The cold wind in December last year gradually dissipated, and the sun rose in early spring. All things grew, and the mud outside Jiyang City was also covered with buds.
The sky and earth are vast, the morning fog has long since dispersed, and the sun is shining down, illuminating the sky and the earth.
Located in Pingting, more than ten miles east of Nanjiuju, in the wilderness, densely packed Cao Cao's soldiers and Liu Bei's soldiers lined up in neat military formations, facing each other head-on.
Naturally, at the front of the team were the spear and shield soldiers. Their formations were in perfect harmony, with various shields such as hook shields, large shields, and round shields arrayed in array. The spears were exposed from between the shields, and the tips of the spears shone with a metallic luster.
Behind the spear and shield soldiers are the sword and axemen, who are the main force in the battle. They hold a small hardwood-covered iron shield about three inches in diameter in their left hand, and a ring-headed sword in their right hand. The ring-headed sword in their hands before the battle.
The rhythmic beating of the sword made the round shield protecting his chest rumble loudly, with a magnificent momentum.
At the same time, there are also crossbowmen among these arms. Once the soldiers launch a charge, after the two sides get close, they will first shoot two rounds from behind, then drop the crossbow, pull out the ring-shou knife from the waist, and engage in hand-to-hand combat.
The enemy fights to the death.
Xun You looked at Liu Bei's army in the distance, observed their formation, and then said to Cao Cao: "Ming Gong, although Liu Bei's main army only has 20,000 troops, I see that his army is tightly formed and cannot be easily shaken. And he has two wings.
If Wenpin and Zhang Xiu escort the main force of Liu Bei's army, it may not be a good thing."
Cao Cao laughed and said: "Gongda's words are very agreeable to my heart. I have heard that Zhuge Liang is called Wolong. He is a talented man with great knowledge of the world. I think it is nothing more than this. When the two armies are fighting, there is such a big flaw. The Chinese army
It is as motionless as a mountain, but its wings are extremely loose, and it happened to be captured by our army!"
Xun You suggested: "You can send people to contain Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu Gan Ning, concentrate your forces to defeat the Wenpin Department first, and then attack Liu Bei's right wing from the left wing. In this way, Liu Bei will be defeated."
Cao Cao nodded and said, "Yes, I think so too. Where is Cao Hong?"
In particular, the White Horse Yi Cong had a counterproductive effect. The reason why Gongsun Zan failed in the Battle of the Boundary Bridge was that he defeated the White Horse Yi Cong first, which led to the defeat of the White Horse Yi Cong and dragged down the main force.
Li Tong got the order.
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "Don't worry, my lord, General Wen has always been good at defense. Although he is too far away from our army, so he cannot take care of both ends, but with his ability, he can fight alone and resist Cao Cao for a period of time. There should be no problem. We will follow our plan."
Just do what you do.”
However, this possibility is considered extremely small by Cao Cao. Liu Bei is the only opponent he recognizes and he also has the ability to recognize people. How could he not see Zhuge Liang's ability?
Liu Beijun has a big problem with his formation alone.
"Kill!"
Cao Cao said: "You are the general of the Chinese army, leading 20,000 troops to attack Liu Bei!"
Xun You said in a deep voice: "This is Liu Bei's plan to connect the Ganning and Zhang Xiu tribes on the left. It seems that Zhuge Liang is also an unusual person. Wenpin should not belong to them and it is difficult to unite them. So Zhuge Liang also guessed it.
We will defeat them one by one, but he will do the opposite, trying to connect his left wing, first defeat our army's containment forces, and then rescue Wenpin."
Cao Hong climbed the mountain, dismounted, and came to Cao Cao.
This situation actually made Cao Cao, Xun You and others a little confused.
"For my parents, wife and children!"
Cao Cao said: "Li Tong, I order you to be the general on the right, leading the cavalry and five thousand soldiers to fight against Zhang Xiu and Gan Ning's troops on the left flank of Liu Bei's army."
Xun You nodded.
