One after another, the soldiers unloaded the cannons and muskets from the backs of horses, donkeys and mules.
Each rod is more than two feet long, nearly two inches in diameter, and about two minutes thick. The net weight is only forty kilograms. Even the female donkey with the weakest carrying capacity can carry two rods each. If the animal power is insufficient,
Soldiers can also carry it.
An iron hoop is added to the head of the cannon and is connected to the splayed legs. There are iron hoops on the soles of the feet, which are hollow like rings. A two to three-foot iron nail is passed through each and then smashed into the ground to stabilize the cannon body.
This is the famous squatting tiger cannon in history. It was invented during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. Qi Jiguang used this thing to resist Japanese pirates and made the Qi family army famous.
Li Chengzhi made it available in the Northern and Southern Dynasties a thousand years in advance.
The gunpowder was packaged in paper packages, and each shot was filled with three liang. The projectiles were of various types: scrap iron sand from the armory factory after the steelmaking and forging, and lead and tin fines that had no place to use after the copper ore was smelted in the copper factory.
Pills, and even fine stones from weak water.
The last method is the most convenient: in summer, set up two iron sieves in a shallow part of the river. Dig out the river sand and pass it through a coarse sieve first, then a fine sieve, and you can select stones as big as soybeans. With only two or three soldiers,
Tens of thousands of pieces can be screened out every day.
Li Liang requisitioned more than 5,000 chariots for this expedition. In addition to transporting soldiers and transporting grain and grass, there were more than 1,000 chariots dedicated to supplies and gunpowder.
If that's not enough, you can just find a river valley and sift some gravel, or even smash big rocks to use as projectiles.
The artillery and muskets also led more than a thousand squatters, and the artillery soldiers who specialized in handling firearms led a mansion (the third battalion). From this, we know Li Chengzhi's determination...
Luo Jian naturally did not recognize this object.
He had been waiting and watching for a while, but he didn't see any artillery carts set up in front of the enemy. He was secretly relieved. But when he saw the soldiers bringing out objects shaped like stone pillars and smashing them into the ground with hammers, he
Still more curious than vigilant.
But when he saw the enemy's infantry in the center, both sides of the armored cavalry were drawing their bows and drawing strings, watching them with eager eyes, he finally realized that this was to prevent his own armored cavalry from charging into the formation, and also to prepare for those who were smashing nails into the ground.
Soldiers buy time.
At this moment, he was horrified: How similar was the situation at this time to the scene when the infantry in the front line of the West Sea set up the artillery carriage when they faced off against Li Feng a month ago?
Is it possible that this thing is like a cannon truck and can throw out the "flying thunder"?
But no matter how you look at it, it seems to be just an iron pillar...
Secretly guessing, but with a vague feeling of foreboding in his heart, Luo Jian shouted coldly: "Recall the scouts, and then order Wei Gang to prepare to attack!"
Luo Ping accepted his promise, and ran to the central formation to wave the flag. Then he heard the sound of gold, and the scouts of the town army returned to the formation one after another.
The Xihaitang Cavalry did not pursue them, but circled back to their own formation from both wings.
Before the leader could dismount, Luo Jian asked urgently: "What do the enemy troops want?"
"Even the general doesn't know!"
"Then what is it that the enemy has nailed into the ground?"
"It should be an iron tool, shaped like a tube, about two feet long and two inches thick. They are all slanted, like horse tripping stakes. But there are no sharp spikes on the head..."
How could it be a tripping post?
If you have this skill, you might as well use spears as a wall to set up a horse-repelling formation. And the iron barrel is so thick, far less sharp than the spear thorns, and it is only more than two feet long, and it is so sparsely placed, not to mention blocking the horses.
Three large vehicles traveling together can travel smoothly.
Furthermore, he was not blind. He knew clearly that the enemy had set up traps in front of the formation, so how could he be stupid enough to charge head-on?
And since the enemy thieves went to great lengths to set up this thing in front of the battle, it was by no means a random thing, and it must have a strange use.
