The Jurchen cavalry quickly retreated back. Although they were panicking and hasty, although the opponent's soldiers and horses appeared, they obviously had no intention of attacking. Only the forward cavalry on the slope of the pass suffered long-range attacks from the hillsides on both sides of the pass and the crossbows above the pass.
The Fangzi crossbow has a shooting range of 300 steps, and can reach 350 steps from a high position. The crossbow arrows, as thick as a human arm, are fired into the cavalry group at an oblique downward angle, but they can penetrate the bodies of the horses and kill several Jurchen soldiers in a row.
Horses. However, because there are not many such instruments as bed crossbows in the Luoyan Army, there are only more than twenty of them near the entire pass. Therefore, although the lethality is amazing, it cannot cause too much damage to the Jurchen cavalry. It is just that the powerful crossbow penetrates
The visual impact of the cavalry formation, with flesh and blood flying everywhere, broken arms and stumps, caused great panic in the hearts of the Jurchen cavalry. But in fact, when the forward troops retreated down the slope, they were only hit by crossbows.
Less than seven or eight hundred people were shot and killed.
Yalu Buhua quickly rushed to the front line down the slope with a gloomy face and convened the generals for a brief discussion. After listening to Battelle's report and learning that the other party had set up Gyeonggi and Iron Thorn formations on the hillside, Yalu Buhua
Hua took a breath. The other party's method was aimed at the cavalry safely. The iron spikes described by Battelle were extremely terrifying, and it was a nightmare for the cavalry. Therefore, if you want to attack the pass, you must first
It can solve the problem of the iron thorn formation. As for the thorn formation next to it, it is not a big concern.
After the question was raised, all the generals fell into deep thought.
"It would be great if the Iron Buddha cavalry were here. Their horses are nailed with fine iron horseshoes and are not afraid of spikes on the ground. With only one team, they can attack the mountain pass regardless of the opponent. Unfortunately, we don't have it.
"Bring it." Alibai, the general of the Chinese army, said thoughtfully.
Yalu Buhua scolded: "What nonsense are you saying? We didn't bring the Iron Buddha Cavalry. The Iron Buddha Cavalry is moving slowly, which will affect our speed. The big leader wants us to fight quickly, otherwise you think I don't want to let
Are the Iron Buddha Cavalry following?"
Ali Bai rolled his eyes and said, "Isn't that what I'm talking about? What can be done in a short while? You are the leading general, you have the final say, why are you angry with me?"
Yalu Buhua's eyes widened with anger and a fierce look on his face, but Alibai was not afraid of him. Although Yalu Buhua was the Jurchen deputy leader appointed by Wanyan Aguda, Alibai and dead Hulu were actually different from Yalu.
Hua's qualifications are as old as those of a person. Alibai's sister is also one of Wanyan Aguda's wives. Alibai himself is the leader of the Jurchen Black Rock Tribe, and Yalu would not dare to do anything to him without Hua.
"General Yalu is not a great general, but I have an idea and I don't know whether I should say it or not." Lu Zixing said thoughtfully.
"Oh? General Lu has a plan? Why don't you tell me about it?" Yalu Buhua turned around and asked after hearing this.
Lu Zixing cupped his hands and said, "I have some ideas, but I don't dare to say anything. It is related to the success or failure of your army's attack. I'm afraid that what I say will bring bad results."
Yalu Buhua frowned and said: "You
We southerners are like this, talking hesitantly and arrogantly. If you have a way, just say it. It's up to me whether to use it or not. If I think it's suitable, I can use it. Whether it succeeds or not, the consequences are also my responsibility. It has nothing to do with you.
Damn it. If you don't tell me, I will order you to charge forward with ten thousand troops and serve as my vanguard."
Lu Zixing was startled and broke into a cold sweat. This was what he feared the most. He led 10,000 cavalry to assist the Jurchen army in attacking the mountain. His intention was to follow the flanks and shout slogans to cheer up.
We are just assisting them appropriately, but we have no intention of going all out. Lu Zhongtian also specifically warned this before coming. It would be terrible if he was forced to lead the charge.
"Don't be upset, General. Let me just put it bluntly. This... the opponent's iron spike formation is indeed troublesome, but it is not too difficult to crack. I heard General Battle say that it is an iron thorn array fixed on the ground.
The thorn array is only about ten feet wide. Its purpose is naturally to cause damage to the horseshoes of our cavalry. Isn't this simple? Order the soldiers to rush up with thick wooden boards, and when they reach the iron thorn array, cover it with thick wooden boards, just like
If you build a bridge over the river, will the cavalry soon be able to rush across it without getting hurt? The thorns on the roadside can be covered with grass and set on fire. It will only take some effort." Lu Zixing hurriedly handed over his hand.
said.
