Chapter 1240: Empty Camp Plan
“Wow!”
Temporarily sawn wood was piled near the water, and then tied side by side with thick Nanxiang hemp rope.
“Poof!”
“Poof!”
Someone took out a shriveled sheepskin and blew it hard.
Of course, there are also some people who are arrogant and take out their cowhide and start bragging about it.
Using sheepskin rafts and cowhide rafts to cross water was originally only popular in Liangzhou.
After all, there are flocks of cattle and sheep in Liangzhou, so it is easier to obtain sheepskin and cowhide.
Later Feng Duhu came to rule Liangzhou, and Ji Han had his own animal husbandry base.
Coupled with the support of silage technology and captive breeding technology, as well as the high profits of wool spinning workshops, the development of Liangzhou's animal husbandry can be said to be rapid.
The rapid development of animal husbandry can provide enough leather for the army.
The processed sheepskin is extremely light in weight and can be folded up on daily basis, taking up no space at all.
Once it’s time to cross the water, just take it out and blow it.
After blowing, just tie several sheepskins together to form a sheepskin raft.
It can also be tied around the bamboo raft or wooden raft to increase the load of the raft.
Cavalry can also use this thing when crossing water.
Tie the blown sheepskin to the horse, and then use the horse's swimming ability to cross large rivers.
How could King Feng Gui let go of such a powerful weapon for crossing water?
Naturally, it was vigorously promoted in the military.
Shi Bao said he would try to cross the water immediately, and this was his confidence.
“Wow!”
Soon, the first raft was pushed into the water.
Then the second one, the third one...
“Hurry, keep up!”
A team leader stood in the water and greeted loudly:
“楯,大楥,hurry up!”
Immediately afterwards, the soldiers carrying the big pillars quickly jumped on the raft, and with a bang, they erected the big pillars in front.
The second team leader followed, stood behind the soldiers, waved and said:
“Those behind, follow up!”
The soldiers who had been waiting in line by the water began to board the raft one after another.
After a while, the raft was full of people.
They all only wore light leather armor, and even the company leaders did not wear iron armor with better protection.
The reason is very simple. In addition to reducing the weight so that the raft can carry more people, there is also a high probability of falling into the water when crossing.
Wearing leather armor, as long as you are not shot to death by an arrow, you may not be able to be rescued by someone behind you after falling into the water.
If you are wearing iron armor, you will sink to the bottom if you really fall into the water, and you will have no chance at all.
The soldiers on the raft, the ones standing at the front, had dull, even indifferent faces.
As if they didn't care what was on the other side.
They just stood quietly, and except for someone occasionally touching the weapon in their hand, there was no other movement.
These people are all veterans of hundreds of battles. Fighting has been engraved in their bones. They have been on the line of death countless times.
Compared with their calmness, the soldiers following them were more or less nervous.
From the bulging veins in their hands that were holding their weapons tightly, it could be seen that their hearts were not at peace.
Although Tu Chen's army had undergone rigorous training, they also fought a not easy battle at Gaoping Pass.
But they still have a long way to go if they want to be like the leading veterans of hundreds of battles.
And this section of the road is probably the distance between life and death.
However, those who were selected for forced crossing did not have much fear on their faces, and they were able to obey the military orders of the commander in an orderly manner, which was considered rare and valuable.
As long as given time, after they have experienced actual combat, it will be a matter of time for them to become elite soldiers - provided they can survive.
Just like the current forced crossing, even if it is successful, it is normal for them, as the vanguard, to suffer casualties of sixty-seven out of ten.
If you can't succeed, it will be a narrow escape.
The actions of the Han army quickly attracted the attention of the Wei army on the other side.
“General, it’s not good, the bandits from the West are about to cross the water!”
"What!"
General Wei immediately became anxious after receiving the news. He almost ran up to the observation tower and took a closer look.
Although you can't see it completely clearly, you can see that the raft is moving towards you.
“Simply crazy!”
After confirming that the Han army was indeed in trouble, General Wei's face changed drastically and he couldn't help but cursed:
“Madman! Madman!”
Who is leading the army on the opposite side?
So unreasonable!
How can anyone organize a crossing as soon as they arrive?
You don’t want to camp?
You don’t want to take a rest?
He simply doesn’t care about the lives of the soldiers below, and he is not afraid of mutiny by the soldiers!
General Wei cursed viciously in his heart, but he did not dare to hesitate at all:
“Come here!”
“General?”
“Organize everyone immediately and prepare to face the enemy!”
“Here!”
