The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 711 Breaking the Army
"Boom, boom, boom..." The sound of war drums resounded in dozens of places in Gucheng.

On a high tower, Su Dingfang saw the Tang army lineup divided into four, and immediately understood the opponent's intentions; the side generals around him also had high military common sense, understood the meaning of the Tang army's division of troops, and shouted: "General, The Tang army was divided into four, in order to use the wheel offensive to exhaust us."

"In broad daylight, Liu Hongji's dream was well done." Su Dingfang said with a smile.

The general saw the Tang army's squadrons of swords and shields, crossbowmen, archers, and spearmen slowly approaching, and about [-] cavalrymen rushed forward. He immediately waved his hand and said loudly: "The Tang army intends to use cavalry to charge the formation. "

"Light cavalry charge into battle, what are you kidding about? Liu Hongji wouldn't be so stupid, it's just to intimidate our soldiers." Su Dingfang smiled coldly, and raised his hand: "The whole army is in formation."

With an order, [-] soldiers were divided into four armies and lined up in the wilderness, with the forward, left and right wings, and rear army spread out.

At this time, all the soldiers of the Beizhen Army felt the ground tremble, and the cavalry came to kill them, and the soldiers were sweating as they clasped their hands tightly.

The cavalry of the Tang army did not stop, and swept towards the Beizhen army with an unstoppable force. When they reached the front of the formation, they were divided into two and approached the left and right wings. The infantry behind accelerated and rushed towards the Beizhen army.

Su Dingfang showed a cruel smile, he was waiting for such a change, and immediately ordered: "The crossbowmen are ready!"

Three thousand crossbowmen stepped forward at the same time. The crossbowmen were in front and the archers were behind. The crossbowmen attacked from a distance and were responsible for breaking the shield formation;

Seeing the Tang army approaching, the crossbowmen fired first. They used the rhubarb crossbow. They were in groups of two. A thousand crossbow arrows shot towards the army formation 150 steps away like raindrops, only to hear a jingle. With the sound, the Tang army's shield array was much sparser, but although the powerful crossbow arrows took the lives of hundreds of Tang soldiers, they did not hinder their attack.

The crossbowmen quickly worked together to string up the bow, one soldier held the crossbow, and the other fired the arrow. They used armor-penetrating iron arrows two feet four inches long. The arrows were like elongated spindles, and they were streamlined. Made of fine iron, it is extremely sharp and can shoot through any armor. Under the powerful force, ordinary skinned wooden shields will even shatter. With the sound of clappers, a thousand iron crossbow arrows shot towards hundreds of people like a black cloud. Tang Jun, who was out of step, shot.

Tang Jun seemed to feel the strength of this round of arrow formations. They raised their shields and accelerated their forward speed. They only heard a click sound, and the shields were pierced by iron arrows and shattered one after another, but the shields were also removed from the iron arrows. With more than half the strength, the thousand iron arrows did not cause much damage to them, but under the two powerful crossbow arrows, there was a huge gap in the shield formation covering other arms.

This also aroused the ferocity of the soldiers of the Tang army. The general in charge of the first attack raised his knife and shouted: "Soldiers, kill the rebels, all the treasures of Gucheng belong to you, kill!"

"Kill!"

The soldiers of the Tang army rushed closer, and Dugu Yanyun in front of him waved coldly, "Shoot!"

"Woo, woo, woo..." The horn sounded, thousands of arrows were fired suddenly, and a cloud of arrows roared towards the Tang army. In an instant, hundreds of Tang army soldiers were shot down, and they were trampled into flesh by the dense rear soldiers. .

The crossbowmen of the Beizhen army skillfully moved the crossbow, the crossbow, and the crossbow in turn. In just four rounds, the Tang army's phalanx lost nearly 2000 people, but their forwards had already rushed sixty steps away.

The two thousand Beizhen army crossbowmen retreated according to the order, and the archers of the Beizhen army began to shoot arrows.

