巳时时分 (9:00-11:00 AM).
Wu Qingyun's Yunhui Army, consisting of 10,000 elite cavalry and 20,000 infantry, has arrived at the foot of Longshan Mountain.
At this moment, the central troops of Yunhui were proceeding in an orderly manner according to the pre-battle plan.
One kilometer away from the Longshan camp, the commander Wu Qingyun deployed his self-created "Pingrong Wanquan Formation," advancing step by step and pressing up Longshan, adopting a posture of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
The Pingrong Wanquan Formation is an offensive formation that Wu Qingyun has used repeatedly and successfully in his more than ten years of battles. It is also a proud achievement of his command of troops in recent years.
Its core tactical idea is to combine the main infantry with armored vehicles and deploy them in a dense formation.
The outer perimeter was surrounded by chariots, while the inner perimeter was lined with shields. Cavalry were positioned in the front, rear, left, and right of the formation to provide guard and cover, in order to defend against enemy cavalry raids and harassment.
The Pingrong Wanquan Formation combines surprise and conventional tactics, advance and retreat. When the enemy is far away, arrows can be shot; when the enemy is close, swords and shields are used for close-quarters combat, with fierce slashes and hacks. Finally, brave cavalry charge into battle.
In the past decade or so, Wu Qingyun personally commanded several battles to conquer the northern deserts, and his Yunzhou cavalry never suffered a defeat against tens of thousands of iron cavalry from the Yuan Dynasty in the northern deserts.
Today, facing three thousand cavalrymen of the Po Lu Army within the Longshan camp with ten times the strength of his own, Wu Qingyun still ordered the Yunzhou cavalry to form the Ping Rong Wan Quan Formation, which shows how much he "values" Chen Huai'an!
The army was still assembling and forming ranks, and Liang Erhu, the commander of the vanguard of the Yunhui Army, accompanied Wu Qingyun, the General Tiger Might, the commander-in-chief of the Northwest.
Riding his horse at the very front of the army, he looked at the dilapidated Longshan camp and said, "General, you think far too highly of this good-for-nothing Chen Huai'an!"
"He only has a mere three thousand remnants of the Po Lu Army under his command, yet he has alarmed the Grand General to deploy the Ping Rong Wan Quan Formation. Isn't this using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"
Liang Erhu's expression and tone made no attempt to hide his contempt for Chen Huai'an.
Even last night, in the central command tent, Chang Chenghu, the deputy general of the Yunhui Army, had solemnly warned the generals of the Yunhui Army that Chen Huai'an, who was seen by the world as a "tiger father and dog son, weak and powerless good-for-nothing," was actually a man of unparalleled bravery and courage, capable of fighting ten thousand men.
But Liang Erhu, who was impulsive and strong by nature, believed that this was just Chang Chenghu exaggerating after losing Jingzhou to avoid being severely punished by the general. He didn't believe it at all.
Who among the civil and military officials of the Great Xin Dynasty doesn't know Chen Huai'an? He was frail and weak from childhood, with no strength to even kill a chicken, and his body was as thin as a monkey.
Those long, fair hands were like those of a young girl. With such a appearance, how could he wield a hundred-pound halberd with such power on horseback and even charge in and out of a vast army seven times? Isn't that just pure nonsense?
In any case, when Liang Erhu and a group of Yunhui Army generals privately discussed the matter, they all expressed that they did not believe what Chang Chenghu had said.
Therefore, when Liang Erhu saw General Wu Qingyun ordering his men to form the Pingrong Wanquan Formation, advancing cautiously step by step towards the Longshan camp held by Chen Huai'an and the remnants of the 3,000 Polu Army, he could no longer help but stand up and express his thoughts:
"General, in my humble opinion, with 30,000 Yunhui troops facing 3,000 remnants of the Polu Army, it is truly a case of overwhelming the enemy with superior numbers. No matter how the battle is fought, the advantage lies with our army."
There's no need to even form a battle array for an attack, let alone deploy a perfect "Pingrong Wanquan" formation. Simply surrounding Longshan would be enough to starve the remaining Polu army troops, who had run out of food and fodder, to death within seven days.
"By then, our army will be able to take over the Longshan camp without losing a single soldier or shedding a drop of blood!"
Faced with Liang Erhu's question, Wu Qingyun did not answer directly. Instead, he stared at the tightly closed gates of the Longshan camp with a sinister gaze and asked himself:
"Longshan Camp is located twenty miles north of Longcheng. It is the last military barrier for entering Longcheng, and its geographical environment is suitable for both offense and defense."
It could advance into Longcheng or retreat to Longshan, forming a strategic defensive position with Longcheng, which was occupied by the remnants of the Po Lu army, giving it a significant military advantage.
