It was late autumn and early winter, and dawn had just broken, the grass and trees were frosty, and the coolness was invading. However, Zhang Jin, who was standing on the watchtower at the camp gate, had beads of sweat covering his forehead.
In his field of vision, groups of Liu Jing's soldiers wearing turbans, armors, and weapons were walking out of the morning mist. He counted them carefully, and there were twenty-seven troops in front and back with a thousand people.
According to the plan, the number of troops is as high as more than 20,000.
And the Jiaozhou army came out in full force, with only 14,000 men. The difference in strength between the two sides was huge, if not 10,000, there were 8,000.
In addition to an astonishing number of infantry, Liu Jing also had a large cavalry force, about a thousand cavalry.
The Jingnan area has never produced horses, but the horses Liu Jing's soldiers rode were all tall and fat, and they looked like good horses from the north. It didn't take much thinking to know that these must be Liu Biao's "legacy".
Zhang Jin also has cavalry under his command. His state headquarters is located in Jiaozhi, which is adjacent to the counties in Nanzhong. Among them, the area around Dianchi Lake in Yizhou County is the former site of the Dian Kingdom. It has always been rich in fine horses. Their horses are small but majestic, and are especially good at hiking in the mountains.
It is called "Dianchi Horse", also commonly known as Nanzhong Horse.
As the leader of a state, it is not difficult for Zhang Jin to obtain horses from Nanzhong. What's more, the generals in Jiaozhou also have many good horses. When he sent troops from Jiaozhi a few months ago, Zhang Jin had more than a thousand horses under his command.
There are only about 400 war horses used in battle, and the rest can only be used for riding.
It has to be said that horses are far more delicate than people. During this trip to the north, nearly 200 horses died after traveling thousands of miles. Now there are only 800 left, with a loss rate of nearly 20%.
The infantry was not as good as Liu Jing's, and the cavalry was not as good as Liu Jing's, but this was not what frightened Zhang Jin the most. What frightened him the most was Liu Jingshui's army on the right side of the formation, above the deep water.
This means that after Liu Jing invested far more troops than his own on the frontal battlefield, he still had some remaining strength. Although Zhang Jin suspected that Liu Jing's move was to destabilize the morale of his own army, he had to increase his troops to the right wing.
Be careful.
As the saying goes, don't be afraid of ten thousand, but be afraid of the worst. Once the two sides are in a stalemate, Liu Jing sends his navy to land and launch an attack from the flanks. If his side is unprepared, he will definitely escape and be defeated.
Previously, Zhang Jin had looked down upon Liu Jingduo, thinking that he was a latecomer in the south of the Yangtze River and had the help of heaven, so he was lucky enough to defeat Liu Biao's army and steal the three counties of Jingnan.
Zhang Jin thought that he had the emperor's order to lead a strong army in Jiaozhou, and Liu Jing was no match for him.
Now there is no trace of arrogance in Zhang Jin's heart. Now he is deceiving himself when talking about capturing Lingling and Guiyang counties. He is lucky to be able to escape unscathed this time. Zhang Jin is even mentally prepared for defeat.
Liu Jing didn't know that his opponent was already timid before fighting. After he led the infantry and cavalry troops to the battlefield, facing the Jiaozhou Army who was standing behind the camp and waiting in full formation, he implemented the deployment he had drawn up yesterday:
Take Han Guang as the governor of the left department, oversee Apu, Dan Riqi, Qu Xiong, etc., totaling 4,000 people as the left wing; take Cai Sheng as the governor of the right department, oversee Gan Ning, Ma Zhou, Xi Zhen, etc., totaling 4,000 people as the right wing
With Chu Fang as the front commander, the governors were Feng Xi, Gao Xiang, Huo Du, Huo Jun, Wei Yan and other former Jingzhou troops with tens of thousands of people in the center; Liu Liang, Huan Yi, Yu Zheng and others led more than 6,000 infantry and cavalry to defend Liu Jing.
The selection of the three governors was finally finalized by Liu Jing after careful consideration.
