Not only that, in order to reduce the casualties in the exchange of fire with the Khitan army, Yang Peng equipped all the soldiers with helmets when they left Tianjing New City this time. Yang Peng has seized more than 20,000 helmets over the years, enough to give each of the soldiers one helmet.
The only way the Khitan army could kill the Song army was to shoot the Song army in the face fifty steps away. This required really high marksmanship.
The ability to pierce a poplar with a hundred steps is just a legend. When shooting with a bow and arrow at fifty paces, even if there is a gust of wind, the arrow will miss the target by a lot. Even if an archer practices for a lifetime, he will not be able to accurately hit a small target at such a distance.
Even a select basketball star who has practiced for more than ten years cannot accurately shoot from the midfield of a basketball court fourteen meters away, let alone an ordinary soldier shooting an arrow from more than seventy meters away with tens of kilograms of tension?
But now apart from shooting arrows, the Khitan had no other way to harm the Song army in the stronghold. Three thousand Khitan soldiers gritted their teeth and stood between the ditch and the wooden spurs, bending their bows and shooting arrows at the Huben division under the canopy.
The bows and arrows fired from the rear row were all blocked by the canopy. Only the more than a thousand arrows fired directly from the front row could threaten the Huben division. However, it was difficult to shoot at the face of the Song army from more than 70 meters away. More than a thousand arrows were fired at them.
, only dozens of bows and arrows hit the target.
The Khitan auxiliary soldiers and followers have no ability to threaten the Huben division fifty steps away. The Khitan soldiers standing in the front row shooting arrows are infantry and horse soldiers. These Khitan army archers can shoot one arrow in about five seconds, and
The soldiers of the Tiger Division under the canopy also fired a salvo in about five seconds.
Compared to the weak Khitan archers, the Tiger Division's shooting was much more lethal. The Tiger Division soldiers shot at the Khitan archers from a distance of more than 70 meters, as if they were shooting at a stationary target, with an astonishing hit rate. Each of the 600 rifles
Platoon after platoon fired volleys, nearly five hundred Khitan soldiers were killed in one volley.
The Khitans fired three rounds of arrows haphazardly at Huben Division, killing only two hundred soldiers of Huben Division. However, they were bombarded by Huben Division soldiers with rifles for three rounds. After three rounds of volleys, the Khitans had more than a thousand infantry soldiers.
The vest fell in front of the wooden thorn formation. These are the elites of the Khitan army.
Blood continued to flow from the wounds caused by the bullets, filling the battlefield with a strong saltpeter smell with a pungent smell of blood.
An elite soldier of the Xi Army rushed to the front to encourage the archers, but was shot in the bridge of the nose by a rifleman aiming at him. The rotating bullet shattered the officer's nose bone, penetrated into his skull and wreaked havoc, ending immediately
Killed him. The elite of the Xi army was like a lifeless wooden stake, falling silently into the wooden thorns.
The death of this senior officer caused chaos. Some archers were defeated by the massacre-like battle. They couldn't stand it anymore and retreated behind them screaming.
However, the guards guarding the formation did not let the archers retreat, and shot back the fleeing soldiers with bows and arrows. The Khitan soldiers who were shot back could not advance or retreat without fighting spirit, and shot randomly at the Song army's awning with their eyes closed.
The casualties were too great, and the front of the Khitan formation was already like a chaotic Shura hell.
The corpses of Khitan soldiers were spread across a large area in front of the formation more than 700 meters wide, lying dead on the ground in various postures. If the Khitan soldiers in the back row wanted to shoot arrows, they had to step on the corpses of the dead Khitan soldiers in front to get closer to the Huben division.
Some of the seriously injured and half-dead Khitan soldiers fell to the ground, and no one paid attention to them. They were even stepped on by the archers in the back row. Those who were stepped on made weak screams, and the crackling of gunshots continued.
On the battlefield, no one could hear him.
Some corpses had stopped bleeding from the wounds, but when they were stepped on by the archers behind them, blood spurted out from the wounds again. There was blood everywhere on the ground, and the smell of blood became stronger and stronger, making it nauseating.
