Not long after, Yang Peng heard the news that Cheng Shijie and Zhan Jinguo had successfully arranged a match and had arranged a marriage! Yang Peng secretly applauded. It seemed that Cheng Shijie's leading example worked well and made his bachelors anxious. Now that these officers have engaged in marriage, they will be more stable when leading troops to fight in the future. This is good news.
At the end of August, Yang Peng brought all 12,000 Huben divisions to the school grounds to test the training results. Now Yang Peng has more than 10,000 soldiers. He still divides these soldiers into four regiments, each regiment has six battalions, that is, each regiment has 3,000 people. After recruiting 10,000 recruits in February, Yang Peng organized the recruits into separate recruit classes, which facilitated unified management of the recruit classes and basic training. Li Zhi also mixed the recruit class and the veteran class at the platoon level, which would help the veterans teach their experience to the recruits and improve the recruits' combat effectiveness.
The recruits practiced formation, shooting and marching hard during the day, and rested in the barracks at night. The veterans who had been on the battlefield had relatively easy training during the day and still had some energy left, so they went to the school set up by Li Zhi at night to learn literacy. By now, the veterans already know many words. Eight thousand literate soldiers were an armed force unprecedented in this era.
Yang Peng is currently equipped with two thousand cavalry: these cavalry are composed of 1,500 veterans from the selected vanguard regiment and 500 veterans from other regiments who have been in the army for three years. These veterans have practiced fighting for three or four years, and their fighting skills are now very proficient, comparable to other servants of the Song Army. Moreover, Yang Peng also equipped them with rifles and handguns, allowing them to complete two shots before a close encounter, allowing them to defeat enemies several times their size.
These cavalry were led by Yang Qi, the leader of the Selection Regiment. Yang Peng also armed two battalions of strong crossbowmen in the selection group. Seven of these crossbowmen operate one crossbow, and a thousand people are equipped with a total of 140 crossbows. The vanguard camp originally had 500 veterans, and the new 500 soldiers were all veterans who had experienced fighting. After half a year of training, the five hundred new crossbowmen are now able to operate the crossbow skillfully.
A thousand crossbowmen were also equipped with muskets. If the enemy rushes towards the artillery, the crossbowmen can kill the enemy with their blunderbuss. Artillerymen equipped with handguns no longer fear the enemy's close combat, and their morale is higher. These crossbowmen were led by Xiang Danian, the second deputy commander of the Selection Regiment. Xiang Danian was one of the first soldiers recruited by Yang Peng, and he was said to be the first group of people saved by the Yang Peng family. He was gradually promoted to an officer because of his seniority. Because he fought bravely and strictly managed the army, his troops had strong combat effectiveness. Yang Peng eventually promoted him to deputy regimental commander, becoming the senior regiment responsible for a thousand artillery troops.
On August 23, half a year after the new recruits entered the camp, the Huben Division showed their training results to their general, Yang Peng, at the school grounds. First, they lined up to enter the school. The soldiers lined up neatly, walked in unison, and entered the school grounds from the west side of the school grounds in company units. When entering, the soldiers lined up in five rows. When they reached the designated position, the team turned left and stopped in the front row of the school field. Twelve thousand soldiers entered the scene in order, and no one lost his chain by mistake.
Next, the four regiments took turns showing the change of formation. Three regiments walked out of the school field, leaving one regiment to demonstrate on the school field: as the command flag waved in the middle of the school field, the company commanders continued to adjust the orders, so that the teams of each company continued to change the thickness of the team-sometimes they became three rows of columns, and The other companies stood in a long line. Sometimes it becomes a team of five platoons deep, forming a phalanx with other companies. There were five rows of warriors standing on all four sides of the phalanx, leaving no sides or rear for enemy cavalry to attack. Sometimes they form a five-row column or a four-row deep circular formation. In short, the formation is constantly changing according to the specific requirements during combat.
