Not only that, in order to reduce casualties in the exchange of fire with the Khitan army, Yang Peng equipped all soldiers with helmets when they left Tianjing New City this time. Yang Peng has seized more than 20,000 helmets over the years, enough to give each soldier one helmet.
The only way the Khitan army could kill the Song army was to shoot the Song army in the face fifty steps away. This requires too much archery skills.
The man who can pierce the Yang with a hundred steps is just a legend. When shooting with a bow and arrow at fifty steps, even if it encounters a gust of wind, the arrow will miss the target by a lot. Even if an archer practices for a lifetime, he still won't be able to accurately hit a small target at such a distance.
Even the one-in-a-million basketball star who has practiced for more than ten years cannot accurately shoot from the midfield of the basketball court fourteen meters away, let alone an ordinary soldier shooting an arrow from more than seventy meters away with tens of kilograms of tension?
But now apart from archery, the Khitan has no other way to harm the Song army in the stronghold. Three thousand Khitan troops gritted their teeth and stood between the ditch and the wooden spurs, bending their bows and shooting arrows at the Huben division under the canopy.
The bows and arrows thrown by the rear row were all blocked by the canopy. Only the more than a thousand direct bows and arrows fired by the front row could threaten the Huben division, but it was really difficult to shoot the Song army's face from more than 70 meters away. More than a thousand arrows were fired, but only a few dozen hit the target.
The Khitan auxiliaries and followers had no ability to threaten the Huben division fifty steps away. The Khitan soldiers standing in the front row shooting arrows were all infantry and horse-armor soldiers. These Khitan Army archers can shoot an arrow in about five seconds, and the soldiers of the Huben Division under the canopy can fire a volley in about five seconds.
Compared with the inability of the Khitan soldiers' archers, the Huben division's shots were much more lethal. Soldiers of the Huben Division shot Khitan archers from a distance of more than 70 meters, as if they were shooting at a stationary target, with an astonishing hit rate. Six hundred rifles fired volleys platoon by platoon, killing nearly 500 Khitan soldiers in one volley.
The Khitans fired three rounds of arrows at Huben Division in a chaotic manner, only killing and wounding two hundred soldiers of Huben Division, but they were shot three times by Huben Division soldiers with rifles. After three rounds of volleys, more than a thousand Khitans fell in front of the wooden thorn formation. These are the elites of the Khitan army.
Blood continued to flow from the wounds caused by the bullets, filling the battlefield with a strong saltpeter smell with a pungent smell of blood.
An elite soldier of the Xi army rushed to the front to encourage the archers, but was shot in the nose by a rifleman aiming at him. The spinning bullet shattered the officer's nasal bones, penetrated into his skull and wreaked havoc, killing him immediately. The elite of the Xi army was like a lifeless wooden stake, falling silently into the thorns.
The death of this senior officer caused chaos. Some archers were defeated by the massacre-like battle. They couldn't stand it anymore and retreated behind them screaming.
But the guards guarding the formation did not let the archers retreat, and used bows and arrows to shoot back the fleeing soldiers. The Khitan soldiers who were shot back were unable to advance or retreat, and had no fighting spirit. They closed their eyes and shot at the Song army's awning indiscriminately.
The casualties were too great, and the front of the Khitan formation was already like a chaotic Shura hell.
The corpses of the Khitan soldiers were spread out in a large area in front of the formation more than 700 meters wide, lying dead on the ground in various postures. If the Khitan soldiers in the back row want to shoot arrows, they must step on the bodies of the dead Khitan soldiers in front to get closer to the Huben division. The severely injured and half-dead Khitan soldiers fell to the ground, no one paid attention to them, and they were even stepped on by the archers in the back row. The trampled ones let out weak screams, but no one could hear them on the battlefield where gunfire crackled non-stop.
Some corpses had stopped bleeding from the wounds, but when they were stepped on by the archers behind them, blood spurted out of the wounds again. There was blood everywhere on the ground, and the smell of blood was getting stronger and nauseating.
