The Maojin knife from the late Jin Dynasty

Chapter 276 Simple strategic arrangement

Liu Ming, Zhou Ping, Zhao An, and Wang Sang gradually became the four generals under his command.

Because Ge Xin himself followed the route of a brave general, but his own bravery was not as good as that of Liu Xia and Liu Tai, so although his status was somewhat transcendent, he gradually fell behind these four. There were probably five of the Four Heavenly Kings.

But Ge Xin relied on his qualifications to become one of the benchmarks for generals. Another benchmark for generals was Liu Xia. Not only was his personal force outstanding among Liu Tai's team, but the most important thing was that the heavy cavalry he led had made outstanding achievements. It can overwhelm most generals.

Even so, neither of them can reach the point of being handsome, not even among the four generals in front of Liu Tai.

Liu Ming is more accurately said to be Liu Tai's deputy general, assisting in commanding Liu Tai's headquarters and responsible for daily training.

Perhaps the most handsome men under Liu Tai were Zhou Ping and Zhao An, plus Wang Sang who followed Li Ju on the other side of the Yellow River.

Seeing everyone arrive at this moment, Liu Tai got straight to the point and said: "The purpose of calling you here this time is to conquer the Central Plains south of the Yellow River and clear the obstacles for us to enter Guanzhong.

This time I will discuss the military strategy with you. If the materials required by each ministry are not fully prepared, we will set a reserve target after this time! "

"Is your Majesty planning to conquer the south of the Yellow River after the autumn harvest?" Liu Ming couldn't help but worry after hearing Liu Tai's words.

"What are you thinking!" Liu Tai shook his head, but he was amused by Liu Ming's caution.

“There have been no changes south of the Yellow River, so why are you so anxious? We’ll wait until the construction of the canal is completed and a large number of corvees will be freed up.

We can get the fighting soldiers now, but if we want to maintain the fighting soldiers, the follow-up soldiers and corvee are the most important! "

"Your Majesty, do you have any detailed insights?!" Zhou Ping couldn't help but ask.

"First of all, if we launch a war, we must capture Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Xingyang to prepare for the next step into Luoyang." Liu Tai stretched out his hand and pointed at the map.

"Winning two states at once? Isn't that a little too stressful?!"

Hearing Liu Tai's words, Zhao An couldn't help but frown and said:

"I am not denying the strength of our army, but if we swallow Yanzhou and Yuzhou in one go, I am afraid that we will need to use at least more than 150,000 soldiers.

To us, this is quite a large number of soldiers! "

When Liu Tai heard Zhao An's words, he nodded in approval and said:

“But who made Zu Ti once in charge of this land, so we must swallow it all in one go.

Otherwise, as long as Zu Ti is still there, he can raise an army of no less than 100,000 people at any time.

Don't doubt it, if you estimate Zu Ti based on an extra 100,000 troops, you won't be wrong! "

Several people present couldn't help but look at each other in shock when they heard Liu Tai's words. To be honest, they really didn't understand why Liu Tai seemed to be particularly afraid of Zu Ti.

So far, although Zu Ti's performance in the Jin court is quite superior, compared with Liu Tai's record of capturing Liu Yao and killing Shi Le, it doesn't seem to be that outstanding!

After all, although Zu Ti is considered the pillar of the entire Jin court, he has experienced defeats and defeats, and he is a mortal.

Then look at Liu Tai. At least judging from his past record, Liu Tai almost killed Zu Ti!

Because of this, everyone did not understand Liu Tai's fear of Zu Ti. After all, they looked at Zu Ti through the eyes of a general, unlike Liu Tai who looked at Zu Ti through the eyes of a class, so they did not understand Zu Ti at all. People like Ti are beyond class!

"In that case, I first ask the king to give up the idea of ​​sending troops to Xingyang!" Zhou Ping stood up and said.

When Liu Tai heard Zhou Ping's words, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth. He nodded to Zhou Ping and said, "Tell me something."

"Our Jijun and Xingyang trade mutually, and as long as Li Ju is wary of us, then our slightest move to store grain in Jijun will probably make him wary.

Therefore, if General Wang Sang is to paralyze Li Ju in Ji County, he must not act rashly.

We need to find another way, starting from Liyang, passing through Yanjin, taking Baima to Guandu, cutting off Li Ju's retreat, and making an emergency landing in Li Ju.

The third route starts from Taishan County and sweeps through the counties of Yanzhou from east to west. When the time comes, Li Ju will be attacked by both armies. He will definitely surrender. Even if he does not surrender, he will be destroyed. When the time comes, the armies of the three routes will be there. Chen Liu joined forces and attacked Yuzhou together.

Even if Zu Ti wanted to deal with it, a three-pronged attack would definitely catch him off guard. "Zhou Ping looked at the map and explained his thoughts.