The crossbowmen retreated, causing slight confusion in the army of the North Town Army. The cavalry of the Tang Army spotted the fighter plane and launched an offensive to the left and right wings. Cheng Yaojin and Da Xi'an, who were in charge of the left and right wings, gave an order. The soldiers rushed out suddenly, pierced with their spears, and there was a scuffle.

Tang Jun's Qingqi came out to cover the infantry and rectify the team. After a while, with the sound of gold ringing, Tang Jun's Qingqi quickly withdrew to both sides, and Tang Jun's infantry rushed forward like an overwhelming force.

'when!when!when! The Beizhen army also sounded the golden sound of ordering the two wings to return to the team. The soldiers on the two wings returned to the team like a tide, and then attacked forward in a semicircle to share the pressure of the forward.

At this time, [-] cavalrymen of the Tang army came forward again, and the two sides fought in the wilderness. Amidst the miserable howls, the troops and horses of both sides hurt each other, and the blood stained the ground. pole.

But after all, the Tang army came from a long distance, and after marching for a full day, in terms of physical strength alone, it was far inferior to the Beizhen army who was waiting for work, and Su Dingfang was extremely calm. He was not in a hurry, and always controlled the Beizhen army within a narrow mouth, preventing the Beizhen army from entering a wide area, so as not to be surrounded and killed by the Tang army with its superior strength.

Liu Hongji saw that the opponent was always guarding the bottom line, playing so calmly and calmly, so that they could not give full play to their superiority in strength, and could only fight according to the opponent's rhythm. A feeling of powerlessness rose in his heart.

They have traveled a long distance to this point, and they are in a disadvantageous situation of lack of people and horses. The reason why the morale was so high before was all supported by a firm momentum. Now they encounter the powerful stumbling block of the Beizhen Army, which shatters the Tang Army's dream of defeating the enemy in one fell swoop. , that kind of arrogant arrogance naturally descended, and all kinds of fatigue finally manifested.

After nearly an hour of desperate fighting, the initial monstrous flames have almost disappeared, and the gap in physical strength has become apparent. If the Beizhen army hadn't guarded the narrow entrance, but had fought out decisively, their first ten thousand troops Already crashed.

Liu Hongji immediately ordered: "Press the second part, replace the first part, and consume the opponent with a wheel war. Dugu Yanyun is too calm, if this person is not eliminated, Xiangyang will be in trouble!"

The surrounding generals felt the same way, and gave orders without hesitation.With the battle situation like this, they also had the idea of ​​having trouble sleeping and eating, and finally faced up to the rebel general 'Dugu Yanyun'.

…………

"General, the Tang army is in chaos." On the tower, the general said excitedly to Su Dingfang.

Su Dingfang naturally saw that there was a riot between the two Tang armies, and he knew that the time was ripe, so he immediately ordered, "Beat the drums and order the ambush to attack."

"Boom, boom, boom..."

With an order, a deafening sound rang out.

……

Hearing the sudden loud drumming, Liu Hongji's heart tightened, and he saw a Ming Dynasium from the Beizhen Army explode in the air.

Liu Hongji was taken aback immediately, and when he was about to issue an order to stop the alternation, thousands of Beizhen army archers suddenly appeared on the mountain behind him. In an instant, thousands of rockets had already "instigated" and fired at the central area of ​​the Tang army.

"No, Huo Gong!" Liu Hongji is a veteran general who has been in battle for a long time, and he immediately realized that he was caught in the trap.The stragglers of the Beizhen army that appeared before the official start of the battle were not to stop them from advancing, but to induce them to kill them, so as to ignore the ambushes on both sides of the road.

However, Liu Hongji was caught in the act at this time, and it seemed that it was already too late. Before he could give the order to retreat, the rockets falling from the mountains had already ignited the sulfur, nitrate, dead leaves and other fire igniters buried in the place of God in advance. After only a short while, thick smoke billowed up, and the fire quickly spread.

Liu Hongji knew that the Beizhen Army had 3 people, but there were only [-] in the front. Where did the other half go?Naturally, he was lying in ambush on the left and right sides of them. When he came to this conclusion, and heard the shouts of killing behind him, his heart went cold, and he ordered: "It's been tricked, the whole army retreats."

