The Qin army came from the west singing war songs and marching in neat steps, all the way until they reached the Qi army several miles away.
Although the commanders of the Qin and Qi armies had agreed to have a gentleman's battle here.
According to the ancient ritual rule of "no drums, no formation", the Qi army will not launch an attack or sneak attack until the Qin army has prepared a battle formation.
However, Zhao Tuo still erred on the side of caution and sent a group of Qin soldiers in front to prepare for battle defense. The soldiers following behind, under the cover of Pao Ze, began to change their formations and transform their marching array into a combat array.
"This great Sima is very thoughtful."
On the chariot, Zhao Tuo looked up at the Qi army in the distance and spoke in a low voice.
Li Shiqi, who was following on horseback, also laughed and pointed forward.
He said to Zhao Tuo: "This Great Sima specially chose this place as a battlefield, not only to allow our army to travel an extra mile, but also to have the advantage of waiting for work. Perhaps he also wanted to correspond to the situation in Chengpu four hundred years ago.
Fighting, haha."
Amidst Li Shiqi's laughter, Zhao Tuo's eyes fell on the Qi army's battle formation several miles away.
At the forefront of the Qi army were three regiments of 10,000 people, divided into three groups: left, center and right. They were also guarded by chariots and cavalry on both sides.
The right wing of the Qi army in the north had more chariots, and it looked like there were about a thousand chariots.
The left wing of the Qi army in the south had fewer chariots, about four to five hundred chariots.
The reason is probably that a few miles to the south is the flowing Pu River, which is not suitable for vehicles and cavalry to engage in battle, so this arrangement was made.
As for more Qi troops, they lined up in the rear. According to Zhao Tuo's estimation, the total number of Qi troops participating in this battle was about 150,000 to 60,000, which was similar to what they expected before the war.
Zhao Tuo compared the strength of the two sides in his mind.
The Qin army in Puyang, plus the soldiers he brought from Dai, totaled about 220,000, but half of them were auxiliary troops transporting grain, and the number of soldiers was about 110,000.
He left 10,000 people for his lieutenant general Tu Sui to guard Puyang and some central cities in case of unexpected events.
Although Da Sima seems to be sincere, there is no guarantee that things will go wrong. Of course, it is better to be more cautious when it comes to military wars.
Ten thousand soldiers and one hundred thousand auxiliary soldiers guarding the city are enough to ensure the safety of the Qin army's retreat.
"I have one hundred thousand, so it's not a big problem."
Zhao Tuo felt a little at ease.
He noticed that among the three troops of Qi, those at the forefront were all tall and strong warriors, all of them had big muscles and round waists, and were very imposing.
This arrangement is normal. The Qi army has never seen blood. When charging, a warrior needs to lead the team in front, so that the ordinary soldiers behind can dare to follow.
On the whole, the Qi army's formation is relatively comprehensive, and it is a square formation that can be attacked and defended.
However, Zhao Tuo knew that this was just superficial. The Qi State recruited troops in a hurry. Except for the tens of thousands of Qi soldiers stationed at the border who had time to train, the soldiers recruited later basically did not have much training time. The combat effectiveness can be imagined.
.
Da Sima knows the art of war and will naturally take corresponding measures.
He should have put tens of thousands of trained soldiers at the front, and those untrained soldiers at the back as a reserve force.
"The Qi army can only fight with favorable winds. If the 'elites' in the front have the upper hand, the people behind will have fighting spirit and can also exert their fighting power. But if the elite in the front are defeated, the reserves behind will be vulnerable."
Zhao Tuo squinted his eyes and took another look at Qi Jun in the distance. Based on his battlefield experience, he already made a judgment in his mind.
"Li Shang, let Shejian lead the old soldiers who conquered the Kingdom of Dai to stand by the river, right on the left flank of the Qi army."
"only."
Li Shang accepted the order and immediately turned around and asked his men to deliver the order in short distance.
Just when Zhao Tuo was arranging his troops, a flying cavalry came from the Qi army on the opposite side.
"The Chief Sima of the State of Qi has specially invited General Zhao of the State of Qin to meet in front of the formation!"
