Since he has not yet learned to ride a horse, Zhao Yang, as the coach today, is standing on a chariot transformed from a grain truck. Next to him are Fan Chunren and Wen Tong. Surrounded by Wang Zhongzheng and other ten imperial soldiers as personal soldiers, and then Outside are the five battalions of the Tianwu Fifth Army. The three battalions in front are arrayed in a pin-shaped formation, and there is one battalion on the east and west sides. Behind them are nearly 500 miscellaneous soldiers from the logistics battalion who do not participate in the battle. They are only responsible for transporting the Tianwu Fifth Army. of armor.
As the war started, the Qiang cavalry of the Ama tribe took the lead in fighting with the front of the Song army.
Most of the nomadic cavalry are skilled in bows and horses, and the Ama tribe is no exception. Its chief, Ama, personally led about two thousand cavalry to the Song army's formation. They started shooting arrows from a long distance, counting at least two thousand arrows. The arrows landed on the front of the Song army - to be precise, on the heads of the 1,500 Song Dynasty banned soldiers under the Second Battalion of the Baojie Regiment and the First Battalion of the Dinggong Regiment under the Guard Infantry Division. However, in terms of lethality, it was quite average.
After all, although the sergeants of these two forbidden army regiments were not equipped with the latest infantry armor like the Tianwu Fifth Army, they were also wearing armor all over their bodies, the kind that Zhao Yang had lost hundreds of sets in during the gunpowder ammunition exercise and was made in the 19th century. The infantry armor from decades ago cost about twenty-two guans per set. It is not advanced, but it is more than enough to resist the homemade bows and arrows of the Qiang people on the Song-Xia border, not to mention that each of them is wrapped in cowhide. With their shields, the volleys of Ama tribe's Qiang cavalry had little effect on them.
However, being given the upper hand by the enemy still made Zhizhen Rongjun Feng Wenjun feel annoyed, and he immediately cursed bitterly: "What are the clearing crossbowmen doing? Why did they ask the other side to seize the upper hand? Fire arrows!"
Perhaps he heard Feng Wenjun's scolding from afar, Jiang Huan, the garrison supervisor responsible for commanding the crossbowmen at the Qingbian border, ordered as if he had just woken up from a dream: "Fire the arrows! Fire the arrows!"
At an order, five hundred Qingbian crossbowmen launched a volley, and five hundred crossbow arrows passed over the heads of the friendly troops in front and shot at the oncoming Ama tribe Qiang cavalry.
Compared with the Song Dynasty's imperial soldiers who were almost unscathed, some of the Ama tribe's Qiang cavalry were hit by arrows on the spot. The sharp arrow clusters easily penetrated their leather armor, but they were not injured to death. In fact, the Qiang people who were hit by the arrows were even more injured. Very fierce.
"Keep cumming!"
Feng Wenjun glanced at the location of the governor Jiang Huan angrily, cursing in his heart: Forget about normal times, what time is it today? That young Mr. Zhao didn't hesitate to promise tens of thousands of dollars, but he wanted the first battle to be a clean one. Can you wait for these governors to get it?
But he also understood that this was how civilians controlled the army.
What is the position of the garrison governor? To put it bluntly, they are the officials responsible for taking care of the garrison of the Forbidden Army.
The imperial troops of the Song Dynasty were stationed on local state roads, and they were divided into three types: feeding, garrisoning, and parking.
Liang Liang means literally. The biggest difference compared to the other two is that you can bring your family members with you. Unless there is an emergency, they generally do not participate in the war on the state road. It is purely for economic reasons.
Tunzhu and Zhubo are relatively close to each other. The difference is that the former belongs to the state road, while the latter belongs to the Zhizhou. For example, when Chen Zhizhong was appointed as the pacifier of Jingdong Road in the third year of Qingli, he petitioned the imperial court to appoint Guo Kui as the stationed general. At that time, Guo Kui was temporarily subordinated to Chen Zhizhong, but was not affiliated to Jingdong Road. It was not until after Wang Lun's mutiny was put down that Chen Zhizhong He was ordered to participate in political affairs, and Guo Kui returned to Shaanxi to continue serving.
Regardless of whether the Forbidden Army provides food, garrison, or garrison, there will always be one person who serves as the Superintendent. For example, a certain army has the Superintendent of Food, Garrison, and Garrison. As a rule, it is a civilian who is responsible for the food of each Forbidden Army. Live and travel.
Guo Kui’s Jingyuan Road Supervisor is no exception.
