Chapter 775 Ballista
While Zhang Chong was beating the drum, Yuan Shao also began to respond.
At this time, Yuan Shao was also wearing gorgeous armor. A power leader at their level must wear something eye-catching and dazzling.
It's not that they don't know the dangers, but if they don't do this, the harm to their own morale will be even greater.
After all, when the people below see you dressed so simply, they will definitely think that you are not confident in this battle, or think that no one can protect you, so you have to keep a low profile.
Moreover, Yuan Shao also understood that he did not need to rush into battle, so no matter how luxuriously he dressed, he was still under the protection of thousands of troops. No matter how ugly it is, if the enemy can find out and target them like this, it means that our own army has completely collapsed.
By that time, can he, Yuan Shao, avoid death just by dressing in a low-key manner?
So Yuan Shao was very open-minded.
People often say that Yuan Shao is like a dog who goes with the wind and becomes a god when the wind goes against him. Although it is a joke, it fits Yuan Shao's character very well.
Even though he had a superior force at this time, he was actually very anxious in his heart.
Because he is very aware of the shortcomings of his army, and he understands the internal contradictions better than anyone else. Yes, he does have more troops, but many of them are new recruits who have not experienced a few battles.
And what about the Taishan Army on the opposite side? Since eight years ago, they have been fighting in the world, and every one of them is a veteran with complete equipment and rich combat experience.
Therefore, he used the Fifth Army, which was his most elite and had the largest proportion of veterans, as a front to counter the enemy's attack, and then launched the attack from both wings, so that he could avoid his own shortcomings to the greatest extent.
At this moment, Yuan Shao was biting his nails when he suddenly heard someone below him raising his head and saying:
"Lord, the battle is about to begin. We, the Yingchuan scholars, have songs to send."
After speaking, the man handed the poem in his hand to Yuan Shao, and began to sing about the battlefield in front of him, praising Yuan's martial arts and military might.
Originally, this kind of thing was normal, because even Wencheng was divided into many categories. There are those who plan the economy, those who strategize, those who advise military aircraft, and those who manage money and food, but there are also those who show off their words and show off their appearance.
And now, at this moment, it is when these rhetoricians who decorate the appearance come into play. Moreover, these poets also paid great attention and worked hard, because if this decisive battle was won, these poems and poems would go down in history along with this battle.
This is just like some modern Western army painters who recorded and praised a great victory through battlefield paintings.
But today Yuan Shao scolded him directly:
"You bunch of rotten people, there is no place for you to speak when the war is about to begin."
After saying that, Yuan Shao dropped the Ci Fu in his hand on the ground.
As a result, the faces of all the Yingchuan soldiers changed drastically, but looking at Yuan Shao who exuded a dangerous aura, they did not dare to argue at all, or even uttered a word, so they retreated.
After these people left, the Handan merchants who assisted Yuan Shao in setting up the military formation could not help but persuade:
"Those Confucian ministers, whose duties are in the civil service, and whose country has built up an army, deserve to be praised."
Because Yuan Shao couldn't stand Ju Yi's words and felt that his relationship with him was broken, he no longer chose Ju Yi as his assistant commander, but chose Handan Shang, who was also good at military aircraft.
Therefore, Yuan Shao endured the irritability in his heart and explained:
"It's okay to sing the praises of the military, but we can wait until the victory is over. Then we can drink wine and sing, and drink for three days and three nights. But when is it now? Can we tolerate these people showing off?"
The Handan merchant stopped talking and explained the current situation to Yuan Shao.
"Previously, based on reports from Er Li and the remnants of the former guard, our army knew that the enemy's rifle rifles were longer than the ones we used, so the rear camp rushed to build a batch of long rifles overnight."
After saying that, the Handan merchant also pointed out the spear formation in the front formation for Yuan Shao and said:
"This time, we not only lengthened the front row of rifles, we also doubled the length of the rear rifles. In other words, the riflemen who could only wait in the rear can also use the lengthened rifles. Attacked the enemy.”
Yuan Shao saw the situation in the front formation. The steps erected there were indeed uneven, but overall they were arranged in a pattern of getting longer towards the back.
Then the Handan merchant added:
"And after the riflemen in the back row have longer rifles, they no longer need to wear armor. They can use several rows of rifles in the rear to stab the enemy at the same time without going to the front line to resist. Therefore, this also greatly alleviates the vacancies in our army’s armor.”
Then, the Handan merchant pointed to the swordsmen behind the stepmen and said proudly:
"The saved armor was uniformly distributed to the swordsmen army. It can be said that at least the swordsmen of my fifth army completed all the armor."
