Zhang Qi looked at the sun that was about to set in the sky, and was a little anxious. Once it gets dark, the Khitans can take advantage of the night to escape, and even if there are 10,000 cavalry of Guo Kui in the north, it will be difficult to stop them completely. With an army of 30,000, he calculated the route of the Khitan crossing the border, and if he couldn't keep the Khitans, he really couldn't say it. Liu Ji is in trouble, and his life will not be easy.

A scout rider came forward, crossed his hand on the horse and said, "Captain, the Khitans in front are coming!" ”

"Okay, order the cavalry to hold the flanks, and the artillery to move forward with the cavalry!" Zhang Yu let out a loud shout and looked back at the infantry beside him with a stern expression. "Today's battle with the Khitan must be ended as quickly as possible, and they must be eliminated before crossing the line of fire as soon as possible! At this time, it will depend on the quality of our infantry. Each commander led his subordinate soldiers and horses, and stepped forward according to the beat of the drum! Regardless of life and death, you must not retreat, and rush forward all the way! If you dare to be afraid of the former, the deputy commander will dismiss the commander on the spot! All I need to do is win and destroy the enemy, and I'll talk about the rest after the battle! ”

The generals agreed together, and the cavalry slowly moved to the sides. Artillery, along with the cavalry, went to the flanks. The infantry in the middle was drawn in battalions, three in the front and three in the back, staggered into six formations, and rushed straight towards the coming Khitan army formation.

Jeruphunu was in front, and he rode over on a fast horse and reported: "The cavalry of the Song army is divided into two wings, and the infantry brigade in the middle is rushing towards us!" ”

Hearing this, Yelu Funu said sharply: "The infantry of the Song army used guns, and I have only heard that they are good at defending the formation, but I have never heard that they are also good at charging into battle!" Concentrate on the elite cavalry in the middle, not afraid of life and death, and first disperse the Song army! ”

The generals promised, and the elite cavalry troops in the army slowly gathered behind Yeluphnu.

After about two miles, gunfire was already ringing out in front of us. The soldiers around him whispered to Yelu Funu: "General, the Song army's muskets are extremely sharp, and heavy armor can also shoot through. The general must not be in front of him, just in case! ”

Jeruphunu was stunned for a moment, did not speak, but advanced a little behind, and let the others forward. For so many years, the power of the guns of the Song army and the Khitans were of course clear. If it weren't for the limitations of technology, it would not have been possible to build a suitable musket, and it would have been equipped on a large scale. For the rest, it is better to say that the musket is nothing more than the equivalent of the knife and gun used by the soldiers. The spearmen in the army were too strong with their spears and gathered together, and their power when attacking was also amazing. But the problem is that muskets don't have to be together, they are incredibly powerful. When the two armies clashed, they were in front, and one of them was shot by a gun. Unlike bows and arrows, heavy armor has no effect on spears. The Lord will be in front of him, and a bad one will give away his life.

Under the command of the commander, the Song army marched slowly according to the beat of the drum. Seeing the Khitan cavalry rushing in front, the main general gave an order, and the army stopped and fired forward. At this time, the gap between the commanders and envoys was obvious. When the gun was fired, some were too far away from the enemy, and the first shot was not very useful. Some were too close, and as soon as the shots were fired, the enemy had already rushed up. Of course, there are also commanders who calculate the distance accurately, just to achieve maximum damage.

However, no one in the Song army retreated. After the first round, regardless of the Khitan enemy army in front, follow the practice, immediately retreat and shoot in the second round. The Khitan cavalry who rushed in was shot by the military array next to them. Some formations were scattered for a while, and they did not retreat, and the rest of the formations continued to advance. Almost instantly, the two armies rushed together.

The Song army, which was fighting with the enemy in front, had bayonets, and those in the rear were using muskets, and rushed forward firmly.