Both new recruits and veterans have trained the formation for a long time and are very skilled in organizing formations. Seeing the soldiers well-trained in various formations, Yang Peng stood on the high platform in front of the school field and nodded. Then the salvo is shown. The two thousand cavalrymen of the Selected Front Regiment imitated the enemy's charge, and rode towards the troops performing a volley, making thunderous sound of rolling horse hooves on the barren ground. The soldiers of each regiment calmly completed the loading action in the face of the pressure of the cavalry.
The crossbowman opens the arrow door, bites open the fixed arrow box, closes the mechanism, cleans the arrow chamber with a purge, and bites open the fixing device. The fusilier rifleman loads granular gunpowder into the gun chamber and compacts the granular gunpowder with the purge bar. Load the cone-shaped bullet into the barrel of the gun and press the bullet into it with a purge bar. After loading the bullets, the soldiers moved their ranks under the orders of the platoon leader and fired into the sky.
The soldier who finished shooting immediately moved a step to the right, turned around and walked back, walked to the back of the team and loaded his gun again. The soldiers in the second row quickly walked to the firing position and fired a salvo into the sky. All four regiments successfully completed the salvo. Except for one recruit who was a little nervous and knocked down another recruit behind him when he retreated after shooting, no one else among the nine thousand riflemen made any mistakes.
Yang Peng was very satisfied with the performance of the new recruits and said, "Not bad, the training was good!" Duan Zhixian smiled and said, "These soldiers have been practicing for six hours a day for half a year. Even a fool can become proficient!" Yang Peng smiled. nodded. Next is to check the target hit rate. Nine thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry marched to the shooting range, and each fired three rounds at the target. After two hours of target shooting, the final results reported were: the veteran's hit rate on the humanoid target at 200 meters was 99%, and the recruit's hit rate was 97%.
The soldiers' target hit rate is close to 100%. Even if they are a little nervous on the battlefield, they can still hit a target of 200 meters with a 70% to 80% hit rate. This kind of accuracy is enough to make the Huben Division proud of other armies of this era. Yang Peng's recruits shoot ten rounds a day, and every three months they have to practice a rifle until it is scrapped and needs to be remade. Veterans practice less, but they still wear out a rifle in a year. What's burning isn't the rifle, it's the silver. Which other army in this era has such intensity of training?
Master Huben's strength was developed with one shot after another. Finally, there was a demonstration of crossbow shooting: one hundred and forty crossbows were lined up on the test firing range, shooting at a target 800 meters away. With the help of gun gauges, gun rulers and moment gauges, the crossbowmen's first shot only missed the target by a few meters, and the second shot all hit the circular target area with a diameter of five meters.
The crossbowmen also demonstrated high-speed shotgun shooting - when the enemy rushed forward, the crossbowmen did not cool down the arrow barrel, did not push the crossbow cart back to its original position, and did not use instruments such as musket gauges to aim. People work together to load the long arrows as quickly as possible, and shoot shotguns at the enemy groups rushing forward. Yang Peng stood behind the strong crossbow and assessed it. Under such extremely fast shooting conditions, the strong crossbow could fire a round of shotgun shells in seventeen or eight seconds.
If the enemy's cavalry charges into formation, it can only charge two hundred meters in seventeen or eight seconds. In other words, Yang Peng's artillery can hit the enemy's cavalry twice with shotguns at extremely high speed. A shotgun can hit a large area, and it is very scary to be hit by shotgun twice in one charge. Yang Peng was very satisfied with the training results of the new recruits and veterans, and said loudly: "The training was good."
The drums of the Chinese army sounded, symbolizing the encouragement of the city lord Yang Peng to the soldiers! Twelve thousand soldiers were inspired and shouted loudly: "Victory!
On September 27, Zhang Yan traveled 300 miles from Youzhou to Tianjing New City to write a letter: the Khitan army entered the fortress and the military situation was urgent. The Khitan soldiers were pressing down on the territory. Yang Peng did not dare to neglect and immediately took action to mobilize his troops and prepare to go to Yingzhou.