The area that Yang Peng left for the Khitan at more than 70 meters, which was barely suitable for cross-fire, was not so much an opportunity for the Khitan as it was a trap to trick the Khitan into increasing the casualties of the Khitan soldiers.
The exchange ratio of hundreds to dozens is too cruel, not to mention that those who died were all soldiers who were good at shooting and warriors in the Khitan army. The more the Khitan army fired, the more they became discouraged, and they were about to collapse.
At the last moment, Yang Peng's one hundred and forty powerful crossbows and trebuchets opened fire again.
The earthen fort where the Huben division's strong crossbow is located is also protected at all levels: the lower half of the strong crossbow is protected by a mound of earth, and a canopy is built on top. There is only a gap left to the outside that can accommodate the arrow mouth, and Khitan bows and arrows cannot shoot in. The crossbowmen of the strong crossbow calmly loaded the long arrows on the strong crossbow under the canopy, then pushed the strong crossbow to the muzzle of the fort, and fired at the Khitans who were standing densely more than 70 meters away.
The trebuchet made a huge roar and spit out tongues of fire from the trebuchet. More than a thousand participants carried stones and roared towards the Khitan soldiers who were bending their bows and shooting arrows. They tore apart all the armor and bloody weapons they encountered, piercing the bodies of the Khitan soldiers, and then tore apart the second flesh and blood body behind them. The armor will take away all the lives in the way.
More than a thousand Khitan archers who stood in front of the formation and shot arrows were beaten into sieves in an instant, their flesh and blood flew everywhere, and they fell down without saying a word. Even if he was not hit in the torso, his arms and legs were shot, and his bones were immediately broken by iron projectiles. Even the entire hands and feet were broken and turned into severed limbs and flew out.
The soldiers still standing were all covered in blood, and they didn't know whether it was their own or someone else's.
The Khitan army collapsed.
This is not war, this is massacre.
First, more than a hundred archers on the west side of the line collapsed, where they were hit hardest by stones. Those defeated soldiers were crushed by the stones, and they fled to the back regardless, desperately crossing the gaps between the Khitan soldiers in the back row. The flight of these hundreds of defeated troops soon led to the entire front. The critical point of the Khitan's collapse had already been broken by a volley of long arrows. As soon as anyone in the Khitan fled, they all fled together. More than a thousand people in the front row had all been killed by long arrows. The more than a thousand Khitan soldiers behind them, holding bows and arrows, did not dare to shoot anymore. They all broke into a rout and fled behind the formation.
The defeat of these cavalry and infantry soldiers led to the auxiliary troops and followers behind. The Khitan soldiers were frightened, and no one dared to stand at attention in front of the fierce firepower of the Huben Division and be beaten. The front row collapsed, followed by the rear row, and more than 10,000 people fled across the road.
The thousands of guards guarding the formation could no longer deter the fleeing Khitans, and the stigma of being a deserter could not stop these psychologically broken soldiers. The only thought left in their minds was survival. The guards guarding the formation blocked the fleeing crowd with their swords, and the defeated soldiers simply attacked the guards together. Dozens of guards in front were hacked to death by the insurgents, dying senselessly in the crowded crowd.
The guards in the back row did not dare to stop these broken troops and could only flee behind them with the broken troops. On the Huben Division's position, Yang Peng's soldiers were still shooting and pouring bullets at the fleeing Khitan soldiers. The fleeing Khitan soldiers would leave behind hundreds of corpses every few tens of meters they fled. People kept falling down in the back row of the fleeing Khitan soldiers, and those in front became even more panicked, pushing and pulling for fear of being squeezed into the back row by other Khitan soldiers and dying. The more than 10,000 Khitan soldiers were like goats encountering natural enemies or elk encountering wildfires. They panicked and chose their way, running like wolves and wild animals. They crowded and pushed on the wooden bridge, and some people kept falling into the ditch. The Khitan soldiers in the trench cried out in panic and ran up desperately, trying to climb out of the two-meter-deep trench.