Then the Handan merchant told Yuan Shao his next tactics:
"After installing the special long horse rifle, our army's infantry in the front line is longer and denser than the enemy's. Therefore, I suggest that the front be pressed forward with a wall of spears, and then the two wings work together to protect both sides of the central army. , and then completely defeat the front of the Taishan Army by lining up. Then the front will not move, and the left and right wings will tighten toward the center, thus defeating the enemy."
Yuan Shao also had some military experience. After listening to it, he didn't think there was anything wrong with the strategy, so he nodded and went with it.
But Ju Yi, who was slightly behind Yuan Shao and stood among a group of generals, felt that he had to stop this military strategy.
He loudly said to Yuan Shao in front:
"My lord, the kid from Handan is harming the country. My lord must not use this strategy, otherwise the army will be overthrown and defeated."
Yuan Shao turned his head and glared at Ju Yi, shouting:
"Ju Yi, do you think my Yuan Shao's sword is blunt? I can't kill anyone anymore? How dare you roar in front of the army and disturb the morale of the army? Where is the Red Heart Team? Why don't you take Ju Yi into prison for me?"
A group of armored soldiers sang, and then they held Ju Yi down like wolves and tigers to drag him back.
At this time, Ju Yi's forehead was covered with sweat and he shouted:
"How can the former army persist without changing the formation? The so-called giant formation looks powerful, but it has no resilience. Lord, fighting is not that simple, and it cannot be won by lengthening the formation."
< br>
But Yuan Shao was already furious at this moment and cursed angrily:
"Are you all dead? Give me a hand."
The warriors of the Red Heart Team looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and then swiped at Ju Yi's mouth, knocking out a row of his teeth in a few strokes.
At this moment, Ju Yi's mouth was full of blood and he was speechless. He didn't want to say anything anymore because his heart was dead.
Soon, Ju Yi was dragged out and put into a cage behind the formation. In order to torture Ju Yi, he was also put in a cage half as tall as a man, so that he could only curl up.
At this moment, Yuan Shao was also very angry with the Handan merchants. He said to the Handan merchants in a cold tone:
"What Ju Yi just said is right?"
The Handan merchant's ears were a little red, and he suppressed the panic in his heart and said to Yuan Shao:
"My lord, that's because Commander Ju is too conservative and has not seen the power of the platoon push. In the face of such power, everything will be turned into powder, and the enemy formation can be defeated without exhausting all physical strength."
Yuan Shao snorted:
"I hope so."
At this time, the beating drums of the Taishan Army on the opposite side had stopped, and then Yuan Shao saw that the Taishan Army's front line on the sky and earth line in front of him began to move slowly.
So he asked the Handan merchant:
"When will the drums be beaten?"
The Handan merchant replied calmly:
"When they entered the range of our army's ballistae." Yuan Shao nodded. This time he brought all the ballistae he had built. There were a total of 370 ballistae, all of which were arranged in various ballista positions in front.
Therefore, Yuan Shao could only endure and wait.
……
In the third year of Taiwu, on May 29th, at a quarter of noon, the decisive battle took place on the battlefield.
Guo Song, the commander of the Flying Bear Army, who received the sound of the Chinese army's war drums, ordered his army to move forward.
For the officials under Guo Songjun, this order came too long ago. They had been waiting on the north bank of Luoshui River and could only watch with jealousy as the friendly troops continued to make meritorious deeds.
And now it's finally their turn.
So when Guo Song's army waved the flag, the seven columns of infantrymen in the front row took the lead in moving. They carried their 18-foot-long rifles on their shoulders and marched forward under the command of the leading military officer.
Every time they took five steps, they would line up on the spot and then move on. Although this takes a little longer, it can keep the square array neat.
Just as the military formation continued to move forward, the Flying Bear soldiers in the front row could see scattered black shadows vaguely appearing in front of them. They seemed to be Yuan's army's skirmishers.
The veterans of the Flying Bear Army knew very well that these people should be some of the Yuan Army's crossbowmen and light soldiers, trying to kill the Flying Bear Army and destroy their formation as they marched.
The officers at the head of each platoon also discovered that they also had crossbows in their hands, but it was certainly impossible for them to abandon their command positions and shoot from the front.
So soon after a few short whistles and flag signals, more than a hundred crossbowmen rushed out from the infantry formation, and most of them came from the Pingliao area.
These hunters who live in the snowfields of Montenegro are most suitable for this fighting method.
After they ran out of the formation, they dispersed in groups of three to the battlefield and began to hunt the stragglers of Yuan's army.
Soon, conflict broke out.
