The allied forces of the Huai and Qi states faced off in Xiapi for a month, but made no progress at all. Both sides were actively looking for each other's weaknesses.
Huaiguo camp.
Wang Sheng asked: "The army has been stationed in Xiapi for more than a month. Do you have any strategies to defeat the enemy?"
"Your Majesty, the allied forces of the princes of Qi have come. Three hundred thousand people have marched hundreds of miles. There must be a lot of food and grass needed. Your Majesty, we only need to hold on here. Even if Qi is rich, how long can we supply the army? When the time comes, they will run out of food and retreat!" said a minister next to him.
"The coalition of Qi's princes has a large number of troops and a vast land, which is not comparable to that of Huai. If other princes support us, our army may be short of food and grass. In addition, if the confrontation lasts for a long time, it may affect farming and the country will be short of food." Gongyang Shuo said with some worry.
If the coalition of Qi princes really wanted to focus on this, Wang Sheng would probably use the Divine Artifact of Destiny desperately. After all, no matter how strong the Huai State is, it can't consume so many vassal states. Of course this possibility is very low.
"Your Majesty, how about detaching an army and marching out of Muyang to attack Tan and force the Qi army to return for rescue?"
"It's useless. The coalition has 300,000 troops. We only need to divide tens of thousands of troops to return reinforcements to stop it." Wang Sheng shook his head.
"For the current plan, we can only find the place where they store food and grass. Then set it on fire to force the coalition forces to retreat." Gongyang Shuo said.
"Send out scouts to search where the coalition forces are storing food!" Wang Sheng nodded and agreed. .
Soon, a large number of scouts quietly went to collect intelligence near the coalition forces.
...
While Wang Sheng was struggling to find a way to defeat the enemy, the coalition of princes was also thinking of a way to defeat the Huai Kingdom.
The Marquis of Qi is sitting in the center, and a dozen princes are sitting on the left and right in the tent. Just like the Huai Kingdom, everyone is discussing strategies to defeat the enemy.
"Mr. Qi, the Huai people are good at defending the city. It's a waste to station 300,000 troops here. Why don't we divide our troops to attack other places?"
Everyone was very tired of stationing troops in Xiapi to attack the city. Xiapi had been repaired by the Huai Kingdom for decades and had long since become a fortified city. It was very difficult to break through, but it only resulted in the loss of troops and generals.
"The Huai people have elite soldiers. If we divide our troops, it may be difficult to defeat them." A nearby prince said.
"This time, all the elites of the Huai Kingdom are here, and there will certainly be no troops to protect other places. As long as the army is careful, it can easily win."
"I heard that the Chu army is attacking from the south. The Huai State must be very weak. If we divide our forces and attack Huai'an by surprise, if this battle is successful, the Huai State will not survive!" Cao GUI said.
The Marquis of Qi hesitated for a moment, and then said: "In this case, who can lead the troops?"
"Zheng Hou is proficient in military affairs and can be a commander!"
So Qi Hou appointed Zheng Hou as commander and prepared to divide his troops to attack Huai'an.
"Qi Gong, I have a plan that may help Qi Gong defeat the enemy." Hu Rui stepped forward and said.
Upon hearing this, Qi Hou immediately sat up straight and asked, "Please speak frankly, Mr. Hu!"
"Your Majesty, Xiapi City is strong, but the terrain is not the highest. There are Yi River and Si River near Xiapi City. Although the river water is not abundant at this time, after building embankments to store water, floods can still be used to flood the city. The Huai army will be Defeat, and then attack the city with a large army, Xiapi will be defeated!" Hu Rui said with a pearl of wisdom.
After hearing this plan, everyone around them started talking. This plan was vicious. If it succeeded, Xiapi would definitely be in ruins, with more than 100,000 casualties. Many people feel that this policy is vicious and harmful to the world.
"Marquis of Qi, Huai State also dug the Huai River to flood Shanhou. This time, it is God's will to collect water to flood the city!" Caohou said.
Qi Hou hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement, and then handed over the matter of dam building and water storage to Hu Rui.
