Yu Wenshan led the reinforcements to rush to the aid of Daoxu Port. The soldiers were so exhausted that they could not even draw their bows. At that time, the first battalion of the defenders of Duxu Port had been defeated, which put them in an extremely disadvantageous position. However, most of them had already landed on the beach.
The Huaidong Army failed to deploy decisively in time to seize the favorable terrain. Instead, it reorganized its formation on the beach where the steep slope on the west side was extremely narrow, allowing Yu Wenshan to see the opportunity. Yu Wenshan wore thick armor and led left and right.
The retinue, taking the lead, suddenly shot forward with arrows, and finally defeated the Huaidong Army who was grabbing the beach from Daoxu Port.
However, victory on the battlefield cannot reverse the development of the entire war situation.
The reinforcements that went to Hutangtou were unable to withstand the Huaidong Army and retreated steadily. The Zhejiang and Fujian troops gathered in Laotangpu, and the main flanks exposed to the wild were still in danger of being attacked by a pincer.
In addition to the sudden expansion of the beachhead below Laotangpu and launching a counterattack, the Huaidong Army also chose a fourth beachhead location between Laotangpu and Hutangtou to transport troops and horses to forcibly cross the Cao'e River!
The Laotangpu fortification was only fifty feet square, so it was simply unrealistic for more than 10,000 soldiers to retreat to the fortification.
More than 10,000 people have withdrawn into the stronghold, and four or five people have to be squeezed into every square foot of space; people are so crowded that it is difficult to even turn around; once the Huaidong Army seals the gate of the stronghold, and randomly deploys a few stone crossbows, it will be impossible to escape.
The fate of the entire army being destroyed.
"Commander," Su Tingzhan strode up to the head of the village. At this time, the sun hanging above his head was fierce and fierce. Su Tingzhan was supervising the battle in front. He was wearing thick armor and ran up to the head of the village. He was sweating profusely.
He scooped water to drink while urging She Feihu, "The general will lead his troops to hold the position, and the governor will lead the main force to withdraw from Shanyin - the terrain of Laotangpu is too narrow. Once the Huai bandits form a pincer attack, it will be very disadvantageous for me...
"
The road to Kuaiji City is blocked by Jinghu Lake. Although the remnants of the Eastern Zhejiang Navy gathered dozens of warships on the east side of Jinghu Lake, they did not carry any large troops on board in a short period of time, and there were only two narrow roads, both on the flanks.
The Huaidong Army, which landed at Hutangtou, was within the direct attack range. The main force had to withdraw from Laotangpu, and the only option was to withdraw to Shanyin County at the foot of Kuaiji Mountain.
She Feihu's face was ashen and expressionless.
He was eager to win, so he drew too many troops from Shanyin and Kuaiji. Under the Huaidong Army's multiple crossing offensives, it became a top-heavy situation. The defenders of Kuaiji City had less than one battalion, and they could only prepare for sneak attacks.
Leading the main force to retreat to Shanyin, Su Tingzhan defends Laotangpu. The main force of the Huaidong Army crossing the river is very likely to take advantage of the situation and turn to attack Kuaiji City - what should we do?
When the Huaidong Army continuously crosses the Cao'e River and enters the west bank, can Kuaiji City, with only one battalion of armored soldiers, be able to sustain it until reinforcements from Fuyang or Linshui arrive to relieve the siege?
The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and generals sometimes make decisions, which are actually no different from gambling.
Facing Su Tingzhan's advice, She Feihu ignored it and only told his surroundings: "Bring me my armor!"
She Feihu planned to wear armor and go into battle. Su Tingzhan knew that his persuasion was useless, so he handed over his hands and said: "The general will not be able to capture the Poqian beach, so he can only repay the favor of the governor with his head!"
Only by defeating the Huaidong Army in front of Laotangpu Slope will there be no threat and containment in the inner circle, and it will be possible to intercept the main force of the Huaidong Army rolling in from the north with some ease.
At Laotangpu Beach, the Huaidong Army only committed three battalions of armored soldiers. However, after the Huaidong Army established a foothold at Hutangtou in the north, in addition to the eight battalions of armored soldiers who landed early, there were also warships heading to the west bank.
Come on, I want to send a large number of soldiers ashore to fight...
