If his skills were inferior to others, there would be nothing to say if Wang Shangli was captured.
The reason why he was captured is really ridiculous...
Fortunately, Liu Zian did not mention the specific process to everyone due to the matter of dividing the money.
Otherwise, under the ridicule of everyone, Wang Shangli would want to turn into a reptile and crawl into the cracks in the ground.
"It's up to Hong Shaobao to decide whether to kill or behead you. Let's take you down first and keep you under surveillance!"
Strong enemies are still coveting Xiangyang City outside. Yang Shien has no time to quarrel with this guy for the time being. He will wait until Hong Shaobao enters the city to make him look good.
Knowing that Hong Chengchou was about to lead his army, the prefect Wang Chengzeng, the military commander Wang Ruinan, the deputy general Yang Shien and other civil servants and generals were relieved and spread the good news widely. Naturally, the city was filled with joy.
In addition to the strength of Xiangyang City itself, another important reason for everyone's perseverance was that Hong Chengchou's army was in Gucheng, a hundred miles away, and could rush south for reinforcements.
Now that Hong Chengchou will arrive in Xiangyang today, the defeat of the rebel army is just around the corner. The defenders in the city are excited from top to bottom, trying to kill more rebels so that they can receive the reward.
Although they didn't get many prisoners, if they could kill an enemy general while defending the city, they could let the prisoners go and identify their bodies.
As long as in isolation, multiple people identify someone with the same identity at the same time, and combined with the armor and the seal they carry, you can make a conclusion.
These thieves and generals were previously appointed to official positions by the imperial court, and naturally they all had standard items. This was also a symbol of the generals' status, and now it became one of the evidences for the defenders to receive rewards.
But "harvesting crops" has to wait until the rebel army is completely defeated by the official army. Otherwise, if everyone goes out and harvests half of the crops, the rebel army comes back again, and the city gate is still closed, everyone will have no choice but to fight to the death.
"Oh My God!"
Luo Dai came from the north of the city along the shore. Everything was normal there, and he couldn't even see the ghost of a bandit. But as soon as he entered the east side of the city, the scene couldn't help but surprise him.
In the lens of the telescope, stretching from the base of the city to the edge of the moat, they were all the corpses of thieves and soldiers, and the amount was so large that it was difficult to estimate by visual inspection.
Various types of carts that were abandoned or destroyed were still parked on the battlefield, and the flames on some of the ladders erected at the top of the city were still burning in the breeze.
Several broken general flags with the word "Zhang" were stuck diagonally on the ground. The flags were drooping and could no longer flutter. Under the flagpoles, kneeling were the corpses of flag-beating soldiers with their heads lowered.
The smell of blood, gunpowder smoke, and the smell of rotting corpses are mixed together, spreading everywhere without any scruples, and anyone who smells it will have a nauseating reaction.
At this time, there were still many wounded soldiers reaching out and calling for help, and some were even crawling like maggots on the battlefield full of craters, but no one paid attention to them and allowed them to fend for themselves.
From what he saw before his eyes, Luo Dai could intuitively imagine how violent the attack by the rebels just now was, and how difficult it was for Xiangyang City to be defended.
After this defeat, Luo Dai still had no idea whether the bandit army would continue to attack fiercely or take advantage of the situation to escape. By scouting the horse to report, there was a bandit army five or six miles ahead with the flag "Zhang".
It must be that the thieves who had been frustrated in the siege were reorganizing. Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, it was a good opportunity for their troops to launch a surprise attack. Luo Dai gathered four thousand horsemen and rushed over without any explanation.
At this time, Zhang Wenxiu, who had been severely defeated by the defenders, was resting among his subordinates, thinking about how to report the battle situation here to his father.
Most of the 1,500 surrendered soldiers led by Ma Tingbao were lost at the gates of the city. What made him most angry was that as the commander-in-chief, Ma Tingbao actually managed to escape.
The damned people did not die. The four thousand rebel soldiers under his control did not deserve to die, but more than two thousand of them were blasted into the sky by the defenders' bullets.
The total number of people who were able to escape that nightmarish battlefield was only 2,300 or 2,000, which was a full 3,000 less than when the troops were sent to attack the city.
Zhang Wenxiu's two deputies, Ma Tingbao and Wang Fuchen, were still alive, with sound limbs and healthy bodies, but this could not buy the lives of the soldiers, let alone allow the defenders to surrender the city.
If the team is integrated, they still have the ability to attack the city, but after the previous experience, Zhang Wenxiu, who was severely damaged, no longer has any illusions about Xiangyang City.
In particular, the defenders also have special firearms that can be used in a large area. They can be used at a distance and in close combat. They are completely unable to resist the rebel auxiliary soldiers with low armor coverage.
It seems that the rebel army relied on auxiliary troops to rush into battle and elite troops to win the battle.
The auxiliary soldiers were unable to shake the opponent's defense line, but were annihilated by the official army in large numbers.
So even if you send elite troops up, the result will be the same as auxiliary troops.
Ever since he followed his father, Zhang Wenxiu had never suffered such a big loss when attacking a city.