The defeated Khitan soldiers continued to attack the 40,000 troops who still maintained their formation behind them.
The Khitan soldiers who collapsed in front were too panicked. The soldiers in the back row were constantly shot down by rifles behind them. Everyone felt that they would be killed in the next second, and their faces were filled with fear. Some broken soldiers rushed into the formation of more than 40,000 troops preparing for battle regardless, hoping to use other Khitan soldiers in the army as shields to block bullets behind them.
Their fear and disintegration impacted the morale of the 40,000-strong army behind them, making the army of more than 40,000 people somewhat shaky. The most important thing is that the stronghold in front is impeccable, and it seems that they will die if they line up within the range of the Song Army's powerful crossbows. Seeing the tragic situation of the defeated troops in front, the more than 40,000 people behind who did not participate in the battle were also a little trembling. When the defeated Khitan army escaped from the first trench and fled away howling, the army of more than 40,000 people turned into the forefront of the Khitan army. Yang Peng's crossbow was loaded with long arrows again, and the trebuchet fired at the more than 40,000 people.
More than a thousand long arrows pierced the sky and shot at more than 40,000 Khitan soldiers. The overwhelming rocks hit the Khitan soldiers. Blood immediately burst out from the Khitan soldiers arrayed in front of the trench, splashing into the air like cheap paint, spraying the surrounding soldiers all over their bodies and faces. Screams and howls immediately emanated from the crowd of Khitan soldiers who did not participate in the battle, and they were endless.
After only one round of powerful crossbow hits, the more than 40,000 Tatars collapsed. The casualties in this battle were so heavy that the Khitans were already frightened. Qiandongnan, who had collapsed in front, was constantly attacking their ranks, and their morale had dropped to the critical point. But this roaring stone cannot be stopped by flesh and blood. No one wants to have the guts to stand within the range of a powerful crossbow and be beaten stupidly. Life is not a trivial matter. The biggest concern in a life-or-death situation is to save one's life.
The guards were all holding the formation in front, and at this time they had been defeated by the defeated army. This army of more than 40,000 people did not have a strong holding force. The roar of the officers alone was not enough to overcome the fear caused by the cannon. After a round of long arrows, the Khitan's more than 40,000 reserve troops could no longer be called an army. They turned into a broken army and ran behind them in panic.
The defeated Khitans fled 300 meters up in chaos, and were hit again by Yang Peng's trebuchet with stones. One hundred and forty stones were like one hundred and forty gods of death, bouncing on the ground, breaking through all the flesh and blood bodies he encountered, and carving out more than a hundred death alleys in the densely dispersed troops. The Khitan soldiers who were scratched by the alley all had their bodies broken, their arms and legs broken, and they either died on the spot or were seriously injured and bleeding profusely.
The fleeing Khitan troops were even more frightened, howling and crying, and used all their strength to flee far away, just to be as far away from the death-like Song army's stronghold as possible. More than 50,000 Khitan troops rushed to the center of the Khitan army 500 meters away, and almost rushed into the center of the army. The elites of the Garbush Xian Battalion of the Chinese Army wielded their swords and hacked to death dozens of broken soldiers who were attacking the Chinese Army, and then they were able to scare off these broken soldiers who had no choice but to take their own route. The defeated troops were like floods coming across a rock, and they fled in separate directions from both sides of the Chinese army.
Among the Khitan's central army, the generals of the Liao Kingdom looked ashen. This battle was a terrible loss. The wooden bridge was built with auxiliary soldiers and followers in front, and seven thousand people died. If these auxiliary soldiers and followers can be gradually replenished, the soldiers who died in the battle behind are elites that are difficult to replenish. Seven thousand people died in the charge, and at least two thousand more died during the rout. Among the more than 9,000 people, there are at least 3,000 infantry and horse armor.
