Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

On the outskirts of the camp were soldiers of the Liao army patrolling back and forth, looking like a group of neat black ants from a distance.

The army of the Chinese army had already formed a formation a mile away. Shi Congyun personally sat in the middle army and pushed over step by step. The long front line drawn by tens of thousands of troops trampled on the large green oily wheat seedlings and wheat ears that were growing well in the southwest of Yijin Pass. Into dark green sludge.

But at this time, it was too late to take care of so much. Previously, Shi Congyun ordered that the people should not be disturbed, their things should not be robbed, their houses should not be burned, and their fields should not be trampled on. dangerous.

He ordered the Chinese army to stop one mile away from Yijin Pass, unfold their formation, and then began to advance.

Meanwhile, the Long Jie cavalry led by father Shi Yanchao was heading north along the road between the fields in the west, and arrived at the southwest side of the Liao army camp.

As he got closer, his field of vision became clearer and wider. He also noticed the formation of the Liao army on the opposite side. Their army was in the north, and there were still troops attacking the city under Yijin Pass in front. There were more than 1000 troops at the city wall of Yijin Pass. The next deployment, is preparing to attack the city.

Shi Congyun immediately ordered Shao Ji to lead the crane-controlling cavalry to attack the Liao army's siege troops, while the Chinese army's formation slowly moved northeast.

After crossing the western part of the city wall of Yijin Pass, although you can see the Liao army in the distance, there are still several miles between the two armies, but because of the flat terrain, the field of vision is very wide.

The Chinese army adopts a chariot formation. Thousands of chariots are lined up in a long line of about two miles. A large number of chariots are lined up at the front to guard against the impact of the Khitan cavalry.

Shi Congyun already had an idea in his mind, if there was a fight, the infantry of the Chinese army must first form a large formation to meet the enemy, and the cavalry would wait for the opportunity on the two wings.

The Liao army and the Zhou army are both infantry and cavalry, but there is a big difference in tactics for the two armies. The cavalry of the Liao army is the main force, and the infantry is only auxiliary.The infantry of the Zhou army is the main force, and the cavalry on the two wings are the strange soldiers.

Shi Congyun's chariot formation has also changed a lot from the one used by Wei Qing back then. First, he changed the chariot formation based on the experience of Fu Yanqing and others defeating the Khitan army. Some of these cattle were confiscated temporarily from the local people, and some came from the logistics force. Once the army stopped, the cattle were tied to the shafts of the carts.

When the large formation is advancing, it is eight square formations, and once it stops, it will become eight circular formations.

Behind them were spearmen in full armor, sword and shield players, and inside were crossbowmen, and Zhou Jun's rocket bed crossbow in the center of Shenhuodu was pulled by a carriage.

Shi Congyun ordered that once the formation stopped and formed a circle, the soldiers in the center of Shenhuo City immediately began to dig soil to build a high ground, and at the same time set up the bed crossbow on the middle high ground.

The circular formation was also an important tactic of Wei Qing against the cavalry. Before the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu all-out battle, the Central Plains battle formation was mostly a variety of changes on the basis of the square formation, because the enemy was mostly infantry.

But the phalanx has an Achilles' heel against cavalry.

The cavalry is highly mobile, and can use its mobility to bypass the front of the formation and attack from all directions. The flanks and rear of the phalanx will become weak points. Even after changing the formation, the four prominent corners of the phalanx are still weak points.

When the cavalry charged, [-]% of the time it was not a frontal collision, but a "corner cut". That is, the cavalry split from the middle and became two long dragons to attack the four corners of the phalanx in turn. Once the soldiers at the four corners of the phalanx collapsed, the entire phalanx would be in chaos.

Wei Qing has rich experience in combating the Huns, and the final method he concluded was to use a circular formation to deal with the cavalry, so that there are no protrusions everywhere. No matter which direction the cavalry uses their mobility to concentrate their forces to attack, they will not be able to gain local advantages. This tactic has been handed down since then, and it is still very practical after thousands of years.

Shi Congyun's formation slowly approached the army of the Liao Kingdom in the distance. At the same time, outside Yijin Pass in the east, Shao Ji led thousands of cavalry, like a long black steel dragon, quickly charging towards the siege troops of the Liao Kingdom from the side.

The siege troops were far away from the Liao army camp, and they were all infantry. Before they could react, they were crushed.

Shi Congyun sent people to stop Shao Ji's pursuit, and at the same time ordered the Zhou army to start changing formations on the southwest side of Yijinguan, one mile away from the Liao army camp, from square formations to circular formations.

