As soon as Jiang Jizu finished speaking, the army, which had been in a triangular formation, immediately changed its formation and formed a long, straight line.
"Keep spinning, hook the long goose!"
The crowd continued to shift, and the five thousand soldiers at headquarters quickly formed ranks, finally managing to withstand the fierce attack of the Tartars.
Guan Jinxian's soldiers were a little slower, and in the blink of an eye, countless more lives fell.
"General, let me handle this." Vice General Jin shouldered his long sword and charged to the front. "Men, follow me! Extend to the left, extend to the right! Leave the middle open!"
The Great Yu Formation is exquisite and unparalleled.
The experience forged by our ancestors with their blood has been passed down from generation to generation. How could the enemy army possibly comprehend it in just a few days?
The Fang family has its own formations, and the Jiang family has its own formations.
When the soldiers who had fought valiantly changed their formation, the Tartars' advantage vanished completely.
However, at the same time, the difference in numbers between the two sides was gradually leveled off.
With 90,000 frontier troops facing 90,000 Tartars, their advantage had been stripped away, leaving them only able to fight in a sea of blood.
You ride your horse and trample on my face, I pierce your chest with my spear.
Blood splattered, limbs were severed, screams filled the air, and hot tears streamed down.
It's impossible to tell whose blood it is, whose life it is, whose horse it is, or whose weapon it is.
With the consolidation of the Dayu Dynasty's national strength in recent years, it shifted from offense to defense, and such a fierce battle had not occurred for a long time.
The Tatar cavalry was few in number and unwilling to engage in direct confrontation. Most of them would sneak into small villages, kill, burn, and loot before returning with food. Even when they did fight, it was only with small groups of troops.
Fighting like this in a sea of people, fighting until exhaustion, until blood is spilled, until the last ounce of strength is truly rare.
Historically, large-scale brawls have been rare.
As the saying goes, where there are many people, there are many thoughts. This is especially true for an army of tens of thousands, where the soldiers' beliefs are more important than anything else.
A positive example is the Yue Family Army. Yue Fei was the belief of the soldiers. With just one word from him, the entire army would charge forward without hesitation.
However, if something were to happen to Yue Fei, the morale of the soldiers would collapse, and the army would also be defeated.
An ordinary army, lacking sufficient conviction and faith, will inevitably be defeated as limbs are severed, blood splatters, and familiar faces fall one after another. Once the number of casualties reaches a certain level, defeat is practically inevitable.
When two armies clash, if you flee, the enemy will pursue you. In the process of pursuing you, some of them will be annihilated, while the remaining few will escape with their lives.
But fighting against other races is a different story.
The Tartars are inherently cruel and incredibly fast-moving. Once the soldiers of Dayu retreat, their only fate will be death.
With the Guanjin Railway guarding the frontier, and the Central Plains behind them, where countless people live peaceful lives, where can they retreat to?
The reason why Vice General Jin and General Zhou went down at the same time was to boost morale and encourage everyone to fight to the end, to drive the foreigners out of the country and make them go back to their own grasslands.
The long sword moved with wide, sweeping strokes, and the armor clanged loudly.
As more and more people fell, the ground was almost entirely covered in thick blood.
Both the frontier troops and the Tartars were filled with fear.
Everyone wants to live; no one wants to die.
"General, shall we fight again? So many people have already died, so many!" a young officer asked, sobbing.
General Zhou planted his sword in the ground to support himself, and looked around. "Let's fight. What else can we do if we retreat? If we retreat, the morale of the army will collapse."
"But everyone is already scared. If we continue fighting, they'll just abandon their weapons and run away." The young general wiped his eyes. "General, what should we do?"
General Zhou shook his head without speaking, his eyes filled with shame and regret.
He regretted his overconfidence and his failure to plan ahead. The Guan-Jin line collapsed inexplicably. If General Jiang hadn't been cautious enough to leave some behind, who knows how many of those 100,000 soldiers would have survived.
"We cannot retreat." Vice General Jin wiped the blood off his face. "The two sides are evenly matched. We are afraid, and the Tartars are afraid too. Now it depends on who can hold out until the end."
Once one side is defeated, the other side will win a great victory.
"But how can we guarantee that we can hold out until the Tartars are defeated?" General Zhou was unusually hesitant.
The garrison general has already personally come to lead the troops; any further assurances would only be...
"I'll take over." Jiang Jizu removed his cloak, holding the nine-linked longsword. "Continue to change formations. My men, do not be afraid. The Great Yu Dynasty will never abandon its people, and will never give up its soldiers!"
"The general stands with his soldiers, and the soldiers stand with the border defense!"
"The border defense stands with the millions of people!"
Even the oldest general can still wield a long sword and cut down enemies.
When they are bedridden, they are covered in wounds, but when they put on their armor, they are incomparably brave and valiant.
Suddenly, red clouds drifted across the sky, and as the light rose, the general in front appeared so tall and majestic.
Countless soldiers were inspired and charged forward with a roar and an unwavering determination to win.
The Tartars, feeling fear again, unconsciously took two steps back.
On the battlefield, once you retreat, that's the beginning.
One step, withdraw from the Guanjin Line city defenses.
Take two steps to exit the Guanjin Line gate.
Three steps, and you're back on the grasslands!
On a small hill outside the Guanjin Line, the expressions of several young men observing the battle situation changed drastically.
"Damn it, that guy has boosted morale." The leader spoke in broken Mandarin, "The formation has changed too, it wasn't given to us by you."
“Your Highness is wise. These two men look like swindlers. They tricked so many of our elite troops into attacking. They might be plotting against us from within.” The other man replied in a foreign language.
The prince turned his head, his eyes showing displeasure, but he did not speak.
"What are you all babbling about?" Zhu Changyu said with some impatience. "When I gave you the formation, I made it clear that it was only the Fang family's formation. Can you tell them what to do if they use other formations?"
The prince's gaze grew increasingly displeased.
Fang Yuan tugged at his sleeve from behind, "Third Prince Anda, please don't be angry. The current situation is evenly matched. It is already difficult to break through the Guan Jin Line. The rest depends on the strength of both sides."
These words sounded much milder, but their meaning still struck at the heart of the alien race: If your own fighting ability is lacking, who else can you blame?
Thinking that without that booklet, perhaps even Guan Jin's thread wouldn't have been broken, the Third Prince's expression softened considerably.
He stared intently at Jiang Jizu, and said thoughtfully, "Bring me my bow and arrows."
The Tartars were skilled riders and archers, capable of taking lives from a hundred feet away, piercing straight into the chest.
Throughout history, there have been countless generals who were shot and killed for peeking out. To avoid this, generals usually do not peek out during battles, let alone stand at the very front of the formation.
Today, in an effort to boost morale, we have inadvertently given the foreign tribes an opportunity.
"General Jiang... a great general on the frontier," the third prince murmured, drawing his bow.
He took ten breaths to aim, then released the bowstring.
The sharp blade whistled past, and Fang Yuan and Zhu Changyu both paled.
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