Chapter 948 Head-to-head confrontation
Although Qiu Fu was a brave man, he originally did not want to fight easily. However, when he saw Zhao Tianlin's troops, Qiu Fu suddenly changed his mind and his heart moved.
Of course, this heartbeat was not because Qiu Fu fell in love with Zhao Tianlin.
But Qiu Fu saw enough benefits.
Zhao Tianlin is a veteran of Zhou Ting and the nominal commander in chief of the War to Destroy Jin. He has a high prestige in Zhou Ting's army and is one of the founders of the Longwu Army. If he can be captured and killed, it will be a big blow to Zhou's army. Morale, especially the morale of the new Longwu Army, will be a huge blow.
And even if the two sides draw, it is difficult to tell the winner. For Zhao Wangjun, it is still a victory.
If Zhao Tianlin's strength is consumed in the field battle, the subsequent offensive and defensive battle at Yanmen Pass will be easier!
A draw is a win, and the benefits completely outweigh the risks, so the battle must be fought.
Qiu Fu's left-wing infantry has been slowly approaching under his command.
Use the right combination and win with the unexpected.
Qiu Fu now has the advantage in strength, so he doesn't need to use any strange moves at all, he can just press him upright.
One hundred thousand versus fifty thousand, twice as many troops as the enemy, the advantage lies with me!
They are also soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The camps of both sides are black and yellow. Their armors are similar, but their uniforms are different.
All the soldiers of King Zhao's army have changed into khaki shirts. Such a large-scale replacement of khaki shirts cannot be completed overnight.
It can be seen that King Zhao took a long time to prepare for the rebellion.
Viewed from a high altitude, the yellow crowd is rushing towards the black rock, seeming to engulf it completely.
"Five hundred steps!"
Li Zheng, the infantry general of the right battalion under Zhao Tianlin, stood on his horse, observing the slowly approaching enemy left flank with calm eyes.
But beneath Li Zheng's calm face and gaze, there was Li Zheng's boiling blood and high fighting spirit.
He was not from the Sixth Army of the Emperor, but a general transferred from Jingzhou Bei Cao Army. He was originally the Jingzhou Bei Cao Army and the captain of Zhiguo.
Because of his bravery and excellent command in the Jinyang Defense War that year, he was promoted to the position of deputy general in the Longwu Army.
With the expansion of Longwu Army, he was promoted from deputy general to general Ningyuan.
The army of the Great Zhou Dynasty also has its own unspoken rules. The original Twelve Guards, now the Sixth Army of the Emperor, are the direct descendants of the Great Zhou army, and will be valued by the Ministry of War and the Sixth Army Governor's Office.
And it is not easy for him, a lieutenant who came from a local military service, to be able to reach where he is today.
This was his first time leading an army against the enemy as the infantry general of the right army. He didn't know that this was not his only opportunity in this life, but no matter what, he couldn't lose this battle!
"Four hundred and fifty steps!"
Qiu Fu's left wing troops are still approaching. These are Qiu Fu's troops and horses, and the two sides will be the first to fight.
Li Zheng's infantry were already prepared in a tight formation, which was still the most commonly used formation in Zhou Dynasty, with the shield formation in front.
Common use does not mean mediocrity, but it means universality and efficiency!
The large shield is in front, the contradictions are mixed, and the bows and crossbows follow. This seemingly simple formation can play an amazing role.
The training process is not complicated. The most difficult part is the mobilization of the crossbowmen, spearmen, and bucklers. This only takes time to complete.
The commander of King Zhao's army is named Wang You. Coincidentally, Wang You is also from Jingzhou. His father served as a guerrilla general in the North in his early years. During the battle with Hou Jin, he was hit by arrows in both legs and could no longer lead the troops, so he Wang You inherited his father's position.
Wang You didn't know that his opponent was his fellow countryman. He was laughing at the enemy and said to his own soldiers, "This general is not only mediocre, but also impatient! After watching his shield formation, I felt The commotion must have been caused by the crossbowman who opened his bow later, but at this moment, Zhang Crossbow was too restless!"
Does this person really think of them as barbarians like Hou Jin? !
Perhaps the armor of King Zhao's army may not necessarily be better than the armor of the Sixth Army of the Emperor, but the armor is complete. At the current distance of 450 steps, trying to break shields and armor is nothing more than a dream.
With Wang You's command flag waving, the army continued to move forward.
Although the divine machine crossbow of the Great Zhou Dynasty is powerful and can shoot 500 steps, it is only for enemies without armor. For soldiers and horses with complete armor like King Zhao's army, the effective range will not exceed 250 steps.
"Four hundred steps!"
"Three hundred and fifty steps!"
When Li Zheng estimated in his mind that he had reached 330 steps, he waved the command flag in his palm, and the order soldiers around him immediately roared: "Let go!"
The powerful crossbow that had been prepared for a long time was immediately thrown out at an elevation angle of 45 degrees.