The area that Yang Peng left for the Khitan at more than 70 meters, which was barely suitable for direct fire, was not so much an opportunity for the Khitan as it was a trap to trick the Khitan into increasing the casualties of the Khitan soldiers.
The exchange ratio of hundreds to dozens is too cruel, not to mention that those who died were all soldiers who were good at shooting, and they were all warriors in the Khitan army. The more the Khitan army shot, the more heartless it became, and it was about to collapse.
At the last moment, Yang Peng's one hundred and forty powerful crossbows and trebuchets opened fire again.
The earthen fort where the Huben division's strong crossbow is located is also protected at all levels: the lower part of the strong crossbow is protected by a mound of earth, and a canopy is built on top. There is only a gap left to the outside to accommodate the arrow mouth, and Khitan bows and arrows cannot shoot in.
The crossbowmen of the strong crossbow calmly loaded the long arrows into the strong crossbow under the canopy, then pushed the strong crossbow to the muzzle of the fort, and fired at the Khitans who were standing densely more than 70 meters away.
The trebuchet made a huge roar, and tongues of fire spit out from the trebuchet. More than a thousand participants carried stones and roared towards the Khitan soldiers who were bending their bows and shooting arrows, tearing apart all the armor and bloody weapons they encountered.
Pierce the Khitan soldier's body, and then tear open the second flesh-and-blood body and armor behind it, taking away all the lives blocking the front.
More than a thousand Khitan archers who stood in front of the formation and shot arrows were beaten into pieces in an instant. Their flesh and blood flew everywhere, and they fell down without saying a word. Even if they were not hit in the torso, their hands and legs were shot, and their bones were immediately damaged.
They were broken by iron projectiles. Even their entire hands and feet were broken off, turning into severed limbs and flying out.
The soldiers who were still standing were all covered in blood, and they didn't know whether it was their own or someone else's.
The Khitan army collapsed.
This is not war, this is massacre.
First, more than a hundred archers on the west side of the line collapsed, where they were hit hardest by stones. Those defeated soldiers were crushed by the stones, and they fled to the back regardless, trying their best to pass through the gaps between the Khitan soldiers in the back row. This time
The flight of hundreds of defeated soldiers soon led to the entire front. The critical point of the Khitan's collapse had already been broken by the long arrows. As soon as anyone in the Khitan escaped, they all fled together. More than a thousand people in the front row had already been shot by the long arrows.
After being beaten to death, the more than a thousand Khitan soldiers behind them who were holding bows and arrows did not dare to shoot anymore. They all broke into a rout and fled behind the formation.
The defeat of these horse-armored and infantry soldiers led to the auxiliary troops and followers behind. The Khitan soldiers were frightened. No one dared to stand at attention in front of the fierce firepower of the Huben Division and be beaten. The front row collapsed, and the rear row also collapsed.
Thousands of people fled across the road.
Thousands of guards guarding the formation could no longer deter the fleeing Khitans, and the stigma of being deserters could not stop these psychologically broken troops. There was only one thought left in their minds: survival. The swords of the guards guarding the formation stopped the fleeing crowd, and they collapsed.
The soldiers simply attacked the guards together. Dozens of guards in front were hacked to death by the insurgents, dying senselessly in the crowded crowd.
The guards in the back row did not dare to stop these broken troops and could only flee behind them. On the Huben Division's position, Yang Peng's soldiers were still shooting and pouring bullets at the fleeing Khitan soldiers. They fled.
Every time the Khitan soldiers fled for tens of meters, they would leave behind hundreds of corpses. People kept falling down in the back row of the fleeing Khitan soldiers, and those in front became even more panicked, pushing and pulling for fear of being squeezed behind by other Khitan soldiers.
They lined up to die. The more than 10,000 Khitan soldiers were like goats encountering natural enemies or elk encountering wildfires. They panicked and ran like wolves. They crowded and pushed on the wooden bridge, and some people kept falling into the ditch.
The Khitan soldiers in the trench cried out in panic and ran up desperately, trying to climb out of the two-meter-deep trench.
