The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 371
The crisp applause could be heard very clearly in the big tent. Sun Shao and Cao Zhang looked at each other and smiled, but only they knew what they were laughing at.

Sun Shao immediately agreed with Cao Zhang to move the camp back five miles to ensure that it could protect the rear of the Allied forces while maintaining a certain distance.Cao Zhang hid the cavalry behind him to prevent the Sassanids from breaking through from the two flanks. At the same time, he had to hide his tracks so that the Sassanians could not see their shadows.

Sun Shao’s Destroying Front Battalion is not entirely infantry, but there are relatively few cavalry, less than two thousand in total. Some of these people are Liaodong fine cavalry sent by Su Chuleg, with Wuqiu Jian as the cavalry general, and the other part is the cavalry. It was formed by the Guan family's personal guards back then, and Zhao Feng was the cavalry general. This part of the people had followed him from Xiangcheng back to Xiangyang, and it was considered a big gift from Guan Yu to him.The strength of these bodyguard cavalry is not bad. Needless to say, the equipment is the best, and the training has not been relaxed, and the condition is very good. After arriving in Axum, in order to adapt to the march in the desert, they also specialize He has been trained to fight on camels, and he is said to be an all-around warrior who mounts cavalry and dismounts infantry, but he has no chance to make meritorious service after following him these years, so his reputation is not obvious.

This time, Sun Shao put the two thousand personal guards to use, and placed them on both sides. This is a relatively common formation. Both the Han and the Romans are used to this formation, even the Sasanians They are no strangers to this formation, and they often use this formation in combat, but their cavalry ratio is high, while infantry are poorly equipped and weak troops, most of the time they are used as cannon fodder, In the end, the cavalry will determine the outcome, so it is slightly different from the formation of the Han and Romans, who are mainly infantry.

Although Cao Zhang hid the cavalry in the rear, he himself often came to Sun Shao's camp. He was very curious about what weapons Sun Shao would use to kill and injure the Sasanians in large numbers, but what confused him was that besides arranging people in front of the formation, Cao Zhang In addition to laying a large number of horses, people dug several pits. The width and depth of the pits are very standard, enough for the cavalry to fall in and jump out.

If there is an accident, it is not just slaves or peasants who dig the pit, but soldiers from each supply camp leading a few slaves, operating a strange machine, which makes a deafening roar, Cao Zhang does not Unfamiliar, these steam engines are used a lot in the coal mines of Bingzhou. The technological progress has been very obvious over the years. Over the past ten years, the size has become smaller and smaller, only half the size of the original model that Sun Shao gave him, but the performance is getting better and better. High, about twice as much, and the stability has also been greatly improved. It is fast and good for digging holes.

"That's all?" Cao Zhang pointed at the roaring machines, and asked in confusion, "With just these, you want to kill and wound more than 1 Sassanids?"

"What does it matter to you?" Sun Shao asked back: "We agreed, if I can't kill [-] Sasanians, you can stand still. Don't inquire about military secrets casually. This is common sense, don't you understand? ?”

"And!" Cao Zhang knew that Sun Shao was evading him by joking, so he refused to give up, and instead led Sun Shao's army: "We are now an alliance, and we are all part of the Han army. Don't stir up disputes. .”

"Hahaha..." Sun Shao smiled: "I said Ziwen, if you win this time, should you be promoted to general?"

"Don't change the subject." Cao Zhang is not fooled by him, but when this topic is brought up, he is also a little embarrassed. He has made meritorious service, and he will definitely have a fief here. Should he go back to Luoyang and become a general? Be a free king here?When I go back to Luoyang, I can only retire. Here, hey, maybe there will be a war at any time.

"Don't worry about black cats and white cats, as long as they catch mice, they are good cats." Sun Shao said, "Fighting the enemy with steps, what is more effective than repelling horses, digging pits, and using crossbows?"

Cao Zhang glanced at Sun Shao with obvious suspicious eyes, and curled his mouth, the meaning was self-evident, of course he didn't believe Sun Shao's words, but if Sun Shao didn't say anything, he couldn't force him to ask, so he had to hide his curiosity in the heart.Almost everyone in the allied army has respect for Sun Shao, including Roman Emperor Quintus and Guishuang King Bodiao, but their brothers have always looked at Sun Shao with equal eyes, and they can naturally joke with Sun Shao , including looking at Sun Shao with such disrespectful eyes.

