The spring sun was warm, but the soldiers of Jiaozhi in the sun felt cold in their hearts.

The valley mouth in front of him greeted the sun, dragging a huge shadow behind him, revealing a gloomy and cold aura, like the mouth of a wild beast preparing to choose a man to devour.

Chen Changji rode on his horse and looked back, the Song army's stone bullets rained down behind him, and the corpses of nearly a thousand Jiaozhi people had been left on the road before entering the valley. Stone bullets were scattered on the road, blocking the way forward, and the following teams could not maintain their formation at all and became scattered.

Chen Changji's face was expressionless, this is what will inevitably happen, and the price that must be paid. He only hoped that the process would end soon, and that he would regroup his team when he got to Taniguchi. I hope that there will be no more accidents in the valley, but no matter how unfavorable the situation is, there will always be a chance to fight head-on with the Song army on the flat ground.

There was no chance to attack on the slopes on both sides, as long as he could withdraw to the Fuliang River, his best choice was to enter the valley and fight a decisive battle with the Song army, and the sooner the better, it would be best to disrupt the deployment of the Song army.

In the depths of the valley, the city of Nanlangzhou looms in sight, what awaits you there?

Xu Ping on the top of the mountain was also a little nervous, although he had made all kinds of arrangements, but the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly, who knew what would happen?

Most of the defensive forces on the mountain had been concentrated on the peaks on both sides of the valley mouth, especially the crossbowmen, who condescendingly pointed at the approaching Cochin brigade.

Tan Hu led his own soldiers to gallop on the long wall in the valley, conveying Xu Ping's military orders, everything seemed tense and orderly, waiting for the decisive battle to come.

Shi Quanbin in the city got the news, rode out of the city gate, and galloped along the long walls on both sides of the valley to the hill where Xu Ping was. This wall was not only the line of defense of the Song army, but also the line of communication, which reached the slope of the hill and went up the hill diagonally, connecting the mountain with the city a few miles away.

Got to the hillside. Shi Quanbin dismounted and greeted Xu Ping, and when he climbed to the south, he saw the ant-like soldiers marching towards the valley.

Taken aback, Shi Quanbin asked Xu Ping: "What's wrong with the Jiaozhi people?" Why did you suddenly attack the valley? ”

Xu Ping said: "Either the other party's master will figure it out, no matter what arrangements there are in the valley, he must face it." Otherwise, they will retreat. Or, in my opinion, it should be someone from Thang Long Mansion urging him to end the war as soon as possible, he can't afford to wait. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"To the south of Cochin, although the offensive of Champa is not fierce, it has been fighting endlessly. To the north, Sumaozhou has become a mess, implicating nearby places. The situation is precarious. Don't forget, the cabinet chief, when the king of Jiaozhi Li Foma ascended the throne, there were several rebellions, and although the rebellious kings were imprisoned, the people were still there. Li Foma had little choice but to calm down one route as soon as possible, and then concentrate his forces to quell the fighting in the other directions. Langzhou is in a hurry here, and I think it is in the eyes of the Jiaozhi people that we are the weakest. ”

Shi Quanbin listened. looked at Xu Ping and said strangely: "Yunxing, you have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses here." There are more people who can be requisitioned, and there is enough money and food, how can they be weak? Feng Zhizhou doesn't have this strength there! ”

Xu Ping said with a smile: "This is what we know, and the key Jiaozhi people don't see it that way." Besides, Feng Zhizhou insisted on Qinzhou, and Li Foma dared to attack the territory of my Great Song Dynasty. We're here to start. But his heart is a little too big, and there are a few people coming. ”

According to Xu Ping's temper, if he faced this situation, he would make up his mind to do it more simply, more than 10,000 people are too small. How can I draw 30,000 or 40,000 people from the Fuliang River.

"Official, the Jiaozhi army has arrived at the valley mouth!"

Lu Fang ran over to report, with a very solemn expression on his face. Now both sides know that when it comes to the final battle, no one dares to be sloppy in the slightest.

Xu Ping looked up at the sun in the sky, let out a sigh, and said to Lu Fang: "Let the Jiaozhi striker enter the valley, starting from the Chinese army, and the crossbowmen on the mountains on both sides will release arrows!" The scribe and the warlord watched closely, and after the battle, a reward was given according to the number of arrows released by each soldier! Those who dare to fish in troubled waters, chop! ”

"No!"

Lu Fang turned to leave, and after a while, the drums on the hills on both sides sounded, and the drums gradually intensified.

Shi Quanbin listened, felt that his body was hot, and his mood was agitated, and he said to Xu Ping: "Yunxing, let's go to the side of the mountain to see the military formation of the Jiaozhi people!" ”

"What's there to see, or with me here, wait for them to enter the valley for a while, and have time to see. After entering the valley, it was a big battle, and now it is just a small fight. ”

Shi Quanbin's position is not high, but the people close to the emperor, when he arrived in front of the mountain, a careless cross-toe warrior went crazy and shot an arrow, and he was injured, but Xu Ping was affected.

