In the summer of the thirteenth year of Daye, on June 24th, at the right time in the morning, after more than a day of careful preparation, the Sui Army in the Eastern Capital and the Allied Army of Zhai and Li, who had been entangled in confrontation for more than two months, dispatched their main elites to fight against each other. Under the personal leadership of the coaches of both sides, they headed out to the agreed battle location—Shilibao!
Banners covered the sky, swords and guns were like forests, the Sui army sent 30,000 troops from the eastern capital, and the Zhai Li coalition sent a total of 56,000 troops. The black crowd and horse heads were like two huge torrents, flowing forward slowly but firmly, gradually approaching each other .
The decisive battle has not yet begun, and the scout outpost battle has already started. The commanders of the two armies are well aware of the other's treacherous and despicable character, and they have sent a large number of elite infantry as scouts to closely search the hills, forests, ravines and valleys on both sides of the road. Give the opponent any chance to ambush. When the scouts meet during the operation, fierce fighting naturally erupts. You chase each other, you slash and kill each other. The infantry scouts go deep into the forest and are ambushed by enemy infantry. Come to respond, beat the pursuer to flee, and then the enemy comes to reinforce, and the counter-chaser becomes the hunted again, scouting every position where an ambush can be found may be life-threatening, in the wilderness As long as the stay is longer, the enemy's cavalry may be attacked immediately. The battle has not yet started, and there are already 20 or 30 scouts on both sides blood-stained on the battlefield.
Both sides have done sufficient preparations before the battle, needless to say feeding the horses and polishing the knives and guns, as well as preparing enough arrows, dry food and drinking water. , Sprinkle powdered rosin into the brazier to create a dazzling red glow, and take the opportunity to find the winner of the battle, which made the almost illiterate Zhai and Li allied soldiers cheer into pieces; Chen Sangliang was in the Sui army An impassioned speech was delivered in front of the soldiers, encouraging the soldiers to fight bravely and serve the country's imperial court, promising various rewards, and reminding them of their previous battles that they repeatedly defeated the strong with the weak and the many with the few, and encouraged them with their dazzling achievements The morale of the army is boosted.
In addition, Chen Yingliang sent three envoys in advance to Banzhu to contact Wang Shichong, to inform Wang Shichong of today's battle, and to ask Wang Shichong to attack the camp east of Hulao Pass of the Zhai Li coalition army today to distract the enemy. , It also blows and shakes the morale of the opponent's army. Li Mi had already prepared for this. In addition to ordering the rear troops staying in the camp to strictly guard against death, he also told the camp guards that when reporting the military situation to him, he must ask the soldiers to keep it strictly confidential, and not to leak the slightest news of Wang Shichong's fierce attack on the east of Hulao Pass!
At two o'clock at this time, the Zhai-Li coalition army, which was a little closer, arrived at the reserved battlefield first, and quickly seized the favorable position with the backlight and downwind. , only on the right wing left a small space for the Sui army in the eastern capital to intersperse and detour, and grasp the geographical advantage as they wished.
The soldiers are strong and brave, the troops are superior, and they also seized the geographical advantage in advance. Li Mi, who thinks highly of himself, ordered the whole army to arrange the Yanyue formation, and deployed a large number of infantry on the two wings to protrude forward, resembling the crescent moon. Xu Shiji and Yang Jishan commanded the left and right wings respectively. , I and Zhai Rang sat in the center, gathered the elite of Zhai and Li's two armies in the central army to form a moon ring, and the few cavalry were arranged by Li Mi at the rear to be used as surprise soldiers. This formation is characterized by strong attack power, especially focusing on the attack on the enemy's two wings. The disadvantage is that the maneuverability is slightly weak, and there are not many troops capable of mobile combat.
At three o'clock, Chen Yingliang also led his army to the battlefield. He stood half a mile away from the Zhai-Li coalition army and quickly formed a formation. He voluntarily gave up the advantage of mobility and arranged a square formation with strong defensive power. The infantry formed a small square formation in a ring shape outside, and the cavalry was inside. At the front is Kan Leng, who is the most capable of fighting tough battles under Chen Yingliang's command. When he grew up, the Mo Dao was as bright as a forest, with layers of layers, making people daunting.
After carefully observing the arrangement of the Sui army, Pei Renji, who is known as a famous general, said to Zhai Rang and Li Mi: "Wei Gong, Dongjun Gong, Chen Yingliang met the enemy with a square formation and hid the cavalry inside. The purpose should be to defend and counterattack. First use the infantry to consume our strength and physical strength, and then use the cavalry to attack our weak points after we show our weaknesses, so as to turn the tide of the battle and strive for victory."
