44. So ancient wars needed enough staying power to handle
Compared with Gongsun Zan who went all out to gather more than 30,000 troops, although Yuan Shao did not show the all-or-nothing spirit like Gongsun Zan, he also made careful arrangements.
The rear base of Yuan Shao's army was established in Gonggao City in the south of Hejian County. Based on this city, Yuan Shao's army set up camp and built a large number of fortifications about sixty miles away from Qinghe.
Although the total strength of Yuan Shao's army confronting Gongsun Zan across the river is as high as more than 50,000, Yuan Shao does not believe that his numerical advantage will allow his side to gain a war advantage over Gongsun Zan's army as an attacker in the following war.
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The most important reason lies in the average combat effectiveness of the soldiers.
If we say that the soldiers and horses in Gongsun Zan's hands are mainly ordinary soldiers whose combat effectiveness is above the average level of the regular army of the Han Dynasty, coupled with a small number of elite soldiers and foreign soldiers whose combat effectiveness is almost first-class, as well as a certain number of powerful private soldiers with combat effectiveness in the country.
It is composed of Youzhou's powerful private army with above-average soldiers and Jizhou and Qingzhou's powerful private army whose combat effectiveness is slightly stronger than average.
Then the troops in Yuan Shao's hands were composed of ordinary soldiers whose combat effectiveness was relatively outstanding among the regular armies of the Han Dynasty, coupled with a small number of elite soldiers whose combat effectiveness was almost first-rate, and a large number of Jizhou's powerful private troops with average combat effectiveness.
It sounds like the strength comparison between the two sides is not very different, and it even seems that Yuan Shao's side has a slight advantage. After all, the combat effectiveness of the regular army is the core of the army, and those private armies or tribes often cannot become the decisive force on the battlefield. And even if
Yuan Shaojun's private army cannot compare with Gongsun Zan's side in terms of combat effectiveness, but at least the numerical advantage can make up for it.
But is this really the case?
After many analyses, Yuan Shao and the generals and counselors around him could only come up with an answer that made them smile bitterly - maybe not necessarily.
Although the answer sounds frustrating, it is because the two have cooperated in the crusade against Dong Zhuo. Whether it was on the main battlefield, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan worked together to advance and retreat against the Xiliang army, or in the Hebei battlefield, the Jizhou people and the Youzhou people fought together.
Under the leadership of Tian Feng, they fought against the unpredictable Bingzhou people. It can be said that Yuan Shao and his subordinate Wen Wu were no strangers to the combat effectiveness of Gongsun Zan's army.
Gongsun Zan's troops were mainly composed of cavalry who were good at riding and archery and archers who were good at bows and arrows. Although they did not have light infantry who could fight in formation, their numbers were always small because they played little role in most of the battles in the north.
After all, what the light infantry can do, those sturdy archers in Youzhou can do well even if they are part-time.
It can be said that the situation where the Han people, Wuwan people, Xianbei people and other foreign races in Youzhou mixed with each other not only infected the men of Youzhou with the bravery from the barbarians, but also made the descendants of the Yan Kingdom who were already extremely brave
They became more powerful and brave, and also trained a large number of soldiers who were good at horseback riding and archery.
Although this place is closer to the land of etiquette, and the Yan State, as a descendant of the Zhou royal family, is more refined than the ancestors of the Qin State who were born as barbarians, the men of Youzhou are somewhat less barbaric than the Xiliang Legion.
Hu Feng, but it is also a good place to breed cavalry legions, especially in another dimension, Bingzhou has gradually moved closer to the closed area between two mountains, and it has become the only area where the Han people can obtain powerful cavalry legions.
one.
Whether it is the regular army in Youzhou or the powerful families scattered in the frontier areas, everyone is proud to be good at horseback riding, and everyone will practice archery to prevent enemies who may rush to the dock outside the city wall at any time.
Although Jizhou is not far away from Youzhou, the fertile soil and the existence of barriers in Youzhou have made Jizhou completely divided by the powerful families and common people. There is not enough land for the war horses to display their strength.
The central government also does not hope that this large and important granary will not be able to achieve its due strategic value.
It can be said that if it weren't for the Yellow Turban Rebellion that made the powerful families in Jizhou feel that troubled times were approaching and increased their protective power, they would even stand opposite the powerful powerful people in Youzhou's frontier who often had to face battles of various sizes.
