Song Dynasty

Chapter 224 Changhong Formation
Finally came the day of the decisive battle.

In the early morning, the morning glow dyed the eastern sky red.The magnificent light flowed on the armor of the soldiers, making the soldiers of the Sizhou Army leave the camp in an instant as if they had bathed in the furnace.Even the rising dust turned red and became hot.

Teams of Sizhou Army came from a distance, and they drove out from their banners. First, there were nearly 1000 white cavalry.Although there are not many of them, the formation is spread out and the speed is slow, it is simply a stroll in the courtyard.The huge front that can be emitted, and the high-flying smoke and dust make them like a rolling flood.

In an instant, the sound of rumbling horseshoes filled the entire wilderness.

These white riders from Sizhou are not only wearing iron armor, but even the horses are wearing a huge vest. The lance in their hands is strange in shape, surprisingly long and big.Not only is it wearing a disc gauntlet, but the spear head on the top is also very strange.There are triangular iron angles, hammer heads, and some are simply an iron point.Such a weapon has never been seen on the battlefield.

Behind the stepping army followed a group of cavalry, but there were not many people, only two to three hundred.But these cavalrymen are even more mighty. Everyone is tall and has a waist that is as strong as a bucket.They were all wearing fine armor, and the helmet on top was simply an iron pocket, and there were no decorations on the armor, and they were all painted with black paint.Their huge bodies, covered in steel, made them look like an iron tower.

Unlike the white army, this group of black armored cavalry was not equipped with that weird lance, and the weapons in their hands were full of tricks.However, they are all heavy weapons that ordinary people cannot use: big axe, iron mallet, big stick, mace, bone, pumpkin, iron whip...

God knows how much a man and armor weigh, and whether a war horse can bear it?

"So many cavalry, so well-equipped?" Zhang Yong couldn't help but gasped.

The Song Army was short of horses. When the Western Army conquered Liao Dynasty, the two cavalry formed by the whole country, Baishang and Shengjie, one light and one heavy, were only in the early [-]s.In the era of the left-behind division in Tokyo, Zongze guarded Kaifeng. Although he had a lot of horses under his command, he lacked qualified riders, and the idea of ​​forming a cavalry group was just a formality.

When the armies were fighting among themselves, Zhang Yong and Cao Cheng fled all the way south, and all their horses were consumed in previous wars.

He didn't expect to encounter such a large cavalry army in Jianghan. In an instant, the terrible memory of being defeated by Jurchen cavalry in Henan and Hebei came back to his mind.

A general replied: "Leader, this army is the essence of Wang Shen's elite, and its name is Beiwei Army. The commander of this army is Wang Shen's brother-in-law Yue Yunyue Yingxiang. It is said that this person is the most capable of fighting under Wang Shen. The warriors are very crazy when they go to the battlefield. What do you say, 'A man with a back can advance but never retreat.'”

"In this way, the Beiwei army is the main force of Wang Shen's first wave of strong attack." Zhang Yong's eyelids twitched when he saw the burly army of Beiwei over there.

The general said again: "That's not true, the general heard that Wang Shen's Beiwei army usually used strange soldiers. Last time in the battle with Kong Yanzhou, the Sizhou army first charged with cavalry and repeatedly harassed him. Kong Yanzhou didn't have cavalry, only They were passively beaten and surrounded for a day. Wang Shen's back Wei did not mobilize the whole army until morning and dusk. As for Yue Yun's troops, although they rode war horses, once they attacked, they would dismount and fight on foot. Poor Kong Juji though There are tens of thousands of elite soldiers, but they were defeated in an instant. Therefore, the general thought that Wang Shen would definitely use the same tactics this time, and we have to beware of his white cavalry."

Hearing his words, Zhang Yongjun's generals under the commander of the Chinese army all nodded.

One of them said again: "Leader, I heard that Wang Shen's tactics for the Sizhou Army can be summed up in one sentence."

Zhang Yong: "What are you talking about?"

The man replied: "The cavalry charge, and the infantry attack. After the cavalry charge, the infantry attack. The infantry attack, and the infantry attack, and then the cavalry charge."

Hearing what he said was funny, everyone burst out laughing.

Zhang Yong also couldn't help but laugh: "It would be great if fighting was so simple. The surnamed Wang is just bullying Kong Juji. He is bullying others with a small number of soldiers, and the troops have not been drilled, and the arms are not fully equipped. If he still uses this absurd and crude tactic to fight me today, he is not far from death. Don’t forget, our army has a large number of archers, crossbowmen, and many god-arm bows, which are just enough to restrain the king. Careful cavalry."

While speaking, he touched Zongze's array in his sleeve again, and looked behind him.

It was not dawn today, and all the soldiers and horses under his command were dispatched, and they were forming an array in the huge wilderness.

At this moment, 5 horses lined up in more than a dozen formations, ranging from the Sanlong River to the north, with a width of more than 400 feet. , majestic in the red glow of the morning.

Yes, the formation Zhang Yong listed today is exactly the Changhong formation taught to him by his grandfather Zong Zezong.

The main infantry regiment in the middle of the formation is divided into three divisions: the front school, the lieutenant colonel, and the rear school.

Each school has three formations, a total of nine formations, each formation has thousands of infantry closely together, forming an extremely thick formation.However, there is a distance of more than two hundred steps between the nine formations, which is convenient for the front formation to retreat after being defeated by the enemy, so as not to cause chaos after impacting the rear.

