Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 794

The fighting situation gradually cooled down. Except for a few trebuchets that were still firing the longest-range No. [-] gunpowder bombs, the Suzaku Legion's crossbows gradually stopped.In fact, it was the trebuchets that were still throwing, and their targets had turned to the defeated soldiers who were retreating in the distance.The corpses of thousands of soldiers were scattered on the ground, and there were countless dead horses spread all over the ground. The ditch beside the wall was filled with piles of human and horse corpses.

Most of the thousands of former Liao troops who rushed into the low wall never found a chance to fight the Suzaku Army. They were either blocked by their own people, or they stopped under the low wall and trenches. Soldiers just crawled around in the trenches.Trying in vain to find a blind spot or a breakthrough, they were shot dead.

On the contrary, the fast crossbowmen, trebuchet companies, and giant fast crossbows of the Suzaku Legion never stopped firing for almost a moment, and the intersecting fire nets kept harvesting lives until there were no more targets to hit.

A horse covered in blood was walking aimlessly in the middle of the road, and it also had a big bloody gash on its body. The lonely war horse trembled all over, walked to the side of the ditch, looked at it, and then jumped down .After standing silently for a while.The horse trembled and fell limp to the ground, twitching a few times with its legs up in the air.He died without even a whimper.

The soldiers of the Liao army who attacked the horses and the wooden fence were always sporadic, and no one had the chance to pose a real threat to the Suzaku Army's defense line.This was a complete victory for the Suzaku Legion, the defenders of Zhenxi Fort, but a disastrous defeat for the Liao Army who attacked Zhenxi Fort.In fact, a scene similar to this was also happening in Zhenbei Fort at the same time.

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One day after crossing the border, the Liao army that invaded Zhangjiabao had already wiped out all the villages within [-] miles of Zhangjiabao. To the east and north of the city is the closest to Zhangjiabao, only four miles away. In a village named Hanquan Village, the defenders in the city are suppressed from afar.

The two main generals, Xiao Tianzhoumu and Yeluhecheng, have been resting in the small village for two days. Even if they don't go to Caogu, the people below will not lose the benefits of being around them, but the blood in their bodies is already restless, and they can't wait to Can replace his subordinates to burn, kill and loot in Xiangfu country.But the strict order from Xiao Dage, the great king of the Southern Academy, made them dare not disobey it.

On November [-]th, which was also the second day after the Liao army entered the city, there was loud drumming above Zhangjiabao City, and the Liao army outside the city immediately jumped up and moved like startled locusts.

Xiao Tianzhoumu and Yelu Hecheng also immediately came out from Hanquan Village where they camped, and looked towards the top of Zhangjiabao.

"There are only 3000 people in Zhangjiabao, how dare you go out of the city?"

"Probably to boost morale."

"Will there be reinforcements?"

"The spies have never paid back. This Ma Pingchuan, after a large number of Xiangfu Kingdom reinforcements come out, can we hide it from people? What's more, isn't our mission to attract as many Xiangfu Kingdom troops as possible!"

"Having said that, if more reinforcements come, we won't be able to fight and suffer heavy losses. His Royal Highness will not give us too much compensation when we go back to the South Campus."

Xiao Tianzhoumu and Yelu Hecheng exchanged ideas sentence by sentence.In the field of vision of the two, the city gate of Zhangjiabao opened, and two rows of cavalry with armor and spears came out of the city gate, crossed the suspension bridge, and lined up on the left and right of the official road outside the city moat.

Zhangjiabao is a typical military village, so there are no residential areas outside the city, and the nearest Hanquan Village is four miles away.There are not even trees thicker than an arm within a mile, only on the official road, there are still some restaurants and pavilions, but they have been burned clean.There is enough space for battle formations.

"About 2000 people, damn it, why are they standing so neatly?" Yelu Hecheng laughed.Those cavalry are not only part of the army formation, but also the role of protecting the weak army when the formation is formed.It's just that the lineup is so neat, in his eyes, it's really superfluous.

Xiao Tianzhou also replied with a disdainful snort, and said: "It's just neat. But the armor and weapons are really good, even better than the Song Army. No, their ordinary soldiers are also wearing iron armor. Hahaha... this is a good fortune , half of our family will be there."

"Okay, just half of the family, that's the deal." Yelu Hecheng readily agreed.There are more than 1 of them. Although most of them are scattered to fight Caogu, there are still 5000 of them here.The Liao army had never been afraid of others in field battles. At this time, the number was superior, and there was no worry at all.

Facing the Zhangjiabao defenders who went to battle, Xiao Tianzhoumu and Yeluhecheng didn't take it seriously at all, but focused their sights on the top of Zhangjiabao city.If the defense on the city was a little lax, they would have to try to see if they could take the opportunity to rush into the city. Unfortunately, the stone catapults and extremely conspicuous giant crossbows gathered on the top of the city made them dare not take risks.Although they haven't experienced the power of Xiangfu country's gunpowder packs and giant crossbows, they have heard of it.