After all, the main force of one side is based on cavalry and horse archers, supplemented by archers who are good at shooting. The light infantry is only there to protect the archers. Against a group of mostly light infantry and archers, the cavalry
The military units only appear on the battlefield as a small number of generals or as a symbol of the rich's status. On this vast plain, this is tantamount to seeking death.
In fact, without the dense water network and careful ambush plan, and most importantly the decisive role of strong generals in small-scale battles, it would have been absolutely impossible for Gongsun Yue's troops to end up with almost their entire army annihilated.
You wouldn't have noticed that the small group of "Yi Cong" sent by Li Shushi, led by Zhao Yun, Zhang Jaw and other powerful generals, were able to escape safely from the enemy's encirclement. Later, they relied on the connections of several Jizhou generals to prevent Yuan Shao from catching them until now.
their traces.
Of course, the combat effectiveness of soldiers is not the entire factor that determines victory or defeat on the battlefield. In fact, if the general of Gongsun Army is an idiot without much ability, then Yuan Shao and his counselors are also confident enough to weaken them through various means.
The opponent's advantage can even turn the opponent's advantage into a fatal disadvantage and ultimately guide the direction of the battlefield.
But the problem is that Gongsun Zan can be regarded as a veteran on the battlefield. He has focused on fighting against the foreign barbarians in the north for twenty years. Although his temper is sometimes too impatient, which is a flaw that can be exploited, his rich combat experience makes a group of counselors unable to
Dare to be sure whether the strategy you set up for this can really make the other party fall into the trap he expected.
Although Yuan Shao has considerable trust in his ability to command wars, he is also not sure that he will be much better than veteran generals such as Gongsun Zan, Li Shushi, and Dong Zhuo. At most, there is only a slight difference (of course Yuan Shao is ahead).
What worries Yuan Shao and his advisers even more is the influence of the weather.
Although the current temperature in Jizhou is not at an unbearable level for Jizhou soldiers, because Dahan has been affected by "global climate cooling" in recent years, winters have become colder year by year. If it were not for the continuous transmission from Bingzhou
With the introduction of these heating methods, the number of people who freeze to death due to severe cold every winter will probably increase by 20 to 30%.
Moreover, fighting is different from life. Compared with Youzhou soldiers who often encounter fighting in harsh weather, Jizhou's powerful private soldiers really lack experience in this area. They can't see much in low-intensity wars. Once the war is over,
After a month or two of stalemate, the weather entered the coldest month of winter. Under the severe cold, Yuan Shaojun was afraid that he would shrink back and "pack his bags and wait for next year."
After such analysis, among the five elements of war proposed by Sun Tzu: "Tao, heaven, earth, generals, and law", Yuan Shao believed that he only had an absolute advantage in the Tao, and that the generals and laws were balanced, and that heaven and earth would change over time.
As time goes by, it gradually turns into a disadvantage. It seems that our own side has a slight advantage, but as the attacking side, the victory that this advantage can convert has to be discounted.
It can be said that although Yuan Shao's troops are 1.5 times as many as Gongsun Zan's army, on the vast Jizhou Plain, the riverbed has been gradually exposed during the dry season, and the river water is no longer enough to hinder the galloping of Gongsun Zan's army, so Yuan Shao can
The army took the initiative to launch an attack on Gongsun Zan's army and waited for work in an area that the opponent was already familiar with. Yuan Shao thought about it and felt that this was a way to die.
However, if the offensive and defensive forces are different, then Yuan Shao feels that his chances of winning will be much better.
Not only because as the defensive side, you can wait for work and make some unexpected arrangements for the opponent in a familiar environment, but the most important thing is that Yuan Shao also has his own ace in hand - the powerful Jizhou Army.
If Gongsun Zan's army had not suffered greater losses than Yuan Shao's army because of his participation in the battle against Dong, and if Yuan Shao had not had such a trump card in his hand, perhaps Yuan Shao would have considered using some other methods to deal with Gongsun Zan instead of everything like this
The action revolves around face-to-face collisions.
Although the cavalry from Youzhou are slightly better than the Qiang people from the northwest in terms of mounted archery, and they are more willing than the Qiang people to use this unique and terrifying weapon of the cavalry, they cannot escape the laws of cavalry warfare after all.
As Yuan Shaojun's most important trump card, the Jizhou Army was an expert at dealing with cavalry.
