Chapter 772 Fighting General
At this time, Gao Ao hugged the tree trunk, frowned, and asked Zhang Ai next to him:
"Lao Zhang, how many do you think the enemy troops are now?"
Zhang Ai is the oldest among the four and the one with the most experience in battle formation, so Gao Ao, Yan Rou, and Xue Ping all vaguely take him as the leader.
While Zhang Hao was observing, many military officials had gathered under the tree. They all raised their heads and listened to Zhang Hao's answer.
"Six sides, eight sides,..."
Zhang Hao counted the enemy camp flags once, but he missed them and had to count them again. After a while, he finally said "with confidence":
"The enemy's strength should be no less than 50,000, and this does not include the enemy's baggage and effort."
When they heard it was fifty thousand, all the military officers took a breath.
Their eight hundred cavalry were drawn from six armies and were considered a considerable force, but it was indeed a bit risky to charge against such a huge army on the opposite side.
And they also saw it last night. The enemy not only placed antlers and wooden thorns on the outside, but also dug trenches and built walls in the camp. Are they really so afraid of death?
Yan Rou, who also raised her head below, muttered:
"Captain Zhang, are you sure you can see clearly?"
Zhang Hao rolled his eyes and ignored him, while Gao Ao beside him said angrily to Yan Ju:
"I said, Lao Yan, if you are worried, you can come up and see for yourself."
These words made Yan Rou laugh out loud, so she didn't dare to say any more.
There is actually a bit of a contradiction here, that is, the contradiction between Hu and Han, and more specifically, the emergence of Han chauvinism in the military.
In this regard, Gao Ao is a little better. After all, he is from the north and has come into contact with many barbarians, so although he doesn't like them much, he can accept their existence.
But this is not the case with Zhang Ji. He comes from Neijun and is very repulsive to the Hu people, because in the early years, all local Dingfu were expropriated for reasons such as guarding against Xianbei or Wuhuan, and then they never left. Back.
Therefore, in the spiritual world of Neijun people, Hu people are definitely demonized existences.
Since the Taishan Army briefly merged Hebei, Pingliao, and You, the issue of relations with the Hu people is no longer a matter of likes and dislikes on paper, but must be resolved in reality.
As it gets colder outside the Great Wall in the North, more and more Hu tribes are being relocated inland. Although the small chiefs and noble forces of these tribes have been redeemed or eliminated by the Taishan Army, if their organizations cannot be dismantled, leaders will reappear within them.
Therefore, the Taishan Army had to divide these tribes into various tribes according to accounts, and huge life conflicts immediately appeared between the Han people and the Hu people.
In this process, although most of the Hu people had to change themselves to integrate into the larger Han population, there was still a backlash in this assimilation process, and the consequence of this backlash was that even the Hu and Han people were not very satisfied with the Taishan Army. .
Although the Hu people came to the warm Neijun, they were separated by the Taishan Army and left behind their relatives and familiar friends. They were always bullied by the local Han people.
The local Han people were also dissatisfied with the Taishan Army. Although they were grateful for the land, they felt that they could have lived a good life behind closed doors, but suddenly they had to face barbarians who destroyed their lives. Tradition has polluted their water sources and even the air has become smelly.
And does Taishan Army know? I know it, but it can only be channeled through war. Only the battlefield can bring people and ethnic groups who are strangers to each other together.
In a local community, as long as both Hu and Han have served as soldiers, even if they are not in the same team, but as long as they are in the same army, they will have an understanding and recognition, and they can better bridge this kind of conflict between Hu and Han at the local level.
Therefore, when the armies expanded greatly, Zhang Chong consciously absorbed a considerable number of Hu warriors. But this method solved the political problem, but it caused a kind of rebellion within the army.
That is, some Han military officials have been inspired by some kind of Hanism. They believe that the army should be the private territory of the Han people, and the Hu people should herd horses, milk cows, and live their lives singing and dancing, instead of entering the army to seize their military glory. and opportunities.
But fortunately, all of this is still exciting and everything is within a reasonable range.
This is reality. You always have to solve problems. Once you solve the problem, the means will become new problems, and then you have to solve them again.
Of course, you can also lie down and watch the problem appear, disappear, become internalized, and become ingrained until it becomes too hard to get rid of, and finally you have to fight it out and start all over again.
People always subconsciously choose the best path, but the path becomes narrower and narrower.
At this time, Yan Rou and Xue Ping were naturally aware of Zhang Ai's attitude. Yan Rou herself was half Wuhuan, so she wasn't too sensitive.
Xue Ping was directly from Xianbei and could see Zhang Hui's contempt for him, but he was not angry or contentious. Because this is not their time and they know what to do.
