There is no need to popularize science from foreign "On War" hundreds of years later. Anyone with a little common sense knows that a strategic decisive victory generally ends with the gains and losses of special strongholds and strategic battles, and the priority of strategic battles is generally much greater than
Gains and losses of strongholds... If you save land and lose people, you will lose both people and land. If you save people and lose land, you will save both people and land. This truth is beyond doubt.
As for the commanders of the Western Army and the Royal Camp Army, although not all of them may be able to say one, two, three, four, as a military commander with many years of experience, who doesn’t understand this truth? Everyone knows.
Understand that once the entire army abandons the city defense circle and begins to move forward, actively seeking a decisive battle, then the outcome will really be decided in one battle.
Therefore, at the end of the day, Zhao Jiu handed over the main tent of the Chinese army to Wu Jie. After he retreated to the rear camp to rest, the officers who came to see him privately kept coming and going. Even those who did not come, they all asked Yang Yizhong to take care of him.
Passed the message.
Zhao Jiu, on the other hand, simply called the officers who asked to see him and those who handed him the letter, and summoned them individually.
Among these people, some are here to persuade the officials not to take risks themselves, some are here to persuade the officials to change their ways, and some are simply here to express their determination... But at this time, no matter who it is, no matter what their intentions, as an official, Zhao Jiu
We must try our best to encourage them and let them focus on the decisive battle.
There is no way, he is not Li Shimin, there is no way he can have much hope in fighting, and this is a rare way for him to play the role of an emperor.
In this way, the exchange lasted until late at night. Almost all the military commanders in the imperial camp came once before giving up. And early the next morning, according to Wu Jie's military order, the imperial camp officers went back to lead the troops. Xi Jinping here in Jingyao
However, the three-pronged army officially began to organize its troops and march northward, trying to advance into Baishui.
There was not much to say on the first day. Wu Jie signed a military order and the army immediately set off to the north. However, it could not be called breaking out of camp because the camp in Jingyao Town would be continued to be used by Zhang Jun, who was forty miles away.
The latter will move the logistics center here at the same time. The troops have only marched twenty miles, and camped again at a parallel position ten miles west of Pucheng, and then calmly waited for the imperial camp soldiers and horses in the surrounding city.
The troops gathered.
And after waiting for another two days, when the whole army gathered and headed north again, the atmosphere was completely different, because from this day on, the Song army would lose the cover of the cities on the left and right wings, exposing the main force in the wilderness, and also
Exposed to the attack range of the Jin Army's cavalry.
Moreover, as the various units of the imperial camp in the surrounding cities were gathered together, the troops became messy and large... To use another word, it was bloated.
In this regard, Wu Jie personally took command and spent most of the day starting from dawn to make unified arrangements for the troops. However, he gave up the formation of a long snake and let Wang De's various parts of the imperial camp line up in front.
Among the Eight-Character Army that followed, the Xisan Road soldiers and horses separated from Xihe Road, Lizhou Road was on the left and right, Qinfeng Road soldiers and horses took the people's supplies and supplies in the middle, and the last two Wei troops and Zhao Guan's imperial squadron were behind to press the formation.
Not only that, the newly appointed Lieutenant Wu also issued an order requiring all ministries to line up their pikemen in front and their crossbowmen at the back when marching, and all their baggage and vehicles to be arranged on the left and right for preparation. He also required all ministries to march.
The cavalry concentrated on the right side to assist Lizhou Road where there were slightly fewer cavalry.
This is a typical marching formation to defend against cavalry surprise attacks.
But to be honest, before this, no one thought that an army of 80,000 to 90,000 people could actually walk out of such a unified marching sequence under unified command...especially the last one, dispatching their most precious cavalry to Lizhou Liu Qi on the road was uniformly used as flank support... This was simply a fantasy for the previous Zhao and Song army.
However, thanks to the fact that Zhao Guanjia was at the end of the formation without saying a word, he actually mobilized the cavalry and laid out the marching sequence.
Of course, this comes at a price... On this day, the entire army set off almost in the evening, and then only marched ten miles before hurriedly settling in a simple camp that the auxiliary soldiers had already set up.
This day's torment is not so much a march as it is a review of the troops!
In fact, this is indeed the case.
Others didn't know it, but Zhao Jiu, who had been silent under Yuwen's banner all day, had woken up from the beginning - he clearly realized that Wu Jiu not only wanted to guard against cavalry raids, but also wanted to strengthen himself Authority, I'm afraid more needs to be clarified about the combat strength and actual number of each department.
