At the top of the city wall, accompanied by the beating of the war drums, Zhu Minchun led the Qi County magistrate and General Qi up the city wall. He looked nervously at the phalanx that Xiao Ruxun had arranged below the city wall and the Northern Barbarians cavalry charging over at lightning speed.
"Why did Admiral Xiao bring those people out? Isn't there still Li Rusong's Liaodong cavalry? "
Zhu Minchun asked anxiously.
The Qi County Magistrate naturally didn't know anything. The Qi County Magistrate mumbled for a long time, but he wasn't very clear either. He could only try to answer, "After all, he is a famous general who has never tasted defeat. Admiral Xiao must have his own reasons …"
Such an answer naturally did not satisfy Zhu Minchun. He looked at General Qi unhappily and then continued to look at the battlefield.
The Northern Barbarians cavalry was getting closer and closer. The beating of the war drums also became more urgent. Zhu Minchun felt his heart beating faster.
Suddenly, the beating of the war drums stopped.
Zhu Minchun's breathing stopped.
In the phalanx below the city wall, Xiao Ruxun raised his sword.
"Shield soldiers, raise your shields!"
Once the order was given, the shield soldiers immediately set up three layers of iron shields. One layer after another, the skeleton of the great formation was set up.
The cavalry approached again. Xiao Ruxun gave another order.
"Gunners, raise your spears!"
A thousand gunners immediately raised their spears. Through the small gaps between the shields, the shiny spearheads pierced out. Under the reflection of the sun, the spearheads shone with a cold light. A large formation that looked like a hedgehog was quickly arranged.
The Northern Barbarians cavalry also seemed to be prepared. They did not panic at all. It was as if they knew that the Ming Army would be so prepared. The originally arrowhead-like charge instantly separated to the left and right. The distance gradually widened and became two troops charging at the same time.
The Northern Barbarians on horseback had already gripped their bows tightly. They nocked their arrows and pointed them towards the sky, ready to shoot.
This was precisely the archery skill that had threatened the Han people for more than a thousand years. The cavalry of the Central Plains Dynasty had never been able to gain the upper hand in this skill.
However, it was no longer important now. The horn of the firearms era had been sounded, and the bow and arrow had been eliminated by Xiao Ruxun. It was no longer important whether or not he had mastered the art of mounted archery.
Two waves of black cavalrymen rushed towards the flanks of Xiao Ruxun's formation like a flood rushing into a building.
They did not have the intention to attack the hedgehog formation directly. They planned to use their bows and arrows to defeat this extremely daring Ming Army square formation that dared to challenge the cavalry. Then, they would slaughter to their heart's content and finally take down the city behind them.
Then came the slaughter!
Slaughter, slaughter, slaughter!
All that was left in their minds was the consciousness of these beasts.
The greatest deterrence that the cavalry brought to the infantry was the powerful feeling of charging, the shaking of the earth, the neighing of the warhorses, the dark mass of people, and the bloodthirsty killing intent.
All of this was a test of the psychological endurance of the infantry. Once one person could not withstand this deterrence, he would first have a mental breakdown, which would then bring about a chain reaction. This would be a devastating blow to the infantry square formation.
The formation would collapse on its own.
Fighting against the cavalry required an extremely strong mental fortitude and fighting spirit. Recruits who had not gone through strict training and had not seen blood before would definitely not be able to hold on.
The Zhennan Army under Xiao Ruxun had gone through three years of non-stop battle and training. They already had such qualities. Everyone gritted their teeth with a ferocious expression. Their eyes were bloodshot as they stared fixedly at the Northern Barbarians cavalry that was charging towards them from afar. They were like ferocious tigers lying on the ground, ready to give their enemies a fatal blow at any time.
They were not afraid.
The Northern Barbarians had begun their attack!
Accompanied by the sound of the air being pierced, a dense number of arrows fell from the sky. The shield bearers were well-trained and had long been prepared. They firmly held the large shields, protecting all the soldiers under the large shields. After a series of clanging sounds, other than a few unlucky soldiers who were injured by some tricky arrows, no one was killed by the arrows.
