Looking north from the sand river, the wilderness is flat and wide, and there is no terrain to rely on.

In the past period of time, the main force of the Central Route Army led by Xie Ai also faced the problem of the right-wing Yanzhou Army, that is, the mobility was seriously insufficient, and the cavalry forces, including the Fenwu Army, needed to roam in the rear to kill and shelter the logistics and transportation routes.

The opponent faced by the main force of the middle route army was much stronger than that of Shangbai's army, and although the military power of the army in Xiangguo was divided, the cavalry strength in Ma Qiu's hands was at least 20,000. When the forward of the Central Route Army arrived at Shahe, the number of troops was more than 15,000, and it was only after several fierce battles that it was able to establish itself in Shahe.

But even so, Xie Ai still did not lead his troops to retreat into the Shahe camp, but arranged them in an orderly and calm manner, using the soldiers under his command to the extreme, and calmly laying them out in the southern plains of Xiangguo.

Although the terrain of the south of Xiangguo is dominated by plains, it is not without changes, forests, ravines, swamps and other terrains are readily available, based on these existing geographical conditions, in the past period of time, Xie Ai commanded all kinds of soldiers, forces, build soil for mounds, dig deep trenches, and set up more camps, so that the southern suburbs of Xiangguo that were originally lacking much change are dangerous and dangerous, and even the Xiangguo rangers do not dare to wander out of the city at will.

Infantry and cavalry against each other, the cavalry is an absolute advantage, maneuvering and clutching, coming and going at will, first of all, it has been invincible. In the Battle of the Plains, if there were no strong fortified cities to rely on, the infantry could be said to be a crowd to be slaughtered, or they could defend themselves with excellent equipment, but the power to counterattack was really lacking.

However, the wonder of war lies in the changes in local conditions and situation, and the mystery of the art of war, which Xie Ai expressed vividly in the world of Shahe and Xiangguo.

With the determination of all sides of the back road, the Shahe battalion has also been able to increase its troops, especially with the cavalry led by Xie Yi to fill the right formation, the entire Shahe battalion has reached 30,000 troops, and there are more than 50,000 Ding Zhuang soldiers.

With such a huge military force, Xie Ai did not rely on the Chinese army alone, but sent out layer by layer, and formed a camp with a width of more than ten miles with the Shahe camp where his Chinese army's big tent was located. With the increase in the proportion of cavalry, this range continued to expand, and now the front has been pushed to the outskirts of Xiangguo City more than ten miles away.

The large tent of the Chinese army was a small mound, and Xie Ai ordered the soldiers to stack this mound high and set up a battle fort, so that the soldiers in all parts of the camp could see the changes in the flag order of the Chinese army.

The soldiers in the army are divided into ten armies, except for the two rangers to respond to the armies, the rest of the eight armies are each a large battalion, a large battalion is divided into eight small battalions, and the sixty-four battalions are scattered and separated, such as the stars and Zhanghe. The inside and outside of the camps are clearly layered, the locations and terrain are different, and they are equipped with different equipment. The distance between the battalions is large and small, the wide ones are nearly miles, and the narrow ones are set up in the camp.

The whole camp is extremely varied, even if it is knowledgeable, it is difficult to deduce the overall situation, so that after several months of fighting, the Xiang army did not even know that the formation set up by the Jin army was the famous ancient eight formations.

The name of the eight formations has existed in ancient times, and the earliest can even be traced back to the eight formations of the Yellow Emperor's generals, and then there are the eight formations of the pre-Qin Sui Tho, the eight formations of the Han Dynasty and so on. The ancient method of the pre-Qin period cannot be pursued now, and the eight formations of the Han Dynasty are the powerful battle formations of the Han Dynasty to attack the Xiongnu in the north, and there is no lack of wonderful methods for riding on foot.

In the old years of the Three Kingdoms, Emperor Xuan Sima Yi fought against Zhuge Wuhou, although he was strong, he could not break the weak army of Shu, so that Emperor Xuan sighed that Zhuge Liang was a genius in the world. As for the Middle and Korean dynasties, there was also no shortage of soldiers who studied the eight formations of Wuhou, and added changes in equipment, making the formation more and more powerful.