Seeing this scene from a distance, Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and said to Liu Bei beside him: "My lord, Cao Cao has indeed seen the flaw in our army and is preparing to attack General Wenpin's team first."
When Xun You saw this scene in the distance, he immediately knew that the opponent's army was powerful, so he immediately gave Cao Hong a counterattack, sending troops and horses to disrupt Zhuge Liang's formation to relieve the pressure on Cao Hong's army.
Gan Ning's army and Huang Menting's soldiers were originally on the left flank of Liu Bei's army. At this moment, a large number of soldiers from Liu Bei's rear army moved forward to make up for their loss, instantly connecting Gan Ning's army and Huang Menting's soldiers.
It was under this situation that Liu Bei's army's morale was high and surging.
Later, with the development of the times, Lingqi commanders were gradually eliminated and absorbed by Taoism, and instead became a magical weapon.
At this moment, Zhuge Liang held a black flag in his hand. As soon as the black flag came out, several soldiers around him raised a large black flag high and waved it so that all the generals and soldiers behind could see it.
"The enemy is nearly a hundred steps away!"
The arrow rain covered the sky like two dark clouds, and all the soldiers in the front row raised their shields.
Historically, Li Tong died of illness at the end of the 14th year of Jian'an, but he was still alive and well at this time, and there was no sign that he would die soon.
In a large-scale regiment-level battle, these three thousand Huangmen soldiers can hardly affect the situation of the battle. Once the general situation is defeated, in the battle of more than 100,000 troops, there will be almost no splash.
Therefore, Li Tong, who is now forty-two years old, is not troubled by any disease and is fighting with extraordinary bravery.
Then the blue flag was raised high.
Then as the two sides got closer and closer, and when the distance was less than fifty meters, Zhuge Liang waved the red flag.
"Eighty steps!"
So the special elites are famous for what they are, but in fact their functions are also very limited. Like Shen Chen, he led 3,000 Huangmen soldiers and raided Cao Cao's rear several times. It was also because Cao Cao's rear was empty of troops and Gan Ning cooperated with them.
can succeed.
Liu Bei nodded: "Everything will follow the military advisor's arrangements!"
It's just that Liu Bei promised to take them home, and in the middle of last year, Liu Bei's army went to Bajun to reunite the soldiers with their families for a short time.
"Then how to crack it?"
Although Zhuge Liang was not as powerful as he was after middle age, he had studied ancient formations and military books since he was a child. When he was in Longzhong, he often deduced formations with Xu Shu, Pang Tong and others, such as Xu Shu's eight-door golden lock formation, which is Bagua.
A variant of array.
Therefore, he had a clear understanding of the various military formations left over from Jiang Ziya's time. After joining Liu Bei's camp, he often practiced military formations through military training. The effect was remarkable, like a quagmire trapping Cao's army.
It is said that Xu Shu highly praised Zhuge Liang and said that Zhuge Liang was one of the most talented people in the world.
The clanking sound resounded throughout the battlefield, and from time to time there were the wails of the unlucky ones, but most of the arrows were still blocked by the shields.
After all, even before he died of illness, he acted very bravely when he went to Nanjun to rescue Cao Ren. It is very likely that he was injured and died of infection while fighting Guan Yu's army who came to block the reinforcements on the way.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
Seeing the black flag waving, several leading generals on the left rear immediately began to act in accordance with military orders. Five to six thousand soldiers were separated from Liu Bei's left wing and slowly spread out.
In the distance, Xun You was left in Cao's army to help Cao Hong. When Cao Hong saw this scene, he asked in confusion: "Commander, what is this?"
"Ninety steps!"
"The enemy is nearly two hundred steps away!"
"Archers at the ready!"
Logically speaking, Liu Bei now has no shortage of brilliant counselors. They have seen Xu Shu's level before. In the Battle of Yingchuan, he used an eight-door golden lock formation to make Cao Hong flee in panic and was almost trapped to death in the formation.
