Chapter 106 Massacre
By the time Yin Erwu and the second batch of Yangzhuang people arrived panting, the dead and wounded had been dragged aside, and the crowds who had chased them to the river gradually returned to where Gao Tengzu's three flying beast battalions had formed their formation. Many people have already lost the sticks and hoes in their hands. Fortunately, there are many branches on the ground that were thrown by the auxiliary soldiers to create blind spots in the morning. So they picked them up, broke off the twigs, and held them in their hands, feeling somewhat confused. Feeling more at ease.
Grandfather Taizu established Nanyang Guard in the second year of Hongwu. However, after two hundred years, especially Qian Yuchuan's efforts in these years, the Ministry of War still had more than 8,000 people on paper, and several thousand households with old, weak, sick and disabled could not even make up a thousand people. Putting aside whether they can fight or not, less than half of them can actually hold up a knife and make two strokes. Therefore, Qian Yuchuan left these so-called soldiers on the wall just in case. The people he sent out to supervise everyone's "killing of thieves" were all government officers and agents - Lord Qian trusted them more than those "soldiers". Of course, these people felt that they had a much higher status than the common people, so they mingled in the crowd at a relatively back position to supervise the battle, and were not hit by bows and arrows. Seeing the bandit boat rowing slowly upstream more than ten or twenty feet away in the water, and the bandit camp just four or five miles away, plus a large number of fresh troops coming behind them, everyone became more courageous, fearing The credit of the thieves was snatched away by others. They shouted loudly and drove them away. They regrouped and pushed towards the thieves' camp.
Including the government officials, the vast majority of people did not know how to control the pace of walking and adjust their physical strength. They felt a little tired after running many times, so they dragged their feet and walked slowly with sticks. When everyone climbed onto the mound that Gao Tengzu was looking at, he couldn't help but look back and forth. He saw that there were so many people on his side, endlessly covering the countryside north of the city. Then he looked at the thieves a few miles away who were no more than cubes of tofu. The small camp and the small group of thieves, despite being exhausted, restored even the most timid guys' confidence.
Two thousand auxiliary soldiers who had drunk the broth last night gathered around fifty paces behind the first firewood pile fortifications and formed a horizontal formation. Fifty steps after that was another identical second line of 2,000 archers. Each horizontal formation is composed of twenty solid small formations of 100 people. Each small formation is twenty people wide and five people deep. This small formation can ensure that everyone in the formation can hear clearly the commander standing next to the formation. Password, after the first horizontal array completes the shooting mission, you can also retreat calmly through the gap in the second array.
Guo Qinglin and Luo Shifan stood side by side on the simple observation deck. Originally, it would be enough for an experienced infantry archer to handle the task of observing the enemy. Since it was the first time that his auxiliary soldiers were serving as the main force, Guo Qinglin was not at ease, but also wanted to make a decisive move among the generals. He was in the limelight, so he volunteered. Luo Shifan figured out this method of fighting, and although all the generals praised him after hearing it, it was still his first time to fight in actual combat, so he also climbed up. Under the observation platform were Sun Chunlong and several other guards from the young military division, holding their horses and waiting.
Watching the crowd squirm half a mile away, Guo Qinglin waved the green flag in his hand. Several teams of people ran out from behind the auxiliary formation, carrying sacks and baskets, and ran to the firewood pile, and threw the sulfur, rosin and black fire (typos) inside - the fire attack was not what people thought. Simple, if done early, morning dew will make all the hard work go to waste.
After all, the people who were slowly approaching were a mob. The closer they got, the faster their confidence and courage disappeared, so they moved slower and slower. Some of the government officials simply walked to the front row to guide everyone forward while shouting and slapping them in the crowd, while others cursed and threatened to drive them away from the back.
The crowd moved faster.
Seeing that the crowd was about sixty or seventy steps away from the firewood stack, Guo Qinglin pulled out a red flag and waved it. The team officers in the first row, who had been looking up at each other, shouted at the same time: "Open your bow, let go!"
Two thousand migratory locusts instantly rose up and flew higher and higher into the sky. For a moment, they seemed to disappear in the clouds. Then they suddenly folded down and rushed towards the crowd with extremely swift speed. Miserable screams rang out!
