Volume 3 Chapter 69: Mountains and Rivers
There is no need for foreign "On War" to popularize it hundreds of years later. Anyone with a little common sense knows that strategic victory is generally decided by the gain or loss of special strongholds and strategic battles, and the priority of strategic battles is generally far greater than the gain or loss of strongholds. If you save the land but lose the people, you lose both the land and the people; if you save the people but lose the land, you save both the land and the people. This truth is beyond doubt.
As for the military leaders of the Western Army and the Imperial Camp, although not all of them could explain everything, as experienced military leaders, who would not understand this truth? Everyone understood that once the entire army abandoned the city's defense circle and began to move forward, actively seeking a decisive battle, then it would really be a battle that would decide the outcome.
Therefore , after the matter was settled that day, Zhao Jiu handed over the central army tent to Wu Jie and retreated to the rear camp to rest. Officers who came to seek private meetings kept coming and going, and even those who did not come had Yang Yi Zhong pass on their letters.
Zhao Jiu was straightforward and simply called in the officers who requested a meeting and submitted notes one by one and summoned them individually.
Among these people, some came to persuade the emperor not to take risks personally, some came to persuade the emperor to change his ways, and some came simply to express their determination... But at this moment, no matter who they are or what their intentions are, as the emperor, Zhao Jiu will do his best to unite and encourage them so that they can focus on the decisive battle.
There was no way. He was not Li Shimin, and he could not expect much from fighting a war. This was one of the few ways for him to play the role of an emperor.
In this way, the discussion lasted until late at night, and almost all the military commanders in the imperial camp came once before the discussion ended. The next morning, according to Wu Jie's military order, the officers of the imperial camp went back to lead their troops, while the three western armies of Jing Yao officially began to march north, trying to approach Baishui.
There was nothing much to say about the first day. Wu Jie signed the military order and the army immediately set out to the north. However, it could not be called a withdrawal of camp, because the camp in Jingyao Town would continue to be used by Zhang Jun, who was 40 miles away, and the latter would also move the logistics center here. The troops only marched 20 miles and set up camp again at a parallel position 10 miles west of Pucheng, and then calmly waited for the imperial camp troops in the surrounding cities to gather.
After waiting for another two days, when the entire army gathered and headed north again, the atmosphere was completely different, because from this day on, the Song army would lose the cover of the cities on the left and right wings, exposing the main force in the wilderness and within the attack range of the Jin cavalry.
Moreover, as the various units of the imperial camp in the surrounding cities gathered together, the army began to look disorganized and large... in other words, it was bloated.
In response to this, Wu Jie took command personally. Starting from the early morning, he spent most of the day to unify the arrangements of the troops. However, he gave up the long snake formation and let Wang De's troops of the Imperial Camp be in the front, followed by the Eight Character Army. The three western routes of troops were divided into Xihe Road and Lizhou Road on the left and right, Qinfeng Road troops with civilians and supplies were in the middle, and the last two Beiwei armies and Zhao Guanjia's imperial guard were in the rear to support the formation.
Not only that, the newly appointed Taiwei Wu also ordered that all troops must line up their spearmen in the front and archers in the back when marching, and that the baggage vehicles of each unit must be arranged on the left and right in preparation. He also ordered that the cavalry of each unit must be concentrated on the right to assist the Lizhou Road where there were fewer cavalry.
This is a typical marching formation to guard against cavalry raids.
But to be honest, before this, no one thought that an army of 80,000 to 90,000 could march in such a unified sequence under unified command... Especially the last one, dispatching their most valuable cavalry to Liu Qi in Lizhou Road for unified use as flank support... This was simply a fantasy for the Zhao Song official army in the past.
However, thanks to Emperor Zhao who stayed at the back to provide support without saying a word, the cavalry was actually deployed and the marching sequence was actually arranged.
Of course, this came at a price... On this day, the entire army set out almost at dusk, and after only advancing ten miles, they hurriedly settled down in the simple camp that the auxiliary troops had already set up.
This day's work was more like a troop review than a march!
In fact, this is true.
Others did not know, but Zhao Jiu, who had been silent under Yuwen's banner all day, had realized it at the very beginning - he clearly realized that Wu Jie not only wanted to guard against cavalry raids, nor only wanted to strengthen his own authority, but more importantly, he probably wanted to figure out the combat effectiveness and actual numbers of each unit.
