Chapter 1248: Stability and Decisive Battle (II)
Li Jing gave an order, the war drums rumbled, and the red and blue flags danced on the command platform, which was the order for an arc attack, and the Zhou army suddenly launched, only to see the two bottom corners of the triangular formation separate to both sides, forming two arcs, just like the two horns of argali. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info
The army of 40,000 formed two black surging frenzy, each of which was several miles wide, under the leadership of the generals Luo Cheng and Lai Tao, they killed Li Shimin's left and right wings, the spears and knives were dense like a forest, and the soldiers ran hard against the heavy rain, and the momentum was tragic and surging, so that the heaven and the earth also changed color.
At the same time, the muffled horn of the Zhou army sounded, and the 7,000 cavalry deployed on Li Shimin's left flank, led by the tiger general Shi Hengbo, suddenly launched an attack, and they rushed towards the flank of the crossbowmen.
Heavy rain suddenly fell in the sky, which made Li Shimin's face change greatly, the bow and crossbow could not be used in the rain, and the bow and crossbow array he discharged was invalid, Li Shimin was in a hurry, and hurriedly ordered: "General Changsun meets the enemy cavalry on the flank and covers the retreat of the bow and crossbow army!" ”
A 10,000-strong Tang army spearmen under the leadership of the general Sun Shunde went to meet the cavalry of the Zhou army who killed from the side, the two sides were getting closer and closer, the tips of the spears were shining, the momentum was galloping, Luo Cheng shouted, "Divide the troops!" ”
Adjutant General Shi Hengbo galloped northward, and two thousand cavalry followed him around the Tang army's forward, and quickly killed the retreating crossbow army.
Hundreds of Tang Army crossbowmen rolled and fell to the ground under the powerful impact of the cavalry, and in an instant, the heads were rolling, blood was splashing, the wailing sounded, the knives and spears were stabbed, the war horses collided, the war horses galloped wildly in the crowd, the crossbow army could not use bows and arrows in the rain, they could not resist the extremely sharp cavalry of the Zhou army, and the formation of the eight thousand bow and crossbow army was torn apart.
The other 5,000 cavalry of the Zhou Army collided with the 10,000 spear army led by Changsun Shunde under the leadership of Luo Cheng.
At this time, the 40,000 main forces of the Zhou army arrived, overwhelmingly rushing towards the Tang army, Li Shimin had already prepared, and coldly ordered: "The two wings are facing each other!" ”
After all, the Tang army commanded by Li Shimin was also one of the strongest armies in the world, well-trained, 20,000 pikemen and 4,000 cavalry formed a large array of spearmen and cavalry, and under the leadership of the right wing generals Wu Yunzhao and Liu Xiang, they met the 20,000 Zhou Dynasty infantry who were the first to kill.
Heavy rain fell from the sky, destroying Li Shimin's deployment of the bow and crossbow army, so that the 20,000 infantry on the left flank of the Zhou Dynasty army were unimpeded and unhindered, and the 20,000 spearmen were like a surging wave, led by Hu Benlang to the future, and they launched a stormy attack on the spearmen from all directions.
The spearmen array was a sharp weapon trained by Li Shimin to deal with the cavalry of the Zhou Dynasty, a bit similar to the Macedonian legion in the West, mainly using the collective strength to use a two-zhang long spear against the cavalry, and the flanks were their weak point, so there were 2,000 cavalry guards on each side.
Li Jing saw the weakness of the Tang army, and hurriedly sent someone to tell the former army commander Su Dingfang, who ordered loudly: "Concentrate on attacking the cavalry on the left!" ”
The 10,000 Zhou Dynasty spearmen attacked like a tide, launching a fierce and stormy offensive, attacking the left guard cavalry wave after wave.
The summer of June was mostly showers, and after a short period of heavy rain, the rain cleared and the sun shone on the earth again.
The 20,000 infantry of the former army led by Su Dingfang was blocked by the 3,000 crossbow army sent by Li Shimin, and the Zhou army shouted that the sound of killing shook the sky, and they marched forward bravely and swept towards the Tang army, they held a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, and fiercely attacked the enemy's position in the face of the dense rain of arrows.
One hundred and twenty paces, the crossbowmen of the Tang army began to release arrows, and the overwhelming rain of arrows shot head-on to the soldiers of the Zhou Dynasty, and the soldiers of the Zhou army were shot over, but the rolling army was still like a black tide, surging, covering the Tang army.
In the-for-tat, Li Jing also sent 5,000 Zhou crossbowmen to shoot at the enemy's position, and they used the chain box crossbow improved by the Ordnance Supervisor last year, that is, a wooden box was installed on the crossbow body, a box of twelve crossbow arrows, after a crossbow arrow was fired, it could automatically fall on the launch slot, and the soldiers pulled the string at a very fast speed.
