The author said: Today's section has 4k words updated, and it is a war scene, don't miss it...
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Qiu Yizhi had only been asleep for a moment when a personal guard came to report: "Two women outside the tent want to see you."
Without waiting to be summoned, the two women entered the tent and smiled at Qiu Yizhi. It was indeed Wen Lingjiao and her maid He'er. Yizhi was furious and said, "How dare you go back? I have spared you twice. There is no room for maneuver under the law. Aren't you afraid of being cut into pieces?"
"Hehe, I'm here to rescue you, sir. Don't you know that you are in imminent danger? My Tianzun Sect's army has wiped out all the government troops. Please go outside the tent and see if there is any soldier from Youyan Sect?" Wen Lingjiao still had that gentle and elegant tone, but her words were full of murderous intent.
Yizhi was shocked and immediately sat up from the bed. He had never thought that he had woken up from a nightmare, and in his hand he had already held the sword hanging on the bedside. Before he could recover from the shock, another messenger came in and reported: "General Cui Nan wants to ask your highness to come and discuss military affairs."
Yizhi secretly pinched his arm hard, feeling the pain, and then he was sure that he was not in another dream, so he asked: "Did General Cui invite only me to go?"
The messenger said, "No. I have also invited His Royal Highness the Third Prince. I believe His Royal Highness has already arrived. Please go quickly."
After hearing this, Yizhi waved his hand and asked him to retreat and return. He quickly dressed himself, left the tent and walked quickly towards Cui Nan's big tent.
Cui Nan and Wei Hu were of the same rank, but were appointed as the commander-in-chief only because of the difference in front and back. Therefore, his tent was the central army tent. Since it was the central army tent, it was naturally different - a map of the entire topography of Henan Road was hung in the middle; a set of tables and chairs were arranged under the map, and a wake-up wooden arrow was placed on the table; there was a row of stools on each side, and about twenty officers above the rank of inspector in the army had already sat down in order. Cui Nan sat firmly on the chair, and when he saw Qiu Yizhi coming in, he stood up calmly and bowed slightly. Seeing this, Yizhi also hurriedly returned the military salute and sat down according to the order of status.
After several officers who were stationed a little far from the central army tent were in place, Cui Nan cleared his throat and said, "Today, a scout reported that there is a large number of rebels 20 miles southeast of the camp, about 50,000 people, who seem to be attacking Bianzhou, and have not yet noticed our army's movements. I have discussed with General Wei and decided that I will personally lead 5,000 cavalry to disrupt their formation, and General Wei will lead the main force of the infantry to support them. I wonder if you have any suggestions?" After speaking, he looked around. Cui Nan was very majestic in the army. Although he was always silent, once he spoke, he would convince everyone. After hearing this, none of the officers even whispered to each other.
Yizhi thought for a while and saw Zheng Miao winking at him. He knew that Zheng Miao was proud of his status and didn't want to stand out, so he stood up and said loudly: "General Cui's plan is ingenious and goes straight to the key point. It has the style of famous generals in ancient times and is admirable. I am afraid that the battlefield may change rapidly, so Yizhi is willing to lead his own soldiers to go with the general, and His Royal Highness the Third Prince will act with General Wei. We can always take care of each other, and it will not disappoint King Youyan's order that my two brothers should follow the army to learn military affairs." The two brothers played together since they were young, and they were both very smart. They understood each other's every move. Yizhi's words were exactly what Zheng Miao wanted to say.
Qiu Yizhi was right. The battlefield situation was unpredictable and could not be foreseen by ordinary people. When King Zheng Rong of Youyan was fighting against the Turkic cavalry, he was about to win, but he was sniped by a powerful crossbow. If it were not for Yizhi's father who saved his master, I am afraid that this generation of famous generals would have died before they could achieve their goal.
Cui Nan was a veteran general who had been through many battles. How could he not understand this? If the two princes got into trouble in the army, even if the prince could forgive them, he would not be able to serve in the army anymore. He then thought of his previous experience of suppressing the militia. Most of the militia were a motley crowd, ignorant of military tactics and strategy. If Yi Zhi was placed at the core of the battle formation, he should be able to escape unscathed. So he waved to Wei Hu, and the two whispered a few words, and then he said loudly to everyone: "Your Highnesses, you will lead the way. The morale of our army will surely be boosted. This battle will win, and anyone who disobeys orders will be killed without mercy!"
All the generals stood up, bowed, turned around and left the central army tent, returning to their respective units to make arrangements.
The originally orderly military camp suddenly became murderous. The infantry soldiers had already lined up, and the squad leaders, centurions, and captains checked their equipment one by one. The cook took out the freshly steamed meat-filled buns and distributed them to each soldier, leaving them for consumption before the battle. The soldiers left behind in the main camp were also busy, gathering the food and supplies in one place for centralized guarding.
