Chapter 891 Bugle
The trapped troops of the Taishan Army moved forward slowly, and the Xuzhou Army behind the opposite fence released arrows from time to time.
But these scattered arrows are of no use to the heavily armored troops.
In Taishan's army, those who can be a warrior are those who are either strong or tall, or have long-lasting endurance, otherwise they cannot bear the load-bearing armor on their backs.
As the Taishan Army established a solid force in Hebei, its accumulation of talents and dispatch of materials have reached a stable state.
A large number of clothes and armors full of later-generation characteristics began to be installed on a large scale in the main forces of the Taishan Army.
Among them, the armor for the trapped warriors was specially designed by Zhang Chong. Its main structure was based on the Song Zhibu armor as a blueprint, which can be called the most important weapon in the army.
In the Han Dynasty, most of the armors were characterized by no stand-up collar, no sleeves, no hanging edge, and the shape was similar to the waistcoat worn by people in later generations.
It’s just that the neckline is low in the front and high in the back, in the shape of a rectangular hole. The front body piece is shorter and the back body piece is longer. The lower sections of the front and back body pieces are connected on the left side, and the corresponding part on the right side is open and can be stacked. After closing, the laces are fixed.
This kind of armor is the standard armor that is installed on a large scale in the army.
However, this kind of defensive force is still relatively weak, and it can be regarded as a cost-effective option. Now only some second-line troops and crossbowmen of the Taishan Army are equipped with these armors.
As for the infantry armor, which represents the pinnacle of armor-making craftsmanship of the Taishan Army, it is perfect to the extreme when compared with the former.
The foot armor includes a hood worn on the head, body armor fastened at the shoulders with straps, and complete iron arms below the shoulders.
Then there are two large knee skirts hanging down from the belt, with several rows of square armor pieces on them.
The entire set of armor is made of 1,825 armor leaves and weighs fifty kilograms. Coupled with an iron plate, it can protect almost the entire body of a warrior trapped in the battle.
In addition to the iron and labor costs of armor, warriors also have to wear linings and fat jackets under the armor, because the armor pieces of these armors are hardened and very hard. If they touch the body directly, the skin will be very sensitive. It will get scratched soon.
Although the overall defense and comfort have increased, the weight has also inevitably increased.
In this way, after a standard trapper wears all his equipment, the overall weight reaches almost sixty kilograms.
Even if the trapped soldiers are already the best among the best in the army, the hardships of carrying such heavy equipment to fight, especially in summer, can be imagined.
In this case, the time that the trapper can continue fighting is naturally very limited.
When Xu Huang attacked Shouchun City that day, he sent the trapped troops up. Although he finally succeeded in taking the city head, he was almost unable to play any role in the subsequent battles because his physical energy was exhausted.
So, both Xu Huang and Li Hu knew that once the trapped troops in their hands were released, the final decision would be made.
Of course, Li Hu is taking a big risk by putting the trapped troops into the city at this moment.
First of all, the soldiers who are trapped in the battle are all warriors in the army. The number of troops is originally limited. Once they are damaged, the offensive strength of the army will immediately decrease.
And each of these foot armors is very expensive.
In this era without lathes, in order to make this kind of full-body armor, almost every piece of armor had to be rubbed by hand, which took quite a long time.
Iron needs to be made into armor. It goes through processes such as beating, rough grinding, perforation, cutting holes, staggering edges, and fine grinding. After the armor is made, it is then woven with leather strips. Integrated armor.
With these armors and the lining inside, almost every lead armor takes several months to hundreds of days to complete, and its value can reach 30,000 yuan.
However, after Zhang Chong started to build a workshop in Zhangshui near Yecheng, the armor making time was significantly shortened.
Zhang Chong, who came from a later generation, was obsessed with the large factory production model.
Therefore, in the second year of Taiwu, after Zhang Chong settled the northern land, he began to summon the craftsmen under his rule to Yecheng on a large scale, and even built a work area beside Yecheng as a living area for the craftsmen.
There are as many as ten thousand craftsmen gathered in Yecheng, not only making armor, but also making large crossbows and crossbows. It can be said that the Yecheng workshops gather the most terrifying military production capacity in the world.
The workshop in Yecheng adopts a division of labor cooperation. This division of labor can not only improve production efficiency, but also facilitate the management of the workshop. Of course, preventing leaks of secrets also plays a role.
However, Zhang Chong does not just want to train a group of industrial workers. He also needs engineers who can design and innovate, and these people must come from industrial workers.
