Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 352: Only One Out of Ten Survives
The eighty-second year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

Winter hasn't even completely passed yet, and the ice is just beginning to show signs of melting.

Due to shortage of military rations, the Crusaders had to launch an attack on the Bulgarian region early.

This cold weather is certainly not conducive to fighting.

However, if he stayed for a few more months, Pope Innocent II felt that the people under his command would probably starve to death.

obviously!
Pope Innocent II was not a very good commander.

and……

The entire Western world has never been so united.

They just think that more people means more.

Actually...

The journey has been quite chaotic.

Some people even looted the villages of the Allied forces along the way just for a bite to eat.

God knows whether these people come here to fight and exterminate the pagans, or to be robbers.

This was so severe that Innocent II had to harden his heart and execute some people in order to stabilize the situation.

however……

This also made Innocent II realize that he could no longer wait like this.

They must launch an attack on the infidels as soon as possible.

then……

This year's spring.

Innocent II took all his men and launched a face-to-face attack on the Song army along the Maritsa River in Bulgaria.

of course!

Before going to war, they still have to give each other a warning.

Innocent II sent people to ask Yue Fei to surrender as soon as possible and convert to Christianity.

Yue Fei, on the other hand, told the other side that it would be better for you Western barbarians to surrender as soon as possible so that you can be immersed in the rule of the Song Dynasty as soon as possible.

Because of his numerical advantage, Innocent II did not give Yue Fei any face.

Then...

The Holy Roman infantry, the French heavy cavalry, and the English longbowmen all appeared on the front lines of the battlefield.

Even some archbishops, after seeing such a grand spectacle, had to sing praises of this battle, saying that it was a pity for those who could not participate in this battle. After all, battles of this scale are extremely rare even in history.

Not to mention, the troops from so many countries have united to fight against foreigners and pagans.

This is indeed a rare grand event in their Christianity over thousands of years.

This statement directly slapped Pope Innocent II on the butt.

Although Westerners do not pay much attention to historical records, even so, if this matter were to spread, it would greatly enhance his reputation.

And you have to know that since he ascended the throne of Pope, there has not been a single day that has gone smoothly for him.

Even during his more than ten years as Pope, he spent at least half of it outside the country.

Not in the Vatican.

There is almost nothing much to say about this battle.

Anyway...Innocent II felt that he was invincible.

Yue Fei, on his part, was thinking about how to keep all these enemies and maximize the results of the battle.

and so……

Yue Fei also prepared a perfect plan in advance.

When both sides were preparing for war in the southeast corner of the basin, a group of troops secretly came behind the Crusaders in the northwest corner of the basin and quickly occupied several small mountain passes behind the Crusaders that they could use to escape.

Apparently, Innocent II was not aware of this.

And Innocent II probably didn't think he would lose this battle.

As the horn sounded.

The troops of both sides quickly gathered together.

have to say!

It's really spectacular to see so many people fighting together.

only……

Innocent II still underestimated the power and range of firearms.

and overestimating the courage of the Crusaders.

When the cannonball hit Innocent II's army from more than a mile away, although Innocent II had also made large crossbows with a good range and wild donkey catapults.

however……

Compared with the range of artillery, the range of large crossbows and wild donkey catapults is still more than one level lower.

After seeing the enemy's large crossbows and wild donkey catapults, Yue Fei realized the problem early on.

Let our artillery launch an attack in advance.

So much so that Innocent II had not yet let his men unleash the power of large ballistae and wild donkey trebuchets, and then...

Due to the influence of some people who are afraid of death.

The army seemed to be on the verge of collapse soon.

of course!

There were also many brave and skilled fighters among the Crusaders.

They saw that the Song army did not have many artillery pieces.

therefore……

Under the leadership of some fearless people, soon...

The front-line troops of the Crusaders moved decisively without the Pope's orders.

Yue Fei saw the other party move.

But he still kept his composure.

Until he saw the enemy running towards him, he ordered his own infantry to fire multiple rounds of arrows.

Beat the opponent so hard that he can't raise his head.

And the combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced.

Only then did he stand still and fight with the opponent.

And at the same time...

The Crusader cavalry were not idle either.

Because the artillery positions were set up separately.

On one side of the army formation where the view was relatively open, naturally, seeing those unarmed artillerymen, the French Crusader heavy cavalry would definitely not miss such an opportunity.

Following Innocent II's orders, the French heavy cavalry of the Crusaders also moved.

only……

Unfortunately, those horses seemed to have not undergone any stress training to withstand the sound of artillery fire. They were already restless before the charge. After the charge, it seemed as if their legs were weakened by the sound of artillery fire, and their charge speed seemed to be twice as slow as usual.

This also resulted in even the soldiers who were charging beginning to lose confidence.

and……

The soldiers of the Song Dynasty are really dirty.

When these heavily armored cavalry arrived in front of the artillery position, they found that the ground was covered with inconspicuous horse nails and many one-foot-deep potholes.

The result was that when the French heavy cavalry rushed up to them, they found that it was impossible to get through.

Everybody fell down.

Such a scene left everyone stunned.

The essential……

The artillery position is on a slightly higher small platform.

If you want to attack, you have to climb up a bit.

The successive setbacks left Innocent II completely at a loss.

How to fight this?
of course!

That’s it!

The only option is to order everyone to charge together.

As for their large crossbows and the like, they were originally used to defend the city due to their large size and inconvenience in moving.

But if you insist on moving forward, it’s not impossible.

Anyway...

Now, except for those who are operating the ballistae and the trebuchets, all the rest of you, charge!

Only when the soldiers charged forward could they forget the amazing destructive power of the artillery.

It can also avoid being attacked by those artillery.

Then...

