Just thinking of Tuoba's method of moving forward, these clan leaders and leaders still chose to accept this fact. After the other tribal chiefs and leaders left, the leader of the Yeli tribe, Yeli Qiji, was invited back to the back hall by Tuoba Jiqian. As the leader of the Yeli tribe, the largest clan in Ningxia Prefecture, and having stood firm in Ningxia Prefecture for so many years, Yeli Qiji is naturally an old fox.
Naturally, Yeli Qiji was very clear about Tuoba Jiqian's intention of finding him. As for Tuoba Jiqian's true thoughts and plans in this three-pronged attack on the government and army. From the moment Tuoba Ji moved into the living room, he had always had a downcast expression on his face, so he already knew it. Moreover, he did not think that Tuoba Jiqian's idea of abandoning Ningxia Mansion and retreating to Helan Mountain was wrong.
Although the number of officers and soldiers was not as large as that of the Party Army, three consecutive battles had proved that the officers and soldiers transferred from the Xijing Camp were far from comparable to the Longyou Local Guards in terms of combat effectiveness. Comparing the strength of the two sides, it seems that the Party Army has the advantage. But this old patriarch, who is considered to be well-informed, knows that on the battlefield, the true strength of both sides cannot be judged by simply looking at the comparison of military strength.
The Xijing camp is too powerful, and most of the military attachés at all levels have fought in battles. In contrast, the party's army was not only poorly armed, but most of the military attachés at all levels were tribal, chieftains, or original native officials. The Dangxiang people have been at peace for hundreds of years, and marching and fighting have long become distant history for the Dangxiang people. Indeed, party men will not be shot to death.
But on the battlefield, not only not being afraid of death can solve all problems. The marching arrangements of the army, the formations used to engage the enemy, and the use of archers all require experience. But at the moment, all party ministries lack actual combat experience. When fighting, it is normal to be at a loss in advance or retreat on the battlefield, and disordered coordination is the norm. Even if the attack is basically a swarm charge, it will only be a head-on fight.
There is basically no such thing as flank cover. Except for the Pingxia tribe, who had been secretly trained for more than a month, and whose combat power was slightly better, the other tribes did not even know how to camp. It was said to be a camp, but even the sentries didn't know about it. The Zheluo tribe was defeated outside Qingyang City for this reason. The officers and soldiers took advantage of the darkness and the cavalry rushed forward, and then set fire to the camp with rockets. They themselves blew up the camp first.
It would be strange for such an army not to be completely defeated when it encounters a slightly stronger opponent. Therefore, Ye Liqiji believed that in the face of a strong enemy, Tuoba Jiqian was right not to confront the official army head-on. Although the Dangxiang army currently has an advantage in terms of military strength, at least for now, it does not have the strength to compete with the elite officers and soldiers. No matter which one of the three roads, it is a hard nut to crack.
Even if they win this battle, the party tribes will probably lose miserably. After the war, the party princes were also severely weakened. But as the leader of the largest tribe among the Dangxiang tribes in Ningxia. He knew what Ningxia Mansion meant to these party tribes who had been nomadic here for more than a hundred years. If we don't fight a single battle, we will abandon Ningxia Mansion, especially Lingzhou City.
I am afraid that the morale of these tribes will be completely disintegrated and depressed. Some tribes, especially small tribes that cannot withstand any storms, may tend to become disloyal. Without the support of other tribes, the Pingxia tribe and the Yeli tribe would not be able to compete with the imperial court. Even if this Da Qi Dynasty is just a cripple, it is still too big for the Dangxiang people.
Compared to the complicated-minded Ye Li Qiji, Tuoba Jiqian's expression has been gloomy since he returned to the living room. After seeing Yeli Qiji, he sighed deeply and said: "Father-in-law, you will not go to Shigou City to gather tomorrow. You will stay in Lingzhou City with Yeli's two thousand troops and horses. After all the troops have set off, you immediately cover the Pingxia tribe's family members as they retreat northward."
"After reuniting with the Yelibu, we will take a detour to the northwest and retreat into the Helan Mountains. If we win this battle, we will naturally have peace of mind. But if we are defeated, I have to leave a root for the Pingxia tribe. Father-in-law, you have the same ambition as the Helan Mountains. Profound wisdom. If I die in the battle this time, I hope you and Noribu can continue to assist Jichong and let him inherit my cause of restoring the glory of the party."
After Tuoba Jiqian's words fell, Yeli Qiji pondered for a while, and finally nodded and said: "I know that your idea of giving up on Lingzhou is right. But in this battle, no matter whether you win or lose, you can't Don’t fight. If you don’t fight, abandon the city. I’m afraid the tribes that have joined you now will leave you. Especially those small tribes that are already poor and can’t bear to part with their cattle and sheep fields.”
"What's more, under the pressure of the imperial court for more than a hundred years, the only name for Dangxiang people is Dangxiang people. In fact, they have already been mostly Chineseized. Herding cattle and sheep is just grazing in front of the house. Also learn to let the cattle The sheep no longer only eat green grass on the mountains, but now eat wheat straw. They have also learned farming from the Han people, and are no longer used to the life of our ancestors, living by water and grass, sleeping in the open air."
"Your idea of avoiding the enemy's edge is good, but the problem is that other people don't think so. They only know that their fields, homes, ancestors' graves, and even cattle and sheep pastures are here. After more than a hundred years of peace, even if They are the poorest tribe, and they have accumulated a lot of property. If you retreat without a fight and leave all these properties to the court, they will naturally not be willing."
