Chapter 581: Confused Huangfu Song
The west wind was blowing fiercely, the horses were neighing in the wind, and a majestic and awe-inspiring atmosphere emanated from the ranks of the Taiping Army.
Luo Xiao was confident that he dared to line up to meet the enemy. If he really had no choice, he would not rely on his own ability and fight against the enemy with his own strength.
The Taiping Army has its own advantages. Their will is more resolute than that of the Han Army. The elite Taiping warriors have extremely high personal qualities and are numerous.
Although they were at an absolute disadvantage, they were not in a situation where they were crushed and had no power to fight back.
If Zhang Jue or anyone else in the world were to command the army, facing the unparalleled Huangfu Song and the powerful Han army, they would naturally be defeated.
But Luo Xiao was different, he was the exception. Back then, Han Wumu was able to pacify the north in just a few years with a group of new soldiers. Now, it would be no problem for Luo Ziling to shake the Han Dynasty with the people of Jiuzhou.
In other words, just in the area of Hebei, on this battlefield, even without any special strategies, Luo Xiao could use the Taiping Army, which was obviously weaker, to be on par with the Han Army.
This is called the destiny has been lost, and everyone has to rely on their own ability.
Swords and weapons are everywhere, and the air is filled with murderous intent. The traces of yesterday's battle have not yet been removed, and a new round has begun.
The Han army's infantry, with distinctive armor, were displayed in a very neat arrangement. They were obviously an elite division at first glance. The sound of hissing kept coming from their crotches. The knights were roaming in the back and on the flanks, equipped not only with swords and sharp blades, but also with lances, bows and crossbows, like sharp knives, ready to pounce at any time, rush through the torn gap and completely tear apart the enemy's formation.
Luo Xiao looked at the Han army's extremely neat formation, which seemed to have no flaws, and he was not surprised.
After all, that was Huangfu Song. It would be ridiculous if he couldn't even arrange the military formation.
But the Taiping Army's formation was not bad. Although the Taiping Army's tactical skills were not as good as those of the elite Han Army who had experienced many battles, their advantage was that they worked together. Unlike the Han Army, which was divided into many factions, they could carry out Luo Xiao's orders without fail.
Today, as soon as Luo Xiao took command, his orders were so clear that the entire army even felt a new feeling.
Huangfu Song didn’t know, and no one in the world knew, what happened between Luo Xiao and Zhang Jiao.
After these days of probing, he had a general understanding of the strength of the Taiping Army as well as the strength of Zhang Jue and other generals.
Just an average person's talent.
The reason why they failed to achieve a great victory before was simply because the Taiping Army was in a state of mourning. But how could something like a state of blessing be available all the time?
Seeing the Taiping Army arrayed in battle array, Huangfu Song was not surprised but delighted, and said to those around him with a proud smile, "The bandit leader is so ignorant and arrogant.
You really think that the rebel army can resist the elite troops of the Han Dynasty. How foolish! I am afraid that the Taiping Rebellion will be put down overnight.
This is a blessing for the Han Dynasty."
After saying this, he burst into laughter, and everyone around him also laughed.
If you look carefully, you can see that there is no trace of smile in the depths of Huangfu Song's eyes. He has traveled all over the world and never underestimates any opponent.
Although he said these words from the bottom of his heart, he did not look down on the Taiping Army at all.
In particular, he felt that the Taiping Army had made obvious progress compared to before, and their formation was more orderly. As for replacing people, he had never thought about it.
As soon as the battle started, Huangfu Song felt relieved. The stagnation in the dispatch, the sparse coordination between the military formations, and the coordinated attack between the various camps and arms were no different from the previous few days. This neat military formation was just a decoration.
"We will defeat the enemy army today!"
Huangfu Song ordered the soldiers to beat drums and coordinate the attack between the camps. The soldiers put on their armor and strangled the Taiping Army.
The battle lasted only an hour before the Taiping Army could no longer withstand the fierce attack of the Han Army and began a classic rout, with entire battalions even retreating.
When Huangfu Song saw this and observed briefly, he found that the Taiping Army's retreat was disorganized and it was a typical rout. He was an old general and his rich experience told him that this was the best time to expand the results of the war.
He immediately drew his sword and shouted, "The enemy army has been defeated. The Imperial Guards mount their horses and lead the men of Sanhe to chase after them. We must kill all the young and strong men."
"promise!"
The earth-shaking shouts resounded through the clouds. The Royal Guards, the pearls of the Han Dynasty, were not just soldiers but officers.
The military system of the Han court was a conscription system.
In the early Han Dynasty, 3,000 royal guards went out to fight, starting from Chang'an. Good family men from the six counties were called up to join the army. By the time they entered Mobei, they had an army of 100,000 or even 200,000 soldiers.
