Chapter 155
The night amplifies the sound and image on the opposite side, deepening his suspicion and fear. The wilderness below the mountain seems to be full of Huns, howling like a pack of wolves.
The more than 90 Chu soldiers on the hillside were all discolored. They were facing an enemy ten times their own, and they had no way to retreat. The reinforcements would not arrive until two days later, and no one knew how to persevere.
The whistling sound at the foot of the mountain suddenly increased, and countless arrows shot, leaving strange shadows on the ground illuminated by the fire, which looked like heavy arrows fired from a crossbow, and many people in the first row raised their hands Du Chuanyun was also hesitating, but he glanced at Hou Wan, especially the old general Fang Daye.
Fang Daye had already put an arrow on the bow, but he did not draw the string. He stood there motionless, and did not even look up at the sky, his eyes fixed on the silhouettes at the foot of the mountain.
Du Chuanyun didn't move.
Those arrows were just bluffing, and they fell to the ground halfway through the flight. They were not overwhelming at all, only a dozen or so.
Fang Daye suddenly retracted his stomach and drew his bow, and the soldiers in the back two rows did the same immediately, but their arms were shaking slightly, and they could not find a clear target, so they had to aim at the burning fire.
Holding the knife, Han Ruzi said loudly, "Apart from General Fang, everyone else listens to my orders and is not allowed to shoot arrows at will!"
Everyone accepted the order, but no one answered.
The shouting of the Huns faded away, and a clear voice came from the foot of the mountain: "People of Chu, calm down, I am the envoy of the Huns, not a soldier."
After waiting for a while, someone rode into the range of the firelight and opened his arms, indicating that he was not here to challenge.
Han Ruzi said to the small school on the other side of Du Chuanyun, "Ask him why he is here."
The small school nodded, shielded his chest, went down a few steps, and said loudly: "Who is coming, sign up to come."
The Xiongnu who could speak the Central Plains dialect did not report his surname, so he kept looking upwards, "Which general is leading the troops?"
Xiao Xiao glanced back and said loudly: "If you have something to say, it's okay..." He wanted to invite a battle, but he didn't dare to say it.
The Huns laughed a few times, "It doesn't matter which general is, I'll tell you, the Huns have already surrounded you, you surrender quickly, or you may escape death, otherwise..."
Fang Daye shot out an arrow and swept past the horse. The mount was frightened and raised its hoofs to avoid it, almost knocking the man off the horse.
The Hun envoy crouched on his horse, turned his head and ran.
After a while, the Xiongnu cavalry came roaring, crossed the fire, and charged halfway up the mountain.
Fang Daye bends the bow to shoot arrows. His archery skills are completely different from those of Jin Chuiduo. His movements are slow and gentle. Due to his long arms, his bow-drawing posture is not standard. It looks like a teenager who has just received a bow and arrow is shooting more than ten steps away. rabbit. But the arrows he shot were far and powerful, far exceeding ordinary soldiers, and stronger than Jin Chuiduo, who was not strong enough.
Condescending, his arrows shoot directly at a distance of a hundred paces, and every arrow will hit, whether it is a man or a horse.
But the Xiongnu cavalry kept charging.
Han Ruzi had some fighting experience, but this was the first time he had faced the Huns. He was still nervous and his chest was suffocated, as if he had been stabbed by Meng E. As early as when Fang Daye shot the first arrow. He wanted to order the shooting, but he knew in his heart that not everyone had the skills of an old general, and he had to wait.
The longer you wait, the stronger the suffocation in your chest.
The Huns also shot arrows, and some of them even reached the top of the Chu army. The first row of people raised their shields to block, Han Ruzi was in command, Fang Daye was shooting arrows, and the soldiers in the back two rows were waiting, showing their upper body.
Couldn't wait any longer, Han Ruzi ordered loudly: "Release the arrow!"
The second row of soldiers fired arrows, followed by the third row.
Dozens of arrows were fired in salvo, and although the aim was a little worse, the momentum was something Fang Daye could not create by himself.
The Huns retreated, leaving behind two dead horses, the wounded and the dead were taken away.
Fang Daye's stomach swelled again, and sighed: "The Huns are fierce on the outside, but they are afraid of death inside. Most of the charges are bluff, to lure the enemy to fight, and if someone is hit by an arrow, they will retreat, but now it is too dark, and the people behind People can't see what's ahead and become brave."
There was a hollow laugh from someone in the ranks, and although they had repelled the attack of the Huns, they were not happy.
The Huns quickly launched the second round of attack. It seemed that there were more people, but they were very cautious. The knights were all crouched on their horses.
Fang Daye shot two horses, and the knight who fell to the ground immediately jumped onto his companion's horse.
Several of the attackers shot their arrows quite far, and two Chu soldiers were shot, so Han Ruzi had to order the arrows in advance.
The Huns were repelled again, and the knights suffered no casualties except for a few horses.
Without Fang Daye's introduction, everyone understood the Huns' tactics: they used wheel tactics to consume the Chu army's physical strength and arrows, and then swarmed to end the battle.
The Xiongnu cavalry numbered nearly a thousand, and they could keep attacking in turns, but the arrows of the more than ninety Chu soldiers could not be endless.
After five rounds of attacks, there were no casualties on both sides, but the Chu army's arrows had been consumed by nearly half.