So he introduced two types of performance evaluation among workers. One is based on the standards of craftsmen, which is divided into eight levels of salary system, from the most basic first-level worker to the eighth-level worker who represents the peak of this craftsmanship level. .
The second type is the performance rating of the craftsman. The source of the craftsman can be selected from the craftsmen, or it can be awarded to outstanding scholars after passing the corresponding assessment.
This performance system has only five levels, from the lowest level of first-level craftsman to the highest level of fifth-level craftsman.
Every fifth-level craftsman is an important weapon of the country, and his salary is equivalent to two thousand stones.
Judging from these measures, it can be seen that Zhang Chong attaches great importance to factory production, and even strives to leave a spark in this era of common small workshop production.
Zhang Chong knew very well that no matter what he did, industrial civilization would not appear in his lifetime, but this might as well let him leave some seeds for future generations.
Sooner or later, when a new production method begins to appear in every county in the world, maybe at that time, a system more suitable for the development of the times will sprout.
Of course, all Zhang Chong's original intentions are good, but he does not know how much disturbance the traces he deliberately left at the source of this era will cause in the downstream of time.
But no matter what, because of Zhang Chong's deliberate design, the status of the craftsmen group under the rule of Taishan Army rose rapidly. Also because many intellectual groups have begun to come into contact with crafts and technologies that they have never been exposed to in the past, innovations are also constantly emerging.
With the efforts of Zhang Chong and a group of master craftsmen, the Taishan Army's smelting technology developed rapidly. Not only the steel filling and steelmaking technologies appeared, but also the difference between cold forging and hot forging.
Especially the steel armor made of cold forging, even if it is shot with a crossbow at fifty paces, it cannot penetrate, which shows how strong it is.
The infantry armor worn by the trapped troops entering the city was made with cold forging technology. Not to mention the sparse arrows of the Xuzhou Army on the opposite side, no matter how dense they were, they would not cause harm to these trapped soldiers.
At this time, looking at the Taishan Army's trapped soldiers advancing slowly, the Xuzhou Army guarding the first fence was severely hit in their hearts.
Looking at the rows of shining soldiers on the street, all of them are wearing long tassels, pierced necks, shawls, and knee skirts with hanging legs.
Even in the dark night, the shining soldiers appeared in front of the Xuzhou Army, just like soldiers from heaven descending to earth.
Yes, this is really the idea in the minds of these Xuzhou troops.
How could there be such a warrior in the world? So much more?
The sound of armor plates colliding was like ocean waves squeezing the nerves of the Xuzhou army. Finally, when the enemy trappers on the opposite side were only twenty or thirty steps closer, the nerves finally broke.
No one dared to stop such an iron army. It took all the courage to even stand in front of them, so that when the trapped warriors came, they were all stiff.
In front of these Xuzhou troops, the soldiers in the front row pushed down rows of wooden fences, some of which had been nailed to iron drills.
A few axe-wielding warriors came out from behind and hacked at the wooden fence, forcibly splitting it open.
From the beginning to the end, these frozen Xuzhou soldiers remained frozen and motionless.
It wasn't until they were pushed aside by the trappers who broke through and were disarmed that they recovered and then surrendered. Rarely, without much fighting, the soldiers of Taishan Army broke through the first wooden fence.
Then no one cared about the Xuzhou Army anymore, and the trapped soldiers continued to advance toward the front.
……
At this time, the Xuzhou Army in Pei County was at a loss.
Jiang Qin had indeed trained them to fight within the city and emphasized the principle of fighting for every inch of territory. However, when the alarm bell on the clock tower at the top of the city rang, everyone was confused.
Where should they meet? Where to go? How many enemy troops have entered the city? Which doors are not broken yet?
These questions filled the minds of Xuzhou Jun in Peixian County.
In fact, these are just excuses for cowards. No matter how much they risk their lives in daily life, how many people can do it in the real moment?
Therefore, when the alarm bells rang in the city, the various Xuzhou armies stationed in the city fell into chaos.
Some of them ran towards the east city where the alarm was sounded, some ran towards the sentry post in the daytime, and some ran around headlessly.
At this moment, Jiang Qin’s nephew Jiang Gong stood up.
He yelled directly at the chaotic street:
"How did my uncle teach you on weekdays? How did he treat you? Raising troops for thousands of days, and using them for a while, they all picked up their swords and used them. I rush!”
After saying that, Jiang Gong was the first to rush to the east gate.
