Overlord!

As Zhuge Liang's army marched to Xiabo, the Song army finally began its first brutal siege on the eastern front.

This is a situation that the Song army does not want to see from top to bottom. Once the army is stationed under the fortified city, the Northern Expedition will easily go wrong.

Especially the tragic casualties in the siege battle, with a large number of soldiers killed every day, made the generals in Zhuge Liang's camp full of complaints.

Wei Yan was born to be extremely bold. After going south from Qinghe and cooperating with Zhuge Liang's advance, he became even more resentful.

Although he is not a typical Jiangdong talent, he is also mad like Zhu Huan and is ashamed of others.

That is to say, he did not want to be someone else's lieutenant. He was unfettered in the direction of Qinghe, advancing vigorously, opening up territories, and felt very uncomfortable.

As a result, as soon as the order was issued, he was forced to give up the easy march to the west, and was forced to go south to cooperate with Zhuge Liang in chewing hard bones, and his head was bruised and bloody under Xiabo City.

In this situation, it is difficult for him not to feel resentful?

We are all generals, why should we be controlled by you, Zhuge Liang?

If Zhuge Liang hadn't been so highly regarded and served as governor all year round, Wei Yan would have rebelled.

But even so, the generals in the camp all criticized Zhuge Liang, saying that he did not know how to fight.

Yes, when the Northern Expedition was blocked, the biggest material criticism Zhuge Liang endured was the lieutenant general's doubts about his military planning ability.

The biggest reason for all this is that Zhuge Liang has been relying on more to win since the beginning of the war.

Although Zhuge Liang is known as a genius in the world, the Song army has as many fierce generals as a cloud, and its soldiers are fierce.

But since the beginning of the war, Zhuge Liang has never fought a battle in which a small number defeated a large number.

War battles are almost always crushing victories in which victory depends on more.

Therefore, from the perspective of a general, Zhuge Liang is a commander who only knows how to fight, relying on the national power of the Song Dynasty to crush the enemy.

As the Lieutenant General of the Army said, as far as the battles he commanded were concerned, the Song Army could win even if a dog was tied up.

Especially after the Song Army transferred tens of thousands of soldiers from the northern front and began to besiege Xiabo, Zhuge Liang's reputation began to slip rapidly in the direction of Li Guangli.

At this moment, Wei Yan made insinuations in the tent and said: "Song Gong mobilized more than 100,000 people to launch the Northern Expedition. This is a feat related to the rise and fall of the world. If the Northern Expedition does not go well, the world will be shaken. The wealth accumulated in the treasury for many years may be destroyed in one day. After all the losses, the offensive and defensive situation in the world has changed since then. Just when the officers and soldiers were thinking about working hard, they made almost no achievements on the left and center, which hurt others! It was even more burdened by Zhuzi, and the armies could not achieve even an inch of success. It is really hateful!"

The generals in the camp all agreed, and one person immediately said: "This is a time when all armies are fighting to open up new territories. Why do they attack the enemy under a fortified city and not move forward?"

Zhuge Liang heard it clearly. Are they complaining about the left and center?

They are clearly complaining about themselves.

It was normal for the three-pronged Northern Expedition to dispatch troops within two or three months.

Starting on the right side and making great strides, it’s not a strange situation that the left side may not have even stepped out of its territory yet.

The more unique situation of this Northern Expedition is that the Song army's left and center troops totaled only more than 50,000 people, less than 60,000!

It is impossible for all of the Song Army's 120,000 troops to participate in the Northern Expedition. A certain number of troops must be left to guard the rear and stabilize people's hearts.

Among the troops of the Northern Expedition, the right wing had 50,000 elite troops, leaving only 50,000 or 60,000 troops on the left and center. However, they had to face the defense of more than 100,000 Zhao troops. It was already difficult to contain them. How could it be possible to achieve great results?

There is not much difference in national strength between the two sides, with more than 100,000 elite troops. If the gongs are played face to face and the drums are played opposite, it is hard to say whether the Song army can even break through the Zhao army's defense line.

This is because the Song Army's extraordinary soldiers and their strategic deployment allowed the Song Army to achieve such brilliant results with more hits and fewer blows on the right.

They are all generals who have experienced hundreds of battles. It is impossible for them not to understand this truth.

The most important reason why they are still complaining is that Zhuge Liang seriously delayed their expansion of territory and achievements.

So Zhuge Liang said: "Since you generals know that it is difficult to achieve anything on the left and middle roads, we should serve the country loyally and bravely on the right, relieve Song Gong's worries, and strive to break the city in one fell swoop and overthrow Yuan Shang's entire army!"

"The importance of this battle is not to seize many cities, but to overthrow the army and kill the generals! As the saying goes, if you save the land and lose the people, you will lose both the people and the land. If you save the people and lose the land, you will save both the people and the land! If we cannot destroy Yuan Shang's three armies, we will capture Jizhou Once the situation in the large territory is stabilized, we can easily retake the counties in Jizhou."

