For a moment, there was an eerie silence inside and outside the tent. Seemingly sensing Li Mu's confusion, Zhao Kuo immediately looked at Li Mu and broke the silence and said, "Tell us about the results and damage."
"Yes." The embarrassed Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief, immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order, and began to talk about the results of the battle.
But Zhou Qi, who was outside the tent, still stood there with a look of confusion on his face. Of course, even the most stupid person knows that he must have offended the general.
As the saying goes, you have to stand at attention when you are beaten. Even though Zhou Qidang restrained his joy of victory, he put on a serious expression and stood guard for Zhao Kuo outside the big tent.
I just hope that the general can forgive me earlier for the sake of correcting my mistakes after realizing it. Glancing slightly at Zhou Qi, who had suppressed his smile and stood up straight, Zhao Kuo finally felt his anger subside a little - this guy seemed to know his character.
Of course, although the anger subsided, the punishment still had to continue, not only for the problems that occurred during the battle, but also to completely erase the arrogance in Zhou Qi's heart, so as to fundamentally change his mind.
Zhao Kuo immediately focused his attention on Li Mu's report.
"Reporting to the general, the statistics so far." Li Mu adjusted his mentality slightly and began to report: "In today's battle, our army killed a total of more than 32,000 Hu people including King Zuo Xian and others, and there were also prisoners Nearly 10,000 people, including less than 20,000 Hu people, have escaped from the camp, and it is expected that most of them will be overtaken by our army." Zhao Kuo nodded, but did not care. Obviously, such results have long been achieved. It was expected.
Zhao Kuo also knew very well that among the more than 30,000 people his troops killed, probably more of them were not Hu soldiers, but ordinary herdsmen.
However, according to the custom of the Hu people dismounting their horses to serve as people and mounting their horses to serve as soldiers, perhaps all adult males should be counted as soldiers of the Hu people.
However, in addition to this, I am afraid that a large number of women and children will inevitably be injured. Even among the barbarians killed and captured, women and children accounted for a large proportion.
There is nothing that can be done about this. The march of the Hu people is different from that of the Zhao State. Even though it is a march and a war, it is still a migration organized by tribes and families as units. If you want to distinguish men, women and children one by one, such a raid is also There is no way to fight.
Strong Hu soldiers were obviously more capable and more likely to escape from the camp than women and children. This was one of the reasons why Zhao Kuo did not stop the army from continuing to pursue him. Among the nearly 20,000 people who escaped from the camp, I am afraid that nearly half were strong men among the Hu people.
Although going north is almost a dead end, if they suddenly wake up, turn around, and rush to their Shanyu, these defeated troops will probably be defeated again as long as they have a full meal. A strong man.
This is what Zhao Kuo doesn't want to see. Therefore, Zhao Kuo loosened the reins that bound the Daidi Army. Needless to say, once the Daidi Army, with its hatred of the country and family, caught up with the Hu people, they would not be able to spare them...
"What are the casualties?" Zhao Kuo then continued to ask.
"Preliminary statistics show that there are only a dozen people killed in battle, and the total number of casualties is around a hundred. Most of them were caused by carelessness during the march, and another dozen people were injured by our army's arrows because of the impact too fast." Li Mu replied slightly embarrassed.
Zhao Kuo was also slightly startled when he heard this. Logically speaking, this number is not too much, or even very small. After all, the Hu people on the opposite side can fight with no less than 20,000 soldiers. With other herdsmen, women and children, etc., the total number reaches 60,000. There were many people, more than twice as many as him. Even if he came in a surprise attack, it would be normal for him to suffer some losses due to the enemy's counterattack.
Even a partial counterattack is enough to drink a pot of wine. Now that there were only a hundred casualties, it could almost be said to be a complete victory.
But, what would it be like to be injured by one's own arrow? ! Where are the elites you promised? Just such a cooperative method?
If we encounter the elite Qin army, we not only have to be wary of the enemy, but also fear the arrows behind us. How can we fight this battle?
After thinking for a while, Zhao Kuo quickly understood what the situation was! what's the situation? To put it nicely, the killing was exciting, but to put it poorly, the cavalry archers and the cavalry in front were competing for the kill.
It’s just that this fight is about the venting of the heart, the credit for killing, or both?
! Zhao Kuo didn't want to guess, and he didn't want to guess. At that moment of intuition, maybe even he couldn't tell what it was for!
But Zhao Kuo knew very well that such a thing would never be allowed to happen in his team. What he needs is an army that can act like an arm and a finger. It will always march forward when ordered, regardless of mountains of swords and seas of fire;
Punishment is already necessary!
"Command: The credit for this battle will be canceled for all the hundreds of cavalry under your command who were injured by your own side, and for the hundreds of cavalry under your command who were injured by others." Zhao Kuo ordered coldly.
"General, what is this?" Li Mu obviously wanted to make peace with these two groups of troops. This battle was a complete victory. If all were canceled directly, the losses of the soldiers of these two groups would be great. In the future, I am afraid that my treatment is far behind that of my colleagues.
