At the mouth of the valley, the people were neighing, and two or three horsemen galloped in.

"Report ,......。 My lord, three miles outside the valley, the scouts of Pan Cheng's department discovered our army's sentry. After a short engagement, the enemy scouts were killed and wounded one. The wounded fled. Our army sentry could not catch up. ”

"Escaped?"

"The injured scout went in the direction of Luyang, and he should have returned to Pan Cheng's camp to report the news."

The camp of Pan Cheng's department was only more than thirty miles away from the valley. The wounded scout would be able to rush back around dawn at most. When Pan Cheng got the information, he would definitely be able to guess that the scout must have encountered reinforcements from Haidong from western Liaoning. How will he react? 100% immediately sent troops.

The sentry galloped into the valley to make an urgent report, and the voice was hurried, echoing through the valley, and the echo was quite loud in the silent night, which had already alarmed the officers of the various departments.

They hurried to their belts, jumping over the rocks, through the bushes, and gathering their tents in all directions. The shadows of the trees and rocks in the heights shrouded their bodies, and the firelight jumped and fluttered on their faces. They all realized the urgency and importance of the problem, and everyone was silent, only heavy breathing was heard, and a pair of eyes were betting, waiting for Guan Shirong to issue an order.

Guan Shirong made a quick decision and changed the original plan.

"The scout has a horse, and runs with all his might, thirty miles, two quarters of an hour. Give Pan Cheng half an hour of judgment and decision-making time, and an hour of time to assemble troops. In other words, in two hours at most, Pan Cheng's army will leave the camp and come to the valley. ”

He motioned for his soldiers to be on the ground outside the tent and unfold the map. An officer lit a torch and lit the light for him. The torches burned with pine resin, and the flames rose very high, and the raging fire forced people to heat in front of them.

"Look, everybody. From my valley to the west, more than twenty miles, is a fine river. The cavalry of our army was stationed here. "The cavalry needs water and grass to camp, the water and grass are abundant by the river, and the distance from the valley is not too far, so the cavalry is stationed here," now one person is needed, immediately rush to the river, and tell them that Pan Cheng has discovered our army. I ordered them to move immediately in the direction of my valley as a response. ”

In the army, there are heralds who are dedicated to delivering orders and liaising with various ministries. One stepped out of the queue and took on the task.

Guan Shirong said: "Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry to leave." ......," he said, taking the torch from the officer's hand and moving down the map, "this is Luyang, and Pan Cheng's camp is here." Between his camp and my valley there is a small river on the left, and two hills on the right. ......, the official road from Luyang to Liaoxi, here, just between the river and the hills, the terrain on both sides of the official road is flat, suitable for foot soldiers.

"Our army must occupy it before Pan Cheng's troops arrive, and set up a formation before they can wait for work." He said to the herald, "When you arrive at the cavalry camp, the herald will order them to rush to the creek on the left side of the official road within an hour and lay an ambush." The herald received the order with his fists clenched and turned to go.

Guan Shirong continued: "Where there is a battle, there must be no high ground. ......," he looked at the generals and ordered two hundred households, "order the two of you to set off immediately and pioneer for me." Within an hour we had to rush to the two hills on the right side of the official road and build simple fortifications to protect the right flank for the main force which I had arrived after. And stand by to attack the flank of Pan Cheng's department and help my main force to fight. ”

The two hundred households took the order in a loud voice and went with their heads held high.

Guan Shirong is stable, has never fought, and is afraid of defeat first. When he set up the garrison valley that day to wait for work, he thought about what to do if Pan Cheng found out. A complete set of plans has been pondered over and over again, and it is very familiar. In a few words, it is well arranged.

As for why he thought that Pan Cheng would definitely go to the army, wouldn't Pan Cheng ignore it? The valley, steep and low-lying in the middle, is called a patio in the art of war, and is one of the six dangerous places. The mouth of the valley is blocked, and the people inside are unable to fly. How could Pan Cheng not come?

Even if it's a stroke of luck, he'll come.

If you don't take advantage of the enemy's rush to attack, can you leave a little more time to give the enemy a chance to prepare for the situation? On one side is the enemy's fortified city, and on the other side is the enemy's reinforcements, and the first thing he chose must be to besiege the city and send reinforcements. And this valley is not large, at most it can hide three or four thousand people, and Pan Cheng claims to have an army of more than 20,000 people, and he may attach great importance to them, but he will never be afraid of them.

So this battle is inevitable.

Having said that, even if Pan Cheng doesn't come, it doesn't matter, it has been exposed anyway, and the place that should be seized needs to be seized as soon as possible.