As luck would have it, Zhao Guan's family also wanted to know, so he sent Lin Jingmo and Yang Yizhong to lead many Jinshi who were accompanying the Imperial Banzhi to act together. Starting with the Imperial Camp Central Army, which was also filled with many Jinshi accompanying the army, they comprehensively inspected the troops. .
In fact, it was only at this time that the official figured out the true number of his troops in this battle through this method and the unified march sequence created by Wu Jie.
Yes, it is said that there are 100,000 troops here in Kansai, but it is obvious that the quality of each unit is mixed, and the establishment is different. Without gathering together and counting them in person, it is impossible for you to know how many troops you have, and they are all the same. What does it look like.
After Yang Yizhong, Bachelor Xiao Lin and others braved the scorching sun for almost a whole day of hard inspection, before arriving at the scheduled camp ten miles away, they were more or less calculated except for one result that can only be said to be unsatisfactory:
Among them, the Eight-Character Army came with 20,000 soldiers and 19,000, which is almost full... After all, although Wang Yan's tribe was slightly damaged at the foot of Yanling City at the beginning of last year, it has been stationed in Zhengzhou for the next year, and it can also be close to Tokyo. Obtain timely supplements from refugees in Hebei.
But from the perspective of the marching subordinates, the Eight-Character Army also revealed its own problems, that is, it is too personal. Everyone knows that the leader of the Eight-Character Army, Wang Yan, enjoys supreme authority in the army, and this man has always been strict with his subordinates. But he was a little bit petty, so he held the army very tightly.
Therefore, for a long time, there were only two commanders in the Eight-Character Army, Jiao Wentong and Meng De. Last year, Zhao Jiu personally intervened, forcing Wang Yan to promote Liu Ze as commander and Fan Yihong as commander. But even so, this time After setting out for an expedition, he also found a reason to leave Fan Yihong, a well-known man in the world, with thousands of people at Sishui Pass.
According to the "unreliable rumors" reported by Yang Yizhong at that time, Wang Yan seemed to have fallen out with this old and confidant subordinate. He believed that Fan Yihong's direct acceptance of the transfer order from Tokyo was because he wanted to get a higher position, which was regarded as betraying him. And if Zhao Jiu had not I remember wrongly, this should be the third time after Yue Fei and Fu Xuan that this commander, whose ability, loyalty, and determination to fight against gold are unquestionable, fell out with his subordinates.
But no matter what happens, back to the front, Wang Yan's 19,000 troops are all treated as imperial camp central troops, with an armor rate of nearly 50%. Surprisingly, only his central army and three commanders, Jiao Wentong, Meng De and Liu Ze, are divided into three groups.
Just four parts.
Correspondingly speaking, the other large part of the Imperial Army, led by Wang De at the forefront, has gone through several reorganizations and is actually directly controlled by Zhao Jiu, and it appears to be much more capable.
Wang De and below, Zhang Jing, Qiao Zhongfu, Fu Qing, Xin Yongzong, Xin Qizong, Li Qiong... Except for Hu Yantong who was stationed at the Lantian stronghold, there were seven troops in total, Wang De's 4,000 troops, Zhang Jing's 3,000, Xin Yongzong's 2,000, and the rest each
There are 2,500 troops in the army. Excluding some attrition, the number is still about 19,000 soldiers, but the armor rate is over 70%.
In other words, the so-called imperial army of 40,000 soldiers was actually only about 38,000 soldiers.
However, these troops, especially Wang De and other troops, were victorious because they had obtained financial supplies from Southeast, Bashu, and Jingxiang as early as the Nanyang period. They had sufficient military pay and priority in acquiring equipment. They were stationed and trained under the nose of Zhao Guan's family.
, supplies and reorganization are directly controlled by the Zhao Guan family to a large extent. After all, the Guan family does not need to drink the blood of soldiers. He can survive by drinking the blood of the two noble concubines, so these troops are really worth seeing.
In fact, this armor coverage rate of more than 70% is a terrible statistic second only to Yuqian Banzhi, and may only be matched by Yue Fei's department.
No matter what, this force, together with Wang Yan's Hebei Eight-Character Army who had a bloody hatred against the Jin people, the so-called imperial camp army of 38,000 people, was Zhao Jiu's real confidence in this battle! They were undoubtedly the main force.
!He is the so-called righteous army among the miraculous and righteous armies! And he is the righteous among the righteous!
As for the troops of Shaanxi's Xisan Road, that is, the three troops of Xihe Road, Qinfeng Road, and Lizhou Road, of course they can be regarded as regular troops, and unexpectedly, after inspection, Xiao Lin and Yang Yizhong found that they were actually overstaffed...
…Three groups of soldiers and horses, leaving aside the cavalry supported by other departments, actually numbered 34,000 to 5,000.