Although the name of the Eight Formations is prominent, there are very few that can be mastered among the kings now. First, there are many array diagrams, and there are many old books of China and North Korea, so it is difficult to deduce the whole picture from some missing classics. The two are complicated changes, and the elite people who are not disciplined and well-trained cannot form an army, otherwise they will not wait for the enemy to attack, and the Chinese army's changing flag order alone will be enough to make the battalions unable to accept and implement it, and they will be in chaos.

The real ancient eight formations, including the modern Wuhou Eight Formations, Xie Ai did not know, although he also deduced some of the eight formations from some fragmented ancient books, but more of them were combined with his own military strategy to deduce and create.

In addition to guarding the Fangtou army for many years, the general of Xingtai has full trust, and in addition to guarding against the Fangtou army, Xie Ai has also been training the Fangtou army to practice eight formations, which has been fruitful so far.

After entering Shahe in the north, although there were also friendly troops from all walks of life joining the army, the main body was still the long-trained Fangtou army. Although there are hundreds of changes in the Eight Array Banner Order, these soldiers have also been trained for several years, especially those who are the commanders of the battalion, they are not as heroic as their comrades, but the recognition and implementation of the flag order has become an instinct that goes deep into the bone marrow.

With the unpredictable eight-array formation and the well-trained soldiers, it can be said that he has been sharpening his sword for several years, and once he has used his life. Although in terms of the combination of troops, the Wang Division was at an obvious disadvantage compared to the Qiang army, and even had no way to rely on the terrain, the Middle Route Army still went against the current and approached Xiangguo little by little under the vicious suppression of the elite cavalry of the Qiang State.

The Northern Expedition is a major social event, and it is difficult for all the people in the world with armor to turn sideways. The Longyou Qiang Army passed through Guanzhong in the east and joined the battle on the battlefield of Bingzhou. And the Jingzhou Army, as the first military government in Jiangdong in the old years, naturally also needs to send representatives to participate in the war, no matter what the results are, this is a basic expression of attitude.

The Jingzhou army sent a total of 5,000 troops in three routes, one led by Li Guo, the son of Li Yang, the Taishou of Jingling, who followed Han Huang of Hanoi to fight on the side of Taihang Mountain, and the other two roads were led by Deng Yi, the younger brother of Deng Yue, the Taishou of Wuchang, and Zhou Chu, the son of Zhou Fu, the Taishou of Yuzhang, both under the command of Xie Ai, the governor of the Chinese army.

In the old years of Jiangdong, Jingzhou had its own weight of dividing Shaanxi, in addition to having a deep determination of the domestic situation, for a period of time, it was even more powerful to be the three enemy countries with the power of one state.

It was only with the return of the general to take charge of the country and the establishment of a platform in Heluo that the prestige of the Jingzhou Army gradually declined. Especially after Huan Xuan of Xiangyang joined the battle of Guanzhong in the west, Jingzhou has been reduced from the original town of Shaanxi to the combat power of the Han Dynasty only responsible for Shuzhong.

Therefore, for this Northern Expedition, all the generals of Jingzhou also had a sullen spirit, and sent their elite soldiers under their command, hoping to perform well in the general's personal conquest and reshape the military prestige of Jingzhou. After going north, he took the initiative to ask to go to the most dangerous front, to be responsible for the most difficult battles, and even to fight with his eyes, which was full of heroism.

Right now, outside a large camp at the front of the King's Division's Great Array, a battle is underway.

The owner of this battalion is Deng Yi, the younger brother of Deng Yue, a brave general in Jingzhou, Deng Yue has the name of the three armies in Jingzhou.

Compared with his brother Deng Yue, Deng Yi seems a little ordinary, and he himself lacks a good reputation for war, his body is thin and weak, and he has no brave posture. However, because the Jingzhou army is different from the various royal divisions directly under Xingtai, the northward marchers are mainly the Deng tribes, because there is only Deng Yidian's army.