The [-] infantry of the Crane Control Army and the soldiers of Shenhuodu slowly formed eight huge round formations of chariots in the southwest of the Liao Army. The left and right wings were stretched more than one mile wide, and began to slowly approach the Liao Army camp.

After Shao Ji led more than 3000 cavalry controlling cranes to repel the Liao army's siege troops, they retreated to the right wing of the army. Shi Yanchao and Long Jie had a large number of elite light and heavy cavalry, more than 5000, located on the left wing of the army.

The reason why the formation changed so quickly was because the Liao army responded very quickly. In the distant Liao army camp, with the sound of the horn, a large number of Liao army cavalry was rapidly gathering. The camp was full of dust and the sound of horseshoes was endless.

Moreover, their coach is experienced, and from a distance, it is obvious that there are troops preparing for battle on the east and west sides of the camp.

The east side was the most densely packed with at least [-] troops, according to his experience. Among them, a large number of cavalry were cruising in formation by the Xiaoniuxi River, presumably to guard against the Luo Yanhuan, Si Chao, and Wang Huan troops on the other side.At this time, some of them began to move towards the front of the camp.

There are fewer on the west side. It may be the reserve force for the siege, or it may be the garrison of the camp. It looks like about 2000 people. There are more infantry, and a large number of soldiers began to gather south.

Many squadrons of cavalry who were on patrol also began to leave the camp to cruise ahead.

Looking at the flags in the camp and the movement of the dust in the sky, the Liao army should have assembled farther north of the camp.

Shi Congyun had imagined that if the Liao army hadtily responded to the battle after they crossed the Yijin Pass, or could be the first to give up forming an formation to attack and seize the camp, it would be difficult for the army to fight in the camp, but it is not impossible if the opponent rushes to fight and directly seize the camp. Yes, there are examples of such wars in history.

However, the commander of the Liao army gathered in the north of the camp, which meant that they had to abandon their formation if they wanted to attack the camp directly, and ran for two or three miles, crossed the fenced deer village outside the camp, and rushed in against the patrol troops and standing troops. A counterattack against the Liao army's northern army that may be assembled at any time.

Just thinking about it is a headache, the camp of the army is not so easy to attack, and the Liao Kingdom is afraid that they will be stupid enough to attack the camp.

This was a two-to-eight gamble. Shi Congyun decisively chose to be safe, and at the same time sent messengers to convey orders to the Yijin Pass garrison and the Si Chao, Luo Yanhuan, and Wang Huan coalition forces a few miles to the east.

"Tell Wang Shenqi, Dong Zunjiao, and Xiang Xun's subordinates that their first priority is to guard Yijin Pass. Under this premise, they can decide for themselves how to act and judge according to the situation of the battle." Shi Congyun's ability to Wang Shenqi and Xiang Xun It is very trustworthy.

Then they called someone over: "Tell Si Chao and them that their main task is to guard Xiaoniu Creek, and they must not let the Liao army cross the river no matter what, and then wait for the opportunity."

On this kind of battlefield that spans several miles, and there is no radio command, we can only trust the ability and experience of the generals to judge the situation on the battlefield.

Shi Congyun was located in the circular formation of the Chinese army, looking at the densely packed battlefield that stretched for several miles, the sky was full of banners and flags in the distance, and the Liao army that was gradually assembled was huge, and the long line was gradually pulled apart in the north, and the trees around the camp had long been destroyed. When all the felling was done, the whole picture of the army was fully revealed.

The soldiers around him also swallowed nervously, and surrounded him with large shields in their hands. The Zhou army pressed on step by step, and the Liao army quickly finished their formation.

The formation of the Liao army is different from that of the Zhou army. The Liao army has a longer line, with a large number of cavalry in the front and periphery, while infantry are arranged in the rear and center.After their formation unfolded, they also crossed the camp and began to slowly approach the Zhou army formation.

The front line, which was more than two miles long, began to bend and roll like waves, slowly spreading.

People have a misunderstanding about the ancient arms, that is, they think that ancient soldiers are professional and professional, but they are not at all.

Take the crossbowmen of the Zhou army as an example. Most of them are dressed in armor. They can use bows and crossbows to shoot at enemies in the distance.

The cavalry of the Liao Kingdom can only be divided into good and bad equipment. They all carry short bows, sabers, and spears when fighting. Since they can be used as light cavalry to harass, they can also be replaced with sabers and spears to charge as heavy cavalry.

The same is true for the cavalry of the Zhou army. Proficiency in bowing and horses is a must. The division of light and heavy cavalry is often assigned temporarily by the commander on the battlefield. The functions they perform are different, and there is no difference from the beginning.

