Yi Song

Chapter 238 Battle of Yanzhou III

On the eleventh day of the second month of the first year of Xuanhe, in the east of Yanzhou City.

As soon as the Song army formed their formation at yesterday's position, the Xia army began to move.

Outside the east gate, 20,000 mountain soldiers and crossbowmen, plus 20,000 infantry, formed the middle route army, which slowly moved forward and faced the middle route of the Song army.

At the same time, the infantry of the Xia Army in the South Chamber was divided into 30,000 people, formed into square formations, less than two miles away from the Central Army, and launched an attack on the southern flank of the Song Army.

Thousands of horsemen from the North Wing were scattered on the battlefield on the northern flank of the Central Army, covering their other flank.

These cavalry are scattered in a radius of more than ten miles. If they advance, they can threaten the northern flank of the Song Army. If they retreat, they can prevent the Red Tiger Cavalry from launching a flank attack on the center army from the north.

There are more than 30,000 main cavalry behind them, ready to step forward to respond at any time.

The 20,000 infantry troops of the Xia Army's Middle Route Army were arranged in five square formations in a cone shape and walked at the forefront.

Ten thousand mountain soldiers followed closely behind. Once the infantry in front opened a gap in the Song Army's central defense line, they would surge forward and tear open the gap into a bloody and fatal wound.

"Hitting your son?"

"This should be a collision with your son." Zhong Kui said.

However, the population and resources are limited, and only a small amount can be produced. Large-scale production is extremely difficult.

Less than three hundred steps later, Song Jun's bed crossbow began to show its power, and hundreds of thumb-thick arrows flew towards them.

The strong crossbowmen were organized by Brother Richard. He absorbed the characteristics of the Song army that were good at bows and crossbows, selected those who were good at shooting in the army, and collected strong bows and powerful crossbows with irresistible fronts. They were used to resist cavalry and suppress infantry, which was extremely powerful.

For a moment, the battlefield was filled with blood and flesh, and hundreds of young men were being strung out of bloody gourds amidst screams.

The productivity level of Xixia Kingdom lagged far behind that of the Song Dynasty, especially in ordnance production.

Consumables such as arrows and bow strings are very valuable. If you use one, you will lose one.

The shield and armor are like a thin piece of paper in front of them, and they are transparent once penetrated.

Liu Guozhang said coldly.

Without the fire support of bows and arrows, Chuang Gongzi could only use his flesh and blood to collide with the Song Dynasty's military formation.

"Commander Jie, the ones leading the front seem to be Han Chinese." A staff officer shouted loudly.

"The cannon fodder troops can not only attack our army, but also reduce the casualties of the Dangxiang Qiang people who are directly behind them, allowing them to be ready to attack and wait for the opportunity to defeat our army in one fell swoop."

Sure enough, they were cannon fodder troops. When the 20,000 soldiers rushed forward, the crossbowmen behind them did not fire an arrow.

"Brother Richard seems to have spent a lot of money, and he has brought out his mountain guards and powerful crossbowmen."

Several other staff officers quickly adjusted their telescopes and looked at the 20,000 soldiers leading the Xia army in the middle.

Shanxi soldiers were recruited from the Dangxiang Qiang people in the Hengshan area, also called Hengshan Qiang. Crossing mountains and ridges is like walking on flat ground, fierce and powerful, and extremely resilient.

"Xixia selected strong and brave men from among the Han people in the country and organized them into the front army, named Chong Gongzi. They would lead the charge in every battle and launch the first round of charge."

They did have skilled craftsmen who made beautiful and strong armor, sharp swords, guns and crossbows.

Most of them are good at riding horses, traveling through the mountains and ravines, coming and going like the wind, and then dismounting and fighting on foot, and they must be the vanguard in every battle.

Liu Guozhang's telescope on the tripod saw the two armies clearly.

Less than two hundred steps later, the Song Army's crossbows began to fire. Hundreds of arrows flew over and sparsely landed on the head, body and sides of Young Master Chuang. They did not cause much casualties, but they made their hearts tense. , speeding up the pace involuntarily.

This is the crossbow team testing fire.

They stand in different positions, front and back, left and right.

In this round of test firing, each crossbow team knows where the arrows fired by their square formation will be, and then adjusts the angle to make the arrows of all the crossbow teams concentrated in a certain area as much as possible, causing the greatest impact. Lethality.

The Song army was good at bows and crossbows, with 60% to 70% of them being crossbowmen. Tens of thousands of bows and crossbows fired in unison, and the arrows were overwhelming, like a heavy rain in May.

The soldiers, who had nowhere to hide, had no choice but to accept their fate.

Veterans who have experienced that kind of horrific scene don’t want to experience it again.

The rain of arrows arrived as promised, and most of the arrows were concentrated in the distance from one hundred to one hundred and thirty steps. The arrows thrown over, carrying unused kinetic energy and potential energy falling from the sky, baptized this area indiscriminately.

Some of the young masters were holding shields, and those without shields were holding wooden boards that they had found from nowhere. Those who had nothing could only close their eyes and rush forward with their heads covered.