Liu Tai nodded, shook his head, then turned his gaze to the others and said, "Do you have anything to say?"

"Please make it clear, Your Majesty." When Zhou Ping, Zhao An and others heard Liu Tai's words, they looked at each other and shook their heads.

Because in their opinion, it is the safest way to capture Yanzhou safely first, and then attack Yuzhou!

"You guys didn't take full advantage of our army!" Liu Tai said at this moment, "What do you think is our army's greatest advantage?"

"Speed, will, equipment, cavalry?!" At this time, everyone suddenly reacted.

"That's all right!" Liu Tai said while looking at everyone, "Don't use us to beat Liu Yao, or to beat Shi Le's thinking limiter himself.

Our greatest advantage over the armies south of the Yellow River lies in the cavalry.

The Jin court cavalry cannot be as numerous as ours, and the land in the Central Plains is actually very suitable for cavalry to gallop! "

"What does your Majesty mean!?" When everyone heard Liu Tai's words, they were a little confused.

Liu Tai said, "After crossing the Yellow River, the land is flat, so we must take advantage of the cavalry.

You just said that Xingyang was used as bait, but our army actually sent troops to Yanjin Baima, or from Taishan County. This is the same as my plan.

But more importantly, we need a surprise force that can directly penetrate into the depths of Yuzhou regardless of the situation.

If a city is captured by a surprise attack, soldiers will be left to garrison the city and then continue to the next city.

First capture the cities that can be captured in Yuzhou as quickly as possible, and then turn around and slowly attack Yanzhou!

Because Yanzhou is close to the Yellow River, Zuti must have layers of defenses. It is not easy for us to capture it in a short time.

There is absolutely no need for us to chew on these hard bones. It is better to capture the easy-to-capture cities first, and then turn around to make the opponent panic, either by forcing him to surrender or by destroying the city. It is better than spending our time here. ! "

After hearing Liu Tai's words, everyone present couldn't help but look at each other. They didn't expect Liu Tai to propose such a plan.

At this time, Liu Ming was the first to raise objections and said, "If such a plan is implemented, what will happen to the food and grass supply?!"

"Zhao An, how do you feel about the food and grass I prepared for you!?" Liu Tai did not answer Liu Ming's words, but said to Zhao An.

Zhao An smiled bitterly and said, "The pressed dried meat paired with tea soup is indeed quite space-saving. When the time comes, bring fried noodles with heavy salt and boil them in water. It will indeed be edible as food.

But if the king wants to implement this plan, even if the soldiers are wearing leather armor, they will only be able to carry half a month's worth of food on their backs. It is unrealistic to sweep across Yuzhou! ” ˆ ˆ “Every soldier, whether on foot or on horse, is equipped with two horses to carry things! The other end is equipped with equipment and weapons! Liu Tai said calmly after hearing Zhao An's words, "Can this army go to the rear of Yuzhou and occupy the city?" "

"I can guarantee that the army will last for more than one month. If a county is not occupied after one month, then I will choose to return to the army!" Zhao An thought for a moment and asked Liu Tai, "But, can we be so luxurious!?"

To be honest, one infantryman is equipped with two rogue horses. Zhao An has never heard of this treatment, let alone seeing it!

If his legion is really equipped with such a large number of horses, Zhao An said, grain road? The Jin army's granary is my granary, and the Jin army's food and grass is my food and grass!

If I can't get food and grass behind enemy lines for a month, then the growth of my army will be in vain.

Isn't it just working behind enemy lines? It sounds like I have fought on a frontal battlefield!

"This is not a luxury. Since you are required to go behind enemy lines, you naturally need to solve your worries in terms of food.

And your legion is good at fighting behind enemy lines. With one month of food as a starting capital, it can only successfully attack a county behind enemy lines, so there is no need to worry about food.

If they attack two counties by surprise, the people of Yanzhou and Sizhou will be worried about their future!

Of course, if you wander around for a month without taking any counties, there is no need to show off. You don't need supplies or anything, just lead the army and run back.

If the supplies are lost, they can still be saved, but if the people are gone, I feel so sad! Liu Tai said to Zhao An with a smile.

For Liu Tai, it doesn't matter if one infantryman is equipped with two horses. It's not a war horse that needs to be chosen from thousands of times and needs to eat fine feed. When soldiers of the Tang Dynasty go on expeditions, aren't they all equipped with one Mo Dao soldier and three horses to transport supplies? of.

Now he is not that rich, but in two years, if he wants to equip Zhao An with almost 20,000 soldiers, 8,000 war horses, and 40,000 rogue horses, Liu Tai still believes that he can do it.

