Jiuxi

Chapter 564: 562 [Chaotianque] (IX)
On the vast plain southeast of Yongqiu, Qi Jing's army of more than 100,000 was facing off.

This situation has lasted for three days, and neither side has rashly launched an attack.

Under the command of Qing Yugong, the Jing army was arranged in the most common three-part formation, namely the front army, the rotation army, and the reserve army.

As the name suggests, the front army is responsible for fighting the enemy head-on, the rotation army can take over the battlefield at any time, and the reserve army does not need to maintain a state of combat for a long time.

Once the battlefield situation changes, the commander can withdraw the front army to the rear, and the rotation army will immediately take over, and the reserve army will become the rotation army. This can ensure that the troops of the side will rotate alternately, and ideally, the enemy will never catch a flaw, and the reasonable state of one troop to meet the enemy, one troop on standby, and one troop to rest can be maintained.

As for the specific formation arrangement of the Jing army, in the first three days, Qing Yugong's direct Xiashan army infantry served as the vanguard, the city defense army served as the rotation army, and the prison city army served as the reserve army.

The 10,000 cavalrymen of the Ever-Victorious Army were divided into two groups and patrolled the left and right wings of the battlefield.

The rest of the troops stayed behind.

Compared with the strong posture of the Jing army with the Xiashan army taking the lead, the response of the Qi army in the first three days was extremely conservative.

With the flag of Duke Rong Xiao Wangzhi as the core, the Qi army of more than 40,000 people formed an extremely solid defensive fish scale formation.

The vanguard of the Jing army launched several tentative attacks, but the Qi army remained unmoved and as calm as a mountain.

In the end, both sides withdrew their troops and stopped fighting.

"To use stillness to overcome movement, this is Xiao Wangzhi's consistent style."

Qing Yugong walked slowly, his tone calm.

The Fourth Prince who was following beside him couldn't be as calm as him.

The impact of the Heluo Rebellion will become more and more far-reaching as time goes by. Right now, the situation is barely under control with the help of a seriously injured Wang Shidao and the Jing Army's cavalry. Even if Qing Yugong lets Qing Yuhuaijin go back to take charge of the situation, the Yan court will not be able to resume normal operations in the short term.

In short, the main force of the Jing army can only stay for about a month at most, and then it must withdraw to the north.

The Qi army must be waiting for this opportunity.

Thinking of this, the Fourth Prince said worriedly: "Your Majesty, if the Qi army keeps avoiding fighting, what can we do?"

Qing Yugong suddenly looked up at the clear sky and said, "The Qi army will not do this."

The Fourth Prince looked puzzled.

Qing Yugong said meaningfully: "I led the troops to fight in order to give an explanation to His Majesty, and the same goes for those people in the south."

The Fourth Prince was startled, and information from long ago emerged in his mind.

The Emperor of Southern Qi will not live long.

At this moment he suddenly understood many things.

Because the Emperor of Qi used himself as bait, His Majesty the Emperor Dajing forced Qing Yugong to go south ahead of schedule, and if the Emperor of Qi forced himself to support, it would accelerate the end of his life. At the time of the change of the Southern Qi imperial power, stabilizing the border situation as soon as possible was what the Qi army's several commanders had to do, and they would definitely want to use a big victory to make the Emperor of Qi have no regrets.

Seeing that he had understood the problem, Qing Yugong whispered, "It is already April. The Southern Qi emperor may not be able to hold out for a few more days. The Qi army may be more anxious than us. In the past few days of confrontation on the battlefield, the Qi army has been on the defensive. They are trying to observe our situation and to provoke our army. These are all preludes to the coming war."

The fourth prince said admiringly: "Your Highness has a far-sighted vision. Our army will surely win this battle."

"Definite victory?"

Qing Yugong walked with his hands behind his back and said slowly, "To be honest with you, Your Highness, I still don't know what cards those old opponents in the south are hiding. I originally thought that the Seven Star Army Cavalry was their hidden weapon to influence the direction of the battle, but now I must rule out this possibility. But after thinking about it, I still can't figure out what makes them dare to fight head-on."

The fourth prince considered and said, "Perhaps they rely on the morale and spirit of the army."

"Maybe."

Qing Yugong sighed and said, "I think they have figured out our army's details in the past few days. When we face them again, they will be able to see some clues."

The Fourth Prince couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

……

Qi army camp.

"Drink a bowl of water to moisten your throat."

Xiao Wangzhi placed the teacup in front of Lu Chen and said with a smile, "It's hard for you to have the patience to explain it to them in detail."

His words referred to the military meeting that had just ended, in which Lu Chen explained to all the generals a set of formations that the Qi army had never used in actual combat before.

Facing the strong stance of the Jing army these days, the Qi army responded very conservatively. This was not Xiao Wangzhi's idea, but an independent decision made by Lu Chen. He and Liu Shouguang only assisted from the side.