These infantry and horse armor were the backbone of the Liao Kingdom, but they were consumed in front of Yang Peng's stronghold like a massacre. Xiao Tianzuo felt that his heart was bleeding. Xiao Tianzuo always felt that he was wise and brave. He was on the battlefield at a young age and was invincible in all the battles. All the princes and nobles looked up to Xiao Tianzuo very much. In the past few years, when the emperor and the queen mother were handling state affairs, they often discussed it with themselves. Xiao Tianzuo has always been confident and feels that there is no difficulty in the world that he cannot handle. Xiao Tianzuo even felt that his ability was comparable to that of the emperor.
However, today, at Qingshan Pass, I was being played and tricked like a monkey by Yang Peng. Yang Peng tricked himself little by little into committing troops to die. In the end, none of the strongholds could be captured, and Xiao Tianzuo lost tens of thousands of Liao warriors. As the commander-in-chief, he and his brother Xiao Tianyou led an army of 90,000 into the pass, known as one hundred thousand. Now there are only more than 50,000 people left in the 90,000-strong army, and nearly half of them were killed or injured. With such heavy losses, how many years will it take for the Liao Kingdom to recover its strength?
He led his troops into the Pass and caused such losses to the Liao Kingdom. How would the generals view themselves? How will the Queen Mother handle herself? Xiao Tian Zuo held his chest and bent down, as if he couldn't breathe. Handerang said with trembling hands: "Commander General, retreat quickly and collect the defeated troops!"
Empress Dowager Xiao's eldest son Ye Qian Longxu's face was as white as snow, and there was no blood on his face. He took the lead in this battle, and it was he who came up with the strategy of filling the trenches with wooden bridges. As a result, the Liao soldiers died 7,000 people in order to build the wooden bridge, but the wooden bridge built by these 7,000 people died was meaningless, and the Song army's stronghold was impeccable. Xiao Tianma knew that he was doomed. His reckless suggestions had caused so many casualties. The generals would definitely look down on him, and the Queen Mother would definitely be extremely disappointed with him. The Empress Dowager has always wanted to pass the throne to herself, and tried every means to give herself experience so that she could have the opportunity to serve the public with meritorious service, but she actually used such results to repay the emperor.
Xiao Tianma shed two tears as she thought about it, and actually cried. Yibai of the Xi tribe was also in tears. He cried and said: "I led 1,600 warriors of the Xi tribe to enter the pass with the army. Now I am afraid that there are only a few hundred people left." Yibai wiped away his tears and said loudly, "General, hurry up and collect the defeated troops. Don't let other Song troops discover our rout and come up to stab us. These Song troops usually don't dare to fight us, but now that we have been defeated, it's hard to tell!"
Han Derang looked at the Song Army stronghold in the distance and gritted his teeth and said: "Unless I get rid of this son, it will be difficult for our Liao Kingdom to not only take over the Song Kingdom, but also to protect Youzhou by ourselves!" Xiao Tianzuo laughed sadly and said with a sigh: " Get rid of him? What to get rid of? Seventy thousand people surrounded him but he couldn't capture ten thousand of him? How to get rid of him? After this battle, Yang Peng will obviously be promoted, and the momentum will become stronger in the future. When we see him, our Daliao soldiers We can only go around!" Zhang Hua turned pale and murmured: "If we lose continuously to this Yang Peng, my Daliao army will be discouraged and timid when facing this Yang Peng in the future."
Hearing this, the generals looked at Yang Peng's stronghold and were speechless for a moment. On the Huben Division's position, they saw the defeated Khitan army retreating, and the soldiers of the Huben Division burst into cheers. The soldiers shouted "Wan Sheng!" for several minutes before stopping. Huyan Chijin, the deputy leader of the Selection Regiment, found Li Zhi and said excitedly: "Commander, while the Khitan army is in a rout, our cavalry can rush forward and kill for a while. We will definitely gain a lot!"
