On the first day of the lunar month at Renwu, when the sky was bright, Chen Chong led his army out of the camp and headed east. They walked along the slope valley covered with peach trees, emerged from the forest, and their eyes gradually opened up. When they reached a slope, the terrain in the east ended.
Looking closer, in the open wasteland, the land still has a vague arc. Directly opposite is the lowest point of the arc. Then a shallow hill rises from the upper left, and a gentle slope rises in the south. The white flag of the Shu army also follows this
Unclear arcs extend across the north and south. Under the flag, infantrymen are lined up as densely as ants, with halberds standing like a forest. The battle line, which is more than ten miles long, is like an endless iron forest. Some scouts moved closer to observe the situation in detail, but after only entering about two miles, they had to shoot the thunder in the sky to show that the enemy troops were well organized and difficult to approach. The scouts came back and said that except for the Shu soldiers in formation,
, there seemed to be many newly dug trenches at the foot of their line. Although they were not deep, they were enough to pose a considerable threat to the cavalry.
At this time, the sun has jumped out of the east mountain, casting light dust like golden sand. It is another sunny day. Such good weather has lasted for more than ten days. The snow on the wilderness slopes has also gradually melted, revealing the long-buried snow.
The withered grass spread on this slope like vast velvet, which is really refreshing. However, Chen Chong noticed something strange. As the snow melted, the soil under his feet was a little soft, which may not be conducive to the knights charging into battle today.
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At this time, the Han army had completed the formation deployment on the march. The left, middle and right armies were densely connected, forming an inverted triangle shape. Among them, the right army was led by Jingyuan Colonel Hu Zhen, and the left army was led by Wuyue Colonel Dong Yue.
The two wings are located slightly further forward, and are basically composed of Dong Zhuo's old troops. In addition to the Han people, there are also some Qiang and Di followers. The central army is located slightly further back, led by Sili Colonel Chen Chong. The composition here is the most complex.
There were people from Liang, as well as defenders from Chencang, Wugong, Yixian and other places, as well as some strong men from Fufeng counties along the way. Because the quality of the soldiers varied, Chen Chong placed them in the central army and planned to use them as appropriate during the war.
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It is worth mentioning that although Chen Chong seized most of Chencang's supplies and obtained food and soldiers, the most important horses could not be supplied. Except for the 10,000 horses Dong Yue brought from Jinyang, Zhang Ji was
When horses were collected from the countryside, they only collected more than a thousand horses, and the number was almost the same as that of the Shu army. This also resulted in Chen Chong not having an advantage in the number of cavalry troops for the first time since entering Bingzhou. Chen Chong also knew the importance of this.
Therefore, most of the cavalry horses were placed in the rear formations of the right army and the center army to prepare for use when the battle situation changes. However, based on today's situation, I am afraid they will not be used.
While he was thinking about it, the formation of the Shu army was almost completed. Although the rising sun was high and the sun was shining, there was still a smell of earthy water vapor in the air. The infantry of the Shu army walked slowly, and their footsteps were slow.
The sound of beating the earth was as dull as a drum, and the formation of more than 100,000 people did not bring any dust into the sky. Just like this, you can clearly see the densely packed wooden pillars and flags of the Shu people, which look like a golden curtain in the sun.
It's amazing.
Behind the wooden pillars, the halberds were gradually lined up, glowing with bright metallic light. When the Han army in the west saw it, it was so striking that it made people dizzy. When they were setting up the formation,
Finally, a cavalry army emerged from the center of the Shu army. The clanging sound of armored weapons suddenly became loud, and the snorting and neighing of the armored horses gathered together, just like the roar from the throat of a wild beast before it pounces on food. Facing this army that was far larger than his own, many people were timid and had drums in their chests, especially the Tai students who were on the battlefield for the first time. When Chen Chong returned from the front formation to the main formation, he found that he was a group of new students.
Many of them had pale faces, trembling hands and feet, and especially shortness of breath, as if they were drowning in water.
So he encouraged: "Don't be afraid. Although the sword has no eyes on the battlefield, the person holding the sword has a heart. The timid are easy to kill, and the brave are difficult to defeat. Therefore, the timid often die first on the battlefield, and those who dare to fight to the death are the ones who die first."
A brave man can live easily."
However, the students saw that he looked as leisurely as if he were living in a courtyard, looking at the mighty Shu army like a forest, but it seemed that he was just watching the wind and listening to the waves. This made Zhuge Liang and others feel ashamed, so they asked Chen Chong what he thought, and Chen Chong said: "Coach
It is the spirit of the three armies, and it bears the orders of the three armies. Thousands of people can be killed with just one stroke of writing. As long as you always remember that your life is not your own, you will naturally not show your cowardice."
As soon as these words came out, most of the students became even more nervous. Chen Chong smiled and said: "It doesn't have to be like this. At least there won't be a big battle today. It's just a test between the two armies." Someone asked: "How can you see it?" Chen Chong pointed at Shu.
Junjun Zhen said: "They dug trenches in front of the formation because they were afraid of our cavalry and wanted to test them first before making any plans!"
When Pang Tong heard this, he couldn't help but asked curiously: "What does the teacher plan to do?"
Chen Chong said with a smile: "Let's put on a play for him today and see if he falls into the trap."
After that, Chen Chong sent an order to the left and right armies, ordering Hu Zhen and Dong Yue to send two thousand infantry each to go forward to test the left and right wings of the Shu army, and then deploy a small number of cavalry to respond. If the attack goes well, the cavalry will follow.