Innocent II then addressed everyone:

"My brothers, God's people, I stand here today, at the will of the Lord, to deliver to you a sacred mission."

"As you know, our brothers in the East are suffering greatly."

"Those Peach Blossom Stonemen, Seljuks, and Muslims are all pagans who worship the devil. They not only occupied our holy land, but also conquered our brother Constantinople." "They trampled on God's land, destroyed sacred churches, killed countless devout Christians, and even desecrated our most sacred places."

"Therefore, I implore you, as an ambassador of Christ, all knights, soldiers, rich and poor, to act quickly."

"This will be a holy war, a war to glorify God and reclaim the Holy Land."

"For those who sacrifice in this battle, your souls will go directly to heaven."

"Don't hesitate, don't be hesitant! To glorify God! To retake the Holy Land!"

"kill!"

Although not many people can actually hear it.

but……

In fact, Innocent II only needed to make such an appeal to some elite troops.

after all……

Wars are always won by the elite troops at the front, so this battle is won too!

As a steady stream of Crusaders rushed towards this side.

The artillery attack seemed a little insignificant.

Moreover, artillery is easily overheated due to frequent firing.

If it overheats, problems may occur.

Yue Fei naturally would not have thought that these Crusaders would be so crazy.

Unfortunately, the gap in the southeast corner of the basin is almost twenty miles wide.

If it was only one mile wide, then indeed, these Crusaders would not have been as crazy as they are now.

The two sides soon started fighting.

However, the number of casualties among the Crusaders was also rising sharply.

Yue Fei stood on a hill.

Always pay attention to the movements on the battlefield.

If all the elite troops of the Crusaders rush forward, the rear will be empty.

He also ambushed a heavy cavalry in the northeast corner of the battlefield.

at this time……

Seeing the opportunity, he immediately gave orders to the heavy cavalry.

The heavy cavalry immediately took action.

A heavily armed cavalry force of only two thousand men quickly charged towards Pope Innocent II.

Pope Innocent II was immediately panicked.

But the good thing is...

They also had English longbowmen.

As the longbow soldiers pulled their bowstrings to their full potential, many of the Song Dynasty's heavy cavalry fell down.

only……

After all, these English longbowmen could only hold out for a short while.

As the heavy cavalry of the Song Dynasty, all wearing cold-forged armor from the Western Xia, rushed unreasonably in front of Innoshen II, the heavy cavalry of the Song Dynasty soon tore a gap in front of the enemy.

As the heavy cavalry in front tore open a gap.

The flank of the Crusaders' front line.

Fifteen hundred musketeers also came down from the mountain and quickly used their muskets to help their own infantry defeat the enemy's heavy infantry of the Holy Roman Empire.

As more and more elite infantry of the Holy Roman Empire fell.

Some even collapsed and retreated.

at last……

Those cowardly Crusaders, seeing that the situation on the battlefield seemed to be about to suddenly change, could not help but step forward.

What's the point of fighting?
Looking at the infantry formation ahead, the number of people is already a bit sparse.

The remaining people fled decisively.

The musketeers and infantrymen of the Song Dynasty were like indestructible steel walls emitting an icy light, and they killed their way towards them layer by layer.

As for the French heavy cavalry...

All we can say is that the young Louis VII is to blame.

If he had not sent most of France's heavy cavalry to Constantinople.

It wouldn't have caused them to be so stretched now.

of course!

In addition to the heavy cavalry of France, other dukes were not completely without heavy cavalry.

only……

They are few in number and cannot be integrated into a force.

In addition, with Innocent II being attacked by the heavy cavalry of the Song Dynasty, the command system has been paralyzed.

This meant that the remaining cavalry, whether heavy or light cavalry, had no idea of ​​the changes on the battlefield even though they were just standing there.

One lord brought 500 cavalrymen and wanted to charge at the musketeers.

The other side even thought that if they could capture a musketeer alive or seize their weapons, they would not have to fight so hard in the future.

however……

With the other side taking the lead in charging, it was quick.

The opponent then tasted the power of the musketeers.

Because he led the charge out of chivalry, he was the first to be knocked off his horse.

The rest of the people were also beaten to the ground.

There's no way to get through.

When this last effort became useless.

at last……

The 200,000-strong Crusaders could no longer hold out.

In fact, if Pope Innocent II had not informed them before they came, the Song army had artillery.

Moreover, before this, we had sufficient experience in combat.

Then this Crusade might be an even more miserable defeat.

This……

It is estimated that this was the best record against firearms in the era of cold weapons.

After a chase.

finally……

Only one in ten Crusaders managed to escape.

This day is also designated as the second Good Friday in Christianity after Good Friday.

Because many archbishops and kings of various countries, including Pope Innocent II himself, were captured in this battle.

The news spread to the Arab world...

can only say……

The Muslims were all dumbfounded.

Could this be the end of the world as written in some scripture?

However, regardless of whether it is the end of the world or not, at least...

This Christian doomsday should be true.

The news reached Italy, reached Rome.

To France...

To England...

All Westerners felt like the sky was falling.

at this time……

Some Muslim lackeys, equivalent to the Confucian scholars in the Central Plains, also began to debate for the Song Dynasty.

They said that the Song Dynasty was the messenger sent by Allah, and that Allah asked the Song Dynasty to punish those Christian pagans on their behalf and even rule this land.

Of course!
In this battle, the Song army also suffered heavy losses.

There were nearly three thousand casualties.

And the Western world…

Although this war broke the backbone of the entire West.

but……

It doesn't mean that there is no possibility of recovery.

after all……

Both Eastern Europe and Western Europe have very good strategic depth.

Even if the Song army won this battle, it would be impossible to occupy the entire Eastern and Western Europe immediately.

(End of this chapter)