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Volume Two: Set Sail Chapter 182: Defeating a Rider with a Step

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    Chapter 182: Defeating a Rider with a Step

    The crisp claps could be heard very clearly in the big tent. Sun Shao and Cao Zhang looked at each other and smiled, but only they knew what they were laughing at.

    Sun Shao immediately agreed with Cao Zhang to move the camp five miles back to ensure that it could protect the Allied rear formation while maintaining a certain distance.  Cao Zhang covered his cavalry on his flanks and rear to prevent the Sasanians from breaking through from both sides. At the same time, he also had to hide his traces so that the Sasanians could not see their shadows.

    Sun Shao's Deifeng camp was not entirely composed of infantry and cavalry, but there were relatively few cavalry, less than two thousand in total. Some of these people were Liaodong elite cavalry sent by Su Cuojiu, with Guanqiu Jian as the cavalry commander, and the other part were  It was formed from the Guan family's personal guards, with Zhao Feng as the cavalry commander. This group of people had followed him back to Xiangyang from Xiangcheng, which was considered a great gift from Guan Yu.  The strength of these bodyguards is not bad. Needless to say, the equipment is the best. They have never relaxed in training and are in good condition. After arriving in Aksum, in order to adapt to marching in the desert, they also specially trained  He has been trained to fight on a camel, and he is said to be an all-around warrior who mounts cavalry and dismounts infantry. However, he has not had much chance to perform meritorious service after following him in these years, so his reputation is not obvious.

    This time, Sun Shao put these two thousand personal guards to use, placing them on both sides. This is a relatively common formation. Both the Han and the Romans are accustomed to using this formation, even the Sasanians.  They are no strangers to this formation. They often use this formation in battle. However, their cavalry ratio is high, while the infantry are poorly equipped and weak troops. Most of the time, they are used as cannon fodder.  In the end, the outcome was determined by cavalry, so the formations were slightly different from those of the Han and Romans, which were dominated by infantry.

    Although Cao Zhang hid his cavalry in the rear, he often came to Sun Shao's camp. He was curious about what weapons Sun Shao would use to kill a large number of Sasanians. But what confused him was that Sun Shao besides arranging people in front of the battle  In addition to a large number of burials to keep the horses away, several pits were dug. The width and depth of the pits were very standard, enough for the cavalry to fall in and be unable to jump out.

    If there is any surprise, it is that it is not just slaves or civil servants who dig the pits, but soldiers from each transport camp leading several slaves to operate a strange-shaped machine. The machine makes a deafening roar. Cao Zhang does not  Strange, these steam engines are used a lot in the coal mines of Bingzhou. The technological progress has been very obvious in recent years. In the past ten years, the size has become smaller and smaller, leaving only half the size of the original model given to him by Sun Shao, but its performance has become better and better.  High, it has probably increased by about twice, and the stability has also been greatly improved. It is very fast and good for digging holes.

    "That's all?" Cao Zhang pointed at the roaring machines and asked in confusion: "With just these, you want to kill more than 10,000 Sasanians?"

    "What does this have to do with you?" Sun Shao asked back: "We agreed that if I can't kill 15,000 Sasanians, you can stand still. Don't pry into military secrets. This is common sense. Don't you understand?  ?¡±

    "And!" Cao Zhang knew that Sun Shao was trying to push him away by joking, but he refused to give up. Instead, he attacked Sun Shao's army: "We are allies now, and we are all part of the Han army. Don't stir up disputes.  .¡±

    "Hahaha" Sun Shao laughed: "I mean, Ziwen, if you win this time, you should be promoted to a general, right?"

    "Don't change the subject." Cao Zhang didn't want to be fooled by him, but when the topic was brought up, he was a little embarrassed. He had made contributions, and he would definitely have a fief here. Should he go back to Luoyang and become a general, or stay here?  Be a comfortable king here?  When I return to Luoyang, I can only retire. Here, hehe, maybe there will be a war sometime.

    "Don't worry about black cats and white cats. It's a good cat if it catches mice." Sun Shao said: "Fighting the enemy with steps, what is more effective than resisting horses, digging pits, and powerful crossbows?"

    Cao Zhang glanced at Sun Shao with an obviously suspicious look and curled his lips. The meaning was self-evident. Of course he didn't believe Sun Shao's words, but since Sun Shao didn't say anything, he couldn't force the question, so he had to hide his curiosity.  In the heart.  Almost everyone in the Allied Forces was in awe of Sun Shao, including the Roman Emperor Quintus and the Kushan King Bo Diao. Only their brothers could always look at Sun Shao as an equal and joke with Sun Shao naturally.  , including looking at Sun Shao with this disrespectful look.

