I summoned all the famous generals of history in another world.

Chapter 746: To subdue cavalry with infantry, one must mention "the crescent moon"!

"The Nightshade Army has come from afar, and their supply lines are stretched thin, which is their weakness. However, we cannot ignore their powerful and highly mobile cavalry. If we were to engage them head-on, we would likely suffer heavy losses. Furthermore, our primary objective now is to overthrow the dynasty, not to wear down the Nightshade Army and let others reap the benefits."

Liu Xiu also thought of this point, raised an eyebrow, and slowly analyzed.

Liu Bang, sitting at the head of the table, understood immediately, his eyes flashing: "That's right. We can't let the Nightshade Army become a stumbling block for us, but we also can't easily make enemies."

"We'll first send an elite force to probe their strength and find out their capabilities. If the Night Fury army is indeed unstoppable, we might consider..."

He paused deliberately at this point, his gaze sweeping over the two of them with a meaningful look.

"Taking a step back to advance is not necessarily a bad thing. If the Night Fury cavalry is indeed as unstoppable as rumored, we may be able to cooperate with them to overthrow the Great Ling Dynasty."

"Rather than making them our enemies, we should make them our allies, at least for this stage."

Liu Xiu stood up, walked to the window, looked at the vast land outside the window that had been ravaged by war, and slowly said.

"The risks do exist, but they are not uncontrollable. If we really accept the Night Fury Army into the Great Ling Dynasty, we can put forward conditions in advance, such as dividing up spheres of influence."

"Alternatively, we can secretly observe the Night Fury's movements, surround them first, and take immediate action if we discover any disloyalty among them."

A ruthless glint flashed in Liu Yu's eyes as he echoed the words.

"It's feasible, but we must proceed with caution. We must ensure that we maintain a dominant position in the cooperation and not let the Night Fury lead us by the nose."

Liu Xiu lowered his head and thought for a while before finally nodding.

"Then it's settled. Ji Nu, you will be in charge of selecting elite troops to test the strength of the Nightshade Army."

Liu Bang finally made the decision and then turned his attention to Liu Yu.

"Rest assured! This time, we will surely crush those Nightshade Iron Cavalry of the Northern Frontier of the Great Qian!"

A glint of fighting spirit flashed in Liu Yu's eyes. He then stood up and strode out of the tent.

...

Several days later, Liu Yu personally led an elite force of his troops to secretly travel along the route that the Nightshade Army might take.

They set up multiple ambush points along the way, both to test the strength of the Nightshade Army and to give them a warning, letting them know that Daling was not a place they could trample on at will.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiu, stationed in the rear, used the Embroidered-Robed Envoys' intelligence network to create an impenetrable net, closely monitoring the movements of the Nightshade Army.

The spies of the Embroidered-Robed Envoy were like omnipresent shadows, silently lurking around the Night Demon Army's camp, capturing every subtle movement of the Night Demon Army and promptly relaying the information back to Liu Xiu.

Finally, thanks to Liu Xiu's meticulous planning and the efficient operation of the Embroidered Uniform Envoy, Liu Yu's army and the vanguard of the Nightshade Army unexpectedly met on a vast plain.

Finally, under the close watch of Liu Xiu's embroidered-robe envoys, Liu Yu's army and Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi, the vanguard of the Night Fiend Army, officially encountered each other!

Because of the intelligence from the Embroidered-Robe Envoy, Liu Yu had already set up a self-created military formation on the Night Fiend Army's inevitable route—the Crescent Moon Formation, a powerful formation that "uses infantry to counter cavalry."

Historically, the conditions under which Liu Yu used the Crescent Moon Formation, which enabled him to defeat the Northern Wei's elite cavalry of about 3 with only about 2000 elite infantry, were somewhat complex, including geographical conditions, weapons, troop types, and troop deployment.

Because Liu Yu's Jin army had control of the water at that time, the river could protect the rear and flanks of the "Crescent Moon Formation" without worrying about being surrounded by the enemy, thanks to the wide-open, flat riverbank.

