Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 124 Grand Formation
Night battles have always been the most dangerous, so when Wang Jin was in charge of setting up camp at the mountain pass, he specifically dug a ditch on one side of the slope.

If enemy troops were to storm the fortress from here, they would have to jump down into the ravine before they could climb up the slope.

When the Nanzhao army rushed to within a hundred paces of the slope, the alarm bells outside rang loudly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai, the squad leader who had been patrolling and guarding the area, roared:
"Light the bonfire!"

As they spoke, bonfires were lit one after another along the slope, and some sharpshooters began to shoot fire arrows down the slope by feel. They had piled up a patch of firewood there beforehand to illuminate the battlefield.

Unfortunately, a burst of fire arrows was fired, but not a single campfire was lit, so the officers and soldiers on the front line had no idea how many Nanzhao troops were coming from the darkness on the other side.

At this moment, Zhang Dai's battalion commander Han Tong led three teams over. These men were all armed with bows and crossbows. After arriving at the slope, they consciously formed three rows: front, middle, and rear.

Han Tong raised his iron spear and roared into the darkness below:

"shoot!"

The archers and crossbowmen behind them, including Zhang Dai's former subordinates, launched their arrows in a continuous stream.

The screams continued in the darkness, but some Nanzhao soldiers, undaunted by death, climbed up the slope despite the rain of arrows.

Actually, these Nanzhao soldiers were just unlucky.

They obtained accurate intelligence from within the Tang army, knowing that Zhao Huai'an, the Tiger of Xichuan, was camped here. Therefore, they dispatched a thousand elite soldiers to risk crossing the battlefield and launch a night attack on Zhao Huai'an's troops.

With Zhao Huai'an's elite troops completely crushed tonight, the Nanzhao army is even more certain of victory in tomorrow's decisive battle.

The Nanzhao army had actually arrived an hour earlier, but their commander was a military strategist who believed that the best time to launch a night attack was at midnight. So they waited an hour before launching their attack.

But it was at this moment that Zhao Huai'an received Yang Qingfu's military order to rush to the valley in the middle of the night and launch a general attack at dawn the next day.

So as soon as he returned, Zhao Huai'an ordered each team to reorganize their ranks and prepare to depart at midnight.

And that's how they collided.

The Nanzhao army, who thought it was a night attack, were caught off guard by a hail of arrows as soon as they charged forward, and were immediately stunned.

Apart from a small number of elite troops who continued their charge, most were running around aimlessly in the darkness, with large gaps between the ranks.

The rain of arrows continued unabated when suddenly, dense footsteps echoed from the darkness on the left, accompanied by shouts. Upon hearing this, Wei Jingang, the squad leader in charge, roared:

"Stop! Where is He Bu?"

This is because Wei Jingang knew that the Qiang soldiers from Weizhou were Zhang Zao's troops on the left slope, which is why he asked the question; otherwise, he would have been met with a barrage of arrows.

A loud roar came from the darkness:
"I am Zhang Zao, and I have come here to provide assistance."

Wei Jingang frowned, not lowering his guard just because the other party claimed to be Zhang Zao. He roared:

"Our troops have already engaged the enemy. Commander Zhang, please defend the area where you are and do not make any rash moves."

Then there was silence in the darkness.

Wei Jingang ordered the formation to remain unchanged and prepared to send two capable officers to make contact with Zhang Zao's troops. Suddenly, a series of shouts came from behind:

"Get out of the way, get out of the way."

Wei Jingang and the others didn't even need to turn around; just hearing the armor clashing like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, they knew that the heavy infantry was approaching, and they roared with joy:
"Brothers, make way on the slope, let the heavy infantrymen slaughter them."

Cheers erupted in the darkness, and then a gleaming, armored army poured down the slope—yes, poured down, like a cataclysmic flood, unstoppable.

Some of the Nanzhao people on the other side could understand Tang language. When they heard the other side shout "Chongbu," they turned pale and prepared to retreat, but it was too late.

Wearing the mask of a demon, Wang Jin unleashed his fury upon these men, and nearly a hundred armored warriors crushed the Nanzhao army with overwhelming force.

