Qiming 1158

Chapter 908 Shi Hao has no choice
They did not know the true meaning of the revolutionary actions initiated by the Ming.

They only thought that this was because their conspiracy was exposed, so all the forces in the Guanzhong region that were oriented towards the Southern Song Dynasty would be purged by the Ming Kingdom, and the Ming Kingdom's rule in the Guanzhong region would be greatly strengthened.

"Sure enough, Da Song will never have the chance to return to Guanzhong easily."

Wu Lin reluctantly confirmed that his prediction was correct, and the Southern Song Dynasty had lost the best and last chance to easily return to Guanzhong.

After losing this opportunity, if they still want to forge ahead in Guanzhong, they must pay a huge price and use a huge force to launch a Zhuge Liang-style northern expedition to Guanzhong with the financial and taxation of the entire Chuan-Shu Theater as the backing.

It is true that the current Shu Road is better than when Zhuge Liang was still alive, but it is definitely not that easy. It can only be said that relatively speaking, their conditions are better. The Shu Road is still the same Shu Road, and there is no natural change. thoroughfare.

Wu Lin felt very sorry, and spit out bitterness against Wang Yan, expressing his dissatisfaction with the decision of the imperial court.

But neither he nor Wang Yan knew that the Southern Song Dynasty did not have the confidence to launch an active strategic attack.

Especially before the huge bandits in the local Jiangnan West Road have not been pacified, they have no confidence to launch a strategic offensive.

But when will the bandits on Jiangnan West Road be pacified?

The Ming Kingdom was stabilizing and strengthening Guanzhong's rule at an unimaginable speed, but the Southern Song Dynasty was limited to civil strife and could not make a difference.

Is there anything more embarrassing than this?
Wu Lin reluctantly turned his eyes to the southeast, where Jiangnan West Road was located, thinking about the news that the bandits on Jiangnan West Road could be completely pacified.

Even if Wu Gong is young and Qi Fang is despicable, at least Yao Zhong still has military talents. He has always been known for his bravery, and he can definitely win a big victory, right?
Wu Lin thought so, of course, so did all the generals of the Song army who participated in this battle. They never thought that they would lose a battle.

Such as Wu Gong.

After Wu Gong, who was unable to continue fighting because he was cut off from the food supply, returned to the station with a belly full of fire, he thought of his pain, summed up the experience of failure, and came up with two golden rules for marching and fighting.

First, food is everything.

Second, don't be afraid of god-like opponents, but be afraid of pig-like teammates.

He obviously regarded Qi Fang as a pig-like teammate, but he didn't expect Shao Hongyuan to be more pig than Qi Fang, who could barely maintain the situation.

The situation on Jiangnan West Road was greatly ruined. The whole situation was so bad that it was irreparable. Almost the entire Jiangnan West Road fell. Wu Gong was shocked by this situation.

Where is the bandit army?

This is clearly a rebel army with a base and a rebellion!

But after receiving the order, Wu Gong was still very embarrassed.

After returning to the station, Wu Gong reorganized the army while making up for the shortage of troops. Before receiving the second order to send troops, he had re-expanded the Ezhou army to a scale of 5.

Xiangyang has always been the top priority for the Song army to defend the north, and it can be called the barrier of the Jinghu Theater in the Southern Song Dynasty. At least [-] defensive troops must be deployed here, and the elite level is also the highest.

So after Wu Gong was ordered, only 3 troops could be used to quell the rebellion.

Even the 3 people can't be taken out, at least some must be left behind in the Ezhou base camp. In this way, there will be less than [-] soldiers on the front line that can be used for combat.

Compared with the scale of 6 soldiers led by Tian Shizhong, the scale of Wu Gong's army is now much smaller, and many local officials are relieved.

Nonetheless, the scale of logistical support required for [-] soldiers to go out on the expedition is quite large.

In order to ensure that 7 soldiers go out, the local government along the way needs to deploy almost [-] civilians to deliver military supplies, including food, to the army. It also needs tens of thousands of carts, livestock, ships, etc. supplies.

Before the army sets off, the logistics force will set off to build grain depots, temporary military camps, emergency military supplies supply points and so on for the army.

