Chapter 155: Finding the Flaw

Countless eyes at the scene were all focused on the upcoming battle in the horse arena.

On one side was the Qingzhou Army, invincible under heaven under the command of the Prince of Wei, led by the long-renowned General Xiao Qian.

On the other side was the Yinzhou Army, which had recently risen as a dark horse.

Who was superior and who was inferior would be decided in today's battle.

At this moment, the Prince of Wei also laughed and raised a cup of wine placed beside him: "I have heard that the Yinzhou Army has strict military discipline; ten men form a squad, which is a combat unit, so no matter how bad the situation is, they will retain their strongest combat power. Seeing it today, it is truly extraordinary!"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince snorted coldly: "Prince of Wei, since ancient times, those who understand warfare know that military morale comes first! The so-called 'first drum raises the spirit, the second exhausts it, and the third drains it'—morale is paramount, and provisions come after! If it is truly as the Prince of Wei says, wouldn't morale be useless for the Yinzhou Army?"

The crowd also found this quite reasonable.

The Prince of Wei smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.

This Crown Prince Xie Fang was truly too narrow-minded. The battlefield is inherently a gamble; it is treacherous and ever-changing, and situations can shift at any moment. The military discipline of the Yinzhou Army does not mean they have no need for morale; rather, it can be used when morale is high, and it can also be used when morale is low!

This is exactly what is most terrifying!

There is an old saying that goes: when a gentleman finds his time, he acts on a grand scale; when he does not, he moves like a dragon or a snake!

And if this Yinzhou Army were truly trained by Liu Zheng into a combat machine.

Then it would be: when they find their time, they act on a grand scale; when they do not, they can still leap like dragons and snakes!

Crown Prince Xie Fang had not experienced any wars, but the Prince of Wei was a man who had licked blood from the edge of a blade; how could he not know the terror of such an army?

But he still did not believe that the Yinzhou Army truly possessed such qualities.

"Kill!"

The Qingzhou Army was indeed worthy of being the number one heavy-armored force under heaven; three thousand cavalry charged over, the earth shook along with them, and the shouts of battle filled the sky, sweeping over. Dust flew!

If one were to say the Yinzhou Army was a combat unit, then the Qingzhou soldiers at this moment were the same!

Three thousand cavalry, moving in unison, charged forward in a Square Formation, their momentum terrifying and their impact force extremely strong.

"Too terrifying!"

"Is this the Qingzhou Army?"

Bystanders gasped, their backs turning cold. They thought to themselves that in this lifetime, they would never want to encounter such an opponent. Was that Yinzhou Army really their match?

"Steady!"

Facing such a formidable enemy, Qin Zhangfeng's expression darkened slightly.

"Yes!"

Although the Yinzhou soldiers were afraid, they did not lose their composure, eyes wide, waiting for the arrival of this Qingzhou Army!

"Mandarin Duck Formation!"

"Langxian Soldiers, advance! Shield Soldiers and Spearman, provide cover!"

Just as the Qingzhou Army was about one hundred paces away from them, Qin Zhangfeng suddenly shouted.

The Mandarin Duck Formation was thus deployed.

Although they knew this Qingzhou Army was even more powerful than the Xiongnu soldiers, every soldier in the Yinzhou Army still fulfilled their duties within the team.

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

"Boom—!"

As the Qingzhou Army charged head-on for the first time, the Langxian Soldiers rushed forward immediately. The Langxian Soldiers were originally meant to counter Blade Infantry, but Qin Zhangfeng still placed them at the very front because the Langxian, as a tool, was simply too effective at disrupting the opponent! Although the long spears of the Qingzhou Army were not like curved sabers that would be entangled and blocked by the Langxian, the Langxian were still quite long after all...

But one had to admit, the impact force of this Qingzhou Army was simply too strong!

This was equivalent to the previous Yinzhou Heavy Armored Infantry equipped with War Horses. This kind of Heavy Cavalry was once all the rage in history.

But Liu Zheng did not focus on developing it.

Why? The reason had already been stated: this kind of heavy cavalry placed truly high demands on the physical strength of both the War Horses and the soldiers. This kind of heavy cavalry was only suitable for short-term combat and could not achieve long-distance raids at all. This kind of cavalry could only be nearly invincible within a limited range.

But Liu Zheng...

His ambition did not lie here!

How big is the Longyan Dynasty?

How big is the entire world?

He would not limit his vision to localized warfare.

Therefore, he had long ago abandoned heavy cavalry and instead used his own Plate Armor Cavalry. Although it did not have such significant effects in terms of endurance, it possessed greater mobility.

"Whoosh!"

Sure enough.

The advantage of the heavy cavalry was highlighted during the first charge. It was too strong! Wherever they passed, it was a crushing sweep!

Not only did the men have Plate Armor, but the horses did too!

In this first wave of attacks, although the Langxian Soldiers and Spearman coordinated well, they were still crushed through.

The Yinzhou soldiers were momentarily in a sorry state, scattering in all directions.

Boos erupted throughout the arena.

The Yinzhou soldiers, who were so arrogant just a moment ago, were actually so vulnerable under the Qingzhou iron cavalry, losing even the momentum to counterattack?

The Crown Prince laughed out loud, feeling extremely gratified.

However, what shocked everyone was this.

The three thousand heavy cavalry of Qingzhou had just trampled over them when the Yinzhou soldiers who had been scattered just now gathered together again, their speed so fast it was jaw-dropping.

