Xiao Beiyou's mood was the same as Xie Jiayao's, and he also wanted to know the conclusion of Guo Songtao's study of the formation, he said: "Master, you have spent a lot of energy studying Hetu and Luoshu, have you come to a new conclusion on the formation and breaking the formation?"

Guo Songtao said: "Ancient wars were frequent, the formation was very mature in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it can be said that the entire cold weapon era before the appearance of the musket, the formation was very important in the war, and it was also very popular at that time, to the Tang Dynasty, the formation has been very developed, the Tang Dynasty famous general Li Jing has a profound discussion on the formation, the Song Dynasty inherited the formation of the Tang Dynasty, the "Wujing General Essentials" recorded the eight formations of the Song Dynasty, including the phalanx, the circle array, the Mu array, the Chong phalanx, the Fuzhi array, the wheel array, However, these formations of the Song Dynasty are conservative, and there are not too many creations, but there are no two formations of the eight formations of the Song Dynasty that are worthy of attention, one is called 'crossbow array', and the other is called 'stacked array'. ”

"Master specifically mentioned these two formations, are they very powerful?" Xiao Bei lobbied.

"The 'crossbow array' gives full play to the power of the 'tension crossbow' of the pedal strings, and the soldiers in the array are divided into three columns from front to back, the first row is wound, the second row is loaded with arrows into the crossbow, the third row is aimed and shot, and after the third row is fired, the gap between the two columns is passed, and the first row is wound behind the back, and after the second row enters the crossbow, it enters the state of aiming and firing, and so on and so forth, which can maintain a continuous shooting density. The soldiers were divided into three columns, with those holding knives and spears in front, those with bows following them, and finally those with crossbows or crossbows. During the battle, the whole team sits on their knees. When the enemy is close to 100 paces, the archer of a god arm is ordered to stand up and shoot at him, and if the distance is suitable, he will shoot his bow and arrows in unison; when the enemy is close to 70 paces, he will have a flat archer stand up and shoot him, and if the arrow enters the enemy's formation, he will shoot the arrows of the archer in a volley; when the enemy is in front of the army and refuses to horse, the spearmen will fight him hand-to-hand. This formation exerts the power of weapons of different ranges, intercepting and defending layer by layer. Weakens the ability of enemy cavalry to maneuver and attack. and hand-to-hand armed men to defend themselves at close range. Guo Songtao continued.

"It seems that the 'crossbow array' and 'stacked array' are summed up in actual combat, and only the formation that conforms to actual combat can have vitality. In addition, these two formations also show that the formation has a very close relationship with weapons. Some formations are specially designed to bring out the power of weapons. Seemingly. The formation should not only give play to the soldiers' ability to cooperate and coordinate, but also take into account the issue of how to give full play to the power of weapons in the formation. Xiao Bei lobbied.

"The formation must be related to weapons, Wudang's 'Seven Star Array'. Shaolin's 'Thirteen Arhat Formations' also gave full play to the characteristics of swords and sticks, so in the Tang and Song dynasties, how to use bows and arrows, spears, chariots, etc., was a problem that the founders of the formation attached great importance to. In fact, the formation is to maximize the combat advantage, the formation can defeat the opponent with a more optimized combination, and the combination structure is different to form different formations, so there is a classification of formations, legend, there are many categories of ancient formations. Guo Songtao said.

"Yes, the master has talked about some formations before, and the apprentice has also heard of some formations, such as the Yuli Formation, the Fish Scale Formation, the Fangyuan Formation, the Goose Walking Formation, the Long Snake Formation, etc., and the apprentice has also heard Master Shi say that there are eight formations of heaven, earth, wind, clouds, dragons, tigers, birds, and snakes, I don't know what Master thinks of these eight formations?" Xiao Beiyou asked.

"The eight formations you mentioned were very famous in the Tang Dynasty, and Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, once asked Li Jing, the general beside him, and said: 'Heaven, earth, wind, clouds, dragons, tigers, birds, snakes, what is the meaning of the eight formations?' Li Jing replied: 'The one who passed it on was also wrong. The ancients secretly hid this method, so they set up eight names. The eight formations are also divided into eight formations. If the heavens and the earth are the banners, the wind and the clouds are the names of the flags, and the dragons, tigers, birds, and snakes are the difference between the teams. Li Jing believes that the statement of the eight formations is misinformation, and the eight formations are actually one formation, which is called differently because of the different flags, flags, or teams, and the formation is essentially the same. Guo Songtao said.

"According to Master, if we want to see clearly the law of change of the formation and see the basic characteristics of the formation, we cannot only pay attention to the name of the formation, the name is sometimes different from the actual content of the formation, the name of the formation is sometimes an illusion, and the real name of the formation must be seen clearly. Master, is it right for the apprentice to understand this?" Xiao Bei lobbied.

"Well said, our purpose is to find out the common characteristics of different types of formations, and then with the help of the change law of the number of Hetu, Luoshu and the change rules of Yin and Yang, and the five elements, find out the advantages and weaknesses of the formation, so that whether it is breaking the formation or creating the formation, you can be confident, so, for various formations, we must figure out the arrangement of the soldiers in the formation, understand the layout of attack and defense, if we can use the Hetu, The enlightenment of the law of change in the number of Luo Shu to understand the essence and characteristics of the formation, isn't this a wonderful method of breaking the formation?" Guo Songtao said.

