In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 444: Catching the Song Army by surprise

Chagatai immediately thought that there was a large lake over there in Wumugulan, which was more than a hundred miles wide from east to west, and more than a hundred miles from north to south. There was also a huge jungle to the east. The local resources were rich and could be used for farming, herding, and fishing. Once upon a time, It is a craftsman base near Qianzhou.

Now all the craftsmen and herdsmen there were probably killed by the Song army. It was quite smart for the Song army to occupy such a place to camp.

The hundreds of miles long lake and nearby large jungles alone could support hundreds of thousands of Song troops.

That side is actually Ubusu Lake, the largest salt water lake in Mongolia, but the water in the salt water lake is not drinkable, and the Mongolian army itself does not have many people there.

There is a small freshwater lake more than a hundred miles east of Ubusu Lake, and the Song army camped there.

There are rich biological resources here, including dozens of species of mammals including wolves, red foxes, snow leopards, lynxes, prairie skunks, wild boars, musk deer, elk, deer and Mongolian black-tailed antelopes, ibex, argali, etc.

The 120,000 Song army brought more than 200,000 horses, 3,000 carriages, all the supplies brought by the army and local hunting. Not to mention the long time, there would be no problem in confronting the Mongolian army for at least a month.

Moreover, the Song Army did not intend to confront the Mongolian Army. The Mongolian Army would fight in the field when they came out. If they did not come out, the Song Army would prepare to attack the city.

On the 22nd, after learning that the Mongolian army had come out, the three Song armies that had just merged also began to move eastward.

The Mongolian army moved westward at the same time, and the two sides approached in an orderly manner, with sentries and cavalry firing from time to time.

Aotun Baohe hesitated for a moment and sighed: "The Song army has a farther range than us. They don't have close combat and are not easy to fight."

Not to mention that the quality of the Song army's bows was far higher than that of the Mongolian army, and their range was also farther than theirs.

It looks like heavy cavalry, but it's not.

The Song army was a bit ungrateful in fighting. If the Mongolian army wanted to use kite tactics, the Song army would dismount and shoot on foot.

As the cavalry from both sides got closer and closer, Aotun Shiying and his younger brother Aotun Baohe both looked solemn.

During the Mongolian army's Western Expedition, the cavalry of the Principality of Rus, Bolan and Fierce Tooth, except for the heavy cavalry, had no protective gear on their war horses. The Mongolian army often shot their horses first and waited for them to dismount before killing them.

As Chagatai said, the Song Army's forwards had just arrived at the scene, and the carriages behind them were being dragged up.

There were many light cavalry in the Mongolian army, and most of the armor was far inferior to that of the Song people.

"..." Aotun Shiying was speechless.

"We can't fight in close combat with the Song army." Aotun Shiying said to his brother while speeding up.

The carriage moved slowly, and before it reached the front, the Mongolian army started to move.

The Song army and the Mongolian army fought in Xixia for many years, and they continued to learn from the strengths of the Mongolian army.

Chagatai had fought with the Song Army many times and knew the Song Army's tactics.

It was autumn and winter at this time, and half of the Song Army's cotton armor was added with heavy steel armor pieces, specially created for the cold winter in Western Siberia and the battle with the Mongolian army.

The Song army must have dragged the carriage into position first, and then waited for the Mongolian army to charge, while the Song army behind them would dig another hole.

The longer the delay is, the more disadvantageous it will be to the Mongolian army.

"Woooo" With the sound of the Mongolian army's horn, the left-wing Mongolian army took the lead in attacking.

But soon, he thought that the Song Army had been training cavalry for more than ten years. The Song Army's cavalry and shooting near Xixia were not much worse than the Mongolian army.

It's not as heavy as Zha Jia, but it's cold-proof and has good defensive power.

Chagatai and Kuoduan's Mongolian troops were lined up in the north.

"Rumble" A large group of cavalry followed Meng Ying and moved forward.

