The Calm Martial Ruler Bai Qi was good at analysing the situation of the enemy and himself, then he would use the right strategy and tactics to launch a destructive attack. His only goal was not to attack cities and seize territory, but to annihilate the enemy's strength. He was adept at attacking in the field, seeking annihilation in every battle.
Ordering Wang Ci and Huan Qi's troops to give up on attacking Zhao Kuo's army and turn south to launch a pincer attack on Zhao Zhuang's army was the most direct manifestation of Bai Qi's military strategy.
The failure of the plan to besiege the Zhao army did not disappoint Bai Qi. His next goal was to eliminate as much of the Zhao army's strength as possible to lay the foundation for the subsequent victory of the war.
After witnessing the power of the inhuman cavalry, Huan Qi no longer underestimated the inhuman army. This time, Huan Qi did not let the mutant army bring up the rear. Wang Ci's thirty to forty thousand cavalrymen were responsible for bringing up the rear.
One hundred thousand cavalry charged towards Zhao Zhuang's army with the force of a thunderbolt. Zhao Kuo's army of one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers had no choice but to chase after them while facing the dust stirred up by the cavalrymen.
At this time, Zhao Zhuang's 200,000 strong army was fighting with Meng Ao's army in the south and Wang Ling's army in the west. In order to annihilate Zhao Zhuang's army, Bai Qi had already issued a death order for the two armies to keep Zhao Zhuang's army at all costs and not let them escape.
Meng Ao received the order and ordered his infantry to circle behind Zhao Zhuang's army, blocking their path to the north. The infantry formed a defensive formation, like a metal chain, tightly entangling the Zhao Zhuang army.
The Zhao army's Deputy General Zhao Zhuang was also a seasoned veteran. Upon receiving Zhao Kuo's order, he immediately adjusted the formation of the army. He deployed the infantry to the south and formed a defensive formation to defend against the frontal assault of Meng Ao and the rest of Wang Ci's troops. He then moved the Steel Cavalry to the north and was responsible for breaking through the defensive chains set up by Meng Ao's army.
The army of four to five hundred thousand moved about and killed each other in the valley of the Dan River.
Bai Qi was overseeing the Wolf Mountain Watchtower from above. With his excellent vision, he was able to accurately command the two armies to attack together. He was able to advance and retreat at will, firmly delaying Zhao Zhuang's army.
Zhao Zhuang was in the middle of the battle and could not see the whole situation clearly. He could only passively face the enemy.
After a few rounds of probing, Zhao Zhuang had completely given up on relying on his own strength to escape. He mobilized the army again, preparing to defend against the Qin cavalry charging southwards.
Zhao Zhuang knew very well that his mission was to delay them until Chief General Zhao Kuo's army arrived to reinforce them. At that time, it would be the time to counterattack. At that time, it would be hard to tell who would emerge victorious.
After Zhao Zhuang rearranged the formation, there were a hundred thousand foot soldiers in the center and fifty thousand cavalry on the two flanks. In total, there were two hundred thousand soldiers dressed in red Hu uniforms. They were like a maple forest in autumn, fiery red. The cavalry on the two flanks were all Yin Shan Hu Ma, each of them had a long saber in their hands and a curved bow in their hands. A thousand cavalry under a banner, the troops were extremely orderly.
According to the situation of the battlefield, the formation of the central square formation was rather strange. It was actually arranged symmetrically from north to south.
From the front to the back, the first echelon consisted of twenty rows of a thousand men each with leather shields and scimitars. The second echelon consisted of fifteen rows of a thousand spear throwers each. The third echelon consisted of fifteen rows of a thousand crossbow archers each. On each side of the phalanx, there was a watchtower cloud chariot more than thirty feet tall, with a huge red flag with the character 'Zhao' fluttering in the air.
One could imagine how much effort Zhao Zhuang had put in to deal with the Qin army's pincer attack. What was even more brilliant was that he was able to gradually adjust the formation in the midst of a chaotic battle. It was indeed impressive.
Seeing how Zhao Zhuang handled the situation so well, Bai Qi who was looking up the tower was also filled with emotions.
No wonder they are the only Zhao army that can match the Qin army in this era. Regardless of the fighting strength of their soldiers or the capabilities of their generals, they are on par with the Qin army. The only thing they are lacking is the strength of the country.
Their objective of delaying Zhao Zhuang's army has been achieved. Bai Qi immediately ordered Meng Ao's infantry to retreat and regroup with the main army to make space for the incoming hundred thousand cavalry.
At the same time, Bai Qi ordered the rest of Wang Chi's army to gather and position them on the west side of Zhao Zhuang's army. After Meng Ao's army gathered, they positioned themselves on the east side of Zhao Zhuang's army, forming a pincer attack from the east and west.
Bai Qi's deeper objective was to use the east and west sides of the army to firmly hold back the cavalry on the two flanks of Zhao Zhuang's army, preventing them from cutting in and engaging in a chaotic battle with the cavalry heading south.
Bai Qi's arrangements made Zhao Zhuang exceptionally uncomfortable. He was like a trapped beast with enemies on all sides. The only gap was the southern barracks. It looked like a path of survival, but in reality, it was a dead end.
What made Zhao Zhuang even more helpless was that he had already prepared for a pincer attack from the north and south, but Bai Qi did not place a single soldier on the southern side. This caused his arrangements to be completely useless. It was too late for him to reorganize his army.
