In the 12th year of Yuansui, on the 19th day of the first lunar month, the war clouds hung low and the wind and water surged.
After marching for several days, the 60,000 improvised defenders of Ye State finally arrived at Qinmengze and stationed themselves on the plain with crisscrossed rivers on the south bank of the Pheasant River.
Qinmengze is located in the hinterland of Wanzhou. Three major rivers, the Pheasant River, Lishui River and Huaishui River, which originate from the mountainous south, pass through the Wanzhou Basin and meet here, and then flow into the rushing and winding Yanjiang River.
This vast swamp with a radius of more than 500 miles not only provides a sufficient source of fresh water for the entire Wanzhou, but has also been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It is known as the "throat of Wanzhou and the hub of the Three Rivers".
It is said that 1,800 years ago, Renheng, the mother of Bai Jiangxi, the founding emperor of the Great Empire, traveled here with her tribe to avoid vicious beasts. When she was sleeping on the bank of the water, she dreamed of a giant dragon falling from the sky at night. When she woke up, she suddenly felt something. She became pregnant, and then gave birth to the first emperor of all time. And this land with lush water and grass was named Qinmeng.
This place is the junction of the three kingdoms of Ye, Fu and Huaiyou. Crossing the Pheasant River from the south to the north is the Yeliang Plain, which is undefeatable. If you ride a fast horse, you can reach the capital of Ye in less than three days. Lu. Huaidian, the capital of Huaiyou, is located in a narrow strip of land east of Qinmengze and west of Qinglan Mountain. It is impossible to protect itself in the conflict between big powers.
The water in early spring is desolate as far as the eye can see. New buds have not sprouted in the reeds as tall as a person, and the light yellow reeds are swaying in the wind. Occasionally, one or two flowers fall on the water, lighting up the slightest breeze. Ripples. But now, in this piece of withered reeds, some pure white color is revealed.
It was a military tent covering almost the entire meadow on the shore. The light curtain made of linen was the standard system of the Yeguo Boat Division. It was early in the morning, and the army had just rested here after a long journey. Suddenly, in front of the tent, there was the sound of whips piercing the air.
The one who was kneeling on the ground, with his upper body exposed and being flogged, was Wan Shi, who served as the gatekeeper of the left army. Although his military rank was not high, the battle was imminent, but he was punishing him in front of all the soldiers. , is really a taboo that shakes the morale of the army. No experienced general will ever act like this.
Because of the severe pain, the young General Yamen was shaking uncontrollably, but he clenched his teeth and remained silent. Every time he cracked the whip, a bright red blood mark would be left on his back. General Mi Zi stood in front of the tent. Yaya frowned tightly, and the corners of his eyes twitched with each slap.
At this time, standing next to the commander, there was a man dressed as a civilian in a brocade robe. The other man glanced at the newly appointed captain of the fleet with sly eyes and asked maliciously:
"With the expression on your face, Lord Commander, could it be that you feel that Wan Shi should not be punished?"
This person's name is Liao Zuo, and he is the supervisor who Qi Shouyu arranged to accompany the army. His intention is to control Mi Ziyan's every move. At the moment, it is this person who is making a fuss out of a molehill and forcing Mi Ziyan to obey the military law. They were dealt with to serve as a warning to others. The reason for all this was just that a few brightly colored feathers were found between the cracks of Wan Shi's military uniform, and they suspected that he was sending private letters.
"Master Liao, Wan Shi originally served in our naval division. He has also gone to sea with me before. There is no way he is a spy sent by Cheng Guo."
Mi Ziyan couldn't bear it any longer and had no choice but to argue with the supervisors beside him.
"Even if you are an old member of the army, don't you understand the law? No one below the rank of general is allowed to send private letters to outsiders. Can Commander Mi guarantee that this person has no possibility of collaborating with the enemy?"
Liao Zuo held a bunch of green bird feathers in his hand and waved them back and forth in front of Mi Ziyan's eyes. "As far as I know, this person was the personal guard of the regicide rebel when he was in the palace. It is now the time of Ye
When the country is in crisis, if he and Qi Zi collude secretly and plot evil—"
"Absolutely impossible! Being flogged three hundred times for just a few bird feathers is considered a heavy punishment by this general. Now that we are facing a powerful enemy and it is time to hire people, please don't forget, Mr. Liao, who is appointed by the king.
Coach!"
"What is Commander Mi's attitude? Do you think that I am not acting impartially and want to protect others?" Hearing Mi Ziya's tone become tougher, the other party immediately jumped up.
Just as the two were arguing, a rapid drumbeat suddenly came from outside the camp gate. Looking into the distance, they could only see a lonely man and a horse. The person came under the banner of the forward battalion, and he came in a hurry to deliver the message.
