Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 504: Different Thinking

Now the Song Dynasty was winning battles one after another, while the Liao Dynasty was losing ground.

Although the Liao generals were eager to fight, the morale of the Liao soldiers was low.

The morale of the Song Dynasty was high, while that of the Liao Dynasty was low. If the Song Dynasty avoided war, the situation would be reversed.

Therefore, this battle cannot be avoided and must be fought.

The Duke of Ying had already thought of this possibility when he was formulating the plan for a surprise attack on Youzhou City, and had already consulted Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing thought about it for a long time and agreed with the Duke of England's point of view.

Since the Song Dynasty sent out troops, it has never encountered any tough battles.

But things won't always go smoothly, there will definitely be many fierce battles ahead.

At this time, the Liao Kingdom has not really reached the point of fighting to the bitter end. If the Song Dynasty does not dare to fight, it will be more troublesome when it suffers setbacks later.

The morale of the Song Dynasty's soldiers is actually very low now. Only by experiencing a major war and winning can it be turned into strength.

Moreover, the Song Dynasty was the attacking party, and it would be easier for the Liao Kingdom to go out of the city and fight against the Song Dynasty than to attack the city.

As the art of war says: Before thinking about victory, think about defeat first.

It means that you should not just think about what will happen after victory, but should first consider the possibility of failure and the consequences it will bring.

Zhao Xing agreed with this view.

Is there a possibility of failure in this battle?

Have!
And it's not small.

But Zhao Xing could bear the consequences.

However, in a head-on battle, as long as you play steadily and cautiously, even if you lose, the opponent will not gain much advantage.

There were only so many soldiers and horses that Yelu Yixin could truly trust, and he had just ascended the throne, so his foundation was unstable.

Even if the Song Dynasty was defeated, as long as Yelu Yixin suffered heavy losses, he would not have the ability to counterattack just to stabilize the situation.

And the Song Dynasty could slowly digest the conquered territories.

Therefore, Zhao Xing agreed to the Duke of Ying's idea of ​​having a head-on battle with the Liao Kingdom and only put forward one request.

We can lose, but we must inflict heavy casualties on the Liao army.

For this purpose, Zhao Xing even took out another secret weapon he had prepared.

During this Northern Expedition, Zhao Xing not only brought a large amount of gunpowder, but also brought 10,000 muskets.

It's a pity that the cannons were not manufactured. Otherwise, even if there were only a few of them, they would have been able to fire a few shots at the Liao Kingdom at the beginning. It would have been a big shock to the Liao army, which had never seen cannons before, and the battle would have been much easier.

After seeing the power of the musket, the Duke of England became more confident about this battle.

For a time, both sides were mobilizing their troops. After a few days, both sides had gathered nearly 700,000 troops inside and outside the city of Xijing.

The Liao Kingdom had 350,000 soldiers and horses, while the Song Dynasty had only 320,000.

Although the Song Dynasty dispatched nearly 600,000 troops to the Northern Expedition, it was necessary to divide the troops to garrison so many cities, and also to build the road leading to Youzhou City.

Yelu Yixin wanted a decisive battle, and he might have wanted to delay the Song Dynasty's offensive.

If the Song Dynasty was really delayed, the troops in Youzhou City would be in danger.

Therefore, the Song Dynasty not only had to fight a decisive battle with the Liao Kingdom, but also could not stop the pace of connecting Youzhou City into one piece.

In addition, doing so would also allow the Liao Kingdom to feel at ease and fight a decisive battle with the Song Dynasty.

Although Yelu Yixin acted as if he was ready for a decisive battle, if the Song Dynasty really gathered 500,000 troops, Yelu Yixin might not dare to fight a decisive battle.

Now the Song Dynasty has fewer troops than the Liao Dynasty, which is also an opportunity for Yelu Yixin.

"Humph!"

Upon hearing the news, Yelu Yixin gritted his teeth and said, "The Song Dynasty is really arrogant!"

The Song Dynasty guessed correctly. He wanted a decisive battle and really wanted to slow down the pace of the Song Dynasty's attack. He had already mobilized troops to retake Youzhou City.

However, he did not dare to move the troops in Xijing because they were under the surveillance of the Song army.

Once the troops are mobilized, they will easily be ambushed by the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, with too few troops dispatched, it would be difficult to recapture Youzhou City.

Youzhou City was originally a fortified city, and a large amount of defense equipment and food were stored in the city.

The Song Dynasty falsely opened the city gates, resulting in the Liao Dynasty's stored city defense equipment being completely unused.

Although some generals saw the bad situation and destroyed part of it, most of it still fell into the hands of the Song Dynasty.

Fifty thousand men defend a strong city, and at least hundreds of thousands of troops are needed to recapture it.

This is because the people of Youzhou City are on the side of the Liao Kingdom, otherwise the number would have doubled.

If he really sent so many troops, even if they were not ambushed, it would leave Xijing depleted of military forces.

Therefore, he could only mobilize troops from the rear, but this would take time.