This is not to say that these people do not drink the blood of soldiers, but that the 'more than 10,000' reported by Zhang Jun at the beginning was 'more than 10,000', and while Zhao Guan's family was waiting in Chang'an, these soldiers and horses were still there
Constantly converging and concentrating.
As for the organization, it was not until this moment that Zhao Jiu realized that according to the organization, there should be 70,000 soldiers in these three groups! But after several defeats, defeats, and internal strife over the past few years, it was only these 35,000 soldiers.
Here it is.
These three groups of soldiers and horses are all in the traditional formation of the Western Army. Below the general officer, the soldiers and horses are all supervised. The number of generals and deputy generals in this group has its own place. It seems complicated and has its own ecology. As for the ability of Zhao Guan's family
Those who had direct contact were only the generals from Liu Xi down, Liu Qi, Zhao Zhe, Murong Wei, Li Yanqi, Zhang Zhong, Qiao Ze and Sun Wo.
So the above troops, plus the two thousand imperial squadrons brought by Zhao Jiu, and the two groups of six thousand back Wei troops handed over to Wu Jie, are the main force of the Song army that is forcing Baishui this time. In total, it is definitely more than eight
All solid troops!
Eighty thousand people, not counting the Huyantong guarding Lantian, not counting the local Jingzhao troops guarding Chang'an and Weibei, plus the so-called "killer" who followed Zhang Jun's logistics at this time, that is, Zhao Jiu dispatched elite troops from various ministries.
A mixed full armor force of 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers was obtained; plus the troops collected by Quduan from Beisan Road, Wu Lin from Jingyuan Road, and Huanqing Road; plus Li Yongqi's troops who were regarded as magic soldiers descended from heaven;
Coupled with the Fangzhou garrison... it is true that the Song army in this battle exceeded 100,000!
And back to the present, regardless of the 20,000 troops distributed in other places on the battlefield, the 80,000 troops now are not just 80,000 troops at all, there are tens of thousands of Guanzhong civilians, from Jingzhao, Huazhou to Yaozhou
, were drafted out early, left their houses, said goodbye to their families, abandoned the fields that were supposed to be taken care of, and either accompanied the army to transport supplies, or accompanied them in civilian clothes with bows and spears, acting as auxiliary soldiers.
There is no need to investigate at all. Zhao Jiu can imagine what it was like when they were recruited. The three officials were separated, the rise and fall of the people were miserable, but what else could be done? At the beginning of the year, Wanyan, the eldest son of Wanyan Lou's family, was still alive.
They once slaughtered a small town called Fushui, which was in Huazhou where the army was at that time.
Of course, putting aside those thoughts, one day later, the army set off again. More than ten thousand troops formed a formation, rolling forward like waves, so vast that it was almost endless. People living among them also naturally
Take an uplifting attitude.
It was not until the afternoon of that day that Zhao Jiu arrived at the scheduled camp location and climbed up a hillside before the entire army set up camp. Only then did he get a glimpse of the entire army for the first time.
"Such troops and horses, in the past, could be falsely claimed as 400,000!" Wu Jie led the generals to accompany Zhao Jiu up a hillside, and then he couldn't help but sigh. "If used properly, where can't you go?"
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly and did not make a comment, but just pointed to an obvious high mountain in the distance and asked casually: "Compared with the south, there are not only plateaus and swamps here, but also several serious hills, but I don't know where they are.
What's your name?"
"Good instructors know that the mountain below us belongs to Yaoshan, which is the largest mountain range on the Weibei plain. It runs northeast and southwest." Liu Xi, who was next to him, rushed to reply. "As for the northeast that the officials refer to,
The hilltop in front of it is called Jinsu Mountain, because it is where the faintly visible remnants of Wulong Mountain are located behind it. The most famous thing about Jinsu Mountain is that the Tailing Mausoleum of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty is right behind Jinsu Mountain!"
Zhao Jiu waited quietly for the other party to finish speaking before he laughed: "I have told you not to call me an official or a minister, otherwise the soldiers will hear it and spread the word. If I am captured by the Lou room, it will be in vain to cover up. I have to call me.
Just call me Deputy Marshal, but you must call me Marshal Liu Taiwei."
Liu Xi quickly apologized.
Zhao Jiu, however, didn't take it seriously and just continued his chat. He looked at the mountains ahead and sighed: "From the Wei River to this point, there is Suyi Town first and Jinsu Mountain next. It can be seen that the land in Weibei is rich and fertile.
Great rivers and mountains.”
Naturally, the people around him rushed to agree.
"Official...deputy commander."
