Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Wanyan Huonv was still alive, and the first salvo of hundreds of artillery fire hit her horse's head head on.

The war horse's head was also covered with iron armor and was severely hit by a stone bullet as big as a fist. Even after it died on the spot, it still moved forward with inertia. Wanyan Huonu was thrown from the horse's back.

Several people around him were either dead or falling.

This is already the final charge stage, and the running speed is extremely fast. The cavalry in the front row collectively fell down, and there was suddenly no reaction time when the incident occurred. The cavalry behind them could not stop the car at all.

One or two fell down and they could still avoid it, but a bunch of cavalry fell down instantly, and the passages were only about 20 meters wide, which directly became the scene of a large-scale car accident!

Many Hezha Meng'an were not hit by stone bullets, but bumped into friendly forces while charging at full speed.

When the second round of hundreds of guns was fired, the interval from the previous round was less than ten seconds. Among the cavalry further behind, the alert ones were already reining in their horses and slowing down, while the slow ones had the awareness to slow down but had no time to act.

Moreover, the second and third rounds were all diagonal cross-fires, and the attacking Jin cavalry were in chaos. The whole group was in a state of being stunned. Some were still rushing forward, some were reining in their horses, and some were turning around and retreating, becoming easy targets for stone bullets.

Another situation is that these Jin Kingdom war horses encountered firearms for the first time.

Moreover, three consecutive rounds of hundreds of artillery salvos were experienced at close range. The keen hearing of the war horses infinitely amplified the roar.

A large number of war horses were frightened and went crazy. They were not controlled by their riders at all, and even stumbled and fell into pits in panic.

More than 300 artillery shells were fired, and far more than 300 cavalry were "knocked down".

"Uu~~Uu~~"

After three rounds of bombardment, there were still cavalrymen standing, and the squad leaders began to blow whistles and raise flags.

Immediately, the crossbowmen fired crossbow arrows at the surviving enemies, regardless of the scattered survivors, because the crossbow arrows could not penetrate heavy armor. They specifically picked out the nearest valiant cavalry to shoot at, and those surviving valiant cavalry were hit by arrows one after another.

The spearman held on to the big shield and helped the big shield bearer stand up.

One after another, the Ming army, led by the squad leader, quickly rushed towards the passages.

Wanyan Huonv was beaten to a pulp, and he was still dizzy during the second salvo. When the third salvo was fired, he tried to get up, but was frightened by the salvo and fell back down.

He didn't know if the Ming army would still fire artillery, so he could only lie on the ground and try to crawl back.

A nearby war horse was not hit by the bullet. It collided with friendly troops and fell. It also crushed the legs of another rider. It was difficult for the horse to stand up under the weight, and it just happened to avoid the next two volleys, and at this moment it finally managed to stand up.

Wanyan Huonu wanted to ride on the war horse, but the horse was in a frightened state and ran away in the opposite direction, trampling on several cavalrymen who fell to the ground but survived.

His ears were still ringing, and he could vaguely feel the Ming army coming from behind.

Wan Yanhuo Nu struggled to get up, her armor was too heavy and she could not move easily. As soon as he stood up, before he could draw his secondary weapon, he was hit by something and fell down again.

However, a large shield-bearer came with a man and a shield. Not only was Wanyan Huonu restrained by heavy armor, she also had a man and a shield on her body.

Wanyan Huonv struggled desperately, but was completely unable to move.

"Caught an enemy general!"

"Don't kill, capture them alive!"

"..."

Several nearby teams advanced quickly, and no one except the shield bearer came to care about him.

Along the way, they encountered Jurchen cavalry who were still active. Those with heavy armor would work together to knock them down first, while those without heavy armor would directly surround and kill them. As he struggled to get up, the spearman pinned him down with his knee, pulled out his melee weapon and cut his throat accurately.

A soldier ran up and took off the eight-edged iron mace from Wanyan Huonu's waist.

Then, he raised his hands high and suddenly hit his calf.

"ah!"

Wanyan Huonu, who was pinned down by the shield hand, had her tibia broken on the spot.

The soldiers were still afraid that it was not safe, so they picked up their mace and hit his other tibia.

Both legs are broken, and it’s not over yet.

The soldier held down Wanyan Huonv's struggling right arm, first pressed it with his knee, then pulled out a waist knife and cut off Wanyan Huonv's right thumb and index finger one after another.

The soldier stood up with the help of the shield bearer and grinned: "I'm lucky this time."

The shield bearer carried the huge shield and went to the front row to defend, while the soldiers stayed in place and were responsible for taking care of the almost disabled Wanyan live girl.

He even turned Wan Yan Huo Nu over and sat down between her waist and back.

