The Song army was on top of a small hill. These hills were not high, the shortest was a few meters and the highest was only a dozen meters, and there was a long gentle slope below.

But even so, it is not conducive to the cavalry running.

For example, in the Battle of Jieqiao between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao in the late Han Dynasty, Yuan Shao's general Ju Yi also ambushed on a gentle slope. When the Baima Yicong approached, he suddenly rushed out and fired a volley of bows and crossbows, defeating Gongsun Zan.

However, even so, Li Yuanhao did not let the soldiers dismount and fight on foot, but instead ordered the soldiers to charge towards the small hill.

The reason is that it is a long gentle slope rather than a right-angled high slope. Horses can charge up the long gentle slope, but infantry run slowly. The Song army is likely to be in a dominant position on the slope and continuously shoot arrows. It only takes a few rounds to cause heavy casualties to them.

If the cavalry ran faster, the Song army would only need one round at most. As long as the cavalry charged forward with shields, the casualties would not be too great.

Therefore, in order to reduce casualties and get both sides into close combat more quickly, Li Yuanhao had to consider using the horses' short-term bursts of sprint to maximize the Xixia army's close combat advantage.

In fact, he was right.

The Song army had been running for dozens of kilometers without time to rest. They were exhausted and had no chance to breathe. When they were attacked suddenly, the Western Xia army would surely defeat the Song army.

Even when Li Yuanhao saw that his troops were getting closer and closer to the Song army, he began to mock the Song army generals who led the troops, saying that they did not know how to fight at all.

The Song army was already short of horses, and Fan Zhongyan sent this kind of general. Wasn't he just sending the cavalrymen to their deaths?

However, just as Li Yuanhao was expecting his Western Xia cavalry to rush up the gentle slope and tear the fragile Song soldiers into pieces, he saw a shocking scene.

The Song army on the slope did not take out the crossbows as imagined, but a small black iron hammer with a long handle.

Yes.

Li Yuanhao had good eyesight. Although he was at a distance, he could see that it was a small iron hammer.

Probably less than a foot long.

It is a bit similar to a small golden melon hammer, but smaller than a golden melon hammer.

Does the Song army want to rely on hammers for close combat?

A hint of doubt flashed in Li Yuanhao's eyes. How powerful could such a small hammer with such a short handle be?

But just as he was wondering, when the Western Xia army was about twenty feet away, the Song army pulled the buckle on the long handle of the small hammer, and then a puff of green smoke came out from the end of the handle.

At this time, the Western Xia army was still running forward, and the Song army immediately threw it forward.

As the saying goes, it is better to catch well than to throw well. The distance thrown by the Song army was actually less than fifteen zhang, or about fifty meters. This was because they took advantage of being on a high ground. If it was on flat ground, it would be at most ten zhang away.

However, during the few seconds of pulling the ring, throwing it out and flying, the Western Xia army had already run to about fifteen feet, and the fast runners had even run to ten feet.

Thousands of Xixia soldiers saw the smoking hammer above their heads fall into the crowd.

Some of them even hit the heads of the Xixia soldiers. There were even some agile masters who raised their hands to catch the hammers the moment they fell, and then spread them out in their palms and looked at them in confusion.

It’s not that they didn’t know that the Song army had firearms, but the Song army’s firearms before were no different from toys.

The thunder bomb (land mine) that is barely useful still requires the horse to run over the trip wire. The force of the horse's legs touching the trip wire will drive the thunder bomb's ignition mechanism under its feet, and then detonate.

Therefore, in the perception of the Xixia people, the Song army's firearms had low power and were complicated to operate. Apart from making loud noises to scare people, they were basically useless.

This resulted in them having no idea what the hammer in their hands could do.

A Xixia soldier looked up and saw the fallen object. He took it, glanced at it casually, threw it behind him, and continued to gallop on his horse.

Next second.

"Bang!"

The first explosion sounded.

The Xixia soldier only felt a huge force coming from behind him. He didn't even feel any pain. His whole body felt light and seemed to fall into the air.

Before the man landed on the ground, explosions sounded one after another around him, "bang bang bang bang", just like the firecrackers set off in Bianliang City during the New Year. The crackling sound was louder than the firecrackers, deafening, like thunder.

The grenade fell into the crowd, exploding in a shower of blood and dirt. The shockwave from the explosion startled nearby horses, and fragments of the blast lodged themselves in their bodies.

In an instant, the Western Xia army was in chaos, the entire formation was gone, and the frightened horses ran around in all directions, causing a large number of Western Xia soldiers to fall off their horses, either falling to death or being trampled to death. The situation was in chaos at the bottom of the hillside.

Zhang Kang looked indifferently at the chaotic Western Xia army below. Li Yuanhao laughed at him for not understanding military affairs, and Zhang Kang laughed at him for not knowing how to use grenades.

Some generals also suggested that he take a rest before entering the battlefield, but Zhang Kang deliberately let the soldiers gallop all the way. As an experienced general with many years of fighting, Li Yuanhao could not have failed to tell whether they had come from a long journey or had already rested and reorganized.

Only by making the other side believe that they have no physical strength and that they are rushing here without any rest to rescue the Baoan Army, will Li Yuanhao be fooled and immediately organize troops to attack them.

Obviously Zhang Kang was not wrong.

Li Yuanhao was not wrong, he made the right choice, but he did not expect the Song army to invent new weapons. Just like the Japanese invaders did not expect the United States to invent the atomic bomb before surrendering.

As the sound of explosions continued, the situation on the battlefield changed instantly. Screams, neighing of horses, wailing, and sounds of impact on the ground were heard continuously. Dust was flying everywhere, and the battlefield was instantly covered by sand and dust blown up by grenades, trampled by horses, and blown by the wind.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!