The terrain of Tianzhu County and Yongdeng County in later generations at the junction of the two counties was more rugged and complex, with a large number of narrow valleys that suddenly tightened.
Even twenty or thirty miles into Yongdeng County, the river valley suddenly narrowed in several places.
Anywhere you find here is perfect for setting up an ambush.
Therefore, the 60,000-strong army of the Gansu Military Division was always extremely cautious and marched as slowly as a turtle. The leading troops would stop after walking a short distance and search everywhere in the ravines and hills on both sides of the river valley.
The place where Yang Zhi chose to block the attack was the last narrow spot.
The width of the river valley is less than 900 meters!
There is a protrusion on the west side of the mountain wall, which extends diagonally toward the southeast. The river also flows southeast along the mountain, dividing the valley less than 900 meters wide diagonally into two.
If the cultivated land area here was not too small, it would be easier to defend and difficult to attack if the city was built nearby.
The Xixia cavalry responsible for opening the road quickly detected the movements of the Ming army and hurried back to report the news.
"Du Tong, the Han soldiers did not set up an ambush, but used grain trucks to block the road in front. The valley there is extremely narrow, less than two miles wide. If you want to get through, you have to attack the Han soldiers' formation!"
"How many troops does the enemy have?"
"I don't know. There are Han archers guarding the mountainsides on both sides of the river valley, and there are Han cavalry in front. We dare not get too close to check."
After listening to the report, Gansu Military Chief Li Renyi said: "I don't know where the King of Jin is. Should we wait for him to attack first? We only need to intimidate him here."
The deputy capital commander Po Chou Maqi was a little impatient: "Why are you so worried? Our army has more than 60,000 people. Let the infantry capture the hills on both sides first and drive away the Han archers on the mountains. Then attack from the mountains and the valley together.
Even if we attack by force, we can take it down!"
Ding Zhongyi, the magistrate of Xiliang, said: "It is better to be cautious."
"You two, were you scared out of your wits by that letter asking for help? You were as careful as women all the way," Po Chou Ma Qi said angrily, "What kind of magic cannon can destroy the city wall? Han soldiers are not immortals, where did they come from?
If there really were any, Song soldiers would have used them in previous battles."
Ding Zhongyi said: "Maybe it was recently developed, just like the divine arm bow before the Song Dynasty."
Po Chou Ma Qi asked: "If our march is too slow and the Henan Army's city is destroyed, or the King of Jin's army is defeated, how should we wait and see?"
Ding Zhongyi immediately shut up. Although he came from a prominent Xixia family, he was still a Han.
And Li Renyi's identity is a prince, and Po Chou Maqi comes from the eight Dangxiang tribes. If a big hat is put on his head, Ding Zhongyi will no longer be able to speak.
Li Renyi thought about it and thought that the idea of destroying the ugly horse and begging was reasonable.
Po Chou Ma Qi said: "I will personally lead the troops to capture the hills on both sides. You just need to send troops to break through the enemy's formation."
The scout cavalry suddenly said: "Where the enemy formations are blocking the way, we can go around the valley and go two or three miles behind them."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Li Renyi scolded.
The reconnaissance cavalry said: "It is indeed possible to circumvent it, but the mountains are high and the valleys are deep and narrow. The enemy only needs two or three thousand troops to block the tens of thousands of troops."
Po Chou Ma begged: "Let's use a few thousand troops to make a surprise attack. It's best if we can succeed. If we can't, we should withdraw."
…
The Ming army's vehicle formation did not cut off the river valley laterally.
Instead, it is arranged diagonally on the south bank along the Kalochuan River from northwest to southeast.
Of the forty tiger squat cannons, only ten were placed in the river valley, and the remaining thirty were all on the hills on both sides.
In particular, the protruding mountain ridge that narrows the river valley has a total of twenty tiger squatting cannons, which can cover the entire fighting area.
When the two sides were two or three miles apart, the Xixia army suddenly stopped and only sent cavalry forward to harass and shoot arrows.
