Sweep Yuan

Chapter 199 Bloodstained Millstone: Battle Between Enemy and Foe
Relying on its numerical superiority, the Yuan army deployed the classic Crane Wing Formation. The two flanks, composed of salt workers and river laborers from Huaidong, resembled the outstretched wings of a giant bird, their sharpness pointing directly forward. Meanwhile, their most elite central force, like the crane's raised head and body, was positioned slightly rearward, poised to strike.

Daerma Shiri's intention was clear: first, use the "miscellaneous" cannon fodder on both flanks to wear down the Allied forces' morale and fighting spirit; then, when they were exhausted and their formations were wavering, launch a thunderous attack with the fresh forces in the center, strike directly at the Allied command center, and secure victory in one fell swoop.

The stone mountain stood atop the tall watchtower of the central army, and the mountain range behind it provided a natural support for the allied forces' deployment.

He treated the allied forces as a whole and, taking advantage of the terrain that was low in the northwest and high in the southeast, deployed them in a sloping crescent-shaped formation.

The right flank of the allied forces (southeast direction) was pushed to the forefront, like a crescent-shaped blade, directly facing the left flank of the Yuan army (Yan Ding).
The relatively weaker left flank (northwest direction) was positioned further back, hidden in the recesses of the formation, to minimize the risk of it being exposed to the main force of the Yuan army in the early stages of the battle, and to reduce the uncertainty that the left flank units might bring.

But this is only the macro-level layout. When it comes to specific combat units, each unit sets up different "middle formations" and "small formations" based on the tasks they undertake and the characteristics of the enemy they face, just like equipping war behemoths with claws and fangs of various shapes.

For example, Chang Yuchun's Qingri Guard was the first to engage the enemy. In a battle involving 100,000 troops, it was impossible to decide the outcome with a single charge. So they formed a long snake formation, divided into two main groups on the left and right, which covered each other and were arranged in a staggered manner.

Below this, smaller battle formations, such as diamond and wedge formations, are flexibly formed by the various battalions, making them more offensive or defensive. This formation ensures sufficient frontal width to engage the enemy while maintaining considerable depth, facilitating rotation and rest.

"Step to the beat! Slowly—forward!"

Chang Yuchun knew that in today's battle, the Qingri Guard would have to fight the entire match, and he had to minimize the unnecessary physical exertion of his soldiers.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The heavy, rhythmic beat of war drums suddenly rang out on the grim battlefield, instantly drowning out the soldiers' heavy breathing. Nothing could unify the marching ranks or calm the hearts pounding with tension and fear like the steady, resolute drumbeats.

Six thousand soldiers of the Sun Guard, as one, with spears like a forest and shields like a wall, slowly advanced to the rhythm of the drums. Their uniform steps stabilized the morale of their own soldiers and struck a nerve with the fragile nerves of the enemy.

The salt workers from Huaidong, facing the officers, also tried to imitate the Qingri Guards' actions under the officers' reprimands, beating their war drums to urge their soldiers forward.

However, without proper training, they could not learn it properly. Before they had gone thirty steps, the already loose formation began to twist and deform. Some officers started shouting orders to try to adjust and stabilize the formation.

"Hold on! Don't fucking push!"

"Make alignment! Make alignment!"

"Keep up with the beat! Want to die?!"

The cacophony of shouts contrasted sharply with the steady footsteps of the Sun Guards, adding to the chaos and panic among the Salt Soldiers in the formation.

"stop!"

The soldiers of the Qingri Guard were not perfectly synchronized machines; they also experienced tension and panic. After advancing less than forty paces, their formation began to show signs of disarray. Chang Yuchun decisively ordered the entire guard to halt their advance.

"Adjust formation! Check equipment! Prepare to engage the enemy!"

This was not only the last minor adjustment before the battle, but also an effective way to ease the tension among the soldiers.

After the order was given, officers at all levels quickly stepped forward to inspect the formation and equipment of their units and encouraged their soldiers to calm down.

