My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 481: Kindness does not allow you to command an army!
Unfortunately, the conclusion that Zhidu drew after observing the weather included the two types of weather conditions that were most unfavorable to the Han army and the ones that the Han army least wanted to see in the pre-war plan.

——The wind and snow tonight will make it difficult for Zhidu’s vanguard army to move forward, resulting in heavy casualties. It may even delay their journey and the progress of the entire battle!

Today's thick fog will make the Xiongnu defenders in Gaoque subconsciously more vigilant.

This is easy to understand.

It’s like you are a hunter living by a river, and on the other side of the river is a wild beast’s lair.

But you are not worried because you know that this group of beasts are not good at water and there is no way they can swim across the river to threaten you.

Later, winter came and the river froze.

Although you hold a Akalashnikov 47 in your hand, you still subconsciously tense your nerves and begin to patrol the river bank frequently to observe the beast's nest on the other side.

Only when you see with your own eyes the beast's lair on the other side of the river and make sure that no beast has come out of the lair and tried to cross the ice to attack your home, will you loosen your grip on the truth a little.

Until one day, it fogged up.

Standing by the river, you can’t even see with your naked eyes whether there are any wild animals secretly watching you on the frozen river surface, let alone the wild animal’s nest on the other side.

Therefore, the panic and fear deep in your soul make you extremely alert, ready to set up the truth and pull the trigger at any moment...

The impact of heavy fog during the day on the Battle of Gaoque was similar.

——In normal times, the defenders of Gaoque would not panic at all because there was a turbulent river serving as Gaoque's moat.

But after the ice froze, even if the Huns still subjectively believed that it was impossible for the Han army to launch an attack on Gaoque in this season, they would still instinctively and subconsciously glance at the ice outside Gaoque and the vaguely visible outline of Bowang City on the opposite bank.

The naked eye could see nothing on the ice surface, and the Gaoque in the distance was still standing, but there was no large group of troops - not even any signs of human movement. Only then would the Xiongnu defenders in the Gaoque feel at ease.

The foggy weather made the Huns, who were already feeling an instinctive sense of uneasiness in their hearts due to the frozen river, even more uneasy because they could not see the outline of Bowang City or take in the entire ice surface outside Gaoque.

This uneasiness may turn into more frequent observations and more detailed patrols - that is, more cautious and rigorous guarding.

Or, it may turn into some unexpected and inexplicable decisions.

For example, walking around the area and relaxing.

Obviously, for the Han family, which was attacking the city, the weaker the defense of the Xiongnu garrison in Gaoque and the easier it was to capture Gaoque, the better.

However, the mental pressure that the thick fog brought to the Xiongnu defenders in Gaoque would have the opposite negative effect that the Han Dynasty did not want...
"You can now summon the Vanguard Army's lieutenants and generals above to discuss matters here!"

As a military commander who came from the Legalist school - or at least was extremely inclined towards the Legalist school emotionally, and who left a name as a "cruel official" in history, Zhidu rarely, or almost never, listened to the advice of his middle-level officers when making decisions during marches and battles.

To put it in a positive way, this is the absolute confidence that a good warrior possesses.

To put it in the worst possible way, this is also due to the widespread overconfidence to the point of paranoia and dictatorial tendencies among officials who come from the Legalist school.

As for this moment, Zhidu rarely summoned his middle and senior generals, which was unprecedented. He wanted to find someone to discuss the next decision.

"General."

"——General."

About half a minute later, dozens of figures of varying heights, but all of them strong and sturdy, appeared on the back slope of the mound where Zhidu was.

——In this battle, Zhidu's vanguard army totaled 35,000 soldiers and was composed of seven commanderies.

This means that under Zhidu's command, in addition to two adjutants whose status was second only to his own, there were seven general-level captains and thirty-five lieutenants at the level of lieutenant generals.

There were more than forty or nearly fifty people, all of them were strong men, each one bigger than the other. Zhidu was quickly surrounded by three layers.

Unfortunately, the army was on the move, making it inconvenient to call out.

Therefore, Zhidu could only signal the lieutenant general beside him: Those in the front row, remember to pass the message to the outside.

Now that everyone was present, Zhidu didn't beat around the bush and explained the situation directly.

"Today is the ninth day of the eleventh month of winter."

