Chapter 15 The Battle of Zhonglingshui (2) (Additional update for the leader of the alliance, Emperor Han Ming)
The Art of War says: "When you are close to the enemy, you must be fierce. When the battle is scheduled, you must stop breathing. Today, when you are about to fight, you must keep your breath."
As an old army leader, Hao Zhenwei is still qualified in this regard. Yesterday, the army distributed rewards, and everyone's morale was boosted. Today's decisive battle, before leaving the camp, they did some mobilization and announced the ban on executions. Immediately everyone
The army was solemn, no longer as tired and lazy as before. From a technical perspective, it was already a warworthy army.
There are more than 5,000 Tiande troops, and they are arranged in the Yanyue Formation, which is typical of the mid-late Tang Dynasty.
People and the army supervisor Qiu Weidao's 100-strong army guard. These less than 1,500 people have high armor coverage, skilled combat skills, and high morale. They should be the decisive force of the Tiande army. Naturally, they will also face the most ferocious enemy force.
offensive.
Behind these three capitals, there are nearly 1,800 troops, mainly composed of auxiliary soldiers and cavalry. The auxiliary soldiers also formed a formation and were issued with long guns and other weapons such as bows and arrows, horizontal knives and other automatic weapons.
They relied on their baggage, chariots and horses to guard the rear of the entire army. Once the enemy defeated the left and right wings and moved around to attack from the rear, they also had to participate in the battle. As for whether they should participate in the battle after defeating the Chinese army, well, at this time, it was generally
All ran away.
You Yi Shi Tian Xing's cavalry is also deployed on this line, ready to attack at any time.
On the right side of the central army are the two capitals led by the ten generals Sun Ba and Li Renjun, each with a large flag embroidered with a bear and an owl. Although both of them can fight, they are not full of men, with a total of only five or six hundred people.
In order to strengthen the flank strength, Hao Zhenwei selected hundreds of tough and brave men from the auxiliary troops before the war, promised them heavy rewards after the war, and recruited them into the army, and then supplemented the two to 500 men each. The Chinese Army
On the left, ten generals Shi Rong and Tuoba Gui each commanded a capital. There were two general flags embroidered with tigers and wolves. They also added a large number of auxiliary soldiers who were good at fighting, about a thousand people - Tuoba Gui was newly promoted, and his subordinates
Most of them are auxiliary soldiers.
The entire Tiande Army, nearly 5,300 people, are all here. Only a few hundred old and weak people are left in the camp. It can be said that they are desperate to fight here. If the field battle is defeated, don't forget about this camp, everyone.
Everyone should flee for their lives. If the field battle is won, the camp can be abandoned. By then the entire army will be heading towards Shuozhou.
Shao Shude and Guan Kairun, one on the left and one on the right, stood beside Qiu Weidao. Qiu Shijun was wearing armor today, and it was bright. This was the first time that Shao Shude saw him. He was so majestic and disrespectful.
Hao Zhenwei was riding on a tall horse, surrounded by two lieutenants, a Yuhou, a Yamen escort, several drummers, horn players, flag bearers and some casual cavalry. Ten generals of the personal army, Wang Chao, led the most elite troops in the army.
Three hundred people stood in wait, ready to engage the enemy at any time.
The battlefield was filled with smoke and dust, and horses were neighing. Since the enemy's formation was still some distance away, everyone was ordered to eat some water and take a break. After all, wearing armor and holding a gun was quite tiring, and fighting for a while would also consume your energy.
.Well, this is what experienced generals will do. Every ounce of energy on the battlefield is precious. Properly allocating the soldiers' physical strength so that they are in good condition when the two armies engage in battle is also a technical job.
On the other hand, Xue Zhiqin's troops on the opposite side have been marching into the battlefield. The soldiers did not get enough rest before the battle, and they would probably suffer a small loss in physical strength during the fight. Those barbarians were so poor that they were defeated by Li Guochang and his son for some reason.
They were encouraged to come to Shuozhou to engage in the beheading business. Wouldn't it be better to farm the land and herd sheep for the tribal chiefs in Daibei?
The same goes for Xue Zhiqin. Now all fools know that he was eager to devour the German army in one bite and marched 200 miles from Shuozhou to fight. This courage was really good, but he didn't know that when the fight started, those tribesmen would not be able to withstand it.
At noon, thousands of people from Xue Zhiqin's army arrived at a place three to four hundred steps away from the German formation. The officers shouted loudly and organized themselves into formation. The morale of the tribesmen was obviously not very good. After walking all morning, everyone was tired and hungry.
There was a lot of noise. However, it could be seen that there should be many veterans in Xue Zhiqin's department, probably his old subordinates in Yunzhou. These people did not say anything and just whipped them, quickly suppressing the restlessness.
"Woo--" Before the drums started to sound, the sound of horns suddenly sounded, which startled Shao Shude. Although his sight was blocked by the military formation and he could not see the situation in front, he would know the situation as long as he heard the sound of fighting.
The situation is clear. The enemy must have just entered the battlefield, and the two sides have not yet engaged in battle. What is the sound of the trumpet?
The rumbling sound of horse hoofs soon sounded. Youyi made Tian Xing and his men and horses come out from the rear formation, and a total of 800 horses rushed into the chaotic Xue Zhiqin formation like a long dragon. Their movements were very fast, and they could not reach the formation before they arrived.
The distance of four hundred steps was approaching in an instant. The cavalrymen drew out their bows and fired a round at the enemy formation from a distance. Some of them held long spears and shouted loudly, ready to charge.
Xue Zhiqin's troops were just about to take a short rest and recover their strength. They were suddenly attacked and had to start a counterattack. Under the command of the officer, they used long-range rifle bows to shoot. Wave after wave of arrows rained down from the formation.
