The wooden bridge was very heavy, and there were some wooden shields hanging on the front and sides. It was very difficult for more than 20 people to walk on the wooden bridge, and the speed was very slow. According to Yang Peng's estimation, these wooden bridges cannot advance half a meter per second. It took a stick of incense to walk across ten wooden bridges before reaching the front of the trench. At a distance of 200 meters, Yang Peng's Huben division began to shoot at the wooden bridge. Six hundred rounds of bullets were fired at the auxiliary soldiers and followers who were building the wooden bridge, hitting the wooden shield in front of the wooden bridge.
However, Huben Division's bullets failed to kill the Khitan army under the wooden bridge. The wooden shields placed in front and on both sides of those wooden bridges were very thick, with planks as thick as half a fist. The rifle hit the wood with a crackling sound, causing sawdust to fly, but it did not cause any casualties to the auxiliary soldiers behind the wooden shield. After a round of shooting, the Khitan army was safe and sound.
Seeing this, the Khitan army burst into cheers. Yang Peng's riflemen couldn't kill the Khitan army building the bridge, so the Khitan army could build the wooden bridge with arrogance. Then the Khitan soldiers from behind came up and killed 70,000 Yang Peng's 10,000 men, leaving nothing behind. Several Khitan generals who were watching the battle behind even thought that the wooden shield hanging on the wooden bridge was very good. When fighting Yang Peng in the future, should every soldier rushing into the battle carry this kind of wooden shield forward? Guard against rifles?
Shitai Wooden Bridge slowly walked to the front of the first ditch, pressed the front end of the wooden bridge against the side of the ditch, and then pushed the back end of the wooden bridge with all their strength, allowing the back end of the wooden bridge to climb over the ditch and land on the other side. Three wooden bridges were built over the trench, which became a thoroughfare. As soon as the three wooden bridges were placed, the more than 20 auxiliary soldiers under the three wooden bridges fled back behind the wooden shields and slowly retreated behind them holding the wooden shields. After leaving the wooden bridge, the wooden shield could still be held by more than twenty Khitan soldiers. Although the wooden shields were heavy and made the soldiers walk slowly, under the protection of the wooden shields, Yang Peng's riflemen could only watch the Khitans retreat slowly.
The seven wooden bridges at the back pass through three wooden bridges and press towards the second ditch. In the Huben Division's formation, Lu Hu, the second deputy commander of the Selected Wings Regiment, commanded one hundred and forty powerful crossbows. He squinted at the wooden bridge of the Khitan army in front of him and asked, "General, do you want to shoot them with a powerful crossbow?"
To deal with this half-fist-thick wooden armor, long arrows should really be used. However, Yang Peng was afraid that one shot of the long arrow would scare away the 70,000 Khitan troops. Yang Peng shook his head and said: "Don't use long arrows first, use the trebuchet to push back these seven wooden bridges with solid bullets!" After thinking about it, Yang Peng said again: "The trebuchet should be slower, don't scare them. "
Lu Hu sang loudly and directed ten trebuchets to aim at the seven wooden bridges that were slowly advancing. Only a few loud "boom boom" sounds were heard, and ten trebuchets hidden behind the earthen fort opened fire, shooting solid bullets towards the seven wooden bridges more than 100 meters away. The five-kilogram stone roared through the air and slammed into the wooden bridge. The distance was very close, and the hit rate of the ten trebuchets was very high, with eight of them hitting. Those half-punch-thick wooden shields could block bullets, but in front of the stone they were like paper, torn apart easily. The solid shells hit the auxiliary soldiers and followers under the wooden bridge, destroying everything they touched.
Even if a hand or foot is touched by these stones, it will be severed immediately. If the torso of the body is hit by a stone, he will die immediately. The shells did not stop until they penetrated at least three or four layers of Khitan troops. The blood splattered from the wound was like spilled paint, instantly splashing all over the inside of the wooden bridge, splashing all the Khitan soldiers under the wooden bridge on their faces. The auxiliary soldiers and followers under the wooden bridge were hit hard, their morale was shaken, and any followers wanted to escape.
"Wanda" who was directing the battle saw that the soldiers had lost morale and shouted loudly from under the wooden bridge: "Rush to the third trench, everyone raise the flag!" Raise the flag! That is the lifelong ideal of countless followers. When you raise the flag, you are no longer a man and a slave. You can be a flag-bearer with your head held high, you can have enough food, wear warm clothes, and have women! When the followers heard "Wanda"'s words, their morale was greatly boosted. They howled back to their posts and moved forward while supporting the heavy wooden bridge with all their strength.