Fortunately, Yu Wenshan defeated the Huaidong Army in the south. Otherwise, not only would the evacuation route to Shanyin be cut off, but they would also have to face a three-way encirclement attack. To the west is Jinghu Lake with open water.
"The situation on the Eastern Front depends on this battle. If we lose, neither you nor I will die!" She Feihu put his hand on Su Tingzhan's shoulder and said in a strangely depressed and heavy tone.
According to the strategy previously decided by the Governor-General, the current situation is to focus on procrastination; it is precisely the situation in Huaidong that forces the northern line, and they are eager to settle the situation in eastern Zhejiang as soon as possible - but She Feihu insists on a fight to the death at this time, and Su Tingzhan also
There is nothing to say, after all, letting She Feihu lead the main force to withdraw into Shanyin will probably lead to the fall of Kuaiji City.
Once Kuaiji City fell, the situation on the eastern front would be too bad for the Zhejiang and Fujian armies.
If you win this battle, you will win a great victory; if you lose, you will lose miserably - they say that the brave will win when they meet on a narrow road, but what is the hope of victory in this battle?
With such questions in mind, Su Tingzhan led his followers out of the stronghold and rushed to the front line to supervise the battle.
The Huaidong Army at the beachhead was dismantling the vehicle formation, with groups of soldiers holding two or three shield vehicles each pushing out.
Behind the formation is a pontoon bridge. Once the Huaidong Army expands the beachhead, it can quickly transport more troops over the pontoon bridge. Su Tingzhan would not dare to let more Huaidong Army enter the beachhead at this time, so he pointed out
Two warriors with the courage of a hundred men were asked to put on armor and go into battle, leading elite troops to counterattack from two directions. They must do everything possible to suppress the Huaidong Army on the beach.
Su Tingzhan also ordered four catapults urgently transferred from Shanyin City to be assembled in front of the formation, intending to use the catapults in conjunction with the armored soldiers to defeat the Huaidong Army's beachhead array at once.
These four catapults are all pulled and launched by manpower. Thirty or fifty people operate one catapult, which requires a hundred steps of operating space. At this time, only four catapults can be lowered on the narrow slope.
No matter how many crossbows were used to attack the Huaidong Army, they would occupy the space for the infantry formation.
In addition, in order to hit the Huaidong Army, the Zhejiang and Fujian Army's stone-throwing crossbows must be deployed within three to four hundred steps of the Huaidong Army's front formation; but if it is too close to the front line, it will be easily destroyed by the Huaidong Army's counterattack.
Therefore, the Zhejiang and Fujian armies did not use catapult crossbows alone in front of the formation. Historically, catapult crossbows were mostly used in battles to attack cities and strongholds. They could only block the enemy within the walled city without counterattack.
Only in this way can you take full advantage of it.
At this moment, Su Tingzhan ordered his elite infantry to rush forward and resist the Huaidong Army's chariot formation without retreating. Only then could he place the catapult crossbow in front of the formation for use. The armored soldiers who were approaching could not retreat. Naturally,
To bear heavy casualties.
If you want to win, you can only pay for it with human lives. If you hesitate for a moment, you may suffer a disastrous defeat.
Recalling the wars with the Huaidong Army over the years, Su Tingzhan felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart. The Huaidong Army was far ahead in terms of ordnance. Not to mention warships, the Scorpion Crossbow made by the Huaidong Army was a small
The catapult crossbow uses a twisted string to generate force without the need for manual pulling. It can even be placed on the deck of a warship to fire stone projectiles. In conjunction with the bed crossbow, the Huaidong Army warship can provide a depth of about 300 steps for the beach infantry.
blockade.
If the Zhejiang and Fujian Army wanted to attack the flanks in front of the Huaidong Army's beachhead formation, they would have to suffer extremely heavy casualties before they could approach the flanks of the Huaidong Army's vehicle formation holding the river at both ends. Moreover, the Scorpion Crossbow produced by the Huaidong Army only weighed more than 300 kilograms.
, carried by four or five strong men, they can advance and retreat with the assault troops, which is very useful. Even within the vehicle formation that is more than a hundred steps deep, the Huaidong Army not only invests three battalions of armored soldiers, but also has room to place several more.
