Know yourself and the enemy, fight a hundred battles without danger, and pay attention to intelligence has always been the tradition of the Guanlong Army, and Xi Wanli was no exception. After he entered Shouchun, he immediately sent a scout to Zhongli County to investigate the enemy's situation.
The scout captain's name was Ye Kuan, who was also an experienced old scout. He led twenty of his men on horseback and galloped all the way. Although they walked through fields and country roads, they always kept their eyes on the official road.
Ye Kuan knew very well that the army could only take the official route with its baggage.
About fifty miles away from Zhongli County, they suddenly spotted the leading spies hurriedly approaching, about a hundred people in total. Ye Kuan hurriedly led his troops to hide in the woods in the distance, watching the army on the official road several miles away.
The cavalry spies did not investigate in depth. They only looked at the situation within a maximum of three hundred steps along the official road. They probably did not have time for them to investigate in depth. Just two miles behind them, the dark team could already be seen.
The mounted spies quickly passed by, and not long after, the army marched in in a mighty and rapid manner, stretching for more than ten miles. There were about 30,000 people in the team, running neatly and with great momentum. However, there were 7,8,000 people and the large army.
Out of place, all of them were listless and weakly following behind. It is estimated that this is Wang Zhongsheng's army. At the end are more than a thousand carts and two thousand cavalry following and guarding.
Ye Kuan is extremely experienced. He quickly discovered the enemy's loopholes. The main force moved too fast and could not keep away from the spies in front. As a result, the spies in front could not go deep. They only passed by briefly looking at the periphery. This was
It was very sloppy, it was just a formality, and it created conditions for them to ambush.
Of course, it's hard to say whether it will always be like this. He will continue to observe.
Ye Kuan still wrote a report and sent two of his subordinates to report.
There are two east-west official roads in Haozhou, one south and one north. If you retreat from Zhongli County, you must take the north official road.
After replenishing supplies in Shouchun County, the 30,000 cavalry led by Xi Wanli slowly headed east along the official road in the north.
At this time, 20,000 cavalry led by Li Ye also entered Shouchun. This cavalry served as backup and was less than fifty miles away from Xi Wanli's army.
On the morning of the third day, two reporting scouts arrived at the main army. They bowed and handed a piece of information to Xi Wanli.
Xi Wanli estimated that the other party was still about sixty miles away from them, so he immediately sent someone to find the two lieutenants for discussion.
His left and right lieutenants are Li Feilei and Tian Weiguo. Li Feilei is Li Feiyuanli's nephew, and Tian Weiguo is the son of Modao general Tian Zhen. They are both in their twenties and seventies. Like Xi Wanli, they have become
The main force of the new generation.
Li Feilei said: "The other party is in a hurry to withdraw its troops, so they must know about our existence. I guess they will also be wary of our sneak attack halfway."
Tian Weiguo also said: "Since the opponent is well-trained, they will not be so careless in exploring along the way. They may be a little hasty at first, but it should not be the case now. If you want to ambush the opponent, you must move the ambush troops farther away."
Xi Wanli looked around and saw that the terrain here was open and very suitable for cavalry combat. If he continued walking forward, he would reach the edge of the basin. There were many mountains, but it was not suitable for cavalry.
He immediately led his army several miles away from the official road and rested in a forest, waiting for news from the scouts.
In the evening, the scout captain Ye Kuan arrived. He knelt down on one knee and reported: "Report to the capital, the enemy has formed a formation twenty miles away!"
"what happened?"
Xi Wanli asked in confusion: "Does the other party know that we are waiting for them here?"
Ye Kuanchen reported: "General Qichen, I have been keeping an eye on the opponent. The opponent has not noticed us, but they know our existence. The reason why they are here is because this is the most suitable place for cavalry operations."
Next to him, Li Feilei also said: "General, Lieutenant Ye is right. Although Li Xilie is very cruel, he is also very good at fighting. This area is the most suitable place for cavalry operations. Li Xilie will definitely be on guard against us!"
Xi Wanli also agreed with this statement. The reason why Li Xilie's spies were sloppy before was because Li Xilie knew that there would not be his own army there, but when he really reached a dangerous place, he became extremely cautious.
After pondering for a moment, Xi Wanli said to Ye Kuan: "Immediately inform His Royal Highness Jian Guo behind us that we have met Li Xilie."
"I humbly obey orders!"
Scout Ye Kuan and his men galloped away on horseback.
Xi Wanli ordered: "Pass my order, form the formation and move slowly!"
The 30,000 cavalry columns advanced slowly, allowing the soldiers and horses to take a breather in a slow motion.
Half an hour later, a black line appeared in front, and Li Xilie's army appeared five miles away.
This area was originally fertile farmland, with a small river meandering through it from the north. However, the epidemic has drastically reduced the population of Haozhou, leaving large areas of land barren. The original farmland has turned into grassland, and there is no human habitation within dozens of miles.
Xi Wanli squinted his eyes and looked at the enemy troops not far away. Sure enough, the formation was neat and murderous.
Unfortunately, what they encountered was the Guanlong First Army, which was the most powerful and well-equipped cavalry with 30,000 cavalry. Each soldier was wearing Mingguang armor, an eagle-edged helmet on his head, and held a Zhangba cavalry spear made of fine steel on his crotch.
Get off the majestic Dawan horse.
Each cavalryman can run rampant across a county, making him invincible in the entire county. Even if all the government officials combined are no match for one cavalryman, let alone 30,000 cavalrymen.
Ordinary arrows can't penetrate their armor at all, otherwise there would be no point in penetrating the armor.
The team continued forward and stopped two miles away.
When Xi Wanli saw that the other party had listed five thousand crossbowmen, he sneered and said: "General Li Fei, lead your ten thousand brothers to flank the enemy's crossbow array."
To deal with the large array of bows and crossbows, the nomadic cavalry continued to bear the arrows repeatedly, using their superb riding skills to avoid the arrows.
But the Han cavalry would not rush into the arrows. They would use various tactics to avoid the arrows. Side attack was a very effective method.
The cavalry brigade attacked from both sides in a roundabout way, avoiding the killing range of the bows and arrows. By the time the crossbow troops re-arranged their formation, it was already too late, and the cavalry from the front also rushed over.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The rapid sound of war drums sounded.
Li Feilei shouted, "Black Eagle Flag goes to war!"
His 10,000 cavalrymen were under the Black Eagle Banner, the other two cavalrymen were under the Red Tiger Banner and the White Wolf Banner, and 30,000 cavalrymen all followed their own battle banners into battle.
The eagle flag was sent out, and ten thousand cavalry rushed out, split into two, and two groups of five thousand cavalry rushed south and north.
Xi Wanli ordered again: "General Tian attacks head-on, slow down and wait until the enemy's crossbow array fails before attacking again!"
"Follow the order!"
Tian Weiguo shouted: "White Wolf Flag goes to war!"
The White Wolf Banner ran forward, followed closely by groups of cavalry, each of a hundred men in a compact and distinct formation.
The 10,000 cavalry moved forward very slowly, waiting for the opportunity to attack.