The difference is that Guo Kui has been fond of military books since he was a child and is proficient in military affairs, while most other civil servants and governors are not familiar with military affairs. However, once there is a war, it is these civil servants who control and dispatch the commanders of the Forbidden Army under their command - the latter are the ones who actually lead the troops in battle. Military attachés, but basically have no power and can only take orders from civilian officials.
Just like the previous crossbow shooting to seize the initiative, it is undeniable that the range of bows and arrows is indeed farther than crossbows, but the Song-made military crossbows in the hands of the Qing border crossbowmen are better than the homemade bows and arrows of the Ama tribe, but Jiang Huan, the governor, obviously does not Knowing the true range of his Qingbian crossbowmen, it was not until he heard Feng Wenjun yelling at him that he woke up from a dream.
Fortunately, there is a huge gap between the weapons and equipment of the two warring parties today, and the harm caused by civilian control of the army is not obvious. If we are fighting Xixia and Liao, if everyone in the army is like Jiang Huan, it is estimated that Zhao Yangde was so angry that he was dismissed from his position on the spot.
But at this moment, Zhao Yang didn't notice it yet. On the contrary, he saw that the infantry of the second battalion of Baojie Regiment and the first battalion of Dinggong Regiment, led by Feng Wenjun, actually maintained their formation even under the volleys of Qiang cavalry from the Ama tribe on the opposite side. , moved forward slowly, and couldn't help but said in surprise: "The three battalions of the Guards Infantry Division can maintain a stable formation under this kind of salvo, that's okay!"
Fan Chunren, Wen Tong, including Wang Zhongzheng and others who were surrounding the chariot, also nodded and looked at the guards Bu Sijun with admiration.
You must know that the imperial guards have always been divided into upper and lower classes. Compared with the imperial guards stationed in Bianjing, the guards and military guards are usually the ones who are laughed at and ridiculed. I remember when Zhao Yang went to the front guards for the first time. , Wei Tao once made a joke about the victorious army of the Guards and Military Division.
I didn't expect to witness the battle of the imperial guards of the Guards and Military Division today. These imperial soldiers performed really well.
"We should not take it lightly." Fan Chunren said seriously: "In addition to shooting with bows, the Qiang cavalry can also break into formations."
Zhao Yang nodded, but he didn't care in his heart.
After all, as far as he was concerned, the cavalry of the Ama tribe were light cavalry at best. Even if they were lucky enough to break through the front controlled by Feng Wenjun, they would not be able to do anything to the fifth Tianwu Army under his command.
After all, the Fifth Tianwu Army under his command is a heavy infantry army with everyone equipped with infantry armor. One set of fully armed armor costs as much as five sets of ordinary armor, and it can remain unscathed in the face of bombs weighing several kilograms of gunpowder. , faced with such a shameful thing as the sudden musket, it didn't even sway. Even the most cutting-edge Song crossbow couldn't penetrate the defense of infantry armor a hundred steps away.
If any light cavalry dares to attack such a heavy infantry regiment, it will be really boring.
To deal with this kind of heavy infantry regiment, unless heavy cavalry is sent to kill them together, they can only rely on siege and consumption. However, Zhao Yang, who knows the advantages and disadvantages of heavy infantry, will never give the enemy a chance.
Sure enough, after the Qiang cavalry of the Ama tribe launched several rounds of volleys, they also realized that their homemade bows and arrows were unable to effectively kill the Song imperial soldiers, so they began to attempt an assault. Under the leadership of the clan leader Ama, they roared towards Feng. Wenjun's Baojie and Dinggong soldiers, totaling 1,500 infantry, came to kill him.
Seeing this, Feng Wenjun decisively ordered: "Stop the whole army and fight the enemy cavalry!"
When the flag was waving, a total of 1,500 infantrymen from Baojie and Dinggong immediately stopped moving forward and formed a holding formation. They were close to each other. The front row raised their shields and raised their guns, and the back row held their shields against the backs of the robes in front. Fight in a tight formation.
Zhao Yang nodded repeatedly after seeing this scene.
The infantry had to rely on dense formations to face the cavalry's assault. Looking at this alone, Feng Wenjun was quite knowledgeable about soldiers, much better than most civilian officials. He was worthy of being a civilian official who knew the army well.
"kill!"
"Enter the battle!"
Amidst countless chaos, the patriarch Ama led more than 2,000 Qiang cavalry, and about three to four hundred cavalry took the lead in charging into the faces of the forbidden soldiers of the third battalion of Baojie and Dinggong. In the chaos of people turning on their backs, Song Song could clearly be seen. The formation of the Song army was "dented", but that was all. The hundreds of Ama tribesmen who failed to attack the Song army's formation and fell off their horses instead became a disguised obstacle for other tribesmen to take the opportunity to attack.