At this time, the Taishan Army's entrapped troops who penetrated deep from the east gate had already broken through the second barrier wall. Because of the strong force, they took it without much effort and were staying in place to rest.
However, Jiang Gong and his team managed to survive and appeared in front of the trapped army. Because it was dark and they rushed quickly, by the time they found the trapped army, the Xuzhou army behind them had been blocked. .
There is no other way, Jiang Gong can only draw out the knife and shout:
"Man, die now!"
After saying that, Jiang Gong jumped into the trapped army formation.
In fact, the trapped troops were also startled by the sudden appearance of the Xuzhou Army. They were all leaning against the wall to rest, and they were also hastily fighting at this moment.
But the gap in combat effectiveness between the two sides is too huge.
Many of those Xuzhou troops ran out of the barracks with nothing but a weapon in their hands.
Aren’t these people giving food to the heavily armored army?
Jiang Gong was very brave, hugging an armored warrior and throwing him. This man was very smart and knew that what these heavy armored infantrymen feared most was falling.
Once they fall, these people cannot stand up again by their own abilities.
Jiang Gong was very powerful. Even though he was not that big, he knocked down an armored soldier weighing more than 200 kilograms. However, he obviously did not know how rigorous the tactics of the trapped soldiers were.
Just when the armored soldier in front was overturned, an elongated iron ax stretched out from behind him and pierced Jiang Gong's breastplate.
The breastplate withstood the stabbing blow, but knocked him staggering. Just when Jiang Gong subconsciously wanted to stand firm, a pumpkin hammer hit him on the chest. .
In an instant, Jiang Gong was spinning.
His eyes were smashed out, he looked at the bloody world, and finally fell straight to the ground.
With Jiang Gong's death in battle, the morale of the Xuzhou Army fell directly to the bottom.
With the sound of weapons abandoning the ground, the Xuzhou army that came to rescue surrendered.
……
Since Jiang Qin led his tooth soldiers to occupy this street and used the fence to eliminate a group of enemy cavalry, he has led his troops to be stationed here.
During this process, Jiang Qin's soldiers kept blowing their horns, trying to summon nearby friendly troops to move closer.
But the effect was very small. Until now, Jiang Qin had gathered less than 800 soldiers, which still included 200 tooth soldiers.
This result directly caused Jiang Qin and others to collapse, thinking that the Xuzhou Army in the city had given up resistance.
In fact, this is what it should be. Once the enemy troops have broken the city, how many defenders will continue to fight in the streets?
The Taishan Army had no deep grudge against them, so why did they fight to the death to such an extent?
No matter how kindly Jiang Qin treated his soldiers, ordinary officials and soldiers would not receive much favor. After all, they were too far apart and there were too many of them.
That is, asking for help from time to time on weekdays, and providing timely supplies and benefits.
But relying on these alone can make people willing to die. In this difficult situation, it is really too much to think about.
The sound of the trumpet sounded faster and faster, but the number of Xuzhou troops gathered was getting smaller and smaller.
All Xuzhou troops, including Jiang Qin, understood that they might be the only ones in the city to resist at this moment.
A tragic feeling of despair lingered in everyone's heart.
But actually the situation in the city is not that bad.
The loyalty of the Xuzhou army was much higher than Jiang Qin thought. Even though they were afraid, when they heard the general's horn to gather troops, they still ran over subconsciously.
But unfortunately, don’t forget that the first ones to enter the city were the sudden cavalry of the Taishan Army.
People like Niu Mao gave up their hard attack after seeing the enemy troops gathering in the streets, and instead began to rush around in the city to kill.
Those Xuzhou troops who listened to the horns were all running, and generally did not have heavy armor. Once they encountered these cavalry troops, they would only die.
Soon, Niu Mao and other generals also discovered the meaning of the horn, and began to consciously use the horn as a radius to hunt down the approaching Xuzhou Army.
So the Xuzhou Army truly surrendered itself to the trap.
The sound of the horn not only caused the friendly troops to die one after another, but also exposed his identity and location, Jiang Qin.
At this moment, after annihilating the last stubborn Xuzhou Army, Niu Mao and the other cavalry generals had one thought in their minds:
"The enemy generals are here, and I will definitely take this wealth."
< br>Therefore, the neighborhood where Jiang Qin was located directly became the hottest area in the city. It not only guided the Xuzhou Army, but also attracted the attention of all the Taishan Army.
On this side, Gao Shun also heard the sound of the horn.
He pursed his lips and gave the first order to the soldiers:
"Keep moving forward, this must be over!"