They used scorpion crossbows to cooperate with the defense, causing the Zhejiang and Fujian troops to suffer a great deal.
The Goryeo navy once seized this type of catapult crossbow from the Huaidong water camp. She Feihu and Qin Zitan also worked hard to obtain a warship and two catapult crossbows from the Goryeo people and transported them to Jin'an to find craftsmen.
counterfeit.
Not to mention the high cost of imitation, the twisted string used in the Scorpion Crossbow is extremely difficult to imitate. Jin'an has trial-produced twenty or thirty Scorpion Crossbows, but the throw distance is far from the Huaidong Army's standard of 300 steps, so they can only give up and use them.
.
At this time, Su Tingzhan was even willing to exchange a thousand warriors for a few scorpion crossbows to follow the army forward and retreat - no matter how solid the shield car was, it was not a city wall after all, and it could not withstand the bombardment of thirty to fifty kilograms of stone bullets.
If you want to defeat the Huaidong Army's beachhead, you can only use the lives of brave soldiers to fill it.
The counterattack of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops was particularly fierce this time. The armored soldiers were advancing in formation as densely as a wall, with murderous intent. Behind the formation, hundreds of civilians carried huge sling crossbows on their shoulders and moved towards the front line.
If the catapult is allowed to place stone projectiles in front of the formation, in the crowded array of generals, one stone projectile is likely to directly kill several people...
Tang Fu looked at Fu Qinghe and said: "The enemy has made a desperate move. If our next counterattack cannot be effective, we will inevitably suffer heavy casualties - please guard and move to the boat to help the general to set up the formation!"
"The generals on the left and right are looking at you and me. I am not someone who came across the river to boost morale and then retreated when I saw danger." Fu Qinghe put one arm behind his back, narrowed his eyes and smiled, and said, "Since the enemy general
In a desperate move, it depends on whether our army can open the gap and whether it can contain the main force of the garrison at Laotangpu and prevent them from withdrawing! We should be able to use all the grenadiers this time!"
The fire oil tanks were previously used by the Huaidong Army for ship warfare and on a large scale for infantry warfare. However, they were first created by Zhou Tong when he attacked Yongjia.
When Wen Tingrui led the remnants of his troops to withdraw from Yongjia City, Zhou Tong decisively ordered his infantry to climb up to the top of the city with a large number of fire oil cans to clear the way. He opened a gap from the southeast corner of Yongjia City and once blocked the east gate tower of Yongjia City from Zhejiang and Fujian.
He seized it from his hands and then burned the trestle that connected the east and west banks of the Nanxi River at that time, blocking an enemy force on the east bank and unable to evacuate.
Wen Tingrui and Qin Zitan led the remaining troops to retreat into the Nanxiyuan Valley and were defeated by a surprise attack. The generals suffered numerous casualties. Although three to five hundred remaining soldiers fled to Xianju, no one could alert She Feihu and others that the Huaidong Army was attacking.
The weapons used in the final battle of Yongjia City were very different from the past.
The intensive throwing of kerosene bombs is most effective against dense infantry arrays - it can cause chaos in the enemy's dense array in almost a very short time. Cooperating with counterattacks, it can easily overwhelm the enemy array and defeat them.
Although more than a thousand fire oil cans have been prepared here, and more than a hundred people have been selected as fire grenade throwers and included in the formation, due to the preliminary task of Tang Fuguan leading his troops to hold on to the beach, it is necessary to control the main force of the defenders as much as possible
They attracted Laotangpu instead of driving the defenders into the walled city to defend. Therefore, from yesterday's fierce battle until now, the fire oil cans have only been used sporadically in defense.
The use of fire in offense and defense is a conventional tactic. The Huaidong army used fire oil cans, and the Zhejiang and Fujian armies fired rockets. As long as flammable equipment and armor were not burned, it was easy to put them out and it was difficult to attract special attention.
When Su Tingzhan issued a death order to advance but not retreat, and divided two thousand armored warriors into two teams and swarmed toward the beach, it was destined to end disastrously...
Soldiers from the Eighth Fujian Province came in droves, covering their heads and faces with large shields, and pushed forward against the loose shield chariot. Or dozens of people rushed towards the chariot, ignoring the arrows and flying stones, and pushed the chariot forward.
