"There is an old saying among the Han people, which is to shoot the man first, shoot the horse first, and to capture the thief first, capture the king. After three days, the Song Dynasty really sent an army to expel them. If they can lead the army in one fell swoop, they may use it as a basis to negotiate with the Song Dynasty. , forcing the Song State to give up household registration. Even if the Song State does not agree, it can severely weaken its morale."
During the meeting of the heads of the Qiang tribes three days ago, Jia'er, the chief of the Huangyang tribe, came up with a plan.
The chiefs of the Qiang tribe nodded one after another, and the leader of the Ama tribe was no exception. Then he frowned and asked: "But Song has so many soldiers, how can we capture its leader?"
Jia'er said seriously: "You can feign defeat to lure away the Song army's cavalry. As long as the Song army loses its cavalry, the remaining infantry will be lambs to be slaughtered. At this time, you personally lead the brave men of your clan to attack the Song army's main formation, and they will panic and flee. And then he can be captured in one fell swoop... As long as he captures the commander-in-chief of the Song army, even if the Song army has many soldiers at the time, it will not help."
"Hmm." Chief Ama nodded with deep understanding.
"Drive!"
While leading the Yong'er tribe to attack the Song Army's main formation, the words of Jia'er, the leader of the Huangyang tribe three days ago, came to mind.
So far, Chief Jia'er's strategy has been implemented very smoothly. Although he failed to lure away the 1,200 cavalrymen on the left wing of the Song Army, fortunately God blessed his Amma tribe, and the nearly 5,000 cavalrymen on the right wing of the Song Army were successfully lured away. , resulting in the weak defense of the Song Army's right wing. As long as the brave men of more than 2,000 tribesmen led by him can kill the Song Army's main formation and take advantage of the chaos to capture the Song Army's commander in one fell swoop, then the battle will be a success!
Just when he was secretly happy, not far away the warrior Gilma shouted: "Chief, the left wing of the Song army has sent cavalry to intercept!"
Ama looked stern, and while galloping, he glanced at the left wing of the Song army and caught a glimpse of the banner with the words "Jingyuan Road Dujian Guo".
Guo Kui...
Ama recognized Guo Kui. After all, Guo Kui was also well-known in Shaanxi. Since his brother Guo Zun, the inspector of Yanzhou West Road, was killed by the Xia army during the Song-Xia war and died on the battlefield, Guo Kui regarded him as a mere At the age of eighteen, Yinbu served in the third squad. It happened that Fan Zhongyan was in Shaanxi Province at that time. He thought of his brother's bravery, so he transferred Guo Kui to his subordinates and treated him like a nephew.
Fan Zhongyan was called "Little Fan Laozi" by the Xia people. During the period, he had Di Qing, Zhong Shiheng, Zhang Kang, Wang Xin, Zhou Mei and other generals who were good at fighting. Even the Xia people did not dare to offend him. "Young Master Fan now has tens of thousands of soldiers in his belly, and he is not as easy to bully as Mr. Fan."
By the way, "Da Fan Laozi" is Fan Yong.
At that time, Guo Kui was under the command of Fan Zhongyan. Although his reputation was far inferior to that of Di Qing, Zhong Shiheng, Zhang Kang and others, he gradually rose to prominence, so Amma also knew about him and even met him a few times.
He is worthy of being a young general under Mr. Fan in the past, and he is comparable to a civilian official who does not know how to fight.
With a sigh in his heart, Amma made a decisive decision and shouted: "Gilma, you lead five hundred cavalry to stop Lai cavalry, and I will lead the rest of the tribe to attack the Song army's main formation!"
"Yes!" Gilma responded loudly, shouting several clan surnames, and led hundreds of cavalry to attack Guo Kui's 1,200 cavalry who were trying to intercept the Ama clan leader.
"Damn it!"
Gesang, the battalion commander of the Fanluo Legion under Guo Kui who was at the forefront, cursed secretly when he saw this and shouted loudly: "Charge over! Stop the Qiang head!"
