Unexpectedly, not long after Wu Shigong left Qianhusuo Fortress, the county magistrate Yu Zilian also brought the county officials and gentry to the road where Wu Shigong and others were walking to see them off.
Although Wu Shigong and Yu Zilian had some personal grudges, the two of them still made a good show off this time. And the gentry in the county also gave them a lot of gifts.
This send-off delayed Wu Shigong and the others some time. Seeing that it was impossible to reach Guide Fucheng before night, Wu Shigong asked the soldiers to camp half way for the night and wait until the next morning before rushing on.
After making arrangements to set up camp, Wu Shigong called all the leading officers into the tent and began to discuss military affairs.
Because this expedition was in a hurry, Wu Shigong did not have detailed exchanges with most of the officers. And these officers only knew that they were going to Qinwang this time, and they did not know Wu Shigong's thoughts at all. Therefore, during this military affairs discussion, Wu Shigong
You must explain your thoughts thoroughly to these close officers and let them act completely according to your thoughts.
Wu Shigong first briefly introduced the situation of the Tatars entering the customs to these officers. Because Wu Shigong only heard about it through hearsay during discussions with Zhao Ming, he could only give a rough introduction.
But then, Wu Shigong analyzed the possible actions of the Tatars in detail.
The first is: the Tatars are still the same as before, they just come to the inland to plunder. After they have eaten and drank enough, the Tatar army will return in the spring of next year and will leave the customs.
Wu Shigong analyzed that if this were the case, his army's actions would be based on the principle of not seeking merit, but seeking no faults.
After all, Wu Shigong's army was very small in number. Including the soldiers from other Qianhusuo, there were only about 2,000 soldiers at best. As for the weapons, equipment and training level, apart from Wu Shigong's own soldiers, there is no need to mention the other soldiers.
.
And now in the thinking of Wu Shigong and these officers, they also believe that even in Wu Shigong's Qianhu Station, the combat effectiveness of those soldiers who have undergone rigorous military training for more than a year is much different from that of the Tatars.
In addition to the fact that Wu Shigong, a soldier from Qianhu Station, basically had no combat experience, the main reason was that Wu Shigong and these officers were greatly misled by the Ming Dynasty's own propaganda.
We already know that in addition to the "famous saying" that was spread to the Ming Dynasty during the Song Dynasty - Jurchens are only ten thousand and invincible, the Liaodong army of the Ming Dynasty, which was in direct contact with the Jin army, also spread many rumors about the Jurchen army.
Here comes some invincible words from Jin Jun.
Except that after the Ming Dynasty army and the Later Jin army were defeated several times, in order to reduce their own responsibilities, the civilian officials and military attachés who led the troops artificially increased the combat effectiveness of the Later Jin army.
Even at this time, the generals in Liaodong, in order to preserve their strength, still refused to send their own soldiers to reconnaissance and strangulation in no-man's land, so they also boasted that the post-Jin army's cavalry and shooting skills were amazing. And for
The statements of these generals depended on the support of the Liaodong generals, and the supervisors also echoed the statements of these generals.
These reports from the front line in Liaodong convinced the emperor and ministers in the capital who were military laymen. Even the civil servants and military officers in the mainland, including Wu Shigong, also believed this. Even
, the myth of the nomadic people’s incomparable power in riding and shooting has even spread to modern times.
But they didn't even think about it. During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's army drove the Xiongnu army to Hungary. At that time, they had never seen anything remarkable about the cavalry and archery of the Xiongnu army.
Here, the author would like to correct a statement: it is difficult for farming peoples to gain an advantageous position in battles with nomadic peoples.
In fact, the situation in reality is exactly the opposite of this statement. Because the farming people have relatively strong capabilities in logistical support, they can have an absolute advantage in the confrontation with the nomadic people. Even without firearms, in the face of complete cold weapons
So is the era.
But why in ancient history, there was basically a situation where the nomads took the initiative to attack, while the farming peoples passively defended? That is mainly because the nomads were too poor. Even if the farming people defeated the nomads, they would not be able to rob them.
What kind of trophies will be gained? Therefore, the farming people have no motivation to fight the nomads.
So in the end, our ancient imperial courts were willing to spend a lot of money to build the Great Wall, rather than take the initiative to attack the nomads on the grasslands. Because they calculated that attacking would be more than worth the gain.
