Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 162 The Art of the Tube Arrow

After the first day of battle, both armies returned to their camps to rest. After the sun rose twice more in the east, both the rebel army and the Zhenhai army showed obvious signs of fatigue.

Thanks to Huang Chao's brilliant command and the advantage of having been tempered by more bloody battles, the Grass Army's strength was clearly superior to that of the Zhenhai Army.

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the righteous army lost its chance to defeat Pei Qu in one blow, and the Zhenhai Army successfully set up camp, thus being drawn into a difficult battle to capture the camp.

However, due to the continuous harassment by the rebel army, the camp built by the Zhenhai Army was relatively simple, and they were even unable to dig a trench around the camp.

The day-long battle, fought from their fortified camps, was also a great hardship for the Zhenhai Army, whose light and swift troops were not suited for prolonged warfare. If it weren't for Zhao Qianye leading over a thousand elite Heyang soldiers left behind by Flame Commander Zhen Ranyu to fight fires everywhere, the Zhenhai Army might have been driven to collapse by Huang Chao in just one day.

In the dim morning light, the deafening sound of drums echoed once again across the plains southeast of Taihu Lake. The rebel soldiers swarmed forward, thrusting spears at the government troops inside the palisade, or throwing torches in an attempt to set the area ablaze.

However, as a capable general of the Tang Dynasty, Pei Qu naturally understood the principle of "being careful with fire and filling gaps with ash," and filled the gaps in the wooden wall with ashes as possible. In addition, the humid climate of Jiangnan made it not so easy to ignite.

Even if one or two sections of the stockade walls catch fire, the supply troops can extinguish them in time.

According to Li Weigong's military strategy, the Tang Dynasty implemented a seven-army system in the early years. A legion of 20,000 men was divided into seven armies: the Central Army, the Left Guard Army, the Right Guard Army, the Left Front Army, the Left Rear Army, the Right Front Army, and the Right Rear Army.

The central army consisted of 4,000 men, the left and right wings each had 2,800 men, and the four armies (left, right, front, and rear) each had 2,600 men.

Each army had a certain number of old, weak, and sick soldiers used for "guarding supplies" and other logistical and security tasks. Generally speaking, an army corps had 14,000 combat soldiers and 6,000 auxiliary soldiers responsible for supplies, a ratio of seven to three.

By now, the organization has changed significantly, and the military systems of each regional military command have also differed. As a southern regional military command, Zhenhai Army originally had a small number of soldiers, but in recent years, Pei Qu has fought a series of fierce battles with various rebel armies, and its military strength has increased considerably.

Apart from the troops stationed in various cities, Pei Qu still brought 20,000 men with him on this expedition, including 14,000 combat soldiers and 6,000 auxiliary soldiers, the same ratio as the early Tang Dynasty.

Sufficient auxiliary troops ensured efficient transport of supplies and construction of camps, and also enabled effective response to emergencies.

Several light cavalrymen bypassed Huang Chao's army formation and galloped into the Zhenhai Army camp.

"Report! The Zhejiang East Army led by Military Governor Cui Qiu is only ten miles away from the bandit camp. Within half an hour, they can launch a surprise attack on the bandits from both sides."

At this time, the Zhenhai Army's camp had been breached in several places, and despite their best efforts to repair it, it was still on the verge of collapse. Just as morale within the camp was wavering, the swift cavalry of the Zhejiang East Army greatly boosted the morale of the entire army.

"Well done!" Pei Qu let out a long sigh of relief, stroked his beard, and exclaimed loudly.

After two days of fierce fighting, he had suffered enough at the hands of Huang Chao, but he never expected that the bandits' offensive would be so fierce even without large siege weapons.

The Zhenhai Army and Huang Chao's army were of similar strength and fought from their fortified camps, yet the result was only that the casualties were roughly equal.

For the sake of his life and official position, Pei Jiedu was forced to drag his old bones and personally fight the enemy who had stormed into the camp three times yesterday, barely managing to drive out the elite troops who had broken in.

Pei Qu was certain that if Cui Qiu had arrived half a day later, or if his side had not received support from the more than a thousand elite Heyang soldiers under Zhao Qianye's command, the Zhenhai Army would not have been able to hold out!
Pei Qu, looking utterly exhausted, had completely lost her initial arrogance.