The coalition forces of the princes of Qi were divided into 50,000 troops, and then headed south under the command of Zhenghou. They also mobilized 50,000 civilians, led by Hu Rui, to go to Sishui and Yishui to prepare to cut off the rivers and store water.
Zheng Hou commanded his army to go south, and then defeated six small cities in a row, and soon reached the north bank of Huai River. Just when Zheng Hou led the army to the north bank of the Huaihe River, he ran into Xu Mao, who had just defeated the Chu State and led the army to the north.
Xu Mao sent out scouts and knew in advance that the coalition of princes was heading south. So the rate
He led the army north to cross the Huai River. This time the Huai army defeated the Chu army, and their morale was high. It was a good time for a war.
Zheng Hou commanded fifty thousand allied troops, among whom there were not many elites. When Zheng Hou discovered that a Huai army had crossed the river northward, he was overjoyed.
The last time the alliance attacked Chu, Zheng Guo got a lot of benefits. This time Qi Guoguo allied to attack Huai, Zheng Hou always remembered the kindness of Qi Hou, and was ready to perform well to repay Qi Hou. This time when he went south, he wiped out six small cities in succession. The army gained a lot of benefits and its morale was high.
Marquis Zheng did not hesitate and immediately ordered: "Speed up the army and drive all the Huai people on the banks of the Huai River down the river! Then I will go to the leader of the alliance and the emperor in person to ask for merit for you."
"Wan Sheng!"
"Wan Sheng!"
"Wan Sheng!"
Seeing the high morale of the army, Zheng Hou waved his hand and said: "Let's go!"
The army immediately accelerated towards the south.
...
"General, general!" A team of scouts is coming quickly. Then he was stopped by the Chinese army guards, and then he took two of them to the Chinese army's banner.
"General, the 50,000-strong coalition of princes are marching south. They are still twenty miles away!"
"Who is the leader?" Xu Mao said calmly.
"Zheng Hou, in addition to Zheng Hou, there are also Zhu, Xiang and other banners."
"Explore again!"
"Here!" The scout left in a hurry, and Xu Mao looked at the surrounding terrain. This place was wide, with a gentle slope that was high in the south and low in the north. It was a thousand meters long, with a drop of about one meter. The terrain here was not suitable for the north. Launching an attack, not to mention that it is almost noon and the sun is due south, is a good battlefield.
Xu Mao immediately stopped moving forward and ordered his army to form an arc formation a hundred steps away from the Huaihe River. Both ends of the formation are close to the Huaihe River, and the center of the formation protrudes. And uncharacteristically, the chariots were arrayed in front of the central formation. All the chariots raised their large shields and long swords, and behind them were five thousand strong archers.
At the rear of the formation, wooden platoons of wooden planks were left linked to the river bank so that they could go straight into the rear formation. The remaining infantry rested on the planks and rotated when the front army was tired.
Twenty thousand troops lined up with their backs against the water, and preparations were quickly completed.
After the Huai army formed its formation, Zheng Hou led the army and rushed to the bank of the Huai River. From a distance, we can see the Huai people forming a formation on the edge of the Huai River, and it is also a very strange military formation.
At first, Marquis Zheng was a little surprised, but when he saw that the Huai people were arraying with their backs to the water, they actually put their chariots at the front of the center army. He immediately laughed and said, "It's a taboo for military strategists to form an array with their backs to the water. There are no chariots on either side to guard the army. How can we lead the army like this?" , How can Gu Ye not win? The advantage in this battle lies with Gu Ye!"
"Pass my order and the army will be deployed. This battle will push the Huai people into the Huai River to feed the fish!" Zheng Hou ordered loudly. Everyone said so.
After the words fell, the allied forces of the princes immediately began to move. In addition to the 10,000 civilians, the 50,000-strong army quickly formed a large formation. The large formation laid out by Zheng Hou was quite regular. At this time, the military formations commonly used by Bang Zhou had the three armies arrayed in front. And left a Chinese army as a reserve team.
Soon the army formation was completed. Zheng Hou pointed at the Huai people and laughed loudly: "Our army has set up the formation, but the Huai people do not dare to attack. How can we be undefeated if we are so timid?"
"All generals will follow me to kill the enemy and perform meritorious service, and I will make my wife and son my wife!"
