Chapter six hundred and fourteen: The terrifying spear formation
However, more than two thousand people were crowded on the narrow cliff.
The rocks rolling down were so dense, how could they possibly escape?
At least, the vast majority of people simply cannot escape it.
Peng!
Peng! Peng!
Some of these stones hit the legs of the Korean soldiers, and some hit them.
But such a fast speed and such a high impulse.
As long as it gets hit on you, it's definitely not good anywhere.
The first rain of stones blinded them, and five to six hundred people were hit on the spot.
Some were even smashed and fell directly under the cliff.
Those who didn't fall off the cliff were no better.
The state of death was quite miserable.
There were dozens of surviving Korean soldiers who were lucky enough not to die, and were screaming miserably.
The sound really makes the listener sad and makes the listener cry.
But the first round is just the appetizer, just the beginning.
Soon, the second, third, and fourth rounds of attacks began again.
In one round of attacks, Goryeo lost between five and six hundred soldiers.
And there are only two thousand of them in total, how many are there between five and six hundred?
Therefore, when the Tang army from above smashed down all the stones they had prepared.
There are not many Goryeo soldiers left in ambush on the cliff.
All that was left were broken legs and broken bones, leaving only the strength to wail in place.
"Brothers, charge the duck!"
Under the leadership of Qin Huaiyu, five thousand Tang troops swarmed down.
He charged towards the Korean soldiers below.
Well, there are really not many Goryeo soldiers who survived.
It's true that you have a quick hand, but you don't have a slow hand.
There were less than a hundred Goryeo soldiers who survived.
Basically, fifty or sixty Tang troops competed for one person.
Soon, these Goryeo soldiers were all eliminated.
Although this battle can basically no longer be described as a battle.
They crushed it easily, thoroughly, and from beginning to end.
But these five thousand soldiers have seen blood.
When I returned, my energy and spirit were completely different.
When Qin Huaiyu returned in triumph with five thousand soldiers, Li Min directly ordered them to retreat three miles and set up camp.
After hearing Li Min's military order, Qin Huaiyu couldn't help but asked doubtfully: "Your Highness, there is still more than an hour before dark, why don't we move forward and continue to deal with their next ambush?"
Hearing Qin Huaiyu's question, Li Min couldn't help but smile slightly and said: "But, with such a short time, we can only solve one of the ambush points ahead, right?"
Seeing Qin Huaiyu nodding, Li Min continued to ask: "After we solve an ambush point, will Gao Li suspect that all their ambush points have been leaked? Will they remove the soldiers from all the ambush points behind them?"
, withdraw them all?”
Qin Huaiyu had a thoughtful look on his face and nodded after a while.
Yes, Goryeo soldiers are not fools.
If Datang had killed three of their ambush points with such precision, and if Gao Li hadn't realized that their ambush points had been leaked, they would all be as stupid as pigs.
But now, Datang has dealt with two of their ambush points, and they now clearly have time to deal with the next ambush point.
But they didn't do that. What does that mean?
This means that Datang's discovery of their first two ambush points should be just an accident and a fluke.
Not all their ambush points were revealed.
Otherwise, why didn't the Tang army continue to kill?
Just this little doubt will probably make the Goryeo city lord and the soldiers in the ambush point behind continue to ambush.
Because the subsequent ambushes from Goryeo were each more hidden than the last.
And tomorrow, they will have enough time to calmly resolve these ambush points.
And once all the Korean soldiers in these ambush points are eliminated.
The Wugu City in front has almost become an empty city.
Because the defensive soldiers in their city were basically sent out by their city lord to ambush them outside.
As long as all their soldiers are eliminated outside the city, Wugu City will almost be destroyed without attack.
And Wugucheng is almost one of the only barriers in Goryeo.
Thinking of this, Qin Huaiyu couldn't help but be convinced, and immediately took charge of the matter and retreated to set up camp.
As expected, the movements of the Tang army made the Gaoli City Lord of Wugu City extremely suspicious.
Today, they laid ambushes at the first two locations outside the city, allowing the Tang army to annihilate them all effortlessly.
This made Pu Yisheng wonder for a time whether their ambush location had been discovered by Datang?
Although Pu Yisheng could not guess at all how the Tang army discovered their ambush location.
But he was already preparing to withdraw all the remaining Korean soldiers from the ambush site.
Since the Tang Dynasty had found out, keeping them here would mean letting them die in vain.
But suddenly, Park Yisheng received news again.
