Tu Hesu knew that this Han general who had just become a Meng'an in Daming Prefecture had always been around him out of insecurity, but at this point, he also had the responsibility to win over and appease these people, so he did not rule out making explanations during the march, and even spoke a little louder. "The key is the order in which the war is launched..."
"Please give me some advice, Lord Wanhu." Han'er Meng'an interrupted without losing the opportunity.
"What can I teach you?" Tu Hesu sighed as he walked forward. "Our army plus the newly arrived reinforcements has 130,000 to 140,000 soldiers, and the Song army plus the newly arrived reinforcements has 170,000 to 180,000 soldiers. There are too many soldiers, no one can properly command them, and it is even more impossible to rush forward. That would destroy the organization and seek death. At this time, we must pay attention to the division of the battlefield, and the waves and order of the march... Although Han Shizhong's troops only have 20,000 to 30,000 people, they are all elite troops that have never lost a battle and are well-organized. Han Shizhong himself is a famous general in the world, and it is just right for them to gain a foothold first..."
"Once they cross the river, those Khitans, Tanguts, and Mongols, a total of 40,000 light cavalry, can easily come over under the cover of Han Shizhong..."
"Once 40,000 light cavalry rush over, their killing power may not be enough, but they will be enough to harass and contain the entire battlefield. By then, we will not be able to stop the main force of Li Yanxian's army from crossing the river and fighting with us for the high ground."
"And if Han Shizhong's troops and those light cavalry cannot succeed, although Li Yanxian still has to lead the main force to cross the river before noon, he will inevitably be overwhelmed by our main force from the high ground when crossing the river, and suffer heavy casualties... This is the chance of victory... And these things are also layered."
The Han army soldier Meng'an nodded slightly on his horse, but he was still a little confused. He wanted to ask something else, but he didn't dare to ask. And soon, he didn't need to ask, because he was on the left side of Tuhesu, while maintaining a humble attitude, and suddenly noticed the movement on the opposite river bank, and raised his hand slightly to signal.
Tu Hesu turned around in surprise and his face changed immediately... It turned out that the thing he was most worried about had happened.
It was not known whether they could not bear the pressure of the densely packed Song army on the other side of the river, or whether Wanyan Bendu on the high ground made a misjudgment and issued a military order. In short, the Wanhu of the Eastern Route Army on the west side of the high ground facing the river did not abandon the enemy in front of them as originally planned and march west with them. Instead, they sent a large number of troops to the river.
In this case, even if Wan Hu later received support or military orders and quickly turned around and advanced westward, his own front line would inevitably be affected... especially his headquarters, and his flanks would be exposed.
But the matter was done, and although the leader of Wanhu, Pushan Beilu, was a recognized waste, he was also the brother-in-law of Taizu Aguda, and the Pushan tribe itself was a large Jurchen tribe, which was not something he could interfere with. So after watching for a moment, Tuhesu turned around and headed west with his own army.
However, the matter was not over yet. They had only walked two or three miles, and in the drizzle, they had just lost sight of the high ground behind them when they suddenly heard shouts of killing from the front.
Tu Hesu and the accompanying officer hurriedly climbed up a slightly raised ridge, took a look, and then were half surprised and half enlightened.
It turned out that right in front of them, a familiar flag and a familiar army were coming towards them and directly launched an attack on the Jin army. It was none other than the troops of Huyan Tong, the commander of the left army of the imperial camp.
Obviously, after crossing the river, Huyan Tong's troops did not do as the Jin army had imagined, first establishing a defense line to gain a foothold, and then covering the main force crossing the river, and then the main force of the left army of the Imperial Camp set up a formation to continue covering the light cavalry crossing the river... The fact that Huyan Tong's troops could appear here to engage in battle at this time can only mean one thing, that is, Huyan Tong must have been the first to cross the river as the vanguard of Han Shizhong's troops, and he crossed the river directly in a dangerous position far downstream of the main battlefield. And as soon as he crossed the river, he did not stop for a moment and attacked directly in the direction of the so-called main battlefield.
This desire to attack is astonishing, and in terms of cover effect, this method of attacking as defense seems to be no worse than setting up a safe formation.
The originally planned riverside suppression battle quickly turned into a face-to-face encounter. Tu Hesu was shocked and angry. On the one hand, he informed the other two Wan Hu of the military situation and asked them to prepare for the enemy. On the other hand, he immediately ordered the entire army to deploy on the spot, with the infantry in the center and the cavalry on both sides, to meet the enemy in a standard and simple crane wing formation.
This simple and plain formation is none other than the famous Crooked Horse.
That’s right, “拐子马” and “屯队射” of Wu Jie are both tactical names, not descriptions of military units... “铁浮徒” is the term used to describe heavy armored cavalry.
As for the so-called crooked cavalry, specifically speaking, the cavalry on both wings cover the infantry in the middle, cooperate with the infantry, advance layer by layer, launch short-distance charges or short-distance encirclement tactics, which is a typical wave-like cavalry and infantry coordination advancement tactics.
To be honest, this kind of tactics is not as magical as imagined. What is magical is always human resilience and courage. These things, coupled with strict military discipline, excellent armor and weapons, sufficient supplies, and fair rewards and punishments, are enough to make any tactics magical.
In the early days of the Jurchen nation, there was no lack of excellent qualities, so even the most mediocre tactics and the most ordinary administrative and military systems would be deified.
"Although the King of Wei is angry, he has no intention of killing you. It is obvious that he agrees with what Gao Tongshi and I said. He is prepared to let you go back if necessary and use you to convey a message to... Emperor Zhao." Just as the Song and Jin armies were fighting head-on and upstream, the Jin army's camp on the side of the Hutuo River was noisy but calm. In a certain camp, Hong Ya was having a sincere communication with Yu Yunwen.
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