Chapter 1050: The Alliance of Chanyuan 3
On the way to Chanzhou, Kou Jun and Gao Qiong did not dare to leave Zhenzong for even a step. One civil official and one military official, one on the left and one on the right, they firmly controlled Zhenzong, fearing that the emperor would change his mind at any time. The pen holder is called an escort, and the gun holder is called an escort. The two escorted Zhenzong on the road.
At that time, the Liao army had stationed troops on the east, north and west sides of Chanzhou, leaving only the south. This was not a deliberate trap or a principle of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open, but rather objective conditions did not allow it. This requires a brief review of some of the content in the first half of the book:
As early as the beginning of the Five Dynasties, Li Cunxu of Hedong and Houliang launched a bloody battle along the river that lasted for twenty years. An important military stronghold appeared frequently, which was "Desheng Ferry". Li Cunxu expanded the ferry terminal into a military fortress and named it "Deshengzhai". In order to further strengthen the defense, in the second phase of the project, it was built into a twin city across the Yellow River. The South and North Desheng cities were connected by a floating bridge, so "Deshengzhai" was also called "Jiahezhai". It also became an important bridgehead for the Hedong forces, and later Li Cunxu did rely on it to destroy Houliang.
After the establishment of Later Tang, the strategic position of Deshengzhai was greatly reduced until the Later Jin Dynasty, when the capital was moved to Bianzhou. Since there was almost no strategic location to the north of Bianzhou, the north and south Desheng cities became the only strongholds that could barely be called strategic locations. As a result, they were once again valued by the rulers and became today's Chanzhou City.
The Liao army ravaged Hebei and surrounded the northern city of Chanzhou, while the southern city of Chanzhou was on the south bank of the Yellow River. The Liao army could only sigh at the sight of the river.
Zhenzong had just arrived in Nancheng when he received a victory report from the front-line commander Li Jilian: the Liao commander Xiao Talina was killed!
There are many vague and contradictory records about Xiao Talina in historical books. It is true that Xiao Talina was the "uncle of the country" of the Liao Dynasty. He had a prominent status and outstanding military achievements. Before this battle, he had served as Yelu Xizhen's deputy and captured "Yang Invincible" Yang Ye alive, making him famous in one battle. After that, he led the army to conquer rebellious tribes in the country many times and was promoted to the commander-in-chief of Nanjing for his merits. Last year, he captured Wang Jizhong alive in the "Battle of Wangdu". This time he went south and made many merits. After the death of famous generals such as Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Xiu'ge, the uncle of the country Xiao Talina became the undisputed first general of the Liao Dynasty.
Not long ago, Xiao Talina, as the spearhead of the Liao Kingdom, galloped across Hebei, captured cities and brought considerable pressure to the Song army. Now he led the vanguard troops to Chanzhou, ready to capture the small Chanzhou in one fell swoop, break the psychological defenses of the Song army, and make another unprecedented contribution to the Liao Kingdom.
Just as Xiao Talina was scouting the terrain, he was shot in the head by a Song army crossbowman and died of his injuries.
Logically speaking, the battle-hardened Xiao Talina would not make such a low-level mistake. How could he have entered the shooting range of the Song army's archers?
It is said that Xiao Tallin personally led several followers to scout outside the city of Chanzhou, looking for loopholes in the Song army's defense. The defending archers were helpless because these people were out of range. Seeing that the Song army was out of reach, Xiao Tallin became even more fearless, pointing and commenting here and there, and measuring and calculating there.
"Too arrogant!"
The person in charge of defending this section of the city wall was Zhang Ge, the general of the Imperial Army (the leader of the Tiger Army), "Zhu Zi, think of a way to kill him with a cannon."
炮？
Everyone had a flash of inspiration at the same time, "Then why don't we... really give him a shot?"
Everyone's eyes turned to a secret weapon - the bed crossbow. The bed crossbow, also known as the three-bow bed crossbow or the eight-ox crossbow, can be seen from its name. Let's put it this way, its crossbow arrows can no longer be called arrows, but more appropriately called javelins or spears. The arrow shaft is made of hardwood, and the arrow feathers are three iron sheets. It is beautifully called "one spear and three sword arrows". If it must be pulled by manpower, it is said that it would take 30 soldiers to pull it open with all their might, or eight oxen... So the correct way to open it is to use the capstan at the tail. And its firing method is also to be swung by a strong man with a giant axe, because the recoil is too great. If the trigger is pulled directly by hand, even if it can be pulled, the huge recoil will scrap the soldier's palm on the spot.