The sound of "boom" and "bounce" of the trigger was endless, and the crossbow arrows soared into the sky with a small sound of breaking through the air. Three thousand crossbow arrows were like a swarm of wasps, making a huge screaming sound and heading towards King Zhao's army.
An artificial rain of arrows formed under the sky and fell.
…
The loud voice of the messenger reached Wang You's ears. Just when he was in shock and doubt, a black rain of arrows rose into the sky and fell all over the sky.
"top!"
Wang You didn't have any precautions at all, so he could only give orders loudly at this time.
But how can orders be delivered so quickly? ! As the arrows fell, Wang You's forwards were in chaos that shouldn't have happened.
Thousands of people were injured by this hail of arrows.
Wang You didn't expect that the opponent's infantry crossbow would actually use projectiles.
The infantry crossbows of the Da Zhou rarely use projectiles. The reason is that the standard crossbow arrows and bow arrows have different styles. The Da Zhou standard crossbow arrows only have two tail feathers, and the two bow arrows have three tail feathers. Therefore, the crossbow arrows fly stably in the air. The performance is not as good as that of bows and arrows, and long-distance throws may have problems such as poor accuracy and rotational imbalance.
Moreover, due to the limited length of the crossbow machine of the human-powered crossbow, the crossbow arrow is not as long as the bow arrow, but the weight is similar, so the crossbow arrow must be made thicker and the resistance in the air is greater. When used for ejection, the kinetic energy loss is greater than that of the bow arrow. Therefore, Da Zhou's infantry crossbows were rarely used for projectile fire.
At least in the north, projectiles are rarely used.
The grassland tribes in the north lack pig iron, so except for the main ace, there are almost no armored troops. Even if they have armor, they are mainly leather armor.
Before Xiang Wang You fought against the Hou Jin army, before they occupied the three counties of Goguryeo, most of the soldiers of the Hou Jin Dynasty were clothed in commoners or even half-clothed. Even if they were shot flatly, they could easily be torn apart by the powerful crossbows of the Zhou Dynasty. Clothes cause more effective damage.
Therefore, Wang You never considered the possibility of ejection.
First, the principle of the crossbow does not allow it; second, he was indeed negligent.
Since the fall of Hou Jin, the Longwu Army's biggest enemy has changed from Hou Jin to King Zhao, so its combat methods and equipment have also undergone certain adjustments.
Projection can make the crossbow arrows fall faster, and with the help of falling force, it can tear apart the armor and protect the enemy and kill the enemy.
Although King Zhao's soldiers and horses were fully armored, the three crossbow arrows dropped from a high place could easily tear apart the armor at a distance of three hundred steps.
Long Wujun did not give Zhao Wangjun much time to react. The first wave of arrow rain had just ended, and the second wave of arrow rain had already arrived.
"top!"
As the order was given, the bucklers raised their bucklers above their heads to defend themselves against the thrown crossbow arrows.
Just after the thrown feather arrows failed to reach, the third wave of feather arrows from the Longwu Army arrived.
The strong crossbow that had been prepared for a long time was immediately leveled.
Projection and flat shot alternate with each other.
Because of the unexpected first wave of arrows, the formation of King Zhao's army was deficient.
Although there is still a large shield, there are many gaps. The large shield blocked some of the crossbow arrows, but there are still no less than a thousand crossbow arrows that got through the gaps, penetrated fiercely, and the screams were endless.
The originally chaotic formation of King Zhao's army was on the verge of collapse.
This scene almost made Wang You so angry that he ordered to throw away the big shield in his hand and prepare to charge.
Although the crossbows are powerful, they cannot fire continuously. As long as they can get close to the Zhou army, their superior strength will be reflected.
The original plan was to use this method to get as close as possible to the Confederate army, and then rush out in one fell swoop during the launch of the Confederate crossbow machine.
King Zhao's army fought with Hou Jin all year round, and the hand-to-hand combat was the most courageous.
However, the southern army on the opposite side did not seem to have any intention of fighting head-on. The formation was still slowly moving back, as if it did not want to engage in a head-on confrontation with Wang You's troops.
Seeing General Wang You's anger, the deputy general who had been following him didn't care much. He grabbed Wang You and said urgently: "General, calm down!"
Wang Youbao glared, threw away the deputy general's hand and said angrily: "The Southern Army retreats without a fight, such a good opportunity. How long will it take if we don't pursue them now?"
"General, this is the plan of the Southern Army! If our army abandons the shield formation and pursues it forcefully, the Southern Army will definitely kill our soldiers with powerful crossbows and will not allow our army to fight. Our soldiers will be like the Northern Zhou Army. The powerful crossbows are killing chickens and sheep one by one here. General, our army must not attack!"
Wang You's face was ashen, but he was persuaded to calm down by the deputy general's words.
"The army uses shield formation and continues to move forward! Shield bearers cover to prevent projectiles!"
The forwards of King Zhao's army could only advance despite the rain of arrows from Long Wu's army. Although the shield formation was tight, it was impossible to block them all.
