Zhou Honglie led thirty scouts and hid in a pine forest halfway up the mountain. At the foot of the mountain was a relatively flat official road. The snow on the official road had melted away. If there were any cavalry, they would definitely take this official road.
The fields on both sides are full of all kinds of dangers, such as vole holes, snake holes, and deep depressions formed by erosion of the land by ice and snow. They are covered with a thin layer of snow. No one knows what is hidden under the ice and snow. War horses are extremely vulnerable to injury.
Unless there is no choice in war, the cavalry will definitely choose to take the smooth official road.
A dozen nomadic cavalrymen came running from a distance, as big as ants at the foot of the mountain. A soldier on the tree shouted: "They are enemy spies!"
Zhou Honglie understood the spying rules of enemy spies. They were usually about twenty to thirty miles away from the main force, mainly to see if there was an ambush ahead.
Half an hour later, a black river appeared in the distance more than ten miles away, winding its way towards this direction with no end visible at a glance. Zhou Honglie estimated in his mind that there were at least 70,000 to 80,000 troops.
"let's go!"
Zhou Honglie led his men down the mountain from another path and hurried back to the west to report.
Halfway through, they met the scouts sent by Liu Qiong. Liu Qiong ordered them to go south directly to report to King Yong. Several of the responding scouts turned back and reported the enemy's situation to Liu Qiong. The two scout teams parted ways.
Chen Qing's main army was about a hundred miles away from Liu Qiong's army. In the afternoon, he received an express message from Liu Qiong's men. Liu Qiong had discovered signs of the enemy and had turned north, preparing to detour the enemy.
behind.
After Chen Qing read the letter, he smiled and said to Yang Zaixing: "Do you think the enemy knows our existence?"
Yang Zaixing shook his head, "It is possible that he doesn't know that Li Muching has also deployed many outposts. If the enemy spies come down, they will definitely be discovered. What's more, the ice and snow have not melted some time ago, making it difficult to move, and it is impossible for spies to go south. However, Lingwu County
It’s unclear whether there are regular spies inside or not, and their humble positions are unclear.”
Chen Qing thought about it and realized that it was really possible. The enemy had occupied Fengzhou for more than a year, and there was enough time for them to establish an intelligence station in Lingzhou.
"No matter what, there is nothing wrong with marching cautiously!" Chen Qing immediately ordered the entire army to slow down their march and sent several teams of scouts to explore the enemy's situation.
Chen Qing made a habitual thinking mistake here. He took it for granted that the enemy should set up an intelligence point in Lingwu County. In fact, these nomadic troops had very little intelligence awareness. They lived on the vast grasslands and had always been
Since his whereabouts are uncertain, he may send spies to look for traces of the enemy, but he has no intention of sending regular intelligence spies.
The 80,000 nomadic cavalry did not know that the Western Army had massively increased its troops in Lingzhou, nor did they know that King Yong Chen Qing personally went out to fight. Their goal was still the 50,000 defenders of Lingzhou and to loot Lingzhou at the same time.
Soon, Chen Qing received intelligence from Zhou Honglie and learned about the enemy's intelligence. A nomadic cavalry army composed of 70,000 to 80,000 people was heading towards Lingzhou in a mighty manner. It was estimated that the army was already a hundred miles away.
Chen Qing immediately sent scouts north to find Liu Qiong's 30,000 troops and asked him to cooperate with him in attacking the enemy from both front and rear.
In the evening, the intelligence scouts rushed back and found the main enemy force, about 80,000 people, sixty miles away. They also discovered the Western Army and had slowed down their march.
This is an encounter, there is no prelude, it is a battle between the two armies.
Chen Qing ordered the camel troops to retreat fifty miles. His 120,000-strong army did not continue to go north, and the opponent's 80,000-strong army did not go south. The reason was that it was already dark. Although the Western Army also trained for night fighting, after all, there were only 200,000 soldiers.
The armies are fighting in a melee, and fighting among themselves is likely to occur in the dark.
Both sides were patiently waiting for dawn. The soldiers were wrapped in blankets and sleeping on the ground, with their horses lying next to them. In the distance were patrol sentries holding torches, watching every move in the north with vigilance.
There was a big tent in the middle of the team. The lights in the tent were brightly lit. Chen Qing and a dozen soldiers gathered in front of a sand table. Chen Qing pointed to a red flag on the sand table and said: "Our current position is here. The black flag is to the north.
This is the enemy's position, about fifty miles away. Looking at the terrain, there is only one place where we can fight, and that's here!"
Chen Qing pointed to an open area thirty miles to the north, "There are no woods here, it is mainly desert and grassland. It is twenty miles wide, enough to open a battlefield. Unless the opponent withdraws to Fengzhou, the battle will definitely take place here tomorrow.
"
Yang Zaixing asked: "How much does your Highness know about the enemy's army?"
Chen Qing said slowly: "The opponent is an army composed of more than a dozen tribal armies, mainly composed of the three major tribes of Tata, Kelie and Mengwu. The battle will be divided into three major parts. According to the practice of the grassland, they also fight separately.
, there will be no cooperation, and their impact is very strong at the beginning, and will become weaker and weaker in the future, so as long as we can withstand the first few rounds of the enemy's impact, we will be sure of victory later."
Liu Cui also asked: "Should we attack first tomorrow or the other side?"
"The opponent's bows and arrows are weak and they lack shields. Their biggest advantage is their superb riding skills and powerful impact. I think the enemy will definitely attack first, and they will attack across the board. Our tactics are still to deal with Tiefutu's square and round iron barrel formation, with square
The iron barrel formations are facing each other, and they are divided into three iron barrel formations, which can be separated and integrated. There are 120,000 troops. I am the middle army, General Yang Zaixing is the right army, and Liu Cui is the left army. This battle makes the nomads
The cavalry should have a taste of the power of our iron barrel array!"
All the generals bowed together, "I am willing to listen to His Majesty's orders!"
Before dawn the next day, the 120,000-strong Western Army moved northward. At the same time, the 80,000 nomadic army also moved southward. As soon as it got dark, the 120,000-strong Western Army arrived at the scheduled battlefield.
Dark clouds hung low, the north wind howled, and the coldness of early spring enveloped the earth. There was desert all around, and the world was desolate.
At this time, a low and dull drum sound came from the distance, 'Boom! Boom! Boom!' The main force of the enemy army also appeared. A black line appeared in the wilderness ten miles away. They had formed a formation and were slowly moving towards
Push forward.
Both sides were advancing and stopped when they were three miles apart. This was a typical encounter. They encountered each other unexpectedly during their march. Both sides were unable to retreat and could only fight to the bitter end.
The Western Army set up three square formations, all of the same size, with no distinction between the main formation and the two wings. This was obviously prepared for the three tribes, and it also played into the hands of the nomadic coalition.
Last night, the leaders of various tribes had a huge quarrel about how to deploy troops to fight, and no one was convinced. In the end, Hu Shahu made the final decision, and each of them fought.
When Hushahu saw that the Western Army had set up three large formations, he immediately sent people to give orders to the three generals. Erhan's Tata Army dealt with the middle formation, Limuhe's Kele Army dealt with the right formation, and Guishan's Mengwu
The army dealt with the left formation.
Although it is a bit unfair to the Mongol army, after all, they only have an army of 10,000, and they have to deal with 40,000 Western troops, which is more likely to happen. However, there is no fairness on the battlefield, and strength can only speak for itself.
Hu Shahu glanced at the Western Army coldly, waved his sword, and shouted: "Beat the drum, attack!"