Chapter 28: Grand Master Grants Arms
Zhang Liao, who was chosen by Lu Bu, led his troops into the North Palace amid the envious eyes of his colleagues, stood outside the palace, and saluted toward the palace.

“I, the cavalry commander Zhang Liao, greet your majesty! Your majesty, may you be blessed!”

“I… am I doing well?”

At first, Liu Xie suspected that he had heard it wrong.

It was not until he remembered that Zhang Liao seemed to be under Lu Bu’s command and confirmed that the Zhang Liao in front of him was Zhang Wenyuan in later generations who could stop children in Jiangdong from crying that he put away the doubts in his eyes.

Zhang Liao was only in his twenties, in the prime of his life. Although his face looked a little immature, he was upright and dignified, and he already had the demeanor of a famous general.

“Your Majesty, the Six Secret Teachings once said that there are three types of soldiers in the army: soldiers who brave the sword, soldiers who are willing to break through the enemy’s formation, brave and sharp soldiers, brave and strong soldiers, soldiers who are the best in the army, soldiers who fight to the death, soldiers who are willing to work hard, soldiers who are bound to die, soldiers who are lucky to be used, and soldiers who are ready to be ordered.”

“In the ranks, no matter how the battle formation changes, the commander should know where each type of soldier under his command is.”

What Dong Zhuo talked about was the knowledge in “Six Strategies·Dog Strategies·Training Scholars” written by Jiang Shang.

Liu Xie had also read these books after he arrived, and had a general idea of ​​what the several types of scholars Dong Zhuo mentioned meant.

There are some brave and strong men in the army, and they are called the soldiers who can trap the enemy.
There are those who are armed with strange weapons and long swords, and who are lined up in a row. They are gathered into a group and are called brave and sharp men.

There are those who are equipped with spurs and hooks, who are strong and powerful, who can break the gongs and drums, and destroy the flags. They are gathered into a unit and are called brave and powerful men.

Only by distinguishing the various things can we see the order from the chaotic military formation and make it familiar to our minds and easy to use.

And this is actually the most core talent of a general.

Han Xin once told Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang that the more troops he commanded, the better.

It is because Han Xin’s talent in this area is so high that it makes people’s scalp tingle.

Ordinary people would be so confused and at a loss if they were put in front of a thousand people, let alone ten thousand or a hundred thousand people, and would not know how to coordinate them.

However, Han Xin was able to classify millions of troops into different categories and place them in appropriate positions… This kind of talent is the cornerstone of Han Xin’s reputation as the “Military Genius”.

Dong Zhuo continued to explain to Liu Xie: “How to deploy these ten types of soldiers on the battlefield is often the key to victory in a war.”

Liu Xie nodded as if he understood, then stood up and walked outside the palace, looking at the soldiers under Zhang Liao, as if he was interested in taking action.

Dong Zhuo followed Liu Xie and gave orders to Zhang Liao to divide the hundred soldiers into two teams, each with five people.

In this way, the originally complete one hundred soldiers were neatly divided into twenty distinct chess pieces.

“Your Majesty, would you like to play a game with me?”

A good man should show his prowess on the battlefield! Why waste time on a small chessboard?
Liu Xie could no longer hold back: “It’s just as it should be!”

The first one to begin is called the formation.

In “Sun Bin’s Art of War”, the general formation system is summarized into eight types, namely square, circle, cone, goose formation, hook formation, Xuanxiang, sparse formation, number formation, fire formation and water formation.

Among them, the fire array and water array depend on the weather, so they are not often used.

The Goose Formation was a military formation used exclusively by crossbowmen, so it was not deployed.

Gou Xing and Xuan Xiang are relatively complicated and can only be performed by elite soldiers.

The sparse formation and the multiple formation are the formations of infantry charging charioteers, which can be considered as special tactics.

Therefore, the commonly used military formations are only three types: square, circular, and cone.

With Dong Zhuo’s strength, he could naturally use the Gou Xing or Xuan Xiang formations, but when facing Liu Xie, he only used the square and circle formations, which obviously showed his intention to let Liu Xie win.