The government at the starting point of the army needs to organize manpower to prepare everything in advance for the army. It is necessary to calculate the time for the army to arrive at the temporary military camp, the number of people arriving, the food and tents needed, etc., and then prepare it in advance so that the army can get it on the spot after it arrives.

If this is not done well, local officials will have to measure how long they can wear the official hat on their head.

After going beyond the local area, the local officials within the marching route should also organize human and material resources to prepare grain depots, temporary military camps and emergency military supplies supply points for the army, so as to prepare all this.

If these soldiers are not well served, they will be killed when they get angry.

The army is made up of people, and it needs food, drink and Lazard. Every day's advancement consumes astronomical wealth.

At the same time, the logistics force itself is also human and needs to eat, so the living camps and food supplement camps used by the logistics personnel also need to be built and spent.

Although their treatment has been squeezed, squeezed, squeezed again and again, they can't be completely given nothing at all, and they still have to give a little bit.

A little bit of more than 7 people gathered together is also a huge number.

Perhaps in order to vent the financial predicament brought about by this kind of spending, the officials and armed men began to beat the people with whips, forcing them to do their best, and some even offered money to seek thieves for the country. Contribute everything you have.

The people cried and cried, their wives and children were separated, and their families were destroyed.

Under the supervision of fierce armed personnel, they hung their heads and drooped their eyelids, and squeezed out the little strength left in their already very dry bodies, so as to "add bricks and mortar" to the safe advance of the Song army.

At this price, the way forward for the relatively complete army was paved.

There is no doubt that every war is a test, torture, and even devastation to the areas where the army departs, the areas it passes through, and the areas where the war breaks out.

However, as the main general, Wu Gong does not need to consider the suffering of the people. He only needs to determine the total number, determine the date, determine the location, and then check the results. The rest is not important.

There was no such link in his military education.

Wu Gong only needs to pay attention to the discipline and rigor of the army, to ensure that every soldier follows him to the front line of the war to shed blood and sweat, rather than deserting and escaping home.

He needs every soldier to give everything for his glory, so he can't tolerate the slightest bit of his stepping stones out of his control, creating uncertainty for him.

He strictly supervises his soldiers, using bloody slaughter to deter those with bad intentions. To a certain extent, Wu Gong is using fear to control the soldiers.

But at the same time, Wu Gong’s experience in commanding the army, inherited from Wu Jie, told him that he should “relax” the army appropriately, and let the soldiers “take a vacation” to relax and vent the grievances accumulated in their hearts. After a few repetitions, the soldier will become a cold weapon that cannot be separated from the main general.

They will get used to this cycle of [fear-resentment-venting-fear], and gradually become addicted to it.

Such an army is the best.

Since Wu Gong led the army, he has been trying to train his army into such a type of war weapon.

To this end, he carefully used this method of commanding the army and received good results.

At least when he announced to attack the thieves, his soldiers did not feel much resistance, but quickly diverged their thinking to the matter of [how much benefits can be obtained after defeating the rebels].

There are even special officers who guide the soldiers to imagine what happened after the war, think about how much money they can plunder, how many women they can plunder, how long they can get "reward time" after the war, do whatever they want, and experience the supreme happiness in the world.

They believed that in those days they could do whatever they wanted, even the emperor would envy what they did.

For that reward, everything is worth it.

Then they laughed together.

The most terrifying devils will resign themselves to this scene and admit that they are not as terrifying as they are.

For human beings, the most terrifying thing is always human beings themselves.

However, Wu Gong's troops were more or less gentle.

The reason why I say gentle is because this road is not all difficult land.

This time Wu Gong sent troops to march by water, following the eastward flow of the Yangtze River to reach the Hukou area, then from the Hukou area all the way to the south to enter Poyang Lake, and then from Poyang Lake to Ganshui, all the way to the south, all the way to Nanchang .

In this way, the difficult and rough mountain road of Jiangnan West Road can be successfully bypassed, and the difficulty and cost of logistics transportation can be reduced.

Using water to transport supplies, even if you need to take a detour, it is absolutely safe, and it can also avoid the tragedy of Tian Shizhong before, and avoid being copied by the rebels and directly destroying the hometown.

Unless the rebels can pull up a navy that can fight the Song army in a short time.

