Jiuxi

Chapter 566 [Chaotianque] (XI)

After more than half an hour of fierce fighting, the Xiashan army verified one thing: the Qi army evenly dispersed its elite main forces throughout the several-mile-long battle line, thus ensuring that no point could be easily broken through by the Xiashan army.

This is also the most common situation in contemporary wars, with elite troops lined up in the front to lengthen the enemy front, while ordinary soldiers follow behind to increase the thickness of the formation.

Use elite troops to directly defeat the enemy, or surround and intercept them from both wings. After achieving a decisive victory, ordinary soldiers in the rear will complete the cleanup of the battlefield.

When the Fangcheng Army infantrymen led by Shu Bulie arrived at the front battlefield, what awaited them was a fierce counterattack by the Qi army.

Under the joint attack of the three elite troops of Jingzhou, the right wing of the Fangcheng Army soon became shaky.

On the other side of the battle line, although the Huaizhou Zhenbei Army was also pressing forward, they appeared to be very restrained and did not give up their defensive stance.

At this point, the Qi army's troop deployment began to take shape.

Lu Chen deployed heavy troops on the left wing, including several elite troops from the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office, while there was only one Zhenbei Army on the right wing, in order to confuse the enemy.

The moment Qing Yugong decided to take the initiative to rotate, Lu Chen immediately seized the opportunity and launched a counterattack before the Fangcheng Army had yet to gain a foothold. The three elite troops of Jingzhou on the left wing caught the Fangcheng Army off guard.

In short, under the premise that the two sides had similar military strength, the Da Qi army was strong on the left and weak on the right, using a small number of elite troops to withstand the pressure on the weak side, and gathering heavy troops on the other side to create the enemy's weaknesses.

Then, from point to surface, we continuously expand our own advantages, divide and surround the enemy and defeat them one by one, thus creating a situation where we have more people against fewer people locally.

"Is this what you call the slash tactic?"

Xiao Wangzhi stood on the lookout car, his eyes filled with interest.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, break through from the sideline and then complete the roll attack."

“It’s risky, but the rewards are not small.”

After observing for a moment, Xiao Wangzhi gave his own evaluation.

The oblique tactic is not complicated to talk about. The key lies in two prerequisites. The first is that the enemy is not mentally prepared for it, and the second is that the weak side can withstand the pressure exerted by the enemy.

Specifically on today's battlefield, the weak side of the Qi army is the Huaizhou Zhenbei Army on the right wing. If they cannot stop the Xiashan army in the fight and the other side seizes the opportunity to break through the front line, the emptiness in the rear will be discovered immediately. Then, as long as the commander of the Jing army is not blind, he will definitely launch a fierce attack along this gap.

By that time the Qi army will be in disarray.

This is why Lu Chen entrusted the important task to Pei Sui and the Zhenbei Army.

He firmly believed that the Tiger Guards led by Xiao Wangzhi could withstand the pressure and hold their positions without support from the rear.

Another point is that he used confusing means arranged in advance to prevent Qing Yugong from seeing through the details of the Qi army's formation, which made it impossible for the Jing army to formulate targeted strategies.

Only by taking both approaches can we create the current good situation.

Shu Bulie obviously did not expect that the right wing would be on the verge of collapse just after he led his troops up. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely.

Just when he was about to send someone to the central army for help, half of the prison troops who were supposed to be in the standby area came running quickly and stood behind the right wing of the defense army.

At the same time, Qing Yugong's order also reached his ears.

"Steady retreat across the board!"

Shu Bulie calmed down and no longer worried that the right wing would be quickly breached. He followed Qing Yugong's orders and began to pull back the front line.

The offensive and defensive situation was reversed, because of the sudden force of the Qi army, the Jing army switched from offense to defense.

However, compared with the previous stable defense of Qi army, the defense line of Jing army was shaken frequently at this moment.

The root of the problem lies in the right wing of the Fangcheng Army.

Although Qing Yugong's reaction was fast enough and the prison troops rushed forward very quickly, at the moment they rushed forward, the three elite troops of Jingzhou had already worked together to break through the defense line of the Fangcheng Army's right wing, and then continued to rush towards the prison troops.

The momentum is like a rainbow.

Morale is a very mysterious thing. It cannot be seen or touched, but it can actually determine the combat effectiveness of an army.

In the previous stalemate phase, the morale of the two armies was almost equal, and the Jing army was even slightly better. After all, they were on the offensive and naturally took the initiative.

But when the three Jingzhou troops completed the orders issued by Lu Chen, their morale was instantly boosted to the peak, with an invincible and unstoppable momentum.

Not to mention that Qiu Jixun, Zhang Zhan and Xu Gui were all brave generals trained by Li Tianrun. Especially Xu Gui, who led the Anping Army to charge forward, at this moment he once again showed his fierce style of daring to risk his life. He danced his spear like a dragon, and the murderous aura rose to the sky.

Under the flag of the Jing army, Qing Yugong had a solemn expression, and the Fourth Prince, who was standing beside him, pursed his lips.

Although he had no experience in leading troops independently, he could see that the situation on his side was worrying at this moment.

If the enemy continues to destroy the prison troops' formation, we will probably fall into defeat.

The Xiashan army that had retreated earlier had no time to rest. After receiving Qing Yugong's order, Hesheli immediately led his troops around to the back of the prison army.

As Shu Bulie was retreating to the front line at the same time, the Jing army's formation as a whole showed a trend of contraction, like a ball of cotton wool that was constantly being squeezed, and the width of the formation became narrower and narrower.