"Chen Polu has managed Longcheng for more than 20 years, so he must know the importance of the Longshan Camp to Longcheng!"
After a pause, Wu Qingyun continued, "That scoundrel Chen Huai'an used three thousand Dragon City Iron Cavalry as a surprise force to fight outside the city, and in one fell swoop he utterly defeated my Yunhui Army's vanguard, but instead of pressing his advantage and expanding his gains, he..."
Later, he encountered a part of our Yunzhou cavalry at Jubeichuan. He could have taken advantage of our Yunzhou cavalry's long march and lack of foothold in Jubeichuan to lead his troops in a decisive attack, but instead chose to flee at the first sign of trouble, heading straight for the Longshan camp.
"Even if Chen Huai'an turns around and goes back to Longcheng, this general can understand."
But why did he, knowing full well that going to the Longshan camp would mean certain death, still choose to lead his troops to retreat to the Longshan camp without hesitation?
At this moment, Wu Qingyun finally turned to look at Liang Erhu beside him and asked, word by word, "Erhu, tell me why this is?"
Liang Erhu replied almost without thinking, "General, there's a trap at the Longshan camp!"
But then he changed his mind and said, "General, that's impossible. Our scouts have been disguised and infiltrated Dragon City for half a year now."
For nearly three months, our scouts have been deployed throughout the Prince of Jin's fiefdom, centered on Longcheng, encompassing one city and thirty-six counties. The Longshan camp is a key area under surveillance.
"After the last batch of Po Lu soldiers from the Longshan camp followed Chen Po Lu to the capital to participate in the Fengshan ceremony held by the emperor, there was not a single soldier left in the entire Longshan camp."
As he spoke, Liang Erhu looked up at the Longshan camp again and said with certainty:
"Besides, the Longshan camp is in such a dilapidated state that it doesn't seem like it could hide troops. Could it be that Chen Huai'an has the ability to conjure soldiers from beans and can create an army in the Longshan camp overnight?"
snort!
After hearing Liang Erhu's words, Wu Qingyun sneered and snorted coldly, then said with disdain:
"I don't know if the scoundrel Chen Huai'an has the ability to conjure soldiers from beans, but when his father Chen Polu defeated the Jin army's 'Iron Pagoda' at Zhuxian Town, three thousand of the Jin army's super heavy cavalry equipment disappeared without a trace!"
hiss!
Upon hearing this, Liang Erhu gasped and asked cautiously:
"General, are you saying that the three thousand heavy cavalry units that disappeared outside Zhuxian Town were secretly hidden by Chen Polu, and that they were hidden right here in the Longshan camp!"
"Chen Huai'an led his troops straight to the Longshan camp overnight, intending to arm three thousand super heavy cavalry to catch our army off guard!"
"Erhu, you'd better be more careful!"
Wu Qingyun, with a ferocious expression, replied confidently, "If it weren't for that, I really can't imagine what reason this dog Chen Huai'an would have to bravely step onto Longshan Mountain knowing that he was on the verge of death."
"Hey!"
Liang Erhu was furious and said viciously, "General, Chen Huai'an is such a wicked dog! He's just like his dead father, extremely treacherous and cunning!"
"Fortunately, the general is wise and brave, and saw through the treacherous schemes of Chen Huai'an at a glance!"
"Otherwise, if these three thousand remnants of the Broken Army were to be equipped as super heavy cavalry and appear on the battlefield, that would be truly bad news for our army!"
After saying that, Liang Erhu's lips twitched involuntarily.
The image of the Jin army's six thousand Iron Pagoda Cavalry sweeping through the Yunhui Army's 100,000 infantry and cavalry outside Zhuxian Town flashed through his mind again, a scene that still haunted him to this day.
When the Ironclad Cavalry, with its riders and horses fully armored, went onto the battlefield, their ferocity was no joke; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe them as "killing anyone who gets in their way, even Buddhas."
Even if Liang Erhu's Yunzhou Cavalry, the most elite force in the Yunhui Army, were to face Chen Huai'an's three thousand heavily armored Longcheng Iron Cavalry with several times the number of troops, their chances of winning would probably only be 30% or 70%.
Three cavalrymen from Yunzhou, and seven Ironclad Cavalrymen!
Seeing Liang Erhu's lingering fear, Wu Qingyun adopted a look of "you're teachable" and said slowly, "Erhu, now you know why this general deployed the 'Peaceful Campaign Formation', right?"
Liang Erhu humbly accepted the instruction and said, "General, you are truly awe-inspiring. In this way, our army will have the Pingrong Wanquan Formation attacking the enemy in front, and ten thousand Yunzhou cavalry providing flank protection on both sides."
Using chariots and shields as a defensive formation, the infantry will then use their swords to cleave through the enemy's armor and rip open the bellies of their horses, ensuring that the treacherous Chen Huai'an and his three thousand remaining troops of the Destroyer Army will never return.
