It didn't take long for Yang Peng to hear the news, saying that Cheng Shijie and Zhan Jinguo both said that the matchmaker was successful and got married! Yang Peng secretly applauded. It seems that Cheng Shijie's leading role is playing a good role, which makes his singles anxious. Now that these officers are engaged, they will be more calm in leading troops to fight in the future. That's the good news.

At the end of August, Yang Peng drove all 12,000 tiger teachers to the school to test the results of the training. Today, Yang Peng has more than 10,000 soldiers, and he still divides these soldiers into four regiments, each of which has six battalions, that is, 3,000 people in each regiment. After recruiting 10,000 recruits in February, Yang Peng arranged the recruits into a separate recruit class, which was convenient for the unified management of the recruit class and basic training. Li Zhi also mixed the recruit squad and the veteran squad at the platoon level, which would help the veterans pass on their experience to the recruits and improve their combat effectiveness.

Recruits spent the day training in formation, shooting, and marching, and at night resting in the barracks. Veterans who have been on the battlefield have relatively easy training during the day, and they still have spare energy, so they go to the school set up by Li Zhi to learn literacy at night. By now, the veterans have learned a lot of words. Eight thousand literate soldiers are an armed force that has never been seen before in this era.

Yang Peng is currently equipped with 2,000 cavalry: these cavalry are composed of 1,500 veterans of the Selective Regiment, and 500 veterans of other regiments who have been in the army for three years. These veterans have been practicing fighting for three or four years, and their fighting skills are already very proficient, comparable to those of other Song soldiers. Moreover, Yang Peng also equipped them with rifles and handcuffs, so that they could complete two shots before the intersecting of the short soldiers, so that they could defeat enemies several times their size.

These cavalry were led by Yang Qi, the head of the Xuanfeng Regiment. Yang Peng also armed two battalions of strong crossbowmen in the Xuanfeng Regiment. Seven of these crossbowmen operate one crossbow, and a thousand men are equipped with a total of one hundred and forty crossbows. There were originally 500 veterans in the Xuanfeng Battalion, and the new 500 soldiers were all veterans who had experienced battles. After half a year of training, the new 500 strong crossbowmen have been able to operate the crossbows proficiently.

A thousand crossbowmen were also armed with handcuffs. If the enemy rushes to the artillery, the crossbowman can kill the enemy with a handcuff. Artillery equipped with handcuffs is no longer afraid of the enemy's close combat, and morale is even higher. These strong crossbowmen were led by Xiang Danian, the second deputy commander of the Xuanfeng Regiment. Xiang Danian was the first batch of soldiers recruited by Yang Peng, and he was the first batch of people rescued by Yang Peng's family. He was gradually promoted to an officer because of his old seniority, and because of his courage in combat, he governed the army strictly, and the troops under his command had strong combat effectiveness. Yang Peng eventually promoted it to deputy regimental commander and became a senior regiment in charge of 1,000 artillery pieces.

On 23 August, half a year after the recruits entered the camp, the Tiger Ben Division showed their general, Yang Peng, the results of their training on the school grounds. The first was to enter in a procession, where the soldiers marched in unison and entered the school field from the west side of the school field as a company. When entering, the soldiers lined up in five columns, and when they reached the designated position, the team turned left and stopped at the front row of the school grounds. Twelve thousand soldiers entered in order, and not a single one of them fell off the chain by mistake.

This is followed by four regiments taking turns to demonstrate the changing formation. Three regiments walked out of the school yard, leaving one regiment to demonstrate on the school ground: as the command flag was unfurled in the middle of the school yard, the company commanders constantly adjusted their orders, so that the ranks of each company constantly changed their thickness—sometimes they became three columns, standing in a long line with other companies. Sometimes it becomes a five-row deep team, which forms a phalanx with other companies. Five rows of warriors stood on all four sides of the phalanx, and there were no flanks and rear to charge the enemy cavalry. Sometimes a five-row column or a four-row deep circle formation is formed, and in short, the formation is constantly changed according to the specific requirements of the battle.

