RPAGF Chapter 42 The rout on the battlefield reveals the difference between elite troops?
Chapter 42 The rout on the battlefield reveals the difference between elite troops?
Li Mi, the future Duke of Wei, will one day establish himself as king in the Central Plains, with a multitude of fierce generals and strategists under his command.
For a moment, Yang Yan felt that the deafening shouts and howling north winds around him had all disappeared, and it seemed that only the two words "Li Mi" remained in the world.
Those cold, hard judgments in history books, those battles that determined the course of the world.
These feelings ultimately coalesced on the young, sharp face before us.
Ecstasy, vigilance, calculation, shock...
Countless opposing emotions churned and collided wildly in his heart, ultimately leaving only two answers.
Recruit?
Or... eliminate it?
The thought of eliminating him only crossed his mind for a moment before he extinguished it with a firm grip.
At this time, Li Mi was the son of Li Kuan, the Duke of Pushan, who had made outstanding contributions. He was a legitimate descendant of the Guanzhong aristocracy, innocent and without fault, with a bright future ahead of him.
If he were to harm someone without cause, it would not only appear petty, but could also provoke his father, Duke Pushan Li Kuan, and even the entire Guanlong military group to become wary and react against the Crown Prince, especially against him, Yang Yan.
That would be an incredibly foolish and self-destructive path to ruin.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Yan had already mentally rehearsed several possibilities.
When he looked up again, his face showed only a perfectly measured appreciation for a talented young prince, as if he had just heard the name of a nobleman he vaguely remembered.
"So it's the heir of the Duke of Pushan."
He nodded slightly, his tone perfectly gentle, showing both intimacy and dignity.
"Indeed, he comes from a family with a strong academic background and possesses extraordinary insight."
Before Yang Yan finished speaking, a mournful and desolate bugle call suddenly rose in the center of the training ground, piercing through the shouts of thousands of people and soaring into the sky.
Immediately following was a thunderous drumbeat.
"Thump—! Thump thump—! Thump thump thump—!"
The heavy, rapid, and oppressive drumbeats seemed not to be striking the drumheads, but rather pounding directly on everyone's chests, causing the surrounding air to freeze and tremble.
Upon receiving the order, the various military formations that had been scattered during the drills quickly dispersed to the edges like a receding tide, leaving the vast training ground empty in an instant, with only swirling dust remaining.
Immediately, from the east and west sides of the training ground, the deep thuds of footsteps and the rustling of armor merged into a torrent. Two armies, with completely different armor and banners, surged into the field like two opposing steel tides, their formations clearly distinct.
"This is……"
Yang Yan turned his head and happened to see Li Mi's clear, cold eyes staring intently at the scene.
A near-fanatical light shone in his eyes.
That was the expression of someone who truly understands and loves soldiers, the kind of expression one would have when witnessing an exceptional game of chess.
Upon hearing Yang Yan's question, he snapped out of his reverie, but without turning around, he explained in a deep voice:
"Your Highness, this is the final item on today's grand exercise: a live-fire confrontation."
"On the west side, there is a square formation of four thousand infantrymen from various military garrisons in the capital region, who are soldiers on rotation. On the east side, there are six hundred infantrymen, who are elite warriors under the command of His Majesty's Left Valiant Guard, who guard the palace year-round."
Four thousand against six hundred.
The stark contrast in numbers made even Crown Prince Yang Yong instinctively lean forward.
Yang Yan's pupils contracted slightly.
This was by no means a close contest. It was more like a "teaching demonstration" with a predetermined answer, not for the sake of winning or losing, but to starkly demonstrate a certain gap.
The mournful sound of the bugle once again tore through the sky, carrying a sense of finality.
To the west, the massive square formation of four thousand soldiers resembled a suddenly solidified, hazy, rocky coastline.
Most of them wore military uniforms made of coarse hemp or kudzu cloth, covered with simple leather armor, and wore the most common Fanyang felt hats. Although the long spears in their hands stood like a forest, they lacked that unified sharpness due to subtle differences in style and maintenance.
Despite the hoarse yet somewhat chaotic shouts and flag wavings from the team leaders and brigade commanders at all levels, this "rock" did not surge forward; instead, it began to slowly and steadily contract inward.
"ha!"
The swordsmen and shieldmen in the front row roared in unison, slamming the bottoms of their heavy wooden shields, which were almost as tall as a person, into the mud with a dull thud, kicking up clouds of dust.
"solid--!"
Upon receiving the order, the spearmen in the back row stepped forward. Although their movements were neat, they lacked the smoothness of someone who had practiced countless times. They extended their three-zhang-long wooden spears (used in the exercise) at an angle and placed them steadily on the edge of their comrades' shields in front.
One layer, two layers... wooden shields and spears interlocked and nested, and in the blink of an eye, a seemingly bulky yet airtight mobile barrier—the "Fish Scale Formation"—slowly took shape in the center of the training ground. A chilling aura permeated the air, yet it always seemed to lack a certain dynamism.
On the east side, the mere six hundred Imperial Guard infantrymen stood silently, like mountains.
They were all dressed in well-maintained gleaming armor, the plates reflecting a cold, sharp light in the thin winter sunlight. They wore uniform helmets, carried horn bows and quivers on their backs, and held long-handled wooden swords in their hands. However, their posture, spacing, and even their eyes exuded an almost instinctive precision and killing intent honed over many years.
They did not form a battle formation, but simply deployed in the most basic horizontal line, waiting quietly. The pressure that was contained within them subtly created a standoff with the four thousand people opposite them.
"With superior numbers, why adopt a defensive posture?" Yang Yan frowned and asked a question that seemed to come from an "outsider's" perspective.
"Why not swarm in and overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers?"
This was a test he deliberately threw out.
What he wanted to see was not Li Mi's tactical interpretation, but Li Mi's understanding of the nature of these two types of armies.
Upon hearing this, Li Mi turned his gaze from the training ground to Yang Yan's face, his tone carrying a serious and earnest tone.
"Your Highness's question hits the nail on the head. However, the core essence of the exercise has never been 'winning,' but rather 'realism,' simulating the tactics and choices of actual battlefield combat."
He spoke steadily, pointing to the slowly approaching "fish scale" fortress, "Although the garrison is large, most of them come from different prefectures and counties. They usually guard their own territories and do not know each other. The training and coordination time is short, so their tacit understanding is naturally unfamiliar."
"Therefore, on the battlefield, if one relies on numbers to rush forward, it may seem to have overwhelming momentum, but in reality, the formation is very easy to break down, the vanguard will be separated from the middle and rear, and the officers' orders will be difficult to convey. Once the frontal assault is blocked by the strict formation of the Imperial Guards, the front will be crowded and the rear will be confused. The disaster of pushing and trampling on each other may occur before even reaching the enemy."
"Establishing this stable formation, advancing step by step, using defense to build up momentum, and using slow and steady tactics to overcome rapid attacks, is the most reliable and compliant choice based on its own characteristics."
This explanation is logically clear, cites examples, and is a standard, impeccable answer from an excellent mid-level military officer.
But this was not the answer Yang Yan wanted.
"wrong."
Yang Yan shook his head, looking directly at Li Mi with a scrutinizing gaze reflecting modern strategic thinking.
"Battle formation coordination is rusty, but casualties can make up for it."
"Four thousand men against six hundred men, a troop strength ratio of nearly seven to one."
"Even if we use the stupidest method, we can keep throwing them in wave after wave, using human lives to wear down their arrows and stamina, and eventually we can wear these six hundred Imperial Guards down to death."
Why don't they even dare to try?