Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong - Chapter 364 Night Battle

Even if there was a temporary need to deploy soldiers in the wilderness, they would try to keep a certain distance from the Song army to prevent the Song army's muskets and artillery from attacking them in a short period of time.

By the campfire…

"From today's battle situation, we can't gain any advantage at all."

"The enemy's cavalry is almost on par with ours."

"At least on the surface, they look more like elite troops."

Then another person also said: "If we use infantry, they will definitely become a burden to us. Now the cavalry is not very advantageous, I am afraid this battle will be difficult to fight."

The two people who were talking were King Ladislaus II of Hungary and Grand Duke Mieszko III of Poland.

As for Grand Duke Mieszko III of Poland.

It can even be said that although he had already arrived on the battlefield, Mieszko III was still thinking about this battle and wanted to avoid it if possible.

after all……

If all his people really died, what good would it be for him even if he defended the whole of Europe?

However, when the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary had already joined the battle, if you did not join, you might become an enemy of both, so you had no choice but to join.

Before joining, he must have heard about the power of muskets and cannons.

but……

To be honest, he always felt that these people were exaggerating a bit about those muskets and cannons.

He simply didn't believe that there really was such a weapon in the world.

It would be useless if they just sent out cavalry.

But they still have some advantages.

He said, "We are familiar with the terrain of the Kingdom of Hungary. If the enemy infantry, muskets, and artillery need to play to their advantage, we must fight a positional battle."

"And we have to avoid a positional war with them."

"The best outcome, of course, is to defeat the opponent directly on the battlefield."

"Even if we can't defeat the enemy, it would be good if we can capture some of their craftsmen and soldiers and learn how to make their muskets and cannons."

"At the same time...the other party's target must be the city behind us, or our people."

"And the land of the Kingdom of Hungary is so vast that we can delay their advance as much as possible."

Frederick put it simply.

But you don’t have a satellite in the sky that can monitor the enemy’s every move at all times.

On the plains, when it is basically impossible to see the enemy with the naked eye over a distance of more than two kilometers, how do you determine where the enemy must be?

Or when you walk a certain distance, how do you know if there are enemies in front of you?

After listening to it, everyone felt that when it was impossible to gather everyone together, dividing the forces was indeed the best solution.

And even if they were hit, the loss would be only a small part.

In addition...

Frederick I added: "We can go out in multiple groups. For example, we can use 500 people to lure out the other 500 people, and then use the other 500 people in reserve to attack the other 500 people from both sides."

Then the rest of the people also said: "What if the enemy doesn't fall for it?"

Frederick I said, "If you don't get fooled, there is nothing you can do."

"Then you should do it until they are fooled."

"We harass them so much that some of them will definitely be unable to bear it."

The Song army continued to move forward.

The Holy Roman Alliance also adopted the tactics mentioned by Frederick I.

Don’t tell me that!It's really annoying.

It's more like flies than a swarm of bees.

And if you want to chase.

That depends on the horses of both sides, and who is riding the real Arabian horse.

Yue Fei had fought for so many years, and combining his own advantages with the enemy's performance, he naturally understood the enemy's intentions at once.

Since you can't win, just try some tricks.

Yue Fei felt that it was necessary to fight, but he could not pursue the enemy too deeply.

After all, who knows if the enemy will have reinforcements if we chase them too far.

Yue Yun took some of his elite troops to drive them away.

Both sides are chasing each other.

I saw the enemy's cavalry coming in wave after wave.

Although not all of Frederick I's European cavalry were very good at riding and shooting.

But the Hungarian Magyars are still good at horse riding and archery.

Draw the bow and nock the arrow.

This naturally made the Song army's cavalry more and more angry.

Fortunately, Yue Yun did not get too excited.

Otherwise, if we chase it for a while longer, we will probably get stuck in the quagmire.

He only took the heads of seven or eight of the enemies, then turned his horse around and went back.

Be reasonable!The Song Dynasty has been at peace for so many years.

In fact, many people are not very good at fighting.

Or……

It is very likely that you lack the courage to kill.

Now we see some people from our own army chasing after us.

For them, at this moment, it may be more of a novelty.

then……

Maybe there will be a little bit of fear.

After all, this is the first time going to the battlefield, how can I not be afraid?

Even if the knife hasn't hit your body yet, you can still feel the pain if you are hit.

When Yue Yun came back, he captured several people alive.

By torturing these people, they quickly learned the other party's intentions.

Since it is not easy for infantry to appear directly on the field battlefield, they can only be placed in the city.

Since this city was built along the river, we can only say that its geographical location is quite good.

The city is divided into two parts: the big city and the small city.

On both sides of the river.

There is a stone bridge connecting the big and small cities, which is fifty meters long.

Of course Yue Fei knew what the city was called.

It is even hard to imagine that there are hot springs in this plain area.

of course!

The point is, they only need to march forward for about a day before they can set up camp and prepare to attack the city.

the next day.

