What we fight for is money and food, equipment, logistics, morale, the bravery of the soldiers, and the strategies of the generals.
When it comes to the actual battlefield, when it's time to show off your troops and engage in battle, strategy becomes insignificant.
Now in Hebei Province, on the battlefield of Song and Liao, it seems that strategy is no longer needed. At least, strategy is no longer so important for the battlefield itself.
In many aspects regarding the outcome of the war, Bei Liao had almost no advantages at this time...
But this battle has to be fought.
Perhaps it can be said that in this battle, Bei Liao was forced to fight this battle.
Since the civil strife in Yelu Yixin, the war in Bei Liao has not stopped. It was precisely because of the civil strife in Yelu Yixin that the Bei Liao court felt that some forces needed to be weakened. Therefore, when they knew that there would be a war at the beginning, Bei Liao
He did not choose to negotiate with the Song Dynasty.
It is precisely because of this that the elite main force of the Northern Liao Dynasty did not invest much energy in quelling the civil strife and fighting against Yelu Yixin's rebels. They were always on guard against the Song Dynasty...
However, the Song State's troop formation this time made Beiliao's team particularly uncomfortable...
Zhao Xi's strategic planning is still greatly influenced by later generations. Battles in the cold weapon era basically involved both sides concentrating their combat power in one place, and the victory or defeat at a certain point determined the final outcome of the entire battle.
In earlier times, the outcome of a war was even determined by one-on-one battles between generals.
Even now, when the two sides fight, they basically determine a certain area as the battlefield. For example, in the Battle of Hedong and the Battle of Haoshuichuan, a specific area was used as the battlefield, and the outcome was determined by the outcome.
However, Zhao Xi is a later generation and prefers large-scale strategic arrangements. If hundreds of thousands or even millions of people are concentrated in the Xiongzhou and Yizhou areas... such a battle, Zhao Xi's mind
No idea.
Unexpectedly, it was precisely because of this deployment that Beiliao's cavalry advantage was completely lost. Coupled with the fatigue of the horses and the untimely logistics supplies, these objective problems could not be changed by the king's personal expedition.
The civil servants and generals of Bei Liao are all aware of the current situation in Bei Liao...
The Song Dynasty now no longer needs to rely on the number of infantry to resist the Northern Liao cavalry, and does not need to use the original military formation to resist the cavalry. The sturdiness, mobility, large-scale destructive power of firearms, long-range and medium-range crushing capabilities of the chariot
The advantage is that the original situation of tens of thousands of people carrying thousands of cavalry has turned into a situation where fewer can fight against many, or even evenly.
There is a camp every thirty miles, and all the cavalry and chariot troops coordinate in equal numbers, making almost the entire border defense line of Hebei Road airtight...
Bei Liao's original approach of relying on the mobility of cavalry to rid the Song Dynasty of defense in the Hebei Plain was almost useless now...
At the same time, the Song Dynasty's balanced deployment of troops across the board forced Northern Liao to deploy troops accordingly. However, Northern Liao was not an absolute unified dynasty, which led to many complaints from all parties.
This was really not intentional by Zhao Xi, it was purely an unintentional result...
The Northern Liao king's personal expedition improved morale, but it really had little effect.
The Song Dynasty is different. How should I put it? Now the soldiers of the Song Dynasty are basically brought by the old guard camp and the guards. In other words, the soldiers of the Song Dynasty are basically disciples of Zhao Xi.
Not to mention Zhao Xi's reforms in the military system, not to mention the improvement of the status of generals, just looking at the current situation of the Song Dynasty subjugating surrounding countries, the improvement of the Song Dynasty's military strength all started from the first southern expedition led by Zhao Xi.
The first Southern Expedition, the Battle of Haoshuichuan, the Battle of Hedong, and the annihilation of Xixia, all the battles made the entire Song army have a blind worship of Zhao Xi.
This time, it was the officials who personally conquered... The entire morale of the Song Dynasty was completely soaring.
When the officials inspected the vehicles passing by, they heard a uniform and thunderous roar, which made everyone who visited feel excited.
In fact, Zhao Xi really didn't do anything. During the personal expedition, Zhao Xi said that the personal expedition was just a formality, and everything was fought according to the established strategy... So, he just strolled along the entire defense line in a carriage.
lock up······
"Officials, I haven't been in contact with the military for a long time. I am not complimenting the officials. Whether it is recorded or witnessed, I believe that there is no dynasty in the world today that can defeat the Song Dynasty's military! I would like to congratulate your majesty, Wen Yanbo!"
"Years ago, I took the lead in countering Wang Ze's rebellion. At that time, the imperial troops from Hebei Province and Jingdong Province came, but they were unable to do anything about the mob. If the Song Dynasty had such an army at that time, I would only need three to five thousand soldiers.
That rebellion can be quelled..."
Wen Yanbo accompanied the officials on their inspection tour. The shock was astonishing and convinced him. He really saw the changes in the Song Dynasty army, which were really different...
"Officials, I think that the imperial court should start preparing officials for the twelve states of Yanyun!"
This is really not a compliment. This is Wang Anshi's first review of the team in his life. After truly seeing the current combat power of the Song Dynasty, he no longer has any worries about the outcome of this battle. He even understands why Zhang Dun's hawkish style...
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With such a team as the backing, this is the courage of the imperial court!
"I won't worry about this kind of thing. This is the responsibility of the cabinet. However, I would like to make a suggestion. Anyone who takes office in the newly recovered state capital after the war can have a salary increase of 30% compared to the original state capital."
"The damage caused by a war is immeasurable. From Dingkou to people's livelihood, everything needs to be restored. Those who have the courage to come to the devastated land to serve as officials will be generously rewarded by the court. This edict lasts for five years...
"
After inspecting the entire front, Zhao Xi was completely relieved.
After a hundred years of obsession, decades of cultivating strategies, and three years of planning, we finally had the strength to defeat Northern Liao.
After the review, Zhao Xi also felt that the court could consider the aftermath of the war...
There won't be any surprises in this battle.
Of course, this is not a conclusion based solely on the impression of the review, but a comprehensive consideration of all factors such as the strength, armaments, morale, logistics, and intelligence collection of both sides.
conclusions drawn from the assessment.
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The entire Hebei Road is a battlefield. There is no main force or partial divisions, no support and main attack. It is just a balanced advance across the board...
Even with such an arrangement, since the king personally marched, he still had to display the king's flag and display the king's guard of honor. The same was true for Northern Liao...