Probably as soon as the clapper struck twice during the second watch, soldiers like Zhou Lin were woken up by the comfort officer in the team.
"Ah...ah..." Zhou Lin stretched contentedly. He had a comfortable sleep this time. He slept for more than two hours. When he woke up, although he was not refreshed, the fatigue all over his body had dissipated. many.
It's a pity that the night on the grassland is still so cold, it makes people shiver from the cold, and there is still no hot food to eat, so they can only eat hard big cakes.
Soon, an order came from Zhou Lin's chief. They were told that they only had a quarter of an hour to eat. After a full meal, they would throw away all unnecessary baggage and equipment and start a decisive battle with the Xianbei people. The final battle to win or lose.
Swallowing the cold food, Xuanwei Zuoli was still busy making the final mobilization in his ears. Although he suffered a lot, he could see that the brothers were very energetic. At least that's what Zhou Lin thought. Here Zhou Lin couldn't tell how far we were from the Central Plains, whether it was eight hundred miles or a thousand miles. Anyway, he could not help but feel proud that he could fight Wenyuan so far away from the Central Plains.
Just after the third quarter of the second watch, the officers gathered Zhou Lin and other soldiers together. The spearmen, sword and shield soldiers each distributed nitrates, sulfur grease and other fire starters. The archers also asked for enough fire arrows, and then informed them that they were about to rush to the battlefield. .
Zhou Lin didn't know where they were going. They only knew that they were going to raid the Xianbei people's lair, and this time everyone was strictly ordered not to make any unnecessary noise. The soldiers held their heads, the horses choked, and even the horses' hooves were used. Wrapped in cloth, everyone marched in the endless darkness and the biting cold after nightfall, and they could only rely on the faint light of the stars in the sky.
Fortunately, this section of the road was not very long. After walking about ten miles, Zhou Lin stopped. At the place where the formation was formed, he could see from a distance that there were as many bonfires burning in the distance as the stars in the sky. There is no end in sight...
"Who is it?"
Even if the operation was late at night, and even if the Xianbei soldiers and horses did not expect that the Han army would suddenly attack here from hundreds of miles away, it was impossible for so many soldiers and horses to be so close without being noticed. The bonfire was getting closer and closer, and suddenly a low cry came from the front, followed by a shrill horn horn that cut through the silence in the night sky.
But we have already reached the front of the camp, and now we find out what else it can be used for.
At the front of the formation, as if the secret oppression of the past few days was relieved, Yan Liang roared with great ambition: "Okay, we have finally been discovered. The order is sent to maintain the formation. Wen Chang and I lead the troops in front, and Bo Ji leads the troops in the back. In response, the entire army acted according to plan,"
"Yes," Wei Yan and Guo Huai responded respectfully. Yan Liang's roar also made Wei Yan and Guo Huai's eyes shine brightly.
Yan Liang looked back at the officers and soldiers behind him and said: "Success or failure depends on this battle. All officers and soldiers should follow me and fight to the death. This battle will definitely defeat Xianbei. If we lose, we will not give up."
All the generals around me responded with enthusiasm: "If we lose, we will never give up."
Yan Liang pointed the tip of his sword forward and shouted: "Okay, attack,"
As he roared, the passionate drumming of war drums suddenly came to mind in the military formation behind him. The Jin army soldiers clapped their hands in a neat queue and strode forward to the rhythm of the drums. More than 20,000 people walked in unison, exhaling with every step they took. When he opens his voice, his momentum is comparable to that of thousands of horses galloping, which is enough to make people feel timid.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Such a huge momentum immediately triggered a violent reaction from the Xianbei people. Compared with the uniformity of the Han army, the Xianbei people seemed much more disorganized. Each of their tribes lived together independently, with tents forming a circle to gather the members of the tribe. The cattle, sheep and horses were guarding them. When they heard the war drums coming from the direction of the road, the shrill warning sounds of horns came one after another, from near to far, until they reached very far away...
The Xianbei people's ability to respond quickly when faced with danger is so great that the several Xianbei communities stationed closest to the crossing barely waited for the Jin army to approach before nearly a thousand cavalry rushed out in scattered directions. In order to protect the members of the clan, People and property, at the expense of their own lives, wanted to stop the Han army's advance. Unfortunately, ideals are full, reality is skinny. The advantage of cavalry lies in excitement. When these cavalry fight against neatly arranged infantry formations, If you launch a forceful attack without any fancy, the result of failure is already doomed.
"Fire arrows." As soon as the Han army archers, who had already picked up their bows and nocked arrows to welcome the prey, heard the order from their superiors, an overwhelming rain of arrows poured out from the array of thousands of archers and crossbowmen. Those who rushed out of the camp Although the Xianbei cavalry was brave, their bodies could not withstand such deadly arrows. However, within a dozen breaths, almost a thousand cavalrymen were shot into pieces before they even rushed forward to have close contact with the Jin army. There are very few survivors.
On the contrary, the arrows they released during the charge only killed and wounded less than a hundred people, and the damage they caused to the Jin army can only be described as minimal.
