Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 747 Rout

The rebel war drums sounded at this time, and with the urging of the drums, a large group of Mohe people lined up in a crescent-shaped formation and rushed forward quickly. Obviously, this was a tentative assault. The rebel leader wanted to drive the seemingly weak Tang army outside the trench into the trench, and then take advantage of the momentum to break through the trench and rush into the Tang army's camp. But the Tang army's defense was much more solid than it appeared on the surface. The crossbowmen hidden behind the shields and the "scorpions" on the earthen ramparts behind them fired intensive firepower, and the Mohe people's attack was quickly repelled. At this moment, a horn sounded in the Tang Army's camp, and a group of armored cavalry hidden in the woods on the flanks of the Tang Army rushed out. Their originally spear-pointed, fence-like forest of spears quickly leveled, forming a line with the horse's head. straight line.

"It's the armored cavalry, the Youzhou cavalry of the Tang Dynasty!" Yanliang shouted loudly on the mound.

The impact of the armored knight was terrifying, and the timing was also very clever. It happened to be at the moment when the rebels were repelling the first wave of attacks, their formation was in chaos, and they were reorganizing their formation. It was like a dagger piercing the waist and eye. generally. Almost instantly, the three columns on the right side of the rebels were scattered. Whether they were humans or horses, they were all kicked to the ground in front of these iron-clad man-horse monsters. The momentum was like a tornado passing through the reed swamps. Hundreds of people fell down, and the rest were thrown away. He lowered his weapon and fled backwards in panic, not even bothering to disturb the formation of friendly troops. Seeing this, the Tang army on the front also began to move forward and exert pressure.

Seeing that the balance of fate continued to tilt to the side of the Tang army, but at this time God stretched out a hand to save the rebels - the intermittent rain that started last night began to get heavier, and it became heavier and heavier, so heavy that nothing could be seen. It's like God opened a floodgate and tilted the water of the Tianhe River to the human world. In the blink of an eye, the battlefield turned into a swamp. The sky was so dark that one could not see clearly who was on the other side even a few steps away. The sound of wind and rain blocked the sound of drums and trumpets. The bowstring was soaked by the rain and could no longer fire arrows. Arrow, both sides had to withdraw their troops and wait for the weather to clear before fighting again.

On the mound, Yan Liang, who was already soaking wet, was full of excitement. This was the first time in his life that he had witnessed such a large-scale battle. Under the command of Wang Wenzuo, the Tang army easily repelled the rebel attack. And grasping victory in his hands, if God had not been unfavorable, this counter-insurgency war would have been completely ended before the sun set.

"It's such a pity! What a pity!" Yan Liang sighed for an unknown number of times: "If it hadn't rained so heavily, those armored knights could have defeated the rebels alone. This rain came at the wrong time! "

"Yes!" Gao Yannian said: "This is the first time I have seen these armored knights on the battlefield? They can defeat groups of enemy troops directly with spears without using bows and arrows. It is really amazing!"

"It looks like the war won't last for a few more days!" Hu Liang said with a smile: "After all, it can't rain every day. When the sky clears, we can wipe out these rebels in one fell swoop. It's a pity that we don't have the chance to go into battle. !”

The teenagers let out a burst of confident laughter. This is what they can do when they are teenagers: laughter, crying, and anger are all so pure. When they get older, although their bodies and spirits have grown, they are not as pure as they were when they were teenagers. .

----------------------

Tang army's big tent.

"This rain came at the wrong time!" Wang Wenzuo sighed, looking unhappy.

"Yes!" Di Renjie sighed: "But that's okay. Today's battle situation is obvious. The rebels are no match for the Tang Dynasty on the battlefield. They will win after the weather clears!"

"Huaiying, you don't understand!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "You are not like me, who have been on the battlefield all year round. It should be noted that anything can happen on this battlefield. Of course, there is a strong victory over the weak, and it is not impossible for the weak to defeat the strong. So. If you can win, you must win. If you win and you can pursue, you must pursue. It’s best to finish the battle in one battle, otherwise the next time you might be in trouble!”

"Do you think the rebels also have a chance to win?" Di Renjie asked.

"Of course!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Qi Si Biyu fled with thousands of people. I don't know where he is now. This is a troublesome thing! Who knows if he will stab us in the back at a critical moment? ?”