After all, in the past few years in the northwest, under the guidance of the famous general Huangfu Song, and under the harsh environment, those armies that were originally just county soldiers or stronger private armies in Jizhou transformed into a military force under the temper of blood and fire.
The most important thing about the powerful troops was in the battle with the Qiang people. Under the guidance of the veterans, they mastered a lot of ways to fight against the cavalry.
Perhaps the cavalry still has the strategic initiative in the field, but if excellent commanders and smart strategists can reduce or even concentrate these advantages of the cavalry in a certain part through various methods, then the Jizhou Army will have enough confidence to win in the field.
In order to defeat those troops who are often arrogant and enjoy certain "privileges" in the military.
It sounds very exciting, but...
Unfortunately, there were only about ten thousand soldiers under Yuan Shao's command who had such experience, and this number included those who originally belonged to Han Fu and later followed his generals and then switched to Yuan Shao.
After all, after a tragic battle against Dong, Dong Zhuo's Xiliang army was definitely weakened. Even the coalition forces were seriously damaged in the final battle outside Luoyang. Although Yuan Shao avoided fighting most of the time to protect himself,
In that battle, facing the frontal assault of the Flying Bear Army led by Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao still paid a heavy price, especially for the only Jizhou elite in his hand that could withstand the Xiliang cavalry head-on.
Even if the army is expanded after returning to Jizhou, the new recruits who have not experienced many war tests are obviously unable to compare with the veterans who have survived after hundreds of battles. The gap in experience (in various senses) is almost difficult to make up.
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In fact, the problems caused by this kind of mixing have been exposed in the northern battle between Yuan Tan and Liu Bei - facing the elite cavalry led by Zhang Fei and centered on the Yanzhao rangers whom he had befriended in the past.
During the surprise attack, the more than 10,000 new troops expanded with 3,000 Jizhou elites as the core were overwhelmed by the attack, which directly led to the defeat of the northern front.
Therefore, how to use the more than 7,000 Jizhou elites in hand also tests the ability of Yuan Shaojun's decision-making group.
"In this way, our most important thing now is to lure Gongsun Zan out and make him believe that he has enough possibility to defeat us. This battle is related to our life and death. You are all talented
Masters of virtue, the key to how to win this battle lies with you. Please don’t be stingy with your wisdom and help Shao defeat the powerful enemy.”
At this time, Yuan Shao was not only at the peak of his physical function, but also although he had suffered a lot of setbacks, he was generally making progress. Therefore, he was not only high-spirited and full of energy, but also had a youthful atmosphere and endless energy that could attract anyone's attention.
At the same time, a certain majesty and self-confidence that later generations nicknamed the "bastard spirit" gradually formed in the body.
This kind of aura is naturally not the god-level skill in those primary-stage novels that can make men bow to their heads and women recommend themselves as pillows, but a certain feeling produced by the superior because he can judge certain aspects of the future of the inferior.
This sense of superiority may not be obvious at the beginning, but as time goes by, this feeling will become more and more obvious. The same psychological suggestion will become stronger, and the so-called momentum will become stronger. Of course, the so-called
This is also the reason for "lost in power".
Although it is true that Yuan Shao cannot exercise the right to kill his subordinates for no reason, but if there are just one or two blind guys, Yuan Shao can completely decide the life and death of the opponent, and even the rise and fall of his family. So almost every time
All his subordinates were in awe of this power, and naturally they were in awe of Yuan Shao who held this power.
However, the same rice feeds all kinds of people, and there are always some special guys who will ignore this "majesty".
"My lord, I think that before discussing how to defeat Gongsun Zan, I should first review your recent negligence!"
"IOO@#￥※XX※￥#@......"
At this time, Yuan Shao could not come to the stage but had nothing to say. He could only pinch his nose and admit it. Except for Tian Feng Yuanhao, whose status in the Jizhou army could be said to be lower than that of one person and higher than ten thousand people, there is indeed no one else.
.
As for Yuan Shao, it felt bad to be contradicted by Tian Feng in front of his subordinates. Although he knew that Tian Feng's words were to remind him, couldn't he just talk about this kind of thing in private? Or was he afraid that he would not accept it, so he had to do it in front of his subordinates?
He was forcing him like this in front of everyone, but Yuan Shao felt that he had respect for him before, and he also considered his opinions and suggestions...