"Kill me, kill me quickly!"

Wanyan Huonv was still struggling for her life. Unable to bear the humiliation, she screamed for death in Jurchen dialect.

Even though he was injured like this, he still wasn't honest. The soldiers were pushed up and down. He was afraid that he would not be able to restrain this fierce general, so he picked up the mace and smashed it hard, and soon Wanyan Huonv's left arm was broken. .

After a scream, it finally stopped.

Wanyan Huonv gave up her struggle and begged feebly in Chinese: "Kill me, please give me pleasure."

The soldier said: "Don't be impatient, you won't die. The captain said you led the army to charge, and it turned out to be the general of the Jin Kingdom. We have to capture him alive to receive the reward."

"I don't accept it, I don't accept it..." Wanyan Huonu regained her strength and started shouting and swearing, trying to provoke the soldiers to kill her.

…

Three rounds of hundreds of artillery fire shocked all the golden soldiers.

The four lilies were stamped fiercely, and no one was spared. Even those who fell down without being shot were killed or captured by the Ming army infantry.

Of the six hundred knights who formed a team with Hezha Meng'an, more than four hundred of them escaped smoothly.

In other words, more than 300 wooden cannons, divided into three rounds of volley fire, plus the follow-up infantry follow-up, the direct result was only 400 heavy cavalry and more than 100 brave cavalry.

Even counting the Qingqi hit by stray bullets, the total number of casualties was less than 600.

There are more than 10,000 Jin soldiers, and this casualty is acceptable.

But the side effects are huge!

Wanyan Loushi was the first to react. When the Ming army infantry stepped forward to finish the attack, he was shocked and ordered to shout: "Quickly raise the flag and blow the trumpet, let the following twenty teams rush forward!"

The front army of the Ming army went out to fight, the iron chains of the boxcars had not been restored, and the wooden cannons were still loading ammunition. This was the opportunity for the Jin soldiers to reverse the situation.

However, the elites of the Jin Kingdom, who had forbidden orders, hesitated as soon as they received the order and only shot arrows from a long distance.

Former army commanders rushed back on horseback to ask for instructions.

Po Luhuo, who was the supervisor of the army, was the first to rush to Wanyan Loushi: "Wanhu, we can't fight anymore, withdraw the troops quickly. The enemy's firearms are powerful, and the iron chains of the chariot array can be hung up quickly. Where can the Jurchen warriors rush in?"

"Wanhu, we can't fight!"

"The Nanman must have the help of ghosts and gods. Mortals alone cannot create such a sharp weapon."

"Wanhu, withdraw your troops and join the marshal."

"..."

In history, these elite Jurchens encountered Wu Jie's divine arm bows and were shot to the point of being turned upside down, but they still dared to organize charges repeatedly.

After suffering countless casualties, they found that it was impossible to rush in, so they chose to withdraw in despair.

The Divine Arm Bow was at least within their understanding, but the firearms were beyond their imagination. They were so frightened by three volleys that they lost their fighting spirit.

In fact, Zhang Guangdao hopes that they will continue to charge, and the more times they charge, the better.

Wanyan Loushi scanned the generals and found that every one of them looked frightened. Moreover, the best opportunity just now has been missed, and organizing a heavy cavalry charge into the formation is purely courting death.

He gritted his teeth and said: "Withdraw troops!"

The retreat was not a rout. The Jin soldiers, who were afraid of being beaten, still maintained a high level of organization.

The remaining members of the charge reserve team, Hezha Meng'an, began to take off their heavy armor in an orderly manner, bundle it and place it on their respective spare horses.

The remaining infantry also mounted the horses used for the journey.

A large number of brave cavalry and light cavalry, composed of fifty people, were distributed throughout the battlefield, alternately covering each other as they retreated.

More Jin Kingdom light cavalry and valiant cavalry were dispersed further away on the battlefield to guard against the sudden appearance of enemies.

This efficient and rigorous organized retreat made Zhang Guangdao's scalp numb.

So damn scary!

At this point in the war, the Jin infantry suffered the highest casualty rate, mainly when they were attacking mountains and charging into formations. Most of them were killed and injured by crossbows.

Of the more than 3,000 infantry, those who could still evacuate on horseback were less than 1,800. Moreover, there were a large number of injuries, so some people might not be able to hold on and fall off their horses during the withdrawal.

Hezha Mengan died four hundred people in battle.

More than 1,100 Jin Guoqi died in battle, mainly due to breaking the iron chains of the boxcar. The iron chains in the compartments were tightly fastened, and one had to dismount and spend time to unbuckle and remove them. When removing the chains, they became live targets for crossbows.