A good field of vision facilitates the observation of the actions of both sides and timely grasp of the battlefield situation; flat terrain can cause the enemy to lose their terrain advantage, while the Jin army can overlook the battlefield from their tall warships, which is equivalent to occupying the high ground.

Therefore, Liu Yu deployed a hundred chariots in an arc-shaped "crescent moon formation" about a hundred paces from the water, with the riverbanks forming the crescent shape. Each chariot was manned by seven soldiers with staffs, for a total of 700 men.

After setting up the formation, 2000 soldiers were sent ashore to provide support, carrying 100 large crossbows. Each chariot was also equipped with 20 additional soldiers, and shields were placed on the chariot shafts to protect the chariots.

Because the "Crescent Moon Formation" is arc-shaped, from a physics perspective, the arc shape can disperse the force at the point of impact, giving it good impact resistance.

The soldiers in the formation are equipped with weapons such as staffs, crossbows, and spears, making them extremely lethal; at the same time, the soldiers in the formation are positioned with their backs to the water, which can achieve the effect of "putting them in a desperate situation and then surviving".

That's why they faced death to live, and in one battle they broke through the 30,000 elite cavalry of the Northern Wei!

After this battle, the "Crescent Moon Formation" became famous and was talked about by later generations. So much so that whenever the topic of "using infantry to subdue cavalry" came up, the "Crescent Moon Formation" would be mentioned.

However, the Crescent Moon Formation is extremely dependent on terrain. If a mistake is made, there is a risk that enemy cavalry will flank or launch a large-scale attack from the rear.

If the Northern Wei cavalry were to flank Liu Yu from behind, Liu Yu's Crescent Moon Formation would be ineffective.

However, at that time, Tuoba Si on the opposite side ordered Changsun Song and others to rush to the aid of Later Qin, so the Northern Wei cavalry rashly entered without thinking, how could they not be defeated?

Liu Yu capitalized on the enemy's eagerness for quick success, making the formation perfectly timed and achieving this brilliant and astonishing victory.

After that, the person passed away, the situation changed drastically, and the moon was never seen again.

There is no water source where Liu Yu and Zhao Kuangyin's Night Sha Army's vanguard cavalry encountered each other, but who is Liu Yu?

He was not only good at strategic decision-making and campaign command, but also at tactical innovation. He was not only good at commanding infantry and naval operations, but also at commanding coordinated operations of various armies.

The "Crescent Moon Formation" defeating the elite cavalry of the Northern Wei was just a typical example of Liu Yu's command of various armies in coordinated operations.

Even without the advantage of terrain, Liu Yu did not appear flustered; on the contrary, his eyes gleamed with excitement.

This moment is not only a test of the Night Fury army's strength, but also a practical test of their unique military strategy.

With no waterways to rely on, Liu Yu simply looked around and made a plan in his mind. He decided to be flexible and adapt his original "Crescent Moon Formation" to suit the current battlefield environment.

This time, Liu Yu took advantage of the undulating terrain to position his chariots on a slightly raised slope, creating a natural barrier.

He quickly ordered his soldiers to take action, using the terrain to their advantage, with hills and ravines as natural barriers, to build a semi-circular defensive formation.

The chariots were positioned at the front of the formation, and each chariot was connected by strong ropes, forming an arc-shaped defensive line, like a crescent moon, silently awaiting the arrival of the enemy.

At the same time, Liu Yu arranged for seven soldiers holding long staffs to be on standby on each chariot, ready to meet the impending attack.

Behind the chariots were densely packed infantrymen, armed with various weapons such as crossbows, hammers, and spears, forming the main force of the formation.

In addition, Liu Yu specially arranged a small cavalry unit to hide on both sides of the formation. Their mission was to wait for the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's flanks and disrupt their formation.

Don't miss this exciting chapter: Chapter 750: Using infantry to subdue cavalry, the key is to mention "the crescent moon"! (Thanks to the generous 5000 reward from Weiyangz!) The full text is available here. Click to read.