    "I don't care if you are a good cat or a naughty cat. Anyway, if you don't kill half of the Sasanians, don't expect me to take action." Cao Zhang put his hands on his hips, his scarlet cloak blowing in the wind. He narrowed his eyes and looked north.  After a long while, he suddenly said: "I heard that there is a piece of land there, which is a good pasture and produces high-quality war horses."

    Sun Shao smiled slightly, pretended not to hear, turned and walked away, leaving Cao Zhang there alone. Cao Zhang rolled his eyes in self-mockery, turned around and followed.

    Two days later,Sun Feng sent news that the siege of the city had officially begun. Ardashir was fully prepared this time. He also used oil tanks filled with sludge water to attack, burning two to three hundred steps of the city to the ground.  In a sea of ??fire, both the Romans and the Kushans, who were eager to make contributions, suffered a lot. However, their oil tanks were of different sizes, and the effect of the attack was somewhat affected. However, the distance between the oil tanks prepared by the Han army was adjusted in advance.  Therefore, most of them have reached the predetermined range and attacked the city. Based on the current attack situation of both sides, it is estimated that the real internal fighting in the siege will not start for at least two days. Feint attacks will mainly be used to consume the opponent.  mainly reserves.

    After another two days, the counterattack in the city gradually weakened, and Sun Feng began to arrange a real siege battle. Since he had promised a heavy reward in advance, almost everyone refused to miss the opportunity to make meritorious deeds. With the strong firepower of the Yue people,  As a backing, the Romans, Kushans and Tianzhu people rushed to climb the city. For this reason, they almost clashed with Li Yan and Cao Zhi.

    Ardashir was well prepared. He took advantage of the oil bombs to counterattack. The Vietnamese ballistae could not get too close, and the threat to the city wall was insufficient. He gathered superior forces to counterattack, and repelled the coalition's attacks many times in a row. Taixi  The sealing wall was stained with blood, the losses on the first day exceeded 3,000 people, and the wounded barracks were overcrowded.

    Sun Feng had one piece of news that he did not tell. After one day's attack, Quintus and Bo Diao showed regret. They felt that their losses were too great and asked the Han army to increase the intensity of the attack. At the same time, they only treated Sun Feng.  Questions were raised about the arrangement of attacking the north gate. They felt that this was more conducive to Ardashir's defense and disadvantageous to the attackers, so they requested more attack points.

    Faced with the doubts of Quintus, Bo Diao and others, Sun Feng did not lose his temper. He calmly accepted their doubts and asked the generals for their opinions. When most people expressed their support for this view, he agreed the next day.  The attack was divided into three groups, just like the first battle. The Romans and the Kushans were each responsible for a section of the city wall, and the Han army was responsible for the attack at the main entrance.

    After the Romans and Kushan people left with satisfaction, Sun Feng left Cao Zhi and Li Yan behind.

    "Do you want to take a rest?" Sun Feng asked straight to the point: "Tomorrow our Vietnamese army will be the main attack."

    Cao Zhi and Li Yan looked at each other, somewhat undecided. They neither wanted to be used as a swordsman by Sun Feng, but they were also afraid that Ardashir had reached the end of his strength. If Sun Feng advanced into the city, nothing would happen to them.  Cao Zhi hesitated for a moment and asked: "Your Highness, will you attack the city like this tomorrow? Is there any change?"

    Lu Xun coughed: "The tactics will be changed tomorrow. Three groups of troops will attack at the same time. Ardashir may cause chaos. If he mobilizes his army to other places to strengthen defense, we may have a chance to break the city in one fell swoop, but it is also possible.  In another situation, if Ardashir does not mobilize the defensive force, then we will face the largest number of enemies, and the Romans or Kushans may be able to break the city first."

    Li Yan smiled silently, you didn't say anything.

    Chen Hai waved his hand and said as if he was afraid that others would take the credit: "No matter how Aldashir responds, we will still attack in the same way. Don't argue anymore. We will take the lead tomorrow. To be honest, I watch you kill people every day."  , my hands are itchy."

    Sun Feng smiled: "You have also seen that our generals in Yue are all impatient."

