My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 470 Chapter 468 The Cold Weapon Era's 'Claim'

Although no clear answer was given to Zhidu for the time being, the vanguard of the Battle of Gaoque was secretly determined under Liu Rong's decisive decision.

At the same time, the number of troops participating in the Battle of Gaoque also had a rough range.

——The vanguard force, consisting of 50,000 soldiers led by Zhidu, and at least 30,000 people must cross the river to the north and arrive outside Gaoque.

As for the main force of the central army, and the flanks responsible for covering and protecting it, according to the past practice of the Han Dynasty, the number of troops on the left and right wings should not exceed that of the vanguard, and each should not be less than two-thirds of the vanguard troops;

The main force of the central army is between 1.5 and 2 times the size of the vanguard force.

The Battle of Gaoque was very special.

The battlefield was on the other side of the river, and once on shore there was a wall that stretched for dozens of miles along the coast, so there was no need to set up left and right wing armies.

As a result, the total number of Han troops participating in the Battle of Gaoque reached 50,000 vanguards, plus the main force of the central army of about 80,000.

A total combat force of 130,000.

At first glance, it doesn't seem like much.

After all, during the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, King Liu Bi of Wu alone claimed to have pulled out an army of 600,000 from the State of Wu!

In addition to the 200,000 troops of the crown prince of King Liu Wu of Chu, and the troops from Lingnan's Minyue, Nanyue and other countries - in the Wu-Chu Rebellion, the main force of the army under the control of King Liu Bi of Wu was said to have a million people!

Of course, the word "claimed to be" is inherently intriguing.

But in fact, according to the official post-war statistics of the Han court, the main force of the rebels under the command of King Wu Liu Bi left tens of thousands of corpses just outside the Liang capital Suiyang!

Let’s take into account the fact that later, King Liu Bi of Wu was forced to attack Xia Pi where Zhou Yafu was stationed when he was at the end of his rope, as well as the soldiers who fled, got separated, and were injured or killed on the way to escape east.

In the end, the statistics after the war of the Han Dynasty showed that during the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu, the main force of the rebel army led by King Wu Liu Bi had a strength of at least 200,000 troops.

Although it is only 20% of the 'claimed' million, this number is still exaggerated.

At that time, the army sent from Chang'an by the Han Dynasty central government to quell the rebellion was much more pragmatic in strength and there were no false "claims".

General Dou Ying, with his 200,000 soldiers, was stationed in Xingyang to monitor the troops of Qi and Zhao!

Taiwei Tiaohou Zhou Yafu also led 200,000 soldiers to Suiyang to suppress the rebellion.

All together, that's 400,000 soldiers and horses - a full twice as many as the official strength of the main force of the Wu and Chu rebels.

However, although the Han army of 400,000 to suppress the rebellion was not exaggerated, it did not have a combat strength of 400,000.

Take Dou Ying's army, for example. They said they had 200,000 troops, and they really did have 200,000 men.
But in fact, when Dou Ying set out from Chang'an, he only took with him two schools of the Northern Army, Zhonglei and Judun.

Even though as an imperial guard, they naturally have the qualifications for over-staffing, the Northern Army's school lieutenant divisions are only organized at one school for every 2,000 men.

In other words, the central army and elite troops that General Dou Ying took away from Chang'an actually consisted of only these two divisions, with a total of no more than 4,000 soldiers.

The reason why these 4,000 soldiers and horses were able to become an army of 200,000 stationed in Xingyang was because Dou Ying was "expanding the army under orders" along the way.

Whether in later generations or in the present Han Dynasty, the hardship of being a soldier is something that most people are unwilling to endure.

But when the war came, the temptation of making achievements made these middle-aged men who did not want to be part of the standing army or professional soldiers rush to join the marching troops.

Every war is no exception.

Just like that year, Zhidu led 4,000 northern soldiers out of Chang'an, marched eastward for just one day, and just arrived in Xinfeng, the number of soldiers under his command had quickly expanded to 30,000!
Then he went eastward, expanding his army along the way, until the army arrived at Hangu Pass. By then, Dou Ying had more than 100,000 people under his command.

After leaving Hangu Pass, there was another surge in prices.

——In the area east of Hangu Pass and west of Suiyang City, all the young men who were willing to join the army to serve the country, or to quell the rebellion and make contributions, were waiting outside Hangu Pass.

As soon as the army left Hangu Pass, Dou Ying's army expanded again, exceeding the upper limit of '200,000 people' allowed by the court in Chang'an.