What else can we do if we don't retreat?Now that the fire is burning, it can't be extinguished at all. If you don't run away, you will be buried in the sea of ​​flames, and even if you escape from the sea of ​​flames, more than 1 Beizhen Army ambushes will not let them go. If you don't leave, the entire army will be wiped out up.

With the order to retreat, the Tang army was in chaos, and they all scrambled to retreat. However, the tents set up by their rear army became an insurmountable sea of ​​flames. But at this time, all Tang troops were in chaos. , the soldiers behind will also push them forward.

In the chaos, countless soldiers of the Tang army were squeezed into the sea of ​​flames. Before they could get up, the raging fire engulfed them. The soldiers behind stepped on them to the depths of the sea of ​​flames, and then they were pushed down by the soldiers behind them. The ground was forced to serve as a stepping stone to put out the fire.

Standing on the mountain and looking down, there are figures running in the raging fire everywhere, and there are tragic wailing sounds everywhere, the form is no less tragic than hell on earth!
Liu Hongji stepped on the corpses of his soldiers and managed to escape from the sea of ​​flames. Suddenly, something happened!
The sound of "da da da" horseshoes roared in front, and an energetic cavalry of the "Northern Town Army" rushed out of the oblique stabs in front.The leader was Luo Shixin, who had been in ambush for a long time. He led a thousand Xiaoguo troops to kill the chaotic Tang army. Flesh and blood were flying everywhere, and there were many corpses around him, and blood flowed like a river.

The soldiers of the Tang army who had just escaped from the flames were even more confused because of the sudden appearance of the cavalry without any psychological preparation.

Liu Hongji's face was pale. He never imagined that the Beizhen Army still had such a capable cavalry, but the soldiers of the Tang Army didn't know the generals, and the generals didn't know the soldiers. They were in a mess and couldn't organize an effective formation at all. , and rushed forward under the guard of the personal guards.

……

"Brothers, do you dare to fight with me again!" Dugu Yanyun, who had been fighting in front, raised his horse high and roared impudently when the ambush soldiers came out. It doesn't matter whether we can fight again, whether we can shout or not.But at this moment, they all converged into the word "dare".

Kan Leng's voice had already become hoarse from the repeated charges, but at this moment he felt that even if his voice became hoarse, he would not hesitate to fight forward, waving the still sharp Mo Dao.

The [-] Beizhen army who set fire to it saw their brothers killing for nearly an hour, and their hearts were full of fire. Under the leadership of generals and generals, they rushed into the chaotic Tang army like five sharp knives, cut them into six sections, and struggled to nest. Qingqing.

........................

Liu Hongji killed through the few cavalrymen, turned around and counted the number, and he wanted to die.

At this time, less than [-]% of the [-] infantry and [-] fine cavalry were left, and most of them were wounded. Many soldiers were empty-handed, and their weapons had been thrown away. There was still an ambush nearby, so he stopped the thought of turning back, and hurriedly led the remnants back along the same route.

However, the more I worried about something, the more something came. After running less than ten miles, there was a landslide and tsunami-like killing sound in the dense forest beside the road.Liu Hongji didn't want to fight at all, he left thousands of people indiscriminately, and then slipped away with a large group of people.

And the soldiers after the end were already out of their wits, and the main generals all fled, and the morale of the army suddenly fluctuated, and most of them didn't have weapons, who would stay and die in vain?Without waiting for Liu Hongji to leave, he followed the rout and fled desperately.

The cavalry of the Thousand Xiaoguo Army headed by Gao Yan, seeing Tang Jun collapsed at the touch of a finger, screamed excitedly, biting the buttocks of Tang Jun's collapsed soldier, and slashed wildly. cavalry?In less than half an hour, the thousands of Tang troops left behind were all killed. At this time, Luo Shixin also brought another Xiaoguo army Jingqi to kill them. The two joined forces and followed Su Ding's formula Arrange to hunt forward in advance.