For a time, Cao's army suffered heavy casualties.
"Fight to the death!"
Cao Cao looked at Cao Hong and Li Tong and warned: "You don't need to fight to the death. It is enough to contain Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu Gan Ning. I will personally lead the army and defeat Wenpin on the enemy's right wing first! After I defeat Wenpin, we will gather together to attack at the same time.
Liu Bei leads the army."
If Zhuge Liang is really as talented and famous as Xu Shu praised and is not a mediocre person, then there should not be such obvious loopholes.
When Liu Bei's army marched south from Wancheng, it had less than 20,000 troops. Now it has 50,000 troops, two-thirds of which are captured Dongzhou soldiers.
"Fight to the death!"
He did not mention Shen Chen's three thousand Huangmen soldiers.
Of course, this five-color flag is not a magical weapon, but an army command prop from Jiang Ziya's "Tai Gong's Art of War".
Although these people voluntarily followed Liu Bei because of his strong personal charm, it does not mean that they do not miss their hometown.
"only."
When Cao Hong heard that the opponent's strategy could not be solved, he naturally felt courageous and ordered: "Attack! Fight to the death!"
Cao Hong asked again.
Liu Bei's army burst out with strong morale. The sword in his hand made a "bang bang" sound when he slapped the shield in his hand, and he charged towards Cao Jun with an extremely terrifying momentum.
Cao Cao looked at their leaving figures with a faint light in his eyes.
All the archers behind drew the infantry hard bows in their hands and started shooting arrows in a upward shooting posture.
So defeating them one by one is the best option.
"only!"
Cao's army was in neat order, and its black armor shrouded the earth like black clouds. Every step they took made a rattling sound, and the ground was shaken.
"Dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong!"
Zhuge Liang rode on the white rabbit horse and waved the five-color flag in his hand.
In this way, Cao Cao would naturally have a way to win this war.
Cao Hong got the order.
The messengers on both sides who were watching the battlefield and measuring the distance shouted at the top of their lungs.
While Zhuge Liang and Xun You were fighting, Zhang Xiu and Gan Ning were also fighting with Li Tong in the distance.
"The enemy is one hundred and fifty steps away!"
In ancient times, before a war started, it was common to receive two rounds of arrow rain.
Therefore, Cao Cao believes that there is only the second possibility, which is the problem of the current leadership of Liu Bei's army that they previously speculated. Although there are 50,000 troops, the command and dispatch cannot be unified, so the flaw is revealed.
Cao Hong also issued an order for a general attack. The two torrents roared together like a tide. At the same time, Zhuge Liang quickly waved the five-color flag, constantly changing formations, and slowly strangled Cao's army.
After issuing the military order, Cao Cao headed to his left, to Liu Bei's right, and to the east in the direction of Wenpin's army.
"After this battle, we can return to Bashu."
The main forces of both sides quickly approached. The original distance between the two sides was about 500 meters, but now it was almost 300 meters.
"Yes."
"The enemy is one hundred and twenty steps away!"
"In other words, Zhuge Liang chose the same method as the elder brother?"
Regardless of the fact that during the Three Kingdoms period, there were many special forces that shone brightly, such as the Xiandenshishi, the White Horse Yicon, the Euphorbia Soldiers, the Trapped Camp, the Wudang Flying Army, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the White Guard Soldiers, etc., which were famous all over the world.
But among them, there are only the First-Dead Soldiers, Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and Wudang Flying Army, which have a great influence on the situation of the war.
"Fire the arrow!"
Cao Hong and Li Tong received the order and immediately went to execute it.
Because it's not worth mentioning.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and found a higher hillside near his left wing formation to prepare for command operations.
Not only Liu Bei's army, but also Cao Cao's army.
First, Zhuge Liang's level is not as high as rumored, it is just exaggerated.
Therefore, Cao Cao, Xun You and others speculated that there were only two possibilities.
As Zhuge Liang waved the flag again, the ordering soldiers roared angrily.