"Since the Song Dynasty will not be fooled, I will defeat this 300,000-strong army!" Yelu Yixin gritted his teeth.

These 300,000-strong army must be the elite of the Song Dynasty. As long as they are defeated, the Song Dynasty will have no choice but to end this Northern Expedition.

Thinking of this, Yelu Yixin sent a declaration of war to the Song Dynasty, and the decisive battle would take place on the plain northeast of Xijing City tomorrow.

When the Duke of England received the declaration of war, he could only say one big word: "war".

The next morning, the Duke of England led an army of 300,000 to the plains northwest of West East, leaving 20,000 soldiers to defend the city.

Yelu Yixin also only brought 300,000 soldiers and horses. He was also worried that the Song Dynasty would launch a surprise attack on Xijing City, so he left 50,000 soldiers and horses.

Although the Duke of Ying agreed to a decisive battle with the Liao Kingdom, when he arrived at the plain, he ordered his soldiers to form a defensive formation.

The Liao Kingdom had a large number of cavalry. Of the 300,000-strong army, 200,000 were cavalry.

The Song Dynasty only has 100,000 troops, and in a battle on the plains, cavalry plays a very important role.

One hundred thousand versus two hundred thousand. Not only was the Song Dynasty's military strength inferior, but the cavalry of the Song Dynasty was also inferior to that of the Liao Dynasty.

To be honest, in terms of horse riding and archery, the Han people learned it from the nomadic peoples.

After the Liao Kingdom occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, it obtained many craftsmen, and the weapons and armor of its army were no worse than those of the Song Dynasty.

Although the Song Dynasty's cavalry was required to undergo forced training after Zhao Xing ascended the throne, they had never experienced a real war.

Although the Liao Dynasty had been in civil strife for so long and had suffered heavy losses, its soldiers had experienced many battles and were not comparable to the troops of the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, although the Duke of Ying agreed to a decisive battle, he took a defensive stance on the battlefield and waited for the Liao army to attack.

Yelu Yixin stood on the high platform, looking at the formation of the Song army with a frown on his face.

The Song army arranged three layers of shield formations in the front. The front one was a heavy shield with sharp nails under it. They fell on the ground and pierced into the ground, which could effectively prevent the shield formation from being broken.

Behind the shield formation were many soldiers holding spears.

It can be imagined that once the Liao cavalry charged, there would be heavy casualties.

Although the two rows of shields at the back are not heavy shields, the speed of the cavalry that breaks through the shields in front will inevitably be greatly reduced, and it will be difficult to break through the two layers of shields at the back.

The most important thing for cavalry is mobility. Once their speed slows down, they become targets and block the way for the cavalry behind them.

Although the Liao army generals looked down on the Song army, they still had basic common sense.

"Your Majesty, why not send the heavy-armored infantry to charge, followed by the light-armored infantry? As long as we can tear open a gap and send out the cavalry, we will surely be able to defeat the Song army in one fell swoop!"

"No, the Song army's heavy shields are for dealing with cavalry. Heavy armored infantry is too heavy, how can they break through? We should use heavy cavalry to charge and open a gap, and then use light cavalry to push back!" "Since the Song army has deployed their troops in this way, they must have some precautions. In my opinion, it is better to use light cavalry to shoot first and see if they are strong enough!"

The Liao army generals were talking at once and coming up with strategies.

Yelu Yixin pressed his hand, pondered for a while, looked at a general, and said, "Geshe Lamu, take 50,000 light cavalry to test the situation!"

"Yes!"

Geshe Lamuzhen was the general who suggested using light cavalry to test the enemy's strength. When he saw that his suggestion was adopted, he saluted excitedly.

"Be careful, don't get held up by the Song cavalry." Yelu Yixin reminded.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I will never be held back by the Han cavalry. If we engage in a head-on battle, I am confident that I can defeat the 100,000 cavalry of the Song Dynasty with only 50,000 cavalry!" Geshe Lamu said confidently.

"Then I'll wait for your good news, go!" Yelu Yixin said.

“Yes!” Geshe Lamu bowed and stepped down from the platform.

…………

The Liao Kingdom was observing the movements of the Song Dynasty, and the Duke of Ying was also observing the movements of the Liao army.

When he saw the Liao army dispatching 50,000 light cavalry, he immediately ordered: "Pass the order, be careful of the Liao cavalry's roaming shooting, and if they come into range, use muskets to counterattack!"

"Yes!"

The messenger behind him responded and hurried away.

"Prince of England, is it inappropriate to use a musket at the beginning?"

Zeng Gongliang frowned and said, "Although the range of the musket is similar to that of an ordinary bow and arrow, its lethality is limited at a long distance. It is better to use it at a critical moment!"

Duke Ying was not angry at Zeng Gongliang's questioning. He smiled and explained, "I have arranged heavy shields in the front. The Liao army cannot charge with light cavalry. This cavalry should be here to test our strength. The heavy shields in the front row are tall. As long as the soldiers squat down, the light cavalry can't do anything to them. Therefore, they can only target the soldiers in the second row holding light shields. In this way, the lethality is enough!"