In the early morning of September 28, the second year of Xianping, when Zhang Xiang was busy packing his luggage, Yang Paifeng sat with his son Zhang Huan in his arms and watched, and started crying as he watched. Zhang Xiang quickly hugged Yang Paifeng and said with a smile: "Don't cry, Paifeng won't cry!" Yang Paifeng sobbed and said, "Why are you sent to fight in another place? What will happen if you lose?"
Zhang Xiang smiled and said, "You won't lose. How could your husband be so powerful?" Yang Paifeng wiped his tears and said, "What if? There are so many Khitan troops, and you only have ten thousand." People. And the Khitan soldiers are so fierce. If they rush into your army formation, many people will die!" After thinking about it, Yang Paifeng started crying more and more, and said: "The year before last, we fought the Khitan soldiers, and last year we fought against the bandits. The Khitans are going to fight again this year! If we have to fight every year, we can’t live a peaceful life for a good year!"
"With all the people in the nest, how can the eggs be finished?" Zhang Xiang wiped away Yang Paifeng's tears and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll give up when I see you. If I can't fight, I will lead my troops and flee back to Tianjing New City, okay!" Yang Paifeng His eyes lit up and he said: "As promised, if the situation is not right, you can't be a deserter. This is very shameful!"
Zhang Xiang nodded and said, "Don't worry, your husband wants to save the country and will not die on the battlefield." Yang Paifeng stopped crying and stared blankly at Zhang Xiang packing his luggage. Zhang Xiang simply packed his luggage, and the soldiers came in and helped Zhang Xiang move his luggage to the carriage outside the official hall. Yang Paifeng followed Yang Paifeng with his son in his arms, and followed step by step to the entrance of the official hall, full of grievances.
At the entrance of the official hall, master Lin Qing'er was already standing there with his maid. When he saw Yang Peng, he said: "My son, be careful on the battlefield and don't get hurt by the sword!" Yang Peng said with a smile: "Don't worry, master! I will be careful." The news about Yang Peng has spread, and the entrance to the official hall is now filled with people watching. Seeing Yang Peng get on his horse, the crowd burst into cheers.
"The Khitan dogs were killed!" "The city lord is the Khitan's nemesis!" "The city lord will definitely kill all the Khitan dogs this time!"
The Kingdom of Zhan Jin, who was arranged by Yang Peng to stay behind in Tianjing New City, came up and said, "Brother, what will happen if the Khitan soldiers attack Tianjing New City?" Yang Peng brought out 10,000 troops this time, and left more than 2,000 soldiers behind to guard Tianjing New City. Jingxin City was commanded by the Kingdom of Zhanjin. The soldiers left to guard Tianjing New City were veterans drawn from the other three regiments besides the Selected Front Regiment. Together with more than 200 auxiliary soldiers and more than 100 crossbowmen, Tianjing New City had 2,400 defenders. The ravines outside Tianjing New City are filled with traps. Even if the Khitan army leads a large army to attack, these soldiers and horses should have no problem guarding Tianjing New City for ten days.
Yang Peng said: "Remember, if more than 5,000 Khitan people attack the city, report it to me immediately, and I will definitely lead my troops back to support." Zhan Jinguo said: "Okay, I understand!" Yang Peng bowed to the crowd of onlookers. , riding towards the south of the city. Halfway through the ride, surgeon Shen Yuji, who was waiting on the road, also rode over with more than 20 apprentices. Shen Yuji went out with the army to serve as a military doctor this time, but he was obviously not used to riding a horse, and he looked very nervous holding the reins on the horse.
Yang Peng raised his hands and said to Shen Yuji: "This expedition will cause trouble to Mr. Shen and all the disciples!" Shen Yuji said: "In three months in Tianjing New City, Shen learned too much from the general. , it was really enlightening. It was all thanks to the general’s guidance that Shen got started in medical skills. Thinking about it, Shen was really a country boy in the past! The city lord can be said to be Shen’s mentor again, so what’s the trouble? "
Yang Peng smiled and led a group of people to the south military camp of Tianjing New City. Walking to the south of the city, the soldiers in the military camp and the temporarily hired baggage men had already lined up. As soon as they saw Yang Peng coming, they lined up and joined Yang Peng's team. Ten thousand soldiers, carrying bags and rifles, followed Yang Peng majestically. They took 3,000 baggage carriers, escorted 3,000 baggage carts and 140 crossbow carts, and followed Yang Peng to the south gate in a mighty manner.
