Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 189 Strategy to Reduce Troops 1
  The sea of ​​​​fire outside the city is still burning. The soldiers above the city have already collapsed on the ground one by one, sitting against the wall with expressionless faces. The fierce fighting for the day has drained their energy. They can't even mourn the death of their comrades and feel grateful that they survived. gained strength.

Wang Jin came up with 300 reserve troops, leading soldiers, military doctors and miscellaneous personnel to help carry the dead, take care of the injured, and distribute food.

Today, everyone is open to eating bread and broth, including prisoners. Those who were afraid of death and timid were killed by the enemy or the supervising team, and the rest were ruthless people who dared to risk their lives to fight. .

All the generals gathered in the city gate tower to report to Jia Cong the situation of today's battle.

"Sir, the Tatars suffered more than 4500 casualties today. Our army lost 359 people, 87 were seriously injured, and 168 were lightly injured. It can be said that we have achieved a complete victory." You Jia said happily.

"It's all thanks to your lord's fire attack plan that the burned Tatars cried for their fathers and mothers." Everyone laughed.

"We fought desperately and only killed a few. It's better for you to use a little trick to defeat the Tatars. As the saying goes, a general's strategy is not his courage." Su Can said with a smile.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "It's just a coincidence. Please tell me that I don't want to go into battle. It's because I was too tired yesterday and my muscles and bones are still sore today, so I can only use my brain."

"My lord, it's time to plan the strategy. As for going into battle, I'll do it for you. How can a general and the leader of an army easily establish a dangerous position?" Wang Jin advised.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jia Cong said with a smile: "What Instructor Wang said is true. It is necessary to strategize, but seeing how fast you kill, it is inevitable that you will have some technical skills. I would rather be Huo Qiaoqi than Zhou Gongjin."

"Sir, what a great ambition!" Everyone clapped their hands and laughed.

Wang Jin shook his head slightly and smiled bitterly, but did not persuade him any more.

"Your Majesty, today's battle has cost a lot of money. There is not much gunpowder, kerosene, and dry firewood stored in the city. We can no longer withstand a big battle." Fan Ming saw that everyone was in a lively conversation and did not dare to pour cold water on him. He didn't even dare to hide it or report it, so he had to bite the bullet and whisper.

Everyone's heart sank.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, today's battle is enough for the Tatars to drink a pot. Counting yesterday's casualties, how many intact combat forces are left in the Tatar army?"

"The Tatars estimate that they still have about 4000 soldiers who can fight, and our army has about 1800 people who can fight." Everyone thought about it and said.

"That's it. Our army is well-equipped, has abundant food and grass, has strong morale, and is guarded by many strong generals like you.

On the other hand, the Tatars suffered continuous setbacks in their sieges, suffered heavy casualties, lost all their spirit, destroyed all their siege equipment, and had no unique generals in the army to turn the tide. Under such circumstances, it has been possible to capture the city with twice the number of troops throughout the ages. Such a war example? "Jia Cong laughed.

Everyone laughed and said, "This is unheard of."

"Therefore, I predict that tomorrow the Tatars will either put up a no-war card, rebuild their weapons, and reorganize their soldiers; or they will be forced to attack due to the situation, which will be nothing more than a desperate effort and death. I think the latter is more likely." Jia Cong said. .

Everyone asked why.

Jia Cong said with a smile: "The Tatars thought they had grown up on horseback and were invincible. They did not take the Han people seriously. They suffered setbacks on the first day, but on the second day they bet heavily, hoping to make a profit. This shows what kind of 'good luck' the Tatars have..."

"It's Jiya Saiyin." You Jia said happily.

"Well, it can be seen that Jiya Saiyin is arrogant and ignorant, loves success, and is headstrong. His current situation is like a gambler who loses and loses. There is no reason to stop? This is one of them.

Secondly, the dignified prince could not even capture a small castle and lost so many soldiers. How should he explain to the tribes? Do you want the prince's face?
  Therefore, I concluded that this person would rather lose all these 10,000 cavalry here, but he will definitely end up in trouble, because he cannot afford to lose this person, and only by constantly attacking the city can he cover up his mistakes. "Jia Cong said.