"Change formation!"

Qin Zhangfeng shouted again.

"Eh?"

The people on the viewing platform felt quite incredulous.

The three thousand Cavalry of the Qingzhou Army over there had not yet finished turning around, and the Yinzhou Army was already moving again?

"This time, Shield Soldiers in front, Spearmen in the back, Mo Dao Soldiers coordinate!"

Qin Zhangfeng said indifferently.

"Yes!"

"Remember, no matter what, you must block one charge!"

Qin Zhangfeng emphasized.

Dealing with Cavalry, especially the kind of Heavy Armored Cavalry before them, as long as one can block their charge once, the situation on the field will be completely reversed.

"Yes!"

The Yinzhou Army stood ready once again.

Watching Qin Zhangfeng still refusing to give up, Xiao Qian gave a cold laugh: "Kill!"

That black Heavy Armored Cavalry, like a hurricane, swept over crazily.

"Block them!"

"Brothers, block them!"

Qin Zhangfeng shouted angrily.

The Shield Soldiers held their shields high, letting their bodies hide behind them.

But this time, they were still cruelly crushed by the iron cavalry... The charging force of the Heavy Armored Cavalry actually sent the Shield Soldiers flying directly!

"Good!"

"Hahahaha, satisfying!"

"Truly the armored soldiers of the Prince of Wei, peerless under heaven!"

The Yinzhou Army was scattered again, yet under Qin Zhangfeng's organization, they quickly regrouped.

The Crown Prince could not help but sneer coldly: "Truly unwilling to give up, Governor Liu, isn't this just playing dirty? Hahahaha!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou said indifferently: "Crown Prince, if you do not understand this Art of War, then watch carefully. The Yinzhou Army still has the strength to fight, and unlike the Crown Prince Army, they are not fleeing everywhere; how is this playing dirty?"

"You..."

The Crown Prince was suddenly speechless, furious to the point of choking.

This Grand Eunuch Zhou, not standing on his side, was actually speaking for that Liu Zheng; it was truly infuriating.

Seeing the Yinzhou Army on the horse track preparing to meet the next charge again, the Prince of Wei also had a flash of light in his eyes: "Regardless of the outcome of this match, the Yinzhou Army has excellent resilience!"

Others also nodded one after another.

Thinking that if it were their own troops, they would have long been scared off by this Qingzhou heavy armor... how could they reorganize their ranks at the first moment and prepare to fight again?

Regardless, the spirit of the Yinzhou Army had actually already won.

Liu Zheng smiled indifferently.

"General, this Qingzhou Army is truly..."

"General Qin, let our Mo Dao Soldiers go first this time!"

Looking at the Yinzhou Army side, everyone was high-spirited, with not a trace of the decadence of battle-readiness on their faces.

Qin Zhangfeng smiled indifferently: "Let them have it one more time."

"Ah?"

Hearing this, the Yinzhou Army was all stunned.

So our General Qin is letting them have it?

Qin Zhangfeng laughed loudly: "Don't they like to play with momentum? Then play with them! The Young Master often says, the first drum rouses the spirit, the second exhausts it, and the third drains it; have you all forgotten such a simple principle?"

"Let them charge one more time, and that will be the moment for our counterattack!"

Everyone's spirits lifted.

That's right!

Since they cannot block this charge, why not avoid its edge first, and take advantage of the moment the cavalry turns around to pursue them from behind? Twice charging, this Heavy Armored Cavalry is indeed fierce, but it has exposed a weakness, which is that they are clumsy in movement!

Compared to the Yinzhou Army, every time they gather, every time they align, and even every time they turn, they need a period of time!

Seizing the flaw, it is not impossible to win!

Qin Zhangfeng's face sank: "Do not be careless, block with all your might!"

"Yes!"

The Qingzhou Army charged once again.

This time, it was more ferocious than the previous two times, the momentum more earth-shattering, as if they had poured all their strength into this one charge!

"Kill!"

"Crush them!"

This time, Qin Zhangfeng still had the Shield Soldiers in front, but the Mo Dao Soldiers were in the back, with Spearmen and Langxian Soldiers coordinating.

The Yinzhou Army was overturned by the Qingzhou Army again!

On the viewing platform, everyone laughed loudly.

"What kind of Art of War is this?"

"Is he grasping at straws?"

"The Shield Soldiers couldn't block it just now, can they turn the tables now?"

Those Feudatory King bigwigs looked at Liu Zheng with cold mockery one after another.

Some were even saying that this Qin Zhangfeng was just a reckless man; he could kill Luoge'er, but in terms of leading troops, he was truly too weak.

Only the Prince of Wei's eyelids twitched: "Something is wrong!"

At this moment, the Qingzhou Army had already turned around again, reorganizing for a fourth charge!

"Wrong!"

The Prince of Wei stood up abruptly, his expression changing drastically: "Pay attention to the timing of the turn!"

However, his voice could not reach the horse racing field at all; the dense sound of war drums and the mountain-toppling, sea-overturning shouts instantly drowned out his voice.

Only then did Liu Zheng pick up a cup of wine, smile faintly at the Prince of Wei, and drain it in one gulp.

"Damn it!"

The Prince of Wei was anxious in his heart, but at this moment on the horse racing field, the fourth charge of the Qingzhou soldiers had already begun!