"If so, Zijing will definitely face a counterattack by Yuzhou soldiers!" Zhou Ping said with a serious look, "If we divide our troops again, I'm afraid there will be danger!"

When Liu Tai heard Zhou Ping's words, he shook his head and said, "Among our army, Zhou Ping, you are the best at directing battles. Liu Ming is bold and ambitious, and he is calm and not tired when facing desperate situations. He can make the soldiers trust him."

Zhao An is best at handling complex situations, and has the most experience in fighting behind enemy lines.

I will equip Zhao An with eight thousand cavalry, which will at least give him an advantage in fighting in the wild.

Zijing, you just need to remember that you are fighting behind enemy lines, so 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 gain both the people and the land! "

Zhao An heard Liu Tai's words, but he nodded fiercely to show that he understood.

"So, our overall strategy will be divided into two parts. The first part is that we will attack in three directions in order to put pressure on Yanzhou counties. Even if Taishan County sends troops, we need to be prepared for Gou Xi to send troops.

But in fact, we created an opportunity to let Zijing lead his troops directly through the rear of Yuzhou, cutting off the connection between Yuzhou and Yanzhou, and completely leaving the Yanzhou soldiers isolated and helpless.

After Zhao An completes this stage of the task, Zhao An, your task is to turn yourself into a target and attract the attention of the counties in Yuzhou.

But don’t worry too much about the gains and losses of one city or one place. Use field battles as much as possible to hold back Yuzhou’s reinforcements.

At this stage, our three armies should almost be ready to attack the city. We should first turn around and carry out tactical divisions according to the situation of the isolated and helpless Yanzhou army.

Either persuade them to surrender, or directly defeat the stubborn targets, thereby fully annexing Yanzhou.

After that, based on Zhao An's occupation of Yuzhou, he will formulate a plan to attack Yuzhou in an all-round way!

All in all, there is no doubt that our next target is the Central Plains. What preparations do you think we need to make? "

After hearing Liu Tai's words, Zhou Ping said at this moment, "Let me attack from Mount Tai!"

"No!" Liu Tai shook his head and said, "You need to command your troops from the five schools to follow Yuan Shao's original route.

As for the road to Mount Tai, only I can go there, because only with me can Gou Xi dare not act rashly.

And you can't give Gou Xi enough deterrence!

If you send troops to Mount Tai, Gou Xi will most likely send troops to the north to stop you.

We don’t know what Gou Xi’s psychology is, but we must be prepared to face Gou Xi head-on.

You don't have the experience to lead an army independently, so I can't let you leave Gou Xi behind! "

"The general is incompetent and has made the king tired!" Zhou Ping couldn't help but salute Liu Tai after hearing Liu Tai's words.

But Liu Tai waved his hand and said: "There is no need for this. If you lead the army yourself, you may not end up killing Gou Xi!"

Then Liu Tai looked around at everyone again and said, "Do you still have any doubts?"

Zhao An shook his head and said, "Your Majesty has thought carefully about it for me, and all that is left is to train the soldiers that I need to work harder on myself!"

Zhou Pingze said: "If this is the case, we need to prepare for winter operations and give our soldiers enough warm clothes!"

"It's a pity that the cotton hasn't been found yet, so we can only ask the surrounding foreigners to hand over more furs and cashmere!" Liu Tai said this, his eyes fell on Zhao An, and finally said thoughtfully, "Pull your troops down. Go to Youzhou for training!”

"Your Majesty, what are you?!" Zhao An couldn't help but be stunned when he heard Liu Tai's words. The Yongji Canal has not been successfully built yet. Although the army's journey from Yecheng to Youzhou is not far, it is not close either!

Liu Tai said calmly, "On our own terms, both the Bingzhou ranch and the Youzhou ranch combined may not be enough, so we need to suffer from the surrounding foreign races.

Starting from this year, the Han Dynasty will purchase a large amount of horses, lambs, and furs. If they cannot produce enough goods, don’t blame me for asking the Han cavalry to visit.

Of course, we are not unreasonable. In addition to salt, tea will also be included in the trading list this year.

I imagine that after they drink tea, it will be difficult for them to give up this tired drink! "

When Zhao An heard Liu Tai's words, he suddenly realized something.

Obviously, even Liu Tai could not meet the supplies for the Southern Expedition in two years, so he could only use the output of foreign races to support one.

However, in order to ensure the smoothness of the transaction, I had to stand up for myself and let these foreigners know the importance.

Because what Liu Tai wants is not that the aliens can probably replenish the supplies, but that these aliens must replenish the supplies.

If they can't make up for it, they will need Zhao An, the guy who destroyed Tuoba Xianbei, to destroy another Xianbei tribe to replenish military supplies.

Of course, Liu Tai still hopes to solve the problem through trade and try not to copy the guy.

(End of this chapter)