Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 157
The circular formation is definitely the oldest formation in ancient China. Its origin can even be traced back to the matrilineal society. A battle formation that is quite familiar and common to all armies.

The biggest advantage of the circular formation is its obvious weakness. Even if it is attacked from all directions at the same time, it will not reveal its flaws. Basically, it will not give the enemy a chance to easily break through the formation. The disadvantage is that its attack power and mobility are relatively poor. It is difficult to launch an attack, and it is difficult to pose a fatal threat to the enemy.

As an old man of the Qin army who has experienced countless wars, Zhang Han certainly knows that the Chu army's circular formation is difficult to break through, but he has no choice. The Chu army's circular formation blocked the eastward route of the Qin army. There is food outside the north gate, so the Qin army has to break through the Chu army's circular formation first.And if the Qin army can do this, it will immediately reverse the situation on the battlefield in Lu County, allowing the Qin army to completely gain the upper hand, and even defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, severely injuring the main force of the Chu army.So even though he was a little apprehensive, Zhang Han mustered up the courage to let the main force of the Qin army quickly form a mixed formation, and resolutely urged the army to attack.

The defense is too strong, and only sending infantry or cavalry to attack will inevitably lead to huge losses. Zhang Han, who knows this well, can only sacrifice the heavy chariots of the Qin army, and first pull more than a hundred heavy chariots with four horses. The chariots lined up in front of the formation, and the infantry followed behind, and then the drums were beaten, the command flag was raised, and the army was urged to attack.

Undoubtedly, the Qin army had just entered the shooting range. Of course, the soldiers of the Chu army immediately suppressed the charge of the Qin army with overwhelming crossbow arrows. Groups of soldiers of the Chu army held strong crossbows and took turns kneeling and standing on the string to shoot, trying to aim through the mountain. The Qin army's chariots rushed forward and shot sharp feathered arrows at the Qin army's chariots. Although the Qin army's chariots and war horses were protected by armor, the Chu army's crossbow arrows were too dense and the accuracy was too low. It was quite high, and even if it was just luck and blindness, many feather arrows still hit the cheeks of the chariot soldiers without armor protection and the heads and legs of the horses, people shouted and neighed, and injuries and deaths continued.

The horses have tenacious vitality. Even though many of the horses were injured by feather arrows, the Qin army's chariots that charged at the same time quickly closed the distance from the Chu army's circle, and they could crush the Chu army in the front row with inertia and weight. Soldiers, however, at this moment, the commanding platform of the Chu army in the circle waved the flag, and the infantrymen of the Chu army who were kneeling on one knee in the front row suddenly raised their spears one after another, and pointed their spears to the ground with their tails slanted. To meet the enemy, aim the shining spear tip at the Qin army's chariot rushing forward, and at the same time, the Chu army's crossbowmen in the rear row seized the time to release arrows desperately, shooting feather arrows at the Qin army's chariot as close as possible. Desperately share the pressure for the former teammates.

The moment that decides the direction of the battle happened. Although the dense spears of the Chu army were all pointing at the Qin army's chariots, the inertia of the chariots pulled by four horses was so huge. The huge inertia of the chariot still knocked many soldiers of the Chu army into the air and crushed them to death. The screams of countless soldiers and the hissing of war horses immediately rose to the sky in front of the formation.

