Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 865 The war begins

The two armies faced each other, with flags covering the sky, horses neighing, soldiers and horses strong, and murderous intent. Each side claimed to have 100,000 troops, but in fact each had 70,000 to 80,000 elite soldiers.

The Wu army's commander's flag with the Chinese character "Su" fluttered in the wind, towering into the sky, a full 36 feet, standing in the center of the battlefield like a pillar, particularly eye-catching. This flag is the core pillar of the army. As long as it stands, the entire army will have a military soul, solid as a rock, with high morale, and fearless of any powerful enemy.

All the officers and soldiers stood in silence, their expressions solemn. At this tense moment when a war was about to break out, anyone who made loud noises or disturbed the morale of the army would be severely punished, or even dragged out and beheaded.

The oppressive feeling before the war hung over everyone's heart like a dark cloud, causing them to struggle in a complex way.

On the one hand, the passion to kill the enemy surged in his body, and he was eager to shed his blood and achieve great achievements; on the other hand, he could not help but wonder whether he could survive this life-and-death battle, and whether the territory of the Song Dynasty would become his burial place.

Officers at all levels, from sergeants, captains to captains, and du yu hou, were all on high alert, keeping a close eye on the squads they were in charge of. They knew that in the upcoming war, the role of the team was crucial. If the soldiers fought on their own, they would be like a pile of loose sand, and would be easily dispersed by the enemy's cavalry and ruthlessly slaughtered. Only by uniting as one and fighting in coordination could they survive on the battlefield and exert their greatest combat effectiveness.

Su Chen stood on a high place, his eyes were like torches, staring at the Song army opposite. The densely packed square formations, like a steel torrent, stood before him, making him feel the difficulty of this crucial battle. If the reinforcements were defeated, the Song Dynasty would have no troops to deploy in the short term, and the city of Bianjing would be in crisis. Su Chen had been waiting for this battle for a long time, and today was the day for him to close the net.

"Beat the drums, prepare for battle—"

Following Su Chen's order, thirty-six cowhide drums were struck at the same time, like thunder roaring in the sky, the sound was majestic and heroic, reaching the sky. When all the Wu army soldiers heard the deafening drum sound, their blood was instantly mobilized, their blood was excited, and their fighting spirit was revived, as if the whole world was left with only this exciting drum sound.

The first drum beat is full of energy, the second becomes weaker, and the third is exhausted. This most violent drum beat is the clarion call to awaken the military spirit at the most critical moment before the battle.

"Locate the arrow!"

Su Chen shouted loudly, and the flag officer waved the flag and shouted out the military order. When Tai Shizhao of the front army saw the flag, he immediately ordered the release of the locating arrows. The sound of bowstrings resounded throughout the battlefield, and countless feathered arrows cut through the sky and landed accurately at 120 steps, filling a row. The arrow feathers were tied with colorful strips of cloth, fluttering in the wind, which was particularly eye-catching.

This is the positioning arrow, as the name suggests, it is used to determine the location of an arrow. When the two armies rush into this range, it is the time for the archers to show their skills and shoot thousands of arrows at the same time.

At this time, in the Song army formation, four generals Li Chugeng, Zhang Yongde, Zhang Hui and Fu Yanqing were nervously discussing the specific tactics of this battle.

"The Wu army suddenly appeared here. We were not prepared at all. The soldiers were not prepared to fight directly with the Wu army." Fu Yanqing said in a deep voice, frowning, and continued: "Moreover, this time it was Su Chen who led the army personally, and the soldiers of the three armies were a little nervous."

"This Su Chen is famous. Everyone knows about Jiangzuo Su Lang." Li Chugeng took over the conversation with a hint of solemnity in his tone, "However, no matter how famous he is, we can't be timid. We have fought so many battles in the Later Zhou Dynasty. Now that the Song Dynasty is gradually prospering, we have 100,000 soldiers. How can we be scared off by the Wu army! Besides, if we lose again, the road from Pengcheng to Bianjing will be flat and there will be no strategic locations to defend. The capital will be in danger. We must fight head-on. Even if we can't annihilate this Wu army and capture Su Chen alive, we must repel the Wu army."

Li Chugeng was a Confucian general. In addition to leading troops in battle, he read many books by Confucian sages and had great integrity and courage.

Fu Yanqing nodded and said, "Commander Li is right. We cannot retreat. We must fight Su Chen to the end."

"I'll take the lead. I don't believe this! Others are afraid of Su Chen, but I'm not afraid!" Zhang Yongde was also a fierce general. He had fought many tough battles with the Northern Han and Khitan. He had a bad temper. At this time, he couldn't help but lead his troops to attack.