After the preparations were completed, the troops, led by the generals and officers of each unit, set out slowly from the south gate, with the shields and armor in front and the crossbows in the back. The cavalry had also fed their horses and polished their weapons, and did not follow the infantry, but set out from the east gate, taking a short detour and heading towards the enemy.
The cavalry arrived first after the latter, and within a meal's time they had already reached the enemy. At this time, the scout came to report: "The enemy seems to be on guard and has left the camp to form a battle array." Yizhi frowned when he heard this, thinking that the army was advancing at full speed and was very secretive, and there were no enemy sentries along the way, so how could the news leak out? Turning around, he saw the commander Cui Nan beside him also had a puzzled look on his face. After all, he had been in many battles, so he was not very surprised. He ordered: "Another scout, report quickly!" He turned around and asked Yizhi, "What do you think, Your Highness?"
Qiu Yizhi thought for a moment and said, "Since the army has already set out here, if we return to the camp without success, we will only hurt the morale. Why not notify General Wei to advance slowly, and we will lead the army to test it first. Even if there is a change, we can escape with our fast horses."
Cui Nan nodded as he listened and said, "Your Highness, your opinion is excellent. I will follow your advice."
The horses ridden by the Youyan cavalry were all good horses from the grasslands. When Zheng Rong defeated Biximi a few years ago, he captured countless fine horses. He also obtained several Ferghana horses from Dali Khan, which further improved the bloodline of the war horses. Therefore, compared with the horses from the Central Plains, they were much stronger in endurance, load-bearing capacity, and speed. The army increased its horsepower slightly, and in a short time, it had reached the front of the militia.
The militia obviously had not expected the government troops to march so fast, and they were still lining up in a chaotic manner. Cui Nan waved to the horse archer beside him and whispered a few words. The archer received the order, drew his bow and fired two arrows, killing a leader of the militia who was sitting on a horse and commanding the formation. Seeing this, the surrounding militias immediately became chaotic and fled in all directions, breaking the formation that had not yet formed into pieces.
Cui Nan saw the opportunity and ordered his 4,000 cavalry to form a cone array of 500 men each, and ordered Qiu Yizhi to be in the middle, and to charge into the enemy formation one after another. Another 1,000 horse archers were in front of the formation to shoot and support. Upon receiving the order, the soldiers blew the horns together, formed a battle array, placed round shields on the chests of their horses, and charged into the enemy formation with spears in both hands.
If the Youyan army faced the enemy's heavy cavalry charge, they could first block it with strong bows and crossbows, then block it with spears and shields, and the cavalry on both wings would attack at the same time to cut off the enemy, and no matter how sharp the cavalry charge was, it would be turned into nothing. Such a sophisticated tactic was honed through countless fights and training, consuming countless blood, sweat and energy, and was the capital for the Youyan army to become the strongest army in the world.
However, the farmer who was still working in the field yesterday obviously did not have such qualities. He was like an unarmed passerby who was stabbed by a peerless master without any preparation and fell to the ground before he could react.
The militia had neither elite equipment nor combat experience, and they only had a few inferior horses for farming and hoes and forks. However, the number of government troops in the various states of Henan was only a few thousand, and after deducting the thousands of vacancies that had embezzled military pay, there was a significant discount. There were also many old and weak soldiers in the army who were unable to fight. When they saw the rebel army coming all over the mountains and plains, they were often terrified and fled without a fight. Therefore, the Tianzun sect rebels, in fighting against the Central Plains government troops, relied on the four words "large numbers and strong forces" to smash Henan.
But the Youyan cavalry was so elite that they showed no fear in the face of the Turkic knights who were roaming all over the desert. The scattered militia was like a child in front of them, without any fighting power. A simple charge actually killed tens of thousands of people. Seeing that the battle was going so smoothly, Cui Nan did not reorganize the formation, but directly ordered the rear team to change to the front team and rush into the enemy formation again. The militia was already terrified. Wherever the cavalry went, they were defeated and fled in panic. Those who trampled to death were ten times more than those who were killed.
After two rounds of attacks, the Youyan cavalry had returned to their original position. Cui Nan waved his sword, and a thousand horse archers fired a rain of arrows, causing another commotion in the militia. Cui Nan took this opportunity to re-arrange the troops and count the horses, only losing a few horses. At this time, Wei Hu had also arrived with reinforcements. Cui Nan discussed with him briefly, and incorporated the thousand archers who were originally guarding the rear into the charge formation, and then led the army into the enemy formation again.
When the civilian army saw the Youyan cavalry coming, they had already dispersed, and no one dared to fight against the enemy with an egg. Cui Nan's troops were like entering an empty space, and they attacked the enemy behind them for the second time like piercing through rot, but they did not return to charge, but instead divided into two rows and lined up horizontally to form a thin barrier.
