Chapter seven hundred and eighty seventh west expedition
In the Western Region, at the newly built martial arts arena outside Loulan City, 250,000 troops from the Western Qin Dynasty were lined up one after another. The wind and sand they stirred up were flying all over the sky, covering the sky and blocking out the sun.
Han Xin, the commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition, stood on a high platform, looking at the army with a serious face, and his scarlet cloak behind him rustled in the wind.
After a while, the wind and sand gradually subsided, the soldiers stared ahead with expressionless faces, and the entire martial arts arena fell into a deathly silence.
The twenty-five captains standing at the front of the queue all moved forward, knelt down on one knee facing Han Xin, and said loudly: "The army has been assembled, please command the troops."
Han Xin nodded slightly and ordered the commander beside him: "Blow the drum and let the flag commander come in and order the troops."
The ordering soldier immediately shouted loudly: "The commander-in-chief has an order, beat the drum, and the flag commander will come in and order the troops."
Dozens of drummers standing in front of the big drum raised their sticks almost at the same time and hit the drum head hard.
The sound of "rumbling" drums sounded in the open field and spread in all directions.
Hundreds of flag commanders on standby, holding rosters, rushed to each queue of the army like wolves and tigers, and counted them carefully and quickly.
Some people even want to finish counting them in one go.
Otherwise, the flag commander who is the first to complete the count and have the correct number will receive a reward.
In terms of military management, Han Xin continued the fine tradition of the Sirius Army very well, rewarding the superior and punishing the inferior.
The reason why Lin Ze and Han Xin won the hearts of the military was largely because of the clear distinction between rewards and punishments that was implemented into their bones.
A quarter of an hour later, the flag commanders rushed back one after another and reported the counted numbers to the military secretary's office.
After the clerk completed the statistics, he submitted the results to Han Xin.
Two hundred and fifty thousand, one hundred and twenty-eight people.
Han Xin was very satisfied with the result because there was no shortage of money.
As a general, the most taboo thing is not knowing the general's soldiers, and the general not knowing the soldiers.
Counting the number of soldiers before going on an expedition is something a qualified commander must do.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be unfair if the generals under his command were severely underpaid and therefore seriously overestimated their own strength, resulting in a huge defeat?
"All the soldiers listened to the order and camped on the spot, waiting for Prime Minister Chen Ping to prepare the supplies and set off at any time."
Han Xin used the power of his master and said in a voice that could be heard by the entire army.
The twenty-five captains took the lead in answering: "No."
After explaining the matter, Han Xin immediately entered the city and went to find Lin Ze.
…
At the Loulan Palace, Han Xin saluted Lin Ze and said, "My lord, the 250,000 troops scattered in different places in the Western Region have gathered outside the city today and can set off at any time."
Lin Ze smiled slightly when he heard this and said: "I just want to talk to you about the Western Expedition. Come, bring a chair for the Taiwei."
After Han Xin sat down, Lin Zefang continued: "In this Western Expedition, you will face the Byzantine Dynasty, which has tens of millions of people and nearly a million troops, and is committing an act of annihilation. Have you ever thought about what to do?
How to do it?”
When Han Xin heard this, he thought for a while and said, "There is a saying in the art of war that all warriors must use the right combination to win by surprise."
"If the enemy is strong, cut off its wings; if the enemy is weak, strike it with the force of thunder."
"There is also a saying that if you make a big effort, then it will weaken again, and it will be exhausted three times. Our army has to fight long distances and win consecutive battles in order to frighten the enemy. The longer the battle goes on, the easier it will be."
"But if there is a defeat and morale declines, one will wax and wane, and the situation will become critical."
Lin Ze smiled when he heard this. When it comes to the art of war alone, Han Xin is indeed superb. There is not much to say.
Seeing this, Han Xin bowed his hands and said, "Please give me your advice, my lord."
In fact, Lin Ze had already thought about what aspects to pay attention to in the Western Expedition to Byzantium.
So, Lin Ze said calmly: "Does the Lieutenant know how to use barbarians to control barbarians?"
Han Xin was stunned when he heard this. There seemed to be a hint of inspiration in his mind, but he couldn't catch it. He quickly asked: "My lord, can you explain in detail, what is the meaning of using barbarians to control barbarians?"
Lin Ze smiled and said: "There are many nobles in the Byzantine dynasty, just like the vassal states of the Great Zhou Dynasty in the past. Although they obey the orders of the Byzantine emperor, they are not monolithic inside."
