Taking advantage of his free time, Shen Bing simply ordered some drinks and chatted with Wang Ben for a while.
After a few glasses of wine, Shen Bing's chatterbox opened up:
"My dear nephew, I don't know. Isn't this cavalry army or navy army just for the purpose of marching quickly?"
"There is a saying that soldiers need speed. If you are fast, you can catch the enemy unawares. Otherwise, you can only be controlled by others."
"I think this is why my nephew prefers the cavalry!"
Wang Ben nodded and said:
"What the deputy general said is true."
Shen Bing continued:
"In this case, the Chu army's Huaihe and Yangtze rivers are densely covered with water networks, and the cavalry and naval forces can all access it. So why not?"
Wang Ben felt secretly ashamed.
Shen Bing is right.
Whether it is a horse or a boat, they are all tools for marching, especially the war horses of this era... After the cavalry arrives at the battlefield, they have to dismount and fight on foot, so they are just tools rather than equipment.
So there really isn't much difference between the two. They are both quick reaction forces.
Wang Ben was born in a water-scarce area in the northwest, so he naturally despised the navy.
Shen Bing asked again:
"I wonder if my nephew has any ideas about attacking Chu this time?"
Wang Ben cupped his hands and replied:
"I don't dare to speak nonsense, but..."
Shen Bing encouraged:
"It doesn't matter if you say it. Your Majesty is a person whom Shen Bing respects. My nephew, if you have anything to say, just say it. We don't need to be polite."
Wang Ben felt relieved when he heard this.
He always thought that Shen Bing and Yang Duanhe had usurped Wang Jian's position, and his dissatisfaction was partly due to his willingness to stand up for his father.
But at this time, Shen Bing flattered Wang Jian at the right time, and the anger in Wang Ben's heart disappeared.
Wang Ben replied:
"Lieutenant general, this Chu country is different from other countries."
"Its territory is vast and there are many cities and towns. At this time, the Chu army was defeated and retreated without fighting..."
"If the Chu army retreats all the way to Shouchun like this, our army of 270,000 troops may not be enough to attack Chu."
Shen Bing nodded in agreement, secretly thinking that Wang Bi was indeed a talented general, but he had grasped the fate of the battle so accurately just a few hours after arriving at the military camp. This was something that neither Wei Yao nor Yang Duanhe could see through.
In fact, Wang Ben was also reminded by Wang Jian.
When Wang Jian talked with him, he said that if Wang Jian led the army to attack Chu, only 400,000 yuan would not be enough.
So Wang Ben wondered why his father's strength was not enough even with an army of 400,000.
Therefore, when he went south along the Bianhe River, he observed and compared the map along the way, and finally found the reason.
As long as Chu dares to abandon the city in this battle, the Qin army will be in a dilemma:
It is more than 800 miles from Daliang to the Chu capital. If the Chu army abandons the north of the Huaihe River and reaches Shouchun, it means that the Qin army's supply line is more than 800 miles long.
If this is an ordinary eight hundred miles, it would be fine. For infantry, eight hundred miles only takes more than ten days, and for cavalry, it only takes seven or eight days. If we go down the Bianhe River and then go overland, it may only take three or five days.
This supply line is not too long.
But starting from Chencheng, the gateway to the Chu State, there are tributaries of the Huaihe River all the way south, and all along the river are villages and cities of the Chu State... The ancients lived along the river, not only for irrigation, but also for navigation.
Should the Qin army occupy certain cities or not?
If it were occupied, like Chencheng, it would require at least five thousand soldiers to garrison it.
Further down are Qicheng, Taikang, Zhecheng... Every city must be garrisoned with troops, and every village must be occupied.
This force is at least 100,000. At that time, there will only be 170,000 soldiers against the hundreds of thousands of Chu troops. How can we win?
If these cities and villages were not captured, if the Chu army sent cavalry to outflank and occupy the cities for defense, the Qin army's supply line would be cut off in minutes.
At that time, the Qin army will also have only one way to withdraw.
Shen Bing smiled and replied:
"That's why I need Changping-kun."
Wang Ben looked worried and said:
"To stabilize the hearts of the people in Chu with Lord Changping? I'm afraid..."
Wang Ben did not dare to say anything else. After all, Changping Lord once served as the prime minister of the Qin State. Rebellion cannot be speculated on, even Wang Ben is no exception.
Shen Bing saw this and praised again in his heart. This Wang Ben knew the principle of power being brought about by the barrel of a gun. He knew that relying solely on Lord Changping to stabilize people's hearts would not be able to do much. Wang Ben even understood that Lord Changping was unreliable...
It is really rare to have such vision at such a young age.
But how could Shen Bing not know this? It's just not convenient to say it clearly at this time.
Shen Bing replied:
"Shen Bing will deal with it carefully, my nephew does not need to worry about this."
"I will tell Captain Chen Duan right now, and my nephew will go to the Black Armor Camp as the commander of two to five hundred people to command a thousand troops."
"If my nephew is dissatisfied, he can come and talk to Shen Bing at any time."
Wang Ben stood up and saluted:
"Thank you so much, Lieutenant General. Wang Ben will definitely kill the enemy bravely to repay the Lieutenant General for his kindness."
From entering the account to leaving the account, Wang Ben's mentality completely changed 180 degrees.
Before entering the tent, he still looked down on Shen Bing in his heart... This was the nobles' contempt for the grassroots, and it was a chain of contempt between classes.
No wonder this is the case.
As mentioned before, the children of the aristocracy are good at eating and drinking. They have read military books and received military training since they were young. Marching and fighting are commonplace for them.
Of course, ordinary people without education and training are incomparable to them. Even some grassroots people who are promoted to high nobility based on their military exploits are still embarrassed to hold such important positions.
Wang Ben originally thought Shen Bing was one of them.
But after meeting Shen Bing, I realized that this was not the case.
Not only was this not the case, Wang Ben also believed that everything was planned by Shen Bing.
Only then did Wang Ben realize that his father was right, Shen Bing was anything but an ordinary person.
Wang Ben even doubted Shen Bing's identity... This is not the temperament and conversation of a grassroots person.
Wang Ben was indeed right to suspect this.
Because in Shen Bing's eyes, people like Wang Ben are ignorant people, so there is naturally a kind of confidence and aura in his conversation that can suppress Wang Ben's aura.
Shen Bing didn't take this to heart.
At this time, spies came to report:
"Vice general, the Chu army abandoned the city and fled after their defeat last night."
"At this time, Chencheng is already an empty city!"
"The general orders you to quickly occupy Chencheng."
Shen Bing nodded.
It was right to occupy Chencheng, which was the forward base for the Qin army to attack Chu.
Moreover, the waterway between Daliang and Chencheng needs to be cleared and smoothed so that supplies and reinforcements can be transported from Daliang.
None of these are big problems.
The question lies in what Wang Ben just said, whether these cities are garrisoned or not.
Of course Chencheng must garrison troops.
Not only do we need to garrison troops, but we also need to invite Lord Changping.
To be honest, Shen Bing was not sure whether Lord Changping surrendered for real or fake.
At this moment, Lord Changping may be sincere in surrendering to Qin, but when the moment comes when Lord Changping becomes King of Chu and holds power... will he be willing to let go?
Would you be willing to just avoid the barbarian land of Jiangdong?
Although they know that this power cannot be grasped, and if they continue to grasp it, they will only die, but how many people can clearly realize this?!