Zhang Jun is going to Guanshan and cannot stay in Xiangyang for too long. On the third day, I took several important officials to Xinye to see the new recruits Wang Xiao was training. This is what Zhang Jun attaches most importance to at this time. There is a strong army that can go north to Luoyang at critical times and cooperate with the Song army coming from Guandong.
When setting off, both the court officials and his subordinates advised Zhang Jun to be cautious. At this time, the Jin army was too strong and the Song army was not strong enough. They should recuperate first and slowly look for opportunities to attack. Although Zhang Jun agreed, he actually disagreed. In his mind, he should go to Shaanxi Road immediately, gather the Song armies from all walks of life, and fight to the death with the Jin army.
That night I arrived at Xinye City and rested at the Yamen. Wang Xiao Lie ordered Niu Gao and Shao Ling to lead troops and horses respectively, with Zhang Jun as the vanguard, and they would parade outside Xinye City tomorrow. This is the first large-scale military parade after the Xinye military training, so we must do it well.
That night, Zhang Jun went to bed early. Wang Yan and Liu Ziyu made an appointment with Wang Xiaolie to drink in the courtyard together.
The firelight flickered under the night, and the cool breeze blew, making it a little cold. There is a bright moon in the sky, like a disk hanging in the sky. The cool moonlight shines down, accompanied by the night wind, which has an indescribable meaning.
Wang Yan sat on his seat, looked at Wang Xiaolie, and said: "I thought that when we met in Kaifeng Mansion last year, you led hundreds of soldiers and horses and worked hard to train. Who could have imagined that one year later, we would be in today's situation! Look at this Xinye City today. , the city is strong and neatly arranged, it is easier said than done to build!”
Wang Xiaolie said: "Every man in the several states under the rule has fifty days of hard work a year, and this city was built in this way. It looks bright, but it is actually shabby on the inside. What can I do? I am not a rich man, so I can only Build a frame, but lack flesh and blood.”
"You can't stand it if you have any airs." Liu Ziyu sighed with emotion. "Nowadays, those who lead troops outside, except for the imperial troops and horses, often claim to be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands? In fact, a real number of tens of thousands of soldiers is enough to affect the situation of one party."
Wang Xiaolie was deeply moved by this matter. For the regular army of the imperial court, the numbers are generally not outrageous. Twenty to thirty thousand soldiers are considered a large army. But the local military leaders are different. They can easily number in the hundreds of thousands. Even the officials of the imperial court did not know the specific figures and could only make rough estimates. For example, Yang Jin, who was killed by Wang Xiaolie, had attacked De'an Mansion before. Chen Gui's estimate at that time was that he had an army of 100,000. But in fact, how could Yang Jin have so many people? There are really 100,000 troops, and the entire Jingxi Road is unstoppable. This confusion in numbers even affects historical records and makes them inaccurate. Later historical researchers often failed to give the correct number of people as to the course of the war. A small battle often involves hundreds of thousands of troops. In fact, without strong logistical support, how could one state support hundreds of thousands of people?
For generals, they have a rough estimate of their soldiers. You say there are hundreds of thousands of people, but what are the past achievements, where is the base, how much food can be produced there, and how long can it last for your army? Information like this can roughly estimate the strength.
For example, the Jin army often marched quickly without food and grass, and their numbers could not be large. Even if the enemy loses food, there still has to be time to grab food and grass, and time to feed the horses. Doing some miscellaneous calculations, there can be 10,000 or 20,000 people along the way, which is quite a lot. The often mentioned army of hundreds of thousands is impossible to happen.
Wang Xiaolie really had an army of 20,000 to 30,000 troops in Xinye, which was considered very strong at this time. If you want to attack here, you will need several times the army, and you will have to bring in 100,000 people. With an army of one hundred thousand, it can be considered a national war at this time.
The food and wine were served, and the three of them drank wine and chatted. Zhang Jun is not here, so he is relatively relaxed.
Liu Ziyu said: "Since last winter until now, the Jin army has been using troops on Jingdong Road. If Jingdong is cleared and a road south is found, I am afraid that troops will be sent to the southeast. By then, it will be difficult for the court to support it."