Zhang Han in the distance clenched his fists, because Zhang Han knew very well that whether his own army could successfully defeat the Chu army's circular formation could only be determined by the impact of heavy chariots.However, Xiang Liang, who was in the center of the Chu army's circle, looked relaxed, because Xiang Liang also knew very well that it was indeed impossible to block the impact of the Qin army's heavy chariots with a spear alone, and the front team of the own army would definitely be there. The casualties caused by the impact of the Qin army's chariots were not small, but no matter how good the driving skills of the Qin army's chariot soldiers were, after being pierced by spears, there must be countless Qin army horses that would raise their hooves and neigh miserably, counteracting the inertia and impact force by themselves It is possible that the Qin army's chariots could completely smash through the Chu army's circle, but it is absolutely pitifully small!
According to Xiang Liang's prediction, after being pierced through the body by the Chu army's spear, countless Qin army horses lost control and stood up, screaming and screaming as they were dying. The heavy convoy was forced to stop advancing only after disrupting the three or four rows of the Chu army, and had to rely on the following Qin army infantry to rush up to help the battle.Zhang Han's face was gloomy when he saw this, while Xiang Liang smiled more easily, knowing that the Qin army's charge this time was absolutely impossible to succeed.

The melee broke out in an instant. The soldiers in the front row of the Chu army who were disturbed kept their usual training habits in mind, and immediately swung their weapons to kill the soldiers of the Qin army on the chariot. The weapons greeted the enemy, and the soldiers of the Chu army who were not disturbed lined up to fight. While covering each other, they fought with the chariot soldiers of the Qin army on the chariot, and slaughtered the chariot soldiers of the Qin army who had fallen into the enemy group in an orderly manner.

The attack by the chariot soldiers failed, and the situation on the battlefield inevitably fell into a stalemate. The infantry of the Qin army who followed could not rush into the ranks of the Chu army. If it extends to the two wings, the resistance to the Qin army will be even greater. The soldiers of the Chu army fighting in formation rely on mutual cover, brandishing their spears fiercely, and stabbing the soldiers of the Qin army who came to the door. Blood splattered, screams and fell to the ground. No matter how desperately the soldiers of the Qin army fought, it was difficult for them to move forward.

Since becoming an army, this is the first time that the main force of Zhang Han's army, which is mainly composed of prisoners from Lishan Mountain, has encountered an opponent who is good at battle. The chariots cannot rush, and the infantry is even more immobile. As a result, in a panic, the soldiers of the Qin army were even forced to retreat by the Chu army for a time. The front team of the Chu army, which had been chaotic by the chariots before, took the opportunity to regroup and once again formed a dense horizontal team to fight bravely, which shattered the Qin army even more. broken hope.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhang Han had no choice but to quickly send troops back to the north of the Chu army circle, and once again used chariot soldiers as the vanguard to attack the Chu army circle. However, just like the frontal attack, relying on the impact of the heavy chariot, Qin The military chariot soldiers did disrupt the front rows of several Chu troops, but after the inertia and impact force were offset, the battlefield situation was immediately drawn into a stalemate by the Chu troops. No effect.

Cold sweat appeared on Zhang Han's forehead, and all the generals of the Qin army were anxious. The generals of the Qin army beside Zhang Han kept suggesting that Zhang Han should step up the attack. On the south side of the Chu army's circular formation, a flag was raised at the same time to make the Qin army, which had previously attacked head-on, retreat temporarily, set up a long shield and shoot with a bow and crossbow.

The Chu army's reaction was far faster than Zhang Han's imagination. The front team had just retreated, and a group of Chu troops immediately stepped forward with long shields. The long shield covered the crossbowmen behind them and fired arrows to suppress them, while the infantry all knelt on one knee to wait for the opportunity to rest. Their movements were neat and quick, and they were not at all inferior to the Qin army. .

The shock tactics of heavy chariots have proved to be ineffective. The Qin army also had to adjust its offensive tactics against the south side of the Chu army's circle. The army marches forward.It's a pity that Xiang Liang didn't even blink his eyelids. As soon as the flag was waved, the archers of the Chu army inside the circle immediately reinforced the southern line, and threw feathered arrows to suppress the Qin army. The Qin army's long shield could only block the frontal shot The strong crossbow could not stop the bows and arrows that were thrown, and the casualties were extremely high. Even if they barely rushed to the front of the Chu army's circle formation, they still could not tear apart the Chu army's dense circle formation.