After leaving the city with a thousand cavalry, there will be a thousand infantry.He was dressed in bright iron armor, covering even his face, holding a long spear and a quick crossbow. They were also divided into two parts, standing in formation on the outside of the two cavalry.

"It's more tidy than cavalry, and it looks good with this armor!" Yelu Hecheng sneered, dismissing Xiangfu Kingdom's field battle, but envious of their equipment.

"Who is leading the team?" Xiao Tianzhou wanted to know who would lead the team.The wings appear to have stood still, leaving only a central gap.

At this moment, a crimson shogi slowly moved out of the city. The flag was blood red, and there was a circle of black borders on the edge. It was embroidered with a black wolf howling at the moon. The big black seal script on the lower right corner of the flag read The word 'Korean', this is exactly what the flag of the brigade commander of the four brigades directly under the legion looks like.Under the banner are a dozen cavalry and a group of infantry.

"Hehehe, the guard Han Tao is actually leading the army himself." Yelu Hecheng was a little surprised, so he turned around and said, "I heard that Han Tao was the personal soldier of the emperor of Xiangfu Kingdom back then. He is very powerful and should not be underestimated."

Xiao Tianzhou looked at the row of defenders still huddled on the top of the city, and sighed regretfully, and said: "It's a pity that Han Tao is cautious in doing things. He has already gone out to fight, and so many people are guarding the city. What are you doing?"

"Hmph, that's not prudence, but timidity." After Xiao Tianzhou laughed a few times, his face turned cold, and he asked viciously, "Do you want to kill him?"

Yelu Hecheng shook his head and said, "No need, we can just relax here and wait for work. Since Han Tao has gone to battle, he probably won't pretend to retreat."

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Han Tao led the cavalry to advance in small steps while holding the reins, while the infantry marched slowly step by step to the beat of the drum.

The sound of footsteps and drums merged into one place, and there was no trace of chaos. Every step shook the minds of the bystanders.He walked more than [-] steps from the city gate before stopping.

The two chief generals of the Liao army had disdainful smiles at first, but as the Xiangfu army's formation moved, their smiles gradually subsided.In the end, the troops of the Xiangfu Kingdom that had left the city advanced more than 500 steps without disorder, and the expressions of Xiao Tian Zhoumu and Yelu Hecheng all changed.

The art of war says that the army has energy, and the strength can be known by looking at the energy.Although Yelu Hecheng and Xiao Tianzhoumu haven't studied the art of war, let alone how to count qi, but after fighting for many years, it is clear at a glance whether the army in front of them can fight.

The formation is actually very simple, but after the formation, the formation can always be kept so neat during the march, which is not something that an ordinary army can do.Xiao Tianzhoumu and Yelu Hecheng have seen many troops over the years, even if they have never eaten pork, they have seen pigs running.Stop at ten steps, and form a line at twenty steps. It is absolutely impossible for a normal infantry formation to move forward more than [-] steps in one breath without being chaotic.This is also the reason why infantry are most afraid of being attacked by cavalry when retreating or marching. Under normal circumstances, they are only beaten.In recent years, the Khitans and the Han people like to use this method of warfare by taking advantage of their own cavalry advantages.

The total number of troops from the Xiangfu Kingdom leaving the city in front of them is no more than 2000, but these [-] people are definitely elite in the eyes of Xiao Tianzhoumu and Yelu Hecheng.The army marched like a mountain, slowly pressing down, even giving people the feeling of being out of breath.

"This Xiangfu country's troops seem to be difficult to deal with!" Xiao Tianzhou's expression gradually became a bit dignified.

"Hmph! It's just a mystery. You forgot the relevant information about the Xiangfu Kingdom's army that you reported before you came here. It mentioned that the Xiangfu Kingdom's army has been training the formation from top to bottom in the past six months. It doesn't matter if it walks neatly. " Yelu Hecheng said in a low voice.

The position of the Xiangfu army's army formation is beyond the protection range of the defenders on the city.Even giant guns, crossbows and trebuchets have greatly reduced accuracy at such a long distance, and their lethality is limited.The defenders of Zhangjiabao took the initiative to break away from the protection of the city wall. It seemed that they were going to fight an upright battle, so naturally they would not back down.

Han Tao's banner was in front of the formation, and he himself stood in front of the formation.The [-] soldiers behind him were divided into three rows, and the formation was far thinner than that on the two sides.On the two wings, the cavalry dismounted, but the infantry carried their crossbows as usual.

This is clearly what a trap looks like, but the bait on this trap is delicious and tempting to salivate.It seems that as long as you reach out your hand, you can pick the fruit from the tree.

Where did Han Tao's self-confidence come from?With this number of people being less than 2000, maybe the elite can outperform opponents several times?

Xiao Tianzhou opened his mouth and said: "The day before yesterday, I reported the information of the brigade commander and above in Xiangfu Kingdom. I remember it mentioned that Han Tao was originally a first-class master in the world. Back then, the emperor of Xiangfu Kingdom used that Taoist treasure to attract martial arts masters from all over the world. Go there, capture them in the legendary half-dead labyrinth, and then subdue all these idiot martial arts masters for your own use. This Han Tao is one of them.

(End of this chapter)