The enemy cavalry continued to harass.

On Yue Fei's side, he continued to send people to contain the enemy.

The enemy probably saw that the Song army was about to arrive. That day, they also sent a lot of cavalry to go around the back of the Song army.

If it weren't for Yue Fei's strict military discipline, the army would have been in panic just from the two consecutive days of harassment.

When the tents were finally taken down.

Then everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The reason is not difficult to guess.

After all, the military system in Europe is all mercenaries, and most of them are multinational joint forces.

If they get together, maybe they can bring out their full strength.

But if you let them all disperse.

The camp was set up three miles outside the small town on the east bank.

nowadays……

Every move in the other city was also in the eyes of Yue Fei and others.

Yue Fei is 51 years old this year.

A person like Yue Fei certainly wouldn't keep anything to himself.

After setting up the tent, he brought his men outside the tent and explained to the other side how to besiege and attack the city.

In fact, it is quite risky for them to camp three miles away.

At night, you must also pay special attention to avoid being attacked by the enemy.

Don't tell me yet!

The enemy is really coming!After all, at night, the farthest you can see is only a few dozen or a hundred meters away. If the moonlight is better, you can see farther.

Frederick I's side came out in full force.

More than 20,000 infantrymen and more than 10,000 cavalrymen, not a single one was left alive.

As soon as the horn sounded, Frederick I ordered everyone to charge together.

As for Yue Fei, it would be difficult to find any trees around the tent to build a particularly good camp.

They could only set up a chariot camp and then place some spears on the periphery. Outside the spears, they simply built several layers of trenches of different sizes to serve as a temporary defense.

Frederick I saw this clearly and felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Frederick I thought he was so smart.

In fact...

That night, the Song army was already waiting for them.

When the enemy's horn sounded, the sound of artillery sounded almost at the same time.

A large number of Holy Roman Empire infantrymen were hit by the iron balls, and basically a dozen or twenty people fell down in a row.

Some unlucky ones may even fall down because they step on the iron ball that has just stopped.

At the same time, muskets began to fire intensively.

Inside the tent.

Although the range is not very far, only about thirty feet, the burning fire can instantly expose all the enemy soldiers in the dark.

This one was nothing short of tragic.

At least……

This was true for Frederick's side.

Others had their chest cavities pierced directly.

But even so, they can't stop.

Because once they stop, their advantage will be gone.

So much so that a large number of people rushed forward to be killed.

otherwise……

If all the soldiers could clearly see the miserable condition of those who were hit by artillery, they would probably vomit out their dinner.

The two sides fought fiercely for a whole night, and some of Frederick I's soldiers almost approached the chariot formation outside the front of the camp.

result……

After all, the Song army’s camp was indeed a bit simple, but it could not be destroyed by physical bodies.

A last resort!They had no choice but to retreat and bring in the catapults.

Hit with a trebuchet.

Of course, the Song army also saw it.

More than half of the catapults were lost due to the artillery attack.

Of course, it’s not to say that the Song Dynasty suffered no losses at all.

But compared with the other party, I can only say that I don’t make too much money.

By the time the catapult arrived it didn't seem to be of much use.

The only option is to blow the horn again, but this time it's to retreat.

At this time, Yue Fei also sent out Yue Yun and sent the cavalry out to delay the enemy's retreat as much as possible, or even drive the enemy away.

The result was that Frederick I did not allow retreat.

This retreat!

Their soldiers retreated in even greater disorder.

The Song army followed behind them in an orderly manner.

The Li Yuan army formed neat rows and led the way.

Many soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire were pushing and shoving each other as they rushed to escape back into the city, and almost all of them were crowded at the city gate.

But because they all became frightened birds, they lost their organization.

Some people even abandoned the city when they saw the war situation become like this, and ran to other places.

of course!

This is also related to the fact that there are pursuers from the Song Dynasty behind them.

Under the leadership of Li Yuanjun, the Song army held their ground against the enemy's heavy cavalry and stood at the city gate.

Frederick I also tried to use heavy cavalry to turn the tide.

What Frederick I did not expect was that almost every soldier in the Li Yuan army had ten caltrops.

Throw it to the ground.

In addition, the sudden shooting at a very close distance scared the war horses, and many horses even lost their hooves due to the fright from the gunshots.

The next morning arrived.

After the night battle is over.

The city was captured with almost no effort.

Among them, there were even more than one hundred, almost two hundred, heavy cavalry organized by Frederick I.

Finally count the casualties.

The Song army lost about three hundred people.

On Frederick I's side, many people simply threw away their weapons and weapons.

In the city, the Song army behind them surrounded and killed another two thousand people.

Although the casualty ratio is not particularly good, many people had a great time killing last night.

The main reason was that the other side still had a large number of cavalry on the periphery and had not been defeated. Otherwise, if the Song army could continue to pursue, the outcome of the battle would have been far more than this.

(End of this chapter)