The defeated Khitan soldiers continued to attack the 40,000 troops who still maintained their formation behind them.
The Khitan soldiers who collapsed in front were too panicked. The soldiers in the back row were continuously shot down by rifles behind them. Everyone felt that they would be killed in the next second, and their faces were filled with fear. Some of the defeated soldiers rushed forward regardless of the situation.
He entered the formation of an army of more than 40,000 people preparing for war, hoping to use the other Khitan soldiers in the army as a shield behind him to block bullets.
Their fear and disintegration impacted the morale of the 40,000-strong army behind them, making the army of more than 40,000 people shaky. The most important thing was that the stronghold in front was impeccable, and they seemed to be within the range of the Song army's powerful crossbows.
It was to die. Seeing the tragic situation of the defeated troops in front, the more than 40,000 people behind who did not participate in the battle were also a little trembling. When the Khitan defeated troops escaped from the first trench and fled away howling, the more than 40,000 people behind them were also a little scared.
Instead, the army became the Khitan army at the forefront. Yang Peng's powerful crossbow was loaded with long arrows again, and the trebuchet opened fire on the more than 40,000 people.
More than a thousand long arrows pierced the sky and shot at more than 40,000 Khitan soldiers. The overwhelming rocks hit the Khitan soldiers. Blood immediately burst out from the Khitan soldiers arrayed in front of the trench, like cheap paint.
It splashed in the air and sprayed all over the surrounding soldiers. Screams and howls immediately emanated from the crowd of Khitan soldiers who did not participate in the battle, and could not be heard without interruption.
After only one round of powerful crossbow hits, the more than 40,000 Tatars collapsed. The casualties in this battle were so heavy that the Khitans were already frightened. The Qiandongnan who collapsed in front kept attacking their ranks.
, their morale has dropped to the critical point. But the roaring stones cannot be stopped by flesh and blood. No one wants to have the courage to stand within the range of the crossbow and be beaten stupidly. Life is not a trivial matter. The most important thing is at the critical moment of life and death.
The idea is to save life.
The guards were holding the formation in front, and at this time they had been defeated by the defeated army. This army of more than 40,000 people did not have a strong holding force. The roar of the officers alone was not enough to defeat the fear caused by the cannon.
After a round of long arrows, the Khitan's more than 40,000 reserve army could no longer be called an army. It turned into a broken army, and everyone ran behind them in panic.
These defeated Khitans fled in a panic to 300 meters, and were bombarded with stones by Yang Peng's trebuchet. One hundred and forty stones, like one hundred and forty gods of death, bounced on the ground, breaking through the stone he encountered.
All the flesh and blood bodies on the ground were drawn into more than a hundred death alleys in the dense rout. The Khitan soldiers who were cut by the alleys all had their bodies broken, hands and feet broken, and they either died on the spot or were seriously injured and bleeding profusely.
The fleeing Khitan army was even more frightened, howling and crying, and used all their strength to flee far away, just to get as far away from the death-like Song army's stronghold as possible. More than 50,000 Khitan troops rushed to the fifth
The Khitan Army's Chinese Army, a hundred meters away, almost rushed into the Chinese Army's column. The elite of the Garbush Xian Battalion of the Chinese Army wielded their swords and hacked to death dozens of broken soldiers who were attacking the Chinese Army, and then scared off these panicked soldiers.
The defeated troops were like floods coming across rocks, and they fled in separate directions from both sides of the Chinese army.
Among the Khitan's central army, the generals of the Liao Kingdom looked ashen. This battle was a terrible loss. In front of them, auxiliary soldiers and followers were used to build a wooden bridge, and 7,000 people had died. If we talk about these auxiliary soldiers,
If the soldiers and followers can be gradually replenished, the soldiers who died in the battle behind are elites that are difficult to replace. Seven thousand people died in the battle, and at least two thousand more died during the rout. These more than nine thousand people,
Among them there are at least three thousand foot armor and horse armor.