Po Chou Ma Qiqin led the infantry to start climbing the mountain. He himself led the troops to attack the west hilltop, and asked his son to lead the troops to attack the east side hilltop.
The Ming troops on the hills on both sides seemed unable to stop the Xixia soldiers. They shot a few arrows and then continued to retreat.
Po Chou Ma begged the messenger to wave the flag, and then continued to kill southward along the mountain.
"General Po Chou has won!" Ding Zhongyi said in surprise when he saw the flag.
Li Renyi frowned: "The Han soldiers intercepted them here and occupied a favorable terrain. They were defeated too quickly, right?"
Ding Zhongyi said: "The arrow is on the string and has to be fired. We can't let General Po Chou fight alone while tens of thousands of troops are watching, right?"
Li Renyi thought for a moment: "The terrain is too narrow to deploy. We will first send 3,000 people to test, and another 3,000 people to respond. If the battle goes well, we will take the opportunity to cover up the enemy. If the battle goes wrong, we can stabilize the army."
Six thousand Xixia troops advanced slowly. Because the Ming army was stationed on the south bank, they had to cross the river to fight.
A large number of small boats were used to transport military supplies. After unloading the military supplies, they were used as tools for crossing the river.
Not only is the river valley very narrow here, the river is also very narrow.
The river channel even bifurcates, and the flow speed becomes extremely slow. The narrowest bifurcated river channel is less than ten meters wide. During the dry season, you can walk directly on the river bed.
The channel where Xixia divided its troops for a surprise attack has tributaries that merge into the Kalo River, and there are several tributaries further south, so it can support the water volume of the Kalo River, and eventually the river water flows out of the valley and into the Yellow River.
Because of the fear of running aground, the grain-carrying ships were so small that they could be carried by a dozen people and carried upside down. The hulls could also be used to defend against arrows.
When these Xixia soldiers came to the narrowest part of the river, they did not come by boat, but threw the overturned boat into the water.
Small boats were piled up on the river bed, seemingly trying to create a channel across the river.
The Ming army only shot arrows sporadically, neither firing nor firing cannons.
On the hills on both sides, Po Chou Ma Qi and his son led the troops to fight southward, while the Ming army continued to "retreat" and voluntarily abandoned several hills.
Po Chou Ma Qi rested for a while on a hilltop. Seeing that the friendly troops in the valley below had taken action, he became even more confident: "Capture the hilltop in front and this battle will be a complete victory!"
They rushed down the mountain first, and then rushed up the mountain ahead.
The mountains are mainly made of red soil and rocks, with less rainfall and less dense vegetation, with far more shrubs than big trees.
Hua Rong's Shenji Battalion was all deployed on the hills on both sides, dispersed and mixed with the Yuanyang squads. On both sides of the hills, there were three thousand infantrymen training the Yuanyang Formation garrisoned, and half of the Tiger Crouching Cannons were deployed on the hills.
Holding a blunderbuss in his hand and holding a grass tendon in his mouth, Hua Rong leisurely watched the Xixia soldiers climbing the mountain.
After waiting for the enemy to climb for a while, Hua Rong picked up the telescope and began to search for his target. He was a sharpshooter. He was still at a condescending distance and had enough time to aim. He saw that the officer was accurate in every hit.
It doesn't matter if the shot is inaccurate. There are 3,000 infantry protection, forming a mandarin duck formation to guard the high ground, and the musketeers can fire the second and third shots at close range.
Po Chou Ma Qiu still had a cold-weapon mentality. As the deputy commander of the Gansu Military Division, he took the lead when attacking the mountain. This guy was extremely tall and tall, wearing armor that weighed dozens of kilograms. He seemed not to be affected much by climbing the mountain.
.
Although there is no visor, the collar is pulled down and tied together, covering the entire neck and half of the face, leaving only the nostrils, eyes and half of the forehead exposed.
