Chapter 72 Deduction

Chapter 72 Deduction

Chapter 72 Deduction
If we only train middle and lower-level officers, the practical knowledge on the battlefield will be enough, and the rest depends on them to accumulate experience on their own.

If you can understand something, you can go one step further and become a general.

If you can make further progress in the position of general and learn new things, you can become a top-level military officer such as the Grand Commander/Marshal.

It is not an empty saying that you can keep learning as long as you live.

Shao Xun was well aware that most of the student soldiers he taught would only become middle-level officers, and only a very small number would stand out and take on the important task of becoming generals.

As for the Grand Admiral, Marshal and the like, it depends on luck.

But what needs to be taught will still be taught.

"After today's deduction, you cannot talk about it again. Violators will be punished by military law." Shao Xun said sternly while looking at the student soldiers above the rank of sergeant sitting on the ground.

"Yes." Everyone responded loudly.

“Suppose Sikong were to follow the emperor in his northern expedition—” Shao Xun’s opening words were like a bolt from the blue.

Everyone's face changed, but no one said anything.

"The 20,000 troops in the central army of Luoyang will be the elite, assisted by men from all directions, hereditary soldiers, and soldiers from the forts, with surrendered soldiers as the vanguard. The number will be more than 100,000." Shao Xun said as he observed the expressions of the young men.

Although it is called "deduction", this deduction is too real. It is more interesting than the war examples since the Qin and Han Dynasties mentioned earlier.

"My brother Sima Ying has greatly disappointed the people, and both the Chinese and foreigners are resentful. Now we can only gather 50,000 soldiers, with the more than 10,000 central troops as the elite."

"In July and August, the royal army marched north in great numbers, the emperor personally led the army, and all officials and kings accompanied him."

"By the time they reached Hebei, the crowd had reached over 100,000."

At this point, Shao Xun paused, looked at everyone, and asked, "If you were Sima Ying, how would you respond?"

Everyone thought silently and no one answered for a while.

This scene is too big for them, they have never encountered it before, and what they need to consider is not just the military issues, but also many strategic things.

Shao Xun deliberately waited for a long time to give them time to think.

After a long while, he pointed to a person and said, "Jin San, you answer the question."

"Yes." Jin San stood up. He was a little hesitant at first, but soon he looked determined and said, "Build strong defenses and clear the fields. Collect all the millet and wheat in the wild, plunder all the food stored by the people, slaughter all the livestock, and then retreat to Yecheng. The king's army has nothing to plunder in the wild, and Yecheng is a city with high walls and deep moats. Over time, the king's army will be exhausted and will definitely retreat. At this time, we can use the soldiers who have been refreshed to go out of the city and pursue them, and we may win a great victory."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a lot of discussion in the room.

Kim Jong-un is too ruthless. If he does this, he will suffer great losses. Even if he wins the war, he seems to have lost the support of the people and his position will be even more unstable. This is a strategy that will hurt both sides.

"This method is actually not bad." Shao Xun first encouraged Jin San and asked him to sit down, then said: "But Sima Ying can't fight like this. People in Yefu have different opinions. He has lost the support of the people. If he continues to defend the city and clear the countryside, I'm afraid most of the shogunate will rebel. So if he doesn't want to die, he can't do this, at least he can't defend the city and clear the countryside. Is there anyone else who wants to answer the question?"

"Master Shao, let me answer." Mao Er stood up and said, "Since Sima Ying has lost popularity, there may be a way to redeem him."

"Go on." Shao Xun encouraged.

"If there are any people in the shogunate, officials, or generals who are unpopular and have a bad reputation, they can be killed to calm the public anger. Their property and slaves can be distributed as rewards to the generals and subordinates, and then the government can be revitalized and the administration can be reformed. Even if it is just for show, it can win back some people's hearts." Mao Er said.

This is linear thinking.

If you have lost popularity, then try to make up for it. It cannot be said to be wrong. It will definitely be of some help to the overall situation. As for how much help it will be, that is hard to say.

