The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 884: Setting Fire to the Mountain [Subscription*Monthly Ticket Request]

"Crush!" Han Xin saw from his Thousand-mile Eyes that the front-line positions of the Donghu were collapsing faster than he expected.

Just looking at the small formation of the infantry battalion, Han Xin was sincerely impressed.

The formation they got was also very short. It was evolved by Taoist immortals Heguanzi, Anqisheng and Yan Yan by combining the Taoist Three Talents Formation and the Mandarin Duck Formation of the later Qi Family Army to form a formation suitable for Bingzhou soldiers.

Because there were no bamboos and bamboo did not grow in Bingzhou, the wolf-whip was replaced by a sword and shield, and other items were also adjusted accordingly.

There are no archers in the Mandarin Duck Formation for a very simple reason. Qi Jiguang's Qi Family Army is not the imperial court or the emperor's personal army. They do not have enough money to equip crossbows, nor do they have so many archers. If the Qi Family Army were given such financial resources and equipment, do you think there would be any archers to make up for the loss?

The Red Flame Cavalry is the elite of Bingzhou, so all their equipment and personnel are fully equipped.

In the camp at Chobsan, the face of the Donghu King was livid. He knew that he could not win the battle and could not hold the position, but the order he received was only to delay for sixty days until the first heavy snowfall.

Precisely because they were sent to slow down the advance of Bingzhou, the entire Qiaobashan camp included almost all the infantry of the Donghu, and there were very few cavalry.

So King Zuo Xian chose to rely on Mount Qiaoba and the river to build fortifications to resist the Red Flame Cavalry.

But now, before the Red Flame Cavalry even set out, their first line of defense could no longer hold, and in less than an hour, the first line of defense was on the verge of collapse.

As for the casualties in Bingzhou, Zuo Xian Wang did not count them, nor did he send out a count, because he found almost no casualties among the Bingzhou infantry in formation.

"Continue the attack!" Han Xin smiled and ordered to continue the attack.

It was still early, and who knows, maybe they could call off the troops at dusk, so that they could cook a meal at the second line of defense at Choibalsan.

The vanguard infantry battalion was replaced for a brief rest, and its position was withdrawn a hundred feet, allowing the Red Flame Cavalry to enter the battlefield and patrol waiting for them to complete their rest.

After resting for half an hour, the Red Flame Cavalry dispersed again and released the infantry battalion.

The Choibalsan camp also took advantage of this brief gap to gather the defeated troops from the first line of defense and re-strengthen the second line of defense.

Maodun also followed the defeated army back to the second line of defense. The number of Mingdi Guards increased from 600 to 800, and they picked up 200 scattered tribal soldiers.

But before they could catch their breath, the sound of war drums and trumpets rang out again, and Bingzhou's attack began again.

"Attack!" The captain of the infantry battalion wiped his helmet clean, put it back on his head, put down his mask, drew his sword, and led his soldiers to launch a second attack.

This time, there were more people and more obstacles on the second line of defense, but the morale was far from what it was when the battle first started.

As one line of defense gained strength while the other declined, the second line of defense only lasted less than half an hour longer than the first line of defense before it was completely defeated.

The Left Wise King of Donghu also watched from the front of the position where the central army's flag was coming. He was far away before, and he didn't have the telescope like the ones in Bingzhou to see the equipment and armor of the infantry battalion clearly. He only vaguely saw that the obstacles he had set up were useless and completely collapsed in the blink of an eye.

It was only at this point that he finally understood why the defeat was so quick.

It was obvious at first glance that the armor could not be pierced by ordinary swords and knives, which meant that their soldiers in cloth and sheepskin coats could not hurt the enemy without any damage, while the enemy's sword could make the Donghu soldiers lie down on the spot.

This is a gap that cannot be made up by the advantage in numbers. To fight against such a Bingzhou heavy armored soldier, they would have to sacrifice at least ten people, or even more.

But even though the heavily armored infantry of the Red Flame Cavalry had the advantage in weapons and equipment, they still had to set up a formation in a very wretched manner and would not challenge you in a one-on-one duel. Even if they did, it would be a team of twelve people challenging you alone!
How can one not be defeated? Who dares to claim victory?

"Reporting to the Central Army, the Qiaobashan camp has been captured. The Red Flame Cavalry Heavy Armored Infantry Battalion will remain outside Qiaobashan to besiege the Donghu Zuoxian King's troops. The main force of the Red Flame Cavalry will continue to advance eastward along the river!"

Han Xin saw that the infantry battalion had destroyed the second line of defense of the Qiaobashan camp and completely encircled the army of the Zuoxian King of Donghu on Qiaobashan, and immediately ordered someone to send a message to the central army.

Their strategy was not to completely annihilate the enemy and then move on. After receiving intelligence from an insider, they knew that the Donghu had already begun to migrate the people to the east, a forced migration.

This kind of behavior, which is similar to the strategy of clearing the countryside, would not be agreed to by the Eastern Army Central Military Headquarters, nor would Bingzhou.

They came to occupy Donghu and recover the Donghu people. What’s the use of land if there are no people there?

What's more, the earliest batch of comrades who infiltrated Donghu have mixed into the various small and medium-sized tribes of Donghu. If they are forced to migrate with the tribe, will they agree?

There is absolutely no possibility of this.

They had been lurking for many years, just waiting for the arrival of a large army so that they could directly raise the banner of rebellion, change their flags and become the first chief executive of the newly established counties in Bingzhou.

Therefore, under the requirements of all parties, the army must fight quickly and decisively and not allow the Donghu to migrate their population eastward.

As for Chobsan's counterattack, Han Xin and the infantry battalion didn't care either.

If the second line of defense had not been breached, Choibalsan's camp would still have a lot of room for survival and the infantry battalion would not be able to complete the encirclement. However, if the second line of defense had been breached, Choibalsan's camp could only retreat to Choibalsan to rescue the enemy.

If they want to counterattack, they must be able to break through the heavy armor of the infantry battalion.

"If it weren't for our comrades in the Choibalsan camp, we would have burned it all down!"

The captain of the infantry battalion sighed helplessly as he looked at the busy positions on the mountain and the withered yellow grass under the bleak autumn wind.

In this season, with this climate and wind direction, a fire could burn the entire Chobsan Mountain clean.

It’s a pity that they can’t do so. No one knows how many of their comrades are in the Chobsan camp, and how many of these comrades have already held high positions, and even their status in Bingzhou is higher than theirs.

Therefore, the captain of the infantry battalion did not dare to do so.

If one or two of his comrades at the level of a hundred or thousand households were burned to death, even if he won the battle and returned to the imperial capital, he would have to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Even those comrades and friends who were burned to death by him would never be seen again by him for the rest of his life.

So no one dared to set fire to the mountain, as that would result in life imprisonment.

What's more, in Choibalsan's camp, many of their comrades have high status and are likely to cause trouble during the siege and bring great merit to the infantry battalion.

If any few people surrendered with the ignorant Donghu soldiers under their command, one could take ten away, and ten could take an entire battalion away.

Since there are better options and greater achievements to be achieved, who would choose to set fire to the mountain and cause unpopularity among the people?
(End of this chapter)