Both recruits and veterans have been trained in queues for a long time and are very skilled when it comes to organizing formations. Seeing that the soldiers were well-trained to discharge various formations, Yang Peng stood on the high platform in front of the school field and nodded. Then show the salvo. The 2,000 cavalry of the Selective Regiment simulated the enemy's charge, and rushed towards the troops performing a salvo on horseback, stepping on the barren ground with the sound of rolling horses' hooves like thunder. The soldiers of each regiment calmly completed the reloading maneuver in the face of the pressure of the cavalry.

The crossbowman opens the arrow door, bites open the fixed arrow box, closes the mechanism, cleans the arrow chamber with a strip, bites open the fixed device, the flintlock gunner fills the chamber with granular gunpowder, compacts the granular gunpowder with a strip, loads the conical bullet into the chamber, and presses the bullet into the chamber with the strip. After loading the bullets, the soldiers, on the orders of the platoon commander, moved the ranks and fired into the sky.

After shooting, the soldier immediately moved a step to the right, turned and walked to the back, and walked to the back of the line to reload again. And the soldiers of the second platoon quickly walked to the firing position and fired a salvo into the sky. All four regiments successfully completed the salvo, and with the exception of one recruit, who was a little nervous and knocked down another recruit behind him as he shot back, no one else made a mistake with the nine thousand riflemen.

Yang Peng was very satisfied with the performance of the recruits and said, "Not bad, good practice!" Duan Zhixian said with a smile: "These soldiers practice for six hours a day, and they have been practicing for half a year, even if they are fools, they are also proficient!" Yang Peng smiled and nodded. The next step is to check the target hit rate. Nine thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry drove to the shooting range, each firing three shots. After hitting the target for two hours, the final report was as follows: The target rate of the veterans on the 200-meter target against the humanoid target was 9 out of 9, and the target rate of the new recruits was 9 out of 9.

The soldiers' target hit rate was close to 100 percent, and even if they were a little nervous on the battlefield, they still had a 70 to 80 percent hit rate on a target of 200 meters. This kind of accuracy is enough to make the Tiger Benshi proud of other armies of this era. Yang Peng's recruits shoot ten shots a day, and every three months they have to practice a rifle until it is scrapped, and they need to be rebuilt. The veterans practice a little less, but they also have to scrap a rifle a year. It wasn't a rifle that burned, it burned silver. Which of the other troops of this era has such an intensity of training?

The strength of the Tiger Master is trained by one shot at a time. Finally, there was the demonstration of crossbow shooting: 140 crossbows were lined up at the test firing range and fired at targets 800 meters away. With the help of gauges, rulers, and meters of moment, the crossbowmen only missed the target by a few meters in their first shot, and the second shot hit a circular target area with a diameter of five meters.

The crossbowmen also demonstrated the Extreme Speed Shotgun Shooting, which prevented the crossbowmen from cooling the barrels or pushing the ballista back into place when the enemy rushed closer, and instead of aiming with instruments such as gauges, the seven men worked together to reload the arrows as quickly as possible and shoot them at the cluster of enemies that rushed to the front. Yang Peng stood behind the strong crossbow and estimated, under such extremely fast firing conditions, the strong crossbow could shoot a round of shotgun in seventeen or eight seconds.

If the enemy's cavalry charged into formation, they could only charge 200 meters in seventeen or eight seconds. That is to say, Yang Peng's artillery can give two shotgun strikes to the enemy's cavalry charging at extreme speed. Shotguns are a dozen blockbusters, and it is very scary to be hit by two rounds of shotguns in one charge. Yang Peng was very satisfied with the training results of the recruits and veterans, and said loudly: "The practice is good. ”

The sound of the Chinese military drum sounded, symbolizing the encouragement of the city lord Yang Peng to the soldiers! Twelve thousand soldiers, inspired, shouted: "Wan Sheng!

On September 27, Zhang Yan arrived in Tianjing New Town in Youzhou with an urgent 300-mile contract: the Khitan army entered Cyprus and the military situation was urgent. The Khitan soldiers pressed the border, Yang Peng did not dare to slack off, and immediately took action to mobilize troops and horses, preparing to go to Yingzhou.