"kill!"
As a battalion commander of the Baojie Army shouted, the forbidden soldiers under his command bravely moved forward and fought together with the fallen Qiang cavalry.
I have to say that the Qiang people are indeed fierce. Even those Qiang people who failed to break out of the formation and fell off their horses and fell to the ground in a daze. But when they saw the Song army's forbidden soldiers coming to kill them, they had no intention of retreating. They pulled out their machetes one by one and howled. When fighting with them, even those who broke their legs or hands became more fierce, with a desperate posture of "you have no one but me today".
This ferocious momentum temporarily frightened the soldiers of the Song Army.
Seeing this, Chen Ling, the governor of the Baojie Army garrison, shouted: "Deputy Envoy Zhao has said that you will be rewarded with money for killing an enemy. What are you waiting for?!"
When the soldiers of the Baojie Army heard this, their courage suddenly burst out.
You must know that soldiers like the Tianwu Army, who are banned from the Fourth Army, only get one salary per month, while those like the Baojie Army only get half a salary per month, that is, 500 Wen, which is only enough to buy a lamb in Shaanxi. of.
Nowadays, if you kill one enemy, you can get a regular reward, which is equivalent to two months of their salary. Who would be stingy with courage?
"kill!"
As the saying goes, a brave man must be rewarded with a heavy reward. Under Zhao Yang's huge promise of money, the three battalions of forbidden soldiers, Baojie and Dinggong, showed more fighting spirit and combat power than usual. They continued to advance despite the fierce Qiang people and blocked the enemy. The Luo Ma Qiang people in front were killed one after another.
In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred Qiang people who fell from their horses were slaughtered, but the Song Dynasty's forbidden soldiers only suffered 30 or 50 casualties.
Is it really the Song Army with this level of combat power?
The patriarch Ama stared in shock, in disbelief.
You must know that the three battles of Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan and Dingchuanzhai between the Song and Xia countries in the past few years were witnessed by the Qiang people on the border. They witnessed the Song army being hunted down by the Xixia army like chickens and sheep. For dozens of miles, they suffered casualties of nearly 100,000 forbidden troops. From then on, they inevitably despised the Song Army's combat power. They never thought that the Song Army was so brave?
"Clan leader!"
Gilma, the brave warrior of the tribe, rode up to Amma and said urgently: "The Song army's formation is strong and it is difficult for the tribe to break through. We must find another way!"
Ama raised his head and looked at the left and right wings of the Song Army, which had not yet made any move, and said seriously: "According to the previous plan, I asked Baji and Morbu to lead two thousand tribesmen from the east to the side of the Song Army's front formation to seduce the Song Army's right wing... …”
After giving instructions, Gilma rode away, and Amma immediately changed his tactics. He no longer tried to lead his clansmen to break out of the formation, but led his clansmen's cavalry to fight and retreat, only shooting arrows from a long distance.
On the other side, two warriors, Badji and Morbu, led two thousand cavalry to circle eastward, trying to attack Feng Wenjun's front flank.
Seeing this, the right wing of the Song army, the governors Gou Bin and Xu Si, who were in charge of the 12th battalion of the Fanluo Army, with a total of 4,800 cavalry, sneered: "Do you think my right wing does not exist?"
After giving an order, the two led 4,800 Tibetan cavalry to step forward to fight and formed a group with the more than 2,000 cavalry led by Badji and Morbu.
Most of the Tibetan cavalry were Tubo people who had attached themselves to the Song Dynasty. They were also skilled in bows and horses, and were as brave as the Qiang people. Not only did they have a numerical advantage, but they were also stimulated by Zhao Yang's promise of a heavy reward. If it weren't for Gou Bin and Xu Both Si and Si were under restraint, and they had long been unable to restrain themselves from wanting to kill the enemy to receive the reward. Now when they saw the opportunity, they were like a pack of tigers descending from the mountain, unstoppable.
In just one encounter, more than a hundred of the two thousand Qiang cavalry led by Baji and Morbu fell off their horses.
Seeing that something was wrong, the two looked at each other and immediately led their tribesmen to flee north.
"The enemy's spirit has been defeated! The enemy's spirit has been defeated!"
Gou Bin and Xu Si, the two governors, were very excited and ordered a pursuit.