The Qitai Wooden Bridge kept going for more than 20 meters, and the second round of stones began. Ten trebuchets sprayed shells towards the wooden bridge, and ten shells slammed into the bottom of the seven wooden bridges. Eight out of ten artillery shells hit the target, and another scream was heard below the wooden bridge. Dozens of auxiliary soldiers and followers were broken by the shells and fell in a pool of blood.
A wooden bridge was hit by three cannons. The damage was so great that the surviving Khitan soldiers could no longer lift the wooden bridge. They abandoned the wooden bridge in front of the trench, held up their wooden shields, and retreated slowly. Six more wooden bridge trucks arrived in front of the second trench and lowered two wooden bridges.
Seeing that the six wooden bridges in front successfully reached the second trench, the Khitan army cheered in unison. Guru Sichabu of the Karaqin tribe, a nobleman from the outer vassal, said happily: "General, this wooden bridge can be used!" Han Derang and Xiao Tianma looked at each other, their eyes full of joy. Since the ten wooden bridges can advance to the second level of trench under the fire pressure of ten trebuchets, the one thousand wooden bridges can advance at the same time, and the one hundred and forty crossbows cannot be defended in any case. Xiao Tianma's wooden bridge strategy is feasible!
Xiao Tianzuo touched his long beard and was silent. On the front of the battlefield, the four wooden bridges that were still moving forward were hit by another round of artillery fire when they reached between the second trench and the third trench. The Qing soldiers on the two wooden bridges could not resist, so they abandoned the wooden bridge and retreated with their wooden shields. The other two wooden bridges were pushed all the way to the third wooden bridge, and the two wooden bridges were built on the third trench.
After the wooden bridge was built, the Qing soldiers under the two wooden bridges held up their wooden shields and retreated. They successfully reached the third level of trench and were able to raise the flag! The followers among the Khitan soldiers were so excited that their faces were red with blood. Seeing this scene, the 70,000 Khitan troops in front of the Chinese army were able to advance to the third layer of trenches with ten wooden bridges and with thunderous cheers. Wouldn't it be easy to pass through these trenches with a thousand wooden bridges at the same time? The Khitan soldiers seemed to have seen the scene of thousands of wooden bridges standing on the ditch with long arrows, and 70,000 warriors crossing the wooden bridges and killing the Song army to pieces.
Handerang turned his head happily and said to Xiao Tianzuo: "General, the wooden bridge can work!" Xiao Tianzuo didn't know why, but he became nervous unexpectedly. He looked at the Song Army's stronghold in front, uncertain. Seeing that his strategy was working, Xiao Tianma was a little proud and said loudly: "Commander General, let the warriors go forward. We can defeat these Song troops in just one stick of incense!"
Yibai, a nobleman of the Xi tribe, said: "General, in order to get out of the customs, we can only build a wooden bridge and rush across!" Even the Xi army, who had been a little flustered, no longer said dejected words, but stared blankly at the ditch. wooden bridge. Yang Peng's rifles and crossbows opened fire, but the wooden bridge still rushed forward. No matter how you look at it, the situation is favorable to the Khitan army.
Xiao Tianzuo gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, let's rush to the wooden bridge!" The horn of the Khitan army's central army blew, and the flag was waved, giving the order for a general attack. Amidst the rhythmic drumbeats, twenty to thirty thousand auxiliary soldiers and followers shouted loudly, grabbed the edge of the wooden bridge, and lifted the wooden bridge with all their strength. The auxiliary soldiers and followers got under the wooden bridge, held it up, and moved it towards the four ditches.
More than a thousand wooden bridges, like more than a thousand armored vehicles, pressed towards the Huben Division. Those wooden bridges are about three meters wide, but the front of Yang Peng's fortress is only more than 700 meters. With the gaps between the wooden bridges, only more than a hundred wooden bridges can be placed on one front. There are a thousand wooden bridges lined up in a long line, with eight or nine floors, which looks majestic.
However, the wooden bridge was very slow, and it took more than ten minutes to reach the first ditch. Yang Peng did not let the crossbow fire. The Khitan army was a little surprised and sped up their hands and feet. The first row of wooden bridges in front built the wooden bridges over the first ditch. A total of two hundred wooden bridges were built over it, turning the first ditch into a flat ground.
The Khitan soldiers who had laid the wooden bridge retreated holding their wooden shields. Seeing that the first trench was paved with a wooden bridge, the Khitan army in front of the Chinese army burst into joy. Xiao Tianma held up his riding whip and said: "Commander General, it won't be long before we can pave four trenches and rush up." Xiao Tianzuo was wondering why Yang Peng didn't shoot. He felt a little anxious and looked at Xiao Tianma. No words were spoken.