Its power is indeed very great, and it is usually used to shoot down enemy towers and battlements during sieges. The attackers often use it to shoot "treading arrows" that are nailed into the city walls in rows for the soldiers to climb.
In a word, this thing is not used to shoot people, but to shoot city walls.
There is some controversy about the range of ancient long-range weapons. We make a comprehensive analysis and take a compromise number: the range of bows and arrows is less than 300 steps, the range of crossbows can reach 500 steps, and the range of crossbows can reach 700 steps. Therefore, historical records say that Xiao Talina was very cautious and hovered at 800 steps.
However, Zhang Ge had an improved crossbow hidden beside him, which was said to have a range of 1000 steps. In the factory test, the arrow could reach three miles, about kilometers, which even exceeded the range of some modern sniper rifles...
From the above introduction, it can be seen that the use scenario of the bed crossbow is siege, and its design concept is to stack strength and critical hits without thinking, rather than stacking agility and accuracy. Range, rate of fire, power, and accuracy are still the "impossible triangle" of long-range weapons today. At least one must be sacrificed in favor of the other two or one. The so-called Gatling gun and sniper rifle cannot have both. Obviously, the bed crossbow sacrifices accuracy to ensure limited range and power.
For example, the improved crossbow in Zhang Ge's hand has a range increased to an incredible one thousand steps, and its accuracy can only be regarded as faith shooting.
Looking at Xiao Talina's arrogant look, Zhang Ge didn't care much. With the attitude of "if there is a date or not, try three times", he would shoot him first. He didn't expect to hit him, but at least he could scare him and make him go away.
After loading, Zhang Ge gave the order and a large javelin roared and flew into the distance. Who said that anti-aircraft guns can't shoot horizontally? Who said that the Gustav cannon can't be used as a sniper?
When Xiao Talina heard the whistling sound, it was too late. In a flash, "one gun, three swords and arrows" hit his head accurately, and the crossbow blew his head off.
"Fuck, is this possible?" Zhang Ge and others cheered on the city wall, "Zhu Zi, I will reward you with half a pound of sweet potato." That night, Xiao Tallin died of his injuries. Upon hearing the bad news, Empress Dowager Xiao rushed to visit him, hugged Xiao Tallin's coffin and cried loudly, and ordered the court to be suspended for five days.
Only then did Zhang Ge realize that the person who was shot during the day was actually Xiao Talina. Apart from exclaiming "Fuck" again and again, he didn't know how to express his calm mood.
After Zhenzong entered the southern city of Chanzhou, the commander-in-chief Li Jilian sent someone to report the victory and told him the good news that Xiao Talina had been killed. He also said that the northern city had been surrounded by enemy troops and was the front line of the front line. It was very dangerous, and His Majesty could stay in the southern city and must not cross the river.
Zhenzong thought it made sense. He said he wanted to visit Chanzhou. Both South City and North City were Chanzhou. He could take photos and check in in South City and post them on WeChat Moments, which would be enough for his good deed. There was no need to go to North City...right?
However, Kou Jun insisted that Zhenzong cross the river to Beicheng. "If your Majesty comes to Chanzhou but does not cross the river, the morale of the soldiers in Beicheng will be further reduced, and the enemy's arrogance will be increased. This is not the way to win. Moreover, Comrade Wang Chao leads the elite troops to station in Zhongshan, strangling the Liao army's neck; Li Jilong and Shi Baoji control the Liao army's arms respectively; our reinforcements are constantly coming from all directions to join... Your Majesty, what is there to worry about? Please cross the river quickly."
Gao Qiong also cupped his hands, "Kou Jun is right!"
The water of the Yellow River comes from the sky, roaring and rushing, accompanied by the sound of drums and horns on the other side. Like a keyboard warrior, although Zhenzong has the ability to "personally teach strategies", although he can make masts and oars turn to ashes while chatting and laughing on the map, he has never seen close combat with his own eyes. Now, he has heard the war up close.
