Dongting is on a hill, where is the official road leading from Anyi to Fenyin.

The land was not too high, just three or five feet tall, with the terrain rising and falling. There was an official road in it, which was built very wide, about fifty steps. It was originally the imperial road that Emperor Wu of Han built when he went to Fenyin to worship Houtu. It was disrepaired for so long. The imperial road that was then gone, with only the roadbed left.

Gao Shun set up a formation on the official road, with infantrymen in front, crossbowmen, crossbow chariots and newly built stone throwers all arranged on the ground, and his general was arranged in Dongting on the west side of the official road, looking down at the entire battlefield. Jiang Qin was on the east side, and the two were more than a hundred steps apart, looking at each other from afar. Nearly a thousand knights were arranged on the ground, and there was a gentle earth slope in front of them so that they could accelerate from the earth slope when attacking.

Gao Shun's position was not very large, but it was very compact according to the terrain arrangement. Jiang Qin saw it and secretly admired it. If he set up a formation, he could set up a similar position, but most of his knowledge came from the textbooks of the martial arts lecture hall, which was the experience summarized by countless people. Gao Shun was due to the experience accumulated over the years. It can be seen that this person is usually very attentive and not the courage of ordinary people.

When Liu Bei's army arrived, Gao Shun led a few personal guards to patrol the positions with Jiang Qin, chatted with each lieutenant and military marquis, and listened to their opinions.

Only a small part of Gao Shun's subordinates were his old subordinates, most of whom were Guanzhong people who were allocated to him more than a year ago. Liangzhou people experienced two battles between Jiang Qin and Xu Sheng in the west of Hongnong and Luoshui. Although the battle was fierce at that time, it was a mountain battle and a battle for narrow terrain. It was not such a large-scale battle in open areas, and the opponent had three or four times the advantage of military strength. They were unsure whether they could win, and some even suspected that Gao Shun would use their lives to exchange for wealth.

In the face of doubts, Gao Shun did not refute or explain. He just took care of them carefully and did not panic. He should protect himself and his companions and fight according to the usual training methods. Seeing Gao Shun's face as usual, these soldiers gradually calmed down and waited for the start of the battle.

At noon, Liu Bei entered the battlefield, looked at Gao Shun's position, and laughed in silence.

"Is Gao Shun stupid? He arranged the catapult and the crossbowman in the middle, so he wouldn't be afraid of mistakes and hurt his own people?"

Sima Yi narrowed his eyes, looked at it for a long time, and shook his head. "King, Gao Shun did this, probably because he gave up the attack and insisted on sticking to it. After all, the longer the stalemate, the more unfavorable it is for us."

Liu Bei agreed with Sima Yi's analysis. For him, the biggest threat was not Gao Shun in front of him, but Lu Su behind him. The infantry and cavalry led by Lu Su were all real Wu troops, and their combat effectiveness was stronger. If the two armies were stalemate and were attacked by Lu Su, their side would likely be defeated. In order to prevent this situation, he asked Zhang Fei and Wang Ling to lead 8,000 cavalry to line up in Gushan behind him and sent many scouts. Once Lu Su appeared, he immediately informed him so that he had time to decide whether to fight or leave.

Sima Yi did not agree with Liu Bei's decision. It was necessary to arrange cavalry to block the enemy, but it was too cautious to use all 8,000 cavalry to defend Lu Su. Lu Su only had two thousand cavalry, so it was enough to let Zhang Fei be responsible for the blocking. Wang Ling should still follow the main force and maintain a certain impact. If Gao Shun retreats, Wang Ling can also pursue and expand the results of the battle. All cavalry stayed in Gushan, and it was not the best strategy to respond to the battle with infantry.

But Liu Bei was stubborn. He told Sima Yi, don’t underestimate the cavalry of Wu. Although the cavalry of Wu is few, the combat effectiveness is very strong. Sun Ce attached great importance to the equipment and training of cavalry from the beginning. The best equipment was first equipped with cavalry, stirrups, vests, and spears of one or five feet long. These were all prepared for cavalry. Moreover, Sun Ce had many cavalry generals with high martial arts skills. Under the leadership of these people, the cavalry of Wu was known for their refinement and often won the more with fewer.

Sima Yi was not unfamiliar with the history of the Wu cavalry, but he still felt that Liu Bei was too nervous and just couldn't say anything.

The two countries were in a row, and although they were eager to win, Liu Bei did not immediately enter the battle. From afar, the soldiers needed time to recover their strength. He set up a camp, set up a camp bar, ordered people to kill cattle and reward the soldiers, and gave each person two liters of wine to help them, but they would not get drunk. He gathered the chief lieutenant, generals above the lieutenant, announced the reward and encouraged morale.

The next morning, just as dawn, Liu Bei ordered the food to be made. After the food, the whole army attacked. Liu Bei first sent two teams, 5,000 each, to set up positions behind Gao Shun, to make an attacking posture, restrain Gao Shun's troops, and then divided the army into five square formations, ranging from three to five thousand, each with four to five thousand, and four to five thousand in front. As the main force of the attack, the two square formations behind each, each with three thousand in cover the rear wing, and he led 10,000 elite troops brought from Youzhou to serve as the central army. Once a fighter jet appeared, he immediately entered the battle.

When the morning sun rose from Gushan, Liu Bei ordered an attack.

