Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 537: Fufeng Fire Bull Formation

Qizhou, at the head of Fufeng County.

Li Jiaqing, under the order of Fang Youde, led 5,000 soldiers, all of whom were united soldiers, to guard Fufeng County.

This was the first line of defense that the Western Army led by Li Guangbi had to conquer.

At this moment, Li Jiaqing was sharpening his sword on the top of the city wall. After inspecting the city wall, his son Li Huaiguang pulled Li Jiaqing aside with a worried look on his face.

Although Li Jiaqing's son is only in his early twenties, he is brave and resourceful, and is deeply loved by Li Jiaqing. Even Fang Youde thinks highly of Li Huaiguang, often teaching him military tactics, and has already recognized him as his adopted son.

"Father, how can you still have the time to sharpen your knife?"

At the base of the city wall, Li Huaiguang said anxiously, his heart about to jump out.

Li Jiaqing was stunned, and asked in confusion: "Why don't you sharpen your sword before going into battle to kill the enemy?"

Li Huaiguang was young after all, and he looked around and found that no one was paying attention. So he lowered his voice and said, "Father, this place is too dangerous. The defenders are too few and cannot fight. If the enemy army comes, my father and I will die here!"

There were only 5,000 soldiers, and they were all temporary recruits. These people were recruited by Li Jiaqing himself. Didn't he know what kind of people they were?
Li Huaiguang began to doubt his life.

"Marshal Fang has said that we can only lose this battle, not win."

Li Jiaqing stroked his beard and said with a smile.

There are some things that should not be said, but now it is almost the moment of the decisive battle, and if my son asks, it doesn't hurt to say it.

Li Huaiguang nodded slightly, he seemed to understand something.

So he asked, "Did Marshal Fang tell us how to defeat the enemy?"

Unexpectedly, Li Jiaqing shook his head and said:

"General Fang was afraid that your father would reveal the secret after being captured, so he never explained how to defeat the enemy. In Qishan, Yongxian, Guoxian, Chencang and other places, the general asked us to resist one by one and retreat step by step. Finally, we can flee to Anyi Pass to rest.

If the enemy army continues to pursue us, we will continue to flee westwards, even to Suiye."

Li Jiaqing seemed to be in a good mood and was even in the mood to tell a joke. Suiye was two thousand miles away from Guanzhong, so it was amazing to be able to run there.

Li Huaiguang shook his head and said, "Father, you are talking nonsense. The enemy army must be heading for Weiyuan County. They will not care about us. The emperor is in Weiyuan County. If we capture him, we will be done. Who cares where my father and I are?"

He saw the key to the battle at a glance. Fang Youde wanted to draw the border troops from Hexi and Longyou into the battle and abandon all the outer defense lines.

I have to say, this move is very bold.

As to whether it will be useful or not, it’s hard to say, after all, the war hasn’t even started yet!
"There is something that I haven't finished yet. You have to go and do it now. This is Marshal Fang's order. You can't be careless."

Li Jiaqing suddenly spoke in a serious tone, and Li Huaiguang quickly nodded in agreement and no longer raised any questions.

Li Jiaqing whispered something in Li Huaiguang's ear for a long time, and finally looked at him solemnly and asked, "The number is not large, can it be done?"

"It's not a big deal, but why do you do this?"

Li Huaiguang asked with a puzzled look on his face. He really didn't understand this time.

But Li Jiaqing just spread his hands and didn't explain anything, because he didn't understand it himself. Anyway, what Fang Youde arranged must make sense, so just do it.

Li Guangbi did not let Li Jiaqing and his son wait too long.

Two days later, Li Guangbi led his troops to Wugong County, east of Fufeng County, and sent envoys to deliver a letter of surrender to Li Jiaqing, persuading them to "abandon darkness and join light", and that the sage Li Longji would "let bygones be bygones".

Li Jiaqing’s answer was very direct: If you want to fight, then fight. It is impossible to surrender. Whoever is a coward is a dog.

This answer was naturally within Li Guangbi's expectations. Li Jiaqing was Fang Youde's lackey and close confidant. If he surrendered, Fang Youde would not be far from surrendering.

One day later, the Western Army led by Li Guangbi lined up at the "gap" five miles east of Fufeng County.

Although the Guanzhong Plain and the North China Plain are both called "plains", their topography and landforms are quite different.

The North China Plain is a flat land, while the Guanzhong Plain is "flat with wrinkles", and there are often some strange landforms in the small plains.

For example, in the area east of Fufeng County, there is a small mountain ridge in the south, blocking the way; there is a river bend in the north, also blocking the way. Only the middle section is a smooth road, which is where the official road is located.

By the same token, the area west of Fufeng County has a similar topography. At the same time, there is a small mountain ridge blocking the south, forming an excellent feng shui situation of "three mountains and two waters", which gathers energy here.

Therefore, this place has produced many talented people since ancient times, and it can be said to be a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery.

Li Jiaqing did not allow Li Guangbi to attack the city, but led his troops out of the city to confront him.

