Chapter 239 Fire Bull Formation

On the day when the two armies met, Yang Zhengshan did not talk much with Wang Bin. It was not until the next day that Yang Zhengshan came to Wang Bin's main tent again and talked about the situation of the Korcha family.

In the main tent, all the military attachés from the reinforcement camp were present.

Yang Zhengshan stood in front of a map, preparing to tell about the Korcha family.

This map was drawn temporarily. It was very simple, rough, and non-standard, but it was barely legible.

"Currently we are about two hundred and thirty miles away from Korcha's banner. According to our investigation..."

Yang Zhengshan gave a general account of the situation of the Korcha family.

Although Wang Bin knew something about the Korcha family, his knowledge came from the intelligence information provided by the General Military Mansion. There was a lot of information, including intelligence about the entire East China Sea Hu tribe.

But the information about Korcha's family is much vaguer.

In contrast, Yang Zhengshan and the others also obtained a lot of information during this period. Although it was not specific enough, it was still more detailed than what Wang Bin knew.

After Yang Zhengshan finished his story, Wang Bin asked in a deep voice: "How many troops does the Korcha family have?"

This question is key.

Yang Zhengshan pondered for a while and said: "We can't be sure. We have interrogated many Hu people, and they only have an approximate figure for the specific strength of the Korcha clan."

"Anything from ten thousand to twenty thousand!"

This is really a rough number.

The reason why this is so is actually not difficult to understand.

The Hu tribe in the East China Sea has a sense that all the people are soldiers. At least 80% of the strong men can be regarded as cavalry.

They grew up on horses, and when they reached adulthood they could be considered cavalrymen by climbing on horses.

However, such cavalry is not actually a real cavalry, at least not in Yang Zhengshan's eyes.

The military has military conditions and requirements.

There is a big difference between the trained army and the Hu people who have not received training.

At least in terms of discipline and cooperation, the Hu cavalry were far inferior to the garrison battalion. This was also one of the important factors why the garrison battalion was able to defeat eight Hu tribes in a row.

If the Korcha clan pulled up all the strong men, there would be at least 20,000 cavalry.

But Yang Zhengshan estimates that the number of people who can really be considered to be in the army is only 10,000 at most.

When the military attachés in the tent heard this, they couldn't help but whisper.

With 10,000 Hu Qi, they might still have some confidence, but with 20,000!

At present, Wang Bin has two reinforcement battalions under his command, which is 6,000 troops, half of which are infantry.

In addition to the reinforcement camp, there are Yang Zhengshan's garrison camp and Zhang Yuan Wude's garrison camp.

Zhang Yuanwu's garrison camp only had more than 500 people, and its combat effectiveness was barely adequate and almost negligible.

In other words, their total strength is about 7,500, including 4,000 cavalry and 3,500 infantry.

It is a fact that the enemy is strong and we are weak.

Wang Bin thought for a while and asked, "Does Mr. Yang have any good ideas?"

He had already considered this problem, but he still did not give up because he felt that Yang Zhengshan should have a way.

Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and said with a smile: "I do have a plan that I can use!"

Wang Bin's eyes lit up, "Master Yang, please speak!"

"Fire Bull Formation!" Yang Zhengshan said the plan he had thought of during this period.

Fire Bull Formation, a tactic invented by Qi general Tian Dan during the Warring States Period.

During the reign of King Zhao of Yan, General Leyi of Yan defeated Qi, while Tian Dan defended Jimo. In 279 BC, King Yan Hui ascended the throne. Tian Dan pretended to surrender to the Yan army and paralyzed it. He also used more than a thousand oxen at night, tied swords to the horns, tied reeds to the tails and filled them with oil, lit them with fire, charged at the Yan army, and followed with five thousand warriors to kill them. The Yan army was defeated and Qi Jie was killed. Tian Dan took advantage of the victory and captured more than seventy cities in a row.

Now Yang Zhengshan has a lot of cattle. Not only does he have cattle, he also has a lot of fat and oil.

The most important thing is that the Korcha family has no strong city to defend. Not only does it not have a strong city, but also because the flag area is too large and there are too many people living there. There is not even a wooden fence around the flag area.

In addition, the Korcha clan has recently summoned all the strong men from other settlements, so the Korcha clan's banner is currently in some confusion.

Under such circumstances, if the fire bull array is used to attack at night, the results can be imagined.

Yang Zhengshan explained in detail how to use the Fire Bull Formation. The more Wang Bin and others listened, the bigger their eyes became.

"Is this still possible?"

"Why not?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

Wang Bin thought about it for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this Fire Ox Formation was very useful.

Thousands of mad cows attacked, and if it had been his reinforcement camp, it would have been destroyed in a moment.

Can the Hu tribe stop the Fire Bull Formation?

It should be difficult!

Even if they can block it, there are still their cavalry and infantry behind!

However, Wang Bin still thought of a problem, "If we want to use this Fire Ox Formation, we must hide it from the other party!"

Thousands of cows are not a small number. If the cows are driven over openly, I am afraid that the other party will be on guard.

Once the opponent is on guard, the power of the Fire Bull Formation will be greatly reduced.

Yang Zhengshan nodded in agreement and said, "That's right, so we need to bluff and hide the truth."

