The Ansu Army and the Yong'an Army combined totaled 5,500 people. According to the plan, 5,000 of them set off from the north gate to attract the main force of the party. The remaining 500 people set out from the south gate, detoured from the small road and went straight to the vicinity of Qingshui Mountain to attack and besiege.
Qingshui Mountain's party cavalry opened a gap for the Tielin Army to break out of the encirclement.
In the early morning of the next day, the Ansu and Yongan coalition forces were assembled.
Five hundred people quietly left through the south gate before dawn.
The remaining 5,000 people waited for an hour, and then set off bravely and left through the north gate.
There are scouts in Weizhou City, and there are also Dangxiang.
Less than half an hour after the Ansu-Yongan coalition forces left the city, Li Jikui received the news.
"After fighting with Dakang for so many years, they either ran away or closed the city and refused to come out. Now they finally have a hard-on."
Li Jikui laughed and said, "It just so happened that a lot of Han slaves were released, which saved us from going to the Central Plains to capture them again."
Most of the Han slaves captured from the Central Plains were old, weak, sick and disabled. Before they were escorted to Dangxiang, half of them would die on the way. However, the prisoners of war were all young and strong laborers and were deeply loved by the Dangxiang nobles.
Dakang's prisoners of war were also one of the important sources of party slaves.
"Today's Dakang is no longer what it used to be. Commander, it's best not to be careless."
The staff asked: "How many people did they come?"
"About five thousand people, flying the flags of the Ansu Army and the Yongan Army."
The scout replied: "In addition, before dawn, about five hundred people sneaked out of the city through the south gate."
"Commander, there is a branch road three miles south of Weizhou City that leads to Qingshui Mountain. These five hundred people probably want to raid Qingshui Mountain."
Li Jikui's staff had long been familiar with the terrain in the Qingshui Valley area and were experienced in leading troops, so they immediately guessed the coalition's intentions.
After thinking for a moment, he asked again: "Did the Dakang people bring bamboo and shields?"
"The main force coming out of the north gate brought dozens of large vehicles, but the 500 people coming out of the south gate didn't. They were all traveling lightly."
"They really want to use the phalanx to deal with us!"
The staff said: "Commander, it takes time to form a phalanx. I suggest sending troops immediately. It is best to catch them by surprise."
Li Jikui was also quite wary of the Tielin Army's phalanx. He thought for a moment, nodded, and shouted outside:
"Send the order and ask Zhuo Ban to assemble the first and second divisions immediately."
The matter of being captured was a thorn in Zhuo Ban's heart. Yesterday he requested orders several times to lead troops to attack Qingshui Mountain, but Li Jikui rejected them all.
I am holding my breath now. When I heard that there was going to be a war, I almost jumped with excitement.
There are 2,000 people in the First Division of the Dangxiang Cavalry. The First Division and the Second Division are both rapid reaction troops on duty today. They wear armor and carry sabers when eating.
By the time Li Jikui put on his armor and rushed to the school grounds, all 4,000 men from the First Division and the Second Division were already on their horses.
"General Zhuoban, I think you have learned the horror of the Iron Forest Army's formation. You must be careful in this battle. It is best to fight it quickly and not give them a chance to form a phalanx."
The staff ran over and reminded: "But the other side should have sent scouts to explore the way ahead. If it is really too late to stop them, then attack the flanks of the phalanx.
I have observed that although the phalanx has great lethality, it moves slowly and the lethality is concentrated on the front.
We suffered a big loss last time. The main reason was that Qingshui Valley had a special terrain, with cliffs on one side and rivers on the other, so we could only face the front of the square array.
But this battle, the terrain is open, if you can go around to the left and right sides or behind them, the phalanx will be destroyed without any attack."
"it seems to be like this!"
Zhuo Ban's eyes lit up, he dismounted and saluted his staff: "Thank you, sir, for your advice."
He was already prepared to fight hard and wash away the shame, but after hearing the reminder from his staff, he immediately had a new battle plan in his mind.
"Okay, let's go."
The staff patted Zhuo Ban on the shoulder: "I wish the general a triumphant return!"
"Commander, sir, just wait."
Zhuo Ban got on his horse and galloped away with the cavalry.
The staff guessed well that such a large movement of Dangxiang's cavalry could not be concealed from the Ansu army's scouts.
But Dang Xiang dispatched all cavalry this time, and the speed was too fast.
Although the overall speed of the large army dispatched is definitely not as fast as that of individual scouts, it is not much different.
By the time the scouts ran back to the Ansu Army to report the news, Zhuo Ban had already led the cavalry brigade five miles away.
"How could it be so fast?"
Ding Yunfei is a playboy after all, and this is the first time he confronts the party cavalry head-on.
Even though he was in high spirits when he left, when the party cavalry actually came to kill him, he was still nervous and panicked.
"Quickly, form a large formation and ask the auxiliary soldiers to dig a horse pit a hundred steps ahead."
Cheng Peng was older and had experienced many wars. He immediately asked the messengers to beat drums and ordered the brigade to stop.
After training for a while, as Cheng Peng's order was issued, the team immediately divided into small squares according to the drill.
Logistics soldiers pushed carts of shields and long bamboos and rushed towards each square formation.
There were hundreds of auxiliary soldiers, carrying shovels, hoes and other items, rushing forward.
When they reached a hundred steps away, they immediately started digging the ground.
Unfortunately, the cavalry was too fast.
The auxiliary soldiers had just dug a few times when they heard the sound of horse hooves.
The smoke and dust caused by the large troop of party cavalry running wildly can be clearly seen.
Many auxiliary soldiers were so frightened that their legs trembled and their hands trembled.
They all knew what they would face when the cavalry came.
The so-called auxiliary troops are an auxiliary force, generally composed of poor peasants and prisoners with no connections. They not only have to do the hardest and most tiring work, but are also responsible for tasks such as charges and city sieges with extremely high mortality rates.
Therefore, many auxiliary soldiers have already thought about it and are ready to die in battle at any time.
But being open-minded and not being afraid are two different things.
The fear of death is the instinct of all living things, but what is more terrifying than death is the time when the knife is hanging on the neck but not cut off.
The sound of horse hooves became louder and louder, like thunder, hitting the hearts of the auxiliary soldiers.
Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore, dropped his hoe and ran back.
He would rather be hacked to death by the law enforcement team than trampled to pieces by party cavalry.
However, he was not the only one who was afraid, all the auxiliary soldiers were afraid.
Now that someone is taking the lead, other auxiliary soldiers will immediately follow suit.
In just ten seconds, hundreds of auxiliary soldiers dropped their tools and ran away.
There are only a dozen people in the law enforcement team, how can they stop so many people?
In the end, even the law enforcement team ran back.
A few hundred meters behind them, the cavalry had turned around the foot of the mountain and appeared within the sight of the Ansu Army and Yong'an Army.
Fortunately, several phalanxes had already been assembled at this time.
Ding Yunfei was so nervous that he could not speak. Cheng Peng immediately took over the command and ordered the assembled phalanx to advance to the front.