In the early morning of September 28, the second year of Xianping, when Zhang Xiang was busy packing his luggage, Yang Paifeng sat on the side with his son Zhang Huan in his arms and watched, and cried when he watched it. Zhang Xiang hurriedly hugged Yang Paifeng and said with a smile: "Don't cry, don't cry!" Yang Paifeng sobbed and said, "Why do you want to be transferred to other places to fight?" What should I do if I lose? ”

Zhang Xiang said with a smile: "You won't lose, what a powerful person your husband is, how can he lose?" Yang Paifeng wiped a handful of tears and said, "What if? There are so many Khitan troops, and you only have 10,000 people. And the Khitan soldiers are so fierce, if they rush into your military formation, many people will die! After thinking about it, Yang Paifeng cried more and more, and said: "I fought the Khitan soldiers the year before last, I went to fight the bandits last year, and I want to fight the Khitan again this year!" If you have to fight every year, you can't live a peaceful life for a year! ”

"Under the nest, how can there be eggs?" Zhang Xiang helped Yang Paifeng wipe his tears and said: "Don't be afraid, I will accept it when I see it, if I can't beat it, I will lead the troops to escape back to Tianjing New Town, okay!" Yang Paifeng's eyes lit up and said, "Okay, if the situation is not right, you can't be a deserter, it's shameful!" ”

Zhang Xiang nodded and said, "Don't worry, your husband wants to save the country, and he won't die on the battlefield." Yang Paifeng stopped crying and watched Zhang Xiang pack his luggage blankly. Zhang Xiang simply packed his luggage, and the soldiers walked in and helped Zhang Xiang carry his luggage to the carriage outside the official hall. Yang Paifeng hugged his son and followed behind Yang Paifeng, and also followed him to the door of the official hall step by step, feeling aggrieved.

At the entrance of the official hall, the master Lin Qing'er was already standing there with the maid, saw Yang Peng, and said: "My son, be careful on the battlefield, don't be injured by the sword!" Yang Peng smiled: "Master rest assured!" I'll be careful. Yang Peng's news has spread, and the entrance of the official hall is full of onlookers at this time. Seeing Yang Peng turn over and get on the horse, the crowd erupted in cheers.

"Kill the Khitan dog!" "The city lord is the nemesis of the Khitan!" "The city lord must kill the Khitan dog this time!"

Zhan Jinguo, who was arranged by Yang Peng to stay in Tianjing New Town, came up and said, "Big brother, what if the Khitan soldiers attack Tianjing New Town? "Yang Peng brought out 10,000 soldiers and horses this time, and left more than 2,000 soldiers to stay in Tianjing New Town, commanded by Zhan Jinguo. The soldiers who stayed in Tianjing New City were veterans drawn from the other three regiments other than the Xuanfeng Regiment, plus more than 200 auxiliaries and more than 100 crossbowmen, and there were 2,400 defenders in Tianjing New Town. The ravines outside the city of Tianjing New City are full of traps, even if the Khitan army leads a large army to attack, these soldiers and horses should have no problem holding Tianjing New City for ten days.

Yang Peng said: "Remember, if more than 5,000 Khitan people attack the city, report to me quickly, and I will definitely lead my troops back to help." Zhan Jinguo said: "Okay, I know! Yang Peng bowed to the crowd of onlookers and rode towards the south of the city. Halfway through the ride, Shen Yuji, a surgeon waiting on the road, rode over with more than 20 apprentices. Shen Yuji went out with the army to work as a military doctor this time, but he was obviously not used to riding a horse, and he looked very nervous about holding the reins on his horse.