The difference between Zhao Zhuang and Bai Qi was clearly shown in this back and forth battle.
The rumbling of horse hooves was like thunder from the Nine Heavens, exploding in everyone's ears. The sound came from afar. One moment it was ten miles away, the next moment it felt like it was right in front of them.
Zhao Zhuang knew that the enemy's cavalry had finally arrived.
The flames of war rose again. An unprecedented battle once again took place in Chang Ping Valley.
"Raise your shields!" The commander began to give the order.
Compared to the Qin's heavy armoured soldiers, the Zhao's infantry were light and agile. The leather shields they held were large and round. The crescent blades they carried were both light and sharp.
The horses of the Qin cavalry were all armoured. The riders were also armoured and carried longswords on their backs.
This was a battle between spears and shields. Huan Qi knew that his goal was to lead the cavalry to completely penetrate the Zhao Zhuang army's formation. If they were unable to completely penetrate, they would face the risk of being surrounded.
The cavalry on both sides of Zhao Zhuang's army wanted to cut in and clash with the incoming Qin cavalry. The Qin army on the east and west sides immediately moved out. Like a pair of iron pincers, they held the cavalry back and engaged in a chaotic battle.
The black steel torrent launched a fearless attack against the rain of arrows and javelins that filled the sky. After paying a heavy price, the vanguard led by Huan Qi finally reached the Zhao army.
The Qin cavalry were invincible. Using the inertia of their high-speed charge, they ignored the Zhao scimitar soldiers and quickly pierced through the first row, followed by the second and third row.
The Zhao scimitar soldiers did not show any weakness. The scimitars in their hands were like flowing water, accurately chopping off the legs of the horses. In an instant, the riders were thrown off their horses by the inertia. What awaited them was swords and knives.
The mutant cavalry army led by Shi Wansui was in the middle of the one hundred thousand cavalry.
It was fortunate that they were protected from the rain of arrows and javelins. Otherwise, they would have suffered heavy losses before even coming into contact with the Zhao army.
After paying a heavy price, Huan Qi's army finally broke through the formation of the Zhao scimitar soldiers and spear throwers. What they faced next was the defenseless crossbow archers.
Once they broke through, the pressure on the mutant army in the middle and Wang Ling's army at the back would be greatly reduced. With an unstoppable momentum, they surged towards the Zhao Zhuang army like a tidal wave.
When Huan Qi's army reached the middle, they were already exhausted. He made a prompt decision and led his army to attack from the left and right, starting to trample on the thirty thousand crossbow archers in the middle.
The mutant army led by Shi Wansui arrived first. Following the bloody path that Huan Qi's army had created, they effortlessly broke through the formation of the Zhao scimitar soldiers and spear throwers. They also came to the crossbow archers' formation.
Under Huan Qi's signal, the mutant army did not stop and continued to charge forward.
After the crossbow archers' formation, it was the spear throwers' formation and then the scimitar soldiers' formation.
Ouyang Shuo gritted his teeth in anger at Huan Qi's order. He had thought that Huan Qi had found his conscience, but it turned out that he was waiting for him here. His main force was killing the defenseless crossbow archers in the middle, while the mutant army went to bite the last tough bone.
Military orders had to be obeyed. Even though Ouyang Shuo was angry, he had to ask Shi Wansui to continue forward.
Thinking about it, Huan Qi's arrangement was not inappropriate. There were three armies, and Wang Ling's army was in charge of the rear. They had already suffered heavy losses. Huan Qi's army was in charge of the vanguard and had also suffered heavy losses.
The only one that was unharmed was the mutant army in the middle.
Therefore, it was natural for the mutant army to be in charge next.
Luckily, the army of Shanhai County was not a weakling and had seen all kinds of battles.
The crossbow archers in the middle were chased around by Huan Qi's army. When they reached the rear, they were no longer as orderly as they were at the start.
Shi Wansui grabbed the chance and ordered the army to press forward. They had to break through the last two lines of defense in one go.
Compared to the Qin cavalry, the 2nd Brigade and the Forbidden Brigade were better. Their horses were also better than the horses of the Qin army. Shi Wansui was confident of this.
The mutant army easily broke through the formation of the spear throwers. Then, they charged through the formation of the scimitar soldiers. Like a tsunami, they swept past the formation of the Zhao army.
Seeing that the formation of the Zhao army had been broken into pieces, Bai Qi ordered the east and west armies to press forward and surround Zhao Zhuang's army.
In an instant, the weather changed. The clear sky was suddenly filled with dark clouds.
Zhao Zhuang was in the middle of the battle and his personal guards were scattered. He was no longer able to command the army.
The huge army suddenly lost its command system and immediately became chaotic. Gradually, it started to show signs of weakness. The soldiers were fighting on their own and could not tell the directions. In a short period of time, they had already suffered heavy losses.
On the contrary, under the command of Bai Qi Chao, the various armies of the Qin army formed into a cohesive whole. Like moving clouds and flowing water, they attacked separately, pierced through, surrounded, nibbled away at Zhao Zhuang's army bit by bit.
Bai Qi's commanding skills had reached the peak of perfection. It had risen to the height of art.
His brain was like a compact machine, accurately calculating every step without the slightest error. Every detail on the battlefield could not escape his eagle-like eyes. He made full use of it.
Zhao Zhuang's army was in an unprecedented crisis and was on the verge of collapse.
At the critical moment, Zhao Kuo finally led his army and rushed over to reinforce them. (To be continued.)
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