Yi Song

Chapter 212 Operation Wudinghe begins

On the morning of August 12th, outside Qingquan Village.

Meng Zhen, the commander of the Yongle Brigade, glanced at the clock on the carriage next to him. It was eight twenty-six.

This clock is as big as a washbasin, with a seat underneath. It was carefully crafted by skilled craftsmen at the Bianjing Yufengxing Clock Factory. It is driven by a spring - every day you need to use a long torsion bar, insert it at the bottom and twist it hard, which is called winding.

It said what kind of gears they were, one inside the other, a total of twenty or thirty, and what kind of escapement mechanism they were. It is said that Su Xiang (Su Song), Duke of Zhao County, used it when he built a water-moving ceremonial platform, but this one is more complicated.

There is also a more complex and larger pendulum astronomical clock in the Suide Army's front command department. Meng Zhen saw him during a meeting. He was as tall as a man. It is said that you can use a pendulum to measure time, and use the positions of the sun, moon and constellations to accurately measure and then verify the time.

The clock he received was the same as the clocks received by the Siwu Brigade and the Kron Brigade. He first checked the time with the pendulum astronomical clock. Only when the time is consistent can we work together.

These were what the staff and craftsmen said when they introduced this clock, which made Meng Zhen's head buzz.

It's flashy and flashy but not real.

"There are still nineteen minutes left to start the operation. Ask the First Battalion of You Fenwu to get ready. When the time is up, the main force will cover with arrows, select the front to attack, and seize the mountain spring cave. The First Battalion of You Xiaoqi will get ready, and the reinforcements from Qingquan Village will As soon as you come out, call me back."

You can see so far and so clearly!

It looks easy, but it's not easy at all to do.

This thing is said to have been invented by Liu Erlang. He first polished it with crystal, and then Liu Erlang made a more transparent glass, which is called glass, and then broke it with glass.

Liu Guozhang and Zhong Shidao stood under the shed, holding up monocular binoculars and looking at the war in the distance.

I don’t know how much I have suffered because of my own fault and the fault of others. Fortunately, I have a tough life and can still stand here and scold you! Boy, remember, you can win the battle just because you make fewer mistakes than your opponent. "

An officer next to him couldn't help but said: "Commander, it's only been ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. There's no need to make such a fuss."

Zhong Shidao could clearly see every move in front of Qingquan Village through the heavy telescope, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Nela responded.

"Yes."

Officers are not only his subordinates, but also his juniors.

A team of strong archers lined up, closely following the vanguard team heading toward Shanquan Cave.

"Boy, a little mistake here, a little mistake there. A little east, a little west, a little south, a little north. In the end, it aggregates into a big mistake. On the battlefield, making big mistakes will lead to a big defeat.

Meng Zhen turned his head and looked along his finger. In the northeast direction, he saw a green firework rising into the sky and finally exploding in the air.

"The Kron Brigade has arrived at the designated location. Haha, they are seventeen minutes late. Old Shen will be scolded by Old Zhongjinglue when he goes back. The new Xuanfu Envoy is watching from behind, and he dares to waste time."

On the top of a mountain fifteen miles behind Qingquan Village, two temporary sheds were built to block the scorching sun.

The shield bearers were in front and the spearmen were behind, forming a square formation and standing on the road in front of the Qingquanzhai gate to block the attack of the Xixia army.

"Yes!"

At 8:44, Meng Zhen shouted: "Light the fire and send the attack signal."

"Commander!" shouted the attendant next to him.

The outer shell is a cylinder made of copper.

The bed crossbows, divine arm crossbows and strong archers behind were all ready.

How many weird things does Liu Erlang have in his mind?

Next to the two people, there was a larger monocular telescope, as thick as a strong man's arm, supported by a tripod. Several staff officers took turns observing, always paying attention to the changes in the war ahead, and compiled them into words as war records.

A red firework soared into the sky and could be seen clearly for dozens of miles around.

At 8:45, the Yongle Brigade officially launched the attack.

