Less than a month after the great victory in Shaanzhou, Liu Ziyu came to Luoyang on April 11th.
Wang Xiaolie couldn't help but be surprised when he got the news. Counting the days, Liu Ziyu set off almost as soon as he got the news, and rushed there without stopping.
Welcoming Liu Ziyu to the Henan government office, Wang Xiaolian said: "The counselor came so quickly! I thought the news was only received elsewhere."
Liu Ziyu said: "Jie Shuai killed more than 20,000 Jin troops in one battle. It was an unprecedented victory. How could we turn a deaf ear to it! When you killed Li Su in Shaanzhou, the situation in the world suddenly changed. The Privy Council ordered me to come and fight with Jie Shuai will discuss the next battle."
Wang Xiaolie calmed down after hearing this. Said: "I wonder what the Privy Council wants?"
Liu Ziyu said: "After the First World War in Fuping, the Jin Army swept through the Fifth Road of Shaanxi, and hundreds of thousands of troops blocked the entrance of Shu. They have been fighting for two years. It was only through the sacrifice of the three armies and the desperate fighting of the Wu brothers that the peace in Sichuan and Shu was preserved. To be honest, it is already difficult for the imperial troops and horses to defend Shukou, and there is no more strength left. Now that you have killed Ba Lisu, only Wushu is left to attack Shukou. The rest of the Shaanxi troops and horses are actually of no use."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "The counselor is right. But I didn't expect that the Sichuan-Sichuan front line would be so difficult?"
Liu Ziyu sighed: "It is difficult, it is indeed difficult. Very few soldiers and horses from Shaanxi entered Sichuan, and now there are only 20,000 to 30,000 people on the front line. It was all due to the difficulty of the Shu road that they could barely stop the Jin army. This time you won a great victory in Shaanzhou , it really saved Sichuan and Shu!"
The sources of troops in the Northern Song Dynasty were very concentrated, mainly from Shaanxi, Hedong, and Hebei, supplemented by Jingdong and Jingxi. People in the southern region are generally not soldiers. After the Jingkang Incident, the source of troops of the Song Dynasty was lost, and it was not easy to replenish the troops.
On the Sichuan-Shu front line, although he had the wealthy Sichuan-Shu land as his rear, it was difficult for Zhang Jun to make up for the loss of troops in the First World War in Fuping. For a long time, generals including Wu Jie, Wu Lin, Yang Zheng, etc. did not have many troops. Relying on the geographical advantage, we can barely hold on.
It was not until many years later that the Song Dynasty became accustomed to using southern soldiers and their numbers increased. In the early days of Zhao Gou's rule, most of the regular armies of the Song Dynasty came from the north, and their military strength did not have any advantage over the Jin army. Wang Xiaolie is the only one who recruits local people to join the army through systematic training.
Wang Xiaolie thought for a while and said to Liu Ziyu: "If this is the case, the generals can take the opportunity to rest and have a good rest."
Liu Ziyu said: "The world has not been restored, how can we rest? After the Battle of Shaanzhou, the Jin army only had Wushu and Salihe in Shaanxi. Salihe had less than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and he mainly competed with us on Qinfeng Road To the west, Wushu sent 30,000 people to attack Shukou. 30,000 people, only 7,000 more than Balisu!"
After hearing this, Wang Xiaolie slowly picked up the cup on the table and said to Liu Ziyu: "Senior, drink tea."
Liu Ziyu's face changed color when he saw Wang Xiaolie acting like this. Said: "Commander Jie, it looks like you don't want to use troops for a while?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "It's already summer. If we want to mobilize troops, we have to wait until the autumn is high and the horses are fat."
Liu Ziyu said: "Why do we Han people need to mobilize troops in autumn and winter? To be honest, commander-in-chief, when I heard about your great victory in Shaanxi Province, all the soldiers and civilians in the world were excited! The Privy Council decided that your army will attack westward within one or two months. Take Beijing first. Zhaofu, and then attack Fengxiangfu to block the retreat of Wushu's army! We advance from east to west and annihilate Wushu's army at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain! A great victory in Shaanzhou has changed the situation in the world. If we join forces, If we win another great victory over Shaanzhou, there will be no need to worry about the Central Plains being lost again!"
Wang Xiaolie put down his tea cup and said, "Counsellor, this is not how battles are fought."
Liu Ziyu suddenly stood up and shouted: "How did that fight happen? Now is the time when the commander-in-chief is serving the imperial court. How can he push back and block the opportunity and miss the opportunity! In the battle of Fuping, if Qu Duan did not obey the orders of the Privy Council, How could there be such a big defeat?”