The results of casualties were so disparate. In addition to the number of reasons, the main reason was that equipment played a decisive role. The shabby armor of the Xianbei people can be imagined. These ordinary Xianbei soldiers can be considered rich if they have a family heirloom leather armor. Most of the soldiers They all go into battle without armor. How can a body of flesh and blood be the sword of gold and iron?
When it comes to the equipment of the Jin army, we have to mention Wen Yuan’s generous treatment of the infantry regiment directly under his own army. A long time ago, Wen Yuan had already envisioned equipping the crossbowmen with armor made of wrought iron. Unfortunately, due to the expansion of the army, the gaps in the armor are getting bigger and bigger, so this idea has been dormant for several years and has not been implemented. Until now, the local infantry crossbowmen only wear leather armor to fight, except of course, Qu Yi, who is given special treatment. Arrive at camp first.
But that is only the treatment of other infantry regiments. As the Guards Corps directly under Wenyuan, the Chinese Army cannot be the same as other state soldiers. After saving and saving in the past few years, nearly 10,000 crossbowmen of the Chinese Army were finally allotted a while ago. A pair of lightweight breastplate armor came in handy during this expedition.
This kind of breastplate is made of cooked cowhide and wrought iron armor pieces on the front and back. It can effectively resist the damage of bows and arrows or other sharp weapons. For the sake of flexibility in archery, this kind of armor adopts a shoulderless design. There are only more than ten Jin, the mass is not heavy, and it does not affect the archer's firing of the bow. With the protection of this kind of armor, coupled with the personal protection of the sword and shield soldiers, although the Xianbei people are good at shooting, how can they penetrate these multiple layers of protection? .
In just the first battle, the Jin army got off to a good start. At this time, the Jin army had approached the Xianbei tribe less than a hundred steps without hesitation. The next order was shouted from the commanding officer without hesitation.
"Get on the rocket"
It was like a Milky Way suddenly lit up in the dark night sky, or like a thick fire dragon emerging from the ground. But in the blink of an eye, it was as bright as day outside the Xianbei community, and tens of thousands of fully armed Jin soldiers appeared out of thin air. In the endless darkness, the fire ignited on those arrows shone on the black armor of the Jin army, reflecting the cold light. The eyes of all the Xianbei people who were running away, or who had not had time to escape, showed endless fear.
",,Let it go," followed by the commander's roar, the fireworks show began. Countless fire arrows flew up half the sky like brilliant fireworks, and then fell on the Xianbei people's camp like a meteor shower.
Those tents made of cowhide are the easiest to catch fire. In order to prevent rain and moisture, the inner and outer layers of the tent are also coated with grease. Once these large immovable targets are hit by rockets, they will soon be ignited and the whole building will burn. The flames shot up two to three feet high, and the flames rose.
In just a short while, hundreds of tents were set alight near the Jin army. Looking down from the sky, it looked like hundreds of blazing bonfires were lit, illuminating half of the sky as bright as day.
The lively scene like a fireworks show is a nightmare for the Xianbei people. Their entire life's property is in these tents. Many Xianbei people were burned alive in the camp because they were unwilling to give up their belongings. Many elderly people In order to protect their property, women rushed towards the Jin army's formation almost crazily. Some even went crazy and carried no weapons with their bare hands. Their fate was foreseeable. Undoubtedly, some of them were shot or impaled in front of the Jin army's formation. .
This situation seems like a massacre, but if you think this is the ultimate massacre, you are completely wrong. The next scene is even more terrifying.
Although more and more tents were set on fire, these blazing fires could not stop the Jin soldiers from advancing. Yan Liang knew very well that he could not give the Xianbei people any breathing time and must use the strongest offensive as quickly as possible. Destroy the Xianbei people's will to resist. Otherwise, according to the information given by Su Lei, there are more than 400,000 Xianbei people here. Once they slow down and organize resistance, he will not be able to kill them all with his more than 20,000 troops even if they are weak. .
Therefore, we must advance as quickly as possible without stopping at a step.
Fortunately, Zhu Hua's plan had already foreseen the fire blocking the road. Since the large group could not pass, the organized small group could still move forward. After all, this was a depression in the mountain with leeward direction, so there would generally be no fire streaks. In the situation of the camp, a team of hundreds or thousands of people can pass through the gap between the fires and continue to penetrate deeper.
Following Yan Liang's order, the captains and army commanders of each department led their troops into the burning fire. In this case, it was inevitable that someone would be burned to death, but everyone knew very well that this was the case. The importance of the battle, this battle is related to the rise and fall of the Han people. The Duke of Jin is watching them, and tens of millions of Han people are watching them. This battle can only be won, not defeated, and there can be no even thought of retreating.
"Attack, attack, our Jin army will move forward indomitably, I am invincible," Yan Liang roared loudly, urging his troops to rush into the burning fire. Just like the slogan set by Wen Yuan at the beginning, this battle can really only be indomitable. I am invincible...