When we arrived at the south gate, we found that the city gate was already crowded with people seeing Yang Peng off. The people held rice wine and well water in their hands to see Li Zhi off. "City Lord, kill a few more Khitan dogs for us and other people this time!" "Drive the Khitan out of the Great Wall!" "Let the Khitan dogs never come back!"
People who were seeing off their brothers or sons were crowded outside the city gate. The relatives of these soldiers were either high-spirited, full of expectations, or worried. They could not walk into the queue of soldiers, but kept waving their hands and watching their brothers and sons go to the battlefield from a distance.
Shen Yuji looked at the people seeing him off, took a deep breath, and the army suddenly sang a military song: "Look at China, the people are suffering, and the fertile land for thousands of miles is barren. Look at the world, there are only barbarians, and every man can make up for the incompleteness of heaven. Good man , farewell to parents, just for the sake of the common people and not for the Lord. Holding a ninety-nine steel knife, I will stop after killing all Hu'er."
Yang Peng laughed heartily and said: "Good song, well sung, we will stop after killing all the Hu'er!" Yang Peng waved his hand and shouted: "Go to war!" The horn of the Chinese army sounded, and 10,000 soldiers and horses released their scouts. They marched towards Yizhou in neat formation.
After six days of walking, the envoy sent by Yang Peng to Yingzhou received news that as he approached Yingzhou, he felt a chilling atmosphere of an impending war. The Khitan army had apparently reached the outskirts of Yingzhou. Many villages were plundered by the Khitan army, with people and animals taken away, leaving them deserted and deserted. Some barns and houses were set on fire by the Khitan army, leaving only ruins.
The area near Yingzhou was plundered by the Khitans twice in two years and was in dilapidated condition. Yang Peng sent out a thousand scouts to carefully inquire about the Qing army's situation nearby, hoping to penetrate from areas where there were no Khitan troops.
Hua Zhang, commander of the first platoon of the fourth company of the third battalion of the Selective Regiment, took a platoon of thirty soldiers to hide on a hill, hiding in the bushes on the top of the hill, observing the surrounding enemy situation with binoculars. This time Hua Zhang led his troops deep into Yingzhou and Hexi, and entered fifty miles away from the Khitan army's camp to spy on the Khitan army's troop arrangements. The area around the hilltop is already controlled by the Khitan army, and from time to time small groups of Khitan troops gallop back and forth. Those Khitan troops only had one or two hundred men in each group. Hua Zhang's platoon of thirty men couldn't defeat them, so they could only hide on the top of the mountain and peek.
Hua Zhang looked through the binoculars for a while and then cursed: "Eight thieves are dead, so many Khitan troops have come!" A squad leader said next to him: "I'm afraid that 50,000 Khitan troops have come?" Another squad leader said: " Fifty thousand people have this momentum? I think there are 100,000 Khitan soldiers! Everyone was discussing there, but saw another group of Khitan coming from the distance. Hua Zhang saw it clearly through the telescope. The Khitan group was led by a man wearing heavy armor. There were about 150 people led by Bo Shiku. All of these Khitans were riding horses, and there were more than thirty people with two horses. They looked very elite. This group of Khitans came from the north and walked to where Hua Zhang was. There was a sudden stop on the hill.
Fende Bashiku seemed to have discovered something. He shouted a few times and sent ten single-horse infantrymen up the hill to search. Hua Zhang suddenly shouted: "I've been discovered! Let's go! Escape!" He yelled for the soldiers to get on their horses and run away. Then he jumped on his horse and rode towards the south. Seeing the platoon leader taking the lead, the other soldiers fled south one by one.
