Chapter 993 Crossing the River (4)
There are hills behind the Pingjing Army's camp, making it impossible for the cavalry to ride their horses and form an impact. This is where Zhao Wu feels most at ease.
This has also been Zhao Tianlin's long-standing habit. Setting up camp must rely on favorable geographical conditions.
So Zhao Wu was not too worried. After again dividing 20,000 soldiers and heading to the left and right camps respectively, Zhao Wu felt reassured.
Wang Yang and Kui'an are already only 300 steps away from the camp. The Great Zhou Divine Machine Crossbow can shoot 500 steps, but the 500 steps here does not include the power to break armor.
Facing leather armor, the effective killing range of the Shenji Crossbow is three hundred steps, but facing the Da Zhou standard armor, the effective killing range of the Shenji Crossbow is only half.
Although Wang Yang and Kui'an were only two captains, they were no less capable than the generals of King Zhao's army in commanding cavalry in battle.
When they were only ten steps away from the shooting range of the Shenji Crossbow, Wang Yang and Kui An waved their scimitars in their palms, and each of them had more than a hundred elite cavalry galloping out behind them.
More than two hundred knights spread out in front of the camp, which was more than seven miles wide, and headed straight for the camp. Each knight held a big bow in his hand, and the bows were all filled with ignited rockets.
These cavalry were under the command of King Ning. They preferred the big bows in their hands to the strong crossbows of the Zhou Dynasty.
Compared to crossbows, bows project better!
The bow is the romance of cavalry, only cowardly infantry can use crossbows!
The captain's eyes shrank when he saw the rocket at the front, "Two hundred archers on the left and right, still shooting! Five hundred infantry, prepare to put out the fire!"
The camp is a wooden structure, which is flammable. Once it is hit by a rocket, the consequences will be disastrous if it cannot be extinguished in time.
Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty can tell you how unimaginable it is.
Zhao Wu, who was in the middle army, was not impatient. They also liked to use this routine in their previous battles with Qiu Fu. They should have learned it from Hou Jin Cavalry.
It is obvious that this small group of cavalrymen of King Zhao's rebel army wanted to use a small number of bow cavalry to attract the attention of Qiannu, so as to explore the division and quantity of Qiannu of Pingjing Army.
Zhao Wu was fooled the first time, and now he is used to it. The soldiers of Zhou Dynasty not only have crossbows, but also strong bows. The main force of King Zhao's rebel army is immobile, and Zhao Wu will not let the divine machine crossbows fire in groups.
Soon, more than two hundred elite cavalrymen came rushing closer to the camp. All the strong bows in their hands were drawn up, but they never fired. The four hundred archers from the Pingjing Army in the camp were already raining down arrows.
However, the white fog was vast. Although the white fog at the Pingjing Army camp was not as thick as the Baigou River, the people in the Pingjing Army could only vaguely see its outline.
Moreover, the galloping cavalry of King Zhao's army were sparse and scattered, and their riding skills were extremely superb. Only a few of them were hit by arrows.
One hundred and eighty steps!
One hundred and seventy steps!
One hundred and sixty steps!
Seeing that more than two hundred horses were about to hit the outermost horse-rejecting pile.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
There was a continuous dull sound of bowstrings.
More than two hundred rockets suddenly flew high into the air and headed straight for the various tents scattered in the Chinese army camp.
The more than two hundred horsemen who fired the rockets in their hands neatly and neatly took up the long bows in their hands, turned the reins hard, and the horses under their crotches gave an unusually neat and crisp twist, turned around, and tried to run back to leave the battlefield.
After pretending, they wanted to leave, but the captain of Southern Xinjiang didn't want to let them go so easily.
"bow!"
"Buzz!" A cry suddenly sounded from the camp.
Feather arrows were shot in the direction of the rocket just now, and this time thousands of archers shot.
This time the distance was too close. One hundred and thirty people had no time to avoid the rain of arrows, and they were all hit by arrows and fell off their horses.
The remaining sixty or so people were obviously lucky enough to escape this round of arrows.
However, these Qingqi's rockets still landed in the Pingjing Army's camp and set the camp ablaze.
Because of the kerosene attached to it, the tent where the arrow hit immediately burst into flames. The camp was suddenly filled with flames!
Zhao Tianlin has been fighting on the battlefield for many years, and fire extinguishers have already been prepared in this camp.
There are five camps in the east, west, south, north and middle of the Pingjing Army Camp. Each camp has an isolation zone several feet wide in the middle. There are drainage ditches in the isolation zone, also to prevent the occurrence of fires.
For such a large Pingjing army camp, Zhao Wu didn't pay much attention to the dozens of tents that were set on fire by arrows. They were just plagued by scabies.
Furthermore, the five hundred infantrymen who had been sent out earlier dealt with it without causing any serious problems.
At the moment, all his energy was focused on the unknown number of cavalry outside the camp. The only real threat was here.
