There was not much time left for Wang Xun and others to prepare. About half a quarter of an hour later, the pretenders in the distance launched a second wave of attacks. This time, they took off all the skulls on their heads and replaced them.
A thick iron-wrapped felt hat was used to protect most of the head, leaving only two eyes exposed. The gray cloth camouflage on the body, which was smeared with blood, was completely discarded, revealing the neat cowhide armor inside, and the chest.
There, the heart-protecting mirror reflects the moonlight.
"This grandma's is not a sand pirate. The equipment is no worse than ours!" Fang Zi ran to Wang Xun with his waist high and cursed in a low voice. The role of the Feilong Imperial Guard is to decorate the royal dignity, so the
The armor focused on looking good but not on actual combat. Now when the two armies were in front of the formation, all the flaws were revealed. Not to mention the thickness of the cowhide was too thin, and some decorative objects at the corners seriously affected the soldiers' performance.
action.
"At least we have the Fubo Crossbow, they don't!" On the battlefield for the first time, the gang leader Zhou also became a chatterbox, constantly showing off his side's advantages.
The Fubo Crossbow is a crossbow specially designed for cavalry. It has a short range, but is very simple to operate. Even Minzhuang, who is exposed to this object for the first time, can fire the crossbow after a little explanation. Although it is not possible to achieve perfect results for the time being, each person can fire the crossbow.
With three crossbows loaded in advance, it will not be a problem to fire three rounds at the enemy during battle.
"I also found eight large carts of Mo Dao, more than a thousand of them. If we are in a hurry, we will organize a Mo Dao team and rush out to fight them!" Talking was the only way to relieve the tension, and the gang leader Zheng also became
Extremely verbose. "That thing is best used against cavalry. I remember when Su Dingfang led 800 swordsmen and chopped off more than 20,000 Turkic dogmen. Now we have more than 400 brothers. If each of us can get one...
"
The Mo Dao is the first weapon used by the Tang Dynasty infantry to attack. It weighs more than fifty kilograms, the knife is over ten feet long, and the sharp blade alone is more than six feet long. A good hand in the army can swing the sword with one swing, and can kill both men and horses at the same time.
Cut into two pieces. Because its power is too great, civilians are strictly prohibited from making it privately. Those used in the military are also uniformly customized by the Ministry of War, and then allocated in batches according to the requirements of military commanders (Note 1)
Among the supplies that Wang Xun and others transported to Anxi this time, the most important thing was this batch of Mo Dao. This was the reason why he did not dare to give up easily. If the Mo Dao was obtained by the robbers on the opposite side, he could resell it to someone who has been eyeing the Western Regions.
The consequences will be disastrous if the cannibals or Tibetans are killed.
"Why did he get off the horse again?" Wei Feng, the leader of Minzhuang, who was also pale with fright, focused on something completely different from Fang Ziteng and others, "Is there any evil thing that bullies dumb animals?! Sooner or later, you will be punished!"
The answer is obvious. Before going to bed, the caltrops that Wang Xun ordered to scatter around the camp played a double role in the desert. This kind of thing with sharp cones on three sides is difficult to detect with the naked eye after being covered by the sand.
It was discovered that when a horse stepped on it, the hoof was pricked and blood flowed. If a person stepped on it accidentally, the sole of the boot and the sole of the foot were stabbed to the core. In the last wave of sneak attacks, the robbers who pretended to be ghosts were not able to take advantage of the chaos to rush in.
The timely response of Wang Xun and others at the camp was a factor, but the more important reason was that they had to carefully ride their horses to avoid the thorns under their feet.
This time, the thieves did not dare to stop during the attack and serve as a target for the flying dragon guards. So they simply jumped off their mounts a hundred and fifty steps away, blindfolded a dozen war horses, and hurried forward.
road.
The poor horse didn't know that its owner was evil-hearted, so it rushed forward blindfolded. Suddenly, a war horse was pierced by a thorn in the sand. It whined and fell down, and slid forward with the help of inertia.
More than half a foot away. More iron bridles buried in the sand were brought out and pierced into the side of the war horse one by one. The pain was unbearable, and the war horse rolled back and forth, and soon there was no longer a piece of intact skin all over its body. There were more than a dozen of them.
The thorns of thistles stabbed in, and blood dripped out, dyeing the cold sand red.
Such a good horse can be sold for at least twelve or three copper coins near Chang'an City. It can be used to ride, pull carts, and even hitch a plowshare to plow the fields. Ordinary people, no matter who can buy one, will take it.
He came to be a treasure. He usually ate only fine food, and had to get up in the middle of the night to feed him some bean cakes to replenish his strength. Now he suddenly saw the bandits using horses as meat mats for the journey, and the people were so distressed that they cursed. However, there was no king.
Following Xun's order, no one dared to fire arrows. They could only hold the newly acquired Fubo Crossbow tightly in their palms, with veins popping out on their foreheads.
More and more war horses fell down while running, using their lives to open a way for the bandits to attack. Seeing that the fire was almost over, the bandit leader who led the team grabbed the horn horn at hand and blew it. Immediately,
All the bandits rushed up, either on horseback or on foot, stepping on the sand moistened with horse blood, and rushed towards the silent camp like a tide.
The first time he commanded an actual battle, Wang Xun was so nervous that he sweated. But he did not dare to issue an attack order too early. Judging from the armor and weapons, the enemy troops may not be ordinary bandits. But he and his soldiers were strong and strong.
