"The sage king regards the eyes and ears of the world as his sight and hearing, so he can hear and see everything." Biography of Liu Tao in the Later Han Dynasty
The emperor called Gaishun's name affectionately, but Gaishun did not dare to exaggerate, and said with clasped fists: "Your Majesty said that the general is responsible for the survival of the three armies, and the success or failure of a battle. No one who is incompetent should be allowed to do anything."
"It seems that you have gained quite a lot of experience in suppressing bandits in Sanfu for more than a month." The emperor looked at Xu Rong, then at Zhang Liao and others standing behind Xu Rong, and said: "My husband, a civil and military man,
Army generals, from now on you will have to lead troops alone and fight outside. What I just reviewed was the soldiers below. Now I want to review the strategies of you generals."
After hearing this, no one had any objections. They had long admired Gaishun and Xu Rong's achievements in wiping out the three auxiliary bandits. At this moment, they were all gearing up and thinking about performing well in front of the emperor. Not to mention serving as the head coach, but to accompany the army to Baibo.
It’s not impossible to strive for.
"Your Majesty." Among the crowd, only the Northern Army Lieutenant Commander Wang Bin was a little embarrassed and said bravely: "I wonder how your Majesty will inspect the school?"
The generals here have either been on the battlefield and killed people, or they have learned the art of war from their families and are full of strategies. Wang Bin is the only layman. When he heard that the emperor wanted to review the strategy, he suddenly felt guilty.
"In those days, the marquis of Xinxi gathered rice to form a valley and plotted the situation for Emperor Guangwu, so that Liangzhou's counties, cities, terrain, and military strength could be seen at a glance." The emperor had already planned this. After all, Wang Chang's pretending to lead the military was only his personal responsibility.
The speculation was baseless. If he didn't find a suitable reason, he really couldn't explain why he decided that the battle in Lantian was Xu Huang's credit.
So the emperor asked someone to make a simple sand table in advance. At this time, he had someone lift it up. According to the terrain of the sand table, he set the number, type, elite level, weather and other conditions of the enemy's and our own soldiers and horses, specifically to test these.
A person's ability to make decisions when the opportunity arises and to march and fight.
But the sand table limits the terrain after all, so sometimes the emperor would abandon the sand table and choose some classic wars that occurred in history as topics.
For example, the examination question for Zhang Liao was: "If at this time the enemy has an army of one hundred thousand, and the troops are approaching the city, we are outnumbered and we are outnumbered, and you are the commander-in-chief, what should we do?"
Zhang Liao did not answer immediately. He bravely asked: "May I ask your Majesty, is this a fortified city?"
It’s easy to answer if it’s not a fortified city. Either abandon the city and fight guerrillas, or retreat strategically and find another pass to defend. But in this way, the question is too simple. The emperor teased and said: “Of course it is a fortified city.
."
Zhang Liao then replied: "Of the 100,000 of them, we must have only 30,000 soldiers to fight. The rest should be mostly civilians who have been added to the army to create momentum and deceive me. Therefore, our army should select the best and inspire them with great righteousness."
The soldiers, armed with strong armor and sharp swords, will lead a surprise attack while they have not yet formed their formation and are not yet firmly on their feet."
After hearing this, Xu Rong couldn't help but retort: "Even if they succeed, they won't be able to harm the foundation. They will still besiege the city."
When Zhang Liao saw it was Xu Rong, he directly retorted: "This method cannot make them retreat, but if they win, it can win their army's morale, defeat their morale, and calm our army's heart. From then on,
You can hold on calmly and practice defense."
"Wouldn't it become a bitter battle under siege?" Fazheng said suddenly.
Seeing that all the generals turned to look at him, Fazheng was not timid and said loudly: "If those 100,000 troops attack day and night, even if there is a strong city, they will not be able to defend it for long."
Zhang Liao knew that Secretary Lang Fa was a young man beside the emperor, and he could not be as rude as he had just retorted to Xu Rong. He said slowly: "Your Majesty has said before that at this time, the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered, and the morale of the two armies has passed through my leadership."
We attack and they surrender. Not to mention whether there are reinforcements, let’s say that the opponent’s army of 100,000 requires more than tens of millions of food and fodder for a whole day. And our army is defending the fortified city, so there must be no shortage of food, fodder, weapons, and things to defend the city.
.As long as they persist, within half a month, they will return without any effort."
"At that time, I will select elite soldiers and pursue them one after another, and I can defeat the enemy with one blow."
The emperor nodded. He didn't expect Zhang Liao to be so impressive at such a young age. He was about to praise him, but he saw that Fa Zheng had brought himself into the role and said unconvinced: "Then if I withdraw my troops on purpose, I will reserve some space along the way."
Are elite soldiers ambushing you?"
Zhang Liao laughed and said sternly: "How difficult it is to deploy a hundred thousand troops. How can we withdraw just when we want to? When the time comes, and there is a slight delay, it will cause chaos. At that time, I am afraid that a false retreat will be possible."
It’s a true defeat. As for the ambush, since I am the general guarding the city, how can I not know where the dangerous areas are and where the smooth roads are near the city?”
Fazheng's face turned red, and then he realized that he had made the mistake of a scholar ordering troops. Upon seeing this, the emperor rescued him in time: "You two have unique insights, Zhang Wenyuan, I really saw you right.
In time, you will become a general of the imperial court."
This was simply a great affirmation and praise for him. Zhang Liao was overjoyed. He was happier than anything else and quickly thanked him.
"Filial and straight." The emperor encouraged Zhang Liao, and then said to Fazheng: "You have outstanding talents and are good at military strategy, but what you learn on paper will always be shallow. You still have to experience everything personally."
Fazheng accepted the teachings with an open mind, and the emperor did not criticize him for being competitive, which had already given him a lot of face. Moreover, the emperor's personal experience seemed to have other meanings, so Fazheng had to think about it.
The emperor looked around. He had just tested all the generals except Wang Bin through this method. At this time, he was about to prepare a few words of admonishment before heading back to the palace. But he glanced at Gaishun with great interest.
Said: "To be honest, when you led the troops to exterminate Liu Xiongming in Lantian, it seems that you had a general under your command? Your memorial said that he only led 300 people to seize the city and surrendered thousands of thieves. I remember
Is this man named Wang Chang?"
Xu Rong on the side frowned slightly at this moment, and a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes.
Xu Huang had questioned him in private about this matter. He did not dare to offend Gaishun, so he could only persuade him to tolerate it for the time being. After all, there would be many opportunities to make meritorious deeds in the future, and he did not want to offend an upstart in the military like Gaishun.
At this time, the emperor mentioned this matter again, and it seemed that he admired this brave and resourceful Wang Chang, and was ready to promote him. Wang Chang had already recorded meritorious service in this battle, and was promoted to the rank of Huben Minister, with a price of four hundred stones, but now he saw that the emperor had
He must be given special rewards. In Xu Rong's eyes, this was really unfair to Xu Huang.
All the achievements that Wang Chang has achieved now should have been attributed to Xu Huang. If he had pointed it out directly to Gaishun, it would have been Xu Huang who was commended by the emperor now, not Wang Chang!