The murderous momentum was so shocking that it made the Jin soldiers on the city wall and in the county panic. Even Wanyan Nianhan who was watching the battle on top of the city couldn't help but change his expression. Over the years, he had fought in the north and south, defeated countless armies, and also
Including many Song Dynasty troops.
Almost all the Song armies defeated by him were defeated in one blow, all of which were one-sided massacres by the Jurchen cavalry.
None of the Han armies he saw were imposing. Although they were large in number, they gave him the impression of a huge flock of sheep. No matter how many sheep there were, they would all be slaughtered.
After nearly thirty years on the battlefield, Wanyan Nianhan saw such a powerful Western Army formation for the first time. He felt his mouth was dry, and there was a faint tremor in his buttocks. Was he really old? No more.
The bravery of the past.
At this time, his son, Wanyan Xiege, the commander-in-chief of 10,000 men, stepped forward to persuade him: "The south city wall is within the killing range of the Western Army's trebuchets. Please father, please retreat to the west city to watch the battle."
Another soldier ran to report, "Reporting to Marshal Qi, the main force of the Western Army has also been discovered in the north!"
Sure enough, it was a pincer attack from the north and the south.
Wanyan Nianhan gritted his teeth and shouted: "Bed Crossbow is ready to counterattack."
Thousands of soldiers around him shouted, "Your Majesty, don't worry, we will fight with crossbows and we will not be afraid of attacks from the Western Army!"
This shout is not for Wanyan Nianhan, but for the more than 10,000 Jurchen soldiers in Nancheng to boost their morale.
Wanyan Nianhan quickly descended from the south city and moved to the west city a few miles away. When he was far away, the general Wanyan Xiege ordered: "Prepare the crossbow to attack!"
Five hundred bed crossbows were carried on the pedals, and shooting holes were opened in the city wall. The Jin army soldiers put jackdaw iron arrows as thick as a thumb and one foot long into the launching slot, and aimed at the stone throwers hundreds of steps away.
machine.
This is the bed crossbow invented in the Song Dynasty and became a weapon for the Jin Kingdom to defend the city.
As night fell slowly, fifty heavy trebuchets were pushed 250 steps away from the city wall. The trebuchets were launched using a winch. Dozens of soldiers pushed the winch handle, and as the winch rotated, it was three feet long.
The arm was gradually pulled and pressed down.
Several soldiers of the Western Army put the fire cloth pellets weighing dozens of kilograms into the launch bucket. This is a large ball made of tied fire oil cloth with an iron core in the middle and weighs about eighty kilograms.
With a muffled drum sound of "Boom!", fifty soldiers holding torches lit the fire ball at the same time, and the fire ball burned quickly.
Another sound of muffled drums sounded, fifty trebuchets were launched at the same time, fifty fireballs rose into the sky, and the bright red light flashed across the dark night, like meteors falling from the sky, crossing the city wall and smashing into the enemy.
In the camp, a huge fireball bounced off the ground and rushed straight into the dense crowd of Korean soldiers.
Laibin County is a small county, and the perimeter of the city wall is only ten miles. At this time, the city was filled with 100,000 troops and tens of thousands of horses, making the city very crowded.
Moreover, there are still many large tents in the city that have not been demolished, but the surrounding circle has been demolished. The large tents in the middle of the city are mainly warehouse camps. The Jin soldiers thought that the Western Army could not attack them, so they did not demolish them.
The soldiers shouted in panic and ran away for cover. Many soldiers were knocked over by the balls, and more than a dozen fireballs rushed hundreds of steps and rushed into the tent. The tent was quickly set on fire, and there was chaos around the tent.
At this time, the 500 bed crossbows on the wall also launched a counterattack. Following the order from Wanyan Xiege, the commander of ten thousand men, the sound of a bang sounded, and 2,500 bed crossbows were fired at the same time. The range of the bed crossbows can reach four
One hundred steps, the powerful arrow is enough to crack gold and crack rocks.
