Chapter 288
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Chapter 288: Step by Step Targeting
Controlling the marching speed, while maintaining the soldiers’ condition, it would take approximately 4 days to reach outside the Great Zhou Royal City.
This was probably another one of Zhou Dongnan’s goals, to buy himself a few more days.
Luo Ji, who now completely held the initiative in this war, was filled with the composure of the advantageous side.
To put it arrogantly, how else could Zhou Dongnan struggle in his dying moments?
Confidence was undoubtedly a good thing, but becoming reckless was not.
Luo Ji, who had been through countless stratagems, knew this better than anyone.
So, the closer it got to the critical moment, the calmer he became.
The army advanced steadily.
During this time, Luo Ji continuously dispatched scouts to investigate the surrounding terrain and situation, to avoid enemy ambushes and attacks.
This move undoubtedly blocked Zhou Dongnan’s last bit of hope.
Listening to his soldiers’ reports, Zhou Dongnan’s face turned extremely grim.
Luo Ji’s almost step-by-step cautious advance left him with no opportunity to exploit!
With a volatile expression, Zhou Dongnan deliberated for a long time before forcing out one word through gritted teeth.
“Assault!”
A defensive battle was impossible, Luo Ji’s triple-bow bed crossbows completely suppressed him.
In the end, he would still have to go out to fight them.
Rather than that, it would be better to suddenly attack halfway through, fighting a surprise battle, which might offer a higher chance of victory!
Moreover, from a certain perspective, a surprise battle was probably the most suitable tactic for him at the moment.
On the 3rd day of the march, the slightly trembling ground brought the slowly advancing army to a halt.
Riding on Red Hare, Luo Ji, with his wider field of vision, immediately saw the dust rising in the distance.
“Heh, no opportunity for an ambush, so he’s simply sending cavalry for a direct assault?”
That Zhou Dongnan had cavalry units was already confirmed, but this branch of military had little use in the previous siege and defensive battles.
However, from another perspective, precisely because of this, the cavalry unit became the only fully preserved force in Zhou Dongnan’s hands!
And this unit was best suited for surprise attacks.
How could Zhou Dongnan not make good use of this to leverage his advantage?
And conversely, how could Luo Ji, having anticipated this step, not be somewhat prepared?
A cold, playful sneer curved Luo Ji’s lips.
With a wave of his hand, the well trained infantry units quickly formed formations, and the spearmen, as natural enemies of cavalry, directly pushed forward!
However, Zhou Dongnan was a player after all and had clearly considered the possibility of his cavalry unit being targeted.
After charging a certain distance, a volley of arrows flew from somewhere on the battlefield, directly striking Luo Ji’s formation.
“All shields up!!”
In Luo Ji’s infantry units, shield-wielding infantry held an absolute advantage.
Dealing with arrow volleys from enemy archer units was routine for these shield-wielding infantry.
While protecting themselves, they even had enough reserve capacity to cover the halberdiers closest to them, which showed how adept these veteran soldiers were.
The arrow volley exposed their position.
After easily blocking three volleys from the enemy, Luo Ji quickly confirmed the enemy army exposed in his sight.
However, he did not let his army advance.
Instead, he ordered all shield-wielding infantry to maintain their defensive stance, then he directly disregarded this side.
He decisively turned to command his own archers to cooperate with the spearmen to deal with the cavalry trying to flank him.
This move left Zhou Dongnan in the distance somewhat dumbfounded.
That Luo fellow didn’t follow the rules at all!
This formation clearly targeted his cavalry unit.
As the commanding general of the cavalry unit, Zhao Zhe felt immense pressure.
Just the spearman unit targeting them was enough to make him wary.
Now, with hundreds of archers continuously firing arrows at them, he clearly felt that the enemy was well-prepared.
Faced with such a situation, Zhou Dongnan’s surprise attack tactic this time was undoubtedly a failure, and a complete one at that.
At this moment, Zhao Zhe clearly realized that he had to temporarily withdraw from the battlefield, and he indeed did so.
Luo Ji’s eyes flashed with surprise as he watched the cavalry unit, after circling for a distance, gallop away using their mobility.
The cavalry unit, as a military branch, was difficult to use.
It required careful consideration of both terrain and timing.
When used well, a single cavalry charge could inflict devastating damage on enemy forces.
When used poorly, it would be as useless as before, even having little presence.
Zhou Dongnan’s maneuver was undoubtedly terrible.
While Luo Ji could understand that, given his cautious advance, a surprise attack would have to rely on the cavalry unit leading the charge with its mobility, it was still terrible.
The facts were evident, and he had to admit it.
However, under this premise, the opposing general’s temporary judgment surprised Luo Ji.
What was the most taboo thing after a cavalry unit’s surprise attack failed?
It was to force an attack regardless of the situation!
That was something only rookies would do.
The correct approach was to temporarily disengage from the battlefield using their mobility and seek another opportunity to strike.
Zhao Zhe’s actions were correct.
Luo Ji signaled the spearmen to continue monitoring the cavalry’s movements, then ordered the archer unit to change their attack target and begin counter suppressing Zhou Dongnan’s infantry unit with arrow volleys.
The shift in the situation came too quickly.
The cavalry unit failed to seize an opportunity to strike, which put considerable pressure on Zhou Dongnan.
As thoughts raced through his mind, Zhou Dongnan swung his crescent halberd and roared.
“All troops charge!!”
The battle cries shook the heavens, the enemy’s morale was unexpectedly fierce.
Zhou Dongnan had clearly boosted morale when he shouted, intending to use a first-strike advantage to suppress Luo Ji’s army.
Seeing through the opponent’s objective, Luo Ji appeared exceptionally composed.
His gaze swept over the enemy’s vanguard.
Without needing to look closely, their disorganized formation made him clearly realize the amateurishness of this halberdier unit.
A look of understanding then flashed in his eyes.
“Using forcibly conscripted new recruits as the vanguard? It seems he wants to use them to wear down my soldiers’ stamina.”
“Leader, these halberdiers…”
Zhou Yi, who apparently also realized this, spoke with some hesitation in his tone.
“I know what you want to say.”
Luo Ji glanced indifferently at Zhou Yi, then directly interrupted him.
“The forcibly conscripted civilians are indeed pitiable, but since they are on the battlefield, charging with weapons, they are enemies, do you understand?”