Li Mi nodded slightly, agreeing with Pei Renji's judgment and analysis, but frowned slightly, because Li Mi knew very well that although the Sui Army's Fangyuan formation in the eastern capital was strong in defense, it was used to deal with the Yanyue formation of the Zhai Li coalition army, but it would cause contact between the troops. The consequence of the long front is that a large number of soldiers were killed and injured. Chen Yingliang, who has always been treacherous, chose to deploy such an formation. His intention to consume the combat strength of the Zhai-Li coalition army was very obvious. The unfavorable maneuverability of the square formation also made it impossible for Chen Yingliang to order a retreat easily. Today The attitude of fighting to the end with Zhai Li's allied forces is very firm.
In the past, Chen Yingliang had such an attitude, and Li Mi certainly wished for it, but after listening to Zhang Yongtong's analysis of the strategic situation of the self-army the day before yesterday, Li Mi was a little afraid to fight so recklessly with Chen Yingliang, because there was Wang Shichong behind Li Mi, and Wang Shichong was in danger Although the degree is not as good as that of Chen Yingliang, it cannot be completely ignored.
At this time, Pei Renji's son, Pei Xingyan, also spoke, pointing to the Sui army formation and said, "Father, look quickly, the Nationalist Army is here, right in front of Chen Yingliang's flag formation."
Li Mi followed the crowd to look up, and saw that the patriotic army in conspicuous white robes appeared in the Sui Army formation, and was arranged by Chen Yingliang in front of the flag formation, behind the other Sui Army cavalry, Li Mi nodded slightly , Knowing that Chen Yingliang probably arranged for other cavalry to charge and cover, and then let the most loyal and brave Nationalist Army launch a fatal blow. Guessing Chen Yingliang's plan, Li Mi thought of another thing, and hurriedly ordered to the left and right: "Send more scouts who are familiar with the situation of the officers and troops to go around the officers and troops to investigate the enemy's situation, and investigate the situation behind the officers and troops' phalanx. report to me."
Chen Yingliang, who has been concentrating on military affairs for more than two months, did not work hard in vain. After a short while, the Sui Army in the Eastern Capital, which had received rigorous training, had already completed its formation. After Chen Yingliang nodded in satisfaction, he led Yuchi Jingde and Sangouzi When the general led an army out of the battle, he called Zhai Rang and Li Mi to come out and answer. Zhai Rang and Li Mi readily obeyed and led an army out of the battle. Chen Yingliang yelled at Zhai Rang and Li Mi as traitors against the country, and Zhai Rang and Li Mi also yelled at Chen Sangliang as a lackey of a tyrant.
"Li Mi, Zhai Rang, one of you is a dignitary, and the other is an official of the court. You have been living on the court's salary for a long time, and you don't want to repay the king's favor. Instead, you gather people to rebel and rebel against the court. You deserve death." Chen Sangliang shouted decently : "Two traitors against the country, why don't you get off your horse and kneel down quickly? Rein in the precipice and find a way out?"
"Bah!" Li Mi spit out thick phlegm in a very unhygienic manner, and cursed: "Chen Yingliang, you begging tyrant's running dog! The tyrant Yang Guang poisoned the living, mutilated the people, and committed crimes. The world will not tolerate you! You dog official!" Helping the evildoers is also a crime that cannot be punished! If you are smart, quickly kneel down and surrender, or our Great Wei Yijun will attack with troops, and you will regret it too late!"
"Small little boy! How dare you speak wild words?" Chen Sangliang laughed wildly, then suddenly changed his previous polite tone, and cursed: "Li Mi! I'm fucking your mother's eighteen generations of ancestors! What are you crazy about? You are nothing more than Just relying on the fact that there is Zhai Rang next to you as a shield for the dead ghost, and Shan Xiongxin, Xu Shiji and other Wagang idiots will charge you into the battle, and if you sell them, you will count the money for you, otherwise, just relying on your appearance, you will be fine. Dare to confront me head-on? Don't think I don't know. You and Zhai Rang, this stupid bird, are actually coveting Zhai Rang's elite soldiers! Zhai Rang, you old bastard, if you are smart, kill Li Mi quickly, otherwise, Sooner or later, he will use your head as a chamber pot!"
Although it is very clear that Chen Sangliang has never practiced morality, he never expected that Chen Sangliang would scold him so viciously, and Li Mi shouted out of embarrassment, "Who will take down the head of Chen Yingliang's dog official for me?"