The situation on the battlefield became more and more stalemate. The Qin army repeatedly attacked and fought fiercely for more than an hour, but they still failed to shake the Chu army's position. They were firmly blocked from the outside of the Chu army's circle. After much deliberation, he suddenly gritted his teeth and ordered to dispatch five thousand elites from Longxi, and asked them to bring two hundred heavy chariots back to the back of the Chu army's circle, in an attempt to rely on the impact of the chariots and the powerful combat power of the elites from Longxi, from The Chu army's circular formation was torn apart from behind.

Xiang Liang's reaction made Zhang Han almost vomit blood. Just when he saw the Qin army turning around behind his own army, Xiang Liang waved the flag, and a group of infantry rushed out of the inner circle of the Chu army, and trotted to the Chu army with sharp wooden stakes. Behind the army circle, countless horses were quickly built behind the Chu army circle, which effectively offset the powerful impact of the Qin army's heavy chariots behind the Chu army circle.At the same time, Xiang Liang also said with a smile: "Children Zhang Han, the next time you dispatch elite soldiers, remember to be more concealed, and dispatch so many chariots in one go to detour behind me. If I don't know that you have sent elite soldiers, then the old man It’s been so many years in vain.”

Cold sweat dripped even more on Zhang Han's head. Seeing from a distance that there were not many horses rejecting the Chu army's round formation, and they did not completely block the Qin army's chariots from attacking the road, Zhang Han still gritted his teeth and swallowed his order to withdraw the elite from Longxi At that time, the elite Qin army who detoured to the back of the Chu army circle also followed the previous order and resolutely charged behind the Chu army whose road had been blocked for most of the way.

The elites of Longxi who were once invincible on the anti-insurgency battlefield finally kicked the iron plate this time. Affected by the refusal of the horse, the Qin army's heavy tanks were forced to enter the battlefield in batches, but only disrupted part of the formation behind the Chu army's circle. After the elites of Longxi followed up, they were immediately resisted by the Chu army. Even though they achieved more results than other allies by virtue of their experience and combat effectiveness, they still somewhat shook the Chu army's position. However, as the battle continued, Xiang Liang cleverly reinforced his troops from behind, but the battlefield was gradually drawn into a stalemate by the Chu army.

At this time, seeing that the physical strength of the troops on the front line was seriously declining, Zhang Han had to rotate the troops in front. However, taking advantage of the gap between the Qin army's army rotation, Xiang Liang also immediately rotated the troops on the periphery of the circle, letting the new force go forward and continue to reach the Qin army. The offensive of the Qin army, the Qin army repeatedly attacked, and used all its strength to move forward desperately, but it was still unable to shake the round formation of the Chu army. Confidence, the more you fight, the higher your morale will be.

Time passed by every minute and every second, and it was approaching Shen Shi in a blink of an eye, but the circular formation of the Chu army was still standing still, and the Qin army, which had been unable to attack repeatedly, gradually showed fatigue. Before Zhang Han ordered the rotation of troops, the North The Qin army on the front line was forced to retreat and regroup.Xiang Liang saw the opportunity and waved the command flag. The cavalry Xiang Guan's troops of the Chu army who were ambushing in the formation immediately rushed out of the formation and rushed behind the retreating Qin army. The Qin army was sleepy and tired and did not dare to fight. The cavalry of the Chu army without stirrups broke up and fled back to the main formation in embarrassment.The soldiers of the Chu army cheered like thunder, and their morale rose again, but the soldiers of the Qin army were noisy, and their morale dropped suddenly.

"Take Liang Chao down, push him to the front of the formation, and kill him on the spot!"

With a livid face, he ordered the execution of the commander of the northern line who had humiliated him. Zhang Han, whose face was even darker, thought about it for a long time, and shouted: "Show the flag, withdraw all the troops in front, and regroup!"

"General, withdrawing the army at this time will have a great impact on morale?" Sima Xin hurriedly reminded: "Regrouping and launching an attack will only make it more difficult for us to succeed."

