Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 374 Micro-management, it's all about micro-management.

The great battle is about to begin on the battlefield of Luoyang.

At the foot of Mangshan Mountain, beside the ancient road, the armies of both sides marched to the battlefield.

The army of hundreds of thousands brought by Erzhu clan was arranged in twelve large formations of ten thousand men each. Cavalrymen passed between the formations from time to time. Under the command of Erzhu Shilong and others, they slowly advanced into the battlefield.

These 180,000 soldiers were mostly Xianbei soldiers, and it can be said that they were the military elite under the old Northern Wei system.

When the Tuoba clan first rose to power, their army consisted entirely of cavalry. However, to defend half of the country, cavalry alone was not enough; a large number of infantry were also needed.

These Xianbei soldiers came from Hebei, Henan, Shandong and other places. Some were dissatisfied with Li Shuang's actions in Guanzhong and Hebei, some were won over by the Erzhu clan, and some were enemies of Li Shuang. Now they all gathered under the command of the Erzhu clan.

Fight for the glory of the Xianbei!

Tens of thousands of people marched in formation, their banners obscuring the sun; the sound of their resounding footsteps alone could be heard for miles.

Erzhu Shilong, mounted on his horse, led a group of generals and officers to the front of the battle. At this moment, he was completely free of the anxiety and uncertainty he had felt not long ago.

It can be said that the gathering of tens of thousands of people gave Erzhu Shilong immense power.

Before the great battle even began, Erzhu Shilong brandished his long sword, reigning supreme over his war like a commander.

Erzhu Shilong had spread many rumors before, but these rumors were indeed useful. After hearing these rumors, the Xianbei soldiers became even more determined to fight.

Li Shuang blocked all the passages from Luoyang to the outside world, forcing Erzhu Shilong to fight back.

Because this is the source of all contradictions.

With Li Shuang defeated, the enemies in other directions naturally collapsed without a fight.

Conversely, attacking enemies in other directions and retaking strategic locations one by one would only complicate the situation.

When Li Shuang accumulates his strength and defeats them in one fell swoop, it will be bad news for the Erzhu clan.

Most importantly, Erzhu Shilong was not confident that, given the current complex situation, he could appease the various factions under his command and wage a protracted war against Li Shuang.

For Erzhu Shilong, a swift and decisive victory was the best option.

Erzhu Shilong drew his sword and rode his horse around in front of the formation.

Before the assembled officers and generals, Erzhu Shilong proclaimed loudly:
"For hundreds of years, the Xianbei warriors have roamed freely across the north and south, invincible in their path. This battle is not only about the survival of our Erzhu clan, but also about the survival of the nation. If we are defeated, the flame that has burned for a thousand years between the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River will be extinguished. The triumph of the Han and the barbarians is not a blessing for the nation!"

As Erzhu Shilong's words at the front of the battle spread, the fighting spirit of the soldiers in the entire formation was ignited.

Banners and spears waved up and down, like waves rolling within the formation.

A deafening roar pierced the clouds and shook the heavens and earth.

This display of power not only greatly inspired the Erzhu clan, but also deeply shocked the generals from other clans who were subordinate to the Erzhu clan.

People like Hebasheng and Husichun formed small square formations with their own troops, mostly soldiers from the Six Garrisons, right next to these twelve large formations of ten thousand men each.

Now, they too are swept up in this momentum, deeply moved and shaken.

Northerners and Luoyang people have many conflicts, but they have one thing in common: they were both once pillars of the Northern Wei dynasty.

Whether it was the Erzhu clan or anyone else, after entering Luoyang, they treated the Xianbei soldiers from all the prefectures and counties the same.

But Li Shuang is different!
Erzhu Shilong created a common enemy for them.

The Prince of Qin, residing in Guanzhong, intended to seize Luoyang and overthrow the Northern Wei dynasty!
This is their common enemy!
Erzhu Shilong returned to the ranks of the officers and soldiers, full of vigor, and said:
"I have received your strategies; you must obey my orders and defeat the enemy to achieve merit!"

"promise!"

Erzhu Shilong waved his hand, dismissing Hebasheng, Husichun, and other generals, leaving only Erzhu Zhao behind.

"Tumo, we outnumber you and have the advantage, but we only have one sharp blade."

Erzhu Zhao naturally understood what Erzhu Shilong meant.

This crucial sword was left behind by Erzhu Rong as part of the Jinyang armored cavalry.

In the past two years, the Erzhu clan has been fighting in the south and north, seemingly annihilating whoever they catch, but the losses have also been enormous.

Erzhu Rong's original force of over ten thousand armored cavalry has dwindled to only four or five thousand.

Erzhu Shilong selected three thousand cavalrymen and entrusted them all to Erzhu Zhao, intending for him to play a decisive role at crucial moments.

