Chapter 79: Each has a calculation (2) [two in one]
Two days later, at Chen time, Li Hou Han Wu led the troops under the command of Yuyang to guard Qin Kai, Shanggu to guard Ma She, and Beiyan to guard Leyi, and arrived at the "western suburbs of the city" that Wei Gongzi Run had replied to in his letter of war.
In fact, the Korean generals had doubts about Wei Gongzi Run's reply in the letter of war.
It doesn't matter that Wei Gongzi Run chose the battlefield in the "western suburbs of the city". Anyway, the area around Julu City is a plain terrain that is very suitable for heavy cavalry to charge. Even though the battlefield chosen by Wei Gongzi Run is not far from Julu City, Li Hou Han Wu He was also fully confident that he could use Sima Shang's 50,000 heavy cavalry to inflict heavy damage on the Wei army.
Among them, Northern Yan Shou Leyi had many doubts about the battlefield chosen by Wei Gongzi Run.
He suspected that Wei Gongzi Run might also want to make a pretense of attacking in the east - that is, he deliberately deceived them and the Han army gathered in the west of Julu City, but he led the Wei army to sneak attack the camp of the Beiyan army in the east and destroy the Beiyan army on the Qinghe River. Military camp.
However, after carefully thinking about Wei Gongzi Run's character, he finally rejected this speculation. After all, in his opinion, although Wei Gongzi Run was a commander who was good at cunning tactics, he would not use such a method that would seriously affect his career. The credibility trick.
What's more, even if the Wei army destroyed the Beiyan military camp in Qinghe, what would happen?
Unless the Wei army planned to break out eastward and head to Qi State at this time, there would be no point in sending troops to sneak attack his military camp in Le Yi.
As for whether the Wei army would break out to the east at this time, Le Yi didn't think about it at all: It was already early winter, and it was foolish for Wei Gongzi Run to abandon Julu, Xingtai, Sand Dunes, Bairen and other cities that could clearly be used to survive the cold winter. Prepare to run to Qi when the cold winter comes. Unless Wei Gongzi Run suddenly loses his mind, no normal person would make such a choice.
Around Si Shi, except for the 50,000 heavy cavalry under Sima Shang, the rest of the Yuyang, Shanggu, and Beiyan armies gradually arrived at the battlefield designated by Wei Gongzi Run, which was the western suburbs of Julu City.
When they arrived, Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, discovered that there was not a single Wei soldier on the battlefield.
"There is no time to fight, there is no time to fight... Is there any deep meaning in this?"
Perhaps because he had nothing to do, Li Hou Han Wu began to think about this matter carefully at this moment.
Excluding surprise attacks, ambushes, etc., under normal circumstances, battles almost always occur in the morning. This involves several reasons: From the perspective of the soldiers, in the morning, the soldiers in the army are mentally alert after getting enough sleep last night. If you are energetic, it will be easier to perform to your due level; secondly, in terms of tactical arrangements, starting the battle in the morning will give the commander more room for choice. For example, when gaining an advantage, you can consider continuing the attack in the afternoon to further expand the advantage.
On the other hand, if we use troops at a later time, even if we gain an advantage, the weather will probably be approaching evening and it will be difficult to make any progress - fighting at night by midnight is still relatively rare under normal circumstances.
Based on this point, whether it was Lihou Hanwu or Dangyinhou Hanyang, or Yuyang guarding Qin Kai, Shanggu guarding Mashe, Beiyan guarding Leyi, etc., they all expressed their concern that Wei Gongzi Run chose to fight in "Wei Shi" I always have some doubts.
"The war has not yet begun, which means that Wei Gongzi Run has not considered continuing the war. This..."
In the view of Ma She, the guardian of Shanggu, the delay in fighting basically means that Wei Gongzi Run has no intention of fighting again. Even if the Wei army has gained the advantage, it is not prepared to pursue the victory because there is not enough time. Doesn't this mean that Now, Wei Gongzi Run is not very sure about this battle?
But since he was not very sure, why did he accept the invitation to fight this time? Is it really because he was young, energetic, lonely and arrogant, and could not stand the provocation of Han Wu, the Marquis of Li?
To be fair, Ma She, the Shanggu Shou, doesn't think so.
Think about it, if Wei Gongzi Run is so easily angered, why are none of the famous generals from various countries such as Li Mu, Le Yi, Jing She, Xiang Mo, Gongsun Qi, etc., able to defeat Wei Gongzi Run? It only ended in a draw with the latter.
