Han Shizhong was observing the Yuanyang formation of the rebel army. He had seen it from a distance when he was guarding the camp that day.
But they couldn't see clearly, and there was no real battle.
The armor of these rebels was very cheap, mostly paper armor.
The paper mill in Jintan Village has stopped producing writing paper for a long time, and has switched to armor paper for more than a year.
After the Zhu family and his son revolted, they occupied paper mills in various prefectures and counties, and ordered them to supply enough paper. Whether it was by force or plunder, they had to pay on credit to buy paper at a low price.
The army is expanding too fast. Not to mention iron armor and rattan armor, even leather armor is in short supply. Paper armor is the easiest to make.
When the archers of the officers and soldiers saw the shields in front of the rebels, they all chose to throw them away to line up the troops.
Most of the archers in the Western Army belong to the rank of rural soldiers.
After Wang Anshi's reform, the situation worsened. Baojia rural soldiers were organized and trained in both urban and rural areas. Later, bow and arrow societies were organized, allowing civilians to hold bows and arrows, and the government would also give money to members to buy bows.
There are archery clubs all over Hebei, Henan, Shandong, and Shaanxi. They usually train at home and wait for recruitment by the army during wartime.
There is even a special official position, that is, "promoting a certain group of archers", and Zhong Shidao once held this position.
A few years ago, due to financial difficulties, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty ordered the dissolution of the National Archery Society. The government no longer provided money for members to buy bows, resulting in fewer and fewer qualified archers in the Western Army.
At this time, the arrows rained down, most of them were blocked by shields and wolf mills, and a few of them hit the rebels' paper armor.
Paper armor sounds very stretched, but it is the nemesis of bows and arrows. High-quality paper armor "cannot make holes with powerful arrows."
Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty specially formulated laws at that time, and those who made five pairs of paper armors privately were sentenced to death by hanging.
It has a hard cloth base and paper tendons for blocking. It is one of the standard armors of the Song Army. Sometimes tens of thousands of sets are customized in one go.
The helmets of the rebels were woven from bamboo strips, with paper tendons stuffed inside. They were basically able to effectively defend against arrows being thrown down.
The advancing rebels withstood a round of bows and arrows. Many were slightly injured, but none were seriously injured. They all knew how to protect their fatal parts.
Just after hearing a trumpet sound, another 500 rebel troops were ordered by Lieutenant Shen to move around the flanks.
Han Shizhong made corresponding adjustments and sent a force to engage in the battle.
The melee soldiers also stepped forward one after another to protect the archers at the rear. Since direct fire was difficult to achieve, there was no need for the archers to line up in front of the formation. They could stand anywhere when firing.
"What kind of ghost formation is this?"
The arrangement of the mandarin duck formation made Han Shizhong feel that something was wrong.
Strange weapons, strange formations, and a sense of weirdness everywhere.
Qi Jiguang's mandarin duck array weapon changed several times according to the enemy, and finally became nearly four meters long.
When Ju Ming expanded his army, he also set standards: the wolf mill was one foot and four feet (4.4 meters), the spear was one foot and one foot (3.5 meters), and the boring palladium was one foot and two feet (3.8 meters).
After three rounds of bows and arrows, the front rows of both parties were so close that each other's faces could be seen.
The archers of the Western Army fired one last time, then took out their swords and prepared for close combat. They were also armored. If they were regular soldiers of the Western Army, there would even be specialized archers in armor.
In the Northern Song Dynasty army, the proportion of archers was very high, reaching 60% in the most outrageous cases.
It would be impossible to capture Guancheng in a surprise attack, so it would be impossible to bring so many.
Moreover, after Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty abolished the bow and arrow club, the output of the bow and arrow workshop also dropped, and it was difficult to recruit enough weapons to recruit so many people.
Of the more than 2,000 people in Han Shizhong's hands, 70% were close combat soldiers. Their main weapons were spears and hand knives, and some soldiers were also equipped with javelins.
