In the view of Wei Wang Zhao Run, this was a huge gamble between an army of 300,000 and an army of 1.5 million.
In fact, he also knew that the strength of the coalition forces of the various countries was no longer enough to reach 1.5 million. After all, he had also seen the sight of the soldiers of the coalition soldiers lying everywhere outside Daliang City - he just didn't know that the coalition forces of the various countries were there for the time being.
This is just a specific number of the current strength of the coalition forces.
But having said that, in a war of this scale, whether Chu Shuijun still has 1.5 million people under his command, or whether there are only one million people left, the difference is not big. Anyway, it is all about the advantage of military strength.
Completely crush the Wei army.
"kill--"
On the southern outskirts of Daliang, a roar resounded throughout the world. It turned out to be Wei's 50,000 Luoyang Imperial Guards, who had already killed themselves in front of the coalition forces of various countries, and in front of the Chu State's grain recruits who were deployed in the center of the array.
It has to be said that the lack of food and soldiers was clearly reflected at this time: when facing the Luoyang Imperial Guards of the Wei State who were approaching, they really lacked the means of long-range strikes and long-range restrictions, so that they were defeated by the Luoyang Imperial Guards of the Wei State.
It's easy to get closer.
And what is the result of this?
That is to say, Chu's grain-raised troops were destined to be suppressed by the Wei elite in front of them at the very beginning.
Yes, in the category of hand-to-hand combat, Wei soldiers have always been defeated by others. Wei has always been a country famous for its powerful infantry.
On the southern outskirts of Daliang City, 50,000 imperial guardsmen fell headlong into the Chu State's grain recruitment array, which was several times their own strength. In just the blink of an eye, the front row of grain recruits had been slaughtered by the Wei army.
What an amazing efficiency!
However, if you think about it carefully, the combat effectiveness of the two sides is indeed very different: the Luoyang Imperial Guard is the imperial division of the Wei State. Although it competes with the Shangshui Army, the Yanling Army, the Wei Wu Army, the Anti-Rebel Army and other first-tier elite armies at home,
The ranking of the team inevitably seems a little inadequate, but in the final analysis, it is the King's Division of Wei State. It is well-equipped with weapons and equipment and well-trained. In addition to its combat experience, it is not as good as other elite troops in the first echelon of Wei State.
, in fact, it is impeccable. However, the soldiers faced by the Luoyang Imperial Guard are the army with the worst weapons and equipment in the entire Central Plains, and the most unstable morale and fighting spirit. If one's own side has an absolute advantage,
, Chu's grain-raised troops will become as fierce and good at fighting as Qin's tattooed army; but if the battle situation is against the wind, or when a tough battle is needed, the role of this army on the battlefield is really very limited.
.
No, just after the first contact, thousands of grain soldiers were killed by Wei's Luoyang guards in the blink of an eye, and they were almost unable to resist.
Of course, this cannot be blamed on the army recruiters. Most of them only have the most basic and rudimentary weapons and armor, and many of them may not even have armor for defense.
What's more important is that the essence of the grain-recruited soldiers is still "peasant soldiers", but what they face is a professional Wei army armed to the teeth - the gap between "peasant soldiers" and "off-the-job soldiers"
, basically the gap between farmers and professional soldiers.
"tread--"
"tread--"
"tread--"
Wei's Luoyang imperial guards advanced steadily step by step with neat steps. Their eyes were fixed on the enemy troops in front of them, and they moved forward unhurriedly, sometimes resisting with the strong shields in their hands.
The grain recruiters counterattacked as if in a desperate struggle, sometimes using the sharp swords in their hands to kill the enemy soldiers blocking them one by one.
In the center of the ten thousand-man phalanx in the first row, Zhao Run's Zongwei Zhu Gui sat astride a war horse, shouting loudly for a moment, motivating the Wei soldiers under his command with his words.
"...Forget the fear in your heart, hold on to your weapons, keep your eyes on the front, and don't stop charging until the war drums stop. Retreating will only make you weak, and timidity will definitely lead to death..."
"Forward! Luoyang Imperial Guard! Don't stop even a step!"
"Keep in mind that behind us is the monarch of the Wei Dynasty; and beside us is the old capital of the Wei Dynasty! ... We, the Wei Dynasty, have no way out!"
