Once the number of people on the ancient battlefield exceeded 10,000, it would be a chaotic situation with no end in sight.
Without communication tools, human voices cannot be heard and are covered by a large amount of noise.
Then commanding the army mainly relies on command flags, military drums, or musical instruments to direct the army to form military formations and give full play to the advantage of numbers.
As for the formations, they are actually not as mysterious as those seen in movies and TV shows.
The claim that the Five Elements Bagua Formation and the Tiangang Beidou Formation can make you invincible are all exaggerations in storytellers.
In fact, the formation is a tactical unit in which the various arms and combat units of the general are coordinated together. In fact, it is just like playing a game, with human shields in the front and output in the back. It is just that there are more people and it is more complicated.
At present, Li Jinglong's troops were arranged in a circular formation.
This formation is a defensive formation on flat terrain with no support.
Li Jinglong obviously planned to stay on the defensive and wait for an attack, use silence to stop, and first observe the opponent's weaknesses.
As Zhu Gaoxu gave orders, the army formed a square formation and began to advance.
The Tie Ming Army herald waved the military flag, and the herald soldiers on horseback passed by to convey the order. The order from the military flag was to advance the attack.
There were trumpeters in the army to convey the orders again, making it easier for the soldiers to distinguish.
As exciting music plays.
In the meantime, morale soared again.
Small phalanxes composed of twenty-five people formed into medium-sized phalanxes, advancing towards each other like a torrent of steel.
The phalanx needs to be aligned front and back, and the four sides are like ropes. Every time you walk a certain distance, you have to slow down slightly and organize your formation. It looks rigid, but it is actually very effective. It is composed of dense soldiers, like a wall with a wall. The copper wall and the iron wall are approaching. The disadvantage is that the wings are weak. It is a common formation for infantry attacks.
drink! drink! drink!
The phalanx began to move forward.
It is common for musical instruments to be used with military command, but this was the first time I saw that musical instrument. Zhu Yuanzhang on the high platform asked curiously: "What musical instrument is that??"
Fang Bin, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, explained: "That is a trumpet, invented by the national army. The sound it makes is relatively high, and it has a miraculous effect in boosting morale."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Xiao: "You can always invent some weird things."
Li Xiao said with a smile: "I'm sorry, it's all just random guessing."
Everyone was a little speechless and thinking blindly.
Afterwards, everyone continued to watch the changes in the scene.
Li Xiao looked at the dense military formations on both sides and thought that this was the way to win in the cold weapon era. The soldiers were very dense, and they were all teammates behind them. Not only could they bring courage, but with the formation of spears, stragglers would not be able to win at all. If you get close, you only need to face the enemy in front. Forming such a formation is like a life harvesting machine on the battlefield.
However, with the advancement of weapons, future wars will be exactly the opposite. The formations will be far apart from each other. Otherwise, according to such a dense fighting method, one shell will blow up a large area.
At this time, fighting has begun on the battlefield.
The Cixi Guard's archers began the first round of bow and arrow shooting. The real lethality in ancient wars was the archers, accounting for half of the kills.
Most of the archers were big men with strong backs and thick waists, and chest hair longer than their hair. Their physical fitness was even more exaggerated than that of the soldiers in the front row. Otherwise, they would not be able to draw the bow and arrow at all. Only the three-stone bow could bring lethal effects to the armored soldiers.
Moreover, archers do not just have nothing to do after shooting arrows. Archers are usually equipped with horizontal knives, and their melee combat capabilities are not bad.
Crash--
The rain of arrows came, like locusts passing through the border, densely packed.
The Tie Ming army immediately formed a shield formation, squatting down with spears in hand and holding shields high above their heads.
Twenty-five people formed a small square formation, and the shield bearers of the small square formation could just cover these twenty-five people. Arrows passed through the gaps. If someone was hit by an arrow, they immediately fell to the ground and were eliminated.
Because the arrows were wrapped in cloth and their power was much weaker, the casualties caused by this round of arrow rain were not many.
Swish swish——
The Tie Ming Army's arrows were also fired. Both sides fired a round of shooting, but it had no effect. The purpose of this martial arts competition was not to kill the enemy, but to see the quality and formation of the two armies. Bows and arrows had little effect.
Zhu Gaoxu suddenly issued an order, the trumpet sounded, and the Tie Ming Army began to charge. With the blessing of the square formation, his soldiers rushed towards the Cixi Guards' round formation like an iron stream. Li Jinglong did not panic. He calmly issued the order, and his army immediately responded perfectly.
The Tie Ming army approached step by step, and the two armies met.
The battle began.
The soldiers at the front began to clash with their spears, and the scene was thrilling.
