But more than half an hour later, as the two armies were arrayed forward in order according to the marching order, they were only fifteen or sixteen miles apart. It can only be said that the distance of twenty miles, for both sides' tens of thousands of troops, plus a total of six
Considering the size of tens of thousands of people, it is really not a very far distance.
And the shortening of the distance means two things at the same time, that is, the increase in the frequency of intelligence acquisition by both sides, and the increase in the difficulty of intelligence acquisition... There is no contradiction between the two, because the frequency of battles between the two sides' sentinels and the
The level of bloodshed has also skyrocketed.
In other words, the two sides have actually begun an outpost battle.
Back to the present, for Yue Fei, the new information naturally made him feel mixed:
What is worrying is that in such a battle with no retreat, Li Cheng also realized the problem and did not waver in the slightest. This means that today will inevitably be a battle involving a lot of bloodshed, injuries and deaths in a short period of time.
, even the winner has to pay a considerable price.
Fortunately, with the continuous exchanges of sentries and cavalry, Yue Fei learned that although Li Cheng's troops were almost twice as many as the imperial camp's former army headquarters, and the uniformity of the troops also hinted at a considerable amount of training and military discipline, no matter what, the troops
The level of eliteness and equipment is still far inferior to that of the Imperial Army's front army... The Sentinel Cavalry clearly stated that the number of iron armors at the rear of the Puppet Qi Army's formation decreased sharply, and was replaced by troops wearing leather armor. In the end, there were still a considerable number of
The unarmored troops are like civilians.
This is only reasonable. After all, no matter how blessed the place is in Jingdong, no matter how populous it is, Li Cheng, even if he raids as thoroughly as the dead Kong Yanzhou, still has to raise troops, raise scholars, and keep up with the Jin Dynasty.
If people change horses, there will definitely be shortcomings.
Insufficient armor and uneven combat capabilities of the troops are a fundamental flaw.
Of course, at the same time, Li Cheng also had mixed feelings:
Of course, I was happy to find that the opponent had fewer troops, especially less cavalry. I had more than 10,000 cavalry, while the opponent only had three or four thousand. What I was worried about, of course, was that the opponent had strong morale, a tight formation, and a frighteningly high armor rate...
...If what the sentry knight said is true, the armor rate of the imperial troops and horses in front of him can be said to be second only to that of the imperial troops he encountered on the Wushan battlefield that day.
However, this army has about 20,000 people.
"Lord!"
A general came from the front and faced each other on horseback. "The sentry said that the soldiers and horses of Zhao Song's imperial camp in front were flying a banner with the word "Yue". Is it a lie? According to the statement in the Di newspaper, Yue Fei should not have come like this.
Hurry? I think there are only 20,000 troops and horses... I can’t say it’s Zhang Jun’s army who is pretending!”
"It must be Yue Fei." Li Cheng looked serious, reining in his horse and turning around. "Others can't put up such a posture, and there are not so many, such neat armored sergeants, that is, Yue Fei, who is as willing to give up money and food as I am.
They were all thrown into the army."
"The official army of Zhao and Song Dynasty has fewer horses, so there will naturally be more armor." The general woke up, but immediately asked again. "My lord, since it is Yue Fei... Do you really want to fight? If such a posture collapses, everything will be lost.
According to the situation, if we retreat to Hebei according to Lu Bu's words, what will we do if we have no capital?"
Li Cheng was immediately furious: "Geng Er, the battle is ahead. Instead of thinking about winning this battle, are you thinking about losing and going to Hebei? What's so scary about big and small eyes? Isn't it right for him to come here at this time?
A tired teacher? But we are unworthy of returning to the army!"
Geng Er, the so-called rebel leader Geng Jian whom Li Cheng conquered on his way south from Hebei Province in his early years, bowed his head on his horse after hearing this, reined in his horse and circled on the ground, and then asked again: "If this is the case, my lord,
Is there any military order issued?"
Li Cheng became even more angry: "In such a situation, the cavalry is on the left and right, holding the infantry and standing side by side. How can there be any military orders? Even if there are military orders, there is only one sentence... You must not retreat without orders! You are not allowed to leave the headquarters privately.
!”
Geng Jian did not dare to say any more and turned around and headed towards the front army. After Li Cheng was extremely angry, he became a little nervous again, but looked at the two generals beside him, one called Xu Wen and the other Guo Zhongwei.
