Chapter 776: The Battle of Shan County, Cui Ganyou
The rebels had marched in front of the Xindian camp in a mighty manner, and lined up in formation with their backs to the mountain peaks. This position was located in the northeast of the Tang army. Li Siye had no choice but to order the direction of the formation to be adjusted to form an angle with the plane of the camp.
Both sides want to occupy reasonable terrain, but neither side's terrain looks very favorable.
The overall strength of this rebel army is weaker than that of the rebels who once occupied Guanzhong. After the loss of five thousand Yiluohe in Chang'an, An Lushan did not dare to put the remaining three thousand on the battlefield. This was his The life-saving trump card. There were also the Tongluo cavalry who rebelled with An Lushan. A group of them defected after plundering the Zuozang warehouse in Chang'an, and the rest were all lost in the battle of Chang'an.
Cui Qianyou could only bring 10,000 cavalry and 5,000 soldiers of the Xi tribe this time, and the rest were infantry. His deputy general Xiang Runke raised his head from his horse and looked at the enemy's formation. , feeling frightened in his heart, he turned to the general and asked: "Our strategy seems to have failed. Are we still going to fight now?"
Cui Qianyou asked him: "The arrow is already on the string, can it still be fired? This battle must strive to defeat the Tang army and occupy Shaanxi County, so that Luoyang can survive. If it cannot be defeated, your Majesty will have no choice but to retreat from Luoyang."
He loudly said to the left and right: "We have our back to the mountain, so we don't have to worry about the enemy's success from the rear. Now everyone, give me courage! There are tens of millions of stones of grain and grass stored in Hanjiacang in Luoyang, and there are tens of millions of grains and grains stored in Shangyang Palace. Infinite wealth, these are what Emperor Shengwu wants to reward you! Behead one Tang army leader, and you will be rewarded with a dou of rice! Behead ten Tang army leaders, and you will be rewarded the same!"
In the Tang army camp on the opposite side, Li Siye also turned around immediately and shouted to the soldiers in the army formation: "In front of us is Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty. There are tens of millions of dans of grain in Hanjiacang. Shangyang There are countless treasures in the palace. I have asked His Majesty the King of Chu for instructions. After entering the city, I will reward the three armies with the grain and grass and property in the treasury. Anyone who kills the head of a rebel will be rewarded with a dou of rice and grain. Anyone who kills the head of ten rebels will be rewarded with money. consistent!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Xiang Runke personally went into battle as the vanguard, riding a war horse and carrying a long spear, and came towards the Tang army's camp. The rebels carried a large number of long-range killing Fuyuan crossbows, preparing to move 300 steps away from the Tang army to kill them. But at this time, the Tang army formed an array. It has been separated to both sides, and the soldiers in the front have erected large shields to defend the shield wall. The more than a hundred Xuanwu cannons exposed in the center of the artillery array have ignited the twisters, and white smoke is emitting from the muzzles. The cannonballs are advancing. Exploded in the rebel array.
The rebel soldiers in iron armor were staggered by the fragments of the shells. Cui Qianyou, who was in the middle army, covered his ears and widened his eyes. He turned to An Shouzhong behind him and shouted: "This is the sharp weapon of the Tang army you mentioned? Is there any way to break it?" ?”
"General Cui! Until now, we don't even know why they emit thunderous fire. How can we break them? However, it takes a long time for them to fill up. General can use the spare time to charge, and there will be no danger if the artillery array is destroyed!"
He waved the long spear in his hand to Runke and shouted: "It's just a thunder explosion, don't mess around, get close to me to 300 steps!"
When the enemy camp pressed to a distance of 300 steps from the Tang army, the Tang army's Fuyuan crossbows also began to launch out of the array to fire. The shells fell into the rebels' tight shield array, and even Kong Wu's powerful man was knocked down by the air waves. On the ground, Fuyuan's crossbows shot through the gaps opened by the shells, and many soldiers were pierced through the chests by arrows.
An Shouzhong was terrified behind Cui Ganyou and shouted loudly: "General Cui, please retreat temporarily! Otherwise, we will be defeated before we can come into contact with the enemy at hand-to-hand combat!"
"We can't retreat! Now we are under bombardment when we advance or retreat! The cavalry of the General Army! Insert from the front to attack the enemy's artillery camp. Only by defeating its artillery camp can we have a chance to win!"
He personally waved the flag and commanded, and the cavalry of the general army rushed out from the side and rear of the rebel infantry formation. Thousands of green flags were divided into three groups, like waves rushing, and like plowshares plowing, raising turbulent smoke and dust towards the cannon. The camp is coming to kill.
Li Siye decisively ordered to the flag bearer: "Order Feng Changqing to close the left and right formations to block the rebels in front of the artillery array."
Feng Changqing sat at the front, ordered the phalanxes on both sides to run towards the middle, and placed the Mo Dao team in front. As soon as the two sides came into contact, there was a fierce charge and killing. The Mo Dao team lined up in a row, and they could beheaded The horse's head can be lowered to sweep the horse's legs. The main and auxiliary swordsmen rely on each other to cut and slash, advancing like a wall. The war horses scream and scream in the desert, and the blood mist caused by the blade's killing blows westward along the cold wind.
