Tang Qi Tan

Chapter 331 Challenger

But when the Lombard Fifth Battalion, who were waiting for the civilians and supplies, finally followed up, they found that the city gate had been blocked by sundries, and fierce fighting was erupting inside the city; Several squadron captain non-commissioned officers have not discussed a countermeasure yet.

Suddenly, he was attacked by a group of cavalry who came out from other city gates.Although the mounts of these cavalry are a bit strange, there are both horses, mules and donkeys; but as the Lombard Marquis, one of the few main regiments, the second advance company's most old and weak brigade is still unable to resist.

After just one encounter, they were scattered and frightened and fled in all directions; although in the end, under the pursuit of these "cavalry", they were able to escape, including the captain and squadron leader, a small number of members.But he also discarded the escorted civilian husband and dozens of cars of luggage on the spot.

Two days later, these defeated soldiers of the second company who fled, driven by the whips and sticks from other friendly troops, formed a topless advance (punishment) team. When they went and returned, they found The battle in the city has long since ended, and even the outside of the city has been cleared.

And at the position directly facing the city gate, a hill appeared out of thin air; a hill piled up with stripped corpses; and immediately the (punished) vanguard formed by these deserters; After stepping down, despite the spurs, he never dared to move forward.

At this time, the three heads of the follow-up reinforcements represented one of the two expeditionary regiments of the Lombards, and most of the Ligurian regiments were armed; therefore, it was difficult to attack immediately and take back the army within the range of the city. On the question of the corpse, serious disagreements arose;
In the end, it was the head of the third regiment who walked away with a face full of resentment, giving orders to his subordinates on his own, vowing to teach these enemies who had no sense of honor and shame an unforgettable lesson.As a result, many crossbowmen with large shields on their backs began to advance in formation.

They were all from Monteferra in the Liguria region, or from towns like Parma and Pavia in the small Lombardy region.Wearing a light dome helmet, neck armor, one-piece armor, carrying a large shield with curved concave edges, and holding a crossbow that is characteristic of Xiluo, he rushed forward.

Before they even reached the expected range of the city wall, they started to test fire in rows.I saw the white tail feathers and arrows flying like locusts; on the incomplete city walls and gates, many white feathers had been nailed one after another, trembling; people were shaking around the city in shock.

And under the alternate cover and advance of these Northern Italian crossbowmen, a group of scattered mercenaries wearing half-body inlaid leather armor and knee-length trousers also rushed forward suddenly without making a sound; When they arrived at the mountain of corpses piled with red fruits, they quickly dragged them away with a rope.

In a blink of an eye, under the cover of hundreds of Northern Italian crossbowmen, they snatched back the corpses of many friendly soldiers with a tacit understanding; and exposed other things that were pressed by the corpses; therefore, When more and more people joined the ranks of dragging corpses.

However, there was no movement at the top of the city, as if they were shocked by the shooting from these crossbowmen on the spot.However, at the next moment, there was suddenly a dense heap of mercenary corpses surrounding them; on the exposed support below, a loud bang blasted the corpses and the crowd into the air.

In an instant, the rain of blood and broken limbs splashed all over the sky, almost splashing and pouring on the head, face and body of these northern Italian crossbowmen; it also immediately affected their movements and vision; The crossbow became sticky and slippery, and the large shield was a little unsteady.

As they continued to suppress the city, they paused for a moment; on the originally lifeless wall, amidst the loud roars of soldiers who appeared in groups, a lot of lead and arrows suddenly burst out, like a storm The general counter-suppression overwhelmed the array of crossbowmen.

But it's not over yet.At the same time, another team of blue-clothed soldiers wearing leather armor and chain shirts rushed out of the city gate blocked by obstacles. The leader was a giant bald man in plate and chain armor. , almost striding like flying into the front row of crossbowmen.

Then, when he stood up again shaking his head and wielding a multi-headed chain hammer, he also smashed and flew out at least a few crossbowmen who had drawn out their short thorns and long daggers; Then he slammed his helmeted forehead into the face of another half-scale armored crossbowman sergeant.

All of a sudden, relying on him alone, the corner of the crossbowmen's front row was disturbed and scattered; and those crossbowmen had to rush and shoot wildly, while instinctively pushing back and retreating; The kingdom soldiers rushed into the formation and brandished their knives to slash and kill.