At this point, you may think that the author is talking nonsense, so let’s take a look at the tactics used by farming people to deal with nomads.
In fact, the tactics used by farming people to deal with nomads are very simple. You must know that the actions of nomads are regular. They basically graze in spring and summer, because at this time, the cattle and sheep have lost weight after a winter.
They are very powerful, so they need to be carefully raised.
In autumn and winter, when the hay for cattle and sheep for the winter was ready, these poor herdsmen gathered together and raided the border.
In view of this characteristic of the nomadic people, as long as the farming people send cavalry to the areas where cattle and sheep are grazing on the grasslands in spring and summer. Because the herdsmen at this time are grazing separately, these herdsmen basically cannot assemble a team to resist these attacks.
cavalry.
As for how to find grazing places on the vast grassland, the problem is even simpler. On the grassland, around rivers and lakes, the grass must be very lush. In addition, cattle and sheep also need a lot of drinking water, so as long as you follow the grassland
You can easily find grazing cattle and sheep by searching in rivers and lakes.
The main combat purpose of those cavalry is not to eliminate many nomadic armies. They just need to kill as many cattle and sheep as possible and throw the carcasses of these cattle and sheep into rivers and lakes to pollute the water sources.
It can greatly reduce the number of cattle and sheep needed by nomads for winter.
In autumn and winter, the hungry nomads are also forced to invade the border areas and plunder. At this time, the farming people only need to clear the fields in the border areas, build strong cities for protection, and use mobile armies to reinforce each other between the cities.
.In this way, a large number of nomadic people’s effective forces can be killed.
As long as this method of warfare persists for five to ten years, the nomadic people will definitely be severely weakened. At that time, the farming people only need to use materials and money to buy off some of the nomadic people who have divided themselves, and then use diplomatic means to control the barbarians.
It can eliminate the threat of nomadic people to agricultural people.
This method of warfare was exactly what was used against the nomads in the north during the prosperous Tang and early Ming dynasties.
However, it should be emphasized here that this method of warfare was a serious test of national strength in ancient farming societies with relatively low productivity levels. Therefore, this method of warfare could only be used in the prosperity of each dynasty in ancient times.
Used during the semester.
But if you encounter an emperor who is very happy with his achievements, such as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, if he only adopts military attacks on the nomads instead of diplomatic methods, then even if the champion Hou Huo goes away from illness and is granted the title of langjuxu in the end, it is no wonder that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ended up
For the sake of the emptiness of the national treasury, I had to issue an edict to punish myself.
Based on the consideration that the Hou Jin army was very powerful, Wu Shigong required that his army must be united and must not be divided into battles to prevent them from being defeated individually.
He also asked his troops not to pursue the speed of marching during the march. When setting up camp, they should dig deep trenches and build walls. They also sent more wandering and hidden sentries to cooperate with the open sentries to prevent the Jin army from hijacking the camp.
Wu Shigong thought about it from his perspective. If the Hou Jin army only went to the interior to plunder, they were also interested in property and would never spend their troops in vain to attack their strong camp.
However, Wu Shigong also proposed to these officers his second guess about the Later Jin Army, which was that the Later Jin Army was going to attack the capital this time. This was also Wu Shigong's previous thought based on the idea that the Later Jin Dynasty would eventually replace the Ming Dynasty and establish the Qing Dynasty.
Because at this time, Wu Shigong did not know whether the entry of the Hou Jin Army this time was the same as the time in the previous life when Wu Sangui released Shanhaiguan and released the Jin Army.
Therefore, Wu Shigong also asked these officers to be mentally prepared. If the capital was in emergency, Wu Shigong would definitely lead his King Qin's army to the capital at any cost. At that time, Wu Shigong would also do everything possible to bring down the members of the Xue family and the Wu family.
, rescued as many as possible.
None of these officers had any objections to Wu Shigong's request, because Wu Shigong's analysis was indeed very reasonable. Besides, most of the officers were from the capital, and their families were also in the capital. In case the capital was threatened,
, to rescue the capital is equivalent to rescuing their families.
At the end of the discussion, Wu Shigong emphasized again: The content of today's discussion must be conveyed to the ears of every soldier in his Qianhu Station, so that they can completely unify their thoughts and actions. However, all soldiers must also
Everyone must do a good job of confidentiality, and the contents of today's discussion must not be spread to the outside world.