"This is the Kuang Wei Army, this is the Long Sword Army, this is..." In the Xiangcheng camp, Li Tangbin pasted a small piece of paper on the map and muttered something.
Gao Renhou sat far away, sipping tea comfortably.
Pang Shigu's army of more than 100,000 people confronted the Xia army across the Ying River. This was the main battlefield.
This battlefield was chosen by the Xia army, not by Zhu Quanzhong's side.
The initiative to choose the battlefield is no longer in their hands. They have lost the right to decide on the three key factors of whether to fight, where to fight, and when to fight.
So if he goes all out, can Zhu Quanzhong force the Xia people to fight decisively and take the initiative? The answer is no.
You gather hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, march north to Heyang for a decisive battle, and the entire southern territory falls.
You gather hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses and set up a formation under the revolving gate. What can you do if others stand firm and refuse to fight? There is no way around that road.
In the middle of the year, the Xia Army gave Guoliang Army a chance for a decisive battle. They chose the battlefield in the north of Ruzhou, near Yin Que Pass, allowing Pang Shigu's lone army to penetrate deeply, and then be cut off from the food road and suffer a flanking attack from the north and south.
completely annihilated.
But Pang Shigu was unwilling to start a decisive battle in this extremely unfavorable situation.
But if your condition is intact and your morale is high, why should the Xia army fight you in a decisive battle? The essence of the art of war is to do your best to weaken the enemy's condition so that he can only display 30 to 50% of his usual ability, and then defeat him in one fell swoop.
When Taizong defeated Dou Jiande, he had to wait for more than 30 days in Hulao Pass while Dou Jiande yelled and cursed outside the city. On the day of the decisive battle, he also deliberately caused Dou's troops to suffer a great loss of physical strength. He took such a multi-pronged approach before launching a fatal blow.
In addition to the main battlefield of Yingshui, there are also sub-battlefields.
Caizhou and Yingzhou are the battlefields on the southern front. The main force of the Weisheng Army and a part of the Huaining Army are trying to cut off the Yingshui, Caishui, and Rushui waterways.
Xuanmenguan and Zhengzhou are the battlefields of the northern line. A large number of rangers tried to shake the morale of the Liang army by threatening the hinterland of Zheng and Bian.
Strictly speaking, the Puzhou Liang Han Yong Division is also a separate battlefield. However, because of the distance, they cannot command at all and can only rely on their own performance. Li Tangbin and Gao Renhou will not take this part into consideration when making decisions.
.
After the tea was boiled quickly, Gao Renhou poured himself a bowl. When he saw Li Tangbin coming over, he gave him another bowl.
"In the battle of Heqing, our army only had tens of thousands of soldiers, but Pang Shigu's army was forced to retreat by 100,000. Today, when we fight Pang Shigu again, Li Shuai seems to be calm and relaxed." Gao Renhou said with a smile.
Three hundred thousand people resisted the river and fought, and the stalemate lasted for more than two months. Both sides stared wide-eyed, trying to find flaws in the other side, and then crossed the river to attack, and the battle was successful.
Comparatively speaking, the Liang people were probably the party that was more eager to seek a war, but Li Tangbin was very stable and suppressed the war-seeking faction's request for a war. However, the trenches were deep and the bases were high, and small groups of troops were sent out at the same time, and dozens of battles took place in two to three months.
It should be said that Zhu Quanzhong still has strong troops in his hands. The Changjian, Kuangwei and Jiama armies are relatively capable of fighting, while Youguo and Feilong are a little behind. As for the Jianrui army, their combat effectiveness has to drop by another level.
The problem does not lie in martial arts, military formations or equipment, but in thinking.
"What does Gao Shuai think Pang Shigu is thinking now?" Li Tangbin asked after taking the tea bowl.
"He must be thinking about how to provoke our army to fight with him." Gao Renhou said: "Zhu Quanzhong searched his family and gave him almost all the troops he could give. It can be said that trust is more important than mountains. Pang Shigu is a man who knows how to repay kindness.
, for the sake of Zhu Quanzhong's trust, he also wanted to win this battle. If Li Shuai wrote to him and asked him to fight, then Pang Shigu would definitely retreat and let our army cross the river smoothly, reach the east bank, and then fight in formation.
It’s a showdown.”
"The book of war says, 'The first step is to attack the enemy with troops, then the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the army, and the second is to attack the city.'" Li Tangbin said: "The king has done the best in 'defeating the enemy', and he has also done a good job in 'defeating the enemy'. Now,
If you need me to 'attack the army' or 'siege the city', you have to be patient."
"Actually, I also like fighting under the king. I don't know why, but I play very smoothly. I don't think Pang Shigu's level is bad. Instead of changing positions, I guess Pang Shigu can also play well.
If you go along, I will be powerless." Gao Renhou sighed.
What does this mean? It means that a lot of work has been completed outside the war. Now everything has fallen into place. If you are not kind and generous, I can win the war just like an experienced general.
This is the victory of "conquering plots" and "conquering relations", creating this excellent strategic situation. The King of Xia did not play any conspiracy, he just defeated you openly. Let's review it again, unless it was a stroke more than ten years ago
, otherwise Zhu Quanzhong will still lose.
"The courage of the generals, has Gao Shuang noticed that the bandits on the other side of the Ying River are getting more and more anxious? Especially after the Weisheng Army launched, the bandits were worried about losing their flanks, so they crossed the river to challenge many more times." Li Tangbin
Said: "In the past few days, we can send more roaming horses to see if the thieves want to build a pontoon bridge. If so, then they are almost inseparable."
…
Outside Caizhou City, cavalry were rushing and drums were beating.