Not only did he bring troops out, he also brought nearly a thousand cattle collected from all over Qizhou recently!
Weapons are tied to the horns, and reeds are tied to the tail and filled with oil. It not only looks majestic, but also very retro!
However, this scene made the Western Army commander Li Guangbi completely confused, and he had no idea what Li Jiaqing was trying to do.

"Marshal Li Jie, this situation doesn't look right."

Zhang Boyi, who was beside Li Guangbi, came over and whispered something.

Li Guangbi didn't say anything, in fact he was also confused.

The plain east of Fufeng County was a natural battlefield for decisive battles, so conspiracies and tricks were of little use. As for cavalry detours, they were also useless because they were restricted by the local terrain.

This wave is an infantry confrontation, whoever is brave and ruthless will win!

"Are you planning to use the Fire Bull Formation? What's the point of using the Fire Bull Formation here?"

Li Guangbi muttered to himself, with a look of confusion on his face.

The "Fire Bull Formation" originated in the Warring States Period and was a tactic invented by Tian Dan, a general of Qi during the Warring States Period.

That is truly a thrilling epic!
At that time, King Zhao of Yan sent General Yue Yi to attack Qi. Yue Yi defeated Qi and almost destroyed the country. Only Ju (Ju County, Rizhao City, Shandong Province) and Jimo (Pingdu, Shandong Province) could not be conquered for a long time, and the Yan army besieged Qi for more than three years.

Tian Dan was the main general who led the troops to defend Jimo.

Later, King Zhao of Yan died and King Hui of Yan ascended the throne, and the domestic political situation in Yan State changed drastically.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Tian Dan pretended to surrender to the Yan army and planned a counterattack.

He commanded the Qi army to use more than a thousand oxen at night, tied weapons to their horns, tied reeds to their tails and poured oil on them, then set them on fire, and rushed towards the Yan army, breaking the Yan army's formation.

He then led 5,000 brave warriors to charge and defeated the Yan army, killing the Yan general Qi Jie.

Then Tian Dan pursued the victory and conquered more than 70 cities in succession, recovering the entire territory of Qi. Le Yi's attack on Qi ended in failure, and the power of Yan State never recovered from that.

How to put it, the Fire Bull Formation sounds quite intimidating. If it is used for the first time, it will naturally be majestic and unstoppable.

What Li Guangbi couldn’t understand was which idiot wanted to use the tactics of the Warring States Period in the Tang Dynasty!
It's been nearly a thousand years. Even a fool knows how to break the Fire Bull Formation. Using tactics from a thousand years ago to deal with people from a thousand years later, treating the enemy as a fool, is this fun?

"How could Fang Quanzhong be so foolish?"

After a long silence, Li Guangbi asked Zhang Boyi this question.

Zhang Boyi didn't know how to answer, so he just told the truth:

"General Jie, it's easy to break the Fire Bull Formation.

These cattle are untrained, and beating gongs and drums will disrupt their formation. We sent two hundred soldiers to the front, beating gongs and throwing torches at the cattle. The cattle will be frightened and will scatter or even turn around and charge at the enemy.

At that time, our army will press forward and attack the enemy's center directly. "Zhang Boyi spoke eloquently and gave a standard answer directly.

That's right, the art of war had already had a system before the Tang Dynasty. Especially after being sorted out by Li Jing and collected by the Tang government, it had been basically perfected.

This marked the second peak of military tactics in Chinese history, the first being the Han Dynasty.

No matter what kind of situation you encounter, what the standard routine is, how to defend, how to attack, there are actually clear answers and they are all arranged very clearly.

If you can remember these and respond normally, you will be a qualified general.

Therefore, this conversation just now cannot be said to be Zhang Boyi's military prowess. Rather, he simply recited the standard answer, which can be regarded as having a good memory at best.

"You lead the men to drive the cattle. Once you are done, withdraw from the two wings. You don't have to worry about the rest."

Li Guangbi instructed Zhang Boyi.

"Order!"

Zhang Boyi took the order and left.

This is his good point. He is an honest person and does not compete for credit. He does whatever Li Guangbi asks him to do.

There were also some people under Li Guangbi who were more capable than Zhang Boyi, but these people sometimes liked to "improvise". Li Guangbi did not dare to entrust them with many important military affairs.

Almost at the moment Li Guangbi gave the order, the herd of cattle on the opposite side began to move.

Li Jiaqing ordered his men to set fire to the cows' tails, and then the cows, suffering from the burning pain, began to rush towards the Western Army's line like crazy.

It looks fierce, brave and unstoppable.

Zhang Boyi, who was at the front of the line, showed a look of contempt, picked up the short stick in his hand, and began to beat the gong desperately!
Dang Dang Dang!
Dang Dang Dang!
Dang Dang Dang!
For a moment, the sound of gongs and drums was deafening!

The entire battlefield was filled with a harsh noise.

This move is effective immediately.

