In the Chinese army camp ten miles east of Nanguan Town, Li Shan was listening attentively to Huangfu Zhong and Fan Shiyi's narratives, and sorted out the prepared items one by one.
Zhang Zhongjian, Wang Junhao, Duan Decao, Qu Silang, and Hou Hongtao were all listening. Except for Duan Decao, the four of them were Li Shan's personal guards. Because Li Shan insisted on leading the troops personally, Dou Gui, Wen Yanbo and Su Dingfang discussed how to transfer the troops to Li Shan. Li Shan's personal guards scattered in various armies were summoned. Headed by these four people, they mobilized 300 elite soldiers. Together with the 500 soldiers selected by Duan Decao from the previously released prisoners, a total of 800 elite soldiers were formed. .
It was already time to set off, and most people could smell something. The most excited one was Duan Decao. This humiliated general was gearing up, hoping to use this battle to wash away the shame on him.
After discussing for a while, Li Shan finally nodded and said: "That's it. I hope everything goes well."
Walking out of the tent, he saw snowflakes flying in the sky again. Li Shan looked at the mountains to the west in the distance, wondering if Su Dingfang's advance today was a trap.
Among the people behind him, Fan Shiyi carefully pulled Wang Junhao's sleeve and whispered a few words. The latter glanced sideways at Zhang Zhongjian before nodding slightly.
In comparison, Fan Shiyi and other old people trust Wang Junhao more than Zhang Zhongjian, who is quite ambitious in his official career.
At this moment, the first battle finally broke out in the mountains and fields of Yuanzhou for more than two months. The generals on both sides were a little disappointed.
What Su Dingfang was disappointed about was that no matter what the reason was, although there was nothing unusual about the messengers coming and going, and they kept saying that Li Zhengbao had taken control of the city and was waiting for his arrival... Su Dingfang still noticed something unusual.
It seemed that there was still no way to capture the city, so Li Shan still had to take a risk. This was the reason for Su Dingfang's loss.
In history, as an ordinary general, Su Dingfang was able to charge into battle, riding horses in the royal court. When he was a general, he often used cavalry raids and repeatedly defeated the enemy. But in fact, it seemed that Su Dingfang was so reckless, but he succeeded every time. This proves that Su Dingfang was so reckless. This is due to his ability to wait and see and analyze the war situation, as well as his keen military sense.
Su Dingfang did not drive straight in. Instead, he slowed down and advanced step by step. When he was about to reach Luojiatuo, he stationed his troops without moving and sent scouts to investigate the surrounding areas.
This is what Suo Zhou lost. He didn't expect that the Tang army general would be so cautious. He guessed that the King of Handan might not be leading the army himself. This was inconsistent with Li Huairen's style. What made Suo Zhou even more disappointed was that the Tang army was far away from Luojiatuo. The place not far away stopped moving, and instead sent scouts to investigate... No matter why, the possibility of an ambush no longer existed.
An ambush turned into an encounter, and Suo Zhou also saw the commanding ability of the Tang army's commander. Almost every decision he made fell behind the Tang army. Almost every choice he made was rejected by the opponent, although it was not easy. Also resolved calmly.
The terrain in Luojiatuo area is flat and the space is not small. Suozhou originally planned to wait for most of the Tang army to pass before ambushing the Tang army, cutting off the Tang army and creating chaos. Later, the ambush on the north side would become a trump card for victory.
Unexpectedly, the Tang army would not move two miles away from Luojiatuo. Suo Zhou hesitated for a long time before he was ready to order his troops scattered in the mountains to attack. After all, if the Tang army did not enter Luojiatuo, most of them would still be on the mountain road. If they can break through the front line, they can also achieve a great victory.
But just when Suo Zhou had just made up his mind, several Tang army scouts had already discovered the traces of the ambush. The sharp bamboo whistles resounded through the mountains. The unmoving Tang army quickly deployed their array. Hundreds of Tang soldiers holding large shields He ran wildly, followed by hundreds of crossbowmen, spearmen, and sword and shield soldiers covering the two wings.
Seeing this scene, Suo Zhou couldn't help but swallowed. The opponent's movements were too fast. After discovering the ambush, he did not panic or choose to retreat. Instead, he moved forward to seize the battlefield space.
Having already reached this point, Suo Zhou no longer considered whether he could make a sneak attack. Depending on the terrain, thousands of infantry under his command fired their bows and fired arrows first. The stones rolled down to block the Tang army's advance. Then the whole team went down the mountain and started fighting with the Tang army. Fighting head-on.
"It's so dangerous!" Duan Zhixuan tutted twice. Before, he had privately complained that the advance was too slow.
Xue Wanche, who was on the side, glared, "You take three hundred crossbowmen and one hundred sword and shield men to grab the left side. There is a dense forest at the back, but the scouts reported that no ambush was seen."
Duan Zhixuan responded, lit up his men, and rushed forward with dozens of personal guards. He was a cavalry commander. Although he was in the mountains, he still used a handy horse. As the saying goes, one inch is longer and one inch is stronger. He knocked over the two Liang soldiers and then swept them across. The guards on both sides held shields to block several cold arrows.
The archers who arrived sprayed a wave of arrows. Duan Zhixuan, wearing armor, struck randomly with the long spear in his hand. The fine iron head of the spear was extremely heavy. With every blow, a Liang soldier vomited blood.
But even so, Liang soldiers from the opposite side are still coming in a steady stream. Everyone can see that the left side of the entire battlefield is the commanding heights. Whoever occupies this place will have a relative advantage. Even if they shoot arrows, they can shoot at any range. farther away.
So Su Dingfang immediately ordered Duan Zhixuan to seize the hillside, but Suo Zhou also sent his men to come, and they were much closer. By the time Duan Zhixuan arrived at the hillside, Liang Jun had already succeeded.
"You have to use the horse spear!" Xue Wanche scolded in dissatisfaction. He himself used the long spear in yesterday's battle, but he couldn't use it and was suppressed in several fights with Liu Heier.
After watching for a while, although another reinforcement was sent over, there was still no result. Xue Wanche couldn't sit still and looked at Su Dingfang, "Shall I go?"
Su Dingfang only glanced at it and shook his head, "Let Hu Zhong go."
Xue Wanche still felt unhappy when Su Dingfang shook his head, but he didn't say anything when he heard the name of Ningzhou Governor Hu Yan. During the last battle of the Jingzhou War, he witnessed Hu Yan's performance like a crazy tiger. He was a fierce man, and The weapons are also relatively suitable.
Hu Yan was originally in the Chinese Army, but after the First World War yesterday, Hu Yan took the initiative to ask for a fight and was transferred to the front army... Although this man was never captured, he was hunted down from Lingzhou to Jingzhou. After holding back his anger, Li Shan originally wanted to send him back to Ningzhou, but Hu Yan insisted on staying in the army.
"How about bringing a dozen horses over?" Hu Yan, who was about to set off, turned around and asked.
Hu Yan asked if there was a purpose for this sentence. Because the road was narrow this time, he did not bring many horses. There are only more than 200 horses in the army, and some of them are from the Nanguan garrison, but they have been gathered now. .
The terrain around Luojiatuo is flat, so war horses can play a big role.
But Su Dingfang still shook his head and looked at Xue Wanche, "You will stay behind later."
Xue Wanche was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the battlefield on the right side. Now, in addition to the left side, the Tang army's march on the middle and right roads was going smoothly. Especially the right army had the possibility of defeating the enemy in front of them and outflanking the middle road.
(End of chapter)