Zhenzong was really scared, and he looked around for a life-saving straw. This time, the person who answered his gaze was Feng Zheng, the assistant to the Privy Council.
Feng Zheng stepped forward and angrily rebuked Gao Qiong: "You are so bold, Gao Qiong, you are not rude!"
The assistant to the Privy Council was, in simple terms, the adjutant of the Privy Council, which meant that his status was not as high as that of the prime minister, but he could be considered the leadership of the imperial guards. Therefore, Feng Zheng did not dare to scold Kou Jun, but could only target Gao Qiong.
Gao Qiong was not going to tolerate him, and immediately retorted: "What's so great about you? You just got into the Privy Council by writing good articles. Now we are facing a powerful enemy, and you still say I am rude. Then please write a poem to repel the enemy."
Feng Zheng was left speechless.
Gao Qiong then glanced at his soldiers and said, "Why are you still standing there? The emperor is in a hurry to cross the river, but you are still dithering. Look, the emperor is so angry that he is shaking all over."
The soldiers lifted the dragon chariot, and at that moment Liu Xiang was possessed. He ran so fast that he reached the pontoon bridge in the blink of an eye.
Zhenzong was so anxious that he stamped his feet, "I... am carsick, wait a minute..."
The soldier was still hesitating, Gao Qiong swung his stick and hit the soldier on the back, "We've come this far, why don't you hurry up!"
In this way, Zhenzong finally arrived at the north city of Chanzhou. Zhenzong climbed the north gate tower and hung the dragon flag representing the emperor high. When the Song army saw the yellow dragon flag, they shouted "Long live the emperor" and the sound spread for dozens of miles, and their morale was high. Zhenzong summoned Li Jilong and other generals, expressed his sincere greetings, and gave them generous rewards.
After completing the photo-taking and check-in task, Zhenzong hurried back to the North City camp, unwilling to stay on the city gate tower for a moment.
Here, Zhenzong met with Cao Liyong, the envoy for peace talks.
(End of this chapter)
On the way to Chanzhou, Kou Jun and Gao Qiong did not dare to leave Zhenzong for even a step. One civil official and one military official, one on the left and one on the right, they firmly controlled Zhenzong, fearing that the emperor would change his mind at any time. The pen holder is called an escort, and the gun holder is called an escort. The two escorted Zhenzong on the road.
At that time, the Liao army had stationed troops on the east, north and west sides of Chanzhou, leaving only the south. This was not a deliberate trap or a principle of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open, but rather objective conditions did not allow it. This requires a brief review of some of the content in the first half of the book:
As early as the beginning of the Five Dynasties, Li Cunxu of Hedong and Houliang launched a bloody battle along the river that lasted for twenty years. An important military stronghold appeared frequently, which was "Desheng Ferry". Li Cunxu expanded the ferry terminal into a military fortress and named it "Deshengzhai". In order to further strengthen the defense, in the second phase of the project, it was built into a twin city across the Yellow River. The South and North Desheng cities were connected by a floating bridge, so "Deshengzhai" was also called "Jiahezhai". It also became an important bridgehead for the Hedong forces, and later Li Cunxu did rely on it to destroy Houliang.
After the establishment of Later Tang, the strategic position of Deshengzhai was greatly reduced until the Later Jin Dynasty, when the capital was moved to Bianzhou. Since there was almost no strategic location to the north of Bianzhou, the north and south Desheng cities became the only strongholds that could barely be called strategic locations. As a result, they were once again valued by the rulers and became today's Chanzhou City.
The Liao army ravaged Hebei and surrounded the northern city of Chanzhou, while the southern city of Chanzhou was on the south bank of the Yellow River. The Liao army could only sigh at the sight of the river.
Zhenzong had just arrived in Nancheng when he received a victory report from the front-line commander Li Jilian: the Liao commander Xiao Talina was killed!
