Chapter 37

Inside the Arrow Pass, a thousand soldiers were busily preparing for battle. All the weapons and supplies in the warehouse were sorted and neatly arranged.

There were tens of thousands of spears and battle knives, and piles of arrows stacked like mountains. However, Chen Qing was more concerned about the defensive weapons.

There were horse bows, infantry bows, city defense bows, military crossbows, and bed crossbows, with over two hundred thousand arrows in total.

There were also over a hundred barrels of oil and even twenty barrels of gunpowder, which Chen Qing considered the most important strategic supplies. Unfortunately, the quantity was too small, and they could only be used at critical moments.

Chen Qing particularly valued the bed crossbows, of which there were forty-eight, with two thousand iron arrows. He had tasted the benefits of bed crossbows, which were effective against the heavily armored Jurchen soldiers.

However, using them against the Han army seemed a bit wasteful, as the Han soldiers wore leather armor, and city defense bows and military crossbows were sufficient.

The key was that the city itself had to be sturdy. The gate, crafted by Song Dynasty artisans, was four inches thick, and a regular battering ram might not be able to break it.

Outside, there was a moat three zhang wide and one zhang deep, with sharp stakes at the bottom. Falling into the moat meant certain death.

There was also a drawbridge, which served as another line of defense, preventing the enemy's battering ram from directly hitting the gate.

The city wall was three zhang high, built entirely of large blue stones, making it extremely solid.

"Why does this part of the wall protrude?"

Chen Qing noticed that the wall above the gate protruded five feet outward, which was quite distinctive.

"Commander, you don't even know this?" Yang Yuanqing looked at him in surprise.

"Of course, I know it exists, but I haven't studied it or cared about its function."

"It seems the commander has never defended a city before!"

Yang Yuanqing smiled and explained, "This is called a horse face wall. It looks like a long horse's face, and its main function is to shoot at the flanks of the attacking enemy."

Chen Qing stood by the horse face wall and indeed found himself outside the two sides of the wall. He thought for a moment and said with a smile, "We can station twenty elite crossbowmen here to specifically target key enemy positions."

Yang Yuanqing gave a thumbs up, praising, "Commander, that's a brilliant idea! It can indeed be deployed this way!"

Yang Hua, who had been relatively quiet, asked, "Commander, can you tell us about our mission?"

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and ordered his subordinates, "Go and gather all the battalion leaders!"

Chen Qing had appointed ten battalion leaders, among whom Yang Hua, Zheng Ping, and Luo Gan were promoted to preparatory generals and also served as battalion leaders.

Soon, the ten battalion leaders gathered on the city wall.

"I received orders from the安抚使 (pacification commissioner) Zhang Shuai and the two generals shortly after the heavy snow last year, instructing us to capture and firmly hold the Arrow Pass. Our mission is to intercept the Jin troops from Pingliang Prefecture from the western route, reducing the pressure on Mount Shangyuan.

Additionally, we have another mission, which is to support the armies of Generals Liu Qi and Liu Ziyu as they advance south. Capturing the Arrow Pass is easy, but whether we can hold it is the key to the entire battle."

At this point, Chen Qing glanced at everyone and continued, "I don't know to what extent our interception mission will affect the defense of Mount Shangyuan, but one thing is clear: this will be an extremely difficult battle, possibly ten times more brutal than the battle at Qilin Fort. Therefore, I require all soldiers to write their wills. I also solemnly promise that I will do my best to provide generous compensation to the families of every fallen soldier."

...

The next morning, a Han army of three thousand appeared at the canyon entrance. They set up a large camp outside the canyon and then slowly advanced south. After entering the canyon for two li, the tall and sturdy walls of the Arrow Pass suddenly came into view.

The pass was narrow, but the area in front was relatively wide, spanning one li, though the terrain was not flat, forming a shallow basin.

This terrain had two major disadvantages: first, it made the pass appear higher, with the walls especially tall; second, heavy rain could turn the area into a pond.

This was a common occurrence, and once it flooded, merchant caravans could only travel along the edges.

General Xia Jin absolutely did not want to fight this battle, but military orders were like mountains, and he had no choice.

Xia Jin rode his horse and looked at the pass a li away. The Arrow Pass was slightly elevated, making it even more imposing and difficult to capture.

"Are we just to be cannon fodder, are the lives of the Han army not worth anything?"

Xia Jin cursed angrily and then shouted loudly, "Central and rear armies, gather and form the bow and arrow formation!"