Although the two troops did violate military orders, after all, both troops were fighting for the land, and they both had a deep hatred for the Hu people, and their original intention was to kill more Hu people.
"Compassion does not command troops, such a punishment is considered to be a light punishment." Before Li Mu could say his words of intercession, Zhao Kuo had already interrupted him, and then continued to give instructions: "Inform the whole army, if there is any further violation of military orders and shaking of the front." , I will not be merciful to anyone who hurts his colleagues." Listening to the general's words, Li Mu obviously realized how harmful such behavior is - today he can disregard military discipline because of the hatred of the Hu people, but will he do it again tomorrow? Will military orders be ignored for other reasons?
This wind can't be broken for long!
"Yes." Li Mu, who wanted to understand, immediately agreed. After dealing with the battle damage here, Zhao Kuo immediately looked at Zhou Qi who was still standing guard at the door.
Not bad, his body was straight and he didn't have any complaints. Only then did Zhao Kuo feel satisfied. Whenever Zhou Qi showed any dissatisfaction on his face, Zhao Kuo would immediately hide him in his heart. He could never hand over the trump card in his hand to a general who was dissatisfied with him, and there was no need for him to bother. To teach a general who is not of the same mind as himself.
"Come in." Zhao Kuo said calmly towards the door. Zhou Qi, who had already pricked up his ears, immediately heard the call to smash, and felt a burst of joy in his heart.
Of course, on the surface, he didn't dare to show it at all. Turning around, Zhou Qi walked into the Chinese military tent in two or two steps, then knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists with both hands, and said loudly: "The guilty general will pass by the general." A set of smooth movements, obviously the same as when he was standing in the tent just now. When I was out, I had already thought about how to apologize.
"Oh?" Zhao Kuo looked at Zhou Qi's smooth movements and even laughed. Obviously, he didn't think Zhou Qi knew where he went wrong.
"Tell me, where is your crime?" So, Zhao Kuo asked Zhou Qi in a mocking tone.
"The guilty general, the guilty general..." Zhou Qi frowned slightly. It was obvious that although he had thought about his actions, he had not prepared all the explanations, especially where he had made mistakes. In fact, Zhou Qi He was still confused.
Faced with Zhao Kuo's sudden question, Zhou Qi naturally hesitated. Fortunately, Zhou Qi was quick to think. In an instant, an explanation came to his mind, and he immediately replied respectfully: "In the end, you will be victorious and forget your form." , which is the crime of arrogant soldiers."
"Arrogant soldier?" Zhao Kuo shook his head helplessly when he heard this. Standing up, Zhao Kuo walked up to Zhou Qi and said slowly: "Why do you have the right to be proud?" This was indeed a bit harsh, but it had to be said that it was the truth!
Zhou Qi broke into a cold sweat after hearing what the general said. Yes, what right does he have to be proud of? Strategically, it was the general who decided to take the initiative; tactically, it was the general who led the charge. Even in terms of specific command, Li Mu's contribution was far greater than his own; the only thing he could do was to remain neutral in this battle. The three hundred heavy armored cavalry deserved the credit.
But these three hundred heavy armored cavalry are not his own private soldiers, nor are they the ones who have achieved such merit because of themselves. It can even be said that no matter which general is replaced, this heavy armored cavalry can still be invincible.
So, what are you proud of? ! Zhou Qi asked himself. The final answer is already obvious - the consecutive days of victory have made me forget everything.
"The general will finally be convicted." Zhou Qi said to Zhao Kuo sincerely. Zhao Kuo snorted coldly, and then said: "Get up." After that, he walked to the sand table and said: "Come here."
"Yes." Li Mu and Zhou Qi immediately replied in unison. When I walked in, I saw that the sand table was obviously made temporarily and was obviously a little rougher than the previous sand table.
The two of them took a brief look and felt that they were very familiar. That's right, what is depicted on the sand table is not the Hu people on the east road who are about to fight, nor the Yan army troops hidden in Zhao Kuo's heart, but the battle that has just been fought, the battle with the Hu people Zuo Xian Wang's troops. !
"This is?" Li Mu was a little confused. Zhou Qi knew that the general had always had the habit of reviewing the situation after the war, but he also had some doubts in his heart.
It's not that Li Mu couldn't understand Zhao Kuo's intentions for the resumption after the war, but from the perspective of Li Mu and Zhou Qi, this battle was already a complete victory both strategically and tactically. Is there a need for a resumption?
Are you looking for the advantages of this battle? Judging from the general’s previous tone, it’s obviously not appropriate! Of course, Zhao Kuo is not looking for the advantages in this battle. This is a battle with great disparity in strength. The seemingly advantages are not enough to explain the problem, let alone inherit. On the contrary, it is the problem, but it is worth discussing. and analysis.
That's right, Zhao Kuo is preparing to give his two favorite generals a good post-war review lesson. The content of the course is - on the use of heavy armored cavalry.
