Chapter 123: Offensive and Defensive Battle of Wei Camp (3)
ps: It seems that the chapter name of the previous chapter was typed incorrectly. I am really sorry for this mistake. In addition, a new January has begun. Please vote for me, please read it, and please recommend me. Your support is the biggest motivation for this book!
The second wave of the Chu army's offensive had already struck, and it was another battalion of five thousand infantrymen, only three or four feet away from the Wei camp.
At this distance, if the Wei crossbow soldiers in the camp shot the Chu soldiers with machine crossbows, it would be like killing them with one arrow. However, almost all those who were hit by the crossbow arrows would not fall to the ground and die.
Once upon a time, the bow was hailed as the most despicable weapon invention in history, but when the machine crossbow came out, the world gave the bow this insulting title to the machine crossbow. Because the machine crossbow is more powerful than the bow, although it has an inferior range.
Bows and crossbows have various weaknesses such as the difficulty of loading crossbows, but the lethality of machine crossbows at close range is definitely beyond the reach of bows and horses.
You must know that at medium and short range, the crossbow bolts fired by the machine crossbow can easily penetrate the iron shield. Even the iron shield of the Wei army cannot withstand the powerful machine crossbow, let alone the wooden shield of the Chu army infantry.
Just flesh and blood?
Facing the continuous crossbow attack on the wall of the Wei camp, the five thousand Chu soldiers who formed the second round of the offensive were hit by arrows and fell to the ground in rows. But the terrible thing was that even in this dangerous situation, those
The Chu infantry still had to slow down.
There was no way, because there were countless spear forests outside the walls of the Wei camp. The dense spears fixed on the ground at an outward angle, and the threats hidden by the sharp spear points, forced the Chu soldiers to attack the Wei camp.
Slow down.
These gadgets that Zhao Hongrun tinkered with were similar to those of horse-repelling and deer antlers. If the five thousand Chu soldiers dared not slow down and stop their charge, they would definitely be killed by these long spears that were frozen to the ground in the cold wind.
Pierced.
"Clear the obstacles!" a general shouted eagerly.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he was hit by two arrows in the chest. His eyes widened and he made a few strange "cough cough" sounds from his throat. He fell down in the horrified and horrified eyes of the Chu soldiers around him.
Killed to death.
Too close. The place where the Chu soldiers were forced to stop their charge was too close to the Wei camp.
It seemed to be only a foot or two away.
At such a close range, no matter how powerful the general is, he cannot withstand the powerful crossbow.
The Chu soldiers were frightened and helpless. It was clear that the camp wall was only one or two feet away from them, but the distance of one or two feet seemed to be so close to the end of the world. No matter how hard they tried, they could not cross this natural chasm.
They withstood the rain of arrows from the Wei army. They grabbed the spears fixed on the ground with both hands, pulled out and shook them hard, hoping to remove these obstacles that blocked the way, but unfortunately, most of the Chu soldiers
As soon as their hands touched the spears, they were shot to death by the Wei soldiers on the wall of the Wei camp with machine crossbows.
The warm blood of the Chu soldiers seemed to flow out a shocking bloody area one or two feet away from the Wei camp. And on this land that had been soaked with blood, there were densely packed areas of those who died with their eyes open.
The corpses of Chu soldiers.
It's a massacre...
Pei Zhan, the former magistrate of Yanling County, stood on the camp wall and watched. He shook his head secretly and sighed.
He really couldn't estimate how many Chu soldiers were unable to get past the forest of spears, the first obstacle set by the Wei army, and fell with eyesore only a foot or two away from the Wei camp.
What made many Chu soldiers even more desperate was that the forest of guns was not the only obstacle ahead. The densely packed swords on the outside of the Wei camp wall made Chu soldiers who were trying to climb the wall and attack the camp even more desperate.
The soldiers felt a strong sense of helplessness and frustration.
It was like a mountain of swords.
But those Chu soldiers had no choice, because they knew very well that if they turned their backs on the Wei army and fled at this moment, the generals in their army would not hesitate to order the crossbowmen to shoot them.
If they are shot dead as deserters, they will lose everything they have accumulated from their past struggles. The money and materials they have hidden will be divided up by their fellow soldiers in the same military tent. What is more terrible is that even their family members will be convicted for this.
.
They had no choice but to move forward, braving the Wei army's crossbow bolts.
Because only by winning the battle can they have a chance to survive and gain the wealth of the Wei people. Note: The Chu army did not prohibit the soldiers from looting the enemy's people, and this was also the only way for the Chu soldiers to "settle down".
The most important source of income besides fees.
However, when the offensive of a total of five thousand people failed to break through the first line of defense of the Wei camp, the forest of guns, instead, the Wei soldiers on the wall of the Wei camp easily killed nearly half of the friendly troops like shooting targets.
The Chu infantry in the second wave of offensive were finally on the verge of collapse.
They were crying and howling miserably, and some even dared not face the cold and terrifying forest of spears. When they tried to escape, the Chu infantry who formed the third wave of offensive arrived.
Those Chu infantrymen holding sabers and shields showed no mercy to the deserters who fled from the front to the rear. They used their weapons to drive them away, forcing those former friendly troops back to their original positions, forcing them to risk their lives.
At the cost, pull out the spears fixed on the ground.