From this point, Ma She was able to conclude that Wei Gongzi Run was invited to fight this time, and he was definitely not motivated by the provocation of Han Wu, the marquis of Li. He must have some purpose.
Ma She told Yuyang Shou Qin Kai his concerns, and the latter nodded frequently.
Qin Kai also felt that Wei Gongzi Run's challenge this time seemed to be filled with a sense of disobedience. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, they could not guess what the other party was thinking.
Since not a single Wei soldier has arrived on the battlefield yet, the Korean soldiers arranged their formation slowly and slowly until around noon.
However, even around noon, there was still no news from the Wei army.
"Then Zhao Run, aren't you kidding me?"
After waiting for a full hour, Li Hou Han Wu became a little impatient, frowning and muttering anxiously.
After hearing this, Ma She, the guardian of Shanggu, smiled and comforted him: "Don't worry, Marquis Li. Since Wei Gongzi Run has agreed to fight, he will definitely lead his army. Otherwise, what credibility will he have in the future?... Wei Gongzi Run has never broken a promise to anyone before, and I think he will keep his promise. Besides, the time is not yet here, isn't it?"
Li Hou Han Wu nodded noncommittally, and just patiently looked at the wilderness that was about to become a battlefield.
This wilderness is about ten miles away from Julu City. The nearby terrain is generally flat. Although there are a few slight undulations, it is only a slope, not even a hill. It is indeed very suitable for heavy cavalry. The battlefield of strength.
As a result, Li Hou Han Wu couldn't help but start to imagine the spectacular scene of the 50,000 heavy cavalry he spent a huge amount of money building, sweeping across the Wei army in the ensuing battle, and couldn't help but get excited.
In this way, time passed slowly, and in a blink of an eye it was almost time.
But what is annoying is that even though the time is approaching, Wei Jun still does not show up. Because he had nothing to do before, in order to ensure the physical strength of his soldiers, Li Hou Han Wu ordered the entire army to rest in place, so that at this moment, his soldiers They were all sitting on the ground, discussing privately with Tongze. It really didn't look like the atmosphere before the war.
At this time, Li Hou Han Wu was extremely upset. He sat astride his horse and looked around, muttering something in his mouth. He could faintly hear words such as "Zhao Run", "Shu Zi", "Abominable" and so on.
Beside them, the powerful generals such as Han Yang, Qin Kai, Ma She, Le Yi, etc. also frowned frequently.
In fact, Le Yi secretly muttered in his heart: Did I expect it? Is Wei Gongzi Run really making an attack in the east?
Just when they were worried about gains and losses, suddenly a group of cavalry came galloping from a distance. A closer look revealed that they were the Shanggu cavalry under the command of Ma She, the Shanggu guard.
"The Wei army is coming! The Wei army is coming!"
The cavalry team shouted loudly as they rode closer to the Korean army's main formation.
"The Wei army is coming?"
Lihou Hanwu, who was full of anxiety at this moment, perked up after hearing this.
When he believed that he would be able to kill the Wei army in this battle, the last hour of waiting made him feel like his days were like a year.
On the side, people like Han Yang, Qin Kai, Ma She and others felt a little bit dumbfounded.
"What a good Wei Gongzi Run, he really keeps his word. He said, "The two armies will meet in the future." It turned out that the two armies will meet in the future." Shaking his head, Yuyang Guard Qin Kai said with a bit of laughter and tears.
Ma She also shook his head with helplessness on his face, and then said to Qin Kai and Le Yi: "Since the Wei army has arrived, why don't you two and so-and-so return to their respective formations?"
After hearing this, Qin Kai smiled and said: "Why are you so anxious? I think Wei Jun will at least have some time to work."
While the generals were discussing, Li Hou Han Wu was frowning and looking at the Wei army in the distance.
According to visual inspection, the Wei army was about five miles away from the Han army's formation. Therefore, even if Lihou Hanwu placed his formation on a slope and looked into the distance, he could only vaguely see the general outline of the Wei army.
In this regard, Dangyin Hou Han Yang commented: "Wei Gongzi Run is still very cautious, probably because he is worried about our army taking the opportunity to attack."
"snort!"
After hearing this, Li Hou Han Wu snorted lightly.
Soldiers are deceitful.
