In fact, it is not impossible to squeeze out. Farmers in this era can be regarded as soldiers if they put down their hoes and pick up their swords.
It's a pity that Liu Cong's requirements for the army are too high, and he also has some modern thinking. What he wants more is trained professional soldiers.
Cao Cao's army of hundreds of thousands was accumulated through nearly twenty years of campaigns in the north and south. Therefore, Cao Cao's army is the most powerful army in the world today.
The Jingchu army was not bad either. The food provided by Liu Cong was good and the training was sufficient. It just lacked some war experience compared to Cao's army. The only disadvantage was that it cost money.
Based on this principle of preferring shortage to excess, Liu Cong did not ask for manpower from the rear this time. In the future, he will also use this method to catch up with the combat effectiveness gap between Cao's army.
The reserve force envisioned by Liu Cong is an army that works during busy farming periods and trains during leisure time, and is only paid half of the salary. Such an army is not too bad. At least it has been trained, and it has been brought to the battlefield to see blood. After a few battles,
That is to say, elite.
A total of 700,000 troops, accounting for 11% of the population, is not considered a military force. If Jiangdong is also completely controlled by the government, it will be more than enough to support 500,000 regular troops and 200,000 reserve troops.
Jiaozhou is now a wilderness with many mountains and forests. When developing Jiaozhou, don’t think about rewards in the early stage. After waiting thirty to fifty years, there may be a prosperous Guangdong in future generations.
When he heard that Liu Cong wanted to recruit troops in Jiangdong, Pang Tong retorted without thinking, "My lord, Jiangdong has just been pacified. Even if our Jingchu army did not offend the people, it is impossible for them to convince them so quickly."
"Recruiting soldiers is impossible, and recruiting soldiers takes time, and training also takes time. If the lord is anxious to form an army, this will not work."
Well, as expected of Pang Tong, he can already guess what Liu Cong is going to do. Time, doesn’t it mean that Liu Cong still wants to continue using troops?
Moreover, Pang Tong now has a sophisticated appetite. He does not train a well-formed army, and he does not like to command such an army in battle.
Liu Cong did not speak, but sat in front of the case and began to think. Cao's army in Huainan was no less than 100,000. If he led an army of 150,000, he would definitely fight with Cao's army in the field.
Then we have to think about Cao Jun's field combat ability. How can Jiangdong soldiers compare with Cao Jun in field combat? Come on? Do you want future generations to call themselves Liu Shiwan?
"My lord, may I ask, my lord, do you want to attack Hefei and Shouchun?" While Liu Cong was thinking, Zhou Yu spoke.
Liu Cong came back to his senses and looked at Zhou Yu, "There are more than 100,000 Cao's troops in Huainan, and there are 20,000 brave cavalry that Zhang Liao just brought. There are no less than 40,000 cavalry. I really want to conquer Huainan, but I am also worried about encountering Cao's army in the field.
It will lead to a big defeat."
Everyone here is trustworthy, and Liu Cong has nothing to hide.
Zhang Liao was originally stationed in Youzhou. Liu Cong speculated that Ma Liang's plan for Gongsun Kang might have worked. Gongsun Kang concentrated on dealing with the barbarians, which caused the pressure on Youzhou to drop sharply, allowing Zhang Liao to lead 20,000 cavalry south.
Zhou Yu cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I have a plan that may help my lord capture Huainan!"
Liu Cong's eyes lit up, "Gong Jin, come quickly!"
Zhou Yu stood up and walked to the center, "Please help me move the map."
Zhou Yu was talking to Xing Daorong. He had spared Xing Daorong's life, but when they met again, he was already a colleague.
Meeting Zhou Yu's gaze, Xing Daorong felt a little embarrassed. Liu Cong kicked him in the leg, "Why don't you go quickly?"
"Oh." Xing Daorong finally reacted, summoned a few soldiers, and moved the map in the palace to Zhou Yu's side.