Zhang Mazi was walking in front of the crowd, only a few dozen steps away from the low wall built by the thieves. Just as he was about to shout a few times to get everyone to rush over, he suddenly saw a large rain of arrows coming towards his face. He subconsciously crouched down with his arms on his head. , even if I wanted to shout, I still had to hold it back in my stomach.
The screams sounded loud, but Luo Shifan and Guo Qinglin on the observation platform could see clearly that only a hundred people were hit by arrows in this round. After all, this is the first time for the auxiliary soldiers to actually fight, and they are all improvising. They only touched bows and arrows for the first time yesterday. At a distance of a hundred steps, this effect is really normal.
The arrow rain suddenly stopped the crowd. Many people stared blankly and stopped. Those who were slow to react only took a few steps forward. Then they followed the example of others and threw away the sticks in their hands and squatted down with their heads in their hands. . Zhang Mazi calmed down and didn't see the second wave of arrows coming for a long time. He straightened up a little and quickly looked around. He didn't see a few arrows around him. He became bolder and straightened his body and shouted. : "Death row! You're scared! Rush! Rush over and kill the thief!"
The other government officials also shouted, swung the weapons in their hands and beat the heads of those around them. Everyone recovered from the shock, shouted, and ran forward together. Zhang Mazi didn't take a step, he kept shouting at the top of his lungs, beating everyone who passed by him - We Mazi are still waiting for the reward from the leader, so we won't use our good body to block the arrows of some cannon fodder. !
As the red flag on the observation deck waved, the second and third rounds of arrow rain rained down.
The results of these two rounds of shooting are much better. The distance was getting closer, and an arrow had just been fired, so the hands of most of the auxiliary soldiers no longer trembled so much. Guo Qinglin, who was on the lookout, made a quick mental estimate and found that more than a thousand people were hit by arrows, and even more were tripped by them. Although the opponent seemed to have 40,000 to 50,000 people, most of the people at the front fell to the ground, blocking the group behind them.
At the same time, the three flying beast battalions had begun to disembark in an orderly manner, and under the orders of the team officers, they began to form their team behind the archer formation. Gao Tengdou also returned the thirty borrowed cavalry to Gu Baisong, who directed the cavalry to assemble west of the second group of archers as planned. The horsemen all led their horses and stood there, waiting for orders.
The successive blows really shocked the crowd. However, soon after, there was no need for the roaring reminders from Zhang Mazi, and everyone gradually understood from the initial fear: the thieves had the advantage of long-range firepower, and if they stayed still, they would be beaten in vain, so they simply rushed over! Whether or not an arrow is hit halfway depends on each person's personal characteristics. We have an overwhelming numerical advantage. As long as we rush over and get entangled together, we will win the battle in hand-to-hand combat!
After three rounds of shooting, Guo Qinglin did not continue to wave the red flag. Although he knew that if another volley was fired at this time, facing the almost motionless and entangled crowd, the killing effect would definitely exceed the sum of the previous rounds of shooting - but the hand holding the flag was held down by Luo Shifan. The young military advisor immediately explained that there were too many enemies on the opposite side, and if we wanted to win, we must hit those capable forces hard. Although shooting can kill a lot of people now, there will definitely be a lot of arrows wasted on enemies who have lost their combat effectiveness.
As he spoke, Luo Shifan's mind was thinking rapidly: Most of the generals were from the frontier army, and their combat experience was in fighting against armored regular troops. The damage of bows and arrows to armor is limited - this can be seen from the way the Ming army recorded injuries: three arrows are worth one sword, which is considered a minor injury; three swords are less than one shot, which is considered a serious injury - at most, bows and arrows can delay the attack rhythm, disrupt the attack rhythm, or cover The siege troops suppress the firepower at the top of the city, so generally they don't pay much attention to the role of archers. We have never experienced a battle like today, but there is no guarantee that we will not encounter it again in the future. In this situation, the role of archers comes to the fore! After the city was captured, the armored soldiers in the arsenal were treasures, and even the pig iron had to be taken away, but the feather arrows were no longer cherished - I had personally seen soldiers pile up half-finished arrow shafts and light a fire to warm their hands! Can you suggest to the commander-in-chief that in addition to the archery teams assigned to each battle camp, simply form an archery battalion? Well, like a cavalry team, it can form an independent army and be under the direct control of the Chinese army. In the event of a war, it will be assigned according to the predicted combat characteristics. To those in need. However, considering the cost, it is not small...