In the darkness, fear was amplified infinitely. Every time they stepped on the severed limbs and broken arms on the ground, the Nanzhao soldiers would let out sharp screams.

The sound was like a fruit bursting open, a muffled sound that made one's whole body stiff.

What's even more frightening is that this sound is getting closer and closer.

At that moment, all glory, family, and courage vanished. After the first wave of people began to flee, the remaining forces crumbled.

Even if these people fled, the chances of them surviving the long battlefield were slim. Some huts lurking in the mountains were treating these fleeing soldiers as prey.

Even if these people are lucky enough to survive and return home, they will never forget tonight, that deadly demon clad in iron!
After defeating the enemy force, Wang Jin and his men rested on the spot, knowing that the higher-ups would soon call a retreat.

Sure enough, not long after, a sharp gong sounded throughout the mountain pass.

Bao Yidu decisively defeated the Nanzhao army that launched a night attack.

Unfortunately, they were also cut off here and were unable to go down into the valley to join the battle for the time being.

……

The Nanzhao army did not only launch a night attack on Bao Yidu; in fact, it also launched a night attack on the position of Qu Dafu, the Left Wing Cavalry Commander.

Doctor Qu's position was not far from the main position of Buddha Mountain, so he quickly returned to his position, prepared more than a thousand cavalry and infantry, and set out into the valley with the big flag raised high.

Doctor Qu acted swiftly and decisively, and his more than a thousand cavalry and infantry were also in high spirits and full of fighting spirit. Anyone who saw them knew that this was a force that won more battles than it lost.

As one of only two forces besides the Prince's Army to possess independent cavalry strength, Dr. Qu's thousand-man unit was a force capable of influencing the battlefield situation.

His unit alone had five hundred cavalrymen, which was many times more than the number of Zhao Huai'an's cavalry.

But this elite force was ambushed halfway through its journey.

At this moment, Doctor Qu was carried on a palanquin and fled southeast.

Overwhelmed with shame and anxiety, Dr. Qu's face flushed red. He suddenly asked the soldier beside him:

"What time is it now?!"

Upon hearing this, a soldier supporting the palanquin estimated the situation and replied:

"My lord, it must be past 5 PM by now."

Dr. Qu paused for a moment, then murmured:
"It's almost dawn."

The soldiers surrounding the carriage, protecting Doctor Qu as he fled, secretly complained. Their lord was still thinking about whether it was dawn or not. If they didn't hurry up, the Nanzhao people behind them would catch up with them.

Despite their complaints, the group still carried the injured Doctor Qu, who had fallen from his horse, and fled towards the main camp of Fujin Mountain.

Warriors may love money, but when it comes to gratitude, they are willing to risk their lives to repay it. Perhaps this is one of the few remaining principles of morality among the warriors of this generation.

Lying on the palanquin, Doctor Qu kept recalling what had just happened, still unable to believe that his more than a thousand horse stances had collapsed in that one instant.

He was also puzzled as to why the Nanzhao army could find his position and know when he went out to fight.

Oh, no, the enemy doesn't need to know when I'm going out to attack. They only need to know where my main camp is so they can lie in ambush on the mountain path and wait for me to sneak in.

Suddenly, he remembered the rumor circulating in the army: why were they fighting to the death, while the foreign troops were left behind to reap the rewards?

He hadn't taken it to heart at first, but now it seemed that someone was clearly trying to undermine morale.

There are traitors among us!

Thinking of this, Doctor Qu was filled with hatred and anger. Then, with a surge of resentment in his chest, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

This startled the soldiers, who were about to rush forward to look when the sound of galloping hooves came from behind, and the Nanzhao army had caught up.

This also means that the brothers who were covering the rear are probably all...

"Hurry up and carry the palanquin away!"

At that moment, a tall warrior struck the stunned soldier's helmet with his spear and roared angrily.

Then this man nodded to Doctor Qu on the palanquin:
"My lord, I'll see you off here!"

After saying this, the man, accompanied by two attendants, went upstream, heading straight for the approaching sound of horses' hooves.

Almost instantly, all the soldiers present heard this shout:

"Qi Wanxing from Guankou is here! Anyone who dares to come up here is courting death!"