Wang Xiaolie raised his head, looked at Liu Ziyu, and was silent for a while. Cai Dao: "Soldiers must be aware of the major events of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival. A battle must be carefully planned before the battle, and all aspects must be considered. The plan must be detailed, and the troops must be decisive when fighting. Only by being brave can we seize the opportunity to win. If the war is unfavorable, we must consider how to retreat and how to counterattack. Less than a month has passed since the battle of Shaanzhou, and the counselor rushed nearly a thousand miles to Luoyang. I don’t believe you have planned it carefully! Are you going to start a war as soon as you get up? I’m not that crazy!”
Liu Ziyu said: "Wu Shu's 30,000 soldiers and horses are alone in Shaanxi, with no good reinforcements within a thousand miles around. This is not a fighter plane, but what is a fighter plane? After your new victory, the morale of your army is strong. Who can stop us from heading west to Shaanxi? Advancing from east to west, and using the art of killing Wu in Shaanxi, this is an unparalleled achievement!"
Wang Xiaolie said: "The Privy Council wants to get such an obvious opportunity, and the counselors also want to get it, so can Wu Shu think of it?"
Liu Ziyu couldn't help being stunned after hearing this. After a while, he said: "Of course I can imagine it."
Wang Xiaolie said: "If Wu Shu thought about it, would he still wait for us to enter the Fengxiang Mansion? His subordinates have at least one person and two horses. Even if I arrive at the Jingzhao Mansion, Wu Shu can still lead 30,000 people to escape! I count. Wan Dajun, what are you doing in Fengxiang?"
Liu Ziyu said: "Even if Wu Shu escapes, we have recovered Guanzhong."
Wang Xiaolie sighed: "The limit of Jurchen soldiers and horses is no more than 200,000. After killing Ba Lisu, there are still at most 180,000 people left. 180,000 people have to defend thousands of miles of territory, how can they do it? ? To regain the place, the Jin army’s defense is full of loopholes! Guanzhong doesn’t matter!”
Liu Ziyu looked at Wang Xiaolie and didn't know what to say for a moment. After a while, he said: "What if Commander-in-Chief Jie thinks that we should not march westward?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "The Jin people use a small country to attack a big country, which is inherently full of hidden dangers. We should firmly grasp the weaknesses of the Jin army and not distract our energy. The biggest weakness of the Jin army is the lack of troops, not too small a territory. So Well, let's fight against the Jin army. Don't worry about the territory for the time being. As the saying goes, if you save the land and lose the people, you will lose both the people and the land; My army will not advance westward for the time being. The Jin army will always send troops to defend Shaanxi, which is so big. Even if Wu Shu retreats, Sa Lihe cannot retreat. Being able to hold back tens of thousands of Jin troops is much better than occupying Guanzhong."
Liu Ziyu looked at Wang Xiaolie and said after a while: "Do you mean, Commander-in-Chief, or does the army not march westward?"
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Yes. My next target is Hedong. The Jin Army's plan is to occupy the north of the Yellow River, and all the territory south of the Yellow River will be given to Liu Yu. Hedong is north of the Yellow River, and the Jin Army cannot ignore it. Moreover, As long as the east of Hedong is occupied, Shaanxi will also take it back."
In fact, Wang Xiaolie's army marched westward and occupied Guanzhong without much effort. After driving the Jin army out of Shaanxi and then attacking Hedong, the situation will be better. But Wang Xiaolie was really afraid of Zhang Jun and tried his best to prevent the army from falling into Zhang Jun's hands. All the excuses and arguments have one purpose, stay away from Zhang Jun. In other words, stay away from the court. There is really no one in the Song Dynasty court who can shoulder the important task of restoring the Central Plains. Handing the army over to them would be a disaster.
Liu Ziyu grew up in the military with his father since he was a child, and his vision is beyond the reach of ordinary people. He could feel that what Wang Xiaolie said made sense, but not that much. There was even a feeling that Wang Xiaolie was avoiding Zhang Jun on purpose.
After a long time, Liu Ziyu said: "If this is the case, I am afraid that the opportunity to annihilate Wu Shu will be missed."
Wang Xiaolie said calmly: "A Wushu is not a strong opponent. If you miss it, you will miss it. What does it matter?"
This was not the first time he missed Wu Shu, so Wang Xiaolie didn't feel any regret. If you want to kill Wu, you can do it yourself when you surrounded him in Mianchi. Why wait until today? First, it was a coincidence, and second, Wang Xiaolie really didn't think Wu Shu was powerful, so it was better to keep him.
There were indeed many generals in the early years of the Jin Dynasty who could fight. In this time of gathering of generals, Wu Shu is the relatively weak one, if not the weakest one. Moreover, his status is special, and his political role is much greater than his military role.
Jianyan's four years of searching mountains and seas sounded very majestic, but during the retreat, he was almost blocked by Han Shizhong at Huangtiandang, and Wu Shu's commanding ability had to be doubted. After arriving in Shaanxi, he fought with the Song army for several years, but Wu Shu failed to achieve any decent results. Compared with other generals in the early Jin Dynasty, Wu Shu's military ability is doubtful. Wang Xiaolie felt that he would rather confront Wu Shu.