While he was lost in thought, his thoughts were interrupted by Guo Qinglin: "Young Military Advisor, the thieves are rushing forward again! Let's retreat."
Looking up, he saw the dark crowd not far away shouting and swarming over again. Guo Qinglin waved the red flag for the fourth time. When the two of them climbed the rope and slid down to the bottom of the observation tower, another two thousand feather arrows shot through the air and scattered towards the charging crowd. When Luo Shifan got on his horse, he smiled at Guo Qinglin: "Brother Guo, you just said, 'The thieves are rushing up again.' You called them thieves, and they also called us thieves - then, who is the thief? "
Guo Qinglin was startled and then smiled. Without answering Luo Shifan's teasing question, he shouted: "Team A, withdraw!"
Following the order, the small formation of the first row of archers quickly turned back, passed through the gap of the second arching formation fifty steps away, and re-established their position at the predetermined position behind. Someone ran past them carrying a basket, and everyone grabbed a few special feathered arrows from the basket: cloth soaked in grease was tied behind the arrow clusters.
The crowd rushing towards them was not blocked by the rain of arrows. Those who were hit by the arrows were struggling, while those who were tripped quickly got up and continued to rush forward with shouts. Zhang Mazi shouted in the crowd, and from time to time he jumped up and looked ahead. The people in the front had already run through the gap in the low wall and were out of sight. Zhang Mazi estimated that the thieves were trying their best to escape, and the people of Nanyang were chasing them behind. Just now I could vaguely see that the thieves had a second military formation, but it didn't matter. At worst, two or three more rounds of arrows would not be able to stop these many people! It won't be long before we are overtaken. At that time, hum... Just as I was thinking about it, I heard a familiar greeting: "Brother Zhang!" I turned around and saw that it was Ma Laoqi and Yin Erwu from Yangzhuang. . He agreed in his mouth, and then shouted: "Old Seven, Er Wu, kill the thief!" Everyone rushed forward bravely.
The second bow formation is a hundred steps away from the firewood pile. Seeing someone emerging from the gap between the firewood piles, the team officers of each small formation issued orders one after another and rained arrows on the chaotic crowd.
Due to the need to bypass three obstacles in succession, and the arrows coming towards them, most of the people were crowded between the firewood piles, and only a few people could force themselves in front of the formation. The officers of each small formation of 100 men calmly gave the order to shoot them in front of them a few steps away. The horsemen of Gu Baisong in the west had already mounted their horses, but when they saw this situation, they all stopped to watch. The original plan was for the cavalry to attack and block the crowds rushing in front of the formation, but now it seems that this is not necessary.
At the same time, several fast horses trotted past in the queue that had just taken the rockets. The knights on the horses held torches in their hands. When passing in front of them, the archers ignited the stringed rockets, and then The half-guided bow pointed diagonally toward the sky. Following the orders of "First row, release" and "Second row, release", the rockets took off row by row. The auxiliary soldiers who shot the feather arrows quickly picked up the second one, ignited it on the burning arrow clusters of their companions in the back row, and when they drew the bow again, the rockets in the back row shot out...
The piles of firewood that had been sprinkled with brimstone fire (typos) were set ablaze one after another, and raging flames shot into the sky.
Yin Erwu crawled to the ground and escaped from the fire. Just now, he saw Ma Laoqi trapped in the fire a few feet away, struggling to hold on to Zhang Mazi next to him. Then, the latter's body Zaoyi, who represents the supreme majesty, also begins to burn! Seeing Zhang Mazi reaching out to grab him, in desperation, Yin Erwu opened the handle of the pickaxe in his hand to open a way out for himself, and finally escaped from the hot and smelly Abi Hell in terror.
Yin Erwu hunched over and coughed desperately. A breeze blew by, and I couldn't help but take a deep breath of the cool air that filled my heart and spleen. Just when he straightened up and looked forward, his chest felt cold, and it felt like he had been punched hard - Yin Erwu, who was full of ambition, was nailed to the ground by a sharp arrow.
As usual, I will be crazy with my baby for six days, so I will stop updating.