I thought that elite soldiers were a weapon to defeat the enemy and could help our soldiers seize the city as quickly as possible.
Unexpectedly, the defenders dropped dozens of baozha objects from the top of the city. After the lightning flash, hundreds of elite soldiers of the rebel army could only lie on the ground and howl.
At present, Zhang Wenxiu only has 300 elite soldiers left, and the rest are Wang Fuchen's auxiliary soldiers and a small number of surrendered soldiers subordinate to Ma Tingbao.
He did want to take revenge, but with just these few troops, it was obvious that facing the rock-solid Xiangyang City, it was simply a small matter that shook the tree.
Looking at the dejected Ma Tingbao, Zhang Wenxiu became even more angry.
They are also officers and soldiers, so why are the officers and soldiers at the top of the city so sharp, but their own subordinates are so weak?
Birds of a feather flock together.
Zhang Wenxiu really wanted to chop this good-for-nothing guy with a knife, but he still had to be punished by his father.
"Report! Three generals, we found officers and soldiers three miles to the west. They are all pawns. The number of troops is no less than five thousand!"
Tan Ma usually overstates the enemy's strength to avoid being blamed by the general. The combat principle advocated by the Eight Kings is to fight if they can beat them, and run away if they can't beat them.
"this……"
Zhang Wenxiu couldn't believe that the defenders dared to come out at this time and planned to fight with their own lives. Could it be that he thought that he had no power to fight back?
"Third General! Don't hesitate! Get in formation quickly!"
Wang Fuchen hurriedly urged, and the horsemen galloped as fast as the wind. They arrived in the blink of an eye. Now that there were many infantry in his army, it was impossible to withdraw immediately.
No matter how fast the infantry ran, they could not outrun the horse soldiers. Once they chose to retreat and were attacked by the army's horse soldiers, they would be gathered in the wilderness and annihilated. However, this place was all plains and there was no danger to defend.
The only way is to form a formation to resist the enemy, and then ask the eight kings to send troops for reinforcements as soon as possible, otherwise the few troops and horses led by the three generals will be lost at the gate of Xiangyang City.
"...Okay! Arrange in formation! Anyone who retreats will be killed immediately!"
Zhang Wenxiu also understood that he could not run back empty-handed to recover his life while still able to fight. Even if the opponent was an army of cavalry, his troops would still have to fight to the death.
With 5,500 men and horses, he first attacked the city. If he failed to gain any advantage in this field battle and suffered repeated defeats, how could he face his father's commander-in-chief?
Although the fighting spirit of the rebel soldiers had been almost wiped out by the firepower from the city, now that there was no need to attack the city and they had to defend the enemy in the wild, which was a matter of personal life and death, everyone became nervous again.
If the infantry does not line up to fight, they will not be able to match the horse soldiers on the plain. If the enemy's horses are galloping and they charge at full speed, harvesting the heads will be as easy as chopping melons and vegetables.
Therefore, first of all, you must not turn around and run away. That would be equivalent to leaving your back to the enemy soldiers. There are not enough people for the enemy to kill.
Secondly, we should make full use of the advantages of the terrain and the weapons in our hands to form an array, and use long guns and bows and arrows to block the charge of the horse soldiers.
Zhang Wenxiu ordered his infantry to form a huge circular formation, surrounding the remaining 500 horsemen. The outermost layer was composed of spearmen, followed by sword and shield soldiers, and finally archers.
Although the Eight Kings are not well-educated in military affairs, they are still considered professionals in the industry. During the period when they were recruited by the court, they never slacked off in training their subordinates. The most basic square and circular formations were used by all the subordinates.
Because rewards and punishments are clear and severe, as long as Zhang Wenxiu and Wang Fuchen still have fighting spirit, the officers at all levels below will not have the intention to escape.
Once discovered by the Eight Kings, they may chop off hands at least, or light sky lanterns at worst. This is no joke. The Eight Kings always do what they say, so the rebels also maintain a very high degree of discipline, but only internally...
Fortunately, Zhang Wenxiu's troops deliberately gathered their troops after retreating from the siege of the city. Otherwise, when they found out that the official army had sent a large group of cavalry, they would be unlikely to succeed in gathering and forming a formation.
"Oh? Formed a formation? Humph!"
Luo Dai first ordered everyone to slow down, and then began to inspect the rebel army's formation. It seemed that the enemy did not intend to retreat, but wanted to trap the beast and fight.
"Pass my general's order. Those in armor form one team and shoot around the formation! Those in armor form one team and cut off their retreat!"
The other party was already prepared, and Luo Dai did not intend to use up all the borrowed troops and horses, so he would not be able to explain to the other commanders when he returned.
According to the difference in his own armor, Luo Dai used the armored horsemen as an attack team to fire around the rebel formation. It would be great if he could gain something.
The cavalry in leather armor have weak defense, and there will be many casualties in the exchange of fire with the infantry, so they can outflank them in a roundabout way, and prepare to rob and kill the possible rout from behind.
Luo Dai's strategy was to surround the bandit army first and prevent it from escaping. Without taking the initiative to charge into the formation, Luo Dai would slowly consume the opponent's patience and strength.
