White-robed Minister

Chapter 188 0186 [Winning Over Military Generals]

As the first snow of winter fell, Xu Lai, Wang Shao, and Hou Ke, three civil officials, huddled indoors by the fire, devising strategies.

Wang Shao pointed to the map and said, "If we send troops to Weiyuan, it will actually be easy to take it. After all, we are closer, the road is easier to travel, and the local Qiang tribes are weak and cannot stop us. As for Muzheng, if he wants to come to the rescue, he will have to travel a long distance."

Hou Ke agreed with this statement: "So what we are discussing is whether, after taking Weiyuan, we should build fortifications on the spot and expand westward step by step, or send out a large army to fight our way to Wusheng (Lintao)."

17

Let's start with the basics: the place names in the Hehuang region are very confusing.

For example, the names Shuyangbu and Shuyangzhai actually originated from Shouyang County in the Han Dynasty. It is said that Shouyang Mountain, where Boyi and Shuqi gathered wild herbs, was located in that vicinity.

After being seized by the Tibetans and Qiang people, Shouyang was unwittingly turned into a "cooked sheep".

The so-called Weiyuan Fort was merely a name used by the Song army. Shouyang and Weiyuan were actually the same area, so the Shuyang tribe was also considered a branch of the Weiyuan Qiang.

There was only one small village there, built on a high ground overlooking the river—the Weiyuan Fortress mentioned in historical records was built by Wang Shao in the nearby valley.

In the river valleys and mountains from Lintao to Weiyuan, the main Qiang tribes are the Mengjiaoluo and Moershuiba. The rest are smaller tribes.

Wang Shao said, "Whether we proceed step by step or directly send troops to Wusheng, we need to destroy the Mengjiaoluo and Moershuiba tribes."

Xu Lai said, "We have sent out many spies and inquired about information from the Qiang people and merchants. But we still don't know exactly how many people are in these two tribes."

The scouts said that the total number of people in the two departments is over 200,000.

The merchant said there were over 100,000.

Yu Longke said that it was actually only tens of thousands.

It was impossible to obtain accurate information because a large number of Qiang people usually lived scattered in the mountains.

In previous battles, these two units had always conserved their strength, though they had also participated in the campaigns. Even Yu Longke didn't know how many troops these two units could muster if they were pushed to the brink.

Wang Shao said, "There are two ways."

"The first option is for us to quickly send troops out and take Weiyuan and the surrounding valleys before the two forces can react."

"The second option is for us to deploy our troops slowly, giving both sides enough time to gather their forces, and then annihilate them."

"The first method is more reliable, but the drawback is that countless Qiang people are scattered in the mountains, posing endless troubles and making them difficult to eradicate. If the two tribal leaders escape, their strength will not be greatly diminished, and they can go further west to gather troops."

"The second option would solve the problem once and for all, but we might lose. We are outnumbered and on the offensive, while the enemy can hold their ground in a defensive position. If this battle drags on too long, Mu Zheng and the Western Xia will definitely send troops."

Xu Lai could mobilize a number of troops, neither too many nor too few.

Thirty-seven years ago, the military forces of Weizhou, Jingzhou, Yuanzhou, and other prefectures were separated from Qinfeng Road and a new Jingyuan Road was formed.

Qin Feng Road will only become a major transit area after Xihe is conquered.

At this point in time, Qin Feng Road is at its weakest. It can't even manage its finances independently; it only has one transport judge and no separate transport commissioner.

Qinfeng Road currently only governs Qinzhou, Fengxiang Prefecture, Longzhou, Chengzhou, Fengzhou, Jiezhou, and Tongyuan Army.

Apart from Qin Prefecture and Fengxiang Prefecture, the rest of these areas are all impoverished and remote, with long distances making it difficult to mobilize troops and supplies.

The prefect of Fengxiang Prefecture was Li Shizhong.

Li Shizhong strongly opposed the development of the Hehuang region. He refused to send troops to assist, let alone provide supplies. Only when Cai Kang pressed him did Li Shizhong send a tiny amount, making all sorts of excuses to delay.