Yang Peng arched his hand to Shen Yuji and said, "This expedition will trouble Mr. Shen and the disciples!" Shen Yuji said: "During the three months in Tianjing New Town, Shen learned too much knowledge from the general, and it was really an enlightenment. Relying on the general's guidance, Shen can be regarded as a beginner in medical skills. Thinking about it, the former Shen was really a country boy! The city lord can be said to be Shen's reinvention mentor, what's the trouble? ”

Yang Peng smiled and led the group to the south military camp of Tianjing New Town. Walking to the south of the city, the soldiers in the barracks and the temporarily hired baggage men had already lined up, and as soon as they saw Yang Peng coming, they marched in line and merged into Yang Peng's team. 10,000 soldiers carried bags and rifles on their backs, and followed behind Yang Peng majestically. They took 3,000 heavy people, 3,000 heavy carts and 140 crossbow carts, and followed Yang Peng to the south gate.

When I arrived at the south gate, I found that the inside and outside of the city gate were already crowded with people who were seeing Yang Peng off. The people held rice wine and well water to see Li Zhi off. "City Lord, kill a few more Khitan dogs for us and other people this time!" "Drive the Khitan out of the fortress!" "Let the Khitan dog have no return!"

The people who saw off their brothers or sons were crowded outside the city gates, and the relatives of the soldiers were either in high spirits, full of anticipation, or worried. They couldn't walk into the ranks of soldiers, they just kept waving their hands and watched their brothers and sons go to battle from afar.

Shen Yuji looked at the people who saw them off, and took a breath, and the army suddenly sang a military song: "Looking at Shenzhou, the people are suffering, and the fertile land is barren for thousands of miles." Look at the world, as much as you want, and make up for the defects of heaven. Good boy, don't be a parent, just for the common people, not for the lord. Holding a steel knife of ninety-nine, kill all Hu Erfang and stop. ”

Yang Peng laughed and said: "Good song, sing well, kill all Hu Erfang!" Yang Peng waved his hand and shouted: "Go out!" The horn of the Chinese army sounded, and 10,000 soldiers and horses released scouts and marched towards Yizhou in a neat formation.

After walking for six days, the messenger sent by Yang Peng to Yingzhou sent news that he was close to Yingzhou, and he felt a solemn atmosphere of imminent war. The Khitan army had apparently attacked the outskirts of Yingzhou. Many villages were plundered by the Khitan army, and people and animals were plundered, and they were deserted. Some barns and houses were set on fire by the Khitan army, leaving only a ruined wall.

The vicinity of Yingzhou was plundered by the Khitan twice in two years and was in dilapidation. Yang Peng released a thousand scouts to carefully investigate the military situation of the Qing army nearby, hoping to insert it from an area where there was no Khitan army.

Hua Zhang, the commander of the first platoon of the fourth company of the third battalion of the Election Regiment, took a platoon of thirty soldiers to hide on a hill, hiding in the bushes at the top of the hill, and observing the surrounding enemy situation with binoculars. Hua Zhang led his troops deep into the west of the Yingzhou River this time, and entered the Khitan army camp fifty miles away to spy on the Khitan army's soldiers and horses. The area around the hill was already under the control of the Khitan army, and from time to time small groups of Khitan troops galloped back and forth. Those Khitan troops were all one or two hundred people, and a platoon of thirty people in Huazhang couldn't beat them, so they could only hide on the top of the mountain and peep.

Hua Zhang looked at it with a telescope for a while, and scolded: "The thief is dead, so many people are here from the Khitan army!" A squad leader said next to him: "I'm afraid that 50,000 people from the Khitan came? Another squad leader said, "Fifty thousand people have this momentum? I see 100,000 Khitan soldiers! Everyone was discussing there, but they saw another team of Khitans coming in the distance. Hua Zhang saw clearly in the binoculars that the Khitan team was led by a heavily armored Fendepashiku, with about one hundred and fifty people. These Khitans were all on horseback, and there were more than 30 people with two horses, which looked very elite. This group of Khitans came from the north, walked to the hill where Huazhang was located, and suddenly stopped.

As if he had discovered something, he shouted a few times, and sent ten one-horse foot armor up the hill to search for it. Hua Zhang shouted violently: "It's been discovered!" Walk! Escaped! He shouted at the soldiers to mount their horses and flee, and then jumped on his horse himself and fled south. The other soldiers saw the platoon commander taking the lead and fled south one by one.

