There is no moon in the sky, and the sky is full of stars. The wind blows from the Han River, bringing moisture and making it particularly refreshing. The leaves of the ginkgo tree swayed gently in the wind, making a rustling sound.
Li Yanxian stroked the wine glass, thinking about what Wang Xiaolie said. Suddenly, I discovered that although they were both governors, their armies were actually different.
Li Yanxian was a chivalrous man and moved his family to Shaanzhou, vowing to live and die with the city. Whenever there is a war, he must take the lead and never retreat. Most of his soldiers admired Li Yanxian's character, so they gathered around him. Fighting against the Jin people, Li Yanxian's army had strong morale, resolute fighting will, and would never retreat. There are very few armies like Li Yanxian in the world.
Wang Xiaolie is different. The army was originally the King Qin Army organized by his father. After occupying Xiangyang, a conscription system was adopted. The recognition of Wang Xiaolie by the officers and men in the army was mainly due to the victory in several battles and the improvement of the entire social economy. In terms of loyalty, Wang Xiaolie's army is far inferior to Li Yanxian. At least now, when it comes to tough battles, they are not as good as Li Yanxian's army.
Different realities gave Wang Xiaolie and Li Yanxian different views on the army. Li Yanxian was only worried that his army was too small, but Wang Xiaolie was very worried about the morale and popular support of the army.
After drinking a glass of wine, Li Yanxian said: "There is a saying that tells people to have the same mind and the same reason. As long as the soldiers are upright, they must take the lead in every battle. How can the soldiers not fight to the death? It's just that in this world How many of our military commanders are like this?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Observe, not only are such people rare in the world, but they can easily fall into death when encountering a war. When two armies are fighting, those who are sneaky and sneaky will hide aside first, and those who dare to fight will be pushed to the front. Unless It's God's favor. How can we guarantee victory every time? If we fail, these brave people will die, and those who avoid fighting will live. In a few years, who will be left in the army?"
Li Yanxian was stunned after hearing this. What Wang Xiaolie said, I really hadn't thought about it. But this is indeed the truth. This is what the Song Dynasty is like now. After several years of fighting, most of those who dared to fight and were good at fighting died on the battlefield, and the rest were mostly lazy and incompetent people. There is no unified command system in the country, and the army cannot be united. Often the front side fights hard and the back side runs away early.
Sighing, Li Yanxian said: "Generals are all different, and some are greedy for life and afraid of death. What can I do?"
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "If only a few generals are like this, it can be said that some people are greedy for life and afraid of death. If it is generally like this, we cannot say this, but it means there is something wrong with the system."
"What's the problem?" Li Yanxian asked curiously.
Wang Xiaolie said: "It's hard for me to explain clearly at the moment. From the commander's command to the general's engagement, there are problems in many places. In my opinion, the current army is not for fighting, and its performance on the battlefield is often not as good as People want it.”
Li Yanxian has not considered the issue of the system. In his opinion, it is the general's problem if someone escapes during a battle. For the imperial court, the generals who command the troops should be selected and strictly controlled.
Wang Xiaolie knew that it was not that simple. If something depends on people, it’s okay if you have less, but how can you do it if you have more? Not to mention the ordinary Song Army, it is the benchmark of this era. In the Yue Family Army in history, some people were afraid and dared not fight before the battle, and even wanted to run away. What did Yue Fei do? Strict orders, coupled with severe punishment for those who violate military discipline. What is the use of strict orders without subsequent punishment? For the imperial court, the army relied entirely on the command of the military commander. As soon as the commander-in-chief is changed, some armies will have problems and cannot be severely punished at all.
Sighing, Wang Xiaolie said: "Some people often say that in every war, the Jin army is not afraid of death and fights bravely. The generals of this dynasty are cowardly and do not dare to step forward when the battle is about to happen. Most of them run away when the war is not going well. Some people even think that most Han people are greedy for life and afraid of death, while Jurchens are brave. How could such a thing be possible? It is normal for different groups of people to have different appearances on the battlefield. But it is wrong to say which ones are greedy for life and those who are brave. The military generally shows that it cannot fight, so we can only say that there is something wrong with the current system."
"Is there a problem with the system? What problems could there be?" Li Yanxian looked a little confused. After several years of fighting, I had never considered this issue. Except for the recruitment of soldiers, what other differences do the system of this dynasty have from other dynasties?
Wang Xiaolie said: "The army is for war, everything must go against this point -"
"Besides fighting, loyalty is equally important. Who dares to use an army that can fight but often rebels? Just like in the Five Dynasties, arrogant soldiers and strong generals. Jiedu envoys rebelled against the emperor, and the bodyguards had to What’s the end of the rebellion caused by the Temptation Envoy!”