For soldiers, the more versatile the better, it is best to be able to do everything. There is a clear professional distinction between crossbowmen and sword and shield hands. Those who use crossbows do not know how to use bows, and crossbowmen do not use close combat. This is a unique feature of the Song Dynasty army. In other dynasties, whether it is the Warring States, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Yuan, Ming, Qing, etc., the requirements for soldiers are basically the difference between infantry and cavalry.

The same is true for the soldiers of the Zhou army, and even more so for the Liao army.

After both sides line up, they both understand that this battle is inevitable. If anyone retreats first, it may lead to a large-scale rout.

Shi Congyun looked at the opponent, he was waiting for the Liao army to move first, to see the strength of the Liao army.

To the south of the Liao army formation is Yijin Pass, and to the southeast is Anxin, Si Chao and other troops across Xiaoniu Creek, where they left a force to confront each other.

The Zhou army's large formation unfolded from northwest to southeast, with infantry in front and cavalry on both wings behind.

Soon there was movement in the Liao army's middle army. After the long and desolate horn sounded, a large number of cavalry from the left wing of the Liao army came out and moved towards the open space between the two armies, stirring up a lot of dust.

"How many people?" Shi Congyun asked Fu Zhaoyuan beside him. In the past few days, he discovered that Fu Zhaoyuan had a skill, that is, he was very accurate in seeing the number of people. Even if other generals were experienced, they might misjudge when facing a large number of troops. In terms of performance, he is better than many veterans.

It may have something to do with the environment he lived in since he was a child, and he is used to seeing many troops under his father's command training every day.

"Marshal, about two thousand." Fu Zhaoyuan replied.

Shi Congyun nodded, knowing it well, and soon the huge Khitan cavalry approached the Chinese army's formation for about fifty or sixty steps, and then they stopped approaching and moved in parallel, unleashing bows and arrows on horseback, throwing a large rain of black arrows.

The four phalanxes in front of the Chinese army were densely packed with shields, and the sound of clanging and clanging was endless, mixed with one or two screams from time to time, which meant that someone had been shot by an arrow.

The Zhou army's counterattack was also very fast. A large number of crossbow arrows buzzed and roared, even overshadowing the summer wind, and shot at the cavalry of the Liao army fifty steps away. The four circles in the front could support each other, and even hit the Liao army Received the bows and crossbows fired by the four round formations, people turned upside down instantly, screaming again and again, and in a short while, hundreds of people fell down in the sand and dust of the battlefield, life and death unknown.

And from time to time, accompanied by a huge explosion, the terrifying crossbow arrows with the thickness of arms shot at the cavalry of the Liao army from the center of each circle. When they hit a few times, they directly pierced the horses and flew out, tripping many people behind them, and the sand and stones flew up. Howling.

The Liao army used short bows for cavalry shooting, which was good for rapid fire, but its power was greatly reduced. It could exert its greatest power at a distance of twenty or thirty steps, and it was no match for Zhou Jun's strong crossbow at a distance of about fifty steps.

More and more Liao troops were shot to death and dismounted when they went out, and soon they couldn't stand it anymore, and immediately maneuvered to the left corner of the Zhou army.At the same time, change out the saber and spear, and prepare to try the classic tactic of attacking a corner of the Zhou army formation.

But soon they found that no matter how they ran, they would be shot from different angles by the crossbows of multiple Zhou army formations. More and more people fell off their horses. positive contact.

Shi Congyun's deployment worked!

This is the main reason why he split the large circular array of military vehicles into eight small circular arrays, and it is also a further improvement of the chariot formation tactics he learned from Wei Qing, Fu Yanqing and others.

It was inspired by the way the British army placed the hollow phalanx in the Battle of Waterloo. If the whole army is in a large circle formation, it will certainly help resist the cavalry, but it is not offensive enough. Passive defense.

If the number of people in the circle is reduced, multiple circles will be formed on the whole, with every [-] to [-] people forming a circle, surrounded by soldiers and chariots, and forming a larger circle between each circle.

Then when the cavalry of the Liao army wanted to attack any of the circular formations, they would face the bows and crossbows of the surrounding circular formations. If they dared to go deep into the formation, they would be surrounded by Zhou army bows and crossbows in all directions.

In the first wave of attack, the Liao army sent about 2000 cavalry troops, but left two or three hundred corpses and many wounded soldiers in the open space between the two armies, and then fled back to the big formation in panic.

