Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3354: Changed Formation

  There was chaos in Cao's camp, but no one came out!

Cao Hong seemed to have made up his mind. He retreated and defended himself, and no matter how Fei Qian struggled, he remained unmoved.

  Are you really not tempted?

After the mutual struggle and consumption in the vanguard battle, Cao's army lost most of the control on the battlefield, but still firmly controlled the Anyi camp, and had the Zhongtiao Mountain camp as support in the rear. It was impossible for Fei Qian to lead a large force to bypass the front camp and attack the Cao army's rear line.

Fei Qian couldn't help but feel a little surprised when he saw that Cao's army didn't move at all, and didn't even show any intention of leaving the camp to form a battle array.

Was he frightened by the previous battle between the two armies involving Xu Chu?

Fei Qian climbed up to observe the battle formation today because he wanted to take a look at the Cao army's formation arrangement, but he didn't expect that the Cao army would not give him a chance.

Fighting a war without a formation is tantamount to hooliganism, and this is true throughout history.

In other words, Cao Jun is being a hooligan...

Even though Fei Qian had strengthened communication in the army and had introduced means to distinguish ranks in the military formation, in most cases, tactics still had to rely on formations. Due to the limitations of communication conditions, even the sound of drums and gongs could not be transmitted far away, and with the smoke and dust, flags and other things would naturally be difficult to identify. The messengers also had to rely on God's favor, otherwise they would die halfway through their run.

Therefore, the layout of the military formation is very important.

For ordinary soldiers, they only need to remember who is next to them and whether they should stand in a horizontal line, a diagonal line, or a vertical line. As for the attack and direction, it is controlled by the non-commissioned officers in the army. The non-commissioned officers in the army are generally only in charge of the team in front of them, and the entire formation is commanded by the general.

The further down you go, the easier it is to command; the further up you go, the more difficult it becomes to command.

After the real battle begins, it is not certain whether the commander can control every general.

As for the tactical essence of specific combat, it is actually just four words.

Use more to defeat less.

As for searching for the enemy, forwards, backbone, harassment on both wings, long-range output, outflanking and encirclement, etc., these tactics actually existed in the ancient times, during the time of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang. Otherwise, Chi You would not have howled in dissatisfaction, saying that Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were cowards and asked Chi You to fight him one-on-one if he dared...

It seems like a tactic that any fool can use, but whether such a tactic is used well or not depends on the general's control ability and the quality of the soldiers.

Fei Qian stared at the big banner on the high platform of Cao’s army camp, lost in thought.

The Cao army did not leave the camp to form a battle array, which meant that there was something that the Cao army did not want Fei Qian to see...

To put it simply, the formation of the array is, to some extent, a display of cards by both sides before the battle.

Whether to use the biggest weapon to dazzle the enemy or the smallest weapon to confuse the enemy is not certain. But no matter in ancient or modern times, at home and abroad, when it comes to the final stage of the battle, the losing side will always feel that they are always surrounded, outflanked, and pincered. Such a result must be the result of the formation confrontation and the pulling of the battle line before the final stage.

Setting up the formation is nothing, pulling the strings is the real skill.

As for the formation diagram and the like, it is half true and half false.

It is true that the formation diagrams, formations, and tactics do have certain effects. For example, they can allow the enemy troops that rush into the array to disperse at the left and right forks, and then they will naturally be attacked from multiple directions. After all, human eyes can only see the movements in front and cannot observe the surrounding situation 360 degrees. Once attacked by the enemy from the side, they can be easily killed.

Just like what Fei Qian is observing now in part of Cao’s camp.

"The Cao army camp is really well prepared to resist the cavalry." Fei Qian pointed at the Cao army camp in the distance and said, "Over there, the original terrain has almost changed..."

Cao's army used the gullies of the camps and earthen plateaus, as well as various artificially excavated or stacked fortifications, to some extent forming some special terrain.

Fei Qian also remembers the original topography of Anyi, but now, many places are different from his original memory.

"The earthen plateau at the entrance to the camp has been changed..." Fei Qian pointed in the direction of Cao's camp and said, "I remember there was a gentle slope before, but now the entire gentle slope has been dug up... We can only walk from both sides... This makes it easy to be dispersed... And I'm sure Cao's army has other arrangements in this area at the entrance of the camp..."