"Tomorrow is the deadline for the start of the war as determined by the imperial court before the war."

"The battle of Gaoque must begin tomorrow night at the latest!"

"Before the war starts, our troops need to sneak into Gaoque, create chaos, and try to launch a surprise attack and seize the top of Gaoque's wall."

"——Time is very tight!"

"Today, there is heavy fog during the day, and there is a high probability of snowstorms at night, making it extremely difficult to march."

"Once we miss the battle, all the planning and efforts of the Han family in this war will be wasted."

After Zhidu finished speaking, all the generals present nodded slowly with serious expressions, and their faces, which were already full of fatigue, became even uglier after they responded.

——Predicting the weather by looking at the sky is naturally not Zhidu’s exclusive specialty.

At this moment, almost all of the dozens of people who are qualified to appear beside Zhidu have very advanced weather forecasting skills.

Even if Zhi didn't say anything, most people had already noticed the abnormality in the sky.

Even if you haven't discovered it, you can have a rough idea of ​​it by looking up at the sky.

In a moment, the atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Everyone looked at each other, and their expressions became worse and worse.

Even Zhidu subconsciously frowned.

——This problem is very troublesome!

But don’t think that the fact that Zhidu’s troops failed to arrive at the battlefield on time is a small matter that can be solved by postponing the start of the war.

Before the war, from the time the army set out from Chang'an until the Battle of Gaoque began, the calculations of the court in Chang'an were all made clearly, and it took a lot of effort to complete the coordination of the various armies.

If in the end, Zhidu's troops really failed to launch the Battle of Gaoque on time, the other troops would definitely not wait patiently.

The main force of Cheng Buzhi's central army might make a battlefield judgment that the vanguard was ambushed or even wiped out silently!

Just this one misjudgment was enough to cause Cheng Buzhi to make one wrong decision after another based on one wrong judgment after another.

In addition, preparations in various aspects such as weather and logistics would be disrupted because Zhidu's troops missed the opportunity to fight.

You just need to know one thing to know how serious this problem is.

——In most feudal dynasties of ancient China, there was an iron rule of military law: those who miss the deadline should be beheaded.

Emperor Taizu Gaohuangdi Liu Bang was once charged with this crime.

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang of Daze Township also decided to revolt against Qin in order to avoid punishment for this crime.

Although the military laws in the feudal era often involved beheading and killing, the only few forms of punishment that did not involve death were whipping and caning, but even killing had many differences.

For example, in social laws, the words "behead" and "die" both refer to death. The former refers to beheading, while the latter has no restrictions on the manner of death.

If the family has some money, the prisoner sentenced to death can completely strive for a decent death by swallowing gold, poisoned wine, white silk, etc., which are generally recognized as "not too painful".

Of course, the prerequisite is that the body can still be identified and cannot be disfigured.

Those sentenced to be beheaded are naturally limited to the manner of death. They can only be cut in half in public. Even if their bodies are broken into two, they will not die immediately and will have to crawl in the dark in pain for a while... The same principle applies in military law - different crimes, even if the sentence is the same, have very different severity.

For example: Those who are afraid of the enemy in battle should be beheaded, usually by the supervisory team on the battlefield.

As for deserters, they must be caught and brought back - alive or dead. If they are alive, they must be killed as a warning to the whole army; if they are dead, their bodies or heads must be hung outside the camp gate to dry.

However, beheading for failing to meet the deadline is the most severe form of death under military law - collective punishment!
At that moment, for the more than 33,000 vanguard soldiers under Zhidu's army, if they really missed the deadline, they would face more than 33,000 death sentences!

Of course, there may be a possibility of making amends for one's crime and offsetting one's faults.

But even if the merits and demerits offset each other, it will not be a direct result of no reward or punishment. Instead, the person will be sentenced to prison first, and then pardoned for his merits, one thing at a time.

Therefore, the current situation, for the generals around Zhidu, is that they may miss the opportunity to fight because of the missed deadline, and disappoint the Chang'an court and even the earnest expectations of tens of millions of people in the Han Dynasty.

To put it simply, this is also a matter of one's own life and property, as well as the life and death, honor and disgrace of the soldiers under one's command...

"Why not break camp early tonight and walk a little further tomorrow morning?"

Someone tried to make a suggestion, but it was rejected immediately by Zhidu.