"I understand, in this battle, I must defeat Ohno Sou!"

Erzhu Zhao's eyes burned with hatred and the flames of revenge, and his entire body was filled with murderous intent.

After hearing this, Erzhu Shilong felt more confident and said:
"Go back to the camp!"

Compared to the spirited and commanding Erzhu Shilong, Erzhu Zhao's mind was much simpler.

revenge!

That's all!
Erzhu Zhao rode back to the ranks not far from Erzhu Shilong's main camp, where the three thousand Jinyang armored cavalry were located.

These three thousand armored cavalrymen are all former Qihu soldiers, and many of them have deeply lined faces.

Over the past two years, these Jinyang cavalrymen have followed several generals of the Erzhu clan in campaigns to the south and north, suppressing numerous rebellions.

The amount of money they acquired, the number of women they slept with, the dangers they faced, and the number of brothers they lost in battle are all countless.

Erzhu Zhao knew that they were no longer the same as the Jinyang cavalry that had once dominated the world.

They lost their homes, had no purpose in fighting, and could not see the end of the war. They had long been tempted by money and beauty, and had become pure killing machines.

Erzhu Zhao knew that a warrior without honor was no different from a butcher. And Erzhu Zhao also believed that he could help them regain their honor.

As long as we defeat Li Shuang, we can retake Taiyuan.

Then they can get back what they have lost.

Erzhu Zhao put on his mask, and through the gaps in the mask, he looked into the distance at the enemy ranks slowly coming into view, and said:

"Ohno Sou, when I no longer need to be distracted by power struggles and am simply a warrior charging into battle, you will pay the price for your contempt!"

……

The battlefield was transformed once again with the arrival of Li Shuang's army.

The soldiers of Guanzhong Prefecture, carrying shields, marched forward and were arranged in five groups: front, back, left, right, and center.

Li Shuang positioned himself in the center, leading a force of nearly 30,000 men, with over a thousand heavily armored cavalry and three thousand heavy infantry at the core.

The remaining four formations were commanded by Yang Kan, Xue Guyan, Pei Qingsun, and Wei Xiaokuan, respectively.

Unlike the imposing Erzhu Shilong, Li Shuang's battle formation was more compact and orderly, with infantry, archers, and cavalry working together in each formation, unlike Erzhu Shilong's side where infantry and cavalry were clearly separated.

Li Shuang's formation surprised the opposing team.

Erzhu Shilong thought Li Shuang would use the old trick: using infantry as a shield to hold them off, and then using cavalry as a weapon to flank and overwhelm them.

But Li Shuang at this time was different from his usual style. He didn't seem like a general charging into battle, but rather a commander-in-chief directing a large-scale operation.

Erzhu Shilong didn't take it seriously and didn't even bother to say a few words in front of the enemy lines.

In fact, at this point, saying anything more would be a waste of time.

Only one sentence truly expressed Erzhu Shilong's feelings.

Prepare to die, Ohno Sou!
As Erzhu Shilong gave the order to attack, their six 10,000-strong formations, led by Erzhu Dulu, began their assault.

Commanding such a large army was quite difficult, not only for Erzhu Shilong, but for all the members of the Erzhu clan.

For them, their experience in fighting with such a large army was limited to their battle against Ge Rong. However, all their experience with large-scale army operations was negative.

With an army of 200,000, moving slowly and difficult to coordinate, if the cavalry were to outflank them and break their main force, the remaining troops would not only fail to provide assistance but would instead become the fuse for collapse.

But now, the descendants of the Erzhu clan are standing in the same position that Ge Rong once held.

They are not mindless, at least not militarily.

The descendants of Erzhu summarized Ge Rong's failures and made improvements.

Whether it's a small-scale raid or a large-scale campaign, some principles remain the same.

That means choosing the sharpest striker!

Erzhu Shilong remained in Luoyang and did not launch an attack on Li Shuang, but this did not mean he was doing nothing and waiting to die. On the contrary, Erzhu Shilong knew that if he was going to fight, he had to do everything in his power.

Therefore, although he acted perversely, he put a lot of effort into military development.

The officers and soldiers in these six formations of ten thousand men were all northerners loyal to the Erzhu clan.

The soldiers under their command were also elite men who harbored considerable hatred towards Li Shuang.

Accompanying the six 10,000-person square formations were a large number of light cavalry on the flanks.

Once Erzhudulü, as the commander at the front, issued the order to attack, he became somewhat uncontrollable.

Those light cavalrymen were still accustomed to their old combat methods: roaming, harassing, and luring, using their movements to disrupt the enemy's formation.

The tactics of pure cavalry are not compatible with those of infantry.

It could even be said that there was no cooperation whatsoever.