Li Hou Han Wu was also sent to the army to hone his skills by the late king Han Qi, so he naturally understood this truth.
When the two armies are fighting, especially a war like this that concerns the fate of two countries, there is no sense of benevolence and morality. In the final analysis, it is nothing more than victory and defeat, like a pedantic guy who insisted on benevolence and righteousness like a certain Song Dynasty king for decades. , destined to be defeated by the Chu army and cause the country to fall.
In the past, if Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, had been caught with this opportunity, he would have probably attacked before the Wei army could gain a firm foothold. Anyway, Wei Gongzi Run said "it is not the time to fight", and now it has arrived. Even if he attacks first, the world cannot criticize him for it.
But today, since he has 50,000 heavy cavalry under his command, and Marquis Han Wu has full confidence in these 50,000 heavy cavalry, he does not mind showing his magnanimity and magnanimity to the Wei army and Wei Gongzi Run opposite him.
Thinking of this, he waved over two soldiers and ordered them: "You two go to the Wei army on the opposite side and tell Wei Gongzi Run that I am waiting here for him to prepare the Wei army for battle... By the way, let's go. It's time to be smart and take a closer look at the details of the Wei army and see how many war weapons they call "continued crossbows" in the Wei army."
Li Hou Han Wu was still a little afraid of Wei's repeated crossbows. After all, the three-shot heavy machine crossbow was said to be a powerful crossbow that could shoot through an iron shield with one arrow. If there were hundreds of them in the Wei army on the opposite side at this time, In the case of Liannu, he would have to consider the casualties of the heavy cavalry in advance.
"yes!"
After listening to Lihou Han Wu's instructions, the two soldiers clasped their fists and rode toward the Wei army array in the distance.
At the same time, about five miles away from the Korean army's array, tens of thousands of merchant navy troops quickly lined up in order after arriving at the battlefield.
In order to prevent the Korean army from taking the opportunity to attack, Wu Ji also personally led 3,000 light cavalry to provide support on the flanks.
Unexpectedly, the Korean army had no intention of attacking at all, and even sent two soldiers to convey a message.
I have to say that when Zhao Hongrun heard the message from the two soldiers, he wanted to laugh in his heart.
He didn't think that Lihou Hanwu was as pedantic as a certain Song king decades ago, who would rely so heavily on such a crucial battle related to the rise and fall of South Korea and Wei. Come to think of it, it was probably the 50,000 heavy cavalry. The existence of Lihou Hanwu made Lihou Han Wu full of confidence in this battle, so he didn't mind showing his magnanimity.
Holding back his laughter, Zhao Hongrun nodded with feigned admiration and said to the two soldiers: "Marquis Li is indeed a respectable opponent. In this case, I will be disrespectful. After you two go back, pay tribute to Li on my behalf." Marquis Li conveys his respect... After our army is ready, I will send someone to inform Marquis Li."
"yes!"
The two soldiers rode away, not forgetting to take a closer look at the Wei army's lineup as they left.
Watching the two soldiers leaving, the deputy general of the Shangshui Army, Zhai Huang, chuckled and said, "Your Highness, it seems that Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, is very confident in this battle."
Zhao Hongrun smiled slightly and said: "After all, it is 50,000 heavy cavalry. If I also have 50,000 heavy cavalry under my command, I would not mind showing my magnanimity to the enemy...or, in other words, being calm about the victory."
Speaking of this, he clicked his tongue and said with a bit of envy: "Tsk, tsk, you can build 50,000 heavy cavalry in one go. This Korea's heritage is indeed awe-inspiring and intimidating. It is worthy of the fact that it once competed with Qi." The heroic northern power."
Hearing this, the generals nearby smiled knowingly.
At this time, what they admired was not South Korea's ability to raise 50,000 heavy cavalry in one go, but the Crown Prince next to them, because this His Highness, with his foresight, set a trap to get South Korea to invest a large amount of manpower and material resources into the useless heavy cavalry. Otherwise, if South Korea uses the cost of building 50,000 heavy cavalry to train light cavalry and heavy infantry, then South Korea will be able to increase its troops by at least 200,000 for this battle - these 200,000 troops are of great value to the Wei State The threat is much greater than the threat of 50,000 heavy cavalry.
What's ridiculous is that the Koreans didn't know they had fallen into the trap, and were actually complacent, intending to show their calm attitude as the established victor in front of the enemy. This made Zhai Huang, Nanmen Chi and many other merchant navy generals look forward to it with malicious intent. What will the expressions of those Koreans be like after all the 50,000 heavy cavalry that the Koreans had pinned their hopes on are lost?