General Wei cursed and ran down the watchtower again.
He must go to the front and personally stop the Western pirates from landing.
The raft gradually passed the center of the water and began to enter the east side of Danshui.
The Wei army on the east bank also began to form a formation on the bank according to the predetermined plan, and was ready.
Seeing that they were within the range of the crossbows, the Wei army's war drums sounded.
“Fire the arrow!”
“Peng!”
As the first arrow came out, a dense rain of arrows followed, thrown into the air and falling towards the first batch of rafts.
“Raise your shield!”
Although the large frame can block the arrows in front, it cannot block the arrow feathers falling in the air.
Fortunately, almost all the soldiers on the raft carried small bucklers.
Everyone raised their small bucklers and huddled together as much as possible to minimize their body exposure.
The first wave of arrow feathers did not cause much damage to the Han army. More arrow feathers fell into the water, causing harmless splashes, and finally flowed down the river.
But as the raft continued to move forward, a rain of arrows far stronger and denser than the first wave of arrows soon came again.
This time, someone in the Han army finally screamed.
“Don’t move, hold on!”
Seeing that the rookie recruit next to him was injured, he couldn't help but want to shrink back.
The veteran shouted loudly.
But the sound of breaking through the air in his ears, the heartbreaking pain in his body, and the horror between life and death made the recruits unable to control their survival instinct at all.
With this movement, his body became more and more exposed.
Soon, another arrow hit him.
"ah!"
The recruit writhes in pain.
The small raft had no room for him to roll over. He only heard a "plop" and he quickly fell into the water.
The cold water seemed to calm him down, but also seemed to make him more panicked.
After drinking a few gulps of water, he struggled to get his head out, waving his hands wildly, crying and yelling.
Seeing their colleagues who live together day and night struggling between life and death, many people can't help but have a look of intolerance in their eyes.
“Hold on!”
Shi Chang grabbed the bamboo pole on the raft and handed it over, shouting: "Hold on!"
The soldier who was drowning desperately grabbed the life-saving bamboo pole.
“Others, don’t move!”
Seeing someone wanting to help, the chief quickly stopped him and said, "Protect yourselves! No one is allowed to move!"
Then he looked at the soldiers who fell into the water and said, "Hold on tight, don't let go. If you let go, you will die."
“Pull me up, pull me up...”
The soldiers in the water were begging.
“Hold on to the pole, don’t let go, keep following to the shore, and figure out a way to climb up when the time comes.”
The raft was full of people, and there wasn’t much room for movement. If we really tried to save him, it would only cause more people on the raft to be hit by arrows.
More importantly, rescuing him now would inevitably waste time. Not only would it block the raft behind him, but it would also delay landing on the beach.
As he spoke, Wei Jun’s arrows became denser and denser.
The soldiers paddling on the raft also gritted their teeth and worked hard to make the raft faster and faster, trying to cross this last section of water.
Shichang suddenly felt the pole in his hand lighten, and he knew something was wrong.
Looking closely, I saw that the soldier who fell into the water had already let go of his hand, his body rolled a few times with the waves, and then gradually turned into a black shadow in the water, and finally disappeared.
On the surface of the water, there was nothing but a line of blood that was gradually turning reddish.
The waves stirred up by the raft next to it swept over the blood line, and finally merged with the water flow, no longer different.
The look in the chief's eyes darkened, and then he wordlessly retracted the pole and began to grip his weapon again.
…
After suffering a lot of casualties, the first raft finally hit the rocks on the shore.
"boom!"
The sheepskin could not bear the heavy load and broke with a loud noise.
But it didn't matter anymore. The Han soldiers on the raft shouted, jumped down one after another, and rushed forward.
The last wave of arrow feathers from the Wei army also arrived, and then the Wei army's halberds, spears and spears, which had been waiting on the shore for a long time, began to pierce.
Several Han soldiers who were at the front were picked up high and died without even uttering a scream.
The leather armor on their bodies could not stop the prodding of these long weapons at all.
“楥!”
“Crash!”
A few large pillars that had just been temporarily formed were unable to block the crazy attacks of so many weapons.
As soon as they reached the shore, the Han army was pushed back before they could gain a firm foothold.
“Ah! Kill!”
The team led several veterans to form the most typical small group formation of the Han army, the Sancai formation, and rushed to the front bravely.
Block, assassinate, slash, alternate cover...
The Wei army was caught off guard and finally suffered casualties.
“Follow! Cover!”
Zhi Chang shouted and led the people below to fill this rare gap.