After Su Shen Gong was shot through the neck by a powerful crossbow arrow, his teammates finally discovered a Yuan Army squad lurking in the grass.
Then without a word, at this distance, both sides kept drawing their bows and shooting arrows, and then dodged. After a few breaths, when the last Goguryeo archer shot and killed the last enemy, the Yuan Army team was finally eliminated.
The same situation kept happening in front of the Flying Bear Army's formation, and also happened throughout the battlefield. This is how the first decisive battle between Taishan Army and Yuan Army started.
Yuan's army squads were constantly being wiped out, and Taishan's army squads were constantly being wiped out. But most people continued to lurk on the battlefield and kept running.
After all, crossbows are not like matchlock guns, which emit smoke after being fired. That little sound of bowstrings was nothing in this noisy battlefield.
Therefore, after shooting an arrow, many Yuan Jun's crossbowmen quickly lowered their heads and crawled to other places.
The heavy archers of the Taishan Army who were attacked looked around blankly, not sure where the enemy was.
But time passed little by little, and the Taishan Army's military formations, including the Flying Bear Army, were getting closer and closer to Yuan Army, except for the six armies under Zhang Nan's command.
At this time, Zhang Nan's six armies stopped advancing after marching to a distance of about 500 steps from Li Tong and Li Zheng's formation. Instead, they began to face the southeast and began to arrange themselves into an arc formation, which seemed to be Provide left protection for advancing friendly forces.
The reason for this is not only because Zhang Nan and his six armies suffered heavy losses in terms of physical fitness and casualties after a great battle yesterday, they should no longer be chosen as the main attack.
Another important reason is that Zhang Chong had told Zhang Nan and the others before the war that they did not need to make a substantial attack on Er Li's troops, but only needed to put pressure on them.
And sure enough, Yuan Shao had been observing the right wing. When he saw the Taishan Army stopping on Li Tong and Li Zheng's side, his face immediately darkened and he cursed:
"The dog slave who eats the inside and outside."
After saying that, he ordered two teams of Chixin troops to go to Li Tong and Li Zheng's military formation, urging them to take the initiative to attack the Taishan army in front.
After receiving the order, the Red Heart Team quickly took Kanhe and rushed to the east.
The Handan merchant beside him did not speak, but reminded Yuan Shao:
"Lord, the enemy has probably entered our ballista formation and can attack."
Yuan Shao nodded, then pulled out a golden arrow from his feet and shouted angrily:
"Go, let the ballistae fire and aim at the advancing Taishan Army."
Another Chixin team received the order and then went straight to Yuan's crossbow position.
Yuan's crossbow position was placed on the right side of Wenpin's army. Some of the crossbow positions even pointed directly at Li's entire team in the northeast. Their intention was very obvious.
This is just one of Yuan Jun's crossbow formations, with fifty crossbows.
The Yuan family has been building crossbows for more than a day or two. They have become very proficient in the tactics of crossbows. They have also begun to use them together and specially arranged them on some gentle slopes.
However, Yuan Jun's technology is not yet mature. The crossbow needs to be replaced after firing continuously for half an hour. Within half an hour, Yuan Jun's crossbow gunner can fire thirty-six crossbow arrows. In other words, this crossbow position can fire a total of 1,800 short spears in half an hour.
This number may not be much, but you must know that a crossbow arrow can tear a person apart, and if the angle is good, it can even kill three or four people with one arrow.
So it can be seen how much damage these 1,800-capacity arrows can cause, not to mention the blow to morale.
At this time, the commander of the ballista in this position had already received military orders from Yuan Shao. This man was Qiao Min from Suiyang in the Liang Kingdom. His family had passed down the Book of Changes, so he was very proficient in math sorcerers, and he commanded the ballista. This requires talent.
There are many people like Qiao Min in Yuan's army. Why can't Yuan Shao do without these wealthy families in Yuzhou? Not only because he is the representative of this class, but also because only these talents have mastery of productivity and technology.
At this moment, Qiao Min looked at the enemy troops slowly approaching with the flag of the Flying Bear Army flying in the distance. His front troops had already entered the range of the crossbows, so he calmly ordered:
"Send three arrows first, then calibrate the shot."
After receiving the order, the crossbow gunners shouted:
"Send three arrows and start shooting!"
So the three ballistae placed at the front aimed their powerful ballistae at the Flying Bear Army in the distance and fired.
The three shining short spears were like lightning, splitting through the air, and then pierced deeply into the soil in front of the Flying Bear Army.
Beside the crossbow, a Taishan soldier carrying a rifle stared blankly at the short spear in front of him, and then roared loudly.
(End of chapter)