"Still beating?" Zhang Han shouted angrily: "The old thief Xiang Liang is so tightly guarded, what hope do we have to break through the bandit formation? It's time, let's fight until it gets dark, we just want to retreat. Disaster!"

Seeing that Zhang Han was in a bad mood, Sima Xin didn't dare to say anything more, and the soldiers next to him obediently unfurled their banners, calling for the Qin army in front to withdraw to the front and return to the team.As a result, while the commanding flag was waving, the Qin army, who had been unable to attack for a long time, hurriedly withdrew to the formation as if it had been amnesty. Xiang Liang sneered when he saw it, and said, "It's quite smart, and knows what restraint is. Waving the commanding flag, Change the phalanx!"

According to Xiang Liang's order, the Chu army ordered the flag to be waved immediately, and the Chu army's troops immediately changed their formation, and quickly changed the circular formation into a square formation that was more conducive to offense but weaker in defense. Unfortunately, Zhang Han refused to be fooled and withdrew the front-line troops. After that, he hastily rearranged the team, and immediately led the army to retreat to the northwest, preparing to retreat to a distant place to set up camp for the night, and then find a way to move to the city of Lu County tomorrow for food.

Zhang Han made an extremely wise choice, because just as the Qin army began to retreat, the sky was suddenly covered in dust and smoke in the direction of Xiaqiu in the west, and a group of Chu army cavalry rushed to kill them. The cavalry of the Chu army led by Xiang Yu did not rush into the formation and rearranged the formation. Even if Xiang Liang immediately sent troops to reinforce, the Qin army could still fight and retreat. Protecting food, grass and military supplies, they slowly retreated northwestward.

This chasing battle lasted until it was getting dark before it was declared over. The Qin army would not be able to disrupt the Qin army, and was afraid that the Qin army would take the opportunity to counterattack after dark. The main force crossed the river and returned to the south bank to rest.However, even so, the main force of the Chu army still won a battle in the open field, which not only severely damaged the attacking soldiers of the Qin army, but also destroyed many heavy tanks of the Qin army, seriously weakening the ability of the Qin army to fight in battle. In one fell swoop, the myth that Zhang Han's army was invincible in battle was shattered, and it greatly encouraged the morale of the army.

After the defeat, there was almost no sound in the Qin army camp, the painful groans of wounded soldiers were everywhere, and there were also dejected Qin army soldiers everywhere. Zhang Han's face was black and black in the temporary tent, and he never said a word. send.Sima Xin, Dong Yi and the others were afraid that Zhang Han would be worried about his health, so they persuaded him: "General, victory or defeat is nothing more than a common matter in military affairs, so there is no need to be so worried. Besides, although our army suffered a small loss today, the loss of the army is not serious after all. Your vitality is still intact, and you can take revenge on the old thief Xiang Liang in the future."

Zhang Han didn't say a word, and said after a long time: "I'm afraid it won't be so easy to find revenge on the old thief Xiang Liang. He won today and successfully rescued his bandit army. The morale will definitely be boosted. We will launch another attack in the future." In a decisive battle, our situation will only become more unfavorable."

"But we are not at a disadvantage." Sima Xin persuaded again: "We only need to find a way to pull the army to the city of Lu County and get the food and grass supplies in the city, and we can benefit from the invincible position. The thieves exhausted the old master, and then, as they did in Xiangyi, they highlighted the surprise soldiers and turned the tide of the battle in one fell swoop."

"It's not that easy. Let's not say that the old thief Xiang Liang is hard to be fooled again. Even if we face the consumption head-on, we may not be able to consume the thief soldiers." Zhang Han was still depressed, and said: "Don't forget, the traitor There are fast roads to replenish grain and grass, and it is convenient to transport grain, but if we want to transport grain and grass from the rear of Puyang to the front to supply the army, we can only take narrow county roads, which is not only difficult to transport grain, but also may be harassed and threatened by rebels at any time."

