The Chinese military flag was automatically lowered from the thick flagpole, replaced by a slender flagpole, and left the small mound together with the four-dimensional and five-element flags.
No one dares to stand there anymore!
The Western Army retreated in units of "generals", that is, Ju Ming's "army", with a full strength of 3,000 troops.
The Chinese flag moved and it was difficult to hit. The gunner observed through the telescope and quickly found the new target.
They were a core group of elites, all of whom were wearing infantry armor. They were among the few remaining heavy infantry regiments after the Western Army's defeat in Hebei.
They were arranged by Liu Yanqing to be responsible for the response, and they all wore heavy armor. If the feigning attack force was defeated, the heavy infantry regiment would take over. In this way, they could lure the enemy to dispatch and use the heavy infantry to turn defeat into victory.
In the face of bandits, these heavy infantrymen of the Western Army would not easily flee. They could even hold back the Xixia elite soldiers against the odds.
Yang Weizhong led his own soldiers to cut off the rear together with the heavy infantry. He also ordered his cavalry to divide into several groups and go to the river to shoot arrows to prevent the rebels from crossing the river smoothly.
The rebels who came out of the main stronghold were sailing forward in boats holding shields, and each boat had captains who drew their bows and fired at them.
However, the Zuozhai rebels did not need to cross the river and passed through a large area of hills. In order to avoid forming a long snake formation, many small groups directly climbed over the hills and went around to the side and rear to attack the Western cavalry.
In this broken terrain, the cavalry is not terrible and cannot charge effectively.
The leader of the Zuozhai rebel army will be Chai Jin, and his deputy will be Qi Sixian.
Qi Sixian was a gangster who was taken out of the cell by Yang Zhi when he escaped. From his name, you can tell that his family has a good education. It is not an ordinary low-level citizen who has read books about sages for several years before becoming a gangster.
"Form up and shoot arrows!"
Qi Sixian first climbed onto a small mound and formed a mandarin duck formation with shields raised for defense. The squad leaders shot arrows at the Western cavalry.
The rest of the troops under his command, also in large groups, climbed onto nearby small mounds.
Chai Jin was still leading his troops around the rear, trying to use the terrain to keep the enemy cavalry behind.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The four artillery pieces adjusted their positions and finally fired again after a long delay.
Yang Weizhong is letting the heavy infantry retreat alternately. This retreat method can be used for battle at any time.
Suddenly four artillery shells fell, and one shell hit the ground. The remaining three shells killed and injured seven heavy infantrymen.
The main reason is that the distance is too far, and the kinetic energy of the cannonballs has been exhausted, making it impossible to bounce and hit a series. Moreover, the terrain does not allow it, and it is always blocked by obstacles.
Including Yang Weizhong, the nearby Western Army officers and soldiers were terrified.
This was the first time artillery appeared on the battlefield, and they had no idea what was going on.
Yang Weizhong said to several soldiers: "Warn the generals not to panic. This is a bandit's artillery carriage, not some magic or magic!"
Those soldiers rode out on horseback, shouting along the way: "Yang Dutong said don't panic, this is the bandit's artillery carriage, not some magic or magic! Yang Dutong said don't panic..."
It is true that the heavy armored infantry are all elite, but they are also veterans.
What haven't they seen?
How is it possible for an artillery car to shoot far? Even the newly invented flat cannon is impossible!
As expected, these heavy infantrymen were of extremely high quality. They did not collapse despite being panicked and still maintained their organization.
However, they no longer listened to military orders, no longer took turns covering the retreat, but accelerated their pace towards the camp.
Wearing dozens of kilograms of armor, some heavy infantrymen went around to the small mound and helped each other to remove their armor. They planned to abandon their armor and return to the camp to save their lives first. The heavy armor was gone and they had nothing. Life is important.
In fact, in terms of distance, as long as they move forward at full speed, they will be out of range after one more round of fire.
No matter how unlucky it is, there will only be a few casualties at most.