After a brief harassment, aside from wasting the dozen or so arrows they carried, the light cavalry did not cause any damage, nor did they disrupt the enemy's formation in the slightest.

Left with no other choice, they withdrew under the command of Erzhudulu.

After advancing a certain distance, the six 10,000-strong units began their attack on Li Shuang's formation.

These 60,000 men, more than all of Li Shuang's troops, transformed into six sharp arrows at Erzhudulü's call to attack, charging towards Li Shuang's main force from all directions.

The detachments led by Yang Kan and others each consisted of only five thousand men. Although they were closely connected with the main formation, their relationship was not entirely seamless.

These 60,000 soldiers infiltrated through the gaps between the various divisions, intending to break through Li Shuang's main formation in one fell swoop and capture or kill him.

Unlike the four square formations, Li Shuang's main force of nearly 30,000 men was arranged in a circular formation.

Despite attacks from all sides, it remained unmoved.

The armor coverage of Li Shuang's troops was a level higher than that of the soldiers in the Zhu clan's army.

The formation, resembling a tortoise shell, posed an exceptionally difficult challenge for the 60,000 Xianbei soldiers, who found it impossible to break through.

As the attack progressed, Erzhudulu gradually realized that something was wrong.

Because he lost control of the six 10,000-person formations.

More precisely, his messengers could no longer find the generals of the six 10,000-strong formation.

These six formations, each with ten thousand men, had initially been clearly defined, but now they were completely mixed together, and their attacks had lost all order.

However, Li Shuang's formation remained clearly defined, with square and round shapes.

Erzhudulu sensed something was wrong and wanted them to withdraw, but the order had no effect.

Erzhu Shilong, who was behind, also noticed something was wrong.

He saw that the 60,000 troops on the periphery had begun to scatter.

Erzhu Shilong immediately ordered reinforcements and transferred three 10,000-man formations to Erzhu Dulu.

The arrival of reinforcements initially pleased Erzhu Dulu, but the words of Erzhu Shilong brought by the reinforcements caused Erzhu Dulu to frown.

"His Majesty said that to find the weakness in Ōno So's army formation, we must first break through one of his detachments and destroy Ōno So's morale. In this way, defeating the enemy will be easy!"

Erzhudulu looked at the battlefield, where it was now impossible to distinguish friend from foe. With so many people mixed together, how could he possibly find an opportunity to break through the enemy's formations?

The idea was to send out light cavalry to harass the enemy, so that the arrows they fired were unsure whether they were hitting enemy troops or their own.

A short while later, Erzhu Shilong sent another message.

"The King says that Yang Kan's formation has a flaw, and we should exploit it to defeat the enemy!"

Erzhu Dulu had no choice. Although he didn't know how Erzhu Shilong had seen through Yang Kan's weakness, he could only follow military orders and transfer a large number of fresh troops to the direction of Yang Kan's division.

However, it would have been better not to adjust it at all; the adjustment caused problems instead.

A large number of Xianbei soldiers were already unable to hold on and were about to retreat when they encountered this fresh force. Those who wanted to advance could not advance, and those who wanted to retreat could not retreat.

In an instant, the formation was thrown into chaos.

Li Shuang, who was in the midst of the war, saw this opportunity and did not let it pass.

He opened a corner in his main force, and Hou Mochen Chong led a cavalry unit out from there, charging directly towards the area between Yang Kan's right flank and Xue Guyan's front flank.

This charge caused even greater chaos.

Upon seeing this, Yang Kan and Xue Guyan unleashed their troops in formation, creating a pincer movement.

Under the combined attack from three directions, more than 10,000 Xianbei soldiers were routed.

Consequently, the surrounding Xianbei soldiers also began to waver.

This rout gave Li Shuang an opportunity. Within the large formation, his cavalry moved about, expanding their gains and reaping the rewards.

Erzhu Shilong, standing in his own camp, watched with growing anxiety.

Just then, Erzhu Zhao gave a signal.

Clearly, Erzhu Zhao believed that the time to strike had come.

In Erzhu Zhao's view, it didn't really matter how many of their 180,000 soldiers died.

Only one thing is important!
Li Shuang!

If we take his head, then we've won.

While their own ranks were in disarray, Li Shuang's army, eager to reap the rewards of their victory, also began to fall into disarray.

Of Erzhu Rong's military strategies, Erzhu Zhao only learned one move.

Seize the opportunity and kill with one blow!

Now is the time to wage war.

Erzhu Shilong was also somewhat at a loss at this moment. After receiving Erzhu Zhao's signal, he made up his mind and gave the order to attack.

Erzhu Zhao received the order and no longer hesitated.

On this chaotic battlefield, Erzhu Zhao led the once-mighty Jinyang cavalry in a rallying cry!

"Ohno Sō, prepare to die!"

……

(End of this chapter)