On the evening of September 26, 957 AD, the fourth year of Xian De, Guo Shao saw Li Chongjin's troops.
Li Chongjin can't run away. Guo Shao looked back and said to the left and right. The generals laughed, and he said, rest for one night, and fight tomorrow morning. Li Chongjin can't run away even if he wants to. We walked 200 miles in the past two days, and Li Chongjin walked less than 50 miles. How can he run
At this time, two dark-skinned people, one old and one strong, with cloth wrapped around their heads, crawled up the mountain. Guo Shao gave Zhou Tong a look, and Zhou Tong took out a handful of copper coins and held them up. Guo Shao then asked: Are you locals
My father is from Xiakou, and so is my grandfather. The elders speak with a strong Hedong accent. Fortunately, although the accents in different parts of the north are different, they are much easier to understand than the southern dialects, and Guo Shao can understand almost everything.
The old man got the money and pointed to the river below the mountain: "That is the Fen River. The mountain opposite is called Qinwangling. The mountain where we are standing is called Xitou Mountain. There is a gap in the north, which was occupied by Li Chongjin's troops. The gap is open, and over there is Xiakou Town."
Zhou Tong asked: "You mean open and flat?"
The old man nodded hurriedly. It was winter now. The wind was strong at night, from the north. It would be best to hide in the south of the mountain.
Guo Shao asked in detail about the terrain of Xiakou Town where the man had lived.
The two civilians had nothing to say and were taken away. Zhou Tong immediately said: The Fen River winds eastward after passing the mountain. Although the terrain of Xiakou Town is wide, the flat land is on the north bank; the road on the south bank is narrow, unless you cross the mountain, you will have to squeeze on the road when you retreat.
He blocked this gap to prevent our army from deploying; he deployed himself in the open area in the north, not considering how to retreat, but to fight. Guo Shao smiled and said that Li Chongjin was still a veteran general on the battlefield, and his military skills were not bad.
Shi Yanchao snorted: No matter how you use your troops, a bunch of useless people under your command can't stop the iron cavalry.
Guo Shao echoed him and said: "General Shi's words reveal the secret. A war is a battle of strength. Unless you pin your hopes of victory on the opponent's stupid luck, the stronger one will win. That's why my Great Zhou has devoted all its national strength to the military and raised so many elite troops. If it's not for winning in battle, wouldn't it be more fun to share the money with everyone for fun?"
Everyone burst into laughter after hearing this. A strong warrior said happily: "It's good to share the money. If we just sit there, we will have wealth and glory. Why do we run to this deep mountain valley to eat bird eggs?"
Guo Shao stopped smiling and turned to Zhou Tongdao: "Tomorrow morning, General Zhou will be in charge of arranging the formation. This narrow area is less than a mile wide and cannot be deployed. Deploy the heavy infantry in the front to increase the density of the troops."
This kind of formation, which has almost no technical content, was sent to Zhou Tong just to give him the credit. Zhou Tong hurriedly clasped his fists and said: "I will obey your command."
One of the generals pointed to the opposite hill and said: Li Chongjin also has troops on the hill. Should we send troops to guard it
Guo Shao took a look and immediately said, "No need. If we can attack our center from the mountain, it will be a bit of a threat. But Li Chongjin is at a disadvantage, and it would be a death wish if he took the initiative to dive down. Besides, the road on this mountain is difficult to navigate, and it is impossible for a large force to move in an organized manner. Any movement will be slow. We still have time to temporarily organize a defense line on the mountainside."
After observing for a while, everyone found that Li Chongjin had built some fences on the mountain, which were arranged in a line, and it really looked like a defense. The enemy soldiers on the river beach corridor below the mountain could not be seen clearly, but some camps and flags could be seen in the distance, and a large area of dust was shrouded in the mountains.
Guo Shao and others could not get any closer as there were scouts and cavalry ahead and it was getting dark, so a small-scale conflict would be meaningless.
Back in the camp, each unit followed the guide's instructions and chose a campsite behind the mountain to set up camp. They also sent people to set up sentries and scouts, so there was no trouble for a while. After the sun went down, the night quickly fell. There were bonfires at the foot of the mountain, and the fire was bright. It was estimated that this mountainous area had not seen such a lively scene for several years.
After leaving the capital on September 12, Guo Shao actually didn't feel much for fourteen days. He just rode and walked all day long. Then he fought a battle. Being in the battle, he didn't feel that he had done anything earth-shattering, but you can imagine his achievements: running a thousand miles in half a month, defeating 60,000 to 70,000 people in a row. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to claim that he destroyed an army of 100,000. In the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao had less than 200,000 troops, so claiming 800,000 was nothing.
The two Li's army of 100,000 rebelled, but was destroyed in half a month. If this kind of power doesn't shock people both inside and outside, what will be the reaction of the world
The more Guo Shao thought about it, the more excited he became. Although he had acted cautiously the day before yesterday, he had actually been tempted by this outcome, so he was trying every possible means to send out troops continuously. He was looking forward to tomorrow's battle.
Guo Shao sat under a dead tree, without even a tent, quietly excited. Because the whole army traveled lightly, they brought few tents, and naturally did not bring the complex structure of the central army tent that required several vehicles to accommodate.
