In Beiwu Town, Feng Hui and his men secretly made arrangements to look for opportunities. Dong Ping wrote to Peng Jinyuan to discuss the tea business deal. In the south, Zhang Jun occupied Caikou Town and hid carefully, not wanting local forces to discover his origins. There was an undercurrent surging for a while, but things calmed down on the surface.
Wang Ruohai got the news, and Wanyan Zongbi of Liuhe began to organize his troops and prepare to come west. Not daring to neglect, he went to Xiangyang City in person.
At the Fusi Yamen, Wang Xiaolie received the report and hurriedly ordered Wang Ruohai to come to the official hall.
Entering the official hall, Wang Ruohai saluted and Wang Xiaolian offered a seat. Order someone to serve tea.
Wang Ruohai said: "I just got the news that Wu Shu from Liuhe is reorganizing his troops and preparing to come west to Luoyang. According to the previous news, Wu Shu came to the west with 20,000 elite cavalry, but this time I heard that in order to prevent the observation from going north, he brought Thirty-five thousand people."
Wang Xiaolie said: "He really thinks highly of me! Are there fifteen thousand people to guard against me?"
Wang Ruohai said: "Luoyang has the Yellow River in the north, Shaanzhou in the west, and Ruzhou in the south. They are surrounded by our army. Although they have no intention of going north for a while, the Jin people may not think so. It is normal to station heavy troops in Luoyang. "
Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Yes, if there was a war between the two countries, Li and Zhai and I should have gone out to capture Luoyang. However, we have no support, so we can only watch. Capturing Luoyang is easy, but holding it is just as easy. Difficult."
The two capitals were not the key defensive areas of the Jin army. Whether it was Luoyang or Kaifeng, the Jin Dynasty had very few troops stationed there. The Song army did not attack because there was no danger to defend these two areas. There are dangerous passes around Luoyang, and there is a plain around Kaifeng. It is easy to capture the two capitals, but difficult to hold them.
Wang Xiao hunted 50,000 soldiers and horses. If he went north to attack Luoyang, he would face a large-scale attack by the Jin army. Fifty thousand people are still not enough to fight a decisive battle. Without enough troops, we can only avoid these strategic locations and avoid entering a decisive battle in advance.
Wang Ruohai said: "The two capitals are not comparable to other places. If we can regain one place, the morale of the army and the people will be greatly boosted!"
Wang Xiaolie said: "This matter can only be discussed in the long term. Once the army goes north, it is very likely to be attacked by the Jin Army's overwhelming troops. Without an army of hundreds of thousands, we cannot take this risk. We will develop in Dengzhou, Xiangyang for a few more years. , Only when we have well-equipped soldiers and sufficient food can we go north."
Wang Ruohai said: "What if we don't go north to observe and the Wushu army comes?"
Wang Xiaolie thought for a while and said: "Thirty-five thousand troops, plus the signing troops from surrounding counties and counties, are quite large. The war in Shaanxi is imminent, and Wushu would not dare to go south to Xiangdeng. However, Ruzhou is not far away. , he may not give me a try. I have previously ordered Xinye to prepare, and in August I will lead an army of 30,000 to the north to defend Ruzhou."
Wang Ruohai nodded. After a while, he shook his head again and said with some regret: "If we can recapture Xijing, it will be enough to boost the morale of the heroes. I heard that there are many rebels around Taihang. If we cooperate with them inside and outside, we can achieve great success!"
Wang Xiaolie said: "If you want to do big things, you must understand the capital in your hands. How much capital you have, how big of a thing you can do. Otherwise, even if you gain power for a while, you have to hand it over later. Our task now is to develop the place. Train your troops and horses. Only when you have enough troops and food can you think of the next step. In two or three years, just watch other things."
Wang Ruohai said again: "Privilege Zhang mobilized all the troops in Shaanxi, with more than 200,000 troops. If Shaanxi wins a big victory, there may not be no chance!"
Wang Xiaolie was stunned for a moment. Wang Ruohai is right. If Shaanxi wins, the situation will change. But he clearly knew that Shaanxi would not win, so how could he make such an arrangement?
