Early the next morning, after a hurried breakfast, the commanders and staff gathered in front of the official hall. At chen shi, we arrived at a shed that had just been erected by the houya. They entered the shed in order and took their seats, and the soldiers served tea.
Not long after, Wang Xiaolie, Li Yanxian, Wang Ruohai, Niu Gao and Shao Ling arrived and sat down in the front row.
Wang Xiaolie stepped forward, looked at everyone, and said: "The commanders and staff participating in this battle have arrived, and there is a crowd below. We haven't been together like this for a long time. This time the Jin Army and Liu Yu are plotting against Luoyang. , gave us such an opportunity.”
After speaking, Wang Xiaolie paused for a while. Then he continued: "In early February, Zhai Xing was killed by his general Yang Wei. The Zhai family army was defeated. We joined the battle and attacked Luoyang. In just a few days, we completely eliminated Meng Bangxiong's army and occupied Henan Prefecture. Today It's the sixth day of March, more than a month ago. In this month, we reported our victory to the court, but no news has come back. It was the Jin army in Hedong and Shaanxi that made the first move. We occupied Luoyang, and we were not prepared to do it again. Get out. If the Jin army comes to attack, we will destroy the attackers!"
"This battle is called the Battle of Xijing. It's a good name, so let's call it that. This battle is divided into three battlefields, and we will deploy them accordingly. Taiyuan Prefecture in the north will send three thousand troops, and move south along Jinzhou and Zezhou , want to cooperate with Liu Yu's Eastern Route Army in fighting. Three thousand gold soldiers, according to the usual practice, should be coordinated by six thousand to ten thousand signed soldiers. The two combined, there are about ten thousand to fifteen thousand people. Now March and April At that time, it was the lean period. Ten thousand or twenty thousand people were marching. The Jin army actually had few choices. The road from Taiyuan to Jinzhou was not bad, but after passing Jinzhou, the road was not easy to walk. The Jin army did not want to go Longde Prefecture and then go to Jinzhou in order to eliminate Jiang Min's troops in Shenshan County. Therefore, the Jin army's marching route should be from Taiyuan to Jinzhou, then from Shenshan to Yicheng, and through Qinshui County to Zezhou. Last winter, Jiang Min gathered all the people in Shenshan County into the fort. Outside the fort, there was not a grain of food in Shenshan County. Therefore, the first battle of the Jin Army in the north was in Shenshan County."
"Jiang Min has been in Hedong for less than a year. He only has 1,300 troops under his command. He originally did not want him to participate in the war. However, Jiang Min believes that although he only has more than 1,000 people, less than half of the Jin army, the forts in Shenshan County are strong and There are artillery defenses, so it is not so easy to break through. He is actively asking to join the war. How to fight? Jiang Min has summoned Li Songchen from Lingshi County and Liang Xing from Zezhou to Shenshan County to discuss. If they win, , Jiang Min's troops have established a foothold on Hedong Road, which is good for their future development. If they cannot win, they will retreat into the mountains and retain their strength. We have already occupied Luoyang, and it will be easier to support them."
"But when we make a campaign plan, we still have to base our efforts on the fact that Jiang Min cannot stop the Jin army and eliminate the enemy in the Mengzhou and Huaizhou areas."
Everyone below nodded together. In a battle involving more than 200,000 troops from both sides, Jiang Min's more than 1,000 troops were too insignificant.
The Song Dynasty's records of the number of regular troops in the imperial court were generally relatively accurate. Wang Xiaolie is now fully equipped with a total strength of 120,000. Together with other miscellaneous troops, the total strength is about 130,000. In this Northern Expedition, only 10,000 rear troops were left in the Xiangyang and Dengzhou areas, and 110,000 troops participated in the war. The numbers of the attacking Jin Army and Liu Yu Army were not accurate. Fortunately, the intelligence system basically figured out the approximate size.
Generally speaking, when the regular army fights, civilians must participate. The armies of Jin and Liu Yu called these civilians the signature army. If you include the civilians who participated in the war, the number would be very large.
Since it was a defensive battle, Wang Xiaolie had relatively few civilians participating in the battle, with a ratio of about one to two to the army. They were mainly on the transportation line in Lushi County. Also, because the battlefield was chosen in Mianchi, a large number of civilians were needed to transport food, grass and military supplies.
The regular army of the Jin army went to war, and the accompanying servants and signing troops were about one or two Ahexi with regular establishment, and the rest were slaves. The total number adds up to as few as two or three people, and as many as seven or eight people. Liu Yu used the regular army to cooperate with the signing army, and the signing army was two to five times that of the regular army.
In this battle to defend Xijing, more than 200,000 regular troops from both sides participated in the battle. Including the civilian husbands and nearly half a million people, it was a battle involving 700,000 people.
Seeing everyone attentive, Wang Xiaolie continued: "The North Route Army is to cooperate with the East Route Army. The East Route Army Liu Yu said it was fifty thousand, but in fact, how could he recruit so many troops in a short period of time? The results of our investigation, It should be less than 40,000. These troops gathered in Kaifeng Prefecture, mainly to attack Zhengzhou. We will use Cao Zhiyan's front army to defend Zhengzhou, and Xie Linong's right army will surround the rear, and strive to annihilate these troops in the Zhengzhou area."