Wang Yan said: "Today's Jin army is divided into two groups. The east road attacks Jingdong and Lianghuai, and the west road attacks Shaanxi. This winter, I don't know where the Jin army will exert its force. Now it seems that the troops should be sent to the southeast, not Shaanxi. There will be a big war.”
Wang Xiaoxing said: "Since the Jin people ignored the states in Hebei and sent a large number of troops south to Kaifeng, they have been extremely arrogant. In my opinion, even if they use troops in the east of Jingdong and the Huaihe River, the Jin army will still attack Shaanxi. If Privy Zhang goes to Sichuan and Shaanxi, if Being able to integrate various armies and put them all into one place may be a great success.”
Liu Ziyu sighed: "Shaanxi's heavy troops are now in the hands of Qu Duan. The imperial court recruited Qu Duan to go, but he refused in every possible way. Many people in the court said that Qu Duan would rebel, and the Privy Council fully guaranteed it. Alas, even if Qu Duan does not If he will rebel, I'm afraid it won't be easy to command him."
Wang Xiaolie was not familiar with Shaanxi's army, but these generals still knew about it. The two most important generals in Shaanxi at this time were Wang Shu and Qu Duan. Wang Shu controlled the five armies and horses, and Qu Duan controlled the capital.
At this time, there were still many soldiers and horses in Shaanxi. To say 300,000 may be an exaggeration, but there are still hundreds of thousands. If they can be integrated, they can indeed fight against the Jin Army. But the problem is that after Zhao Gou succeeded to the throne, his prestige was not high, and many generals in Shaanxi were extremely domineering.
When it comes to going to Sichuan and Shaanxi, Wang Yan and Liu Ziyu are very ambitious. But when it comes to the situation in Shaanxi, neither of them is optimistic.
Wang Xiaolie said: "The goals of the Jin Army now are the Huaihei and Zhejiang provinces, and the other is Shaanxi, Sichuan and Sichuan. Last year the Jin Army attacked Jingxi Road and once defeated Xiangyang. I'm afraid they won't come back in a year or two. There will be another one. In two years, we can build an army."
Wang Shu nodded: "Yes, now Jingxi Road is in the abdomen. The Jin army robbed it once, but it was not taken seriously. This is exactly what it means to be dark under the lamp. You are training in Xinye, as long as you cherish the people and can resist the bandits, you will have a lot of success. Years of peace.”
Liu Ziyu nodded: "That's right. The Jin army destroyed Kaifeng Mansion and destroyed the surrounding counties. Instead, this area became an abandoned land."
Wang Xiaolian said: "The Jin people are like jackals and only want to rob gold and silver. They have already robbed Jingxi Road and Kaifeng Mansion, so they don't bother to come again. Now the richest people in the world are nothing more than the southeast and Sichuan, so the Jin people naturally aim at Two places."
Wang Shu and Liu Ziyu nodded and drank together.
Wang Xiaolie was right. At least until now, the Jin people only think about looting and have little interest in land. South of the Yellow River, many places were taken and left with no intention of holding on for a long time. If Zhao Gou can really integrate the Song Dynasty, work hard to govern, and restore the Central Plains, this is the best time.
After leaving Kaifeng Mansion, Wang Xiaolie first went to Luoyang, then to Ruzhou, and finally occupied Xiangyang Mansion. Wang Yan went south to defect to the imperial court. At first his army was taken away by Fan Qiong, but later Zhang Jun took it back. He had a lot of experience. Talking about the experience of this year, it is very sad.
The strategic situation at this time is actually very clear. The Jin army was divided into two attacking directions: east and west, targeting Huaihe and Zhejiang, and west targeting Sichuan and Shaanxi. Even people who don't understand military affairs understand this very well. The Song Dynasty's response was to use Zhang Jun to guard Sichuan and Shaanxi, and Du Chong to guard the Huaihe River. Of course Wang Xiaolie knew the result, both of them were unreliable. But at this time, what can you say?
It was now leap month, and according to previous habits, the troops of the Jin Army should have begun to gather, and the attack was about to begin. The Jin army on the East Road has not retreated since last year, and fighting continues on Jingdong Road. The west route uses Yunzhong as its base. It begins to gather in autumn, attacks in winter and spring, and retreats north to escape the summer heat. For the Jin Army, the Song Dynasty at this time was like a broken house with air leakage everywhere. If it was kicked, it would collapse.