"That's true!" Di Renjie's expression became serious: "Then what should we do?"

"We have to wait until the rain stops!" Wang Wenzuo looked at the sky outside: "At least we have to wait until the ground is dry and hard, otherwise nothing can be done!"

This time the weather was not on Wang Wenzuo's side. The rain kept falling and stopped until the fifth day of October. What followed was a cold wave from the far north. The muddy ground was frozen hard, strong enough to bear the weight of iron hooves. They were trampled on, and a large number of signs of frostbite began to appear in the Tang Army's barracks.

"Pass out the bear fat and let the soldiers smear the wound and rub it hard. It will be much better! Also, be sure to dry your hands and feet if they get wet, otherwise it won't be surprising if your fingers and toes freeze off!" Acton While speaking loudly, he demonstrated to the frostbitten soldiers. Most of the frostbitten soldiers were Xuanrun crossbowmen and other soldiers from the south. Although winter clothes were prepared for them in advance, they lacked the habit of living in cold areas and were easily frostbitten. .

In Ulta City, it was a different scene. It was already late at night, and the female shaman Harwin was standing next to a copper basin. She sprinkled a handful of ashes into the copper basin, and then stirred it vigorously with a wooden stick to make the water in the copper basin become turbid. Calm down again. During this process, she kept staring at the copper basin, as if the messy patterns on the water contained some unknown secret.

"How?" Jian Moucen asked impatiently.

"I don't know, I can't tell!" Harwin shook his head.

"Why? Harwin, don't you have boundless power? Nothing can be hidden from your eyes?" Jian Moucen asked anxiously.

"That's what people outside say. No witch or shaman dares to say that about myself!" Harwin sighed: "Yes, I can see some things, but it must be something that has nothing to do with me. , if I was involved in it, it wouldn't be the case. So I lived in an isolated valley and interacted with as few people as possible so that I could see something in the fire and in the water. And now I am also in Ur In Tacheng, I was also involved in it. The victory or defeat of the Tang Dynasty and you is closely related to my life and death, so naturally I can’t see anything clearly!" "Okay!" Jian Moucen shook his head in disappointment: "This It’s all my fault, I got you involved and actually harmed you!”

"I can't blame you! I came here willingly. If I don't want to, no one can make me leave the valley. This is all my own choice!" At this time, the female shaman was as gentle as an ordinary woman. She grabbed Jian Moucen's arm: "But even without using magic, I can see that the war between you and the Tang Dynasty is going to be dangerous. It's not too late now. You can leave everything behind, take the child, and hide with me in the valley. If we go inside, no one can find us, and we can live happily ever after!"

"Live happily forever?" Jian Moucen repeated the words of the female shaman, with a sarcastic smile on his lips: "Thank you for your kindness, Harwin, you are right, a general praying to the shaman for victory is itself It means he can't win, so be it! You leave here immediately and return to the valley. This is not your war, and you don't need to get involved!"

"Why don't you leave? With or without you, the outcome can't be changed? You just died in vain!" Harwin asked in confusion.

"Halwin, you don't understand!" Jian Moucen walked to the window and pointed to the big flag outside. "There are tens of thousands of people here. No matter why they came here, they are here for this flag after all; the beggar and I Sibiyu is different. He is fighting for his kingdom, so he can escape and wait for a better time; but I am fighting for this flag. Since there is no more land under this flag, there is no need for me to continue. Survive."

"What about the child?" Harwin used his last strength to try to persuade Jian Moucen: "That King Anshun, what will happen to him if you die?"

"Forget it!" Jian Moucen said with a smile: "Let him live like an ordinary person. King Anshun will be dead a long time ago, and he will die here!"

It was just dawn in the Tang Army's camp. The sound of drums and horns hovered over the camp. The huge team was slowly advancing. In the silence of the night, only the sound of horse hooves and the rustling footsteps of soldiers could be heard. After that, It was the heavy clanging sound of "Scorpion", and from time to time there was the dull sound of the impact of spear poles, or the sound of short military orders. In all these ominous sounds, in the whispers, the clanging of armor, and the rapid march, there is an imminent war, in which tens of millions of people will die, and the blood-filled war will break out with the coming of dawn.

