Chapter 504 Different thinking
Now the Song Dynasty has won consecutive battles, but the Liao Kingdom has retreated step by step.
Although the generals of the Liao Kingdom are very determined to fight, the morale of the Liao Kingdom's soldiers is low.
The morale of the Song Dynasty was high and the morale of the Liao Kingdom was low. If the Song Dynasty avoided the war, the situation would be reversed.
So this battle cannot be avoided and must be fought.
The British Duke had already thought of this possibility when he was planning a plan to attack Youzhou City and had asked Zhao Xing for instructions.
Zhao Xing thought for a long time and agreed with the British Duke's point of view.
Since the Song Dynasty sent troops, there has never been a strong battle.
But it is impossible for the future to be smooth, and there will definitely be many fierce battles in the future.
At this time, the Liao Kingdom was not really at the moment of burning its boats. If the Song Dynasty did not dare to fight, it would be even more troublesome when it was set back later.
The morale of the soldiers of the Song Dynasty is actually very weak now. Only by experiencing a great war and winning can we turn the virtual into reality.
And the Song Dynasty was an attacking side. The Liao Kingdom went out of the city to fight against the Song Dynasty, which was always less difficult than siege.
The military strategy says: Before you consider victory, you should first consider defeat.
It means that you should not just consider what happens after victory, but first consider the possibility of failure and the consequences.
Zhao Xing agrees with this view very much.
Is there a possibility of failure in this battle?
Yes!
And not small.
But Zhao Xing could bear the consequences.
However, as long as you fight steadily, even if you can't win, the opponent will not gain much advantage.
Yelu Yixin could truly trust so many soldiers and horses. He was not stable shortly after he ascended the throne.
Even if the Song Dynasty was defeated, as long as Yelu Yixin suffered a great loss, just by stabilizing the situation, Yelu Yixin would have no ability to counterattack.
The Song Dynasty could slowly digest the territory captured.
So Zhao Xing agreed to the British Duke's idea of a head-on battle with the Liao Kingdom and made only one request.
You can lose, but you must greatly kill the soldiers and horses of the Liao Kingdom.
For this reason, Zhao Xing even took out another secret weapon he had prepared.
This Northern Expedition, Zhao Xing not only brought a large amount of gunpowder, but also brought 10,000 raid muskets.
Unfortunately, the artillery was not built. Otherwise, even if there were only a few shots, a few shots were given to the Liao Kingdom at the beginning, which was a great shock to the Liao army, who had never seen artillery. It's much simpler.
After seeing the power of the rifle gun, the British Duke was more confident in this battle.
For a time, both sides were dispatching troops. A few days later, nearly 700,000 troops gathered in and outside the Xijing City.
The Liao Kingdom had 350,000 troops, while the Song Dynasty had only 320,000.
Although the Song Dynasty dispatched nearly 600,000 troops to the north, it was necessary to divide the troops to garrison so many cities, and it also needed to divide the troops to capture the road to Youzhou City.
Yelu Yixin wanted to fight to the decisive battle, but he might not have no idea of delaying the pace of the Great Song Dynasty's offensive.
If the Song Dynasty was really delayed, the soldiers and horses in Youzhou City would be in danger.
So the Song Dynasty not only had to fight the Liao Kingdom, but also could not stop the pace of connecting Youzhou City.
In addition, doing so would also make the Liao Kingdom relieved and fight the Song Dynasty.
Although Yelu Yixin acted like he was going to fight to the decisive battle, the Song Dynasty really wanted to gather 500,000 troops, and Yelu Yixin might not dare to fight the Song Dynasty.
Now the Song Dynasty is less soldiers than the Liao Kingdom, which is also an opportunity for Yelu Yixin.
"Hmph!"
Yelu Yixin heard the news and gritted his teeth and said, "The Song Dynasty is really arrogant!"
The Song Dynasty guessed well. He wanted to fight to the decisive battle, but he really wanted to delay the Song Dynasty's attack. He had already dispatched troops to take back Youzhou City.
But he dared not move the soldiers and horses in Xijing because they were under the surveillance of the Song army.
Once the troops are dispatched, it is easy to be ambushed by the Song Dynasty.
And there were fewer troops transferred, so it was difficult to retake Youzhou City.
Youzhou City is a strong city, and a large amount of city guarding equipment and food are stored in the city.
The Song Dynasty deceived the city gate, which made the city guarding equipment stored by the Liao Kingdom useless.
Although some generals saw that the opportunity was not good and destroyed some, most of them still fell into the hands of the Song Dynasty.
Fifty thousand people guard a strong city, and at least tens of thousands of soldiers can be recaptured.
This is because the people in Youzhou City are all facing the Liao Kingdom, otherwise they would have to double it.
If he really sent so many troops, even if he was not ambushed, it would lead to the emptiness of the troops in Xijing.
Therefore, he could only mobilize troops from the rear, but this took time.
"Since the Song Dynasty is not deceived, I will defeat these 300,000 troops!" Yelu Yixin said gritting his teeth.
