Chapter 84

The two armies were three hundred paces apart. The five hundred soldiers from Shaanxi advanced step by step, forming a square formation with three hundred long spears in the center, and one hundred shield and sword soldiers on each side as the left and right wings.

The Divine Martial Left Deputy Army, on the other hand, formed ten combat groups, with five men in a small group and fifty men in a large group.

"General Zhang seems to favor the Divine Martial Army?" Li Hui, the Chief of the Military Council, smiled and asked General Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun smiled faintly, "From the way they are deployed, it's clear that the Divine Martial Army is more skilled. They can quickly disperse into a hundred five-man teams and can also quickly regroup into a single formation, showing flexibility and adaptability. This is a sign of well-trained troops.

As for the Shaanxi Army, their formation is very traditional and simple, but it may not be effective."

"How so?"

Zhang Jun snorted, "Because the opponent is different. The Western Army used to face the Western Xia cavalry, so they formed a long spear square to fight. But now their opponent is infantry, and they are still using the formation for cavalry. How can they possibly succeed?"

Li Hui also felt a bit worried; he did not want Chen Qing's army to fail.

......

When they were fifty paces away from the opposing army, Chen Qing shouted, "Charge!"

The Western Army suddenly launched an attack. Three hundred soldiers let out a roar, their blunt spears, though not sharp, gathered the collective strength, crashing into the enemy like an iron fist.

"Amazing!"

Xin Yongzong muttered to himself. He understood the enemy's tactics: using strength to replace the sharpness of the spears. This powerful impact was something their soldiers could not withstand. He now faced two choices: either disperse the formation or also form a tight group.

Xin Yongzong hesitated for a moment and then shouted, "Disperse!"

He chose to disperse. If they formed a tight group, the shield and sword soldiers would be at a disadvantage in terms of combat distance and strength.

The shield and sword soldiers quickly dispersed to the sides, making the center of the formation sparse. The charging Western Army, like an elephant, rushed into the enemy formation. The five Divine Martial combat teams could not withstand the impact and retreated, but several dozen shield and sword soldiers were knocked down by the long spear formation.

The Western Army's long spear formation broke through the enemy's main formation, splitting it in two.

Chen Qing then shouted, "Double-headed dragon formation!"

The Western Army's formation changed, transforming from an elephant into a double-headed dragon. Huyan Tong led two hundred men to the east, Liu Qiong led two hundred men to the west, and Zheng Ping led one hundred long spear soldiers to support Liu Qiong from the south.

On the viewing platform, Li Hui laughed, "General Zhang, this is not a formation for fighting cavalry!"

Zhang Jun's face turned a bit grim. He had just understood the Western Army's combat intent: to split the enemy into two and gain a tactical advantage.

In battle, smooth operations are crucial for maintaining morale. Once the operations are disrupted, morale is affected, and the various combat plans previously formulated cannot be implemented.

This is like a student taking an exam. If they can answer every question, they will be confident, wishing only that they could write faster. If they cannot answer a major question or several questions, their confidence will be affected, and their final score will be low.

Xin Yongzong, with his rich combat experience, immediately understood the enemy's intent the moment they changed their formation. The enemy intended to use three super-strong formations to break through their fifty combat teams one by one. He immediately ordered, "Rally!"

The drums sounded, and the two split formations of the Divine Martial Army quickly rallied, forming two large shield and sword formations, also using collective strength to fight the enemy.

Chen Qing's lips curled into a cold smile, and he ordered again, "Disperse and fight!"

The Western Army's drums also sounded, "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The drums were urgent, and the three originally united formations instantly split into fifty small teams, each with ten men, six long spear soldiers, and four shield and sword soldiers. This was the formation the Western Army practiced every night, well-honed and with highly coordinated soldiers.

The fifty small teams engaged the enemy while running, showing a clear advantage.

At this moment, Zhang Jun, who had been watching the battle, fell silent. He began to realize that he had underestimated the Western Army. The Western Army used two feints to lure the enemy into changing their tactics. Once the enemy fell for it, they immediately entered combat mode. At this point, the Divine Martial Army's change in tactics was too passive, and their morale was affected.

If they did not change tactics, they would be on the defensive, suffering significant losses due to the enemy's long weapons and high-speed charges.

Xin Yongzong felt a bitter smile. He did not expect the enemy's true tactic to be a scattered attack. At this point, he could not change tactics, as it would severely affect morale. He could only tough it out in the first half and follow his predetermined tactics in the second half.