"Actively create a weak side, gather heavy troops on the other side, and seize the opportunity of our army's rotation to launch a strong attack. This extremely risky style of play is very sharp, and the grasp of timing is also very accurate." Qing Yugong said in a calm tone, which surprised the Fourth Prince.

He turned around and asked, "Your Majesty, this doesn't seem like Xiao Wangzhi's style."

Qing Yugong nodded and said, "It doesn't look like it. Your Highness, whose hand do you think it is?"

The Fourth Prince's mind raced, and the achievements of the Qi army in the past few years emerged in his mind. He couldn't help but mutter, "Lu Chen?"

Qing Yugong said: "It should be him."

Looking closely at Lu Chen's journey from rising to prominence to his current high position, he took risks in almost every battle, such as taking the initiative to attack outside the city during the Battle of Guangling, and launching a surprise attack on Heluo during the Northern Expedition. These are both examples of high risks but also high rewards.

The Fourth Prince could not help but remain silent.

Qing Yugong said quietly, "This is my mistake. I had previously speculated whether the Qi army would let the young man Lu Chen be the commander-in-chief. After thinking about it, I felt that it was unlikely. After all, this battle is too important for Southern Qi. If our army loses, at most we will just give up Yongqiu City. If the Qi army loses, it will be difficult for the entire Jiangbei land to gain a foothold. They have to be cautious. Although Li Tianrun's body can't support it, Xiao Wangzhi has no concerns in this regard. His qualifications and status are more suitable for the position of commander-in-chief."

He sighed softly.

The Fourth Prince couldn't help but feel sympathetic when he thought of the Southern Court Marshal's recent situation.

The people in the south are united. The Emperor of Qi is planning and setting up a trap despite his dying life. Li Tianrun drags his sick body to offer himself as bait. Xiao Wangzhi abdicates for the sake of the overall situation. Lu Chen personally leads the army to charge despite the arrows and stones. The border troops are all fighting bravely, and the people in the rear are doing their best to support the front line.

However, his father repeatedly pressured Qing Yugong, attacks on Qing Yugong were common in the court, and the generals in the army also had their own intentions.

Comparing the two, it is not easy for Qing Yugong to achieve what he has now.

Thinking of this, the Fourth Prince whispered in a consoling voice: "Your Highness, this is not your problem. Although I am a lowly person with little influence, if someone uses this matter to impeach you in the future, I will definitely speak up for you!"

Obviously, he was prepared for the Jing army to be defeated in this battle.

Qing Yugong turned his head and looked at him, his face somewhat touched, and said slowly: "Your Highness, the war is not over yet."

He then issued several military orders.

On the battle line, the Qi army's offensive became more and more fierce, the Jing army's infantry kept retreating, and the overall formation had become extremely compact.

When Xia Shan's army also came forward, they finally managed to stop the advance of Qi's army.

Generally speaking, the Qi army now has the upper hand and needs a more intense fire.

Lu Chen looked towards the Beijing camp position in the west.

This was the fire he had prepared from the very beginning. As long as the three Jingzhou troops broke through the situation, Liu Shouguang would lead the soldiers of the Beijing camp to follow up and completely disrupt the formation of the Jing army.

Just as he was about to issue the order, Xiao Wangzhi suddenly said, "Wait a minute."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Uncle Xiao, please speak."

Xiao Wangzhi said: "The Beijing camp should not move for the time being."

This is a slightly odd suggestion.

Xiao Wangzhi was never the type to hesitate. Since he had decided to hand over the command to Lu Chen, he would not interfere on the battlefield. In fact, he did so. All the orders of the Qi army today came from Lu Chen, and he did not interrupt from beginning to end.

Facing Lu Chen's still calm gaze, Xiao Wangzhi explained: "Qing Yugong's ability to adjust is very strong, and he is not at his wit's end yet."

If the Beijing camp did not move, it would be difficult for the Qi army to turn its advantage into victory. However, Lu Chen did not object to Xiao Wangzhi's opinion, because he knew that as Xiao Wangzhi said, Qing Yugong would not admit defeat.

Sure enough, there was smoke billowing ahead and the Jing army cavalry set out again.

This time it was no longer the exploratory harassment that Wulinda had done before.

The two cavalry units of the Jing army advanced at the same time. Wulinda led the cavalry of the Changsheng army and galloped from the northeast of the battlefield, while Pucha led the cavalry of the Zhongyi army and quickly attacked along the southwest of the battlefield.

Lu Chen only took a few quick glances and determined their destination.

These two Jing army cavalry units were obviously planning to go around to the rear of the Qi army's formation!

Lu Chen responded immediately. Li Bingxue led the Feiyu Army to meet the cavalry of the Zhongyi Army, while Li Chengen and Ye Jitong led the Dingbei Army to meet the cavalry of the Changsheng Army.

The next moment, something unexpected happened again!

On the noisy battlefield, the infantry of both armies were engaged in a brutal fight, while tens of thousands of cavalry from both armies were fighting each other on the periphery.

Following Qing Yugong's orders, Pucha and Wulinda intended to launch a charge from the rear of the Qi army's formation, but the Qi cavalry would naturally not let them do so.

At this moment, two more cavalry units appeared from the side and rear of Jing's army formation. They were not going to support Pucha and Wulinda.

The direction of advance of these two Jing army cavalry units, each with three to four thousand people, gradually became clear: they were the two flanks of the Qi army's infantry formation!

In the observation car, Lu Chen's expression changed slightly.

(End of this chapter)