In fact, there are only a handful of scenes of fighting generals in the cold weapon war, but there are often scenes of a fierce general leading a small number of elites to attack the enemy's line. Therefore, before Li Mi's words fell, Pei Xingyan immediately agreed loudly and led more than ten soldiers to rush to the enemy's line. When he came, Chen Yingliang was furious when he saw it, and cursed: "Pei Xingyan, you traitorous thief who betrayed his country and abandoned his mother, you have the face to appear in front of me? Yuchi Jingde, catch this thief for me!"
"The general obeys orders! I don't need anyone's help, I'm enough alone!" Yuchi Jingde yelled as he promised, and he raised his lance alone to flatter Pei Xingyan. Li Mi, Zhai Rang and others all knew Pei Xingyan's martial arts, and they all felt heartbroken after seeing this scene Secretly happy, everyone said that Pei Xingyan would win a big victory this time, and the self-army could easily seize the opportunity.
The cruel facts made Li Mi, Zhai Rang and others break their glasses. Pei Xingyan is unstoppable, his long lance breaks through the wind and is as powerful as lightning, but Yuchi Jingde's lance is faster and fiercer. Straight to Pei Xingyan's chest, Pei Xingyan knew very well that if he was stabbed, there was no way he could survive, so he dodged at the slightest timidity, Yuchi Jingde went straight on his horse, and went straight to the soldiers behind Pei Xingyan. The target was to smash the head of one of Pei Xingyan's personal soldiers to pieces immediately.
The generals of the Sui army applauded loudly, Li Mi, Zhai Rang and the others changed their expressions slightly, and only then did they understand why Chen Yingliang dared to lead this black-faced general with three men and three cavalry to stop their seven thousand elites when they were in Luokou, while Yuchi Jingde's power remained undiminished, and he killed the enemies around him with three strikes, five cuts and two strikes, and calmly stood up to meet Pei Xingyan who turned around and killed him. Chen Yingliang didn't dare to let Yuchi Jingde take risks alone, and while shouting orders, more than a dozen soldiers rushed forward with their knives in hand to catch Pei Xingyan's soldiers on behalf of Yuchi Jingde, so that Yuchi Jingde could concentrate on being with Pei Xingyan without distraction. fight.
This battle made the palms of the coaches of both sides sweat even more. The head-to-head fight between Pei Xingyan and Yuchi Jingde is certainly thrilling, with dangerous moves and constant crises. The contest between ordinary soldiers is also very tragic. Flesh and blood flew across the sky, the head of the sky was sliced off with a horizontal knife, blood and brains splashed together, the spear pierced the stomach and intestines, blood red intestines flowed all over the ground, the sound of knives and guns colliding was heard all the time, hugging each other on the ground, wrestling, fisting There are several pairs of teeth that are used for kicking and kicking.
During the fight, Yuchi Jingde and Pei Xingyan suddenly grabbed each other's spear with their left hands, and struggled to snatch the opponent's weapon, twisted and twisted, and clenched their teeth to compete for strength. He also couldn't take away Yuchi Jingde's weapon. In the end, there were two bangs and bangs, and the two horse lances, which took three years to make, were bent to the limit and then broke one after another. Slapping around.
At this time, more than a dozen experts in Chen Yingliang's personal army had already gained the upper hand, and several Sui soldiers who had killed their opponents rushed forward to help, and one of the Sui soldiers handed the stolen weapon to Yuchi. Jingde, Pei Xingyan saw that the situation was not good, so he could only pull out his horse and go back, the rest of his soldiers were also defeated immediately, Yuchi Jingde wanted to chase, but was stopped by Chen Yingliang, he could only yell and curse Hate to rein in his horse, but Chen Sangliang, who had won the victory, laughed and ordered to return to the battle. He was full of praise for the performance of Yuchi Jingde and others.
Li Mi and Zhai Rang, who were frustrated in sending troops, also returned to the self-military flag formation with livid faces. Pei Xingyan came up to plead guilty, but Li Mi didn't care about it. He cupped his hands and said: "Duke Wei, Duke Dongjun, I'm overjoyed. The scouts came to report just now. Behind the phalanx of the officers and soldiers, there is a line of officers and troops fighting under the banner of the Invincible Battalion."