"When the Liao army launches an attack later, they will definitely lead with heavy armor in the front, so the muskets will be useless. Using them now will maximize the effect and also dampen the morale of the Liao army!"

Zeng Gongliang did not question him when he gave the order, obviously not wanting to affect his authority as the commander-in-chief.

The British referendum returned the favor and explained in detail the purpose of its arrangements.

In addition to the trouble of loading gravel and gunpowder, the musket has another major disadvantage, which is that it is almost ineffective against heavy armor and can only be used against light armor.

When the Liao army charged, they would definitely lead with heavy armor in front. If the two armies got mixed up, the muskets would be useless.

Therefore, using it at the very beginning would not only produce the greatest effect, but also shock the morale of the Liao army.

Zeng Gongliang pondered for a while after hearing this, and said in surprise: "Duke Ying didn't deploy archers behind the front-line shield formation, just to let the Liao Kingdom approach without worry?"

"Not bad!"

Duke Ying smiled and said, "If we arrange archers to shoot at them, the Liao cavalry will definitely keep a safe distance."

"The Duke of Ying is thoughtful and has a brilliant military strategy. This is truly admirable!" Zeng Gongliang exclaimed.

Although he understood military tactics, he had also compiled a military book.

When he was in office in a local position, he personally commanded troops to quell rebellions.

But he only understood the art of war, and did not participate in many wars, and did not integrate what he learned into his own practice.

"You are too kind to me, Mr. Privy Councilor." The Duke of England smiled slightly.

"Don't be so modest, Lord England. But I still have a question. I wonder if you can help me solve it?" Zeng Gongliang said.

"You are welcome to speak your mind, Lord." Lord Britain said.

"The Liao army suffered a loss by using the musket at this time, and they don't know the specific situation of the musket. Will they choose to retreat?" Zeng Gongliang said.

"Will not!"

Duke Ying laughed and said, "A large-scale military battle is no joke. The Liao Kingdom has sent out hundreds of thousands of troops to fight a decisive battle with the Song Dynasty. If they retreat after suffering a small loss, their morale will surely be completely destroyed."

Zeng Gongliang opened his mouth. He wanted to ask the Duke of England why he was so confident.

As the Art of War says: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.

He put himself in the shoes of the Liao Kingdom and assumed that if he was the commander of the Liao army, he would definitely choose to retreat.

But he hesitated and didn't ask.

Because the Liao cavalry had already set out.

In fact, Zeng Gongliang’s idea reflects the difference in thinking between military generals and civil officials.

If a civil official is familiar with the art of war and has a certain amount of talent, he can indeed become a famous general.

Since ancient times, there have been many generals who can command the army on horseback and pacify the people on foot.

Even among the generals, there is a title called Confucian general.

There seems to be no difference between civil officials and military generals who are good at fighting.

In fact, the biggest difference between the two is the difference in thinking.

The so-called knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle is actually more of a theory.

It's not that it's empty talk, but it's very difficult to be fully aware of the local situation and at the same time be fully clear about one's own situation.

Therefore, just know yourself and your enemy as much as possible.

There is another saying in the art of war: War is the art of deception.

It means that the use of troops in war is a treacherous art, and it is necessary to use various methods to deceive the enemy. This sentence emphasizes the importance of using tricks and deception in war, blurring the enemy's judgment and defense, and achieving victory in an unexpected way.

Since you have to use tricks to deceive the other party, how can you know yourself and the enemy?
Looking at it this way, these two sentences seem full of contradictions.

In fact, many words in the Art of War would appear contradictory if put together.

Even if civil officials are well-versed in military tactics and know how to lead troops in battle, they still have to consider many factors when facing problems.

It is different for military generals. Once they receive an order, the only thing they consider is victory or defeat.

This is just like in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Zhuge Liang set up the empty city plan and Sima Yi did not dare to enter the city.

Many people cite official history to say that it is impossible for Sima Yi to appear on the battlefield over there.

Some people also said that no matter how suspicious Sima Yi was, he could just send some people in to investigate.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, if this scene really happened, would Sima Yi send troops into the city?
Most likely not, because when Sima Yi considered the issue, he was not just thinking about winning or losing, but also political factors.

If he had dealt with Zhuge Liang, he would have been idle even if he hadn't died.

Therefore, even though the Empty City Plan had many loopholes, it was reasonable for Sima Yi to retreat.

The empty city strategy was not a question of suspicion or not, but the fact that Zhuge Liang was on the top of the city wall.

Zeng Gongliang put himself on the side of the Liao Kingdom. The reason why he felt that the troops should withdraw was that he considered the issue more from a political perspective.

Although he understood military tactics, he was more of a civil official.

It’s not that military generals don’t consider politics, but that when they look at issues, they consider military matters first and politics second.

But in the eyes of civil servants, politics is more important than military affairs.

This is the difference in thinking between the two.

Geshe Lamu led 50,000 light cavalry and approached the Song army.

When they were more than 200 steps away, they began to shoot along the heavy shields of the Song army.

(End of this chapter)