "Yes! Order the right wing soldiers to retreat, and you lead the troops to take over, and defeat the enemy for me!"

Chen Wu immediately led more than [-] Xuanjia knights from his troops forward and dismounted on the right flank.

In the battle of defending the bridge, the soldiers did not stick to the bridge to block the enemy from breaking through.

The commander at the front line took the initiative to retreat more than [-] steps, giving way to an area, and then surrounded it on three sides, with densely packed spears and heavy halberds aimed at the center.

As soon as the enemy's phalanx came in, the left and right flanks faced a large number of long soldiers who were stabbed and killed.

And the crossbowmen even used the battle of Jieqiao, Gongsun Zan's most classic tactics.Scattered on the two wings, shooting from the right to the left, and shooting from the left to the right, the enemy army was constantly killed by arrows on the way, and blood was sprinkled all over the bridge.

Of course, the enemy army also tried. The archers approached and shot under the cover of the scull shield, intending to smash the frontal defenders with a dense rain of arrows and achieve a breakthrough.

However, the width of the bridge deck is too restrictive for their formation, with a maximum of four people abreast, and the effect of a wave of arrow rain is very limited, but they are crowded together. Soldiers and heavy halberds attacked fiercely, causing heavy casualties, and the army was defeated. A large number of elite crossbowmen were squeezed into the river.

As a result, the battle became anxious, and Zhang Ying's disciples rushed over one by one, crowded in the open space at the head of the bridge, and fought with short soldiers and rattan cards.

Chen Wu's troops and the right-wing soldiers completed the alternation and took over the front. Hundreds of people were killed and injured on the battlefield.

Standing in front of the formation, Chen Wu raised his spear high and roared, "Work together, let's kill the enemy and win! All soldiers, follow me to defeat the enemy!"

After he finished speaking, he took the lead and rushed directly to the densely packed enemy army. The long spear slashed down vertically, and the violent offensive directly smashed the heads of the enemy soldiers into their chests.

This scene was simply horrifying, and the enemy troops on the left and right were all terrified.

The morale of the soldiers behind Chen Wu was greatly boosted, and the soldiers most liked to follow this kind of fierce general who took the lead. A sentence to follow me is worth a thousand words!

Clad in heavy armor, the Xuanjia elite advanced against the wall, with long spears and stabs, and there was nowhere to go.

The soldiers under Zhang Ying couldn't stop the opponent's forward momentum at all, and the densely packed long spears pierced down, and all those who acted as sharp blades were killed immediately.

The front line that had been trying to maintain was completely defeated by the fierce assault of this elite soldier, and the front line collapsed. The soldiers in the rear knew that they could not resist, so they all lost their banners and soldiers, and fled desperately to the floating bridge.

The rebellious soldiers crowded at the bridgehead, exacerbating the death.The soldiers under Sun Ce fought forward, their spears stabbed on three sides, and the densely packed rout soldiers were stabbed behind them without even being able to resist, and fell in a pool of blood.

The rebels who escaped by chance were all terrified and fled backwards on the bridge deck in fear.

While Sun Ce's troops were victorious for a while, they waved flags and shouted at the head of the bridge, showing off their might. Chen Wu even held up a blood-stained long spear to show off on the bridge back and forth, shouting and provoking the enemy.

Sun Ce's army waited for work with ease, and had a great advantage.

But not long after the soldiers showed off their might, the enemy sent another group of soldiers to cover up and kill them with firm fighting spirit.

Chen Wu's ferocious face showed an uncontrollable astonishment.

Yang Xiao shouted excitedly: "The enemy army is here to reward us with military exploits again! Soldiers, face the enemy before the battle, give me a boost of morale, strike and stab straight, don't lose to Xian Yulie and the others."

Chen Wu walked down the bridge with a solemn expression, and ordered to all the soldiers: "It's not as easy as you think to mount the whole army. Come with me to see the general."

Yang Xiao turned around with a smile and led the soldiers to ride horses.But after walking a few steps, his smile suddenly froze on his face, and he pointed to the big flag on the high slope, and asked in horror: "Is the command flag under the big flag an order for the whole army to retreat?"

The next moment, the ear-piercing sound of ringing gold sounded in the middle army.

Hearing the drums and advancing, hearing the gold and stopping, the whole army is undoubtedly retreating!
Xian Yulie ran by and pulled Yang Xiao's arm forcefully: "Why are you in a daze, get on the horse!"

Yang Xiao hurriedly ran towards the place where the war horse was, and shouted angrily: "We are gaining the upper hand, why should we retreat!"

Chen Wu was also full of disbelief. He led the Xuanjia soldiers back under the banner and saw that Sun Ce had already straddled his horse. Army, why did you suddenly withdraw your troops?"

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(End of this chapter)