Xiao Ruxun did not order the artillery soldiers to return fire. The artillery soldiers were still under the strictest protection.
The Northern Barbarians cavalry roared and swept past the two sides of the Xiao Ruxun formation. The strong tremors of the ground and the loud noises brought great psychological pressure to the Ming Army soldiers. An even more ferocious and bloodthirsty killing intent rushed towards them. The smell of blood filled the nostrils of the soldiers.
The Northern invaders hoped to use this method to break the morale of the infantrymen. However, the expressions of the well-trained soldiers became even more ferocious. At this moment, the second and third volleys of arrows began to rain down.
Dense waves of arrows fell from the sky. The increasingly dense rain of arrows had already injured a small number of Ming Army soldiers. There were also soldiers who were shot to death.
At the same time, the tens of thousands of Northern Invading Cavalry had formed a huge encirclement. They circled around the infantry phalanx, keeping a certain distance from the infantry phalanx. Making sure that the rain of arrows would not harm their own men, they fired the dense rain of arrows at the infantry phalanx.
If one looked from a high vantage point, it would appear that a large black encirclement had surrounded the red formation, which clearly did not have enough people. The black encirclement was ferocious while the red formation appeared weak. They only defended passively and did not attack actively.
Zhu Minchun's body trembled and his teeth chattered.
"Xiao … Inspector Xiao he … why isn't he returning fire? Why isn't he returning fire? It's … it's already like this … Xiao … Inspector Xiao won't die, right? Quickly get Li Rusong to save him! Quickly get Li Rusong to save him! "
The Qi County Magistrate was already paralyzed with fear at the top of the city wall. The Qi County Magistrate gritted his teeth and held onto the city wall to prevent himself from falling to the ground.
They could not even protect themselves.
The threat of ten thousand cavalrymen was too great.
Suddenly, the drums at the top of the city wall sounded again.
Dong dong dong dong dong dong — —
For thousands of years, when the Han people faced strong enemies from the north and attacked the south, they would sound the drums that symbolized death. Wherever the drums sounded, there would always be Han warriors who did not fear death and counterattacked towards the north. Facing the north meant death. The people were born towards death.
The Ming Army soldiers heard the drums and their faces turned solemn.
Xiao Ruxun pulled out his sword.
"Gunners, raise your guns!!!"
The gunners finally received the order and raised the muskets in their hands. The muzzles of the muskets extended out of the formation through the gaps between the shields.
The Northern Barbarians had formed a ring around the formation and launched a rain of arrows. There were Northern Barbarians in all directions. The distance was within the effective firing range of the muskets. At this moment, regardless of whether it was a musket or a rifled musket, the lethality was multiplied!
Regardless of men or horses, as long as the Northern Barbarians were hit, the lead poison of the bullets and the fire poison of the gunpowder would instantly cripple them. Regardless of whether they died or not, they would become crippled and their horses would become useless!
One bullet in exchange for one Northern Barbarian cavalryman. This was a good deal!
Under such immense pressure, the soldiers needed to counterattack like a storm to relieve the pressure that was driving them crazy!
"Open fire!!!"
The order was given and the gunners roared. Their anger and madness were unleashed along with the bullets as they launched a counterattack against the Northern Barbarians.
Bang, bang, bang …
After a round of shooting, the gunners retreated to the outermost circle of the formation. The second layer took over and extended their muzzles outside the formation.
"Raise your guns!! Open fire!! "
Bang, bang, bang …
Another round of shooting.
The bullets carried the hatred and fighting spirit of the soldiers as they flew towards the Northern Barbarians. They either flew straight or flew diagonally. They were originally inaccurate but the Northern Barbarians had formed a ring around the Ming Army formation. No matter how they fired, they hit. Their accuracy was miraculously increased.
Following the howls of the men and horses that were shot, the originally smooth Northern Barbarians ring formation had some disharmonious elements.
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