Chu Fang was a famous general in Jingnan, who was highly regarded by Sun Jian in the past. He entered Linxiang on horseback the year before last, and was regarded by Zhang Xian as "the magistrate of Luo County, the captain of the northern part of Changsha, and the superintendent of all the troops in Linxiang." You know, at that time Liu Jing was just a soldier.
County magistrate. He also lived up to Zhang Xian's kindness and led the officials and people in Changsha to defend Linxiang, making the Jingzhou army unable to defeat them for many years. In the battle of Lingxian County, Liu Jing also asked Chu Fang to control Han Guang, Cai Sheng, Ma Zhou and others.
Chu Fang can be said to be the second best general in Liu Jing's army after Liu Zong.
The Chinese army is undoubtedly the main force in this battle, and the main force is to surrender troops from Jingzhou. Only when Chu Fang personally takes charge can Liu Jing feel at ease.
Han Guang was born in Liangzhou and was a confidant of the later general Yang Ding. He was a majestic and scheming man who was able to use bows and horses. He was the bravest of the three armies and was promoted to General Jianwu. He served in the army for more than ten years and fought hundreds of small and large battles.
In terms of experience in commanding operations, everyone under Liu Jing's command was far inferior to him. In fact, Han Guang was the best candidate for the former military commander, but Liu Jing considered that as a native of Liangzhou, he was in charge of the surrender of the Jingzhou army, and it was not appropriate after all.
, and gave up.
With Han Guang's ability, serving as the governor of the left army was more than enough to command four thousand men in combat. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was overqualified and underused.
Chu Fang and Han Guang were few and far between Liu Jing's generals in terms of ability, experience, and record. They served as ministry commanders, and all the generals were convinced. Compared with them, Cai Sheng seemed a little less confident. If
In terms of pure ability, not to mention the mighty generals like Gan Ning whose reputation has been passed down through the ages, even Shan Rixi, who was born in Jingman, may not be inferior to him.
But overall, Cai Sheng is the most suitable candidate. First of all, he has been fighting with the Jiaozhou Army for more than a month and has a good understanding of the enemy. This alone is enough to put him ahead of the others. Secondly, Cai Sheng is Liu Jingzhi.
Jianghu, from the humble beginnings, can be called confidants and minions, which can be compared to Sun Quan's relationship with Lu Meng and Pan Zhang. Naturally, Liu Jing had to cultivate him vigorously, hoping that in the future he could shoulder the responsibility and entrust him with great things.
Liu Jingjun's foundation was carefully built by his brother Liu Xiu who spent several years of hard work. From the beginning, he followed the path of a regular army, with strict formations and strict rules.
First, use "straightness" and "shu" to draw the ground and determine the combat position. Secondly, determine the rows and ranks, order the teams, and determine the density. Then set up the watch, observe the flags, form formations, and then fight.
This was Liu Jing's first time commanding tens of thousands of people in battle. Even though he had been a man of two generations and had always had a steady personality, he could not help but feel a little excited. He did not want to sit in the chariot at the rear, so he immediately stepped onto Chiji and went to the battle in person to supervise the battle.
Liu Liang personally held his flag and followed closely behind him. Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, and Lai Gong also rode horses to follow.
Liu Jing traveled from west to east, and wherever he passed, he could hear the roaring mountains and tsunami. Not everyone in the army knew him as the commander, but they all knew the commander's flag without exception.
"Wei Liao Zi" said: "Gold, drums, bells, and flags, each has its own method." The command in the army is nothing more than these four things, and the flag is the most important thing, as "Huainan Zi" says
: "If the army is in charge of the command, it will lead to chaos."
The banner of the banner, before the banner is forward, behind the banner is behind, the banner to the left is to the left, and the banner to the right is to the right. Anyone who ignores the order and goes forward, backward, left or right will be killed.
Along the way, Liu Jing was very satisfied when he saw that his own army was well-organized and had high morale, especially the noisy Jiaozhou Army on the opposite side, which formed a sharp contrast.
The number of the Jiaozhou Army was relatively small, so it was divided into two formations, the front and rear. The front formation was mostly made up of Wuhu people with their spines tied and their legs pierced to the left, and most of the noise came from their mouths.