These infantry and vests were the backbone of the Liao Kingdom, but they were consumed in front of Yang Peng's stronghold like a massacre. Xiao Tianzuo felt that his heart was bleeding. Xiao Tianzuo always felt that he
He was wise and brave, he was on the battlefield at a young age, and he was invincible in all the battles. All the princes and nobles looked up to Xiao Tianzuo very much. In the past few years, when the emperor and the queen mother were handling state affairs, they often discussed it with him. Xiao Tianzuo
Zuo had always been confident and felt that there was no difficulty in the world that he could not handle. Xiao Tianzuo even felt that his ability was comparable to that of the emperor.
However, today, at Qingshan Pass, he was played and tricked like a monkey by Yang Peng. Little by little, Yang Peng deceived himself into investing his troops to die. In the end, he failed to capture a stronghold, and Xiao Tianzuo lost the money.
Ten thousand warriors of the Liao Kingdom. As the commander-in-chief, he and his brother Xiao Tianyou led an army of 90,000 into the pass, known as a hundred thousand. Now there are only more than 50,000 of the 90,000 army left, with nearly half of them dead or injured. The losses are so great, I
How many years will it take for the Liao Kingdom to recover?
He led his troops into the pass and caused such losses to the Liao Kingdom. What would the generals think of him? How would the Empress Dowager deal with her? Xiao Tianzuo held his chest and bent down, as if he couldn't breathe. Han Derang
With trembling hands, he said: "Commander, General, retreat quickly and collect the defeated troops!"
Empress Dowager Xiao's eldest son Ye Qian Longxu's face was as white as snow, and there was no blood on his face. He took the lead in this battle, and it was he who came up with the strategy of filling the trenches with wooden bridges. As a result, the soldiers of the Liao Dynasty fought in order to build the wooden bridge.
Seven thousand people died, but the wooden bridge built by these seven thousand dead people was meaningless. The Song army's stronghold was impeccable. Xiao Tianma knew that he was doomed. His reckless suggestions caused so many casualties, and the generals would definitely
Looking down on herself, the Empress Dowager will definitely be extremely disappointed with herself. The Empress Dowager has always wanted to pass the throne to herself, and tried every means to give herself experience and give herself the opportunity to make contributions and serve the public, but she actually used such results to repay the Emperor Ama.
Xiao Tianma thought about it and shed two tears, and actually cried. Yibai of the Xi tribe also burst into tears. He cried and said: "I led 1,600 warriors of the Xi tribe to enter the pass with the army. Now I am afraid that
There are only a few hundred people left." Yibai wiped away his tears and said loudly, "General, hurry up and collect the defeated troops. Don't let other Song troops discover our rout and come up to stab us. These Song troops usually
They don’t dare to fight against us, and now we are defeated and it’s hard to tell!”
Han Derang looked at the Song Army stronghold in the distance and gritted his teeth and said: "Unless I get rid of this son, it will be difficult for our Liao Kingdom to not only take over the Song Kingdom, but even protect Youzhou by ourselves!" Xiao Tianzuo laughed sadly and said with a sigh: "
Get rid of him? What to get rid of? Seventy thousand people surrounded him but he couldn't capture ten thousand of him? How to get rid of him? After this battle, Yang Peng will obviously be promoted, and his momentum will become stronger in the future. Even the soldiers of the Liao Kingdom will be shocked when they see him.
We can only go around!" Zhang Hua turned pale and murmured: "If we lose continuously to this Yang Peng, my Daliao army will be discouraged and timid when facing this Yang Peng in the future."
Hearing this, the generals looked at Yang Peng's stronghold and were speechless for a moment. On the Huben Division's position, they saw the defeated Khitan army retreating. The soldiers of the Huben Division cheered thunderously. The soldiers shouted: "
Wan Sheng!" He shouted for several minutes before stopping. Huyan Chijin, the deputy commander of the Selection Regiment, found Li Zhi and said excitedly: "Commander, take advantage of the fact that the Khitan army is in a rout, and our cavalry can rush forward and kill for a while. We will definitely be able to defeat him.
A lot of gains!”