"I don't care if you are a good cat or a bad cat, anyway, if you don't kill half of the Sasanians, don't expect me to take action." Cao Zhang folded his hips, his scarlet cloak blowing in the wind, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the north The endless land, after a while, suddenly said: "I heard that there is a piece of land there, it is a good pasture, and it produces high-quality war horses."

Sun Shao smiled slightly, pretending not to hear, turned and left, leaving Cao Zhang there alone, Cao Zhang rolled his eyes in self-mocking, turned and followed.

Two days later, Sun Feng sent the news that the siege battle had officially begun. Ardashir was fully prepared this time. He also used an oil tank filled with petroleum water to attack, knocking down the city two or three hundred paces away. It burned into a sea of ​​flames, and the eager Romans and Guishan people suffered a lot. However, their oil tanks were of different sizes, and the effect of the attack was affected. The oil tanks prepared by the Han army were adjusted in advance. Therefore, most of them have reached the predetermined range and attacked the top of the city. Based on the current attack situation of both sides, it is estimated that the real battle within the siege will not start for at least two days. The main purpose is to consume the other party's reserves.

After another two days, the counterattack in the city gradually weakened, and Sun Feng began to arrange a real siege battle. Because he promised a heavy reward in advance, almost everyone refused to let go of the opportunity to make meritorious deeds. With the powerful firepower of the Yue people As the backing, the Romans, Guishuang people and Tianzhu people scrambled to climb the city, for which they almost clashed with Li Yan and Cao Zhi.

Ardashir was well prepared. He used the oil bombs to fight back. The crossbows of the Yue Kingdom could not get too close, and there was not enough opportunity to threaten the city wall. The walls of the closed city were stained with blood, and the loss on the first day exceeded 3000 people, and the wounded barracks were overcrowded.

There was one piece of news that Sun Feng did not say. After the one-day attack, Quintus and Botiao showed regret, feeling that their side had lost too much, and asked the Han army to increase the intensity of the attack. At the same time, they only wanted to attack Sun Feng The arrangement of attacking the north gate was questioned, and it was felt that this would be more conducive to Ardashir's defense, but not conducive to the attacking side, and asked for more attack points.

Facing the doubts from Quintus, Bodiao and others, Sun Feng was not angry. He calmly accepted their doubts and asked the generals for their opinions. When most people expressed their support for this view, he agreed to the next day The attack was divided into three groups, and it was the same as the first battle. The Romans and the Guishuang people were each responsible for a section of the city wall, and the Han army was responsible for the attack at the main entrance.

After the Romans and Guishuang left with satisfaction, Sun Feng left Cao Zhi and Li Yan behind.

"Do you want to take a break?" Sun Feng asked straight to the point: "Let's let our Vietnamese army attack tomorrow."

Cao Zhi and Li Yan glanced at each other, a little undecided. They didn't want to be used by Sun Feng as a swordsman, and they were afraid that Ardashir was at the end of his battle. If Sun Feng advanced into the city, it would be nothing to them.Cao Zhi hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is Your Highness going to attack the city like this tomorrow? Has there been any change?"

Lu Xun coughed: "Tomorrow we will change our tactics, and the three forces will attack at the same time, and Ardashir may cause chaos. If he mobilizes the army to other places to strengthen the defense, we may have a chance to break the city in one fell swoop, but it is also possible There is another situation, if Ardashir does not re-mobilize the defensive force, then we will face the most enemies, and the Romans or Kushan people may break the city first."

Li Yan smiled silently, you didn't say anything.

Chen Hai waved his hand, and said as if he was afraid that someone would steal the credit: "No matter how Ardashir responds, we will still attack in the same way. Don't fight anymore. We will take the lead tomorrow. To be honest, I watch you chop people up every day. , My hands are itching."

Sun Feng smiled: "You have also seen that the generals of my country of Yue are all waiting anxiously."