Lu Chen said calmly: "This formation is actually not complicated, and the changes are also very simple. It's just that no one has used it before, and I don't want them to have resistance in their hearts."

"Don't worry too much, they won't mess up their business."

Xiao Wangzhi brushed it off and asked, "Do you think Qing Yugong can guess the hidden trick you prepared for him?"

Lu Chen did not answer the question directly, but said thoughtfully: "Uncle Xiao, do you have a feeling that Qing Yugong's attitude towards this battle is very subtle?"

Xiao Wangzhi slowly poured more tea and asked casually, "What do you mean?"

"To be fair, if I were Qing Yugong, I would have withdrawn my troops the moment Yongqiu was recaptured. After all, the Jing army has already occupied the northern part of Dingzhou, and there have been no serious losses on the western front. We should rest and plan for the future. There is no need to take the risk of a head-on decisive battle."

Lu Chen stroked the teacup and continued, "He was forced to lead his troops south by Emperor Jing before, but with his position and reputation in the Jing army, he was not completely defenseless against Emperor Jing. Now he must have received news of the unrest in Heluo, which is the best excuse to withdraw his troops, but he still has no intention of withdrawing his troops."

Xiao Wangzhi pondered and said, "Do you want to say that Qing Yugong wants to be defeated?"

"We can't rule out this possibility." Lu Chen frowned and said, "The Emperor of Jing is very wary of the Qing Yu clan. If they are not weakened in time, the Qing Yu clan will be difficult to control in ten years or so. So the Emperor of Jing will continue to force Qing Yugong under the pretext of righteousness. For Qing Yugong, this is undoubtedly a dead end, unless he can fight our army with all his strength on the battlefield. If he wins, he can naturally shut up the Jinglian nobles. If he loses, as long as he doesn't lose too badly, he can also retreat to preserve his own strength."

Xiao Wangzhi nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense."

Lu Chen added: "Of course, I think he will still seek victory first, and retreat is a last resort."

"Then defeat him head-on on the battlefield. Liu Shouguang and I will support you."

Xiao Wangzhi said this with full of expectations.

He had seen Lu Chen's efforts during this period, and he had made a lot of preparations for the decisive battle outside Yongqiu City, and Zhai Lin Wang's Nantou was just one of them.

Since the day when the Jing army moved south half a year ago, Lu Chen had been thinking about how to defeat Qing Yugong. The progress of the war since then was partly what he expected and partly beyond his control. Generally speaking, there was not much deviation from his original plan.

Facing Xiao Wangzhi's gratified gaze, Lu Chen nodded and said, "My nephew will do his best."

……

Two days later in the morning, the battle broke out again on the plain.

The sky is clear, the breeze is blowing, and the grass is lush and green.

On the battle line stretching for four or five miles, the various units of the Jing army took turns to enter the designated positions and form battle formations, waiting for the commander-in-chief's orders.

At the central army position, cavalry scouts kept coming to Qing Yugong to report to him the detailed situation of the Qi army.

"Your Majesty, the enemy's left wing flag is the Jingzhou Heyang Army!" "Your Majesty, the enemy's right wing flag is the Huaizhou Zhenbei Army!"

"Your Majesty, the core banners of the enemy army are the Huaizhou Jianghua Army and the Taixing Army!"

"Your Majesty..."

Various pieces of information came in one after another, but Qing Yugong remained calm.

He boarded the observation car not far away and waved to the Fourth Prince who was standing solemnly beside him.

The two men stood side by side and looked at the Qi army position in the distance.

Qing Yugong asked, "What do you think, Your Highness?"

The fourth prince hesitated and said, "The Qi army's formation is a bit strange."

As a prince favored by Emperor Jing, although he was very young, he had read a lot of military books.

Emperor Jing could be considered an emperor on horseback, and he also worked hard to study the culture of the Qi people. Under his teaching and example, the Fourth Prince also possessed relatively rich military knowledge, and at least could recognize various formations recorded in military books.

In large-scale wars of this era, the stability of the formation was directly related to the outcome of the war; the collapse of the formation meant a rout.

Qing Yugong turned his head and looked at him, then continued to ask, "What's so strange about this?"

The fourth prince replied, "It doesn't look like a formation, it looks more like Xiao Wangzhi used his soldiers to form a square shape. But I can confirm one thing, compared to the conservative attitude of the past few days, they seem to be planning to fight on all fronts today."

Qing Yugong folded his hands in front of his chest and said slowly, "This should be the formation that Xiao Wangzhi figured out himself. It seems that he has decided not to keep it anymore."

Although he said this calmly, the Fourth Prince felt his blood suddenly boiling in his heart.

Above the sky, more than a dozen goshawks were circling, and the scene on the plain was reflected in their cold eyes.