Gilma also issued an order at the same time: "Intercept them!"
The two groups of cavalry refused to give in to each other and collided fiercely. For a time, countless people were turned over on their backs, and the horses neighed and people screamed in pain one after another.
Even the battalion commander Gesang was knocked off his horse by an Ama tribesman and fell heavily to the ground. Fortunately, he was not injured. He was so angry that he immediately pulled out his knife and slashed the Qiang man's neck with one blow. The blood spurting out suddenly covered his face.
"What are you still doing? Go around and chase!"
Wiping his face, he shouted urgently to the hundreds of Fanluo cavalry not far away who had not fallen off their horses. The latter had slowed down in time and did not collide with Gilma's hundreds of cavalry. However, this delay also caused They were getting farther and farther away from the cavalry led by Qiang leader Ama, and it was difficult to catch up in a short time, not to mention that the Qiang people of the nearby Ama tribe were still trying desperately to stop them.
"I'm going to chase you, follow me!"
Another Fanluo Legion battalion commander Yi Le shouted and led hundreds of cavalry to rush to support the formation. However, unfortunately, because of Gilma's hundreds of cavalry risking their lives to intercept, the leader of the Qiang tribe Amarna, about a thousand Five hundred cavalry have assaulted to a place less than one mile away from Zhao Yang.
At this time, he could clearly see the third, fourth and fifth battalions of the Tianwu Fifth Army, a total of 1,500 forbidden troops who were waiting for them.
However, contrary to expectations, the Song army who stayed behind did not panic at all.
Little did he know that Zhao Yang had once again made a promise to kill the enemy and receive a reward. The temptation of the large sum of money even overshadowed the Tianwu Fifth Army's nervousness and fear of the first battle.
Even in order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, Zhongcun continued to encourage morale: "...There is no need to be nervous or afraid. When our Fifth Tianwu Army was first established, we selected the elites of the Tianwu Army. If you are selected, you are the first. If the elite of the First Army, the Second Army, and the Third Army were to serve as captains in an ordinary army, it would be no problem for them to hold their heads. Do the Qiang people on the opposite side have one more hand and one more eye than you?... As for The swords and guns in your hands and the armor on your body are the best in the country. The cost of the armor alone is as high as forty pieces. It cannot be cut with a knife or hurt by a hammer. It can block a strong crossbow from fifty steps away. With such strong armor Protect yourself, why should you be afraid?"
While speaking, the commander of the third battalion, Chen Jin, reminded not far away: "Deputy commander of the army, Laiqi is about to enter the range of the crossbowmen."
Zhongjian turned around and glanced at the oncoming Ama tribe horses, and decisively ordered: "Aim at a hundred steps directly in front of the Ama tribe and shoot the arrow!"
"Fire the arrow!"
"Fire the arrow!"
Chen Jin, the commander of the third battalion, and Yue Jia, the commander of the fourth battalion, issued the order in unison.
With an order, 200 crossbowmen from each of the two battalions launched a volley, aiming at the Ama tribe and riding a hundred steps in front of them to launch a volley.
Hundreds of crossbowmen fired volleys, and the oncoming Ama clan leader naturally saw it and weighed in his mind whether he should avoid it.
In fact, with the help of horsepower, they can avoid the Tianwu Army's volleys. After all, the direction ordered by the clinician to aim is reserved for an advance. However, in this way, the sprint speed they finally managed to raise will be reduced again due to the turns. , and the cavalry assault on the infantry formation relied on speed to overwhelm the infantry formation in one fell swoop. If the speed was lost, what would be used to defeat the infantry?
Damn it, this Song general who leads the army knows how to fight...
Cursing secretly, Amma gritted her teeth and shouted: "It's just a few arrows. The brave man in my clan, rush over and take down the Song Army's commander!"
"Whoa whoa!"