After Liu Hongji was chased for more than ten miles, he had no choice but to cut off his wrists again, and sent his confidants to die in the rear. The elite soldiers of the direct line were killed and almost wiped out.

**********
Regardless of Liu Hongji's hasty escape, let's talk about the soldiers of the Beizhen Army, who are happily enjoying the feast of killing!
More than 4 soldiers of the Tang Army came in menacingly, but in the end they threw away their helmets and armor. More than [-] people were killed in battle, and there were countless seriously injured.The most important thing is that after this battle, Liu Hongji, who was mobilized from Yincheng County, could no longer pose a threat to Gucheng.

"General, this battle was really fun!" Dugu Yanyun, who was soaked in blood, came to Su Ding's side with strides, and before he had time to greet him, he shouted loudly, "It's so fun, it's so fun!"

"I really didn't expect, I really didn't expect that more than 4 Tang troops were defeated by us so simply and neatly... Haha, the last general is still like a dream, this brilliant victory is simply unbelievable! Da Xi'an, who was following Dugu Yanyun, was so tired that he couldn't even walk easily, but the excitement on his face was hard to hide.

"Yeah, speaking of it, we never dreamed that there would be such a hearty victory. How great would it be if we could win such a victory every day?" Yu Qinming, a 'literati' covered in blood, carried a Walking over with a saber staggeringly, he was obviously exhausted. He is the son of General Zhongwen, and although he turned to Wenshi, it doesn't mean he can't or can't fight.

Generals such as Tian Jin, Yi Xian, Xin Han, He Lian Chu, and several other courts were still chasing and killing the remnants of the fleeing Tang army all over the mountains and plains.

"General, the morale of our army is high, so we simply swung our troops to the north in one go, captured Yincheng, and then welcomed General Xue Wanjun across the Han River into the country." Dugu Yanyun put forward his own opinion.

When everyone heard this, they looked eagerly at the calm Su Dingfang.

Su Dingfang smiled indifferently, looking back at the general behind him: "Pass down the order, let the generals of the army stop chasing and killing, and return to the city immediately!"

"Back to the city?"

"Stop chasing?"

The generals were astonished.

"It's boring to kill the broken soldiers. If you want to kill them, kill Li Shimin and Dou Cong's army."

Su Dingfang was actually very excited. The strength of the Beizhen Army completely exceeded his expectations, but he was extremely calm on the surface. It wasn't because he was deliberately pretending, but because of his personality. No matter how excited he was in his heart, There will always be some calm and high air-conditioning, giving people an unfathomable attitude.It was as if millions of enemy troops were nothing worth mentioning in front of him, they were all like floating clouds in the sky.

The generals didn't know that he had such a personality, and because Luo Shixin was willing to be his deputy, and this hearty victory proved that, their admiration rose to an unprecedented height, and they excitedly withdrew their troops and returned to the city.

After entering the city, Dugu Qingyun and He Lan Shiren came forward excitedly, and whispered: "General, we have evacuated the entire Gucheng, do you want to reward the army with some wine and food from the mountain?"

Su Dingfang waved his hand and said with a smile: "No need, wait until Li Shimin and Dou Cong are defeated, and celebrate together."

The feeling of looking up at the mountains arose in the hearts of all the generals.

Su Dingfang walked towards the top of Gucheng, the Zhushui glistened in the afterglow of the setting sun, and the golden rays of light made him squint his eyes involuntarily. He tried his best to review the terrain of Gucheng, and he had a plan in mind.

His eyes fell on the faces of Dugu Qingyun and Helan Shiren, and he said: "General Qingyun and Helan Sima, I have to work hard for you two."

"Please give the order, General." Dugu Qingyun and He Lanshiren responded respectfully.

"When I returned to the army, I saw a bamboo forest in the north of the city. Have you noticed it?"

"General, under the hill where we hide our food, there is a large bamboo forest called Qianzhangping."

"That's good." Su Dingfang nodded and said: "You lead the fifth and sixth divisions to cut bamboos in Qianzhangping, and then transport them into the city overnight."

"Here." Dugu Qingyun and He Lan Shiren left as ordered.

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(End of this chapter)