But no one knows this. If you are shot three or four miles away, you will be fine if you run a few tens of meters away?
At this moment, one group after another of cavalry also fled back one after another.
The Youzhai rebels had been led out by Sun Li, and they were shooting across the river and crossing the river to kill them. The Western cavalry were about to be surrounded by the rebels on three sides, and they were so frightened that they jumped out of the encirclement.
As the rebels' bugles got closer and closer, their own cavalry also fled back, and the heavy infantry became even more panicked.
The main reason is the fear of the unknown, which makes them not know how to resist. The kind of iron ball that randomly kills a few people is no different from a magic spell on the battlefield.
More and more heavy infantry stopped and took off each other's armor.
Yang Weizhong's orders no longer worked. The elites of the Western Army were very domineering. If they were pushed too hard, they would give up.
In fact, Yang Weizhong was also in panic, always paying attention to the sky in front of him. He wanted to find out what kind of gun truck this was and what the maximum range of this gun truck was.
Yang Weizhong began to regret the way he ordered the retreat, because the bandits only sent a few iron balls at a time. It was obvious that there were not many such artillery vehicles. Each unit retreated alternately, and at most they lost hundreds of people, which would not lead to the current situation. situation.
But he was too panicked before and Yang Weizhong was already dizzy. It would be good if he didn't run away like Liu Yanqing.
The rebel troops are getting closer and closer. At first it was just the sound of bugles, but gradually the whistles can be heard.
Those were the rebel captains, blowing whistles and commanding the soldiers.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
This was the last round of shelling, and the officers and soldiers were almost out of range.
Yang Weizhong only heard a roar, and then both men and horses fell down, and one of his horses' legs was broken.
"Du Tong!"
Several soldiers ran over in panic and dragged Yang Weizhong out and helped him up.
Yang Weizhong was crushed by a war horse and his calf was fractured. The soldiers helped him get on another horse, and without saying a word, they took the horse and led the men to escape.
The cavalry are also running away. If it were on flat ground, they might be able to cover the general and the heavy infantry. But in the rugged and hilly areas, they can only fight on their own in the east and west, unable to effectively display their strength. So it is better to go first alone. Run the ball.
Seeing Yang Weizhong fleeing under the protection of his own soldiers, the heavy infantrymen finally couldn't stand it any longer.
Regardless of the organization level, the general took the lead and sped away. The soldiers who took off their armor fled the fastest, and those who did not take off their armor were almost desperate.
The troops further behind were still retreating slowly. When they saw Yang Weizhong escaping with his soldiers and cavalry, they were frightened and ran away.
The first ones to collapse were not the new recruits, but the veterans. All of them were good soldiers, particularly brave in fighting and very proficient in escaping.
Those who are not proficient in escaping will have died on the battlefield of Liao Kingdom long ago!
Chai Jin was the closest and caught up with the heavy infantry first.
Hundreds of heavy infantrymen who had not taken off their armor, wearing sixty or seventy kilograms of heavy armor, were already half dead from exhaustion. Knowing that they could not escape, and fearing indiscriminate killing by the rebels, they spontaneously formed small groups, back to back, ready to fight.
.
Chai Jin said to the soldiers: "Quickly call Lao Qi to surrender!"
After saying that, Chai Jin led his troops around, paying no attention to these heavy infantry, and pursued the Western Army further ahead at full speed.
Several hundred heavy infantrymen looked at each other in confusion, unable to understand what was going on. There was no way to run away, so they could only slowly move closer to the heavy infantry phalanx formed by several hundred people in scattered squads under the leadership of officers.
Qi Sixian quickly arrived with his troops. He took off his helmet and stepped forward, pointing at his face and saying: "I am also from the Western Army. I also read a book and was sent to the army. All brothers in the Western Army are listening. As long as you surrender, you will surrender."
No one will deduct food and salary, no one will be greedy for military achievements, and you can have a full stomach every day!"
Food, salary, military merit, etc. are not the focus.