When everyone's words gradually calmed down, Wu Jie hesitated for a moment, and finally pointed his finger to the northeast and continued to tell the military situation seriously. "Yaoshan Mountain stretches for about thirty miles. We have entered Yaoyuan Mountain for several miles now, and Lou Shi is
It is located ten miles northeast of Yao Mountain, and there is a water village, which is thirty miles away from here... If there is no accident, once the Jin army comes to fight, it should be between Yao Mountain and Jinsu Mountain.
It’s a matter of victory and defeat on several plateaus.”
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly, his expression becoming a little more serious.
"Deputy Marshal...Marshal." Hearing this, Liu Xi hesitated for a moment and suddenly interrupted. "I see that there is a large swamp under the plateau over there. It is better to imitate the layout of the Jingyao camp before and set up company camps near the swamp.
Village..."
Zhao Jiu finally took an attitude of interfering with the military. He turned to look at Wu Jie seriously. The meaning was simple - as the commander, you are always aware of the surrounding terrain, and you came to a place less than thirty miles away from the enemy to prepare to establish a stronghold.
This place was probably the main camp before the decisive battle. Didn't the strategy of setting up a stronghold be prepared?
And sure enough, Wu Jie frowned slightly, and immediately faced Liu Xi seriously with his yellow face: "Didn't I give the order for the entire army to seize the high ground along Yao Mountain and quickly establish a stronghold? The auxiliary soldiers and civilians have been ordered to go
There is logging in the mountains, how can we change the strategy of building a stronghold?!"
Zhao Jiu said nothing and went to see Liu Xi again.
Liu Xi hesitated for a moment, but still faced him seriously: "Deputy Marshal, Marshal, I am definitely not disobeying military orders. Our troops have already cut down trees in accordance with military orders... But I really think that in response to the advantage of the Jin Army's cavalry,
The first is Shuize! As for Yao Mountain, although it is only more than thirty miles long, there are steep peaks in the middle that are difficult for the army to pass and are stationed. The so-called setting up a stronghold along the mountain just means setting up a stronghold along the gentle slope in front of the mountain.
And by setting up a stronghold like this, the effectiveness of blocking cavalry may not be as good as the summer water swamp. Instead, we must be careful of the Jinren's fire attack."
This was a bit of a serious and reasonable gesture. In fact, as soon as this statement came out, many people were interested. But when the topic reached this point, Zhao Jiu no longer participated, and instead turned to look at the scenery.
Obviously, this official was still prepared to respect Wu Da's authority unconditionally.
However, Wu Jie knew very well that if he wanted to convince everyone, he could not rely on official prestige again and again. It was best to give a reason. Therefore, he immediately responded:
"What Liu Jinglue said is true. I also think that swamps are more useful against cavalry... But don't forget that in summer, when the water rises, the ditches overflow, and most of the gullies and depressions between the plateaus become swamps, and the Jin Army has tens of thousands of cavalry.
, once a battle is fought, it may not take more than ten miles to spread out. As long as the water swamp is there, no matter whether our army camp is in front of the water swamp or at the foot of the mountain, some of the Jin Army's cavalry will inevitably fall into it. In contrast,
The stronghold is in front of a mountain. Although you have to be careful about setting fires, there is one huge advantage that cannot be compared to setting up a stronghold in front of a swamp..."
Liu Xi glanced at the back of Zhao Guan's head, who was looking down the mountain. He frowned and raised his hands to Wu Jie: "Please give me some advice, Marshal."
"Our army is complex and numerous!" Wu Jie said seriously with that yellow face. "Once the various ministries are at war, I am afraid they will fight independently. At this time, only by occupying high places can we observe the overall battle situation and then adjust the various ministries to respond.
, support! And if, as Liu Jinglue said, we only want to take advantage of the water and camp in front of the water, then if we are attacked and fight separately, even I, the commander, may have to fight against the troops in front of me, and it will be difficult to maneuver.
However, the Jin Army cavalry can rush to the surrounding highlands at any time to watch the battle and make timely adjustments..."
Liu Xi remained silent, and no one from the surrounding generals responded to Liu Xi.
"It's not just that." Wu Jie continued with a straight face, pointing to a piece of white water in the distance. "Liu Jinglue, you and I are both from Kansai, don't you know why this kind of water arises? No
The reason is that water cannot be stored in the Kansai loess plateau, and it is easily clogged with yellow mud, so it cannot flow out. So once it rains heavily in summer, water will overflow from the ditches and flow back into the ravines between the plateaus.
In order to form a puddle... This kind of puddle will swell once it rains heavily, but if it doesn't rain for a few days, it will become a muddy land. If it doesn't rain for a few more days, it will simply dry up... Although there may be some rain in summer,
But do we really want to bet on astronomy? What if it really doesn’t rain for days and the Jin army doesn’t go out to fight for days and just waits for the water to dry up?”