The messenger conveyed Tian Chong's request for a meeting.
"This great Sima has quite a lot of tricks up his sleeve."
Zhao Tuo chuckled.
But he did not refuse, and asked his charioteer to drive, accompanied by Li Shang and several other cavalry and short soldiers to escort him, and marched forward.
In the Qi army's battle formation on the opposite side, after receiving Zhao Tuo's reply, Grand Sima Tian Chong also stood on his chariot and went out to meet him.
The two chariots approached and stopped in the middle of the Qin and Qi armies, which numbered more than 200,000 men.
"Da Sima!"
Zhao Tuo stood in the car and bowed his hands.
"General Zhao!"
On the chariot, Grand Sima Tian Chong also returned the salute.
After the ceremony, Tian Chong stared at Zhao Tuo with soft eyes and said warmly: "I've worked hard on you these past two months."
Thank you for your hard work?
Zhao Tuo was startled.
I heard Tian Chong whisper: "I know that in order to fight me openly, you persisted for two months despite the pressure from all sides. Such behavior moved me Tian Chong very much. General Zhao, I, Tian Chong, respect you."
One drink for you!”
"Bring me the wine!"
As he said this, a Qi army attendant actually brought drinks.
Zhao Tuo was silent.
Tian Chong first poured a glass of wine for himself, then poured a glass for Zhao Tuo, and praised him: "I respect you only because in today's world, there is still a gentleman like you, General Zhao."
Zhao Tuo sighed secretly and ordered Li Shang to take the wine and drink it all in one gulp.
"Da Sima is overly praised. Among today's gentlemen, Da Sima is the only one who has the ear. It is Tuo's honor to be able to fight with Da Sima."
Tian Chong was very happy when he saw Zhao Tuo's humble and polite demeanor.
He responded with a smile: "Today I Tian Chongdang will have a good fight with General Zhao! General Zhao please!"
"Da Sima please!"
The two of them each saluted farewell and returned to their respective formations.
As the carriage rolled forward, Zhao Tuo couldn't help but look back and saw the back of Da Sima standing on the chariot.
Under the gloomy sky, the wind blew and the car bells rang, which made Tian Chong's back feel lonely and desolate.
"Da Sima, you were born in the wrong era."
Zhao Tuo sighed softly.
Before a war, it is an ancient etiquette for the coaches of both sides to meet and have a drink and reminisce about old times.
At that time, countries in all countries were basically related to each other. Everyone would fight again and again without hurting the harmony, and they would become good relatives again.
But since Song Xianggong's battle at Hongshui was ridiculed by the world, the world has been declining.
In addition, later a grandson appeared who did not practice martial ethics, which made it even more difficult for anyone to practice these battlefield etiquettes.
During the Warring States period, in order to win the victory, the generals engaged in intrigues and deceptions, and used various methods in an endless stream. There were countless tactics such as reducing the number of enemies, encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao, deception, deceit, and conspiracies.
It is really rare to see someone like Tian Chong who still pursues ancient rituals in hundreds of years.
"It is probably because the Qi Kingdom has not experienced war for more than 40 years and has lived a noble life with no worries about food and clothing, and has a loyal character. In addition, it was either brainwashed by Qilu Confucianism or the etiquette of a gentleman in ancient books, and it has made it what it is today.
Sima."
Zhao Tuo shook his head gently to drive all distracting thoughts out of his mind.
He agreed to fight Da Sima openly, so he had a deeper purpose.
The Qin army could maximize the power of this battle by directly defeating the Qi army on the battlefield without using sneak attacks.
Only in this way can he march to Linzi with the power of victory, force the king of Qi to surrender, and conquer the land of Qi.
Only with achievements that leave everyone in Qi speechless can we reap the richest fruits.
"Da Sima, today I will fight you openly and defeat you!"
Zhao Tuo returned to the formation and ordered his soldiers to stay in formation and rest where they were to recover the energy consumed by the journey.
Da Sima also abided by the etiquette of ancient battlefields and did not immediately attack the Qin army.
It was not until half an hour later that the sound of war drums sounded in the Qi army's battle formation.