But fortunately, the army has its own laws, and there are many knowledgeable generals in the army. They have been controlling and guiding the atmosphere of the army. There are not many like Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao glanced at Yuan Jun's position in the distance again, and then slipped down from the tree.
Zhang Ji, who is thirty-one this year, is at the peak of his martial arts career. Countless victories have developed his high-spirited fighting style. At this time, seeing Yan Rou's cowardice, he became angry.
He said to the soldiers:
"As the elite of the Sixth Army, our army is the courage of all armies. If we are timid, what will the Sixth Army robes behind think? Besides, what does it matter no matter how many enemy troops there are? Let's test one or two first, and then ”
At this moment, Gao Ao also came down from the tree and took over the conversation:
"How to test."
But seeing Zhang Ai smile contemptuously:
"Just fight him."
……
In the third year of Taiwu, on May 29th, in the morning, the mist gradually dispersed,
Yuan Jun's three armies were lined up from west to east. Each army had a tight formation and a thick square formation. There were flags flying everywhere. At this time, the sky was dim and the river breeze was cool. It was really a beautiful morning.
Taking advantage of the coolness, the officials in each camp of Yuan's army began to have breakfast, which was the remaining millet balls from last night.
Some of these people have big appetites. They ate three millet balls last night. They would directly snatch them from other people's hands. Some military officials even pretended not to see them.
After all, those with big appetites were generally samurai, so they naturally had special privileges.
This little conflict did not affect everyone's enjoyment. Everyone leaned on the pile and roasted the hardened corn balls.
Suddenly, a trumpet sound came from the northwest. All Yuan's troops were stunned for a moment, then quickly put the rice balls in their arms, hurriedly picked up their weapons and were about to form an array.
The military officials at all levels also began to shout, anxiously asking their subordinates to prepare.
At this time, the various battalions were full of commanding cavalry running around in chaos. Everyone was confused, thinking that the war had already begun.
The closest ones to the northwest are Wenpin's Nanyang soldiers and Li Zheng in the middle.
At this moment, several strong men held Li Zheng and asked him to look in the direction where the horn came from.
"Higher, higher."
It wasn't until Li Zheng was lifted to the highest level that he finally saw clearly the situation of the invading enemy.
It was a cavalry force numbering about a few hundred, and they were lined up in a dark column outside the forest. Everyone carried flags on their backs, and the flags on their backs were divided into four colors. They were arranged horizontally in the wilderness, like four neat color blocks. At this moment, all these knights were walking down, holding their horses and moving forward slowly amid the horns.
After seeing the size of the enemy's army clearly, Li Zheng touched his beard and was a little unsure of what tactics the opponent was using.
During this period of time, he had had many interactions with the Taishan Army, and found that these people's tactics were very flexible. Even some middle- and low-level military officials could flexibly apply different tactics, making them difficult to guard against.
From this point, Li Zheng could see that the Taishan Army must have been trained in relatively systematic Tao Lue Army formations. After all, with the background of the Taishan Army, it would definitely not be able to attract the generals' family to join them. Therefore, these generals must have been trained by the Taishan Army themselves.
It was precisely with this understanding that Li Zheng clearly realized how ridiculous it was for the Yingchuan warriors in the Principality to sit on the fence.
Li Zheng had also heard to some extent the internal changes advocated by Yingchuan scholars. It is said that no matter Yuan Shao or Zhang Chong, if you want to manage the world, you cannot do without them.
Originally, Li Zheng also thought that these remarks were exquisite, and he also planned to transform his family from a martial arts family to a Confucian family.
But after coming to Yiluo and fighting with the Taishan Army for several rounds with real swords and guns, he finally came to his senses.
The enemy can even cultivate strategies, military formations, and tactics on a large scale, not to mention your few death books.
In Li Zheng's view, the first-class knowledge in the world is the art of war, because the art of war manages and guides the largest and most complex activity in the world, war.
And Confucian classics? It sounds like the way of the sages, but in fact it is just chanting the sutra over and over again. It is not real knowledge, and it is not difficult to master. It is just a certain threshold that makes it a way to advance.
In a peaceful world, there is no need for talents to govern the world, as long as there are family members who can recite sutras. But in troubled times, family background and chanting scriptures are useless. Only the art of war and battle formations can really solve the troubled times.
The distinction between superior and inferior can be seen at a glance.
So after realizing this, Li Zheng no longer had any illusions about the future, nor did he have any expectations of winning this battle.
Sometimes he couldn't help but think that in fact, there was no irresolvable hatred between him and the Taishan Army. After all, there was no conclusion yet on who killed Li Jin in the military tent that night.