Then came the sounds of fighting and the sound of horses' hooves rising again.

Only then did the soldiers, with tears in their eyes, carry Doctor Qu and continue their frantic run.

Doctor Qu, his face already wet with tears, gazed at the rising sun in the distance, then at a bamboo grove beside the mountain path, and addressed his soldiers:
"Carry me to that bamboo grove."

The soldiers didn't know what their lord wanted to do, but at this moment they still subconsciously obeyed and carried Doctor Qu up into the bamboo forest.

At this moment, the Nanzhao army's cavalry had caught up and were circling around under the bamboo forest.

Without further ado, Doctor Qu drew his sword and addressed the assembled soldiers:
"Good lad, today is the day I, Doctor Qu, die, but do not let my head fall into the hands of the Nanzhao army."

After speaking, Dr. Qu looked at the slowly rising sun and murmured with tears in his eyes:
"The rising sun weeps blood, illuminating the fallen soldiers; our battles have turned to nothing, alas, where is our glory and honor now? Like a handful of dust in a dream!" Finally, he roared at his soldiers:
"Brothers, let's be brothers again in the next life!"

After saying this, Doctor Qu drew his sword swiftly, and his blood was spilled into the green forest. Only then did the soldiers cry out in despair. Two of the best soldiers carried the magistrate's head and continued their breakout, while the rest grabbed their swords and halberds and charged towards the Nanzhao army below the forest.

How pitiful, how lamentable! Loyalty and courage were never cherished, yet in the end, they sought another hero.

……

Using intelligence from within the Tang army, the Nanzhao army launched night raids on several camps, sometimes attacking, sometimes retreating, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, and they thought they had gained the upper hand.

But they didn't know that the transformation from hunter to prey can only happen in an instant.

Almost at the same time that the Nanzhao army attacked the various positions, the two Yellow-Headed Army units under Li Ting and Guo Qi outside Hanyuan City also launched a night attack on Hanyuan City.

These two units can be said to be the strongest and most numerous units on the valley battlefield at this time.

The two groups, numbering nearly three thousand, launched a fierce attack on the eastern city of Hanyuan at midnight.

Meanwhile, Guo Qi's troops, which entered the battlefield in the afternoon, bypassed Hanyuan City and launched a fierce attack directly on the Nanzhao army camp to the west.

At that time, most of the Nanzhao army's forces were secretly transferred to the mountains on both sides to launch a night attack on the die-hard Tang generals, so the forces in the valley camp were very weak.

When the first attack on the stronghold failed, Guo Qi, who was then the Right Military Commander, led his elite cavalry to charge forward.

He spurred his horse and brandished his bow, galloping around the camp. His arrows never missed, suppressing the Nanzhao archers on the corner tower. It was at this moment that the Yellow-Headed Army successfully poured into the camp and began to slaughter the Nanzhao soldiers indiscriminately.

Soon, the camp was set ablaze. Guo Qi and his men stopped attacking the fortified positions behind the camp and led the Yellow-Headed Army to circle around to the west side of Hanyuan City.

At this moment, in the eastern city of Hanyuan, the Yellow-Headed Army was fiercely attacking the city walls. Arrows rained down from both sides, and the battle was intense.

Then Guo Qi led his men straight to the West Gate, where torches flickered back and forth on the city gate.

Before long, Guo Qi and his cavalry had just reached the city walls when the gates of Hanyuan were opened wide.

Yes, some soldiers in the Tang army succumbed to the temptations of the Nanzhao people and betrayed them. Similarly, some Nanzhao people, knowing too well the true state of their own country and despairing of the future, ultimately chose to stand on the side of Longshun and Gao Pian.

At this moment, looking at the dark, gaping city gate, Guo Qi shouted to a Nanzhao warrior beside him:
"Go ask, see if they're familiar with them."

The Nanzhao warrior immediately shouted, calling out about ten names in succession, and seventeen or eighteen responded. Then he turned to Guo Qi and said:

"The military commander is one of our men!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Qi did not hesitate any longer. He spurred his horse forward and charged into the city first. More than a hundred cavalrymen followed, whipping their horses into the city. They quickly cut through the panicked and assembled Nanzhao army and then set the city ablaze.