During the Later Han Dynasty, the six counties declined, and the knights from Hedong, Henan and Henei counties completely replaced the status of the good families in the six counties.
The Sanhe Knights led by the two royal guards, the Yulin Huben, were the most elite troops of the Han royal family.
The emperor sold official positions, levied heavy taxes, and indulged eunuchs, all for his own enjoyment and to ensure the loyalty of the army.
Although this is a method of exhausting the resources, it is at least effective for now.
If there were any capable ministers in the world who could govern the country, they would certainly approve it in large numbers, because this method would harm the foundation of the world.
To put it more clearly, you could originally live by eating one meal and skipping another, but now you are eating leek roots just to fill yourself up. When the leek roots are gone, you will be hungry again. Not only will you not be able to eat enough, you won't even have a chance to starve and will starve to death.
The reason why the current emperor is criticized is that the world is not rotten to the point where he has to drink poison to quench his thirst, but his every move is aimed at the foundation of the Han Dynasty. On the surface, he seems to be doing quite a lot, but in fact he is the culprit of cholera in the world.
"Yu Lin is unrivaled! Long live the Han Dynasty!"
As the Yulin Guards' horses strode forward, their earth-shaking shouts exploded like thunder, and the whole earth seemed to be shaking. The Taiping Army's fleeing steps became more and more disorderly, and even their leaders' faces were filled with panic, like headless flies.
"Defeat without collapsing, collapse without dispersing, disperse without becoming chaotic, and be able to gather despite being chaotic."
Luo Xiao stood with some generals, pointed to the place where the two armies were fighting and said: "This is the essence of the Huaiyin Military Manual. If you learn these sixteen words, there is no tactic in the world that you cannot use. It will be easy to lure the enemy deep into your territory and act after planning."
All the Taiping Army commanders were stunned and looked at each other. Some of them were even illiterate. The art of war was too advanced for them.
Luo Xiao didn't care and said in a deep voice: "The Han army has fallen into the trap. Send an order to all the troops to join forces to encircle and annihilate them!"
A strategy of feigning defeat to lure the enemy deeper into the territory.
For thousands of years, this tactic has been tried and tested, and countless famous generals have fallen victim to it.
Because this strategy required too much from the commander, few people would do it. The mere requirement of pretending to be defeated eliminated most generals.
There are countless cases where a feigned rout turned into a real rout. Few generals dared to use them, as they were usually simply designed to lure the enemy deep into their territory.
However, facing a famous general like Huangfu Song, unless the emperor kept urging him to attack, simply luring the enemy deep into his territory would hardly be effective.
When the Imperial Guards of the Han court led the Sanhe Knights in pursuit, but the battle line became longer and longer, someone finally sensed that something was wrong!
What was the Taiping Army’s biggest advantage?
Of course there are a lot of people!
Having a large number of people but not being elite enough may not be an advantage when they are assembled in a battle formation, but once the battle line is extended, the advantage of having a large number of people will immediately become apparent.
The increase in battlefield dominance between one cavalryman and a thousand cavalrymen is not a thousand times, but more than ten thousand times.
…
It was slightly cloudy and rainy, and the vision was obstructed, and only endless human figures could be seen.
The deafening shouts drowned out everything else. Looking around, there was no sky above and no ground below.
The powerful strength of the Yulin Guards caused heavy losses to the Taiping Army, but the strategic victory was the final chapter of everything.
To put it bluntly, one Taiping Army soldier is exchanged for one Yulin Guard, is this a profit?
Everyone knows the answer!
Huangfu Song felt as if he was falling into an ice cellar when looking at the scene in front of him. He was not afraid of the loss of the Yulin Guards. The Han Dynasty had such a strong foundation that they could definitely afford to lose.
He was terrified of the abilities demonstrated by the Taiping Army's commander, from feigning defeat to luring the enemy deep into his territory, to now being able to command and dispatch troops in the continuous rain, all of which showed that this was a commander who was unlike anything else in the world!
I was cheated!
I spent the whole day hunting geese but got my eyes pecked by a goose!
“Da da da!”
Huangfu Song looked up at the figures in the rain and the bodies lying on the ground. The bright red color was washed down by the rain. He knew that this battle was hopeless. He was about to leave with his guards when suddenly a loud voice came through the heavy rain.
"Huangfu Song!
Go tell the emperor in Luoyang that I will go to the palace and chop off his head, as well as those of the ministers, on behalf of all the people of the world."
————
Jiao and Song fought in Hebei, nine battles in one day. The imperial guards and the knights of Sanhe were all killed, and their bodies were floating like wood. Song escaped with his life. The whole country was shocked, the capital was terrified, and Jiao became famous. - "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Zhang Jiao"
(End of this chapter)
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