Chapter 176 Pioneer

Chapter 176 Pioneer

Chapter 176 Pioneer
Shao Xun has been stationed in Ji County these days.

Since he had a detailed discussion with Yu Chen on the first day he arrived, and took the time to contact the officers of the Ji County Army, he had a certain understanding of the Jisang tribe.

As the saying goes, if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger.

Shao Xun likes to analyze from both advantages and disadvantages.

What are the enemy's advantages?
They have rich combat experience and have been through many battles. After all, they have been fighting in the past few years and see dozens of battles a year. In terms of frequency, the frequency far exceeds that of the Imperial Guards and the Silver Spear Army.

The disadvantage is that these are mostly experiences of failure.

If they fail, there will be too many casualties and escapes, and a large number of experienced fighters will be lost. The fighting capacity of the young men in Xinla is seriously insufficient, and they must fight more battles to grow up, but most of them will obviously not survive for long.

To put it bluntly, this is almost the same tactic used by bandits in ancient and modern times.

The elite who survived hundreds of battles were gathered around as the core force, and then this core elite drove a large number of cannon fodder to fight in a mobile manner. Those who survived the cannon fodder were considered to have passed the test and were accepted into the core camp, and those who died - were dead.

What are the advantages of our army?
Well-equipped, with a training system and skilled skills - yes, skilled skills are a big advantage, as the bandits don't have much time to teach you how to use various weapons, and the able-bodied men have to go to the battlefield after only a few meals after being recruited.

Another major advantage is that the troops have been training together for a long time and are relatively familiar with each other.

For the Silver Spear Army, it is even more special because of the teacher-student relationship with Shao Xun, the officers' subjective initiative is high enough.

What are our army’s weaknesses?
The most important thing is that they have relatively little combat experience and have never experienced a bloody and cruel battlefield.

Being good at training in normal times does not mean that you will not fail on the battlefield. This is something you need to pay attention to.

Then, after understanding the advantages of the enemy and ourselves, the key to military strategy is to play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses. At this time, we can do targeted training.

Shao Xun asked the soldiers from Ji County to join the training, and Yu Chen readily agreed.

于是，银枪军（2400多）、府兵（300）、牙门军（3000）、汲郡兵（2000）总计7700战兵，进行了连日的高强度训练。

The Fu Bing Buqu, Ji Jun Bing Buqu and Sizhou Dingzhuang 10,000 men also underwent training, but the intensity was not as high, one training every three days, and the other training every ten days.

On the second day of July, when Liu Yu and more than a hundred followers arrived at the eastern suburbs of Ji County, they saw such a bustling scene.

"It's probably too late to train the troops now," someone said loudly.

Liu Yu ignored him and just watched silently.

In the exercise involving nearly 20,000 people, all military orders were well organized and the operation of the entire army might be a little slow, but it was already very good.

Most of the soldiers we see these days are weak and unmanageable. There are few who are as battle-hardened and able to operate freely as the soldiers of Xuchang and Yanzhou.

If we remove the part that is obviously Master Ding Zhuang's, the army in front of us is actually quite presentable.

Especially the more than 3,000 soldiers in full armor, who were very familiar with military orders and resolutely executed them. They advanced when they were told to advance and retreated when they were told to retreat. Even if there was some disorganization, it was within the normal level.

If they train hard for another year or so and go into battle a few times, they will definitely be a strong army.

"This fighting style is really weird..." Attendant Shen Ling squeezed to the front, raised his head to look into the distance, and muttered to himself.

Shen Ling, courtesy name Jinggao, was from Wucheng, Wuxing, and had just been recruited into the government.

"It's just a show of force." Wang Jun, the attendant of the imperial court, said with a smile, "I have never seen anyone deploy troops like this. It's so surprising. If they win, it's good. If they lose, I'm afraid the army will be in danger of death. It's a pity that the beauty like the Princess of Chengdu will change her owner again."

When Liu Yu heard this, his heart warmed.

He also liked beauties. He had seen Princess Le of Chengdu before. She was indeed a first-rate beauty with a beautiful figure, and she was also talented and had an awe-inspiring and inviolable aura.

Liu Yu had no idea before, but now Le Shi is devoted to a rude soldier like Shao Xun, what is there to be proud of? If he could be taken into the room, it would be a lot more fun.

Wang Jun secretly glanced at Liu Yu's face and felt something was wrong.