There are many vague and contradictory records about Xiao Talina in historical books. It is true that Xiao Talina was the "uncle of the country" of the Liao Dynasty. He had a prominent status and outstanding military achievements. Before this battle, he had served as Yelu Xizhen's deputy and captured "Yang Invincible" Yang Ye alive, making him famous in one battle. After that, he led the army to conquer rebellious tribes in the country many times and was promoted to the commander-in-chief of Nanjing for his merits. Last year, he captured Wang Jizhong alive in the "Battle of Wangdu". This time he went south and made many merits. After the death of famous generals such as Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Xiu'ge, the uncle of the country Xiao Talina became the undisputed first general of the Liao Dynasty.
Not long ago, Xiao Talina, as the spearhead of the Liao Kingdom, galloped across Hebei, captured cities and brought considerable pressure to the Song army. Now he led the vanguard troops to Chanzhou, ready to capture the small Chanzhou in one fell swoop, break the psychological defenses of the Song army, and make another unprecedented contribution to the Liao Kingdom.
Just as Xiao Talina was scouting the terrain, he was shot in the head by a Song army crossbowman and died of his injuries.
Logically speaking, the battle-hardened Xiao Talina would not make such a low-level mistake. How could he have entered the shooting range of the Song army's archers?
It is said that Xiao Tallin personally led several followers to scout outside the city of Chanzhou, looking for loopholes in the Song army's defense. The defending archers were helpless because these people were out of range. Seeing that the Song army was out of reach, Xiao Tallin became even more fearless, pointing and commenting here and there, and measuring and calculating there.
"Too arrogant!"
The person in charge of defending this section of the city wall was Zhang Ge, the general of the Imperial Army (the leader of the Tiger Army), "Zhu Zi, think of a way to kill him with a cannon."
炮？
Everyone had a flash of inspiration at the same time, "Then why don't we... really give him a shot?"
Everyone's eyes turned to a secret weapon - the bed crossbow. The bed crossbow, also known as the three-bow bed crossbow or the eight-ox crossbow, can be seen from its name. Let's put it this way, its crossbow arrows can no longer be called arrows, but more appropriately called javelins or spears. The arrow shaft is made of hardwood, and the arrow feathers are three iron sheets. It is beautifully called "one spear and three sword arrows". If it must be pulled by manpower, it is said that it would take 30 soldiers to pull it open with all their might, or eight oxen... So the correct way to open it is to use the capstan at the tail. And its firing method is also to be swung by a strong man with a giant axe, because the recoil is too great. If the trigger is pulled directly by hand, even if it can be pulled, the huge recoil will scrap the soldier's palm on the spot.
Its power is indeed very great, and it is usually used to shoot down enemy towers and battlements during sieges. The attackers often use it to shoot "treading arrows" that are nailed into the city walls in rows for the soldiers to climb.
In a word, this thing is not used to shoot people, but to shoot city walls.
There is some controversy about the range of ancient long-range weapons. We make a comprehensive analysis and take a compromise number: the range of bows and arrows is less than 300 steps, the range of crossbows can reach 500 steps, and the range of crossbows can reach 700 steps. Therefore, historical records say that Xiao Talina was very cautious and hovered at 800 steps.
However, Zhang Ge had an improved crossbow hidden beside him, which was said to have a range of 1000 steps. In the factory test, the arrow could reach three miles, about kilometers, which even exceeded the range of some modern sniper rifles...
From the above introduction, it can be seen that the use scenario of the bed crossbow is siege, and its design concept is to stack strength and critical hits without thinking, rather than stacking agility and accuracy. Range, rate of fire, power, and accuracy are still the "impossible triangle" of long-range weapons today. At least one must be sacrificed in favor of the other two or one. The so-called Gatling gun and sniper rifle cannot have both. Obviously, the bed crossbow sacrifices accuracy to ensure limited range and power.
For example, the improved crossbow in Zhang Ge's hand has a range increased to an incredible one thousand steps, and its accuracy can only be regarded as faith shooting.
Looking at Xiao Talina's arrogant look, Zhang Ge didn't care much. With the attitude of "if there is a date or not, try three times", he would shoot him first. He didn't expect to hit him, but at least he could scare him and make him go away.
After loading, Zhang Ge gave the order and a large javelin roared and flew into the distance. Who said that anti-aircraft guns can't shoot horizontally? Who said that the Gustav cannon can't be used as a sniper?