Yang Peng looked at the Khitan army fleeing in the distance and shook his head. "We can't pursue you!" Huyan Chijin said sarcastically: "Commander, the Khitan army has collapsed into a large piece!" Yang Peng said lightly: "The soldiers of the Liao army are brave, and they are fleeing now because they are afraid of our powerful crossbows. But our number is too small. , if the cavalry rushes out to engage in close combat with the Liao army, and the Liao army regains its morale and counterattacks for a while, we will not be able to bear it. The more than 40,000 people behind the Liao army did not participate in the battle and suffered less damage. Although they were defeated, they could regain their morale and turn around at any time. Engage us."
"Currently we are too weak. When we encounter the main force of the Khitan army, we can only defend but not attack. We have more than enough code but not enough in attack. If we want to eat up the main force of the defeated Khitan army, we have to wait until we are stronger." Huyan Chijin said He smiled and said, "Good morning, sir!"
To the south of Mali Valley, the defeated Khitan army fled ten miles away. Seeing that Yang Peng's soldiers and horses never chased them out, they gradually stopped. The valley has only one direction, north and south, and the defeated Khitan army did not disperse. No other Song army nearby dared to attack the defeated Khitan army, and the Khitan army suffered no losses during their retreat. Xiao Tianzuo and the nobles of the Xi clan rode their horses to gather the scattered soldiers, and gradually reorganized and gathered the more than 50,000 remaining soldiers.
Xiao Tianzuo led more than 50,000 remaining soldiers to camp again five miles away from Yang Peng's stronghold, and confronted Yang Peng's troops from a distance. On February 18, the soldiers of the Khitan Army had been practicing for two days. Seeing that Yang Peng never attacked, the soldiers of the Khitan Army gradually calmed down and their morale recovered a little. The soldiers no longer looked like they had been when they first gathered together a few days ago, and military discipline was restored when they lined up to cook.
In the central tent of the Khitan army, the generals started arguing again about where to go. Having just experienced a big defeat, all the nobles of the Xi clan were a little discouraged and couldn't keep up their spirits. However, the army was blocked outside Qingshan Pass by Yang Peng and could not get out. The difficulties faced at this time made the nobles have to worry. They sat around Xiao Tianzuo on both sides of the tent, debating the next course of action.
Yibai said: "The soldiers and horses of Shaanxi Province in the Song Dynasty are all in Cangzhou, and the defense in the west is empty. We might as well abandon Qingshan Pass and go west, find a pass in the Jinyang area to attack, get out of the pass, and take a detour back to Nanjing." Handerang shook his head and said : "This strategy is inappropriate. We don't know how to defend the Song Dynasty's troops. It would be too risky to travel thousands of miles. Not to mention that we don't know which pass is loosely defended and can be captured. A random attack will result in the loss of troops and generals. Let's just say that from here We have to pass through many places in the Song Dynasty, which are places where the Song Dynasty is strictly guarded. If Yang Peng and hundreds of thousands of Song troops come from behind and surround us, we will be doomed!"
Xiao Tianma also said: "We cannot withdraw the camp like this. If the Song Army knows that we were defeated by Yang Peng and there are only more than 50,000 people left, the Song Army will definitely surround us. With Yang Peng taking the lead, the Song Army may Just dare to fight us!"
Yibai said: "Stand here to confront Yang Peng. What should we do if the Song army surrounds us and Yang Peng attacks us from the front and back?" Xiao Tianma said: "We can't enter Qingshan Pass if we stay here, and Yang Peng's men can't get out of this road." Maligou. The people of the Song Army did not get the news from Yang Peng and did not know that we were defeated. How could they dare to challenge us? "
Blocking the entrance to the valley can seal the news of the defeat. When the nobles heard Xiao Tianma's words, they felt that it made some sense.
Handerang gritted his teeth and said: "We can't attack Yang Peng's stronghold, but Yang Peng doesn't dare to leave the stronghold to attack us. Yang Peng only brought a few months' worth of food at most. We blocked him in the valley and starved him to death!" "Hearing Han Derang's words, everyone's eyes couldn't help but light up and they thought carefully about the feasibility of this strategy.
