Lord Xinling was still not satisfied after hearing Si Mang's strategy and insisted on asking him to elaborate. Si Mang was very helpless, knowing that this young master was like Zhang Yu. Although he was well-read in military science, he had never been in battle and had no common sense about military formations. We have to start from the most basic.
Huayang City is the core of the entire defense system, where all supplies and troops are located. The city walls are strong and the defense system is complete. If a thousand people occupy the city to defend it, even if it is ten thousand people, it will be difficult to defeat it. Although it is the key point of the entire army to defend Huayang without losing it, relatively speaking, the basic task of the rear army is to defend Huayang. This task is both difficult and easy to say: if the Qin army wants to appear under Huayang City and form a siege, it must break through the defense lines of the front and middle armies; before the front and middle armies are defeated, Huayang The city will basically not be attacked, which is one side of the matter; on the other hand, once Huayang City is attacked, it means that the Wei army has suffered heavy losses. At this time, Lord Xinling, as the leader of the army, must fight against the rear army. Standing independently in Huayang in order to seek a turning point on the battlefield will be the most difficult part of the entire war. The secondary task is to ensure that our army's flanks are not attacked by the Qin army, and to invest reinforcements when the battle situation requires it to reverse the situation.
Lord Xinling asked again: How to arrange the formation to complete these tasks, especially to guard the rear and provide reinforcements.
Si Mang said: "On the first day of the Qin army, the main purpose will be to test, and they will mostly fight with the front army to get a glimpse of our gap. If we find a gap, we will attack with force one day; if we have no gap to take advantage of, the battle will be delayed. Again , if the front army camp fails, the center army can still fill the gap. It is difficult for Qin to take action. From my point of view, on the first day of the battle, we must be able to detect the strength and weakness of the enemy and ourselves and respond. Therefore, on the first day, the rear army must respond from all sides. "Any small group of enemy troops that pass through our formation must be annihilated on the initiative to prevent them from causing trouble; any Qin army that detours our army must stand firm to prevent the entire army from being frustrated; whenever reinforcements are needed on the front line, they must be mobilized in time. Troops arrived for reinforcements. In the past few days, there was no need to think about defending the city. The main thing was to rely on the city to engage in active defense.
Si Mang explained for an hour or two, and then he managed to make all the diners feel confident. Lord Xinling said: "I will be responsible for reorganizing the left camp and setting up the formation on this day. Mr. Zhang will be your advance guard with an ax and ax."
Si Mang said: "How dare I, I would like to join Mr. Zhang and become a pawn."
Zhang Noi said: "I have been ordered by the emperor to hold the ax and ax for the chief minister. But if the order is fulfilled, then the chief minister's merit will be fulfilled. If there are any mistakes, he will bear the blame!"
Lord Xinling said: "How dare you do this to me, Sir? I am not happy with my encounter, and I am willing to bear it. I hope you and all the gentlemen can help me!"
Si Mang didn't dare to say goodbye anymore, and followed the other gentlemen to say, "Your respects!"
He made an appointment with Si Mang tomorrow, and Si Mang resigned. Then he made an appointment with the other teachers about their respective tasks, and all the teachers also resigned one after another.
After everyone left, Lord Xinling asked Zhang Noi, "How is Brother Zeng doing?"
Zhang Noi said: "We haven't heard anything yet. May I ask why the labor army's grain truck hasn't entered the city yet?"
Lord Xinling said: "I seem to have heard what Uncle Tang said. It is inconvenient to walk when the grain truck comes at night. You can choose to rest nearby and return tomorrow."
Zhang He said: "I am worried that Kunzhong of the Lu family has not yet entered the city. I ordered him to follow Lu Bojie to pay homage to his relatives. I don't know whether it is true or false."
