My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 480 Accident
On the eighth day of the eleventh month of the third year of Emperor Rong Xinyuan’s reign, at dawn.

Seventy miles northwest of Bowang City.

After three consecutive days of hiding during the day and working at night, under the stars and the moon, the 35,000 vanguard troops of Zhidu finally arrived at the "crossing point" as planned before the war, where Zhidu's troops would wade across the ice and cross the river.

——From this side of the river, it is impossible to take the shortest marching route of the straight line between two points to attack the pass on the other side.

Another thing is that the width of the river varies in different regions.

Directly south of Gaoque is the river's most turbulent and difficult-to-cross basin in the Hetao area.

A turbulent river often means that the river is relatively narrow, and the water flow is concentrated in the center of the river as much as possible, which leads to increased water pressure and faster river flow.

From this perspective, when the river was completely frozen, if Zhidu's vanguard wanted to wade across the river, the crossing point with the shortest straight-line distance and the narrowest river width was actually from the south of Gaoque, staring straight at Gaoque on the opposite bank and crossing the river in a straight line.

But it is obvious that the Xiongnu defenders in Gaoque are not all fools.

Even if there was no deliberate defense, there would inevitably be bored soldiers and generals who would stand on the towering walls of the Gaoque Pass and stare at the frozen river outside the pass.

If there is any sign of trouble, Gao Que will not immediately enter a state of combat readiness, but will at least send scouts out to investigate.

Therefore, Zhidu's troops had to take a big detour - first they came out from the west camp of Bowang City in batches under the cover of night, and then gathered in the hilly area northwest of Bowang City.

Then, they continued to move at night and hide during the day, heading due north and arriving at the crossing point scheduled before the war.

At this moment, the vanguard of Zhidu's troops was roughly located southwest of Gaoque and northwest of Bowang City.

If you open the map, you will easily find that Gaoque and Bowang City are one above the other on the map, and a vertical line connects the two.

If a line were drawn to connect the place where Zhidu's troops have now reached with Gaoque and Bowang respectively, it would form a relatively standard triangle.

Next, Zhidu’s troops had to wade across the river on the ice.

Once they reach the other side of the river, Zhidu's vanguard will be directly west of Gaoque.

Then, Zhidu would lead his vanguard along the north bank of the river, moving eastward towards Gaoque little by little.

From the time when Zhidu's troops set out from Chang'an until they reached Gaoque - the most dangerous and most likely to be discovered by the enemy, and at the same time, the most important section of the entire marching route was from the successful crossing of the river to the arrival of Gaoque...

"General."

It was almost dawn, and according to the practice of the past few days, the vanguard army's journey for the day had come to an end.

Next, it was time for the soldiers to find a suitable place, take a sip of liquor, eat some dry food, and then huddle together for warmth and take a short rest.

It would be at dusk that the vanguard army would set out again under the stars and the moon.

At this moment, the state of the vanguard army is indeed that the march has ended and they are preparing to rest on the spot.

——The soldiers wrapped their cloaks tightly, and did not forget to wrap the extra layer of white cloth outside the thick cloaks tightly as well.

Then he carefully reached into his arms, took out pieces of round flat bread, and bit off a piece with force.

Feeling that he was choking, he picked up the water bag at his waist and took a small sip of the liquor.

As for the water bags that actually contained water, they were collected together by seven or eight soldiers.

After eating and drinking, the soldiers formed a circle of seven or eight people, with their backs to each other, surrounded seven or eight water bags in the middle, squatted on the spot, and then closed the curtains and took a nap.

At the front of the team, former general Zhidu was indeed lying on a raised mound of earth, squinting his eyes, looking across the frozen river to the other side.

"General?"

The young player beside him called out again, but still failed to draw Zhidu's attention away from the other side.

After a long while, Zhidu took a deep breath and raised his hand to sweep towards the ice surface not far away.

"Let's see."

"Ice and fog."

"Ten steps away, it's almost pitch dark."

Zhidu spoke in a deep voice, and the young general immediately followed Zhidu's finger and looked towards the frozen river.

Seeing that the sky was indeed covered with fog, the young general instinctively frowned and muttered to himself: "Maybe it's just dawn and the sky is not bright yet?"

