Chapter 194: Battle of Liuchuan River (2)

Under the roaring flag, Huangfu Song saw the cavalry of the Western Liang army pounced on his left wing and immediately ordered: "Infantry immediately stepped forward to attack the enemy camp, and the cavalry covered both wings!"

The general asked, "General Zuo, don't we need to rescue General Xi?"

Huangfu Song said decisively: "The enemy cavalry is only 3,000, and the general in the West can handle it. Order the front army to launch an assault to defeat the enemy!"

"So should I tune up the several infantry bells on standby in the back?"

"No, let them stay on standby."

“Why?”

Huangfu Song explained: "The cavalry of Xiliang is extremely brave. If the enemy cavalry just flicked a shot and turned around to attack the rear of our army, we could deal with it calmly. Moreover, the cavalry of Chen Cheng's army did not come out, and there were thousands of cavalry behind the camp. If we suppressed all our troops, we would probably take advantage of the enemy."

Upon hearing this, all the generals praised General Zuo who really knew about the war.

The strongman swung his arms and beat the skin drums fighting on the cart with force. The sound of the drum beats of the "dong dong dong dong" gradually became fierce. The infantry phalanx that was slowly advancing paused first, then suddenly accelerated its speed and rushed forward. It reached about two hundred steps outside the Xiliang Army camp, and then stopped.

The infantry phalanx was disbanded, and some of the crossbowmen moved to the right to suppress the shooters on the Changpo Plain, while more soldiers were making final preparations before the attack. The sword and shield soldiers began to gather, and they no longer formed a large formation, but scattered into small formations of about ten people. The spearmen and halberd soldiers lined up behind the sword and shield soldiers, preparing to approach the enemy camp and then launch a charge.

After fifty breaths, the crossbowman moved forward, and the swords, shield soldiers, spearmen and halberd soldiers followed behind. The crossbowman moved to the distance of eighty or ninety steps outside the camp, and then shot under the command of officers at all levels. A archer stepped forward and shot an arrow into the sky. After the arrow fell, the archer turned around and shouted something.

Thousands of archers took ten steps forward, then opened their bows and arrows and shot a round of arrows into the sky. The dense arrows fell from the sky and landed on the top of the camp wall. The archers took a volley slowly. The officers beside them shouted loudly, and the sword and shield soldiers rushed out of the reserved passage.

On the enemy tower in the camp, the crossbowman aimed at the bottom and then shot arrows. He could have a bonus in range and power, and also had the advantage of shooting angle. The arrows penetrated from the bottom and penetrated the iron helmet. Several heavy infantrymen who were shot failed to even scream, so they fell to the ground and died immediately.

The crossbowmen who were advancing with the infantry immediately launched a counterattack when they saw this. Dozens of crossbows hit the enemy building in the camp, and arrows broke out into the air, shooting wooden boards at high places. The archers on the enemy building kept moving their bodies and shot deadly arrows out of the narrow reserved gap.

The bows and arrows can only weaken the opponent, and the decisive battle still depends on hand-to-hand combat. The Han army's sword and shield soldiers rushed to the edge of the trench, raised their shields, and stood shoulder to shoulder. The soldiers carrying sacks rushed out and threw the sacks filled with soil into the trench. Arrows kept flying out of the camp and landing on the heads of the soldiers outside.

The sword and shield soldiers lowered their heads and tried their best to keep their bodies behind the shield, but arrows still shot from the top of their heads and sides, nailing the soldiers to the ground. After dozens of casualties, a passage had been filled in the trench, and the infantry rushed up and rushed to the gate of the camp.

The Han army put the shield on their heads and protected the strong men at the gate. The soldiers beside them threw short javelins and spears at the battalion wall, while the defenders hid behind the sharpened wooden stakes and fought back with bows and arrows. Both sides went back and forth, and casualties rose rapidly.

The defenders on the wall of the camp have the advantage of being condescending and have certain protection, so they have a great advantage in shooting. Often, four or five people were killed or injured by the Han army. Although the Han crossbowmen outside the camp tried their best to provide cover for the attacking comrades, the Han army was still shot and suffered heavy casualties. Seeing that the comrades were being shot in front of them, Qu Junhou, who was commanding the archer, was anxious and loudly ordered his subordinates to continue moving forward.

The closer you get, the more powerful the crossbow will be, and the more accurate the shooting will be. After moving forward ten steps, the Han army's crossbowman was only fifty steps away from the camp wall. Whether it was the shooting of bows and arrows or the direct shooting of strong crossbows, the accurate head was greatly improved. The defenders on it were constantly shot by arrows and crossbows, making muffled sounds.

Seeing that the tactics were effective, Qu Junhou ordered his crossbowman to step forward ten steps and use heavy arrows to accurately shoot at a distance of thirty or forty steps. At this distance, the defenders who were shot no longer let out muffled groans, but screamed.

The power of light arrows is very small. As long as you are not too lucky, you will not have too many problems if you are hit by a scoop. Other places are protected by armor, and even if you are hit by a dozen, it may be fine. However, as long as you are shot once by a heavy arrow, you will be seriously injured even if you don’t die. At a distance of thirty steps, the six-stone strong crossbow and strong bow may penetrate the armor.

However, as the distance was closer, the defenders' crossbowmen could also accurately shoot arrows on the heads of the Han army's crossbowmen. With the orders of the officers on the battalion wall, the defenders divided most of the shooters and regarded the Han army's crossbowmen as targets.