After the first trench was paved, 800 wooden bridges crossed the first trench, only 180 meters away from Yang Peng's powerful crossbow. The reason why Yang Peng asked the Khitan army to pave the first trench was because he was afraid that the Khitan army would collapse and escape after receiving the first round of long arrows. The long arrow range of the powerful crossbow is 850 meters. After the Khitan army's wooden bridge enters 180 meters, they have to run the same distance forward and backward to escape the long arrow range. In other words, the Khitan army that had passed through the first trench had fallen into the middle of the strike range of the crossbows.
Yang Peng sneered and shouted: "Strong crossbow! Shoot!" The trebuchets fired at the same time. One hundred and forty crossbows were already ready for use. At Yang Peng's order, one hundred trebuchets fired. The powerful crossbows fired in unison, shooting long arrows at the eight hundred Khitan military wooden bridges one hundred and eighty meters away.
Fourteen thousand long arrows were like a torrential rain, overwhelming the sky, pouring towards the auxiliary soldiers and followers of the Khitan army. A large number of stones from the trebuchets hit the Khitan army. The wooden shields under the wooden bridge of the Khitan army were thick enough to withstand rifle bullets. But in front of long arrows and stones, these wooden shields were useless. The stone flew from a distance of 180 meters and hit the wooden shield hard, like a can opener meeting a sardine can, punching through the wooden shield without any hindrance.
The clicking sounds of wood being punched through merged into a loud "boom". Each wooden shield was hit by at least a dozen projectiles. The front wooden shields of more than a hundred vehicles in the first row of the wooden bridge were all destroyed. There were broken pieces of wood flying everywhere, and from a distance it looked like a cloud rising from the wooden bridge. After the stone penetrated the wooden shield, it still had kinetic energy and continued to stab at the back, stabbing to death four or five auxiliary soldiers in the first and second rows under the wooden bridge before stopping.
Blood spurted out like water from the body shot by the shotgun, like small fountains, splashing everywhere inside the wooden shield. The air that was dry just a moment ago was suddenly filled with the salty smell of blood, making people breathless. Without the protection of wooden shields, not only the auxiliary soldiers and followers in the front row were killed by long arrows, but the Khitan soldiers in the back row were also immediately in danger. Without the protection of wooden shields, the Khitan soldiers under the wooden bridge were nakedly exposed to the riflemen's muzzles.
The riflemen opened fire without hesitation. The Khitan soldiers, who were densely arrayed one hundred and eighty meters up and slowly moved while holding the wooden bridge, were the best targets. Even if the bullet misses the Khitan soldiers in front, it will hit the Khitan soldiers behind. The six hundred soldiers in the first row pressed the trigger, and blood flowers bloomed from the bodies of the Khitan soldiers one after another.
Screams appeared from under more than a hundred wooden bridges at the same time, as if they had been arranged. The Khitan soldiers who were shot were struggling on the ground, twitching and shouting. They covered their bullet wounds, hoping to stop the bleeding. But the rotating bullet destroyed too many body tissues, and the body under the wound had turned into a bloody paste. The blood was like a chirping spring water, constantly flowing out of the wound.
The Khitan soldiers under the first row of wooden bridges suffered heavy losses. Carrying the heavy wooden bridge to attack the rifle array would undoubtedly lead to death. They threw the wooden bridge to the ground in a panic and fled behind them. However, the Tiger Division in the stronghold still refused to let them go. Six hundred soldiers in the second row quickly stepped up to the shooting position and shot at the fleeing Khitan soldiers. The crackling gunfire sounded, and the fleeing Khitan troops fell down one after another as if they were blown down by the strong wind. Hundreds more people died in the gunfire. In the central formation of the Khitan army, the Khitan generals and Xi tribe nobles saw the scene on the battlefield and were all shocked and speechless.
This Yang Peng is cheating! When the ten wooden bridges rushed into the formation just now, why didn't he use the scatter cannon? Now a thousand wooden bridges have rushed halfway, with no way forward and no retreat. At this time, Yang Peng used his scattershot to shoot arrows at the Khitan army's wooden bridge.
What an insidious southerner! Handerang's face turned a little pale, and he murmured: "Too bad, even if we retreat now, we will be bombarded with stones several times." Xiao Tianma panicked again, grabbed Xiao Tianzuo's sleeve and said: "General, hurry up Retreat! Wait until the Queen Mother comes! The Queen Mother comes, there must be a way!" Xiao Tianzuo also didn't expect such a battle situation, so he closed his eyes weakly.