About 1,500 Ama tribesmen screamed and continued to attack along the original route without avoiding or dodging, just in time to collect all the volleys fired by the crossbowmen from the third and fourth battalions of the Tianwu Army. People fell off their horses one after another. Some cavalrymen were hit by arrows, or war horses were hit by arrows. They staggered to the ground and immediately stumbled over the friendly troops behind. Fortunately, the more than a thousand horses of the Ama tribe were unorganized when they charged, and the formation was not close-knit. Otherwise, it would have been just like this. , the casualties will probably not be less than three or four hundred.
Of course, even so, the leader of the Ama tribe was heartbroken when he heard the exclamations and screams of his tribesmen when they fell from the horse. However, his rationality made him harden his heart and stare at the "Zhao" sign in the distance at the Song Army's main formation. flag.
Immediately, he finally saw clearly the Song army surrounding the handsome flag. They were all covered in armor, with only the gaps between their eyes exposed.
This Song army...
There was a trace of shock on Amma's face, but the speed of the horse's sprint was too late to let him think otherwise, so he could only grit his teeth and move forward.
Seeing the incoming rider getting closer and closer, Wang Zhongzheng, Wang Ming, Chen Li, Sun Chang, Wei Tao, Bao Rong and other royal officials all changed their expressions: "Mr. Zhong..."
The smile on Zhao Yang's face remained, but the words he said were rude: "Shut up! Whoever dares to say one more word will return to Bianjing!"
Several people looked at Wang Zhongzheng one after another, but unfortunately Wang Zhongzheng did not dare to say anything. While looking at each other, they could only sigh secretly: If the Qiang cavalry really breaks through, they will protect the doctor to the death.
Fan Chunren and Wen Tong watched the whole process, but turned a blind eye.
Like Zhao Yang, the two of them were smiling, and Wen Tong even commented on the oncoming Qiang cavalry, chatting and laughing.
Seeing the three of them being so calm and composed, the nearby Tianwu Army became even more peaceful.
"Get ready for battle! Raise your gun!"
"The crossbowman fires freely, wait until the enemy is close, abandon the crossbow and use his sword."
Following the order from the commander of the third battalion, Chen Jin, the third and fourth battalions of the Tianwu Fifth Army took up stances to meet the enemy. Three hundred gunmen from each battalion raised their spears, which were more than ten feet long, leaning on the ground. , holding the gun at an angle, building a line of death defense against the cavalry, the sharp tip of the gun shining with a deadly cold light in the sun.
"Hold on! Don't be afraid!"
"The armor you wear is strong enough to protect me!"
The commander of the fourth battalion, Yue Jiayi, loudly encouraged morale.
As he spoke, the 1,500 cavalry led by the Ama clan chief rushed into the defense line of the third and fourth battalions of the Tianwu Army. The Qiang cavalry at the front screamed to encourage their courage, but in the end they were inevitably killed by the Song Army's guns. Lin was pierced, and even the comrade behind him could not escape the fate. He was also pierced by the same spear, and the popping sounds of the spear tip piercing the flesh were heard one after another.
A total of two to three hundred riders were skewered into meat skewers in the blink of an eye. It was horrible to watch.
At the same time, the spearmen in the front row of Tianwu Army were also knocked down by the galloping Qiang cavalry, and even trampled by horse hooves.
But what is shocking is that even with the high speed of the war horse sprinting, the Ama tribe can only break through three rows of gunmen, and it is only an area of about ten feet. What is even more shocking is that the Tianwu Army was knocked to the ground. The sergeant stood up staggeringly quickly, and even the soldiers who were trampled by the hoofs of the horses.
how come?
Many Qiang cavalry were shocked. One of them slashed the neck of a Tianwu Army soldier who was about to get up. There was a clang sound, and the machete bounced off the curtain leaf on the latter's neck. The Tianwu soldier The military soldier staggered and fell to the ground again, but then he stood up unsteadily.
"Death!" The Qiang man stabbed him again.
The forbidden soldier of the Tianwu Army raised his arms to resist, and saw the machete slashing at his arm armor. The force was so fierce that several pieces of armor on the arm armor flew off and were embedded in the cowhide lining.
