Huang Qiong's words made Zhao Wushu, who had just ascended a high position and was still worried about gains and losses, feel slightly in his heart. Not daring to say anything more, he turned around and went down to give orders. In fact, Zhao Wushu was a bit cautious and even procrastinating in small matters, so Huang Qiong was not too surprised. Well, that's it for people. It's easy to get an official position, but it's difficult for him to get down.
Zhao Wuye jumped up the ranks and jumped from a sixth-rank captain to a fourth-rank commander. I definitely want to perform well, and I don’t want the official title I paid for with my blood to be taken off later. Even though Huang Qiong, the King of England, was there, most people couldn't find him when they were in trouble.
However, the internal conflicts between officials in the DPRK and China have always been divided between civil and military affairs, and the divisions between them are very clear. Those two-ranking Jinshi who came from imperial censorship basically turned a blind eye to those two-ranking Jinshi who were corrupt and accepted bribes unless it was a party dispute. But they are very picky about military attaches. They have to think over every merit of military attachés, trying to find some fault.
Even if you can't pull people down, you can at least prevent military attachés from getting promoted. Because in their eyes, it is too easy for those rough-hewn military attachés to be promoted compared to those of them who have been struggling for ten years, such as Jinshi and other officials. After fighting one or two battles on the battlefield, this official position will be promoted to one level. Some of these civil servants are even in the fifth or sixth rank, and they will not be promoted until they become officials.
Moreover, since the founding of the Qi Dynasty, those who have been ennobled almost exclusively have facial features. Basically none of the aristocratic families in Beijing had a civil service background. Even the only two kings with different surnames since the founding of the country were both military commanders. The fifth-level title of Duke and Prince's uncle seemed to have no connection with civil servants like them. Even if a civil servant is exhausted, he will not be able to get a title. At most, he will be given a posthumous title.
What's more, in the eyes of these imperial censors, the battle is like a grate. Every time these military attaches fight, they don't know how much wealth they will make. The spoils of war, the rewards given by the court after the war, I don't know how much I got in my hands. If you come back and get promoted to a noble position, and be given the title of wife, wouldn't this mean that you are going to heaven? Are we still going to let the civil servants live?
Therefore, these censors have always been enemies to the military attachés. On weekdays, I would always look for faults with a magnifying glass, but during wartime I would be calm and look at everything with suspicion. Zhao Wushu is naturally not afraid of big things. But if you really get stuck on these trivial things, it would be really frustrating.
Huang Qiong understood Zhao Wushan's mentality. But fortunately, this guy is too cautious in such trivial matters. However, this guy is quite decisive when he goes to the battlefield. Although it is a bit satisfactory, there is nothing wrong with it, at least not by Huang Qiong. Trouble comes.
When Zhao Wushu came back, he saw Huang Qiong, Fan Jian, Liu Hu, and Wang Dalong, standing in front of the wreckage of the two exploded cannons, lost in thought. Seeing Huang Qiong standing beside the cannon with a regretful expression on his face, Zhao Wushu said: "Your Majesty, don't be too sorry. Your Majesty, haven't you already sent an urgent memorial to the capital, asking the Emperor to issue an order to urgently allocate the police here? ?”
"As long as the guns allocated by the imperial court arrive, the general believes that these cannons can still be used in the subsequent battles. After all, the guns are not cannons, and they are still very convenient to transport. Jingzhao Mansion is only a short distance from Hulao Pass. More than two hundred miles. As long as the emperor agrees, the transfer from Jingzhao Mansion will be very fast."
"Although Hulao Pass is a strategic location, located at the throat of the capital and the various roads in Guandong. But after all, it is not comparable to the border areas. There has been no war for hundreds of years. When the Ministry of War allocates various supplies, it is not as tilted as here. It is also normal. The border troubles of Daqi are far more serious than those of the former Tang Dynasty. Although Tubo has declined, the Northern Liao Dynasty is not comparable to the Turks of the past."
"I heard, General, that those specially made for cannons are not only extremely expensive to make, but also the process is not generally complicated. The annual output is not high, and it is normal for the Ministry of War to first focus on the border military where the situation is more tense every year. Even if It is an important place like Yanshan Prefecture, which faces the Northern Liao invaders almost every year, and the cannon-specific weapons issued by the court every year are only five thousand kilograms."
At this point, he suddenly said something that was quite taboo: "Who would have thought before that the emperor's biological son would rebel against his father? There would be no war in this place for a hundred years. Allocate those expensive special weapons?" He had a very good chat with the few veterans he found, and he was quite familiar with these.
The words he said unconsciously caused several people around Huang Qiong to change their expressions, as well as the colleague who had just hurried over after learning that Huang Qiong was not resting at Dutong Yamen. Even Zhao Wusha himself turned pale after realizing that he had said the wrong thing unconsciously.
Almost everyone present turned their attention to Huang Qiong, who had already turned his attention to the rebel camp outside the pass. It's okay for everyone to talk about this in private, but what about saying it now, in front of the emperor's other son? In front of the emperor's other son, he exposed the emperor's shortcomings.
They say it’s better to hit someone in the face than to hit someone in the face. If you hit the emperor in the face, you really don’t know how much weight is on your neck, right? If the King of England were more narrow-minded, you, the newly appointed commander of Hulao Pass, would be moved. Although this is true, can this be said publicly?