It flew out and drove the Tiande cavalry far away. At the same time, the Xue cavalry also moved, targeting the Tiande cavalry. It was obvious that they wanted to drive away this annoying "fly".
"Dong dong dong..." On the Tiande Army's main formation, the marching drums sounded almost at the same time. Hao Zhenwei took the lead, moving forward with his entourage and his own troops, and as soon as he left, the formation began to move.
Thousands of people from the central army, left wing, and right wing advanced together. The soldiers roared "kill, kill, kill" three times, which shook the surrounding areas and captured the crowd's momentum.
Shao Shude was infected by the atmosphere, his adrenaline surged, his heart beat faster, and he felt that his whole body was full of strength. Looking around, all of his old subordinates looked excited, especially Lu Huaizhong, who looked ferocious and wanted to bite people. Damn, this is the top.
Bar?
It is different from the martial arts lectures. When a real large army engages in battle, both sides are very cautious. The pace is slow. After walking fifty or sixty steps (note 1), they stop to organize the formation. And the movements must be unified, and you cannot stop.
If I'm still walking, my formation will be out of sync and the enemy will take advantage of me.
Today, the German army of more than 5,000 people has formed a total of eight small formations. Each formation has hundreds of people, with flags and trumpets. When it is necessary to organize the formation, the large formation of the Chinese army blows the trumpets first, and each small square formation blows the horns in response.
After completing the formation, the central army beat drums, each formation responded with drums, and the formation moved forward again.
The approach on the other side was similar to that here. However, there were too many new soldiers in their team. Although the Yunzhou soldiers were brave, they only accounted for a thousand people. They had only walked fifty steps, and the formation was twisted and took a long time.
It takes time to sort out. To be honest, the Yanyue Formation is perfect for this kind of opponent. The thick and elite central army is waiting for you to charge, and the weaker wings will outflank you and see how you die!
The only thing that needs to be worried about may be the more than a thousand Yunzhou veterans. Like the Zhenwu Army, they are really capable of fighting, otherwise they will not be able to overwhelm Shatuo's three troops and the five northern troops. There are also the enemy's cavalry, which should be
They are Shatuo people. Judging from the battles in the past few days, they are very powerful and are slightly higher than the front line of the Tiande army. They must be strictly vigilant.
The two armies marched toward each other at a very slow speed. They walked straight for about half an hour, and finally approached about a hundred paces. At this time, the twelve horn players in the central army puffed up their cheeks and blew the trumpet for the third time.
The sound of the trumpet was an order. The three in front immediately stopped, tilted their flags forward and fell to the ground. The first three rows of infantry held four-foot-long spears and held the barrels of their guns tightly. A row of shield-holding soldiers came forward, and the rear row held their bows.
Arrow, launched a round of projectiles. The left wing, which was slightly behind the central army by fifty steps at this time, also stopped. The right wing did not stop, but continued to move forward after finishing its formation, preparing to flank the enemy's formation.
A bow and arrow shot from a distance of a hundred steps has little lethality. Its main function is to weaken the enemy's morale, have a psychological impact on it, and serve the purpose of shaking its position. A large formation at the front of the Shuozhou Army that discharges the front arrow formation.
After enduring this wave of arrows, Shao Shude couldn't see the situation on their side. He didn't know whether the enemy army was wavering, which was unlikely. For the northern frontier army, this level of arrow rain was simply a drizzle.
After shooting a round of arrows, the army continued to move forward. At this time, the arrow rain from the opposite side also arrived. Shao Shude lowered his head slightly and listened to the sound of arrows flying by his ears. Well, they were sparse and the speed was very slow. It was okay.
To put it lightly, as long as you wear armor, unless you are unlucky, it will generally not cause any harm.
Seventy steps later, the trumpet sounded again, and there was another volley. The enemy's counterattack was faster and more accurate than last time. Shao Shude listened carefully, and there were two muffled groans around him. Fortunately, it was not the supervisor.
There are two soldiers beside him holding large shields for protection, and they are also wearing armor, so there will be no problem.
Thirty steps later, the Chinese army fired a volley, and the arrows from the opposite side also arrived as promised. This time the force was very powerful. Even though the pikemen in front were protected by large shields, they still fell down with a crash. Even in their area
, many arrows flew through the formation, and a soldier beside Shao Shude was shot in the thigh. He immediately fell to the ground, gritting his teeth and screaming in pain.
"Dong dong dong..." The drum beat became more intense, and both sides speeded up their pace in unison. It was about to be a close battle. Shao Shude knew that the right wing was actually one step ahead of them to engage the enemy, because there was a faint cry of killing in the distance.
, but that is not his battlefield. What determines his life or death today is only the collision between the two Chinese armies - one side wants to outflank the right wing, and the other wants to break through the center. Who can win depends on their respective abilities.
"Kill!" The infantry formations of both sides finally collided. The spearmen on the front line glared angrily and shouted kill, intending to overwhelm the opponent in momentum. At the same time, the spears in their hands shook hard and struck the enemy quickly.
They tried to force the soldiers to let go of their rifles. But at their feet, some soldiers had already abandoned their bows. They were holding a small buckler of cowhide in one hand and a gleaming short sword in the other, and they were rushing towards the enemy formation with their backs bent.
It was already noon, and the sun was hanging in the middle. By the Zhongling River, the fight that the two sides had been looking forward to for many days finally took place as scheduled.
Note 1: In the Tang Dynasty, when the troops were marching, fifty steps were divided into one section. A trumpet was blown. After hearing the sound of the trumpet, each team must stand at attention on the spot and organize their formation. The distance between each team should not exceed ten steps.