When the Khitan soldiers at the foot of the mountain saw that there were indeed Song troops on the mountain, they shouted loudly and mobilized their troops and horses to pursue them. Horse hooves rolled, raising countless smoke and dust. Thirty soldiers from the Selection Regiment and more than a hundred Khitans chased each other across the land of Yingzhou. The scouts of the vanguard selection team all have one man and two horses. After riding for a while, the horse can be replaced when the horse loses strength. Moreover, all the horses they ride are selected and excellent war horses. Their endurance is much stronger than ordinary pack horses and they can ride very fast. There were many auxiliaries and followers among those Khitan soldiers. Only half of the more than 100 people rode war horses, and the remaining half could only be regarded as pack horses and could not catch up with the fast horses of the soldiers of the Selected Front Regiment.
After chasing for ten miles, the Khitan team was already out of touch: more than sixty vests and infantrymen on war horses rushed in front, biting the scouts of the Selected Frontier Regiment more than a mile away. The auxiliary soldiers and followers on pack horses fell behind the team, already more than two miles away from the elite in front.
Hua Zhang looked back at the disjointed Khitan soldiers and his eyes lit up. He slowed down his horse and shouted: "Stop the horse! Fight!" The running soldiers were stunned, wondering why the platoon leader didn't escape again. But several squad leaders are veterans and know how to obey orders. They rode their horses around to gather the skirmishers, shouting loudly: "Stop your horses and fight!"
Amid the squad leader's shouts, thirty veterans of the selection team stopped their horses and gradually gathered around Hua Zhang. They took off the rifles from their backs and began to load them, preparing to meet the impact of the Tatar horseback infantry. Not only did they load their rifles, but they also loaded the muskets on their belts, ready to be pulled out and fired at any time.
The squad leader of the first squad looked at the menacing Khitan cavalry and infantry three hundred meters away. He thought for a moment and said, "The platoon leader is brilliant! These sixty or so cavalry and infantry were out of touch with the auxiliary soldiers behind them, and they were shot to death by us!" "Hua Zhang nodded and said: "Aim the gun!"
More than thirty veterans on horseback raised their rifles and took aim at the over sixty Khitan soldiers. When the Khitan soldiers saw the Song army running very fast with one man and two horses, they thought they could not catch up, but unexpectedly the Song army stopped. The Khitan soldiers were overjoyed and rushed forward with their horned bows.
At a distance of 300 meters, 250 meters, 200 meters, the Khitan soldiers entered the rifle range. Hua Zhang aimed at Fende Bashiku, who was wearing heavy armor, and shouted: "Shoot!" Thirty-one rifles It spurted out tongues of fire and poured thirty-one bullets towards the Khitan cavalry two hundred meters away. The Khitan infantry soldiers in the front row seemed to have hit a wall and fell down one after another. Blood splattered on their bodies, their internal organs were shattered by bullets, and they no longer had the strength to hold on to the reins and fell under the horses.
Their fallen bodies became an obstacle, tripping up the two horses behind them. Twelve double-armored cavalry soldiers were also shot, but the kinetic energy of the bullets weakened after penetrating the iron-inlaid cotton armor and chain mail, and did not cause much damage to them. Fende Bashiku, who was wearing three layers of heavy armor, was also hit by Hua Zhang, but the mini bullet did not break through his three layers of armor, but only caused him to pause on his horse.
Khitan was hit hard and was stunned. He stopped his horse and hesitated for a while beside the eleven fallen infantry. However, Fende Bashiku was still unwilling to let go of the thirty Song troops and shouted loudly: "Song's firearms can only shoot once, rush up and shoot them to death with bows and arrows."
Inspired by their leader, the remaining fifty Khitan soldiers dropped the infantry corpses on the ground and continued to rush toward the soldiers of the Selected Front Regiment two hundred meters away. At the moment when the Khitans rushed over, the cavalrymen of the Selected Front Regiment loaded their guns and ammunition as quickly as possible, trying to load their bullets before the Tatar soldiers rushed in front of them. These veterans of the Selection Team have been practicing for four years. They are familiar with the rifles and can load the bullets in only sixteen or seven seconds. When the Khitan soldiers rushed to 60 meters away, the soldiers of the Selection Regiment freely shot at the pressing Tatar soldiers without waiting for Hua Zhang's order.