In the sight of the telescope, a group of more than a hundred infantrymen acted as the vanguard. They wore light armor, carried swords and guns, and the one in front also held a shield. Climb along the hillside to a cave next to Qingquan Village. Qingquan Village was aware of their actions and knew their goal, so they cut off the water source. The walls of the village were filled with Xixia soldiers, with their bows and arrows drawn, and they fired at the vanguard team.

The bed crossbows and divine arm crossbows at the back began to unleash their power. The thumb-thick bed crossbow arrows flew out first and stuck on the wall of the village, raising clouds of dust.

Then the arrows from the divine arm crossbow flew over and landed on it overwhelmingly.

There are messy wooden boards and debris on the wall, and the damage on them cannot be seen clearly. But there were still arrows flying out and shooting at the Song Army's selected vanguard.

Rush forward, rush forward in one breath! Fighting in hand-to-hand combat is a matter of breath. If you fail to rush forward the first time, it will be difficult to rush forward again if you lose your breath.

Master Zhong said silently in his heart.

From time to time, someone in the front team fell down, but they still moved forward tenaciously. The side door of Qingquan Village opened, and a group of Xixia troops rushed out, about fifty or sixty people, and rushed towards the Song Army's selected vanguard.

The group of strong archers standing behind immediately opened their bows and fired arrows at the soldiers who rushed out from the Xixia army.

Nearly ten people fell down, and the Xixia Army and Song Army selected vanguards to meet in the rain of arrows.

Both sides stopped shooting arrows in a tacit understanding and allowed the infantry to fight together.

For about a quarter of an hour, the Xixia army retreated, but it succeeded in holding back the Song army's vanguard selection, causing more and more archers to gather on the wall, and the arrows fired were dense and overwhelming.

The vanguard team stumbled and rushed to the gentle part of the hillside, less than fifty steps away from the Shanquan Cave, but more than a third of them were already dead or injured. Before they could take a breath, another Xixia army, about fifty or sixty people, rushed out from the side gate of Qingquan Village, and soon they were fighting with the front selection team.

The exhausted front-selecting team soon couldn't hold on, retreated steadily, and finally retreated to the foot of the mountain helplessly.

"Alas!" A sigh sounded from the side.

More than fifty officers in their twenties stood outside the shed, sighing in unison.

They are the first batch of trainees in the Kongtong Mountain Officer Training Course. They have been studying for half a month and have completed preliminary stance and formation training.

Now follow Liu Guozhang to the front line to observe actual combat.

Zhong Shidao also saw two junior members of the clan. Just now, four or five of them took turns sharing a telescope and observing the battle situation in the distance.

Liu Guozhang walked up to them and asked: "Tell me, why did the Selection Team fail to capture the Shanquan Cave? It doesn't matter, just say whatever comes to mind and speak freely!"

After a slight pause, these student officers seemed to be used to this pattern of asking and answering questions, and started speaking one after another.

"Rush too slowly!"

"They should be equipped with bows and arrows and carry more shields."

"The arrow suppression from behind is not enough."

"It should be divided into three waves. The first wave is generally difficult to attack. It is better to divide it into three waves and attack continuously. The Xixia Army will definitely not be able to withstand it."

"The vanguard formation is too close."

Zhong Shidao felt a little dazed listening to these crisp and messy sounds.

When I was seventeen or eighteen years old and went to the front line with my parents, I had never been asked like this. I was just taught in profound words that I should do this and that. I must not do it wrong, otherwise the consequences will be serious.

If I had been asked this way, would I have said so many fantastic thoughts?

"Who did you say just now that the vanguard formation was too close together?" Liu Guozhang suddenly asked.

A student officer raised his hand and said, "Report to the mountain commander! It's me, a member of the first phase of the Infantry Section of the Kongtong Mountain Officer Training Course."

He is his nephew and the grandson of his uncle Zhongyi.

Mountain chief? Oh, Liu Guozhang appointed himself the mountain leader of the Kongtong Mountain officer training class, so the students called him the mountain leader.

Master Zhong is looking forward to it very much, looking forward to what Zhong Kui will say.

(End of this chapter)