But the question is, how should I deal with it?
After being suspicious for a while, Luo Jian let out a sharp breath: Now it's too late to change the formation, so he can only watch a game first before watching.
"Inform Wei Gang and act accordingly!"
After the words fell, the soldiers behind him waved their corner flags, and there was a "dong" sound in the formation, and there was a sound of drums.
More than a thousand half-armored cavalry jumped out from the left wing and rushed towards the center of Xihai.
When Li Chengzhi was teaching at the military academy, he was already familiar with the formations and tactics of the cold weapon era. He repeatedly mentioned battles involving more than ten thousand people. It was rare for a sudden decisive battle as soon as they met. Most of them were testing, testing, and testing again.
. Either it is more than 60% certain, or it is in desperate situation and it will be launched only when it has to fight.
There was no need for Li Liang to remind him, nor did he need the order from Zhang Xinyi, the commander in chief of the formation. Even General Jiafu of the Artillery Battalion and all the generals under his command, as well as the brigade commander, could tell that the enemy was coming to explore the formation.
The general standing on the cloud floor gave an order and his soldiers waved their flags. Then the infantrymen in the front row raised their square shields and covered the artillery behind the shield wall.
This is also because artillery has relatively high requirements for flexibility, so they only wear iron helmets and only half armor.
Correspondingly, the cavalry on the right wing of the artillery formation also moved, and only a thousand cavalry responded.
Just like before, the cavalry from the two sides chased each other in the formation for three miles. Most of them were shooting at each other, and there were few times where they were in close combat.
If we only talk about cavalry, we can't say who is stronger and who is weaker, because cavalry can only use movement to stop cavalry, and speed to stop speed. However, neither cannon barrels, rockets, nor crossbows are conducive to this kind of attack.
Loading or igniting fire during cavalry combat may also cause accidental injuries, so it is also shown here.
Although the commander of Xihai Jiaqiu has strict military discipline, the food, clothing, armor, and treatment of the soldiers are not comparable to that of the town army, and their morale is naturally higher than that of the town army. However, the town army has been fighting for many years and has greater experience, so there is victory and defeat for each other.
But in such a melee, it is naturally impossible to get the balance right. Whether it is the West Sea or the suppressing army, there will naturally be cavalry approaching the enemy's position from time to time.
At this point, you can see the difference at a glance.
The infantry of the town army shot ordinary arrows, or at most more powerful crossbow arrows. As long as they could not hit the vital points of the soldiers and horses, even a hundred arrows would not be able to knock the knight off his horse.
But this is not the case in the West Sea. Every arrow fired is a rocket.
Although it is not as good as kerosene, it is like maggots attached to bones. It can burn non-stop when it touches iron armor. However, Li Chengzhi had already made improvements. Most of the rockets used by bowmen were bamboo poles with gunpowder sealed in the joints.
Regardless of how lethal it is, the sound of the explosion and the burst of fire can frighten the horse.
Therefore, in just a moment, there were dozens of armored cavalry of the Suppression Army who fell in front of the Xihai Formation and were dragged into the formation by the infantry with hooks, sickles and spears.
Luo Jian and Wei Gang were three miles away from each other, so they could see so carefully. After two full moments, they saw the commander of the armored cavalry battalion rushing to the front of the square formation waving a flag, and he was suddenly shocked.
The flag order was simple and clear, and Supervisor Luo saw it clearly: nearly half of his subordinates were killed or injured, and he requested to withdraw the formation...
How much time had passed? It was less than half an hour. In a one-on-one battle, nearly half of a thousand armored cavalry were killed or injured?
Looking at the enemy's army, although some knights fell off their horses from time to time, there were still 70% of the troops galloping in the formation.
Luo Jian shouted in a deep voice: "Return to the formation!"
But this time it was not as cheap as before. Just hearing a few sharp whistles from the West Sea Formation, the armored cavalry leaned over in unison, took off the crossbow from the horse hook, and fired at the fleeing enemy cavalry.
