Wang Xiaolie looked at the sun in the sky and then at Jin Jun, his face as dark as water.
Chen Yuyi said: "Today the Jin army no longer attacks in large numbers, but only sends small groups of cavalry to harass. Defend, they are going to escape!"
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Yes, the Jin Army is going to escape. However, it is easy for them to come, but it is not so easy to leave!"
After speaking, he called his own soldiers and asked them to give orders to Wei Yang and Zhong Ci. Let them be prepared, and in another hour, the entire army will attack. Judging by the time, when the sun sets, it will not be easy for the Jin army to withdraw its troops.
After fighting for two days, the Jin army was at the end of its strength. If they attack like the previous two days, they will not have enough troops.
Seeing that the Jin army no longer attacked, both Wei Yang and Zhong Ci felt a little regretful. After receiving Wang Xiaolie's order and knowing that he was about to attack, he couldn't help but gear up. After being attacked by the Jin army for two days, he could finally let out his bad breath.
After noon, Ba Lisu said to Wanyan Yuying: "Go back to the camp and take the remaining more than a thousand cavalry to capture Fuzhou. After nightfall, I will lead the army eastward and leave behind Yelu's horse after five cuts."
Wanyan Yuying crossed his hands and said yes. Looking at the battlefield, I felt a little reluctant.
In the afternoon, a drum sounded in the Song army's formation, and Wei Yang and Zhong Ci led their armored men to press against the Jin army. The armored soldiers were all tall, with axes as long as walls in their hands, and their aura was astonishing.
A soldier came to Wang Xiaolie's side and said: "Defense, a group of golden soldiers left the military camp and headed towards Fuzhou!"
Wang Xiaolie nodded and said nothing. This was to be expected. The Jin army does not want to be destroyed here, and they will definitely find a way to withdraw today. Wang Xiaolie didn't want to chase Jin Jun too far, but he could still do it by leaving as many people behind as possible.
Seeing the Song army attacking, he pulled away and complained. I originally wanted to stop fighting today, but when it got dark, I broke camp and headed east. Unexpectedly, the Song army started to attack. Of course, the Jin army was not that fragile and was destroyed by the Song army. But the two armies were entangled and it was not easy to leave.
The battle continued until it was almost dark, and the two armies were still fighting fiercely. Seeing that the sun was about to set, Wang Xiaolie ordered Ming Jin to withdraw his troops.
When they arrived at the commander's tent, Wang Xiaolie called Niu Gao. Said: "The Jin Army is going to escape tonight. To retain the Jin Army, we have to pay too much, and there are many places that we really can't control. You led the three thousand cavalry under you, made preparations in advance, and targeted the Jin Army. The porters are carrying the baggage. Wait for the army to cover up and kill them, then mount their horses and pursue them all the way to the Han River. Remember, don't enter Fuzhou!"
Niu Gao crossed his hands and made a promise. He stood there and thought for a while, then said: "Now we have a huge advantage! It's really disappointing that we can't annihilate all the Jin army here! This is the first time we have such a good opportunity since the Jingkang Incident!"
Wang Xiaolie nodded, looking at the dusk outside the tent, and said nothing for a long time. This year, he saved Shaanzhou and defeated the Jin army at Jingmen. He achieved enough military exploits. There were leaks everywhere in the Song Dynasty, and at some point, ministers were keeping an eye on their own army. Disobeying military orders made the court even more suspicious of its own self-respect in supporting troops. Following military orders, the army was torn to pieces.
The battle against the Jin Army is different from previous wars. Superior forces should be concentrated for a decisive battle with the main force. Only by destroying the main force of the Jin army can we gain military advantage over the Jin Dynasty. Officials of the Song Dynasty also gradually understood this truth, but they were not sure who to appoint as the main general.
To gain the court's trust, Wang Xiaolie could learn from Yue Fei in history. After receiving the order, he immediately went to the palace, performed well in front of Zhao Gou, and coupled with his military exploits, he would naturally gain the trust of the court. Then what? In order to seize the opportunity to sue for peace, Zhao Gou killed Yue Fei.
Although the Yue Family Army is named "Yue", it is not Yue Fei's private army. Not only did food and grass depend on the court, but so did the appointment and dismissal of officials. Even compared with armies such as Han Shizhong and Wu Jie, the independence of the Yuejia Army is far inferior. How could a warlord accept this situation?
Seeing that Wang Xiaolie had no intention of changing his mind, Niu Gao had no choice but to say goodbye and leave. Although I feel it is a pity, the order must be carried out resolutely.
After a day, Niu Gao gradually understood Wang Xiaolie's thoughts. It's just that he didn't think that much, he still thought that the Jin army should be annihilated. With tens of thousands of troops in hand, how dare the court do anything to Wang Xiaolie?
Watching Niu Gao leave, Wang Xiaolie slowly sat down.
It has been less than two years since Yang Jin was annihilated. In two years, the army has grown from 3,000 to nearly 40,000. It is also very capable of fighting and is a bit fast. In this era, most officials did not know much about the military, including generals, and they had no doubts about this matter. But Wang Xiaolie knew that now, his foundation seemed unstable.
Raising an army requires money and food. It’s not enough to just have food, you also need money. Without money, everything slowly fades away. In the days to come, there will be no large-scale wars around, so you should focus on making money. He couldn't make any money, so he trained in the army just to make wedding clothes for others.