It was seen that the Jing army still maintained its previous formation, with elite light cavalry cruising on both wings, and the Xiashan army's infantry lined up on a battle line several miles long. In the rear was the Fangcheng army ready for battle at any time, and at the back was the Dingbai army resting on the spot to recuperate.

In the southeast, the Qi army's formation gradually stabilized.

On the surface, it is indeed as the Fourth Prince Hai Ge judged, this is just a strange square formation, but in fact there is something else going on inside.

The left wing was led by the Jingzhou Heyang Army, and the rear was the Qingxu Army and the Anping Army.

On the right wing is the Huaizhou Zhenbei Army. Behind them, there seem to be flags flying and spears like a forest, but in fact, it is a posture with a solid exterior but a hollow interior.

In other words, the only organized troops on the right wing of the Qi army were the Huaizhou Zhenbei Army and Xiao Wangzhi's personal guard battalion. If the two armies came into contact later, the Zhenbei Army would have to bear the pressure exerted by the enemy alone for a long time.

The middle area is the Huaizhou Jianghua Army and the Taixing Army. The Guangling Army falls back to protect the central army's flag while also supporting the two armies in the front.

More than 20,000 soldiers from the Beijing Camp were arranged by Lu Chen at the junction of the left wing and the center.

Outside the infantry formation, the cavalry units of Feiyu Army and Dingbei Army were cruising on the sides and rear.

Except for the tens of thousands of reserve troops left behind in the camp, the Qi army today can be said to have sent out all its elite troops.

If the goshawks circling overhead could speak, they would immediately tell Qing Yugong that the Qi army's formation was not square, but a diagonal line that gradually became thinner from left to right.

Over the past half month, the two armies had tested each other many times. Qing Yugong had a very clear assessment of the strength of the Southern Qi border army, so there was no need to send some elite troops to try to charge.

About an incense stick later, he gave an order and the sound of powerful drums rang out.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The general of the front army, Hesheli, looked back at the royal flag on the rear position, then retracted his gaze, and when the drumbeats stopped, he shouted loudly: "March!"

More than ten riders immediately rode their horses to various places to spread the message.

More than 10,000 infantrymen of the Xiashan Army's vanguard marched forward in formation, slowly and steadily approaching the front of the Qi Army's position.

In the past few small-scale clashes, the Xiashan Army has demonstrated their strong strength.

They were able to bite off a piece of meat from the Great Qi Army, so they naturally have the confidence to break through the Qi Army's defense line today.

As the vanguard of Jing’s army got closer, the atmosphere on the battlefield became more and more solemn and murderous, as if a dark cloud was pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it.

Putting aside the tests and plots of both sides before the decisive battle, Qing Yugong's intention when the war just started was very clear. He wanted to use the Xiashan Army to push the vanguard of the Qi Army head-on. It seemed that there was no conspiracy or trickery, and he only relied on hard power to gain the first-mover advantage.

Shouts and cries of killing suddenly broke out.

Faced with the sword and shield soldiers and spearmen deployed by the various units of the Qi army in front of the formation, the infantry of the Jing army showed no fear and stepped into each other's attack range step by step.

Even though this was just a prelude, the battle was still very intense.

After a while, the various units of Jing's army gradually felt the strength of the enemy's defense.

The Zhenbei Army on the right wing undoubtedly had outstanding experience and strength. Facing the powerful attack of the Jing Army, they were like a rock standing between heaven and earth for tens of millions of years, and their formation was hardly shaken at all.

In comparison, the Heyang Army on the left wing did not put enough pressure on the Jing Army.

Simply put, the resistance felt by Jing Jun's vanguard gradually increased from right to left.

This situation was soon reported to Qing Yugong.

After listening to the scout's report, the Fourth Prince looked at Qing Yugong and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Qing Yugong looked ahead, but seemed to know what the prince was thinking, and said calmly: "Your Highness, please feel free to speak."

The fourth prince cleared his throat and whispered, "Your Majesty, could it be that the Qi army deliberately left a flaw on the left wing to attract our army to mobilize heavy troops to attack its weak side?"

"Your Highness, don't be anxious."

Qing Yugong thought for a moment and said calmly: "This is just the beginning."

The fourth prince responded respectfully.

Qing Yugong waved to the messenger and ordered, "Send a message to Wulinda, and have him take 5,000 cavalrymen to the outer perimeter of the enemy's right wing to see the situation inside the enemy's formation and the cavalry's reaction. Go and come back quickly, don't linger in the battle."

The herald took the order and left.

Qing Yugong got off the observation car, and the Fourth Prince followed closely.

"This formation is quite interesting. Xiao Wangzhi is indeed a famous general of Southern Qi."

Qing Yugong sighed leisurely, but his eyes were quite sharp.

Full of murderous intent.

(End of this chapter)