In the rain of arrows, while the more than sixty cavalrymen galloping back were still on the road, Wang Yang and Kui'an waved their hands, and another two hundred cavalrymen jumped out of the formation and rushed towards the camp.
This time the formation was more spread out than before.
Zhao Wu knew very well why the rebels only used these small groups of cavalry to harass, just to avoid the power of Zhou's crossbows.
The Divine Machine Crossbow and Mysterious Machine Crossbow in Wednesday's crossbow are very effective against the cavalry's group charge.
Although the Tianji City-Breaking Crossbow was originally designed to deal with city wall camps, for cavalry, the Tianji Crossbow was more intimidating than the Xuanji and Divine Machine Crossbows.
The Tianji Crossbow fires slowly and requires multiple people to operate it. In terms of the number of real kills, it is definitely not as good as the Xuanji Crossbow and the Divine Machine Crossbow.
But one arrow fired from the Tianji Crossbow can penetrate several cavalrymen. The shock is not comparable to that of the Divine Machine and Xuanji Crossbows.
No matter what kind of crossbow it is, it has a strong curbing effect on the charge of a large group of cavalry.
If King Zhao's rebel brigade attacks, it will give Qiangnu an opportunity to show off his power.
Of course, although these small groups of cavalry could also be dealt with with powerful crossbows, Zhao Wu knew that once he really did this, it could be said that he would play into the hands of the rebel general.
The Wednesday crossbow is very sharp and a weapon on the battlefield.
Da Zhou was able to subdue the barbarians, and Zhou's crossbow could also take 10% of the credit.
But there are also weaknesses. The divine machine crossbow cannot be fired continuously. After shooting a crossbow arrow, you must stop and reload the crossbow.
Although the Mysterious Crossbow can fire continuously, its quantity is insufficient and after shooting ten arrows, the loading procedure is much more cumbersome than the Divine Machine Crossbow.
Zhao Wu knew that the enemy general waiting for his wife might be this opportunity.
As long as he ordered the army to fire volleys of crossbows, the next moment should be the time for the rebels to launch a massive attack.
Although Zhao Wu felt that it was impossible for the enemy to break into the camp, he did not want to take the risk.
This second wave of light cavalry did not open their bows and shoot arrows when they were 160 steps closer to the camp like the first wave of more than 200 people. This wave of cavalry began to turn around after only charging for more than 60 steps. Horse drawn bow and arrow.
And this distance happened to be the ultimate shooting range of the Confederate archers, two hundred steps.
The maximum throw distance of the Confederate army's strong bow was 200 steps.
Because of the existence of the Zhou Crossbow, the generals of the Zhou Dynasty did not have much desire to improve bows and arrows. On the contrary, they were not as good as the Hou Jin Big Bow used by King Zhao's army.
Obviously, the loss of hundreds of men just now caused Wang Yang and Kui'an to change their tactics. Hundreds of light cavalry were lost in one raid. The price was still too high.
More than two hundred rockets fell like meteors, cutting through the thick white fog.
Dozens of Pingjing soldiers were hit by arrows and fell to the ground! Most of the remaining arrows hit the wooden fence of the camp, and the fence quickly caught fire. Fortunately, there was a professional fire-fighting team who covered it with large bags of soil and quickly extinguished the fire.
The rebels were not discouraged at all. The second wave did not go back, and the third wave of two hundred knights came out again.
Zhao Wu waved his hand gently, and the five hundred powerful crossbowmen of Pingjing Army suddenly raised their divine machine crossbows.
"Whoosh!" More than five hundred crossbow arrows cut through the thick white fog, whistling and flashing with a dazzling cold light, and swooped down on the two hundred cavalrymen who were brazenly preparing to draw their bows and shoot arrows.
The five hundred people quickly retreated after firing their crossbow arrows, and behind them, another row of more than five hundred crossbow arrows rose into the sky.
Da Zhou's crossbow combat method, three consecutive shots.
Zhao Wu was determined to keep the more than 200 people who came out this time.
Since the two hundred light cavalry were relatively scattered, Zhao Wu chose to launch three rounds of five hundred strong crossbows each time.
When Wang Yang and Kui An heard the completely different sounds of bowstrings and arrows piercing the air, they already realized that something was wrong. By the time they wanted to speak, it was already too late.
"retreat!"
"Quickly retreat!"
The two hundred Qingqi wanted to retreat, but the Confederate army's powerful crossbows did not want to give them a chance.
Three consecutive waves of more than 500 crossbow arrows covered and blocked the front and rear paths of the two hundred Qingqi. The sky was filled with arrows and there was nowhere to escape.
He could only watch helplessly as the densely packed crossbow arrows flew down from the thick white mist and penetrated into his body.
After a series of screams and the wails of the war horses, all two hundred horsemen, including men and horses, were shot into hedgehogs. No one escaped from the sudden three waves of powerful crossbow attacks.
The rich smell of blood filled the white mist in the quiet morning, and it seemed that even the original white mist was colored with blood.