Liu Xi glanced at the back of Zhao Guanjia's head again and could only hold his hands in front of him: "I'm short-sighted."
"It doesn't matter." Wu Jie rarely sneered. "It's all for the country!"
Hearing the end of the wrangling, Zhao Jiu turned around to speak, but at this moment, there was a burst of smoke and dust in the distance in the northeast, which immediately caused the generals on Yao Mountain to become completely solemn, because they did not have to wait to see clearly, everyone Everyone could guess that it was definitely a team of Jin Army cavalry numbering no less than a few thousand, coming from the northeast along Yaoshan Mountain.
The Song army was naturally shocked when they saw the Song army from a distance. However, Liu Qi, who was in charge of the cavalry and was responsible for the protection of the right wing of the army, immediately jumped on his horse and rushed down the hillside to return to the team in person to deal with the incoming Jin army. Many other officers also bid farewell and went down the mountain to prepare for themselves. The subordinates responded in response. For a while, only Zhao Jiu, Wu Jie, Liu Xi, and a few imperial ministers were still looking at the hillside.
And not long after, under the setting sun, everyone on the mountain could see clearly that thousands of horses were galloping towards them. The terrain of the plateau could not hinder them too much. They soon approached the unorganized Dazhai, attracting many Song soldiers, civilians, and auxiliary soldiers. They became panicked. However, when these cavalrymen arrived at the white swamp, they were completely helpless. After several attempts, the large troops were unable to pass smoothly. The few lucky ones who found their way through the swamp were met by a large group of Song troops. Up, it was easy to hunt... With no choice but to go down, this army could only detour to the east, as if they were trying to bypass this summer swamp from the direction of Jinsu Mountain.
However, this unit had not been heading east for a long time. It may have been because they saw that the Lizhou Army, under the command of Liu Qi, had calmly formed a formation on the right wing of the army, which is the east side of the army. The so-called spears in front, crossbows in the back, and cavalry on the left and right They were divided into lines and clearly prepared for battle...but they simply gave up the detour and turned back to the northeast...the smoke was still billowing.
Jin people came and went in a hurry, everyone cheered on the mountain and down the mountain, and the establishment of the stronghold continued to be carried out calmly.
But Wu Jie, the commander-in-chief of the entire army, couldn't help but frown - the Jin army gave up too quickly and arrived too late. It didn't look like they wanted to fight, but like they were testing and fighting in front of someone. The display is average.
"You have seen the terrain and the organization of the army clearly. Do you remember them clearly?"
More than ten miles away, on Jinsu Mountain, Wanyan Loushi, who had been sitting for most of the day, suddenly turned his head, and behind him, there were hundreds of Jin Army officers, fiercely guarding and trying to defeat countless people, but they all stood at attention.
In summer, the vegetation is plentiful, and no one can be seen here for miles down the mountain.
Among them, the leading general was none other than Deputy Commander Wanyan Balisu. Upon hearing this, he immediately stepped forward and nodded.
"How?" Lou Shi asked seriously.
"There are some troubles." Ba Lisu said frankly. "First of all, there is the terrain. One is that the water and swamps are scattered in the center of the battlefield, which naturally hinders the cavalry. The other is that the Song army took the initiative to set up formations on the mountains and commanded them... But that's all. The key point is The Song army was huge in number, several times larger than mine, but it was able to arrange a formation and advance properly. This shows that both the generals and the troops of the Song army are not comparable to those of the past. Of course, there are also bad soldiers among them, such as the one trapped in the middle. "
Lou Shi couldn't help but laugh: "After the battle at Yanling, anyone who still thinks that the Song people are weak and can be bullied is a ridiculous person; and after the battle at Fangzhou, anyone who still thinks that the Song army has no unscrupulous generals and no troops who dare to fight is also ridiculous. generation; and if you think that the Song Army will be reborn within a year and become a strong army, then you are still ridiculous... I have memorized the flag in the middle, you just tell me how to deal with it?"
"The Song army is too large in number and time is urgent. It is better to call the living female generals to come for reinforcements!" Wanyan Bali quickly said a matter-of-fact statement. "The living female generals have arrived with 10,000 soldiers. Let's add up to 40,000 soldiers."
, it’s still worth a fight.”
Always eager for a decisive battle, he even took the initiative to cross Baishui and come to the Yaoshan area. Lou Shi, who was obviously trying to lure the enemy, was silent for a moment, but stood up and shook his head: "Wait a little longer... Let's go back to camp today."