Hundreds of young men were struck by the lottery, and the arrows were inserted into their bodies fiercely. The pain made them either sit down or fall to the ground while screaming.

No matter how much they begged, their companions would not look at them twice. In the eyes of their companions, these people were almost like dead people, and some even snatched away the shields or boards of the injured and held them over their heads.

The arrows fell one after another, severely injuring one after another and taking away one life after another.

The lucky boy walked through this death zone after all the hard work, and what awaited them was two wooden deer.

These angular monsters with long thorns all over their bodies are easy to deal with cavalry, as well as infantry.

Prince Chuang began to fight back, and some crossbowmen hid in the team, shooting bows and arrows at the Song army who was close at hand. But the Song army used tall shields to protect the front tightly. Thousands of crossbowmen are like mosquitoes biting an elephant covered in thick mud.

The front men finally approached Juma Mulu. They put their shields and wooden boards on it and tried to climb over it.

With the sound of the horn, waves of arrows were shot out from the Song Army's formation. This was the archer at the front, shooting directly.

Although the soldiers were in chaos, he still rushed forward and climbed onto the Juma Mulu with all his strength.

Groups of soldiers wearing heavy infantry armor walked out of the Song Army's formation, holding spears or long-handled simple knives. They walked behind Juma Mulu and slashed and poked at the young master.

The heavy armor on their bodies makes them look clumsy, but they are extremely strong. The crossbow and arrows that hit the young master could not hurt them at all.

They stood there, forming a steel wall, with spears and knives as their fangs. Those who stood in front were either stabbed to the core or cut in half.

The rain of arrows from the Song army continued to cover the distance from one hundred steps to one hundred and thirty steps. They have enough crossbowmen to take turns shooting bows and arrows. There are also enough arrows to squander and kill people.

In front of the horse and the deer, thousands of young men fell down.

Compared with being hit by an arrow, being stabbed with a gun is more brutal. Broken limbs and body parts can be seen everywhere. The blood splashed on the Juma Mule Deer, dripped on the ground, and then slowly turned black.

Except for the ups and downs of each other's screams and the occasional sound of military orders, both sides remained silent, glaring at each other with red eyes, trying every means to kill each other.

Perhaps among them, there are friends who grew up together, or even brothers and relatives. Just because one of them was kidnapped by the Xia army, today they are fighting to the death.

The young master was fierce and moved forward desperately.

The morale of the Song army was high and they responded calmly.

The fight lasted for a full hour and a half, with more than half of the 20,000 young masters killed or injured, and finally they could no longer move. First one or two, then ten or twenty, the exhausted boys finally retreated in groups.

They left corpses all over the ground, as well as the mutilated and frighteningly black Juma Deer.

The Shanxi soldiers continued to fight. After a fierce battle, they tried to create a gap in the exhausted Song army's formation.

The strong crossbowmen came forward, fired thousands of arrows, and began to cover.

The Song army was not to be outdone, and with the support of hundreds of crossbows, tens of thousands of powerful crossbowmen fought against the Xia army's powerful crossbowmen. Arrows flew like locusts in the air, almost covering the sky and the sun.

The Shanxi soldiers strengthened their crossbowmen, and their combat power was much higher than that of Chuang Gongzi. The casualties of the Song army immediately increased sharply.

Medical officers and ambulance soldiers wearing gourd-white smocks walked through the military formation like diligent ants.

The medical officers first performed emergency treatment on the spot and used charcoal pens to write symbols that they only understood on the injured man's coat. Then the ambulance soldiers carried the injured soldiers and officers off on stretchers and transported them to the medical station for continued treatment.

Brother Richard and others did not have binoculars, but the military information reported from time to time gave them a good understanding of the dynamics on the front line.

"The Song Army fought extremely calmly. We used the Chong Gongzi to attack the front line first in the middle. The mountain guards and powerful crossbowmen continued to fight, but they still couldn't be defeated. On the southern flank, the 30,000 Tibetan infantry troops were also unable to move. Ten thousand captured The raw army also went up, with nearly 4,000 casualties, but they still couldn't attack."

"What a thief! Did Song Jun take some medicine? Did he worship some Bodhisattva and get a blessing? Why is he so brave!"

The generals complained one after another.

"The Song army was not weak to begin with. They had fought an unprecedented victory in the past few days, and the morale of the army was at a high point. There were tens of thousands of elite cavalry plundering the formation, and they were more courageous, so they naturally fought calmly and leisurely."

Li Gongren said.

"Your Majesty, we have been fighting fiercely for two or three hours. It's time for the Iron Man to get tired and use his trump card. As long as the Song Army in the middle is defeated, according to their nature, the whole line will definitely collapse. No matter how many cavalry plunder the formation, it will not matter. To no avail."

Li Quanchi suggested.

There was silence in the hall, and all the generals looked at Brother Richard.

Xiao Heda, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said: "This is a good time!"

Brother Richard looked sharply and said resolutely: "Send the order, Iron Kites attack! Go straight to the middle of the Song Army! The rest of the troops will follow!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)