"If we can destroy Yuan Shang's tribe, or even behead Yuan Shang, even if Changshan, Zhongshan and other counties are not taken, it will be enough to cause Jizhou to be shaken and even the Zhao family to collapse!"

Military strategy is indeed a very interesting thing.

There are also hundreds of thousands of troops, and the Song army may be especially tens of thousands in size. If they fight in a frontal formation, the two armies may be equal, and no one can do anything to the other.

However, by gathering forces in one direction and forming a situation in which more troops attack fewer troops, it is possible to directly achieve crushing results.

Therefore, which general can rely on more to win, that is definitely the top general in the world.

This is why Zhuge Liang must mobilize the northern army to go south and besiege Yuan Shang.

He must ensure that the Song army attacked with all its strength and defeated Yuan Shang before the Zhao army returned in large numbers.

As he said, this battle is mainly about inflicting heavy damage and destruction on the enemy.

The two armies are evenly matched, so it may be difficult to kill Yuan Shang. In this situation, Yuan Shang has to break out with his light cavalry, and it is difficult for the Song army to completely trap and kill him.

But he must not let go of the tens of thousands of elite men under his command.

From a small perspective, this can make the Song Army more advantageous in subsequent wars against the Zhao Army and reduce the size of the Zhao Army. The Song Army still has the advantage of being outnumbered.

Strategically speaking, this is more likely to affect the current situation of the entire world. If the Song army successfully defeated Yuan Shang before the main force of the Zhao army returned, Jizhou would no longer have a strong army to use.

Without an elite army, the Song army is likely to imitate the feats of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and take advantage of the enemy's empty army to attack the enemy's capital in one fell swoop.

Complete the destruction of the enemy's court while the enemy's elite main force is still outside.

However, if the army moves slowly and divides its troops to attack counties and counties, and the Zhao army stabilizes the situation, and the main force returns from the south for reinforcements, then the Song army will not be able to hold on no matter how many counties it captures.

Because the Song Army cannot maintain an army of 80,000 in Hebei for a long time!

Under the pressure of logistical supplies, if the Song army's offensive did not go smoothly, they could only retreat with the main force, leaving a few generals to garrison the city, waiting for the next year or a few years later when the court regained its strength and accumulated a batch of food before embarking on the Northern Expedition.

During this period, if the Zhao army comes back, it will definitely regain a large number of counties that the Song army has already attacked.

Especially the places like Zhongshan and Changshan that Wei Yan and other generals wanted to attack were already close to Heishan, to the west of Anping State.

If we divide our forces to fight now, even if we defeat them, we will not be able to defend them in the future.

On the contrary, if Yuan Shang is destroyed and the Song army attacks Zhao County, these two counties can be defeated without fighting.

Therefore, whether the Song Army will achieve a strategic victory, a difficult confrontation, or be forced to retreat in the future, all depends on how quickly Yuan Shang is destroyed in this battle!

But even so, Wei Yan was still unwilling to accept it and said: "Since it is so important, why not let Zhang Liao lead his troops to participate in capturing the city, but instead march south to Xindu and Guangzong?" In the eyes of the northern line generals, this is Zhuge Liang wanted his own side to attack the city and fight bloody battles, and let his direct descendants expand the territory and gain military exploits.

This kind of thing happens a lot in any army. Bloody and bitter battles are fought by other generals and colonels, who want to harvest the fruits of victory. As a result, the main general is replaced by his own trusted direct descendant.

But Wei Yan really misunderstood Zhuge Liang this time, because first of all Zhang Liao was not Zhuge Liang's direct descendant.

Zhuge Liang is a prince, but Zhang Liao has not yet taken sides and does not dare to take sides. The moment he took sides was the moment of his death.

Since Sun Ce had ascended to the throne as Duke of Song, he could also establish an heir apparent, so Sun Ce appointed Zhuge Liang as his heir apparent.

Zhan Shi is a minister and a deacon, and has been passed down through the generations, and he is the head of the prince's official family. Rank reaches two thousand stones!

If we want to make an analogy, this is the prince and tutor that Sun Ce found for Sun Shao! Just like Yang Yong's teacher Gao Jiong, Zhu Biao's young teacher Li Shanchang was the core figure who escorted the prince and the minister who lurked in the palace.

In the politics of the Central Plains, as long as the monarch's head is normal and he has no intention of abolishing the elders and establishing younger ones, there will never be a situation where the prince is in the capital behind and another prince leads an elite army of 300,000 people on the border.

If you want the prince to die, you can be more direct, no need to beat around the bush.

If the prince does not have military power and the other princes hold heavy troops, there will only be one outcome, and that is Yang Guang killing his brother, the Xuanwu Gate Incident, and the Battle of Jingnan.

And if the prince personally supervises the country and this happens, then stop supervising the country and abdicate as soon as possible. You can still leave a whole body. You have no ability to be an emperor.