Coincidentally, Emperor Zhao also wanted to know, so he sent Lin Jingmo and Yang Yizhong to lead many Jinshi who were following the imperial guards. They started with the central army of the imperial camp, which was also filled with many Jinshi, and conducted a comprehensive inspection of the troops.
In fact, it was not until this time that the official had figured out the actual number of his troops in this battle through this method, using the unified marching sequence created by Wu Jie.
Yes, it is said that there are 100,000 troops in Guanxi, but it is obvious that each unit is of varying quality and has different organizations. If you don't gather them together and count them in person, you have no way of knowing how many troops you have and what they look like.
After Yang Yizhong, Xiaolin Xueshi and others spent almost a whole day working hard under the scorching sun to check the situation, they arrived at the designated camp ten miles away and came up with a result that was only acceptable:
Among them, 19,000 of the 20,000 Eight Character Army troops came, which was almost full... After all, although Wang Yan's troops suffered some losses under the city of Yanling at the beginning of last year, they had been stationed in Zhengzhou for the past year. Besides being close to Tokyo, they could also get timely reinforcements from refugees from Hebei.
But judging from the marching subordinates, the Eight Character Army also exposed its own problems, that is, it was too personal. Everyone knew that the leader of the Eight Character Army, Wang Yan, enjoyed supreme authority in the army, and this man was always strict with his subordinates, but he was also a little petty, so he kept a tight grip on the army.
Therefore, for a long time, there were only two commanders in the Eight Character Army, Jiao Wentong and Meng De. Last year, Zhao Jiu personally intervened and forced Wang Yan to promote Liu Ze as commander and Fan Yihong as leader. But even so, he found a reason to leave Fan Yihong, who came from a famous family, at Sishui Pass with a thousand men for this expedition.
According to the "unreliable rumors" reported by Yang Yizhong at the time, Wang Yan seemed to have fallen out with this trusted old subordinate. He believed that Fan Yihong's direct acceptance of the Tokyo transfer order was a betrayal of him because he wanted to climb up the social ladder. And if Zhao Jiu remembered correctly, this should be the third time after Yue Fei and Fu Xuan that this commander, whose ability, loyalty, and determination to fight against the Jin were unquestionable, had fallen out with his subordinates.
But no matter what, back to the present, Wang Yan's army of 19,000 people were all treated as the central army of the imperial camp, and nearly 50% of them were wearing armor. There were only his central army and three commanding officers, Jiao Wentong, Meng De, and Liu Ze, divided into four parts.
In contrast, the troops led by Wang De in the front row, which had undergone several reorganizations and were actually directly controlled by Zhao Jiu, appeared to be much more elite.
Below Wang De, there were Zhang Jing, Qiao Zhongfu, Fu Qing, Xin Yongzong, Xin Qizon, Li Qiong...Except Hu Yantong who was stationed at the strategic point of Lantian, there were seven divisions in total. Wang De's division had 4,000 men, Zhang Jing's division had 3,000 men, Xin Yongzong's division had 2,000 men, and the rest had 2,500 men each. Excluding a small number of casualties, there were about 19,000 combat soldiers, and the armor rate was over 70%.
In other words, the so-called imperial camp army, which was said to have 40,000 troops, actually had only about 38,000.
But these troops, especially Wang De and others, had the advantage that they had received financial support from the Southeast, Bashu, and Jingxiang as early as the Nanyang period, and had sufficient military pay and priority access to equipment. They were stationed, trained, supplied, and reorganized right under the nose of Emperor Zhao, and were directly controlled by Emperor Zhao to a considerable extent. After all, the Emperor did not need to drink the blood of his soldiers. He could survive by drinking the blood of the two imperial concubines' families, so these troops were really worth watching.
In fact, this armor-wearing rate of over 70% is itself a terrifying statistic, second only to the Imperial Guard, and perhaps only Yue Fei's troops can be compared with it.
Regardless, this army, together with Wang Yan's Hebei Eight Character Army who had a deep hatred for the Jin people, the so-called 38,000 troops in the Imperial Camp, were Zhao Jiu's real confidence in this battle! They were undoubtedly the main force! They were the so-called regular army among the regular army! And they were the regular among the regular ones!
As for the three western armies of Shaanxi, namely Xihe, Qinfeng and Lizhou, they were of course regular troops. And surprisingly, after checking, Xiaolin Xueshi and Yang Yizhong found that they were actually overstaffed... The three armies, not counting the cavalry supporting them from other units, actually had 34,000 to 35,000 people.