"The other battalions, immediately assemble. Three hundred men were in front, six hundred were on the left and right wings, and three hundred were in the rear. The remaining 2,000 people, led by the general, were for the Chinese army. He looked up at the sky, "After a quarter of an hour, the striker will go first." After two quarters of an hour, the Chinese army marched again, and after three quarters of an hour, the rear followed. Tell the brethren to bring out dry food and eat it as they walk. ”

The generals agreed in unison and gave a military salute to Guan Shirong, their waist swords and swords rubbed against each other, and the armor crackled. The people departed in great stride, and did as they were told.

The war is on the verge of breaking out.

The main point of the two armies is to see who is faster. Whoever can occupy the plains first, line up the formation first, and wait for it will be able to seize the initiative. To fight a war, to put it bluntly, is to fight for the initiative. What happens when passive? Passive can only be beaten. Whoever seizes the initiative will have the upper hand and advance and retreat freely.

Guan Shirong has been in the army for many years, and later with Deng She, he has experienced repeated wars. He naturally knew these principles of the art of war.

The valley was bustling. Busy and orderly. The troops who were ordered to advance were all stationed close to the valley mouth, and it was easy to enter and exit. The head drum sounded, and the ten-captain erected the small flag of the assembly. The drums sounded, and the centurion erected a small flag for the assembly. The three-way drum sounded, and a group of soldiers drove out of the valley in order.

Ordinary military drills, similar emergency gatherings are compulsory subjects.

When the drill was most frequent, it was almost the instinct of a soldier to suddenly gather three or four times a night. Therefore, although at the moment before the assembly, they were still in a dream; After the three-way drum was completed, in less than a quarter of an hour, the team had been assembled. Everyone was in good spirits and entered a state of imminent battle.

Long-distance marching and rapid marching are also one of the subjects of daily training in the army.

Deng She took a name and called it "pulling out to practice", which means "pulling out to practice". Through training, in addition to tempering the physical fitness of non-commissioned officers and improving the speed of maneuver of the troops, they can also sharpen the fighting spirit of the troops and enhance their unity, thereby enhancing their combat effectiveness. The elite of the five yas is the most rigorously trained, often carrying heavy loads and forcibly marching, even cotton armor with weapons, dry food, water, full draped, continuous march of two or three hundred miles is pediatrics.

The moon sets silently, and the morning sun rises in the east.

The early morning wind was very cool, blowing on the faces of the soldiers, and thousands of people were connected into a line that could not be seen. Everyone was running, and the smoke was billowing up. Officers of all ranks, including the Commander of the Ten, the Hundred Households, and the Thousand Households, followed closely around the headquarters, and from time to time briefly issued an order to adjust the formation.

This force, like a rolling torrent, rushed out of the valley and galloped inexorably towards the intended place of battle. There should be slogans in the training, and singing can relieve fatigue and boost morale. Guan Shirong personally raised his head, and thousands of people shouted the military song of the training in unison: "Make up your mind, don't be afraid of sacrifice." Against all odds, strive for victory. ”

The heroic and powerful singing, like spring thunder and tiger roar, resounded throughout the land of Liaodong.

The difference between elite and non-elite, and the speed of entering the state of imminent war, is an important criterion. After Guan Shirong's various units arrived at the pointing position, they formed a formation and rested on the ground for a long time, and after more than half an hour, Pan Cheng's forward appeared on the horizon.

As Guan Shirong judged, Pan Cheng did have the heart to besiege the city and send reinforcements, and he brought more than 8,000 people. The vanguard was cavalry of about 200 people, and when they found that the Guan Shirong troops on the opposite side were already in formation and ready for battle, there was a commotion. Soon, dozens of horses were separated, horses turned back, galloped to the rear, and went to report to Pan Cheng.

Pan Cheng was shocked when he heard the news.

The long-distance run turned into an encounter, or an unexpected encounter. I wanted to catch the enemy by surprise, but the enemy reacted so quickly that he was caught off guard and became his own army. His mind raced, and the first thought that came to his mind was to retreat with the whole army in order to avoid a hasty engagement with a prepared enemy.

However, he immediately gave up on the idea.

Of the 8,000 people he brought, nearly half were Ding Zhuang, who had recently joined the army. If you don't retreat without a fight, the enemy will definitely cover up and kill you, and in this way, it will be difficult to maintain order in the army. You don't have to think about it to know that Ding Zhuang, who has not experienced many battle formations, will definitely be extremely frightened, and it is very likely that in the process of escaping, the camp will be bombed, leading to the destruction of the entire army.

He has had many personal experiences and knows very well that the most difficult thing in fighting a war is not to organize an attack, but to a certain extent, the most difficult thing is to organize a retreat.