Zhu Gaoxu waved the flag and the trumpet sounded, which was the signal for the right wing to break through. This was Zhu Gaoxu's most commonly used edict.
Although the opponent's circular formation is like an iron barrel, its troops are extremely dense. Once the opening is opened, it can be broken through from the inside. If you want to open the opening, you have to rely on the strength of a single team, and at this time, individual bravery is also required. a certain purpose.
Neither side had fought. Although it was a martial arts exercise and the spears were wrapped in cloth, it would be very painful to be stabbed on the body. Those who are timid may have become timid about fighting.
"Soldiers, for the glory of the Tie Ming Army, charge!"
The voice of General Qianhu, led by the Tie Ming Army, echoed through the sky, inspiring the morale of every soldier. The soldiers' roars and wails echoed through the sky.
Zhu Gaoxu and Li Jinglong are both observing the battle nervously, and their decisions will determine the outcome of the battle.
The Cixi Guards' circular formation was not directly driven away by the enemy, but was evenly matched.
Li Jinglong was convinced. This showed that his guardsmen were capable of fighting and had a high chance of victory. He calmly issued the order and shouted loudly: "Hold on, you are the strongest soldiers of the Ming Dynasty."
His voice was firm and powerful, inspiring the determination of every soldier.
"Kill!" The soldiers of Cixi Guard burst out with a powerful impact and belief. They were older than the new army opposite and had endured more. At this time, they suddenly burst out with a fearless momentum.
They all knew that the outcome of this battle would determine General Lee's fate. One of the generals shouted loudly: "Brothers, for General Li and for so many years of hard training, we must not be looked down upon!"
Other soldiers also shouted: "For General Li, for the reputation of Cixi Guards."
Seeing that one of the new army groups was about to rush in, but suddenly for some unknown reason, a strong willpower burst out from there, and they were pushed back, and the war came to a stalemate again.
As time passed, the soldiers fell one by one, and the situation became fierce.
This guard has been put into battle, and there are no more troops to command, so the next command is of little significance. They all fight non-stop according to orders and usual training, unless each person is equipped with a Headsets, otherwise after these soldiers are released, they will either win or fail except for paying gold to withdraw their troops.
The main charge of the Tieming Army commanded by Zhu Gaoxu failed and was defended by the opponent. The casualties on both sides had exceeded 20%. If one was missing, someone would immediately make up for it.
If there had been such damage on the battlefield, one of the parties would have been defeated.
But this is a martial arts exercise, not a real battlefield.
Zhu Gaoxu immediately changed his tactics. Fortunately, he left two hundred households in the rear. At this time, he could order these two hundred people as surprise troops to find ways to find loopholes and break the existing situation.
The two teams began to advance in the designated direction according to Zhu Gaoxu's order.
Upon seeing this, Li Jinglong immediately sent out two groups of surprise troops. He made corresponding adjustments to block and look for opportunities. While he ordered the soldiers to stick to their positions and confront the opponent's main force, he also continued to send small groups of troops to counterattack.
The battle has entered a dark stage, and soldiers on both sides have shown immense courage and tenacity. They were constantly looking for each other's flaws in the fierce confrontation, and the decision-making of Li Jinglong and Zhu Gaoxu became particularly important.
As long as a strange force can break the current deadlock, the battle will end immediately. But Zhu Gaoxu found that no matter what he did, Li Jinglong would see through it and then crack it.
Zhu Gaoxu issued an order at the beginning, ordering the entire army to attack with all strength, showing his might and determination in this battle. At the same time, he used his two teams of elite soldiers to find opportunities, but he found that because he did not On the battlefield, there is still a delay in my instructions.
Li Jinglong could quickly observe the opponent's actions and also issued blocking instructions, accurately capturing what he wanted to do every time.
"Damn it, Li Jinglong is not as weak as he thought. He is also very powerful in commanding an army of five thousand people."
Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but feel slightly anxious.
He originally thought that with the quality of the new army, he could directly crush the opponent, and with the two teams of elite centurions he prepared, he could tear a hole in the army.
The result was a miscalculation. The opponent's army's willpower was no worse than that of the new army. The two sides were in a stalemate, and his own surprise troops did not have the effect of surprise troops.
"It would be great if we could use cavalry troops. Infantry fighting is not my specialty!"
Zhu Gaoxu secretly thought to himself that if he lost this battle, he would probably lose all his dignity, and his brother-in-law would also have trouble dealing with him.
The actual situation is also the same. On the real battlefield, Zhu Gaoxu relied on his bravery like a sharp knife on the battlefield. He fought in the same way as Zhu Di. He led the cavalry to constantly invite attacks. Once there was a flaw, he led the cavalry to drive straight in to disrupt the opponent's attack. formation.