It's just that Huang Qiong, who was staring at the rebel camp in the pass, seemed not to hear Zhao Wushan's words. After a long time, Huang Qiongcai said: "The peaks and ridges are like clusters, the waves are like raging, and the mountains and rivers are like roads inside and outside. Looking at the east of Guandong, I hesitate and feel sad. Wherever the Qin and Han Dynasties passed, thousands of palaces and palaces have been turned into dirt. In prosperity, the people are suffering. In death, the people are suffering. .”
"Looking around Mang Mountain, I saw a torch in the Nangong. Where did the original luxury become? I saw only sparse grass and lingering water. I still hate the smoke tree. In the Three Kingdoms, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, winning everything turned into soil, and losing everything turned into soil. My king It’s not Tian Deng. Only the state officials are allowed to set fires and the people are not allowed to light lamps. Since some things have been done, there is no need to cover it up anymore.”
"What I am angry about is not what I can say. You, Hulao Pass is connected to Songyue Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north. It is surrounded by mountains and ridges, making it a natural danger. There is a situation where one man can guard the pass and ten thousand people can't open it. Even if the garrison is closed, There are only three thousand, but because of the advantageous location, we may not necessarily need the help of artillery to defend Guancheng."
"My king is just sorry for these sharp weapons. The emergence of firearms is bound to change the pattern on the battlefield. Such sophisticated sharp weapons have been idle here for more than a hundred years. Although it is related to the long-lasting peace in the world and the long absence of war in the mainland, the most important thing is It is the mentality of the superiors that plays the main reason.”
Although Huang Qiong studied archeology in his previous life, he did not study war history. But archeology is related to history, so although I don't know much about military affairs, I still have a certain understanding of the impact of war on history. At least he knew that the emergence of Japan changed the course of world history. Hundreds of years later, the Chinese people who were not enterprising suffered a lot from this invention of their own.
But after looking at the disapproving expressions on the faces of the people around him, Huang Qiong hesitated but did not explain more. Although people in this era have a certain understanding of **, they are far from comprehensive. Compared with such bulky and difficult-to-move weapons, in most people's minds, highly mobile cavalry is king.
These artillery pieces were so cumbersome that they required dozens of strong horses to tow them in action. Artillery shells only have solid shells and shotgun shells. Apart from being used for attacking fortresses, solid shells have little lethality against cavalry. Shotguns are a great threat to cavalry, but the range of shotguns is too close. In addition, Da Qi's two, or to be exact three main opponents, Bei Liao, Tubo, and Uighurs are all good at cavalry.
Even the biggest enemy, Bei Liao, had very few infantry troops and was basically dominated by cavalry. Apart from defending the city, these bulky artillery were of little use in field battles. Therefore, it is not surprising that not only the court, but also generals at all levels do not pay attention to it. What's more, the elite cavalry of Da Qi is not inferior to that of Bei Liao. After all, not everyone has Huang Qiong's "foresight".
Seeing that almost everyone, including the military general Zhao Wuye, was not very interested in his topic, he stopped talking. Instead, he pointed to the rebel camp under the city and said to Zhao Wushu: "It doesn't matter, the rebels are showing signs of fatigue now. See if we can concentrate the cavalry in the pass to attack. At least we can weaken the vigor of the rebels."
"Your Majesty, judging from the future, this is not the best time for our army to take the initiative. Your Majesty, it has been less than two hours since the rebels attacked the city. The intensity of their siege is not large, and it should not be so They are about to fall into fatigue. Even if they march for days and attack the city immediately without making any repairs after arriving at Hulao Pass, they will not fall into fatigue so quickly."
"When the rebels fail to attack the city and retreat, the general will see that the rebels advance and retreat in an orderly manner. And judging from the rebel cavalry that first arrived outside Guancheng, although their level of eliteness is not as good as that of our heroic cavalry camp, at least it seems It’s not bad either. Moreover, the number of rebels is twice that of our army, and they did not put all their efforts into attacking the city before.”
"In other words, even if the siege brings a certain amount of fatigue, it will only be part of their troops. The remaining troops that have not been invested in the siege still far exceed our army. The most important thing is that you have also seen it, Your Majesty, The rebels spent most of their time pretending to be attacking the city. Even if they were frightened by the cannons, they were far from being truly timid."
"And by this time, they should wake up and understand that the power of these cannons is not as powerful as they thought. They retreated probably for other reasons. The general is worried that they will take the initiative to lure our troops into being fooled when they retreat. After all, with the solidity of Hulao Pass, as long as the defenders are determined to defend it, it will not be easy for anyone to seize it."
"If we can lure our troops out of the fortified Guancheng, a decisive battle outside the city would be more in line with their current situation. The general is worried that the rebels' active retreat is to lure our troops out of the city to fight with them, so this Now is not the best time for us to attack. If the prince insists on taking the initiative, I will think that the second half of the night will be more appropriate."
"Your Majesty, because Hulao Pass is located in the interior, the defenders are mainly infantry, and the number of cavalry is not large. Even if we add the 500 cavalry we brought, there are only 800 cavalry. And these 800 cavalry, It is already the only mobile force in Hulao Pass. Once it is wasted, we will no longer have any mobile force before the capital commander arrives."
"Hulao Pass is only more than two hundred miles away from Mengjin. Calculating the distance and days, Commander Yudu will arrive the day after tomorrow at the latest. The general thought that before Commander Yudu's army arrived, our army would still be unable to hold on. It's better to come out." Regarding Huang Qiong's suggestion to take the initiative, Zhao Wushu refused without even thinking about it. In Zhao Wushu's view, taking the initiative now is simply a matter of death.