Pan Cheng asked about the number of enemy troops. But there were three or four thousand men, no cavalry, all foot soldiers, and there were not many large attack equipment. He gritted his teeth, and the brave won when they met on a narrow road. Immediately ordered all departments, raised the military flag, adjusted the sequence, and prepared the formation. The drums of war were sounded, and the pre-war mobilization was done.

Guan Shirong is a phalanx, and the entire formation is in the middle of the gauge and middle distance, spread left and right, and balanced before and after. There are two options for dealing with such a formation. Or win it by surprise, strike it at one point, and crush its whole army. Or, in the opposite direction, also list a phalanx. The two sides use the same dignified array, and fight fairly.

The phalanx is well lined up, and the surprise soldiers are difficult to do.

If Pan Cheng brings all the veterans, he can choose to use Qi. He brought Ding Zhuang with him, and he couldn't use it. However, he didn't want to simply use the phalanx to meet the enemy. Because Deng Shewei is famous and victorious in every battle, he will inevitably be afraid, so he racked his brains and came up with a way to deal with it.

On the wide plains, there is a river flowing in the distance. Near the hill a little closer, Pan Cheng's front had already engaged in a contact battle with the Haidong soldiers who had occupied the hill one step earlier.

In the middle of the mountains and rivers, in the south is the Guan Shirong Department of 3,000 people, with shields in front, bows and arrows, and long soldiers behind, and several catapults and some other large battle equipment, placed at the hub of the formation. To the north was Pan Cheng's more than 8,000 people, the cavalry galloped on the flanks, and the vigilant Guan Shirong Department suddenly attacked, Ding Zhuang was driven in front, and the rear army urgently set up a formation.

In the two armies, there are many flags, dense heads, and black pressure. When the morning light shines, countless guns reflect a dazzling cold light.

"What the hell is Pan Cheng doing?"

Guan Shirong climbed the watchtower and watched from afar. Pan Cheng's main formation stopped a few miles away, and in his rear formation, there were many people running, and the smoke and dust were all over the sky, and it was impossible to see clearly. Guan Shirong listened attentively, faintly, as if he heard the cry of the livestock. He plucked out his ears, suspecting that he had misheard, and asked the staff next to him, "Did you hear anything?" ”

The staff member was not sure, and said, "It seems that there is a cow barking in ,......,." ”

The two armies were separated by several miles, with Pan Cheng's hundreds of cavalry rushing on one side, and two heavy killings on the hills to the east. The fact that the cow cries can reach their ears through these sounds indicates that there are a lot of them. Guan Shirong was inexplicable and said, "Strange." What did Pan Cheng do with so many cows? ”

"Perhaps, it was snatched from the neighboring countryside to improve the food in the army, right?"

"To improve the food in the army, what he used to bring to the battle? No, there is a strange thing. Guan Shirong pondered for a moment, remembering that the gentleman of the officer training regiment once told a story about Tian Dan's rescue of Qi, he was shocked and said, "In the township this week, Bacheng was plundered by Pan Cheng, and there were a lot of cattle. Could it be that he wants to use ,......, Fire Bull Array? ”

"No, it won't. Although our army fought in the field and did not have time to set up a camp, it had shields in front and bows and arrows in the back. Embattled. Not to mention the fire ox, it is useless to come to a herd of elephants. Pan Cheng would not be so naïve. ”

Guan Shirong would rather believe that he has it, but not that he has not. He unfurled his military flag and ordered the shields and archers in the front to be on guard and on guard. After a while, but seeing Pan Cheng's army, the front formation was separated, the drums were singing in unison, and hundreds of roaring strong cattle rushed out from the smoke and dust in the back.

But it's not a fire bull formation.

Two oxen pulled a cart, and three people stood on each cart. One drove an ox cart, and two people lined up left and right. Some of the crew held bows and arrows, and some held long soldiers with short swords hanging from their waists.

On the first few ox carts, a large drum was erected, and the drummer stood in front of the drum and beat it vigorously. At the back of each ox cart is a small flag. More than 400 ox carts, with the sound of drums, galloped fast, flags like clouds, from a distance, the momentum is huge. The momentum was violent, and he rushed straight towards Guan Shirong's array.

"This, this ,......"

The law of car warfare, prevailing in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, has been descended since the Qin and Han dynasties, and is rare in the world. I don't know where Pan Cheng learned it, and he used it as a secret weapon, and when he came out, he really became a blockbuster. Guan Shirong rubbed his eyes, almost suspicious of his dreams. He tugged at the staff member's sleeve and asked, "Why is this?" Have you ever seen it, sir? How should it be cracked? ”

The staff member stammered, not knowing how to answer.