The bowstrings on the upper and lower walls of the camp were shaking and arrows were shaking and falling down. In a short while, more than 100 people fell down from the Han army's crossbowmen. Even Qu Junhou, who was commanding the shooting, was shot with an arrow. Fortunately, the iron armor on his body was strong. Although the arrow shot into the flesh, it was not a big deal and he could continue to persevere.

Although the shooting men under his command suffered heavy casualties, their interference did relieve the pressure on their fellow comrades. Outside the gate, Lishi held a long-handled battle axe and chopped hard. The cut wood was cut across the wood chips, revealing the yellow-white inside. Just as Lishi was about to get rid of the chopping, the defenders above worked together to push down a stone worth more than 100 kilograms.

The camp wall is not very high, only four or five meters, and the stones are not very fast, but because of the weight there, the power is also very impressive. The stones that were slightly polished were in a irregular circle, falling on the shield of the heavy infantry of the Han army, making a dull sound, and the shield suddenly shattered.

The soldiers below screamed, and their whole body was smashed to the ground. The stones bounced on the shield and rolled out, knocking several people one after another. Seeing that the shield formation at the door was broken, the defenders immediately shot down. Arrows and crossbow arrows fell, and forty or fifty Han army heavy infantry gathered outside the gate made many screams. After several rounds of arrow rain, nearly half of them were nailed to the ground.

The strongman holding a long-handled battle axe ignored the arrows falling beside him, and just held the axe and slashed hard.

A big hole was broken in the solid gate made of heavy wood, but the efforts of the Han army finally came to fruition. Although it seemed to be a little late, the Lishi was overjoyed when he saw this and was about to continue wielding his battle axe. The sound of mechanical gangs on the edge of the side was heard, and crossbow arrows flew out, piercing through the armor on his body.

Even with the protection of iron pieces, it is impossible to resist strong bows and crossbows at such a close distance. Although the armor has a good protective effect, it is still not comparable to the iron armor. The distance is too close, and even wearing iron armor may be shot through.

Almost all of the crossbow arrows, several inches long, were immersed in his body. The strong man was shocked, and he roared the long-handled battle axe over his head again. The comrades beside him had suffered all casualties and could no longer provide him with cover. The defenders fired the crossbows at the same time, and the arrows shot him like hedgehogs.

Blood poured out of the armor, the strongman whined, his body shook for a moment, and then fell to his knees dejectedly on the ground.

The long-handled battle axe fell from above, and with a "click" sound, the axe surface cut into the log on the camp gate in front of the corpse.

On the cart behind, Huangfu Song looked at the fierce battle outside the camp, and his face remained unchanged, but he sighed in his heart. Even though hundreds of people had already suffered casualties, he did not order to withdraw his troops, but allowed the generals in front to play their own way.

If you fight for the city, you will kill people. If you want to become a famous general, you must not only be able to ignore the casualties of the enemy, but also the casualties of your own. Although Huangfu Song felt a little regretful of the casualties of his subordinates, he was not moved at all. It was just a few hundred casualties, and he could afford to lose.

When the Han army attacked the front of the camp, it also divided an infantry to attack the Changpoyuan on the edge. The so-called "plain" refers to the flat highland on the steep tops of the four sides. The Changpoyuan is right next to the Chen Cheng army's camp, and there is an army of about 100 people on it. While informing the movements of the Han army to the camp, it can also provide some long-range support to the defenders with big yellow crossbows and bows.

Although the power of a crossbow can be almost ignored within eighty steps, what if the one placed on it is a big yellow crossbow?

The Han army's strong bows and crossbows were the most powerful. Lian County, which is now near Yinchuan, is also famous for its powerful crossbows. After Tan Shihuai, who once controlled the Xianbei tribe and unified the outside world, his son and Lian led his army to attack the northern part of the land. It was shot by local tyrants near Lian County with big yellow crossbows. Because of that perfect shooting, the huge Xianbei Empire collapsed.

The northern region has always had a tradition of making and using strong crossbows. How could Chen Cheng not carry it forward after he entered the northern region? Although the supply of strategic materials such as cow horns and ox tendons has been limited, the number of yellow crossbows on the Changpo Plateau can already pose a great threat to the attacking party.

Changpoyuan is very steep on all sides, and if you want to go up, you can only climb up from the slope on the side. It is also difficult to climb. Not to mention wearing armor, even if you are naked, you have to be very careful to climb up. There were five or six hundred Han soldiers coming to attack, almost one Qu. Qu Junhou, who led the team, couldn't help but feel a headache after seeing how difficult it is to climb here.

He tried to get the soldiers to attack, and even without the interference of the enemy, it would be difficult to climb up, unless the armor was taken off. While the soldiers below were working hard, a big yellow crossbow filled above turned the direction of the shooting and pointed Wangshan at the Han soldiers who were climbing upwards.

"Swoosh", the crossbow arrow, which was as long and thick as a short sword, shot through a distance of seventy or eighty steps, and penetrated a Han army infantry who took off his armor and continued to cast off and then penetrated into the chest of a person behind. The scream immediately sounded, and a corpse and a seriously injured person fell down.

Qu Junhou, who led the team, was aware of the goods. He took a breath and said in shock: "It's really a big yellow crossbow?"

He looked at the dangerous terrain in front of him again and couldn't help but curse, "How did you move such a heavy thing up? Could it be that it was flying up?"

Not only did Qu Junhou not think of it, but the defenders were also surprised when they first came up. They climbed up along the rope, with only ring-headed swords and spears. But as soon as they came up, they saw many big yellow crossbows and ordinary crossbows, as well as boxes of arrows and crossbow arrows. They were shocked on the spot?
Chapter completed!