Compared with the two men's eagerness for meritorious service, the twelve battalion commanders under their command were even more reluctant to let the Qiang cavalry escape. After all, that was a reward equivalent to nearly two thousand guan!
"Chase!"
"Hurry up!"
Nearly five thousand Tibetan cavalrymen clung to the two thousand Qiang cavalrymen, chasing each other and escaping, gradually moving away from the main battlefield and heading north.
Seeing this scene from a distance, Guo Kui on the left felt a little uneasy.
While thinking about it, one of his subordinates from the command battalion came to report: "Du Jian, the Ama tribe has sent more than a thousand cavalry."
Guo Kui looked up, and sure enough he saw nearly a thousand cavalry from the many Qiang cavalry of the Ama tribe, trying to attack the flank of Feng Wenjun's tribe in a roundabout way, but this time it was on the west side.
Guo Kui thought for a long time and then issued an order in a deep voice: "Pass my order to the four battalions of the Fanluo cavalry to come forward to stop the attack. If the enemy cavalry flees, no pursuit is allowed! Remember, no pursuit is allowed!"
After issuing the order, Guo Kui summoned an accompanying messenger and ordered: "Go to Commander Zhao immediately and ask him to pay attention to the right wing."
"yes!"
The messenger hurriedly left where Zhao Yang was.
At the same time, Zhao Yang, Fan Chunren, Wen Ting and others were frowning at Gou Bin and Xu Si on the right wing, who were leading nearly 5,000 cavalry in pursuit of 2,000 Qiang cavalry.
Zhao Yang was so angry that he gritted his teeth, slapped the armrests of the chariot and cursed: "Even I can see that this is a tactic to lure the enemy. What are those two idiots thinking? Nearly five thousand cavalrymen went to chase two thousand at once. Cavalry? Once they leave, won't the right wing be completely empty? You might as well leave a thousand cavalry to support Feng Wenjun!"
Wen Tong had no intention of joking at this time. He frowned and asked, "Is it too late to send someone to recover it?"
"It's probably too late." Fan Chunren said worriedly.
A good game that must be won, but there are still such twists and turns. Zhao Yang exhaled in anger: "... This is the civilian army in charge! Your mother's army!"
You are also a civil servant...
Well, we are all three.
Fan Chunren and Wen Tong looked at each other with a wry smile, and then asked: "What should we do now?"
After Zhao Yang thought for a moment, he said: "Send the order to Zhong'er and ask Zhong'e to lead the first and second battalions forward to cover the right wing of Feng Wenjun's department."
At this time, Wen Tong suddenly pointed to the left wing and said: "Jing Xing, look at the left wing. The Qiang tribe has sent more than a thousand cavalry to lure Guo Kui's tribe."
Just when Zhao Yang was secretly worried about whether Guo Kui would also miss the mark, the messenger sent by Guo Kui finally arrived. He cupped his fists and reported: "Guo Dujian ordered me to report. Please pay attention to the right wing, Marshal Zhao."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yang felt reassured and praised: "As expected of Guo Kui, he is quite sharp... Go back and tell Governor Guo, I already know."
"yes!"
After a while, the seed clinic received Zhao Yang's order.
At that time, he was also paying attention to the right wing. When he saw Gou Bin and Xu Si leading their troops to pursue the Qiang cavalry, he shook his head and sighed: "I fell into a trap. Those two are both in prison."
He was hesitating whether to send troops to cover the right wing of Feng Wenjun's department, when a messenger came to deliver the order: "Commander Zhao has an order, and ordered Zhong'e to lead the first and second battalions to move forward immediately to cover the right wing of Feng Wenjun's department."
"The seed clinic order is received."
Zhongqian, who coincided with Zhao Yang, immediately issued an order, ordering Zhonger to lead the first and second battalions to move forward immediately to supplement the right wing defense of Feng Wenjun's department.
At the same time, Guo Kui, who was on the left wing, had noticed the Zhong'e troops moving forward. He was stunned for a moment, and the worry on his face disappeared. He smiled and said to his left and right: "Although our Commander Zhao is young, he is also very young. He is well versed in military affairs. As you can see, as soon as the right-wing cavalry was led away by the enemy cavalry, he immediately sent Zhong Er to lead a battalion forward to cover Feng Zhizhou's front and prevent the Qiang cavalry from making a roundabout attack on Feng Zhizhou's flank."
"Maybe it's the seed clinic. Or maybe it's Fan and Wen, two staff members beside Zhao Shuai." You guessed that Zhao Yang was too young.
Guo Kui smiled and did not refute. In his heart, he was more inclined to Zhao Yang's order.