The scouts kept repeating loudly:
"The formed army is twenty miles away!"
The soldier's left eye had already been hit by an arrow. Although the arrow cluster had been broken off, the entire eye socket was sunken and turned into a black bloody hole, which was hideous and terrifying. Liao Zuo immediately hit him when he saw this.
Shivering, he stepped back. Mi Ziyan's face also sank, and he immediately asked about the situation of the battle ahead:
"How is the situation in the forward camp?!"
"We are in close combat with the main force of the army. At this time, except for the last general, there may be no survivors!"
"How did you know that the other party was the main force of the enemy's army?"
"The enemy's attack is as fast as a wildfire. It must be Chengguo's Green Harrier cavalry!"
The scout's report caused the surrounding sergeants to start talking about it. Upon seeing this, Mi Ziyan immediately ordered the scout to be taken for treatment, and then he rushed to the general ordering platform in front of the tent:
"Each battalion prepares for battle immediately and prepares to meet the enemy!"
All the generals under his command immediately took the order and returned. In front of the large tent that was originally crowded, there were only a handful of people left.
"Commander, how should we deal with this criminal?"
Hearing that the war was coming, the guard responsible for guarding Wan Shi asked at a loss. Mi Ziyan waved his hand, already making a plan in his heart:
"Now that the three hundred lashes have been whipped, you can release them immediately. General Wan Shi of Yamen obeys the order and orders you to return to the team quickly and follow the general to fight against the enemy. Regardless of whether you have been wronged before, I hope you can ignore the past and fight against the national calamity together with all the brothers!
"
At present, large blood stains oozed from the whip marks on Wan Shi's back, mixed with sweat and rolled down. However, after hearing the general's words, he still stood up with difficulty and gave him a proper military salute:
"The general will follow you to defeat the enemy, go through fire and water, and will not give up even if you die!"
However, Liao Zuo, who had been hiding somewhere before, came out at an inappropriate time:
"Lord Commander, now that the criminal has not confessed his crime, you let him go like this and ordered him to continue leading the troops. If he causes any trouble-"
"Mi was born in the army and is familiar with the art of war. Who should be rewarded and who should be punished? It's not your turn to teach me!"
Mi Ziyan's eyes widened, and his powerful aura made the supervisors tremble:
"Okay, you - aren't you afraid that I will report this matter to the king?"
"If you want to report it, report it! I will be away, and your orders will not be accepted. Now I bear on my shoulders not only the lives of one hundred thousand soldiers under my command, but also the life and death of the entire country of Ye! I advise Mr. Liao to put his family and country first in everything.
Enough is enough!”
After all, the battle situation was urgent, so Mi Ziyan gave the opponent a hard look, then let him continue roaring angrily and ignored him. At this time, in the camp, thousands of troops were surging from three directions: left, middle and right, and everyone was already on alert. Bugles were blaring in the sky above the wilderness.
The golden drums were beating in unison. The soldiers had slept with their armor the night before, and in just half a stick of incense, they all gathered outside the camp in order.
Mi Ziyan rode a red horse and led ten guards to pass by each camp to inspect the military appearance. When he rushed to the Ten Thousand Stones Formation, he saw that the young Yamen general was only wearing a black robe.
The man in linen clothes immediately shouted:
"Wan Shi, why don't you wear armor?"
"Sir, the Master's black armor is too heavy. The general has an injury on his back, and it makes it difficult for him to move around while wearing it."
"You have to wear it! It's not that Mi is questioning your courage, but you just heard what the scout said with your own ears. Now we are facing Chengguo's Green Harrier cavalry! What this general needs is to be able to lead his soldiers back safely.
A tooth gatekeeper, not a corpse that lost its life after receiving a few arrows from the enemy!"
Although he did not shy away from mentioning death, the young Yamen general knew the intention of the general. At this time, more than 300 men led by him were on the left wing, responsible for maneuvering on both wings of the formation, and he was one of the few in the Ye Guo Zhou division.
The cavalry. The cavalry is much faster than the infantry. They may be the first batch of soldiers to see the true appearance of the enemy soldiers in the next confrontation.
Wan Shi immediately ordered people to get clothes and armor, put a thick layer of fine cloth on them, and put them on properly. At the same time, under the horizon in the distance, a large group of waterbirds jumped out of the reeds, like a dark cloud covering part of the sky.
The light. Then what slowly came into everyone's sight was a forest of swords, spears, swords and halberds.
The elites of the Cheng Kingdom, several times larger than the defenders of the Ye Kingdom, showed their true colors. The charge line formed by the cavalry formed a dark boundary on the flat plain beside the water. The boundary was boundless and seemed to have no end. And I witnessed it.
