The night wind was like a knife, whistling across the wasteland, picking up the remaining blood and scattering it all over the sky.
On New Year's Eve, the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Liao army secretly began to withdraw from camp. The 10,000 imperial guards first escorted Yelu Zongzhen and a group of ministers to retreat quietly. Although the road was difficult and the wind was biting, the retreat went smoothly. The most important thing was
The most interesting thing is that when the Xia army on the opposite side noticed it, they seemed not to be aware of the Liao army's movements at all.
Yelu Zhongyuan's 70,000 forward army turned into a rear army that was cut off from the rear. However, Yelu Zhongyuan followed the first group to retreat, and the command was handed over to the deputy commander. Yelu Zhongyuan was not stupid. He knew that those who stayed behind
It's okay if the Xia army doesn't know about the danger. Once they know it, ten out of ten soldiers will come to cover it up. In order to cover the safe evacuation of the main Chinese army and the emperor to the east of Helan Mountain, these 70,000 rear-cutting troops are not allowed to retreat even one step.
An hour later, the Chinese army also began to retreat slowly. Xiao Hui commanded the 190,000 Chinese army to retreat alternately in order of numbers. Due to the large number of people, the originally orderly retreat quickly turned into chaos.
The soldiers, who were running around, hungry and cold, were eager to leave this hellish place. Although they were restrained by the generals, whipped and scolded, they still could not change the chaotic situation.
Xiao Huinai was so devastated that he could only put the 70,000 soldiers and horses behind to strengthen their alert. At the same time, he carefully ordered people to observe the reaction of Xia Jun's camp, hoping that the chaotic noise would not be heard by Xia Jun, who was several miles away.[
Thanks to God's blessing, there was no movement in the Xia Army camp. Near dawn, all the Chinese army battalions were on their way back. The soldiers pulled their horses and walked on foot in the knee-deep snow.
Because it is impossible to move around on a horse, the hoofs of the horses will sink deep into the snow, making it difficult to move. Some lazy soldiers refused to dismount, falling and injuring many horses along the way. Xiao Hui ordered everyone to dismount and walk.
The chaotic situation was calmed down by military law, and the team was able to retreat slowly and orderly.
The 70,000 Liao soldiers who stayed behind did not dare to neglect, and nervously stared in the direction of the Xia army's camp behind the fortifications. As long as the Xia army did not notice the withdrawal of troops, it was still unlikely that they would notice the Liao army even in the daytime the next day.
The main force has already evacuated, because in order to "confuse" Xia Jun, none of the army's tents were dismantled. At dawn, there was still a dense and complete camp, but most of the tents were already empty; and tomorrow night
, the 70,000-strong army behind them could do the same thing and quietly leave in the direction in which the army retreated, leaving only tens of thousands of Xia troops with empty tents.
In the darkness before dawn, the sound of the evacuation of the army behind them had gradually faded away and was almost inaudible. The last group of evacuating troops should have been five miles away. It seemed that Xia Jun was not aware of all this and was in charge of command.
Xiao Shanxi, the deputy commander of the 70,000 tribal soldiers, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, stretched out and let out a big yawn. He was nervous, hungry and cold that night. Once his mind relaxed, he suddenly felt tired.
Xiao Shanxi was about to order his men to keep alert and take turns to rest. Suddenly, a gorgeous firework rose up from the darkness on the left wing of the camp, illuminating the sky on the left. After the short-lived explosion of the firework, it quickly exploded.
was extinguished, and the sky and earth returned to darkness.
While all the Liao soldiers were in shock, three fireworks soared into the sky in the direction of the Xia Army camp in front of them, as if in response. After the fireworks exploded and went out, dense firelights suddenly lit up on the dark horizon ahead, followed by shouts.
Come, the dense firelight quickly moves towards the front of our camp, getting closer and closer at a very fast speed.
"What's going on? Go and have a look." Xiao Shanxi shouted.
A deputy general commanding from the front ran over quickly, panting heavily, and said out of breath: "Report to Deputy Commander Xiao, it seems that the enemy is attacking."
Xiao Shanxi's scalp felt numb. After all, he was discovered by the enemy. The enemy was so cunning and took advantage of the main force to completely leave the camp to launch an attack. It seemed to be planned. Now the enemy force was several times larger.
, I’m afraid it will be difficult to resist.
But the mission is on you, even if it is difficult to resist, you must fight to the death to resist the enemy. The mission of the Duanhou army is to delay and block the enemy when they attack, and to cover the main army and the emperor to reach Helan Pass. Xiaoshan hopes not to choose.
"The generals of each department led their headquarters into the fortifications. The snow is deep and it is difficult to move. The enemy cavalry is not charging fast. They use bows and arrows to kill a large number of people and force the enemy back." Xiao Shanxi ordered loudly.