But they are an out-and-out rabble. If they can block the attackers from the camp, their morale may be maintained for a while. Once the enemy jumps into the camp and engages them in close combat, they will have to blow up the camp immediately.
Don't panic, don't panic. If you lose the fight, you will be dead. Seeing the enemy's figure getting closer and closer, he tried to keep his eyes round and clenched his teeth to prevent his heart from jumping out of his throat.
Finally, the bandits at the front came within a distance where the blind man could shoot with absolute certainty. Wang Xun suddenly stood up and yelled with all his strength, "Shoot!"
The people had been impatient for a long time. After hearing the order, they pulled the trigger without hesitation. Nearly four hundred crossbow arrows were fired at the same time, and a faint black light flashed across the front of the camp. The black light passed by,
The bandits who were at the front of the team fell head on. Both men and horses were hit by more than a dozen crossbow arrows, and blood spurted out from the wounds.
Before leaving, the bandits had done enough homework and knew that the guards escorting the baggage, from officers to soldiers, had never been on the battlefield. Therefore, they did not pay much attention to them. Suddenly, they were attacked by four hundred crossbows.
Blocking the attack, I was stunned for a moment. The rhythm of the attack stopped for an instant.
This oversight brought fatal consequences. Without waiting for Wang Xun to give further orders, the people dropped their crossbows, picked up the second Fubo crossbow that had been strung up from their side, and pointed it directly in front of them again.
In one round, three hundred crossbow arrows flew out with a roar. At a distance of only twenty steps, the penetrating power was astonishing. More than a dozen of the bandits on horseback immediately fell down, and the mounts lost control of their masters and went crazy.
He ran quickly, and soon his body was filled with short arrows. With a bang, he fell to the ground, and blood splattered all over the carriage that served as a temporary camp wall.
"Pay attention to the rhythm, pay attention to the rhythm. Aim and shoot!" Wang Xun reminded loudly, shouting at the top of his lungs. The enemy was caught off guard this time, and they will definitely not continue to be stupid next time. If they cannot kill the bandits as much as possible
, the next round of attacks will put everyone under greater pressure.
No one heard his cry, and the third round of crossbow arrows flew out quickly, hitting the bandits who were close at hand. Some bandits were hit by more than a dozen arrows, and were almost shot into sieves. Some war horses had clearly been injured.
After being seriously injured, the strong men also threw crossbow arrows at it for free. The poor war horse was shot like a huge hedgehog and fell on the way back. The bandits who recovered from the disease relied on the disguise of their dead companions and war horses.
Take cover, turn around, and run away with your head in your hands.
Seeing that the bandits were repulsed by themselves, the morale of the people was even higher. Regardless of whether the bandits retreated or were out of the range of the crossbow, they took out a short crossbow without tail feathers from the quiver and quickly loaded it on the crossbow. After a while, they chased again.
The enemy fired hundreds of crossbow arrows, most of which missed, leaving a dense mass of arrow shafts erected in the desert.
"Aim, aim. A crossbow costs more than twenty big seeds!" Seeing someone still shooting randomly, the leader of Minzhuang, Wei Feng, reminded loudly. His words were obviously easier to understand than Wang Xun's.
, the jubilant people immediately lowered their crossbows, and everyone grinned in pain. In less than half a quarter of an hour, everyone shot thousands of crossbow arrows. Calculated at 20 cents each, it is 20,000 cents.
The money was wasted. It was enough to cover the expenses of a small family for more than half a year!
The most taboo thing for bankers is to be called a "prodigal boy". Many people raised their heads, looked at Wang Xun and laughed. Feeling dumbfounded by everyone's simple actions, Wang Xun stretched out his big palm and scratched his scalp, "This... too.
Don’t worry too much, it’s important to defeat the robbers. At worst, we can pick up all the crossbow arrows later. Hurry up and load the crossbow arrows, the enemy’s next attack is about to begin!”
Hearing that there was no blame in Wang Xun's words, the people finally let out a long sigh of relief. They carefully picked up all the Fubo crossbows assigned to them and reloaded the crossbows one by one. The war suddenly became a big deal in everyone's eyes.
It's a simple matter, just aim at the enemy and pull the trigger of the crossbow. As long as the crossbow arrows on the carriage are not used up, the bandits will take a break and rush to the inside of the camp!
As the leader of this team, he muddle-headedly repelled an enemy attack. However, Wang Xun's mood did not become relaxed. He raised his head and looked outside the camp with the help of the moonlight in the sky. He saw the enemy troops more than 200 paces away.
The darkness gathered again. Some had just retreated, while others were coming from behind the sand dunes farther away. There were several dark human heads hanging under the horses' necks. Needless to say, they were the ones who had been scared away by the ghosts just now.
The brothers who fled.
"I really don't let anyone go!" Wang Xun grinned slightly, and a sadness surged in his heart. Is it worth sacrificing so many innocent people for a so-called secret? I'm afraid some people make decisions.
, I don’t think of people like myself as the same kind at all!
Thinking of this, Wang Xun couldn't help but shook his head slightly. There was no need to escape anymore. Before the enemy launched the next attack, it was best to let all brothers understand everyone's situation.
"Go get some people and capture Yue!" While the enemy and we were making preparations, he sighed and ordered in a low voice.
Note 1: In Han ruler, one foot is equivalent to about 23 centimeters today.
