I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 551 I'm fighting the elite! The Song army beats up the Liao Pishi army
July 5th, Yanyun area.

Towards Jizhou, Shunzhou, Youzhou and Zhuozhou.

The logistics soldiers of the Song Dynasty are busy building the double-axle star crossbow chariot.

Carpentry has always been the strong point of the Song Dynasty soldiers, so it is no problem to build a thousand vehicles in 20 days.

at the same time.

The 6,000 chariot soldiers formed by Fu Bi and Han Qi also began training, and other types of troops were also practicing battle formations.

The commander-in-chief of the East China Sea Navy, Cao Hu, has also led his troops to land on Dongying Island, and it is expected that the island will be completely occupied before July 20th.

Everything is moving forward in an orderly manner.

……

Another day.

In Danzhou City, inside the Liao Emperor’s camp, more than a dozen craftsmen walked in with nervous looks on their faces.

There was an object placed on the wooden platform at the front of the tent.

It was none other than the Song Dynasty's wind and fire spear.

However, the barrel of this wind-fire gun was black, and a hole as thick as a thumb was blown out where the gunpowder was filled. There were also several cracks around it, and it was severely damaged.

It was obviously a firearm whose barrel had exploded.

This was an unexpected gain made by the Liao people during the battle of Youzhou.

Yelu Hongji looked at the craftsmen and said excitedly: "This is the Song people's wind and fire gun, which is more powerful than the bow and crossbow. If it can be equipped in the hands of our cavalry, the Song people will not be afraid at all!"

"Everyone, come forward and take a look. Can we make this thing? Whoever can make it, I can give him everything he wants!"

Suddenly.

The craftsmen came forward one after another and began to study the air-fire gun whose barrel had exploded.

About a quarter of an hour later.

A middle-aged craftsman cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this thing is very delicate. We can give it a try, but...but it requires...it requires enough time."

"how long."

"It may take at least one year, and at most three years, to successfully develop it."

"One year? After one year, we can't even say whether the Liao Dynasty will exist or not! Do you have a country and me in your hearts?" Yelu Hongji was furious, his voice like thunder.

Pfft!Pfft!Pfft!
All the craftsmen knelt on the ground, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground.

Yelu Hongji glared and said, "I will give you one month. If you can't make a usable wind and fire gun within one month, I will kill all three of your clans!"

"Your Majesty, one month is really not enough. I...we can't do it!" said the middle-aged craftsman in the lead.

Swish!
Yelu Hongji suddenly drew the long sword from his waist, pointed it at the middle-aged craftsman, and swung it vigorously.

Tear!

The latter fell down with blood gushing out.

The craftsmen behind were all terrified and said, “It can be done in a month, it can be done in a month!”

"Go!" Yelu Hongji said coldly.

Suddenly, the craftsmen hurried out of the tent. They had no confidence in making the wind and fire gun and they just hoped to live another month.

immediately.

The body of the middle-aged craftsman was carried out.

After seeing this, the Southern Prime Minister Xiao Weixin and the Northern Prime Minister Yao Jingxing, who were outside the tent, shook their heads helplessly.

At the moment, Yelu Hongji was the one who had the final say, and his mood was unpredictable, killing people at will.

Both of them felt that the Liao Dynasty was on its last legs.

……

July 12, afternoon.

In the Song Dynasty military camp, on the battlefield.

Ten brand new giant double-axle star crossbow chariots stood side by side.

Each chariot was pulled by six armored horses, which were driven by six specialized soldiers.

If the horses were injured or killed, six soldiers would be needed to cooperate with the people on the chariot to drive the chariot.

On top of the chariot.

It is surrounded by giant wooden shields, and the gaps are filled with vines, making it look like a mobile wooden house.

There were twenty people standing in the chariot, seven of them holding spears, responsible for close attacks; seven holding firearms, responsible for long-range attacks; and six in charge of a crossbow.

This chariot can carry up to fifty people.

The crossbow can also be removed and replaced with spearmen, crossbowmen or firearms soldiers.

It is truly a city with feet.

When moving, it is a camp; when stopping, it is a formation.

Chariots combined into a chariot formation can completely intercept the enemy's cavalry charge.

