Ouyang Xuan quietly listened to the reports on various undertakings of the Pili Army during this period and fell into deep thought. Although the Pili Army's current development momentum is still strong, and the management team such as Li Shuang and Huang Dagen have handled matters steadily and appropriately, the changes in the Yazhou direction have obviously exceeded his expectations. He had always believed that as long as he maintained his naval superiority and firmly guarded the Jinma River and the lower reaches of Pengshan, the Mongolian army would not be able to invade the core area under the Perak Army. However, the Yazhou incident exposed the Pili Army's strategic misjudgment, which was that it underestimated the military strategic value of Yazhou and Li, Diao, Yan and other states.
Before this, the Pili Army had more economic value to Yazhou. Although there is a high degree of overlap between the industries of Yali and Li Prefectures and the Pili Army, the Pili Army caravans can still take advantage of their technological advantages to dump iron farm tools and salt in Yali and Li Prefectures. He also made a lot of profits by buying local tea and selling it to Tibetan areas. He also purchased horses, copper, nitrate and other minerals that were urgently needed by the Perak Army. Although the population of Yazhou is not as high as that of the Pili Army, it has five counties under it and one county under Lizhou. Together with Diaozhou and Yanzhou and the nearby Tibetan areas, the population according to official statistics is nearly 100,000. According to the estimates of the General Staff, the population of its jurisdiction may even double. This size is an industrial product sales market that cannot be ignored for the Pili Army. In comparison, the population of the two prefectures of Wei and Mao, plus the nearby Tibetan areas, is less than 40,000.
Although they knew that Cao Zhizhou had an affair with the Mongols, the top brass of the Perak Army did not pay much attention. Everyone, including Ouyang Xuan, believed that as long as Cao Zhizhou dared to surrender openly, he would definitely be dead. In the staff's deduction, as long as the navy brigade controlled the river, the Mongolian cavalry would not be able to cross the river to support Yazhou. The field brigade and the special brigade can then go out of Baizhang Pass and attack Yazhou with Yu Xing's Jiading Army in two directions, quelling the rebel forces with a thunderous force. However, although the Mongolian cavalry attack on Dajianlu and Lizhou failed this time, it made Ouyang Xuan feel that there were loopholes in the strategic layout in this direction - the Pili Army only regarded the Yazhou Army as its opponent, but ignored the Mongolian Army, the most vicious enemy.
If the Mongolian army occupies the two prefectures of Dajianlu and Liya, it will greatly reduce the source of strategic materials for the Perak Army. Although war horses can still be obtained from the two states of Wei and Mao, the number will inevitably be greatly reduced. What's even worse is that the mines in Lizhou and its surroundings produce half of the Pili Army's total production capacity. The current arsenal's production capacity of grenades, landmines, guns and ammunition is insufficient, and an important reason is the lack of raw materials for fire and salt. If the fire salt in the direction of Lizhou is lost, it will inevitably lead to a further decline in ammunition production, which will in turn lead to a sharp decline in the combat effectiveness of the Perak Army.
What's even more terrible is that after the Mongolian army takes control of Yazhou, it will worsen the anti-Mongolian situation in Sichuan. The Mongolian army can continuously transfer reinforcements from Dali and Longyou, putting the Perak Army and Jiading Army into a situation where they are attacked from both sides. The Pili Army has the danger of Baizhang Pass and the advantage of firearms, so blocking the Mongolian attack is naturally not a problem. However, Liu Heima, who is stationed in Chengdu, is not a good opponent. Obviously, he will not let go of the opportunity to attack from both sides, and will even send people to attack Wei and Mao prefectures. Tired of defending, the Pili Army naturally had no energy to manage the Bozhou direction.
The Mongolian army's control of Yazhou posed a far greater threat to the Jiading army than the Perak army. Yazhou is located in the upper reaches of Dadu River and Qingyi River. The Mongolian army could either go down the Dadu River from Lizhou to attack Jiading, or they could go down the Qingyi River from Yazhou and attack Jiading Prefecture. Although these two rivers can be used for navigation, the current in some river sections is relatively fast. As long as the Mongolian army blocks these key river sections, it can prevent the Jiading navy from moving north. From the perspective of grain and grass transportation, going down the two rivers was not a big problem, but going upstream was very difficult, which caused the Jiading Army to lose three points before the war started.