Among them, Xu Wen was a native of Mizhou, Jingdong (now the area from Rizhao to Gaomi, Shandong). He also once separated himself from one side and was considered a small semi-independent force in Mizhou. However, after the Yaoshan War, the world was shaken and the direction of people's hearts changed again.
, now Mizhou has long been wooed by Zhang Jun, and the methods of persuading surrender are gradually being mastered, but this man is ambitious. Unexpectedly, due to the wooing of Mizhou old brother Li Kui and Yizhou local tycoon Hu Cheng, he almost went his own way and surrendered alone.
Li Cheng... He originally thought he could take over Li Cheng's Du Yan and Wu Shun's remaining Mizhou soldiers, but unexpectedly he became the general of the opponent's bodyguard instead.
Guo Zhongwei was a heroic warrior on the Huai River. He was one of the brothers Li Cheng met and recovered when he was wandering in the past, and he was a general of the bodyguard at the beginning.
And these two people, I don't know if it is more popular these days or something, they are both nicknamed "Dadao" like Guan Sheng, the general of the Jinan Prefecture who was murdered by Liu Yu... Xu Wen was nicknamed Xu Dadao, and Guo Zhongwei was nicknamed Guo Dadao.
, two broadswords together control Li Cheng's long-sword cavalry, which is worthy of its name.
In ordinary times, Li Cheng always compared Cao Cao with Dian Wei and Xu Chu in the script.
Without further ado, Li Cheng scolded Geng Jian and then waved around the two swords beside him, but hesitated again... The reason was simple. He wanted to send someone to the front to supervise the battle, but he didn't know who to use.
.
It is said that every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite.
I won’t talk about the specific situation on the battlefield at this time, but I will just say that Li Cheng’s army, which was hastily established, also formed factions like all the emerging warlords in the chaotic period of history... and most of the factions basically revolved around foreign and local areas.
divided by struggle.
Li Cheng himself was from Hebei. During the Jingkang Rebellion, he went south from Hebei, and then lived in Huaishang. Finally, forced by the current situation, he settled in Jingdong and established a foundation in Jingdong. Therefore, his army can be roughly divided into Hebei exile brothers.
There are two major factions: the local tycoons of JD.com.
In fact, to be fair, Li Cheng regarded himself as a hero, and he was very good at running the army and recruiting people. When treating his soldiers, he would not eat them if the soldiers did not eat him. He would not sleep if the soldiers did not sleep. When it rained while marching and he did not have enough rain gear, he was the first one to get wet.
The man of Yu never hesitates to go into battle personally when he is in charge of the army; when dealing with these leaders, he can usually undress them, push them to eat, and then clearly reward and punish them, and use them fairly.
They are really just two bastards, Da Song and Da Jin. They are not willing to give this person a chance. Otherwise, it is impossible for this person to be able to combine a force and become a Taizu-like figure. It is not like hiding in Tokyo at this time.
Is it difficult for a certain official here to think about the entire family?
But on the other hand, since a hero depends on the current situation, if the current situation is not good, Li Cheng will naturally have nothing to do... The Jin Dynasty has strong soldiers and horses, and the Song Dynasty has many people. Not to mention this person, Liu Bang would be parachuted in at this time.
Come here, I can't help but be honest and be the leader of a local Zhongyi Society in Huaibei.
In the same way, although Li Cheng is a hero, the current situation does not allow him to be arrogant.
Within a few months, rumors of peace talks resurfaced. From that time on, the generals and troops who were born in Jingdong began to act in a secretive manner. Later, the peace talks could not be concealed, and the Jin people were quite honest, and directly issued permission to Li.
Cheng led some of the elite troops back north. At that time, Li Cheng was officially granted the status of Hereditary Meng'an, the badge of marching thousands of households, and the conditions for stationing in Dezhou and Dizhou... As a result, even the Hebei people in the team were somewhat distracted.
The world has been in chaos for several years. It seems that big things cannot be accomplished, but instead the north and the south are at odds. What if I go home and work as an official?
Frankly speaking, at that time, even Li Cheng himself was about to despair under the general situation. In the past two months, he had been talking to the Jin people about the conditions, saying that he hoped to maintain more independence and retain more troops.
Divide some more territory or something.
However, how could the Jin people give him so much respect? After all, it is impossible for him to surpass the example of Wang Bolong, the founding general of the Jin Kingdom and a Han householder.
The Yanjing side and the Daming Prefecture Marching Division were completely beaten to death. The establishment of 10,000 people was incorporated into the Daming Prefecture Marching Department system to create an ordinary hereditary force and march tens of thousands of households.