If Dou Ying had not held the bottom line, after the number of troops reached 200,000, the young and strong men who wanted to join the rebellion would have continued to come in an unwavering manner and blocked them outside the Xingyang camp;
Before the Wu and Chu rebellions were quelled, the army under Dou Ying must have had more than 300,000 soldiers, with a high probability of reaching 400,000. It is even possible that it would have exceeded 500,000.

So, is it possible to say that Dou Ying had 200,000 "combat-capable soldiers" in Xingyang?
Not really.

At the beginning, the 4,000 Northern Army soldiers who were led out of Chang'an by Dou Ying naturally became generals and commanders of different levels after the expansion of the army and became the backbone of this army.

But there is one problem that cannot be avoided.

——The young and strong men who voluntarily joined the army did so because they themselves were unable to join the army to suppress the rebellion through normal channels.

To put it more bluntly, most of the qualified soldiers who have combat skills, combat experience and can be organized to go to the battlefield are already in the Han military system.

Even if some of them were missed, they would be selected and recruited at all levels as soon as the war broke out.

In other words, after the war has broken out, the central government has completed the organization of the army and officially dispatched the troops to fight, those who can only join the army by "voluntarily enlisting" are mostly those who are short of manpower.

Either they are older, in their thirties;
Or they are too young, only sixteen or seventeen.

Either their family background is not good enough - too poor to be qualified as a "good family";
Either his family background is not clean - either he is the son of a merchant, or he is a knight-errant and a hooligans.

These people are truly a mixed bag, with extremely complex personnel composition, uneven technical and tactical levels, and extreme polarization.

There are reservists who obey orders but have little fighting power, and skinny kids from poor families;

There are old men who have combat experience but whose physical fitness is not up to standard, and even retired veterans with mild disabilities.

There are rangers and thugs with good combat capabilities, but extremely poor organizational discipline.

Of course, there are also those who have no fighting ability and no experience, but because of their family background, you have to bring them along as a pure burden.

Therefore, the 200,000 troops under your command will naturally have many different types of organization.

For example, according to the official organization rules of the Han army, the A and B colonels and the A and B Sima were the combat organizations that had combat capabilities and were actually going to the battlefield.

There are also "separate commanders" and "separate commanders" who, due to various reasons, are not suitable for direct participation in the war and can only be responsible for various auxiliary work.

For example, soldiers who were originally rangers would mostly be arranged as guides, way-leaders, and defenders of logistics channels.

Ranger!
Most of them are local tyrants.

Know the way, and have some strength to be aggressive.

If they were allowed to go to the battlefield, there would be big problems with their organization and discipline.

It would be good to let them take charge of the logistics and transportation roads.

Anyway, logistics work has never been about the process, only the results.

I don’t care whether you maintain proper organization and discipline when escorting the grain transport team - just deliver the grain to me!
A skinny boy from a poor family would most likely be assigned the job of delivering letters or running errands.

Children from poor families usually never had enough to eat since childhood, and were thin and short. Going to the battlefield was like sending themselves to death. However, the children from poor families who were able to join the army were not so weak that they could not walk.

In fact, it is precisely because these people are short and thin that they have more flexible mobility and a smaller area of ​​injury.

Letting these people deliver letters and run errands will undoubtedly increase efficiency, and the security and chances of successful intelligence transmission will also be significantly higher.

——As for those who have no problems in all aspects, have received winter training from the Han Dynasty, have certain combat qualities, but are simply too young for the reserve;

They would be deployed in "non-vital" positions where the enemy would launch a feint attack, and would be responsible for carrying arrows, sending the wounded off the city wall, and collecting corpses.

On the premise of protecting them as much as possible, let them see blood, get familiar with the battlefield atmosphere, and prepare for becoming real "soldiers" in the future.

People with questionable political backgrounds, such as the sons of merchants and descendants of criminals, would naturally be arranged to do the hardest and most tiring work in places where it would be least likely to gain military merit and least likely to affect the army's battles.

For example, during the intervals between battles, when both sides were resting, the task of going out of the city or out of camp to collect corpses and transport back the wounded was often done by these people with "bad backgrounds".

Because these people are of 'bad character', it is equivalent to saying that they cannot be trusted.

At the same time, also because of their bad background, they can neither be given the opportunity to make meritorious contributions nor can they live too easily.

In this case, cleaning the battlefield is the most suitable job for them.

Tired enough;

No chance to make merit.

At the same time, we will not give them any chance to betray us and cause serious harm to us.

——An auxiliary soldier cleaning the battlefield, what can you do even if you betray me?

