After crossing Guanshan Mountain and walking a mile or two away, you will find a piece of flat land. There is a mountain range on the east and west sides, with a flat land in between.
As soon as Zhang Zhen saw this place, he said: "This is it, don't look any further! This is a natural battlefield! There are two ridges on the east and west, where artillery can be deployed. The middle is flat, perfect for charging! Order the troops in the rear to speed up, and then Set up a position here!" Nie Feng nodded: "This is indeed a good battlefield!" Cheng Liangsong ordered his soldiers to order the follow-up troops to speed up.
He stepped forward and said: "I also heard from the locals that there is a battlefield behind Guanshan. It's fine for other troops, but for us, this is a perfect place to kill the enemy!" Zhang Zhen nodded and looked at it. The terrain in front of you.
After a while, he said: "Let's go, let's take a look at the two ridges on the east and west." The ridges are not high and the terrain is flat, so it is not an excellent artillery position.
But in this era, this kind of terrain is enough. When they came to the flat ground, Zhang Zhen asked: "How far is it from Qingjian City?" Cheng Liangsong said: "About forty miles. The Jin army is in a hurry and should arrive by the afternoon." Zhang Zhen nodded: "There is enough time. After the commanders arrived, they immediately dug fortifications and fought with the Jin Army here!" Until now, the Jin Army's rangers have been suppressed south of Kuanzhou and do not know what is happening near Guanshan.
After the Song army arrived, they immediately began to dig various fortifications for combat. For example, two trenches were dug in front of the artillery position to prevent the enemy from attacking from above.
The two wings are matched with trenches and antlers, extending up the mountain. Wang Xiaolie's army is different from other armies. It has special tools for fortification work, and it doesn't take much time to do it.
Shu Jiming and Wang Zhongfu's camp was Zhang Zhen's former military camp and was located in the middle. Hundreds of people formed a group, arranged three in front and two in back, standing quietly in the open space.
Wang Zhongfu licked his lips and said to Shu Jiming: "You will stand in the first row later, and be careful. They are elite Jin soldiers, especially powerful with bows and arrows. Your armor cannot protect your arms, so there is always some risk." Shu Jiming He smiled and said: "I am tall and I am going to be in the front row to throw bombs. How can I wear full armor? Don't worry, I am born to throw bombs farther. I should be able to shoot farther than the bows and arrows of the Jin Army. They can't hurt me." Wang Zhongfu said: "Oh, that's really worrying." After saying that, he raised his eyes and looked ahead.
After watching for a while, he said: "The Jin soldiers are coming -" The Jin army's rangers were constantly being killed or intercepted. They already knew that there was a Song army in front, but they didn't know the specific location.
It wasn't until we got closer that we saw the Song army's military formation. The vanguard stopped their horses, and the army slowly lined up.
I often read in books that when two armies are fighting, they must first seize the position. Because crossbows are the most effective long-range attack weapons, if you line up within the range of the enemy's crossbows, you are seeking death.
And if you are far away, the attack distance is also long, requiring the infantry to use up their physical strength. Therefore, before the battle, the formations of both sides were limited to the range of the bows and crossbows, neither far nor close.
When artillery became available, the role of crossbows was replaced by artillery. When both sides form an array before the war, their own troops should at least be arrayed outside the range of the enemy's artillery, subject to the range of the artillery.
Otherwise, why fight? As long as the enemy fires artillery, they will disperse. In this sense, the emergence of artillery replaced not crossbows and trebuchets, but bows and arrows.
Instead of bows and arrows, muskets replaced swords and guns. Especially in the era of line infantry, this substitution effect is very obvious.
The infantrymen from both sides stepped forward and lined up to shoot, just like a cold weapon fight at a distance. It's just that the power of the muskets is getting bigger and bigger, the range is getting farther and farther, and the effect is similar to that of a crossbow.
So many people take it for granted that muskets have replaced crossbows since they appeared. From the perspective of military formation, it is still more reasonable to think that muskets replace swords and guns, and artillery replaces crossbows.
Even later, with the advent of rockets, missiles and other weapons, these weapons still determined the distance of the battle line.
The distance between the battle lines of the two warring parties is not determined by the skirmishers at the front, but by weapons such as rockets and missiles.
From the perspective of the distance between the battle lines of the two warring parties, the context of artillery replacing crossbows, and rockets, missiles, etc. replacing artillery is still very clear.
At this time, Wang Xiao's hunting army had artillery, which forced the Jin army to keep a distance, and it already had a huge advantage.
The most powerful divine arm bow among the crossbows, it has a range of 240 steps. An ordinary crossbow has a range of a hundred steps. The range of the bow is even shorter, only fifty to seventy steps.
The Jin army did not pay attention to the power of their bows. The bows they used were weaker than those of the Song Dynasty, and their arrows were extremely long. The effective range of the cavalry is only twenty or thirty steps, almost face to face.
Wang Xiaolie's cannon, after many improvements, now has an effective range of five hundred steps. When the Jin army attacked, they had to walk more than 400 steps under artillery fire. Most of the troops collapsed before they reached the opponent's formation.
Only the elite soldiers of the Jin people can make offensive moves. Zhang Zhen stood on the east hillside, observing Jin Jun with a telescope in his hand, and he didn't know what he was saying in his mouth.
At the heart of war is the military. Whether the formation is stable or unstable, whether it is disadvantageous is conducive to offense, whether it is conducive to defense, whether it can quickly change the formation as needed, many times directly determines the victory or defeat of the war.
In movies and TV dramas, when the general shouts, the soldiers often rush forward with howls. Blood is flying everywhere and corpses are flying everywhere, it’s just so realistic.
Real war is certainly not like this. Victory can only be achieved by attacking the enemy's military formation, either at one point, on a single line, or in an all-out attack, and then forcing the enemy's military formation to collapse.
What directs the war is not the roar of the general, but the flag, but the golden drum, and the unity of the soldiers.
Therefore, control is a key dividing point in Wang Xiaolie's army. Any officer who is in command or at the same level is strictly prohibited from leading troops in combat, but can only control military formations in safe places.
The only exception is the left and right commanders, who can directly lead the charge in special circumstances. The practice of the Song Army is for the commander to lead the charge.
Once an accident occurs, the entire army will collapse. A typical example is the Battle of Sankawakou. Coaches Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun took the lead in charging into the enemy's formation. The two were captured, causing the entire army to collapse.
In fact, 70% of the Song army did not participate in the war, and it was far from collapse. After a long time, Zhang Zhen put down the telescope.
Cheng Liangsong said to Cheng Liangsong beside him: "Look at the Jinren's formation, they are using the cavalry to quickly rush across the artillery range to engage our army. Pass my order, the grenadiers in the front row must throw hard, and throw hard!" As long as the enemy's cavalry attack momentum is stopped, we will definitely win! Order the cavalry troops on the mountains on both sides to be ready to pursue at any time!" Cheng Liangsong said yes, quickly stepped aside and conveyed the order to the messenger.
Zhang Zhen looked seriously at Jin Bing in front of him. It was a good idea for the cavalry to rush quickly across the range of the artillery, avoiding mass casualties in manpower.
Just whether the war horse can remain stable under the artillery attack depends on the luck of the Jin army.