However, Cui Ganyou's move was just to buy time for the infantry formation to approach the Tang army. As long as the two sides fell into a hand-to-hand fight, he believed that the Tang army's artillery would naturally have no use.
An Shouzhong quickly stuck his head out and reminded: "General Cui, be careful. The Tang army's artillery will also spray blades and iron bars! It will hurt you if you touch it, and you will die if you touch it. It's very scary!"
Cui Qianyou frowned and cursed: "Can you speak in a lower voice? Can't you just let me hear you?"
He resolutely ordered: "The cavalry army will retreat temporarily, and the entire infantry formation will press forward! Success or failure depends on this one move!"
The cavalry of the Imperial Army quickly bypassed the infantry formations on their side and prepared to withdraw from the battlefield. However, Li Siye believed that the rhythm of the battlefield had fallen into his control, and immediately ordered the flying tiger cavalry on both sides of the Chinese army to attack, chasing the enemy's retreating troops all the way. The army's cavalry attacked the rebels' central army from the side of the battle formation, forcing the rebel infantry to return to support the central army.
Although this kind of military order is cumbersome and unreliable, his goal is to kill the enemy to the greatest extent while also reducing his own casualties. Killing the enemy by one thousand in close combat and damaging yourself by eight hundred. Even if there is a fragmentation bonus for artillery fire, the iron Fragment loading is more cumbersome than artillery shells, and one shot into the soul cannot completely increase the battle damage ratio.
On the frontal battlefield, the Tang army began to perform extreme operations. When the enemy's infantry formation pressed more than 30 steps away from the Tang army, Feng Changqing and Yan Xiaosi cooperated tacitly and quickly moved the left and right armies to both sides, as if they had opened a huge and After closing the gate of the giant beast, rows of Xuanwu cannons were once again exposed to the enemy at close range.
Xiang Runke, waving his horse, didn't know whether to be surprised or happy at this sudden change. The enemy's core was deliberately exposed, which was tantamount to facing an unknown danger. At this moment, he didn't know whether to order to step up the charge. Or retreat quickly.
He saw that the muzzle of the Tang army's guns had been lowered to be parallel to the ground, and he hurriedly shouted: "Quick! Pull back!"
However, the momentum of the attacking phalanx could no longer be stopped. The soldiers in the front stopped and retreated, but were pushed back by the soldiers in the rear. The team paused for a moment, and the muzzles of the Tang Army's artillery camp had already sprayed out hot white gas. , invisible fragments scattered forward, and the rebels rushing at the front fell on their backs.
Xiang Runke shouted again: "Those behind, charge forward! Fight into the artillery camp for me!"
At the same time, Li Siye waved his hand and ordered loudly: "The whole army, except the artillery camp, move forward to kill the enemy!"
The Chinese army beat the war drums, and the army's honor guard also blew the bronze horn.
Xiang Runke's shouts were drowned in the sound of horns and drums urging the Tang army to fight. Both those who heard and those who could not hear turned around and retreated. The defeat was inevitable.
At the rear of the main battlefield, the Flying Tiger Cavalry sent by Zang Xieye chased and killed the retreating cavalry of the General Army. The rebels fought and retreated, throwing arrows. They were still hoping that the infantry formation would make progress and force the Flying Tiger Cavalry to return for reinforcements.
Another unit of the Flying Tiger Cavalry had already pounced on Cui Qianyou's central army. Cui Qianyou's face was blue and white, and he tightly held the reins of his horse to maintain the demeanor of a general who did not change his expression even if Mount Tai collapsed. He gritted his teeth and ordered: "Hurry, Xibu The cavalry intercepts the enemy's flying tiger cavalry!"
The two Xiren generals looked at each other in disbelief, then bravely led the cavalry out of the formation. The cavalry formation turned into an arc with a rolling current. Before they came into contact with the Tang army, they had already changed direction and fled.
Cui Qianyou angrily threw the riding crop to the ground and cursed: "These bastards! They only help fight against the wind!"
An Shouzhong hurriedly shouted: "General Cui, retreat quickly!"
Cui Qianyou had the courage to make a decisive decision. He immediately turned his horse's head and shouted to An Shouzhong: "General An! Cut off the queen for me!"
"Ah! Why me!" An Shouzhong was about to cry.
"Of course it has to be you. Emperor Shengwu's order is for you to charge as a vanguard. I won't let you charge because of past sentiments, so why don't you refuse to lead the rear?"
An Shouzhong gritted his teeth and shouted to the soldiers behind him: "Brothers, follow me and kill the enemy! As long as you can survive, I recommend you to join Yiluohe!"
What he called cutting off the rear was just to ensure that Cui Qianyou would not be chased by the enemy. As for those soldiers who ran slowly, I can only feel sorry. Either you surrender, or you will become a series of meritorious heads on the waist of the Tang army.
Li Siye personally led the army in pursuit, and most of the rebel infantry became prisoners. Cui Qianyou led the Chinese army and fled in a hurry, with An Shouzhong following closely behind him. They retreated to the vicinity of Mianchi County, and were attacked by the Beiting Army led by Duan Xiushi. Following the attack, when the enemy finally fled back to Luoyang from Xin'an, only a few thousand troops were left.