The Khitan soldiers under the mountain saw that there was indeed a Song army on the mountain, shouted loudly, and instigated the military horses to chase after them. The horse's hooves rolled, raising countless smoke and dust. Thirty soldiers of the Election Regiment and more than a hundred Khitans chased after each other on the land of Yingzhou. The scouts of the selection regiment are all one person and two horses, and they can change horses when they have no strength to ride for a while. Moreover, they rode all the fine war horses that had been screened, and their endurance was far stronger than that of ordinary pack horses, and they rode fast. And there were many auxiliary soldiers and followers among those Khitan soldiers, and only half of the more than 100 people rode war horses, and the remaining half could only be regarded as pack horses, and could not catch up with the fast horses of the soldiers of the Xuanfeng Regiment.

After chasing ten miles, the Khitan team was already out of touch: more than sixty vests and infantry armor riding war horses rushed in front, biting more than a mile away from the scouts of the Election Regiment. The auxiliaries and followers on pack horses lagged behind the group, more than two miles away from the elite in front.

Hua Zhang looked back at the disjointed Khitan soldiers, and his eyes lit up. He slowed down his horse and shouted, "Stop!" Fight! The soldiers on the run were stunned, not knowing why the platoon commander didn't run away again. But several squad leaders are veterans of the years and know how to obey orders. They rode around to gather the stragglers, shouting, "Stop the horses and fight!" ”

In the shouting of the squad leader, the thirty veterans of the selection regiment stopped their horses and gradually gathered around Hua Zhang. They removed their rifles from their backs and began to load them, ready for the onslaught of the Tartar armourers. Not only did they load their rifles, but they also loaded the bullets and gunpowder with the handcuffs attached to their belts, ready to draw and shoot at any time.

The first squad leader looked at the menacing Khitan horse armor three hundred meters away, thought for a while and said, "The platoon commander is smart!" These more than 60 vest infantry armors are out of touch with the auxiliaries behind them, and they just happened to kill us platoons! Hua Zhang nodded and said, "Raise your gun and aim!" ”

More than 30 veterans raised their rifles on horseback and aimed at the more than 60 Khitan soldiers who rushed over. When the Khitan soldiers saw the Song army running fast with one person and two horses, they thought they couldn't catch up, but they didn't expect the Song army to stop. The Khitan soldiers were overjoyed and rushed forward with horned bows.

At a distance of three hundred meters, two hundred and fifty meters, and two hundred meters, the Khitan soldiers entered the range of their rifles, and Hua Zhang aimed at the heavily armored Fende Paishku, and shouted: "Shoot!" Thirty-one rifles erupted in flames, pouring thirty-one bullets into the Khitan cavalry two hundred meters away. The Khitan infantry soldiers in the front row seemed to have hit a wall and fell down one after another. Blood splattered from their bodies, their internal organs were crushed by bullets, and they no longer had the strength to grasp the reins, and they fell under their horses.

Their corpses on the ground turned into an obstacle, tripping over the two horses behind them. The twelve double-armored horsemen were also shot, but the kinetic energy of the bullets weakened after the bullets pierced through the iron-plated cotton armor and chain mail, and did not cause them much damage. The three-layer heavy armor was also hit by Hua Zhang, but the Mini bullet didn't break through his three-layer armor, only made him pause on horseback.

The Khitan was slammed and stunned, and stopped his horse beside the eleven fallen foot armor and hesitated for a while. However, the allotted Paishku was still unwilling to let go of the thirty Song soldiers, and shouted loudly: "Song's firearms can only be shot once, rush up and shoot them with bows and arrows." ”

The remaining fifty Khitan soldiers, encouraged by their leader, threw down the corpses of their infantry armor on the ground and continued to rush towards the soldiers of the Xuanfeng Regiment two hundred meters away. At this moment when the Khitan rushed over, the cavalry of the Selective Front Regiment loaded their ammunition as quickly as possible, and wanted to load their ammunition before the Tartar soldiers rushed in front of them. These veterans of the Strike Selection Regiment are all veterans who have been training for four years, and they are familiar with their rifles, and they can load their bullets in only 16 or 7 seconds. When the Khitan soldiers rushed to a distance of sixty meters, the soldiers of the Xuanfeng Regiment did not wait for Hua Zhang's order to shoot freely at the Tatar soldiers who pressed over.

