Chapter 54: Those who are afraid of war and shrink back
On the official road.
A group of mountain bandits rode their horses around the four riders in the middle, looking at the group of refugees behind the cart to the west.
The four horsemen surrounded by horse bandits were all covered in armor. Three of them were wearing purple cloaks. Only one of them was not wearing a helmet. He was just wearing a purple turban and a green cloak. Among the group of horse bandits,
, appears particularly prominent.
The leader of the horse bandits in the green cloak looked very young. He was seen riding on his horse and said to the remaining three people: "Three brothers, we will share this item equally among the four families. We don't have to say anything to the brothers. It's just the woman and the mules."
, but we have to choose first."
One of the three wearing purple cloaks with a full beard raised his hands and said, "Okay, but if the leader of the Hu Village is chosen, I, too, have nothing to say in the village."
The leader of the Hu village in the green cloak was sitting on his horse, squinting his eyes and staring at the other two people with a half-smile, but said nothing.
An older man said: "Brother Hu's Beiliangtou people are very capable, and he is the one who initiated it. We at Waitou Mountain will only follow your lead."
Seeing this situation, another bandit leader also quickly expressed his position: "We all rely on Master Hu, so let's decide how to fight."
The leader of Hu Village galloped forward a few steps and said loudly: "Looking at the reaction from the other side, although it is quite orderly, they are a group of refugees after all. Even if some of them have excellent archery skills, they are still unable to compete with our group of wolves attacking tigers."
."
The other three people echoed in unison, and the leader of Hu Village continued: "What we want is to ask Brother Liu Xiong of Taishan to supervise the infantry and charge the first wave head-on; Brother Qi of Waitou Mountain selects brothers who are good at shooting.
, projecting from behind; brother Zhao from Huanjian led a cavalry of ten men and went to Beitou to supervise the feint attack; we led the cavalry and waited for an opportunity to charge into the formation. What do you three think?"
The other three families had few soldiers and horses, and their combat power was not as good as that of Beiliangtou, so they had no big objections to his distribution.
What's more, in order to plunder this batch of property, the four families led the most elite horse-mounted bandits to the battle. Now they are all gathered on the official road. When they rush into the battle, all the families are mixed together.
If there is a loss, it will be a loss for every family, and it is not like every family taking turns to fight for priority, so there is no reason to object.
Since no one had any objections, the four bandit leaders began to prepare individually.
I saw a fierce bandit in a purple cloak. He roared and screamed strangely on his horse. Then he galloped down the official road and headed towards the foot bandits in the wilderness to the north. About ten riders followed behind and also ran towards that place.
side.
The bandit leader of Taishan, Liu Xiong, led a group of old bandits and urged the bandits to form an array. There were about fifty people in a row, and there were about six rows of arrays in front and behind.
Half of them in the first row were holding shields and holding short knives or hatchets. It seemed that they were arranging some of the gangsters in front, preparing to charge into the formation. They were all arranged separately, between each two gangsters holding shields.
There is an infantry bandit with a spear;
The second and third rows are mostly equipped with long weapons such as spears and sticks. These two rows should be the main force of the bandits in infantry combat. They must rely on them to break the vehicle formation here. There are also several armed soldiers mixed in.
Archers with bows and arrows should not be underestimated;
The fourth and fifth rows were equipped with all kinds of weapons, including sticks, knives, iron rulers, and even spades, picks, and rakes. Their combat power should not be too strong, but there were two or three people in each row.
Wearing a red military hat, it seems as if he is responsible for guarding the formation and supervising the battle;
In the last row, there are more than thirty people who are very capable, with long knives and big sticks in their hands. Many of them are also wearing red military hats. It is obvious that this row is the elite of the bandits in the village. Their mission
It is to supervise the battle, force the bandits in front to fight to the death, and at the last moment, they will give He Shihui and others a fatal blow.
Behind them, a group of infantry bandits wearing red hats or red tassel felt hats lined up in two loose rows. Each of them was holding a bow and arrow. It looked like they were all deserters or defeated troops. They looked like Ming army formations.
shadow.
At the back was the bandit's horse team. They were arranged in a loose formation behind the column, with seventeen or eight people in each row, making a total of four rows. They rode their horses and cursed, urging the bandits in front.
…………
Here, He Shihui heard the roars of the crowd, but his eyes were fixed on the bandits opposite.
He looked at the bandits on the opposite side and saw that the horse bandits sent to persuade them to surrender were shot dead. He was furious and shouted and cursed, urging the bandits to line up. Knowing that the enemy would attack soon, He Shihui began to make detailed arrangements.
There was originally a large vehicle in the middle of the vehicle formation here. Later, when we saw that the bandits' main attack direction seemed to be this direction, we moved a large vehicle from the north.
Now there are two large carts lying across the middle of the official road, one step wide apart, and there are also barriers piled up with small carts and grain bags and other sundries. The two one-step wide openings are temporarily blocked by small carts, and they can be blocked when needed.
It can be moved away to facilitate the cavalry attack.
Then thirty Xuanzhen sergeants who were good at shooting lined up in a row, standing behind the cart. They held the back of the bow in their left hands. They also held seven arrows in their left hands, and only one arrow in their right hand.
This is when preparing for rapid shooting. The left hand holds the back of the bow and the arrow at the same time, making it easier to pick up the arrow and shoot again.
They formed a row of thirty people, and each of them shot eight arrows, that is, two hundred and forty arrows. They would inflict a heavy blow to the bandits on the opposite side in a very short time. At the same time, they shot so many arrows in a short time, visually and mentally.