"The West Route Army is the main force attacking Luoyang this time and consists of three parts. The main force is the Jin Army from Lisu, with a total of about 20,000 people, coming from Fengxiang Prefecture. The other two routes are Zhe Keqiu from Fuzhou. And Zheng Jianchong of Yan'an Prefecture. Zhe Keqiu said it was 30,000, but in fact the result of our investigation was 18,000. Zheng Jianchong said it was the army of Jishu Prefecture, with 60,000 people, but in fact there were only 27,000. . Their three groups together amount to less than 70,000 people. To deal with this group of troops, we plan to send the Chinese army out of Xin'an County and fortify themselves in Yanxi Town. Wu Shu was trapped here when he came to Luoyang two years ago. If our conditions were not ripe at that time, we would have wiped out Wu Shu's army here. When the conditions were ripe, Shao Ling sent troops from Lushi County and quickly occupied Guozhou and Shaanzhou to cut off their retreat. We had more than 60,000 soldiers The army surrounded and annihilated 70,000 people. This battle was not easy."
After hearing this, the generals below whispered. Some people think that if they fight 60,000 against 70,000, they will not outnumber the opponent, so they are taking a risk. Some people think that the Song Army has the terrain advantage and the Jin Army has nothing to worry about.
Wang Xiaolie said: "Let's discuss freely below. After lunch, we will come back here to discuss the war. Starting tomorrow, Counselor Wang will talk about the battle plan in detail. After the battle plan is finished, everyone will fully consider various According to the situation, make necessary modifications. The day after tomorrow, the battle plan will be completely finalized. At that time, no more modifications can be made. Everyone must complete it as planned! "
All the generals made a promise together.
Wang Xiaolie said: "I have a few requirements for this war. First, no matter how the battle turns out, the command system must be complete. Everyone must obey orders and obey orders! Our army of the Song Dynasty, Everything is under the control of the military commander, and the wartime command system is very problematic. Let me give you an example. In the Battle of Sanchuankou in the first year of Kangding, the commander-in-chief Liu Ping and Shi Yuansun were captured, and the Song army was defeated. In this battle, the commander-in-chief was captured. , until the end, 70% of the Song army did not participate in the war. In other words, most of the soldiers were just spectators on the battlefield. We will never allow this to happen again! Why do we have to set up a headquarters with so many Officers? It’s because the army has organized violent groups, not just violent groups. Once the organization fails, most of the combat power will be lost! From the headquarters in Luoyang to the support and escort of each team, the command system must always exist! "
Wang Xiaolie looked serious, and all the generals agreed.
"Second, in war, all troops must abide by discipline and treat the people well. The commanders, governors, prisoners, and military envoys of each army must take responsibility. After this meeting, if time allows, there will be another meeting One of their meetings. Our army comes from the people and must protect the interests of the people at all times. Especially the officers and soldiers who come from the old Forbidden Army do not understand this. I emphasize here that if you understand, you must implement it, and if you don't understand, you must implement it! Whoever commits a violation of discipline will be enforced by their superior officer on the battlefield! There is no room for mercy in this matter. No matter who it is, discipline will be enforced if the violation is committed! Don’t say that this person has a good relationship with me, that person is talented, and who else is the first offender? , or maybe you don’t pay attention, there are no such things! I have talked about this matter again and again, again and again, countless times! I have said it so many times, but you still don’t take it to your heart, you just don’t give me Wang Xiao You're hunting for face! If you don't give me face, I'll see who dares to give you face!"
When he said this, Wang Xiaolie's voice became fierce. The generals below were so frightened that they dared not speak out, and the venue was completely silent for a while.
"Third, don't be intimidated by the Jin Army's previous reputation. Build up the confidence that this battle will be won! Build up the confidence to annihilate the enemy, especially the Jin Army! Taizu Taizu of the Liao Dynasty once said something that made the Jurchens dissatisfied Ten thousand, ten thousand are invincible. Since the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, they first destroyed Daliao and then Kaifeng, with almost no defeats. Their fighting power is undeniable. This is a fact, and we must respect the fact. Why? It's not because the Jurchens are not afraid of death. , it’s not because they live a bad life and are born to endure hardships and stand hard work. What is natural? Everyone has a mouth, two hands and two feet, this is what they are born with! The Jurchen army can fight because their system is rough , on the contrary, it conforms to military laws. Managing the army is different from governing local areas. Our Han people's local governance is better than that of the Jin Dynasty. Even now, it is much better. But our army has not conformed to military laws for a long time. The army It is an organized violent group, and the core lies in organization, not violence. Now many people have forgotten this and only see violence, but not organization. The management of the Forbidden Army depends on the commander. The actual execution personnel are officials Isn't it ridiculous, man, to be a small colonel? The court always wanted to do this. By controlling the military commander, it would also control the army. But it didn't want to do this because it would dismantle the organization of the army. How could we still fight? It's different now, we are organized. My army will never use this person just because he is obedient, and he will not be used because he is disobedient, but only depends on whether this person is suitable. Now we are organizing the army we want to come to fight against the Jin Army with a rough system. What sense does it make? Worse than him?"
(End of chapter)
