Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 426: Battle in Hedong (XIV)
While Huan Xi and Fu Jian were chatting and laughing, the cavalry generals following them had a hard time. They had to concentrate fully and be prepared for the other side to suddenly attack.

Huan Qian's eyes were fixed on Fu Jian. Huan Xi once said that smashing the cup was a signal.

As long as Huan Xi felt confident, he would smash the wine glass on the spot, and everyone would rush forward and chop Fu Jian to the ground.

But he didn't smash the cup until Huan Xi said goodbye to Fu Jian and left the pavilion.

After all, it was because the cavalry brought by Fu Jian and Yue Wan were equally strong and sturdy, and Huan Xi was not sure of his ability and was afraid of getting hurt.

Huan Xi also knew that Fu Jian must have such a plan, but he was also frightened by Huan Qian and others.

When Huan Xi met with Fu Jian, Quan Yi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Although Huan Xi completely trusted him, he had agreed on the number of people with Fu Jian, so Huan Xi naturally would not bring Quan Yi, a scholar, and waste the quota.

"A son of a wealthy family should not sit idle in the hall. Lord Liang should not take such risks again in the future."

Quan Yi was relieved to see Huan Xi return safely, but he still couldn't help but persuade him.

Huan Xi felt warm in his heart and responded with a smile:
"I just wanted to observe the enemy's deployment from close up."

He already had a clear view of the formations of the Yu and Yan armies. Of course, Fu Jian could also see Huan Xi's arrangements.

In fact, there are only a few variations in formations. The key to victory or defeat is to find the weaknesses in the opponent's formation and strike at them in local conflicts.

In this battle, the Liang army formed a goose-shaped formation, which was the same formation arranged by Murong Ke in the Battle of Hongchi.

Huan Xi placed the 5,000 heavily armored cavalrymen that Shi Yue had brought out of the city at the forefront, and deployed them diagonally on both wings, with 20,000 horse archers on each side. The formations were like flying geese, forming a V-shape.

The Baibao Xianbei and the Jinwei Yicong were deployed in the gap between the two wings and the central army.

Huan Xi mobilized 100,000 infantry and cavalry from Hetao and Hexi, and brought 50,000 of them to Wenxi County, all of whom were cavalry.

The 50,000 men under Xie Ai's command were a mixture of infantry and cavalry, with infantry being the main force.

After all, Wenxi County was the main battlefield. Huan Xi really didn't trust the nomadic infantry. It had nothing to do with loyalty, but rather with ability.

Whether it is the Xianbei people or the Xiongnu people, there is absolutely no problem in asking them to ride and shoot at the same time, as riding and shooting has become their instinct.

But if we are infantry, forming formations to defend against the enemy and emphasizing discipline is tantamount to making up for one's weaknesses by taking advantage of one's strengths.

Even the Xiongnu and Xianbei infantry under Xie Ai were used as archers and were not allowed to participate in close combat.

To the north of Wenxi County is a flat and open terrain, suitable for large-scale battles.

In this battle, Huan Xi and Fu Jian both went out in full force, with a total of nearly 200,000 troops lined up here. The two armies faced each other with flags flying everywhere, and there was no end in sight.

The vulture seemed to have smelled the scent of death and circled above the battlefield, refusing to leave for a long time.

Huan Xi waited for a while, and seeing that Fu Jian did not take the initiative to attack, he said in a deep voice:
"Call Liu Yanloutou."

Upon hearing the order, Shen Chiqian hurriedly called over the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu.

This time, the Tiele Huns went southwards, led by Liu Yanloutou.

Liu Yan came to Huan Xi, dismounted, and saluted:

"The little prince greets Lord Liang!"

Huan Xi rode on the horse and nodded condescendingly:

"Please stand up, Right Wise King."

"Thank you, Lord Liang!" After Liu Yanluo stood up, Huan Xi said:
"I need you to lead the Tiefu Xiongnu to provoke Fu Jian in front of his army."

