The general's fox fur is not warm when he lies down, and the guard's sword is about to break due to the cold.
It is just when the snow falls in the Tianshan Mountains that I send you off to the capital.
——Excerpt from "Tianshan Snow Song Sends Xiao Zhi Back to the Capital" by Cen Shen (Tang Dynasty)
…
As the saying goes, there are three things a new official should do when he takes office. Everyone is waiting to see how Bai Fu burns these three things?
According to the usual practice, it is nothing more than the following routines:
One is to kill chickens to scare monkeys, purge officials and improve military discipline;
Second, adjust the military structure, select elites, and eliminate redundancies;
Third, prepare your troops and prepare for war.
Everyone is a veteran, and they all know that when a new official takes office, he will definitely show off his power, so everyone warned their subordinates to be careful about their words and deeds, and not to find excuses or excuses for Bai Fu.
If you are really dissatisfied, don't leave any excuse to others openly, just make trouble in private. The generals are ready to deal with Bai Fu.
But surprisingly, Bai Fu did not follow these three routines.
Bai Fu would take one or two soldiers and marching commanders with him every day to visit each camp.
See which battalion is short of clothes and clothing, and send some food, blankets, tents and other military supplies; which battalion needs to repair its weapons and armor, replace the old ones with new weapons and equipment.
When he came and went, he didn't look like a general leading troops in a war, but like an imperial envoy who came to reward the three armies.
If there was still leisure, Bai Fu would have a few drinks with Wei Zhi who stayed behind in Luoyang, Henan Yin Li Ruoyou, Wei Boyu, Li Zhongchen and others, and they would not return until they were drunk.
In the three months since he came here, Bai Fu has not heard a single report from the commanders of each battalion, has not drilled his troops and horses once, has not adjusted a general, nor has he killed a person to establish his authority, nor killed a general.
…
On this day, Hengmu entered the tent and whispered to Shi Taiqing, the other general manager.
"Brother Qing, where do you think this little white general is singing from?
It's understandable that he didn't kill the chicken to scare the monkeys and set off his power, because no one would do anything wrong in his hands and he couldn't find any excuse.
When it comes to the adjustment of the military structure, the Anxi Army has long been dismantled, and the current Anxi Beiting Camp is no longer what Li Siye used to be.
Of these nineteen battalions, how does he know the strength of each battalion and the ability of each general?"
Shi Taiqing was scheming and said, "Is it possible that there is an informant secretly telling him something?"
Hengmu shook his head and said: "Probably not. I selected the soldiers around him one by one and arranged them uniformly. If he wants to meet someone, I will know it as soon as possible."
Shi Taiqing's face darkened and he said: "Brother Mu, you are too courageous. If he finds out, how can he spare your life?"
Hengmu sneered and said, "Don't say he can't find out. Even if he accidentally finds out that I am General Boyu's man, I'm sorry he won't dare to take action."
Shi Taiqing pondered for a moment and said: "I can't guess what kind of medicine he is selling in the gourd, but it's better to be careful. After all, General Guangbi is backing him.
If you really have a falling out, even though he doesn't dare to do anything to you, he still won't look good on his face. After all, he is the coach, and you can't be too free of your own temper."
Hengmu smiled proudly and said: "Brother Qing, don't worry, I will do everything on my behalf, be respectful and do it myself. You don't know what I am capable of, so you won't let him get caught."
Shi Taiqing nodded and said: "This little white general can't see through it. It is said that he is brave enough to conquer the three armies and has a lot of strategy. But judging from his appearance in the past three months, it is clear that he has no experience in leading an army alone.
It can be seen that marching and fighting is one thing, but being a general is another.
We will observe for a while and as long as he does not interfere with the river, we should not be too harsh and we should try our best to cooperate.
If this green melon egg is driven away, and the imperial court sends back Duan Xiushi, Li Feiyuanli and other old Anxi generals, all the hard work we did back then will be in vain."
Hengmu looked stern and said, "Thank you, Brother Qing, for reminding me. I almost forgot about this."
…
While the generals were speculating on Bai Fu, Bai Fu had already made plans.
Visiting various camps in the past three months is not just a simple reward and condolences.
The reason why Hengmu was confused was that he couldn't see through Bai Fu's methods.
In Bai Fu's view, the strength of the nineteen battalions, whether their morale is high, the ability of each general, and whether they can convince the public, etc., do not necessarily have to go through offensive and defensive drills in the martial arts field, military drills, etc.