The key point is Qi Sixian’s Shaanxi accent!
One after another, the heavy infantry threw away their weapons and surrendered on the spot.
The ancients attached great importance to the township party, especially in the army.
Since Qi Sixian had served in the Western Army, they no longer worried, since survival was no problem anyway.
But that guy Liu Yanqing abandoned his troops and ran away. He didn't go back to his camp. Instead, he continued running along the river from below the camp, for fear that if he got too close, the evil magic would attract an iron ball to hit him.
Han Shizhong heard the noisy shouting and quickly climbed up to take a look.
Soon Wang Yuan also came over and asked in panic: "Why did you lose?"
After careful observation, Han Shizhong said: "Although our army is defeated, the traitors are still far away. Quickly guard the camp and let the defeated soldiers bypass the camp and come in from the rear of the camp!"
Wang Yuan immediately left his horse and went to find the other two generals: "Don't panic, hold the camp and let the friendly troops move around the camp."
The remaining Western troops in the camp were already in a panic. Under the restraint of several generals, they hurriedly put on their armor and defended key positions.
The first group of broken soldiers to escape wanted to break through the gate of the village and escape.
Wang Yuan shouted: "Shoot arrows and wave flags!"
Hundreds of arrows were shot in advance and landed between the camp and the defeated troops. At the same time, the flag bearer waved the flag wildly to indicate a detour.
Blocked by bows and arrows, the defeated soldiers were frightened and fled to both sides, bypassing the village wall and fleeing to the side.
Even when Yang Weizhong came back under the protection of his own soldiers, Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong kept their focus on him and obediently walked around to the rear of the camp.
Chai Jin led thousands of soldiers to chase him to the foot of the mountain. Seeing that the soldiers' camp was heavily guarded, he quickly ordered: "Blow the trumpet, blow the trumpet, don't pursue anymore!"
The conch trumpet was blown, and the rebels rushed out for a while, and finally gradually stopped.
Han Shizhong actually discovered the fighter plane and said to Wang Yuan: "The enemy has lost its pursuit. Now there are only three or four thousand people coming to kill them, and their formation is chaotic at the foot of the mountain. Give me one or two thousand soldiers, and they will be defeated. These thieves
If the troops flee, those who are pursuing them will also be routed. At that time, each general will lead the army to fight out, and a great victory is guaranteed!"
Wang Yuan hesitated, he did not dare to take risks.
Firstly, there are still many defeated troops of the Western Army who have not entered the camp. Secondly, we don't know what is going on outside, because the Western Army's defeat is so strange.
"It's better to defend the camp." Wang Yuan made a decision.
Han Shizhong was so depressed that he settled for the next best thing: "Then I will take my five hundred soldiers and fight out!"
Wang Yuan observed the situation at the bottom of the mountain and stopped him: "No, another band of thieves is coming soon. You have too few soldiers and it's easy to get caught in them."
"This won't work, that won't work either!" Han Shizhong wanted to scold his mother, but Wang Yuan was his adopted brother and was very kind to him, so he had nowhere to vent his anger.
Various units of the rebel army pursued him one after another and assembled in formation at the foot of the mountain.
The Western Army strictly guarded the camp, waiting for the rebels to attack.
The two sides faced off for a while, and Yang Zhi had no choice but to give the order: "Each department retreats alternately, and we will stop when we see a good situation today."
Until this time, the general Liu Yanqing was nowhere to be seen. Who knew where he was hiding on horseback alone.
Yang Weizhong sat in the tent and asked the military doctor to bandage his bones.
Each department counted the number of people and found a total loss of more than 1,300 people. Except for a few who were hit by artillery, more than 400 infantrymen collectively surrendered, and the rest were trampled on themselves, causing casualties.
Yang Weizhong almost spit out a mouthful of blood. Although the loss of troops was not much, the heavy infantry was almost finished.
Because the heavy infantry who fled back, although they went back, the infantry and armor remained on the battlefield!