After seeing it, Su Liang exclaimed in his heart: If this chariot could drive itself, it would be the tank of future generations!

Three hundred meters opposite the double-shafted star crossbow chariot, there were one hundred light cavalry of the Longyu Army, ready to charge at any time.

this moment.

Zhao Zhen, Su Liang, Han Qi, Fu Bi and others all stood aside, wanting to see the recent training results.

"Let's start!" said Zhao Zhen.

Swish!
The command flag was waved.

Ten giant double-shaft star crossbow chariots and the one hundred light cavalry of the Longyu Army rushed towards each other.

Because it was an exercise, neither side used long-range weapons. It was just a test of the coordination between the combat vehicles.

boom! boom! boom!
In the blink of an eye, the two sides collided with each other.

The giant double-axle star crossbow chariot used its weight to immediately stop the one hundred Dragon Feather soldiers.

"Wai!"

As a general waved the command flag, the giant double-axle star crossbow chariot quickly surrounded the one hundred Longyu soldiers.

However, how could the Longyu Army allow themselves to be surrounded? They immediately changed their formation and started moving.

"Southeast direction, open!"

"Northwest direction, together!"

"Open the east gate quickly!"

"Surround again!"

……

Opening and closing, constantly changing.

As the giant double-axle star crossbow chariots performed a series of chariot formations, sometimes encircling and sometimes opening up, it soon cut the one hundred Dragon Feather Army into three sections.

If this happened on the battlefield, the chariot formation would have the upper hand.

Zhao Zhen and others were so excited by what they saw.

The chariot formation was even more effective than expected. It could cut the Longyu Army into three sections, making it easier to deal with the Liao people's Pi Shi Army.

With the assistance of giant crossbows and firearms, the Liao soldiers will certainly be defeated.

……

July 20th, nightfall.

Zhao Zhen, Pang Ji, Liang Shi, Han Qi, Fu Bi, Su Liang and others gathered together.

Zhao Zhen stood up and pointed to the front of Tanzhou City on the map, saying, "I have decided to go to war with the Liao army in three days. Do you have any objections?"

"No objection!" Everyone bowed.

At this moment, the giant double-axle star crossbow chariot has been built, and there are sufficient weapons and food. It is time to start the war.

"it is good!"

Zhao Zhen stood up and pointed to a location on the map.

"Yelü Hongji arranged three lines of defense in front of Tanzhou City, forming a triangle, namely the north route, the northwest route and the northeast route."

"Among them, the Pishi Army in the north has more than 10,000 soldiers, which is their main force. If we attack either side, the other two will come to rescue."

……

Everyone kept nodding.

Yelu Hongji still had some military command talent.

This triangular offensive formation is very flexible, and with Danzhou City as the origin, new troops can be added continuously.

It was obvious that they wanted to confront the Song Dynasty head-on and fully demonstrate their riding and archery capabilities.

Zhao Zhen continued, "I have decided to order Han Qing and Fu Qing to lead the chariot vanguard battalion, the Longyu Army, and 20,000 Hebei Imperial Guards to take the northern route and attack the Pi Shi Army stationed there."

"Mr. Liang, you lead 5,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry to the west. Mr. Pang and Mr. Su, you lead 5,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry to the east."

"If we deploy our troops like this, the Liao people will definitely think that we are going to surround a point and attack its reinforcements. The Liao army's way of breaking the siege is not to support the north route, but to attack our two wings."

"But this time, we will not attack the reinforcements, but defeat the elite Pi Shi Army of Liao. This time, we will catch them by surprise, with the participation of the chariot vanguard and heavy cavalry, so we must win a great victory. What I want is not to beat them back step by step, but to destroy as many Pi Shi troops as possible!"

Zhao Zhen pointed to two locations.

"Once the Western and Eastern Armies arrive here, deploy your forces immediately. Your mission is to have our main force beat up the Pishi Army."

"As long as we can win this battle, we can continue to use the strategy of 'using chariots to control cavalry' to force the Liao army into the city, and then siege warfare will be our strong point!"

……

"I obey your command!" All the ministers bowed at the same time.

At this moment, Zhao Zhen has fully grown into an excellent commander.