In other words, if the enemy wanted to break through head-on, they would have to endure the steady resistance of the nine rectangular formations and continue to suffer exhaustion until their morale and strength were exhausted.

As for the two wings of the nine formations, in order to ensure that they will not be outflanked by the enemy, they will invest in counterattacks at the right time.Generally speaking, a large number of light cavalry will be placed, which is quite like the Jurchens kidnapping horses.

The cavalry on both sides also had a strict formation.The two groups on the left are the left school's forward cavalry, the left school's rear cavalry, the right school's forward cavalry, and the right school's rear cavalry.

The problem is that Zhang Yong has no cavalry now, so he can only place a large number of iron armored soldiers in desperation, and is equipped with a large number of archers and divine arm crossbows.

Although this Changhong Formation has no cavalry, and it can't attack as soon as possible when counterattacking, it seems not so perfect, but Zhang Yong thinks it is enough.

"Brothers, let's see, although Wang Shen's son has a great reputation, his formation is so loose, and he knows how to fight in formation. Our army will surely win this battle."

After he finished laughing, his face straightened, and he said: "This is the formation handed down by Zong Liushou. You have been training for many years, and today is the first time you have brought it to the battlefield. All armies should fight bravely, don't let Duke Rulin Disappointed. Remember, we are the real main force of the left-behind division in Tokyo, and we are the direct descendants of Grandpa Zong!"

Facing the sun and looking in the direction of Sizhou Army for a long time, Zhang Yong felt a little uncomfortable in his eyes, and a vague uneasiness suddenly arose in his heart.

The choice of the battlefield is not good for our army!

The damned heat, the damned sun!

"Generals of the armies, go down and master the troops!"

"Yes." A group of generals mounted their horses one after another and ran out quickly.

……

Billowing smoke and dust, the enemy's broad front, huge shouts, and floods.

Wang Shenxu stared at the past and couldn't help sighing: "It's really spectacular!" This was the first time he faced so many enemies, and the first time he participated in such a large-scale battle.Although he has seen such magnificent cold weapon war scenes more than once in Hollywood movies in later generations, such as "Gladiator" and "Kingdom of Heaven", but when he is really on the battlefield, the grandeur and momentum are still impressive. Can't help but stare fascinated.

It would be a lie to say that he was not nervous. Since Huangzhou dispatched troops, he has bet on the fate of the Sizhou Army and himself.The current situation of the army and the people in his hands has become so bad that it cannot be worsened, and the military food on hand seems to always only be enough for ten days.If you want to alleviate this crisis, take a breath, you have to take it from the enemy.

Every battle must be won, and every battle is like standing on the edge of a cliff, and there are a few more days to live, and a step back is an abyss.

Behind him, the eagle flags of the Huangzhou Defense Envoy and the Sizhou Army have been erected, and at the same time, the banner of Li Hong's Zhizhi Envoy has also been erected.

All the soldiers and horses are moving fast, forming an array in the wilderness.

In the cold weapon war, tens of thousands or even more than [-] people fought on the plains. Soldiers crowded each other to form huge formations, and sometimes even spread out for an astonishing ten miles or so.Once the war started, the real contact between the two armies was only the few thousand troops at the front.As for the soldiers at the back, they were completely ignorant of the situation ahead, and sometimes they didn't even see the enemy's face, and the battle was over.

Once the battle in the front is unfavorable and collapsed, the soldiers behind might collapse along with it, and then the troops became chaotic and out of control.

At this time, the role of strict training and formation in the weekdays is highlighted.With a strong army, even if the soldiers are ignorant of the entire battlefield situation, they can still maintain a complete formation in the chaos because of strict discipline, and subconsciously execute the orders of the officers, and the situation can be stabilized quickly Get down, and throw in the counterattack.

Therefore, the military commanders of all dynasties paid great attention to the formation.

In this kind of big battle, the two armies face each other for a day, and usually most of the day is spent on the formation of troops.After both sides have completed their formation, the soldiers will go out in groups to contact, harass, and test, until one side can't bear to fall into chaos, then the real decisive battle will start, and the winner will be completely determined.

Then, the winning side can go into pursuit.

Seeing Zhang Yong's 5 horsemen lined up into more than a dozen large and small infantry formations, just like chess pieces falling on a chessboard, Wang Shen couldn't help but praised: "This formation is not bad. The thieves' armies are connected with each other. There are echoes and buffers, and they protect each other's flanks and reserves, which is really like an iron bucket."

"This formation is the famous Changhong formation. I saw the formation diagram when I was in the Privy Council before." Seeing Wang Shen's surprised face, Li Heng couldn't help but snorted coldly, with a look of disdain on his face: "This is also the tactics of the Western Army. Even the Dangxiang and Khitan Iron Cavalry suffered a lot from this formation. In addition to the Changhong formation, there are also the Fudi formation, the Xuanxiang formation, and the crab formation in the Western army's formation. .In the early years of the founding of the Kingdom, Emperor Taizong conquered Liao, and he used a very good formation, called the Pingrong Wanquan Formation..."

Wanting to show off in front of everyone, Li Heng talked eloquently.

The leading generals of the Sizhou Army were either mid-level or low-ranking officers, or people like Yue Yun and Wu Xianxian were simply refugees.

(End of this chapter)