In general, starting a war here actually meets the needs of both sides.
After all, the core main force of the Chen Dynasty and the Qinghe Army had never really fought each other.
The Qinghe War Countermeasures Headquarters initially made some judgments, for example, that the Chen Dynasty army could fight back and forth with the Khmer army and the Daliang officers and soldiers, and these two teams had fought against Qinghe. Whether it was the officers or soldiers who participated in the war at that time, they all felt that the troops of these two families were not very good, well, very not very good.
In addition, Tang Tong, who was already under house arrest, testified personally, so everyone felt that the combat effectiveness of the Chen Dynasty's troops was probably just that.
The Chen Dynasty's staff reported an almost identical report to Crown Prince Chen Yu. Based on analysis of past battles in Qinghe, they concluded that the Qinghe troops were more capable than the Khmer and not much behind the Liang army. After all, the Liang army's main forces were concentrated in the central battlefield, and those stationed in the southwest weren't even considered secondary forces.
Therefore, the battle plans formulated by both sides at the beginning were quite radical. It can be summed up in one sentence: we will win if we rush over and kill them.
But one of the charms of war is that it never goes the way you imagine it.
For the Chen Dynasty, Lieutenant General Li led the best elite troops to raid the rear of Qinghe. He fought against Qinghe's auxiliary troops with his regular soldiers. Although he killed a general of the enemy, it was indeed luck. In terms of the results of the battle, it was basically a one-for-one exchange with the enemy.
No matter how many excuses the staff found, such as their cavalry had not had a rest after a long journey, the actual commander of the enemy was Huang Zong, who was several levels higher than their own generals, the enemy's transit station had abundant supplies, and there were unexpected high-powered weapons, etc.
But the topic that everyone cannot avoid is that the team that has a comprehensive tactical advantage can only fight the opponent one for one.
Judging from the fact that the light infantry who raided the other two small transit stations and the ambush troops outside Zhaoyang City gathered together and fought a fierce battle with the Qinghe regular army that came to encircle them, in the end only a few people broke through the siege and ran back, while the others were all killed in battle, it can be seen that the combat effectiveness of the Qinghe regular army was not weak.
For Qinghe, the Chen Dynasty's troops, at least some of their elite troops, were already capable of long-distance interpenetration and possessed considerable execution. The willingness of a large force to fight to the death to deliver a message and protect a small number of messengers also demonstrated the Chen Dynasty's strong fighting spirit.
Even though many people at Countermeasures Headquarters felt that the real reason they were able to remain undefeated despite such casualties was probably because these people were selected as death squads, Lin Hai also felt that if they could mobilize thousands of death squads at once, this in itself should explain a lot.
Therefore, both sides had deep doubts about each other's combat effectiveness at this moment.
"We must fight a battle to test the enemy's strength."
Almost at the same time, Chen Yu and Lin Hai both issued such orders.
So it is important to find a battlefield.
Both sides were eager to find a place with high ground on the periphery so that the leaders could watch the battle remotely, with woods nearby to arrange ambushes, and the battlefield itself could not be too far away from Zhaoyang, but the importance could not be too high, otherwise it would be a pity if it was lost.
Simply put, you need to find a useless place that doesn't make much sense to capture, but there's no need to be too happy about defending it.
Fortunately, there is God's will in the dark.
With the efforts of both sides, a battle that seemed problematic no matter how you looked at it broke out, which was a combination of so many coincidences and so many conspiracies and intrigues.
Huang Zong ordered the erection of a lookout tower inside the fortifications.
This was actually prepared in advance. A pre-assembled three-meter-high standard lookout tower had already been assembled, but it was divided into three sections and laid horizontally on the ground. If passers-by didn't look carefully, they would probably mistake these things for the scattered wood on the ground.
And now, Huang Zong is standing on the observation deck with a telescope in his hand.
After watching the whole situation, Huang Zong and Jiang Zhiru spat on the ground almost at the same time: "Damn it, there really is an ambush. I knew that the other side was not a good guy."
However, from the overall situation now, Chiang's rule has taken the initiative on the battlefield with a troop advantage of 1.5 to 2 times.
Although Huang Zong gave a strict order to the crossbowmen to fire as quickly as possible in order to weaken the Chen Dynasty's military strength before close combat, Jiang Zhijun, who had more troops, could expand his front line and force Huang Zong to change his formation and increase the contact area of the battle.
Infantry's cold weapon combat is more brutal than long-range attacks with bows and crossbows or forced breakthroughs by cavalry.
The soldiers on both sides were protected by heavy armor and backing. Except for the initial melee when they rushed towards the opponent's spears at high speed, it was actually difficult for the soldiers to eliminate the enemy in front of them with a single blow during the rest of the time.
No matter whether it was a straight sword, a broadsword or a saber, they all made clanging sounds when hitting the opponent's armor. The person inside the armor might have been hurt, or might not have been. In any case, it was impossible to tell from the outside.
Maybe an enemy who has been fighting with you raises a knife and then suddenly lets go, collapsing to the ground in an instant, and you don't know what happened to him.
It's not until blood gurgles out from the cracks in his visor that you realize: Oh, this enemy is dead.
As for me? Well, I was just slashed in the waist. I felt it a little, but it wasn't obvious. I don't know if the armor really blocked the blow.
What to do? No choice, just fight hard, and if you're still alive after the battle, go see the military doctor...
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com