Shoot.
They were all three-stone crossbows with steel wire strings and equipped with fine steel armor-piercing cones. In this round alone, twenty or thirty enemy riders were knocked off their horses by the arrows.
All the generals who stood in front of the formation and watched the battle were shocked: rockets and thunder were just that, but all the cavalry were equipped with crossbows, and they were so powerful?
Xihai is at a medium distance and uses a cavalry formation to counterattack. In just one round, I am afraid that I can kill three points of the courage of my own soldiers...
Luo Jian gritted his teeth as he looked at the Xihaijia cavalry who gathered up their air crossbows and retreated towards the formation.
His original intention was to use the tens of thousands of civilians in the center as bait to lure Li Liang to attack. When the enemy troops rushed to the foot of the mountain and the momentum slowed down a little, they would highlight the surprise troops behind the mountain and gather the right-wing armored cavalry and the right-wing chariot formation.
Crush the enemy's formation with his condescending force.
He expected that Li Liang would see through this plan, but he would never be led by him. At this moment, the Xihai army arrived as promised, but they only defended but did not attack, because they did not want to step into the pit even though they knew it was a plan.
But if he only had this kind of moral conduct, Luo Jian would no longer be Luo Jian.
Even if this plan fails, he also has a second plan and a third plan.
As long as he avoids the extremely weird sky thunder, he is 90% sure that he can keep Li Liang and the 20,000 Xihai soldiers at the foot of Nantang Mountain...
The only blame is that Li Liang was so young and energetic that he actually dared to lead an army to the appointment, and he only brought 10,000 troops. How is this different from dividing the troops?
Now that we are separated, let’s separate completely!
Luo Jian called Luo Ping and whispered a few words.
Not long after, the left-wing cavalry of the town army left the formation one after another. There were five or six thousand cavalry, and they thrust diagonally towards the west of the Xihai formation.
Zhang Xinyi frowned slightly and shouted in a low voice: "Quickly go to the back array and ask the chief to come here!"
The distance in front of the formation was only one mile, and within a moment, Li Liang came on horseback. Zhang Xinyi pointed to the left wing of the town army that was completely empty, and then pointed to the enemy cavalry heading eastward: "Is it Luo Jian?"
Want to attack my camp?"
"The town army spent nearly a month but failed to capture the small city of Bigan. Luo Jian must have suffered losses at the hands of his father (Li Feng), so how could he be so urgent if he didn't have a long memory?"
Li Liang pondered for a moment, "Nine times out of ten, this group of cavalry should have gone to the camp to set up a formation with our army on the way back, in order to separate and encircle it... After all, Luo Jian has an army of nearly 100,000 in his hands, and 30,000 would be more difficult to siege."
Qiancheng, 30,000 people besiege the camp, and another 30,000 people besiege you and me, it will make it difficult for our army to take care of the head and tail...
Li Liang paused, then smiled and said: "No wonder Luo Jianjin was looking for death and set up a lone formation for the Jedi. It turned out that he was just trying to lure me out of the camp? He concluded that I rushed to the challenge and the food and grass I brought out from the camp must be insufficient.
So as long as we are trapped for ten and a half days, the morale of our army will collapse..."
"Ha ha……"
Zhang Xinyi immediately beamed with joy, "Does he think that once our army sets up a formation, it will not dare to change the formation, let alone move lightly? In this way, the artillery battalion can take this opportunity to assemble the artillery carriage, and it will take a moment or two at most.
It allows Luo Jian to see the power of artillery..."
"Don't be too hasty, it doesn't matter if you stay here for half a day longer, just let the soldiers rest and recuperate!"
Li Liang echoed, "You will order the two wings to be on guard later and prepare more rockets, and then order the artillery battalion to assemble the artillery carriages brigade by brigade... Remember not to rush for quick success to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the opportunity..."
"You will finally understand!"