Yang Peng looked at the Khitan army fleeing in the distance and shook his head. "We can't catch up!" Huyan Chijin said sarcastically: "Sir, the Khitan army has collapsed into a large piece!" Yang Peng said lightly: "The soldiers of the Liao army are brave. Now,
We fled because we were afraid of our powerful crossbows. But our number was too small. If the cavalry rushed out to engage in close combat with the Liao army, and the Liao army regained its morale and counterattacked for a while, we would not be able to bear it. The more than 40,000 people behind the Liao army did not participate in the battle.
The damage was minor, and although they were defeated, they could regain their morale at any time and turn around to fight us."
"At present, we are still too weak. When we encounter the main force of the Khitan army, we can only defend but not attack. We have more than enough in defense, but not enough in attack. If we want to eat up the main force of the defeated Khitan army, we have to wait until we are stronger." Huyan Chijin said.
He smiled and said, "Good morning, sir!"
To the south of Mali Valley, the defeated Khitan army fled ten miles away. Seeing that Yang Peng's soldiers and horses never chased them out, they gradually stopped. The valley only has one direction, north and south, and the defeated Khitan army did not escape. There were also other nearby areas.
No other Song army dared to attack the defeated Khitan army, and the Khitan army suffered no losses during the flight. Xiao Tianzuo and the nobles of the Xi tribe rode their horses to gather the scattered soldiers, and gradually regrouped the more than 50,000 remaining soldiers.
Xiao Tianzuo led more than 50,000 remaining soldiers to camp again five miles away from Yang Peng's stronghold, and confronted Yang Peng's troops from afar. On February 18, the Khitan soldiers had been reorganizing for two days. They saw Yang Peng all the time.
There was no attack, and the soldiers of the Khitan army gradually calmed down, and their morale recovered a little. The soldiers were no longer like the soldiers who had just gathered together a few days ago, and military discipline was restored when they were arranging camp to cook.
In the central tent of the Khitan army, the generals started arguing again about where to go. Having just experienced a big defeat, all the nobles of the Xi tribe were a little discouraged and could not cheer up. But the army was blocked by Yang Peng outside the Qingshan Pass and could not get out.
Guan, the dilemma they faced at this time made the nobles anxious again. They sat around Xiao Tianzuo on both sides of the tent, debating the next course of action.
Yibai said: "The soldiers and horses of Shaanxi Province in the Song Dynasty are all in Cangzhou, and the defense in the west is empty. We might as well abandon Qingshan Pass and go west, find a pass in the Jinyang area to attack, get out of the pass, and take a detour back to Nanjing." Handerang shook his head and said.
"This strategy is inappropriate. We don't know how to defend the Song Dynasty's troops. It would be too risky to travel thousands of miles there. Not to mention that we don't know which pass is loosely defended and can be captured. A random attack will result in the loss of troops and generals. Let's just say that from here
We have to pass through many places in the Song Dynasty, which are places where the Song Dynasty is strictly guarded. If Yang Peng and hundreds of thousands of Song troops come after us and surround us, we will be doomed!"
Xiao Tianma also said: "We cannot withdraw the camp like this. If the Song army knows that we were defeated by Yang Peng and there are only more than 50,000 people left, the Song army will definitely surround us. With Yang Peng taking the lead, the Song army may
Just dare to fight us!"
Yibai said: "Stand here to confront Yang Peng. What should we do if the Song army surrounds us and Yang Peng attacks us from the front and back?" Xiao Tianma said: "We can't enter Qingshan Pass here, and Yang Peng's men can't get out of this road."
Maligou. The people of the Song Army did not get the news from Yang Peng and did not know that we were defeated. How could they dare to challenge us?"
Blocking the entrance to the valley can seal the news of the defeat. When the nobles heard Xiao Tianma's words, they felt that it made some sense.
Handerang gritted his teeth and said: "We can't attack Yang Peng's stronghold, but Yang Peng doesn't dare to leave the stronghold to attack us. Yang Peng only brought a few months' worth of food at most. We blocked him in the valley and starved him to death!"
"Hearing Han Derang's words, everyone's eyes couldn't help but light up and they thought carefully about the feasibility of this strategy.