As a result, Li Cheng went to Jinan under the call of Liu Yu, who was even more frightened. The purpose was to say that the two desperate people were going to fight to the death and take advantage of Yue Fei's absence in the Jeju defense zone to take the initiative to start a war and make a big news.
However, when it comes to military affairs, the Jin people are not vegetarians, so how can they be allowed to do anything? Nianhan died, and a bunch of the founding households were still there. Gao Jingshan received the reminder from Wulin Dazanmo and sent ten thousand households to Nianlu
Bu Qingqi crossed the river and captured Liu Yu almost in the form of a coup, and also controlled Li Cheng, who was just pretending to be upright.
And this brings us back to the old topic, and we have to mention again the sorrow of people like Li Cheng and Liu Yu:
In terms of strength, they are not without strength.
In terms of level, both the Jin and Song Dynasties recognized Li Cheng's military prowess. He raised troops even more compared to his rival Yue Fei, and his personal morals were better than those of ten Zhang Jun and Zhang Boying. As for Liu Yu, when he became emperor, he was also said to be conscientious and dedicated to collecting money.
They all flatter the nobles of the Jin Kingdom and support the scholars. I have always been just like the officials of the Zhao and Song Dynasties... The officials of the Zhao and Song Dynasties still wear luxurious cotton, eat ice cream and drink Blue Bridge Feng Yue, but Liu Yu often only wears linen and learns spiritual skills.
The monks of Jiushi Temple eat vegetarian food.
But the problem is that the official Zhao Song family has such a decisive attitude that it is impossible to tolerate them, and Liu Yu's dead son is proof. Therefore, no matter how helpless they are, no matter how many regrets they have, unless they have to,
I don't dare to go against the Jin people.
But to put it another way, isn't this Zhang Jun suddenly launching a surprise attack?
Although he did not get the exact word from the Daming Prefecture, as a founding old-school military general who had never suffered a defeat in several previous wars, this man had arbitrary power over Jinan, but he was not comfortable with negotiating peace.
Although there were thousands of households in the Jin Kingdom, Li Cheng took the opportunity to persuade him and sent him to turn around and fight.
Not only that, Jian Lubu even took the initiative to send a reorganized Meng'an, plus two thousand cavalry from Liu Yu's Jinan Prefecture, all dressed up as golden men, and came together.
Things turned around. The local heroes in Jingdong in the army did return to the army and were full of fighting spirit. However, the old brothers in the past seemed a bit perfunctory.
Back in front of him, Li Cheng reined in his horse and walked forward slowly. Guo Dadao, who had followed him for a long time but was originally from Huainan, and Xu Dadao, who was from Jingdong but came later... After thinking for a long time, he knew that he could not delay, but after all, it was
He gritted his teeth and nodded at one of them:
"Xu Dadao!"
"The end is here!" Xu Wen came on horseback with a long-handled sword in his hand.
"You take two hundred swordsmen, and the cavalry given by Jinan Prefecture will give you one thousand more. Go into the gap between the left wing and the central army. Do you know what to do?" Li Cheng looked ferocious.
"I know!" Xu Wen answered proudly. "After fighting, block a line and kill those who retreat! If necessary, lead the troops to rush forward and succeed in one fell swoop! And if there is a loss in front of the left wing, take over the left wing and supervise the army as the leader.
First!"
"go!"
"Here!"
Half of the Chinese cavalry formation located in the center of the rear of the military formation immediately dispersed.
After all, it is a battle that determines life and death. Li Cheng continues to give orders like this, but he is still a little uneasy. What worries him most about this battle is actually very simple. That is, in the current overall situation, some generals in the army will inevitably waver.
Once there is a bloody battle, some people will be unable to hold on.
Therefore, after thinking about it, as the troops advanced a little, he ordered again, but it was adjusted to facilitate dispatch. So the cavalry was divided into two, and lined up on the left and right.
He sent it out and placed it on the right wing.
In other words, when he was less than ten miles away from the enemy, he finally chose the final formation... but it was a classic conservative formation of cavalry on the two wings, infantry in the middle, elite soldiers in the front, and weak soldiers in the rear.
"Lord." Guo Dadao seemed to have some ideas when he saw this, but after his general gave the order, he took the initiative to rein in his horse and stepped forward. "Although this arrangement is considered appropriate, you have to consider the terrain... This is our place, Lord.