In the afternoon of that day, the two sides met more than thirty miles away from the Song Army camp.

They had just arrived on the battlefield and immediately launched an attack on the Song army without even taking a break.

Now it was finally an encounter. The Mongolian army did not hesitate or waste any time to catch the Song army by surprise.

In the past, the Song army used infantry bows to fight the Mongolian army. Later, they continued to improve and upgrade. Now the Song army's horse bows can shoot farther than the Mongolian army.

When Aotun Shiying saw that the Song army was also coming up with cavalry, his face showed joy.

"Damn it." Lu Wende from the opposite side was indeed scolding her.

At about one o'clock in the afternoon, Chagatai and Kuoduan led a group of elites to the front line, and saw the Song army on the opposite side setting up a formation several miles away.

The current war horses of the Song Army are all covered with leather armor. This is learned from the Mongolian Army. The leather armor is not heavy. The total leather armor worn by a war horse only weighs more than ten kilograms. It is not considered a heavy cavalry, but it is protective. After setting up several important positions, the situation will be much better when encountering enemy troops shooting horses.

The Song Army just put more thought into armor, striving to ensure the safety of the sergeants to the maximum extent. Moreover, the Song Army only wore heavy cotton armor with steel sheets on the outside, and light cotton armor on the inside, usually half and half. Ten thousand cavalry will have 5,000 heavy cotton armor and 5,000 light cotton armor.

In comparison, the Mongolian army is much simpler.

The same bow exerts different power when riding a horse and standing on the ground, and can shoot at different ranges.

In terms of cavalry and shooting, the Song army may still be inferior to the elite Mongolian army, but in terms of armor and equipment, the Song army has far surpassed the elite Mongolian army.

Chagatai immediately said: "We cannot give the Song army a chance to form a formation. Send an order and attack immediately."

The cavalry on the opposite side is like a huge black wave. From a distance, you can see that Song Jun's face is wrapped in it, and his whole body seems to be surrounded by iron armor.

The Song army was also lined up in the south.

Lu Wende glanced at Meng Ying. Meng Ying naturally did not hesitate and ordered: "Fuck you, mother."

The vanguard of the Mongolian army on the opposite side was Aotun Shiying, and he did not expect that the Song army would rush directly to do it.

The Mongolian army wanted to learn from the Song army, but they couldn't learn anything.

Aotun Shiying himself wore heavy iron armor, and his younger brother wore mail armor learned from Europe, with a layer of leather armor underneath. The armors of the two were relatively bulky and not as light as those of the Song people, but their protective power was not necessarily stronger than those of the Song people.

If they stood on the ground and shot, Song Jun could shoot further.

As the two spoke, the Mongolian army and the Song army were getting closer and closer.

The Mongolian army began to fully speed up after entering two hundred steps, while the Song army was still as dead as before, with a leisurely pace and no rush to speed up.

At this time, there was the sound of full cavalry charging in the huge wilderness. The total strength of both sides was equal, and the strength of the first wave was also equal.

Aotun Shiying had 20,000 cavalry on his side, and on the opposite side there were more than 18,000 cavalry and nearly 20,000.

Soldiers and horses from both sides continued to move forward, because everyone had just arrived at the battlefield in a hurry, and the Song Army's carriage team had not yet arrived.

Aotun Shiying looked at the equal strength of both sides and took a deep breath. Mongolia was still invincible in cavalry and shooting. Don't be afraid, go up.

He did not change his tactics without authorization, and still used what the Mongolian army was best at.

Woo, with different trumpet sounds and flag changes.

The Mongolian army began to scatter to both sides after approaching the Song army for about 150 steps.

When Batu fought against Fierce Tooth Libolan during the Western Expedition, the most common strategy was that when the enemy came up, the Mongolian army would pretend to retreat, and then wait for the enemy to come in, and then shoot from both sides.

Aotun Shiying didn't do that and went up directly to split the ball on both sides.

The Mongolian army had just separated, and there was a crackle on the opposite side. The Song army had already fired the first wave.