"No."

"Hidden during the day and active at night is the iron rule of our army's march."

"You must not move camp until it is completely dark, and you must stop before dawn. There is absolutely no room for negotiation."

"——Especially since we will break camp tonight and cross the river."

"Once we reach the other side, we will be marching at the foot of Gaoque, right under the eyes of the Xiongnu."

"You should be more careful. How can you be so careless just to avoid missing the deadline?"

Hearing this, everyone frowned even more tightly, looking at each other, and finally no one else spoke.

How to do this?
There is no time to hurry at night;
We can't travel during the day.

Everyone present here is not a god and cannot create a third kind of weather other than day and night.

Just as everyone was looking at each other, their hearts becoming increasingly heavy, Zhidu's eagle-like sharp eyes began to gradually sweep over the generals.

Then, Zhidu put a rather bold idea in front of everyone.

"It is indeed not allowed to march during the day."

"But if there is a thick fog that hides our figures, perhaps it is not completely out of the question."

As soon as Zhidu said this, all the generals' eyes rolled around and they soon figured out the key point.

--yes!
The reason why they hide during the day and come out at night is because it is dark at night and visibility is low, which can conceal the whereabouts of the vanguard army? !

Then if there is thick fog during the day, wouldn’t the visibility be the same as at night?
Especially compared to the pitch-black night, when marching in the fog during the day - especially when crossing a river on ice, the vanguard soldiers can at least see what is under their feet.

Furthermore, even on a foggy day, the temperature during the day will still be much higher than that at night.

Indeed, even if there is a difference, it is just two different degrees of biting cold.

But for the vanguard soldiers at this time, every bit of warmth they felt while wading through the ice would mean a greater chance of successfully reaching the other side and taking part in the Battle of Gaoque, rather than the possibility of casualties during the non-war period before the war.

The only thing to consider is the physical fitness of the soldiers.

——Last night, the soldiers had been walking all night.

Marching at night made the soldiers physically and mentally exhausted and nervous, and they were also constantly suffering from the ravages of the cold weather.

Now, if we want to force the soldiers to march continuously for a whole night and then seamlessly connect to the day?

"General."

"It would be better if we crossed the river tonight and rested early - maybe at midnight or something like that."

"In this way, the soldiers can rest in the second half of the night, and then march in the fog in the daytime tomorrow, and perhaps they will not be exhausted..."

In theory, this suggestion is actually quite pertinent.

——Take a rest now.

We will set off after dark tonight, only walk in the first half of the night and rest in the second half.

We should wait until tomorrow morning, when the soldiers have at least rested for half a night and their strength has recovered to some extent, before setting off, instead of setting off now, when the soldiers are approaching their physical limit.

After he finished speaking, all the generals nodded one after another, expressing their approval of the feasibility of this plan.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the crowd, Zhidu shook his head again.

"Tomorrow, there may be heavy fog, or there may not be."

"If not, not only will we not be able to march tomorrow, but we will also lose half a night tonight."

"——Right now, I may be late."

"But if we choose to arrive in broad daylight tomorrow, and there is no fog tomorrow, then we will definitely miss the deadline."

After Zhidu finished speaking, the generals fell silent again.

This is true.

No matter how advanced the weather forecasting technology is, no one can predict what the weather will be like tomorrow.

——In fact, no one can even say for sure what the weather will be like tonight, or whether it will still be cloudy or foggy this afternoon.

Everyone just roughly predicts a more likely outcome based on experience and limited knowledge.

Be lenient in anticipating the enemy.

In order to avoid being disrupted by unexpected situations, perhaps, this is the only way...
"Now that you have figured it out, go and pass on the general's order."

"——At dawn, once it is confirmed that there is heavy fog on the ice of the river, we will divide it into groups of garrisons and creeks and wade across the river in batches!"

"Once you reach the other side, you must not move around without permission, let alone talk!"

At the command, all the generals just raised their hands with heavy faces, accepted the order silently and left.

——Zhidu’s order will result in many more casualties in the vanguard army.

Many people who should not have died will die, and many people who could have died on the walls of Gaoque will die on the cold river outside Gaoque.

But this is war.

It may be debatable whether it is righteousness that makes money.

However, kindness does not lead to military success, but this is an eternal and true saying…

(End of this chapter)