"After capturing a place, the Taiwei can send people to persuade the down-and-out nobles in the place to surrender, and use them to induce them to organize an army to fight for the Western Qin Dynasty."
Lin Ze's method is not unusual at all. There are many such examples in previous lives. For example, the British adopted this method when they colonized India.
Even more famous are the methods used by island countries to invade China.
According to some statistics, apart from the Kwantung Army, the number of Japanese troops that actually invaded China was only a few hundred thousand, while the puppet troops numbered in the millions.
It should be noted that Han Xin only brought an army of 250,000 to conquer Byzantium. Even if Han Xin had an army of gods, no matter how good he was at fighting, there would still be a lot of casualties.
If we really want to capture it in earnest, with 250,000, whether we can survive even half of it is a question.
Moreover, conquering it does not mean that it can be successfully occupied. As an invader, the Western Qin army will inevitably withstand the counterattack of the Byzantine minor nobles and civilians.
Faced with this situation, developing a "puppet army" is almost the best choice, bar none.
Some people even use far better methods to deal with their compatriots than to deal with foreign enemies.
Lin Ze spent half an hour telling Han Xin everything from how to develop the "puppet army" to how to use the "puppet army".
Han Xin was already smarter than others, but Lin Ze almost always mastered it while teaching him, but lacked practice.
Finally, Han Xin said: "My lord, this plan is very clever, but there is a flaw that will greatly undermine this plan. I hope your lord will know it."
Lin Ze looked surprised and asked, "I wonder what the flaw is?"
Han Xin smiled bitterly and said: "Our army doesn't know much about the Byzantine Dynasty, how can we find a group of lonely nobles?"
Lin Ze smiled hoarsely and said: "I have been prepared for this for a long time, and it is double."
"Someone, go and ask Wu Qingchi to come over."
Then a young man, led by the guards, came to the main hall and saluted Lin Ze and Han Xin respectively: "Meet the Lord of Western Qin and the Taiwei."
Lin Ze didn't care about the young man's name, but pointed at the young man and introduced to Han Xin: "Wu Qingchi, the eldest son of the current head of the Wushi family, the Wushi caravan has been traveling through the Western Regions all year round, doing business with the nobles of the Byzantine Dynasty, and the Byzantine Dynasty has
I know the eastern provinces like the back of my hand."
"Half a year ago, I specially told Wushi to carefully pay attention to the down-and-out nobles in the eastern provinces who were glorious in their early years and form a list."
"In this western expedition, someone from Wushi will go with you to help you rebel against the down-and-out nobles, and raise troops to help you attack the city and seize territory."
After Lin Ze finished speaking, Wu Qingchi raised his hand to Han Xin and said, "Please take good care of me, Lieutenant Commander."
Han Xin looked excited: "This is very good. If my lord's plan is successful, I will be sure to minimize the casualties of the men of the Western Qin Dynasty."
Lin Ze waved his hand indifferently and continued to order the guards: "Go and bring those semen over."
Then five men with colored eyes came to the main hall holding magic wands, bowed and saluted Lin Ze: "Meet the great Eastern demigod."
In the Byzantine Dynasty, the master realm was called the holy realm, the soul realm was called the demigod, and the heavenly and human realm was called the divine realm.
These five people did not know that Lin Ze was in the heavenly realm, and because his cultivation level was too low, they could not see Lin Ze's true cultivation level. They only heard that Lin Ze was a demigod, hence his name.
Lin Ze was too lazy to tell them his true cultivation level. He pointed directly at the leader and said to Han Xin: "Mozaha, a disciple of the Byzantine Dharma Saint Modolf."
"A few years ago, the Byzantine Dynasty invaded the Western Regions. Gu personally led his troops to quell the rebellion and killed two of the opponent's masters. Modolf was the master that Gu captured back then."
"Later, Gu kept his promise and released Modoof. After this man returned, he was ostracized due to his defeat and often complained to Gu."
"Two months ago, Gu sent people to find him and told him that Gu was going to conquer the West. He said that even he and thousands of disciples could cooperate. Once the mission was accomplished, he would just share the benefits."
"Lieutenant, this is Gu's second-hand preparation for you, what do you think?"
Han Xin looked at Wu Qingchi, then at Mo Zaha, bowed his hands and said, "I will live up to my lord's high expectations."