The Qiang man was dumbfounded and before he could react, the Tianwu Army soldier punched him back with a fierce punch. Then he took the opportunity to pull out the machete from his waist and slashed at the Qiang man. The sharp machete cut through the cowhide on the spot. The textured leather armor was covered in blood all over the Tianwu Army's forbidden soldier.
Throughout the entire battle, similar examples abound. The weapons in the hands of the Qiang people of the Ama tribe are difficult to injure the Tianwu Army's forbidden soldiers. Their swords cannot penetrate and their knives cannot cut. On the other hand, the weapons in the hands of the Tianwu Army's forbidden soldiers can't hurt them. Ama tribesmen caused fatal injuries.
This is the difference in equipment...
From a distance, Zhao Yang saw this scene on the chariot and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
In terms of weight, the infantry armor of the Song Dynasty, that is, the infantry armor, is the heaviest armor in the history. It is made of iron armor leaves connected with leather strips or nails. It is a typical Zha armor, and its protection range covers almost all areas. The whole body is closest to European heavy armor, but it is not as airtight as the latter.
Compared with the same period of the Song Dynasty, the chain armor in Europe only weighed 30 kilograms, and the Gothic full-body armor in the 15th century only weighed 40 kilograms. However, the infantry armor of the Song Dynasty weighed fifty-eight Song kilograms, which is about 50 kilograms in later generations. Seventy pounds.
The complete set of infantry armor basically consists of five components: head, neck, inner body armor, outer body armor, breastplate and shoulders.
Among them, there is a curtain made of armor on the top of the head, which can be folded down to protect the neck during combat. Due to its angle and elasticity, it is not only difficult to be hurt by arrows, but can even withstand swords for a short time.
On this basis, infantry armor in the Song Dynasty was divided into three types: gunner armor, archer armor and crossbow armor.
Among them, the gunner's armor is the heaviest, with more than 1,800 armor plates stacked on top of each other, weighing thirty-six kilograms, or about forty kilograms; the armor's blades number one thousand and three. There are about a hundred pieces, weighing about 14 Song Jin, about 17 Shijin; Toumou has more than 600 armor leaves, weighing about ten Songjin, or twelve Shijin.
Different from the crossbow hand armor and archer hand armor, the gunner is a front-line combat unit and does not need to operate a crossbow. Therefore, additional arm armor is added. When standing in full armor, only the gaps between the eyes, hands and feet are exposed. It can be called a complete armor. Armed.
Of course, the total load reached nearly 90 kilograms. If he were to carry a long gun and wear a machete, the load would be more than 100 kilograms. Unless a soldier with a strong body could bear it, he would not be able to afford it.
Compared with the heaviest gunner's armor, crossbow hand armor and archer's hand armor are relatively light. Not only are they not equipped with arm armor because they need to operate a crossbow, but they also have relatively few armor leaves. There are about 400 fewer pieces of body armor and shoulders, and two fewer helmets. One hundred pieces. As for the final weight, the crossbow armor is about fifty pounds, and the archer armor is about sixty-five pounds.
It is worth mentioning that the iron pagodas of the Jin Kingdom in the future were actually very similar to the gunner armor of the Song Kingdom, except that the former was heavy cavalry and the latter was heavy infantry.
As for why the Song Dynasty only built heavy infantry armor and not heavy cavalry armor, it was still the same reason: the Song Dynasty lacked horses, especially high-quality war horses.
To deal with heavy armor such as Burenjia and Tiefutu, swords no longer have much effect, and bows and crossbows are also average.
Because similar heavy-duty armor is made of thick cowhide armor with iron armor leaves attached to it, which integrates defense and shock absorption. If you cut with a knife or stab with a sword, it will at most break the armor leaves and penetrate the thick leather armor inside. The sophisticated ones are okay. Lined with silk, specifically designed to protect against barbs on crossbow arrow clusters.
To deal with this type of heavy armor, the most effective weapon is an ax, followed by a machete. It must be sharp but also heavy enough to cause heavy damage in one blow.
