This night, most of the soldiers of the Victory Army slept very soundly and deeply.
Two battles and a forced march in one and a half days had already drained all their physical strength. Being able to hold on until now was considered a sign of strong willpower.
The prisoners of war also hurriedly went to bed, preparing for the uncertain tomorrow with various moods.
Although everyone had fallen asleep, Su Yonglin, who had been fighting for a day and a half, had so many thoughts that he could not fall asleep.
He sat alone on a high platform by Wenshui River, watching the boats on the river, silent.
After finishing some chores, Tian Qizi walked to Su Yonglin and put a piece of clothing on him.
"It's hot and stuffy in the summer. Isn't it a bit redundant for you to put some clothes on me?"
Su Yonglin turned his head and looked at Tian Guizi with a smile.
"Even if it's sweltering, you can't sit by the river with just a single coat and enjoy the breeze. Alang is the commander-in-chief of the entire army. There must be no problem, otherwise the entire army will fall into chaos. This is very dangerous for the entire Shengjie Army. thing."
Tian Guizi is serious.
Su Yonglin smiled bitterly and nodded helplessly.
"Okay, okay, you can say whatever you want, I will listen to you."
"This is the duty of my subordinates."
Tian Guizi is still serious.
Su Yonglin quite appreciated this.
"Quizi, do you know what I was thinking just now?"
"What Alang is thinking about is probably how to defeat the golden thief faster and overthrow Jin Ting faster."
"No matter how much I think about victory, I won't think about it every day."
Su Yonglin shook his head and smiled, then sighed and said, "I was just thinking about why the Jin army, which was obviously stronger than our army, failed, but our army won."
"It's simple, Alang did the right thing, and the golden thief didn't."
“What is the right thing to do?”
"this……"
"When I was talking to Jiagu Asu before, he asked me a question, which I found very interesting."
"what is the problem?"
Tian Guizi asked curiously.
"He asked me how many people escaped from the whole army when we marched here in a hurry. I said that no one ran away, but only dozens of people were injured by falls and dozens of people were sprained. I felt sorry for him. He was very surprised."
Su Yonglin squinted his eyes and looked at the water: "I didn't think clearly before, but now I understand why he was so surprised."
"Why?"
"Because he can't."
Su Yonglin said solemnly: "I can lead Shengjie's army to attack all night, run the distance that takes half a day in advance, and even launch a surprise attack before dawn to catch him off guard, but he can't do it, no matter what. Can't do it.
Why does the golden thief move so slowly? Why are we given so much time to set up the battlefield and block the river? The reason may be here. He cannot march quickly, because once he marches quickly, all his soldiers may be gone before they reach Tai'an Prefecture. "
Tian Guizi frowned, suddenly feeling that this question was interesting.
"Alang, do you mean that the golden thief's heart is divided, but our hearts are united?"
"You can also say this, but it can also show that we know why we are fighting and why we have to risk our lives to fight this war. We are willing to fight. Everyone is working hard and knows that every time they kill An enemy means nothing.
The gold thieves are different. From top to bottom, few people in the gold thieves army may know why they are fighting, so naturally they are not a whole, but a piece of scattered sand. They are forced to join the army. As they march, there will be people constantly trying to escape. .
For us, a forced march is a magic weapon to defeat the enemy, but for many people in the army of gold thieves, it is a great opportunity to escape from the battlefield and the control of officers. Once a forced march is made, the escape rate of soldiers will increase significantly, and they cannot control it at all. "
Tian Guizi took a deep breath and realized.
"So it turns out that those golden soldiers are not willing to fight at all. They are either doing plunder and making money, or they are forced to have no choice, so they will find ways to escape from the battlefield. Normal marches can still be controlled, but once there is an emergency march..."
"Whether those who want to escape or those who don't want to escape will fall behind in large numbers. If the road is long, if 10,000 people start out, and there are still five or six thousand at the destination, they are considered good elites. Therefore, since ancient times, long-distance raids have been a great test for generals. and military problems.”
When Su Yonglin said this, Tian Guizi became enlightened.
"I see. In this way, Alang, our army's victory over the enemy relies on more than just brand-new weapons."
Su Yonglin nodded.
"It has never been the case that those who use weapons are human beings. People are the ones who can play a decisive role. Weapons are only auxiliary."
He knew this. He knew that the weapons gap between the Qing army and the British army during the Opium War was not so big that they would be beaten.
There is no qualitative difference in the gunpowder used by both sides. It is still front-loaded gunpowder. Once it rains, the musket becomes a fire stick.
During the war, during the musket and artillery exchange stage, the Qing army could fight back and forth with the British army. However, when the exchange of fire ended and the British army charged forward in line with bayonets and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, the Qing army was completely unable to fight. It collapsed at the first touch.