Huan Xi had 50,000 archers and cavalry under his command, of which 40,000 were Xianbei archers and cavalry distributed on the left and right wings, while the remaining 10,000 Xiongnu archers and cavalry were used as reserves.

Now, seeing that Fu Jian was reluctant to take any action, Huan Xi decided to send out Xiongnu archers to lure the enemy.

Liu Yanloutou had nothing to say and agreed immediately.

Just as he was about to leave, Huan Xi stopped him and said:
"If the enemy cavalry goes out to pursue, don't panic. The Imperial Guards and the Hundred Guards will provide support in due time."

Liu Yanlou nodded repeatedly:

"Xiao Wang obeys the order!"

Liu Yanlou was very aware of the fighting effectiveness of the Jinwei Yicong and Baibao Xianbei.

There is no need to say much about the Jinwei Yicong. Liu Yanloutou witnessed with his own eyes outside the city of Yinchuan how the Baibao Xianbei with two thousand cavalry chased ten thousand elite Di cavalry and drove them out of the battlefield.

He did not think that the melee cavalry of the Yu-Yan coalition could be a match for the Imperial Guards and the Baibao Xianbei.

The elite cavalry of the Yu State were just defeated. They lost to the Jinwei Yicong in the Battle of Langshan and to the Baibao Xianbei in the Battle of Yinchuan. Both defeats were tragic, with an astonishing casualty ratio.

As for the Yan army, Liu Yantou had not yet fought with them, but how could Murong Jun send his most elite troops to Wenxi County as a detachment?

In the ranks of the Xiongnu archers, everyone was ready to fight.

They all knew that Liu Yanlou was called over by Huan Xi at this time because he must have a mission.

Over the years, they have become accustomed to obeying Huan Xi's orders.

This is also the reason why Huan Xi kept the Xiongnu archers as a reserve force. The Xianbei archers had not been submissive for long. Although Huan Xi had established his prestige among the Xianbei tribes, he was ultimately not as obedient and easy to use as the Xiongnu.

Feilian Helong and his son Feilian Tu were Huns and were currently in the queue.

Fei Liantu, who couldn't eat in the morning because of nervousness, was no longer afraid when he really went to the battlefield. His eager look made Fei Lianhelong frown.

Fei Lianhelong was just about to say a few words to calm Fei Liantu down, but before he could open his mouth, Liu Yanloutou had already returned as ordered.

"My men! The Di people have been defeated in every battle. Now they are meeting with Lord Liang in Wenxi, but they are afraid before the battle and dare not attack."

Liu Yanloutou first shouted to encourage the soldiers, and when everyone laughed, Liu Yanloutou continued to shout:
"Lord Liang wants us to go out and show off our might in front of the enemy. Follow me if you have the guts!"

After saying that, Liu Yanlou took the lead and rode towards the enemy camp, and behind him, a large number of Hun archers and cavalry rushed past.

In fact, Fu Jian was unwilling to take the initiative to attack, not because he was afraid of fighting, but because he had already adopted a defensive posture.

When two armies face off, it's like a duel between two masters. The one who strikes first may gain the upper hand, but may also reveal a flaw.

Generally speaking, there is a greater possibility of revealing flaws. After all, once an attack is launched, the formation will have to be moved. The Liang army has 75,000 people, only 5,000 of which are infantry, and the remaining 70,000 are all cavalry. Fu Jian dare not press forward easily.

Thousands of horses galloped, raising a cloud of dust. The deafening sound of horse hooves was like a landslide.

Fu Jian noticed the Xiongnu cavalry archers who were coming to attack him. The reason why his father was defeated in the Battle of Langshan was because he had no way to deal with the cavalry archers who could not dismount and shoot on foot.

But so many years have passed since the incident, and the Yu army has long been able to deal with the tactic of dismounting and shooting.

(End of this chapter)