Zhigu Village is the hub of water transportation in the entire north. It is also the gathering place of many rivers such as Lushui, Lugou River, Juma River, Caohe, and Yishui. It is also known as "Nine Rivers at the Bottom". During the Taiping years, the higher terrain was covered with many shops, warehouses, docks, homes of wealthy merchants and even attached residential areas.
But by this time, the vast majority of residents had fled and dispersed. A large number of houses far away from the core area of Zhigu Village had long been demolished by the defenders. The available wood and stone were moved back to build barriers, barracks and various defenses. facility.
The generals and colonels of each department also returned to their headquarters, commanding the soldiers to cross the pontoon bridge to the north, quickly stepping through the ruins and low-lying wetlands, and entering the wasteland where the ground was frozen as hard as iron.
The soldiers with small drums hanging from their waists were beating rhythmic drums beside Chen Ran. The soldiers changed their steps to the sound of the drums, and the three horizontal formations formed an inverted "pin" shape. The first two horizontal formations retracted slightly inward to cover the flanks.
On the front of each horizontal formation, the swordsmen and shieldmen held their heavy wooden shields on the ground, while the spearmen stuck their spear tails into the ground and raised their spears diagonally in accordance with the requirements of countless trainings. The archers took their quivers from their backs and placed them against their legs.
Someone pulled out the arrow, and the arrow cluster was stuck on the ground. One of the arrows stood within reach. Immediately, a companion reminded: "Don't take out too much, I'm sure you will shoot three or five rounds, that's enough!"
The soldiers in the three horizontal formations were highly armored, but they did not lead the heavily armored warriors who stormed Li Quan's camp that day. It is a feasible idea to use elite soldiers wearing dozens of kilograms of heavy armor to jump into battle and challenge enemy cavalry head-on. However, on a larger battlefield, Dinghai Navy has a better choice.
At this time, the enemy cavalry approached.
The two sides were less than three miles apart, and the momentum of thousands of cavalry seemed to fill the mountains and plains. From a distance, you can see the cavalry waving their swords excitedly, and you can feel the violent emotions that have been nourished after they killed as much as they wanted during this period.
When they confirmed that the navy had left the city to fight in the field, and the number of troops used was only a little over a thousand, they became even more crazy.
Yang Jie only has three times the advantage of his own troops. Behind them, towards the mouth of the Sancha River, there are more than 20,000 people led by Shi Tianying. This battle is going to be won no matter how it is calculated, and it must be won neatly. Win for the Jin army trying to support Zhongdu, win for Genghis Khan!
When the cavalry began to speed up, Yang Jie had enough time to urge his own soldiers to ride forward, and then the infantry also began to move.
After carefully observing the enemy, he made a judgment. The thousand men who went out to fight at this time were indeed the main force of Dinghai Navy stationed in Zhigu Village, but there were at least several hundred strong men in the village.
If we make a circle, cross the Lugou River, and then attack the city directly, we will easily be attacked by Ding Haijun who turns back in a straight line, so the best way is to defeat it head-on here.
The formation of these infantry is very neat, but the disadvantage in strength is obvious, and they will never be able to stop their own attack.
Is the navy great?
I heard that Guo Ning, the commander-in-chief of Nading Navy, was originally a regular soldier of Wusha Castle in Changzhou. What is the difference between this background and the generals and colonels of the Black Army? What Guo Ning can do, the generals on Beijing Road can also do!
As for the Zhigu Village in front of him, Brother Yang Jie found out that Chen Ran, who was leading the battle at the moment, was the commander of Guo Ning's guards, and he was also a cripple who was injured on the battlefield.
Can a disabled person still fight?
This group of defeated troops probably took advantage of the weak southerners after going to the south, so they must have been too confident! They don't understand that the black army soldiers from Beijing Road are the strong army that has been through the wind and sword for a long time and gathered in the most difficult situation!
The cavalry advanced rapidly, galloping in the wilderness. To the north of Zhigu Village, there was a terrain that was a mixture of large saline-alkali land, shrubs, and grass shoals. The war horses rushed nearby, stirring up smoke and dust all over the sky.
The dust was a bit choking, and Chen Ran coughed twice. But he stood in the middle of the queue, not moving at all.
The soldiers with him as the center also remained calm and unmoving.
In this orderly formation, which was as sharp as a knife or an axe, the determination of thousands of people naturally condensed into a rock-solid military spirit. This is the result of long-term training, and it is also the result of the rapid development of the navy itself, which brings strong confidence to everyone.
Those who followed Monk Luo to Zhongdu were of course the toughest warriors selected from the entire army. The soldiers and horses here at this time are by no means inferior.
They are Guo Ning's personal guards. All of them are experienced pawns. A single pawn can do anything when released. The officers were all old men who followed Guo Ning south from Hebei.
As the most rigorously trained and comprehensive unit of the Dinghai Navy, so far, all actions of everyone in the army have been perfect, just like on the training ground. Everyone, including Chen Ran, has absolute confidence in their own side. Everyone knows that when the enemy cavalry rushes in front of them, their performance will still be perfect, and such performance will inevitably lead to victory!
On the other hand, looking at the black army on the opposite side...
Learn from the Mongols? Thousands of cavalrymen rushed and ran around, and then they just rode their horses to skim the formation, threw bows and arrows, disrupted the infantry array, and rushed into the formation with cameras. They don't even have confidence in their own routines, so how can they fight a tough battle!