Liu Xie also knew nothing about military affairs, so he imitated Dong Zhuo’s way. He learned to arrange his troops the same way Dong Zhuo did.

But even so, the gap between the two can still be seen.

Dong Zhuo deployed his troops and prepared the battle formation within only twenty breaths, including the time it took to convey the military order.

But Liu Xie copied the original, and it took him ninety breaths of time…

If it was on a real battlefield, Liu Xie would have been killed by Dong Zhuo by now. “Your Majesty, are you ready?”

Faced with Liu Xie’s procrastination, Dong Zhuo, contrary to his usual temper, lost his temper and his eyes were filled with nostalgia.

It was as if he was reminiscing about his first time on the battlefield.

“All right!”

Liu Xie responded to Dong Zhuo breathlessly: “Grandmaster! We can begin now!”

“Here!”

Now, Liu Xie and Dong Zhuo are the commanders of the two armies, while Zhang Liao and Lu Bu serve as generals of the two armies.

When they heard that Liu Xie and Dong Zhuo had agreed to start a war, they all immediately came to the commander-in-chief to obey the orders.

“Wenyuan! Put the warriors who are good at trapping the enemy, the brave warriors, and the strong warriors as the vanguard, and push forward!”

These three types of soldiers can be said to be the elite of the entire army!
Liu Xie was very bold in sending his elite troops to the battlefield in one breath.

When Zhang Liao heard Liu Xie’s arrangement, his lips moved slightly, obviously wanting to advise Liu Xie not to be so reckless.

But when he thought of Liu Xie’s identity and that this was just a game, Zhang Liao didn’t say anything more and hurried down to dispatch the soldiers.

On the other side, Dong Zhuo saw Liu Xie’s arrangement and smiled nonchalantly.

“Fengxian, dispatch those who are ready to fight to the death and brave the blades to take over.”

When the king’s ministers lost their power and wanted to regain their achievements, they gathered together as a group and called them the soldiers who fight to the death.

In the army there were some who were extremely brave, fearless and willing to be injured. They were gathered together as a group and were called the men who braved the sword.

These two types of soldiers are definitely no match for the elite troops in the army in terms of the sharpness of their swords or the strength of their armor.

But their morale is the highest, and if it’s just about resisting, they can still do it.

The two teams of soldiers quickly rushed to the front and fought with Liu Xie’s elite troops.

Although they fought and retreated when facing Liu Xie’s elite troops, they did manage to entangle Liu Xie’s most elite troops and prevent them from moving forward.

In this way, Liu Xie could only mobilize seven groups of soldiers, but Dong Zhuo could mobilize eight groups!
“Fengxian, order the best soldiers and the soldiers who are destined to die to attack from the left and right wings respectively!”

There are those who can climb high and far, who are light on their feet and good at running. They are gathered together as a group and are called the top soldiers.

There are those who are poor and angry, and who want to please their hearts, and they gather together as a group and are called the soldiers who are bound to die.

The former is actually highly mobile cavalry.

The latter are just cannon fodder.

The art of war focuses on the real and the fake.

If this happened on the battlefield, I’m afraid it would be extremely difficult for Liu Huihui to tell the difference between the two.

If one is not careful and pulls the main force to the right wing to face Dong Zhuo’s mortal warriors, it is very likely that the center of the formation will be left empty and the enemy’s best soldiers will take advantage of the opportunity.

Once the cavalry sneaks into the center of the army, the opponent can use its high mobility to mess up the center, or even completely split the general formation, thus deciding the outcome in one fell swoop!
But fortunately, Liu Xie today would not fall into such a simple trap.

“Wenyuan, order the Lidun soldiers to meet the attack on the right wing!”

“As for the left wing…”

Liu Xie narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Send the men on standby to stop them!”

Those who have both talents and skills, who can carry heavy loads and travel long distances, are gathered together as a group and are called the men on standby!

(End of this chapter)