When it comes to navy, the Southern Song Dynasty really did not fear anyone - except the Ming army navy.

Before the Ming-Song War, the main force of the Ming army's navy went south, and destroyed all the Song army's outer marine divisions in one breath. size.

However, the navy in the Jinghu Theater belongs to the Neijiang and Neihu navy. The ships are relatively small and have strong maneuverability. They are not the same system as the outer navy, so they are still intact.

Of course, this was not the route and method of marching that Wu Gong decided, but it was planned by the Privy Council, and the Privy Council single-handedly planned the operation.

Because of the failed experience in previous battles, Zhao Tan and the Privy Council not only planned the theater of operations for the two armies, but also planned the marching routes and combat objectives for the two armies.

The Privy Council demanded that the two armies must fight according to the plan of the Privy Council, and were not allowed to play freely.

Once it is free to play, even if the battle is won, the Privy Council will question the two after the war.

This suggestion was put forward by Shi Hao. Shi Hao believes that Wu Gong and Qi Fang are not great generals. They have no experience in commanding large-scale corps to achieve large-scale victories. it is good.

To this end, Shi Hao gathered all the [people who knew soldiers] in the Privy Council. Everyone watched the map of Jiangnan West Road day and night, searched for the military books day and night, read the military books, and then carried out tactical planning on the map and on the sand table.

Through maps, sand tables and military books, a group of paper military strategists with no actual war experience formulated detailed tactics for the army, including when to reach where, how long to conquer a city, etc., with detailed plans.

Shi Hao thought it was foolproof.

Front-line generals don't need to think wildly by themselves, as long as they perform their tasks, they are not decision-makers, but executors.

During the entire planning process, a Privy Council editor named Yu Yunwen expressed disapproval of this behavior.

He said that this kind of behavior is on paper and out of touch with reality. If you want to plan tactics, you should go directly to the front line and conduct on-the-spot investigations before you can formulate tactics.

Now I don't know how long ago I have these graphic materials, and I don't know if there is any difference between then and now. It is very irresponsible to make tactical plans like this.

He also gave an example that although Marquis Zhuge Wu was not a professional general, he went to the front line every time he fought and inspected the local terrain, hydrology and climate before making a decision, and he would formulate detailed tactics in case of failure. What to do, tell the generals what to do.

Therefore, the Shuhan army under his command has never suffered a major defeat. Even if the strategy fails, it can protect itself and retreat smoothly according to the predetermined plan. The main force is not damaged, and it can attack again next time.

Relying on such excellent strategic and tactical planning, although Zhuge Wuhou attacked five times and failed to achieve the goal, the main force of the Shuhan army still remained, and every time he was able to retreat completely, the Wei army pursued the victory but lost its troops and lost its generals. This is the importance of excellent planning.

But now they have only made an offensive plan and a logistical plan. There is no strategic plan for how to retreat in case of failure, and there are no unexpected clauses for unexpected situations. They do not give the generals any power to adapt to changes, which is very inappropriate.

However, Yu Yunwen was very soft-spoken in the Privy Council, and he was not qualified to participate in planning tactics, so no one paid any attention to him, just thought he was talking in his sleep.

Yu Yunwen felt very anxious, because he couldn't watch the Privy Council make mistakes again and again, so he found an opportunity to meet Shi Hao alone through Lu You, whom Shi Hao appreciated, and planned to speak to him.

Lu You doesn't know much about the military, and he doesn't know a lot about many issues.

"The prime minister has made a decision, and the army is ready. What's the point of you talking now?"

Yu Yunwen said sternly: "Whether there is meaning or not is something that others judge, and whether to do it or not is my business. I am concerned. Thank you for fighting for me the opportunity to meet with you."

Lu You nodded.

He has always admired Yu Yunwen's talent in the military, and he will ask him for advice if he does not understand anything. He will explain patiently and benefit him a lot. What he does now is nothing but a trivial return.

So Yu Yunwen was able to get a stick of incense time to meet and discuss affairs with Shi Hao alone.

He talked eloquently, and said all his worries about the war and the hidden dangers of the war, and said it in great detail.