People in King Zhao's army are still falling down!
Among the Chinese troops in the distance, Qiu Fu was observing the battle situation here with a telescope. Seeing the tactics of the Longwu Army's right wing, Qiu Fu couldn't help but frown.
The Longwu Army's tactics were clearly those that had been newly practiced and were aimed at King Zhao's Army. King Zhao's army is the new imaginary enemy of this Longwu army.
Qiu Fu didn't think much about it, but Li Yuan beside him thought that in terms of combat preparations and training, King Zhao's army was already far behind the Southern Army.
After the fall of Hou Jin, King Zhao's army also conducted new training for the soldiers, but it was limited to siege warfare.
King Zhao's army has been fighting against Hou Jin all year round. They are good at field battles and cavalry battles, but not good at siege.
As for King Zhao Fengtian, the biggest enemy is various city passes. Training for these in advance can greatly improve the combat efficiency of King Zhao's army.
At that time, Li Yuan was still amazed at King Zhao's idea of military training that was one step ahead of others. Now compared with Long Wu Army, it seems not so impressive.
Seeing the defeat of the left wing in front of him, Qiu Fu immediately ordered the right wing army to attack.
Following Qiu Fu's order, the infantry and cavalry on the right wing were dispatched together and began to approach.
Qiu Fu's army changed its formation. The center army moved out from behind, and the left and right armies moved forward, forming a huge concave arc, like a poisonous scorpion with two large pincers, and pinched Zhao Tianlin's army fiercely.
"Send the order, all troops and horses, abandon the current camp baggage and retreat quickly!" A glimmer of light flashed in Zhao Tianlin's eyes, and the camp that was almost completed asked the army to retreat.
The 20,000 cavalry under his command were cruising far away on both wings to prevent the light cavalry of King Zhao's army from breaking through.
The faster Zhao Tianlin retreats, the faster the three armies pressed by Qiu Fu's army, especially the two armies on the left and right, move forward.
At this time, Qiu Fu could no longer stop. Once he stopped, it would be equivalent to giving Zhao Tianlin a chance, and Zhao Tianlin would definitely seize the opportunity and bite him hard.
Zhao Tianlin, a veteran general, was still very sophisticated in using troops. Although Qiu Fu fought bravely and bravely, compared with him, there was still a gap in command.
But what really exposed Qiu Fu's flaws first was his own troop configuration.
At first, in order to induce Zhao Tianlin to attack his Chinese army, Qiu Fu arranged heavy troops on the left and right wings, but the Chinese army was weak.
However, although the number is small, the Chinese army is the most elite troops in Qiu Fu's hands. They can easily withstand Zhao Tianlin's strong attack and create opportunities for the left and right wings to outflank.
But who knew that Zhao Tianlin seemed not to be fooled, and remained unchanged in response to all changes, making Qiu Fu take the initiative.
As time passed, the rhythm of Qiu Fu's army became chaotic, and the quality of the soldiers became apparent at this time. The left and right armies that came forward gradually fell behind, and instead the Chinese army, which was originally in the middle and lagging behind, protruded to the front.
The original pincer offensive, with one chasing and one fleeing, was no longer in formation.
More importantly, the high morale that Qiu Fu's army originally had due to the overwhelming force of the army was gradually worn away in this chase and escape. The speed of the left and right armies obviously stagnated, but Qiu Fu's central army was more prominent. .
While Zhao Tianlin was commanding, he actually did not stop to observe the formation of Qiu Fu's army, and secretly ordered the army to slowly slow down its retreat. He had previously asked the army to abandon the camp that was about to be built, and part of the food, grass, ordnance and equipment was actually a A plan to lure the enemy.
He just wanted Qiu Fu to send troops to pick it up. Once Qiu Fu divided his troops to pick it up, it would definitely disrupt his siege and give Zhao Tianlin a chance to counterattack.
However, Qiu Fu was also a veteran on the battlefield and was unmoved at all. He kept ordering the three armies to hold on to Zhao Tianlin's retreating army, and he was not even interested in the ready-made food, grass, ordnance.
After another moment,
At this moment, Zhao Tianlin was overjoyed when he saw that Qiu Fu's central army was already more than 500 steps away from the left and right armies.
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
That's it!
"Dong dong dong!"
The sound of vigorous and exciting war drums suddenly sounded from Zhao Tianlin's army.
With the sound of the drum, the 50,000 Longwu Army, which had been retreating rapidly, stopped its retreat in an instant. In an instant, the front army changed into the rear army, and the rear army became the front army. Their formations changed in the blink of an eye. The front arrows are in formation, ready to go like a big arrow.
As the first drumbeat stopped, a huge tooth flag with the word "Zhao" appeared at the front of the 50,000 Longwu Army. The army immediately rushed towards Qiu Fuzhong's army, which was pursuing them like an arrow from a string.
"kill!"
(End of chapter)