"What your Excellency said is absolutely true! As long as the fortress is captured, there is something to be said for losing more troops. For example, it can be said that this city is stationed with heavy troops and weapons, that this city is guarding the main road and has to be attacked by force, etc. As long as the battle is won, it will still be possible. Isn't it just a matter of words?" Su Can said. This is indeed true when everyone thinks about it. There is absolutely no reason for gamblers to admit defeat and go home after losing half of their money.

Suddenly some soldiers came to report that the detective horse sent out by Qian'er had returned.

Jia Cong hurriedly called in.

"Master of defense, I have been conducting inquiries southward for the past two days. Now Shangyulin Fort and Pinglu Fort have been lost. The Tatar army on our northern route here did not attack Fengtian, but went all the way south to Jingyuan. Fort, Shaling Fort, Changyong Fort, Fengji Fort, cutting off the main road between Liaodong Town and Fengtian City.

At the same time, there are two other armies. The west route invades from Xixingbao to contain Liaodong Town; the east route enters from Zhenxibao, takes Tielingwei, and goes all the way south to take Fu'an Fort, Huabaochong Fort, Sanchaer Fort, Hoi An Fort, approaching Fengtian. "

Jia Cong frowned, ordered someone to fetch a map, and ordered the scout to point out the Tatar invasion route one by one on the map.

I secretly lamented in my heart that no matter how well the Shifang Temple Fort was fought, it was of no use. The war in the rear had long been ruined. The three Tatar armies, each with more than 100,000 people, cut in from three directions and cut the entire Liaodong into four pieces, making it Don’t look at each other from head to tail!

Liaodong is in danger!

Everyone saw Jia Cong's brows furrowed and hurriedly comforted him: "Sir, don't worry too much. I think General Yang has been guarding Liaodong for decades. He is a veteran general with many soldiers under his command. How majestic the Fengtian City is. How could it be like a Tatar?" Is it possible to attack a little bit of family wealth?"

Jia Cong sighed: "How many troops does Fengtian City have now?"

You Jiaxi and Yu Hong looked at each other and said with a wry smile: "About 4."

"So few?" Everyone was shocked.

You Jia sighed happily: "There are still 5 people in Liaodong Town. The rest are scattered in various military garrison cities, forts, passes, and villages. The total number is only about . Liaodong really does not have the money to feed too many frontier troops."

Jia Cong said: "This is because a clever woman can't make a meal without rice. Without cards in her hand, no matter how great the famous general is, it will be in vain. By the way, can the Tatars attack Fengtian now?"

The scout said: "No. The Tatars only plundered on the periphery, and they don't seem to be interested in powerful cities like Fengtian."

Oops! Jia Cong was shocked and turned pale.

"What's the matter?" everyone asked hurriedly.

"The Tartars are besieging rather than attacking. If General Yang loses his composure and takes the initiative to go out of the city to invite a fight, with a small number of enemies and a large number of enemies, and with foot against cavalry, he will be completely defeated.

If General Yang defends the city and all the surrounding garrison guards, forts, etc. are lost, the Tatars will eat up all the plundered resources, and then use nearly 200,000 troops from the north and east to join forces at Fengtian City. This time the Tatars Without great ambition, how could we prepare so many siege equipment? "Jia Cong said in a deep voice.

After listening to Jia Cong's analysis, everyone was shocked.

"Sir, what should we do?" You Jiaxi and Yu Hong asked hurriedly. Their whole family was in Fengtian. If the city of Fengtian were destroyed, the consequences would be disastrous.

Jia Cong smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying: "Now that we are like clay Bodhisattvas crossing the river, we can only look at the ocean and sigh. If we want to return to support Fengtian, we must first settle the Tatars in front of us, otherwise everything will be empty talk."

Everyone nodded with a heavy look on their face, wishing that the Tatars would attack immediately and compete.

Jia Cong said: "Even if the Tatars come to attack tomorrow, they won't have much strength. Brothers who have been fighting for two consecutive days should go down and rest, and the rest can just go up."

"I will obey your military orders!"

(End of this chapter)