On the first day of the first lunar month at Renwu, when the sky was just bright, Chen Chong led his army out of the camp and headed east. They walked along the slope valley covered with peach trees, emerged from the forest, and their eyes gradually opened up. When they reached a slope, they had a panoramic view of the eastern terrain. In the open wasteland, the land still has a vague arc. Directly opposite is the lowest point of the arc. Then a shallow hill rises from the upper left, and a gentle slope rises in the south. The white flag of the Shu army also follows this unclear path. The arc extends all over the north and south. Under the flag, infantrymen lined up as densely as ants, with halberds standing like a forest. The battle line, which was more than ten miles long, was like an endless iron forest.
Some scouts moved forward to observe more specific situations, but after only going about two miles, they had to shoot their weapons high into the sky to show that the enemy troops were tightly packed and difficult to approach. The scout came back and said that in addition to the Shu soldiers in formation, there seemed to be many newly dug trenches at the foot of their line. Although they were not deep, they were enough to pose a considerable threat to the cavalry.
At this time, the sun has jumped out of the east mountain, casting light dust like golden sand. It is another sunny day. Such good weather has lasted for more than ten days. The snow on the wilderness slopes has also gradually melted, revealing the long-buried snow. The dead grass is scattered on this slope like vast velvet, which is really refreshing. However, Chen Chong noticed something strange. As the snow melted, the soil under his feet became a little soft. It might not be conducive for the knights to rush into battle today.
At this time, the Han army had completed the formation deployment on the march. The three armies on the left, center and right were densely connected, forming an inverted triangle shape. Among them, the right army was led by Hu Zhen, the captain of Jingyuan, and the left army was led by Dong Yue, the captain of Wuyue. These two wings were slightly forward and were basically composed of Dong Zhuo's old troops. In addition to the Han people, there were also some Qiang Di Yiyi. The Chinese army is located slightly further back, led by Sili captain Chen Chong. The composition here is the most complex. There are Liang people, as well as defenders from Chencang, Wugong, Xixian and other places, as well as some Fufeng counties along the way. Because of the uneven quality of the soldiers, Chen Chong placed them in the central army and planned to use them as appropriate during the war.
It is worth mentioning that although Chen Chong seized most of Chencang's supplies and obtained food and armor, the most important horses could not be supplied. Except for the tens of thousands of war horses that Dong Yue brought from Jinyang, Zhang only collected more than a thousand horses from the countryside, which was almost the same number as the Shu army. This also resulted in Chen Chong not having an advantage in the number of cavalry for the first time since he entered Bingzhou. Chen Chong also knew the importance of this, so he placed most of the cavalry horses in the rear formations of the right army and the center army to prepare for use when the battle situation changes. But based on today's situation, I'm afraid it won't be used.
While he was thinking about it, the formation of the Shu army was almost completed. Although the rising sun was high and the sun was shining brightly, there was still a smell of earthy water vapor in the air. The infantry of the Shu army walked slowly, but the sound of their footsteps hitting the earth was as dull as a drum. The sound of more than 100,000 people The formation did not bring any dust rising into the sky. In this way, one could clearly see the Shu people’s densely packed wooden pillars and flags, which looked like a golden curtain in the sunlight, which was truly astonishing.
Behind the wooden pillars, the halberds gradually lined up, glowing with bright metallic light. When the Han army in the west saw it, it was so striking that it made people dizzy. At the end of the formation, a cavalry army emerged from the middle of the Shu army. The clanging sound of armored weapons suddenly became loud, and the snorting and neighing of the armored horses gathered together, just like the sounds in the throats of wild beasts before they pounce on food. Like a roar.
Facing this army that was far larger than our own, many people were timid and had drums in their chests, especially the Imperial College students who were on the battlefield for the first time. When Chen Chong returned to the main formation from the front formation, he found that many of his new students were pale, their hands and feet were trembling, and their breathing was rapid, as if they were drowning in water.
So he encouraged: "Don't be afraid. Although the sword has no eyes on the battlefield, the person holding the sword has a heart. The timid are easy to kill, and the brave are difficult to defeat. Therefore, the timid often die first on the battlefield, and those who dare to fight to the death are the ones who die first." The brave man can live easily."
The students looked at him with a leisurely expression, as if he were living in a courtyard, looking at the mighty Shu army like a forest, but it seemed like he was just watching the wind and listening to the waves. This made Zhuge Liang and others feel ashamed, so they asked Chen Chong what he thought. Chen Chong said: "The commander is the spirit of the three armies, and he bears the orders of the three armies. Thousands of people can be killed with just one stroke. All you need to do is remember all the time. If you don’t own it, you won’t show any cowardice.”
As soon as these words came out, most of the students became even more nervous. Chen Chong smiled when he saw this: "It doesn't have to be like this. At least there won't be a big battle today. It's just a test between the two armies." Someone asked: "How can you see it?" Chen Chong pointed at Shu. Junjun Zhen said: "They dug trenches in front of the formation because they were afraid of our cavalry and wanted to test them first before making any plans!"
When Pang Tong heard this, he couldn't help but asked curiously: "Then what does the teacher plan to do?"
Chen Chong said with a smile: "Let's put on a play for him today and see if he falls into the trap."