Xu Chu also agreed, "When the cavalry turns, they must slow down. If they really follow Cao's army's path, they will definitely suffer."

"So, now the Cao army wants us to go through the camp gate, or tell us not to go through the camp gate?" Fei Qian asked.

"This..." Xu Chu had a headache.

This is not a easy question to answer.

Fei Qian smiled, not meaning to force Xu Chu to answer, but Fei Qian needed Xu Chu to use his brain to think.

Although Cao Jun did not turn over the cards, some corners were revealed.

This is a transformation of Cao's army.

Just from a small area like the camp gate, it can be seen that Cao's army has now changed from horizontal defense to vertical depth, which will enhance Cao's army's ability to defend against assaults.

Faced with such a change, Fei Qian also needs to make certain adjustments and changes, otherwise he will be consumed in vain by Cao Cao's array in the camp.

Fei Qian turned his gaze to the wall of Cao’s army.

Logically speaking, after the camp at the foot of the slope was breached, the Cao army should have known that Fei Qian had artillery here, but it was not so easy to change the formation and respond in a different way, as the formation was closely related to the level of technology. People who had never seen artillery would find it difficult to construct a corresponding strategy to respond no matter how hard they imagined it.

Therefore, the direction of the camp wall should be a good breakthrough point.

However, Fei Qian suspected that Cao Cao might have made some arrangements near the village wall, because those who surrendered all told the same story. The commander and guard of Cao's army did not allow ordinary Cao soldiers to approach some areas near the village wall.

This is very doubtful.

Fei Qian must determine the direction of the attack. This is his duty, and it is also the reason why he specially went to the front of the battle today to check the terrain and Cao's camp with his own eyes.

In most battles, there is no way to make Fei Qian stand on a high ground like in the opening CG of Warcraft, holding an axe in his hand, oh, a sword is also fine, and then shouting "For the tribe, ahem, for the cavalry~"

Then a large number of younger brothers rushed forward and chopped the enemy into pieces.

Wake up!

After seeing this kind of scene too many times, some people will be brainwashed and think that all wars should be like this. However, the actual war is monotonous and cruel, and there is no gay passion or excitement at all...

Most of those who think war is spectacular are those who think they are God, looking down at a 45-degree angle. However, the perspective of ordinary soldiers is probably like the hanging rings that cannot be grabbed at subway stations in big cities during rush hours, the windows that cannot be reached when getting lunch at middle school, and the impassable highways during New Year holidays or long vacations.

people mountain, people sea.

  So even if you go to the cafeteria to get food, you need to queue up and use strategy, let alone ask your little brother to chop people?

Wars and battles must abide by the Basic Law.

Ignoring the Basic Law is just nonsense.

Fei Qian picked up the telescope and looked at Cao Ying carefully.

The layout inside Cao’s army camp was very well arranged.

It is not crowded and the front and back are staggered in a regular pattern.

The flags were arranged in an orderly manner. Looking at the flags, Fei Qian could tell that Cao's army did not send all the miscellaneous troops to the front, but mixed them in.

This not only ensures the advantage in numbers, but also ensures the toughness of the formation...

The tactical level of Cao's army's infantry is still quite good. After all, Shandong is a land dominated by infantry.

"Cao's army has deployed heavily armored infantry on both sides... There are bear flags... The Flying Tiger flag is still in the center... This is the opposite of what we are doing..." Fei Qian handed the telescope to Xu Chu, "Zhongkang, take a look."

The heavy infantry's tactics were to form dense square formations and use human flesh to form a thick shield wall to resist the impact of cavalry.

If it were in a relatively small area, the cavalry might not be able to defeat these heavy infantry. After all, in the Spring and Autumn Period, these heavy infantry in Shandong were resisting chariots.

Chariots are powerful, but they are the ultimate weapon for the rich and handsome. A country with hundreds of them is considered a big country, and their use environment is very limited. Cavalry is much more flexible, but no matter what, both chariots and cavalry will suffer a great loss when facing densely armed heavy infantry with long spears. If Cao's army deployed a group of such heavy infantry with long spears in the passage of the camp, then it would be wishful thinking to simply rely on cavalry to win.