After all, Yang Peng's soldiers and horses are too strong, and he takes the initiative to fight. It can be said that he is the number one confidant enemy of Daliao Kingdom today. If Yang Peng could be trapped in the valley and starved to death, it would be a good ending for the Khitan army. In fact, the Khitan army entered the pass this time and robbed a large amount of grain and livestock. If the looted southerners were killed, the grain and grass would be enough to support more than 50,000 soldiers and horses spending a year in Mali Valley.
As long as Yang Peng dies, the soldiers and horses of the Khitan army will not just enter the pass and plunder at will, and they can capture as many southerners as they want. The nobles were silent for a while, thinking about the feasibility of Handerang's strategy. Xiao Tianzuo has always been conceited, but he was mentally hit hard by the big defeat the day before yesterday. He has been feeling a little discouraged these past few days and has not said a few words in the past two days. But when he heard Han Derang's words, he still cheered up and said: "This strategy will not work. The Song Army has more and more troops. Now there are hundreds of thousands. If we wait until June, I am afraid there will be more than 20 soldiers." Ten thousand."
"The weather in the fortress is hot, and a large number of people in our army will suffer from heatstroke in June and July. If other Song armies come to attack us with powerful crossbows, our situation will be worse than now." Hearing Xiao Tianzuo's analysis , everyone was disappointed. Yibai took a breath and said, "We can't attack or defend, so what should we do?" All the generals looked at Xiao Tianzuo.
Xiao Tianzuo closed his eyes, shook his head and said, "There is nothing I can do now." When the generals heard this, they were very disappointed and spread out on their chairs one by one. Xiao Tianyou opened his eyes and said, "But when I was in Dingzhou, I asked the Queen Mother for help. I think the Queen Mother is also leading her army towards Qingshan Pass. When the Queen Mother arrives at Qingshan Pass, we will definitely have a way to get out of the customs."
When all the nobles heard Xiao Tianyou's words, their eyes lit up. The Queen Mother is coming. The Queen Mother must have a way.
On February 25th, Yang Peng sat in the Chinese army camp, frowning and saying nothing. Zhan Jinguo looked at Yang Peng and said, "City Lord, the Khitans are camped five miles away and have been blocking us for almost ten days. They don't want to besiege us for several months, right?"
Yang Peng shook his head and said: "The Khitan soldiers cannot get out of the fortress, and there will only be more and more Song soldiers and horses in Cangzhou. The Khitan soldiers are also human beings, and they will be afraid of the Song Dynasty's human sea tactics. They will definitely not waste time with us here." Zhanjin asked: "Then why are the Khitan soldiers blocking us? Don't they go to other places to attack other passes?"
Yang Bamei shook her head and said: "I think the Khitan soldiers seem to be waiting for something?" Huyan Chijin asked in surprise: "What are you waiting for? Could it be that the Khitan will send reinforcements?" Yang Bamei said: "I don't know, I just have a feeling. "Everyone was discussing there when they saw a lookout running into the tent in a panic and loudly saying: "Lord of the City, reinforcements from the Khitan soldiers have come out of the Qingshan Pass!"
Yang Peng was stunned, glanced at Yang Bamei, raised his binoculars, ran out, and climbed up to the watchtower in the middle of the stronghold. Yang Peng raised his telescope on the watchtower and saw the reinforcements of the Khitan army. In the valley to the north, a mighty team was slowly moving towards Yang Peng. Yang Peng took a closer look and felt that there were more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. Some of this team carried dragon flags with red edges, and some carried dragon flags with blue background. They were probably the soldiers and horses of the Emperor of Liao. There were also some soldiers and horses carrying Han military flags.
In the middle of the soldiers and horses, a strong man held up a huge golden umbrella, and a beautiful middle-aged woman was riding under the umbrella. Yang Peng looked carefully with a telescope and saw the middle-aged woman wearing gorgeous dragon-patterned armor. The armor was black with yellow stripes and looked very imposing.
Dragon-patterned armor? Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom? Is Mrs. Xiao coming?
After all, what happened next will be explained later.