I didn't bring the bed crossbow or divine arm bow, those things are too heavy.
Of course they didn't wear heavy armor, but they looked much more formal than the rebels.
It is precisely because the equipment of the rebels is so poor that these Western troops can maintain high morale.
"Change of formation!"
"Hush!"
Without the threat of archers, the Yuanyang Formation began to become looser. Under the command of the squad leader, the Tengpai players and the Longpai players led their soldiers to change formations, and the width of the battle suddenly increased.
"Throw the gun!"
After the formation change was completed, the shield bearers began to throw javelins, and the squad leaders began to shoot arrows freely.
The Western Army was also throwing javelins sporadically.
Both sides suffered casualties, but there were many wounded and few dead.
Finally, the front rows of the two sides collided and instantly fell into a stalemate.
The four-meter-long wolf millet poked around, making the Western soldiers irritated. This thing was not very lethal, but it interfered with the line of sight and blocked the space.
Some brave people rushed through the wolf formation despite being injured, but they were immediately attacked by spearmen.
The few fish that slip through the net rush forward and will be skewered back by the boring palladium.
After more than ten minutes of fighting, the Western Army continued to suffer casualties, and the thought of "cherishing life" came to mind again.
Han Shizhong had no choice but to let the archers hold their swords and go around to both sides to try to attack from a flank.
Upon seeing this, Lieutenant Shen also threw in his reserve team to resist the approaching archers.
The archers of the Western Army circled around for a while and soon stopped shooting, unwilling to engage in a close combat with the rebel reserves.
Han Shizhong personally led his headquarters of 500 soldiers, regardless of formation, and attacked the flank of the rebel army as quickly as possible.
However, Lieutenant Shen led his troops in formation and trotted forward to rescue, while blowing the trumpet to alert the relevant troops.
Han Shizhong led his troops to quickly go around the flanks, and with another Western army, they attacked the hundreds of rebels on the far left from both sides.
The boring and palladium fighters in the rebel army, as well as the spearmen in the back row, all turned to the left.
Han Shizhong avoided one palladium, but was pushed away by another palladium. The sharp cone of the boring palladium directly pierced the armor.
In pain, Han Shizhong grabbed the boring and palladium rod and dragged it back, dragging the boring and palladium hand so that he stumbled forward.
Another spear came and pierced Han Shizhong's abdomen, but was blocked by the armor and did not penetrate deep into the flesh.
Han Shizhong was horrified. He was attacking the thieves from both sides, and he was actually attacked by a combination of several weapons.
What the hell kind of formation is this?
Han Shizhong got angry and dropped the spear in his hand. He continued to hold the boring palladium with his left hand and grabbed the spear stabbing his abdomen with his right hand. The spearman quickly retracted the spear and stabbed it out again. Han Shizhong dragged the boring palladium's hand back and stabbed the boring palladium.
Hands pulled out of the military formation.
Han Shizhong's men took the opportunity to enter the gap. The rebel soldiers of this small group raised their swords regardless of life and death and were stabbed by a Western soldier.
The Boring Palladium Hand was so frightened that he quickly abandoned his weapon and drew his sword to slash at the enemy.
Han Shizhong seized the boring palladium and charged forward with all his strength, while the injured rebel spearmen retreated continuously.
The rebel team leader came to take over his position again, raised his gun and stabbed Han Shizhong.
The Boring Palladium was too long, and Han Shizhong had difficulty using it. Moreover, he had already rushed in, and the weapon was too long and would be cumbersome. He abandoned the Boring Palladium and drew his sword, splitting the squad leader's spear, and pushed the knife forward along the barrel of the gun.
It was too late for the squad leader to retract his gun, so he abandoned it and drew his sword to block.
Han Shizhong suddenly dwarfed and knocked out, knocking the team leader over and stabbing him hard.
The knife was aimed at the neck, where there was no protection from the paper armor.
The captain quickly turned over to avoid it, and at the same time shouted: "If the captain dies in battle, the whole team will be killed!"