Fortunately, Yuan Shao understands Tian Feng's temper, so he doesn't think that the other party does such a thing for the sake of publicity or his own selfish interests. In this environment where we need to work together to fight the enemy, Yuan Shao can tolerate it.
Gotta come down.
only……
"Now our main goal is to deal with Gongsun Zan! We have spent too much time and energy on this matter. Not only did Gongsun's army do a lot of damage to Hejian and Bohai, but we also had to separate Wei County to the west.
That ferocious wolf that can’t get enough to eat!”
Xu You's words speak out what Yuan Shao feels. Of course, Xu You also has his own selfish motives. After all, although both parties have devoted their main energy to fighting the enemy for the sake of the common enemy, it is also okay to find opportunities to stab each other with a sentence or two.
Fun is not.
Moreover, such a level of speech can actually be regarded as a disguised step down for the other party. After a few words of fighting between each other, Yuan Shao will mediate the situation. Not only will the leaders of both factions have face, but Yuan Shao's own face can also be guaranteed.
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From this point of view, Xu You is not incompetent in life, he knows how to advance and retreat...that's strange.
If you are an ordinary smart person, there is no problem with this method, but as an old enemy who has been fighting for several months, how could Xu You not understand Tian Feng's temper? Such words may be a step to others, but not to Tian Feng.
In other words, it just adds fuel to the fire.
The result can only be...
"Hmph! You know how to waste time! If you hadn't acted in a hurry this time and failed to take all aspects into consideration, how could you have faced the current situation of being attacked from both sides? What was the reason why Wei Jun was thrown out?
Don’t you, Xu Ziyuan, not know clearly?”
If a straight-shooter like Tian Feng follows his temper, he might just vent his anger for a while and then be done with it. But once someone confronts him, Tian Feng, who has enough firepower, will definitely stay with him until the end. After all, if we talk about Yuan Shao
As the leader of the alliance, he dominates the ten numbers
The overlord of a party with tens of thousands of households living and dying has gradually revealed the legendary "bastard spirit". As Yuan Shao's first subordinate, Tian Feng was in charge of military and political affairs, even after leading an army for such a long time.
His straightforward temper.
Well, that sounds nice, but it doesn't sound nice. It can be considered "arrogant" to a certain extent.
This is not to say that Tian Feng is not loyal to Yuan Shao, but that Tian Feng, who used to be more particular about methods and methods, is now somewhat "simple and crude" in his actions and speech, which not only makes the "enemy" furious, but also makes his own people somewhat unable to stand up.
Therefore, unknowingly, even if Tian Feng's virtues, wisdom and political strategies are the best choice, it can be said that he is extremely gentlemanly, but the people around him have gradually opened a little distance from him.
, which is quite consistent with the saying that "the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water".
This situation is not a bad thing for a true gentleman, but for a faction leader, it is really not a good thing.
In this way, the original combat meeting against Gongsun's army broke up unhappily because of the furious Tian Feng, and the strategy to meet the enemy that was supposed to be made immediately had to be postponed. This was obviously not good news for Yuan Shaojun.
As night fell, Gonggao City seemed very peaceful except for the sounds of watchmen passing by from time to time. After all, even though Gongsun Zan's army was stationed near Dongguang City not far away, he wanted to let the 30,000-strong army pass through.
Yuan Shaojun set up numerous scouts and secret sentries to reach here, but it was an impossible task.
However, this does not mean that the city is really completely peaceful.
At a small side gate next to the north gate of Gonggao City, a war horse left quietly. Judging from the dull sound when the war horse passed by and the sound was obviously not as loud as usual, the hooves of the war horse should have been struck by
What is wrapped up?
At almost the same moment, a war horse also left a side gate of the south gate of Gonggao City. Judging from the sound, the hoofs of this war horse were also wrapped up, and they merged into the city in just a few breaths.
In the night.
"Gongren, I didn't expect that there would be an unexpected surprise this time. You have served as the Ying Tao Chief and are familiar with the Julu area. I will leave it to you this time. The people there are strong because of the Yellow Turban Army, so you
You must be careful."
In response to Yuan Shao's instructions, the fat middle-aged man standing behind him only bowed deeply and did not say any heroic words. Behind the middle-aged man stood Tian Feng, Xu
You and Feng Ji, from their calm faces, you can't see any trace of the fact that they had fought a big battle during the day.
The wind at night is getting colder and colder.
Under the flags blown by the fierce north wind, there are tens of thousands of soldiers gearing up for a battle.