These more than 300,000 troops must be the elite of the Song Dynasty. As long as they are defeated, the Song Dynasty can only end this Northern Expedition.
Thinking of this, Yelu Yixin asked someone to send a letter of war to the Song Dynasty, and fight to the decisive battle on the plain northeast of Xijing City tomorrow.
The British Duke only knew the word "war" when he received the letter of war.
The next morning, the Duke of England led an army of 300,000 to the plains northeast of Xijing, leaving 20,000 troops to defend the city.
Yelu Yixin also brought only 300,000 soldiers and horses, and he was also worried that the Song Dynasty would attack Xijing City and leave behind 50,000 soldiers and horses.
Although the British Duke agreed to a decisive battle with the Liao Kingdom, he commanded his soldiers to set up a defensive formation after he arrived at the plains.
The Liao Kingdom has many cavalry, with 300,000 troops, and 200,000 of them are cavalry.
There are only 100,000 people in the Song Dynasty. The plains are fighting, and the cavalry has a very powerful role.
Not only is the weak force of the army, the combat power of the Song Dynasty is not as good as that of the Liao Dynasty's cavalry.
To be honest, when it comes to riding and shooting, the Han people learned from nomadic peoples.
After the Liao Kingdom occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, it obtained many craftsmen, and the weapons and armor of the army were no worse than those of the Song Dynasty.
Although the cavalry of the Song Dynasty required imposed training after Zhao Xing ascended the throne, they had never experienced a real war.
The Liao Dynasty's internal chaos for so long, although its vitality was severely damaged, the soldiers had experienced many major wars, which was not comparable to the soldiers of the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, although the British Duke agreed to the decisive battle, he took a defensive position on the battlefield and waited for the Liao troops to attack.
Yelu Yixin stood on the high platform, looking at the formation arranged by the Song army, frowned.
Song Army arranged three layers of shield formation in front, and the front was a heavy shield. Under the heavy shield, a sharp nail fell on the ground and pierced into the ground, which could prevent it from being well. The shield formation was broken.
There are many soldiers holding spears behind the shield formation.
It can be imagined that once the Liao cavalry rushed into the battlefield, there would be heavy casualties.
Although the two rows of shield formations in the back are not heavy shields, the speed of the cavalry who broke through the shield formation in the front will inevitably be greatly reduced, and it is difficult to break through the two layers of shield formations in the back.
The most important thing for cavalry is mobility. Once the speed slows down, it becomes a target and blocks the road of the cavalry behind it.
Although the generals of the Liao army looked down on the Song army, they still had basic common sense.
"Your Majesty, it is better to send heavy-armored infantry to charge the formation. Afterwards, as long as the gap is torn open and the cavalry is dispatched, they will definitely defeat the Song army in one fell swoop!"
"No, the Song army is not suitable, The heavy shield is used to deal with cavalry. The heavy armored infantry is too bulky. How can it break? Heavy cavalry should rush to the formation, open the gap, and suppress the light cavalry! "Since the Song army has set up such a formation, it must be prepared, and with me Look, it’s better to rush with a light rider and see the reality and reality first! ”
The Liao army generals were making plans in a verbal way.
Yelu Yixin pressed his hands down, pondered for a while, looked at a general, and said, "Gesilamu, you can take 50,000 light cavalry to test the truth and reality!"
"Yes!"
Gesilamuzhen proposed to use a light cavalry to test the truth and reality. Seeing that his suggestion was adopted, he bowed excitedly.
"Be careful, don't be dragged by the Song Dynasty cavalry." Yelu Yixin reminded. "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will never be dragged by the Han cavalry. If I fight head-on, I will be confident to defeat the 100,000 cavalry of the Song Dynasty with 50,000 cavalry!" Gesilam said confidently. "Then I'm waiting for your good news, go!" Yelu Yixin said. "Yes!" Gesilamu bowed and got off the platform.
……………
No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!
The Liao Kingdom was observing the movements of the Song Dynasty, and the British Duke was also observing the movements of the Liao army.
When I saw the Liao army dispatching 50,000 light cavalry, I immediately ordered: "Tell me, be careful of the Liao cavalry's splattering. As long as I enter the range, I will counterattack with a rifle!"
"Yes!"
The messenger behind him responded and hurried away.
"Duke of Britain, is it wrong to use a storm gun from the beginning?" Zeng Gongliang frowned and said, "Although the range of the storm gun is similar to that of an ordinary bow and arrow, the distance is far, and the lethality is limited, so it is better to use it in the key. Moment! "
The British Duke was not angry because of Zeng Gongliang's doubts, and explained with a smile: "I have arranged heavy shields in front of me, and it is impossible for the Liao army to rush forward with light cavalry. This cavalry should be here Test our virtuality and reality. The heavy shield in the front row is tall, As long as the soldiers squatted down, the light cavalry could not do anything, so they could only place their targets on the soldiers holding light shields in the second row. In this way, lethality was enough! "
"The Liao army behind them When launching an attack, heavy armor will inevitably be in front, and the sudden musket will have no effect. Only when you use it now can you maximize the effect and also dampen the morale of the Liao army! "
Zeng Gongliang was not in him When he issued the order, he questioned him, obviously he did not want to affect his coach's majesty.
