The next day, with the arrival of Zhao Ji and his troops, preparations for the military performance were ready.
The martial arts performance was divided into three sessions.
Competitions in formation, charge and horse archery.
The imperial court dispatched 5,000 cavalry, with Zhao Ji as the chief general and Zhou Daogong and Yuan Gui as deputy generals.
The Northern Palace Army also dispatched 5,000 cavalry, with Yu Shizhong as the commander. Among them, there were 2,000 people under Yu Shizhong, 2,000 people from the Northern Huan escort group, and 1,000 blood-clothed soldiers.
The first match is about formation.
Emperor Wen sat on the top of the city wall looking sick, while Yun Zheng, Yun Li, Jia Yao and Zhao Ji sat on both sides closer to the back.
"Zhao Ji, are you so sure of victory?"
Emperor Wen was wearing a cloak and covered with a woolen blanket, half lying there and asking Zhao Ji questions.
Originally, Zhao Ji was supposed to perform martial arts in the open space outside the city, but Zhao Ji felt that it was just a battle formation and there was really no need for him to participate in the performance in person, so he also requested to go to the top of the city wall to watch.
...
...
Zhao Ji was about to stand up, but Emperor Wen raised his hand to signal him to sit down, "No need to stand up, just sit down."
Zhao Ji accepted the order, then sat up again and replied: "If the two armies collide, I will definitely not be a match for His Majesty the Sixth Prince's troops, but if we compete in battle array, I am absolutely sure I can win!"
"Oh? Why?"
Emperor Wen raised his eyes and asked.
Zhao Ji: "Although my troops are not elite, they are at least skilled in archery and horse riding, and they are usually deployed and trained in a unified manner! The Sixth Prince's troops are composed of three divisions, and the heavy cavalry lack sufficient flexibility, so the speed of formation must be a little slower..."
Zhao Ji is still very confident about this.
When comparing formations, the main thing is to compare the degree of tacit understanding and coordination.
Riding skills come second.
Same starting point, same formation.
If they can't even compare to Yun Zheng in this, then what else is there to compare?
Upon hearing this, Emperor Wen smiled, which was rare for him, and asked Jia Yao, "What do you think?"
Jia Yao shook his head slightly, "Forgive me for being blunt, but General Zhao is a little too confident."
"Why?"
Emperor Wen asked again.
Jia Yao replied: "Although Yun Zheng's troops and Bei Huan's troops are temporarily formed and their coordination may be slightly insufficient, they are all elite soldiers who have fought in many battles and will be able to adjust quickly. Moreover, their war horses are better..."
The formation naturally requires more coordination than between people.
But it also requires the tacit understanding between soldiers and horses!
"Prince, who do you think will win?"
Emperor Wen asked Yun Li again.
"I believe in General Zhao's troops!"
Yun Li is full of confidence.
He just doesn't know much about marching and fighting, but he's not stupid.
The 5,000 people who were temporarily formed could not match the tacit understanding of Zhao Ji's 5,000 cavalry.
"Sixth Brother, what do you think?"
It was not until this time that Emperor Wen asked Yun Zheng.
"I basically agree with General Zhao's opinion."
Yun Zheng smiled, "However, Yu Shizhong and his team still have a chance of winning."
"So, you also agree with Jia Yao's opinion?" Emperor Wen asked again.
“No, no…”
Yun Zheng shook his head, "I just found the weakness of General Zhao's cavalry."
"What are the shortcomings?"
Zhao Ji took the initiative to ask.
"Yuan Gui."
Yun Zheng chuckled. "If General Zhao was in charge of the operation, I don't think Yu Shizhong and his men would have much chance of winning! But now with Yuan Gui, a good-for-nothing, it's hard to say."
Hearing Yun Zheng's words, Yun Li's face couldn't help but twitch.
Yuan Gui!
Yuan Gui is his man!
When Yun Zheng said that Yuan Gui was a good-for-nothing, wasn't that the same as saying that he had no vision?
"It seems that Sixth Brother looks down on Yuan Gui?"
Yun Li asked with a fake smile, "Yuan Gui was a cavalry captain before, after all, he can't be that bad, right?"
Yun Li began to set a trap for Yun Zheng.
