Chapter 486: Ten Thousand Banners Slay Yama (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"So fast?"
Chu Jie was taken aback upon receiving the message.
He had dealt with the Ten Crows for years and thought he knew these troublesome creatures well, but he hadn't expected to miscalculate this time. They weren't going to resort to sneak attacks; instead, they were openly leading their troops to besiege the city.
On second thought, I understood what Shi Wu was planning.
While a sneak attack might reduce casualties, it wouldn't be nearly as impactful as a direct assault on the border barrier and breaching of the border city's defenses—even if that barrier was as fragile as paper. The Ten Crows were clearly planning to use them as stepping stones…
Haha, doesn't he even look at himself? He's not even wearing shoes!
Is this stepping stone hot to the touch?
Chu Jie then asked, "How many people will be sent into battle?"
Although Shiwu boasted a force of 200,000 elite troops, after deducting cooks and those whose numbers were inflated, the actual fighting force was at most 80,000 or 100,000. The number of these who could actually fight would determine the level of pressure in today's battle.
The scout said, "Judging from their formation, they number at least 80,000."
"Eighty thousand? Ha, so you've brought out all the capable fighters?" Chu Jie sneered, then expressionlessly crushed the paperweight on the table, casually scattering the "ashes" of the paperweight, which transformed into a weapon. He said in a calm voice, "Those who want military merits, follow me!"
Outside the tent—
The drums beat loudly, and the banners fluttered in the wind.
Standing atop the city wall, the biting wind relentlessly whipped at them. Chu Jie and a group of generals who had rushed over ascended the wall. When they saw Xun Zhen and Chu Yaokang, who had hurriedly arrived, the hand gripping his heart seemed to loosen, allowing him to catch his breath.
only--
The brows of Xun Zhen and other scholars remained furrowed.
It wasn't that they were afraid of the dark mass of people outside the city walls, but rather they were wary of their formation. At first glance, they looked like a bunch of scattered soldiers fighting their own battles, standing wherever there was an opening, a chaotic and disorganized mess, as if they could be overrun in a single charge.
But upon closer inspection, strange clues were discovered.
It appears chaotic, but in reality, there is order within the chaos.
Rather than being a random arrangement by those unfamiliar with military formations, it seemed more like a deliberate act by someone with ulterior motives, to prevent them from discerning anything. The key to victory in war has never been the top-tier martial arts prowess of one side; even a rank 20 Marquis wouldn't dare boast of being invincible. Even the most exceptional martial arts expert would be torn to shreds by an army imbued with the aura of thousands.
The key lies in how to build and manage military formations that inspire and mobilize morale. Ordinary soldiers may lack martial prowess, but they possess a certain "spirit," or "morale." Morale can mobilize the power of heaven and earth. One person may be like a drop of water, but thousands can converge to form a vast ocean or river.
Then, using military formations as a medium—
The strongest military formation in recorded history once killed a 20th-rank Marquis on the battlefield. It should be noted that in the more than two hundred years since the demise of the Thief Star, only three 20th-rank Marquises have appeared, and each of them was a fierce and brave man who could hold off ten thousand men single-handedly.
Xun Zhen and the others were talking in hushed tones.
The Shiwu army's furtive and secretive manner towards their formation gave them an ominous feeling. Xun Zhen, who had been with Shiwu the longest and knew them best, said, "I've encountered Xingning's avatar in Shiwu a few times before, and the latter did mention that if we were to face Shiwu in the future, we should be careful of their formation. At the time, I thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill..."
It now seems that the other side must have heard some rumors. However, they didn't say so directly, which only indicates that the latter was also uncertain about this intelligence and dared not speak rashly, lest Xun Zhen misjudge the situation. This also indirectly shows that the Ten Crows' secrecy work was quite thorough.
Chu Yao frowned.
"He warned you to be careful of the Ten Crows' army formation..."
If you weren't on a battlefield, this would be considered a lame joke.