Two thousand Han soldiers quickly gathered, forming four rows of five hundred each, all equipped as archers and crossbowmen, while another thousand soldiers remained on standby.

The Han soldiers wore copper helmets, leather armor, and carried bows and crossbows with quivers on their backs. They were generally tall and strong, well-trained.

"Advance!"

Xia Jin shouted, and the formation began to move forward, kicking up dust in the canyon, adding a sense of desolation and killing intent.

The drum beats were rhythmic, and the two thousand Han soldiers marched in neat rows, full of killing intent.

Xia Jin was indeed capable, having trained the three thousand soldiers to be quite formidable, though their discipline was poor, their morale was high.

Although the Han army had hastily made a few siege ladders, Xia Jin knew that attacking the city immediately would result in heavy losses. It was better to leverage their numerical advantage and engage the Song army, using archers to suppress the enemy first.

The sky was overcast, and the early spring wind still carried a chill. A strong north wind blew, making the yellow dragon flag on the city wall flap loudly.

On the city wall, three hundred defenders were armed with military crossbows, ready for battle. The wall was only thirty zhang long and three zhang wide, capable of accommodating up to three hundred defenders.

Chen Qing watched the thousand black-clad soldiers in the distance, who were carrying siege ladders.

Chen Qing understood the enemy commander's strategy: to use the archer formation to suppress the defenders on the wall, and then have the thousand soldiers launch an attack.

"Prepare to shoot!"

The Song army commander on the city wall was Luo Gan, one of Chen Qing's early subordinates and a survivor of Er Lang Fort. He had always followed Chen Qing and was now a preparatory general, leading three hundred soldiers and serving as the seventh battalion leader.

Luo Gan was usually quiet, but today he volunteered to lead the first round of combat.

The three hundred soldiers crouched, divided into two rows. The front row shot straight through the firing holes at the enemy, while the rear row shot in a parabolic arc.

Chen Qing quickly walked to the crenellation and shouted to the soldiers below, "The enemy arrows are coming, retreat to the sides!"

Hundreds of soldiers retreated to the cliffs on both sides, leaving a large open area.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound of the Han army's signal sticks suddenly rang out, and two thousand soldiers charged forward, stopping at sixty paces and raising their bows and crossbows to fire a barrage of arrows at the city wall.

Black arrows rained down on the city wall, some hitting the wall and crenellations, but most flew over the wall and into the city.

At the same time, Luo Gan shouted, "Fire!"

The Song soldiers began to counterattack, shooting three hundred crossbow arrows at the neatly lined Han soldiers.

The three hundred crossbow arrows could not match the density of the two thousand enemy soldiers, but their killing power was stronger. The powerful crossbow arrows pierced through the Han soldiers' leather armor, and over a hundred soldiers screamed and fell.

The two sides exchanged arrows, and a fierce battle of arrows erupted.

Xia Jin saw his soldiers suffering heavy casualties without protection, while the enemy, hiding behind the crenellations, shot through the firing holes with almost no casualties. He was both heartbroken and angry, but there was nothing he could do; this was the disadvantage of the attacking side.

Xia Jin immediately ordered, "Sound the charge!"

"Uu—"

The deep sound of the deer horn blew, and a thousand soldiers surged forward, carrying eight hastily made siege ladders. On the battlefield, soldiers with spears and shields ran, stepping over the bodies of fallen comrades, and charged to the moat.

The moat had been bridged with planks by the archers, and the charging soldiers crossed the moat and placed the eight siege ladders against the city wall.

These siege ladders were made by carpenters from Qianyang County in a short time and were rather crude, with splinters and rough edges on the sides and crossbeams.

But these were minor issues. The key was that the top of each siege ladder had a pair of hooks to secure it to the wall, preventing the defenders from knocking it over.

The eight siege ladders had hooks tied to the top ends with leather straps, firmly securing them to the wall.

Han soldiers leaped onto the siege ladders and began to climb. Arrows rained down from the city wall, and the attacking soldiers held their shields to protect their heads, climbing step by step.

At this moment, the horse face wall began to play its role. Eight skilled Song soldiers crouched inside the horse face wall, shooting at the soldiers on the siege ladders, targeting the first climber on each ladder.

Another sixteen Song soldiers assisted in drawing the strings and loading the arrows, ensuring a continuous stream of shots. Each round, eight enemy soldiers were hit in the back and fell from the ladders, posing a significant threat to the attacking Han soldiers.