Or he might slap a soldier's shoulder armor forcefully, check the buckles behind the shield, and scold a new recruit whose hands and feet were trembling with nervousness in a low voice, "What are you afraid of! Hold the shield steady! Follow me!"

Or they might loudly encourage, "Brothers, hold on! Look at those seafood-eating bastards over there, they're at least ten times more panicked than us!"

"Continue the advance!"

The war drums sounded again, but the rhythm was no longer as steady as before. Instead, the pace gradually quickened, increasing the speed of the advance to ignite the soldiers' fighting spirit and prepare them for a fierce battle with the enemy.

"Raise your shields! Keep advancing!"

The reason for raising the shields was that the Huaidong salt workers on the opposite side had begun firing arrows first. This roar didn't come from Chang Yuchun in the rear, but from the two battalion commanders at the very front!
The Qingri Guard, numbering six thousand, was arranged in a dozen or so small formations, stretching out along a long battle line that was hundreds of paces apart. Chang Yuchun's orders could not be precisely synchronized to every frontline unit. At this point, it was necessary to give full play to the initiative of the commanders of each battalion.

Although the total strength of Huaidong Salt Workers was 20,000, they had to face a total of 12,000 troops from Qingri Guard, Zhongyi Guard, and Li Xixi's forces. Each small formation had few troops, and their equipment, especially the rate of crossbow deployment, was far inferior to that of Qingri Guard.

Dispersing the archers into smaller formations would be ineffective. Tian Feng then concentrated all the archers in his army into a temporary "archer battalion," hoping to inflict as many casualties as possible on the opposing allied forces before engaging in battle with a relatively dense barrage of arrows.

The first volley of arrows whistled through the air, and due to the distance, most landed in front of the formation. However, despite their numerical advantage, a small number of arrows still managed to strike the large leather shields held high by the front-line soldiers of the Sun Guard!
Duh! Duh! Duh!
The immense impact numbed the arms of the shield-wielding soldiers, and some arrows, flying at tricky angles, pierced through the gaps between the large shields or flew over the front shield wall and into the formation!
"Ugh!"

"my leg!"

The small shields held by the soldiers in the formation had limited defensive coverage, and at least six unlucky soldiers were hit by arrows, their blood instantly staining their armor.

Those who were hit by arrows but were still able to move continued to fight despite their injuries; those who were killed or incapacitated were dragged off the battlefield by their comrades and then treated by medical personnel. They could not be left in the battlefield, as this would affect morale and the subsequent advance of their comrades.

“Shoot!”

The two commanders of the front ranks of the Sun Guard roared in unison, ready to counterattack. Although their archers fired later, the distance between them had closed by more than ten paces in this volley of arrows. Closer distance meant more precise coverage and greater penetrating power!

Boom——!
Boo hoo hoo-!
The trembling of bowstrings and the whistling of crossbow bolts blended together, unleashing a denser and more precise rain of black arrows that hurtled towards the Salt Soldiers' "Archer Battalion," who were frantically preparing for their second volley.

Puff puff!
The dull thud of arrows piercing flesh and the piercing screams instantly replaced the curses of the salt workers' officers. A large number of salt workers' archers fell like felled wheat, their blood splattering and staining the overgrown ground red.

The formation that had been barely held together was thrown into chaos in an instant, and some people instinctively wanted to retreat and escape.

"No retreat! Fire arrows! Fire arrows now! Those who retreat will die!" The salt sergeant leaders were furious, brandishing their sabers as if to kill any salt sergeants who tried to escape. Under the threat of death, the remaining archers trembled as they drew their bows again and barely managed to fire a second volley of arrows.

This time, the arrow rain was noticeably sparser than the first round, but the landing points were much more precise.

Boom! Boom!
Muffled groans and screams rang out again from the two small formations at the front of the Qingri Guard. This round of arrows caused nearly forty casualties in the two formations, and the formation was thrown into chaos. The new recruits were pale and their hands holding their spears were trembling.

"Hold on! Cover! Cover quickly! Seal the gap! Riflemen, advance!" At this critical moment, the junior officers and veterans of the Qingri Guard played a key role, with muscle memory and battlefield instincts formed through long-term rigorous training overcoming their fear.