"Since the Marquis Li on the opposite side wants to show his composure as the established victor, let's do as he wishes. Pass the order and ask the soldiers to slowly arrange their formations. In addition, carefully check the weapons in their hands and the armor on their bodies. Qian Never lose your life on the battlefield because of negligence." Zhao Hongrun ordered solemnly.
At the same time, the two soldiers had returned to Lihou Hanwu and conveyed Zhao Hongrun's words to the latter.
When he heard that the opposite Wei Gongzi Run praised him as a "respectable opponent", Li Hou Han Wu couldn't help but be elated: he had shown his calmness and won the praise of the Wei Gongzi Run opposite him, and he could still do it in the future. What could be more satisfying than defeating the opponent?
Fortunately, Marquis Han Wu of Li had been in a high position for a long time. At this time, he could suppress the joy in his heart and asked the two soldiers: "How many war weapons are there in the Wei army?"
After hearing this, one of the cavalrymen said truthfully: "It's hard to tell, but there are probably one or two hundred weapons like large crossbows placed on the chariot."
"One or two hundred..."
Li Hou Han Wu frowned and thought secretly in his mind.
The defensive power of the 50,000 heavy cavalry under Sima Shang's command has been verified by South Korea itself. At least from a distance of 60 steps, South Korea's self-forged crossbows cannot penetrate the armor of the heavy cavalry.
I have to say that this is already a very remarkable thing. After all, before the rise of the Wei State, apart from the Qilu Allied Forces, the Korean army had the most sophisticated weapons and equipment, especially Korean crossbows, which were once even better than those of the Lu State. The crossbows of the Han Dynasty are even more powerful, so there is a saying that "all the powerful crossbows in the world come from Korea".
It's just that over the years, Wei has made rapid progress in iron smelting and armaments, gradually catching up with South Korea. In fact, the Koreans can't figure out how Wei can catch up with South Korea in armaments in just ten years. Is it really because the State of Wei obtained the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" from the State of Lu?
All in all, the crossbows made by Korea today are only inferior to those of Wei. Since the Korean crossbow cannot penetrate the armor of heavy cavalry at a distance of sixty steps, the Wei crossbow is not much better.
Therefore, in the eyes of Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, the only threat to the heavy cavalry was Wei's heavy repeating crossbow. According to the information obtained through careful investigation, Wei's repeating crossbow could easily kill one arrow at a distance of about a hundred steps. The iron shield and armor forged by the Wei State are currently the most powerful mechanical crossbow in the entire Central Plains. In front of Wei's continuous crossbows, Lu's mechanical crossbow box is a complete joke.
"... Two hundred repeating crossbows, if the heavy cavalry charges, the casualties are estimated to be around 3,000... It's acceptable."
Li Hou Han Wu nodded secretly.
Although the damage to the three thousand heavy cavalry also made him feel distressed, compared to being able to defeat the Wei army under the command of Wei Gongzi Run in one fell swoop, defeating the vigor of the Wei state and seizing the position of overlord of the Central Plains, this was a price that Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, was willing to pay.
After thinking about it, Lihou Han Wu suddenly raised his head. After staring at Wei Jun in the distance for a while, he asked his left and right: "How long has it been?"
The guards on the left and right replied: "About half an hour."
Li Hou Han Wu frowned when he heard this and asked again: "Has Mr. Wei Run sent anyone here?"
"No." Zuo Zuo replied.
Hearing this, Li Hou Han Wu frowned even more tightly, and he secretly muttered: What is this Wei Gongzi Run doing? Half an hour is not enough for the Wei army to arrange their formation?
However, since he had vowed before that he would wait for the Wei army to be ready before engaging in war, he could not regret it now and beat himself up, so he could only wait patiently.
After waiting for another full half an hour, Li Hou Han Wu couldn't hold it any longer and said with an unhappy expression: "What the hell is Zhao Run doing? It's been almost an hour. Isn't it enough for Wei Jun?" Are you ready?"
After hearing this, Han Yang, the Marquis of Dangyin who was standing by, touched his chin and guessed: "Marquis Li, I suspect that Wei Gongzi Run may be delaying time... The elites of the Wei army are known to the world. According to rumors, the Wei army was unprepared. Under such circumstances, you can quickly prepare for the battle within a moment, how could you be so slack?"