Therefore, Xu Lai could only truly mobilize the troops and provisions of Qin Prefecture and Tongyuan Army. Moreover, he had to leave some troops behind to deal with the Western Xia army's attack from the northwestern mountains.

"Then let's make a quick decision and take over Weiyuan and the surrounding valleys," Xu Lai weighed the pros and cons and made the decision. "Once we take over there, we should immediately build fortified villages and stockpile grain to deal with the counterattacks from Mu Zheng and the two Qiang tribes."

Hou Ke said, "If we build fortified villages in Weiyuan, or even further away, our supply lines will be stretched. Most of our grain will have to be transferred from Qinzhou, and Qinzhou doesn't have much grain left."

Xu Lai said, "We will send troops after the wheat harvest next year."

Since last year, Qinzhou has been continuously supplying food to the Tongyuan Army.

Although Xu Lai bought a lot of grain from Yu Longke this year, he still had to supply the four newly built stockades and lend grain to the newly arrived archers and villagers for land reclamation.

So much wasteland within our jurisdiction has only just begun to be cultivated this year. Moreover, in the early stages, we were short-handed and could only cultivate extensively but with meager harvests, barely enough to keep the archers and civilians from going hungry.

Xu Lai will only have enough grain to send out troops after the wheat harvest next year, and even that grain won't last long.

Wang Shao said, "Fengxiang Prefecture definitely has grain, but Li Shizhong is unwilling to allocate it to us."

"I'll write a memorial to impeach him and see what happens," Xu Lai said, not holding out much hope.

Li Shizhong was utterly incompetent in military affairs; wherever he went to govern, he would weaken the local army.

However, he was also a top-notch domestic affairs talent. He promoted water conservancy projects, reclaimed wasteland, and reduced taxes and corvée labor, resulting in an increase in both the population and tax revenue under his rule.

Such a person was considered perfect in the eyes of the censors, and ordinary impeachments were rarely effective. No matter how Xu Lai impeached him, no matter how much Cai Kang urged him, Li Shizhong could at most send over some more grain.

"boom!"

Twenty miles outside Guwei Village, Xu Lai personally inspected the artillery.

Five cannons, arranged in neat rows.

Using the same amount of gunpowder, firing at the same angle, and recording the distance of each shot, then creating a unique firing table for each cannon.

Next, the amount of propellant, the firing angle, and the type of shell were changed, and the relevant specific data were recorded.

"You must memorize all of these firing tables. The gunner of each gun must also memorize the firing tables!" Xu Lai ordered.

Bu Chao said, "I promise I'll remember it."

Xu Lai added, "Not only do you have to memorize it, but you and your gunners also need to learn to estimate distances visually. If you see a sign in the distance, you should be able to estimate how far away it is with your eyes or binoculars. You have to practice this skill every day."

Xu Lai has already written to the emperor, requesting that several students of divination be transferred over.

The so-called "mathematics students" were students of the Imperial Mathematics Academy in Tokyo, the capital of the Song Dynasty. Sometimes they recruited students every year, and sometimes they recruited students every three to five years, supplying talent to government agencies such as the Imperial Observatory and the Three Departments.

Three years ago, "Mathematics" and "Geometry" became textbooks. These students have a foundation, and Xu can bring over a few to teach them analytic geometry and trigonometric functions.

The combination of projection tables, analytic geometry, and trigonometric functions is sufficient to handle a wide variety of situations.

Xu Lai is very busy every day, but his work is really unremarkable.

Contact the imperial court and its officials, contact local civil and military officials, inspect various fortified villages and towns, inspect troops in various regions, and visit Pianpian and Yu'er in Qinzhou during festivals —

As the New Year approached, he returned to Qinzhou City and invited his military officers to a meeting.

Xu Lai said, "I am new to military affairs and am certainly not as capable as you veteran generals. However, I have recently inspected the various armies and exchanged ideas with many officers and soldiers, and have gained some basic insights."

Xiang Bao smiled and said, "Please speak freely, Governor Xu."