Cao Zhi took a look at Chen Hai, shook his head and said: "What are you talking about? At this time, what is the difference between the Yue Kingdom and the Wei Kingdom? Since we are here, we are all the Han army, so don't divide them into each other, or else , the strength is dispersed. In my opinion, in order for everyone to maintain their combat effectiveness, we will take turns to fight, and no one will suffer this time. Brother Zhengfang, what do you think?"

Li Yan understood, nodded quickly and said: "Brother Zijian's suggestion is better. Let's take turns to fight, so that we can maintain enough physical strength and keep enough pressure on the city leaders."

Sun Feng and Lu Xun exchanged glances, nodded in agreement, and agreed to divide the army into three groups the next day, with Chen Hai, Li Yan and Cao Zhi taking turns to attack.

This method is indeed a good one. Although they still failed to break through the city the next day, the rotation of attacks allowed the soldiers to maintain their physical fitness well, and the continuous attacks made the city very nervous. Before they had time to catch their breath, another group of enemies rushed up along the siege ladder, without giving them a chance to rest.

The top of the city was in a state of emergency, and the horns for help came and went one after another, which intensified the tense atmosphere.Hearing the sound of these horns, the Romans and Guishuang people did not dare to neglect, for fear that the Han would break through the city first and take the lead, so they also exerted all their strength to take advantage of Ardashir's lack of troops on both sides of the city gate. Chance launched a fierce attack and rushed to the top of the city several times in succession, beating the Sassanians into a panic and forcing Ardashir to dispatch the reserve undead army to keep the city gate intact.

Ardashir felt great pressure and had to issue an order to Awad to wait for the opportunity to attack the rear camp of the coalition forces to reduce the pressure on the defenders.

As soon as Awad received the order, he immediately moved the army forward and pushed it to the front of Sun Shao's formation.

A heavily guarded formation appeared in front of him. The criss-crossing repelling horses formed a defensive formation with a depth of [-] paces. Han soldiers with weapons stood among the repelling horses, waiting for the formation. On both sides, on the wide river, there are warships from the Yue Kingdom cruising.Looking from afar, you can see two small groups of cavalry maintaining a guard posture on the rear wings on both sides of the formation.

Awad breathed a sigh of relief. It can be seen from this large formation that the opponent is only on the defensive and does not have enough cavalry to attack him. In this way, he can at least take the initiative to attack. Time can also take the initiative to withdraw from the position.

While he was relieved, Awad also had some headaches. The formation set up by the opponent greatly limited the attack power of the cavalry. The only feasible way to pass through this large formation was to dismount the cavalry and clear a passage.

Awad had no other choice, and immediately ordered two thousand-man teams to dismount and fight on foot to clear the way.

Two teams of thousands dismounted and lined up in front of the formation. The two teams of centuries, one on the left and one on the right, held shields, sharp axes or swords in their hands, and approached the horse-repelling formation carefully. The other two teams of centuries raised their swords. Bows, close behind them, ready to cover with bows.

The Juma formation, which had ambushed at least [-] soldiers, was silent, and the soldiers of the Destroyer Camp squatted behind the Juma one by one, in exactly the same posture, holding a shield in their left hand to cover the front tightly, blocking their huddled space. The body, only showing cold eyes from the gap, holds the weapon in the right hand, placed behind the body, ready to attack at any time.

The sound of the drums was low and unhurried, and each sound seemed to hit people's hearts. The Sassanids slowly approached the horse-repelling formation. Because they were nervous, they didn't speak, but walked cautiously, step by step. Moving, the silent horse refusal formation seemed to have an invisible murderous aura, which made them breathless. If it weren't for the law enforcement formation behind them watching, they might turn around and run away.

One hundred paces, eighty paces, the Sassanids began to shoot. They raised their bows and arrows obliquely upwards, and shot long arrows into the sky. The soldiers of the Destroying Front Battalion.

As soon as the sound of the drum changed, two consecutive rapid drum sounds broke the original rhythm. The soldiers in the refusal formation neatly raised their shields a little higher and lowered their heads.Long arrows roared down, hitting shields, helmets, or nailing horses, making tinkling sounds.The soldiers were as still as a rock, motionless.

The Sassanids started to run, and a centurion found that the Han army did not have archers in the formation, because so far, they have not shot a single arrow.He was ecstatic, and with an order, he led his men and started running.