…
Looking at this scene, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but frown frequently.
Perhaps iron-blooded military regulations are the best way to restrain soldiers, but Zhao Hongrun hates this from the bottom of his heart. He prefers to use encouragement or provocation to make his soldiers understand why they are fighting, rather than being like Chu on the opposite side.
Like the army, they used intimidation and deterrence to force the soldiers to fight.
Having said that, although Zhao Hongrun disdained this kind of command method of the Chu army, it is undeniable that the Chu army relied on this ancient method of intimidation and deterrence and achieved good results.
No, the first line of defense in the spear forest has been torn open by those Chu soldiers: I don’t know how many Chu soldiers paid the price with their lives to remove more than a dozen long spears. Although those dozen spears
It's insignificant, but enough for a person to squeeze through.
It is only a matter of time before the first line of defense is breached...
Zhao Hongrun frowned slightly.
Although only a few Chu soldiers have broken through the forest of spears and were shot to death by Wei soldiers within a few steps, it is undeniable that as time goes by, the holes that have been torn open will only become more and more severe.
When the time comes, more Chu soldiers will risk their lives to break through.
However, Zhao Hongrun didn't feel much worried about this.
After all, the forests of spears were only used to keep away horses and antlers. What he really had high hopes for were the countless swords embedded on the outside of the camp wall, with their blades rushing outwards and rushing towards them. It was like a mountain of swords.
Outside the camp wall.
If the Chu soldiers outside the camp wanted to climb the camp wall, they would have to climb on the blades. You can imagine how difficult it would be.
Compared with the Chu infantry outside the camp, Zhao Hongrun was more concerned about the location of the Chu army.
Although he did not know Zai Fu Gen, the leader of the Chu army in this attack, the latter's cunning use of troops that almost caused heavy casualties to the dredging soldiers in the Wei camp was enough to make Zhao Hongrun be more vigilant.
After all, no matter how hard he tried to destroy Chu's state system, system, and military methods, it was undeniable that there were generals among the Chu people who were good at using troops.
What worried Zhao Hongrun was that after suffering a huge loss of troops, the Chu army's general Zaifu Gen was not only indifferent, but instead increased the number of infantry attacking the Wei camp again and again.
What shocked Zhao Hongrun even more was that the two long archer formations in the Chu army once again gradually advanced towards his Wei camp after a short rest.
This seems to mean that a general attack is about to be launched.
"If this goes on... it won't be good."
Zhao Hongrun, who was always paying attention to the movements of the Chu army, couldn't help but muttered when he noticed that the entire Chu army was advancing towards his Wei camp.
Don't think that the defensive side must have the advantage. In fact, this is not the case.
Take the Wei camp as an example. In fact, there are only two to three thousand Wei soldiers standing on the southern camp wall at best. This number has reached saturation. If there are any more, the Wei soldiers on the camp wall may not even have room to turn around.
.
And what about the Chu army outside the camp?
Let’s not mention the infantry in the Chu army because they pose no threat to the Wei camp at this moment, but the presence of the 10,000 long archers is like a sharp sword hanging over the heads of many Wei soldiers.
The fundamental reason is that the space on the camp wall is relatively narrow and cannot accommodate 20,000 Wei soldiers of the dredging army at the same time. However, the long archers of the Chu army can arrange their formations in the open space outside the camp without any scruples and use their long archers to attack the enemy.
Taking advantage of the bow's range, he used projectile tactics to kill the Wei soldiers in the Wei camp.
This is the defensive disadvantage.
Of course, the premise is that the attacking side has enough long-range troops. Otherwise, relying solely on infantry will definitely give the defending side an advantage.
"Your Highness, it's not okay to continue like this..."
Bailiba was watching the battle. Seeing this, he couldn't help but suggested to Zhao Hongrun: "It's better for me to bring a soldier and go out to disrupt the two archer phalanxes of the Chu army. Otherwise, wait until they get closer and attack me."
If we fire a volley above the camp wall, our army's defense will become very difficult..."
Zhao Hongrun's mind moved slightly when he heard this.
To sneak attack the long archer phalanx of the Chu army, you must have cavalry: only cavalry with high mobility can quickly enter the formation of the long archers of Chu within the distance between their arrows.
At this time, in the Wei camp, although the five thousand dredging cavalry had already left the Wei camp under the leadership of General Cao Jie to harass the Chu army, this did not mean that there was no way to temporarily form a force in the Wei camp.
cavalry.
Not to mention anything else, the horses of the two hundred four-horse chariots alone are 800. If they are handed over to the reserve cavalry in the dredging camp, a cavalry of 800 will be formed immediately.
It is enough to make a sneak attack and disrupt the phalanx of Chu's long archers.
You must know that in addition to their advantage in range, longbowmen have extremely poor defensive capabilities. Once a cavalry uses arrow intervals to break into the army, most of them will be massacred by the cavalry.
But the problem is...
A look of difficulty and embarrassment gradually appeared on Zhao Hongrun's face.
It's good to sneak attack the Chu army's long archer formation, but...but the camp gate has been sealed...
Yes, in order to strengthen the defense of the camp a few days ago, Zhao Hongrun removed all the doors of the camp and replaced them with giant knife carts with passages inside.
To put it simply, Wei soldiers can get out, but their horses cannot. (To be continued.)