On the battlefield, once the formation is broken up, it is almost impossible to organize it. Next, you will face the massacre of the enemy's large troops with intact formation.
"Okay, keep persisting and you can win!"
At this time, Li Jinglong could vaguely see the dawn of victory in his heart. The physical fitness of the Cixi Guard soldiers was indeed much worse than that of their opponents. However, they managed to survive with their willpower and constant maintenance of the military formation from being scattered. Over the past six years, Training day and night is not in vain.
"more importantly"
Li Jinglong thought to himself: "Although the opponent's new army is young and strong, in terms of physical fitness, it is definitely higher than that of the Cixi Guards, but there is one thing that Zhu Gaoxu ignored, and that is endurance. The soldiers of the Cixi Guards are all farm men. They usually have to farm, and after a busy day of farm work, they have to train in formation. This kind of endurance is unmatched by those new recruits! The battle only needs to last half an hour, and the opponent will weaken and then be exhausted. The winner will be revealed.”
This is Li Jinglong's plan.
From the beginning, he did not think about fighting Zhu Gaoxu. Instead, he defended in a circular formation. As long as he could hold back the opponent's large troops, the other two teams would block Zhu Gaoxu's intentions according to their own wishes and maintain a stalemate. As time went by, The strength of the opponent's soldiers is exhausted, but if your own endurance is superior, then the balance of victory will tilt towards your side.
The battle continued for another quarter of an hour, with neither side gaining the upper hand, but it was obvious that some people on the New Army side were beginning to lose their physical strength and their legs were broken.
You must know that the armor they wear is heavy, and with the two or three-meter long spear, they will not be able to withstand it for a long time. At the last critical moment, the competition is endurance and willpower.
But for both sides, this is a military exercise that cannot be lost. No matter what the result is, they must persist to the end. Therefore, even if the physical strength of the new army has declined, they still grit their teeth and persist, and the formation is still maintained. The soldiers Holding spears and stabbing each other.
On the high platform, everyone watching this martial arts performance was dumbfounded.
Generally speaking, the winner will be determined quickly in martial arts.
But this martial arts performance was really surprising. Both sides were in a stalemate. Both the new army and the Cixi Guards showed a strong desire to fight.
The generals of both sides are on the same level in terms of command level. Li Jinglong, who is familiar with military books, is no worse than Zhu Gaoxu, who has experienced hundreds of battles, in this small-scale battle. Zhu Gaoxu made a vow before, but now he cannot win at all. , he used all his trump cards but suffered defeat everywhere.
"Incredible."
Even Fang Bin, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "It's really unbelievable that the Cixi Guards can fight like this. But judging from the number of people, the King of Han still has the upper hand. I'm afraid if the fight continues for a while, the King of Han will win. However, although Li Jinglong was defeated, It’s glorious.”
According to the current scene, both sides are really red-blooded from the battle, and no one has taken a step back. But judging from the damage, Zhu Gaoxu's number of fallen soldiers is only 30%, while Li Jinglong has fallen to 50%. If the number is compared, like this If the fight continues, Zhu Gaoxu will definitely win.
Regarding military matters, other civil servants could not intervene, and only military attachés could express their opinions.
At this time, Wei Guogong Xu Huizu said: "That's not the case. It is impossible to fight until there is only one soldier left on the battlefield. This is because this is a martial arts exercise, so this situation can occur, but it is not determined by the number of people. The battlefield Things change rapidly, and as long as there is a change, the winner can be determined immediately.”
Zhu Di said: "What Duke Wei said is right. If war is about numbers, wouldn't it mean whoever has more troops will win? It can't be that simple. Zhu Gaoxu has already been defeated and will be defeated in less than a quarter of an hour. "
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone else was shocked.
"Why is this?"
They didn't understand why it was said that Zhu Gaoxu would lose. Although it seemed that there was a stalemate, it was obvious that Zhu Gaoxu had more people left.
Li Xiao nodded and said: "Your Majesty is right, the King of Han has been defeated. If we continue to maintain the same situation and continue fighting like this, the King of Han will definitely win. However, the strength of the soldiers of the Tie Ming Army is obviously no longer able to support them. , the collapse may happen in an instant. Li Jinglong had this idea from the beginning, and winning in this way is really high."
"What?" Everyone on the high platform looked around. According to Li Xiao, they found that the soldiers on both sides had different changes.
They ignored the issue of physical strength. This was a decisive battle between 5,000 and 5,000 people. There was no external aid, and there would be no real deaths, and no one would escape. If the generals on both sides did not admit defeat, they could keep fighting.