At a distance of 60 meters, the soldiers of the Selective Front Regiment had an astonishing hit rate, with nine out of ten shots hitting. Moreover, flintlock bullets using granular gunpowder are extremely lethal at a distance of 60 meters, and even double-layer armor and triple-layer armor cannot prevent it. Thirty-one soldiers of the Selective Regiment fired a round of bullets and killed more than twenty Khitan soldiers in the middle of the charge.
The Khitans were stunned. How come the firepower of these thirty Song troops was so fierce? Two layers of armor can't stop their bullets? In just a short while, the Song army had killed nearly forty warriors. Where did this strong army come from? More than sixty Khitan disciples in infantry and vests rushed into the formation, and in the blink of an eye, only about twenty people were left. Before the Khitans could react, the scouts from the vanguard selection group began to charge. They galloped towards the Khitan, pulling out the muskets from their belts during the sprint.
"Kill the Khitan dogs!" Seeing the Ming army soldiers rushing forward, the Khitan soldiers panicked and pulled up their bows and arrows, and shot at the advancing soldiers of the Selection Regiment. The bows and arrows fired by the Khitan soldiers while charging were not very accurate. Only five or six of the more than 20 arrows hit the soldiers of the Selection Group. Moreover, the soldiers of the Selection Corps wear chain mail. Even if they are shot, the bow and arrow will not penetrate very deeply into the body after breaking through the chain armor of the Selection Corps. As long as they are not hit in vital parts, the Khitan soldiers' bows and arrows will not cause much trauma to the soldiers.
Only two soldiers of the Selection Regiment lost their combat effectiveness: one of them was shot into the left chest by a Khitan soldier's bow and arrow, breaking his heart and fell under his horse. Another soldier was shot in the face and lay prone on his horse in severe pain. He was seriously injured and completely lost his combat effectiveness.
The horses on both sides sprinted, and the distance was reduced to twenty meters in a blink of an eye. Before the Khitan soldiers had time to shoot the second arrow, the soldiers of the Selected Front Regiment opened fire with their muskets. Only a crackling sound was heard, and the remaining twenty or so Khitan soldiers were almost wiped out in one fell swoop. The handgun's armor-breaking ability at a distance of twenty meters is very powerful. No matter how many layers of armor it is worn, it will be penetrated by one shot. About sixteen or seven Khitan soldiers fell in a pool of blood, including the three-layer heavy armor Fende Bashiku, who also screamed and fell under his horse.
In the end, only six Khitan soldiers in the back row were still alive. These six Khitan soldiers witnessed a team of more than 60 horse and infantry troops being completely wiped out by the Song army. At this time, they were surrounded by 30 veterans of the Selection Regiment. They were completely frightened and did not dare to fight anymore. They all went outside regardless of the situation. Escape. Hua Zhang directed the soldiers to load their rifles and shoot at the six fleeing Khitan troops. The six Khitan soldiers fled to a height of more than 100 meters and were beaten into a hornet's nest by thirty rifles.
It only took half a cup of tea to kill more than sixty main Khitan troops. The Khitan army auxiliary soldiers and soldiers one mile away saw that the limelight was not right, turned their horses and fled, and fled without entering the battle. Hua Zhang asked the soldiers to treat several soldiers injured by arrows. Although the Khitan soldiers' bows and arrows were poisoned by horse dung, if the injury was not deep, as long as the arrows were pulled out in time to prevent the poison from spreading into the flesh, serious injuries would not be caused.
In this small-scale battle, Hua Zhang's men annihilated sixty-three Khitan soldiers, horse armor, and infantry at the cost of one death and one serious injury. Although he lost two brothers, Hua Zhang was still very excited about his considerable military achievements. Hua Zhang jumped off his horse and searched among the fallen Tatar soldiers, catching seven wounded alive. Hua Zhang was overjoyed: if he got a living mouth, he would have information about the Khitan army.
Let’s see what happens next time.