Between the attacks, Fang Daye sighed heavily, as if he was dissatisfied with something, he shook his body twice and said, "I'm tired."
Han Ruzi immediately ordered a few remaining sets of saddles to be moved and stacked together, just below his buttocks, the old general leaned on it, and sighed heavily, "Zhang Tianxi, Luo Yinghua... Shoot as few arrows as possible, find a way to protect yourself, and drag the person who was shot to the back."
Fang Daye named the names of five people. He never looked back, but he knew who was better at archery. He rarely talked to others, and he suddenly called out their names, which startled everyone.
The five people who were called adjusted their positions and stood behind Fang Daye. The others temporarily put down their bows and arrows to protect themselves with shields. Apart from that, there was no other means of self-protection.
Fang Daye slowly turned his head and said to Han Ruzi: "The Huns will switch to infantry sooner or later, you can find a way to deal with it."
"The cavalry can't attack, and the infantry can't do it, right?" Du Chuanyun never participated in the battle. He heard that there were infantrymen entering the battle, and he became excited. Drawing his sword, "The Huns also have infantry?"
"Yes." Fang Daye replied coldly, bowing his head, his bow and arrow resting on his lap, as if he was going to sleep.
Han Ruzi had never seen the infantry of the Huns, but he immediately understood what the old general meant, "I will find a way."
The Huns came again. They had mastered the rhythm of the attack and knew where they could not only threaten the Chu army on the mountain, force the enemy to consume arrows, but also quickly turn their horses and retreat safely.
But this time they received few arrows, but they were surprisingly accurate. Of the six arrows shot, one or two would always hit a man or a horse.
The Huns quickly retreated, and after another test, they understood that the Chu army was saving arrows, so when they attacked again, they rushed within thirty or forty paces. For those who were afraid, the enemy was almost in front of them. Chuanyun shoved the flag into the soil with force, and pulled out his waist knife. The others were also ready, thinking they were going to have a hand-to-hand battle.
The Huns had the chance to win, but they did not want to risk close combat, so after firing a batch of arrows, they retreated.
Fang Daye and other six soldiers shot down five Huns, but more than a dozen of their own fell. The distance was too close, and the shield could not protect the whole body.
The dead and wounded were dragged to the back, screaming incessantly, and the rest were even more afraid. A noble disciple behind Han Ruzi whispered: "It's dead, this time it's dead..."
Fang Daye didn't give up, and methodically took another arrow. As long as the enemy didn't attack, he always looked downcast and lethargic. The Huns were not panic when they approached, and they were not excited when they were shot.
Han Ruzi didn't want to give up either, even though he was tensed from the inside out, his fighting spirit still didn't subside.
It was late at night, and the moonlight scattered, illuminating the earth surprisingly bright. The Huns at the foot of the mountain reminded Han Ruzi of the reeds on the banks of the Kidnapper Lake. They were in groups and fluttered in the wind, but the "reeds" in Saibei moved faster. , and more brutal.
"It's almost there." Fang Daye raised his head and looked into the distance, "The Huns are about to run out of patience, they should send infantry into battle."
Han Ruzi turned around and greeted more than 30 soldiers, "Follow me, the Huns use infantry, and we use 'cavalry'."
"Are you going to rush down?" Du Chuanyun's eyes lit up. The battle had been going on for a long time, but he didn't take out a knife, so he was suffocated.
"Ma Chong, people don't rush." Han Ruzi had already come up with a plan.
More than a hundred horses were eating the few remaining bean materials on the hillside in the back, turning a blind eye to the human struggle, and only flicking their tails impatiently when the shouts were too harsh.
Han Ruzi and others gathered the horses and stayed behind in order not to let the enemy take precautions in advance.
Du Chuanyun still had to protect the banner and sighed like Fang Daye, thinking that he probably wouldn't have the chance to make a contribution.
The Huns' cavalry came twice again, but they were not many, and they were not close enough, which meant it was a bit perfunctory.
As the moon passed, a strange team descended from the mountain, like a group of infantry marching steadily, and like a giant animal wriggling.
The fire at the foot of the mountain had already been extinguished, and the "monster" had reached the foot of the mountain. The Chu army on the mountain finally saw clearly that it was a group of infantrymen with shields. They not only blocked the front, but also covered their heads. The soldiers in the front row could only Looking out through the gap, the speed of travel is therefore particularly slow.
No amount of arrows can break this shield army.
"The Huns really have infantry, I thought they could only ride and shoot." Du Chuanyun was reminded, and was still a little surprised at this time.
"I didn't have it before. After surrendering to Da Chu for so many years, I should have learned it, but I don't want to use it easily." Fang Daye's voice was as dull as a chronically ill person. If you fight, you will suffer a lot.”
This is exactly what Han Ruzi is worried about. Chai Yue is very smart, but his knowledge of the Huns comes from the records of Emperor Wu’s time. He hits it off with the general Han Xing and uses it to deal with the Xiongnu nobles who have settled in Hanoi for decades. I'm afraid there will be some small loopholes.
But this is not the immediate trouble. He has to use horses to break through the shield formation of the Huns. If this battle fails, it will be a complete defeat. As for what to use to stop the next attack after the horses are exhausted, he does not know.
(one more today)