The impact was shocking enough.
Among the bandits on the opposite side, there were only a very small number of deserters and defeated troops who might have experienced battle formations and gained some experience. Most of the remaining infantry bandits did not even have armor.
He Shihui estimated that this round of rapid fire might defeat the infantry bandits in front.
Behind them, there are sixty strong people from the Mingyong Right Team led by Ma Huijun. They are armed with long and short weapons such as spears, daggers and axes. The training they have received over the past few days has made them look like an army.
But if they were to face a real army, they would still be vulnerable. However, they could still stand a chance against bandits, which would allow them to practice their courage.
On the left and right sides, there are fifty young men guarding each side. They were all temporarily formed during the march in the past few days. They just simply practiced the formation, and most of them had thick wooden sticks in their hands.
The main point of He Shihui was that he was worried that they would retreat in the face of the battle and affect the entire war situation, so he asked Sun Dashan to shoot the horse bandits who persuaded them to surrender, so as to prevent the weak-minded people from being shaken after hearing this. He also shouted to encourage them, also to strengthen their battle.
Heart.
There are also ten knights guarding more than thirty war horses. They either have injured arms that have not recovered, or their archery skills are not good. They are all arranged in the back to guard the horses and wait for the final charge into the battle.
Although the team is messy and has a large number of people, under He Shihui's deployment, everyone has a division of labor and everyone knows what they should do.
…………
He Shihui looked at the bandits. A big man wearing armor and a purple cloak was riding behind the bandits. He waved his whip angrily and shouted, urging the bandits to line up and attack.
He galloped his horse and roared angrily, causing the infantry bandits in front to start attacking.
They didn't have any tactics, they just formed a rough six-row array. Half of the first row were sword and shield men mixed in, then the four rows followed and rushed into the formation, then the old bandits led the formation to supervise the battle, and finally the archers prepared for long-range
Projectile assist.
A group of bandits roared angrily, seeming to be threatening and inciting. The bandits were extremely excited, wielding swords and guns, screaming and howling like a group of demons dancing wildly.
Suddenly, they shouted in unison and swarmed toward the car formation from more than a hundred steps away.
He Shihui turned around and looked behind him. The sergeants in the front row were standing at attention with their bows in hand. Their military appearance was neat and their expressions were solemn. They were waiting for military orders to give the invading bandits a powerful and rapid shot.
The sixty civilian soldiers led by Ma Huijun were also very calm. After all, these people were carefully selected by Mr. Qian Zhang Cheng. They were all nervously waiting to prepare.
When it came to the young and strong men on the two wings, many of them had a look of panic on their faces, and some of their bodies were actually trembling constantly. They began to attack.
He Shihui suddenly shouted loudly: "Everyone, hold still and obey my orders to act. Anyone who moves randomly or shrinks from the battle will be killed without mercy!"
Then he shouted: "Bai Shanzi, ask someone to take care of the horses. You lead ten sergeants to supervise the battle. Anyone who shrinks from the battle will be beheaded immediately. Anyone who shouts and moves indiscriminately will be beheaded immediately!"
Bai Shanzi had just divided the hundred young men into two teams and lined them up on the two wings. When he heard He Shihui's call, he immediately drew out his sword, looked around with bright eyes, and shouted loudly: "My subordinates take orders!"
Everyone was stunned, this scholar is so ruthless, he seems to be serious.
Thirty sergeants in the front row, led by Sun Dashan, shouted in unison: "Fight to the death and never retreat, fight to the death and never retreat..."
Ma Huijun and other sixty civilian warriors then shouted: "Fight to the death and never retreat, fight to the death and never retreat..."
The role of role models is unlimited.
Under their leadership, the young men on both sides and all the people on the official path roared in unison: "...Fight to the death and never retreat...Fight to the death and never retreat..."
…………
The bandits on the opposite side were slowly approaching. As they got closer, the cruel howls became louder and louder, and the atmosphere in the car formation became more tense.
Sun Dashan stood behind the car formation and reminded He Shihui: "He Tou, take seventy steps forward, do you want to shoot?"
He Shihui shouted in a deep voice: "Fifty steps, shoot again, volley, shoot quickly."
He looked across and saw that the bandits were already sixty steps closer.
The black bandits kept pouring forward, and the sense of oppression was very strong. The cavalry behind them was still kicking back and forth to form a team, waiting to watch the foot bandits attack here.
He Shihui shouted suddenly: "Archers, prepare your bows and arrows and prepare to shoot quickly!"
At the same time, the hard bow in his hand was slowly opened, and a heavy arrow was attached to it.
I saw He Shihui's feet spread shoulder-width apart, then his knees tightened, his center of gravity pressed forward, his chest was weak and his abdomen was strong. He stretched out his front hand and turned his arm to lower his shoulder. He pulled his back hand vertically backward, raised his elbow and lowered his shoulder, and pulled the bow into a straight line.
A state shaped like a full moon.
Sun Dashan next to him hurriedly shouted and repeated He Shihui's order.
The thirty sergeants in the front row neatly placed the arrows in their right hands on their bows, and they pulled the bows with a creaking sound.
Thirty-one bows were slowly opened, and thirty-one arrowheads were pointed at the bandits that were slowly charging ahead. The arrowheads shone with metallic light in the cold wind.
The bows in everyone's hands were drawn into the shape of a full moon, and some people's arrows moved slowly, adjusting the direction of their aim.