In this era, when the two armies were fighting, formation and order were extremely important. A truly strong army, regardless of the casualties, is resolute and unchaotic. When the enemy army rushed into the formation, it was natural for him or someone from the neighboring formation to clean it up, and he did not stagnate. It has been several years since the reorganization of Zhang Qi's entire army was completed, and at this time, it was different from other armies. The first batch of Khitan cavalry rushed into the formation, and the soldiers next to them fought with bayonets, and the soldiers next to them shot with spears. The formation of the whole army was not chaotic, and it still moved forward without moving forward.

In a few breaths, Yelu Fonu couldn't help but be shocked when he saw that his front formation had disappeared into the Song army's array. There is nothing for the two sides to fight together, and people who have been in battle for a long time have seen this kind of scene a lot. But when fighting, the formation of the Song army did not stagnate, and it still overwhelmed it, which made people feel terrifying. His own troops do not have the ability to impact such enemy forces.

At this time, the cavalry of the Song army covered the infantry army and had already surrounded the Khitan army from both flanks. Yelu Buddha did not dare to be careless, so he could only order his subordinates to cover each other and retreat. If you keep rushing forward and are not prepared, you are likely to scatter the whole army.

Seeing the Khitan army retreating, the Song army thundered with joy and struggled forward. It's just that the Khitan is a cavalry, and the speed is faster. Except for the more than 1,000 people in front of them who were surrounded, most of them slowly retreated.

Zhang Qi said: "Order the cavalry and artillery to be in line with the infantry army, cover the flanks, and pursue forward!" ”

This collision was only for a short time, but Zhang Qi had already seen that many people were dead. The Khitan lost more than a thousand people, and hundreds of corpses were left behind their own army. The infantry and cavalry hedged against each other, and there was no big advantage.

After retreating for more than a mile, Nanbian Fei also ran to wait for the horse, and said to Yelu Fonu: "General, there are quite a few Song troops in the south who are fighting with Vice General Wei. The two armies were entangled for a while, and the Song reinforcements came up, but General Wei couldn't resist the enemy and had already retreated! ”

Jeruphnu looked at the sun in the western sky, and was about to set in disgust. Looking ahead, Song Jun's speed was a little faster, and he was pressing towards him in the dark. He said in a deep voice: "Withdraw!" The whole army gathers together and waits until it gets dark before attacking north! ”

There is no need to ask, in this situation, it must be that his actions were mastered by the Song army and deliberately ambushed here. Why this is so, Jeruphnu can't figure it out. Ding Lingde's intelligence work is beyond the times, and the Khitans can't figure it out. In this era, spying on intelligence is nothing more than sending out detailed work to check the deployment of the enemy's troops and find out the way. Ding Lingde did this kind of thing so carefully, several armies were dozens of miles apart, and they were ambushed, Yelu Buddha Nu didn't say that he had seen it, and he didn't dare to think about it.

Seeing that the Khitan army in front of him began to assemble, Zhang Qi breathed a sigh of relief. The sun was about to set, and it was still half an hour or so before it really got dark. Half an hour is enough for his army to encircle and not give the Khitan a way out. What to do with fence-off? Zhang Qi took the cannon, of course, with artillery to completely disperse the Khitans and eliminate them separately.

Guo Kui and Chen Rui both came from afar and did not bring heavy weapons. It's just muskets, which did not have much advantage over the Khitan cavalry. It is the artillery that really decides the victory. This time is too short, in order to complete the Privy Council's statement not to let the Khitan return to the north of the Ma River, Zhang Qi's time is very tight. Surrounded the Khitan soldiers and horses near the station, and Guo Kui guarded them in the north, the Khitans had no way out.

The Khitan army assembled, and Yeluphunu looked at the horizon. The sun had just set, leaving a trail of sunset. The evening breeze blows on the reeds, and the reed flowers sway, with a coolness. Of his more than 9,000 people, less than 7,000 were left at this time, gathering together to form a formation.

Zhang Qi commanded his subordinates and Chen Rui to surround the Khitans. Looking at the sky, he said in a loud voice: "Order the artillery, immediately arrange the gun position!" Wait for my military order and fire the cannon together! ”