The Tang army actually did not advance, but retreated a few miles, found a safe location, and began to set up camp.
Huh?
What exactly is going on?
If the Tang army had figured out their ambush location, it would be impossible for them to let them go so easily?
Could it be said that it was just an accident that Tang Jun discovered their first two ambush locations?
At this time, Park Yisheng was really not sure.
Therefore, Park Yisheng quickly gathered all the mid-level and high-level officials in Wugu City together to deal with this situation and jointly study this issue.
In the end, they came to the conclusion that it was purely by chance that the Tang army broke through their first two ambushes.
The ambushes behind them were much more concealed than the first two, and were not discovered by the Tang army.
Just these few ambushes could inflict heavy losses on the Tang army, and even annihilate the entire Tang army.
Therefore, there is absolutely no need for them to withdraw all the ambush in these places.
After the discussion was completed, Park Yisheng felt relieved.
…
Early the next morning, 45,000 Tang troops made fires to cook, and everything was ready.
Li Min led the army and began to march out.
Soon, we arrived at the location three or four miles away from the third ambush.
By now we are on open terrain.
Here, Goryeo is preparing to use cavalry to attack and kill Tang soldiers.
These 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are all infantry.
The cavalry has a natural advantage over the infantry.
The ambush location of Goryeo this time was really hidden.
Because this time, Goryeo did not occupy a very favorable terrain.
They are just hiding five miles away.
As long as they wait for the Tang army to pass, they can attack from behind.
In front of the Tang army, there will also be cavalry attacking them.
If everything goes well with the plan and is executed perfectly, the Tang army will be defeated this time.
Even if he couldn't defeat the Tang army, he could still injure them.
Of course, it would have been even more perfect if Datang had not discovered the two ambushes they had set up in front of them.
Because after Datang was ambushed, there was a great possibility that it would retreat.
But at this time, how could they have imagined that they had already laid many ambushes on their way here.
With these ambushes, they could basically eat up the entire Tang army.
Little did they know that every move they made fell into Tang Jun's calculations.
After the Tang army entered the ambush terrain of Goryeo, Li Min immediately led the team and quickly approached a hill.
There is no ambush on this hill.
Because this is not the only way for the Tang army to pass.
But now, this hill can serve as a line of defense, giving the Tang army no worries.
Next, the Tang army formed a semicircular square formation.
Each of the Tang troops in the outer circle was holding a long spear, which was four to five meters long.
These spears were not that long originally, they were the spears held by Tang army soldiers.
But the barrels of these spears have another mystery.
Just like a modern fishing rod, it can be unscrewed section by section.
It can eventually reach a length of four to five meters.
The gun barrel is made of carbon steel, which is very light but very strong and tough.
The gun head is made of alloy material and is very sharp.
This gun is so long that one person cannot lift it.
Therefore, the barrel of the gun is placed on the shoulders of the soldiers in front.
And this formation was the Spanish phalanx that became famous in later generations.
In the later sixteenth century, the Spanish phalanx dominated the entire Europe.
Of course, the real Spanish phalanx also cooperates with musketeers and will be protected by cavalry on both sides.
And now the Spanish phalanx that Li Min has set up has no musketeers and no cavalry protection.
Moreover, the biggest problem with this policy now is that it has very poor mobility.
However, Li Min believed that as long as the Goryeo cavalry dared to attack, this phalanx would definitely inflict heavy damage on them.
After all, your uncle is your uncle.
Not to mention the little Goryeo.
Even the powerful Tang cavalry would probably suffer if they encountered the Spanish phalanx for the first time.
Sure enough, the Goryeo cavalry soon divided into four directions and charged towards them.
There are two thousand cavalry in each of these four directions.
A total of four thousand cavalry came to kill.
Li Min believed that these were almost the main cavalry force in Wugu City.
The dead cavalry were a little surprised when they saw that the Tang army had formed a circular defensive formation, but they didn't take it to heart.
When cavalry is dealing with infantry, do you naively think that a circular defensive formation will be useful?
You will soon understand what crushing means.
Eight thousand cavalry rushed from four directions.
At this time, the palms of the Tang soldiers in the queue, especially the new soldiers, began to sweat.
Daily training and fighting on the field are two completely different concepts!
However, looking at the King of Shu fighting with them in the middle of the queue, they felt inexplicably calm in their hearts.
There is even a feeling of eagerness to try.
The King of Shu is a prince, isn't his life more precious than ours?
The king of Shu can disregard life and death, so what should we be afraid of?