The cavalry he led had a very high armor coverage, so they would never be at a disadvantage if they were to shoot at each other. Moreover, they were also protected by war horses and could evacuate from the battlefield at any time.
The opponent does not have this advantage. Although there are horse pawns protected in the formation, the number is less than 10% of our own. Once they go into battle, there is no return.
It's not even noon yet, so I have plenty of time to play with this bandit army today. If they can't collapse before sunset, it won't be too late to rush in and kill them.
This was also done to save horsepower. After running such a long distance, Luo Dai's mount collapsed to the ground due to exhaustion, which was an obvious sign.
In view of this, the chief military officer did not intend to be tough. At the last moment, he could invite the firearms chariots in the city to kill the opponent in one fell swoop.
The cavalry of the official army just ran away. Previously, they bullied the few by bullying them, and killed more than a thousand of Wang Shangli's cavalry in one fell swoop. The strength of their arms did not waste much.
This kind of shooting around the formation is the time to test everyone's archery skills. I heard that the Tatars used this trick to defeat the King's infantry, so today I will try it with the bandit army in front of me.
The generals with telescopes saw that there were many people in the formation who lacked armor, so they asked everyone to use light arrows to shoot.
With the same force, light arrows naturally have a farther range than heavy arrows.
At the same distance, light arrows save arm strength more than heavy arrows.
Light arrows are weapons used to hunt lightly armored or unarmored targets.
Heavy arrows should be reserved to hit armored soldiers, especially those brave cavalry in the opponent's formation.
Two thousand horsemen shoot in a circle, each of them can shoot twenty light arrows, and the total is as many as forty thousand!
Although the total amount cannot be projected at once, the victory is that it can suppress the rebel army for a long time, and can kill no less than thirty or forty people every time.
Originally, getting closer could greatly increase the number of victories, but this would also increase the casualties of the horsemen. Luo Dai still ordered all his troops to shoot from a relatively safe distance. Even if his own soldiers were hit by arrows and fell from their horses, they could be rescued quickly.
"Brother Xian is here?"
Luo Dai was watching the battle from a distance, and was extremely satisfied when he saw Liu Zian coming back and sending a receipt to Wang Chengzeng, the prefect of Xiangyang, and others. This meant that when Hong Shaobao came, the two of them could get 10,000 taels of silver.
"Brother, if you shoot like this, I'm afraid our army won't have enough arrows. I'll go back to the city to see if I can borrow some arrows!"
When Liu Zian saw that the rebel army had been surrounded, and Luo Dai did not order to charge into the formation, but only ordered the soldiers to fire in a circle, he saw the problem and asked for orders on his own.
"Okay! This is exactly what Brother Yu is worried about!"
Luo Dai was also worried about running out of arrows. If the light arrows were used up, he could continue shooting with heavy arrows, but it still wouldn't last long. When the horsemen shot all the arrows, the bandit army would take the opportunity to break out.
When Liu Zian returned and explained the situation outside the city, Wang Ruinan, the military commander of Xiangyang, readily agreed. As long as the enemy attacking the city could be annihilated, all weapons in the city could be mobilized.
With the availability of mortars and rocket bags, bows and arrows have become auxiliary tools. It is not a problem for the defenders to come up with tens of thousands of arrows to support the reinforcements.
After discussing with the guard Yang Shien, Wang Ruinan agreed to allocate 50,000 arrows and send people to the scene of the incident. Yang Shien also sent people to verify the situation.
If Luo Dai really wants to retain this bandit army, he can let Ding Liang's mortar battalion go into battle.
The mortars they are equipped with are not only extremely powerful, but also extremely light in weight and can be mounted over mountains and ridges on the backs of donkeys.
The previous bandit army attacked the city fiercely, causing the defenders to lose many soldiers. Yang Shien wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge.
Deploy mortars outside the city to kill the rebels. If they want to form an formation, they will not be able to form one.
The power of destruction like the earth is shattering is unstoppable by any flesh and blood body.
Forming a formation will only result in the loss of more troops and make the soldiers die faster, but it has no other use.
The defenders only used mortars twice, but they beat the rebels to the point of peeing, and they no longer dared to attack the city.
But this is not the end, Xiangyang’s territory is not something you can come and leave whenever you want.
Even if you want to leave, you should leave something from before, such as your own head!
The military situation was urgent, and Liu Zian immediately brought the arrows to the location of his troops.
At this time, although the officer's horsemen's shooting was slower, the light arrows carried by each person were almost used up.
Fortunately, Liu Zian gave everyone a shot, otherwise Luo Dai would have had to ask the horsemen in leather armor to come and offer their own light arrows.
"...If the commander-in-chief wants to annihilate this bandit army, shooting is definitely not a long-term solution!"
Ding Liang also followed Liu Zian out of the city to take a look. It was obvious that suppressing him with bows and arrows could only suppress him for a while.
If you want to eliminate the enemy in front of you before dark, you must use heavy weapons that will prevent the bandits from forming a formation to defend themselves. ...Friends who read books, you can search "Blue Chinese Network" to find this site as soon as possible.