At the same time, the infantry led by General Wei Hu in the front also beat drums and started to move. They fired a burst of crossbows, aiming for the leaders on horseback. The crossbows were extremely powerful, and a short arrow penetrated the enemy formation and hit a Youyan knight in the line. Unfortunately, the distance was too far, and the short arrow was already at the end of its strength. Although it did not hurt the skin and flesh, it was firmly nailed in the gap of the willow leaf armor on the knight's abdomen and was difficult to pull out for a while, making the knight embarrassed, causing Qiu Yizhi behind him to smile.
However, in the distance, the Youyan army, with the "Dangshiying" as the vanguard, formed an airtight formation. They held daggers and struck their shields, making a deafening metal collision sound, while shouting rhythmic "Hehe" slogans. It was truly overwhelming and awe-inspiring.
Without a leader to rally the troops, the militia was already terrified, and no one dared to stand up to the enemy. They turned around and ran away. However, they saw a large group of cavalry standing in front of them like gods, so they dropped their weapons and ran away to both sides. They didn't expect that the formation of the government army on one side had been extended at some point, and the infantry and cavalry had joined together, leaving no room for escape; on the other side, they were shot with crossbows, and escaping at the risk of their lives would be tantamount to committing suicide.
In just a moment, tens of thousands of rioters were surrounded by more than 10,000 government troops. They only had to wait for the order from the army commander to be killed or cut into pieces.
This short half moment seemed to be stretched for a long time as the captured militiamen anxiously waited.
Although they were the rebels of Tianzun Sect, most of them were farmers in Henan Province. Among tens of thousands of people, few could read, and they only vaguely understood the doctrines preached by angels. They used to live a life of working hard day after day. When county officials came to the countryside to collect taxes and handle cases, they didn't even have the courage to look up. As long as there was half a pot of millet porridge on the stove, they would not dare to raise the flag of rebellion even if they were beaten to death. But since last year, Henan Province has not had a heavy rain for some reason, and the wheat seedlings that they had worked so hard to grow were eaten clean by a group of locusts. Everyone was waiting for the court to send relief, but they didn't expect that what they were waiting for was the yamen runners who collected taxes. They drove all the old and young in the village together and demanded the payment of money and grain from house to house.
Those who still had a few copper coins at home hurriedly handed them over, and at least they were spared from being whipped. Those who had no money and no food still had to pay the taxes and grain they were supposed to pay after being beaten. At this time, someone broke into the village and hacked the tax collectors to death without saying a word, saying that they were angels sent by the Heavenly Lord to save the people from the hands of the demons. Someone asked who these demons were? The angels said that the government offices, the army, the court, and the emperor in the capital were all demons, and only by killing them all could the people live a good life. They also said that those who followed the angels to do great things would be given food and a full meal immediately, and those who refused to go were puppets of the demons and would be hacked to death on the spot.
Everyone was so hungry that they were dizzy. They didn't know whether this was a rebellion or not. They thought that even if they died, they would at least die with a full stomach. So they took out the hoes, guillotines, dung forks, and shoulder poles they used for farming and followed. At first, it was fine. The Heavenly Lord was indeed extremely powerful. He easily captured several counties and robbed several landlords and wealthy families. After filling their stomachs, they were ready to attack Bianzhou City. However, they met the government troops from Youyan Road here and were defeated in a few moves. Although the farmers had never seen the world, they knew what the crime of rebellion was. If they were caught, they would inevitably be stabbed in the back of their heads. But it was too late to regret now. They just regarded themselves as fat meat on the chopping board. As for how to cut and chop them, it all depended on the butcher's wishes.
At this time, a fine horse appeared behind the giant shield, and a young general sat on it. He was handsome, and it was Zheng Miao, the third son of King Youyan. The soldiers didn't recognize his identity at all, and they only heard him shouting: "We are the official army of Youyan Dao, and we come here in the name of the court to suppress the rioters. Now I think you are all ignorant and deceived by the evil cult, and I think God has the virtue of loving life. If you don't put down your weapons quickly, I will spare your lives!" Although his voice was not hoarse, it was very penetrating, and the rioters within a few feet in front of the formation could hear it clearly.
Everyone was looking at each other in bewilderment, but one person who seemed to be a Tianzun believer shouted, "Don't believe in the devil's deception. We are all dead, so why not fight to the death together! Kill them all..."
Before he could even utter the word "kill", the man was pierced by more than ten crossbow arrows. He twitched twice on the ground and died. Several militiamen around him were also affected and were hit by two arrows. They rolled on the ground and wailed.
Everyone was stunned by this scene, but the surrounding government troops were already roaring in unison: "Put down your weapons, and you will be spared! Put down your weapons, and you will be spared!!" One voice was louder than the other, like the roar of a mountain torrent or the collapse of a mountain.
The militiamen no longer had the will to resist. They dropped their weapons, stood there like a fool, and raised their hands in surrender.
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PS. It's another battle scene. I've simulated it in the game (Total War). This time it's really simple. In front of the light infantry that lacks organization and equipment, the well-trained and well-equipped heavy cavalry is the death god. It's very easy to completely disrupt the infantry formation and destroy the enemy's morale through two or three simple charges. (To be continued)