The dozen or so unlucky ones who fell from their horses fled north in a hurry. Shi Congyun ordered not to shoot. It was not because he was merciful, but because it was not worth wasting a lot of arrows for such a few people. The supplies carried by the soldiers were limited.

The morale of the Zhou army soared, and the soldiers shouted that the Liao army had no courage, that the Liao army was a rat, and so on, and the voices echoed through the wilderness.

Shi Congyun was also very happy, but he did not relax. He knew in his heart that this was just a tentative attack by the Liao army.

The two sides began to confront each other. About a quarter of an hour later, there was another movement in the Liao army camp. This time, the formation was very large. From a distance, a large number of people began to dispatch. The sky was filled with smoke and flags as the cavalry dragon moved in the Liao army formation. , the entire Liao army's formation protected the tumbling quagmire, and instantly came to life.

Shi Congyun immediately understood that the big one was coming...

Chapter 241, Fierce Battle

Unknowingly, it has already arrived in the afternoon, the huge sun is in the sky, and the air in the distance is rising and distorting. When the weather is the hottest, all the soldiers are exposed to the scorching sun, especially those wearing iron armor. No time to take care of it at the moment.

The Liao army moved very quickly, but their formation was not tight, or this was their habit.

A large number of cavalry began to dispatch and gather, and their large formations were mainly infantry, and they could only stand in formation. This was their worst disadvantage when fighting the Liao army.

Shi Congyun was both excited and nervous, because the opportunity to force the Liao army into a decisive battle was very rare. Without the oppression and pressure of the cavalry on the two wings and Si Chao and others in the east, the Liao army would probably retreat without hesitation. Don't fight them head-on.

In many cases, war is not simply a question of whether it can be fought or not. If the war can only be fought head-on, it will be easier.There is no need to fight, everyone pulls out the army to compare, which side has more people, strong troops, and good equipment, and the other side directly surrenders, and the world is peaceful.

Unfortunately not...

The Song people once recorded that the combat characteristics of the Liao army are "do not fight in formation, and take advantage of them when they retreat. Many soldiers ambush and cut off food roads, set fires at night, pull firewood in the wind, pay for themselves, reunite when they disperse, good at fighting, and able to fight cold." .”

That is to say, once the Liao army is in formation, most of the time they choose not to fight head-on, but to retreat directly. If their own side retreats, they will take the opportunity to pursue them. Scatter quickly, gather quickly after breaking up, good at fighting, Nai Han.

In the final analysis, this is why the Song Dynasty had many victories against the Liao army in history, but it seemed that it had never been able to win strategically, because it was impossible to fight a war of annihilation!

The Song Dynasty had a large number of infantry and was well equipped. When the Liao army honestly fought a frontal battle, most of the Song army could win, but they were not fools.

Song Jun's victory was mostly a battle of defeat, but once the Liao Kingdom won, it would become a battle of annihilation, and people cannot run away.

Li Desheng once said to the army that it is impossible to fight a rout war, but to fight a war of annihilation as much as possible. Facing a powerful enemy, a rout war is meaningless.

This is another important reason why Shi Congyun released Yijin Pass to the Liao army to attack. Letting them concentrate their forces and draining morale is just one of them.

Another point is that if the two armies meet directly, the first reaction of the Liao army when they see them in formation is likely to be to retreat, not to fight with their own side, let their own side line up in vain, or chase after their buttocks, which consumes morale, food, and physical strength. They waited for an opportunity to fight back.

But now they have set up a big camp to fight Yijin Pass, Si Chao, Wang Huan, Luo Yanhuan, etc. are oppressing across the Xiaoniu Creek to the east. Behind the big formation, Shao Ji and Shi Yanchao's two cavalry teams have completed their preparations.

At this time, if the Liao army dared to retreat again, Si Chao and other troops in the east would cross the river to attack the flanks, and the two cavalry teams in the southwest would attack from the flanks in front of the formation, and they would be able to drink a pot.

In view of this situation, the commander-in-chief of the Liao army also understood that today he and the others are the only way to repel or defeat, and a frontal battle is inevitable.

In the distance, the cavalry of the Liao army began to march out one by one. There were hundreds of people in each team, and there were as many as dozens of teams. They yelled and circled westward.

In addition, there are a large number of cavalry with better equipment in line. A row of cavalry is far in front of the formation, slowly approaching, but it is always about a mile away from the front of the formation, not approaching, as if waiting What.

Shi Congyun looked at the large number of cavalry troops slowly approaching in front of the left wing, and understood what they were waiting for.