In a large-scale melee like this, once the formation breaks down and is exposed to the enemy, they are destined to be mercilessly slaughtered.

Amid the officers' shouts, the soldiers gritted their teeth and quickly moved towards the gap. The soldiers in the back row pushed forward to block the gap, and the chaos was quickly brought under control. Stimulated by the bloodshed, their will to fight back burned even more fiercely.

At this moment, the two smaller formations in the second echelon also advanced to within effective firing range.

"Target—enemy marksman battalion! Launch! Fire!"

*Thud thud thud thud!* The screams of the salt-shooting archers rang out again, four waves overlapping (two waves on each side), and a large number of the opposing salt-shooting archers fell down. Some began to turn and run away, only to be killed by the supervising team.

After this volley of arrows, the Loyal Guards on the left flank of the Qingri Guard advanced to the edge of their effective firing range. They blocked the sparse arrows from the Salt Soldiers' Archers, and then launched a counterattack together with the four lines of archers and crossbowmen of the Qingri Guard.

This time, however, the target was no longer the Salt Soldiers' archer battalion, but rather the small front-line infantry formation of the Salt Soldiers who were launching an attack.

Boo hoo hoo-!
A dense swarm of arrows, like locusts, rained down on the dense crowd. The simple wooden shields and rattan shields held by the salt-dwelling infantrymen were greatly weakened in the face of this close-range barrage of arrows.

puff!puff!puff!

The charging salt soldiers were struck as if by an invisible giant hammer, and a large number of them fell. Wailing, screams of the dying, and terrified cries erupted instantly.

The distance was so close that some of the heavy arrows fired from the crossbows pierced through the thin wooden shields and wounded the shield-bearers.

Those hit by arrows cried out in agony, while those who were not hit tried to dodge in terror or futilely shielded themselves with their shields. The already scattered charging formation became even more chaotic under the barrage of arrows.

In the heat of battle, no more than three arrows are needed. After this volley of arrows, the archers had just nocked their arrows again when a tidal wave of salt soldiers surged into view.

A bloody melee began to erupt.

"Shield up! Rifle up! Throw!"

*Thud! Thud! Thud!* The salt soldiers sadly discovered that their scattered formation, charging against the Sun Guard's tight spear and shield array, was entirely a passive defense. However, they dared not retreat or stop—their comrades were rapidly approaching from behind, and the front line had to make way for the rear.

The front-line salt soldiers, having left behind dozens of corpses, bypassed the sturdy frontal formation of the Sun Guard and ventured into the seemingly "empty" gaps in the rear lines, hoping to find a breakthrough or at least avoid this meat grinder-like front.

However, the smaller formations in the rear of the Qingri Guard, being positioned further back, suffered less damage from the arrows rained down by the Salt Soldiers, and their formations remained more tightly packed. There was absolutely no opportunity left for these Salt Soldiers to take advantage of them.

What made Yan Ding even more desperate was that each of the Qing Ri Guard's small formations was a complete combat unit, fully equipped with spearmen, swordsmen, shieldmen, and archers. Even if Yan Ding simply passed through the formations, he would be mercilessly shot down by the archers from the small formations on both sides.

The casualties among the salt workers were rising rapidly, and morale was plummeting.

At this moment, a deafening battle cry erupted from the left flank of the Loyal Guard. Li Xixi's troops were also locked in fierce combat with the Salt Soldiers. The soldiers of both sides were intertwined and engaged in a chaotic melee. The Salt Soldiers' archers could not fire arrows indiscriminately and could only retreat to the rear to rest and recuperate, while also guarding against a surprise attack by the Red Flag Camp cavalry.

The front rank of the Qingri Guards bore the brunt of the Yan Ding's attacks. Although they were holding on tenaciously thanks to their superior equipment and rigorous training, casualties were clearly increasing, and the soldiers were beginning to show signs of fatigue as they swung their weapons.

Seeing that both sides had fully engaged in battle and the fighting had entered a brutal phase of attrition, Chang Yuchun decisively issued a new order.

"Front line, stay still! Entire army—advance in a staggered formation!"