When Xiao Talina heard the whistling sound, it was too late. In a flash, "one gun, three swords and arrows" hit his head accurately, and the crossbow blew his head off.
"Fuck, is this possible?" Zhang Ge and others cheered on the city wall, "Zhu Zi, I will reward you with half a pound of sweet potato." That night, Xiao Tallin died of his injuries. Upon hearing the bad news, Empress Dowager Xiao rushed to visit him, hugged Xiao Tallin's coffin and cried loudly, and ordered the court to be suspended for five days.
Only then did Zhang Ge realize that the person who was shot during the day was actually Xiao Talina. Apart from exclaiming "Fuck" again and again, he didn't know how to express his calm mood.
After Zhenzong entered the southern city of Chanzhou, the commander-in-chief Li Jilian sent someone to report the victory and told him the good news that Xiao Talina had been killed. He also said that the northern city had been surrounded by enemy troops and was the front line of the front line. It was very dangerous, and His Majesty could stay in the southern city and must not cross the river.
Zhenzong thought it made sense. He said he wanted to visit Chanzhou. Both South City and North City were Chanzhou. He could take photos and check in in South City and post them on WeChat Moments, which would be enough for his good deed. There was no need to go to North City...right?
However, Kou Jun insisted that Zhenzong cross the river to Beicheng. "If your Majesty comes to Chanzhou but does not cross the river, the morale of the soldiers in Beicheng will be further reduced, and the enemy's arrogance will be increased. This is not the way to win. Moreover, Comrade Wang Chao leads the elite troops to station in Zhongshan, strangling the Liao army's neck; Li Jilong and Shi Baoji control the Liao army's arms respectively; our reinforcements are constantly coming from all directions to join... Your Majesty, what is there to worry about? Please cross the river quickly."
Gao Qiong also cupped his hands, "Kou Jun is right!"
The water of the Yellow River comes from the sky, roaring and rushing, accompanied by the sound of drums and horns on the other side. Like a keyboard warrior, although Zhenzong has the ability to "personally teach strategies", although he can make masts and oars turn to ashes while chatting and laughing on the map, he has never seen close combat with his own eyes. Now, he has heard the war up close.
Zhenzong was really scared, and he looked around for a life-saving straw. This time, the person who answered his gaze was Feng Zheng, the assistant to the Privy Council.
Feng Zheng stepped forward and angrily rebuked Gao Qiong: "You are so bold, Gao Qiong, you are not rude!"
The assistant to the Privy Council was, in simple terms, the adjutant of the Privy Council, which meant that his status was not as high as that of the prime minister, but he could be considered the leadership of the imperial guards. Therefore, Feng Zheng did not dare to scold Kou Jun, but could only target Gao Qiong.
Gao Qiong was not going to tolerate him, and immediately retorted: "What's so great about you? You just got into the Privy Council by writing good articles. Now we are facing a powerful enemy, and you still say I am rude. Then please write a poem to repel the enemy."
Feng Zheng was left speechless.
Gao Qiong then glanced at his soldiers and said, "Why are you still standing there? The emperor is in a hurry to cross the river, but you are still dithering. Look, the emperor is so angry that he is shaking all over."
The soldiers lifted the dragon chariot, and at that moment Liu Xiang was possessed. He ran so fast that he reached the pontoon bridge in the blink of an eye.
Zhenzong was so anxious that he stamped his feet, "I... am carsick, wait a minute..."
The soldier was still hesitating, Gao Qiong swung his stick and hit the soldier on the back, "We've come this far, why don't you hurry up!"
In this way, Zhenzong finally arrived at the north city of Chanzhou. Zhenzong climbed the north gate tower and hung the dragon flag representing the emperor high. When the Song army saw the yellow dragon flag, they shouted "Long live the emperor" and the sound spread for dozens of miles, and their morale was high. Zhenzong summoned Li Jilong and other generals, expressed his sincere greetings, and gave them generous rewards.
After completing the photo-taking and check-in task, Zhenzong hurried back to the North City camp, unwilling to stay on the city gate tower for a moment.
Here, Zhenzong met with Cao Liyong, the envoy for peace talks.
(End of this chapter)
