Chapter 31: The Bearded Guest (Part 2)
Zhang Xuanning sat quietly, listening to everyone's discussions and conversations, occasionally interjecting a word, but the more he listened, the more he sighed in his heart, because he was actually unfamiliar with what they were talking about.
Modern and ancient education have their own merits. Modern education is more systematic, but ancient education also has its own unique features, especially some things that are only suitable for the era of hot weapons but not for the era of cold weapons. If you do not study systematically and rashly lead an army into battle, you will probably end up dying and your army being destroyed.
However, since they had become brothers, Zhang Xuanning said, "Third brother, I still have something to ask you!"
"We are brothers, just tell me what you think," said Zhang Zhongjian.
"…That's right. I practiced the Dominant Sword and joined the army. I wonder what you can teach me, third brother?" Zhang Xuanning explained the whole story one by one. In fact, this matter was insignificant and it would not matter at all if he told others about it, but it could gain people's trust.
"Well, Fourth Brother's idea is good, but are you familiar with the military formation?"
"I'm not familiar with it. Please give me some advice, brother." How did the ancients fight wars? This question may be just an empty discussion in modern times, but it is a very important matter now.
"Then let me tell you, the commander is the key to victory or defeat. For the world, the commander is the emperor, for a battle, the commander is the general, for a small battle, the commander is the captain. The commander observes the overall situation, checks each other, understands the weather, knows the geography, and launches a war, so it is the most important." Zhang Zhongjian said.
"Well, I know this. Correct judgment is half of victory." Zhang Xuanning nodded. There is nothing surprising about this. In modern times, it is a truth that everyone knows.
“Once the strategy and tactics are determined, they still need to be implemented by the soldiers with every sword and every gun. The general is the courage of the soldiers, so whether there are brave and powerful generals is the key. No matter how good the strategy and tactics are, if there are no brave and powerful generals, they cannot be implemented.”
"Then is it possible to train soldiers to make them brave?" Zhang Xuanning asked. In fact, those who went back to the past all had a complex about elite soldiers.
"Training soldiers and making them brave is fine, but it cannot replace the role of a brave general. War is a matter of life and death, a matter of survival. Without a brave general, no matter how many elite soldiers there are, it will be difficult for them to fight fearlessly. Besides, a brave general breaking through the enemy's formation is also a common way to win."
Zhang Xuanning recalled the day when Qin Shubao led his hundred cavalrymen to break through enemy lines and kill generals wherever they went , and he suddenly seemed to have an epiphany.
The era of hot weapons is actually completely different from the era of cold weapons. Shooting with a gun from a distance of dozens or even hundreds of meters away is completely different from killing someone with a knife just a few feet away, with blood splattering three feet away.
In the era of hot weapons, there was no need for brave generals who charged into battle, but in the era of cold weapons, brave generals were the core of the battle. Of course, there could be no single duel to decide the outcome in this world, but the victory or death of a brave general would affect the morale of the soldiers.
In the age of hot weapons, soldiers had little influence, after all, they always had the strength to pull the trigger. However, when fighting with swords and blood was drawn, the slightest intention of retreating could lead to an avalanche.
No wonder in ancient times, those who got a brave general were very happy and the rewards were very generous!
At that moment, he humbly asked, "Third brother, how many levels do I need to reach to stop the enemy from destroying the army and killing the generals, charging into battle?"
"That can't be generalized. Generally speaking, in a major war, a general with a thousand men must fight on the front line, but a general with ten thousand men doesn't have to. But it's not absolute."
No wonder the probability of death of generals in ancient times was so high. It turned out that generals leading thousands of men had to fight on the front line. In this case, brave generals were the backbone and core of the army and should not be underestimated. But in modern times, a company commander of a hundred men can be withdrawn from the front-line battle, not to mention battalions and regiments.
Immediately, the need for a "fierce general" was immediately raised to a higher level, and then he humbly asked, "What about training the troops?"
"When training soldiers, the first thing is to enforce strict military discipline, and the second is to establish infantry formations."
The concept of "formation" is often seen in ancient novels, but it is disdained in modern times. He immediately asked, "Third brother, what is a formation?"