This is his judgment based on his recent understanding of Mr. Zhao.
While everyone was talking, the four battalions sent by Guo Kui, totaling 1,200 Tibetan cavalry, had already exchanged fire with nearly a thousand Qiang cavalry led by the warrior Gilma of the Ama tribe. The latter also collapsed in a single encounter and headed northwest. They fled, but the four battalion commanders under Guo Kui remembered Guo Kui's warning and stopped pursuing them. As a result, after the Gilma tribe fled for more than a hundred feet in the northwest, they stayed in place again. The situation was a bit embarrassing.
This scene further confirmed what Zhao Yang and Guo Kui had suspected: the Ama tribe on the opposite side was trying to divert the tigers away from the mountain and the cavalry from the Song Army.
At this time, Feng Wenjun, who was fighting on the front line, also noticed the Zhonge troops moving forward, and immediately reported to Feng Wenjun: "Zhijun, the first and second battalions of the Tianwu Fifth Army have come up. They are currently under our command. Army right wing.”
"What?" Feng Wenjun was stunned: "What are they doing here?"
Looking at the right wing again, he was suddenly confused: Where are my nearly 5,000 Tibetan cavalry? ! Weren't you still fighting the enemy's two thousand cavalry on the right wing just now?
The governor who knew about it quickly reported: "The two governors Gou Bin and Xu Si killed the enemy cavalry and led their troops in pursuit to the north."
"My mother..."
Feng Wenjun almost spit out sweetness, and at the same time he looked at Zhao Yang with admiration.
After all, as soon as Gou Bin and Xu Si led their troops away, the right side of his front was left empty. Once the Qiang cavalry made a roundabout attack on the side, it was very likely that the entire front would collapse. Fortunately, Zhao Yang sent a thousand soldiers in time. The forbidden soldiers of Mingtianwu Army stepped forward to cover.
"A mere barbarian can actually use tricks."
Glancing at the Ama tribe in front, Feng Wenjun secretly tutted.
Although there were some disturbances along the way, he still firmly believed that his side could win. After all, there was a huge gap between the two sides in terms of numbers and equipment.
While he was snoring coldly, the Qiang cavalry in front changed their formations again, and Gilma, who had failed to lure the enemy, once again joined forces with the clan leader Ama.
"Clan leader, the west wing of the Song Army did not fall into the trap."
"It's okay, the east wing has been tricked, come with me!"
As the Ama tribe shouted loudly, the Qiang changed their formations again, leaving only seven to eight hundred cavalry to contain Feng Wenjun's tribe head-on. All the other cavalry, about two thousand cavalry, followed the leader Ama and detoured eastward, seemingly Want to attack Feng Wenjun's flank.
"snort!"
Seeing this, Zhong E snorted coldly and ordered his soldiers to prepare for the battle.
However, to his surprise, Amma's two thousand cavalry did not attack the flanks of Feng Wenjun's tribe. They bypassed Feng Wenjun's tribe to the east, bypassed Zhong'e's tribe, and went straight to Zhao Yang's location.
not good!
Feng Wenjun, Zhong E, and Guo Kui on the left wing all changed their minds and sent reinforcements.
At this time, in the main formation, Zhao Yang, Fan Chunren, Wen Ting and others also noticed Ama's actions. The king's face suddenly changed and he said: "Mr. Zhong, the enemy is coming here..."
Zhao Yang glanced at the Tianwu Army's third battalion, which was rapidly changing formations, and said with relief, "Why are you panicking? Didn't you see that the vaccination clinic was already changing formations quickly?"
After that, he looked up at the two thousand Qiang cavalry that were running toward him quickly, and praised: "You underestimated the other side. It seems that the target on the opposite side has been me from the beginning... But this Qingqi, really Is it enough to break through the three battalions of our Tianwu Fifth Army?... Pass my order, if you kill one enemy, you will be rewarded once. If you kill the Qiang cavalry leader, you will be rewarded with ten swords. If you capture Amma, the leader of the Qiang tribe, you will be rewarded life or death. Reward hundreds of dollars!"
At the same time, Zhong'e had quickly changed his formation and surrounded Zhao Yang's formation. Chen Jin, the commander of the third battalion, Yue Jia, the commander of the fourth battalion, and Cao Yuan, the commander of the fifth battalion, were all on guard.
When Zhao Yang's reward promise reached the third battalion, the morale of the forbidden soldiers in the third battalion was extremely high.
The temptation of a huge reward outweighed the nervousness of the first actual battle, and his whole body was full of strength.