At a distance of 60 meters, the soldiers of the Selective Front Regiment had an astonishing hit rate, and they could hit nine out of ten shots. Moreover, flintlock bullets using granular gunpowder are extremely lethal at 60 meters, and even double armor and triple armor cannot prevent it. The thirty-one soldiers of the Elective Regiment crackled and fired a bullet, killing more than 20 Khitan soldiers in the middle of the charge.

The Khitans were stunned all of a sudden, why was the firepower of these thirty Song troops so fierce? Two layers of armor can't stop their bullets? In just a short period of time, the Song army has killed nearly forty warriors, where did this strong army come from? More than sixty Khitan sub-infantry armors and vests rushed into battle, and in the blink of an eye, there were only more than 20 people left. Without waiting for the Khitan to react, the scouts of the Elective Regiment began to charge. They galloped towards the Khitan, pulling out the handcuffs from their belts in the sprint.

"Kill the Khitan dog!" Seeing that the soldiers of the Ming army rushed forward bravely, the Khitan soldiers pulled up their bows and arrows in a panic and shot at the soldiers of the Xuanfeng Regiment who rushed up. The bows and arrows fired by the Khitan soldiers while charging were not accurate, and only five or six of the more than twenty arrows hit the soldiers of the Selection-Forward Regiment. Moreover, the soldiers of the Election Regiment wore chain mail, and even if they were shot, the bow and arrow would not shoot deep into the body after breaking through the chain mail of the Election Regiment. As long as they were not shot at the vital point, the bows and arrows of the Khitan soldiers would not cause much trauma to the soldiers.

Only two soldiers of the Elective Regiment lost their combat effectiveness: one of them was shot in the left chest by a Khitan soldier's bow and arrow, broke his heart, and fell under his horse. Another soldier was shot in the face and crawled on his horse's back in severe pain, which was considered a serious injury and completely incapacitated.

The horses on both sides sprinted, and the distance was pulled to twenty meters in a blink of an eye, and before the Khitan soldiers could shoot the second arrow, the soldiers of the Selector Regiment opened fire with their handcuffs. Only a crackling sound was heard, and the remaining twenty or so Khitan soldiers were almost completely wiped out at once. The armor-piercing ability of the handcuff at twenty meters is very strong, and no matter how many layers of armor you wear, you will be pierced by one shot. About sixteen or seventeen Khitan soldiers fell in a pool of blood, including the three-layer heavy armor Fendeshi Ku, who also fell under his horse with a scream.

In the end, only six Khitan soldiers in the back row were still alive. These six Khitan soldiers witnessed the complete annihilation of the more than 60 horsemen and infantry teams by this Song army, and at this time they were surrounded by 30 veterans of the Xuanfeng Regiment. Hua Zhang commanded his soldiers to reload their rifles and shoot at the six fleeing Khitan troops. The six Khitan soldiers fled to more than 100 meters, and their bodies were slammed, and they were beaten into a hornet's nest by thirty rifles.

In just half a cup of tea, more than 60 main forces of the Khitan army were all killed. Seeing that the limelight was not right, the Khitan army auxiliaries a mile away turned their horses around and fled, fleeing without entering the battle. Hua Chang asked the soldiers to treat several soldiers who had been wounded by arrows. Although the bows and arrows of the Khitan soldiers are poisoned by horse dung, if the injury is not deep, as long as the arrows are pulled out in time to prevent the arrow poison from spreading in the flesh and skin, it will not cause serious injuries.

In this skirmish, Hua Zhang's men annihilated sixty-three Khitan soldiers and horse armor infantry at the cost of one death and one serious injury. Although he lost two brothers, Hua Zhang's great feats still made him very excited. Hua Chang jumped off his horse and searched among the fallen Tartar soldiers, and caught seven wounded alive. Hua Zhang was overjoyed: if he got alive, he would have the intelligence of the Khitan army.

After all, let's see how it will be broken down next time