The Song army did not shoot blindly. The forward closest to the Mongolian army shot a few rows first, mainly to test the distance.

Whoosh, whoosh, thousands of arrows flew over, some barely hit the Mongolian army, and some couldn't.

Even so, Brother Aotun Shiying was slightly moved. Can the Song army shoot so far while riding a horse?

At this time, the Song army also saw the Mongolian army plundering in separate directions, and Meng Ying's cavalry also plundered in two directions.

The main reason for cavalry to separate and raid on the battlefield is to lengthen the formation to facilitate attacks.

Suppose you have 20,000 cavalry huddled together in a square formation with a diameter of 100 meters. It will be difficult for the cavalry in the middle to shoot at the enemy on the opposite side. If you stretch it to form a 500-meter rectangular formation, the cavalry in the middle can shoot at the enemy on the opposite side.

The formations of both sides were elongated during the sweep.

In the early days of separate raids, both sides shot very few arrows, mostly for distance measurement.

The cavalry in front will judge whether the friendly troops deeper behind them can hit the enemy based on where they can shoot at the enemy.

If you can't shoot, you have to move forward, get closer to the enemy, and make room for the rear.

The Song Army has become more experienced in fighting over the years, especially Meng Ying's cavalry, which is the elite of the entire Song Dynasty cavalry.

"Woo!" At this time, the Mongolian forward and the Song forward had already crossed each other for about a hundred steps, and the distance between the two sides in a straight line was less than fifty steps.

Three long torrents spread across the boundless land.

The Song army was concentrated in the middle, and the Mongolian army was on both sides.

Both sides are rushing forward.

"Beng" didn't know who gave the order first.

Then whoosh whoosh, the sky was full of arrows from both sides and they started shooting at each other.

Boom, boom, people and horses were rolling on the scene, and people were falling to the ground everywhere.

"When you see that the Mongolian army's formation is gone, go back when you are two hundred steps away." Meng Ying ordered while shooting arrows.

As a general in this department, he has to look at the overall situation.

The Song army would definitely not attack the Mongolian army formation. Meng Ying was just buying time for the carriage behind to move forward.

The subordinates took the order and flew away.

The battlefield is changing rapidly, and orders must be timely and accurate.

Meng Ying observed the surrounding battle situation and the movements of the main forces on both sides.

Crack, crackle, crackle.

At this time, the air was filled with the sound of bowstrings being pulled. The two sides were coming and going, shooting non-stop. Arrows in the air were like rain, in a continuous stream.

Because there were so many arrows, there was even a scene where arrows from both sides collided in mid-air.

In such a large-scale shooting match, in addition to the shooting skills of both sides, it also depends on the luck and armor of both sides.

For the Mongolian army on the opposite side, each of them had to be more attentive than usual.

The Song army's front row armor was too tightly protected, leaving them little room to shoot.

Either shoot the horse, shoot the face, or shoot the waist.

The key point is that Song's army horses also have leather armor, so they have to aim at the areas without armor.

The Song Army's cotton armor had an extra layer of steel, making it resistant to even muskets by the end of the Ming Dynasty.

This was all piled up by Zhao Yurui with money.

The craftsmen of the Song Dynasty were all officials and officials. They were well paid and had high skills. Every piece of armor they produced was strictly in accordance with the standards.

Each piece of armor must be tested with arrows before leaving the factory.

The Song Army did not have so many scruples. Not many Mongolian soldiers wore iron armor, and the quality of the armor was even worse than that of the Song Army.

So Meng Ying soon discovered that after the two sides entered into a shooting exchange, the Mongolian army was immediately at a disadvantage. Even the Song army, which was slightly farther away from the Mongolian army, was shot, and even its armor would not be broken.

"Heavy armored cavalry." On the Mongolian side, a general shouted at the Song army, thinking that the Song army was a heavy armored cavalry.