"Invincible camp?" Li Mi and Zhai Rang's joy was no small matter, and they hurriedly followed Pei Renji's instructions to observe the formation of the Sui army. The military flag, but also know the approximate location of the famous Sui army. Feeling secretly happy, Li Mi and Zhai Rang had a quick discussion, and then immediately dispatched troops and generals, arranged for an army to attack, and took the initiative to attack the Sui army.
With the sound of war drums, the formal contest began. Three bandit infantry with a strength of about 1,000 soldiers attacked in three directions. One way went straight to the front of the Sui army, and two ways went to outflank the two wings of the Sui army's phalanx. Waiting, first use the bow and crossbow to suppress the enemy's charge speed, and then meet the enemy with knives and guns, and start a battle with the bandit army.
The result of the battle was a disastrous defeat for the rebel army. The Mo Dao soldiers of the Sui army led by Kan Leng were well-organized and well-coordinated. The rebel infantry who launched an attack from the front wanted to rush to a position where they could fight hand-to-hand, not to mention crushing them. It's all as difficult as climbing the sky, but the Sui army's big Mo Dao is ups and downs, slashing straight and horizontally, killing the bandit soldiers who are rushing towards them like ghosts and wolves, and the corpses are scattered all over the field, no matter how the bandit superintendent urges them to force them However, the frontal charge of the bandit army was quickly defeated.
The situation on the right wing in the south is also good, because the terrain in the south is open, suitable for the army to assemble and rotate, and the pressure is the greatest. Chen Yingliang arranged for Luo Shixin and He Yanyu to sit in this position. The elite Qi County under their command not only effectively resisted the enemy's charge , and continued to support the small phalanx of the friendly army, crushing the bandit soldiers who broke into the gap between the Sui army phalanx.
The situation on the left wing in the north is a little bit worse. Although the generals Niu Jinda and He Lanyi sitting here tried their best to resist, the Sui Army of the Eastern Capital under their command was not elite enough after all. The enemy's ineffective charge gave the bandits a chance to fight hand-to-hand. But fortunately, Chen Yingliang had already considered this before, and let the Sui army in the Eastern Capital be responsible for the northern battlefield. This position has many hills and rough terrain, which is not conducive to the assembly of a large number of troops, and it is not conducive to the cavalry charge. In the weak point, it is still difficult for the Zhai Li coalition forces to invest heavily in this area and fully grasp the local advantage.
Li Mi refused to let go of any chance to defeat Chen Sangliang, and found that the Sui Army's northern front was weak. Li Mi immediately ordered to increase the number of troops on the northern front, trying to pressurize the Sui Army's northern front as much as possible, and hit the morale of the Sui Army. Morale also restrained the elite reserves of the Sui Army. Seeing Li Mi's arrangement, Pei Renji next to him hurriedly reminded: "Wei Gong, the time has passed and the sun is gradually turning into the sky. If we don't step up the pressure on the officers and soldiers, and delay it any longer, the direction of the sun will not be good for us."
Looking up at the cloudless sky, Li Mi hesitated for a moment, then turned to Zhai Rang and said, "Mr. Dongjun, General Pei is right. Although the frontal defense of the officers and soldiers is the strongest, it will be beneficial for us if we don't seize the light." This is the last chance for us to gain the upper hand in the front, and if we delay, our front will be too disadvantageous."
Zhai Rang understood what Li Mi meant, and looked up at the scorching sun in the sky. He knew that if he continued to waste time, once the sun turned to the west, even if the self-army launched a strong attack from the front, it would inevitably be disturbed by the glare of the sun. Fang is very unfavorable. So after gritting his teeth, Zhai Rang ordered: "Pei Renji, I will give you two thousand elite soldiers to attack the front of the officers and soldiers."
Pei Renji promised to follow the order immediately, and the momentum of the elite soldiers' attack was also extraordinary. The two thousand Wagang elites who had undergone countless actual combat experiences were neatly formed, and they acted in unison. Two rows of long shields were set up, combined with throwing spears and spears, advancing like a wall, before the soldiers and horses arrived, the cold and murderous aura rushed towards the face. In order to help build momentum for the two thousand Wagang elites, Li Mi also drew three thousand infantry from his command to step forward and follow them.
At the same time, Chen Sangliang also said to his distant cousin Pei Xingfang who participated in the battle for the first time: "Xingfang, do you know why Zhai and Li's bandits stepped up their attack on us? Because of the light, the sun shines from east to west at this time." , it is beneficial for the bandits to attack us, but in the afternoon, the sun's rays will be beneficial to us, so the bandits seized the time to engage in elite combat, which is the most correct way."