"Victory and defeat are common affairs in military affairs. The lower officials thought that because they had failed once, they should not plan in case of defeat, and they would not give the generals the right to adapt to their own needs. In the past, it was because there was no plan that the entire army was wiped out after the defeat.

If there is a good plan, even if the army can't achieve the goal, it can still retreat and achieve the results like Zhuge Wuhou, then it is still possible to launch an attack again, and there will be no troops available. "

Shi Hao thought that what Yu Yunwen said was reasonable. This middle-level official of the Privy Council had some skills, but he had military talent, but not enough political vision.

All wars are not just wars, they are also politics.

In this battle, Shi Hao could not afford to lose, nor could the Southern Song Dynasty.

"Binfu, what you said may be reasonable, but you must know that in this battle, apart from winning, Da Song cannot accept any other results. We have no other way but to win."

Yu Yunwen didn't understand.

"Winning or losing is a common thing in military affairs, and it is wrong to not accept any other results except winning, and something will happen."

"But if I can't win, I'll be the next Zhang Jun."

Shi Hao let out a long sigh, looked at the shocked Yu Yunwen, and smiled bitterly: "I have a grudge with Zhang Jun, but I never thought of letting him die, but a bunch of stupid people forced Zhang Jun to death and destroyed all the leeway of my generation. Now...I have no room left."

Yu Yunwen was silent for a long time, and then asked in a slightly hoarse voice: "But doing this is really dangerous, you must think twice."

"Binfu, as an outsider looking at internal affairs, you will feel that many things seem to have countless options and possibilities, but when it is your turn to become an insider, you will find that you often have no choice."

Shi Hao sighed in the sky: "I have no choice."

Looking at the grieving Shi Hao, Yu Yunwen suddenly had a sense of sight——

This is Shi Hao's last choice.

Although Shi Hao couldn't follow Yu Yunwen's advice, he felt that Yu Yunwen was a talented person, so he promoted him to a position where the Privy Council could participate in the debate and strategy.

Other than that, he didn't do anything else.

Whatever you do is the same.

The decision made by Shi Hao, who had no choice, and the Privy Council, who had no choice, made Wu Gong feel helpless.

As a Sichuan-Shubian general, this is the first time he has fought under such strict restrictions, and any play is restricted, otherwise he will be punished.

It's really a bit uncomfortable to fight in chains like this.

However, he still chose to obey the order, taking advantage of the Southern Song Dynasty's advantage in the naval division, bypassing the hilly and mountainous area, going straight to Nanchang, and directly confronting the main force of the rebels.

He hoped that the arrangement of the Privy Council was correct, a plan made by a group of people with real military talent and experience, rather than a plan made by a group of outsiders for granted.

In the other direction, Qi Fang also set off from Lin'an and led the [-] forbidden army to attack the Jianchang army.

Of course, Qi Fang felt that the number of people was too small, and it was difficult to form an effective deterrent to the rebels, so he asked Zhao Gou for some authority, hoping that he could recruit troops temporarily in Quzhou and Xinzhou before arriving in the war zone to expand military power and increase deterrence.

Of course, he promised that he would withdraw immediately after the war, and dismiss the temporarily recruited peasant soldiers after the war and let them go home, so as not to cause trouble to the court, and there is no need for the court to add too much military spending. These are just one time. sexual.

So he requested a temporary conscription quota of 2 people.

Zhao Gou did not make a decision himself, but just conveyed his request to the Privy Council and let the Privy Council take care of it.

What else can Shi Hao do?
Of course it is accepted!

if not?
If he refuses, what if Zhao Gou is not happy anymore and doesn't let Qi Fang lead his troops out?
It's hard to get together two large armies to attack Jiangnan West Road. Shi Hao has blocked his official hat and official career. If he fails for some very absurd reasons, Shi Hao will regret it for the rest of his life.

So before Qi Fang led the army to set off, the Privy Council ordered Quzhou and Xinzhou to prepare for the temporary recruitment of [-] soldiers, and to prepare enough rations for [-] troops for at least two months.

In any case, the army must be satisfied. If the army is not satisfied, you wait and see!
With such a guarantee from the Privy Council, Qi Fang happily led the troops out.

------

PS: It is customary to ask for tickets during the double monthly pass~~~
(End of this chapter)