All these Ye Guo army formations were rustling like autumn wind blowing through the leaves.
"Soldiers, soldiers, listen carefully to me!"
Mi Ziyan put on the reins of his horse and used all his strength to speak impassionedly to the soldiers who were waiting in formation but were still timid:
"I know that some of you must be scared. I also know that for you, today may be the most difficult day in your life.
In fact, I am also very scared now. I wish I could immediately put down the long knife in my hand, take off the armor on my body, and return to my wife and children, without fighting against the world! But I can't help but remind myself that behind my back
, is the fertile land of Ye State that is thousands of miles away from danger. And now, like you standing here, I am the only man of Ye State who has weapons in hand and can stand in front of Cheng State’s army!
Today, I cannot force you to fight for the country, let alone talk about the rise and fall of the country, everyone is responsible for the nonsense. But if you and I did not fight with all our strength on the battlefield today, those menacing cavalry on the opposite side would be like a flood.
Trampling on the rivers and mountains of my country, raping our wives, daughters and sisters without hesitation, and enslaving our fathers, brothers and descendants from now on!
The State of Ye has always used the sea falcon as its flag, and it has not changed since ancient times! The sea falcon is the most powerful bird of prey in the world, so all the soldiers, when facing those invading Chengguo blue harriers, can you and I retreat?!"
"I won't retreat, I can't retreat!"
"Ever since Duke Huan of Dehuan conquered the world with Emperor Bai Jiang, no matter how powerful the enemy we encountered, I, the men of Ye Kingdom, have never been afraid! Remember the eight-character motto on the iron ultimatum on your chest, which is the word left by the heroes of our ancestors.
! And today, their heroic souls will be with you and me! Riding the wind and riding the waves, the falcons soaring and striking!"
"Riding the wind and riding the waves, the falcon soars and strikes!"
Mi Ziyan was worthy of being the general who led Xiang Baili. With his impassioned speech, the timidity in the eyes of the Ye Kingdom soldiers disappeared. They all struck their shields with the sharp swords in their hands and shouted in unison.
The cheers boosted morale for a moment!
Almost at the same time as the coach finished speaking, the flags on the towering general platform of the Chinese army were swaying, the military drums were beating, and the originally neatly arranged square formations quickly turned into three sharp-edged rhombus formations, like erected on the ground.
The three huge rebel horses aimed their sharpest edges at the invading enemy army.
This is the Mujiao Formation that Ye State is proud of. In the front of the formation are heavy armored infantry holding long knives and huge shields, followed by elite warriors holding long spears, followed by crossbowmen, and cavalry on both wings.
Respond from the side. During the battle, first use iron arrows to fire, then use long spears to block the position, and finally use infantry to cut down, and cavalry to surround and annihilate. They are each other's horns, both offensive and defensive.
At the same time, Cheng Guo's Green Harrier cavalry also approached a few hundred steps away. Just hearing a horn sound, the cavalry clamped their horses' bellies and charged towards three huge diamond-shaped formations!
Only then did Wan Shi truly see the true face of the dark line on the other side of the horizon. Before that, he was still quite confused. The 10,000 forward battalions of Ye State were all elites drawn from each battalion.
With thick armor, fast horses, and sophisticated weapons, why are they so vulnerable?
The moment he saw the Blue Harrier cavalry, the young Yamen General already understood - what appeared in his eyes now was a line of soldiers, shoulder to shoulder, head to head, lined up densely, composed of heavily armored soldiers.
The steel wall formed by the war horse and rider!
Chengguo's Green Harrier cavalry, from armor to combat techniques, all originated from Tiezhongshan during the Shuodi Rebellion a hundred years ago, and were improved. No one on the battlefield today could have expected that this cavalry could shake the world.
The heavy armored cavalry is even worse than the iron torrent of the Di people back then!
The 50,000 war horses in the Chengguo Formation are all carefully selected and sturdy horses. The horses are hinged together with hook locks, leaving only a half-foot wide gap on the left and right sides. The hook locks can be unlocked and connected
, although the rider died, he could still stand on the horse without falling. With the protection of the thick iron armor, no ordinary arrows or swords, guns, swords and halberds could shake it. And under the impact of the powerful iron flow, any military formation could not
Like a slender branch in a flood, it will be easily broken, broken, and swallowed up!
Even though Mi Ziyan's previous speech before the formation had excited the crowd, at this time, everyone in the Yeguo army could not help but have a look of fear and panic on their faces again.
The winner of this war has obviously been decided at this moment before the confrontation! And the country of Ye is in danger, and its life hangs on a thread!