The soldiers first lit a fire on the ground to boil hot soup, and then chatted for a while after eating. Then they moved the fire away. At this time, the ground was already hot, so they spread the tung oil cloth and blankets wrapped in quilts on it; then they lifted the small tent onto the big bed. Then several people wrapped themselves in a big quilt, and more than 20 people lay in a small tent, crowded together, with no space in the tent except for the sleeping place; they lit a fire outside the tent to keep warm.
The conditions were extremely difficult, with people sleeping in the open air and eating food. However, as long as everyone believed they could win, this little hardship was nothing.
Fortunately, there is little rain in Hedong in late autumn and early winter. If it rains at this time, it will be even more miserable because there are too few tents to hide from the rain, and they are too low to make fire in the tents. If it rains, Guo Shao may not dare to send troops from Jinzhou in such a hurry.
As the main general, Guo Shao had it better. He didn't have to squeeze with others and lived alone in a tent with a quilt. But the tent was still very low, and he couldn't straighten his body inside. He could only lie down with his back bent.
Even so, Guo Shao still couldn't sleep. This feeling was very subtle, just like going to meet a beautiful woman tomorrow, with great anticipation and excitement, but also with anxiety in my heart. What if she doesn't like me? What if I get nervous and make a fool of myself? It would be a pity to miss her.
Of course, what Guo Shao is looking forward to now is Li Chongjin, but it is impossible for Li Chongjin to like him, so he has to force it.
How would Fu Jinzhan feel when she heard that she had defeated the two Lis in 15 days
Guo Shao fell asleep in a daze, filled with sweet dreams and nervousness.
The next morning, he woke up when he heard the horn and got up in a hurry. He stood in front of the low tent and saw a large group of infantrymen had already marched out of the camp, with the huge tiger square flag in front of them still unchanged from the previous flag.
The commander held his sword at an angle, and the flag bearer and drummers followed closely behind. The five hundred men marched slowly in an orderly formation to the beat of the drums. The heavy footsteps of the black armor seemed to conquer the mountains and rivers.
Guo Shao asked someone to help him put on his heavy armor, tied his waist ornaments around his body, and hung up his sword. Then he took out a toothbrush from his pocket and went into the tent to brush his teeth. He overslept this morning, but he was not panicking at all. He had to keep a calm mind. While washing his face, he said to the shadow inside: Every time I think of Fu Jinzhan, I will definitely win. Today will definitely go well.
Guo Shao ate three wheat cakes with cold water. Dong Er came up with a horse, and he jumped on it. After passing the fence, more than 200 cavalrymen were waiting in formation. Guo Shao waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"
Along the way, a group of infantry squares were marching. Guo Shao rode past from the flank and shouted: This battle will be won!
The soldiers looked back at Guo Shao and shouted: "We must win, we must win!" The shouts echoed in the mountains on the opposite bank and circled on the surface of the Fen River.
When Guo Shaoji arrived at the battlefield, he saw from a distance that Li Chongjin's troops, who were several hundred steps away, had set up fences and barricades in front of them, and a ditch was dug in front of them; this was a defensive situation. He looked up and saw that the mountains on the side were undulating, and the enemy soldiers had also set up fortifications and garrisons on them; however, the hillside was undulating and the enemy soldiers were far away, so a temporary ambush could not achieve a surprise victory.
Dong Er, you take a group of personal soldiers and abandon your horses to disperse and see if there are any signs of ambush or rocks in the mountains ahead of the enemy. Guo Shao pointed to the east and shouted, if you find anything unusual, wave the flag to report it.
Dong Er was ordered to respond by clasping his fists.
Guo Shao rode his horse around and inspected everywhere, only to see Zhou Tong leading his men in commanding them to set up the battle formation. The front-line camp had already been deployed, and the troops that arrived from behind were also setting up the battle formation.
He looked around and saw that the eight commanders on the front line were arranged in a pre-arranged order. The first one belonged to the Second Army of the Tiger Guards, all infantry. Each commander had 500 men, arranged in a rectangular formation of ten rows; each row had two teams of about 50 men. A commander was estimated to be less than 50 steps horizontally, and the infantry was deployed very densely; the eight commanders were deployed horizontally, on a front of about a mile, with a wide gap between the commanders.
Although Zhou Tong was a coach before, he was in charge of training a large number of personal soldiers in the Prince Wei's mansion. It seems that he is very knowledgeable about marching and arranging battle formations.
Li Chongjin's camp on the other side probably had similar considerations to Guo Shao's. The front was full of infantry because cavalry took up a lot of space. If they were too dense, they would have no chance to run. If they were too sparse, fewer people could be sent to the battlefield. In places with narrower terrain, the density of infantry was higher and their frontal combat effectiveness was stronger. In infantry combat, the denser the infantry, the more advantages it had, because the densely packed side might have two or three people fighting one.
Guo Shao became a new soldier guard in the Prince of Wei's palace at the age of thirteen. He had been a soldier for nine years and knew how to fight a war from experience. Later, he changed his personality and gradually became fond of reading. He read Sun Tzu's Art of War very well, but it was almost useless in actual combat. The military organization was completely different from that in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, so he could only comprehend the abstract ideas.
So far, he has not found any detailed military books in this era that teach people how to march and fight. Everything depends on experience and his own thinking and summary.