Chapter 45 Bloody Battle at the River Bend
On the east bank of the Wo River, Yue Fei stood in the autumn rain, and a soldier stood beside him, looking at the banner of the soldier thousands of steps away with a thousand miles of mirror, and translated the banners into plain text one by one.
This is a communication line composed of five or six groups of mobile sergeant scouts. Relying on it, Yue Fei established a connection with Yue Yun's troops trapped in the river berth ten miles away. However, in order to prevent Yue Yun from smuggling through the Wohe River, Wanyan Wushu also sent many Jin soldiers to patrol the other side of the river berth. Therefore, in order to avoid these Jin soldiers, the sergeant scouts often interrupted this communication line.
"How long is the military ration and ammunition that the striker can last?" Yue Fei asked.
"Report to the Master, the news came from there that the military rations are enough for five days, and the ammunition is enough for 30,000 guns."
Yue Fei pondered and said, "Thirty thousand guns?... According to the strength of the Jin soldiers' attacks in the past, it was enough to support five days, but if they suddenly couldn't stand the spirit and started to attack fiercely, it might not be enough for three days." He turned his head and ordered the soldiers and said, "Transfer to the vanguard's commander, so that he could send a signal arrow the day before the ammunition was almost exhausted."
...
Almost at the same time, Wanyan Wushu also stood in the autumn rain, watching the Jin soldiers lined up and put forward an emergency military report to him, saying: "The scouts ahead found the traces of the Han army, but did not determine the direction they came from and the exact location of the main force. The other party seemed to be stopping at a certain location and remained motionless."
After reading the detailed military information report, Wanyan Wushu said in his heart: [Yue Fei, what are you waiting for? You are waiting, your two sons will only be seen in the next life.]
"Have we arranged the 40,000 troops we have drawn from Bozhou?" Wanyan Wushu asked Deputy General Wanyan Zongxian.
"Oh, brother, just worry. I will follow your instructions and arrange these 40,000 soldiers in the upper reaches of the Wo River. When Yue Fei comes to save his son, these 40,000 infantry and cavalry will be blocked between the Wo River and its tributary, Zhaowang River. At that time, Yue Fei can fly across the river with wings, otherwise he will be the turtle in the altar...the turtle in the altar."
"That's called a turtle in a jar!" Wanyan Wushu corrected. Then he ordered a decisive order: "Now, launch an attack on the Han army according to the established plan."
...
Yue Yun and Yue Lei stood behind the forefront barriers and observed the frontier military situation. Suddenly, the loud drums and trumpets of the Jin army came from a distance, and then countless flags rose from the horizon, followed by layers of Jin soldiers and infantry and cavalry figures.
Yue Yun knew in his heart that Wanyan Wushu was serious this time, so he ordered everyone to prepare. Five new vehicle-mounted medium-sized crossbows were also removed and placed behind the barriers, preparing to bombard the Jin army at close range. Each musketeer's seven gun barrels were filled with ammunition.
Only some of the pike soldiers were squatting at the forefront of the barriers, and most of them had nothing to do, so they hid in the temporary shelter behind them. However, in the past few days, they had learned to load ammunition. If necessary, they would load the gun barrels for the pike soldiers.
The centurions of the musketeers once again emphasized the battlefield discipline, and no shooting is allowed without a command. They must maintain the rhythm of continuous shooting, and the shooting is not carried out in rows, but a scattered command in groups of one hundred people to deal with the Jin soldiers' tactics of scattered attacks and consuming the firepower of the Han army.
Seven or eight shield chariots of the Jin soldiers were arranged in a row, forming a shield wall at the front, followed by layers of Jin army infantry and cavalry from few to many, from inferior to elite, and the last one was the five thousand iron pagodas of Wanyan Wushu.
The Jin soldiers followed the shield chariot slowly and approached the frontier of the Han army for 80 steps. The arrows were poured onto the Han army's positions like a sudden rain. Whether it was musketeers, spearmen, or the most central Beiwei soldiers, they were all suppressed by the arrows and could not raise their heads, and they hid behind temporary shelters to avoid the arrow rain.
The arrows not only came from the direction of the attack of the Jin soldiers, but the Jin army rangers on the other side of the Wo River also fired arrows. Many sporadic arrows flew over the river surface of the river and shot into the Han army formation.
"Let me!" As a centurion shouted, the hundreds of muskets under his command opened fire. The Jin army shield wall sixty steps away was splashed with wood chips, but the Jin army infantry behind the shield cart was unscathed. The Jin army formation continued to advance.
Immediately afterwards, with a few thunderous sounds, the shield chariots were dismantled in the flames. The thunderbolts fired from the five crossbows hit the shield chariot within a distance of fifty steps. The centurion ordered again. The hundred musketeers released the second round of volleys, and the Jin soldiers who were missing the shield walls fell down in disarray.
They quickly responded, and a large group of cavalry surged out of the gap where the shield wall was blasted and rushed towards the Han army.
"Let it go!", "Let it go", "Chang it", "Chang it!" The musketeers opened fire one after another under the command of their respective 100-man teams, and waves of white smoke rose from the Han army's positions. The musketeers, who had all three rounds of ammunition, removed the gun barrel and transferred it to the idle spearmen behind to fill them with ammunition.
The crisp and loud banging sounds of gunfire accompanied by the neighing of the injured war horses, the wailing soldiers, the roar of the red-eyed Jin soldiers and infantrymen, and the shouts of the riders' shouts and killing sounded on the battlefield. The Jin army cavalry, which was rushing like a torrent, seemed to be invisible wall in front of it. When the cavalry touched the "wall", they would knock down the horse and then be trampled to pieces.
But there were still a few Jin soldiers and cavalry crossing the line of fire and rushing to the fortifications of the Han army. A Jin Khitan Ranger was already galloping in the edge of the trench. Two or three muskets extended behind the barrier aimed at his men and horses with one shot. The injured war horse neighed and pushed his master, who had his head broken, also dropped off the horse. These musketeers belonged to a team of 100-man muskets that dealt with the remaining Jin soldiers and carried out free shooting.
Several Jurchen clairvoy horses flew over the trench in front of the barrier. More than twenty spears were instantly poked out behind the barrier, and the blades were suspended in the air directly in front of them. These clairvoy horses had lost their speed when they jumped into the air, but the remaining kinetic energy still allowed the spear blades of the spears to pierce them or the horse's bodies...
The Jin soldiers on both sides pushed the remaining shield chariots forward, and the five reloaded crossbows fired again. Amid a series of roars, a number of shield chariots were dispersed by thunderbolts. Some shield chariots did not disperse, but the thunderbolts just fell behind the shield chariots, blowing down the soldiers behind and temporarily stopped moving forward.
After the Jin army formation, King Gai Tian Wanyan Zongxian saw this battle situation and said in fear to Wanyan Wushu: "Brother Wang, if we continue like this, we will suffer heavy losses! We can no longer waste our lives with the Han army like this!"
Chapter completed!