novelSusiti Chapter 708 Martial Soldiers! The Wei Shu Formation!
Chapter 708 Martial Soldiers! The Wei Shu Formation!
"Hahaha, Zhao Gongming, you foolish scoundrel! It seems today is your death day!"
Zhu Wen, along with Ge Congzhou and others, took advantage of the terrain and surged towards the Hengzhou army from all directions, completely surrounding Zhao Gongming and his men.
Just as Zhu Jiuyin and Zhao Gongming were locked in fierce battle, the allied forces of the aristocratic families under Jiang Xiaobai and the Yellow Turban Army surged in from all directions, and were about to completely engulf the Hengzhou Army. However, the eight hundred soldiers who had been silently following Zhao Gongming suddenly awoke like sleeping tigers and unleashed a tremendous momentum.
These eight hundred soldiers were all clad in heavy armor, their armor engraved with ferocious beast patterns that gleamed with a cold light, as if they could devour the sharpness of any enemy.
Armed with a strong bow, a long sword at the waist, and a long spear or iron halberd on the shoulder, each person is like a mobile small fortress, capable of both long-range shooting and close combat, flexible and versatile, with astonishing combat power.
These were none other than the special army that Wu Qi had been meticulously training during this period – the Wu Soldiers!
The Wei Wuzu, an elite heavy infantry force trained by Wu Qi in history, has been rebuilt on the Tianwu Continent!
In the past, Wu Qi led the Wei Wu soldiers in battles in the south and north, creating the extraordinary achievement of "seventy-two major battles, sixty-four of which were completely won, and the rest were settled (with no clear winner)".
Over the past thirty years, Wu Qi led the Wei elite troops to conquer Hangu Pass, and through sixty-four battles, large and small, they seized more than five hundred li of land on the west bank of the Yellow River from the Qin state, compressing the Qin state into a narrow strip of land west of Mount Hua.
According to the records in "Wu Zi: Li Shi", in the Battle of Yin Jin in the thirteenth year of King An of Zhou (389 BC), Wu Qi defeated the Qin army, which was ten times larger, with 50,000 Wei soldiers. This created a famous battle in Chinese military history where 50,000 infantrymen, 100 chariots, and 3,000 cavalry defeated 500,000 Qin troops. This made the Wei Wuzu famous throughout the world.
At its peak, the Wei Wuzu army numbered as many as 50,000, and it was the most elite and fierce army of its time.
These eight hundred elite soldiers were only allocated to them by Wu Qi because he felt that Zhao Gongming and his men should break up into smaller groups and go deep behind enemy lines to cause trouble, and that it was better to have a small but elite force than a large one.
"General, hurry! We will cover your retreat!"
With a deafening roar, the eight hundred soldiers marched out as if they were one, instantly forming a powerful formation – the "Wei Shu Formation".
The Wei Shu formation consists of five large square formations that provide mutual cover and cover for each other.
The Zuo Zhuan refers to it as the "Five Formations," but the foremost square formation (the front defense) was designed to lure the enemy. So its actual structure consists of four square formations arranged in front, back, left, and right, with the center empty.
This formation consists of five large square formations forming the front defensive formation, which acts as bait to attract the enemy's attention. The other four square formations are arranged in the front, back, left, and right directions, with an open space in the middle, which facilitates maneuverability and can form an encirclement at critical moments.
The brilliance of this formation lies in its ability to quickly transition from a marching state to a combat state in narrow or complex terrain.
This "five-formation" can be directly deployed from a marching formation to a combat formation on narrow terrain, reducing the lengthy deployment time, which is naturally a great advantage.
The Zuo Zhuan summarizes the reason for the victory in this battle as "the high-ranking soldiers."
Therefore, the emergence of the Wei Shu formation was a major event in the military history of the Spring and Autumn Period, and a landmark in the transition from chariot warfare to infantry warfare during that period.
At this moment, these eight hundred warriors stood like an indestructible rock behind Zhao Gongming and the others.
Facing the Yellow Turban Army, which outnumbered them many times over and surged like a tidal wave, they showed no fear; instead, their eyes gleamed with a fierce light.
As a deep and powerful horn sounded, the soldiers quickly sprang into action, deploying their formation in an orderly manner according to the arrangement of the "Wei Shu Formation".
The vanguard was the first to meet the enemy, with dozens of soldiers standing guard like an impregnable wall, blocking the Yellow Turban army's charge.
They fired arrows and brandished spears, repelling the Yellow Turban army's attacks one by one.
The four square formations behind them adjusted flexibly according to the battle situation, sometimes supporting the front line and sometimes attacking the enemy from the side, making the entire formation like a precise machine, operating smoothly and flawlessly.
"The elite infantry are invincible!"
As the soldiers roared, their aura surged once more, as if resonating with heaven and earth, dancing with dragons and tigers.
Those eight hundred warriors seemed to transform into eight hundred fierce tigers and eight hundred giant dragons, galloping freely across the battlefield, invincible in their path.
Although the Yellow Turban Army was numerous, it seemed to be stuck in a quagmire and unable to extricate itself in front of the "Wei Shu Formation" of eight hundred warriors.
Their offensive was repeatedly repelled by the soldiers. Each charge felt like hitting an impenetrable wall, leaving them dizzy from the shock.
Although the allied forces of those powerful families were also elite soldiers, they couldn't help but feel intimidated by the fierceness of the Wu soldiers, and their offensive gradually slowed down.
"Hahaha, what a magnificent military formation!"
Zhu Jiuyin watched the battlefield with a cold eye, but couldn't help but admire it in his heart.
Although he was confident that he could defeat Zhao Gongming and the others, he was also intrigued by the unparalleled formation composed of eight hundred warriors.
"However, Zhao Gongming, it won't be so easy for you to stop my Yellow Turban army with just eight hundred elite soldiers!"
Zhu Jiuyin snorted coldly and waved the "Time Staff" in his hand again. The silver-white energy swept towards Zhao Gongming and the others like a torrent of time.
Although Zhao Gongming and the others were shocked, they had no time to think further.
The eight hundred elite soldiers left to them by Wu Qi were their last hope; if they could break through the encirclement, they would have a chance to escape alive.
"what!"
Zhao Gongming gritted his teeth and did his best to resist Zhu Jiuyin's attack, while at the same time directing his soldiers to maintain their formation and launch a counterattack against the Yellow Turban army.
"Ding! Zhao Gongming's skill Binding Dragon Effect 2 has been activated again!"
Combat strength +2 +2, Zhao Gongming's current combat strength has increased to 133!
The two sides exchanged blows, and the battle became increasingly fierce.
As Zhao Gongming unleashed another wave of attacks, relying on the fearless support of his soldiers, he managed to withstand Zhu Jiuyin's fierce onslaught alone, holding on against his Time Staff.
However, although the eight hundred soldiers were incredibly brave, their numbers were limited, and as time went on, their strength gradually began to be exhausted.
The Yellow Turban Army and the allied forces of the aristocratic families gradually gained the upper hand due to their numerical advantage.
"General, let's go!"
A captain of the elite troops roared, his body covered in wounds, his battle robe stained with blood, but he still stood tall, wielding his long spear, buying Zhao Gongming and the others the last bit of time.