After all, Yang Peng's soldiers and horses are too strong, and he takes the initiative to fight. It can be said that he is the most important enemy of the Liao Kingdom. If Yang Peng can be trapped in the valley and starve to death, it will be a good ending for the Khitan army. In fact, Yang Peng can be trapped in the valley and starve to death.
The Khitan army entered the pass this time and robbed a large amount of grain and livestock. If the looted southerners were killed, the grain and grass would be enough to support more than 50,000 soldiers and horses spending a year in Mali Valley.
As long as Yang Peng dies, the Khitan army's soldiers and horses will not just enter the pass and plunder at will, but many southerners can be captured. The nobles were silent for a while, thinking about the feasibility of Handerang's plan. Xiao Tianzuo has always been conceited.
However, because of the big defeat the day before yesterday, he was mentally hit hard. He has been a little discouraged these days. He has not said a few words in the past two days. But when he heard Han Derang's words, he still cheered up and said: "This is
If the plan fails, the Song army has more and more troops. Now there are hundreds of thousands. If we wait until June, there will be more than 200,000."
"The weather in the fortress is hot. In June and July, a large number of people in our army will suffer from heatstroke. If other Song armies come to attack us with powerful crossbows, our situation will be worse than now." Xiao Tianzuo's analysis was heard.
, everyone was disappointed. Yibai took a breath and said: "If you can't attack or defend, what should you do?" All the generals looked at Xiao Tianzuo.
Xiao Tianzuo closed his eyes, shook his head and said, "There is nothing I can do now." When the generals heard this, they were very disappointed and spread out on their chairs one by one. Xiao Tianyou opened his eyes and said, "But I am here
When we were in Dingzhou, we asked the Queen Mother for help. I think the Queen Mother was also leading her army towards Qingshan Pass. When the Queen Mother arrives at Qingshan Pass, we will definitely have a way to get out of the customs."
When all the nobles heard Xiao Tianyou's words, their eyes lit up. The Queen Mother is coming. The Queen Mother must have a way.
On February 25th, Yang Peng sat in the Chinese army's tent, frowning and saying nothing. Zhan Jinguo looked at Yang Peng and said: "City Lord, the Khitan camped five miles away and has been blocking us for almost ten days.
You don’t want to besiege us for several months, do you?”
Yang Peng shook his head and said: "The Khitan soldiers cannot get out of the fortress, and the number of Song soldiers and horses in Cangzhou will only increase. The Khitan soldiers are also human beings, and they will be afraid of the Song Dynasty's human sea tactics. They will definitely not waste time with us here."
Zhanjin asked: "Then why are the Khitan soldiers blocking us? Don't they go to other places to attack other passes?"
Yang Bamei shook her head and said: "I think the Khitan soldiers seem to be waiting for something?" Huyan Chijin asked in surprise: "What are you waiting for? Could it be that the Khitan will send reinforcements?" Yang Bamei said: "I don't know, I just have a feeling.
"Everyone was discussing there when they saw a lookout running into the tent in a panic and loudly saying: "Lord of the City, reinforcements from the Khitan soldiers have come out of the Qingshan Pass!"
Yang Peng was stunned, glanced at Yang Bamei, raised his binoculars, ran out, and climbed up to the watchtower in the middle of the stronghold. Yang Peng raised his binoculars on the watchtower, and sure enough he saw the reinforcements of the Khitan army. In the valley to the north
, a mighty team was slowly approaching Yang Peng. Yang Peng took a closer look and felt that there were more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. Some of this team carried dragon flags with red edges.
, some carried dragon flags with a blue background, which were probably the soldiers and horses of the Liao emperor. There were also some soldiers and horses carrying Han military flags.
Among the soldiers and horses, a strong man was holding a huge golden umbrella, and a beautiful middle-aged woman was riding under the umbrella. Yang Peng looked carefully through the binoculars and saw the middle-aged woman. He was wearing
Gorgeous dragon-patterned armor. The armor has black background and yellow lines, which is extraordinary.
Dragon-patterned armor? Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom? Empress Dowager Xiao?
What happened after all? Let’s hear the details next time.