The battlefield ahead was a flat field, and as the rear road stabilized, many horses gradually replenished the battalions. The military camp of the Qiang army was set up on the flat ground outside the city of Xiangguo, more than ten miles away, and about 500 cavalry attacked and fought with the king's division.

In the current cold winter season, the weeds on the battlefield are either trampled or burned, but as the cavalry rushes back and forth, there are still large clouds of smoke and dust shrouded in the battlefield, which limits the view of the battle to a certain extent.

Although I can't see the specific picture of the fight clearly, the sound of the killing is shocking in the wilderness, and it makes people smell the blood.

Deng Yizi led nearly 1,000 soldiers from the third battalion to watch the battle, and his expression was quite solemn. Behind him, there were antler carts on each wing to the left and right, and the soldiers were holding bows and crossbows, staring solemnly ahead.

In the chaotic fighting, a loud scream suddenly sounded, and then I heard the cheers and shouts in the battle array: "The thief will be dead, the thief will be dead!" ”

Deng Yi's front formation was still a mile away from the battlefield, and when he heard the faint shout of the cold wind, his heartstrings suddenly tensed, and he hesitated for a moment before waving his arm, and dozens of knights rushed out from behind, rushing straight towards the battlefield.

Although each battalion added some horses, the number was still limited, and after sending these rangers, there were no horses left in the battalion. If it weren't for the extraordinary killing of that general on the battlefield, Deng Yi would not have sent all the cavalry.

A moment later, the dust on the battlefield gradually fell, and the results were also known, and many cavalry soldiers rushed towards the camp of the northern Karma army, and the cavalry formation at the forefront was routed, and the pursuers in the rear appeared to be vigorous.

Seeing that it was his own side that won, Deng Yi also showed a relaxed expression on his face, but he saw that his knights were still relentlessly chasing and killing the rout of the Qian army, and they were getting closer to the opposite camp, and there were faint signs of troops gathering in the enemy camp, Deng Yi frowned again, and raised his hand to signal Ming Jin to withdraw his troops.

Jin Ge's voice was clear and melodious, and the knights who were chasing and killing the Qiang army heard the military order, although they were a little unwilling in their hearts, but they still turned around and returned to their own front.

"Young master heroic champion, slashing general!"

As they approached their own line, the knights were still excited, hugging one of the generals, laughing and cheering. And the general in the middle also picked up a bloody general with a big lance, and on the way to escape, he had already thrown off his pocket, revealing a radiant but childish face, which was clearly just a teenager.

"The last general led his troops to fight, fortunately not dishonored!"

The young man galloped forward, and the horse jumped off the war horse flexibly without slowing down, showing superb riding skills, he waved his hand to hang the horse lance on the saddle, and stepped forward to present the head of the general with both hands, but when he came to Deng Yi's horse, his face was slightly happy, revealing a little resentment: "Just about to win the whirlwind array to shake the camp, why does my uncle need to withdraw the army?" ”

When Deng Yi heard this, he raised his eyes and glared at the young man, stepped forward and patted the young man on the shoulder, and the ice condensed by blood and water on the armor peeled off: "It's gratifying for Erlang to dare to fight, but he can't underestimate the fierceness of the soldiers, and he is very happy and sad." ”

As he spoke, he saw the smoke and dust flying from the enemy's formation, and thousands of soldiers rushed out of the camp and rushed to the battlefield, obviously unwilling to be defeated before, and wanted to redeem the shame of being beheaded. If the previous royal division did not retreat, it would not be easy to get out of the battlefield at this time.

The young man's face changed, and he casually threw the head of the calf to the ground and stepped on it with his legs, and there was still a little bit of the sharpness of the newborn calf who was not afraid of the tiger: "If the soldier is not fierce, how can he get a great achievement?" Since you are in battle, you don't care about life and death, but if you want to kill me, hehe, you have to take out enough human lives to blunt my blade! ”