Two thousand five hundred iron crossbow arrows roared towards the Western Army's trebuchets. At this time, the cavalry and infantry retreated to 500 steps away. Their task was only to frighten the enemy and not to engage in battle. There were only five people in front of a trebuchet.
More than a dozen operating soldiers.
Powerful iron crossbow arrows were fired at them. Dozens of Western soldiers were unable to dodge and were hit by the crossbow arrows. The iron arrows passed through their chests and fell to the ground screaming. However, most of the iron arrows were shot on the baffle, but there were also more than a hundred.
The iron shot hit the trebuchet and nailed it to the strong wooden frame. The belt of one trebuchet was shot. Several belts broke at the same time, causing the long arm tied to the wooden frame to fall off and roll down.
The bed crossbow could not stop the Western Army's attack. The second round of fireballs rose into the sky again and fell into the enemy camp. The burning tents in the warehouse camp had been extinguished by the Jin soldiers with sand and soil. After fighting with the Western Army for so many years, they also had
A little experience in defending against fire attacks.
When the fireball rushed over, the tent
Hundreds of Jurchen soldiers nearby raised their shields to block the fireball from the camp. Several soldiers used steel forks to quickly push the fireball into the dug pit and fill it with soil.
And another chariot appeared in front of the Western Army's formation. The chariot was equipped with a fire tank and was pulled by a horse wearing heavy armor. It was not afraid of the arrows shot from the sky above the city.
They rushed to the bottom of the city wall and began to spray fire oil on the city top. At the same time, the trebuchets also changed their tactics. They aimed at the city head and dropped burning cans of fire oil on the city head and inside the city.
Soon, the southern city head and the city suddenly turned into a sea of flames.
.........
The battle raged all night, and at dawn, the Western Army's trebuchets had been withdrawn, and the fire on the city top gradually extinguished, and the entire city head was burned into darkness.
That night, the Jin soldiers suffered more than 8,000 casualties. The number of dead was not many, only more than 1,000, and the remaining nearly 7,000 suffered burns. Most of them were Jurchen soldiers at the head of Nancheng.
Although they did not die, the burns were serious injuries. If treatment was not provided, most of them would die.
The Western Army did not attack again. The 180,000 Western Army began to set up large camps in the north and south, install camp fences and dig trenches, only three miles away from the county seat.
The camp and supplies of Yang Zaixing's army were naturally supported by sea routes. Hundreds of sea ships brought a large number of tents, camp fences and food to ensure the military supplies of Yang Zaixing's army.
This was also part of Chen Qing's plan. Originally, Chen Qing considered using sea ships to transport soldiers to cut off the Jurchen army's retreat. However, the troops brought by sea ships firstly did not have war horses, and secondly were not large in number, with a maximum of 30,000 troops. Instead, they were easily defeated.
Wanyan Nianhan's army counterattacked.
Chen Qing and his entourage observed Laibin County from a distance. Chen Qing smiled at Zhang Xiao and said, "How many people do you think it can accommodate in such a small county?"
Zhang Xiao shook his head, "This kind of county is only a small county with more than a thousand households. Ten thousand people can reach the sky. But if all kinds of houses and buildings are demolished and all are set up as tents, then it can only accommodate seventy or eighty thousand people at most. This is
It’s already very crowded.”
"But there are nearly 100,000 people and tens of thousands of war horses in the opponent's city. Land is needed to bury the dead. You can imagine how crowded the city is."
Zhang Xiao nodded, "The area of our camp is three times that of the county seat. We still feel crowded. The situation in the city can be imagined. It is spring, and there may be an outbreak of disease."
Chen Qing said calmly: "Wanyan Nianhan is such an experienced veteran. He will not put himself in a desperate situation. If I am not wrong, he will definitely drive out the Korean soldiers to attack us today or tomorrow and consume them.
So as not to become a burden to the Jurchen army!"
"What if the Goryeo soldiers surrender in large numbers?"
"It's okay to surrender and let them go mining. There are a lot of iron ore in Liao and Jin. The Liushi River iron ore in Liao was nearby and the output was very large. The smelting industry in Jinzhou is very good. These Goryeo soldiers are the Jin."