The distance of 200 steps is short, [-] people are divided into several groups, one to two Shi in each group, flying towards Juma, the few people in front bypass Juma, and go straight to Yishi Destroying Fengying hidden behind Juma The soldiers, the people behind raised the ax in their hands high, and chopped down on the rejecting horse with all their strength.

"Kill!" The ten warriors squatting behind Juma suddenly stood up, facing Juma, the four warriors showed their crossbows in their hands, and pulled the crossbow with a grinning smile. Three warriors on each side formed a triangle. In a small formation, the corporal leader was at the front, slashing with a knife, and two soldiers followed closely behind, tightly protecting their flanks, and the three marched in unison to meet the Sasanian rushing from the side of Juma.

Close at hand, the long arrow shot out unexpectedly and decisively. The Sasanian who was about to chop the horse with an ax did not think of this at all. Although they raised the shield in their hands at the fastest speed, the speed obviously It was still not enough, the two Sassanids who rushed to the front were shot by the crossbow arrows immediately, they couldn't control their footsteps, staggered and fell on the sharpened stake that refused to horse, and suddenly died of breath, the ax in their hands was thrown away out.

The soldiers of the Destroying Front Battalion held their shields all the time when they were shooting, and they didn't panic when they saw the ax coming. They just lifted the shield slightly to protect their head and upper body, and the ax touched the shield. slid down the shield and landed on the ground at their feet.

The blood of the Sassanid man stabbed by the stake dripped on the axe.

The four crossbowmen calmly aimed at the enemies who were yelling across the horse and called their names one after another. The Sasanians hurriedly raised their shields to block the continuous bursts of fire, and at the same time waved their weapons vigorously to slash and slash. horse.On both sides of Juma, two small triangular formations held their positions firmly. The three fighters were as one, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner. Although the space was small, it did not affect their cooperation at all.Their assassination is very simple, there is absolutely no fancy place, and there are not too many changes in their movements. Most of them first use the shield to support the opponent's weapon, and then swing the weapon in their hands at a speed that is too fast for people to see clearly. With a flash of the knife, he either cut off the opponent's neck, cut off the opponent's arm, or pierced the opponent's body, and almost never failed.If there are two enemies in the front, the corporal leader in front will take a step back, and the two soldiers behind will go forward, using shields and sabers to force the opponent to fall out of the empty door, so that the corporal leader can go forward again and kill the enemy accurately people.

Although the Sassanids were much larger in number, they couldn't move forward in a narrow space. Only two or three people would come forward at a time, and they would often squeeze each other. They couldn't use their hands and feet. .They also wanted to cooperate with each other, but they couldn't be so proficient in their eagerness. They were unknowingly led by their opponents, and fell into the siege of three opponents. Cut at the same time, and at the same time guard against the roll call of the opponent's hand crossbow.

The Sassanids huddled together in a narrow space, and several of them fell down in the blink of an eye. The bearded commander screamed anxiously, pushed his companions away and rushed forward, and was killed by three vandals. The battalion soldiers stopped.He was furious, swung the battle ax in his hand and chopped three axes, but was held up by the opponent's shield. He took a step back, trying to catch his breath and attack again, but the soldiers of the Destroying Front Camp who had been holding up their shields to parry followed him like a shadow. He followed up, stabbed the saber into his chest silently, then quickly slid away, slashing at the companion behind him with the saber.

The ten commander only felt a chill in his chest, and a gust of blood spurted out, hitting the shield of the Han soldier on the opposite side. The hot blood splashed a coquettish flower on the shield, and on one side of the blood flower, showing A sneering face.

The face and the blood on the shield approached sharply, knocking him into the air, and hitting his companion behind him. The companion couldn't dodge in time and was in a mess. The three enemies who had been leaning together suddenly dispersed. Come, rush into the chaotic crowd, wave the weapon in your hand to kill mercilessly.

The ten commander turned around slowly, and suddenly he found that there were no companions standing in front of him, only those three devil-like enemies, they resumed the triangle formation just now, and quickly retreated behind the horse.The ten commander opened his eyes wide, and slowly fell to the ground.

The last thing he saw was the face of his companion who was dying.

(End of this chapter)