Stimulated by the sound of the gong, the cattle began to flee in all directions, and even collided with each other, causing their formation to become chaotic.

Seeing the effect, Zhang Boyi immediately threw away the short stick and raised the black flag in the hands of the flag-bearing officer beside him!

The front-row sergeant who had been waiting for orders threw the torch in his hand straight into the herd of cattle. The kerosene on the cattle was instantly ignited, and the cattle were completely turned into "burning cattle".

It rushed around like crazy, and finally turned around and collided with the fire bull behind it.

The cattle were torn to pieces before they even reached the Western Army's line.

"cast!"

Zhang Boyi shouted again, and another row of soldiers came forward with torches and decisively threw them into the herd of cattle.

As the torches were thrown, the roar of gongs and drums never stopped. The Western Army cavalry was far behind and could not hear it clearly, so they were not affected at all.

However, the soldiers on both sides of the formation suffered the most, their ears were buzzing all the time.

Seeing that the "Fire Bull Formation" had been broken, and even that many "Fire Bulls" were attacking back towards the formation where Li Jiaqing was, Li Guangbi finally smiled.

He saw that Zhang Boyi had led his troops to evacuate from both wings, so he ordered the horn to be blown and the entire army, except the cavalry, to attack!

Woo! Woo! Woo!
A desolate horn sounded from the center of the army. Li Guangbi rode on his horse and watched the battle at the edge of the battle line. At this moment, the 20,000 Western Army soldiers in the front had already rushed towards the enemy, like a mountain torrent.

That momentum cannot be stopped by just a few people!

As for Li Jiaqing... this commander had actually fled ahead of time with his personal guards!
At this moment, the battle line is in chaos and the commander has long disappeared!

"Do we really have to rely on the Fire Bull Formation to win this battle?"

Li Guangbi had a strange look on his face. He always felt like something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

To be honest, it was too easy to win.

He was right.

After Li Jiaqing's troops came into contact with the Western Army, they were almost unable to withstand a single blow and collapsed at the first touch!
Those united soldiers were running around like headless flies. Many of them dropped their weapons and armor and turned around to run, deeply hating that their parents only gave them two legs.

On the contrary, the soldiers of the Western Army were all wearing 15 kg heavy armor, and they were no match for those bastards. They watched helplessly as the group of people fled.

"Pass the order down. Don't pursue the desperate enemy. Let these people pass on the news of the defeat. The morale of the enemy's rear will surely collapse.

We are taking it slow and steady, and we are not in a hurry.”

Li Guangbi gave an order to his favorite general Hao Tingyu.

"Order!"

Hao Tingyu took the order and left.

An hour later, Li Guangbi had already entered Fufeng County, and the Anxi Beiting cavalry led by Gao Xianzhi also arrived in the city.

As soon as they met, Gao Xianzhi smiled and said, "General Li Jie is a master at using troops. You easily broke the enemy's fire bull formation. You are really amazing."

He was just making a few polite remarks. As for the Fire Bull Formation, those who understand it know that it can be used to scare people, but if it really goes to the battlefield, it would be a huge joke.

"The enemy commander just doesn't know how to use troops, it's not Li's fault."

Li Guangbi responded casually that he had no grudge against Gao Xianzhi, but he was not that familiar with them either.

The current political situation is complicated and treacherous, and no one knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident. It is a taboo to talk about deep things with someone you just met. Li Guangbi doesn't have so much gossip to talk about with Gao Xianzhi.

Feeling the other party's distance, Gao Xianzhi stopped trying to get close to him and directly stated his purpose: "Marshal Li Jie is very impressive today, but there are still four or five small cities ahead. How about we take the lead in the battle tomorrow? How about we take turns to attack the city?"

Today, Gao Xianzhi sent Li Siye and others to watch the show in front of the battlefield, but they didn't get anything. This won't work. No military merit means no reward. Without reward, how can we appease the soldiers to work hard?

So he entered Fufeng County today to discuss with Li Guangbi how to fight next.

I have to say that the suggestion of the two armies attacking the city alternately is a very reasonable one.

Li Guangbi nodded and said, "I heard that the fake emperor is in Weiyuan County. So before attacking Weiyuan County, follow this rule. You and I will attack the city in turns. When we attack Weiyuan County, we can discuss how to deal with the enemy. How about this?"

"Very good. Gao also thinks so."

Gao Xianzhi nodded slightly, obviously approving of this plan. He then said a few polite words and got up to leave, seeming to be in a good mood.

Gao Xianzhi couldn't help but feel bad. Just looking at the ugly appearance of the enemy today, he knew that it would be easy to capture Li Heng. He came here today to communicate with Li Guangbi. When the time comes, there will probably be some disputes over who will attack Weiyuan County.

After Gao Xianzhi left, Li Guangbi looked worried. He was far less optimistic than Gao Xianzhi.

Li Guangbi has always had a question in his mind:

Fang Youde set up a fire bull formation outside Fufeng County. What did he mean by that?

The more Li Guangbi thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

(End of this chapter)