"Okay, we will divide into four armies. The front army will be led by General Zhang, the left army will be led by General Zhang Hui, the right army will be led by General Fu Yanqing, and I will command the central army. Let's fight together to block the attack of Wu's army and make them retreat!" Li Chugeng quickly made tactical arrangements.

"No problem, let's do it!" The other generals responded in unison, with determination flashing in their eyes.

At this time, the beating of the Wu army's war drums was like rolling spring thunder, shocking people's hearts.

The three armies began to advance forward, with archers, Shenji Battalion, cavalry, Modao Team, special operations team, etc. arranged in an orderly manner in the formation, with great momentum and murderous intent.

"We have 10,000 cavalrymen in our army, all of whom are war horses obtained from the Liao Kingdom, which are just enough to deal with these Jiangnan ducks and mud-legged people!" Zhang Yongde has been fighting with northern ethnic groups for many years, and he has some contempt for the Jiangnan soldiers who can only fight on water and infantry. In his opinion, these cavalrymen are enough to break the Wu army's formation. Ten thousand cavalrymen are lined up in an orderly manner, and behind them are ten thousand infantrymen, cooperating with each other, forming a powerful impact force. The infantry followed behind the cavalry, ready to launch a charge and kill the Wu army after the cavalry broke through the enemy's formation.

In an instant, the Song Dynasty cavalry launched an attack. The sound of horse hooves shook the sky. They rushed over like a whirlwind and were about to close to the distance of two hundred steps.

"Archers and crossbowmen, get ready!" Tai Shi Zhao gave the order, and his voice echoed over the battlefield like the call of the god of war.

"Wow!"

Three thousand crossbowmen quickly took their positions in the front row. The first row half-crouched, and three thousand crossbows were raised horizontally, coldly aimed at the Song army that was rushing towards them like a tidal wave.

The second row was made up of longbowmen, a total of 4,000 people, and the third row was made up of ordinary archers, used for close range shooting, about 3,000 people. This 10,000-man archer team was the firepower vanguard in front of the Wu army, and they would play an important role at the critical moment.

"Rumble--"

The Song Dynasty cavalry was getting closer and closer. The sound of horse hooves was deafening, like thousands of horses galloping, dust was flying, and the murderous aura seemed to crush all barriers between heaven and earth.

Tai Shi Zhao kept a close eye on the enemy's movements. When the Song cavalry entered the range of the crossbows, he waved his hand and shouted coldly, "Shoot!"

"Shhhhh-"

Countless large crossbows poured out violently, and the overwhelming rain of arrows broke through the air and filled the entire sky. A black cloud of arrows whistled towards the Song cavalry. Suddenly, screams came one after another. The Song cavalry was like dumplings, and they fell to the ground with a thud. Three or four hundred people were shot to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the second round of crossbow arrows whizzed out, densely packed like a storm, piercing through the leather armor of the Song warriors and killing their mounts.

The Song knights fell to the ground one after another, and were trampled into a bloody mess by the hooves of the dense war horses behind them. Blood was spreading, death was spreading, and the cruelty of the battlefield had already begun to show.

After shooting two rounds, the crossbowmen retreated immediately, passing through the gaps between the phalanxes and quickly retreating to the rear of the phalanx, giving their position to the longbowmen.

"Shoot!" The longbowmen of the Wu army used hard bows and long arrows with sharp steel arrowheads. They did not shoot directly at the knights, but shot them into the sky at an angle of forty-five degrees.

Three to four thousand arrows were as dense as heavy rain, with strong force, able to penetrate even a man and his horse. The nearby Song cavalrymen who rushed to the edge of the arrow's range were once again hit by arrows and fell off their horses, with heavy casualties.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Thousands of arrows shot down with great force and penetrated the clothes and armor. Many Song Dynasty cavalry were shot into hedgehogs and blood splattered everywhere.

Some were shot in the heart, some in the neck, abdomen, and arms, and the blood was surging. The bodies of the comrades were ruthlessly trampled like a piece of rag, and people kept falling down, becoming a dead body being trampled, and a thick bloody smell rose everywhere.

However, the Song cavalry warriors were not afraid, but their eyes were red, and they were really angry. The more they were defeated, the braver they became, and their murderous aura became more fierce. The longbowmen shot two rounds, and the ordinary archers continued to shoot. After five or six rounds of arrow rain, the Song cavalry had lost two to three thousand people.

At this moment, when the Song cavalry thought they were about to charge into the Wu army and kill them at will, many firearms and artillery shells flew out and fell into the Song cavalry's rushing team, followed by a deafening explosion.

Fire, smoke, and debris flew everywhere, and the charge momentum of the Song cavalry was instantly interrupted, and the battlefield once again fell into chaos and panic.