"Master, are Hetu and Luoshu really so magical? Understanding the changes in the number of techniques of Hetu and Luoshu, is there really a new way to break the formation and set up the formation? The apprentice likes to listen to your explanation. Xie Jiayao asked.

"Of course, Hetu and Luoshu cannot provide us with a ready-made method of breaking the formation, but the number of magic and the law of change of the five elements of yin and yang contained in them can provide us with a good inspiration for cracking the formation. The numbers and symbols of Vena contain very complex and regular trends, which can allow us to learn from the method of breaking the formation; Hetu and Luoshu are also closely related to Taijitu, the five elements of yin and yang, and the sixty-four hexagrams, which can be very enlightening for deducing the development trend of facts. Guo Songtao said.

"Master, the river diagram you talked about earlier contains the five elements of change and the principle of 'left-handed and right-handed restraint', you talked about the river diagram 'one six water, two seven fire, three eight wood, four or nine gold, fifty earth', the numbers in the picture, left and the left, the right and the restraint, and the five and ten in the center, are corresponding to the unity, Jia Yao used to learn the sword when he heard the master talk about the truth of the gossip, and the truth you talked about is very similar, perhaps, swordsmanship, formation also have a lot of similarities. Xie Jiayao said.

"Master, when you were talking about Luoshu, the apprentice also thought of an important question, that is, Luoshu has a very close relationship with the ancient physiognomy and Kanyu technique 'Qimen Dunjia', which is to use the changing trend of Luoshu and the change rules of the nine palace gossip and the five elements to calculate the geography and calculate the fate. Xiao Bei lobbied.

Xie Jiayao asked: "Beiyou, do you even know 'Qimen Dunjia'?"

"'Qimen Dunjia' speaks of 'three odds', i.e., B (day), C (month), and Ding (star); speaks of 'eight gates', i.e., rest, life, injury, Du, Jing, shock, death, and opening; speaks of 'Liujia', that is, Jiazi, Jiaxu, Jiashen, Jiawu, Jiachen, and Jiayin; and speaks of 'Liuyi', i.e., E, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui. According to the theory of "Qi Men Dun Jia", "Jia" is the most noble in the ten cadres, it is hidden but not revealed, hidden under the six instruments, "Qi Men Dun Jia" talks about the principle of concealment, that is, Jiazi is the same as Liuwu, Jiaxu is the same as Liuji, Jiashen is the same as Liugeng, Jiawu is the same as Liuxin, Jiachen is the same as Liuren, and Jiayin is the same as Liugui. If we compare these theories of 'Qimen Dunjia' with the number of Luo Shu and the five elements, it is not difficult to find that the changes of the five elements of Luo Shu are the same as those of 'Qi Men Dunjia': one Baikan Shui Xiumen, two Hei Kun Tu Death Gate, three Bi Zhenmu Wound Gate, four Green Xunmu Du Men, five Huang Ji Zhong Palace, six Bai Ganjin Open Door, Seven Red and Golden Surprise Gate, Eight Bai Gen Tusheng Gate, and Nine Purple Lihuojing Gate. The apprentice thought, is this Qimen Dunjia's 'Eight Gates' also related to the formation and breaking the formation?Or, is the 'Qimen Dunjia' formation also instructive?" Xiao Beiyou asked.

"Many people believe that 'Qimen Dunjia' is derived from Luoshu, it does have a close relationship with the formation, in fact, the founder of many formations in ancient times, itself is a person who is deeply familiar with 'Qimen Dunjia', in history, the people around the emperor, including military divisions, national teachers, Qin Tianjian and other ministers, are often familiar with" Qimen Dunjia ", they not only give advice to the emperor, and, when encountering war, they use the art of war, but also use the "Qimen Dunjia" to create a formation,' 'Qimen Dunjia' has an important influence in history, which actually shows that Luoshu has a great influence, because it is said that 'Qimen Dunjia' borrowed some principles from Luoshu. Guo Songtao said.

"Legend has it that some famous military strategists and strategists in history are very proficient in 'Qimen Dunjia', such as Jiang Taigong, Fan Li, Zhang Liang, Zhuge Liang, Liu Bowen, etc., they combined with 'Qimen Dunjia', and planned a successful strategy on military and political affairs. The influence of physiognomy and so on is very great, and 'Qi Men Dun Jia' pays attention to grasping the opportunity, attaches importance to the way of profit and loss, and pays attention to the advantages and avoids the disadvantages, which makes a great contribution to the prediction theory, which is also very inspiring for the deployment of troops. Of course, there are some far-fetched statements of 'Qimen Dunjia', some are very mysterious and mysterious, and some people exaggerate their role without boundary, which should be discarded and removed. Guo Songtao continued.

Xie Jiayao thought: "It seems that Beiyou still knows much more about the art of war, strategy, number of techniques and 'Qimen Dunjia' than me, and the two of them are becoming more and more like New Year's friends!" (To be continued......)