Not only Zhu Gui, who was the vanguard general of the infantry battalion, but in fact, in each thousand-man phalanx, his respective thousand-man generals were also repeating the exciting words of encouragement given by Wei King Zhao Run just now.
"Let us live, let them die!"
"Give the enemy soldiers the defeat they deserve!"
I saw that under the encouragement of these Wei generals, the Wei soldiers of Luoyang Imperial Guard showed the terrifying strength of "Why are the infantry of Wei so famous in the world?" They advanced steadily step by step, killing the grain soldiers in front of them.
On the one hand, they forced the opponent to retreat out of fear, thereby compressing the battlefield space for the grain recruiters. This caused the grain recruiters in the rear to be in a severely crowded state. Although they had not seen the Wei soldiers yet, they were pushed and almost lost by their own friendly troops.
Stand in space.
It has to be said that it is a very fatal thing for any military branch to lose its "standing ground" on the battlefield. After all, in a crowded combat environment, they simply do not have enough space to wield their weapons.
, all crowded with their comrades.
This is a direct manifestation of lack of training and lack of experience - recruits who lack battlefield experience will make a very serious oversight when fighting in such a dense formation, that is, they will retreat out of fear of death, even if it is just a small step.
It is also very fatal, because it will squeeze the friendly troops in the back row - your cowardice at this time will not only kill you, but also the people behind you.
Because of this, experienced soldiers with a spirit of sacrifice would sometimes rather step forward and let the enemy's weapons pierce their chests than take a step back to avoid killing their own robes.
But it is obvious that the grain recruiters of the Chu State do not understand the principles of this battlefield. Under the pressing step by step of the Luoyang Imperial Guards, the grain recruiters at the front of the array retreated even though they were dead - maybe they thought they were slightly
It doesn't matter if they retreat a little, but in fact, they are invisibly helping Wei Zu compress the space behind them.
Of course, the generals of the Chu State did not understand this truth. When several generals scolded the grain recruiters, they said: "Don't retreat! Attack us!"
But unfortunately, the Luoyang Imperial Guard's step-by-step advance, which seems to be integrated with offense and defense, cannot be parried by a ragtag group of grain soldiers, who are not even light infantry. The only one who can stop the step-by-step advance of the heavy infantry is another one.
A heavy infantry, or war weapons such as Wei Liennu.
"Let them die!"
The generals of the Wei army were still shouting at the top of their lungs, even if their voices became hoarse and lost their voices.
Inspired by these Wei generals, the Wei infantrymen in the front row held their shields high and waved their sabers, as if they were unilaterally slaughtering grain and recruiting troops.
This is simply a one-sided battle.
Strange, where are the left and right wings of the coalition of nations?
Shouldn't the regular armies of the various countries deployed by the coalition forces on the left and right flanks use long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows to restrict the advancement of the Wei infantry in the middle? Why has it been delayed in providing assistance?
The reason is very simple, because the regular soldiers on the left and right wings of the coalition forces are being attacked by hundreds of thousands of Wei army militiamen and rangers. Compared with the tight formation confrontation in the central battlefield, the battlefield on the left and right wings of the two armies is simply chaos.
.
"Kill--"
"Kill all these damn guys!"
More than 200,000 Wei militiamen frantically charged towards the two wings of the coalition forces. The crazy atmosphere forced the generals on the left and right wings of the coalition forces to use their bows that were supposed to be used on the Luoyang Imperial Guards in the middle.
A volley of crossbows was fired at these Wei militiamen.
"Puff, puff, puff—"
Countless Wei militiamen were hit by arrows midway through the charge.
At this time, an incredible scene appeared: even if they were hit by arrows, as long as they were not hit vitally, the charging momentum of those Wei militiamen did not decrease at all, and they still roared and roared towards the coalition forces of various countries.
These militiamen recruited temporarily by the Wei State seemed to have regarded themselves as dead when they took the first step, as King Zhao Run of Wei said.
Since you are already dead, why should you fear death?!
"These Wei people are simply crazy!"
Deployed in front of the left wing (south) of the coalition forces of various countries were the troops under General Xiang Mo of Chu State, led by his general "Dou Lian".
