Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 146 The purpose of war is to win! (Second update)
Zhu Di remained silent.

In fact, he agreed more with what Qiu Fu said.

Firearms can only serve as icing on the cake and are not worthy of being used as the main weapon in a battle.

He was frightened by Xia Zhibai's words before, but now that he has calmed down, he feels how inappropriate and empty what Xia Zhibai said was. The imperial court is already in financial difficulties, so how could it have so much spare money to improve firearms, and how necessary it is to make such a huge investment.

What if the improvement fails?

Isn't this a huge waste and a waste of time and money?
Zhu Di said indifferently: "The court has its own considerations on firearms. If there is a real need for improvement, why wouldn't the court do it? You don't even know the court's investment in firearms, and you make a rash judgment. Moreover, over the years, the firearms of our Ming Dynasty have always been steadily suppressing those of the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"This is enough to prove that the firearms of our Ming Dynasty are not as weak as you say."

"On the contrary, it is very strong."

"Besides."

"Firearms require a lot of manpower and financial resources for both upkeep and maintenance. As long as the Ming's firearms can dominate the surrounding areas, what's the point of improving them? How much combat power can they provide to the border troops? If they can win, they can win. If they can't, no matter how good the firearms are, they still can't win."

"Does winning a war depend on these weapons and firearms?"

Zhu Di sneered, stroked his beard and said: "No, fighting a war depends on the strategy of the generals and the courage and bravery of the soldiers."

"If you think that you can do whatever you want just because you have a slight advantage in weapons, that's too much. Could it be that because your firearms are better than mine, I won't fight? I will just admit defeat and surrender?"

"Victory in war still depends on real fighting on the battlefield."

"At that time, winning is winning, and losing is losing."

Zhu Di expressed his opinion.

Weapons cannot determine everything, not even the trend.

The aftermath of war is always made by people.

Qiu Fu nodded repeatedly.

He had disliked Xia Zhibai for a long time. He didn't understand the previous speeches and naturally had no way to refute them. However, in terms of military operations, he was far more experienced than Xia Zhibai. If Xia Zhibai wanted to give them advice in this regard, he would be making a wrong calculation.

He won't get used to it.

Li Bin and Liu Sheng also looked disdainful.

If the war is really going to be fought according to Xia Zhibai's method, then there would be no need to fight. The two groups can just get together before the battle to compare whose weapons are more powerful. Whoever has better weapons will win. Then what are the generals like them for?
Yao Guangxiao lowered his head and said nothing.

It seemed as if he didn't hear what was happening in the hall.

He looked as if he was wandering in a trance.

Yuan Gong had a slight smile on his face.

He knew why Zhu Di and Xia Zhibai had such a big disagreement.

The fundamental reason is that the starting points are different.

Zhu Di and others focused on "command", a kind of lofty "vision", a kind of superiority and arrogance of being a general.

Xia Zhibai focuses on the grassroots soldiers, the casualties in every battle, and maintaining the long-term combat effectiveness of the army.

Up and down, high and low, the standing points are different, so the results are naturally different.

There is no right or wrong.

Xia Zhibai sighed softly, his eyes somewhat helpless.

The ideas of Zhu Di and his generals were actually the ideas of most people in the world.

As long as you run faster than others, there will be no problem at all. However, few people know that under this process, there are other people who are making rapid progress in places that are invisible to the Ming Dynasty. When the other side comes with foreign guns and cannons, China will be far behind.

People will only be afraid when the knife is on their necks.

Xia Zhibai said: "I can understand your Highness's thoughts, but I don't agree with them."

"Throughout history, when the Hu people were powerful, there was a saying that 'one Hu is equal to five Han people', and when the Central Plains became strong, the saying became 'one Han is equal to five Hu people'. These sayings are all based on facts."

"It's all about equipment."

"With the help of equipment, the Central Plains can still be unstoppable even if they are not as good as the Hu people in horseback archery."

"When the Mongols moved south, they took advantage of their weapons and equipment to almost completely conquer the Central Plains."

"Are the equipment and weapons of the Ming Dynasty far superior to those of the Mongols?"

Zhu Di was silent.

Of course there is no such thing.

Xia Zhibai asked again: "Is it possible for the Ming Dynasty to defeat Mongolia in one battle? Is it possible for the Ming Dynasty to resolve the long-term unrest in the north in one battle?"

Zhu Di remained silent.

Xia Zhibai sneered and said, "Since there is nothing, it is destined to be a protracted war."

"If what the thousand-household general just said is true, the cost of fighting one war after another will probably be far more than hundreds of thousands or even millions of silver taels. In these wars, how many families will be broken up? How many soldiers will be injured or even killed? How many families will flee?"

"If the gap in weapons and equipment cannot be widened, then the casualty ratio will not be low."

