On the eleventh day of the sixth month of the third year of Jianji, Taishan Palace.
Ge Congzhou took a deep breath, and under the guidance of Yin Anzhi's commander Li Yixian, he went inside to see Shao Shude.
"Your Majesty." Ge Congzhou bowed.
Shao Shude personally stepped forward, helped him up, and asked someone to bring him an axe. He smiled and said: "In the eighth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered Li Jing to be the general manager of the march. He went to the altar to pay homage to the general and was awarded the axe. I also have it today.
"Good general, I have specially ordered you to be the deputy envoy to command the camp in Qizhou and the formation envoy. This Yue can be used to hold it."
"I obey the decree." Ge Congzhou bowed again and took the ax.
"In this Northern Expedition, do you know what is the first priority?" Shao Shude asked.
Shao Shude was not worried about Ge Congzhou's military ability. In his impression, the obvious failure in his life in history was the southern expedition to Yang Xingmi, but that was Pang Shigu's fault. The main force was flooded in Qingkou. Ge Congzhou led
With a partial army of ten thousand men, when they heard that their army had been defeated in ancient times, they also retreated and ran away.
At other times, his military abilities have been greatly demonstrated, and he can be called a god of war.
Of course, Shao Shude is not sure whether Ge Congzhou in this time and space is still so powerful. After all, life experiences are different. People need to keep learning, and the same goes for generals. Every bit of their experiences will be gathered together.
, has a huge impact.
Shao Shude has been observing in the past few years. Ge Congzhou really took charge when he attacked Zhu Jin in Yanzhou. His performance was actually good. In the battle of Rencheng, Yan Bao lost his armor. At other times, he did not give Zhu Jin anything.
Opportunity, with a group of recruits who were trained by Zhu Quanzhong later, finally defeated Zhu Jin.
When guarding Weizhou, he fought many battles with Hedong, Chengde, and Cangjing, with more wins than losses. Moreover, the losses were not under his personal command, and the scale was not large. The overall performance can be said to be good.
All these factors made Shao Shude determined to appoint Ge Congzhou as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, specifically responsible for the war against Hebei.
"Your Majesty, the first priority is to work together as one and act steadily," Ge Congzhou replied.
"Good." Shao Shude said happily.
Ge Congzhou's understanding is quite good.
He is now equivalent to Wang Maozhang in the Battle of Baixiang in history. Wang Maozhang led 70,000 Liang troops and fought against the Hedong and Chengde coalition forces, resulting in a disastrous defeat.
Wang Maozhang was not ignorant of soldiers. But the Jin army sent hundreds of cavalry to lure him, so he attacked with the whole army and chased them for dozens of miles. However, the Jin army waited for work and had a huge physical advantage in the field.
The result is obvious. Even though Liang Jun had no time to eat and was severely depleted of physical strength, he "recovered from defeat" four times. The battle situation was very stalemate, but at the critical moment Wei Bo couldn't hold on and ran away, which became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
.
Why Wang Maozhang was so impatient is unknown to outsiders. But judging from Zhu Quanzhong’s words to comfort Wang Maozhang afterwards, Han Qing, Li Sian and other Liang generals were dissatisfied, and Wang Maozhang was eager to prove himself. This must be an extremely important reason - "I also know it.
"Gai Han Qing, Li Si'an treats you as a guest and does not follow the rules." Zhu Quanzhong knew the inside story, and his words should have hit the point.
Shao Shude once didn't understand why Zhu Quanzhong would use a subordinate to command his main force. But after he stepped into the position of commander and even monarch, he knew that some things were unavoidable.
The essence of politics is balance.
Zhu Quanzhong was the Emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty. He could not always rely on the meritorious group he founded. This was a very dangerous thing and not what an emperor should do. It was a pity that he played too much and mistrusted Wang Maozhang, which resulted in a lot of losses.
Elite.
Ge Congzhou was in such a situation now, so Shao Shude immediately asked him what his first priority was, and Ge Congzhou answered well: work together and work steadily.
In addition, Ge Congzhou has another advantage over Wang Maozhang, that is, he has an army that he has led for a long time: the Left and Right Longxiang Army.
Zhu Quanzhong's soldiers are well trained. The Tianwu Eighth Army has fought all kinds of battles in the past few years and has rich experience. What's more, he has added a large number of veterans of the Xia Army. After successfully combining on the Weibo battlefield, the combat effectiveness is not weak.
With such a force, Ge Congzhou's confidence is still very strong.
"The Tianxiong Army has entered near Dezhou, and all the troops on the East Road have entered Dizhou. You can take good command." Shao Shude said: "As long as we fight steadily and don't rush forward greedily, the enemy will have no chance to take advantage of it. Don't put any pressure, even if it lasts for a long time.
After a long time, I don’t blame you. No matter how much food and grass you consume, I will replenish it for you. No matter how many soldiers die, the new soldiers from the Shaanzhou Academy and the Yunzhou Academy will replenish it for you. There is no need to worry about anyone slandering me. I am not old yet.
But when you are in a state of coma, I am in Taishan Palace and can see clearly. Just go ahead and fight as you think."
"I understand." Ge Congzhou was also very moved.
The saint's words basically dispelled all his concerns.
Worried that the fight lasted too long and consumed too much money, food, and soldiers? The saint said you don’t have to worry, I don’t care.
Are you worried that others will say that you have different intentions and deliberately defend yourself? The saint said that I am watching from the side, and I can still distinguish right from wrong.
Are you worried that your performance will be too ugly and you won't be able to reflect your own level? The sage said to follow your ideas and I won't interfere.
There is no pressure anymore, and there is no excuse anymore. Ge Congzhou once again strengthened his thinking.
