12dz Chapter 516
Chapter 516
In the middle of the night, Hu Zongxian had just fallen asleep when he heard the bugle call to assemble. This immediately woke him up. In Hu Zongxian's mind, the sounding of the bugle at this time most likely meant that the Mongols were attacking.
When Hu Zongxian arrived outside Datong City and was handed a shovel, he was stunned.
"What is this for?"
Hu Zongxian looked at his squad leader, his face full of confusion.
"According to the adults, this is building defensive fortifications. In terms you can understand, it's called digging trenches. Trenches are essential to contain the Mongol cavalry. Get to work quickly."
The squad leader dug down with all his might while urging Hu Zongxian to work.
Upon hearing this, Hu Zongxian thrust his shovel downwards and began digging. He was very familiar with this kind of work, having done similar tasks many times in Zhangjia Village before, so it was a piece of cake for him.
Hu Zongxian recalled the military books he had read and thought of the infantry's tactics against cavalry. Digging trenches was the simplest and most effective method. The trenches did not need to be very wide. Such narrow and deep trenches were not visible from a distance on flat ground. Cavalrymen needed to get very close to see the trenches clearly, but by then it was basically too late.
Even if some reacted quickly enough to get past, the soldiers hidden in the trenches would use hook-and-sickle spears to sever the horses' legs, causing the enemy cavalry to fall to the ground.
Trenches, also known as horse traps, have proven effective time and again. With this in mind, Hu Zongxian understood his teacher's idea and was motivated to start digging trenches.
Once the trenches were dug to a sufficient depth, Hu Zongxian and his men would also dig some small holes in them. These small holes were hiding places for the soldiers who were hiding in the trenches, so that they would not be trampled to death by the horses if they fell into the trenches, and they could also effectively prevent the enemy from shooting at them.
The density of trenches outside Datong City is not high. If the density were too high, the trenches would be easily spotted by the enemy, thus losing their surprise effect. On the contrary, this density is just right for the Xuanwu Army. Otherwise, if the density were too high, the Xuanwu Army would have to be careful of the trenches if they wanted to pursue.
The next morning, not long after the trenches had been dug, Zhou Chu on the city wall received news from the scouts.
"My lord, the Mongols will arrive outside the city in at most half an hour."
These words instantly energized Zhou Chu, who was feeling somewhat tired after staying up all night.
Anda truly lived up to his reputation as a prodigy who could command tens of thousands of Mongol cavalry in his teens. He was well aware of the importance of speed in warfare. Although he arrived a little later than Zhou Chu had anticipated, he was still two days earlier than Datong Guard had expected.
A two-day head start can be fatal if there are no prior precautions.
"Pass down the order: all defensive fortifications must be properly concealed within fifteen minutes."
Zhou Chu gave the order.
Although it's difficult to see the trenches from horseback, Zhou Chu wanted them to be more concealed. Only by being sufficiently concealed could the trenches be used to their fullest potential.
After receiving the order, Hu Zongxian, along with other soldiers, neatly spread some green grass on the trench.
It was August, and the lush green grass outside Datong City provided natural cover for the trenches.
Hu Zongxian and his combat squad all hid in the trenches. Hu Zongxian looked at the grass covering his head, then bent down and crawled into the small hole that had been dug earlier to hide himself and wait for the opportunity.
"You just squat here and use the short hook-and-sickle spear. You haven't been trained with the long hook-and-sickle spear yet, and you might accidentally hurt your own people if you don't use it properly."
The squad leader looked at Hu Zongxian and said.
Upon hearing this, Hu Zongxian nodded. Under this squad leader, he naturally had to coordinate actions.
Apart from Hu Zongxian, every soldier in their unit was equipped with two hook-and-sickle spears, one long and one short. The long one was used to hook the legs of horses on the ground, while the short one was used to hook the legs of horses that had fallen into the trenches.
Hu Zongxian was not dissatisfied with the squad leader's words. In fact, he knew his own limitations very well. Using a long hook-and-sickle spear in the trenches was not a simple matter. Angle and force were both indispensable, and it required long-term training.
It is clear that Hu Zongxian lacked training in this area, and his hasty use of the long hook-and-sickle spear was not a good thing for either Hu Zongxian or anyone else.
About fifteen minutes later, Hu Zongxian could clearly feel the vibrations coming from the ground, which made him extremely alert.
"Be on high alert!"
Hu Zongxian's squad leader called out in a low voice.
As the ground tremors grew stronger, Hu Zongxian could clearly hear the shouts of the Mongols as they fought.
"put!"
Zhou Chu waved his command flag, directing the artillerymen on the city wall.
One by one, the fuses of the mother and daughter cannons were lit, followed by a burst of cannon fire.
Hu Zongxian, who was hiding in the trench, heard the explosion from the ground and felt his ears ringing.
However, the artillerymen on the city wall knew where the trenches were built, and they deliberately avoided firing their cannons in the trench area.
Even so, the sheer scale of the firepower still left Hu Zongxian, who was hiding in the trenches, feeling a strange sense of awe. He was so excited that he was trembling all over, wishing he could crawl out of the trenches and see what was happening outside.
However, Hu Zongxian knew very well what he should do at this moment. He nestled in the trench, holding a short-handled hook-and-sickle spear, waiting for the enemy to fall in.
Soon, the first round of artillery salvo ended. The Mongols seemed to have anticipated that Zhou Chu would use firearms, and the entire cavalry formation was advancing in echelons.
The division of the troops into echelons of one thousand men resulted in limited firepower from the first salvo of artillery fire, killing only a little over one thousand Mongol cavalrymen.
The first echelon of Mongol cavalry was almost completely wiped out, and a small number of the second echelon were also affected.
"Their artillery is reloading, charge!"
"Anda roared."
Having been bombarded by cannon fire, the Mongol cavalry could no longer hear what Altan Khan was saying, but they could understand the meaning of the battle flag in his hand. So the second and third echelons charged forward.
"put!"
Zhou Chu looked down at the Mongol cavalry below, his expression cold as he continued to wave his battle flag.
Zhou Chu naturally wouldn't deploy all the artillery in the first round; the artillery would fire in two rounds in a staggered fashion to maximize firepower.
Following Zhou Chu's command, the cannons roared once again.
The second and third echelons of the Mongols, who had been so aggressive, suffered another devastating blow.
"rush!"
When Anda saw this scene, his eyes were bloodshot, but he knew that he must not stop charging now, otherwise all the previous sacrifices would be in vain.
Anda knew even better that the Ming Dynasty's cannons only fired one or two salvos before the barrels needed to cool down; he was quite knowledgeable about the Ming Dynasty's firearms.
Although I underestimated the mother-and-child cannon, the idea was roughly the same. Even with a mother-and-child cannon, there is still time to switch the child cannon. After two rounds of salvo, there is indeed a brief vacuum period.
Anda saw that the Ming Dynasty's cannons had stopped, and led his army to continue the charge, but suddenly saw that the cavalry at the front had disappeared, and some of them had fallen to the ground.
"Horse trap!"
Anda's expression changed.
He was only concerned with speed and wanted to take Datong by surprise, so he never expected that the Datong garrison had already made preparations and even dug horse traps in advance.
Hu Zongxian, who was originally hiding in the trench, saw the warhorse and Mongol cavalry that had landed in front of him. He used his short-handled hook-and-sickle spear to hook and sever the horse's leg, and then hooked and severed the Mongol cavalryman's throat.