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The progress of the Northern Zhou Army was very rapid, and their strength exceeded that of the Tang Army by more than double. Second, the northern army was mainly cavalry, and the soldiers were mostly composed of foreign herdsmen from the Liaodong grassland, and their riding and archery skills were exquisite. The terrain in the northeastern part of the river is relatively flat, which is suitable for cavalry long-distance attacks.

So, under the command of Luo Cheng and Luo Shixin, the Northern Army conquered Yanmen Pass in only a few days, and the Tang Army defenders were defeated and died.

Subsequently, Luo Cheng and Luo Shixin divided their troops into two, one led by Luo Cheng and attacked Dingxiang; The other, led by Luo Shixin, attacked Mayi.

Although the walls of Mayi were very strong, the morale of the Tang army defending the city had been lost. Moreover, the people in the city were mostly invaded by the Turks, and they admired Yuming, who had defeated the southern invasion of the Turkic army twice. They were not inclined to Li Tang as they were in other parts of Hedong, but more inclined to the Zhou army.

As a result, some people in the city soon secretly contacted Luo Shixin and expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Zhou army when they attacked the city and help the Zhou army break through the city.

Luo Shixin was also very happy, and after consulting with the representatives of the people in the city, he launched the siege the next day.

The Tang army defending the city resisted desperately, and the battle with the Zhou army was inextricably linked, and the battle situation reached a stalemate.

At this moment, the people in the city suddenly rose up, picked up kitchen knives, iron rods, steel forks and other weapons and attacked the south city gate.

The Tang army, who guarded the city gate, did not expect that the people in the city would suddenly rebel, and they were all killed by the surname of the uprising.

Although the Tang army guards learned of the situation and led reinforcements to the gate of the southern city, they finally slowed down and were opened by the people to let the cavalry of the Zhou army in.

When the Tang officers and soldiers saw that the city gate had been opened, a large number of Zhou cavalry rushed into the city brandishing sabers, and their morale immediately collapsed. They were already at a disadvantage in terms of strength, and after the city gate was broken, they lost their fighting spirit. In this case, how can they defeat the Zhou army, which far surpasses them in terms of troops, equipment, and morale?

After the Zhou army rushed into the city of Mayi, it only took two hours to break through the city guard, and the Tang army, except for a few who fled from the north gate when the city was broken, the rest were either killed or surrendered. Mayi, the largest city in the northeastern part of the river, fell back into the hands of the Zhou army.

At this time, Luo Cheng, who attacked Dingxiang County, also won the victory, and it took him five days to conquer Dingxiang.

Subsequently, Luo Cheng and Luo Shixin soon joined forces and killed Loufu County together, and the momentum was like a bamboo, seven battles and seven victories, recovering more than a dozen county towns within seven days, shocking the entire Hedong.

At the same time, the Southern Army, under the leadership of Wei Chi Jingde, also quickly broke through Shangdang County and marched towards Changping County. The Tang army in the southeast of the river was defeated in successive battles, and it can almost be said that it was unable to form an army.

Li Jiancheng, who lived in the original place, was also stunned when he learned that the armies in the north and south were all overwhelmed, and after winning consecutive battles. Although he also thought that under the attack of the superior forces of the Zhou army, the Tang army in the northeast and south of the river might not be able to hold the city. But I didn't expect them to fail.

Right now, his only hope of turning the tide is to defeat Yuming head-on. After all, the Zhou army only has 80,000 troops, but he has 100,000 troops in his hands, and he has a certain advantage in the number of soldiers. If it can be defeated, then lead the army around the rear of the northern and southern armies of the Zhou army, and cut off its return. Then there is still hope for a comeback from defeat to victory.

In this case, Li Jiancheng does not plan to stick to the original city. Although the original city can be preserved, after the other cities are lost, more than 200,000 Zhou troops surround it, and the original lonely city cannot be defended even if it is strong.

And if he poured out the 100,000 army and fought to defeat the 80,000 Zhou army led by Yu Ming head-on, then he still had a chance to turn defeat into victory.

……

On November 20 of the first year of Yongchang, an open field in the east of the original city.

On this day, the sky was surprisingly clear, there was not a single cloud, and the weather at the end of November was already a little cold, the cold wind was blowing the bare branches, and there was some unmelted snow and ice on the ground, showing a burst of coolness.

However, the soldiers of the Zhou and Tang armies, who confronted each other on the battlefield, maintained a majestic military posture, which shows that both sides are well-trained elite divisions.

At the forefront of the phalanx of the two armies, the two commanders, Yuming and Li Jiancheng, the decisive battle that decided the fate of Hedong finally came.

Now, it's time for Yuming, the emperor of the Great Zhou, and Li Jiancheng, the Tang Dynasty, to face off!

Li Jiancheng was wearing a black stainless steel armor with a white tiger pattern embroidered on his chest and a black silk cloak on the outside. It's also majestic, and it looks good.

He clamped his legs between the horse's belly, and the black war horse that stepped down rushed out.

He galloped in front of the two armies, swept his gaze among the soldiers of the two armies, and then raised his spear upward.

