Chapter Thirty: Who's to Blame?

The "Takeda Eight Formations" were evolved by the famous Japanese general Takeda Shingen from the "Wuhou Eight Formations" of the Xia Dynasty, and they repeatedly shone brightly in the struggles between Japanese daimyo.

Fusang has always admired everything about the vast Xia Empire—its culture, economy, and military. Every year, many noble children brave the storms to come to Xia to learn various kinds of knowledge. After completing their studies, these people return to Fusang and invariably become the leaders of their respective social classes.

Harukami Jiro had encountered the "Eight Formations of Zhuge Liang" in battle more than once, and knew that the tactical principle of this fish-scale formation was to launch a central attack, generally used when the strength of the enemy was far superior. As for which formation to use to counter it, that was beyond the understanding of ordinary samurai; only nobles were qualified and capable of learning this advanced art of tactics.

When Chun Shang saw Prince Heng and General Wu walking towards them, he immediately stood up straight and respectfully paid their respects. This was Qin Mo's repeated instruction: during wartime, one was not allowed to perform exaggerated salutes to superiors, lest one be targeted by the enemy's sharpshooters.

"Has any of you rehearsed battle formations?"

"Who can skillfully form a battle formation on command?"

Wu Shengze asked a question, and the interpreter responded loudly in Japanese. The interpreter was Matsushiro, an acquaintance of Haruka's. He had come to Daxia with Haruka, but one of them was a soldier and the other an interpreter.

Haruka noticed the subtle look in Matsushita's eyes, and before he could finish speaking, he immediately raised his hand and replied, "This subordinate is capable of any position in the 'Takeda Eight Formations'."

"I am also capable of this role... I have served as a striker in a wedge formation..."

Many Japanese people enthusiastically expressed their willingness to join the battle, which surprised Qin Mo, who had always thought that the Japanese would only charge into battle like pigs!

"Who can take command of the formation?" Wu Shengze asked again.

This time, no one answered for a long time. After all, those who came to Daxia were either poor samurai or simply foot soldiers with some martial arts skills. No true Japanese nobles came to work as mercenaries.

Qin Mo waited for a while, and was feeling discouraged, when a timid voice rang out: "This subordinate has studied battle formations and has also commanded military formations alongside my father."

Qin Mo didn't need to look to know who was talking. This time, they brought all the officers of the Fusang mercenary army above the rank of lieutenant. Kaihime, as the head of the sanitation team, was the only female officer.

Seeing Kaihime's flushed cheeks and eyes due to excitement, Qin Mo said, "You should test them and select fifty qualified warriors to form a formation."

"Yes!" Kaihime nodded emphatically, turned around and quickly asked a series of questions in Japanese. Occasionally, a man around her would answer, and Kaihime would immediately select him to the side. She asked questions quickly and chose people decisively, and the group quickly gathered.

Once fifty people had been gathered, Kaihime gave a series of orders, and a well-defined military needle quickly took shape, much to the surprise of Qin Mo and Wu Shengze.

This is the Crane Wing Formation, renowned for its balanced offense and defense among the "Eight Formations of Zhuge Liang," but it demands extremely high command skills from the general. Although it's only a fifty-man formation, the fact that it could be formed so quickly shows that Kaihime is definitely not just a theorist. However, whether she can skillfully utilize the Crane Wing Formation remains to be seen during the actual battle.

"Commander Chen, would it be fair to have both sides remove their armor?" Qin Mo asked Chen Xuanji as he walked back to the sidelines.

"I will only make the judgment. As for the rest, you two can discuss it yourselves." Chen Xuanji remained noncommittal, simply sitting there calmly, waiting for the fight to begin.

Qin Mo turned to look at Wang Renbi without saying a word, but everyone knew that Qin Mo was asking him if he wanted to remove his armor.

"When two armies clash, casualties are inevitable, so let's not remove the armor! Hehehe... Qin Mo, you only gave them battle uniforms, not armor? Are you so poor? Can you still come up with 50,000 taels of silver later?... Hahaha..." Wang Renbi's cackling laughter carried far.

Qin Mo turned her head away from him. Wu Shengze found a chair, and Qin Mo sat down, looking down at her nose and inward.

"Boom boom boom," three drumbeats sounded, and the battle began. The Wang family's private army moved swiftly, with a dozen or so warriors clad in leaf armor leading the charge and flanking the Japanese army. In the blink of an eye, the killing intent intensified; any opponent who had never been on the battlefield would surely be thrown into disarray.

On the other hand, the Japanese army, after setting up their formation, did not make any further moves. Their two flanks spread forward like wings. If they did not move, the weak middle part would be directly broken through by the strong front of the fish scale formation.

The nobles on the sidelines had already begun to discuss whether the Japanese army was standing firm or had been so intimidated by the royal family's private army that they had forgotten to change their formation.

A crisp command, "Raise your spears!" rang out, and the Japanese army's crane wings transformed into a porcupine, their long infantry spears thrusting out in dense array. Subsequent commands continuously adjusted the crane wing formation, the two flanks gradually moving towards the center. If the royal private army continued to charge straight ahead, the fish-scale formation would inevitably make full contact with the crane wing formation, losing its initial momentum for attacking a single point.

However, the general leading the Wang family clearly didn't intend to use any tactics; he simply wanted to overwhelm them with brute force. The warriors of the Sharp Blade were all clad in iron armor and wielded long swords, and were exceptionally brave and fierce. Once they broke through the Crane Wing Formation, they would break through twice, and the enemy would basically collapse.

As the two armies rapidly closed in, unable to change formation again, the general of the Wang family's private army revealed a bloodthirsty ferocity on his face. But suddenly he saw the Japanese people opposite him wipe their faces with their hands, and then a mask appeared on their faces, which seemed to be made of... iron.

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