"Archer, ninety steps, put!" The second child commanded loudly from behind.

A dozen archers in a row of thieves drew their bows and arrows at the same time, shooting their feathered arrows diagonally upwards. Everyone's bow pulls differently, so the angle and the force of opening the bow varies. However, they all relied on their experience to shoot their feathered arrows as far as possible at a distance of ninety paces.

"Boom", the sound of the release of the bowstring came, and Huang Desheng, the commander of Li Yan's side, commanded loudly: "Raise the shield!" ”

With a "whoosh", the crossbowmen raised the round shield on their left arm and tilted their faces to defend against the arrows that came from the hanging. As for the pikemen, they consciously swung their spears from side to side without any further commands, so that they themselves would be as little damage as possible from the feathered arrows.

The sound of "knock", "knock" sounded, and sparse feathered arrows fell from the sky and shot at the shield. After a few breaths, another sparse feathered arrow fell.

Li Yan was at the gate of the stockade at this time, and there was a big shield in front of him. It's not that he's timid, it's that he needs to be in the right position and better observe the enemy's dynamics, so that he can make real choices faster.

Seeing that the thieves were about to enter a distance of fifty paces, he whispered, "Shoot their legs and feet, and knock out their sword and shield hands!" ”

Before the herald beside him shouted, Huang Desheng ordered loudly: "Abandon the shield!" Shoot the legs and feet! Five rows of rounds! ”

The crossbowman lowered his left hand, and his left hand let go of the grip, and the shield naturally slipped off his left arm. The reason why the soldiers were so obedient was not that they obeyed orders to the point of ignoring life and death, but that they all wore eight-petal iron helmets on their heads. It is an iron helmet with a wide brim made of eight pieces of iron, and the soldiers' heads are wrapped in thick cloth as padding, which is still very good for the protection of arrows.

"Boom", "Boom". The first row of crossbow arrows was fired, knocking down six or seven of the rogue's sword and shield soldiers who rushed over in the first row, including the thief's big boss 'Meng Zhang Fei'.

The thieves saw that their boss had been shot and wounded, so the second platoon quickly slowed down and tried to help their boss. But the sword and shield men in the third row still shouted forward, and in a few moments they were crowded together with the sword and shield men in the second row.

"Boom", "boom", the crossbowmen of the second row immediately fired. Now it's a five-row burst, and as long as the crossbowmen in the front row bend down to wind the crossbow, the crossbowmen in the back row can fire immediately, without waiting at all.

The bolts followed the gap where the thieves had fallen, and continued to shoot towards the second row of the thieves. However, this time the results of the battle were less, because several rogues had already crouched down and used their shields to cover the "fierce flying" and retreated.

At this time, the formation of the thieves was already a little chaotic, and they all knew that their big boss was injured, so the momentum of the attack was much weaker. And the second child was also confused at this time, and ordered loudly: "Go!" Bring back the big boss! ”

This order threw the thieves into confusion. The pikemen, who were about to charge, slowed down and moved towards their bosses. And their archers, too, stopped shooting. At this time, the disadvantages of the boss taking the lead in the charge are fully reflected, as long as the boss has a problem, the whole team will be chaotic.

"Freedom to fire!" Huang Desheng immediately ordered. Now that the enemy is in disarray, and someone is holding a shield to cover the retreat of their important people. At this time, the salvo effect is not obvious, and it is better to use the accuracy of the crossbow bolt to expand the results.

"Archery! Archery! Don't stop! The second child ordered loudly in the back. Although Li Yan's troops had no intention of pursuing, he still wanted the archers to block the enemy, but he was chased by the cavalry of "Gao Chuangzi" and did not want to be chased by the cavalry of the head of the township soldiers.

The thieves' feathered arrows began to shoot again, but this time they were basically not lethal. They shot their arrows in the middle of the two teams to prevent their opponents from pursuing.

At this time, "Meng Zhang Fei" had also been escorted back by seven or eight of his subordinates. In this short journey, they were actually shot four people and three wounded, and they all used shields to protect their bodies.

"Big brother, how are you?" The second child also rushed over from behind and asked nervously.

"Fierce Zhang Fei" porcelain teeth grinned and covered his right leg, where most of the crossbow arrow shafts were exposed, although the blood did not flow much, but looking at the position, it should have been shot to the bone.

"He's @ Niang@!" He inhaled the cool air and said, "This time it is planted, the bones are all broken, and my leg is useless." ”

"Boss Yuan has a doctor there, let's go back first." The second child comforted. Then he ordered: "Withdraw!" Evacuate! Get out of here! ”

The thieves began to retreat in a panic after receiving the order, but the slow retreat turned into a rout. Although no one pursued them behind, the team was in disarray, and those who could run ran forward as hard as they could, and those who could not run fast were left behind.

"Meng Zhang Fei" was also helped onto the horse and was led by his own soldiers to escape quickly. The crossbow arrow on his leg was not handled, and he did not dare to pull it out, nor did he dare to cut off the exposed shaft, so he could only flee with the shaft.

Li Yan thought regretfully in the back: "If only there were cavalry, rush up and chase him for thirty miles, and how many people will stay for him." But he could only think about it, although he now had a dozen mules and horses, it was okay to use them to pull carts and carry things, but if they were used to make war horses, it was not good.

He watched the thieves flee far away, so he ordered: "Call Minzhuang, carry the wounded down, and let Dr. Wu and Dr. He treat them." Dispose of the bodies and wounded of the thieves and ask, where did they come from? ”

Although there were not many archers among the thieves, they also caused seven or eight wounded to Li Yan's soldiers. They are generally injured in the arms and shoulders, there are thick cotton clothes, and there are satin underwear inside, the injuries are not serious, as long as they do not penetrate the silk, it is not difficult to pull out the arrows, so the emotions of the wounded are relatively stable.

"Report," a soldier came running and reported, "there's a group of people who want to join our team." They also carried several cartloads of grain. ”

It turned out that when they fled, they forgot to bring the tenants who stayed behind. And the tenants are not very willing to go too far, and they are even more satisfied in Qixian. So after watching the thieves run away, he sent someone to Li Yan to talk to see if he could take them in.

Li Yan didn't look at it and knew that it was a tenant who was coerced from the east of the city, so he ordered: "Let Zhang Yi bring someone to register them, explain our rules to them clearly, and leave those who are willing to stay, and give two catties of grain if they are unwilling, and let them leave." ”

At this time, Li Yan no longer cared if there were tenants guarded by Yang among these people, it was the thieves who ransacked his grange, but he couldn't find his head. Even if Yang Shoubei wanted to find trouble, he could handle it now. These nearly two hundred recruits, after three months of training, can already go into battle to kill the enemy, and Yang Garrison has no advantage.