Soon, with the sound of horns in the distance, the sound of horseshoes became more and more intensive. Teams of Liao cavalry yelled and circled towards the formation. After gradually approaching, they began to shoot their bows and arrows, throwing black arrows.

The bows and crossbows of the Zhou army also counterattacked one after another, but the Liao army had a large number of advantages on some battlefields. The Zhou army had the bow and crossbow advantage, and the Liao army had the numerical advantage. Between steps, the arrows coming and going are like rain, and the sound of clanging and crashing can be heard endlessly.

A large amount of sand and dust were rolled up and circled as hundreds of cavalry rushed, and went straight to the sky. Although they were in the big formation, the left wing was also far away from the central army where Shi Congyun was. After the battle began, the sky was filled with dust. Except for seeing their positions clearly by relying on the flags, the specific situation is completely unclear.

However, when he was discussing with everyone, he expected that the Liao army would attack the left and right. Not only did Guo Tingwei and Shen Zhiyi command the front two formations on the left wing, but he also placed elite soldiers and well-equipped armor on the left wing.

The reason is very simple. The Liao army is good at riding and shooting, and most people riding and shooting on horseback can only shoot arrows to their left hand side, and the right side is the blind spot for shooting. The right wing, because most people use their right hand to exert their strength, it is a truth that elite soldiers can exert their combat effectiveness only by placing their right wing.

Therefore, as long as the Liao army dispatched a large-scale light cavalry, the direction of attack must be their left wing.

And about a mile in front of the big formation, the long cavalry line of the Liao army is also spreading out, slowly approaching.

Obviously they are waiting for a large number of cavalry on the left to consume the arrows and physical strength of the Zhou army. It is best to disrupt the formation of the Zhou army, exhaust the Zhou army, and consume almost the same amount of arrows. Charge with sabers, spears, and more.

Shi Congyun looked from a distance, and after the battle, the left wing shouted to kill Zhentian. From time to time, he could hear a scream, and a large number of arrows were faintly visible in the dust, buzzing, and even the sound of Zhentian's horseshoes could not be covered. Hundreds of steps away, people have become dots, faintly visible in the dust, and he can also feel the fierce battle on the left wing.

Fu Zhaoyuan took a deep breath nervously, and grasped the shield in his hand tightly. There was a high platform in the Chinese Army, just behind Shi Congyun, stood the Chinese Army Commander's Flag, and on it stood orderlies.

With the expansion of the war scale and the change of arms, it is no longer practical to march with drums in large-scale battles, and can only be used for command of grassroots units.

It's like the sound of horseshoes, horns, shouts of killing, and metal collisions on the entire battlefield.

Drums and horns are still used to command between the various circles, but it is impossible for a command system at the level of Shi Congyun to give orders by voice. The voices are too chaotic and the distance is too far. Here, let alone beating drums, you may not be able to hear clearly when firing cannons.

The square flags have also appeared long ago, and flags of various colors have become a better choice for the coach to command the army.

Shi Congyun was sitting in the center of the army and watched the situation on the left wing from a distance. A large number of cavalry from the Liao army fought against the Zhou army on the left wing, but they did not dare to go further back because Shi Yanchao's more than 5000 cavalry were on standby behind the formation. Afraid of being attacked from both sides.

Shi Congyun also couldn't see the specific location of Dad's army, the distance was too far, and there was a road between fields in the middle, with a row of trees on both sides of the road, but he could see the conspicuous flag in the distance, so he knew where the cavalry was.

.......

Time passed by every minute and every second. The battle on the left wing was not the previous tentative attack. The Liao army sent at least [-] troops to approach and shoot in batches, and then retreated.

Hundreds of cavalry consisted of dozens of teams, and they also formed a huge circle in front of the Zhou army's left flank, firing alternately one after another and in batches.

The two circular formations in front of Zhou Jun's left were under tremendous pressure. Fu Zhaoyuan watched very nervously. He petitioned to bring people to support him several times, but was rejected by Shi Congyun.

In fact, he was even more nervous!

If the two front left circle formations are defeated, then the next battle will be very difficult to fight. He asked Guo Tingwei to personally sit in the front left circle formation, and he told him before the battle that if the Khitans want to fight, they must stare at them. It is determined by the tactical characteristics of the Liao army, so let him be mentally prepared.

Guo Ting said that he made a vow, and assured him that unless everyone died, he would never collapse, but he was still anxious, and he kept hesitating whether to order the cavalry led by his father on the west side of the road to support him.

But at this time, once the left-wing reserve force is mobilized to support the front, it means that the right-wing encirclement of the Liao army will be released, and the plan to wipe out the enemy will not be completed.