"In half an hour, the frost will fall and the dew will be heavy. I'm afraid it will be a thousand miles away again."

But Zhidu shook his head slightly, then let out a long breath, raised his head, and pointed his finger to the sky.

"It was so cloudy that the sun was nowhere to be seen."

"Today there will be heavy fog, and tonight there may be heavy snow."

Hearing this, the young general looked up at the sky again, and seeing that Zhidu's judgment was verified again, his brows furrowed tightly.

Unlike the stereotype of most people in later generations: even in the feudal era, being a general and leading troops to fight was also a technical job.

Astronomy and geography are easy to talk about - just four words, but when it comes to the actual process of war, the knowledge involved is enormous.

First of all, as a general, you must have a certain degree of three-dimensional thinking construction ability, so that you can restore the three-dimensional battlefield terrain and topography in your mind based on a two-dimensional plane map.

On this basis, you also need to have common sense of geography, such as where there are water sources, where there are gullies, where you can hide, and which places are more dangerous.

In addition, in addition to geographical knowledge, you also need to have a certain degree of astronomical knowledge.

It doesn't mean that becoming a general means you have to look up at the sky and observe the trajectory and direction of the stars.

Instead, based on the weather, one can roughly judge the weather in the next half day to a day - especially the bad weather that is not conducive to marching and fighting.

For example, at the entry level: if the sky is covered with dark clouds, it is likely to rain.

For example, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse last night, so it is likely to be a sunny day today.

As a general, especially a senior general who controls the lives and deaths of tens of thousands of people, you have to look more carefully and accurately.

For example, if it is a sunny day, but there are thick clouds in the distant sky and the wind direction is blowing the clouds towards you, you have to know: even if it is a sunny day now, it is likely to rain in half a day.

For example, if there is neither moon nor stars in the sky, and it is overcast, but the air is extremely dry, you need to judge that tomorrow, the area where you are located is likely to be cloudy and extremely suitable for marching, and there is a possibility of heavy rain in the nearby area.

At this moment, Zhidu judged the weather for the next day and night from the thick fog on the ice of the river and the clouds in the sky - thick fog during the day and snow at night.

Such obvious bad weather that has a significant impact on the army's marching and fighting will undoubtedly destroy the army's original strategic plan.

For example, at this moment, there are 35,000 vanguard troops led by Zhidu.

According to the original plan, these 35,000 pioneers were to arrive here at dawn today and then rest until after sunset.

Tonight, the army will set out again, wade across the river on the ice at night, and after reaching the other side of the river, sneak eastward along the river bank, striving to reach a position no more than three or five miles west of Gaoque before dawn tomorrow.

And tomorrow is the day when the Chang'an court has planned to start the Battle of Gaoque.

After arriving near Gaoque, Zhidu's troops will continue to rest during the day tomorrow.

The vanguard army still had to wait until nightfall before setting out again and sneaking towards Gaoque under the cover of darkness.

If everything goes well, at midnight, the vanguard army will be able to have hundreds of scouts climb over the Gaoque Pass wall, sneak into Gaoque, create as much chaos as possible, and start fires.

At the same time, Zhidu would do his best to send as many people as possible to the wall before the enemy discovered anything unusual in order to seize the defensive position on the wall.

When the elite scouts who had sneaked in first started a fire inside Gaoque, the main vanguard force that Zhidu sent to the wall would then turn around and defend the wall of Gaoque.

As for the other side of the river, the main force of the central army led by Cheng Buzhi, Marquis of Bowang, would also lead his troops across the river as soon as they saw the fire to attack Gaoque fiercely...
The entire battle plan was detailed to the time and day, where Zhidu's troops would arrive, what measures they would take, what risks they would pay attention to, how Cheng Buzhi's troops would maneuver, at what speed and within what time limit, what area they would arrive at, and what tactical role they would play.

Of course, plans cannot keep up with changes, and it is almost impossible to implement this obviously idealistic and whimsical strategic plan.

But even so, the Han family cannot completely stop making plans just because plans cannot keep up with changes.

——Planning always needs to be made.

As for the specific operation process, it generally adheres to the principle of striving for the best and achieving the best, striving for the best and achieving the best under the existing conditions - the soldiers try their best to make every part of the plan the best it can be.