The "staggered advance" was like waves crashing one after another, compressing the space for Yan Ding's activities and continuously applying pressure; while allowing the front-line small formations, which suffered heavy casualties, to temporarily withdraw from the most intense front line and get a chance to catch their breath and adjust.

The entire Qingri Guard is like a highly efficient war machine, maintaining overall pressure while cleverly rotating its "blades," maximizing its resilience in a protracted war.

The salt workers discovered to their despair that no matter how they charged, the enemy seemed to maintain its fighting strength forever. Their lines were as solid as a rock, not only unshakable but also gradually squeezing their living space.

Rear of the left flank of the Yuan army.

Marshal Tian Feng of the Huaidong "righteous army" was ashen-faced and his palms were covered in cold sweat. He had fought against the Red Flag Battalion twice and escaped death both times, which left him with psychological trauma. Now, seeing the familiar red flag and red robes made his calves cramp.

In this battle, he sent several thousand "elite" salt soldiers into the fray at the beginning, but they couldn't even break through a small formation of the opposing allied forces. Those salt soldiers who managed to break into the enemy's main formation were like mud oxen entering the sea, not even making a decent splash.

Tian Feng's heart was bleeding. Although he still had most of his troops, if he continued to drag this out, the resources he had painstakingly accumulated would eventually be exhausted. He hurriedly summoned his cousin, Tian Ji, and anxiously said:

"Go to the central army quickly and tell them that our left flank has already entangled the enemy army. Please send elite troops to break through the enemy's formation as soon as possible."

The central army of the Yuan army.

Upon hearing Tian Ji's reply, Darma Shiri, seated atop his magnificent chariot, revealed a playful smile. How could he not know Tian Feng's little scheme? This fellow clearly wanted to preserve his strength while simultaneously trying to embellish his own image. However, he didn't react to Tian Ji, saying:
"Marshal Tian is commendable for his loyalty and bravery. Go back and tell him to hold the line! The elite government troops will arrive soon."

Tian Feng wanted the government troops to wear down the rebel army for him, so he gave him a false hope and let these cunning salt workers from Huaidong die more!
After seeing Tian Ji off, Daerma Shili turned to look at Zhang Peijian Shaojian Wuluo, who was sitting on horseback with a cold expression.

"Wolu".

Daermashili pointed his riding whip across the entire battlefield and asked with great interest:

"Although Tian Feng exaggerated, the right flank of the rebel army is indeed entangled with the salt workers from Huaidong. In your opinion, if our army attacks from both flanks, which side will break through first and tear apart the rebel army's defenses?"

He actually preferred the central army to launch a decisive attack, but it would be better if the cannon fodder on both flanks could open up the situation first and reduce the losses of the central army.

"Right wing!"

Woluo's gaze was fixed on the right wing of the Yuan army (the left wing of the allied forces), and his answer was quite straightforward.

The enemy troops facing the right flank were clearly inferior to the elite forces on the left flank, but due to the terrain and formation, the two sides had not yet officially engaged in battle. Da'ermashili, puzzled by Woluo's confident answer, asked:

Seeing that Wolo was so certain, Daermashili asked with some doubt:
"The enemy forces facing the right wing appear disorganized, but the two armies have not yet engaged in battle. Why are you so certain?"

Woluo, unsmiling and composed, simply and clearly analyzed:

"There are four reasons: First, the enemy's left wing had messy clothing and flags, incomplete armor, and their formation was far less orderly and compact than that of their right wing. The gaps between the ranks were too large, the soldiers' steps were disorderly, and their combat effectiveness was bound to be low."

Secondly, isn't the one on the far left flank of the rebel army, bearing the banner with the character "Zeng," none other than Zeng Bocheng, the former rebel leader? The rebel chief placed him on the outermost perimeter to wear him down, causing distrust between superiors and subordinates. How could the soldiers possibly fight to the death? The left flank of the rebel army would certainly find it difficult to exert its full strength.