"Formation means arrangement and coordination. There are many arrangements between soldiers, squads, battalions, archers and shieldmen, cavalry and infantry. These are the accumulation of thousands of years of our ancestors and are effective. Different environments have different arrangements. Therefore, in training, in addition to martial arts, most of the time must be spent practicing various formations. If successful, one can defeat ten or even a hundred."
Speaking of this, Zhang Xuanning suddenly remembered that when his court started the uprising in the early days, it was already the era of hot weapons, but there were also occasional bayonet fights.
The Fuso Ibara Army was very good at bayonet fighting, and Wang's army suffered heavy casualties in close combat. Later, Wang's army summed up their experience and created a triangular formation, which was to divide the squad into combat groups, each with three people. In hand-to-hand combat, three people formed an attacking group, fighting back to back. As a result, not only did it improve combat effectiveness, but it also greatly reduced the casualty rate - the simplest "formation" had such a great effect.
This was the era of cold weapons, and the formation played an extremely important role in ancient times.
"Then, how did you learn these formations?"
"There are formations in the army, but they are difficult to learn. But don't worry, fourth brother. My teacher is a military strategist with many years of experience, and he knows a lot about battle formations. When I go back, I will give you three volumes." Zhang Zhongjian said generously.
This is not a so-called theory, but a real secret skill that has been honed through thousands of trials and tribulations. It is a treasure accumulated by our ancestors. It lost its value only after the era of cold weapons disappeared. As the saying goes, one move is worth a thousand gold. Zhang Xuanning immediately stood up and said, "Thank you, Third Brother."
Then he asked, "Besides the commander, generals, soldiers, and formations, what else is so important?"
"Food! Without food, the army will be defeated immediately." Zhang Zhongjian said decisively.
"Whatever army?"
"No matter what army it is, even if they are well fed, their soldiers' strength will be exhausted after running a hundred steps, and they can only fight for three quarters of an hour. That's why there are techniques to tire out soldiers and methods to boost morale. What's more, they are still hungry soldiers. No matter how brave they are, hungry soldiers won't even have the strength to fight back."
Zhang Xuanning thought of the army of his dynasty, which could fight even without food. But on second thought, he realized that it was basically an era of hot weapons. Apart from running, the only strength needed in a real war was to pull the trigger. Therefore, they could fight even if they were half-starved, as long as they still had the will to fight.
But in the era of cold weapons, as long as the royal army went hungry for a few days, even if Taizu was personally at the forefront and his will was ten thousand times stronger, the end result would be to be killed like dumplings at will - if they went hungry for two days, one well-fed person could beat ten hungry soldiers, and if they were out of food, even for only two days, it would be a dead end, and there was no exception in history.
This is actually equivalent to the extreme situation of a modern army without oil, bullets, or artillery shells. There is no other way to go except death and surrender.
No wonder the military book says: The worst thing to do is to run out of food.
Thinking of this, he understood everything. Today's discussion was very important for his future fight for the world. He had to sort out the fundamental military concepts. Otherwise, no matter what, in the ancient fight for hegemony, the outcome would be death and destruction of the army.
He bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Third Brother."
"You and I are brothers, why bother saying thank you? How can my fourth brother go to the army to gain experience without his own soldiers? I will send three of my family members to be your personal soldiers, so that you can fight."
"How can I not accept Third Brother's kindness? I will respectfully accept it." Zhang Xuanning bowed again and had no objection to his placement of personnel.
After a pause, he asked again, "Where will Third Brother go in the future?"
"I was just thinking about going to Taiyuan!" Zhang Zhongjian said. Then he laughed and said goodbye with a toast.
He went to Taiyuan to meet Li Shimin. Legend has it that he lost confidence in fighting for the world because of this. At this point, Zhang Xuanning breathed a sigh of relief and sneered in his heart. The more he learned, the easier it was to be confused. Knowing too much would lead to fear, and fear and confusion are the biggest enemies of achieving success.
I hope that he will be confused, shaken and frightened and give up the fight for the world!
He sent him out, straight into the wind and rain, letting the wind and rain hit his body. He was extremely respectful, but his determination was unwavering.
It seems that the bearded guest has the character of a villain, not a real man or a hero.
A real man, even if the whole world is against me, I will still act; who else but me can control the rise and fall of heaven and earth? This is the determination that I will never regret even if I die nine times!