This map is a map of the entire world. It is drawn very poorly. You can't even see clearly what areas are on the edges of Youzhou, Bingzhou, Yangzhou, Yizhou and other places.
However, the coastline of the coastal areas was still clearly drawn. Zhou Yu pointed at the map and said, "What my lord is worried about is that our army and Cao's army are about the same strength, so we may not be able to defeat them in a field battle."
After hearing Zhou Yu's words, Liu Cong nodded, and Zhou Yu moved his finger upwards, "My lord, please see, this is Xuzhou behind Huainan. My plan is to send generals out to sea and lead troops to attack the enemy's rear. The enemy's troops have gathered heavily in Huainan.
Xuzhou must be empty!"
"Hiss!" Most of the people were sober from drinking.
As expected of Zhou Lang, he was able to come up with such an unprecedented strategy in this era!
"If our army attacks Xuzhou, the enemy will definitely send troops to return reinforcements, and the most likely to return reinforcements is the enemy's cavalry, because the cavalry is fast and the troops are very fast. This is a conspiracy, even if someone in the enemy army sees it.
According to our army’s strategy, we have to send troops back for reinforcements.”
"When the enemy's cavalry returns to support, our army will fight with the enemy in the field. With the lord's methods, we may not be our opponents!"
"What a brilliant idea!"
"Zhou Lang is really smart, I admire him."
Everyone became noisy and talked about Zhou Yu's clever plan.
"The strategy is a good one, but the sea is vast and the climate changes frequently. If a large army goes to sea, there is a risk of annihilation." When everyone praised, Pang Tong frowned and pointed out the flaws of this strategy.
Pang Tong was right. No one in this era led a fleet to go to sea, and almost none of the existing ships, except for large-scale ships, could withstand the huge waves in the sea.
When a wave comes, the ship is destroyed and people are killed, which is a common thing in this era.
Zhou Yu smiled and said, "It depends on my lord's decision."
Liu Cong thought again. If he could capture Huainan, he would have a springboard to advance into the Central Plains. He could send troops from Jiangdong and Jingchu at any time to threaten the Central Plains.
But going to sea. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, the sea could destroy a powerful army, let alone this era.
When Liu Cong was thinking, Lu Xun said, "My lord, I have been in Kuaiji for many years. The storms on the southeast coast are most violent from April to July. In winter, there will be northeast winds from the north and south. If the ship
The team sails along the coastline, so there shouldn’t be any big problems.” (The timeline of this article is based on the lunar calendar, which is different from the current Gregorian calendar)
"Bang!"
Liu Cong slapped the table. Damn it, I came from modern times and had forgotten all the knowledge about monsoons. In winter, affected by the Siberian high pressure, the wind blows from the northeast in the sea. I'm afraid of a bird's storm.
"That's it. Gu decided to send troops to march by sea and harass Xuzhou. Who is willing to lead the troops?"
For example, the naval generals of Jingchu, Cai Hao, Zhang Yun, Gan Ning, Zhang Zheng and others were silent. They lived in Jingchu and had more unknown fears about the vast ocean.
Don't be afraid of death in battle. If one dies in the sea, there will really be no bones left. Besides, when we arrive in Xuzhou, we still have to face Cao Cao's cavalry returning for reinforcements. Can the infantry defeat the cavalry?
Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhou Yu cupped his hands to Liu Cong and said, "My lord, I came up with the plan. I am willing to go in person!"
"I am willing to accompany you!"
"I am also willing!"
"The last general invites you to fight!"
Lu Su, Lu Xun, Ding Feng and other Jiangdong generals asked for battle one after another!
Liu Cong looked at Pang Tong and asked, "Shi Yuan, how many large ships are there in the army? How many ships are there in the navy including Jiangdong?"
"Lord, there are no less than one hundred and thirty ships, among which there are eighty-six Jingchu ships, all covered with iron armor!"