Don’t you know the terrain? The marching road in the middle is okay, but there are some hills on both sides. Even if the cavalry charges, their combat power will be limited."
How could I not know?
Li Cheng cursed in his heart... His formation was simply to allow the cavalry troops he could directly control to encircle the infantry group in the middle! It was a conservative tactic to try to prevent the infantry in the middle from collapsing!
However, he couldn't say these words. In desperation, Li Cheng could only wave his hand: "Old Guo doesn't understand, I know for myself!"
Guo Dadao was only trying his best to mention one sentence, but when he saw this, he was naturally speechless.
A moment later, as Li Cheng's cavalry mobilized in large numbers, Yue Fei heard the sentinels, but his heart moved slightly, but his face remained unresponsive. He waited until Li Cheng's cavalry completed the formation of the cavalry on the left and right wings during the march...
Suddenly an order was issued to summon Tian Shizhong, Zhang Xian, Wang Gui, Tang Huai and other major generals.
At this time, the two front armies were actually only seven or eight miles apart.
"The fighter plane has appeared, and I already know how to defeat the enemy." Yue Fei reined up his horse in the military formation, with seven or eight dismounted generals standing in front of him, and the Yue-character flag was erected behind him. The soldiers and horses behind him encountered this
After the banner, it was like water meeting a rock, naturally divided into two parts, and continued to advance. "Li Cheng relied on the large number of cavalry, so he actually placed the cavalry on the mountains on both sides and the infantry on the road in the middle... We did the opposite and placed the infantry on the road in the middle..."
Divide it into two, and meet the cavalry on the left and right, but combine all the cavalry units into one, place them in the center, and charge him head-on!"
The generals looked at each other, knowing that this was the final decision and could not delay it, but they nodded one after another... In fact, in order to facilitate the march and to protect the precious cavalry, the current march route was originally arranged this way.
Therefore, everyone also realized that Yue Fei must have other words.
And sure enough, after Yue Fei said this, he immediately squinted his eyes and stared at one of them: "General Tian! There is something I can only ask you to do... I have made it clear in advance that after this military order is issued, you will definitely feel that I
I'm using you as a trap, maliciously trying to consume Lieutenant Zhang's most trusted confidants... But even so, you have to grit your teeth and do it, because your unit is indeed the most elite of the infantry! If you don't do it, I will ask for military law.
Dispose of it!"
Tian Shizhong was silent for a moment, but seemed to have expected it, and then he raised his hands to each other: "We are all veteran soldiers. If Commander Yue is really malicious, I will know it... So, Commander Yue just gives the order."
Yue Fei nodded slightly: "I want you to go to the front of the left wing! Directly confront the southern cavalry brigade of the rebel army with the Jurchen cavalry in the mountains!"
Lieutenant Commander Tian took a breath and agreed calmly: "As Taiwei said, our unit ranks first in infantry in the army, and we fought head-on with the Jin cavalry. However, Taiwei responded to the enemy's strategy, so I have arranged this time."
I have nothing to say... I have said it this way, my troops are capable of fighting on the mountains and I will never refuse!"
Yue Fei nodded slightly, then shook his head: "I haven't finished speaking yet... I want General Tian's troops to speed up immediately, and break out first to clash with the enemy cavalry brigade on the mountains to the south! The other troops, from south to north, slow down one by one.
Marching speed, diagonal formation meets the enemy!"
Tian Shizhong raised his head in astonishment and stared at Yue Fei without saying a word.
Yue Fei just opened his eyes and faced the other party: "If you have anything to say, say it quickly... without delay!"
"The Taiwei is asking my subordinates to die?" Tian Shizhong was breathing heavily.
"That's right! The front line of this battle will inevitably suffer heavy losses. If your troops stand out alone, you will die even more!" Yue Fei answered solemnly. "When you are a soldier and eat food, are you still afraid of death?!"
The corners of Tian Shizhong's mouth twitched, and he didn't know what he was thinking. After a moment, he got on the horse, reined in the horse, turned around, and then shouted loudly from the horse: "Captain, if this is so and so, but you can't win completely,
Even if I risk my life, I will go to the official and cry in front of the officials, undoing the achievements you made during your trip south for more than half a year!"
After saying this, Master Tian immediately turned around without waiting for Yue Fei to say anything.
Two-quarters of an hour later, Tian Shizhong led the Wei army from the imperial camp's right army, the 3,000 heavy-armored long-axe infantry who were his father-in-law's lifeblood, and took the lead in fighting the cavalry in front of them. As soon as the two sides fought, they fell into the narrow
Enter the most brutal hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield.