The two generals of the front army each sent a thousand shield hands, holding large shields, and slowly stepped forward, preparing to establish a shield formation to cover the crossbowmen. Usually, the other party would not let them succeed easily, either shoot with crossbows, or use cavalry and infantry to counterattack them, so the first ones often suffered huge casualties, and they always had to pay a lot of sacrifices to set up the shield formation. Everyone who went to the battle first was very nervous and didn't know if they could come back alive.

But today it was abnormal. Gao Shun did not order a counterattack. The sound of war drums was slowly beating. The soldiers on the Tugang were guarding their posts. They watched the Zhongshan army approaching without any reaction.

Liu Bei stood on the stage, feeling suspicious, not understanding what Gao Shun was doing. Sima Yi didn't quite understand. Even if he was mainly defense, watching the opponent stand up a shield was not a good idea. Once the shield formation was completed, the crossbowman stepped forward to shoot, and the pressure on defense would undoubtedly be much greater.

Does Gao Shun want to win by close-knit battle? This is possible. I heard that Gao Shun has a camp of traps, a concise weapon and armor, good at assault traps, and has strong combat power. He has certain advantages in dealing with the army formed mainly with the Hedong Qun. However, even if the camp of traps is refined, the number of people is limited after all. With more attacks, the accumulated casualties are also considerable, which may not be the best choice.

When Liu Bei and Sima Yi were speculating on Gao Shun's intention, the front army successfully set up the shield formation. The crossbowman stepped forward and set up the formation and began to shoot. After several adjustments, the shield was moved forward by more than thirty steps, leaving only fifty steps away from Gao Shun's position. This is the best shooting distance for the crossbowman, and even ordinary archers can shoot deadly arrows.

The unexpected success made the former generals particularly excited, beating drums one after another and requesting attack.

Although Liu Bei was suspicious, he still agreed to the request of the front army and ordered an attack. When the front army generals received the reply, they immediately beat the war drum. Each sent five hundred shield and spearmen to attack, hoping to tear open the defense line under the ground and break into the formation along the official road. The loess hills were flat on the top, but the surroundings were steep and they could not climb up.

When the sword and shield rushed past the crossbowman's position, Gao Shun finally issued the first order. The drum sound tightened, and the infantry standing in the formation shouted in unison, holding the weapons in his hand, preparing to fight, and the crossbowman on the ground began to shoot. A distance of thirty or fifty steps was high again, so there was no need to worry that the other party would rush to him. They were very calm in their minds, and under the command of the drum sound and the military marquis, shooting in an orderly manner, pouring a rain of arrows onto the heads of the Zhongshan soldiers who were rushing to the formation.

The soldiers of the Zhongshan Army attacked were suffering. Arrows shot from above, and they had to hold the shield above their heads. In order to prevent the opponent's arrow formation when rushing to the formation, the shields are usually made relatively large, and the corresponding weight is not light. When lifted in front of them, they can rely on the strength of their waist and back. There is no big problem. When lifting them on the top, the posture will be a little awkward. What's more serious is that the chest and abdomen are exposed to the enemy directly opposite, and there is no obstruction except for the breastplate.

Not everyone has breastplate, and even if there is one, shooting at such a close range is still very dangerous.

"Shi! Shi! Shi!"

With several short and powerful roars, the soldiers who stood on the post shot a rain of arrows. At such a close distance, the shooters almost didn't need to aim, and kept swinging their hands and shooting continuously. When the long roar ended, they shot seven or eight arrows in a few breaths. The Zhongshan soldiers who rushed to the front caught the arrow, and were cut down like wheat.

"Surprise!" A team leader shouted loudly and rushed out with his spear. He took a few steps to the Zhongshan soldiers and stabbed hard. The sharp spear tip pierced the Zhongshan army's armor, penetrated their chests, and blood splashed. More spearmen rushed out, and tigers were ascending and rushing hard. No matter how the enemy in front of him reacted, he just stabbed with a spear.

The soldiers of Zhongshan Army who were rushing to the formation used the sword and shield as their hands. They could have used shields to attack the spearmen, but now they have to beware of arrows above their heads. The shield is raised high, and the only one who can deal with the spears is the ring-headed sword in their hands. The sword is not as good as the spears, and holding the sword in one hand is not as powerful as holding the spears with both hands. The spearmen are immediately victorious, and they easily stabbed one Zhongshan Army soldier after another to the ground. Seeing that the enemy is so vulnerable, the soldiers who were already nervous were in a good mood. The more they fought, they became more and more brave, and they fought fiercely, forcing the Zhongshan Army to retreat step by step, without the power to fight back.

Under the Tugang, a one-sided massacre was taking place, but the Zhongshan Army crossbowmen who were dozens of steps away were powerless. The two sides were fighting each other, and they could not shoot, for fear of killing their companions by chance, so they could only shoot at the Tugang and suppress the Wu army's crossbowmen. Even so, the effect was not very good. When shooting at low and high, they could only shoot. The Wu army crossbowmen just held the shield above their heads, which almost did not affect their sight.

After only a moment of fierce battle, the first assault of the Zhongshan Army was broken, and two or three hundred corpses were left behind and retreated in a panic.

However, this crushing defeat did not attract the attention of the former generals of the Zhongshan Army. They thought this was just the first test that failed, and it would be better to try a few more times. This kind of thing is very common. There is nothing strange. After roughly asking about the relevant situation, they immediately launched a second attack.
Chapter completed!