One hundred thousand Tang Army soldiers immediately burst out with an earth-shattering shout: "Long live the Tang Dynasty!" His Royal Highness Chitose! ”

A moment later, Yu Ming was also dressed in his signature white helmet and white armor, riding a pure white Arab war horse, holding a turquoise Liquan treasure spear, and appeared at the forefront of the Zhou army's formation.

The 80,000 soldiers of the Zhou army also let out a roar that was not inferior to the Tang army soldiers at all: "The Zhou army will win, and the Great Zhou will win!" ”

The voices of the 180,000 soldiers were earth-shattering, overpowering everything in heaven and earth like a rolling torrent, and they shouted so vigorously as if they wanted to decide the victory in sound before the battle began.

Yuming is a white-clothed, white-armored and white-armored white horse, and Li Jiancheng is a black-clothed and black-armored black horse, and the clothes of the two coaches are so distinct. It seems to indicate that the two are in a state of hostility.

Yu Ming watched silently at the moment, thinking that this kind of prelude to the coaches of both sides pulling out of the field first to slip away, although it was a bit naïve and ridiculous. It's just that this approach is an indispensable thing in the era of cold weapons and Armageddon, after all, if the boss overwhelms the other party in momentum, then the impact on the morale of the soldiers on both sides will be huge!

After a while, he rode back into his formation, and then waved his hand and said, "Start attacking!" ”

At this time, the Zhou soldiers suddenly parted to the two sides, and behind them, several well-prepared catapults were revealed.

These catapults are lightweight catapults that have been modified and equipped with four wheels under the base for easy dragging. Their size and weight are much smaller than those of the siege catapults, and the stone bullets used are only about 80 catties of round stone bullets.

Although the lethality is a little worse, they are easier to move, easier to operate, and less expensive, which is very suitable for use in the confrontation between two armies.

For the Zhou army's catapults, Tang Jun has a deep understanding, although they also have catapults, but in terms of power and range, they are inferior to the Zhou army, and it is not convenient to move. Therefore, seeing that the enemy had so many catapults, many Tang soldiers showed a look of fear on their faces.

Seeing such a scene, Li Jiancheng raised his spear and pointed forward, and shouted: "The Tang Dynasty will win, and the whole army will charge!" ”

Of his 100,000 troops, 50,000 were cavalry, although they were not as powerful as the Xuanjia Heavenly Soldiers trained by Li Shimin, they were also the elite divisions of the Tang Army. And here is the plain, which is conducive to sprinting. Of the 80,000 Zhou troops, there were only 20,000 cavalry, but 60,000 were infantry. Therefore, in terms of the number of cavalry, the Don army had a great advantage.

"Datang will win! Kill all these Zhou thieves! ”

With Li Jiancheng's order, the 50,000 cavalry of the Tang Army shouted slogans and surged towards the Zhou army on the opposite side like a torrent of steel.

Almost at the same time as the Tang cavalry attacked, several catapults of the Zhou army also began to throw boulders, making a shaking sound of the ground shaking the mountains.

"Tom! Tong! Tom"

A stone bullet fell in the Tang cavalry, and in the blink of an eye, I don't know how many Tang cavalry and horses were smashed into meat cakes and fell in a pool of blood, and the stone bullets thrown by the catapult, with a terrible whistling sound, like the impermanence of the soul, took away the lives of the Tang cavalry mercilessly!

As the armies of the two sides approached, the Tang army's catapults also entered the firing range and began to return fire, and after so many years of imitation and research, they also developed similar field catapults. Although the Tang army's catapults were inferior to the Zhou army in number and range, they were not without resistance.

With the Tang army's counterattack, the Zhou army also fell one boulder after another, rumbling and screaming one after another, and the Zhou army also suffered some casualties.

"Rush up, everyone, and follow me into the enemy's ranks! Smash your enemies' heads! Wang Junlang hissed loudly.

He knew that the catapult had to be within a certain range in order to exert its fearsome power, and once it had passed that range, the advantage of the catapult would no longer exist.

The range and power of the catapult of the Tang army are not as good as the Zhou army, if the catapult is fired at the Zhou army, then the defeat must be the Tang army, only rush into the enemy formation, with the huge impact of the cavalry, rush away the phalanx of the Zhou army, and the two sides engage in hand-to-hand combat, that is where the victory of the Tang army lies.

After paying a huge casualty of more than 2,000 people hit by trebuchets, the Tang cavalry finally gradually approached the Zhou position. At this time, the archers in the Zhou army array also raised their longbows under the order of Cheng Yanjin and aimed them at the Tang cavalry that rushed up in front of them.

"Wound up the arrows and throw them diagonally!" Cheng Yanjin ordered.

"Whoosh! Sou! Sou! Sou! ”

With a "buzz", thousands of sharp arrows rose into the sky like black clouds, and then rained down. The cavalry of the Tang Army, which was marching at high speed, immediately fell to the ground with arrows.

Wang Junlang shouted at this time: "We also have bows and arrows, everyone quickly release arrows and shoot back!" ”

When the Tang cavalry woke up from a dream, they also took off the short bow hanging on their backs, and then shot at the Zhou infantry.

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