He mentioned the fact that Yuan Gui was appointed as the Cavalry Commandant, and Yun Zheng still said that Yuan Gui was not qualified, which was equivalent to saying that Emperor Wen's vision was not good enough.
"Third brother, be more confident and remove the word 'seemingly'."
Yun Zheng smiled calmly, "I am not bragging, but a good-for-nothing like Yuan Gui would only be a vanguard if he were in the Northern Army. Letting him lead the troops would be like sending military merit to the enemy! I guess the emperor felt sorry for Yuan Cong for having such a stupid son, so he gave him the title of Cavalry Commandant."
"Then let's wait and see!" Yun Li forced a smile.
Emperor Wen glanced at Yun Li from the corner of his eye and asked, "Zhao Ji, what do you think of Yuan Gui?"
"this……"
Zhao Ji hesitated for a moment, then replied: "Although Yuan Gui is not fit for important positions, he should still be able to serve as a cavalry commander."
To be honest, Zhao Ji also looked down on Yuan Gui.
Not only Yuan Gui, he even looked down on Yuan Cong.
Even though Yuan Cong was once the general of the Left Guard, in his heart, Yuan Cong was just a reckless man.
"I think so too."
Emperor Wen smiled and said no more.
Soon, drums began to beat.
At the same time, the hourglass started counting.
However, this hourglass is different from the modern hourglass.
This is a simple funnel.
The time is determined by the weight of the sand that leaks out.
Hearing the drumbeats, Zhou Daogong immediately led his troops and rushed towards the assembly point from five hundred meters away.
Along with the sound of rolling horse hooves, a cloud of dust rose.
Yun Zheng and the others didn't say anything either, they just sat on the city wall and watched quietly.
Yun Zheng actually has little interest in this kind of competition.
Forming a battle array should be considered a basic skill. After all, Zhao Ji was one of the famous generals of Da Gan. If the cavalry under his command couldn't even form a battle array in a mess, Zhao Ji would probably have to return to the imperial city to retire.
Five hundred meters is not a far distance.
Soon, the leading cavalry units of both sides arrived at the assembly point.
"Form a formation!"
Following the order given by Zhou Daogong, who was temporarily taking over the position of commander-in-chief, the soldiers around him immediately waved their flags.
Upon receiving the order to form a battle array, the cavalry pouring in from the rear immediately deployed in an orderly manner.
Each unit quickly entered the designated position.
Although formation is just basic skill, it still poses some challenges to cavalry.
It is also a test to quickly stop the war horses, maintain a sufficient raiding distance between each other, and avoid colliding with each other and causing chaos.
At the beginning, everything was normal and all departments were in order.
But soon, Zhao Ji discovered something wrong.
There was a small-scale chaos among the cavalrymen on the right rear. From a distance, it seemed that some of them could not find their position and were running around in the formation like headless flies.
"What's going on?"
Emperor Wen also saw the chaos in the scene and turned to ask Zhao Ji.
"Someone must have been eager to show off and led his troops to attack too quickly, causing the rear troops to run to the position of the front troops."
Zhao Ji's face didn't look very good, and he obviously didn't expect such a situation to occur.
The key to forming a battle array is that each unit obeys the commander's orders and moves into the battle position step by step and in an orderly manner.
Doing this now will definitely waste a lot of time.
Yun Zheng nodded and smiled, "General Zhao's guess is correct. I think it was that good-for-nothing Yuan Gui who led his troops to charge too fast."
When Yun Zheng spoke, he deliberately glanced at Yun Li.
Facing Yun Zheng's gaze, Yun Li was so angry that he cursed in his heart.
Yuan Gui!
You better not be a jerk!
If it was really this good-for-nothing Yuan Gui who caused all the trouble, he would definitely teach this bastard a lesson!
While they were talking, Zhou Daogong seemed to have also received news of the chaos in the rear army.
They didn't know what Zhou Daogong said, they just saw the messenger waving the flag again.
After a period of adjustment, the chaos in the formation finally stopped, and each unit regrouped in an orderly manner.
Although there were some twists and turns in the process, the triangular assault formation was finally completed.
As Zhou Daogong raised the flag, the timer here also stopped.
"Jiayao, what do you think?"
Emperor Wen slowly turned his head and looked at Jia Yao.
"He's a qualified cavalryman!"
Jia Yao answered tactfully.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