Handerang's face was red with anxiety, and he turned around and said loudly: "General, don't retreat! Even if you retreat, you will have to endure several rounds of shooting. The soldiers will die in vain! It takes a long time for Yang Peng's powerful crossbow to hit once. Xiao Tian opened his left eye It opened my eyes. Indeed, when the ten wooden bridges rushed into the formation just now, Yang Peng's cannon fired very slowly. If calculated at that rate of fire, a thousand wooden bridges could rush to the fourth trench.
Xiao Tianzuo gritted his teeth and said: "Blow the horn and let the auxiliary soldiers charge with the soldiers!" Yang Peng stood in front of the formation and smiled when he heard the horn of the Khitan army charging into the formation. As expected, the Khitan army was not scared away and continued to charge forward. The maximum rate of fire of Yang Peng's crossbow can reach three or four rounds per minute. But that's without cooling the arrow barrel and moving the ballista back to its original position. After firing ten times at that extreme rate of fire, the barrel will become completely red-hot and can no longer fire. If you have to do all the steps, use a wet cloth to cool the arrow barrel, and use a gun gauge and other tools to aim, the crossbow can only fire one shot per minute.
Of course, Yang Peng's long arrows now don't need a musket to aim. Even if the sword tube is cooled, it can take 40 seconds to fire. However, Yang Peng was unwilling to collapse all the wooden bridges of the Khitan Army. If all the wooden bridges were collapsed, the armored soldiers of the Khitan Army would not rush forward.
Yang Peng shouted to Lu Hu: "Slow fire! Don't defeat the Khitan soldiers!" Hearing the horn of the Chinese army, the auxiliary soldiers and followers of the Khitan army regained their morale and walked forward howling. The battle situation was critical. These Khitan soldiers gritted their teeth and quickened their pace, hoping to rush to the trench and lay a wooden bridge quickly.
Fortunately, the Song Army's artillery fired only once in a long time. After that round of Sanzi artillery fire, the Song Army did not fire again for a long time. The auxiliary soldiers and followers under a row of wooden bridges walked to the second trench, lowered more than a hundred wooden bridges, and then retreated with their wooden shields. Seeing that the second trench had also been paved with a wooden bridge, the Khitan army heaved a sigh of relief.
Yang Peng's powerful crossbow is not that scary. If we fight once for so long, the auxiliary soldiers and followers will be able to rush to the fourth level of trench! The situation is favorable to the Khitan army! The more than 500 wooden bridges of the Khitan Army continued to advance and slowly approached the third trench.
There was silence in Yang Peng's formation for a minute, and then one hundred and forty six-power crossbows and trebuchets opened fire again. More than a thousand long arrows and stones from Gill's trebuchet instantly dominated all the space in front of the formation, attacking more than a hundred wooden bridges in the front row with overwhelming force. The thick wooden shields under the wooden bridge were as fragile as glass in the face of iron projectiles, and they would break when touched. Not only could the broken pieces of wood no longer protect the Khitan soldiers behind them, they had even turned into deadly weapons that would cut open the skin and blood vessels of the Khitan soldiers behind them. Under the double attack of wooden blocks and projectiles, the auxiliary soldiers wearing cotton armor and the followers without armor were killed and injured, and fell to the ground screaming.
This is a massacre. The Khitan soldiers holding the wooden bridge were hit head-on by the riflemen before they could react to the onslaught of long arrows.
The Khitan soldiers carrying the bridge moved slowly and seemed to be stationary in the sight. The riflemen hit these Khitan soldiers as if they were shooting targets. There was blood flying everywhere again, and the six hundred riflemen killed more than four hundred auxiliary soldiers with just one volley.
Seeing that the situation was not good, this row of wooden bridges collapsed again. As more than 2,000 Khitan troops collapsed, the 600 riflemen in the back row who were waiting in front of Yang Peng's formation stepped forward and shot again, killing hundreds more fleeing Khitan troops. It wasn't until these broken soldiers ran behind the wooden bridge in the rear row and were stopped by the wooden shields of the wooden bridge in the rear row that the riflemen stopped shooting them. However, the Khitan army numbered 70,000, and the Khitan soldiers in the back row were still full of morale under the encouragement of the Khitan army officers. The auxiliary soldiers and followers abandoned more than a thousand lives, withstood the second round of shooting by the Song army and continued to advance.
After Yang Peng's powerful crossbow fired for one round, it became quiet. While the Song army was reloading arrows, the Khitan army built more than a hundred wooden bridges over the third trench, successfully turning the third trench into a thoroughfare. Seeing that the third trench was paved with a wooden bridge, the nobles of the Xi tribe in the Khitan Army looked at each other for a while, with faces full of joy.
If you persist for a while, you can rush to the fourth trench.