Doulian was a fierce general from Chu who participated in the "Four Kingdoms Campaign Against Chu". He was brave and courageous. When he was surrounded by the Wei army, he preferred to die rather than surrender. Even though the food routes and water sources were cut off, he still led him
The remaining soldiers under his command stood firm - it was not until King Xi of Qi died in Shoying, and the Chu State admitted defeat, ending the "Four Kingdoms Attack on Chu" that Dou Lian was lucky enough to survive.
Precisely because he had dealt with the Wei army, Dou Lian knew how powerful the Wei army was.
But even so, the madness of the more than 200,000 Wei militiamen greatly exceeded his expectations.
Here we must mention the regular infantry of Chu State.
The regular infantry of the Chu State can be roughly divided into two types: "halberdiers" holding halberds, and "sword and shield soldiers" holding sabers and shields. The former, as the name suggests, are even the main attackers on the battlefield, especially in charge
When fighting, longer weapons can give the main army of the Chu State a certain advantage, unless they encounter heavy infantry such as the Wei State infantry with thick armor; while the sword and shield soldiers are mainly used for defense, such as protecting the soldiers in the army.
Crossbowmen. Of course, although they are also called sword and shield soldiers, they are far from comparable to the sword and shield soldiers of Wei.
At this time, since Chu Shuijun had previously issued an order to "prepare to attack," Chu General Doulian moved the halberd soldiers to the front, preparing for the infantry to wait for an opportunity to enter the battlefield and serve as the main attacker on the flank.
What they didn't expect was that the Wei army, which was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, actually launched an offensive ahead of them.
Of course, it doesn't matter. After all, Chu's halberd soldiers have the advantage of having long weapons. Dou Lian doesn't think that the infantry under his command holding halberds that are more than ten feet long will be unable to withstand the oncoming Wei militiamen - this is just
They are just Wei's militia, not those Wei's heavy infantry who are armed to the teeth.
No, when the two armies first came into contact and started a hand-to-hand battle, Dou Lian's point was immediately proved: Wei's militiamen could not really get close to Chu's halberd soldiers, so they were stabbed by the latter with their halberds that were more than ten feet long.
Pierced the chest.
Some soldiers even pierced the body of a Wei militiaman with several halberds at the same time, which made people feel horrified no matter how they looked at it.
However, he underestimated the fighting spirit-or desire to fight-of these Wei militiamen.
I saw those Wei militiamen whose bodies were pierced by the halberd soldiers of the Chu army. They did not fall to the ground and howl in pain like the enemies they had encountered before. They held on tightly the moment their bodies were pierced.
Holding the halberd, he loudly urged his boss: "Kill him! Kill him for me!"
The Chu soldier who was caught with the halberd tried hard to pull back the weapon, but the weapon was firmly grasped by the Wei soldier and could not be withdrawn at all.
By the time he reacted, other Wei soldiers had already rushed in front of him with ferocious expressions.
In this situation, the only thing the Chu halberd soldier could do was to put down the halberd in his hand and protect his head with both hands. But even so, it was difficult to avoid being hacked to death by several Wei militiamen.
.
And this is not the most astonishing thing. The most astonishing thing is that Dou Lian saw with his own eyes that a Wei militiaman who was stabbed in the chest by his halberd soldiers struggled to cut off the halberd shaft with a knife.
Afterwards, he actually continued to charge forward, and died together with a Chu army halberd soldier who had lost his weapon.
"Crazy, these Wei people are simply crazy..."
Dou Lian was simply shocked to see those Wei soldiers who took life and death lightly and risked their lives to fight the Chu soldiers under his command.
It is undeniable that the militiamen of the Wei State in front of them are not as strong and good at fighting as the regular soldiers of the Wei State, but their courage is enough to scare their enemies.
At least, Dou Lian had a creepy feeling at this moment. He felt as if he was fighting with a group of dead people who were not afraid of life and death - otherwise, if they were living people, why would these people despise their own lives so much?
The formation was torn apart, and Wei's militiamen poured into the Chu army's formation under Dou Lian's command.
It can be seen at this time that these Wei militiamen have no tactical command at all. They just do two things repeatedly, namely "find the enemy" and "kill the enemy" until they are killed by the enemy.
Because there was no command, the attack directions of these Wei militiamen were also very different. Some were to the east, some to the north, and some to the south. Anyway, as long as the Chu soldiers were present, that was the direction of their attack.