…
——
"boom……"
Zhao Tianlin, who had just crossed the Baigou River, seemed to hear the sound of thousands of troops and horses galloping from the upstream.
Zhao Tianlin's expression remained normal, but his heart was filled with inexplicable horror.
He sent patrol cavalry all the way west along the south bank of the Baigou River to check its upper reaches. There was no place for dams to store water.
How could King Zhao's army suddenly cause a flood at this time? !
It's just that as the commander of the army, he can't show panic. If the commander panics, it will inevitably affect other soldiers.
"what is that?!"
"Water?!"
"Run!"
The soldiers who were crossing the river were frightened by the rolling water in the distance and ran around. The soldiers closer to the shore struggled to climb up the shore.
But the soldiers in the Baigou River have no good solution!
Suddenly, the water rolling in from the upper reaches engulfed Sergeant Pingjing who was in the river.
When a person is swallowed by ordinary floods, there is little chance of survival, and now it is the twelfth lunar month of winter. Being swallowed by such a bone-chilling flood, there is no room for struggle.
The rolling water swallowed up the soldiers crossing the river and cut Zhao Tianlin's troops into two pieces.
Fortunately, the heavy fog obscured Zhao Tianlin's progress in crossing the river, making it impossible for those who set up the trap to accurately control the timing.
Zhao Tianlin's 100,000-strong army has already crossed over 78,000 people, and the main force has already crossed the river.
At this time, although Zhao Tianlin's military equipment was in order, only food and wages were still on the other side of the river. The great sergeant only brought three days' worth of dry food.
At this time, they formed an array with their backs to the water, their retreat was cut off, and their boats were in ruins.
Because the coach was still there, the Pingjing army did not get into chaos.
Encouraged by Zhao Tianlin, the 78,000 people quickly restored their morale.
"The elite soldiers and horses of King Zhao's army have been lost outside Yanmen. Now we have no soldiers and generals, so we can only use the river water to stop the enemy. Today, we will break the cauldron and sink the boat, vowing to capture the rebel chief Zhu Kai and avenge the dead brothers!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
"kill!"
…
——
In King Zhao's camp, King Zhao was feeling sorry for himself.
"Hey, God is not good! If it weren't for this heavy fog, I could make Zhao Tianlin's army have no intention of fighting!"
It was too late for King Zhao to order the gates to be opened and the water released, otherwise the Pingjing army would be in a worse situation.
Zhao Tianlin had foreseen that King Zhao might have a water attack, so he sent several teams of light cavalry to investigate the upper reaches of the Baigou River.
Zhao Tianlin could confirm that no one from King Zhao was building dams and storing water upstream.
The water seemed to appear out of thin air.
In a war confrontation, the game between the generals of both sides is crucial.
King Zhao expected that Zhao Tianlin would be prepared for a water attack, so he did not store water and build a dam on the Baigou River. That would be too obvious.
So King Zhao chose to store water and build a dam elsewhere.
Daqing River and Baigou River are both tributaries of Haihe River.
On a certain section of the river, the two are almost completely parallel. The closest point between the Daqing River and the Baigou River is only about thirty feet.
King Zhao then thought of using water from the Daqing River to introduce it into the Baigou River.
The original problem of water depletion has been solved, and more importantly, the method is absolutely secretive and difficult to detect by the patrols of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
When the Daqing River was dammed and cut off, a river channel was dug from the Daqing River to the Baigou River.
The closest distance between Daqing River and Baigou River is less than thirty feet, and it only takes three days to form a river channel through manual excavation.
And a mound just stood in front of the soldiers of King Zhao's army who were doing soil work, so that Zhou's patrols and rangers were not aware of what was going on.
The river is still flowing, and Zhao Tianlin's headquarters is temporarily unable to communicate with the main camp, and their way has been cut off.
All that is left is to fight hard and fight bravely.
Not to mention capturing King Zhao alive, even if we can break through the camp of King Zhao's rebels, these things will become no problem.
The food and fodder for King Zhao's rebels is my food and fodder.
With enough food and grass, you can hold on and wait for assistance.
"Report! Your Majesty, due to the heavy fog, we were unable to count the enemy's casualties. However, when the floodgates were opened and the water was released, all the soldiers in the river were swallowed up by the torrent. The Confederate army must have suffered heavy losses and their morale has plummeted."
Before King Zhao could speak, Li Wenbi on the side took the lead and sternly rebuked, "This is a battle between armies, marching and fighting, not your playing house! What do you mean by should?! Are our generals allowed to fight on the basis of should?!"
King Zhao originally wanted to get angry, but Li Wenbi got angry first, which made King Zhao not know how to deal with it!
Everything you said was my word! !
"That's all," King Zhao waved his hand, "This mist is due to the weather and cannot be violated by manpower, so don't blame them harshly! Send an order to the army and be ready! Zhao Tianlin should be coming soon!"
…
(End of chapter)