Lord Xinling didn't know what he meant and looked at Zhang Noi with questioning eyes. Zhang Ye briefly introduced how he went to Lu's car dealership in the morning to recruit vehicle personnel. He mentioned that Lu Bojie suddenly offered to accompany the team to the countryside for a meeting outside. "My husband's wife's wife is a private person, and it is not enough to be treated with outsiders. But Bo Jie asked for it again and again, which is suspicious. Therefore, I ordered Lu's brother to go with him to get a glimpse of the truth. The two have not returned yet. I I'm very worried about it." Zhang Ye said.
Lord Xinling said: "Dare you send people to explore it?"
Zhang Noi thought for a while and said: "The military is urgent and there is no spare force for the time being. ... Now even if Brother Zeng arrives, there is no way to enter Qifeng." The two of them said goodbye and left.
Huayang City spent the night before the war in a peaceful state of anxiety...
The next day the drums were beating loudly, and all the battalions gathered in front of the camp and began to line up for roll call. After a night of hard work, the defensive positions of each battalion on the front line have been completed. All the soldiers who were on guard were withdrawn. The rear army is the safest place. Although there are only 5,000 civilian troops, dot-shaped forts have been built. This was naturally arranged by Zhang Noi based on Si Mang's suggestion: since the rear army has four supporting troops, Possibly, continuous trenches could not be built to avoid impeding maneuverability; at the same time, since Si Mang had no suggestion, Zhang Noi did not send out a security force - fortunately, nothing happened overnight.
Military envoys from each battalion rushed to Doctor Jin Bi's tent, and Doctor Jin Bi also sent Mr. Xiaojian to personally report to Lord Xinling the deployment of the entire campaign. Before that, Zhang Ye had already led several gentlemen, clinging to Lord Xinling's jieyue, and went to Zuoying with Si Mang to reorganize.
Xiaojian's introduction was very smooth, but Lord Xinling was confused and the gentlemen around him didn't express much. Lord Xinling forcibly wrote down everything Xiao Jian said, preparing to "vomit it out and regurgitate it" when he had free time. Finally, he said to Mr. Xiao Jian: "The doctor handled it well. The life of our army depends entirely on the doctor's presence in the city. But I have an order, so I dare not resign!" Xiao Jian said nothing and resigned.
Mr. Guo has sent out sentries to all directions, about once an hour; lookouts have also been sent out from the towers on all sides, with two people in a team, rotating on time. Around Huayang Wei's Mansion, there are a hundred guests permanently placed, each with a duty officer, and they are rotated on time; Huayang Wei is required to stay in the inner house and not go out. Mr. Xinling is often surrounded by about a dozen disciples, and each disciple is free to do so. Huayang City is not closed to facilitate the exchange of military envoys.
When the army started in the morning, Lieutenant Daliang asked Wei Liao to act on his behalf because he was ill. After seeing off Xiao Jian, Lord Xinling first went to Daliang Wei's house to express his condolences to Daliang Wei, and personally told him his treatment of Zuoying face to face. Lieutenant Daliang looked a little tired and said: "In the camp, I dare not talk about my old age, but I can't help myself when I am tired and sick... Mr. Lao has come in person... I have no virtue and a young talent, so I will obey the prince's orders."
Lord Xinling said: "Daliang Lieutenant has been working hard on state affairs and fell ill. I dare you to ask the young master to return to the city and personally serve the decoction."
Daliang Wei said: "I can't bear the heavy responsibility, but I can only serve as a dog and horse. I feel very uneasy because I am burdened by my superior. I would like to run around like this, and not avoid the sharp edges."
Lord Xinling said: "I would like to tell you what I mean as a doctor."
Daliang Wei said: "Old Shijia has changed his mind and the arrangements have been made securely. I am very relieved. Both Ying Si Mang and Sikong are worthy of their posts. I hope your Majesty will trust them and accept them." As he finished speaking, drums sounded loudly everywhere. Everyone changes color. Captain Daliang said: "The battle has begun. I wish I could drive around! ... I don't dare to be tired for you!" Lord Xinling and his party hurriedly resigned and went straight to the east city tower. On the way, Lord Xinling sent a gentleman to ask Dr. Xu Jia to come upstairs.
