Chapter 745 Destroy the ambition of the Xianbei people
"Does the lord think that the four counties in Hexi are too vast and sparsely populated to be managed?"
There are four more counties to the west of Wuwei County, and the land is as vast as the entire Guanzhong.
Moreover, the Qilian Mountains, a famous place for raising horses, is also among the four counties in Hexi.
Seeing that Liu Zhang didn't speak, Fazheng spoke again to persuade him.
"My lord, you must not underestimate this land in Hexi! Although the Hexi area is vast and sparsely populated, it has abundant water and grass, good weather, and a mild climate. It is a natural place for horse herding!"
"The fact that Liangzhou's war horses are the best in the world and coveted by princes from all over the world is also due to the superior terrain here!"
"Only by occupying the four counties in Hexi can we completely solve the war horse crisis!"
Due to the vast area and sparse population in the four counties of Hexi, it is extremely difficult to operate.
From Fazheng's perspective, the sooner you get it, the sooner you can start business.
Not only Fazheng had this question, Cheng Gongying also looked at Liu Zhang in confusion.
Just on his way back to Yuzhong, Liu Zhang appointed him as the governor of Dunhuang.
But if we don't send troops to advance, is it possible that we still think that the counties will surrender on their own initiative?
Even so, soldiers and horses are needed for deterrence!
Liu Zhang waved his hand gently, signaling Pang Tong and Fazheng to sit down temporarily.
"We only occupy one state, so how can we dislike the four counties in Hexi? It's just that the time is not right yet."
"Do you know how long it has been since we sent troops to Hanzhong?"
Liu Zhang's words were like an alarm bell, instantly waking up Pang Tong and Fazheng who were obsessed with merit.
Liu Zhang led his army to march in Hanzhong in April, and it was now December.
The Yizhou Army has been fighting for nearly eight months.
From Hanzhong to Hanyang, from Hanyang to Longxi, from Longxi back to Hanyang, and from Hanyang to Yuzhong!
It can be said that the Yizhou Army had almost no real rest during these eight months.
Fortunately, the Yizhou Army has elite soldiers and brave generals, and it is even more impressive after winning consecutive battles.
However, after Han Sui continued to attack day and night for ten days, the Yizhou Army suffered heavy casualties.
Although today we have completely defeated the Qiang people and achieved the final victory of the war, the fact that the army is still exhausted cannot be avoided.
"Everyone, I also want to occupy each county as soon as possible, but the current conditions do not allow us to go on an expedition without restraint."
"It's the coldest winter right now. The north wind is biting and freezing to the bone! We can still feel the ruthlessness of the cold while sitting in the house, not to mention the soldiers who are fighting continuously?"
From ancient times to the present, even thousands of years later, winter has never been the time to launch a war.
"Gongda, how many soldiers do we have left in Yuzhong?"
Xun You's expression darkened obviously, and then he answered Liu Zhang's question in a low voice.
"Lord, the Wu Feng Camp, the Wu Wei Camp, the Hu Wei Camp, the barbarian soldiers plus the surrendered Liangzhou elite cavalry, total less than 35,000 people..."
Since entering Yuzhong, the Yizhou Army has never experienced a defeat.
But even so, the total number of people still dropped sharply from nearly 70,000 to nearly half!
The tragedy can be imagined. Even if Liu Zhang is slightly careless, it is very likely that the entire army will be destroyed!
"Everyone, there are less than 35,000 soldiers left, which means we have suffered more than 30,000 casualties."
"Of course, at the cost of more than 30,000 people, more than ten times the enemy army was annihilated. The results will definitely shock the world!"
"But everyone should also know about our situation in Yizhou. Almost all the troops that can be mobilized are in the land of Yongliang."
"Don't forget, everyone, there are nearly 200,000 Xianbei cavalry waiting for us outside the street pavilion!"
"Let me make it clear to everyone, Guanzhong is not a place where people from Xianbei can come and leave whenever they want!"