After Liu Biao died last year, Jia Xu fled back to Rangcheng overnight and urged Zhang Xiu to defect to Liu Bei. Now that Cao Cao came again, Shen Chen sent a letter to discipline Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu came to join Liu Bei's camp.
"Okay, then let's fight to the death!"
Cao Hong asked.
Li Tong also came to Cao Cao.
"Change of formation!"
I saw that after the two armies met, Wei Yan, Dong Jue, Kou Feng, Wu Lan and other troops suddenly came out from the left and right to attack, and began to divide the battlefield. Using the shield formation as the base, they strangled Cao's army step by step.
Soon Cao's army began to make regular formation changes. Thousands of cavalry were first split from the main army, roaring to the west, and then thousands of infantry followed behind and attacked Zhang Xiu.
"The end is here!"
The left and right wings were too far apart, and it was impossible to take care of both ends. Moreover, Wenpin was good at city defense, and taking the initiative to attack was not his strong point. Defending the enemy in battle was no match for Cao Cao.
In an instant, Liu Bei's front army also began to move forward, and the army formed an array and moved forward step by step.
Cao Hong led the Chinese army and began to press forward against Liu Bei's army.
Therefore, in order to see their families as soon as possible, the soldiers burst out with great enthusiasm. Even if they risked their lives, at least Liu Bei promised a generous pension to ensure that his family could live for the rest of their lives.
Xun You shook his head this time: "If we can't crack it, we can only see who can break the other side's right wing first, Ming Gong or Liu Bei. If Ming Gong defeats Wenpin, he can naturally attack Liu Bei's right wing and support us. If we are defeated by Liu Bei, he can also Attack Ming Gong's right wing and support Wenpin."
One defeated Gongsun Zan at Jieqiao, the other followed Cao Cao in his raid on Wuhuan and fought in the Battle of Bailang Mountain, and the last one covered the retreat of Ma Su's army after the defeat in Jieting, and repelled Zhang He's attack in the Battle of Southern Siege.
And with Zhou Lin's help, most of the soldiers' families have arrived in Bajun and have settled down.
The two sides went back and forth and fought fiercely together.
"Fight to the death!"
In the distance, Zhuge Liang waved his flag again.
Cao Cao asked again: "Where is Li Tong?"
The messengers around him also immediately waved the red flag, and the flag-watchers in the distance immediately took action.
Although the other special forces are famous, they have little impact on the overall situation.
"The end will be here."
The fierce sound of drums and the melodious sound of horns suddenly resounded throughout the sky.
Liu Bei was slightly worried and said: "We have exposed such an obvious flaw, and we are afraid that the fake will become real. What should we do if General Wen cannot resist?"
"The enemy is one hundred and eighty steps away!"
"yes!"
"good."
After all, Zhang Xiu also knew that Cao Cao needed him during the Battle of Guandu, so he was willing to accept him regardless of previous suspicions. Now that Cao Cao is dominating the north, Zhang Xiu's mere few thousand cavalry have no use value, so he will die if he surrenders to Cao Cao again. There is only one way to go to the dark side, follow Liu Bei.
Li Tong actually did not have as many people as Zhang Xiu and Gan Ning, but he was well versed in Cao Cao's teachings and would never engage in a decisive battle with Zhang Xiu. Therefore, he adopted a defensive posture, with infantry forming a circular square formation, cavalry protecting both sides, and soldiers with spears and shields standing firm on the outside.
Stay still and wait for the enemy to launch an active attack.
This is a typical round formation in "Sun Bin's Art of War: Ten Formations". It can not only defend against the opponent's main infantry encirclement, but also defend against cavalry rushing into the formation. It is like a turtle shell and has very good defense power.
It's just that the circular formation gave up attacking and chose to huddle up on defense, which inevitably led to a lack of understanding of the situation outside the battlefield.
Their cavalry could not go out, so naturally they could not see that at this moment, a few miles away to the west, in the direction of Feishui, tens of thousands of troops were slowly approaching!