The messenger quickly blew the horn and conveyed the order. The soldiers of the Liao army entered the fortifications piled up with gravel, mud and snow, which were more than one person tall. They bent their bows and arrows and pointed them in the direction of the enemy's attack. Although these fortifications were adapted to local conditions.
It is a simple fortification, but the severe cold has made the outer walls of the camp's fortifications freeze to death. They are as hard as iron, so the protective effect must not be too bad.
The enemy's advancing speed was beyond Xiao Shanxi's imagination. From a distance of five or six miles, in less than a moment's notice, he could see the dark front line of the enemy. They were rows of empty horses, and they were dragging behind them.
It was an open cart, with seven or eight soldiers standing on each cart, and several burning torches stuck beside the cart.
"What the hell? Why did the cavalry ride on chariots instead of riding horses? Shoot them with your bows." Xiao Shanxi cursed angrily.
"Fire arrows!" The war drums were banging, and thousands of arrows were fired from the fortifications. A dark cloud-like shadow passed through the air and fell on the charging Xia army's formation. Suddenly, thousands of horses pulling carts were shot, and several
Hundreds of carts began to stall and roll, and the huge inertia stirred up thick snow powder flying all over the sky. After the chariot overturned, the soldiers on it began to fly away. Some of them were shot into hedgehogs by arrows in the air before they even landed.
It fell straight into the snow, like rows of human trees planted in the snow.
But all this did not stop the enemy's attack. On a battlefield five or six miles wide, unless the density of arrows could be maintained for a long time, the enemy troops in the skirmish formation could not be contained at all. The Liao army could still follow the instructions at first.
The pre-arrangement was to concentrate the arrows on one side, causing a huge killing area within a hundred steps. However, the Xia army from other places charged closer. They could no longer maintain their firepower and could only attack wherever the enemy troops were closer.
Wherever it is, the lethality is greatly reduced.
After firing five rounds, the Xia army finally rushed to the fortifications. Xiao Shanxi gave an order, and the bows and arrows were discarded on the ground. The 70,000 Liao troops formed a group of two and worked together to raise arms as thick as two feet and eight feet.
The giant spear was pointed at the direction in which Xia Jun was charging. More than 30,000 large spears formed a forest of spears. The charging Xia Junye had no room for maneuver at all, and he and his men, horses, and sturdy carts and carriages collided fiercely.
At the tip of the gun, there was a sudden muffled sound.
The sound of war horses neighing, the car body falling apart, the whirling human body, the rolling snow waves, and the splattering of steaming flesh and blood. The entire front of the fortification seemed like a huge wave suddenly rose up. The huge wave fell, and huge ripples headed towards
Spread out on both sides, the Xia army and Liao soldiers inside and outside the fortifications were affected.
The Liao army inside was thrown backward by the huge impact, and many soldiers were stabbed back into the body by the blunt side of the broken spear. The spear was like a barbecued bamboo stick. A soldier or horse wearing a Xia army,
On the other end is the body of the Liao army.
In just this short encounter, the number of casualties on both sides exceeded 3,000. The fortifications that seemed to be filled with frozen solid mud and snow exposed their fragile weaknesses, and dozens of fortification walls were reduced to ashes.
"Rush, rush in." Ren Jingde stood on a cart holding a big knife, his eyes turned blood red by the firelight.[
"Block, block, block the gap." Xiao Shanxi also had blood-red eyes. He knew that once there were no fortifications to cover him, he would be defeated in hand-to-hand combat, because his number was not 10,000 or 20,000, but less.
Several times.
At dozens of gaps, the Xia Army's horse-drawn sleighs swarmed in, like a torrent bursting from a dam, which could not be blocked. The two Xia Army soldiers on the vehicle held large shields to block the front and flanks, and three archers and two spearmen.
Then they began to attack the surrounding Liao soldiers; relying on their initial numerical advantage, the Liao soldiers blocked the gap and formed a barrier. With their spears and machetes in their hands, they desperately greeted the Xia army in the car. The number of casualties on both sides soared.
Several gaps were actually blocked by corpses. The dead corpses cooled down quickly and froze into human sticks, which were out of shape after being trampled by horse hooves and human feet.
Death is no longer the most terrifying thing, because in this wilderness, death is everywhere and has become commonplace. The soldiers mechanically waved the weapons in their hands and hacked at another person; they had just chopped down a man.
In the next moment, the enemy will find that the tip of a bloody knife is revealed from his chest, or if you have just chopped down everyone around you, you will suddenly find that the one who fell next to you is actually your brother.
As the melee combat escalated, the soldiers lost their minds and did not even distinguish between ourselves and the enemy.