A burst of crossbow arrows shot towards the enemy like locusts, and a large number of Tang soldiers were also shot over, at this time Luo Cheng's army finally rushed to the front of the Tang army, the Tang army crossbowmen put down their bows and arrows one after another, and ran backwards, Xue Wanche led 10,000 troops to meet the battle, followed by 5,000 sword and shield troops, fighting together from the side.
'Boom! There was a loud bang on the ground, and the two armies collided like two mighty waves, and in an instant the murderous spirit confused people's eyes, the soldiers struck each other, the armor collided, and there was a sonorous sound, and the two armies fought fiercely together, shouting and screaming, and the heads fell to the ground, and the blood flowed like rivers, and the war was so cruel that the lives of the soldiers were as humble as grass at this moment.
A Zhou soldier screamed, his head was split in half by an axe, blood and brains splashed everywhere, two burly soldiers fell to the ground together, the Zhou soldier held the other party down, grabbed an arrow from the ground, aimed at his forehead and eyes and poked it with an arrow, the other party choked and died on the ground.
But no matter how fierce the battle between the left and right flanks was, Li Shimin's 10,000 Chinese troops remained unmoved, and there were 10,000 rear troops three miles behind him, led by Hou Junji, who were responsible for guarding the grain, grass and baggage.
And the Zhou army also pressed 50,000 troops, and the commander Li Jing also had 30,000 troops who did not fight, specifically against Li Shimin's Chinese army.
At this time, Li Shimin showed a smile on his face, the Tang army fought very methodically, better than he expected, a year of hard training finally took effect, they were weak and strong, and did not fall behind, he had already seen that his infantry strength was slightly better than the Zhou Dynasty army, and it was 50,000 troops against 80,000 troops, no matter what, they must not lose this battle.
Li Jing smiled coldly and ordered: "Order General Pei to attack!" ”
Several rockets took off into the air, and in just a moment, the northern earth began to shake, and the dust was flying, and the Tang army immediately felt it, and a personal soldier beside Li Shimin shouted in shock: "Your Highness, look!" ”
He pointed to the northeast, his face was full of horror, Li Shimin had already seen it, he was surprised in his heart, only to see a cavalry from the northern woods, overwhelming, about 30,000 people, waving the flag, the momentum was terrifying, and the swift and incomparably killed his own rear army, headed by the general under the crotch of the treasure horse jade lion, holding an eight-edged bright silver hammer, wearing an eagle helmet, flying red, handsome and handsome, peerless elegance, it was the world-famous fierce general Pei Xingyan.
Li Shimin was so shocked that he took a few steps back, and there was a burst of despair in his heart, Pei Xingyan actually killed, he felt the pressure like a mountain, Li Shimin tried his best to stabilize his mind, waved his long sword, and shouted: "General Xue Wanjun, you can lead five thousand Xuanjia cavalry to meet the battle!" ”
When Xue Wanjun heard Li Shimin's order, he immediately raised the horn and blew it, and dozens of horn players blew it together, 'Woo-'
Xue Wanjun waved his spear and led five thousand Xuanjia iron cavalry to rush away against the opponent's cavalry.
Five thousand Xuanjia iron cavalry is a heavy armored cavalry, the horse is covered with armor, can resist bows and arrows, the cavalry is selected from tens of thousands of Tang troops, all of them are outstanding in martial arts, well-equipped, become the most elite cavalry of the Tang Army, generally rarely fight, but suffered a loss of 2,000 people in the first battle of Changwu City, and later re-replenished.
But today, Li Shimin was afraid of Pei Xingyan's army that came by accident, especially Pei Xingyan's 8,000 trapped camp cavalry was extremely brave and could not be underestimated, Li Shimin finally ordered the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry to fight.
The five thousand Xuanjia iron cavalry galloped at a high speed, like a powerful iron stream, and instantly rushed to Pei Xingyan's trapped cavalry with murderous energy, 'Boom! There was an earth-shattering bang, and the cavalry collided with each other, producing a powerful impact that knocked hundreds of cavalry on both sides to the ground.
Pei Xingyan lay in ambush in the woods in the north, and kept his troops still, eyeing him like a beast, waiting for an opportunity to raid behind the Tang army, and when the Zhou army and the Tang army fought to a stalemate, he received an order from Li Jing to attack.
30,000 cavalry soldiers are divided into two ways, the most elite 8,000 trapped cavalry to meet 5,000 Xuanjia cavalry, so that the 22,000 cavalry outside surround the Tang rear army from all directions, the cavalry killing fiercely, extremely brave, in an instant into the rear army ranks, the Tang soldiers chopped and stabbed, for a while the ground was full of stumps and broken bodies, bloody and pungent, choking out of breath.
Although the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry was extremely brave, they still did not have the upper hand in front of the equally elite trap cavalry, and the two sides killed people on their backs, and the blood flowed like a torrent.
Xue Wanjun couldn't help but be annoyed and angry, he roared, rushed forward on his horse, brandished the horse lance and stabbed quickly, and assassinated dozens of people in a row, and the rest of the Zhou cavalry saw that he was brave and abnormal, and retreated one after another, Xue Wanjun saw that the enemy was afraid, so he didn't need to laugh, he didn't laugh, Pei Xingyan killed from the oblique stab.