Only then can we find out.
Bai Fu walked into each camp and took a look at the planning of the functional zoning of the camp tents, the distribution of roads in the camp, the sanitation of the kitchen in the canteen, and the epidemic prevention construction of sewage facilities such as bathhouses and toilets, and then he knew the level of the commanders of each camp.
To put it bluntly, a trip to the toilet is a waste of time. From the cleanliness of the toilet, you can know the level of management of the camp.
When Bai Fu was distributing military supplies and having dinner with the soldiers, he had a casual chat with the soldiers. It looked like chatting and showing off, but through the soldiers' spirited faces, one could tell whether the camp commander had deducted military pay.
Forming cliques and relying on nepotism.
The Art of War says: "Those who stand upright with their sticks are hungry; those who drink first before drinking are thirsty; those who are disturbed by the army are not heavy; those who are angry with officials are tired; those who are quiet and silent and speak slowly to others are losing the crowd."
Bai Fu followed the thirty-two enemy situation observation methods passed down by Wang Zhongsi and checked the status of each battalion one by one.
Bai Fu lightly charioted Jian Cong to the camp. If he saw the soldiers standing leaning on their spears and halberds from a distance, it meant that they were hungry and exhausted, and there was a shortage of food supplies. At this moment, even if the food in the camp seemed good, Bai Fu knew that this was deliberately shown to him.
You see, the general will definitely deduct military rations.
If you see soldiers going out to fetch water from the camp and drink it first, it proves that there is no water in the camp and the soldiers are thirsty. Even drinking water is in short supply. This shows that there must be major loopholes in the daily management of the army.
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If soldiers report that there are disturbances in the army from time to time, it is because the generals behave frivolously, lack prestige, and are unstable.
If the soldiers report that the junior officers in the army often take it out on the people below them and get angry for no reason, it means that the general is incompetent, has inconsistent government orders, or uneven rewards and punishments, and everyone is resentful. Such a team has lost military morale. Once a war begins, the soldiers will hope that they will
If one side fails, it takes revenge on the general.
In other military camps, soldiers always get together from time to time and talk secretly. As soon as they see the general approaching, they immediately disperse and pretend as if nothing has happened.
Bai Fu knew at a glance that the soldiers were slandering their general.
In addition to the above, Bai Fu patrolled the camp and discovered other things:
Wei Zhi and Li Ruo secretly gathered several battalions of soldiers and horses.
Thanks to the support of the famous families and the Li Tang clan, the commanders of these battalions not only did not deduct military pay, but instead rewarded the soldiers desperately, hoping that there would be brave men among the generous rewards.
However, even though they had spent all their money, the soldiers still could not command, and they had no respect for the general. At the critical moment, no one could shout. This shows the embarrassment of the general leading the troops.
Hengmu and Shitaiqing should be Wei Boyu's confidants. These battalions of soldiers and horses are in another situation:
In Shitaiqing's camp, "Those who are punished several times will be trapped."
Shi Taiqing was strict and harsh, and the punishments were not only heavy, but also numerous. The soldiers were in trouble and were not afraid of punishments. They would rather be punished than do anything.
Shi Taiqing had to increase the punishment to intimidate the soldiers, but the result was counterproductive. Once the critical moment came, the soldiers might risk mutiny and kill the commander.
The problem is even more serious on the balance beam side, and the mistake of "those who are violent first and then fear others are not very refined" are made.
As the commander-in-chief, Hengmu first of all failed to take responsibility, the instructions were not clear, and the soldiers lacked training and lacked combat power.
At this time, Hengmu neither planned carefully nor coached his soldiers to solve problems, but forcefully asked his soldiers to complete the set goals. If he failed, he would severely punish his subordinates.
Naturally, the soldiers under his command were dissatisfied.
After seeing that Hengmu was fierce and timid, several bold generals took the lead in throwing down their sticks and launching an attack.
When Hengmu saw that his men did not listen to him, he was worried that he would not be able to suppress the formation and would be scolded by Wei Boyu. Hengmu was frightened, so he immediately turned around and began to win over the soldiers again.
In Bai Fu's view, the general was rough and harsh at first, and then feared his subordinates. This was the least shrewd general, and the most cowardly one.
Bai Fu shook his head. Not only were the generals in these camps incompetent, but the officers and men in the camps were like rotten wood that could not be carved...