In the Lushi County Government Office, Wang Xiaolie sat behind the desk, looking at the recently obtained information on the journey to Guozhou. Li Yanxian stood aside, akimbo, looking at the map on the wall. Wang Ruohai sat near the door, lowering his head to handle official documents.
In the middle of the hall, there was a large pot of charcoal fire, which was burning brightly.
Jiang Min pushed the door open and put an official document on Wang Ruohai's desk. He said: "The manpower required to transport grain from Neixiang to Luanchuan, and then from Luanchuan to Lushi has been calculated. Please consult and take a look."
Wang Ruohai looked over it briefly, and before getting Wang Xiao's hunting case, he said: "Zhenfu, after calculation, if we send 10,000 troops and join forces with Li Jinglue's troops, the total will be 17,500. We must ensure that there is no shortage of food and grass. , Thirty-five thousand civilians are needed to transport food from the rear."
Wang Xiaolie said: "There are still 5,000 people in our army transporting food, grass and baggage. Are they included in this?"
Wang Ruohai said: "That's included. There are five thousand people in the army, mainly responsible for transporting troops from Lu to the front."
Wang Xiaolie looked at the official document, nodded and said: "It is very rare to calculate clearly."
Wang Ruohai pointed at Jiang Min behind him and said: "This Jiang Min is naturally smart and can learn anything at once. Not only is he good at calculations, he can also make equations to find appropriate values. I have also read books on arithmetic, and for a while I still Can’t learn equations.”
Wang Xiaolie looked at Jiang Min, standing quietly beside Wang Ruohai's case, a little reserved. He said to Wang Ruohai: "Some people learn things very quickly, why is that? If you can't learn it for a while, you will get it after a long time."
Jiang Min was brought to Dengzhou by Wang Xiaolie because he learned too quickly in the village. Unexpectedly, when I arrived in Dengzhou, I could still learn most of the courses instantly. Because of this, he was chosen to work under Wang Ruohai.
Li Yanxian turned around and said: "With 20,000 soldiers, there is no problem in defeating Wei Yi on the opposite side. Guozhou will be retaken within a month!"
Wang Xiaolie said: "That's what the scriptures say. Wei Yi is nothing more than a mob, and our 20,000 soldiers are like a lion fighting a rabbit. But what needs to be considered clearly is what to do after occupying Guozhou."
Li Yanxian said: "After recapturing Guozhou, we can easily prevent it from falling into the hands of the Jin army! Twenty thousand troops defend the city, and Wu Shu attacks with all his strength. We are not afraid of him! As long as we defend it for a few months, in the summer, the Jin army will It’s time to withdraw!”
Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Jing Lue, let me tell you something you don't want to hear. Now is not the time to occupy Guozhou. In the Guanzhong area, there are 100,000 Jin troops and hundreds of thousands of servants. We are in Guozhou. If you don't leave, it will only increase the Jin army's troops. Also, it is more than 700 miles from Neixiang to Guozhou, and it is too difficult to transport food and grass. In two or three months, I can grit my teeth and persevere. After months and months, it is really impossible to defend. rise."
Li Yanxian said: "If the grain and grass can be transported to Lu's, it will be harder to transport it to Guozhou. There is not much road, so what's the difficulty?"
Wang Xiaolie said to Wang Ruohai, "How much does it cost to transport grain and grass here? Calculate it for Li Jing."
Wang Ruohai held up his hands and said: "In the areas of Dengzhou and Xiangyang, the service period of the people is fifty workers per year. When we rescued Shaanzhou at the beginning of the year, almost all the young people in Dengzhou, Xiangyang and Tangzhou were recruited. The term is used up. If the people are recruited again, they will be given money."
"How much do you want to pay?" Li Yanxian knew from the look on Wang Ruohai's face that the number was not small.
Wang Ruohai said: "To the south of Neixiang, each worker costs sixty cents. From Neixiang to Luanchuan, each worker costs eighty cents. From Luanchuan to Lu's, each worker costs one hundred cents. Even if the average is eighty cents, there are three Fifteen thousand civilians are not a small number for a business plan. In one day, the salary alone costs 2,800 guan, and nearly 85,000 guan in a month! In the first half of a year, it costs more than 500,000 guan. More Don’t tell me, we have to take care of what these peasants eat, what they drink, and how they cook with charcoal, it’s too much money!”