The mountain winds fueled the fire, turning the night sky red.

Li Ting, who was leading the main force to attack the city from the east, saw the fire and, without hesitation, ordered the entire army to fight back.

By this time, the various units of the Yellow Head Army were already in high spirits, and they all climbed up the city wall, roaring as they clashed with the panicked and terrified Nanzhao soldiers.

Li Ting, standing below the city wall, saw his own banner standing atop the wall and was about to shout with joy when suddenly he saw the banner cut down. Enraged, he roared:
"Who will raise my flag atop the city wall!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the burly old Deng shouted:
"Let someone come!"

So, taking only his trusted soldiers, he climbed the hanging ladders and went straight up to the city.

Just as he jumped onto the city wall, before he could even plant the flag, Old Deng was slashed on the shoulder. If it weren't for the protective armor plates that blocked the blow, the slash would have severed his arm.

In that same instant, Old Deng was resurrected, and he turned around and slashed with his knife. In the darkness, it was hard to see clearly, but a scream was heard and someone fell to the ground.

Ignoring everything else, Deng pointed to one of his men to cut off the man's head, while he himself pulled down the flag from his back and planted it on the city wall.

Amidst the fireworks, the Tang army's banner finally fluttered over Hanyuan City.

With this, the Yellowhead Army finally captured the most important strategic position in the valley, and everyone believed that victory was just around the corner!
Little did anyone know that at this moment, the Xichuan army was collapsing on the outskirts of the valley.

Its daybreak.

……

At daybreak, Li Ting and Guo Qi's two Yellow-Headed Army units joined forces in the city. After extinguishing the fireworks, they used the city as their base and began to attack the Nanzhao Army in all directions.

Due to the vastness of the battlefield and the fact that most of the scattered Sichuan troops were in the mountains and forests, most of the Sichuan troops in the valley were not aware of the current situation. They were following their previous strategy and were attacking the Nanzhao army's positions at dawn.

At this moment, the morale of all the Western Sichuan troops was greatly boosted, because with the capture of Hanyuan City by the Yellow Head Army, they had the only high ground on this battlefield, and the Yellow Head Army inside the city could maneuver and penetrate into the enemy's weak points at any time according to the battlefield situation.

Slightly to the north of the battlefield, Ren Kezhi led the Xishan Qiang army in preparation for an attack.

At this moment, as dawn broke, a thick fog suddenly rose in the valley, and countless people and flags were faintly visible in the fog.

After receiving orders to march out of the valley last night, Ren Kezhi led over a thousand Qiang soldiers from Xishan to this battlefield and camped out in the open.

As the drums and horns sounded, the Qiang soldiers of Xishan, who had already formed ranks, slowly moved toward the battle, carrying the totems of their respective Qiang tribes and symbolic objects such as sheep skulls.

In the thick fog, countless green banners fluttered above the Qiang army of Xishan, and various cow and sheep skulls appeared and disappeared in the fog, giving off a wild and desolate atmosphere.

Below the Qiang army in Xishan, to his south, were five hundred soldiers of Mao Xiang from Kuizhou, five hundred Bo soldiers of Xie Chengen from Rongzhou, five hundred soldiers of Zhang Chengjian from Yazhou, and six hundred Qiang soldiers of Li Shunzhi from Weizhou.

Next up is the Xichuan Army.

Among them, the five armies of Xichuan Yamen were all lined up there, namely Yang Maoyan, Yang Tang, Yang Ru, Zhang Xu, and Ju Weili. Yang Maoyan had previously been stationed on the northern mountain ridge and arrived at the battlefield in the early hours of this morning.

These five units, numbering two to three thousand men, were the core force of this field battle, and they would shoulder the responsibility of attacking the main force of the Nanzhao army on the other side.

According to the military strategy deployed by Yang Qingfu in this battle, their tactics this time were to have the central army confront the Nanzhao army head-on, and then use the elite troops of Ren Kezhi in the north and Zhao Huai'an in the south as spearheads to first defeat the enemy on both sides, and finally encircle and surround them.