The prince may not have military power in his hands, but people from the prince family must have military power in their hands!

There must be a general who can protect the prince and stabilize the situation!

And Zhuge Liang is obviously the future tutor that Sun Ce is looking for for Prince Sun Shao.

Even if Sun Ce didn't appoint a prince, these generals from the Song Kingdom would have made a bet early on and selected the prince.

When the time comes when the prince entrusts someone else, such as handing over military power to Wei Yan or Sima Yi, the impact may be even worse.

So Sun Ce simply designated Zhuge Liang as the core of the prince's family early and formed the prince's team.

This is why since ancient times, abolishing the elder and establishing the younger has been the way to create chaos.

The most prestigious ministers in the power have been in the line of princes for decades. As a result, the emperor wanted to change the prince in his later years. How could it be possible without killing everyone?

Among the founding dynasties in the past, the second generation of emperors were the most prone to turmoil.

Either he will die in his second life, or he will be in chaos in his second life.

Sun Ce did not want to encounter the situation of candlelight and shadow, or the Xuanwumen incident, so he must make every effort to cultivate a Taizong to succeed him.

The word Taizong is enough to prove all the abilities, mind, ambitions, etc. Since ancient times, the emperors who have been able to hold the posthumous title of Taizong, except for a few, are basically talented and strategists.

Zhu Di had always wanted to be given the posthumous title of Taizong all his life, and he achieved it through all kinds of hardships. However, he was changed to Ming Chengzu by unscrupulous descendants. The underground people were afraid that they would jump up and beat the bastard Jiajing to death.

The political layout of the Song Dynasty also affected the military deployment.

Wherever there are people, there will be fights, and the Song Dynasty cannot avoid them.

Zhuge Liang is from the Shizi lineage, so he and Zhou Yu are not very harmonious.

Because Zhou Yu cannot naturally belong to the prince lineage. He is the uncle of the second son Sun Su, and is naturally bound to Sun Su.

Sun Su was the second son born to Mrs. Zhou Cheng, although he was not the legitimate son. However, because Mrs. Zhou was extremely favored and held great power, and with the support of the Weaving Department and the Brocade Department, there was still the possibility of taking the throne.

This is not a political struggle, but the death rate of heirs in this era is too high. A cold wind or a plague is enough to kill a young prince.

This is a vivid portrayal of the Eastern Han Dynasty royal family.

The Imperial Palace of the Eastern Han Dynasty may have had problems with the construction materials used in the Imperial Palace of the Song Dynasty, so the death rate of the princes was extremely high.

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty gave birth to a large number of children in his life, but none of them survived in the palace. It was not until Liu Bian was born and raised in a Taoist family outside the palace that he finally managed to survive until he was a teenager.

Although Sun Shao, the eldest son of Song Gongsun Ce, is very active now, no one is sure that he can avoid the fate of premature death.

Once the prince dies, Sun Su is the natural heir.

Moreover, he is also escorted by the general Zhou Yu, so he may not be able to fulfill his important task of stabilizing the country.

Each of these two young men has a team, which inevitably has an impact on the army.

That is, it is difficult for Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang to cooperate together. This is why it was Lu Xun who went to see Zhuge Liang in the first place, and it was Lu Xun who tried his best to persuade Zhuge Liang.

In theory, it would be more appropriate for Zhou Yu to write a personal letter to Zhuge Liang for this kind of joint attack.

However, the two of them each have a son, which makes it difficult for them to cooperate closely.

Therefore, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang were not in the same siege direction.

This kind of thing will inevitably lead to the division of the imperial court, but this is also the helplessness of this era.

The backwardness of medical science has resulted in a very high mortality rate for young children.

The entire force hopes that Sun Ce can spread his branches and have more children to stabilize the country.

Even for the two young masters now, there is no guarantee that one of them will grow up smoothly and healthily twenty years from now.

Sun Ce could only choose the eldest son system that would have the least impact on the situation of the court to ensure the stability of the court.

But any king is selfish. The premise for Sun Ce to ensure the stability of future generations is that all this cannot threaten his ruling power.

In addition to Zhuge Liang escorting the prince, Zhou Yu escorted the second son Sun Su.

Any other general who dares to have excessive contact with these two princes is going too far!

Sun Ce must ensure that most of the military power is in his hands, and will never allow him to make the same mistake as King Zhao Wuling. His son led the army and imprisoned him.

The son is too good. It's okay to be like Li Shimin. At least the old father can still take care of himself.

It would be embarrassing if he was like King Zhao Huiwen or Zhao Guangyi, who created a candlelight ax shadow that seemed to be there but not at all.

Wei Yan was a reckless man, and Zhuge Liang could not explain the dispute between the court and the court to him, so he said: "General Zhang went south to stabilize the grain road, and Gao Lan must be on guard. As I expected, the Zhao family court must have ordered Gao Lan to Send out troops and attack my queen!" (End of this chapter)