Wang Xiaolie said: "This does not include how much food and grass will cost. Including the military expenses, it will cost nearly one million dollars in half a year. After the war, there are few people around Shaanzhou and Guozhou. We can't get enough food and grass from the place. I want to defend Guozhou, but I can't afford it!"
Li Yanxian couldn't help but be stunned after hearing this. After a while, he said: "It is a matter of course for the government to recruit civilian men. Why pay?"
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "For the sake of a Guozhou city, how can I offend the people under my rule and lose their support? How can I do it? All I need in a war is money and food. Without the support of the people, where will the money and food come from?"
Li Yanxian thought for a while and said dejectedly: "So, Guozhou still can't defend it?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "If Fuping is defeated and Guanzhong is lost, Guozhou will have no foundation. The Jin army comes to attack in a large scale, so they can only withdraw and cannot hold a stalemate with the Jin army there. If the Jin army retreats, Guozhou will have fewer soldiers. It is possible to attack. In the final analysis, Guozhou has become the front line of confrontation with the Jin army and cannot be used as a foundation. This is determined by the national strength of the Jin army and the dynasty and cannot be forced. To defend Lushi County, only two or three thousand soldiers are needed. Bronze walls and iron walls. How can we defend Guozhou without 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers? If we have 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers and the Jin army surrounds us, we will starve to death in a few months."
Wang Ruohai said: "The situation is like this, we can only take advantage of it. If we can capture Guozhou this time, we cannot hold it for long. It is best to attract Wushu to return reinforcements. We will choose a good location and give Wushu a hard blow. Withdraw the Lu family."
Li Yanxian looked at the map and said: "If you want to ambush the Jin army, it is best to be in the Shihao Town area. The terrain there is difficult and easy to defend but difficult to attack."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Don't be too far away from Guozhou. It should be convenient for us to attack well and retreat quickly. It is difficult to transport food and grass for tens of thousands of people if it is too far away from Guozhou. Shaanzhou and Guozhou have experienced many wars , the common people cannot afford to provide military food."
Wang Ruohai looked at the map for a while and said: "This matter should be decided after we capture Guozhou. In short, the strategy for this battle is to accumulate enough food and grass, attack quickly, and capture Guozhou City quickly. If Wu Shu To return reinforcements, choose favorable terrain to fight with them. You cannot stay in Guozhou for too long. It is best to withdraw to Lu County before the Shangyuan Festival."
Li Yanxian nodded: "Okay. - I can't retake Guozhou and can only defend the Lu family. It's really a bit frustrating! I defended Shaanzhou for several years, but within one year I lost Shaanzhou first, and then Guozhou. It’s really difficult to calm down the truth in my heart!”
Wang Xiaolie said: "In summary, war cannot be based on emotions. Now the Jin army has the upper hand and is attacking everywhere. This is the general trend. We can only resist as tenaciously as possible under this general trend and cause losses to the Jin army. Live on. In a few years, when the Jin army's offensive weakens and our army is fully trained, we can then launch a counterattack. Until then, we will inevitably live a miserable life."
Li Yanxian looked at the map and said helplessly: "Can we really train a large army to fight against the Jin Army?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "It must be possible. When the Jin army was strong, many Bohai people, Khitan people, and even Han people followed the enemy and became lackeys of the Jin people. As long as our army can defeat the Jin army, these armies will Change, to become the enemy of the Jin people. This dynasty has become stronger and can defeat the Jin army head-on. It will only become stronger as it fights. As long as the Jin army loses a few battles, its power will become weaker and weaker. The strong and the weak will Changes will make war unexpected. This day is not too far away!"
Seeing Wang Xiaolie's decisive words, Li Yanxian nodded. What Wang Xiaolie said is right. According to common sense, this should be the process. As long as the Song army gets stronger and stronger as it fights and maintains its tenacious fighting spirit, the Jin army will not be so scary.