At this time, especially the commander of the third regiment, who was watching the battle on the mound behind; hissing as if awakened from a dream, urged the drummers around him, and blew the unique messenger instrument of the Lombards; The classic bent-pipe trombone; with the deep and trembling sound of the horn, the sound trembled in the field.

From behind the mound, a group of fully-clad cavalry rushed out. They wore traditional Lombard-style pointed helmets, oriental-style leather ring armor and willow-edge armor woven with slender iron leaves; The head and chest of the mounts were covered with felt cloth to protect against arrows, and they galloped towards them amidst the dust and smoke.

And the appearance of these Lombard cavalry also alarmed the defenders on the top of the city, and with the sound of sharp horns, they blew: those kingdoms surrounded by the messy corpses, chasing the Italian crossbowmen running around. The soldiers also came back to their senses and turned around and ran away without hesitation.

However, neither the Lombard cavalry who were chasing nor the scattered Italian crossbowmen meant to let them go; those scattered crossbowmen in the middle reorganized their formation slightly After that, they put down their crossbows and large shields one after another and chased after them lightly;

At the same time, the remaining troops of the third regiment, urged by the waving of the military flag and the swearing one after another, slowly pushed forward and oppressed; Because of the strong posture of directly attacking the city.

Therefore, those soldiers of the kingdom who fled almost threw their weapons and flags all over the place before fleeing back to the city gate. The Lombard cavalry with the corpse on the ground rushed forward.

I saw these kingdom soldiers crowded at the gate of the city, screaming and screaming all day long on the spot; they were immediately submerged in the billowing dust and smoke raised by more than 200 cavalry, and turned into a dull scene There were repeated impacts, and there were repeated screams and howls of people turning their backs.

However, only a moment later, when those passionate Italian crossbowmen rushed to the city gate one after another.But found a tragic scene of people and horses lying on the pillow.However, on the ground surrounding the front of the city gate, several sunken ditches and pits had appeared at some point.

As for the Lombard cavalry, who charged with both horses and horses, almost half of their heads were packed into it, while their legs and feet were broken, and their livers and intestines were bleeding. rushed into the mud of the moat.

At this time, the remaining kingdom soldiers who seemed terrified had already jumped into the trenches nearby; they used the spears, axes, spears, hooks, and halberds prepared in the door openings; The cavalry and their mounts; even the walls fell and rocks fell one after another.

There were many casualties immediately; and these Italian crossbowmen who ventured to rush to the city couldn't help but scream loudly when they saw this; they turned around and fled again.However, at this time, how could those guards on the wall let go of such an opportunity to approach and shoot.

Therefore, when the remaining three companies from the third regiment finally came up, you could only see Italian crossbowmen in groups of three or four who fled around them without hesitation; and Lombard cavalry who escaped from the death zone and traps in the city ; Then, there was another roar from the top of the city.

However, several artillery pieces placed on the wall also fired suddenly.Although it didn't look very accurate, it crossed several tracks and bombarded the ground in front of Lombard United.Only a few tents of mud were splashed and scattered on the heads and faces of the nearest soldiers, but they all stopped.

And the sound of this round of shelling finally made the head of the third regiment, who was riding on the horse passionately and planning to personally command the siege, calm down immediately.After losing the cavalry regiment and crossbowmen regiment, plus the lightly armed regiment of scattered mercenaries, could there be more losses?

Let the remaining three regiments who have no equipment and protective gear prepare to directly attack the city that is in full swing; then what he loses is no longer soldiers, but the authority and prestige accumulated for a long time, the obedience and trust of the soldiers and morale; and standing in the army...

Therefore, when the Lombard army arrayed outside the city slowly turned around and retreated amidst the sound of the bent-pipe trombone being blown again; If he wants to attack, he can only lead people to block the city gate and open Wushuang himself.

But at least with relatively limited damage, most of the goals he planned have been achieved; and thus he won in a very short period of time. The more than 2000 soldiers who were temporarily gathered in the city were not seen by most people. The respect and trust and admiration that conceal and exist more or less.

At least in this relatively backward era, the specific demands of soldiers are relatively simple.As long as they are treated fairly and strictly, their salaries are paid in full and on time, they are fed and clothed, and they are led to continuous victories, they can be made to pay their lives and sacrifices, and even endure relative suffering.

　On duty all night, liver hurts, insomnia
　　
　
(End of this chapter)