The sound of horses' hooves coming from the ground came and went, and always seemed to be at a distance, and after a while it seemed to disappear. This kind of weirdness made some unknown new soldiers of the teaching brigade feel uneasy, but Xiao Xuan was not surprised, and even Zhou Yuji and even Sun Yingyuan and others also guessed a thing or two.

"I'm afraid it's Jiannu who came to the customs again this time to find trouble with our army. With such action and execution, as well as strategic awareness, it seems that the black and Bolie are really not a simple character. This Jianzhou Dongyu is by no means comparable to the previous northern captives in history" Xiao Xuan didn't have much pressure when he judged one or two and said this.

If it was a year ago, or even during the Battle of Qingyuan Nanyuan, if a strong hand like the main force of Jianzhou came to launch a large-scale attack at night. The main force of more than 10,000 people led by himself is probably not sure at all. The effectiveness of firearms at night, even if they are fully prepared, will inevitably be greatly discounted, and the strength of elite archers and even melee hand-to-hand combat soldiers will obviously be maximized at night, and the result is, of course, the loss ratio in defensive battles that can be played in the daytime is about 1 to 2 or 2 to 5, and in the face of such a strong enemy's large-scale night attack, it is possible to be defeated by an opponent with superior forces. For some armies, only a small number of elite main forces can be drawn out for night battles, and for the main force of the Jianzhou Army, which has shown strong night combat strength in the Battle of Salhu shortly after the start of the army, it is probably not a big deal for the whole army, including auxiliaries, to be dispatched.

"Tell the teams to get ready for battle!" Because the army began to rest in the afternoon, although it was not midnight, most of the officers and men in the entire army were already rested and ready for night battle.

At a distance of about twenty or thirty paces from the periphery of the position, although the firelight of the entire outer trench was not lit, some things like campfires and wildfires gradually lit up, and at least the figures within a radius of about ten paces could be faintly visible.

Even if the enemy attack did not come as soon as expected, many officers and soldiers who had been waiting for a long time even felt that it was likely that the enemy would not dare to come when they saw that they were well guarded. As long as Xiao Xuan and even a few officers and generals who are more intelligent can be sure that if the main force of the Jianzhou army is really premeditated and is waiting not far from the capital, it will definitely not miss the appointment. Because if the attack is not launched this night, the whole army will definitely be able to withdraw to the capital during the day when the whole army advances in battle formation. As for the fact that there seemed to be no movement in the first half of the night, it is not difficult to understand. An effective and undetected surprise attack often involves deploying the main force at a distance from the intended combat site to avoid possible detection. It is only right to march as fast as possible throughout the first half of the night, and to attack in the second half of the night or even near the dawn of the morning. Fortunately, the late nights in the north in the summer are not too long, and the sky seems to have begun to light up a little shortly after the arrival of the second hour.

In the dark night, a figure finally approached the periphery of the core position, about a distance of about dozens of steps, and continuously released sharp arrows with fire, trying to lure the forward team to open fire. However, at this time, the team led by Xiao Xuan was obviously not a year ago. After more than a year and a half of rigorous training, there are enough training resources, which is enough for some selected soldiers to not only effectively use a strong bow with more than one stone force, but also through special training, and they also have a certain accuracy in archery at night, which is not inferior to the vast majority of the main force of the Jianzhou Army. And the shooting of bows and arrows at night was clearly more beneficial to the side of the defense that was covered by sufficient fortifications.

More and more figures flashed and launched attacks that seemed to have a certain scale, but they did not make much of a difference in front of those who were generally able to use a strong bow with more than one stone force to defend and fight. At a distance of about twenty paces, the archers of the brigade were often able to pass the attacking opponents, even if they could not guarantee a good chance of hitting the enemy's cheeks or weak points. Although the artillery fire, which was covered by fortifications, often attracted a continuous rain of arrows from the enemy at night, few people were killed or wounded.

It is clear that it is impossible to prepare for the defeat of the current teaching brigade and even the Forces nouvelles in a night raid by means of a skirmish assault alone.

More and more of the main forces of the Jianzhou army gradually gathered from a distance, and began to cover with shields, approaching a position not far from the firelight, and launched a confrontation with the officers and men of the teaching brigade. The heavy, seemingly slanted shield seemed to be an ordinary three-two-bullet firebolt, and it seemed difficult to effectively threaten.

It was at this moment that a continuous artillery bombardment began, from side fire to projectiles, one after another to throw powerful shells into the positions where the enemy had been revealed.

However, with the help of the shield cover, the infantry of the Jianjun Army who surrounded them from all sides seemed to have broken through to the front-line position, and fell into a white-knuckle battle with the officers and men of the teaching brigade on the front line. If in the past, this seemed to have been the shortcoming of teaching brigade officers and soldiers, but after more than a year and a half of training, it seems to be completely different. Although there is a real lack of strong elites in melee hand-to-hand combat, and several times the opponent has broken through the outer defense line, the large array at night seems to have hidden fortresses everywhere to support their side, and has a certain depth of defense system.

However, Xiao Xuan recalled the scene when he clashed with the elite of Jianzhou near the border pass in the past, but he still felt that such a battle situation seemed a little strange. Whether it is in terms of the number of troops or the number of elite inputs, it is not at all like the offensive energy that the main force of the Jianzhou Army poured into the front line. Moreover, many gunners who are common in the Jianzhou army seem to be exposed to a small proportion.

Because it was close to dawn, Xiao Xuan's heart was a little relieved. If he fought with the main force of the Jianzhou Army during the day, then Xiao Xuan was confident that at this time, when there was no shortage of troops and firepower, it would not seem difficult for the whole army to resist the opponent's attack and return to the city.

Just as it was just about dawn, a series of explosions suddenly rang out one after another from multiple directions. It's like rolling thunder coming from all directions. The dense explosion did not last long, only a short time of about ten seconds. However, many officers and soldiers, including Xiao Xuan, began to realize that the plan of the main force of the Jianzhou Army was to use a tentative attack to determine the location of the enemy formation before launching a blasting attack.

(End of chapter)