However, the machetes used by the Ama tribe were obviously not serious enough to inflict serious injuries. They may have been heavy enough, but they were not sharp enough. Zhao Yang saw with his own eyes that a Tianwu Army gunman was slashed four or five times by three Qiang cavalry. , but there was almost no reaction, and he even killed one of the besiegers with a single blow.
In terms of ferocity, perhaps the people of the Ama tribe were superior, but the disparity in equipment between the two sides made this hand-to-hand combat almost a one-piece massacre.
I am afraid that even the Tianwu Army's forbidden soldiers did not expect that they would be so "brave" and that the enemy would be so "vulnerable", so that they who were a little timid at first gradually let go and started fighting, the more they killed. The tougher you get, the more you kill, the braver you become.
Suffering from the huge gap in equipment, the Qiang people of the Ama tribe were killed and retreated steadily.
Where the two armies were fighting, the grass was a bright red. Countless corpses lay scattered on the ground, and broken limbs and arms could be seen everywhere. Looking around, many members of the Ama tribe were either dying, or holding their severed limbs and moaning in pain, but Immediately, his life was ended by a passing Tianwu Army forbidden soldier with red eyes.
Human life is only worth one thing at this time.
"Clan leader! Song Jun is here!"
"Chief, the left-wing Song army has arrived for support!"
Unfavorable news filled the ears of the Ama clan leader. He looked around and had a panoramic view of the Song army's actions: Cao Yuanzheng, commander of the fifth battalion of the Tianwu Fifth Army, led his men to quickly outflank them; The first and second battalions rushed back; Guo Kui's left wing was also rushing towards the main position.
However, there is still some time. As long as they can break through the Song Army in front of them and capture the Song Army coach, this battle can still be regarded as their side winning.
The premise is to break through the Song army in front of...
A mere thousand Song troops...
He withdrew his gaze and looked forward again. What he saw was the Song army becoming more and more brave, as well as the brave men of his clan who were retreating steadily after being killed.
This Song army...
He turned to look at the flag of the Song Army, which was near the handsome flag with the character "Zhao" in it, and carefully identified the number on the flag.
Tianwu Fifth Army!
Tianwu Fifth Army? Imperial Guards?
Aren't all the people stationed in Shaanxi previously the Song Dynasty's imperial army?
Why is there such a big difference?
He didn't understand that the ones stationed in Shaanxi before were all the Imperial Guards of the Mabu Division, but the one he encountered today was the Imperial Guards under the Dianqian Division and was part of the Tianwu Fifth Army of the Tianwu Army, one of the upper four armies. Although both are forbidden armies, the quality and equipment of the sergeants are very different. Not to mention that since the military commander is Zhao Yang, the entire army is given priority to be equipped with the latest weapons and equipment of the Song Dynasty.
Is it still too late?
Or retreat?
At this critical moment, Amma hesitated. He glanced at the Song Army's main position and saw Zhao Yang standing on the chariot.
It was the little boy named Zhao Yang, the deputy envoy sent by the Song Dynasty court to Shaanxi to recruit and appease...
He stared at Zhao Yang in the distance, and Zhao Yang, who had already noticed him, also looked at him calmly with a faint smile.
At this moment, Amma suddenly remembered that since he led two thousand tribesmen to launch an assault on this boy's main formation, this boy has not panicked at all, nor has he moved even one step back. He is still standing under the commander's flag...
Extraordinary courage?
Or do you have something to rely on?
Amma didn't know, but looking at the boy's calm expression, he felt helpless for no reason, as if everything he did was in vain.
"Clan leader! The Song army is surrounding us!"
"……withdraw!"
Ama gritted his teeth and ordered to retreat. After all, if he refused to leave, Cao Yuan, Zhong E, and Guo Kui's Song army would outflank them and completely surround them. At that time, they had less than a thousand people left, and they were afraid they would all be trapped here.
While turning the horse's head, Amma took another deep look at Zhao Yang in the distance, feeling both hatred and respect.
"withdraw!"