If the beating continues, there will be physical problems involved. Human strength is not unlimited. Once the physical strength is exhausted, there is no need to fight at all, and the person will collapse to the ground and let himself be slaughtered.
The soldiers of the Tie Ming Army were sweating profusely, their lips were white, and some of their hands began to tremble. On the other hand, the soldiers of the Cixi Guard, although not as strong as the New Army, were all lean and muscular, but had better physical strength. They looked good. It looks like it can last a long time.
This does not mean that Xinjun's physical strength is not good. Xinjun often conducts long-distance running, weight-bearing long-distance running and other endurance training, and his physical strength is also very good.
But those farm men in Cixi Guard have been trained through more than ten years of farm work, so they have stronger endurance.
Li Xiao had to admire him. Maybe this was an advantage of the guards.
He was actually discovered by Li Jinglong. He didn't expect this at all, and I'm afraid Zhu Gaoxu didn't expect it either.
If Zhu Gaoxu had thought of this, he should have concentrated his strength to defeat a few points from the beginning, and then relied on his physical advantage to win, instead of thinking about crushing him directly and getting entangled by the opponent instead.
Zhu Di looked at Li Xiao with admiration: "Li Xiao, you can see it, but your bet with the Supreme Emperor is about to be lost. Why are you so leisurely?"
Li Xiao smiled helplessly: "How can you always win and be invincible? Victory and defeat are common sense among military strategists. If you lose, you have to admit defeat."
Li Xiao thought to himself, since the change can't be made, then let's talk about it later. Are you afraid that you won't have a chance?
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed: "Yes, I am willing to admit defeat. Li Xiao, didn't you say that our guardsmen are not good? What do you think now?"
Li Xiaodao: "The Supreme Emperor is too heroic. The system of guard soldiers created by the Supreme Emperor is particularly good. The guard soldiers are the strongest soldiers in the Ming Dynasty. The three major battalions are not as good as you."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "You boy can stretch and bend, but why does it sound weird?"
At the same time, Zhu Yuanzhang secretly cursed in his heart: This Zhu Gaoxu didn't expect to really lose. We had already made up our minds to change the military system, but you failed to live up to the expectations.
"Look, the Tie Ming Army's front line has collapsed!"
At this time, Xie Jin saw that the situation had changed and shouted.
Everyone looked over.
Sure enough, as the war lasted longer, just as the Holy Lord and the Imperial Preceptor had expected, the soldiers at one point in the Tie Ming Army were exhausted. As several soldiers fell down, a gap was opened in an instant.
I saw that the soldiers of the Cixi Guard finally opened a gap, and several small flags rushed in with their subordinates, outflanking them from left to right, and the formation was immediately in chaos.
"The gap has been opened, and the winner is about to be announced!"
Zhu Di stood up. As expected, this was a battle of physical strength. Both sides were evenly matched. In the end, it was up to them to see who could stand at the end. Compared with physical strength, the soldiers of Cixi Guard were better.
But soon, changes occurred on the battlefield.
Zhu Gaoxu, who was originally on the command podium, actually rushed down with a weapon?
"What?" Zhu Di's expression changed: "What happened to Gao Xu?"
As the gap was opened, Zhu Gaoxu finally couldn't sit still and directly led a troop to join the battlefield.
It was originally stipulated that Gao Xu should be the leader, and the generals of both sides would not participate in the battle. This Zhu Gaoxu obviously violated the rules.
Zhu Di was about to shout stop, but was stopped by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang pointed over there and said: "Li Jinglong is also down, let's take a look."
It was really a twist and turn, and now everyone's expressions became subtle.
Logically speaking, Li Jinglong didn't have to get off the field at all, because the opponent's foul meant that he had already won the martial arts competition.
But once he leaves the stage, it means that he has accepted Zhu Gaoxu's challenge. Then the military general performance will continue, and he may lose.
"Li Jinglong doesn't seem to want to win? It shouldn't be. The Holy Father promised him that as long as he wins this game, he can regain the title of Cao Guogong. Why would he end up with such conditions?"
Li Xiao's heart moved and he turned his gaze to the battlefield, staring at Li Jinglong.
"Why did Li Jinglong end up? He has obviously won."
"Yes, he can just wait for the command to end the martial arts performance. Is he so confident that he can defeat the King of Han?"
"Hey, people can't be too arrogant and complacent. This victory was already a close one. Unexpected changes occurred. Li Jinglong's six years of hard work. He thought his character had been tempered, but in the end he was still acting on his will."
The expressions of the civil and military officials on the high platform changed. This battle was really thrilling. It was obviously a martial arts exercise, but it was a deadly battle on both sides. The winner had to be determined.
And with the joining of the generals from both sides, how will the situation change?
Let’s wait and see!
(End of chapter)