Seeing the 2,000 forwards passing through the valley without any danger, Chen Changji breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Song army did not build a pass at the mouth of the valley, the two mountains face each other here, and the geographical advantage is still there, and it is the most dangerous place.

As soon as Chen Changji's breath came out, he heard the sound of drums on the mountain, and with the sound of the valley, the bows and crossbows on the hills on both sides rained down on the soldiers of Jiaozhi.

Infantry formations, each team has a shield, which can greatly reduce the damage of enemy arrows. However, this arrangement is aimed at the arrows coming from the front of the formation, and there are not many ways to come from the side. In the blink of an eye, many soldiers fell to the ground with arrows, and for a moment there was a mess at the mouth of the valley.

Chen Changji was in the middle of the valley, and the arrows could not reach him, so he hurriedly ordered his soldiers to order the bullet pressure, try to maintain the formation, and quickly pass through the valley mouth. While scolding in his heart, the main general of the Song army on the opposite side was extremely slippery, and always let go of the middle part of the striker strike team. When people are put right, they are most afraid of hitting the waist, and the same is true of the military formation, and the whole team will be chaotic when there is chaos in the middle, which is really the most insidious trick.

The position of the valley mouth is not very far, but the distance of dozens of steps, the price of two or three hundred people, the Jiaozhi army passed quickly, because Chen Changji dealt with it decisively, the bullet pressure was effective, and the formation was not in chaos.

Through the valley mouth, the field of vision was broadened, and Chen Changji discovered the layout of the valley.

A few miles ahead, a little more oblique, is the city of Nanlangzhou. Sticking out from the edge of the city wall, like two thick arms, two tall earthen walls stretched out to the hills on both sides of the valley mouth.

Chen Changji felt dizzy, he had the manpower and material resources to build two long walls, why didn't Song Jun build a decent pass at the mouth of the valley? Then I would have died early. Arranged like this, just to introduce yourself into the valley?

The front was empty, and there was no imagination of the Song army, which was waiting for the battle, all the way to Nanlangzhou City. There are no barriers.

Chen Changji became more and more incomprehensible, could it be that the Song army wanted to let himself lead his troops to attack the city and use the fortified city to compete with his subordinates? Nanlangzhou City is not a strong city, so it is better to build a pass at Taniguchi.

After thinking about it, Chen Changji still couldn't figure it out, and really wanted to call the Song army commander over. Ask well: "Why don't you build a pass in Taniguchi?" Why not build customs? ”

The sun is slowly creeping overhead, and the weather is getting hotter.

The soldiers of Jiaozhi who entered the valley let out a sigh, and finally passed through the Ghost Gate, and the front seemed to be no more dangerous, and the forward had advanced for nearly a mile, and still did not encounter any attack.

Could it be that everything outside the valley is a trick of the Song army? In fact, after the valley, there is no longer any arrangement, and it will directly face the state city?

Chen Changji couldn't believe this, the two tall earthen walls on both sides were reminding him at all times that all this was an illusion. The Song army must have had other means.

Seeing that Chen Changji had entered the valley, the soldiers stood still and reminded carefully: "Marshal, we have entered the valley, and there is no Song army in front of us to stop us, should we immediately attack the city?" ”

"Forward, order the troops to speed forward! No matter what means the Song army has, if they are really swords and guns, they will not be afraid of them! It's the state city in front, and one person and a handful of soil will be boarded! ”

Chen Changji came back to his senses suddenly. Urging the horse forward.

"Whew-"

At this moment, suddenly a melodious horn sounded on the earthen walls on both sides.

Chen Changji's heart tightened. Immediately looked to the sides, and saw countless Song troops poking their heads out of the earthen wall.

"There is an ambush? What ambush? ”

Chen Changji was puzzled in his heart, seeing that the two earthen walls were the same as the hillside behind him, they were also inclined planes, could it be that the Song army would rush out from behind the wall to attack his flank and behind.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! ”

Just when Chen Changji was puzzled, a dull voice suddenly came from behind the earthen wall. At the same time, thick black smoke rose.

With this sound, dozens of stone bullets flew out from the side earthen wall and shot diagonally at Chen Changji's Chinese army.

These stone shells are more powerful and have a longer range than the stone cannons on the mountain, and they are almost direct fire. As soon as it flicked over, it directly swept a blank space dozens of steps away in the Jiaozhi formation.

"The god-damn Song army is despicable and shameless, and there are still cannons in the valley!"

Chen Changji jumped off his horse and rolled violently on the ground, watching him step off his mount and become a puddle of flesh and mud between his breaths, crushed by huge stone bullets.

With the sound of cannons, the drums on both sides were endless, and the locust-like arrows were overwhelming, flying straight towards the Cochin army. Looking at the arrows and listening to the sounds, Chen Changji knew that the Song army on the wall was a strong crossbow. No wonder I didn't see a strong crossbow when I attacked the hillside, this is the Song army's housekeeping skill, but I didn't expect it to be used here.