"What Mao Er said is not without reason." Shao Xun did not completely deny his words. After letting him sit down, he said, "If it was a peaceful year, Sima Ying's actions might have a miraculous effect, because he has plenty of time to calm the unrest. But when the arrow is on the string, doing so will have both advantages and disadvantages. It is difficult to describe in one sentence. This is a method, but it does not help the overall situation. Who else?"

"Master Shao." Wang Que'er stood up and said confidently, "Master Shao talked about the Battle of Jianchun Gate. I heard that after the defeat of Master Ye's front army, all the camps collapsed, and they were afraid of falling behind and becoming scapegoats for others. In this case, there may be a way to resolve the crisis. But there are still some things I don't understand, I hope Master Shao can solve my doubts."

"Speak." Shao Xun said straightforwardly.

"The king's army has gathered more than 100,000 soldiers. Where do they come from?"

"There are 20,000 imperial guards, 20,000 to 30,000 hereditary soldiers from Sizhou, and there may be commanders of various fortresses, powerful people, and even bandits on both sides of the river, no less than 50,000 people. The King of Fanyang may also recruit 20,000 to 30,000 hereditary soldiers from Yuzhou to fight on behalf of the emperor. Well, there may also be some surrendered soldiers."

"How do you command such a huge army?"

"What do you think?" Shao Xun asked with a smile.

"I don't know." Wang Que'er shook her head ashamedly.

"Let me add a few points for you." Shao Xun said, "The commanders of the forts and the tyrants in the prefectures and counties are not loyal. They either have no choice or want to gain status and official positions, so they accompany the emperor to the war. The court does not take them seriously and only wants to drive them to death. They also do not take the court too seriously. They only want to fight a peaceful war and take advantage of the opportunity. They will never fight to the death. The capital is their own. If they use up all the money, the court will not look good on them."

"As for bandits and surrendered soldiers, it is even more impossible for them to fight to the death. They are likely to escape at the slightest sign of trouble."

Wang Que'er was more determined when she heard this, and said on the spot: "In this case, Sima Ying has a way to defeat Master Wang."

"explain."

"Master Shao, there is one thing I don't understand." Wang Que'er was about to express her thoughts when she suddenly thought of something and said again.

"You have so many things to say, just tell me. Today's story is just a deduction, not a real story. I can answer anything you say." Shao Xun made a joke, but didn't take it seriously, because the more Wang Que'er thought about it, the more comprehensive her thinking would be, which was not a bad thing.

"When a large army goes out to fight, there are front, middle and rear troops, but I don't know who the king's army will use as the vanguard." Wang Que'er asked. It is impossible for hundreds of thousands of people to gather in one place when marching. There will always be people who go first and some who go later. These people come from all directions and are not under each other's command. It is not uncommon for the front and back troops to stretch for more than a hundred miles. In fact, some troops have already arrived in Yecheng and started fighting, while others have just set out from their temporary bases.

"Use the surrendered soldiers as the vanguard." Shao Xun said.

In fact, he didn't know who Sima Yue would choose as his vanguard, but just used a routine commonly used by people at that time to make the "setting". After all, this was just a "deduction" and not a true story.

"The surrendered soldiers are from Hebei, right?"

"Yes."

"Then there is a real chance." Wang Que'er's eyes lit up, and she said, "If it were me, I would mobilize the main force, meet the enemy, and defeat the vanguard first. This should not be difficult to do. When the news of the defeat of the vanguard is passed back, it is hard to say what will happen to the central army, but those fort commanders, tyrants, and bandits will definitely panic and hesitate to move forward, or even spread rumors and retreat. At this time, there is no need to pause, just attack the central army directly. Our army has just won, and morale is high. The king's army has just been defeated and will definitely be frustrated. The fort commanders, tyrants, and bandits retreating without a fight will greatly shake the morale of the army. Even as strong as the Luoyang Central Army, they will also be suspicious and feel that everyone has abandoned them because the surrounding friendly troops are all retreating. If Sikong can raise his arm and make the Luoyang Central Army obey the order and fight to the death, it will be fine, but if he can't do it..."