At that time, the British army's musketeers were very skilled in bayonet fighting and highly organized. However, the Qing army's musketeers were only responsible for shooting, and those responsible for hand-to-hand combat were not responsible for shooting. Once the British army started to charge in formation, the Qing army's musketeers were the first to escape.
The hand-to-hand combat troops were unable to compete with the British army due to long-term neglect of training. They were beaten to a pulp as soon as they entered the battle. The officers took the lead in fleeing, so the army was defeated like a mountain.
Ironically, more than a hundred years later, the brand-new Chinese army is able to fight against a powerful enemy that is far superior to its own with extremely high levels of training, organization, and equipment without losing, and can force the opponent to fight.
Doesn't this prove something?
"All the soldiers in our army have a deep pain for the golden thieves, and they also have their own sorrow. After being aroused by our army's empathy and educating them, they will naturally understand why they are so miserable.
Once they understand this truth, they will be completely different from the past. If they continue to live their original lives, they will feel that they are incompatible with everything around them.
They will be unable to bear the oppressive air and feel unable to breathe. In order to fight for the right to breathe freely, they will fight for it at all costs! "
Saying this, Su Yonglin stood up and patted Tian Guizi on the shoulder.
"Guizi, isn't that the same for you?"
Tian Guizi lowered his head and was silent for a while, remembering the time when he was on the verge of starving to death, and his heart ached with pain. For a moment, he really felt like it was difficult to breathe.
"exactly."
"Let more people understand why they are so miserable and unable to turn over, and then tell them how to turn over, then they will be our most loyal and steadfast companions. No matter whether they are marching in a hurry or at a disadvantage, as long as they have hope, they will never They will disperse, which the golden thief cannot do no matter what!"
Su Yonglin took a deep breath: "On this basis, give them enough training, food and equipment, and they will be invincible in the world."
Tian Guizi spat it out in one breath, and his heart suddenly felt as hot as a fire.
"Alang, let's attack Dongping Mansion! Capture Dongping Mansion. Dongping Mansion has mountains, water, population, food, iron mines, and coal mines. That is very important to us!"
Su Yonglin walked by the river.
"Dongping Mansion is the place our Commander Zhao wants to occupy, and it is also the current base camp of the Golden Thief. It has the largest amount of supplies and the largest number of soldiers and horses. However, we are already a tired army and still need to rectify it. This is not a good opportunity to attack."
Speaking of Zhao Kaishan, Tian Guizi looked unhappy.
"The gold thieves marched from Dongping Prefecture to attack Tai'an Prefecture, and our army counterattacked. It is only natural that no one can say anything. Even Commander Zhao, what can he say? As long as we occupy Dongping Prefecture first and achieve the established fact, what can he do? how?"
"Even so, how should we deal with the many soldiers and horses in the Golden Thief's base camp and the many prisoners of war currently in our army?"
Su Yonglin looked at Tian Guizi.
Tian Qizi was silent for a while.
"this……"
"Defeating this golden army is already the full strength of our army at the moment. Continuing the attack is really not a good strategy, so we must reorganize the army and recuperate in any case before we can consider other things."
"But Alang, Dongping Mansion..."
"Gezi, I know what you mean."
Su Yonglin stopped and turned to look at Tian Guizi: "When did I say that I don't want Dongping Mansion? Most of the signing troops and civilians are from Dongping Mansion. I plan to recruit them, and Dongping Mansion is indispensable. Don't worry."
"That?"
Tian Qizi looked at Su Yonglin with surprise and joy.
"Didn't Jiagu Asu explain it? The gold thieves also have a group of troops going to Yizhou. It must be a fierce battle. The other Liberation Army does not have an organization like ours. They are basically a mess. Can they hold it? Still a problem.
I have no control over the other states, but in Yizhou, we have our people, there are so many new rural areas, and there are so many people who believe in the Shengjie Army and support the Shengjie Army. Even for them, we have to help Zhao lead the army. Handsome. "
"That's true, but what does this have to do with Dongping Mansion?"
Su Yonglin smiled.
"I helped him, and he didn't want to return the favor to me? He had done that kind of thing before, which was unpopular, but I don't care about past grudges."
"This...Alang is a perfect plan."
Tian Guizi had nothing to say but expressed his admiration.
This job is done flawlessly. Even if it is a land grab, it can be done openly and morally without any stain. No one can say anything wrong.
"Now is not the time for us to fall out. Before we defeat the main force of the golden thief, we must deal with what we need to deal with, tolerate what we need to tolerate, and try to take the overall situation into consideration."
Su Yonglin patted Tian Guizi on the shoulder: "He can bend and stretch, so he is a man."
Tian Qizi was silent for a while and nodded to express his understanding.