As everyone knows, whether it's the Ten Crows or the Northern Desert, any content related to the power of words was obtained by them through various methods, such as stealing knowledge, becoming disciples, traveling for study, or luring people with benefits, and they only managed to get the basics from within the pass.
The true elite were controlled by aristocratic families, royal families, and nobles, and the succession was extremely strict.
What good things can you learn from Shiwu?
Why resort to this kind of cover-up?
Chu Yao asked Yu, the registrar.
"Have you seen this kind of scene before?"
Yu, the registrar, shook his head and said with displeasure, "In the past, we either set up battle formations and attacked, or we launched surprise attacks and lured our troops... The commanders were mostly Su Shiyilu. This fellow used Yonggu Pass as a whetstone for training his troops, and he would come to attack it every few months. The military formations he used were also the most common and easy to mobilize, with nothing special. The military formations were simple, but they were surprisingly powerful when he commanded them."
Chu Yao countered, "Is he the commander this time?"
Registrar Yu: "Most likely, he holds most of the military power in Shiwu. Without his approval, the war won't start."
He had been dealing with Su Shiyilu for many years, but this was the first time he had ever seen such a casual and undisciplined formation.
This made him wonder—
Su Shiyi Lu was finally dismissed by the Ten Crow King's Court?
Is he not the commander this time?
At this crucial moment, Kang Shi spoke up.
For some reason, his expression was solemn and gloomy, his eyes sharp and radiating a chilling aura: "I heard Yuan Liang mention a rumor before, that before the rise of the Ten Crows Royal Court, it was the weakest of the three major tribes of the Ten Crows. It is unknown where it obtained this opportunity, but with its mysterious, unpredictable, and powerful military formations, it successively swallowed up the other two tribes and unified the Ten Crows in one fell swoop!"
Xun Zhen asked, "Is there such a thing?"
He also subtly implied to himself that "this Yuanliang is not that Yuanliang," and that his evil schemes were not worthy of being compared to Ji Shou's cousin.
Kang Shi took a deep breath and sneered, "That's true. I can even guess how Shi Wu got this opportunity!"
Registrar Yu recalled: "I have heard of this rumor, but the outside world only thinks it's the Ten Crows Royal Court boasting. Moreover, the Ten Crows have repeatedly sent troops to invade Yonggu Pass, but we've never seen it. If such a military formation really existed, why wasn't it used before?"
Kang Shi said, "I don't know."
But all he knew was that his cousin died because of this battle!
The young sage Qi Yuanliang was trapped and died in the stone formation!
“If this is indeed the military formation, I’m afraid we’re in trouble.” Kang Shi’s tone made Xun Zhen and the others’ hearts sink. He continued, “I know some information about this military formation. This formation should have eight gates and eight formations, with the main formation in the army, a total of nine main formations, and sixty-four smaller formations under the banners. The large formations contain the smaller formations, and the formations are intertwined and combined, making it fraught with danger. Once you enter the formation, it’s a nine-out-of-ten chance of death…”
Things found in sacred mountain and sea sites are never simple.
"Eight Gates and Eight Formations?"
The group murmured amongst themselves, then fixed their gazes on the enemy troops below the city walls, and indeed discerned certain patterns of order amidst the chaos.
They looked at each other in bewilderment.
Before they could say anything, Kang Shi pointed to the army formation below and said, "This damn thing, we must break it today!"
His tone was tinged with a hint of gritted teeth and hatred!
The Shiwu side, however, paid no attention to all of this.
A figure charged out from the ranks.
It was a familiar face.
"Chu Jie, come down and have a go!" The familiar tone made it sound like he was inviting his buddies out for barbecue and drinks.
To challenge the commander-in-chief right off the bat—that's incredibly arrogant!
Chu Jie sneered: "Barbarians know how to fight generals?"
(；д｀)ゞ
I gave in—
This title is also quite good.
(End of this chapter)
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