As the army of Jizhou slowly left its camp inside Shanhaiguan.
Zhao Shuaizhen noticed the problem: every soldier was eager to return to Jizhou.
The once orderly military formation had fallen into chaos.
The team flags of each team were already in complete disarray.
Moreover, every soldier was eager to return home and marched towards Jizhou, completely disregarding whether their own unit flag was in front of them.
Zhao Shuaizhen issued several orders to them to reorganize their troops and restore the army's formation.
However, it did not have any significant effect.
The military formation remained in disarray.
Faced with the already chaotic army formation, Zhao Shuaizhen was already in despair, because he knew...
If any unexpected situation arises, the current chaotic military formation will be completely incapable of fighting the enemy.
Each soldier must form a battle formation to face the enemy according to the command of their own squad flag.
However, their current chaotic march means that if an accident were to occur, they would be unable to find their flag in a timely manner.
The whole thing was a complete mess.
Although every soldier is extremely elite, an elite force that is disorganized cannot defeat an ordinary force with a well-organized formation.
However, Zhao Shuzhen's worries are gradually becoming a reality.
Li Qin ordered Li Wenqi to stay and guard Shanhaiguan, while he himself led more than 100,000 troops, including generals such as Peng Jiahu, Liu Chenghui, and Wang Taihe.
Shortly after Zhao Shuaizhen left the camp, he rushed out of Shanhaiguan.
And they rushed headlong toward Zhao Shuaizhen's army.
Among them, Peng Jianghu led his cavalry as the vanguard, fueled by the anger that had been building up during his time in Shanhaiguan, and charged ahead of the chaotic Jizhou army.
Meanwhile, the more than 100,000 Liaodong troops, who had been stuck in Shanhaiguan for so long, excitedly chased after the retreating Jizhou army.
Li Qin rode his horse among the army, looking at the scene before him with a smile and nodding.
Morale is good.
Zhao Shuaizhen, who was leading the retreating army of Jizhou, suddenly heard the clamor of ten thousand horses galloping.
Then he saw the scene he least wanted to see.
The bandits, who had been hiding inside Shanhaiguan Pass, did indeed come out to chase after them.
Zhao Shuaizhen immediately ordered his army to form ranks to defend against the enemy.
As the military flags were waved, countless soldiers began to choose their own flags and find their own ranks, immediately plunging into chaos.
Peng Jiahu was overjoyed to see this.
He raised his spear and said:
"Gentlemen, it's time for us to make a name for ourselves. Follow me to charge the enemy and cut down Zhao Shuaizhen's banner."
As he spoke, he led Li Qin's cavalry vanguard into the chaotic Jizhou army.
If the army of Jizhou were as well-organized and mutually supportive as when they first arrived...
For Peng Jiahu's cavalry to charge into the heavily fortified Jizhou garrison was suicidal.
Even if he is a cavalryman and the enemy is an infantryman, once the infantry is in formation, a cavalryman charging in is suicidal.
But the situation is different now; the army of Jizhou has fallen into chaos.
Their army was in disarray.
First make yourself invincible, then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable.
Previously, they had all stayed in cities and camps, which were heavily guarded, and they were unable to defeat each other.
We must use all means and exert all our initiative to ensure our own invincibility, and then use methods such as harassment and surprise attacks to force the other party to change their plans.
By revealing a weakness, a chance for victory is revealed.
They won in the final move.
This means first making yourself invincible, then waiting for the enemy to become vulnerable.
First, make sure you don't lose, then think about how to win.
The second half of the sentence, "wait for the enemy to become vulnerable," doesn't mean you should just wait idly. You should use all your initiative to undermine the first half of the sentence and destroy the enemy's invincibility.
Li Qin was inside Shanhaiguan, on high alert, first ensuring that he would not lose – that's the first part of the sentence.
He was simply stalling for time with Zhao Shuaizhen. In reality, he knew the second half of the sentence: Wanyan Jian was attacking Zhao Shuaizhen.
Just wait, and the other side will soon reveal a weakness.
Zhao Shuaizhen was also on high alert in his camp, making sure he wouldn't lose and that Li Qin couldn't easily defeat him, while waiting for the arrival of the imperial army of 200,000.
It's much simpler to attack Shanhaiguan together than to lead 70,000 men to attack Shanhaiguan, which is guarded by more than 100,000 troops.
This gives them the best chance of winning.
As long as Wang Zhen arrives with his army, even if Jizhou falls, he can safely retreat with the protection of over 200,000 troops from the three major camps.
Moreover, with the support of the imperial army of over 200,000, his control over the Jizhou garrison would be much stronger.
It can be said that both sides are calculating.
Everyone was calculating the time. Li Qin was calculating when Wanyan Jian would attack Jizhen, while Zhao Shuaizhen was calculating when the capital's army would arrive.
Based on the time calculation, Zhao Shuaizhen would definitely win, because no matter how you calculate it, the army from the capital would arrive first.
Even Wanyan Jian, who was in Jizhou, was right there. Right now, 300,000 troops from Jizhou and the capital were gathered below Shanhaiguan.
However, they all overlooked one person: Wang Zhen.
No one expected or anticipated that he would lead his army on a detour back to his hometown.
This caused a delay.
This resulted in the imperial army's three major camps not yet reaching Shanhaiguan when news of the fall of Jizhou arrived.
This resulted in Zhao Shuaizhen being forced to return to Jizhou by the army to rescue their families.
If the imperial army of over 200,000 were present, they would absolutely not dare to do such a thing.
Peng Jianghu led his elite cavalry, which charged into the chaotic Jizhou army like a sharp knife.
And they charged toward Zhao Shuaizhen's banner in the central army.
Faced with Peng Jiahu's relentless advance, the rear guard of the torn-up Jizhou garrison, though in disarray, did not collapse.
Many of these soldiers, despite lacking the support of their teammates, still managed to kill several Liaodong cavalrymen with their spears, relying on their individual bravery.
However, these disorganized attacks, lacking unified command, were completely unable to stop the Peng family tiger cavalry's charge and their continued advance.
However, this also proves the elite status of the Jizhou soldiers. Fortunately, the attack was launched while their formation was in disarray; otherwise, they would have formed a tight formation outside Shanhaiguan.
Li Qin ordered Peng Jiahu to launch a strong attack, but even if he suffered heavy casualties, he probably wouldn't be able to shake the Jizhou garrison's formation.
As he charged forward with all his might, Peng Jiahu lost count of how many soldiers his warhorse had crushed or trampled to death.
Two soldiers' corpses were already skewered on his spear, like candied hawthorns on a stick.
It was truly unexpected that it would be so difficult to break through the already chaotic Jizhou garrison's formation.
But his efforts eventually paid off, and he finally led his army to break through the rear guard's defenses.
They charged into the central army.
Zhao Shuaizhen's banner was clearly visible.
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