Xu Lai said, "I have heard many soldiers say that in the past, when they fought, the brave soldiers fought so hard that they were covered in wounds and had no time to cut off heads. As a result, the heads were cut off by the cowardly and timid. There were even soldiers who cut off heads indiscriminately, causing chaos in the army and leading to defeat."

Gao Zunyu said, "There are rules for beheading. One cannot steal the credit of friendly forces, nor can one behead during battle. Those who disobey will be executed!"

-

"But there are always soldiers who disobey, aren't there?" Xu Lai asked.

The generals gave a wry smile.

This is a problem that any military commander who has led a battle understands. Di Qing even suggested abolishing the "reward system based on the number of heads taken" and replacing it with rewards and punishments based on the overall performance of the entire unit.

None of these suggestions were adopted.

Xu Lai said, "On the battlefield, some types of soldiers are inherently at a disadvantage when it comes to taking heads. For example, archers. And there are some armies that, if ordered to lure the enemy, will have no heads to take."

Zhang Shouyue said, "The imperial court has the final say on this matter; we cannot change the rules privately."

Xu Lai said, "I don't care about the imperial court. Generals, we are all here to expand our territory. Don't you all wish to be ennobled?"

Several military officials laughed.

Who wouldn't want to be ennobled?

Xu Lai said, "I have two suggestions. First, in future battles, when assigning merits, the merit of heads should be ranked last. Those who obey orders and dare to fight should be given priority! Second, each unit should be equipped with a number of auxiliary soldiers. Soldiers should not cut off heads; this must be done by the auxiliary soldiers. Finally, the total number of heads should be calculated, and the merits of the unit should be shared collectively."

Liu Shunqing asked, "What if we do this and the court blames us?"

Xu Lai said, "I will take full responsibility!"

The military officers exchanged glances. Of course, they wanted to win battles and earn merit, and they wanted to correct the army's shortcomings. They were simply afraid of taking responsibility.

Now that a civil servant is willing to step forward and take responsibility—that's fucking great!

Gao Zunyu was the first to stand up, cupped his hands to Xu Lai and said, "Xu, please comfort Gao Yi, we will naturally comply."

At this stage, Gao Zunyu's strengths outweigh his weaknesses.

Later, when he fought against Mu Zheng, in order to prevent his soldiers from killing indiscriminately, he even ordered that the captured Qiang people be rewarded according to the number of heads taken on the battlefield.

This order saved the lives of many Qiang people. Otherwise, they would all have been killed!

Next, Xu Lai discussed with the military officers how to arrange the rules for rewarding merits, so as to ensure that everyone would fight to the death to kill the enemy.

After the discussion was completed, it was written into an official document, which was then signed and sealed by Xu.

If the imperial court were to investigate later, this official document would serve as evidence of guilt. Xu Lai took the blame alone, and it had nothing to do with the other military officers.

The meeting ended, and Xu Lai left.

The military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xiang Bao said, "The top scholar has staked his future on this, what can we bastards say? Haha, from now on, we'll fight with all our might."

Liu Shunqing nodded.

He had only been transferred here by the imperial court recently and was not yet familiar with the area. But after meeting a civil official willing to take responsibility, Liu Shunqing immediately felt reassured.

Based solely on Xu Lai's boldness, Liu Shunqing was willing to fully cooperate.

Gao Zunyu smiled, turned around and left the venue.

Xu Lai was truly unscrupulous in his efforts to win over military officers.

Improving the army's combat effectiveness is only one aspect; more importantly, it is about winning the hearts of the generals: that official document was his pledge of allegiance to the generals!

This brings us to the military situation in the Northern Song Dynasty. Civil officials often served as chief commanders, not only giving incompetent orders but also shifting blame after defeats. Military generals, on the other hand, were used as scapegoats.

The official document that Xu Lai signed was tantamount to making a statement to the military generals: I'm not shirking responsibility. If we lose the battle, you can use this document to impeach me, saying it was all done by me in violation of regulations.

The military generals were absolutely thrilled to have such a brilliant civil official as Zhao Shuai.

They finally had no more worries about losing money!