    Cao Zhi looked at Chen Hai, shook his head and said: "What are you talking about? At this time, there is no distinction between the Yue Kingdom and the Wei State. Since we are here, we are all Han troops. Don't differentiate between each other. Otherwise,  , the strength is dispersed. In my opinion, in order for everyone to maintain their combat effectiveness, we take turns to fight, and no one will suffer this time. Brother Zhengfang, what do you think?"

    Li Yan understood the idea and nodded quickly: "Brother Zijian's suggestion is better. Let's take turns to fight. This way we can maintain enough physical strength and keep enough pressure on the city."

    Sun Feng and Lu Xun exchanged glances, nodded in agreement, and agreed to divide the army into three groups the next day, with Chen Hai, Li Yan, and Cao Zhi taking turns to attack.

    This method is indeed a good one. Although they still failed to break the city the next day, the rotating attacks allowed the soldiers to maintain their physical fitness well. The continuous attacks made the city very nervous. Often a group of enemies had just been repulsed, and there were still many soldiers.  Before they had time to take a breath, another group of enemies rushed up along the siege ladder, giving them no chance to rest.

    The city was in emergency again and again, and horns calling for help kept coming and going, exacerbating the tense atmosphere.  Hearing the sound of these trumpets, the Romans and Kushans did not dare to neglect, fearing that the Han would break through the city first and steal the first victory, so they also used all their strength to take advantage of Ardashir's lack of troops on both sides of the city gate.  Taking the opportunity, they launched a fierce attack and rushed to the city head several times. They beat the Sassanid people into a panic and forced Ardashir to dispatch a reserve army of undead troops to save the city gate.

    Al?Hill felt great pressure and had to issue an order to Awad, asking him to wait for an opportunity to attack the coalition's rear camp and reduce the pressure on the city defenders.

    As soon as Awad received the order, he immediately moved his army forward and forced it in front of Sun Shao's formation.

    A heavily guarded formation appeared in front of him. The criss-crossing rebel horses formed a defensive formation with a depth of five hundred steps. The Han soldiers with weapons in hand stood among the rebel horses, ready for battle. The formation stretched to  On both sides, on the wide river, there were warships from the Yue Kingdom cruising.  Looking from a distance, one can see two small cavalry groups maintaining a guard posture on the rear flanks on both sides of the formation.

    Awad breathed a sigh of relief. It could be seen from this formation that the opponent was only on the defensive and did not have enough cavalry to attack him. In this way, he could at least take the initiative to attack. If the situation was not right, he could at least take the initiative.  Sometimes you can also take the initiative to withdraw from the position.

    While he was relieved, Awad also had a headache. The opponent had set up such a formation, which greatly limited the cavalry's attack power. The only feasible way to pass through this formation was to have the cavalry dismount and clear a passage.

    Having no other choice, Awad immediately ordered two thousand-man troops to dismount and fight on foot to clear the way.

    Two thousand-man troops dismounted and lined up in front of the formation. Two centurions, one on the left and one on the right, held up shields and held axes or swords in their hands, carefully approaching the anti-horse formation. The other two centurions raised their weapons.  Bows and arrows, follow closely behind them, ready to cover with bows and arrows.

    The Juma Formation, where at least 5,000 soldiers were ambushed, was silent. The soldiers of the Deefeng Battalion squatted behind Juma one by one, with the same posture. They held their shields in their left hands and covered them tightly in front, blocking the way they huddled together.  Only the cold eyes were exposed from the gap in the body, and the weapon in his right hand was placed behind the body, ready to attack at any time.

    The sound of the drums was low and unhurried, and each sound seemed to hit people's hearts. The Sasanians slowly approached the Juma formation. Because they were nervous, they did not speak. They just took cautious steps and moved forward step by step.  Moving, the silent horse-rejecting formation seemed to have an invisible murderous aura, forcing them to breathe. If it weren't for the law enforcement formation watching from behind, they would probably turn around and run away.

    One hundred steps, eighty steps, the Sasanians started shooting. They raised their bows and arrows upwards and shot long arrows into the sky. The long arrows flew in the air for thirty or forty steps, then turned downwards and pounced on the enemy in the horse-rejecting formation.  Destroy the front camp soldiers.

    The sound of the drums changed, and two rapid drum beats suddenly broke the original rhythm. The soldiers in the horse-rejecting formation neatly raised their shields higher and lowered their heads.  The long arrows whizzed down, hitting shields, helmets, or being nailed to horses, making a tinkling sound.  The soldiers were as silent as a rock, motionless.