He had to admit that Huang Jutian, the bandit leader, was indeed a wise and brave general who could rival the four marshals.

"The bandits' good days are coming to an end." Pei Qu gritted his teeth and said, "Cui Qiu's troops will attack from both sides. Even if we can't crush them in one fell swoop, we can definitely hold out until Commander Gao's pursuing troops arrive. At that time, we will surround them from three sides, and what else can we expect but to destroy them?"

The generals looked solemn: "We only wish it to be so!"

"The enemy troops are getting close. Please allow me to lead a force to repel them!" Lin Yan rode his horse to the banner amidst the enemy troops and said to Huang Chao.

"Don't panic! Our army will continue the attack. We'll report back once Cui Qiu reaches our rear!" Huang Chao shouted, continuing to direct his troops in the attack.

Lin Yan was suddenly reprimanded and lowered his head. After a long while, he still stammered, "But the supplies are all in the rear. What if Cui Qiu launches a surprise attack..."

“The red smoke is behind us,” Huang Chao said calmly.

"Duan Niangzi's troops are mainly archers, and her elite infantry have all been drawn to the front lines to attack the enemy. How could they possibly stop Cui Qiu's entire army?" Despite admiring his uncle's wisdom to the extreme, Lin Yan still couldn't understand Huang Chao's actions at this moment, and felt that Huang Chao must have lost his mind.

"Return to the front lines and fight on!" Huang Chao said in an unquestionable tone, "Within two hours, Pei Qu and Cui Qiu will surely be captured and brought before our army!"

Lin Yan was taken aback, not expecting his uncle to be so confident even in such an unfavorable situation.

Pi Rixiu spoke up at this moment: "Young Master Lin, Commander Huang is your maternal uncle, and he has always been a brilliant strategist with no miscalculations. Do you not trust him?"

Lin Yan didn't know how to answer. He felt that he couldn't fight against so many opponents. After all, the enemy was attacking from multiple directions. Once they successfully surrounded them, his side would be outnumbered, and even if his uncle had great wisdom, he would have difficulty using it.

But Huang Chao's eyes shone brightly, which indeed made him appear very confident.

Lin Yan could only believe that his uncle truly had a miraculous plan to turn the tide.

The Zhejiang East Army, carrying a large blue banner with the character "Cui" on it, finally came into view of the rear of the grass army.

"Are you ready?" Duan Hongyan smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling with intelligence as she surveyed her generals, including Ding Hui and Deng Xuan.

"If we fail to defeat that old scoundrel Cui Qiu, I am willing to offer my head as a tribute." Ding Hui, though his face still had a youthful appearance, spoke with unwavering resolve.

Deng Xuan simply nodded, her expression resolute as ice.

Cui Qiu's army did not immediately attack, but paused a hundred paces away to regroup. The soldiers took weapons and armor from the oxcarts and donned them. Had Huang Chao adopted Lin Yan's strategy, he could have launched an attack while Cui Qiu's army was still establishing its position.

Duan Hongyan's troops were mainly archers, but they lacked sufficient surprise attack capabilities.

Upon seeing this, Cui Qiu's men all covered their foreheads with their hands, overjoyed beyond measure.

"Heaven truly punishes bandits!"

Cui Qiu's combat experience was far inferior to Pei Qu's, but he was known for his caution. Upon arriving, he did not immediately launch an attack, but instead allowed his soldiers to leisurely eat breakfast and recover their strength.

The arrival of the Zhejiang East Army alone was enough to boost the morale of the Zhenhai Army. Moreover, in Cui Qiu's view, the Zhejiang East Army was of inferior quality to the Zhenhai Army. If they launched an attack hastily, they would be exhausted and easily defeated by the enemy, which would only make things worse.

But Pei Qu's cavalrymen kept arriving, pleading, "Please, Lord Cui, send troops to attack the enemy immediately! Our army is really about to collapse!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Qiu couldn't help but smile: "That old general Pei Qu actually has a need to ask me for help."

Cui Qiu could not ride a horse, so he commanded his army from a large chariot drawn by four horses. The chariot was entirely dark purple, with purple hubs, mudguards, and curtains, except for the white canopy, which was as white as a cloud.