"kill!"
The whole team seemed to be furious. The injured soldier ignored him and pounced on Han Shizhong, but was kicked away by Han Shizhong.
A soldier from the Western Army thrust his gun at the soldier who was standing unsteadily, and stabbed the soldier in the throat with a single shot.
Han Shizhong still wanted to kill the squad leader who fell to the ground, but another spearman attacked again.
Han Shizhong waved his sword to block, but the spearman had already been shot, and he was shot twice at the same time, both of which were caused by the Western soldiers.
The two spears stabbed the paper armor and injured him but he did not die.
Han Shizhong raised his sword forward and slashed at the spearman's face.
Another Western Army soldier also killed a boring machine.
This Yuanyang Formation team had three people dead, many more injured, and was attacked from two sides. It was finally on the verge of collapse.
The feeling of fear came, overpowering the excitement brought by adrenaline.
As long as Han Shizhong hacks the squad leader to death, the entire squad will inevitably collapse. No matter how strict military discipline is, it can't suppress him.
At this moment, Shen Wei's headquarters finally arrived in formation and instantly surrounded Han Shizhong.
"Brother Han Wu, leave quickly!" the officer under his command reminded.
Han Shizhong swung the knife again, and the squad leader rolled to avoid it. His face was slashed until his teeth were exposed. Han Shizhong roared: "Don't worry about this guy anymore. Kill the traitors who are still standing. These traitors will collapse!"
In fact, it has collapsed. After all, it was a two-sided attack.
While Han Shizhong was speaking, one of the wolf soldiers died, as did the rattan player. The Yuanyang team was attacked from the front by the Western Army.
The remaining soldiers turned around and fled, chasing the friendly troops next to them into pieces.
As long as Han Shizhong continues to pursue and kill, he can defeat the rebel formation horizontally.
However, Shen Wei's headquarters suddenly came and attacked Han Shizhong's headquarters from the side.
At the same time, another battalion of rebels rushed towards the archers of the Western Army. Those archers fired two rounds and were not willing to engage with the rebels at all. They were so frightened that they turned and ran away.
This rebel army stopped chasing the archers and slammed into the right flank of the Western army.
The right wing of the Western Army was already fighting hard, but was shaken instantly when faced with changes.
Liu Guangshi's general Feng Chong understood the importance of his superior's life and fled without any psychological burden.
The entire right wing collapsed instantly, like dominoes falling, and one group after another of Spanish troops fled.
Han Shizhong's headquarters, who was attacked from behind, was still fighting when he suddenly heard the shouts of friendly troops running for his life. The veterans immediately realized what was going on and ran away regardless of military orders, but the recruits foolishly continued to fight.
Han Shizhong was furious, but he was also a veteran...
The soldiers of the Western Army who do not know how to escape will not live long. This is not the first time that Han Shizhong has escaped.
In other words, Han Shizhong's ability to escape was also among the best among the Western Army. At this moment, he was able to escape very quickly with oil on his soles.
When fighting with a small group, Han Shizhong often defeated more with less.
Once he cooperated with friendly forces, Han Shizhong suffered countless defeats in his life. The friendly forces always collapsed for no apparent reason, and then his own troops also fled with them.
This battle is just a reappearance of a classic.
"Blow the trumpet and the whole army will pursue you!"
Wei Shen's blood surged and he led his troops out with great excitement.
Of course, he didn't realize who he defeated, he was just happy because of his meritorious service.
Not many Western troops died in the battle, and there are still more than 2,000 of them until now. These guys fled in all directions, some ran north along the old Tangluo Road, and some fled east along the way they came.
Han Shizhong's mind was still clear, and he knew that if he escaped to the north, he would starve to death if he was not caught. However, if he escaped to the east, friendly forces would block his way. He had quickly formulated an escape plan, first north and then east, and then retreat and retreat. Soldiers, we have to bring hundreds of people back to work on missions.