"Both defense and attack will be difficult." "Your Highness and the other generals, have you really calculated the cost of food and money?"

"With one war after another, wave after wave, is it true that the Ming Dynasty only considers the small accounts and ignores the long-term big accounts? The depression in the north, the further decline of the population, and the further deterioration of local livelihoods are far more shocking than the money and grain in the accounts."

"You can't calculate the account like this."

"Investing in firearms will indeed cost a lot."

"But it can give Daming a more stable, secure and safe environment."

“This is more important than the monetary contribution.”

“This is faith!”

“It’s a powerful deterrent.”

"The Ming Dynasty is big but not strong. If it were truly strong, it would be like the Han and Tang dynasties, making all the four directions submit to it and no one would dare to be its enemy."

"But no matter how much I say now, I'm afraid that His Highness and the generals will not listen."

"Your Highness and your generals have long developed their own ideas about how to lead troops in battle, and they will not change because of a few words from me. But I can also tell you that there is a problem with your battle ideas."

"At least it's a little behind the times."

"The way we fight now is a little too stupid and a little too rigid."

“It depends a lot on on-the-spot decision-making.”

"There is a great lack of sensitivity to war and control over fighter planes."

"The bottom line is that the generals of the Ming Dynasty lack systematic learning and research, and are not that proficient in combat tactics and control of war."

"Many times, they rely on instinct and the fighting talent accumulated through battle after battle. This kind of talent is indeed enviable and awe-inspiring, but this kind of talent is not enough to support winning a large-scale war."

“Because it’s not rigorous enough, not detailed enough.”

"The deployment of troops, grasp of timing, combat quality and other aspects are not enough to support a big scene."

"Also, the various techniques and tactics of the generals in the army have hardly been widely communicated. You still use your own tactics and I use my own tactics. There is no mutual learning and reference. For example, it is known that Xiping Hou used a three-stage shooting tactic when he pacified Yunnan."

“This technique and tactics are very simple.”

"Specifically, a team of three people formed a group. The musketeer at the front fired first, then retreated to the back of the team to concentrate on reloading ammunition, and the second soldier stepped forward to fire. The three people took turns to reload and fire, which tripled the efficiency of the matchlock gun, which originally took a minute or even longer to fire once."

"Battlefield firepower and deterrence have been greatly enhanced."

"But currently, only Mu Ying is using this technique and tactics."

"Other generals rarely use it."

"In addition, King Ninghe also used chariots in the war to destroy Xia and Shu. However, this chariot is different from the chariots in the past. It is more like a firearms chariot."

"It was equipped with a lot of firearms and artillery, but the chariot in the hands of Ninghe King Deng Yu was relatively crude and heavy. However, this strategy of defeating the enemy played a great role in the war to destroy Xia and Shu. However, with the death of Deng Yu, this technique and tactic was gradually forgotten."

"I don't know what I know about the military."

"I don't dare to discuss any military affairs, nor do I want to talk about macro strategies."

"From the perspective of tactics, if I were in charge, I would definitely promote these effective tactics in the army. First of all, the efficiency of firearms has increased threefold, which also means that the lethality has increased significantly. Although the chariots are still a bit heavy, the effect is obvious."

"It can avoid arrows and resist horses. If it is equipped with guns and cannons, it can give full play to its power and resist the enemy's long-term strategy. When the enemy attacks, the guns and cannons can be fired at the same time to hold off the enemy; when the enemy splits up to plunder, you can either curb their arrogance or tail them back when they are lazy. You can use the city with feet and the horses with whips."

"The Ming Dynasty actually has quite a few weapons and tactics like these."

“But how many people actually put what they learn into practice?”

They really thought that Xia Zhibai knew nothing about military affairs.

Just talk on paper.

However, Xia Zhibai knew them all by heart, and told them all the tactics used by Mu Ying and Deng Yu, and praised these techniques and tactics that were supposed to be "flash in the pan". If Xia Zhibai really took charge of the army, and always maintained the mentality of "applying what he had learned", his military achievements would not be low.

Zhu Di was also a little nervous.

He felt that if he really gave Xia Zhibai some time, he might not be Xia Zhibai's match.

He has been on the battlefield since he was fourteen years old.

How could you be afraid of someone who had never fought a war?

If these words were spoken out, people all over the world would probably laugh at them, but Zhu Di couldn't laugh at all now because this could really happen.

Xia Zhibai really has no burden at all when it comes to using other people's techniques and tactics.

It's complete take-it-and-use-it approach.

Xia Zhibai glanced coldly at the generals in the hall and said in a deep voice: "Live and learn."

"Your Highness, or other generals of the Ming Dynasty, after achieving success and fame, they gradually became proud and restrained. They always felt that using other people's things would make them look inferior to others. But how could they care so much when fighting a war?"

"There is only one purpose for fighting a war."

"It's Ying!"

(End of this chapter)