He glanced at his subordinate generals and said, "I request that you lead your troops into battle and crush the bandits!"

Cui Qiu himself was unfamiliar with military affairs, but the Zhejiang East Army had several experienced subordinate generals, whom Cui Qiu trusted highly.

"I obey the governor's command!"

Several generals led their respective formations, spreading out like a tide, and slowly advanced towards the enemy.

Duan Hongyan and others have led their archer squads into battle ready.

As Cui Qiu's army closed to within a hundred paces, a deluge of arrows rained down upon them.

A subordinate general of the Zhejiang East Army sneered, "Arrows are fired only when the enemy is within sixty paces; this is standard practice when using bows. Firing an arrow from a hundred paces away is unlikely to hit the target and is merely a waste of arrows."

Before he could finish speaking, an arrow whistled through the air and pierced the man's cheek, causing him to scream in agony and fall to the ground wounded.

When the soldiers helped him up, they discovered that the arrow that had pierced the officer was quite short, less than half the length of a normal arrow.

Such arrows should only be fired with a small bow, and therefore should not be able to travel far.

The enemy's arrows, however, were both far-reaching and accurate, raining down like a torrential downpour, one after another.

"This...what on earth is going on?"

Many soldiers of the Zhejiang East Army were not wearing armor at all, relying only on shields for protection. It wasn't that there was a lack of armor, but rather that the Zhejiang East Army had limited oxen and horses, and insufficient transport capacity. During the raid, some soldiers had to abandon their armor.

Finally, a clever adjutant shouted, "This is the tube shooting method! When defending a city, if there are not enough arrows, a long arrow will be cut into two or three pieces, arrowheads will be attached, and the arrows will be shot out by splitting a bamboo tube in half."

The tube arrow, also known as the flat arrow, was frequently used by the Tang army. For example, Wang Ying, the leader of the rebel army who had been rampaging through Jiangdong for the past three years, was killed by Liu Jurong, the garrison commander of Yongqiao Town, when he besieged Mingzhou after being defeated by Gao Pian and Pei Qu.

The single-arrow has a long range and high initial velocity. However, its disadvantages are also obvious: firstly, the arrow is not heavy enough to penetrate armor effectively; secondly, its flight is unstable. Therefore, it is generally used for defending cities. If used in open field battles, it places high demands on the archer's skill level.

Neither of these two problems exist now.

Cui Qiu's army had traveled a long distance to join forces with Pei Qu in attacking Huang Chao. Their armor penetration rate was low, and the archers under Duan Hongyan and others didn't even need to worry about penetrating the armor.

In terms of archer quality, Duan Hongyan's Qingyudu was already quite outstanding. The three brothers Zhang Guiba, Zhang Guihou, and Zhang Guibian also led their elite archers in the battle.

After the Battle of Muling Pass, Duan Hongyan had already considered that the armor coverage rate of the southern army was lower than that of the northern army, and that they could use the single-arrow method to defeat the enemy at a distance in the field. Therefore, he had carried out intensive training in the past few months.

Now it comes in handy!

The relentless barrage of arrows inflicted heavy casualties on Cui Qiu's army in an instant, with screams of agony filling the air.

They thought that at such a distance, only crossbows could effectively kill them, but the bandits clearly didn't have many powerful crossbows.

Lack of foresight is the most fatal flaw. Moreover, seeing that the opposing force consisted of only a group of archers, Cui Qiu's army became increasingly careless, confidently launching a full-scale attack, intending to wipe them out like a whirlwind once they got close.

They did not realize that skilled hunters often appear as prey.

When Cui Qiu's troops had made a difficult advance from a hundred paces to fifty paces, a hail of arrows had already caused nearly a thousand casualties among the Zhejiang East Army.

Duan Hongyan personally drew his bow and aimed at a heavily armored Zhejiang East Army lieutenant general charging bravely into the enemy ranks.

This person was quite well-protected, with a neck guard and a shield to deflect arrows. He even had an iron mask covering his face, leaving only two eye openings.

Duan Hongyan aimed at the enemy's eye and shot an arrow. As if divinely inspired, the bowstring twanged and the arrow pierced the general's eye socket. With a scream, the general fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)