Liu Zhang's bold words and ambitions suddenly made the atmosphere tense again, and even became solidified due to depression.
Today, the entire strength of the Yizhou Army includes county soldiers stationed in Yuzhong, Longxi, Wuwei, Jieting, Chencang and Hanyang counties.
The total strength of all the troops is only about 100,000. If you exclude the troops that can be mobilized, it is far less than 100,000.
With less than 100,000 troops facing the Xianbei cavalry of less than 200,000 men, there seems to be little disadvantage.
After all, Liu Zhang had just personally led an army to defeat more than 400,000 Qiang soldiers with a force of 50,000 to 60,000 men!
It's a pity that no one in the room thinks so.
Whether it was Liu Zhang as the commander-in-chief, or his advisers Xun You, Pang Tong and others, or Yizhou generals Taishi Ci, Dian Wei, or even Pang De and Ma Chao who had just surrendered.
No one would be so arrogant as not to take the 200,000 Xianbei cavalry in their eyes!
Liu Zhang was able to defeat Han Sui's 400,000 Qiang army twice in a row, not because he suppressed it with military force, but entirely by conspiracy.
For the first time, Ma Chao caused chaos and caused complete chaos in the 300,000-strong army. The Yizhou Army sent chasing troops to cover up the attack, and achieved a victory of 150,000.
The second time they relied on Yuzhong Jiancheng, they killed more than 100,000 Qiang soldiers. When they were about to lose their hold, Liu Zhang designed Han Sui to rely on Ma Chao and Dian Wu to create chaos and force the coalition to stop advancing.
Later, he designed Han Sui's letter of surrender, which aroused the internal fighting between Han Sui and Ma Chao, and finally won the war in one fell swoop.
From the beginning to the end, Liu Zhang never led his army into a field battle with Han Sui.
It wasn't that Liu Zhang didn't have confidence in his soldiers, but that he simply couldn't bear the losses in a head-on battle.
The elite level of the Yizhou army is not comparable to that of the Qiang people. Even in field battles, it can cause huge casualties to the Qiang people.
But after all, it was difficult for two fists to defeat four hands. Even if the Yizhou army could defeat one against five, Liu Zhang would not be able to achieve the final victory.
Sun Tzu's Art of War once clearly stated that the first step is to attack the enemy with the enemy, the second step is to attack the enemy, the second step is to attack the enemy, and the third step is to attack the city.
The worst things are field battles and siege warfare.
Sun Tzu once said that the method of using military force is to surround an enemy ten times and to attack it five times.
Han Sui had nearly five times more troops than Liu Zhang, but unfortunately he was still frequently at a disadvantage in siege battles.
Liu Zhang used his superior troops to attack the strong, and Han Sui used his subordinates to attack the city, and was ultimately defeated and killed.
However, once the Xianbei people are confronted, without Ma Teng, Ma Chao can take advantage. Without Dian, don't act as an internal agent. No strategy can avoid direct contact with the Xianbei cavalry.
Liu Zhang's idea was very clear. He wanted to annihilate all the Xianbei cavalry and leave all 200,000 of them here.
However, the Xianbei people are not fools. If the attack is not successful, they can completely change the direction of the attack. After learning that Han Sui is destroyed, they will not fight in front of Jieting City.
At that time, the Xianbei cavalry invaded Sanfu, and the buildings in Jieting City must have been deserted.
If Liu Zhang wanted to destroy the Xianbei cavalry again, he would have to fight them head-on.
In particular, Xianbei's string-controllers are all cavalry, and Liu Zhang's current army of soldiers and horses combined can't even make up 20,000 cavalry!
Liu Zhang also suddenly changed from the huge advantage of attacking with troops to the huge disadvantage of attacking with troops.
Just as the room fell into silence, a soldier hurriedly ran in.
"Report!"
"Your Majesty, there is an urgent call from the street pavilion!"