The enemy was proud of the Pi Shi Army, and the Song Dynasty fought the Pi Shi Army in its first battle.

The first battle is the one where the Chariot Vanguard Battalion causes the most damage to the enemy. In the first battle, they do not test or nibble at the enemy, but rather beat up the enemy's strongest cavalry - the Pishi Army.

……

Three days later, it was almost three o'clock in the morning.

Nearly 50,000 Song troops were divided into three groups and rushed towards Danzhou City.

Yelu Hongji would naturally soon find out about such a large-scale advance of soldiers.

More than half an hour later.

In the Liao army tent, Yelu Hongji looked at the map and snorted coldly.

"The Song army is advancing in three directions. The central one has the strongest momentum, and the other two are on the flanks. It is obvious that they want to surround our point and attack our reinforcements, in order to nibble away at us!"

The generals below all nodded.

Under normal circumstances, this way of fighting is indeed the only correct way for the Song Dynasty to fight.

At this moment, Liao dared to fight a bloody battle with Song, but Song wanted to defeat Liao. Therefore, instead of attacking the strongest Pi Shi Army, it would be better to consume the power of Liao's two wings first.

The method to restrain the siege and attack is also very simple.

You fight yours, I fight mine, and we'll see who will stop.

Yelu Hongji immediately gave the order, saying: "Order the 20,000 Pishi troops in the city to reinforce the two wings and attack the troops on both wings of the Song army."

"As long as we push back their forces on both wings, the Song army will retreat, and then the Pishi army can give chase. They actually want to surround our Pishi army, what a joke."

"According to the defense system we have set up, they won't be able to gain any advantage against the 10,000 Pishi troops."

"In addition, the troops on both wings of the Song Dynasty should be the main force. We should kill as many enemies as possible instead of just defending!"

……

Yelu Hongji gave instructions seriously.

He did not think that the Song army would focus on attacking the Pi Shi Army in the middle (north) route.

On the one hand, it is because the combat effectiveness of the Pi Shi Army is relatively high.

On the other hand, since the Song Dynasty fought against the Liao Dynasty, it has never fought with wisdom and rarely engaged in head-on confrontation.

"Everyone, this is the first battle, and we must win the first battle!" Yelu Hongji said loudly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

All the ministers bowed their hands, and they agreed with Yelu Hongji's arrangement.

……

Over an empty mountain field, the sky was turning pale.

The wind is slightly cool.

The five hundred heavy cavalry of the Longyu Army were in the front, followed by three thousand light cavalry. Behind the light cavalry was the giant chariot vanguard battalion of the Song Dynasty, and at the end was the cavalry.

The Song soldiers on both wings followed closely and rushed north.

About a quarter of an hour later.

The commander of the Longyu Army, Xu Mang, saw the Liao soldiers deployed in the distance.

Swish!
He drew his sword and shouted, "All soldiers, listen up! Make a gap so our chariots can get in!"

The biggest advantage of heavy cavalry is short-distance charges.

Most of the enemy's bows, crossbows and traps are useless to them.

at the same time.

The giant chariot vanguard battalion is also ready. Within 500 meters from the enemy, it can launch an attack using crossbows, artillery and firearms.

Tap-tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap!
The Longyu Army rushed towards the opposite side like a black storm.

The Liao light cavalry picked up shields and spears and took defensive positions.

They are also full of confidence at the moment.

Because there are 40,000 Pi Shi troops behind them who are ready to support them at any time.

However, they did not expect that Yelu Hongji did not intend to support them, but instead sent 20,000 Pi Shi troops to attack the two wings of the Song army.

After the soldiers on both wings of the Song army arrived at the pre-planned location, they quickly began to deploy their defenses.

If they are really going to besiege a point and attack its reinforcements, they are the main force and the main direction should be offense.

But now they are focusing on defense, holding back the Liao soldiers on both sides, allowing the Northern Army (Central Army) of the Song Dynasty to beat up the opponent's Pi Shi Army.

Defending in advance and launching an attack are two completely different concepts.

If the Liao soldiers fell into the trap, they would suffer heavy losses.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After the Song Dynasty's heavy cavalry rushed forward, the light cavalry and chariot battalion began to launch long-range attacks.

At this time.

