"Toot toot toot! ~”

"Toot toot toot! ~”

"Toot toot!~"

The sharp whistles in the wilderness made the crazy Song army wake up a little.

Liu Chun, the general of the Song army, kept blowing the whistle and gathered the surrounding soldiers.

"Quick, count the number of people, and let the soldiers return to the team immediately."

"Yes."

The surrounding heralds hurriedly spread around.

Immediately after, it didn't take long for the Song army within a radius of about a kilometer around to gather in a hurry.

"You all come here and tell your soldiers that it is an emergency, and you should bring your own soldiers and follow me, can you?"

At present, the horn of the Song army is in the hands of the military level, and only at the level of Liu Chun can it be blown.

"We are Wang Zhongbao's subordinates of General Wang."

Liu Chun pointed in the direction of Xijin City and said: "There is a report from Malay, which is less than ten miles away from the city. ”

Seeing him say this, everyone had no choice but to respond.

After the reform of the forbidden army, from the original more than 2,000 battalions to more than 1,000, the largest organization is the left and right two compartments, of which five battalions are one army, ten armies are one compartment, and the left and right two compartments add up to 100,000 people.

The soldiers chased after them and shot everywhere.

Liu Chun suddenly felt a headache.

When everyone arrived, they found out that Liu Chun was not their main general at all.

"The main force of the Liao people has returned."

Because the order for the assembly of the whole army can only be issued by Fan Zhongyan, the sound of the horn can be transmitted within a radius of at least one kilometer, and after Fan Zhongyan is released, it will be transmitted to Zhang Kang, and then passed on by Zhang Kang layer by layer.

After learning that the main force of the Liao army had appeared, they could only use a whistle to attract the nearby Song army, and slowly gather the Song army, which had been broken up into a battalion, to the army level.

Therefore, these corps-level generals are often called in battalion-level combat units.

Liu Chun waved his hand impatiently and said: "Xianggong let us adapt to the situation, it doesn't mean that the main force of the Liao army is still unmoved, maybe Xianggong has his own considerations, but we must not do nothing, even if it is to gather the team around us first, and get closer to the past to watch the situation." ”

But they didn't dare to blow it.

"What about you?"

The Song army did not have the regiment system, and it was mainly based on battalions.

If it weren't for the hundreds of guards around him, he might have become a bare-bones commander.

"We are General He's subordinates."

Where are they now?

About 20 miles north of Xijin City, about in the area of Aobei Forest Park in Beijing in the later world, the surrounding forests were forested, and they pursued the Liao army here.

"Report, we are General Ma Hema's subordinates."

"If you ask me, how do I know."

Xianggong's military order to fight chaotically, killing the Liao people is cool.

"Confused!"

Knowing that he was inexplicably going to be under the jurisdiction of Liu Chun, some people were dissatisfied: "General Liu, we are not under the jurisdiction of your department, this is afraid."

"That"

The crowd was babbling.

Liu Chun said to the officers of the rest of the ministries.

But TM's army was all scattered, and he didn't know where his own troops and horses had gone.

Someone wondered: "Since the main force of the Liao army is here, why didn't the prime minister blow the horn and gather all the scattered soldiers around him to go back?" ”

This back and forth will definitely lead to the sound of the Song army's horn in the entire wilderness, and naturally the troops can be quickly called back.

The Song army has more than 100,000 troops, and now there are more than 100 battalions scurrying around in the wilderness, and there are not no smaller "capitals".

The problem was that Fan Zhongyan did not issue orders, and the high-ranking officers of the Song army did not have the authority to give orders on their own.

Someone hesitated: "Please also tell me the general, what is the urgent military situation?" ”

Therefore, the Song soldiers who were fighting in the field at this time actually didn't know what the current situation was.

Liu Chun said angrily: "Now is the time of the military emergency, everyone is the Song army, how can you not take the overall situation into account if you want to worry about the war?" What's more, if you look into it carefully, we are all under the command of Fan Xianggong. ”

After all these people were summoned, it was naturally the biggest governor who came to the meeting.

And situations like Liu Chun's are happening everywhere in the wilderness.

"What part are you from?"

The sky was getting dark, and because Fan Zhongyan had not sent someone to blow the horn to call the three armies, everyone continued to do their own things.

"We are He Bin and the general's subordinates."

So much so that thirty or forty miles to the north and thirty or forty miles to the northeast from Xijin City, the entire Liao army retreated on the road was full of Liao troops and pursuing Song troops who came and went.

The main force of the Liao people arrived with a swagger, and the Song scouts were not fools, so they would naturally report the situation to the surrounding senior generals.

Therefore, at this moment, except for some generals who chased too far or were more stupid and relied on their connections, most of the generals of the Song army within twenty miles of Xijin realized that something was wrong and began to do their best to gather the surrounding troops and horses.