He double-hit the silver hammer, as heavy as Mount Tai, and Xue Wanjun raised his lance to block, 'Dang! With a loud bang, the lance was smashed away, Xue Wanjun turned the horse and left, Pei Xingyan hit a backhand hammer, which was smashing on the back of his head, and Xue Wanjun died tragically and fell off the horse.
The main general was killed, the Xuanjia cavalry began to be exhausted, and gradually there was a sign of defeat, the rear army was defeated by 20,000 cavalry assault, and it was completely defeated, and the main general Hou Junji also died in the chaos.
At the same time, there was also a crisis on the right flank of the Tang army, the two thousand cavalry guards on the left side of the spearman array were assassinated by the spearmen of the Zhou Dynasty, revealing the left side of the spearman array, which was the weakness of the spearman array, Luo Cheng, who had broken into the hinterland of the Tang army, led five thousand cavalry to kill, and he roared, "Hit the left side of the spearman array!" ”
The cavalry of the five thousand Zhou army surged up, the impact was like a storm, and they rushed away from the spearmen in an instant, and the spearmen array, which had been killed and wounded and attacked by the bows and arrows of the Zhou army, finally could not hold on, and the formation was in chaos, showing signs of collapse.
At this time, the trumpet sounded again in the distance, the drums of the Zhou army were like thunder, Li Jing gave the order for the final attack, he personally led the 30,000 most elite Zhou army, shouting and killing shook the sky, like a violent wind blowing under the dark clouds, swept towards Li Shimin's Chinese army.
And Pei Xingyan's 30,000 cavalry also defeated the rear army and the Xuanjia cavalry, 30,000 cavalry came from behind, Pei Xingyan wielded a silver hammer and was even more unstoppable, killing the Tang soldiers on their backs, and the formation was in chaos.
The Tang army was attacked by the enemy on the back of the abdomen, Duan Zhixuan saw that the situation was not good, and immediately rushed forward and shouted to Li Shimin: "Your Highness, we must withdraw quickly now, otherwise, our army will be completely annihilated!" ”
Li Shimin's face turned pale, he gritted his teeth fiercely, and shouted: "Withdraw the troops to the southeast immediately!" ”
Li Jing's army arrived, 3,000 guards surrounded Li Shimin to the southeast to withdraw, with Pei Xingyan leading 30,000 cavalry from the northeast to kill, the two armies attacked from the east and west, the morale of the Tang army suffered a heavy setback, the spearmen first collapsed, and then the Tang army on the left flank also quickly retreated north under the leadership of Changsun Shunde, and the Tang army was defeated like a mountain.
"Kill!"
The shouts of the Zhou Dynasty army shook the sky, their morale was greatly boosted, and they chased the enemy army to cover up and kill, and the defeated soldiers who were crushed by the black pressure fled for their lives, they trampled on each other, suffocated, and trampled to death.
Not far from the south is the Wei River, the river is about five zhang wide, there was originally a wooden bridge, but it fell into disrepair for a long time, and soon it was crowded and collapsed by the defeated army, and the defeated soldiers had nowhere to escape, and they jumped into the river and swam in the water.
Many Tang troops did not know the nature of the water, thousands of people drowned in the river, the corpses blocked the river, the human pillow, the corpses piled up like a mountain, and a bridge of corpses was formed, and the defeated soldiers behind stepped on the corpses of their companions and fled to the opposite bank, only to hear moans, screams, and cries, everything was like madness, horror and chaos.
But they couldn't escape far, they were chased and surrounded by 30,000 cavalry led by Pei Xingyan, and all the resisters were killed, and in the end, tens of thousands of desperate Tang troops had to kneel and kowtow and beg for mercy.
Only Li Shimin's 3,000 personal guards, all of whom were cavalry, were able to escape and fled to the southeast in a hurry.
At this time, Luo Shixin also led an army of 50,000 to kill from the east, he happened to meet Qin Qiong's family team, Luo Shixin persuaded Qin Qiong to surrender in front of the battle, but Qin Qiong was ashamed and did not answer, Luo Shixin believed in the old, so he let Qin Qiong and his family team go, Qin Qiong escorted his family to Liangyuan County, twenty miles away.
When his family entered the city, Qin Qiong immediately led 3,000 troops to rescue Li Shimin, just in response to Li Shimin's 3,000 defeated army, and the two armies joined forces and withdrew to Yuanliang County.
In this battle, the Tang army was almost completely annihilated, the generals Changsun Shunde, Duan Zhixuan and Hou Junji all died in the chaos, Wu Yunzhao was captured by the arrow, and Xue Wanche was also captured by Luo Chengsheng.
Li Shimin only had 6,000 troops left, besieged in the small county of Liangyuan, and in desperation, Li Shimin sent an eagle letter to Li Shentong for help.