, and then mobilize the subsequent phalanx according to the situation. If it fails, they will fight and retreat, and return to the phalanx under the cover of the Chinese army.
Shortly after the soldiers disappeared, the exciting marching drums sounded on both sides. The first to move was Dong Yue's left army. Groups of infantry walked out of the formation side by side, holding wooden poles high and marching forward.
There were about sixty people in each group. Since they were attacking a gentle slope, their deployment speed was a little slow. It wasn't until they were at a relatively close distance that they held up their wooden poles and accelerated forward. When they were close to an arrow's distance away,
, the flight of the Shu army arrived as scheduled as a sudden rain.
The Shu army's arrows were indeed very sophisticated. When the first wave of arrows exploded in the wind, it was like an iron wall falling straight down. The infantry in the front row could still use wooden poles to resist it, while the infantry in the rear row could resist it with wooden husks.
They could only counterattack with crossfire. However, due to the upward attack and headwind, the effect was not great. Soon, almost everyone in the first and second groups of infantry was injured. But on the battlefield for more than ten years
The experience enabled them to endure the pain and maintain a strict formation even when arrows were inserted into their bodies. Soon, the two sides reached a distance where they could fight directly.
At this time, the front ranks of the Shu army raised long thorns that were more than ten feet long, and stacked the gleaming tips of the thorns layer by layer. It was like iron thorns growing out of the ground, and the thorn tips shone with cold light.
It was shuddering. But the Han soldiers at the front had long been accustomed to such scenes. They put down their wooden poles, took out their knives from their waists without fear, aimed at the pole and tried their best to cut it. Those who had room to spare also held a long pole.
The halberd, taking advantage of the Shu people's lack of flexibility, inserted the tip of the halberd upside down, accompanied by screams from time to time.
When no one was paying attention, some shorter Han soldiers were lying on the ground. While the two sides were hitting each other with poles, they used hook knives to hook the Shu people's ankles. The Shu people who were attacked were caught off guard.
, many people only had time to let out one or two screams before they were killed by the Han army who took advantage of the opportunity. In the first round of confrontation between the Shu army and the Han army, the qualities of both sides were quickly demonstrated. Just like Chen Chong before.
As it is said, when there are people who are not afraid of death and dare to stand up against the incoming spears and flying arrows to stab the enemy, it is really difficult for those who find it difficult to even open their eyes to fight against them.
Soon, the Han soldiers in the front row tore open several small openings. They independently chose the more obvious one and drilled and expanded it in a very disciplined manner. The formation did not even undergo any major changes. But the Shu army
There were many brave soldiers who launched a counterattack against the Han army, but they were not in formation, just like carps suddenly jumping out of the water and then cleverly diving into the water. These people did cause some damage to the Han army, but they did not
Although they were able to disrupt the Han army's front line, their own front line became even more chaotic due to their repeated attacks.
In this situation, the soldiers in the front line of the Shu army looked over and saw all the veterans with bloody eyes in front of them, but it was difficult for them to even turn around, because there were still people coming up behind them, and those behind just walked forward, even using their weapons
He hit the people in front with a pole, completely unaware that the soldiers at the front were on the verge of defeat. In this case, many Shu people died tragically, and their heads were cut off by the Han soldiers and hung on their waists to prepare for merit.
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The person commanding this place was Sun Zhao, the cavalry captain of the Shu army. Standing at a higher place, he saw his men being stabbed to death by the veterans of the Han army. Only then did he realize that the fighting Han army was extremely elite. Even Lu Bu was afraid that
His subordinates were also hard to match. He sighed and said to himself distressedly: "Where did Chen Tingjian get his elite soldiers? They are all as fierce as eagles and harriers!" He ordered his cavalry to carry flags to the front to boost morale, and he himself
He sent troops to ask for reinforcements from Liu Fan, the Chinese army, and spoke highly of the bravery of the Han army.
Hu Zhen's right army also achieved considerable results. No more than Dong Yue, Hu Zhen preferred to lead the army into battle in person, so he personally led the front team to dig deep into the left wing of the Shu army, directly opening a gap several feet wide.
, a military commander of the Shu army tried to counterattack, but was directly beheaded by Hu Zhen. There were bursts of cheers from the Han army, which made the Shu people change their expressions.
But even though the Han army had made many gains, the Shu army still did not retreat. Instead, they counterattacked westward one after another. The Han troops in the front line fought for nearly two hours. Under Chen Chong's mobilization, the personnel had been rotated twice, but
The Shu army still held on to its original position, leaving the Han army without any progress.
When the sun set to the west, Chen Chong withdrew from the front line of the battle, and the Shu army had no intention of pursuing them. They just fired two rounds of bows and missed them. When the Han army returned to the formation, the Shu army also sounded the call to retreat.
With the sound of gold, both sides returned to camp. It seems that today was just a test.
In the first day of fighting, the Han army suffered casualties of about a thousand people, while the Shu army suffered casualties of nearly 3,000. In terms of battle losses, it was a great victory for the Han army, but Chen Chong knew that this had no impact on the outcome of the battle.
, even for the smaller Han army, this is unacceptable. But in order to mobilize the enemy's various formations, this is also a sacrifice that has to be made.
That night, Chen Chong held a military meeting to prepare for a decisive victory attempt the next day.