Many opponents of the Mongolian army also used heavy armored cavalry. Generally, heavy armored cavalry was used for charging and harvesting, and for melee combat. They rarely engaged the Mongolian army at long distances like the Song army.

Aotun Shiying shook his head: "The Song army is not considered to be heavily armored cavalry, but the armor's protective power is stronger than ours."

The heavy armored cavalry of Jin and Xixia back then had armor plus horse armor that weighed one or two hundred kilograms, and that was called true heavy armor.

The Song Army's cotton armor and steel plates were less than the seventy kilograms of the infantry armor, probably about fifty kilograms.

His thickened steel sheets were not fully wrapped, but were all in the main parts, which made it more difficult for the Mongolian army to hit the Song army's vital points.

Ancient arrows were sometimes difficult to cause significant damage on the spot, and some people could still continue fighting after being hit by dozens of arrows.

Nowadays, the equipment of the Song Army, in addition to hitting the vital point, most people are shot with more than a dozen arrows, just like no one is fine.

They may die from injuries or infection after the war, but many people can continue to fight during the war.

The Mongolian army used to look at its opponents, never caring about how many troops they had, what armor and weapons they had.

After several years of fighting with the Song Army, someone finally discovered that the generation gap between weapons and armor was still terrible.

Such as the current Chagatai.

Chagatai fought several times with the Song Army in Xixia, and was shocked by the Song Army's unique fighting styles and equipment. After so many years, the Song Army's equipment is getting better and better, and it is almost against the Mongols. The army formed a dimension reduction attack.

At this time, he was standing far behind, watching the two armies firing arrows at each other.

People on both sides fell off their horses one after another, but the number of people who fell from the Mongolian army far exceeded that of the Song army.

After the people on both sides fell from their horses, some people would continue to stand up and fight as infantry.

The Song army had more people who could stand up than the Mongolian army.

There were many people in the Song army who could stand up. First, the Song army had good armor and was not seriously damaged by arrows. Second, the Song army was always slower than the Mongolian army.

The Song army was heavily armored and the cavalry was not very fast. The injuries after falling off the horse were usually not serious.

The Mongolian troops raked fire from both sides, and they were riding light horses at a faster speed. Once they fell off their horses, they would usually be severely injured and would be trampled by the people and horses behind them.

"The Song army has heavy armor and low horse power, so let Aotun Shiying pull the Song army." Chagatai saw that it was useless to fight like this. The Mongolian army suffered far more losses than the Song army, so he immediately gave the order.

Before his order was issued, Aotun Shiying was also very experienced and had already given the order. Woo woo, the Mongolian army continued to raid both sides and began to pull the Song army, hoping to pull the Song army's cavalry further away alone. pick.

The Mongolian army used this strategy to retreat in order to advance, and they used it very skillfully during the Western Expedition. When the Europeans saw the Mongolian army retreating, they would definitely pursue them without hesitation, without any military skills at all.

But people in Song Dynasty don’t accept this trick.

Meng Ying also knew that his soldiers were heavily armored and not as powerful as the Mongolian army, so he could not run around with the Mongolian army.

The Mongolian cavalry moved to both sides, and the Song army immediately turned back.

The main force of the Song Army is not the cavalry, but the flintlocks, trebuchets, and artillery of the infantry camps. Positional warfare is the main method of the Song Army. Although Meng Ying is confident, it is impossible to just follow Meng Qi alone. pick.

When Aotun Shiying saw that the Song army did not follow him, he was unwilling to do so. With an order, the Mongolian army turned around again and looted the Song cavalry, continuing to seduce them.

Meng Ying took her time and kept her formation in order to keep all the troops parallel to the Mongolian army, preferably a hundred steps away.

This is within the shooting range of most of the Song army, and within the shooting range of a small part of the Mongolian army.

Shooting from such a distance, the Mongolian army will be even worse.

But the Mongolian army also knew the gap between the two sides, and the forward kept approaching, always staying within forty steps of the Song army's forward.

(End of this chapter)