Pei Xingfang nodded, thanked his cousin Yuanfang for his advice, and said: "Brother, this bandit army is very powerful, and our famous general uncle is in command, what should we do?"
"It can only be hard-topped. By arranging this square formation, I am voluntarily giving up the right to maneuver. At present, I can only let Kan Leng hard-top." Chen Sangliang shrugged his shoulders, and then said: "But it's okay, our Uncle's so-called famous generals are very watery, and Kan Leng can stand up to him."
According to Chen Sangliang's words, Kan Leng did stand up to Pei Renji, but it was also very difficult. Relying on the cover of his long shield, he rushed to the front of the Sui Army's Modao team. Pei Renji yelled, and the Wagang soldiers immediately threw three A round of javelins, thrown through the air, flew out in an arc, and fell into the Sui army formation along a parabola. Many Sui army Mo Dao fell to the ground with guns in their hands. Near the army, some Wagang soldiers still burrowed into the space exposed after the Sui Army's Mo Dao soldiers fell to the ground like fish and loaches. Many soldiers of the Sui Army were chopped down and stabbed to death by the short weapons of the Wagang Army.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Kan Leng hurriedly led the army forward to catch the Wagang soldiers, and then retreated and regrouped with the former army. The army entangled and fought, and the Wagang army, which was fighting against the light, had a slight upper hand and kept squeezing to seize space. Kan Leng was forced to give up fighting in formation and led the army to fight with the Wagang elite. The number of casualties also rose rapidly. The infantry of Li Mi's army also seized the opportunity to attack the other small phalanxes of the Sui army.
To the great joy of Li Mi, Zhai Rang and others, in order to reverse the passive situation, Chen Sangliang immediately invested a group of reserve teams to help Kan Leng reorganize his formation and regain space. Seeing this situation, Li Mi immediately strengthened his support The Sui army's two-wing attack ignored the strong combat effectiveness of the Sui army's southern line, and ordered Yang Jishan, who was on the left wing of the Sui army, to lead the right wing to break away from the main formation and detour to the open south to launch a strong attack. Although Luo Shixin and He Yanyu blocked Yang Jishan's strong attack, they also Being entangled by Yang Jishan's strength, it was difficult to withdraw to reinforce other battlefields.
The ensuing battle was cruel and boring. The Wagang Army, which was superior in strength, attacked and attacked again, while the weak Sui Army resisted, resisted and resisted. The soldiers of the two armies who were killed and covered in blood can be seen everywhere. The reserve team led by Brother Liu Heita kept attacking everywhere to make up for the omissions, fighting fiercely with the bandit soldiers who entered the Sui army's formation. As a result, although Zhai and Li's allied forces had a certain upper hand, they were still unable to break through Chen Sangliang's tortoise square formation. The Sui cavalry led by Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin still stood still in the formation, and the Baoguo army had been hiding behind the other cavalry. movement.
Li Mi knew the reason why Chen Sangliang refused to send out the cavalry. It was nothing more than waiting for the Zhai and Li allied forces to show their weaknesses after a long battle, and then launch an assault. At that time, the light would definitely turn in favor of the Sui army. Li Mi was not afraid of this, and just as the sun was in the center, Li Mi called Shan Xiongxin who was leading the cavalry, and told him: "There is a position behind the official army phalanx with the banner of the Invincible Battalion. You lead the cavalry back to the back of the officers and soldiers, charge there, and after you succeed, immediately attack the officers and soldiers' banners, understand?"
"Understood!" Shan Xiongxin nodded vigorously.
At this time, Chen Sangliang also followed Li Mi's will and took a stupid move. He actually ordered the Baoguo army to step forward, passed Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin's two armies, and protruded to the front of the cavalry. Li Lianjun's frontal posture. Seeing this scene, both Li Mi and Shan Xiongxin were overjoyed. Li Mi patted Shan Xiong and said, "General Shan, this is a god-given opportunity, it's up to you!"
"Duke Wei, don't worry, if you don't take the head of the dog official Chen Yingliang, you will never withdraw!" Shan Xiongxin agreed loudly.
After all, Shan Xiongxin cupped his hands and immediately rushed down to organize the cavalry to attack. Li Mi turned to Zhai Rang and said loudly: "Mr. Dongjun, we must strengthen the frontal attack on the officers and troops and reduce the charge space of the officers and cavalry. Also buy time for Shan Brothers."
Glancing at the Sui army's battlefield in the distance where fierce battles were raging, Zhai Rang drew out his sword and said viciously, "This time, I will lead the troops myself!"