Zhang Quan'en led hundreds of defeated soldiers and retreated to Nancheng with a red face.
"Brother..." Zhang Quan'en felt a little ashamed.
It was so embarrassing to lead troops into battle, lose more than a thousand people, and almost have people chase you into Nancheng.
Zhang Quanyi patted his brother's shoulder and sighed heavily.
Do the Zhang family have any talent for fighting? Zhang Quanyi has been thinking about this question for the past year.
I think back then, among the Chao army, he was also a Mesozoic general. He fought against the government troops in the south of the Yangtze River and won many battles. Otherwise, he would not have become the envoy to the north of Chang'an and be on the same level as Zhu Quanzhong.
But now he really doubts himself.
When he met Sun Ru, he was beaten to pieces. After he fell out with Li Hanzhi, if Zhu Quanzhong had not come to save him, he would have been killed by the furious Li Hanzhi who wanted revenge.
After meeting Shao Shude, things got even worse. Luoyang was defeated, Heyang was defeated, Caizhou was defeated, and the bottom line was lost. The officers and soldiers in the army privately discussed that if they followed Zhang Quanyi, they would not be able to win the battle.
If Zhang Quanyi can't do it, then let his younger brother Zhang Quan'en change his luck and go out to fight, but he is also defeated. Two thousand Caizhou Yamen troops faced two thousand Wei Sheng's troops, but they didn't even win. Especially when there were thieves who equipped men and horses.
They charged straight at them with their horses in hand and captured one person alive, greatly demoralizing their own side.
The thief general responded with arrogant words, saying that Cai Ren, who had always been strong, had become such a coward under Zhang Quanyi, so he might as well surrender.
Well, it sounds quite demoralizing, but Lao Zhang has long been used to it, and his expression doesn't change at all.
"Let's go down and heal our wounds first. Victory or defeat is a matter of military strategism, so it doesn't matter." Zhang Quanyi said gently: "There are still so many soldiers and horses in the three cities of Caizhou, and the thieves won't be able to capture them for a while."
Wei Sheng's army of more than 20,000 Yamen troops, plus 20,000 native Tuan villagers recruited one after another, a total of more than 40,000 people, have already attacked Caizhou City.
After Chen Su, the governor of Shenzhou, attacked Zhenyang, he went all the way north and met up with Zhe Zongben.
Zhe Zong did not ask the Shenzhou soldiers to attack the city, but asked them to proceed north along the Ru River and toward Shangcai in a cautious manner. Translated into human language, it means, help me guard the perimeter.
Cui Hong's troops of the Huaining army crossed Ru River, and Xincai County surrendered without a fight.
To be honest, he wasn't very surprised.
The father and son of the Zhe family used him to lead troops into Caizhou. They originally took a fancy to his influence on the ground in Caizhou counties. There were few soldiers in Xincai County and they were all locals. Cui Hong only persuaded him to surrender, but everyone turned their backs.
Zhang Quanyi came over.
Cui Hong's current order is to continue heading north, capture Pingyu County, and level the front lines of the various units heading north.
More than 50,000 troops did not participate in the frontal battlefield of Yingshui, but instead worked together to attack various places in Caizhou. This intention and style were too great for Marshal Shao, and Li Tangbin was worthy of being valued by the Marshal.
"Brother, several counties in the south have been lost." Zhang Quan'en couldn't help but said: "If no one comes to rescue, can Caizhou be able to defend it?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhang Quanyi's face twitched, he stamped his feet and let out a long sigh.
If Yang Xingmi comes here, he might surrender if he is unable to withstand the enemy. But Shao Shude and Li Tangbin are unwilling to surrender even if they beat him to death. At least they can't lose face now.
The Zhang family and the Shao family have a blood feud, how can they be easily resolved? Unless there is really no other way.
"Brother, it's actually nothing." Zhang Quan'en said: "My son died at the hands of Shao Thief, do you think I don't hate it? But I can't be so selfish and only seek revenge for myself, just for a short time. The descendants of the Zhang family are scattered.
Ye, reproduction is the most important thing, for this reason, what's the point of bearing the humiliation and bowing to Shao Thief?"
Zhang Quanyi glanced at his younger brother in surprise.
After several years of losing battles, you no longer have confidence? You don’t want to fight? You want to surrender?
"Let's go down and bandage the wounds first." Zhang Quanyi said again: "Yang Shihou, Dai Siyuan's Second Division may come to the rescue, and things may turn around. How can we surrender lightly?"
Zhang Quan'en nodded shamefully and left.
Zhang Quanyi walked to the female wall, stroked the rough wall with his hand, and looked at the Weisheng Army troops advancing rapidly on the field, speechless for a long time.
Such a huge force, advancing in multiple directions, was no longer something Pang Shigu could resist.
Zhang Quanyi didn't know if the Liang King had made any new arrangements and sent reinforcements. He felt that relying on Dai Siyuan alone, General Yang Shihou might not be able to suppress the overwhelming power of the Xia thieves and the Huaining Army. Also, don't forget,
There are still more than 10,000 people in Qi Bizhang.
On the southern route, not only Caizhou is in danger, but Yingzhou is also in danger.
After the fall of these two states, the thieves not only cut off the routes of Rushui, Yingshui, and Caishui, so that Pang Shigu's army could only collect food and grass on the spot in Xu, Chen and other places. At the same time, they could continue to go north and outflank Pang Shigu.
Behind the ancient group, this is very dangerous!
The thief's intention was not concealed at all, it was very obvious. Zhang Quanyi felt that he, who had been defeated many times, could see it. The experienced Pang Shuai and Liang Wang wouldn't be able to see it, right?
What strategy have they formulated to prevent the Xia thieves from realizing this strategic intention?