The British referendum reciprocated and explained in detail the purpose of his arrangement.
In addition to the troublesome time to load gravel and gunpowder, the disadvantages of the sudden musket have another biggest disadvantage, that is, they are almost ineffective against heavy armor and can only deal with light armor.
The Liao army must have heavy armor in front of the battle. If the two armies get together, the rifle will be useless.
So when used from the beginning, it can not only create the greatest effect, but also shock the morale of the Liao army.
When Zeng Gongliang heard this, he pondered for a while, and said in surprise: "The British Duke did not arrange archers behind the front shield array, just to make the Liao Kingdom approach with confidence?"
"Not bad!"
The British Duke smiled and said, "If the archers were arranged to shoot against him, the Liao cavalry would definitely maintain a safe distance."
"The British Duke was considerate and Yongbing was the best choice."
Like a god, it is admirable!” Zeng Gongliang sighed.
Although he understands military tactics, he has also compiled military books.
When he was in the local area, he personally commanded the troops to quell the rebellion.
But he only understood the art of war and did not participate in many wars, and integrated the art of war he learned. "The Privy Councilor Zeng is over-reputable." The British Duke smiled slightly. "Don't be humble, but I still have a doubt. I wonder if the Duke of England can solve my doubts?" Zeng Gongliang said. "It's okay to say it." The British said justice. "When using the storm gun at this time, the Liao army suffered a loss, but they didn't know the specific situation of the storm gun. Will they choose to withdraw?" Zeng Gongliang said.
"No!"
The British Duke laughed and said, "The battle between large troops is not a joke. Liao Kingdom dispatched hundreds of thousands of troops to fight the Song Dynasty. If he just suffered a little loss and withdrew his troops, he would definitely lose all morale. .”
Teng Gongliang opened his mouth, and he wanted to ask the British Duke why he was so confident.
The military strategy says: know yourself and your enemy and win every battle.
He substituted himself into the Liao Kingdom. Assuming that he was the commander of the Liao army, he would definitely choose to retreat.
But he hesitated for a moment and still didn't ask.
Because the Liao army's cavalry had been dispatched.
In fact, Zeng Gongliang's idea is that the thinking of military generals and civil officials is different.
Celebrarians can become a famous general with a certain talent.
Since ancient times, there have been many generals who can manage the army while dismounting the horse.
There is even a title of Confucian general among the generals.
There seems to be no difference between civil officials and military generals who can fight.
In fact, this is not the case. The biggest difference between the two is the difference in thinking.
The so-called "knowing yourself and your enemy" is actually a theory.
It is not that it is fake and empty, but that it is difficult to be aware of the local situation and be able to fully understand the situation of one's own side.
Therefore, you only need to know yourself and your enemy as much as possible.
There is another sentence in the art of war: War is a strange way.
It means that using troops to fight is a deceitful technique, and requires the use of various methods to deceive the enemy. This sentence emphasizes the importance of using tricks and deception in war, and wins unexpectedly by blurring the enemy's judgment and defense.
Since you have to use tricks to deceive the other party, how can you know yourself and your opponent?
After seeing this, these two sentences seem to be full of contradictions.
In fact, many words in the art of war will appear contradictory if they are put together.
Even if the civil officials are familiar with military tactics and know how to lead troops to fight, they will consider many factors when facing problems.
The generals are different. If they accept the order, then when they consider the problem, they will only win and lose.
This is like in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", where Zhuge Liang set up an empty city plan, and Sima Yi did not dare to enter the city.
Many people use official history as an example and say that Sima Yi cannot appear on the battlefield there.
Some people also said that even if Sima Yi was suspicious, he could just send someone in to investigate.
No matter whether it is true or false, if this scene is true, will Sima Yi send troops into the city?
There is a high probability that it will not be, because Sima Yi considered the problem and was not about winning or losing at all, but also about political factors.
If he dealt with Zhuge Liang, he would be idle even if he did not die.
So even though the empty city plan is full of flaws, it is reasonable for Sima Yi to withdraw his troops.
The calculation plan of the empty city is not a question of whether it is suspicious or not, but Zhuge Liang is on the top of the city.
Zeng Gongliang replaced himself to the Liao Dynasty. The reason why he felt that he should withdraw his troops was that he was more inclined to politics in consideration of the issues.
Although he understands military tactics, he is more of a civil servant.
It is not that military generals do not consider politics, but that military generals first look at problems and then politics.
But in the eyes of civil servants, politics is greater than military.
This is the difference in thinking between the two.
Gesilam leads 50,000 light cavalry to approach the Song army formation.
When the distance was more than two hundred steps away, I began to rush along the Song army's heavy shield.
(This chapter ends)