The Jin army's formation, left wing, outside.
Helan Lu was riding on a tall horse, sitting on a platform temporarily set up by several large baggage vehicles. The height of only seven or eight feet was enough for him to see clearly the situation in the Jin army's vehicle formation four miles away. , after all, he can stand higher and see farther than the Jin army's vehicle array loaded with barriers and large shields.
But Helan Lu frowned tightly while looking at it, and nodded slightly: "This Jin army is indeed an elite and well-trained general. The large chariots during the march can actually form a chariot formation so quickly. General Bone, you Tiele people are known as the nation of high-carriage vehicles. You use such large vehicles to carry tents and move and march on the grassland. Can you stop and defend so quickly?"
This person whom Helan Lu calls General Pugu, is named Puguwu. He is about forty years old. He wears a luxurious mink fur coat, covered with mail, and looks noble. His goatee was tied into a bunch of pigtails. He looked different from the ordinary dirty prairie barbarians, but he was actually a decent person.
Puguwu is the leader of a Pugu tribe among the nine surnames of Tiele in Mobei on the grassland. He has been working with the Helan tribe for many years and is related to each other by marriage. Puguwu is also the leader of Helan Lu. The right hand man and his subordinates defected to Wei and fled to Yan together with He Lanlu. Different from ordinary grassland tribes, their Tiele tribes, like the Dingling people in the Central Plains, are accustomed to marching with carts dragged by oxen and horses, and live in pursuit of water and grass. The so-called Dingling is another name for Tiele because of the bell on the cart. It kept ringing and made a tinkling sound, hence its name.
But Puguwu still sighed and shook his head: "Our Pugu tribe is marching and migrating. Although the carts are outside, they cover the women, children, cattle and sheep in the inner circle. When encountering enemy attacks or wolves, we can quickly move the carts Xianghuan, as a peripheral defense, usually uses these carts to set up camp, but our speed is far inferior to these Jin troops. No matter how fast we are, these two thousand carts must be connected around each other and equipped with blocks. It takes more than half an hour to do this. But these Jin troops can actually change from a marching state to such a defense line in about a quarter of an hour. Even our camp is not as strong as theirs. It's amazing. Even as a high-level vehicle type We can only accept defeat. If we weren't enemies now, I really want to ask them how they did it!"
Another deputy general next to Helan Lu was named Yu Wenmeng, a sturdy man with a dark face. He raised his brows and said in a deep voice: "Our knights haven't set up an attack formation just now. There are 20,000 cavalry. It took more than half an hour to set up the formation, so we couldn't attack them just now. If we move faster, or if they move slower, we can attack now."
Helan Lu shook his head: "When the Jin army marched, they used carts to cover both sides. Even if they were not equipped with barriers and shields, it would be impossible for our thousands of leading cavalry to rush down if they wanted to. These Jin troops Everyone has seen that they are well-trained and well-equipped, but the elite troops we have never seen before are definitely not comparable to those Han infantry who dispersed as soon as they charged and collapsed as soon as they were beaten. Only when we are fully prepared can we break through. enemy."
Having said this, he paused and said in a deep voice: "The horse archers came forward and fired in a circle to test the thickness and strength of the enemy's camp. I want to see how many enemy troops there are. How many archers are there?" How many crossbows are there?”
Pu Guwu frowned: "Don't we see clearly here? There are at least 15,000 sergeants in the left-wing vehicle formation of the Jin army facing us, and there are so many strong bows and crossbows. The cavalry came forward, I’m just afraid that I will suffer a loss.”
Helan Lu shook his head: "The Jin army is cunning. It shows its incompetence when it can, and it shows its ability when it cannot. Think about how Gongsun Gui died just now. Those in front of the Jin army are weak soldiers, even scarecrows. They deliberately lured us five thousand cavalry into charging into the formation, but how many soldiers and horses there really were and how many ambushes there were were not revealed until the five thousand cavalry were rushing in."
Yu Wenmeng laughed: "If we want to try it, why not just attack them with the whole army and overwhelm them at once? These carts are not as good as those shields, and the Jin army is reluctant to give up."
Pu Guwu shook his head and pointed at the car formation: "No, there are nearly two thousand powerful crossbows on these two thousand carts alone. This is not false. If we charge, we will definitely suffer heavy losses." The army's strong bows and crossbows, especially shooting from behind shields, have always been a weapon to restrain our prairie cavalry. It is not a wise move to put the lives of our soldiers to the test."
Helan Lu's eyes flashed coldly: "Liu Yu is very good at using troops. Now we don't know the configuration and movements of his troops at all. Once we charge rashly, we may fall into his trap again. Moreover, the national division asked me to wait. Surrounded on three sides, with infantry on the front and cavalry assault on the two wings, but the elite armor and cavalry equipment and the secret weapons he said have not been used yet, and more than half of the strength has not been released, just to let us test the strength of the enemy's formation first. We don’t know where the enemy’s main force is located, so it’s hard to launch a general attack.”
Yu Wenmeng's expression changed: "What, according to the general's wishes, the national master dares to let us test the formation and die?"
Helan Lu smiled and waved his hand: "Master Yuwen, don't think like this. Even if the Imperial Master has this intention, you have been with me for many years, and you still can't trust me? Could it be that I, Helan Lu, will let you brothers who have lived and died for many years to die in vain? ?”
Yu Wenmeng's expression softened slightly: "What does the general mean, that we are just here to show off for the time being, waiting for the results from the right wing and the front?"
A cold light flashed in He Lanlu's eyes: "No, this is the main attack direction set by the national division. However, before all-out attack, we must test the enemy's strength. Don't look at the Jin army's vehicles. They all have strong crossbows and armored soldiers, but it’s hard to say whether it’s the scarecrows or fake crossbows. Maybe they don’t have many troops on their flanks at all, or in other words, they are mostly auxiliary troops!”
Pu Guwu said in surprise: "It can't be a dummy. We all saw it just now. In less than a quarter of an hour, these two thousand carts were equipped with shields. Could it be that these are fake people?"
Helan Lu laughed: "This is something worth pondering. If you are so skilled at installing baffles, parking carts, and connecting chains, then you are definitely not a soldier. How many soldiers have you seen practicing this all day long? I'm just afraid that Liu Yu's auxiliary troops and civilians will be placed on both wings, and then they will bluff and put their best troops in the forward. The Beifu Army always rushes forward in battle, and these two wings are just suspicious soldiers set up to prevent our cavalry from raiding. Whether these powerful crossbows are real or fake, you will know once you try them. Lord Yuwen, bring five thousand bow riders forward to test their quality. Remember, you are not allowed to get within a hundred steps of the enemy's formation without my order!"