"Can we use the Five Elements Thunder to charge forward?" Xu Chu replied, "But when using thunder, the distance will be too close, and we will suffer some damage..."

Fei Qian nodded, and then asked, "That's right. In the past few days, has Cao's army used crossbows?"

Xu Chu thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "I have seen catapults used, but I have never seen crossbows used."

Fei Qian pointed in the direction of the sentry towers in the camp, "They must be placed over there... Look at those sentry towers, from the outside to the inside, they are shaped like a bowl, with powerful crossbows on them, so they can shoot in all directions. Cao's baggage carts have never been pushed out, right?"

"Chariot formation?" Xu Chu took a breath.

"That's it." Fei Qian said with a smile, "This is really an iron wall... However, no matter how strict Cao Mengde's defenses were, he forgot one thing..."

"Huh?" Xu Chu was a little confused.

"I think..." Fei Qian smiled, "We need to change the formation we originally arranged..."

……

……

Fei Qian was observing the enemy situation in front of the formation. Cao Hong in Cao's army camp was also staring at the formation set up by Fei Qian.

Especially the position where Fei Qian was located on the high platform under the battle flag.

Cao Hong swallowed and resisted the temptation.

Although from a distance, one could only see pixelated figures swaying and pointing, and could not clearly see the changes in their expressions, Cao Hong seemed to be able to see Fei Qian's demeanor clearly. He laughed and deliberately shouted, "Now you know it's not easy to fight, right?"

Cao Hong's guards also laughed.

As the laughter spread, the expressions of the surrounding Cao army soldiers relaxed slightly and began to laugh along.

In fact, Cao Hong and the guards were a little nervous, but at the moment, the more nervous they were, the more relaxed they had to appear, so that other Cao's soldiers would not worry and be afraid.

Cao Cao had already begun to consider how to deal with the cavalry of the Hussars at a very early time. Now these defense systems and fortifications were used on a large scale in actual combat for the first time. Cao Hong could not be sure of the specific effects.

After all, people are alive.

Everything changes because people change.

War is no exception.

Cao's army has actually made a lot of big changes. Because Fei Qian led the cavalry to rise again, in Shandong, they naturally began to develop various tactics to restrain cavalry. Heavy cavalry is indeed very strong, but it is not completely impossible to restrain it. Especially after Fei Qian humiliated Xu County in Yuzhou with cavalry, all the generals and advisers of Cao's army were thinking about how to restrain cavalry. Gradually, an ecological chain of mutual restraint between arms appeared in Shandong.

At the same time, the evolution of Cao's army also promoted the gradual evolution of Fei Qian's cavalry.

The cavalrymen who originally held long horse lances in the Hussars began to change to long spears and swords, and changed from emphasizing impact to taking into account both impact and mobility. The simple lancer form began to gradually evolve towards the ultimate form of ancient cavalry that could harass and pull at a distance and break through in close combat.

The evolution of Fei Qian's cavalry once again pressured Cao's army to follow up, forcing Cao's army to start studying various tactical coordination, no longer relying on infantry to conquer the world, as can be seen from the long-range tactics used against Xu Chu. Infantry began to be combined with long-range weapons, with bows used to maintain range and firepower to deal with light armor, and crossbows used to deal with heavy armor. Add in crossbow carts and catapults, and a multi-level and multi-purpose firepower output structure was formed.

Perhaps after some time, both sides will evolve again...

Therefore, whether it was Fei Qian's cavalry or Cao Cao's Zhongling Zhonghu Army, they all changed with the changes in military technology and military equipment, and there was no specific tactical formation that could be separated from military technology and military equipment. First there was equipment, then technology, then tactics, and then formation.

Formation has always been a byproduct of tactics, not the other way around.

Before the two sides actually go to war, no one knows what the opponent's tactical deployment will be like, or how the reserve troops will be used. However, an excellent general will decide the tactics and strategies he should adopt based on the enemy's combat habits and troop deployment, as well as the battlefield reconnaissance before the war, and the battlefield situation after the confrontation begins.