"What kind of bullshit super heavy cavalry is this? They're nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs in front of the Great General's personally created 'Peaceful Campaign'!"
"This humble general dares to assert that Chen Huai'an and the remnants of his Broken Army will be annihilated in less than two hours!"
Liang Erhu's flattery made Wu Qingyun feel very comfortable, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.
However, Wu Qingyun's face was already ugly when he wasn't smiling, and it became even uglier when he smiled!
"Report—"
"Reporting to the General, the three armies are in full battle formation. Please give your instructions!"
At this moment, the messenger rushed over to ask Wu Qingyun for orders.
Wu Qingyun, on horseback, waved his hand and shouted, "Order the army to beat the drums and sound the horns, and march straight for Longshan!"
"Yes, sir!"
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Soon, the deep and powerful sound of drums and horns rang out in front of the Yunhui Army.
With banners waving and drums beating, the Yunhui Army, arrayed in the Pingrong Wanquan Formation, began to slowly move toward the Longshan Camp with murderous intent.
Commander Wu Qingyun leaped forward on his horse and stood proudly at the top of the formation.
Following closely behind were Liang Erhu, the commander of the vanguard, and a group of armored and sword-wielding generals of the Yunhui Army.
At the same time, deep and powerful drumbeats echoed from the dilapidated Longshan camp, the bugle call of the Polu Army before their expedition.
Immediately afterwards, the two heavy, rusty gates of the Longshan camp were pushed open from the inside.
Chen Huai'an, clad in golden armor and wielding a halberd, rode out of the camp gate first, also wearing golden armor on a yellow horse.
Then came the eighteen riders of Longcheng, their riders and horses clad in silver armor.
Then came Fan Wuji's 3,000 Dragon City Iron Cavalry and 20,000 Xuanjia Light Cavalry.
It is worth mentioning that, just as Wu Qingyun had predicted, the three thousand Jin army "Iron Pagoda" equipment that had disappeared outside Zhuxian Town had now been equipped on the three thousand Dragon City Iron Cavalry without missing a single piece.
The moment this super heavy cavalry made its appearance, the overwhelming battlefield pressure brought by its powerful aura immediately stunned and threw the Yunhui Army soldiers not far away into disarray.
Due to the line of sight and the order of appearance, the first thing the Yunhui Army generals, including Wu Qingyun and Liang Erhu, saw was Chen Huai'an and the three thousand Dragon City Iron Cavalry equipped as super heavy cavalry.
Having been mentally prepared after Wu Qingyun's earlier warning, Liang Erhu was not surprised by the way the Dragon City Iron Cavalry made their appearance. Instead, he fawned over Wu Qingyun with a fawning expression.
"The General is indeed a prophet. That scoundrel Chen Huai'an risked his life to rush to the Longshan camp overnight, just to equip his three thousand Longcheng Iron Cavalry into a super heavy cavalry force."
"Unfortunately, his scheme was already seen through by the wise and mighty general!"
Liang Erhu continued, "Our army is outnumbered and outgunned, and with the Pingrong Wanquan Formation in front of us, even if the remnants of the Polu Army have been re-equipped with heavy cavalry, the advantage still lies with our army!"
"Just watch, everyone. Before these three thousand remnants of the Po Lu Army are exhausted, they will have no chance of breaking through our Ping Rong Wan Quan Formation!"
"Once the bandit army is exhausted, they will all become victims of the Yunzhou cavalry!"
"The General is wise!"
"The Great General is incredibly powerful!"
The other generals of the Yunhui Army echoed in unison, shouting that he was wise and mighty.
Seeing this, Wu Qingyun, who was riding on horseback facing Chen Huai'an and the three thousand Dragon City cavalry, also revealed a smug expression, showing the demeanor of a general who had already seen through everything.
You brat Chen Huai'an, your schemes and tricks don't even qualify you to carry my shoes!
The generals of Yunhui Army were still immersed in the great general's strategic planning and brilliant military prowess, constantly flattering him and boasting that they could annihilate Polu Army in less than an hour.
But just moments later, the Yunhui Army generals, including Wu Qingyun and Liang Erhu, could no longer laugh.
Because, behind Chen Huai'an and the three thousand heavily armored cavalry of Longcheng, an endless stream of lightly armored cavalry was pouring out of the dilapidated Longshan camp like a tide.
Soon, a dense array of lightly armored cavalry filled the area outside the Longshan camp.
Moreover, people began to climb the dilapidated city walls of the Longshan camp one after another, until a dark mass of armored infantry filled the entire city wall.
In an instant, the Longshan Camp, which had been abandoned for half a year, was restored to its former glory of bustling activity, as if the 100,000 Polu Army soldiers stationed there had never left.
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