After that, Chen Chong sent an order to the left and right armies, ordering Hu Zhen and Dong Yue to send two thousand infantry each to go forward to test the left and right wings of the Shu army, and then deploy a small number of cavalry to respond. If the attack goes well, the cavalry will follow. , and then mobilize the subsequent phalanx according to the situation. If it fails, they will fight and retreat, and return to the phalanx under the cover of the Chinese army.
Shortly after the soldiers disappeared, the moving drums of marching sounded from both sides. Dong Yue's left army was the first to move. Groups of infantry walked out of the formation and marched forward with wooden poles held high. Each group had about sixty people. Since they were attacking a gentle slope, they The speed of expansion was a bit slow, and when they reached a relatively close distance, they raised the wooden poles high and accelerated forward. When they were close to an arrow's distance, the Shu army's flight came like a sudden rain.
The Shu army's arrows were indeed very sophisticated. When the first wave of arrows blew down in the wind, it was like an iron wall falling straight down. The infantry in the front row could still use wooden poles to resist it, while the infantry in the rear row could resist it. They can only counterattack with crossfire. However, due to the upward attack and the headwind, the effect was not great. Soon, almost everyone in the first and second groups of infantry was injured. However, more than ten years of battlefield experience enabled them to endure the pain and maintain a strict formation even if arrows were inserted into their bodies. Soon, the two sides reached a distance where they could fight directly.
At this time, the front ranks of the Shu army raised long thorns that were more than ten feet long, and stacked the gleaming tips of the thorns layer by layer, as if iron thorns were growing out of the ground. shudder. But the Han soldiers at the front were already accustomed to such scenes. They put down their wooden poles, took out their knives from their waists without fear, aimed at the pole and tried their best to cut it. Those who had room to spare also held a long halberd. Taking advantage of the Shu people's lack of flexibility, they inserted the tip of the halberd upside down, accompanied by screams from time to time.
When no one was paying attention, some shorter Han soldiers were lying on the ground. While the two sides were hitting each other with poles, they used hook knives to hook the Shu people's ankles. The Shu people who were attacked were caught off guard. , many people only had time to let out one or two screams before their lives were taken away by the Han army who took advantage of the opportunity. In the first round of confrontation between the Shu army and the Han army, the qualities of both sides were quickly demonstrated. As Chen Chong said before, when there are people who are not afraid of death and dare to stand up against the incoming spears and flying arrows to stab the enemy, it is really difficult for those who find it difficult to even open their eyes to fight with them.
Soon, the soldiers in the front row tore open several small openings. They independently selected the more obvious one and drilled and expanded it in a very disciplined manner. The formation did not even undergo any major changes. There were many brave soldiers in the Shu army who launched a counterattack against the Han army, but they were not in formation, just like carps suddenly jumping out of the water and then cleverly diving into the water. These people did cause some damage to the Han army. But they failed to disrupt the Han army's front. On the contrary, due to their repeated attacks, their own front became more chaotic.
In this situation, the soldiers in the front line of the Shu army looked over and saw all the veterans with bloody eyes in front of them, but it was difficult for them to even turn around, because there were still people coming up behind them, and those behind just walked forward, even using their weapons He hit the people in front with the rod, completely unaware that the soldiers at the front were on the verge of defeat. In this case, many Shu people died tragically, and their heads were cut off by the Han soldiers and hung on their waists to pray for merit.
The person commanding this place was Sun Zhao, the cavalry captain of the Shu army. Standing at a higher point, he saw his men being stabbed to death by the veterans of the Han army. Only then did he realize that the Han army at war was extremely elite. Even Lu Bu might have It is difficult for his subordinates to reach one or two. He sighed and said to himself distressedly: "Where did Chen Tingjian get his elite soldiers? They are all as fierce as eagles!" He ordered his cavalrymen to carry flags to the front to boost morale, and he sent his troops to attack the Chinese army Liu Fan Chu asked for help and spoke highly of the bravery of the Han army.
Hu Zhen's right army also achieved considerable results. Hu Zhen, no more than Dong Yue, preferred to lead the army into battle in person, so he personally led the front team to dig deep into the left wing of the Shu army, directly opening a gap several feet wide. A Sima of the Shu army tried to counterattack, but failed He was directly beheaded by Hu Zhen, and there were waves of thundering cheers from the Han army, which made the Shu people change their expressions.
However, although the Han army made many gains, the Shu army still did not retreat. Instead, it counterattacked westward one after another. The Han troops in the front line fought for nearly two hours. Under Chen Chong's mobilization, the personnel had been rotated twice, but The Shu army still held on to its original position, leaving the Han army unable to make any progress.
When the sun turned to the west, Chen Chong withdrew from the front line of the battle. The Shu army had no intention of pursuing him and only fired two hasty bows. When the Han army returned to the formation, the sound of gold ringing was heard from the Shu army at the same time. Both sides returned to their camps. It seemed that today was just a test.
In the first day of fighting, the Han army suffered casualties of more than 1,000 people, while the Shu army suffered casualties of nearly 3,000. In terms of battle losses, it was a great victory for the Han army, but Chen Chong knew that this had no impact on the outcome of the battle, and even for the smaller Han army, this was unacceptable. But in order to mobilize the enemy's various formations, this is also a sacrifice that has to be made.
That night, Chen Chong held a military meeting to prepare for a decisive victory attempt the next day.