In addition to attacking Jiading from the direction of Yazhou, the Mongolian army will also attack from the direction of Longzhou at the same time. Under a two-way attack, Jiading's strength would be difficult to defend. Although Jiading City is very strong, Yu Xing is also experienced, and the Jiading Army is larger in number, its combat power is not as good as that of the Perak Army. In addition to the weapon factors, the main reason is the gap in morale. Senior officials, including Ouyang Xuan, insisted on "the unity of the government and the people, the equality of officers and soldiers" and shared the joys and sorrows with ordinary soldiers of the Perak Army. On the other hand, Yu Xing and his son were greedy by nature, and the officers followed suit. They frequently beat and scolded soldiers and deducted military pay at will. "Why are we fighting?" "Who are we fighting for?" This has always been an important question for the Jiading Army and even the rest of the Song Army. The Jiading soldiers are veterans who have been on the battlefield for many years, but they are extremely precious in fighting. Compared with the Perak army, which is highly disciplined and fearless of death, this is the biggest gap.
Ouyang Xuan told the possible consequences of the Mongolian army occupying Yazhou, which made all the senior leaders of the Perak Army shudder. "Are there any intact eggs under the overturned nest?" The Perak Army can withstand the attack, but if Jiading is lost to the Mongolian army, the Perak Army will be surrounded on all sides. Without external strategic resources, the Pili Army's industry will fall into decline or even chronic death. The nature of the war is a competition of comprehensive strength. With the current Perak Army covering several states and a population of 300,000, it is obviously impossible to fight against the Sichuan Mongolian Army alone, let alone the huge Mongol Empire behind it.
"It's not too late to make up for the lost situation." Facing the Mongolian army's attack in the direction of Liya, the top brass of the Perak Army proposed targeted remedial measures, known in history as the "Three Strategies of Liya." The first policy is to support the pro-Perak army tribes in the Fan area. Of course, the first one on the list is Zelang, followed by the Fan, Yi and Qingqiang tribes in Yandiao Liangzhou. In addition to the previous decision of the Military Joint Conference to train its military cadres through teaching camps, it also decided to send advisory groups to friendly tribes. The advisory group is composed of military instructors, doctors, teachers, businessmen and other personnel. It provides military training, medical and health and education services, and also gives priority to the sale of tea, salt, agricultural tools, cold weapons and other supplies to various tribes. Those with a strong alliance with the Thunderbolt Army can sell old firearms such as grenades, mines, and light artillery as appropriate.
The second strategy is to strengthen defense preparations along the way. In the mines of Chuejian Valley, Dajianlu and Lizhou, watchtowers and fortresses were built at dangerous locations. These three places are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and will become the support points of the Perak Army's layout west of Yazhou. Among them, Dajianluo was especially the chokepoint. The joint meeting decided to give Zelang money, food and explosives support to build a large watchtower fortress on the only way from the river valley to the grassland, which would be in close contact with the mountainside mountain village. potential. There is no shortage of skilled craftsmen in the Tibetan area. As long as there is enough money and food, and explosives are used to mine stones, a group of watchtowers can be built in no time.
The third strategy is to adjust the deployment of troops. At present, the Pili Army's troops in Yazhou, apart from the caravan guards, are only the militiamen from the mines and hoeing valley in Lizhou, with a total strength of nearly 800 people. These second-line troops are as powerful as the Yazhou Army. If they get the support of Zelang and the Qingqiang tribe, they can even capture Lizhou in one fell swoop and compete with the Yazhou Army for a long time. But after all, they are only second-line troops. Their equipment training and combat experience are far inferior to the regular army of the Perak Army, and they are unable to confront the powerful Mongolian army head-on. Once the ammunition for the guns and artillery is exhausted, even if it occupies a geographical advantage, it will be difficult to withstand the front and rear attacks of the Yazhou Army and the Mongolian Army. Therefore, the joint meeting decided to send a special company to the directions of Choezheng Valley, Dajianlu and Lizhou respectively to strengthen the defense of the three places. At the same time, Baizhangguan's military strength was based on the original guard company plus a basic militia company, and an additional basic militia battalion.