"Painting a tiger is not like a dog, it's just a bunch of thieves!"
Chen Ran raised his right hand. In the tragic scar on his right hand, two metacarpal bones were completely shattered, making it difficult for his middle finger and ring finger to bend and extend, making it difficult to fight with a knife in person. But it doesn't matter at all. Not every general has to charge into battle like Guo Xuanshi!
When he raised his hand, he was covered in the horizontal formation at the rear, and the spearmen and shieldmen put their weapons on the ground at the same time. More than 300 people took out secondary weapons from behind, and most of their secondary weapons were rifle bows and dozens of powerful crossbows.
Counting the first two archers in the horizontal formation, the number of crossbowmen among these thousand people exceeds 750!
Enemy cavalry approaches.
Three hundred steps, two hundred steps, one hundred steps.
The black cavalry continued to roar, making various movements on their horses to show off their riding skills, and then pretended to rush towards the infantry array and directly overwhelm the infantry.
Chen Ran waved his hands.
"Fire arrows."
The dense arrows flew out and fell like rain. If it hits a person or a horse, it will make a continuous popping sound. The black cavalry who rushed nearby were hit by arrows one after another.
Brother Yang Jiezhi's clan brother, Yang Hudu, also known as a brave cavalry commander, rushed to the front. Two crossbows were fired, as fast as meteors, one hit his mount, and the other hit his face. . Yang Hu didn't say a word, and the men and horses rolled to the ground.
The missing arrows were like a curtain of rain, sweeping across the cavalry, causing people to fall on their backs wherever they went.
This kind of loss cannot scare the black army.
At least a dozen officers shouted at the same time: "Keep charging!"
The cavalry gathered quickly, surging like a wave, leaving behind their comrades who had been shot down and killed, while the forward momentum only became stronger and stronger.
Many black knights rode their horses to charge, and at the same time, they fired back with their bows.
Only those who have personally experienced the battlefield can understand the terrifying power of a cavalry charge. This kind of power can scare determined soldiers into cowards, and scare the dense military formation into pieces. The Mongols have always done this, and the Black Army knights realized it and learned eighty-nine points of the essence.
But Ding Haijun's queue did not move.
The arrows shot by the cavalry bows also fell. Some people in their ranks were injured and some were shot to death. But others remained unfazed and continued shooting.
The second round of arrow rain, the third round of arrow rain.
The strictly trained crossbowmen fired non-stop, pouring arrows into the cavalry.
The exclamations and screams of people, the neighs and cries of horses almost overwhelmed the roars of the black knights as they charged. The charging queue of the black army was still there, and those at the front were the most powerful and brave soldiers, but some people from behind began to slow down their horses.
The sound of a horn sounded immediately behind them. It was Brother Yang Jie who blew the horn to urge the attack. So the cavalry who were lagging behind quickly speeded up again.
The cavalry at the front were indeed attacking, and they were getting closer and closer despite the rain of arrows.
Seventy steps! Fifty steps! Thirty steps!
The black knights suffered the fourth round of arrow rain, and the originally dense cavalry finally became a little scattered. At first, some cavalrymen tripped over the dead men in front of them and suffered broken bones. But the shouts of killing and the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground filled the ears of every knight, making their blood rush faster and their murderous intent almost boiling.
There were more casualties in this battle than in the previous battles combined, but it was not beyond the endurance of the knights. The Black Army Knights have become real desperadoes in the past month. Now that they have arrived on the battlefield, they all have their heads tied to their belts.
If you die, just die. As long as you have a good time before you die, it won't be a loss.
However, what confused them was that the enemy army still did not move!
Ding Haijun’s queue has been completely stable from the beginning to now! If you look down on the battlefield from a high altitude, the black army looks like a mighty black tide, but the tide will definitely be blocked by the rocks. Those rocks have stood on the beach for thousands of years, and they won't move!
The scene of the cavalry charge is so terrifying. The ground shakes, iron hooves fly, and the sound is like thunder. Wherever it goes, it seems to be able to trample any enemy into flesh. But why aren’t the officers and men of the navy afraid? Why doesn't it move?
Are they made of wood? Or made of iron?
How could there be such an army?
At the moment when they were about to crash into the enemy formation, the black knights at the front almost simultaneously saw the contemptuous eyes of the Ding navy officers and the spears they clenched. The sharp edges of those spears were just at the eye level of the war horses, emitting a cold light.
The man was still hesitating, but the horse was already panicking.
Experienced war horses can understand the details of the battlefield almost better than humans. These smart big animals immediately warned their owners that the enemy was not messing around! No mess at all!
Horses understand, people understand better. Unless it is a heavy cavalry with both men and horses wearing armor, and the light cavalry is used to rush into the formation, the loss will be too great!
It was as if the tide that was going forward suddenly stopped. The knights reined in their horses frantically, and the horses raised their upper bodies, suddenly kicked their front hooves, and then ran sideways.
This move caused the passage for the latecomers to charge to be blocked, so the knights behind began to curse, but soon, all the cavalry had to gallop sideways.
Only some were particularly unlucky and failed to rein in their horses in time, and then crashed into Ding Haijun's military formation alone. The situation was like a small amount of seawater splashed on the reef, and then torn into waves by the sharp edge of the reef.
A senior Dinghai navy archer sneered: "Look, I'm right, right? Four rounds!"