Shao Xun walked to Wang Que'er's side, took his hand and walked to the front, praising him: "It's quite interesting, how did you come up with this idea?"

"I just said it." Wang Que'er whispered, "The Battle of Jianchun Gate."

"Then how can you be sure that this battle will be the same as the one at Jianchun Gate?" Shao Xun asked.

"I just think it's possible." Wang Que'er said embarrassedly: "Retreating to Yecheng will most likely lead to death. It's better to take the initiative to meet the enemy. If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose. That's all."

"You are bold and careful, brave and diligent." Shao Xun said with a smile, and then looked at Jin San and said, "Jin San is too cruel and does not take human life seriously. In order to win the battle, he will do anything."

Everyone laughed quietly.

Jin San blushed.

"Jin San is not bad either." Shao Xun waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and said, "Warfare is a matter of life and death. It is not easy to make a choice. You will experience it in the future."

"Yes." Everyone responded.

"Today's deduction--" Shao Xun patted Wang Que'er on the shoulder, asked him to go back and sit down, and then said: "Who do you think will win and who will lose?"

"The king's army was defeated."

"Master Wang wins."

"The king's army was defeated."

"The king's army was defeated..."

Roughly speaking, half of the people think that Wang's army will be defeated, 30% think that Wang's army can win, and 20% think that Wang's army will be trapped under the fortified city and have no choice but to retreat, thus neither winning nor losing.

Overall, I feel that Master Wang has little chance of winning.

Shao Xun was satisfied with this result.

The Northern Expedition is about to begin. Everyone can constantly revise their views, strengthen their impressions, and gain new insights through the progress of the war.

This time, what is being cultivated is a sense of the overall situation, rather than the previous military common sense.

Personally, he also felt that the chances of winning were slim.

The various troops were not under the same command, and were hastily assembled. They had never practiced coordination for a day. It was better to expect them to win the battle than to expect civil strife in Yecheng. If one of the hundreds of thousands of troops was defeated, it was very likely that the others would disperse and return to their homes upon hearing the news of the defeat.

There are many such examples in history.

In the Battle of Feishui, among the hundreds of thousands of troops led by Fu Jian, only a small part actually came into contact with the Jin army. After they were defeated, the others were not very loyal to Fu Jian, so they naturally ran away.

To put it bluntly, Fu Jian never really integrated these armies - in fact, he never really integrated his country, he only achieved superficial unification.

There was also the siege of Xiangzhou by nine military governors of the Tang Dynasty.

The An Lushan rebels were defeated one after another, suffered heavy casualties, and their morale was low. As a result, the Tang court did not appoint a general commander, and the nine military governors fought on their own. If one of them was defeated, the other eight would run away and would not fight to the death. Because they had no general commander, they did not know who would cover the rear, who would block the attack, and who would make a detour. In any case, they should not trust their allies, lest they become cannon fodder.

If Sima Yue wanted to succeed in his Northern Expedition, he could only temporarily gather a group of miscellaneous troops because there were too few soldiers in Luoyang.

It would be ok to just gather temporarily, but the key is that they are not subordinate to each other, there are many factions, and each is very independent. You don't trust me, and I don't trust you. We all want others to die so that I can reap the benefits. This is the most fatal thing.

If we lead these people to the Northern Expedition, the margin for error will be too low.

Normally, it is no big deal for the vanguard to suffer a defeat. They are supposed to explore the way and find out the enemy's troop deployment. If they are defeated, they just need to regroup and wait for the main force to come up before fighting again.

But this might cause a large-scale chain reaction, leading to the failure of the Northern Expedition.

During the great retreat, no one could guarantee that they would survive.

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. It is better not to get involved in a war where the "friendly forces" have ulterior motives.

If you have that much time, you might as well stay in Luoyang to train students and reorganize the troops.

He must not fight like Sima Yue, he must have a relatively pure and well-managed army.

In short, the student army is the main force, and the other troops are miscellaneous. You must know who to rely on.

(End of this chapter)