To be honest, if it is a small-scale confrontation, this kind of independent fighting style will only allow the enemy to seize the flaw and be severely counterattacked. But in this battlefield where more than one million people are participating at every turn
, but perhaps it is the most suitable tactic for the Wei militia.
What's even better is that because there are so many troops on both sides, Chu General Doulian is unable to direct his soldiers to make an effective counterattack - in this sea of people, he can't even see which direction the Wei militiamen are fighting.
.
Dou Lian's force was beyond his reach, and the main Chu army here was also passively trapped in a state of fighting on its own, making this war zone even more chaotic.
Formations and other matters have long been forgotten by the soldiers of Wei and Chu here. The only thing they still remember is to kill the enemy.
What must be admitted is that in such a chaotic battlefield, the lethality of the ranger groups is amplified. They can only be seen in small groups, or leading militiamen to form their own groups.
The small group, with their superb swordsmanship and evasive maneuvers, caused serious casualties to the soldiers of the Chu army on this chaotic battlefield.
Looking at the messy battlefield and seeing his regular soldiers being slaughtered by a group of rangers and Wei militiamen and retreating steadily, Chu General Doulian felt this emotion for the first time: It turns out that having more soldiers is not necessarily a good thing.
Indeed, if the Chu State also advocated "soldiers are more valuable than more soldiers," even if the strength of the Chu army here was reduced by half, Wei's militiamen and rangers would not be able to tear up the Chu army's formation, just like the Chu army's grain recruitment
Just like Qin's tattooed army, these peasant soldiers could only be beaten in front of the main army of Wei.
At this time, in the center of the left wing of the coalition forces of various countries, Chu State General Xiang Mo looked at the messy battle ahead and frowned.
Just like his general Dou Lian, Xiang Mo never thought that his main army of Chu State would one day be suppressed by a group of militiamen, even if this militia came from Wei State.
"General!"
Xiang Mo's heroic general "圜鱼" came to the former in person, clasped his fists and said, "General, Doulian's side is almost unstoppable. Please allow General Xiang to lead his army forward and give him a helping hand."
"..." Xiang Mo pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "Don't be impatient for a moment...Although Dou Lian is at a disadvantage at the moment, he may not be defeated immediately by... the Wei soldiers on the opposite side."
"General?"
Niyu looked at Xiang Mo in confusion. He couldn't understand why Xiang Mo stood still.
After hearing this, Xiang Mo raised his hand and pointed to the southwest to explain to Niyu.
At this time, in the southwest, there was a Wei cavalry stationed on horseback - it was the Chuanluo cavalry, which was the protection deliberately left by Wei King Zhao Run.
Once the allied forces of the various countries are beaten into a rage and decide to have a showdown with the Wei army, then the group of more than 20,000 Sichuan-Luo cavalry deployed by Zhao Run on the left and right wings will take advantage of the chaos on the battlefield to directly attack the allied forces.
's weaknesses.
In fact, this is Zhao Run's only trump card.
After listening to Xiang Mo's explanation, Niyu finally understood why the former did not move. It was because the coalition forces of various countries were not sure of being able to withstand more than 20,000 cavalry.
However, Niyu does not agree with Xiang Mo's point of view.
He frowned and said: "General, the entire Wei army is pressing forward and we are fighting to the bitter end, but our army is still timid. Is this really good?"
Hearing this, Xiang Mo smiled bitterly in his heart. In fact, he was also secretly asking himself: Is this really good?
As the saying goes, the brave will win when meeting on a narrow road. At this moment, the Wei army has shown extraordinary fighting spirit and courage. If the coalition forces of other countries are still timid, there is no need to doubt that even a million-nation coalition army will be very likely to be defeated by more than 200,000 Wei troops.
of.
"The general thinks that there are millions of people in our coalition here. If we really want to fight the Wei army, are we really unable to withstand the mere 20,000 cavalry?" Niyu said with a frown.
Xiang Mo took a long breath and said nothing.
However, deep down in his heart, he agreed with Niyu's point of view: If the coalition forces of other countries really wanted to fight the Wei army, a mere 20,000 cavalry would not be enough to reverse the victory or defeat.
but……
"...The fact is that our army is actually not ready for a life-and-death battle with the Wei army."