The shield cart crashed to the ground and opened a gap, and more soldiers rushed towards the gap - behind the rock-solid armored soldiers in the front line of the Huaidong Army, the grenadiers lit the clay pots sealed with corks and fired toward them.
Throw it at the enemy formation.
Although the throw was only thirty to forty steps away, no less than three to five hundred Zhejiang and Fujian soldiers were crowded within the thirty or forty steps. The jar shattered when it touched the iron armor, and the specially made sticky kerosene spilled out and stuck to it.
On the pockets, armor, swords and shields, they cannot be wiped off. The fire spreads out and will not be extinguished until it is burned out.
The car array was immediately burned into a sea of flames.
Although the more than two thousand soldiers selected by Su Tingzhan to fight to the death were not afraid of death, they were caught in the sea of fire, burned to death, and also fell into panic. Wails and screams instantly filled the battlefield, making people's hearts tremble when they heard it;
It was hesitation, not being ordered to retreat, and not daring to rush forward into the sea of fire...
Tang Fuguan ordered the drum-beating attack at this time. Two thousand armored soldiers with shields and chariots rushed left and right, trampling on the remaining fire on the beach.
The soldiers of the Zhejiang and Fujian troops in the front line who had their armor ignited were like people on fire. As long as they were still alive, they could not bear the heart-burning pain of the poisonous fire and howled in agony. Some fiercely jumped up to hug the soldiers of the Huaidong Army and wanted to die together.
However, more people abandoned their troops and rolled around on the spot, trying to extinguish the fire on their bodies and allow the Huaidong Army to counterattack. They simply could not hold their ground and retreated hastily.
In an instant, more than 2,000 Zhejiang and Fujian troops who entered the battlefield and hundreds of civilians advancing with stone crossbows broke into chaos and were defeated. However, the terrain in front of Laotangpu Village was narrow, and a large number of defeated troops were eventually forced to retreat.
Directly attack the main force of the Kuaiji garrison gathered on the north side of Laotang Puzhai...
She Feihu was on horseback, and was going to personally lead the main force to the north to meet the main force of the Huaidong Army that was coming ashore from Hutangtou. How could he have thought that the flank would suddenly collapse?
"Captain, run away. If you don't run away, you will be dead!" Su Tingzhan fled in embarrassment. He got off his horse and knelt down in front of She Feihu's horse, kowtow and apologize.
"What a good thing you did!" She Feihu whipped out his whip in anger, leaving a bloody whip mark on Su Tingzhan's face, and ordered the hundreds of armored cavalry on the left and right, "Follow me and charge down, no matter who is there.
From the front, we will all charge to the death! There must be no hesitation!"
"Captain, it's too late!" Su Tingzhan stepped forward and grabbed the reins of She Feihu's mount, "After today, the Commander will take my head. I will have no complaints, but if I don't run away, everyone will have to answer here!"
A large number of defeated troops came like a wave, and more than 2,000 armored soldiers of the Huaidong Army were chasing after them.
She Feihu only had more than a hundred cavalry in hand, and he had to disperse the defeated troops before he could contain the Huaidong Army's offensive - and the Huaidong Army's troops on the east bank had already moved, and the two groups of armored soldiers were rushing
Pass the pontoon and head towards the west bank.
When the main force was overwhelmed and unable to move, how could more than a hundred cavalry stop the Huaidong Army's offensive of thousands of warriors? To the north, the main force of the Huaidong Army, which had already landed on the west bank, was only three or four miles away.
arrive.
At the critical moment, there was no time to withdraw the large group of troops to Laotangpu Village for temporary shelter.
The current plan is to use She Feihu to lure the horses to flee first, so that most of the soldiers and horses can spread their legs and then open the passages and openings to escape to Shanyin City. This is the only feasible strategy at the moment to save as much force as possible.
Once the main force is involved in complete chaos, is defeated and flees, the Huaidong Army will only be divided up to kill them. It is impossible for She Feihu to organize his troops and defend one or two cities and wait for reinforcements to come to rescue him.
She Feihu whipped Su Tingzhan again, but the generals on his left and right also came to him, grabbed the reins, and fled to the west.
In an instant, the army was defeated like a mountain.