Not long after, Goryeo's cavalry had rushed within the firing range of the Tang army.
"shoot!"
Following Cheng Chuliang's order, the crossbowman hidden in the middle of the long spear began shooting.
Suddenly, a hail of arrows filled the sky, shooting at the charging Goryeo cavalry.
This scene immediately stunned the Goryeo cavalry.
Huh?
The cavalry's projectile should obviously be farther than the infantry's shot!
Shouldn't we be the ones who cum first?
Why did you cum first?
At this distance, shouldn't it be that we can shoot you, but you can't shoot us?
In fact, this is the most rogue way for cavalry to deal with infantry.
I just rely on my long hands to bully you at the extreme distance.
It made him feel frustrated but helpless.
But now, I didn't expect that Tang Jun would actually do the opposite.
But what makes them sneer is that with your short hands, can you shoot, you?
But the next moment——
laugh!
Tsk! Tsk!
Countless arrows shot out.
The cavalry charging in front suddenly fell to the ground.
This scene immediately caused a chaos.
Unexpectedly, although the Tang army was an infantryman, their hands were longer than theirs!
Next, Goryeo's cavalry also began to counterattack.
They set up their bows and shot arrows and began to fight back.
But there were shield bearers everywhere in the Tang army, raising high shields to protect their soldiers.
In cavalry combat, there is usually only one round of shooting time.
The battle between cavalry and infantry only takes two rounds at most.
After two rounds, they will put aside their bows and arrows, pick up weapons, and fight with them.
After two rounds, they dropped their bows and arrows, picked up their weapons, and prepared for close combat.
But at this time, there were still crossbowmen in the Tang army's formation, firing crossbow arrows continuously.
Let their cavalry continue to be hit by arrows and reduce their numbers.
This scene made the Korean cavalry hate them to death!
In this battle of bows and arrows, the cavalry would have had an absolute advantage.
But they didn't expect that this time they were completely defeated.
But it doesn't matter, the next charge will definitely cause them heavy losses and hardship!
The charge of cavalry against infantry is extremely fatal!
The increased speed of the war horse will make the infantry's defense line as fragile as paper.
Generally, when infantry fights cavalry, they will use chariots as a buffer.
Or dig a horse pit in front to block it.
But now, the Tang army encountered a sudden encounter and had no time to build any protection.
Soon, Goryeo's cavalry rushed in front of the Tang infantry.
The first thing they saw was the long and strong formation of the Tang Dynasty infantry.
Faced with this situation, they looked down upon it.
Really, I have to say that Tang Jun was really too naive.
Do they think that by erecting the spear like this, they can resist them due to its length?
If they really think so, I have to say that they are too naive, right?
Such a spear can be deflected with a single pick, and will not pose the slightest threat to their cavalry.
This is what they thought and what they did.
They raised the long knives in their hands and suddenly picked up the spears.
But what surprised them was that the spear didn't move at all.
The next moment, the spear pierced straight into the horse's body.
And the Tang army behind them was not fighting alone.
Instead, five or six people supported the soldier at the front with both hands to help him withstand the huge impact.
The galloping war horses fell to the ground unwillingly amid the mournful cries.
Of course, the huge impact also broke the bones of the Datang soldiers at the front.
However, the huge impact of the cavalry was blocked by them.
The most important reason why cavalry can take advantage of infantry is that they cannot stand still.
You can't stop and fight with the infantry.
What they need is smooth speed and quick attack.
After charging for a while, they were able to retreat perfectly, and then launched the next attack.
In the constant impact and constant wandering, it gradually eats away at the infantry.
When the cavalry faces the infantry, it is definitely not a turn-based game where you can stand firm and strike with one blow.
If this is the case, the cavalry will inevitably suffer heavy casualties.
But now, the cavalry charge was stopped by Datang's spear formation in the first round.
Although the Tang army also lost a number of soldiers, Goryeo's cavalry suffered even more heavy losses.
"prick!"
Cheng Chuliang decisively issued the attack order.
The Tang army in the second row, with the help of several soldiers behind them, stabbed out the spear in their hands again.
Then the second row of Goryeo cavalry horses were pierced again.
"prick!"
Next, the spearmen in the third row thrust out their spears.
And every time he thrust out, he gathered the strength of the five or six soldiers behind him.
Every time, it can pierce a war horse.
As for the fallen cavalry, the swordsmen and axemen in the battle formation will naturally take care of them.
The spear array, one team after another, continuously thrust out in a cycle.