After thinking for a long time, Wang Xiaolie said: "The counselor will stay in Xiangyang for a few days. I invite Chen Yuyi, Shao Ling and Niu Gao to come and join Chen Qiudao. We will discuss it carefully. This matter is of great importance, so I won't explain it clearly. It’s always unsettling.”
Wang Ruohai said goodbye and went out. Wang Xiaolie sat alone behind the case and thought for a long time.
In the final analysis, he was unwilling to send heavy troops because he knew that Zhang Jun in Shaanxi would not win. If Zhang Jun wins, the main force of the Jin Army's West Route Army is likely to be wiped out, and the situation in the entire world will completely change. Only when you know the result will you know that Zhang Jun will lose. But for everyone else, they all harbor the illusion of Zhang Jun's victory. If Shaanxi wins, he must send out all his troops and cooperate with Zhang Jun.
After thinking for a long time, Wang Xiaolie let out a long sigh.
Even now, the Song Dynasty still has great strength. Shaanxi's battle-hardened army of 200,000, if truly capable, would be enough to fight the Jin army in a decisive battle. Even if other places gather 50,000 or 60,000 troops, they will have the strength to restore the Central Plains.
From the perspective of later generations, Shaanxi was defeated, and the Song army squandered all its previous troops. Prior to this, the confidence of the Song Dynasty monarchs and ministers in facing the Jin army was actually well-founded. However, the army does not compete for numbers, but for combat effectiveness. If it was just a matter of numbers, the Song army should have won a big victory in Taiyuan. How did it end up in this situation?
To be honest, Wang Xiaolie believed that the current Song Army was completely corrupt. No matter how many troops there are on paper, it will be difficult to defeat the Jin Army. Without training a new army and going through painful transformation and struggle, it will be difficult to fight the Jin Army head-on. In fact, a new army was formed, the war improved, the capitulation faction gained the upper hand and killed Yue Fei, and the Song army quickly lost its spirit. Twenty or thirty years later, Xiaozong was determined to launch the Northern Expedition, but returned without success.
Later generations often say that Zhao Gou had generals for the Northern Expedition but no ambition for the Northern Expedition. Xiaozong had ambitions for the Northern Expedition, but he had no generals for the Northern Expedition. In fact, this statement makes no sense. If an army has no problems, how can it be short of generals? Yue Fei is an unparalleled military genius, but that does not mean that without military genius, the army will not be able to win the war. A qualified army, even if it does not have outstanding generals, should not make big mistakes. If you are strong enough, you should win, and you will not be defeated by the weak.
Since the Han Dynasty, China has developed the Western Regions on a large scale and also started a large-scale war with the northern nomads. Before the Han Dynasty, there were of course such wars. For example, King Wuling of Zhao rode in Hufu and shot, Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, and many more. But the power of nomads rarely threatened the life and death of the Central Plains dynasty. For nearly a thousand years from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the war between the two sides began to slowly change. The advantages of the Central Plains dynasties slowly disappeared, and the nomads began to gain the upper hand. The Song Dynasty was the first dynasty that was directly destroyed by the nomadic regime.
Why is this happening? Fundamentally speaking, there was a problem with the Central Plains Dynasty. There are many analyzes on this issue, and some people have even formed theories and put forward various opinions. But the most fundamental reason is that there is a problem with the army. It is not only a problem with the army itself, but more importantly, there is a problem with the court's understanding of the army.
Many people did not think that there was something wrong with the Central Plains Dynasty's army. For example, when the Ming Dynasty was first established, it defeated the Yuan Dynasty to pieces and swept across Mobei several times. But the result? In less than a hundred years, it would lose its advantage facing the north. Some people say it is the law of dynasty cycles, while others say that this will happen after a dynasty has been established for a long time. But why aren’t other dynasties like this? Even the Song Dynasty was not like this. When the Song Dynasty was first established, it could not defeat the Khitan, and later it was still unable to defeat the Khitan. It was always weak.