Then, see what the final result is.

Take this battle for example. If such a detailed strategic plan can be completed half way, it will not be in vain.

If 70% of it can be completed, this seemingly fantastic plan will become the key factor for the Han Dynasty to achieve a decisive victory in this battle.

During the march and fighting, no one knew what the final outcome of the war would be.

Especially in the preparation and stealth stages before the outbreak of war, even the generals who were in control of the battlefield could not conclude from any clues that our side had gained some advantages.

At this time, the only thing that allows generals to judge the strategic situation of both sides and make targeted arrangements for the next step is the progress of the war and how well it matches the pre-war plans.

If everything has been going according to our plan and progressing in an orderly manner, then the final result will naturally be the achievement of our ultimate strategic goal.

If everything is going basically according to plan but some minor mistakes occur during the process, the commander-in-chief will focus on studying and judging whether these unexpected mistakes and discrepancies will ultimately have a significant and long-term impact on the direction of the war and even the final outcome of the war.

If so, the captain must make targeted compensation and recovery efforts to get everything back on the right track.

Or they may improvise and, based on the battlefield situation, take an unplanned action to make up for the negative impact of the previous accident on the course of the war.

This is obviously a talent that only a famous general can possess and master.

If the situation is even worse - the direction of the battle completely deviates from the original plan, and everything is developing in an unknown direction, then the commander should realize at the first time: something is wrong!

The war is getting out of control!

Then, the commander-in-chief will have to make a decision on whether to do something to get the war back on track and return to the original plan, or to simply abandon the battle and make leaving the battlefield a prerequisite for formulating the next march and combat plan.

There are only a very small number of masters at the level of famous generals who would choose to go with the flow in such a situation, completely abandoning the original plan and taking everything one step at a time.

But it's not entirely because they are skilled and bold.

But for ordinary generals, the situation is on the verge of getting out of control, but for these historical masters, everything is likely still under control.

Knowing this, it is not difficult to understand the current predicament faced by the vanguard army led by Zhidu.

——The change in weather had a very serious impact on the Han army’s original pre-war plan!

Because before the war, the Chang'an court emphasized two ideal conditions regarding weather changes in its battle plan.

First: daytime, preferably without fog.

Second: It’s best if there is no wind or snow at night.

The latter is naturally easy to understand.

Night is the time when the Han army soldiers, especially the vanguard army under Zhidu, travel under the stars and the moon.

When marching at night, no light source is allowed - it is even better if there is no moonlight, so as not to expose the whereabouts of the vanguard soldiers.

In such a situation, if the already bitingly cold weather is coupled with an additional negative factor called "snowstorm", the vanguard army will face even more severe challenges in terms of difficulty of advancement and marching speed.

Starting from the West Camp of Bowang to arriving at the crossing point on the south bank of the river, more than a thousand of the 35,000 vanguard soldiers under Zhidu's command have fallen behind.

Most of them could not withstand the severe winter cold and were concentrated in a certain area to rest, under the pretext that they would catch up with the main force after resting.

But everyone knows that in this battle, those who fell behind have withdrawn from the combat sequence.

Next, the temperature on the frozen river that the army was about to wade across was even colder than on the shore.

Moreover, if anyone fell behind while crossing the ice, Zhidu would not be able to take the time to stop the army and arrange for these stragglers to camp and recuperate.

——Tonight, after the vanguard army sets out again, every person who falls behind can be directly recorded by Zhidu as: killed before the battle!

As for those who have crossed the river and reached the other side, not only will they be completely abandoned, they may even be asked to "bury themselves well so that their bodies will not be discovered by the enemy."

So before the war, the Chang'an court's contingency plan would say: One of the two most ideal weather conditions is a dark night with no wind or snow.

As for the other item: there is no thick fog in the daytime, it is a bit like a strategic deception like trying to cover up one's own misdeeds.

The reason is very simple: in the eyes of the Xiongnu defenders at Gaoque, both the Bowang City on the other side of the river and the frozen river surface outside Gaoque should be clearly visible.

Because only in this way, the eyes of the Huns will help the Han Dynasty deceive the Huns: everything is normal~
Very safe~
(End of this chapter)