Sima Xin, Dong Yi and the others didn't dare to speak anymore. Zhang Han thought about it for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "We can't stay in Lu County anymore. We are at a disadvantage here in confronting and decisively fighting the bandit army. We must retreat as soon as possible to the opposite side. We will have a decisive battle with the old thief Xiang Liang on the battlefield where we have the advantage."

"The general wants to withdraw?" Dong Yi was stunned, and hurriedly said: "Then what should we do with the troops in Zou County and Lu County? Fortunately, the army in Zou County has few people to maneuver, and there is a fast way to retreat back to Puyang. , but what about the troops in Lu County? Not only are they outnumbered, but they also have to carry the food and grass in the city to retreat. It is impossible for them to escape the pursuit of the rebels?"

"It doesn't matter, there are ways to solve these problems." Zhang Han said word by word: "Let Shicheng abandon the grain and grass in Lu County, lead the army to retreat lightly, and come over overnight to join our main force."

"Give up the grain and grass in Lu County?" Sima Xin and Dong Yi were taken aback, and hurriedly said: "General, how can you give up the grain and grass? Even if Shi Cheng abandons the city overnight and retreats, he should burn the grain and grass in the city with a torch." Already?"

"It can't be burned. Once the burning is over, the rebels will definitely send troops to hunt him down immediately. He abandoned the city overnight and went north, even if he didn't want to lose the battle. At this time, we can no longer take food and grass into consideration. We can only prioritize the preservation of the army. "Zhang Han shook his head, and said darkly: "Besides, it's not without purpose that I left the food and grass to the old thief Xiang Liang."

The poisonous snake bites the wrist, and the strong man loses his arm. Zhang Han resolutely abandons food and protects the soldiers. He not only deceives Xiang Liang and the generals of the Chu army who are exhausted after the decisive battle, but also deceives Xiang Kang and Zhou Shu who are in charge of the defense of the Chu army camp tonight. , because there was no abnormal movement, and it was only when the sky was fully bright the next day that Xiang Kang, who was in charge of the night watch, was stunned to receive the scout report, saying that the Shicheng Division of the Qin Army in Lu County had abandoned the city overnight. He left, and also left all the grain and grass that Zhang Han had hoarded in Lu County with great difficulty to the Chu army.

"I'm convinced Zhang Han." Xiang Kang sighed with great admiration: "Unexpectedly, in order to protect the army, Zhang Han would be willing to leave all the food and grass in Lu County to us, even if it was me instead. I'm afraid I can't make up my mind."

"General You, Zhang Han deliberately didn't burn the food and grass in the city. I'm afraid it's not just for the purpose of covering his army's retreat." Uncle Zhou pointed out: "Maybe he has ulterior motives and other purposes."

"Is there any other purpose?" Xiang Kang blinked his eyes, and said suddenly: "There is another purpose. Our army won the battle and rescued the trapped army to boost the morale. A large amount of grain and grass is convenient for us to continue to transport grain northward, and my uncle will definitely take advantage of the victory and pursue it, and be led by the nose by Mr. Zhang Han."

"It should be for this purpose." Uncle Zhou nodded, and said: "Although in terms of the current situation, it is natural for us to take advantage of the victory and pursue it, and the danger is not great, but the further we go north, the farther we are from the rear, the battle will only get worse. It is getting more and more difficult to fight, regarding this point, I also ask the general on the right to be the general, so that the general can prepare earlier."

Xiang Kang didn't answer, because Xiang Kang knew very well that if he wanted to persuade Xiang Liang to retreat to Pengcheng, Xiang Liang would not listen anyway, so the only thing Xiang Kang can do now is to try his best to remind Xiang Liang to be careful. In doing things, we must not repeat the same mistakes, and let the Qin army suddenly reverse the situation like it was in Xiangyi.

(End of this chapter)