Xiang Mo said sadly
His words did not refer solely to Chu Shuijun.
It is undeniable that Chu Shuijun did have concerns about this, so that as soon as the battle started, his coalition forces made a huge oversight - mistakenly thinking that the Wei army would not dare to use all its elite soldiers, so they used the grain to
The recruited troops were sent to the front line, trying to use this army to consume the Wei army. As a result, they happened to encounter the 50,000 Luoyang Imperial Guards of the Wei army, and were defeated like a mountain.
But having said that, among the coalition forces of various countries, is Chu Shuijun the only one who has concerns about this?
How is that possible!
For example, the army of the State of Lu is still staying behind to watch the show, and there is no sign that it is ready to lead its troops forward to support the army of the State of Chu.
In fact, even Tian Dan of Qi State may not be whole-hearted - even though Tian Dan had just reminded Lord Chu Shui to attack immediately and not to give King Zhao Run of Wei a chance to motivate his subordinates, but in fact,
The battle has been going on till now, and the Qi army under Tian Dan is still standing still, allowing his Chu army to fight with the Wei army.
Even Wei's army, after the Wei army led by King Zhao Run appeared, lost its ferocity when it attacked Daliang City a few days ago and followed the Chu army behind him.
This makes it possible that among the coalition forces of various countries, the only ones capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities at this moment are the troops of the Chu State.
"...The coalition commander is timid and the coalition commander has ulterior motives. How can we win this battle?"
Xiang Mo shook his head secretly.
Looking at the Wei army on the opposite side, although the number of the Wei army on the opposite side is far less than that of the coalition forces of other countries, they can't stand it because they share the same hatred of the enemy and everyone is united.
Look at those Wei soldiers. Even though there were countless casualties, the attack was still so fierce. They went forward one after another and regarded death as if they were home. They died vigorously one by one.
But what about his allied forces? The armies of the three kingdoms of Lu, Wei, and Qi are currently working hard and unable to do anything.
If Wei's army could be defeated under such circumstances, Xiang Mo would not believe it.
After thinking about it, Xiang Mo felt that he needed to remind Chu Shuijun.
Although the outcome was very different from what was predicted, they finally tested the strength of the Wei army on the opposite side. They learned that the Wei army on the opposite side still maintained most of its combat effectiveness after traveling a long distance, and the morale of the Wei army was so high that it was shocking.
Scalp numbness.
All in all, this battle ends here, and there is no point in continuing it.
Because according to the current situation, if the two sides continue to fight to the death, the worst result is of course nothing more than being defeated by the Wei army; and the best result is nothing more than that the Chu army will be defeated by the Chu army while the armies of Qi, Lu and Wei secretly preserve their strength.
Both sides suffered defeat with the Wei army - this was undoubtedly the best outcome for the three kingdoms of Qi, Lu and Wei, but it was very unfavorable for the Chu kingdom.
It should be noted that the purpose of Chu State is not only to defeat Wei State, but also to take advantage of this battle to completely secure its position as the hegemon of the Central Plains and make Qi, Lu, Wei and other Central Plains countries surrender. If both sides with Wei State lose in this battle,
What qualifications do you have to command other countries?
Thinking of this, Xiang Mo summoned a guard, whispered a few words to him, and then ordered him: "Go to this formation immediately and convey my words to Lord Chu Shui. If he decides to fight the Wei army, he will immediately tell him."
Use all your troops and try to force the armies of Qi, Lu, and Wei to join the war; if not...just withdraw your troops, it will be meaningless to continue the stalemate."
"Yes!" The guard clasped his fists and left.
After burning incense for a while, Chu Shuijun learned what Xiang Mo sent as a guard and looked at the battlefield without saying a word.
After pondering for more than ten breaths, he took a long breath and said rather sadly: "Send the order, withdraw the troops, and fight again tomorrow."
Faced with Wei Wang Zhao Run's huge gamble, Chu Shuijun finally chose to retreat, not daring to break the pot like Wei Jun did.
In fact, it was not entirely because Chu Shuijun was too cautious. The fundamental reason was that the coalition forces of various countries were not in sync with each other and were not yet ready for a decisive battle with the Wei army.
Unless Chu Shuijun wants to see both Chu and Wei armies lose, while Qi and Lu both benefit.