Many generals of the Song army recruited other soldiers under their command, some gathered one or two thousand people, some gathered two or three thousand people, and the most was Guo Zun, who gathered more than seven thousand people.

In this way, the Song army, which had originally dispersed more than 100 troops, gathered in a short period of time, forming more than 30 large and small forces, with an average of about 3,000 people per unit, and some teams even had two or three military-level generals converging to form a group of deliberating what the current situation was.

The change in the situation on the Song army's side did not change the attitude of the Liao army, and it did not even cause alarm, because when the main force of the Liao army came, the Song troops encountered along the way also blew the whistle as soon as possible, and then fled in a hurry.

Therefore, even if the whistle sounded everywhere and the Liao army scouts had some reconnaissance, but on the side of the Liao army's high-level personnel, they could only judge that the Song army was a small-scale assembly, and the horn of the large-scale assembly could not be heard.

At this moment, the main force of Yelu Sect finally slowly arrived outside Xijin City.

It was already four o'clock in the evening, that is, more than eight o'clock in the evening, the sky was completely dark, the bright moonlight sprinkled the sky with silver glow, and the visibility of the field of vision was not good, and I could see the situation around about seven or eight meters.

The main forces of the Liao army are all carrying torches, like thick fire dragons. But compared to the fires in the city, it is a small thing.

After all, it was a fire in an area close to a square kilometer radius.

If it weren't for the fact that the west of Danfeng Gate is Yaochi and Guanyin Lake, and the east is Long Street, you can find a way to stop the fire, I am afraid that the entire Xijin City is already a sea of fire now.

"Report!"

The scout rushed in and reported to Yelu Zongzhen: "Our army has been blocked by the Song army near the city gate. ”

"Is it possible to find out what is going on in the city?"

Jerod asked.

"There was a constant sound of muskets in the city, as well as shouts of killing and screams."

The scout replied.

"Can't you break through the gates?"

Yelu Zongzhen frowned.

The scout said: "There are quite a few Song troops near the city gate, and their guns are blocking the city gate, so it is difficult to force your way in. ”

Yelu Zong really had a bit of a headache.

The Song army was able to use artillery to break the city gate and then enter the city, because people had muskets.

And they only have cold weapons.

In the face of people guarding the city gate hole with muskets, it is simply to die one by one.

"Where's the ladder?"

Jerod asked.

Xiao Ying replied: "In the rear army baggage team." ”

"How long will it take?"

"I'm afraid it'll be more than an hour."

"The soldiers are fast, we can't wait any longer."

Yelu Zongzhen took a deep breath, and then waved his hand and said: "Order, the whole army will raid, and kill from the city gate hole broken by the Song army, and be sure to cooperate with the remnants of the city and the fire to annihilate the Song army in the city in one fell swoop." After the Song army in the city is destroyed, it will be much more convenient to clear out the stragglers in the field. ”

"Yes."

Xiao Ying and Xiao Xiaoyou, as well as the rest of the generals, all responded.

Now it's really time to attack.

Because from the perspective of the Liao army, first, there are still some Liao troops in the city who are entangled with the Song army.

Second, the Song army did not have time to quickly assemble the soldiers scattered in the field.

Third, although the Song army defeated their rear army and part of the Chinese army, at least 100,000 people were scattered by them, but the Song army is now also in a state of disarray.

However, they still have some of the Chinese army and the front army of about 70,000 or 80,000 people, and they have gathered 20,000 or 30,000 defeated soldiers on the road, and they have gathered a large army of 100,000 people, and they are still in a state of formation, so they will not be stopped by thousands of stragglers.

"Woooooooooo

As the desolate horn sound of the Liao army sounded, the Liao soldiers in the north of Xijin City began to line up in formation.

Then they divided into left and right sides, ran out of several knights, and headed in the direction of the east and west gates.

The rest of the main force slowly came in the direction of Xijin City.

At this moment, in the middle of the Gongchen Gate and the Tongtian Gate, there are many Song troops near the city gate on both sides to stop the attacking small group of Liao troops, and no one can see what the city wall looks like.

But if Yelu Sect really knew, he would definitely be frightened.

Because the Song army was constantly lifting the cannon barrel to the city wall.

The total weight of the Weiyuan cannon is 200 catties, but this includes the fort, the gun carriage and the gun body, and the actual weight is about 180 catties, and only two people need to carry it to carry it.

So at this time, the Song army put these small steel cannons on the wide city wall one by one, and now more than 200 have been assembled.

During the Napoleonic period, 600,000 French troops attacked Tsarist Russia with just over 2,200 artillery pieces, but France was only a little bigger, and the total area in its heyday, including the occupation of unincorporated territory, was only 1 million square kilometers.

