Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

After finishing his rice and braised pork, Li Zhen immediately grabbed his binoculars and climbed the stockade wall, wanting to see how the Jin soldiers outside the stockade ate.

Through the telescope, Li Zhen saw about ten large pots that seemed to be cooking some kind of rice soup. Each Jin soldier was given a round flatbread, and they ate their dry flatbread soaked in a bowl of rice soup.

As a Jin general, Sun Xin ate differently from the lower-ranking soldiers. Several tables were set up in his tent, and several Jin soldiers under his command sat one by one, waiting for Sun Xin's instructions.

At this time, they were practicing a separate meal system. Each Jin general had a small portion of roasted meat on his table, and the rest was rice soup and flatbread. Sun Xin also had a few side dishes in front of him, mostly pickled vegetables. Since it was during a war, there was no alcohol.

Li Zhen called over Qian Dazhuang, who had just finished eating. He pointed to the Jin army camp below the mountain and said, "Take a team of men and harass them from a distance with bows and arrows. Remember, after you've fired two rounds, hurry back."

Qian Dazhuang immediately agreed and turned to leave, but Li Zhen did not leave. Instead, he used binoculars to observe the situation on the other side.

Just as the Jin army sat down to eat, a series of wails came from the camp. Upon closer inspection, they found that the enemy had launched another surprise attack.

Although these two volleys of arrows did not wound many Jin soldiers, they successfully provoked discontent throughout the Jin army camp. They shouted and cursed at the Song soldiers for their lack of martial ethics.

The Jin cavalry charged swiftly into the woods where they had been fired at, leaving nothing behind, just as they had done before.

Li Zhen was currently assessing the fighting strength of both sides. After a morning of fighting, the Jin army still had about two hundred soldiers, and their cavalry numbered nearly one hundred, giving them a level of mobility that Li Family Village could not match. He himself had about two hundred soldiers left. Although there were over a thousand civilians in the village, it was unrealistic to expect them to fight the Jin army to the death.

In the end, Li Zhen decided to rely on the sturdy stockade walls and adopt a passive defensive strategy. Soon, composite bows were distributed to everyone, and several types of arrows were issued, the most powerful of which were the armor-piercing arrows that Li Zhen had specially ordered.

Armor-piercing arrows from compound bows are arrows specifically designed to penetrate armor. They are typically characterized by a larger arrowhead, greater weight, and the use of special materials and structural designs to enhance penetration. Triangular, quadrangular, or multi-faceted designs are employed to increase penetration and destructive power.

The arrowheads are made of high-hardness, high-density metals such as steel, iron, or alloys to ensure sufficient penetration.

The arrow shaft is made of lightweight, high-strength materials such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, or solid wood to balance the overall weight of the arrow and its flight stability.

The accuracy and range of the composite bow far surpass those of the single bow, allowing armor-piercing arrows to maintain powerful penetration even at long distances.

The Jin soldiers below the mountain are too strong. It is unrealistic to rely solely on manpower to fight them. Li Zhen is also thinking of using these people to build his strongest army. If they are all wiped out in one battle, how will he make a fortune in the future?

Li Family Village had a steady supply of food and supplies, while the Jin soldiers below the mountain were different. Even though they were close to Tangyin County, once they ran out of the food they brought, they either had to retreat to replenish their supplies or wait for the supply convoy to deliver more. Li Zhen had scouts all within a thirty-mile radius of Li Family Village, and if anyone was delivering food to the Jin soldiers, Li Zhen would definitely attack them en route.

In the afternoon, the Jin soldiers attacked the mountain stronghold again. This time, the thirty-odd Jin soldiers at the forefront were all wearing heavy armor and iron helmets for protection. Seeing the Jin soldiers charging towards them, Li Zhen ordered his men to use armor-piercing arrows to attack the enemy.

After leaving behind more than a dozen corpses, the Jin soldiers retreated back to their camp.

Inside the Jin army camp, a colonel reported to Sun Xin: "General, we have lost too many men here. I am afraid that we will be punished by General Wanyan when we return."

Sun Xin was exasperated. He said angrily, "Do you think I don't know? But if we don't wipe out this Song army, the general will still punish us when we get back."

Just then, the officer in charge of the attack returned and knelt down in front of Sun Xin, weeping bitterly: "General Sun, we really can't fight any further. We managed to gather thirty suits of armor, but as soon as we charged in, they shot and killed more than a dozen of our brothers with arrows. Those were heavy armor! These Song people are no ordinary people; those who can use the Divine Arm Bow are the imperial guards of the Song army."

Sun Xin kicked the officer to the ground: "Nonsense! The Song Dynasty's imperial guards were wiped out by our Jin army long ago. Where would there be imperial guards in this remote and impoverished place?"

After saying that, Sun Xin plopped down in his main seat, looking utterly dejected. He thought to himself, "Even attacking Bianjing wasn't this difficult. How come this small mountain stronghold is so hard to take? This is only the first day. If things continue like this, all three hundred of my men will perish here."

At this moment, the officer whispered in Sun Xin's ear, "General, why don't we retreat first and report to General Wanyan that the bandit army has been wiped out by us?"

Sun Xin: "What about the heads? How are we supposed to explain this when we get back?"

The officer sneered, "There are several villages around Tangyin City, why don't we..."

Just as Li Zhen was pondering how to defeat the enemy, Yue Peng ran in with a joyful expression: "Chief, good news! The Jin army has withdrawn!"

Li Zhen: "What did you say? The Jin army withdrew? How is that possible?"

Yue Peng said with certainty, "They did indeed retreat, and judging from the direction, they should be heading towards Tangyin City. Chief, what do you think, should we give chase?"

Hearing this, Li Zhen said irritably, "What are you going to do to chase them? Don't forget they have a hundred cavalrymen. With our small force, we'll be slaughtered as soon as we leave the camp. To be on the safe side, send out more scouts and make sure to find out their movements so they don't launch a surprise attack."

Regardless of the reasons for the Jin army's withdrawal, at least Li Family Village no longer has to fight them to the death. There were only three hundred Jin soldiers; if there had been thousands or even tens of thousands, the small Li Family Village would have been annihilated. Therefore, Li Zhen decided that next time he returned to the modern world, he would need to acquire some powerful weapons; otherwise, relying solely on cold weapons would be completely insufficient in this era.

In a village less than ten miles from Tangyin City, hundreds of Jin soldiers surrounded the entire village. They drove the villagers and local landlords and gentry together and raised their butcher knives. Not only did they gain heads for military merit, but they also found a lot of gold and silver treasures in the homes of the landlords, which made Sun Xin extremely happy.

Within two days, three villages surrounding Tangyin City were completely massacred. Since no one had taken office after the death of the Tangyin magistrate, no one took charge of these matters. On the other hand, even if the Tangyin magistrate hadn't died, he wouldn't have dared to stop the Jin soldiers from killing people.