On July 17, the sand sounded in Lingzhou.
The black arrow branches instantly covered the sky, covering the sun in the sky, and then rushed towards the camp like dark clouds. The crackling sound was continuous. The Tang soldiers at the front did not even dare to show their heads, and could only suffer. It was painful to endure.
After three rounds of arrows, the guard at the front was General You Qianniu Guards, who had been temporarily transferred from Chang'an a few days ago. He was from the south of the Yangtze River. Although he served in Daizhou and Jingzhou under Li Shan, I have fought against the Turks in several battles, but I have never seen such an overwhelming rain of arrows.
Dozens of steps ahead of Kan Ling, Liu Rengui, who had been staying in the Lingzhou army, couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his neck. The intensity of the arrow rain made him dumbfounded. The soldiers of the Tang army didn't even have a chance to fight back. Several The brave ones just poked their heads over the wall of sheep and horses, and their lives were ruthlessly taken away by feather arrows.
Liu Rengui felt that his palms were sweating so much that he could no longer hold the handle of the knife. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that his colleague who had fallen on the ground had five or six long arrows stuck in his face and neck.
Zhang Zhongjian at the rear took a closer look with a telescope. He was far away from the front line and would not be threatened by arrows, but his face was quite ugly. Although the Turks were said to be good at riding and shooting, after all, although the Turks had been in existence for more than a hundred years, they were actually There is no so-called organization that specializes in making ordnance. Soldiers need to prepare bows, arrows and arrows by themselves. That is to say, the armor and spears of the king's soldiers are not brought by themselves...most of them are actually looted.
In other words, the Turkic cavalry had a lot of arrows in their hands, but as soon as the battle started, there were three large waves of arrow rain, which showed the determination of Dubu Khan... Think about it, if the Tang Dynasty cannot be defeated this time, The Ashina clan may no longer be the overlords of the grasslands.
Tang Jian's face was a little grim. Thousands of Turkic cavalry were galloping back and forth not far from the sheep and horse wall. Once a Tang soldier showed up, they would immediately draw their bows and fire arrows. The situation was really not optimistic.
But Zhang Zhongjian was still calm and composed, and gave a few instructions to the guards around him. After a while, flags were waved, rhythmic drums sounded slowly, and the Turkic cavalry looked at the Tang army's camp with vigilance.
Behind the wall of sheep and horses, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty bent their bows under the command of the military leader, and waves of arrows were sprayed out. After all, they were foot bows, and their range was much farther than the Turks' cavalry bows. Look, the black rain of arrows fell, and all the Turkic cavalry fell on their backs.
The battle kicked off with a hail of arrows from both sides. Although the Turks gained the advantage, the Tang army also fought back after enduring the rain of arrows. The two sides were considered a draw. Judging from the casualties, the Turks Maybe I suffered a little loss.
The Turks obviously did not want to see this scene. Taking advantage of the gap between the two arrows, hundreds of cavalry suddenly turned and accelerated, galloping towards the sheep and horse wall.
In fact, there was no so-called sheep and horse wall in the Tang Dynasty. This first line of defense to block barbarian cavalry attacks was actually commonly used in the Song and Ming Dynasties. It was the first line of defense for the city and was about five feet high. On the one hand, the long low wall can block cavalry; on the other hand, because it is very close to the city wall, once an opening is breached by the enemy, the defenders on the city wall and the defenders on both sides behind the sheep and horse wall can combine on three sides to give the enemy a huge blow. Big damage.
This idea was proposed by Li Shan. He did not have much research on ancient warfare and only knew about it. However, Zhang Zhongjian paid attention and arranged this sheep and horse wall outside the Mingsha Camp.
However, because Mingsha Camp is not a city after all, there is no way to build a strong sheep and horse wall. It is just piled with red bricks to block the Turkic cavalry, and a gap is deliberately left in the middle. This is the passage for the Tang army's cavalry to attack, and this Hundreds of Turkic cavalry came in along this passage.
Liu Rengui put his head in to check in person. His original uneasy mood had already disappeared, but now he was filled with restlessness and murderous intent. He was calculating the distance in his mind when he heard heavy footsteps behind him.
"The Duke?"
Kan Ling nodded slightly, "The Turkic cavalry are gathering outside. You don't have enough manpower. Come on together."
"yes."
"Is the shield ready?"
"They are all equipped with large shields, and their crossbows are also ready."
"Okay, shoot the crossbow first and push out the big shield." Kan Ling licked his dry lips and used his right arm to wield the huge Mo Dao as easily as a piece of grass.
Outside the shooting range, thousands of Turkic cavalry were ready to attack. Zhang Zhongjian glanced at Kan Ling, who had already rushed over, and ordered to mobilize troops to make up for it, and then ordered Hou Hongtao and He Liu to lead the cavalry to prepare.
Hundreds of cavalry successfully entered the wall of sheep and horses arranged at random in front and back. The Turkic cavalry in the rear began to tentatively move forward, preparing to break through in one fell swoop and create chaos.
At this moment, sharp crossbow arrows were shot from both sides. In such a narrow space, the power of the crossbow arrows was exerted to the extreme. The gleaming arrows easily tore through all obstacles in front of them.
The Tang sergeant also deliberately lowered his crossbow and aimed it at the horses instead of the knights, so that the dozens of horses in front all fell to the ground wailing. The high-speed horses lost control and smashed several red brick walls of sheep and horses. It collapsed and buried the Tang soldiers behind the wall.
Liu Rengui gritted his teeth and watched as a tall war horse hit by an arrow knocked down the sheep and horse wall and knocked away several soldiers behind the wall.
But it was all worth it. The Turkic cavalry in the rear was blocked by the fallen horses and lost the most important speed of the cavalry. However, there were walls of sheep and horses on both sides. No matter how good the Turks' riding skills were, there was no space and no ability. Room to maneuver.
At this time, Liu Rengui shouted and came from both sides with large shields. The overlapping large shields, which were nearly a person high, squeezed desperately from all directions into the middle, making the already narrow space even narrower.
The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty on the periphery ignored the fighting in the rear. Under the command of the general, they bent their bows and fired arrows again. The dense rain of arrows hit the thousands of Turkic cavalry that were accelerating.
The drums from behind began to intensify, and the rhythm gradually accelerated. Amidst the heavy drums, on both sides of the long sheep and horse wall, Hou Hongtao and He Liufen led hundreds of cavalry to speed out from the reserved passage.
It was just a tentative attack. Thousands of Turkic soldiers hoped to use the surprise attack of hundreds of cavalry in front to break into the Sheep and Horse Wall and pose a direct threat to the Mingsha Camp. If successful, the Turkic army behind would naturally suppress it with its main force. So in a short period of time, thousands of Turkic soldiers were alone.
However, hundreds of Tang cavalry on both sides galloped out from the sheep and horse wall, and the main Turkic force watching the battle from behind could not see clearly.
Tang Jian, who was in the rear, nodded secretly. He and Li Yuan were both in charge of the Imperial Guard. Although he had few military exploits as a leader, he had good eyesight and knew that he would win the first battle.
Tang Jian thought to himself, instead of digging trenches, he used such a wall of sheep and horses as the first line of defense to let the enemy troops in to encircle and annihilate them. He also dared to send troops decisively. The Duke of Guangling marched and fought, showing a bit of sharpness in his stability.