Goryeo's cavalry fell one by one.
Their attack has stalled.
All they faced was an endless array of spears.
They couldn't move at all and could only resist pointlessly in place unwillingly.
However, facing the spear formation, they really didn't have much room to resist.
Their hearts are very desperate.
The endless line of spears rolled forward like waves.
Constantly devouring Goryeo's cavalry.
At this time, Goryeo's cavalry came to a complete standstill.
The scimitars in their hands were no longer than three feet long, and they were really beyond the reach of spears that were four to five meters long.
The Tang Dynasty's Spear Team was really too smooth in its operation.
Because in the past few months, apart from physical training, they had done nothing else. They only trained the formation changes of the spear team every day.
Originally, these naval forces were still somewhat conflicted.
They feel that this kind of training is completely frivolous and of no use at all.
But today's actual results made them excited.
It turns out that the Lancers are so strong?
In less than a quarter of an hour, more than a third of Goryeo's cavalry was swallowed up.
And this number is still increasing rapidly.
"Withdraw! Withdraw quickly!"
The cavalry, which was in a stagnant state, was completely harvested by the opponent.
If this continues, they will have no choice but to wait to die.
The rear column of the Goryeo cavalry quickly turned around and fled in confusion.
But the Chinese army was not so lucky.
There are cavalry on the left and right, both front and rear, and they are all war horses.
The narrow space makes it very difficult for them to turn around. Where can they evacuate?
In particular, directly in front of them, the Tang Army's spear squad was advancing and harvesting at all times.
Death is waving to them from the front!
Under this pressure, countless Goryeo cavalry collapsed.
Many people rode their horses into chaos.
Some even waved the daggers in their hands and slashed at their comrades around them.
The entire Goryeo cavalry was completely thrown into chaos.
Such chaos made it easier for the Tang army to massacre.
An hour later, the battlefield finally became quiet.
More than two-thirds of the Goryeo cavalry stayed here forever.
In this battle, Goryeo's 8,000 cavalrymen lost nearly 6,000 people.
The number of people who evacuated in time was only about 2,000.
After receiving the news, Pu Yisheng, the lord of Wugu City, was furious.
Now he finally understood that they had been tricked by Datang.
It turns out that when they set up camp yesterday, they were just trying to be mysterious and lowered their vigilance.
Today I directly killed them and caught them off guard.
If they had attacked directly yesterday, they decided not to press the border with a large army and sent out all their cavalry.
The losses will not be so heavy.
At this time, Park Yisheng was absolutely impossible to give them any chance!
Park Yisheng immediately withdrew all the two subsequent ambushes.
At this point, there are still nearly 20,000 defenders in their city.
Facing 40,000 to 50,000 people on the opposite side, although there will still be pressure, it is not impossible to defend.
Now Pu Yi is so angry that he is about to vomit blood.
If they had known this, their more than 30,000 soldiers would have been able to defend the city honestly.
The number of people on the opposite side was less than twice theirs, so they were completely able to defend them.
But in order to expand the results of the war and annihilate them, tens of thousands of people were lost in vain.
At this moment, Pu Yisheng made up his mind that he would never leave the city again, life or death.
We will defend the city to death and see what you can do.
This was not the first time that Datang attacked their city.
The last time Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty personally led an army, he failed to capture their city.
Pu Yisheng did not believe that the Tang army, which was less than twice their number, could capture their city.
…
Li Min has a very detailed understanding of Wugu City.
The total length of the city wall of Wugu City is 7,527 meters.
There are three mountain outposts outside the city, including a beacon tower and a general tower.
With a length of 7,527 meters, this city sounds very small.
actually not.
Wugu City used the cliffs of the left and right mountains as walls, and built a city wall with wedge-shaped stones in the low-lying areas of the mountains.
On the south and west sides, a tall city wall was built horizontally with earth and stone.
The city has an outer city and an inner city. The outer city is built segment by segment along the ridge. It looks like an egg and has a circumference of more than thirty miles.
The rest of the city is built directly on cliffs.
If you include the city wall on the cliff side, this city is actually quite large.
The most important thing is that facing such cliffs on both sides, there is only one side of the city that can be attacked by force.
It's very easy to defend.
They only need to use all their forces to directly defend one city wall.
Many of the cities in Goryeo are actually such cities.
It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. This is one of the reasons why Li Shimin sent troops to attack Goryeo several times during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, but never failed to destroy them.
Facing such a city, Cheng Chuliang, Qin Huaiyu and others seemed helpless.