The vanguard general in charge of the 10,000-man Pi Shi army in the middle received the military order from Yelu Hongji.

He claimed that the Song army was surrounding the enemy and attacking the reinforcements, and ordered 10,000 Pi Shi troops to focus on defense and consume the Song army.

Once they defeat the troops on both wings of the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty army will inevitably retreat.

at first.

This vanguard general did exactly that, focusing on defense and not actively attacking.

But with the Song army's fierce bombardment and the heavy cavalry penetrating deep into their interior, he felt something was wrong.

"This... this... this is not a siege to attack the reinforcements, this... this is clearly an attempt to eliminate our point!"

The general of the Liaozhong Road vanguard shouted: "Withdraw defense to attack, cavalry charge!"

At the moment when the Liao cavalry charged.

The Song Dynasty's giant chariot vanguard battalion came forward to meet them.

Hedge against it.

The Liao light cavalry were very surprised when they saw this strange and huge creature.

They had experience in dealing with cavalry, but they had no experience in dealing with this kind of giant chariot that was capable of both offense and defense.

The two sides are getting closer.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
The crossbow on the chariot shot through seven or eight Liao soldiers with one arrow.

Then, the two sides collided with each other.

The Pi Shi Army, known for its mobility and agility, felt like they were stepping into a winding path with rocks on both sides.

They couldn't move at all.

At this time, the big spears on the chariots came into play. They did not kill the soldiers, but only killed the horses.

After Ma died, most of these soldiers were shot to death with bows and crossbows.

Hoola! Hoola! Hoola!

One after another, the double-axle star crossbow chariots kept moving, cutting the Liao Kingdom's Pi Shi army into pieces.

Their fighting power was not fully exerted, but the cooperation among the Song soldiers was very smooth.

"Kill!"

The light cavalry of the Song Dynasty, with the cooperation of the double-shaft star crossbow chariots, killed people in all directions.

at the same time.

The Pi Shi troops supporting the two wings of the Liao Kingdom were a little confused.

They thought that the Song soldiers on both wings would launch a crazy attack, but they never expected that the Song army would take a defensive posture.

It's like, you hear that a group of people are going to break into your house and rip off your roof, but when you arrive, you find that they are in the best defensive position in front of your house, waiting for you to attack first.

This made them wonder whether they should launch an active attack.

About an hour and a half later.

Yelu Hongji summarized a bunch of information and discovered the problem.

"Shouldn't we pick the weak ones? The Song army's goal is to attack my Pishi army. What the hell is a chariot formation? How can it have such a huge killing power?"

After Yelu Hongji figured it out, he shouted, "Quickly support the Pishi Army in the middle! Quickly support the Pishi Army in the middle!"

Unfortunately, it's too late.

At this moment, the 10,000 Pi Shi troops in the center of the Liao army had been cut into pieces by the Song Dynasty's chariot battalion, and then surrounded and killed by the Song Dynasty's heavy cavalry and light cavalry.

Of the 10,000 Pi Shi troops, at least 8,000 were killed or wounded, while the total casualties of the Song army were less than 1,000.

In this battle, Liao was defeated entirely due to the decision made by Yelu Hongji.

The Song Dynasty was able to achieve such a great victory, on the one hand, because of its strategy, and on the other hand because of the charge of the chariot vanguard battalion and the Longyu Army.

Soon, Han Qi and Fu Bi heard that enemy reinforcements were coming.

The withdrawal of troops was announced immediately.

Having already taken advantage, the next step is a head-on battle, but the Song Dynasty does not like head-on battles.

And this moment.

The giant tank vanguard battalion could retreat in an orderly manner.

Next, it would depend on whether the Liao army would shrink their defense. If so, the Song Dynasty would continue to attack and defeat them one by one until they retreated into the city.

If they shrink their defense, the Song Dynasty will press forward step by step, force them into the city, and fight a defensive battle.

This battle was not only a great victory, but also a battle that greatly boosted the morale of the Song army.

Yelu Hongji will definitely be furious.

Not only will they doubt their own combat capabilities, but they will also be afraid of the Song Dynasty's army.

Once he becomes afraid, he will think too much, and overthinking will lead to confusion. He doesn't have much time left to prove himself.

(End of this chapter)