Climbing up the east tower, you are faced with the rising sun; under the rising sun, military envoys holding festival talismans are running back and forth.
The rear army consisted of 5,000 civilian troops and more than 3,000 newly arrived military soldiers. Driven by the desire to survive, the militiamen who had received the order had overcome all difficulties and dug ditches and fortresses overnight. After the drums sounded, each battalion began to line up. Lord Xinling climbed up the tower and looked north, seeing the dust flying in Zuoying; in the dust, a neat queue could be vaguely seen. Looking south again, the troops of the Western Camp were also lined up in order. It seems that although the quality of the new soldiers is not high and their morale has been hit, they are "veteran oilmen" after all. All their actions are still in place. Under the leadership of officers at all levels, they can be executed in a decent manner. Look. No flaws. A big stone fell to the ground in Lord Xinling's heart. In the early stages of the battle, the rear army's mission is not heavy. It is mainly to provide warning in all directions. There is little possibility of contact with the enemy. Each camp only releases security personnel, which does not require high combat effectiveness. As long as military discipline is strict, it can stabilize the morale of the entire army. role.
Huayang City is only a square mile, and a soldier has already been deployed on the city wall: the east wall is the closest to the enemy, with a group of fifty people, twenty people on each side of the north and south, and only ten people on the west gate, far away from the battlefield, as lookouts; Among the fifty people on the city wall, thirty are always on the city, and twenty are divided into two teams to patrol the city. It is strictly forbidden to walk in the neighborhoods without a talisman, otherwise they will be killed directly; the rest are sitting in the camp without fighting. Then go to the city on time to change defenses, and attack according to the flag and drum during war; the city gates remain open to facilitate the exchange of military envoys. ——All of this was discussed between Si Mang and Zhang Ye at night and ordered the arrangements after returning to camp.
Not long after, Zhang He and Si Mang entered the city with several military envoys from the left camp; almost at the same time, Sikong from the right camp also entered the city. They were immediately led to the east city by the retainers guarding the city at the four gates. Zhang and He arrived first. Lord Xinling asked a few questions, and Zhang He said: "The victory of Zuoying Division is very powerful. On the night of the enemy's attack, there were five soldiers from the fake division and they were all ready. We arrived, but It is divided into two camps, each with a false camp and a commander, and the commander wins over the governor. The middle camp refers to the general's personal camp, and the commander is with the general."
Lord Xinling said: "This strategy is very much in line with my wishes. Si Sheng handles things well and should remember this merit."
At this time, Sikong from the right camp came to the city. Lord Xinling turned around and asked, "Where is Young Master Liang Wei?"
Sikong said: "Young master will guard the camp by himself, and order the ministers to go to the general's tent to listen to orders."
Lord Xinling said: "Young Master puts soldiers first, and his loyalty is commendable. What do you say, Young Master?"
Sikong said: "Young master, I hope the general will have no worries, but he has a mission, and there will be fire and water."
Lord Xinling said: "Good."
A second tom drum sounded outside the city.
Si Mang said: "Please order the two schools on the left and right to join the formation."
Lord Xinling said: "Yes!"
Si Mang then ordered: "The two schools on the left and right enter the formation!"
There were military envoys behind him running to both sides. Immediately, the beat of British drums with a bright rhythm came from the north and south towers; then, the beat of drums also came from the camp outside the city; then the drums of the two military camps sounded, and the two groups of soldiers marched into the forward and side camps respectively. Lord Xinling was high on the city tower, with a wide field of vision, and could clearly see the movements of the two battalions: the queues were basically in order.
Soon, the military envoy came to report that "the two soldiers of the left camp were stationed in the camp" and "the two soldiers of the right camp were stationed in the camp." Lord Xinling only asked the gentlemen and the Second Battalion to deal with it, while he only watched the movement of the army.