After more than a year in Xiangdeng, Wang Xiaolie made various preparations, but lacked start-up funds. If a lot of money is invested, many industries will flourish. As long as you can get started, things will be easier in the future.
What does it matter if you let go of thousands of gold troops? If you can defeat them now, you can still defeat them later. But when the wealth that the Jin Army snatched from Jiangxi and Hunan came to him, he would never let it go. If I miss this opportunity, I don’t know how long I have to wait.
Thinking of this, Wang Xiaolie sighed. With Xiang and Deng's experience, Wang Xiaolie understood that training troops was not that difficult. The Song Dynasty's failure to do so was the Song Dynasty's problem, and the military tradition was broken. There are sufficient sources of troops, specialized military academies, and qualified recruit battalions, and the army can be continuously supplied. In later countries, especially after World War I, it was not difficult at all for countries like the Song Dynasty, which had a population of 50 to 60 million, to mobilize several million troops. Not to mention that the requirements for soldiers in later generations are low, but in the era of hot weapons, the quality requirements for soldiers are much higher.
China once had a complete military mobilization system. From the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, military mobilization capabilities were so strong that they surpassed those of the next two thousand years. However, due to various reasons, this mobilization system collapsed. Wang Anshi's reform wanted to establish the Baojia system, and to some extent he wanted to restore the mobilization system, but he was unsuccessful. What's the hardest part of it? These are the various reasons for the collapse of the mobilization system.
Why is it called various reasons? Because the influencing factors include all aspects of society, politics, economy, and education, it is far from being clear in one sentence. If we want to build a complete mobilization system, we also need major changes in society, politics, economy, education, and even ideology. As long as the changes are completed, the mobilization system is rebuilt, and the military structure is reformed, what is there to fear about the Jin Dynasty, which has only a few hundred thousand soldiers? What kind of Jurchens are less than ten thousand and invincible? How could they live to see his big-headed ghost?
In the current war between the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty, no matter how many troops they brag about, 30,000 to 50,000 people are enough for a battle. No matter how large the number of people is, it must be divided into many battles and coordinated with each other. Otherwise, neither local collection of grain nor logistical transportation would be enough to support it. It is impractical for a general on the battlefield to directly command more than 30,000 troops.
An old problem of the Song Dynasty was that the combat effectiveness of the army was rather metaphysical. Last year Wu Shu crossed the river, and Du Chong led an army of 60,000 to defend him. As a result, the 60,000 people collapsed at the first touch and basically had no defensive effect. Wu Shu easily crossed the river and searched the mountains and seas.
To sum up, the army must have basic combat effectiveness. It must not collapse except under special circumstances. This requires reforming the military system, training officers, and selecting and refining soldiers, which is what Wang Xiaolie is doing. It is impossible to make every army an elite soldier, but it must have basic qualities. Then there must be a reliable mobilization system, a complete training system, and a reasonable staffing system. Once the war started, there was an endless supply of qualified troops. There must be a truly effective command system, whether it is offense or defense, and it must be a true game of chess. There must be a reasonable logistics system that can support military operations. The establishment of the army must be scientific and reasonable. It should not be like the original Song Dynasty army, which ignored the actual war and only thought about how to prevent the expansion of the generals' power.
This is easier said than done. It took Wang Xiaolie more than two years to figure it out. If you want to truly perfect it, you don’t know how long it will take. Entering the stalemate stage, the war is no longer fierce, which is a very good period.
When it got dark, the Song army had dinner in the camp. The men did not take off their armor and the horses did not take off their saddles, so they were ready to attack at any time.
In the Jin army's commander's tent, Ba Lisu and Yelu Mawu sat opposite each other, with important generals standing below them.
Ba Lisu said: "In half an hour, I will lead the elite troops east to Fuzhou, with General Yelu as the rear guard. If there is no movement from the Song army, you can go east tomorrow morning. If the Song army comes to attack, the general can abandon the porters and lead the army to retreat. Let’s go. If the Song army persists in pursuit, the general must defend to the death!”
Yelu Mawu said: "There are many soldiers in Song Dynasty. What if I can't hold on?"
Ba Lisu said: "Then we will fight and march to the Han River to defend. You are the rear guard and you have to keep the main force safe."
Yeluma was silent for a while, and then nodded after a while. With this kind of arrangement, you are really taking advantage of yourself. How could the Song army block tens of thousands of soldiers, with a thousand cavalry as rearguard? Ba Lisu crossed the Han River after Wan Yan Yuying. If he was cruel, he would have no way to go if he didn't leave his boat by the water. After all, no matter how many military exploits you have, you are still an outsider in the eyes of these Jurchens.
Ba Lisu didn't care what Yelu Mawu thought, he just ordered the retreat steps. Wanyan Yuying has already taken the lead. If the prediction goes well, Fuzhou should be easily captured. It doesn't matter if you can't capture it. There are no heavy troops there, so the Jin army can just leave. After pulling away from the army, all the baggage and other equipment were handed over to the defender Yelu Mawu.
The generals knew in their hearts that with this arrangement, if Yelu Mawu escaped, he would have made great achievements when he returned, and they would not treat him badly. If unfortunately he couldn't escape, it would be the tail left by the Jin Army's broken tail to escape.