When the Great Song Dynasty was at its weakest, the land area was three times that of the Napoleonic period, the population was four times that of France, and the resources were extremely rich, so the number of artillery was very large.

The basic configuration of the Song army was that the first army had 10 heavy artillery pieces and 60 field guns such as Weiyuan artillery, which led to the current more than 100,000 troops in Fan Zhongyan's hands, with a total of more than 1,800 field guns and more than 300 heavy artillery.

The number of troops of 150,000 and the deployment of artillery reached four times that of Napoleon, which is basically a reflection of the gap in national strength.

Therefore, Fan Zhongyan gave an order, and at this moment, more than three or four hundred field guns had been carried up one after another above the city wall, although the heavy artillery was too heavy to move to the city wall, but the small steel cannon was enough.

A scout took advantage of the darkness to poke his head out of the female wall and look outside, even if he looked through a telescope, it was pitch black outside, except for the fire dragon team of the Liao army in the distance, which was full of dazzling.

Like countless fireflies in the darkness, they urged the horses and slowly came in the direction of the entrance of the gate of Xijin City.

No one charged, because thousands of troops and horses charged to the city gate cave was originally an act of death, and the Song army was squeezed to death by their own people before they could fight, so they all approached in an orderly manner, and the soldiers at the front had already raised the steel shields in their hands.

They had to fight against the muskets of the Song army, as long as they rushed into the city gate, a steady stream of Liao troops crowded inside, and they could always get close to the Song army, and then raid into the city and kill the Song army in the city.

"Xianggong, the Liao people have begun to attack."

Zhang Kang stood by the city tower, listening to the sound outside the city that was completely different from the rhythm of the Song people's horns.

It was the horn of the Liao people, full of desolation and melodiousness.

"We blow the trumpet, too."

Seeing that the Liao army was slowly approaching and had already entered the range of artillery fire in a large area, Fan Zhongyan said softly: "Then order the artillery to push out of the female wall battlement and aim outside the city!" ”

"Yes."

Zhang Kang gave an order to the heralds around him and asked, "Is it blowing the horn of the assembly?" ”

"Nope."

Fan Zhongyan turned his head, glanced at Zhang Kang meaningfully, and said with a smile: "Blow the horn of attack!" ”

Attack?

Zhang Kang was silent for a while, and after a while, he asked, "Xianggong, do you really trust these generals?" This chaotic war has been fought so far, and it is not easy to win. ”

Fan Zhongyan shook his head and said, "It's not a matter of trust, but only by doing this can we maximize our benefits." It not only preserved Xijin, but also eliminated the living force of the Liao people, and prepared for the generals to lead us to destroy the Liao State. ”

"If we can't send troops in time to disrupt the rhythm of the Liao, then when they retreat to the rear, and a large number of troops and horses converge to hold on, it will not be so easy to break through head-on."

He continued: "At that time, it is very likely that we will continue to work step by step as before, even if it will have to fight until next year." Therefore, this is an opportunity created for us by the Liao people themselves, and we must also make good use of this opportunity, so we can only believe in these generals under our command. ”

"But if these generals don't react in time, I'm afraid they won't be able to expand the results of the battle."

Zhang Kang smiled bitterly.

Fan Zhongyan was right, only by doing so could he expand the results of the battle, not only to preserve Xijin, but also to defeat the Liao people at one time and drive them out of Yanyun.

But this requires a very high quality of generals, because the army is scattered and depends on the command of the middle and lower levels.

If these generals could not exert their subjective initiative and assemble their troops at this time, once the artillery on the city of Xijin was fired with all their strength and caused chaos to the Liao people to launch a surprise attack, then most of the Liao army would still flee back.

In this way, the enemy's living forces cannot be killed, and there will be many obstacles to the destruction of Liao in the future, at most, the battle is over, and the Liao people flee north in panic.

However, at this moment, they had no other choice but to hope that these Song army generals below would understand.

"Alright, blow the trumpet."

Fan Zhongyan saw that a column of artillery had been pushed to the entrance of the female wall.

The steel muzzle was aimed at the outside of the city.

The gunner has already begun to adjust the position in calibration.

"Blow the trumpet!"

Zhang Kang said to the herald with a horn beside him.

"Woooooooooo

A horn sound, which was completely different from that of the Liao army, sounded, and then the horn men around who heard it almost instinctively played.

The low horn slowly spread into the distance in the open place, and the sound of one after another was like a circle of ripples expanding outward, and a famous horn player mustered up his strength to blow out the rhythm of the Song army's own attack!

In all directions, it seemed that countless voices were echoing.

The Song army on the periphery, who heard the sound of the horn, was also responding in the direction of Xijin City, telling them that they were already ready!

(End of chapter)