"It's about to begin!" Wang Wenzuo, wearing silver armor, the same color as his mount, without a helmet, and with a calm expression, walked through the soldiers' lines and greeted them calmly: "Are you all ready?"

There was silence in front of the formation, the strong wind was blowing the flags, the morning breeze was blowing the mist, and the morning light was rising. There were less than 200 steps left in the front lines of both sides. Even with the help of eyes, one could clearly see the armor of the enemy on the opposite side. .

It is true that these are the embers of the fire in Northeast Asia that has been burning for more than ten years. Since the alliance between Tang Dynasty and Silla destroyed Goguryeo, a powerful hegemon that had spanned Northeast Asia for nearly 400 years, it was like a dying python. There were a few violent convulsions. The gap between power changes caused hurricanes, sweeping in all those who wanted to control their own destiny. They took up arms and either joined this side or that side. But now, this hurricane will eventually subside, and everything that was originally suspended in the sky will soon fall to the ground, and dust will return to dust, and soil will return to earth.

With the sound of the horn, each battalion of the Tang Army entered the battlefield in columns, just like a swarm of bees swarming out of a hive. On the vast battlefield, officers with white feathers on their helmets galloped on their horses, shouting loudly to organize the ranks of each battalion. In a tight formation, two teams of cavalry rushed out. They were all Japanese horse archers, and rushed straight to both sides of the rebels. Their bow bags slapped the saddles with the ups and downs of the horses, making a clattering sound. The first ray of morning light came and shone on their helmets and saddles, making them sparkle.

Facing the oncoming cavalry, the rebel infantrymen instinctively raised their spears and moved closer to each other, shoulder to shoulder, with their dense spears pointing outwards, like enraged porcupines. The Japanese cavalry did not hit them directly, but turned their horses' heads and swept across the rebel phalanx. The closest distance between the two sides was only two or three spears. On horseback, the long, slightly horned bow known as a "spear thrower" was fully drawn, and the feathers of the arrow tails were pressed directly behind the archer's ears. Then the bowstring was released, and fourteen heavy arrows were shot out, carrying There were bursts of screams, and as a group of mounted archers passed by, the rebel phalanx suddenly fell to pieces.

"That's one of ours!" Yanliang clenched his fists excitedly and said to his brother.

"Yes, he is your Majesty's man!" Hu Liang corrected his brother calmly.

Seeing that their flanks were being fiercely attacked by cavalry, the rebels also let the second line of cavalry press up. The Japanese cavalry archers made slight contact with them and began to retreat backwards, disappearing into the shield wall behind. The rebel cavalry who had tasted the powerful crossbowmen of the Tang Army did not just charge forward. They turned their horses and retreated to both sides to avoid becoming the target of the powerful crossbows.

In the central part of the battlefield, after exchanging arrows, Silla's infantry and rebels began to come into contact. The forest-like spears struck, slapped, and pierced each other, just like two huge porcupines. In this kind of battle, There is no way to exert individual courage. Everyone must fix themselves in a group, rely on each other, and connect with each other. Only a handful of agile and courageous warriors crawled on the ground, letting the spears crisscross above their heads, crawled in front of the enemy, and stabbed the enemy's thighs and lower abdomen with short swords. Or grappling with each other as if they were field mice fighting to the death in their burrows.

Under the banner of the Tang Army, Wang Wenzuo stroked his beard: "The rebels are really tenacious!"

"If he wasn't a stubborn person, he wouldn't be here today!" Di Renjie said.

"That's true!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "But it can only go so far!" He looked back, raised his right hand and waved: "There won't be heavy rain to save them this time!"

Just like the first battle, the decisive blow was delivered by the armored knights of the Tang Army. The first impact of two thousand armored knights who had been preparing for a long time penetrated the right wing of the rebels. Then they turned their horses and hit the back of the rebel central front. This directly led to the collapse of the rebel central front. collapse. The people who were still resisting desperately one second dropped their weapons in unison the next second, turned around and fled. Like a dike that was broken down, the few who persisted were squeezed out by the defeated troops, trapped, submerged, and reduced to nothing. A voice hovered above the heads of the rebels: "Escape!"

(End of this chapter)