This is not to say that these people did not drink the blood of the soldiers, but the "more than 10,000" reported by Zhang Jun at the beginning was indeed "more than 10,000", and during the time when Emperor Zhao was waiting in Chang'an, these troops were still constantly gathering and converging.
As for the organization, it was not until this moment that Zhao Jiu realized that according to the organization, these three armies should have 70,000 troops! But after many defeats, disintegrations, and internal strife over the years, there are only 35,000 people left.
These three armies were all organized in the traditional Western Army. Below the military governor, there was the military commander, the number of generals and deputy generals in each route, each with its own position, which was complex and self-contained. As for the ones that Emperor Zhao could directly contact, they were nothing more than Liu Xi and below, Liu Qi, Zhao Zhe, Murong Wei, Li Yanqi, Zhang Zhong, Qiao Ze, and Sun Wu.
Then, these troops, plus the two thousand imperial guards brought by Zhao Jiu and the two routes of six thousand Beiwei troops handed over to Wu Jie, are the main forces of the Song army that are forcing Baishui this time. All together, there are definitely more than 80,000 actual soldiers!
There are 80,000 people, not counting Hu Yantong who guarded Lantian, and the local Jingzhao soldiers who guarded Chang'an and Weibei, plus the so-called "trump card" that followed Zhang Jun's logistics at this time, that is, a mixed full-armored force of 3,000 to 4,000 people obtained by Zhao Jiu by dispatching the elite of various departments; plus the troops collected by Qu Duan and Wu Lin from Jingyuan Road and Huanqing Road in the three northern routes; plus Li Yongqi's troops who were like divine soldiers sent from heaven; plus the defenders of Fangzhou... Indeed, in this battle, the Song army has more than 100,000 people no matter how you count it!
But back to the present, leaving aside the 20,000 troops distributed in other parts of the battlefield, the current 80,000 people are not just 80,000 people. Tens of thousands of Guanzhong civilians, from Jingzhao, Huazhou to Yaozhou, were conscripted early, leaving their houses, bidding farewell to their families, abandoning the fields that should have been taken care of, and either followed the army to transport supplies, or followed in plain clothes with bows and spears to serve as auxiliary soldiers.
Without even investigating, Zhao Jiu could imagine what the scene was like when they were recruited. Three officials and three farewells, the people suffered from the rise and fall of the country, but what else could they do? At the beginning of the year, Wanyan Loushi's eldest son Wanyan Huo Nu once massacred a small town called Fushui, which was in the territory of Huazhou where the army was at that time.
Of course, putting those thoughts aside, another day passed and the army set out again. More than a hundred thousand troops formed into battle formations, rolling forward like waves, vast and mighty, almost endless, and the people living in it were also excited.
It was not until the afternoon of that day that Zhao Jiu arrived at the designated camping site. He climbed up the hillside before the entire army set up camp and looked out. It was the first time he got a glimpse of the entire army.
"With such an army, in the past, we could have falsely claimed that there were 400,000 soldiers!" Wu Jie led the generals to accompany Zhao Jiu up a hillside, and then he couldn't help but sigh. "If used properly, there's no place we can't go?"
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, without commenting, but just pointed to a prominent mountain in the distance and asked casually: "Compared to the south, this place is not only plateau and water, but also has several real hills. I wonder what they are called?"
"Good instructor, you know that the mountain under our feet belongs to Yao Mountain, which is the largest mountain range on the Weibei Plain, and runs northeast and southwest." Liu Xi, who was standing beside him, rushed to reply. "As for the mountain in the northeast that the instructor pointed out, it is called Jinsu Mountain, which is where the remnant of Wulong Mountain is faintly visible behind it. The most famous thing about Jinsu Mountain is that the Tai Mausoleum of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang is right behind Jinsu Mountain!"
Zhao Jiu waited quietly for the other party to finish speaking, then laughed: "I've already told you, don't call me your master, and don't call me your subject. Otherwise, if the soldiers hear it and spread it widely, and then we are captured by Lou Shi, it will be a waste of cover-up. If you must call me by a name, you can call me deputy commander, but you have to call me Grand Marshal Liu."
Liu Xi quickly pleaded guilty.
Zhao Jiu didn't take it seriously, and just continued his casual conversation. Looking at the hill in front of him, he sighed: "From the Wei River to here, there is Suli Town first, and then there is Jinsu Mountain. It can be seen that the land north of the Wei River is fertile and rich, and it is indeed a beautiful land."
The people around him naturally agreed quickly.
"Official...Deputy Commander."