For the Song Dynasty, the lessons of the Five Dynasties were too profound. Regardless of whether it is civil servants or military officers, when it comes to the military, the appearance of the Five Dynasties is often compared. In the eyes of many people, it is much more important for the army not to rebel than to be able to fight.
Wang Xiaolie said helplessly: "Non-rebellion is the most basic requirement of the army. While ensuring not to rebel, the army must also be able to fight, defend the home and country, and defend the enemy from outside the country! As it is now, I'm afraid it's both If we can’t fight, we can’t guarantee that the army won’t rebel.”
Li Yanxian was silent for a while. Said: "Although the imperial army is dispersed, there should be no rebellion."
Wang Xiao lied to his heart and said that with Zhao Gou's current state, he wanted to rebel against him. If the Song army has a clear upper hand and Zhao Gou just wants to surrender as in history, who can guarantee not to rebel?
Niu Gao on the side said: "Now the Holy One is the destiny, who dares to rebel!"
"Destiny - who can explain clearly what destiny is?" Wang Xiaolie drank a glass of wine and fell into deep thought.
Niu Gao said: "The two emperors were hunting in the north, and only one of the emperor's descendants was the Holy One. How many hardships and dangers did we go through from Hebei to Jiangnan? Crossing the river on a white horse is such a sacred thing. Without destiny, how could it be like this!"
Wang Xiaolie smiled and did not answer. He raised his glass and said, "Drink!"
For a while, everyone fell silent, stopped talking, and just drank quietly.
The night was already deep, and there was a chill in the wind. It blows on people's bodies and sweeps away the heat of the day. Some people drank too much and their voices gradually became louder. At Wang Xiao's table, everyone's eyes wandered, not knowing what they were thinking.
After a long time, Wang Xiaolie said: "For an army, the first thing to explain to the soldiers is who they are fighting for and why they are fighting. Once these are explained clearly, let's talk about how to fight. When fighting, soldiers cannot be confused about the battlefield. . When they arrive on the battlefield, they cannot be trembling and only think about how to save a small life. Nor can they only think about escaping, relying on harsh punishments and having the officers behind the team watching. They must know why they go to the battlefield and why they go to the battlefield. What to do."
Chen Qiu said: "Raising soldiers is nothing more than spending money. Why do soldiers join the army? Of course, it is to support their families. As long as the army can have enough food, clothing and warmth, and nothing to worry about, it will be a strong army! Observe that if you love your soldiers like your own children, the soldiers in the army will live a good life. If you have to be happy, you will naturally work hard!"
After hearing this, Wang Xiaolie laughed: "How simple it would be to build a strong army just by relying on flowers! The Jurchens grew up among the white mountains and black waters. They wore animal skins and ate wild fruits. They were extremely poor. No matter how poor they were, they would destroy the Liao Dynasty. Most of the annual income of the Song Dynasty was used to support the army. Is there any army in the world like the Song Dynasty? Although there were some in the Song Dynasty army who were paid by empty pay, and there were also those who exploited the soldiers. Compared with other armies, they are really nothing. However, since the founding of the country, fighting in the south has been smooth, but except for the Northern Han Dynasty, no one has won in the north!"
At this point, Wang Xiaolie shook his head and laughed at himself: "Since we arrived in Xiangyang, we have plenty of money and food. No matter in the army or in the yamen, the officers and soldiers have enough money and food. At the worst, they will only be in arrears, which will be inevitable within two or three months." Make up. Do you know? For more than a year, the money I have in hand is not as good as everyone here. Sometimes, all the money is sent out, and by the end of the month I can’t get out a penny."
Chen Yuyi said: "Observe and take care of your subordinates, we are naturally grateful!"
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "You can't say that. When I have money, the rest will be in my hands. I'm just telling you that if you have money, you can raise an army and raise an army well. How long will it take to do this? Difficult. Thinking about it on the other hand, if you have enough money, it will be much easier to raise an army. The army is not like this. Can you fight a war just by having enough money and food?"
Li Yanxian occupied three states, mostly in mountainous areas, and had more than 20,000 soldiers. His life was much harder than that of Wang Xiaoxian. If he only relied on money to support the army, Li Yanxian would not be able to support his soldiers.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Wang Xiaolie said: "Things in the world are very simple to say. Whatever you do, just study it and do your best to study it. The army fights, so it studies how to fight. From the smallest soldier What should be done, what an officer should do, develop. As long as you put your mind to it, you can always study and understand it. The most terrifying thing is that some people think they understand it and know everything but refuse to put their mind to it. The loss of half of the country shows that the army has a huge problem. Defects. Those of us who lead troops must pay attention to this."
Wang Xiaolie's subordinates had heard this many times and didn't think anything of it. Li Yanxian was thinking deeply. Many of what Wang Xiaolie said were things he had never thought of before, but they sounded very reasonable. Maybe the military needs to do this?