The Hussars are strong, elite and fierce, but the only problem is that they are expensive, and because of the high cost, there are relatively few of them. Therefore, all of Fei Qian's tactics revolve around this feature. On the other hand, Cao's army has more troops, and the tactical characteristics of Cao's army are also different according to its own conditions.

  So what Cao Hong is considering now is whether the cavalry will attack the camp?

How will he attack?

  Should we use cavalry to attack the surroundings and look for a breakthrough?

Or should we use infantry to advance, like we did when we attacked the camp at the foot of the slope?

Cao Hong had already seen artillery in Tongguan.

Artillery is certainly powerful and can destroy everything in its path, but if you don't hit something, then there's nothing to worry about.

If you want to blow down the wall of the camp, then go ahead and do it.

The village wall is gone, but there is a mud wall. The mud wall is gone, but there is still a mud plateau!

  There are so many fortifications. Even if we leave them all to the cavalry artillery to bombard, how long will it take?

Cao Hong stared at Fei Qian in the distance, wanting to know how Fei Qian was going to attack the camp.

Because Cao Hong didn't believe that the formation Fei Qian was currently deploying was the offensive tactic Fei Qian was about to adopt.

This formation, which is similar to the traditional central breakthrough and the coordination of cavalry on both sides, looks like it is meant to lure Cao's army into attacking.

Placed in the center was not only an artillery camp, but also Fei Qian’s flag.

It's like one, no, two beauties posing in the center of the stage...

Come on, come on.

If Cao's army really rushed out excitedly, then the strong man holding a big stick next to them would jump out with a bang.

Cao Hong is not that stupid.

During combat, if the commander wants to quickly make the entire army respond in accordance with his intentions, then the content of these specific tactical arrangements is the core of the preset formation. How to implement the established tactical deployment with the cooperation of each unit is the essence of the formation. In other words, in addition to the specific layout of the military formation, the real core part is how to deploy the formation, how to dispatch troops, and how to use the advantages of manpower and weapons to restrain different opponents in various situations.

This is the secret of every outstanding general.

The same thing about formations and formation methods is the “formation”, but the difference is the “shape”, which is the “method”.

  Is Fei Qian a stupid opponent?

Obviously not, so Fei Qian must have some malicious intentions in putting up such a somewhat rigid formation. Unless Fei Qian wanted to use a pig-rushing tactic, this simple method of placing infantry in the middle and cavalry on both sides would be done by any experienced general. What else can be praised?

If you have a tactical formation for the army but no training on how to use it, it will be easy for the opponent to catch the weakness of the defense.

Fei Qian almost exposed his weakness in front of Cao Hong, so Cao Hong was very sure that this weakness was a trap.

The formations and tactics reflect the strategic intentions of the commander, and in many cases, in order to conceal their tactical intentions, the shrewd commanders often make the initial distribution of troops regular and balanced, and even have geometric symmetry. Just like the formation that Fei Qian had set up at the moment, if we don't consider the discontinuity of the earth plateau, which caused the formation to deviate slightly, then Fei Qian's entire formation would be symmetrical...

Cao Hong understood that the real meaning of Fei Qian's doing this was to confuse him and prevent him from guessing the overall tactical intentions of the Cavalry based on Fei Qian's deployment, while retaining the possibility of making adjustments to Cao's tactical deployment.

After all, there is a certain distance between the two main formations. As long as Cao's army moves, Fei Qian can deploy the reserve troops according to the development of the battle situation, execute his own tactical intentions, or divert a certain unit or the proportion of troops in a certain area to achieve certain strategic goals.

As for the correction and adjustment of this formation, the Hussars, which consist of a larger number of elite troops, undoubtedly have a greater advantage.

The formation is not set up, but is formed in the confrontation. It is adjusted and adopted according to the opponent's tactical deployment. It is not important what it looks like now, but what is important is how it looks like after the battle...

"General! Move! Move!"

While Cao Hong was thinking, he suddenly heard some commotion around him, and a guard was pointing at the cavalry formation in front of him and shouting.

Cao Hong looked closely and was stunned again. "What on earth is this cavalry going to do?"