The auxiliary soldiers and followers rushed towards the fourth trench at the rear, holding the last two hundred or so wooden bridges. The Khitan soldiers knew that even if the Song army above fired another round of powerful crossbows, there would still be at least a hundred wooden bridges that could bridge the fourth trench. As long as we walk a dozen steps forward, all the trenches will be conquered by the Khitan army, and the large Khitan army can cross the trenches and kill the Song army in the stronghold. The Khitan army's central military office blew the bull's horn to boost morale again, encouraging the Khitan soldiers lifting the bridge to rush forward.
Hearing the sound of the horn, the Khitan soldiers changed from walking to running, rushing forward with all their strength, towards the fourth trench. More than a dozen steps away from the fourth trench, the crossbows and trebuchets on the Ming army's stronghold opened fire again. The stone bombardment, the long arrow piercing the chest and then to the second soldier's chest, some powerful crossbow arrows can actually hit four Khitan soldiers. Then the Song Army's rifle fire followed.
The wood blocks that flew out after the wooden shield was broken by the stone bullets were extremely lethal. Many auxiliary soldiers wearing cotton armor were cut to death by the wood blocks. The projectiles of stone bullets are even more deadly. Thin cotton armor is as fragile as paper in front of these projectiles, let alone those without armor. If you get hit in the head, your skull will be broken. Being hit in the stomach is a big wound that rips out the intestines.
The riflemen's shooting was even more tricky, hitting the Khitan soldiers' torsos with each shot. The Khitan soldiers in the first few rows were either dead or wounded. After trebuchet bombing and rifle fire, more than a thousand Khitan soldiers fell to the hard soil in early spring in North China, and their blood flowed into streams. A row of wooden bridges were defeated, and thousands of Khitan soldiers retreated in confusion. As they fled, rifles were fired, chasing them all the way.
But more than a hundred wooden bridges in the back row survived the artillery fire and volleys of guns. They howled and struggled to hold the wooden bridges and rushed to the front of the fourth trench. They pressed the base of the wooden bridge against the ditch, pushed the upper part of the wooden bridge, and allowed the wooden bridge to cross the ditch. With a "bang", it was set up on the low earth wall opposite the ditch.
Wooden bridges have been built on all four trenches. The Khitan army's wooden bridge tactic can be said to be successful. Deafening cheers erupted from the ranks of the Khitan army. Xiao Tianma's eyes were red with excitement and he shouted: "General, the wooden bridge is successful! Rush up!"
Han Derang also shouted: "Commander, General, rush forward. If Yang Peng's troops come out to destroy the wooden bridge! Our bridge-building soldiers will die in vain!" Xiao Tianzuo was also excited about the success of the wooden bridge. Waving his hands and shouting: "The whole army rushes into battle!"
Xiao Tianzuo gave the order, and the trombones of the Chinese army sounded for attack. The Chinese army behind them waved their flags and conveyed orders to the various units of the Xi tribe's coalition forces. There were 25,000 Khitan troops from the Liao Kingdom, 20,000 troops from the Xi tribe and the nobles from other vassals, and 20,000 auxiliary troops who had just been withdrawn. A total of more than 60,000 people formed a boundless army. The army rushed towards the small stronghold in front. However, the front of the Song army's stronghold was only 500 steps long, and the Khitan army could only place a few hundred people on one front. The army of more than 60,000 people dragged into a long queue, rushing towards the Song Army's stronghold like a giant beast.
In front of the fourth trench, the Khitan soldiers who had just put down the wooden bridge immediately retreated into the wooden shields, preparing to use the wooden shields in front to cover the charging of the army behind them. But they didn't understand that the slow rate of fire of the Song Army's strong crossbow was a deception. At this critical moment, how could Yang Peng's powerful crossbow misfire? If the wooden shields of these Khitan soldiers were stuck on the battlefield, wouldn't all the riflemen be able to shoot?
Before the Khitan soldiers could fully raise their wooden shields, one hundred and forty crossbows and one hundred trebuchets opened fire on the wooden shields. More than a thousand long arrows pierced the void, shattering more than a hundred groups of wooden shields into pieces, and beating the Khitan soldiers behind the wooden shields until blood flew everywhere. In one fell swoop, more than 600 Khitan soldiers were killed by stone bullets.
Blood was sprinkled all over the floor like paint. The Khitan soldiers in the back row were all stunned. what happened? Why did the Song Army's crossbow fire come so fast? Doesn’t it take a long time to load the arrows? However, there was no time for them to consider this issue carefully at this time. Bashiku, the commander of the battle, jumped out and shouted: "Come with me!"
After all, what happened next will be explained later.