If we don't solve this problem, how useful is it to just train an army that can fight and survive this crisis? What about a few decades from now? What about a hundred years from now? What about hundreds of years from now? Do you have to wait until the invaders from outside use their butcher knives to burn this land to death, and blood will flow all over the ground? Do you have to have great luck to meet a group of people who are truly thoughtful, courageous, and capable to change all this?
Then what do I do in this world? Faced with this situation, Wang Xiaolie could not forgive himself.
They saved Shaanzhou at the beginning of the year and then won a big victory in Jingmen. Everything seemed to be going well. Wang Xiaolie won military exploits, gained fame, and won the hearts and minds of the local people. It seemed infinitely better. However, there are many obstacles to the actual reform of the military.
After marching into Xiangyang, the army gradually became regularized, and desertions continued. The reorganization carried out in the previous months had reached a climax with desertions. Wang Xiaolie now has about 50,000 soldiers, and more than 3,000 people have escaped for various reasons. By now, except for the Ruzhou Qinwang soldiers who initially followed Wang Xiaolie, as well as the local soldiers recruited later, most of the others have fled.
Wang Xiaolie could not ignore such a large-scale desertion. Why are there deserters despite being loyal to the country and winning consecutive battles? The salary of the officers in his own army is not high. Compared with the salary of the imperial court, it is only average, and there are no rewards. However, all the money given out in my own army is real money, with no deductions and no savings. The real income is higher than that in other armies. The army is responsible for the food and accommodation of the soldiers, and they receive a small monthly allowance, which is also real money. What's more important is that local governments provide subsidies and various preferential treatments to soldiers. Why are they running away?
Wang Xiaolie couldn't understand. But he had to figure it out. If this issue remains unclear, it will be difficult to predict the future of this army. Some people may think that this problem is not serious. Wang Xiaolie couldn't explain how serious it was at the moment, but he knew it was very serious.
In Xinye a few days ago, Wang Xiaolie intended to let Chen Yuyi do political work in the army. But I can tell that Chen Yuyi doesn't understand and doesn't want to do it. what to do? Wang Xiaolie couldn't think of a way for a while.
When he first led the army, Wang Xiaolie felt that political work was redundant. To be honest, if you didn't have the memory of your previous life, you might not even think of this. It wasn't until the army faced problems and couldn't think of a solution that Wang Xiaolie gradually understood the importance of the army's political work.
Political work is not only to ensure the loyalty of the army, but more importantly, to ensure the nature of the army. Wang Xiaolie has always said that his army must protect his home and country, and soldiers join the army to protect their home and country. How to ensure this? It is not enough to rely solely on military commanders.
If the military commander is to ensure the combat effectiveness of the army, political work is to ensure the nature of the army. The real political work is not the ancient military supervision, nor the political departments that exist in some armies, but a position naturally required by the army. This position was not added out of thin air by some people, but a natural need of the army itself. Without this position, the military would lack some of its functions.
After the triumphant return of the Jingmen Army, others seemed to be going well, but Wang Xiaolie felt a crisis. Until this crisis is resolved, it is not appropriate to conduct major military operations. Without completing the transformation of the army, it is not suitable for large-scale military expansion.
After the founding of New China, many reforms came like a storm. But how was New China established? Why was that army able to cope with all kinds of difficulties, and when the time came, it swept across the earth like rolling spring thunder? This issue has not been studied clearly.
The new life of the Red Army truly began with the emphasis on political work. According to tradition, political work can be regarded as civil governance. When civil rule reached the grassroots level, a new army emerged. However, when Chinese literati talk about Chinese history, the history of the Song Dynasty, and the history of the Ming Dynasty, they all say that the military was governed by culture, which led to the weakening of the army's combat effectiveness and even the collapse of the country. Why are these people telling the exact opposite of real history? Why was it that when warriors had the highest status, such as the Five Dynasties and the warlord period of the Republic of China, warlords could kill literati like dogs, and the combat effectiveness of the army was not worth mentioning?
As the founder and commander of the army, Wang Xiaolie needed to think clearly.