After everyone calmed down, Wu Jie hesitated for a moment, but finally pointed to the northeast and continued to tell the military situation seriously. "Yao Mountain stretches for about thirty miles. We have entered Yao Mountain for several miles, and Loushi is ten miles northeast of Yao Mountain. Then there is a camp facing a water marsh, which is also thirty miles away from here... If nothing unexpected happens, once the Jin army comes to fight, the victory or defeat should be decided on the plateaus between Yao Mountain and Jinsu Mountain."
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly, and his expression became a little more serious.
"Deputy Commander... Marshal." Hearing this, Liu Xi hesitated for a moment, then suddenly interrupted. "I see there is also a large area of water under the plateau over there. Why not imitate the layout of the Jingyao camp before and set up camps next to the water..."
Zhao Jiu finally took the attitude of asking about military affairs. He turned his head and looked at Wu Jie seriously. His meaning was very simple - you are the commander-in-chief, and you are familiar with the surrounding terrain. You came to a place only thirty miles away from the enemy to set up a camp. This place may be the camp before the decisive battle. Don’t you have a strategy for setting up a camp?
As expected, Wu Jie frowned slightly, and immediately looked at Liu Xi sternly with his sallow face: "Didn't I already order the entire army to quickly set up camp on the high ground along Yao Mountain? The auxiliary soldiers and civilians have been ordered to cut wood in the mountains, why do you want to change the strategy of setting up camp?!"
Zhao Jiu said nothing and went to see Liu Xi again.
Liu Xi hesitated for a moment, then bowed his hands earnestly, "Deputy Commander, Marshal, I am not disobeying military orders. My troops have already cut down trees according to military orders... But I really think that the best way to deal with the Jin cavalry is to go to the water! Although Yaoshan is only more than 30 miles long, the middle part is a steep mountain where the army cannot pass or station. The so-called camp along the mountain is just to set up camps on the gentle slope in front of the mountain. However, such a camp may not be as useful as a summer water marsh to stop the cavalry. Instead, we should be careful of the Jin people's fire attack."
This was a serious attitude towards reasoning. In fact, many people were moved by this statement. But when the topic progressed to this point, Zhao Jiu stopped participating and turned his head to look at the scenery. It was obvious that the official was still prepared to respect Wu Da's authority unconditionally.
However, Wu Jie knew very well that if he wanted to convince everyone, he couldn't just rely on the official prestige again and again. It would be better to come up with a reason, so he immediately responded:
"What Liu Jinglue said is very true. I also think that swamps are more useful against cavalry... But don't forget that in summer, the water level rises and the ditches overflow. Most of the gullies and depressions between the plateaus have become swamps. The Jin army has tens of thousands of cavalry. Once a battle begins, it will probably take more than ten miles to spread out. As long as there is a swamp, no matter if our camp is in front of the swamp or at the foot of the mountain, some of the Jin army cavalry will inevitably fall into it. In comparison, although we have to be careful about setting fire to the camp in front of the mountain, there is a huge advantage that cannot be compared to setting a camp in front of a swamp..."
Liu Xi glanced at the back of Emperor Zhao's head, who was looking down the mountain, and frowned as he bowed to Wu Jie: "Please give me some advice, Marshal."
"Our army is numerous and complex!" Wu Jie said with a serious face. "Once the troops engage in battle, I'm afraid they will fight on their own. At this time, only from high ground can we observe the overall situation and then coordinate the response and support of the troops! If, as Liu Jinglue said, we covet the benefits of the water and marsh and only set up camps in front of the water and marsh, once we are attacked, they will fight on their own. Even I, the commander-in-chief, will only be able to fight the troops in front of me and it will be difficult to coordinate. On the contrary, the Jin cavalry can rush to the surrounding high ground to observe the battle at any time and make timely adjustments..."
Liu Xi remained silent, and no one among the generals around him responded to Liu Xi.
"It's not just that." Wu Jie continued to keep a straight face, pointing to a white marsh in the distance and speaking. "Liu Jinglue, you and I are both from Guanxi, don't you know why this marsh is formed? It's nothing more than that the loess plateau in Guanxi can't hold water, but it's wrapped in yellow mud and easily clogged, so it can't flow out. Then once it rains heavily in summer, it will overflow from the ditch and flow back into the gullies between the plateaus to form a marsh... This kind of marsh will rise once it rains heavily, but if it doesn't rain for a few days, it will become a muddy land, and if it doesn't rain for a few more days, it will simply dry up... Although there is probably rain in the summer, do we really have to bet on astronomy? If it really doesn't rain for a few days, and the Jin army doesn't fight for a few days, what should we do if we just wait for the marsh to dry up?"