Third, the slow advance of the left-wing rebel army is by no means a steady and cautious advance, perhaps out of fear of battle, to preserve strength, or... to have other plans!
Fourth, looking at the right wing of our army, although it is also a "volunteer army" with average equipment and training, compared with the undisciplined salt smugglers, the river workers are more accustomed to obeying orders, have stronger discipline, are more resilient, more enduring, and are more suitable for this kind of fair and square battle!
Today, the timing (our army takes the initiative to attack), the terrain (relatively open), and the morale (our right flank is in good form, while the enemy's left flank is hesitant) are all favorable to our right flank!

After finishing his analysis, Wolo turned to look at Daermashiri and concluded with certainty:
"I predict that once the battle begins, the enemy's left flank will be caught in a fierce struggle, and their formation will be the first to fall into disarray!"

Daermashiri stood up, leaning on the chariot railing, and carefully surveyed the situation on the left flank of the allied forces. The more he looked, the more he felt that Wolo's analysis made sense. He stroked his chin, considering the possibility of adjusting the main attack direction. He asked:
"Hmm... So, does that mean our army should prioritize deploying its elite troops on the right flank?"

Upon hearing this, Wolo frowned slightly, turning to look at the left flank, which was already embroiled in a fierce war of attrition. Although they were clearly at a disadvantage, with their lines being gradually compressed by the allied forces, the salt workers were still numerous and didn't seem to be completely collapsing anytime soon. He cautiously replied:

"Although the right wing of the rebel army is elite and difficult to defeat, my left wing has a numerical advantage and can still hold on; while my right wing seems to have a greater chance of winning, the rebel leader Shishan is no ordinary person. Could he have already taken precautions? I dare not draw any conclusions. It is up to Your Excellency to have a comprehensive understanding of the situation and make a decisive decision."

The Allied Forces' Central Command Watchtower.

Standing on the observation platform, Shi Shan had been observing the entire battlefield situation and naturally noticed the unusual situation of Zeng Bocheng's troops on the left flank. This was within his expectations; he had always been wary of Zeng Bocheng and had placed them on the outer edge of the left flank with the intention of attrition and defense.

Delaying the engagement? Just what he wanted!
As long as they don't immediately defect and can hold back a portion of the Yuan army, the mission will be accomplished.

His focus was more on the right wing, which was the key to victory in this battle.

When Shishan saw Chang Yuchun on the right wing begin to move his flag forward, he knew the time was ripe and it was time to add fuel to the fire on the left wing.

"Order! Left flank—advance! Engage the enemy!"

The left wing of the Allied forces, under the command of Zeng Bocheng.

"Wanhu! The central command flag signal has changed! It's urging us to speed up our advance and immediately engage the enemy!" the flag bearer shouted.

Zeng Bocheng, mounted on his horse, had a complex expression and a face ashen. After a few moments of silence, he suddenly waved his hand and gave the order:

"Accelerate the advance!"

As soon as he gave the order, a trusted lieutenant stepped forward, his face filled with resentment and unwillingness, and said:
"Commander-in-Chief! Are we really going to risk our lives for that scoundrel surnamed Shi? Have you already forgotten how Commander Fang died?!"

The "Commander Fang" he mentioned was the garrison commander of the Wu Kiln camp, the unlucky guy who lost his head in a daze when Li Wu "received" the surrendered troops.

Shi Shan's explanation to everyone was that Fang Qianhu "intended to assassinate Li Wu," but who could be fooled by such nonsense?

If it were truly an ambush, how could all three thousand elite cavalry have survived? And why were they all the core members of these surrendered generals?

This was clearly a premeditated purge! A despicable murder.

A strong sense of humiliation gripped Zeng Bocheng's heart instantly. He turned his head sharply and glared at the heavily guarded central command watchtower, as if trying to see Shi Shan's cold face clearly.

Of course, this was impossible; the rocky mountain was three miles away and could not be seen at all.

After a long while, Zeng Bocheng turned his head to look at his subordinates, but his face was expressionless.

"I will not advance now."

His voice was deep and hoarse, like sandpaper being rubbed.

"You think you can avenge Brother Fang? You think you can leave this battlefield alive?"

(End of this chapter)