"It is gratifying to win this battle. But even if we lose, the hearts of the Dangxiang people may not collapse. But if you withdraw without a fight, then I am afraid that all the tribes will feel resentful and eventually become disloyal. So this battle Regardless of victory or defeat, even if it is to make a comeback one day after defeat. In order to unite the hearts of the party members, we have to fight hard."
Regarding the thoughts of his old father-in-law, Tuoba Jiqian sighed deeply: "Father-in-law, you should know that we are really no match for the government and the army. Our best way is to lure them in as much as possible. The hinterland of Ningxia. Then use light cavalry to cut off its food routes, and continue sneak attacks along the way to tire out the officers and soldiers. After their food is exhausted, we will attack with all our strength, and we will naturally succeed in one fell swoop."
"Now we are fighting head-on. I am afraid that even if we win, our Ningxia Party Department will have to pay filial piety to every family. Father-in-law, there are many ways to deal with the government and the army, but we have chosen the worst one. The only thing I can do now is The only thing is to choose the less bad one among the worst methods. I also know that it is difficult to leave the homeland, and they grew up on the land of Ningxia Prefecture. "
"Am I not the same? Their cattle, sheep, fields, houses, and ancestors' graves are all in Ningxia Prefecture, and the Pingxia tribe is no different. They believe that giving up Ningxia Prefecture is not only difficult to leave their homeland, but also abandons the roots of party members. Why don’t I know this? If they don’t want to, why would I? But I know that giving up now is so that we can come back better in the future.”
"Don't give up your life, wealth, and don't want to give up anything. The result is that you can't keep anything. The 60,000 Dangxiang men in my hands now are the last foundation of our Dangxiang people and the last hope for the rejuvenation of the Dangxiang people. If there is a war, all The loss is in Ningxia Mansion, which is the real root of digging us up. Unfortunately, their vision is too short-sighted, and they only look at the good money in front of them and cannot give up."
After Tuoba Jiqian finished speaking, Yeli Qiji also fell silent. He knew that his son-in-law was not wrong. The method he came up with was the best method. But will those clan leaders and leaders give him this opportunity? Thinking of this, Yeli Qiji sighed: "Speaking of food, my dear son-in-law, do you know why those small tribes are unwilling to follow you to the Helan Mountains?"
"You know now that many of those small tribes are about to run out of food. Last year there was a severe drought in Longyou, and Ningxia Prefecture bore the brunt of the drought. Many of the cattle and sheep raised by the tribes starved to death, and most of the grain they cultivated was grainless. Harvest. This year's drought has not been fundamentally alleviated, and the amount of grain stored in Ningxia Prefecture is less than one or two compared with previous years. You know this well. "
"Right now, we can barely survive. In addition to the government grain stocks seized in Ningxia Prefecture and the border army grain stocks obtained in Lingzhou, we also rely on the prince's grain stocks seized from the Prince's Mansion in Guyuan County and the grain stocks purchased from the Fan family. Some of the grain. But haven’t you noticed? Since the British king came to Xijing, the Fan family has sold us less and less grain. Now they are even using horse feed to fool us. "
"Now the big tribes, relying on your attention, can still barely maintain their food allotment. But most of the small tribes that you don't like are about to run out of food. Now they control the entire Long County. Ningxia Prefecture, one of the richest areas on the right, is in such a predicament. If they follow you to the sparsely populated Helan Mountains, what will be waiting for them? "
"Xian son-in-law, I'm afraid this is the main reason why they are unwilling to evacuate with you to the more desolate Helan Mountains. Don't underestimate these small tribes. Although each of their tribes are weak in strength, they are unable to compete with you or those who cannot fight. . But if they unite together, their strength will be quite objective. Nowadays, these small tribes have even begun to influence some large tribes."
"The most important thing is that you still need to use these small tribes. Facing the massive attack by the government and the army, the party members must unite as much as possible. Once the party members are completely divided, all your ideas will be in vain. The Han people often say , if they are not from our tribe, their minds must be different. Those people are all party members, and they are more reliable than the Han people on the battlefield. Even if these tribes can only send a hundred troops, it will be a help to you. "
"What you have to do now is to tie all the party members together. How can those party members really follow you wholeheartedly if their hands have not been stained with the blood of the official army? In this battle with the official army, you can control those who are not involved in the fight. It is not very reliable, or the tribes on both sides of the head and rat are the vanguard, let them fight with the army first. Let their hands be stained with the blood of the army, the kind that cannot be washed away. "
"The first is to completely cut off their retreat, and the second is to consume their strength so that even if they are dissatisfied with you, they will not have the strength to resist you. Third, after this battle, even if they really surrender to the government, you Do you think the government will still trust them? As long as their hands are stained with blood, they will never be able to wash them off for the rest of their lives. Even if they surrender to the government, what awaits them is their heads on the ground."
"Even if they kill 10% of the officers and soldiers, it will be a help to you. If they kill them all, you can remove the internal instability factors. They have almost killed the officers and soldiers, and you can just reap the benefits. . The Han people are indeed cunning and cunning, and are good at internal fighting. But some of their methods are indeed very effective in eliminating internal dissidents and instability."
"Since you have already tried this trick of killing people with a borrowed knife, and you have eliminated the Zuluo Department with this move, you might as well use it again. Remember, if you really want to achieve something big, you can only rely on your Pingxia Department. No, the Han people have to be untrustworthy. Only by keeping all party members firmly in your hands can you achieve great things. As a leader, you must always have a smile on your face."