Liu Xi glanced at the back of Zhao Guanjia's head again and could only bow his hands and say: "It is my short-sightedness."
"It doesn't matter." Wu Jie sneered. "It's all for the country!"
After hearing that the argument was over, Zhao Jiu was about to turn around to speak, but at this moment, a cloud of dust rose in the distant northeast, which immediately made all the generals on Yaoshan Mountain become completely solemn, because without waiting to see it clearly, everyone could guess that it was definitely a team of no less than several thousand Jin cavalrymen, coming from the northeast along Yaoshan Mountain.
The Song army on the mountain and below were naturally shocked when they saw this from afar. Liu Qi, who commanded the cavalry and was responsible for the protection of the right wing of the army, immediately jumped on his horse and rushed down the hillside to personally return to the team to deal with the attacking Jin army. Many other officers also said goodbye and went down the mountain, each preparing their own subordinates to respond. For a while, only Zhao Jiu, Wu Jie, Liu Xi, and a few close ministers were still standing on the hillside looking out.
Not long after, under the setting sun, the people on the mountain could see clearly that the thousands of cavalrymen were galloping. The terrain of the plateau did not hinder them too much, and they soon approached the large camp that had not been properly organized, causing panic among many Song army civilians and auxiliary soldiers. However, when these cavalrymen arrived at the white marsh, they were completely helpless. After several attempts, the large army had difficulty passing through. The few lucky ones who came by the marsh were met by the large group of Song army and easily hunted down... With no choice, this army could only detour to the east, as if trying to bypass the summer marsh from the direction of Jinsu Mountain.
However, this troop had not been heading east for long. Perhaps it saw that the Lizhou Army, under the command of Liu Qi, had been calmly deployed on the right wing of the entire army, that is, on the east side of the army, with spears in front, bows and crossbows in the back, and cavalry lined up on the left and right, clearly ready for battle... but it simply gave up the detour and turned back directly to the northeast... still with smoke and dust billowing.
The Jin army came and went in a hurry, and people on the mountain and below naturally cheered, and the work of setting up the camp continued to proceed calmly.
But the commander of the entire army, Wu Jie, could not help but frown - the Jin army gave up too quickly and came too late. It didn't look like they wanted to fight, but rather like they were testing and showing off in front of someone.
"Have you seen and remembered the terrain and military organization?"
More than ten miles away, on the Jinsulu Mountain, Wanyan Loushi, who had been sitting for most of the day, suddenly turned his head. Behind him, there were hundreds of Jin army officers, including countless Meng'an and Mouke, all standing in silence.
In the summer, the grass and trees are lush and green, and you can’t see any human figures for miles down the mountain.
Among them, the leading general was none other than the deputy commander Wanyan Balisu. Upon hearing this, he immediately stepped forward and nodded.
"How is it?" Lou Shi asked seriously.
"It's a bit troublesome." Balisu was honest. "First of all, it's the terrain. One is that the water and marshes are scattered in the center of the battlefield, which naturally hinders the cavalry. Another is that the Song army took the initiative to set up a formation on the mountain, overlooking us... However, these are fine. The key is that the Song army is huge, several times larger than mine, but they can actually form that formation and march properly. It can be seen that the Song army is not comparable to the past, whether it is generals or troops. Of course, there are also inferior soldiers among them, such as the one trapped in the middle."
Lou Shi couldn't help but laugh: " After the battle of Yanling, anyone who still thinks that the Song army is weak and can be bullied is ridiculous; and after the battle of Fangzhou, anyone who still thinks that the Song army has no conscience and no army that dares to fight is also ridiculous; and if you think that the Song army has been reborn within a year and everyone has become a strong army, that is still ridiculous... I have memorized the flag in the middle, just tell me how to deal with it?"
"The Song army is too numerous and time is urgent, so we should quickly call for help from General Huo Nu!" Wanyan Bali said as a matter of course. "General Huo Nu has 10,000 soldiers, and with our 40,000 soldiers combined, we can still fight."
Lou Shi, who had been eager for a decisive battle and even took the initiative to cross Baishui and come to the Yaoshan area, was obviously trying to lure the enemy. He was silent for a moment, but stood up and shook his head repeatedly: "Wait a little longer... Let's go back to the camp today."