Xin Yongzong felt a sense of frustration and shouted, "Form the shield and sword formation, impenetrable as wind and rain!"

The Divine Martial Army soldiers held large shields, forming two circles. This was also why Xin Yongzong did not want to change formations. The shield and sword formation had strong defensive capabilities, ensuring minimal casualties on their side while exhausting the enemy's strength, preparing for a counterattack in the second half.

Chen Qing waved his long halberd and ordered, "Third Battalion, rally and charge the western enemy!"

The third battalion, led by Zheng Ping with one hundred soldiers, quickly formed a square formation, like a battering ram. The one hundred soldiers, holding long spears, charged the left shield and sword formation.

"Boom!" A loud noise, and several dozen shield and sword soldiers were knocked to the ground. The tight shield and sword formation was torn open, and eight Western Army small teams rushed into the breach, causing chaos in the Divine Martial Army.

......

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

With the sound of the gong, the first half of the competition ended. The supervisor entered the field to count the soldiers who had been hit or cut, though some might have escaped, the results were generally accurate.

The results were soon out. In the first half, the Western Army had the upper hand, with nearly ninety Divine Martial Army soldiers eliminated and only twenty Western Army soldiers eliminated. The Western Army clearly had the advantage.

......

After a short break, the war drums sounded again. Chen Qing continued to use the two-to-one attack strategy, removing the already "killed" soldiers, leaving thirty-eight small teams to fight independently. Zheng Ping's one hundred soldiers formed a group to charge the enemy formation.

The enemy also split into forty-one scattered teams, both sides choosing the flexibility of scattered combat.

At this moment, Zhang Jun fell silent. He realized that the Western Army was not weak at all, matching the Divine Martial Army in strength. With a seventy-man advantage, they formed a hundred-man group, giving them the upper hand in the second half.

As long as the Western Army's stamina held, the Divine Martial Army would likely face a grim outcome in the fourth round.

One wrong move, and the outcome was already determined.

Xin Yongzong also realized his situation was very unfavorable. He was anxious and ordered a full-scale attack. The Western Army did not hold back, launching wave after wave of attacks. Both sides engaged in intense combat, with soldiers continuously falling.

Xin Yongzong's only hope was that the Western Army would run out of stamina. However, as the end of the match approached, the Western Army not only did not show signs of fatigue but became even more aggressive, pushing the Divine Martial Army back and taking the upper hand. Xin Yongzong gradually lost hope.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The gong signaling the end of the second half sounded, and Chen Qing's men cheered.

One hundred and seventy-four to sixty-eight, the Western Army won the fourth round decisively.

......

The preliminary rounds lasted only one day, and five teams were selected to advance to the finals: Yue Fei's army, Ju Shigu's army, Wang Bo's army, Chen Qing's army, and the last round winner, Han Shizhong's army.

To everyone's surprise, the two favorites, Zhang Jun's army and Liu Guangshi's army, were eliminated in the preliminary rounds, causing a major upset.

The next day would be a rest day, and the final round would take place the day after.

That night, in the Tiger Mouth Wine House in Lin'an City, Huyan Tong invited his friend Cao De for a drink.

Cao De was extremely angry. He never expected his entire army to suffer from diarrhea, with dozens of deaths, forcing him to abandon the competition, allowing his opponent to win without a fight.

Months of hard work were in vain, and more importantly, he was not defeated in battle but by the most despicable means, bringing great humiliation to him and his soldiers.

"I know who the bastard is, and the General also knows. The General has already submitted a petition to the Emperor, requesting a thorough investigation. The Emperor is also very angry and may have the Military Council lead the investigation, with the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court assisting, but..."

"But what?" Huyan Tong asked with a smile.

"But I think it will end in nothing, due to lack of evidence! We know who did it, but we can't prove it, which is the most frustrating part."

"Is there no trace at all?"

"We have already investigated. It is almost certain that the croton seed powder was put in the meat soup, but the problem is that the meat soup is gone. We interrogated the cooks, but got nothing. It was probably someone who sneaked into the tent to poison it."

Cao De sighed deeply and continued, "I just learned that this Wang Bo is actually the nephew of Chancellor Qin Hui. With Qin Hui backing him, it's hard to move against him without evidence."

Huyan Tong refilled his cup and said calmly, "We also discovered Wang Bo's secret today. His army is not a provincial army but a highly trained imperial army disguised as a provincial army."

"What did you say?" Cao De's eyes widened in surprise.