Zhang Xinyi clasped his fists and just went down to deliver the order when he heard Li Liang explain: "While the enemy cavalry has not set up a formation and cut off their retreat, first send Tang cavalry to Li Shi to deliver the order and order him to hold the camp. Without our military orders,
Never leave the stronghold to meet the enemy..."
Zhang Xinyi respectfully accepted the promise and went downstairs.
Just a moment later, there was another clanging sound in the formation. The artilleryman swung the hammer, lifted the cannon out of the ground, and mounted it on the artillery cart.
In fact, it is a small unicycle with an extremely simple structure: a plate about three feet in diameter, covered with steel armor to prevent it from being shattered by excessive recoil and to provide counterweight.
There are not many parts, just two steel-clad wooden clamps, one end is set on the bottom of the board, and the other end has a groove, which is buckled on both sides of the axle, and then the latches are inserted, and the wheelbarrow is formed.
Small holes are drilled into the base frame of the gun and the vehicle plate, which are still connected with bolts and then locked with steel wires.
The three artillerymen can crouch down and assemble the artillery in less than two moments. Then, either by people pushing it, or by attaching the cart to the tail of the mules and horses, the soldiers only need to control the balance behind...
Luo Jian couldn't understand it again.
All the armored cavalry from the fifth battalion of the town army came out, making it clear that they wanted to cut off Li Liang's retreat. Why was Li Liang not in a hurry?
According to common sense, Li Liang would never turn a blind eye or turn a blind eye. Regardless of the rest, his total military strength is only 50% of his own. How dare he sit back and watch being divided and surrounded?
At least he should have sent his cavalry to fight and not have the town army set up a formation to the west of his formation. But he had better do it and let the infantry play with something like an iron cylinder?
What is the use of this iron cylinder?
Just as he was secretly guessing, his grandson Luo Ping leaned into his ear and asked in a low voice: "Captain, do you remember that three years ago, Li Chengzhi led his lone army northward and sneaked into Woye Town, and then he only led more than a hundred troops, and he was defeated in one night. Defeat the Lu brothers and put an end to the old affairs in Woye?"
It was that battle that made Luo Jian shocked that Li Chengzhi was a man of heaven. How could he forget it?
"It's straightforward, why bother?"
Luo Jian snorted coldly, but then suddenly froze, as if he was frozen.
After Luo Ping reminded him, he suddenly remembered: Li Chengzhi used the white dragon fish suit to pacify the night of Woye. In addition to the thunder weapon, he also used a firearm.
He didn't know what it was, but he knew it in detail: it was about the thickness of a child's arm, shaped like a bamboo tube, but made of iron. It could shoot fireworks up to three to five feet high, with sparks shooting out and shining like shooting stars.
But remember, this thing has no effect on killing enemies. At most, it can be used to scare people or war horses?
If that's the case, at worst, we don't need cavalry when charging into battle, but just use armored cavalry. What can we do to me?
Although he was thinking like this, Luo Jian felt a little uneasy in his heart: he always felt that this thing must be extremely terrifying, and nine times out of ten it would be as good as the flying thunder thrown by the cannon truck.
Otherwise, the enemy general would not be so careful about what he did, let alone watch the enemy cavalry cut off his retreat but remain indifferent and only concentrate on using this weapon.
"Luo Ping!"
"Please give me the command, Governor!"
"Send the armored cavalry again to test the formation in front of the enemy. No matter what, we must find out the use of this thing!"
"promise!"
Luo Ping responded, and bravely asked, "May I ask the governor, what if the enemy still sends armored cavalry to fight, or uses rockets to block it?"
Luo Jian did not respond, but his face suddenly sank.
Luo Ping just thought he was annoyed and said anxiously: "I am in a humble position and I am in a hurry. I hope the governor will forgive me!"
Seeing him wave his sleeve impatiently, he quickly retreated.
But Luo Jian sighed secretly: If it is as Luo Ping expected, I am afraid there will be big trouble.
Just like the strange soldiers lying behind the mountain, if the victory or defeat is not determined, how can they move lightly?