The mouth of the valley is more than a mile wide, and the earthen walls after entering the valley are farther away than the width of the valley, about five or six hundred paces, and the range of the strong crossbows on both sides cannot be fully covered, but only a narrow way of life is left for the soldiers of Cochin in the middle.

The narrow one in the middle, which is covered by artillery, is actually a dead place.

Chen Changji looked back and saw that the Jiaozhi army was still rushing towards the valley, and the front, including the forward, had been blinded by the sudden attack of the Song army, and it was in chaos.

What to do? Chen Changji closed his eyes and lost his mind.

On the top of the mountain, Shi Quanbin was overjoyed, and asked Xu Ping beside him excitedly: "This is the pocket array?" Why is there such a formation? ”

"I have six thousand hard crossbows here, and if I don't put this in formation, these hard crossbows won't be able to swing. When the two armies face each other, it is necessary to give full play to their own strength as much as possible, so that the enemy's strength cannot be brought into play, and when this goal is achieved, victory will be visible. Cabinet Chief, seventy or eighty percent of the Jiaozhi people have already entered the valley, you say, have we already won? ”

"Win! Already won! The Jiaozhi people have the ability to do the same, and now they can only let us slaughter them! Yun Xing, you fought this battle beautifully, I will definitely speak for you in front of the official family when I go back! ”

Shi Quanbin was extremely excited, and he, who didn't know anything about the war, had already seen that the Jiaozhi people couldn't run away if they wanted to. I have long heard that Xu Ping's artillery is very powerful, much more powerful than the stone cannons lined up on the hillside, but now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I know that it is not a lie.

Xu Ping didn't know much about artillery, but based on the impression of his previous life, he cast the simplest front-loading artillery. Although this cannon also has ballistics, it is generally a direct fire, and it is not very effective if it is mounted on a mountain. Xu Ping lined up all the artillery on the earthen wall, diagonally facing the valley mouth, forming a cross fire, which was the essence of the pocket array.

Chen Changji was discouraged, but after a while, the Song army's artillery fired another round, and the Jiaozhi army was completely chaotic, and it was impossible to command it at all. It was chaotic for a while, and some tried to escape to the valley mouth, but were intercepted by the Song army's bow and crossbow on the mountain, and few people escaped. It is out of the valley mouth, and the stone cannons of the Song army on the hillside have not stopped, and there is luck against the sky to escape.

Far away from the valley mouth, looking at the Langzhou City in front of me, I had an unobstructed view, as if I didn't have any defense, and instinctively ran wherever I wanted. Either they died under the strong crossbows on both sides, or they were killed by the projectiles of the artillery, and only a very few people avoided these deadly weapons, but they did not know that there were more than 10,000 horse infantry Song troops waiting for them in front.

Xu Ping, who was on the hillside, looked at it and felt frightened. He just arranged the defense according to the principle of maximizing firepower, and did not expect that there would be such power, and a team of more than 10,000 people suddenly became lambs to the slaughter.

The fortifications and bunkers are far more advanced than artillery, and the role of long-range weapons is beyond imagination, Xu Ping also thought that once the Jiaozhi army came to his senses, they would attack the earthen wall, and deliberately made the earthen wall a slope conducive to defense. But he didn't expect that the Jiaozhi army couldn't react at all, and suddenly became a headless fly.

Behind the earthen wall, seeing the appearance of the Jiaozhi army, the morale of the Song soldiers became higher and higher, and the lower legs were forced, and the crossbow mounted on the wall was wound, and the trigger in his hand was pulled, and the crossbow flew out, and the movements became more and more proficient. At the rear, some of the soldiers even began to aim, betting with each other on who would shoot more accurately.

If you want to open a strong crossbow, you must use waist strength, and those who can be pulled away with a single open arm force are strange people. Even if you use your waist strength, you can only shoot one or twenty sticks in a row and you will be exhausted, and if you continue to overdraw your physical strength, you will often lose your combat effectiveness for several days.

Xu Ping's formation relied on the firepower of long-range weapons, and of course this situation could not be allowed. The winding mechanism was urgently made, and a crossbow stand was erected on the wall, and only the soldier stepped on it with his feet, and he could rely on his weight to wind the crossbow, which greatly reduced the difficulty of operation and saved physical strength. The crossbowmen in the normal Song army are all strong men selected by thousands of people, but here ordinary young men can operate them, otherwise it is difficult to have this kind of momentum.

The ballista can only be fixed to the earthen wall, and it is useless in the event of an attack. But at this time, it can really exert its greatest power.

From building fortifications to improving the operation of various weapons, forming the largest firepower strike in the shortest time, bit by bit, Xu Ping used his knowledge of his previous life to finally accumulate an overwhelming advantage.

The sun was over the top of the mountain, and the weather became sweltering.

Shi Quanbin looked at the scene in the valley and said to Xu Ping: "The Jiaozhi people are finished. Yun Xing, you send someone back to prepare the celebration banquet, we will get drunk tonight! ”

(I saw the news in the background today, from tomorrow, the next ten days will be a double monthly pass.) Friends who have votes in their hands try to vote on these days, one vote can be used as two votes, don't waste it. (To be continued.) )