This explains why Zhao Huai'an was conflicted when he heard Song Jian ask Li Shitai to relay the order not to leave the battlefield.

Indeed, if he did not go to fight, he would not only disappoint Yang Qingfu's expectations, but also harm the Western Sichuan army that was already in the valley.

At this point, had Bao Yidu actually left the battlefield and reached the southern part of the valley?
Have!
At this time, countless banners of Baoyi were displayed on the south side of the battlefield, with soldiers from Meizhou and Weizhou on both flanks, arrayed in the field.

It was as if they hadn't experienced an attack last night.

Then, the troops under Zhao Huaiyi of Chengdu, Xie Zaixing of Youyi Army, Xie Congben of Right Tuqi Cavalry and Infantry, Yang Xingqian of Lutouzhai, Mo Kuangshi of Baimazhai, and Hou Ju of Songling Pass were all arrayed on both sides of these three main forces as connecting units.

Among them, Zhao Huaiyi's Chengdu general, numbering a thousand, was positioned on the northeast side of Zhao Huai'an's forces.

At the moment the sun fully rose, Yang Qingfu, who had been arrayed at the Fojin Mountain position, led his troops to three miles behind the front line and raised his signature embroidered gold banner.

All the troops from the Western Sichuan army on the front line saw the great banner rising in the rear, and their morale soared. From time to time, cheers that seemed to reach the heavens and the earth erupted along the long battle line.

This battle must be won!

Around dawn, both the Nanzhao army and the Xichuan army had completed their deployment.

In terms of numbers, the two armies were roughly equal, but because the Xichuan army had occupied Hanyuan City, their entire battle line was spread out further, almost encircling the Nanzhao army, which was entrenched on the narrow strip of river beach west of Hanyuan and east of the Liusha River, in a three-sided encirclement.

Therefore, judging from the pre-war perspective, the Sichuan army did indeed hold a significant advantage.

This can be seen from Yang Qingfu's expression under the banner at this moment.

At this moment, this veteran general of Xichuan sat under a large embroidered banner, the golden tassels on the banner swaying in the mountain wind. Yang Qingfu sat comfortably on a stool, patting his thigh lightly, very confident.

He certainly had reason to be confident, because in his view, he had completely seized the initiative on the battlefield.

Did Yang Qingfu know that the Nanzhao army was seeking out its own generals? Of course he knew, but what did that mean? Did it mean that these generals would defect?

How could that be? These people probably want their entire families slaughtered!
Therefore, Yang Qingfu knew with his toes that the Nanzhao army would at most make these generals with deep past ties stand by and watch.

But he had already realized this, so yesterday afternoon he sent most of his unreliable generals to the valley, and also sent down his core elite soldiers and generals, fearing that the battle line would become unstable.

So now those two-faced generals have no choice. Now that everyone is on the battlefield, how can they sit on the sidelines and watch?
Moreover, these people are already half-hearted. Once the main force gets going, won't they all rush out to steal credit?

But this was not Yang Qingfu's proudest achievement. His most brilliant move was ordering the Yellow-Headed Army to attack the city last night.

He spread false information, saying that there would be no night attack, which made the Nanzhao army in Hanyuan City lower their guard.

Of the four generals he summoned last night, he only trusted Zhao Da, because only Zhao Da came to him after the meeting to remind him to be extra careful.

Thinking of this, Yang Qingfu felt a warmth in his heart and subconsciously looked towards the military formation of Baoyidu in the southwest, but he couldn't see it clearly because of the thick fog in the valley.

Yang Qingfu clapped his hands and said in a deep voice to Fei Cun, the clerk beside him:
"Beat the drums, advance! Let's end this! We, the people of Xichuan, have suffered enough!"

Fei Cun nodded and raised a small flag towards the drum formation behind him.

Then, drums thundered in the valley, and the spirit of the army rose in the wilderness.

Upon hearing the thunderous war drums, Ren Kezhi, on the north side of the battlefield, roared:
"Kill with me!"

After saying that, he rushed straight towards the Nanzhao army formation opposite him, making a surprise attack as the commander of the front!

Is this really okay?
(End of this chapter)