Relying on this ancestral heavy armor, Po Chou Horse is invincible, and even after being shot into a hedgehog, he still fights bravely.
"High official of Xixia?"
Hua Rong suddenly became excited. He did not shoot immediately, intending to get closer to be more confident.
The ugly horse was getting closer and closer. The captains had already started to fire arrows. Two arrows landed on him. One was directly bounced off the armor, and the other hit the gap in the armor. Although it penetrated, it penetrated the flesh.
It's not deep, it's just a superficial injury.
There were about thirty or forty meters left, and Hua Rong was ready to shoot. At such a close distance, he was at least 90% sure of hitting the target.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
Before Hua Rong pulled the trigger of the match rope, suddenly musketeers started shooting one after another, and there were more than one or two, at least hundreds of them aimed at Po Chou Ma Qi.
Po Chou Ma Qi was climbing the mountain well when he suddenly felt bitten by something, and the wound became more and more painful. The impact of the bullet made his upper body lean back slightly.
He lowered his head and saw that there were holes in his chest, abdomen, legs... he didn't know when, and blood was pouring out.
Not only was Po Chou Ma Qi shot, but several of the soldiers around him were also accidentally killed by missed bullets.
"boom!"
Another bullet flew and hit Po Chou Ma Qi right between the eyebrows.
Hua Rong smiled proudly and said: "This is called a magic gunner!"
The ugly horse fell backwards and rolled down the hillside. By the time the soldiers ran back to help him up, he was already dead.
Why do these Xixia generals like to lead their troops to charge?
And he is still rushing ahead, so he is really not afraid of death.
"The deputy commander is dead, retreat quickly!"
"Retreat quickly!"
Po Chou Ma Qi's soldiers shouted in panic, and the rest of the army quickly led their troops to retreat down the mountain.
"kill!"
"Dong dong dong dong!"
Small military drums beat on the top of the hill, and three thousand infantrymen rushed down. The gun soldiers who had not yet fired their weapons followed suit, while those who had already fired their weapons squatted in place to reload their ammunition.
During the rush to kill, the musketeers kept focusing on the officers, sometimes even shooting from a close range of only a few meters.
This Xixia elite infantry quickly collapsed. They attacked several hills in a row. They had consumed a lot of energy and were far away from friendly forces. Not only did the main general die, but a large number of officers were also killed. Their retreat turned into a rout.
.
The same situation occurred on the east side of the mountain. Po Chou Ma Qi's son went to the underworld to look for his father.
The Ming army on both sides of the mountains pursued them for a while. When they reached the mountain col, they suddenly turned and rushed towards the valley.
The three thousand Xixia soldiers who were responsible for supporting the friendly forces were immediately attacked from two sides. However, the Ming army on the west side did not rush directly in front of them because of the river obstruction, but they fired arrows and guns across the narrow river.
The sudden attack from two sides caused these Xixia soldiers to flee.
The Ming army did not continue the pursuit, but turned around and attacked the Xixia soldiers at the front. The three thousand Xixia soldiers were throwing boats into the river. Not only were they attacked from two sides, but the Ming army also started shooting arrows wildly in the direction of the main formation.
Besieged on three sides and defeated instantly.
The five hundred cavalry accompanying the army were not wearing armor, and they lay on their horses and swam directly across the ten-meter-wide river. They then rode on horseback to pursue the collapsed Xixia soldiers.
Until this moment, the Crouching Tiger Cannon has not been fired yet.
One after another, defeated troops fled back. Li Renyi was shocked and angry, and asked: "How come they were all defeated?"
A soldier of Po Chou Ma Qi said: "The general led us to attack the mountain. As we were climbing, I heard a noise and saw the general fall down and roll down. There were many small holes bleeding on his body, and his heavy armor was damaged.
Once it was worn, we all retreated. When the Han soldiers came to pursue us, there was another sound, and many generals fell down in confusion."
Li Renyi swallowed. It turned out that everything in the letter asking for help was true!