He pointed at the map and continued: "Cavalry, four thousand cavalry pretended to be eight thousand cavalry and marched thirty miles to the west of Korcha's banner. Here, a large array of flags was set up all over the police tent to show off their momentum and create a fortress. A battle with them."

"Infantry, from the south bank of the Songyuan River, circle eastward for two hundred miles, then cross the river and march to the southeast!"

He marked out a hilly area southeast of the Korcha clan on the map. There were several hills in that area, less than fifty miles away from the Korcha clan's flag land.

Although the hilltop is small, it can cover the whereabouts of the cattle and the army.

As long as the Korcha clan does not deliberately send scouts to investigate, they should not be discovered for a while.

"In order to avoid being discovered by the Korcha clan, the cavalry must set out first, attract the other party's attention, and confront the Korcha clan with false and real moves."

"The infantry driving the cattle must move quickly. From here to here, and then to here, it is about 400 miles away. Riding cattle to travel, it cannot exceed three days at most."

"The longer the time, the greater the risk of exposure!"

Yang Zhengshan patiently explained his plan to everyone.

After listening, everyone started to discuss.

Wang Bin pondered for a while, and then said: "I think we can take a risk!"

Everyone nodded.

Yang Zhengshan's plan is very complete. Although the process is a bit risky, it is very feasible.

The most important thing is that they can use this to defeat the Korcha clan at the lowest cost.

Otherwise, they have no confidence in defeating the Korcha clan.

Seeing that everyone agreed with Yang Zhengshan's plan, Wang Bin no longer hesitated and immediately made arrangements.

Orders were passed down one by one, and the army set out again the next day.

Wang Bin and Yang Zhengshan led the cavalry directly to the flag area of ​​the Korcha clan, and the camp officer Zhao Chengzhi and the garrison Zhang Yuanwu led 3,500 infantry to the camp of the previous Anyuan City garrison camp.

In the camp, Yang Zhengshan had asked Wang Sheng to leave 2,000 cattle, and they could just go and take them away.

…

“Report, a large number of enemy troops are approaching us in the southeast!”

In the Korcha clan’s banner, Dobato received a report from the scout, stood up suddenly, and asked solemnly: “How many people are there? How far are they from us?”

“The enemy’s strength is more than 5,000, all cavalry, and they are about 80 miles away from us!”

Although Yang Zhengshan led the garrison camp far away from Korcha before, Dobato did not relax. Instead, he had been summoning his troops and sent a large number of scouts to guard the area within a hundred miles south of the banner.

“More than 5,000!” Dobato’s face was extremely ugly.

Yang Zhengshan only used more than 1,000 cavalry to break through eight tribes in succession, and now there are more than 5,000 cavalry, which makes Dobato feel heavy pressure.

“Explore again!”

After letting the scout leave, Dobato walked back and forth anxiously in the felt tent.

In the past, he also looked down on the soldiers of Chongshan Town. In his opinion, Chongshan Town was a group of lambs to be slaughtered.

But now he didn't dare to underestimate Chongshan Town.

Especially Yang Zhengshan and the garrison camp, even though he now had nearly 20,000 cavalry, he still didn't dare to relax.

...

On the other side, Yang Zhengshan and Wang Bin were leading the cavalry to approach Korcha clan slowly.

They had already discovered Korcha clan's scouts, but they didn't stop them. Instead, they narrowed the patrol range of their own scouts and deliberately let the other scouts observe them more closely.

They used 4,000 cavalry to create the appearance of 8,000 cavalry, deliberately to confuse Dobato.

In the afternoon, they arrived at a location 30 miles west of Korcha clan, and then began to set up camp, bury the pot and cook, making preparations for a confrontation and a battle with Korcha clan.

Just as the soldiers were setting up camp, Wang Bin and Yang Zhengshan rode to a slightly higher earth slope and looked at the flag land of Korcha clan in the distance.

The continuous felt tents spread over a range of seven or eight miles, which was extremely spectacular from a distance.

"Do you think they will wait for us to attack us first?" Wang Bin asked.

Yang Zhengshan looked up at the somewhat gloomy sky.

There are many clouds in the sky, but there will be no rain in the next ten days, which is a good thing for them.

"No, I have met with Duobato. He is a very cautious person. He will not rashly start a war before he knows our military strength!"

Yang Zhengshan said confidently.

That night he fought with Duobato, and in the end both of them left because they were not sure.

From this point, it can be seen that Duobato is not a rash person.

"Of course, we can't be unprepared. We must take some precautions tonight!" Although Yang Zhengshan is confident, he is not overconfident.

Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of one.

If Duobato has a brain twitch and impulsively launches a night attack, then they will die before they succeed.

Wang Bin nodded slightly, "I hope our plan can be implemented smoothly!"

He was still a little worried in his heart. Before the plan succeeded, his heart would probably be hanging.

"Don't worry, General! We will win this battle!"

Although Yang Zhengshan was a little worried, he didn't show it.

Everything depends on human effort.

Since he has decided to do it, he must stick to it.

At this time, he can't be weak, and he must firmly believe that the plan can succeed.

Otherwise, once he is weak first, others will probably be more worried, which is not conducive to the morale of the army.

Wang Bin nodded and said nothing more.

He would only show his worries in front of Yang Zhengshan. In front of others, he is the main general and he must not lose heart. He also understands this.

The two looked at Korcha's flag for a while, and then rode back to the army camp.