    The Sasanians began to run, and a centurion discovered that the Han army had no archers in the formation, because so far, they had not fired an arrow.  He was overjoyed, gave an order, and started running with his men.

    The distance of eighty steps was reached in a blink of an eye. The two hundred people were divided into several groups, each group had one to two Shi, and flew towards Juma. The few people in front bypassed Juma and went straight to the Yishi Juefeng camp hidden behind Juma.  The soldiers and the people behind raised the ax in their hands and struck Juma with all their strength.

    "Kill!" The ten warriors squatting behind Juma suddenly stood up and faced Juma. The four warriors showed their repeating crossbows and pulled the crossbow with a grin. There were three warriors on each side forming a triangle.  In the small formation, the captain was in front, slashing with his sword, and the two warriors followed closely behind, tightly protecting their flanks. The three of them walked in unison to face the Sasanians rushing from the side of Juma.

    At close range, long arrows shot out unexpectedly and decisively. The Sassanians who were about to chop the horses with axes did not expect this at all. Although they raised their shields as quickly as possible, their speed was obviously  It was still not enough. The two Sassanians who were at the front were immediately hit by crossbow arrows. Unable to control their steps, they staggered and fell on the sharpened wooden stake of Juma. They suddenly died and threw away the ax in their hands.  Got out.

    The soldiers of the Deefeng Battalion kept holding their shields while shooting. When they saw the ax coming, they did not panic. They just raised their shields slightly to protect their heads and upper bodies. The ax touched the shield.  It slid down the shield and landed on the ground in front of their feet.

    The blood of the Sassanid stabbed by the wooden stake dripped drop by drop on the ax head.

    The four crossbowmen calmly pointed at the enemies shouting across the Juma and called them one by one. The Sassanids hurriedly raised their shields to block the continuous bursts of fire, and at the same time waved their weapons to chop at the enemies with all their strength.  horse.  On both sides of the Juma, two small triangular formations firmly held the position. The three warriors were as one, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner. Although the space was not large, it did not affect their cooperation at all.  Their assassinations were very simple, with absolutely nothing fancy and nothing too fancy.Most of the changes are to first use a shield to hold the opponent's weapon, and then swing the weapon in the hand at a speed that is too fast for people to see. With a flash of the sword, either cut off the opponent's neck or chop off the opponent's arm.  Either pierce the opponent's body, and there is almost no chance of failure.  If there are two enemies in the front, the captain in front will take a step back, and the two warriors behind will go up to them, using their shields and swords to force the opponent out of the way, so that the captain can step forward again and accurately kill the enemy.  people.

    Although the Sassanids were much larger in number, they could not move in a narrow space. Only two or three people came forward at a time, and they often crowded each other, making it difficult for them to move freely. They were far less able to move forward and retreat than the soldiers of the Destroying Front Battalion.  .  They also wanted to cooperate with each other, but they couldn't be so skilled in their eagerness. Unknowingly, they were disrupted by their opponents and fell into the siege of three opponents. As soon as they slashed with one knife, they found that there were two or three knives.  Cut them down at the same time, and at the same time be prepared for the roll call of the opponent's hand crossbow.

    The Sassanians huddled together in a narrow space, and several of them fell down in the blink of an eye. The bearded captain shouted anxiously, pushed his companions away and rushed forward, but was defeated by three  The battalion officers stopped him.  He was furious and swung the battle ax in his hand three times in a row, but the opponent blocked it with a shield. He took a step back, wanting to take a breath and strike again, but the soldiers of the Juefeng Battalion who had been holding up their shields to parry followed him like a shadow.  He followed up and stabbed the sword into his chest silently, then quickly slid away and slashed the companion behind him with the sword.

    The captain felt a coldness in his chest, and a stream of blood spurted out, directly hitting the shield of the Han soldier opposite. The hot blood splashed a coquettish flower on the shield, and on one side of the blood flower, a beautiful flower appeared.  A sneering face.

    The face and the blood spray on the shield came sharply closer, knocking him into the air and hitting his companion behind him. The companion couldn't get out of the way and got into a mess. The three enemies who had been leaning together suddenly dispersed.  Come, rush into the chaotic crowd, wave your weapons and kill mercilessly.

    The captain turned around slowly, and he suddenly found that there were no companions standing in front of him, only the three devil-like enemies. They resumed their previous triangular formation and quickly retreated behind the horse.  The captain's eyes widened and he slowly fell to the ground.

    The last thing he saw was the deadpan face of his companion.

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