With the river behind them, there was no way to retreat. In addition, they came with the intention to die. The remaining Han troops shouted loudly and followed them without fear of death.
"Hold it, you must hold it, there are not many of them, and you can bury them to death!"
The generals of the Wei army also urged the people below and drove them up.
Blood flowers are floating in the air, the fishy smell is permeating the air, and the swords and metals are clashing. The nose, mouth, and ears are all filled with discomfort.
“It’s a pity that there are so many good men...”
Hu Zun held up the telescope and observed the battle situation on the other side. He looked a little sad and let out a sigh of regret.
No one in the Han army retreated because they knew there was no way to retreat.
However, facing the Wei army whose number was several times their own, they fought hard and exhausted their last strength, but were finally drowned in the Wei army's crowd.
These people are all the ones who broke into the army by themselves!
They are all rare soldiers.
“It’s not a pity, I will bury them myself tomorrow.”
Shi Bao put down the telescope, his face was solemn and his eyes were deep.
“Tomorrow?”
Hu Zun was startled, "General Zhonglang means that tomorrow..."
"Let the soldiers continue cutting wood and building rafts. Tomorrow, I will cross Danshui!"
“General Zhonglang, this…”
Shi Bao turned to look at Hu Zun, with a sneer on his lips and pointed to the other side:
“General Hu, have you ever noticed something strange about the Wei thieves?”
Hu Zun, who had been attracted by the fierce fighting on the other side, and felt sorry for so many good men in his heart, could not help but secretly scream in shame.
“If you are ignorant at the end of the day, please ask the wise general to teach you.”
"Fake!" Shi Bao stared at the opposite bank, "Those camps of the thieves are fake, or in other words, they are empty. The thieves did not deploy many troops on the other side at all!"
"What!" Hu Zun couldn't help being shocked when he heard this, "How is that possible!"
Earlier, the scouts clearly discovered that the thieves were on the other side and were closely guarding them.
"General Hu, did you notice that after our people crossed the water, the thieves only gathered there, and according to my observation, there were only a few thousand people."
"There are no extra troops on both sides of the crossing point to protect the two wings. This is not in line with the formation of the formation at all."
“If we had extended the front line and crossed the water in a big way just now, the thieves would probably be trapped on both sides.”
Hu Zun was startled when he heard this. He raised the telescope again and observed it carefully. After a while, he put it down with a look of surprise on his face:
“It’s as General Zhonglang said, the formation of the thieves seems a bit strange.”
He looked at Shi Bao, with some admiration in his eyes.
It makes sense for Zhonglang to be valued by Feng Duhu.
Hu Zun asked in a low voice:
"Then, according to General Zhonglang, do the thieves have other plans? Or is there an ambush?"
Shi Bao shook his head confidently:
“It might be possible if we move to another place, but with the current situation in Shangdang, I’m afraid the thieves have no intention of guarding this place.”
“General Hu, don’t forget, General Zhendong has already moved south from Taiyuan to Shangdang.”
"If the thieves are dragged here by us, not only will they not be able to defend the Shangdang, but they will also be blocked in the eldest son."
Hu Zun was shocked:
"What General Zhonglang means is, is the thief planning to escape? Or is he planning to defend Hu Pass?"
Shi Bao said decisively: "Nine times out of ten, they want to escape!"
Want to guard Huguan?
Why should they keep it?
Speaking, Shi Bao said "Hey" again, "It seems that the thief general is not a simple character, he is very decisive!"
Sima Yi was forced by General Zhendong to flee from Jingxing to Jizhou. Presumably, he must have notified the Shangdang rebels in advance so that they could prepare.
The thieves of Shangdang may have immediately decided to abandon the defense of Danshui after learning about General Zhendong's movements.
Therefore, there are many camps on the other side. Besides being too late to dismantle them, I am afraid that they also want to deceive themselves by using the empty camps to delay time.
“Fortunately, General Zhonglang took him by surprise and sent people to test the crossing, otherwise I might not have discovered the thief’s trick!”
Hu Zun was also the leader of the army after all. After Shi Bao's analysis, he immediately reacted.
"General Hu, I'm afraid you will have to work harder today and tomorrow to urge the soldiers to build more rafts so that the entire army can cross the water tomorrow."
“How dare you say you have to work hard when you are doing your job?”
Shi Bao and Hu Zun had reached a consensus, so they acted separately.
Hu Zun went down to arrange a surprise attack on Chen's army, while Shi Bao went to find the engineering battalion.
I believe that with the help of the engineering camp, this matter will go much faster.
(End of this chapter)