Even taking a step back, if it comes to the survival of the family, even if Zhang Chong kills Li Jin, it is irrelevant.
Li Zheng did not want his family to be buried with Yuan Shao.
While Li Zheng was thinking, something suddenly happened on the scene.
Suddenly a knight rushed out from the opposite side, and he didn't know what he shouted in front of the army. He saw a general running out of the Nanyang army formation, and then the two generals started fighting in front of the formation.
Fighting before the battle is really child's play, but who can refuse to watch a fight between knights?
Just like the Romans loved to watch gladiator shows, modern people love to watch boxing matches, and the warriors of the Han Dynasty also loved to watch battle shows. Since we can't fight now, we might as well watch the excitement.
The two horses were competing against each other, and one of them fell off the horse just because the horses crossed each other. Li Zheng saw carefully that the one who fell off the horse was from Nanyang, and he felt regretful in his heart.
After all, no matter how discouraged, which warrior is not eager to win.
On the other side, the Mount Tai cavalryman laughed, jumped off his horse, cut off his opponent's head, and then faced the Nanyang army and laughed wildly.
Just as he turned around to tie his head to the saddle, another general ran out from the Nanyang army and rushed towards him. General Taishan reacted in time, drew his sword and cut down this general, and was about to cut off the head of the second enemy general and go back.
Obviously, General Taishan also understands that a good man cannot be defeated by four hands. If he doesn't go back, he is afraid that he will be blamed here.
At this time, a general rushed out from the Nanyang military formation again. This general was wearing a crimson cloak and was flying towards him like a blazing fire.
The man shouted when he was on horseback:
"How can I hand over the head of my subordinate to an unknown person? Yu She from Nanyang died."
When General Taishan saw that this general had already run out, and saw that this general was wearing a crimson silk ribbon, bright colored fine armor, and a short-sleeved military uniform, and his horse was galloping as if he were walking on the ground, he knew he was a powerful one.
But at this time, every move of the fighting generals affects the morale of the two armies, so of course they cannot retreat. Then Taishan will mount his horse again and shout:
"A certain person is Zhao Falcon, the general of Bao Tao's cavalry..."
Before he finished speaking, Yu She had already rushed in front of Zhao Falcon. He pressed the red lacquer horse on Zhao Falcon's chest and beat him to the point of vomiting blood with one blow.
The next moment, Yu She was about to cut off Zhao Falcon's head when suddenly a man flew away from the formation. Before he could say anything, the arrow in his hand was inserted into Yu She's mouth.
Yu She was not dead for a moment, his mouth was full of blood, he pointed at the cavalryman running in the opposite direction, and wanted to say something about martial ethics, but the man fell to the ground.
The cavalrymen who rushed out over there had already finished killing Yu She, and they stammered out the words:
"A certain person is from Pingzhou, Xue Ping."
These words were obviously a few beats too slow. Now that all the cavalrymen on the opposite side were dead, Xue Ping added:
"It's really a native chicken and a tile dog."
These words were spoken neatly and clearly.
Why do you think Xue Ping rushed out? It's not to steal the limelight, but to be a human being. The fallen Zhao Falcon was Zhang Hao's favorite general, and he definitely didn't want to see him die. He, Xue Ping, came out to rescue Zhao Falcon because he betrayed Zhang Hao.
Sure enough, Xue Ping passed by the front line, picked up Zhao Falcon, glanced at Zhang Hao, and saw a smile on the old man's lips.
Humph, look who still calls us Pingzhou children naive and straightforward, we also understand the world.
……
In the morning, Yuan Shaojun's main formation was on the unnamed slope on the south bank of Yishui River.
At this time, Yuan Shao was dressed in golden armor, sitting on a horse and eating a bowl of thoroughly cooked meat porridge. On both sides of him were dozens of generals wearing luxurious armor, and dozens of staff wearing broad sleeves, looking solemn and graceful. , both civil and military, and full of flowers.
Behind them were two hundred Red Heart troops, all wearing crimson robes and fine armor, holding long-handled fine iron halberds, arranged on both sides. Behind them, nearly a hundred military flags were fluttering in the wind. Each of these military flags represented a battalion head under Yuan Jun's command.
At this solemn moment, Yuan Shao drank the last mouthful of meat porridge happily, then put down his chopsticks and said with satisfaction to Wen and Wu:
“I have never eaten such delicious meat porridge in my life.”
Everyone knew what Yuan Shao meant and just waited for Yuan Shao's order.
Looking at the sunny and windy scenery on the other side, Yuan Shao relaxed for a while. After a while, he stood up and turned his back to the generals:
"Let's cross the river!"
So, dozens of generals shouted:
"Cross the river!"
"Cross the river!"
The final battle finally came.