Armor, war horses, limbs, and blood instantly began to be thrown onto the hills of Luzhong.
The most elite troops on both sides, which are usually thrown in at the end to determine the winner, began to consume each other as soon as they came up. However, thanks to the sudden counterattack launched by the middle part of Tian Division, Li Cheng
The idea of using cavalry to cover up the infantry was shattered as soon as it came up. The tens of thousands of infantry, in the situation where the two sides were actually engaged in large-scale combat, could not be controlled and commanded at all, but they continued to follow the inertia of the military formation.
Go west along the flat road.
At this time, all the cavalry of Yue Fei's central army, that is, only 4,000 troops mainly composed of Beiwei Army, also gathered at Beiwei Army led by Zhang Xian. They were still one mile away from the front line of Li Cheng's infantry, but they were
They advanced at a slow pace at a speed that was completely inconsistent with the marching speed of the cavalry.
Under the banner of Zhang Zi, Yang Zaixing, who saw this kind of battle scene for the first time, was wearing double-layered iron armor, riding a big horse that Yue Fei personally gave to him, and carrying a large iron gun. He took a few dozen steps forward and looked at
After taking a look at the situation on the south battlefield on the left front, he couldn't help but breath heavily, and then his whole body began to tremble.
He was not afraid, but excited... Some people seemed to be born for the battlefield from the beginning.
Behind him, Zhang Xian and Guo Jin, who were neatly dressed and experienced in combat, were also breathing heavily, then reined in their horses and moved forward slowly. Contrary to Yang Zaixing, these two people really had a sense of caution and nervousness.
They are cautious rather than hesitant, nervous rather than fearful... The reason for this is precisely because they have rich battlefield experience and know very well the consequences of such a head-to-head collision on flat land surrounded by narrow and rugged terrain.
Sacrifice is inevitable, and victory or defeat will be decided in an instant when one side cannot hold on any longer, followed by an unprecedented siege, pursuit, and forced landing.
"Come on!" Yang Zaixing could not help but turn around and suggest as he watched Tian Division's central flank gradually being completely surrounded by Li Cheng's infantry.
Zhang Xian said nothing and just went to see Guo Jin.
Guo Jin, who had a large horse spoon tied around his waist, reined in his horse and looked behind him to the north, but he shook his head: "Vice-General Wang Gui has not waved the flag yet."
Zhang Xian nodded and pretended to be calm: "Those three thousand soldiers in the Tian division are capable of fighting. On that day, Yaoshan blocked Hezhameng'an and Loushi. This scene was nothing! It happened to be the enemy's army.
The Chinese army sucked them in and broke up their formation."
Yang Zaixing didn't know what Hezha Meng'an was and what Lou Shi was, but he was impatient and helpless, so he reined in his horse and drove forward again.
But when he was filled with enthusiasm and ready to come back to urge Zhang Xian, he suddenly heard the sound of drums from behind, and then saw countless flags waving together... Caught off guard, Zhang Xian was asked to take the lead, leading Guo Jin and a team.
The prancing horse of the personal guard jumped out from the side.
Yang Zaixing was furious, turned around and called to his headquarters, then turned around and took the lead in the charge.
Immediately, the entire Beiwei army and all the hastily assembled cavalry, numbering no more than 4,000, rushed towards the Chinese army's formation of 40,000 troops in front of them.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, the imperial camp's front army, Beiwei Army, struggled to insert itself behind the enemy's flank on the imperial camp's right army, and thousands of infantry under Li Cheng were immediately blown away on the spot... The cavalry from the north saw
Under the command of the general, he tried to turn around and hug the cavalry that emerged from the middle. Unexpectedly, on some rugged mountains, countless infantry shouted loudly, and soon they were led by a large banner with the word "king".
The counter-charge attitude was oncoming, leaving no room for these cavalry to make adjustments on the battlefield.
On this day, the two armies met on a narrow road after marching for most of the day. After only making hasty formation adjustments, they collided face to face!
It’s really a hard hit!
Sixty thousand troops, 40,000 on one side and more than 20,000 on the other, were like two clay pots filled with boiling blood, colliding head-on in the land of Qilu.
For a moment, blood flowed all over the ground, debris was scattered everywhere, and only the loud shouts of killing caused the echoes to turn over and over, rising from behind the hills.
PS: Thanks to Yang Guangxia’s beef noodle classmate Shuang Meng!