At this point, he frowned and added: "I suspect that Wei Gongzi Run may have some intentions!"
At this moment, due to the ink mark of the Wei army, Ma She, Qin Kai, and Le Yi have not yet returned to their respective formations. After hearing the words of Dangyin Hou Han Yang, they all nodded their heads - they felt more and more that today the Wei army His actions reveal a sense of disobedience from beginning to end.
Li Hou Han Wu couldn't wait any longer, so he gritted his teeth and summoned the two soldiers he had just sent out, and told them: "You two will urge them for me."
"Yes!" The two soldiers responded with clasped fists.
Just as Dangyin Hou Han Yang judged, the Wei army was indeed deliberately delaying time.
As for the purpose, it is very simple. The Wei army is making preparations to deal with the heavy cavalry.
Heavy cavalry is undoubtedly the king on the plains, but this unit has very high demands on terrain, and at the same time, it is also easy to be targeted.
At least in Zhao Hongrun's mind, there are dozens or even hundreds of tactics that can make heavy cavalry die ugly. Among these tactics, the simplest and most convenient is undoubtedly the "horseshoe pit".
Horseshoe pits, as the name suggests, are pits the size of horseshoes, about the length of an arm.
When such horseshoe pits are densely spread over an area, the area becomes a place of death for heavy cavalry.
Once the heavy cavalry is galloping and sprinting, the horse accidentally sinks its hoof into such a hole. Due to inertia, the leg of the horse that fell into the hole will be broken immediately, directly throwing the knight off its back. , thus triggering a chain reaction, causing a large area of heavy cavalry to be knocked down by the bodies of their companions, and even trampling on each other, which was out of control.
For this tactic, Zhao Hongrun also specially asked the Metallurgical Bureau to design an earth-digging instrument. The whole thing is like a hollow cylinder, with an opening at the lower end, and the edges of the opening are sharpened. When the soldiers put this thing on On the ground, you can easily sink the object into the ground by stepping on the upper foot. When pulling it out, the cut soil will be brought out, and a hole the size of a standard horseshoe will be dug out in an instant.
The craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau named this instrument "horse hoof trap" and made nearly two thousand of them.
Unfortunately, the plan could not keep up with the changes. Although Zhao Hongrun led the Shang Shui Army and Yanling Army to successfully invade the hinterland of South Korea, the ships transporting supplies and war equipment in Wei State failed to deliver these items to the army in time. South Korea's Julu Shouyanju led the navy to block the river.
In this case, Zhao Hongrun could only use the oldest method, which was to ask the soldiers to secretly dig the horseshoe pit.
He deliberately chose to start the battle at the end of the day, and today, at the end of the day, he came belatedly, just to facilitate the delay of the battle until dusk - after all, the Korean army could not invest heavy cavalry at the beginning. Right? When the heavy cavalry appears, it will definitely be at the most stalemate of the battle.
Therefore, the Wei army had no time to set up such a simple trap.
As long as the Wei army's sword and shield soldiers in the front row formed a tight formation and used shields to block the friendly troops behind them, it would be impossible for the Korean army to see what the Wei army in the rear row was doing secretly in the position, let alone when the battle dragged on until around dusk and the line of sight dimmed.
However, what was unexpected was that today, in order to show his calmness and magnanimity, Han Wu, the Marquis of Li, actually wanted to give the Wei army time to prepare for the battle. Therefore, Zhao Hongrun was disrespectful and simply asked the soldiers to dig holes in the middle and rear positions. Come to the cave.
Although I don’t have suitable digging equipment, I have plenty of time so I can dig slowly.
Until Lihou Hanwu sent the two soldiers here again, Zhao Hongrun realized that the former was probably impatient.
In order to prevent the two soldiers of Lihou Hanwu from noticing anything, Zhao Hongrun sent someone to intercept the other party and asked them to convey their intention to fight to Lihou Hanwu.
After getting the exact reply from the two soldiers, Li Hou Han Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but start imagining the spectacular scene of heavy cavalry sweeping across the Wei army later.
At this time, Zhao Hongrun was also maliciously looking forward to the tragedy of the powerful heavy cavalry being defeated in front of a small horseshoe pit.
Coincidentally, Han Lihou Han Wu and Wei Crown Prince Zhao Run looked at the battlefield and both showed inexplicable smiles.