After Lu Zixing finished speaking, all the Jurchen generals nodded and praised: "Good strategy, good strategy, it's true. Put a layer of thick wooden boards and it can be completely resolved. That thing can hurt people if it is hidden in the grass.
But after it was discovered, it was no longer worth mentioning.”
Some people were inspired and said: "Isn't that thing spread on the ground? It is also a convenient way to dig it out manually."
Some people have also proposed solutions to the thorn bushes on both sides.
"Take dozens of grappling hooks and ropes and throw them into the thorns. Then use your horse to pull down the slope, and you can pull out all the thorns and pile them together. Hook them a few times and you can clear them all."
"..."
Lu Zixing's words seemed to suddenly open the door of wisdom to the Jurchen generals, and they all started to give enthusiastic suggestions. Although some methods were strange and natural, there were indeed some methods that could be used.
Yalu Buhua was very happy. After everyone's intensive discussion, Yalu Buhua finally made the decision. Covering the opponent's iron spike array with wooden planks is the most convenient and practical method. Wood is the easiest thing to obtain. On the surrounding hills,
There are trees everywhere. The thick tree trunks can be nailed into wooden rafts. The cavalry can carry them up and cover them directly, so that all the terrifying thorns can be covered. As for the thorns on the slope, a lieutenant was used
The proposed method was to use long poles, hooks and sickles to grab and cut off the thorns, gather them into piles and then use hay to set them on fire.
Next, the Jurchens immediately took action and began to cut down trees and build wooden rafts. In less than an hour, hundreds of log trees with a length and width of about a hundred feet were completed. The rest of the preparations were quickly put in place, ready to implement this method.
The Luoyan Army on the pass and the hillside did not seem to have any movement at all. The Jurchens below were very busy. They only watched at the pass and on the top of the mountain, without any intention of sabotaging the opponent's attack plan. In fact, they also
She really has no ability to interfere with what the other party is doing. As for Gao Muqing, she still tries to use the 'drag tactics', which can delay the opponent's attack for a while, which may bring one step closer to the arrival of possible reinforcements. Unless it is a last resort,
Gao Muqing didn't bother to care about what they were doing at the foot of the mountain until the other party tried their best.
At the first moment, the Jurchen cavalry down the gentle slope of the pass finally began to take action. This time, they were very careful and alert. Thousands of Jurchen cavalry were arranged in a horizontal formation. The Jurchen cavalry in front and on both sides even put up shields to prevent the opponent's bow and arrow attack. In the middle
It was dozens of protected carts loaded with more than a hundred wooden platoons. The entire cavalry team slowly advanced toward the top of the pass. Below, tens of thousands of cavalry were ready to charge in case the opponent suddenly rushed down with superior force to eat them.
Get rid of these thousands of cavalrymen with heavy responsibilities.
When entering the range of the opponent's bed crossbow, the opponent's bed crossbow naturally refused to let go of this opportunity to hit the target. Dozens of thick crossbow arrows fired across each other, unilaterally killing the Jurchen cavalry. The cavalry's large wooden shield was on the bed.
The crossbow had no effect before. The thick crossbow arrow hit the wooden shield. Not only did the wooden shield completely burst into sawdust, but the cavalryman holding the wooden shield was also carried off the horse by the huge impact, and his whole body fell to the ground in a bloody mess.
.
The casualties were not small, but after paying the price of hundreds of people being killed, the cavalry arrived at the place where the iron spike array was buried. The cavalry quickly dismounted, unloaded the raft and laid it on the ground spikes. The opponent's bed
Although the crossbows continued to fire, they failed to stop the Jurchens from this action. The iron spike formation three hundred steps away from the pass lost its value after it fell on the wooden raft.
The soldiers and horses who had completed the task of laying the wooden platoon did not evacuate downwards. They continued to deal with the thorn formations on both sides with the long-range shooting of the crossbows. They quickly took off the long hooks and sickles hanging on the horses and began to attack the thorn formations on both sides.
The thorns on the thorny ground were used to hook and cut the thorns. The thorns and thorns were originally inserted into the soil and were not firm, so they were easily picked up by the hooks. Therefore, this method was extremely effective, and pieces of thorns were quickly cleared out.
In the open space, the thorns and thorns were scratched and piled together. Jurchen soldiers sprinkled bundles of hay on the thorns from horseback and lit a fire. The thorns burned and turned into ashes.
After paying the price of thousands of casualties in nearly half an hour, the Jurchen cavalry on the ramp sent a signal that all this was completed.
As the front cavalry signaled completion, the excited Yarubuhua immediately gave the order to charge. Below the pass ramp, the first echelon of five thousand cavalry, which had been prepared for a long time, began to accelerate, rushing up the ramp toward
Charge at the pass. The second echelon of 5,000 people in the rear and the third echelon of 5,000 people are also ready. They will maintain their distance and formation and launch a continuous fierce attack on the pass.