At worst, you can just run away while cleaning up the battlefield~
If you run to the other side, you will most likely be the one cleaning up the battlefield...

Finally, there is one situation that is the most troublesome for you, but you just can’t refuse it.

——When you arrive at a certain place, a large tribe comes up to you enthusiastically, saying that they have brought a hundred or eighty people with them, and that they not only provide their own dry food and weapons, but also bring some extra food to support the army!

They are so righteous and willing to help us in this national crisis. You can't refuse, right?

Or maybe it's your father's old acquaintance, old friend, or old friend of your superior, or old friend of a high-ranking official or noble relative in the court, who also brought his own food, fodder and weapons, and also brought you a 'greeting gift'.

Can you say no?
Okay, now that you've accepted the offer, your troubles are beginning.

These people are either from the same hometown or the same ethnic group. Not only do they need to be organized separately, but most of them also have no fighting power!
The commander must be the original leader of this group of people. He might be well-equipped with bows and horses, and even armor obtained through legal channels!

But this is the type of student in later generations who has a lot of stationery.

What do you want him to do with this group of people?
They won't get angry with you, but they will either bring out their backers or claim to be righteous, and their words and actions will reveal their intention to "achieve great achievements" - that is, to go to the battlefield.

But when the war really comes, and you send these people to the battlefield, they are unable to serve as normal combat troops.

While the others were fighting fiercely, they mostly hid in the back or watched from the side.

When they were about to win, a group of people rushed forward to grab the heads. It seemed like a big show, but in fact it was nothing.

Once the war goes against their will, these people will run away without hesitation.

But you can't do anything to them - after all, they are not a real official army, and you can't punish them by military law for reasons like "deserting from the battlefield".

If you really want to do this, others have a set of mature words to deal with you.

——What do you mean by cowardly escape? I am making a strategic detour!
——What do you mean by deserting the battlefield? I’m going to support another battlefield!

To put it bluntly, this sentence is the most appropriate way to describe these people.

When they win, they gather like vultures; when they lose, they scatter like birds and beasts.

I'm here just to steal heads!

You can't do anything to him!

At this point, your army of 'two hundred thousand' soldiers has finally been formed.

——Those who can fight head-on are about 50,000 to 60,000;
There are also 50,000 to 60,000 auxiliary troops responsible for delivering messages, running errands, transporting supplies and the wounded, protecting food routes, and other miscellaneous tasks.

Minus the 30,000 to 50,000 mobile reserve troops and at least several thousand scouts, what remains is the 10,000 to 20,000 people who are here to kill people.

Well, the problem is coming.

Do you have 200,000 soldiers and horses?

It really does.

But if a war really breaks out, when you judge the comparison of the enemy's and our own troop strengths and the gap in combat power, can you calculate based on "our troop strength is 200,000"?

Obviously not.

You have 200,000 people, but in terms of combat organization, you only count the 50,000 to 60,000 people who can directly engage in the battlefield and enter the killing mode at any time.

In this way, the facts become very obvious.

——In the process of suppressing the rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu, Dou Ying's army had an army of 200,000, but the actual effective force was roughly 50,000 to 60,000.

Zhou Yafu's troops also had a force of 200,000 to suppress the rebellion, and were divided into 36 groups of generals, but their effective strength was no more than 100,000.

All together, it is about 150,000 people.

On the other hand, Wu Chu was even more unbearable to watch.

——The main force of the Wu-Chu rebels was said to have a million soldiers, but the actual strength was 200,000. Even among these 200,000 soldiers, there were at least 120,000 or 130,000 of them, which were gathered by King Liu Bi of Wu, who mobilized all the males between the ages of 14 and 62 in the country and sold their belongings to get them together!

Even King Liu Bi of Wu was like this, not to mention King Liu Wu of Chu.

By this calculation, excluding the elderly, the weak, women and children, the necessary ambushes, and the extremely long logistical food routes, the logistical forces that had to be deployed.

All in all, the "effective force" of the main force of the Wu and Chu rebels could never exceed 100,000!

Moreover, these 100,000 effective troops are not the same as the 50,000 to 60,000 troops under Dou Ying and the 100,000 to 100,000 troops under Zhou Yafu.

After all, Zhou Yafu's troops were the central armed forces composed of good families from Guanzhong.

Dou Ying's troops were slightly inferior, but they were basically "quasi-combat soldiers" who had received winter training and possessed certain combat qualities.

On the other hand, the Wu and Chu rebels were forced, coerced, and coerced along the way. There were probably many old men in their sixties, children just over ten years old, and people who were unwilling and ready to escape at any time.

(End of this chapter)