If you have few soldiers, insufficient food and supplies, and are short on time, you have to find ways to fight some beautiful battles, magical battles. Of course, the so-called magical battles also require the cooperation of the enemy. If they are not stupid and make mistakes, you will not be able to win the highlight moment.
And since you need to operate a highly difficult magical battle, your body will naturally not be invulnerable, flaws will be exposed, and the enemy may seize the opportunity to beat you to the point of losing your armor.
Now that there is enough food and grass, there are too many soldiers, and there are no huge threats from other directions, Ge Congzhou knows how to fight - use strengths and avoid weaknesses, and take advantage of his own side's large number of soldiers and food.
As for the amount of consumption, that is what saints and prime ministers should consider. Help them save money? If you lose, you will be beheaded, and others will not be grateful to you for saving money for him. As a warrior, you should be pure and do everything with fighting.
Winning is important.
"You have to make good use of Xingyuan soldiers, Jiangling soldiers, Longjian soldiers, Helongfan soldiers and so on." Shao Shude walked a few steps in the hall and said again.
Ge Congzhou was a wise man, and of course he would not misunderstand the meaning of this sentence. "Use them well", as if these soldiers were the best in the world.
"Your Majesty, the sergeants of Sanchuan, Jingnan, and Helong are not good at field battles, but good at attacking cities." Ge Congzhou said: "I will definitely give full play to their strengths and order them to attack cities and seize territory for the imperial court."
"Okay." Shao Shude nodded with satisfaction and said: "The Chishui Army's Fanhe Division has arrived at Denglaiqing, and can cross the sea at any time. This division is also under your control, so make good use of it."
"Yes." Ge Congzhou responded.
"Use it well" here has a completely different meaning.
There were 8,000 Chishui troops and many martial arts students. They had been staying in Luoyang until now. The saint visited the army every two days, gave lectures on martial arts, and hunted countless times. They were the direct descendants of the saint.
This force must really be used well, literally.
And this unit went to Denglaiqing to prepare for a cross-sea attack, which was also in line with the saint's military habits.
Many generals knew that the sage had a copy of the military book "Taizong and Li Weigong's Questions" given to him by Prime Minister Song Le, and it was almost torn.
Ge Congzhou also read it, and he knew it was a fake military book.
The fake part is that the anonymous author pretended to be Tang Taizong. Li Jing asked. Did he actually say those words in the book? Ge Congzhou thought it was unlikely.
But the content is indeed good, and it is in line with the consistent style of military use since the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, loved the military strategy of combining the right and the strange. If there are good soldiers, there must be strange soldiers. Today, he is also a fan of this method, and it has been carried forward even more - there are surprise soldiers at the tactical level, and there are also surprise soldiers at the strategic level, and they can be used in any way.
Yige already has his own profound understanding, and Ge Congzhou admires it very much.
The Chishui Army is a surprise force and should be used at critical moments.
Shao Shude originally wanted to say more, but in the end he did not and asked Ge Congzhou to withdraw.
When you choose the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, you must fully trust him. He also came from a pile of dead people. He has been leading troops for a year or two. After observing for so long, his ability has been recognized by you, so what else can you say?
Ge Congzhou has his own method of using troops. If you talk too much, people will not dare to refute you because you are the emperor. If you go against your will, you may mess up his rhythm. You are just asking for trouble.
After Ge Congzhou left, Shao Shude called in some officials from Huaihai Road: the governor Zhang Yanqiu, the transportation envoy Song Yao, the prison envoy Li Tong, and the academic and political envoy Zhang Wenwei.
"Except for the five prefectures of Xu, Si, Su, Hai, and Andong, the other nine prefectures have tried their best to transfer grain, grass, and military supplies. The master has only collected 50,000, which is not enough, far from enough. He will continue to collect 50,000, for a total of 100,000
, waiting for dispatch." Shao Shude said.
"I obey the decree." Zhang Yanqiu and Song Yao responded at the same time.
One hundred thousand is just for the masters on Huaihai Road, there are 50,000 on Zhili Road, and 50,000 on Henan Road, which is 200,000 people. Weibo and Dizhou, which are the battlefields, will of course also recruit a large number of masters. The total number is
It was very large. Including the Forbidden Army and the Servant Army, it is not an exaggeration to claim that the 800,000-strong army was an army. It was almost the same size as Zhu Quanzhong's conquest of Cangjing and Chengde in history, and maybe slightly larger.
Zhu Quanzhong's 500,000-strong army was abandoned halfway because of his serious illness. Shao Shude stayed here anyway and had to wait for the results.
"The civilian ships collected should not be wasted, and those that deserve to be rewarded should be rewarded, otherwise there will not be so many ships collected next time." Shao Shude added: "The Pinghai Navy came to complain that the ship equipment was still insufficient, Denglai Qingsan
What does the state have to eat? Make up for it as soon as possible. If it delays the Chishui Army's schedule, it will be dealt with according to military law."
"In addition, after recruiting so many masters, I heard that there are many complaints from the people. You should tell the people and scholars that Hebei will never be destroyed and Henan will never have peace. If you can't do this small thing well, I feel that the problem of Huaihai Road is huge.
Come on. Let’s get things done quickly, this battle is very crucial, wouldn’t it be ridiculous if my northern patrol couldn’t even set foot in Hebei?”
"I obey the order." Zhang Yanqiu, Song Yao and others were a little worried and responded quickly.
After waving them away, Shao Shude walked to the map again and looked at it quietly.
Hundreds of thousands of troops marched to Hebei one after another. This time they relied on the strength of their numbers to eat them up. When Lu Yanwei was in danger, let's see if he could lure out any big fish.