More than 1,300 Jin Kingdom Qingqi died in battle. Some died from arrows while shooting, and some died because they cooperated with the Xiaoqi to break the carriage formation. Others were hit by stray bullets from wooden cannons, or were killed by Ming cavalry during reconnaissance.

Many of the Jin Kingdom's Xiaoqi and Qingqi who survived were injured by arrows.

Currently, Wanyan Loushi's remaining forces are 1,600 Hezha Mengan, more than 1,700 Liaodong Han infantry, more than 4,400 Jin Kingdom valiant cavalry, and more than 900 Jurchen and prairie light cavalry.

In total, there are only about 8,700 people left.

On the Ming army's side, there were only more than 2,000 casualties, and most of them were slightly injured by arrows.

Most of those who were actually killed or seriously injured came from Wu Jie's troops guarding the mountain. Including the unlucky ones in Queyue Formation, the total number of people killed or seriously injured by the Ming Army was only over 160.

"Send the order, the whole army will pursue slowly!"

"Wu Jie's troops will stay to clean the battlefield, and then retreat to Zhao Jianzi's camp and guard the baggage with the civilians!" Zhang Guangdao began to give the order.

The shield bearers were in front, and the soldiers from each department began to advance outward.

The artillerymen dismantled the wooden cannon and cleaned the gunpowder in the powder tank. Four people carried a gun barrel, and two people carried a gun mount. The rest of the artillery auxiliaries loaded the stone bullets and gunpowder into the boxcar, and dragged and pushed the boxcar to follow the large troops.

"Wanhu, the Ming army is chasing us!"

Wanyan Loushi had only retreated two or three miles when he received news that the Ming army was pursuing him.

He rode back to check it out himself and became a little hesitant.

Half an hour ago, he would have fought back with his entire army without hesitation, harassing, seducing, and destroying the Ming army's pursuit formation, and then the cavalry would have gone out to annihilate these enemies.

But now, Wanyan Loushi is thinking about whether he can really play and whether the enemy coach is playing another trick.

He rode a horse and stood on a small hill, observing the movements of the Ming army for a long time.

It was found that the pursuit speed of the Ming army was extremely slow. Each unit advanced in an expanded formation. Every time they advanced dozens or hundreds of steps, they would stop and regroup before moving on.

Needless to say, as long as the Jin soldiers dare to fight back, the Ming army will quickly form a chariot formation.

"Da da da……"

A team of fast horses galloped over: "Wanhu, the cavalry of the Ming Army are heading towards our camp!"

This is to block the retreat route of the Jin soldiers and seize or burn the Jin soldiers' food and grass.

Wen Du Sizhong said: "The Ming cavalry's hiding place is more than ten miles away. They can go straight north to attack our camp. It will take time to come back to report the news. It is estimated that the enemy cavalry is close to the camp now!"

The generals had already figured out the nearby terrain. Wanyan Shengguo said: "The people guarding the camp are all Yuxian garrison. I'm afraid they won't be able to guard it for long. Even if they can guard it, it will be difficult to cooperate with us in the battle. The Ming army cavalry only needs Block the entrance of the valley and drag us there. When the Ming army's infantry formation comes after us, our army will be attacked from both sides."

Po Luhuo said: "The Ming cavalry is attacking our camp. We can attack the hiding place where the Ming cavalry was hiding. From there, go east and you can reach Chengtian Village, or you can go to Hebei via Jingxing!"

Wanyan Loushi shook his head: "The road to Chengtian Village is impassable, and there must be Ming troops blocking the city!"

Of course there are people blocking it, Yao Pingzhong's four thousand soldiers are there.

Yao Pingzhong only had to hold on for a few hours before the main force of the Ming army arrived and blocked the Jin soldiers in the valley.

Zhang Guangdao had planned the battlefield for more than a year, and the terrain with a radius of dozens of miles had been repeatedly calculated and carefully considered.

Wen Du Sizhong added: "Some of the mountains in the northwest are not too steep. You can climb them quickly as long as you abandon your horse. You can walk without abandoning your horse, but the speed will be very slow. The whole army can lead the horse to climb up, and Xiaoqi can dismount. Defend the mountain on foot and cover the entire army as they slowly withdraw, but the food and grass in the camp will be taken away."

Wanyan Loushi shook his head: "Dismount and retreat over the mountain. You said the speed will be very slow. Then the Ming army cavalry can attack and harass. Wait for the Ming army infantry to arrive on the battlefield. Then we will fight infantry on the mountain. Ming army soldiers If we fight on foot in the mountains, we will suffer a loss."

"There is no need to discuss it further," Wanyan Loushi looked to the northeast, "The Ming army cavalry attacking the camp only has four to five thousand in total. Let's kill them from there!"

The real bloody battle has just begun.