Before the Grand Tutor recruited Liu Yu, someone in the shogunate said, "Yu is still greasy, and if you get close to him, he will pollute people."

Although this person is talented, he is dissolute and of mediocre character. He is like a ball of grease that will pollute and corrupt those around him.

Liu Yu was very fond of beauties. When he heard that the emperor's uncle Wang Yan's concubine, Jing, was good at music and had extraordinary beauty, he went to the house and asked to meet her. Of course, he was rejected. How could Wang Yan be willing to show his treasure to outsiders?

Thinking of this, Wang Jun shook his head in annoyance. If he had known earlier, he would not have mentioned Le Shi. Wouldn't it be better to find an opportunity to take her into his room? But now he has to face Liu Yu's competition, which is really not good.

"I don't know how to deploy troops, but Shao Xun will definitely win." The third Zhonglang appeared. It was the former Junior Brother Zhong Shuzi Hu Wu Fuzhi. He said, "This man can work hard in the fields. He is not an ordinary person."

Everyone subconsciously ignored Hu Wu Fuzhi's words.

This guy is not very serious. He is addicted to alcohol. When he is drunk, he likes to talk too much. He says everything and you can't stop him.

Moreover, his ability was somewhat poor. After joining the Taifu, he was appointed as the governor of Chenliu. However, he was dismissed because he knew nothing about military affairs and was not competent for the job. He returned to the shogunate and served as a Zhonglang. This was actually a very important post, but now it was mostly used to arrange idle people. It happened that these idle people had fatal defects in their abilities, and I don’t know how many things were delayed. I heard that Hu Wufuzhi would leave the shogunate at the latest next year and serve as the Da Zhongzheng of Yanzhou. This was quite suitable for him.

"kill!"

"Kill! Kill!"

One after another, the squares roared in unison, shaking the sky, and it also meant that today's training was over.

The soldiers left the arena one by one and headed for the barracks.

Shao Xun came on horseback with his personal soldiers.

"General Liu." After approaching, Shao Xun jumped off his horse in a graceful manner and bowed.

"General Shao." Liu Yu returned the greeting and looked at Shao Xun at the same time.

So young!

Warriors are exposed to the wind and sun, lying on ice and eating snow, so they look older than their actual age, but even from this perspective, they still look young.

I heard that he is only twenty years old this year, the age where he has just been crowned.

I am forty-four years old, compared with him, I am like the setting sun and the rising sun.

Shao Xun was also looking at Liu Yu.

The elder brother of the famous Liu Kun, his sister was once the fake crown princess - unfortunately he is already thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old and has no interest in collecting this stamp.

I heard that Liu Yu had an extraordinary memory. In order to win the favor of the Grand Tutor, he silently memorized the information about warehouses, cattle, horses, equipment, geography, and military books in the world. When the Grand Tutor held a meeting, others did not understand much, but he answered fluently and was able to make suggestions based on these. He was very scheming and powerful.

In addition, this person's temperament is different from that of ordinary scholars - well, at this time, scholars are all kinds of strange, with all kinds of temperaments. After all, there are people who perform dog hole crawling and barking in the street, and there are also many scholars running naked in the downtown area. I don't know if they are stupid because of taking drugs or what.

Liu Yu had a bohemian temperament, and coupled with his pretty good looks, he would have been regarded as a middle-aged playboy or a handsome uncle in later generations, and was quite popular.

However, this approach doesn't work in the chaotic Hebei province.

Here, people speak with swords and guns, and life is used as a gamble. The winner takes all, and the weak lose everything. Even handsome uncles can only become food.

"I heard that after Shao Cai came to Ji, he trained troops all day long. I wonder if he can go into battle?" Liu Yu smiled and pointed at the Silver Spear Army that was returning to the camp and asked.

"What do you think of this army, Chief Secretary?" Shao Xun asked.

"They have excellent equipment and are well organized. They can be said to be a strong army." Liu Yu said, "For example, Shao Caiguan's personal soldiers all wear bright armor. Even the Taifu's personal army is not so luxurious."

"I have only a hundred or so personal soldiers, while the Taifu's personal soldiers number several thousand. How can we compare?" Shao Xun shook his head and laughed.

Sima Yue's so-called personal soldiers are the royal army rebuilt for the third time. There are currently three to four thousand people, mostly recruited from Qing and Xu states, and they are still expanding. It is estimated that they will eventually reach a scale of five thousand infantry and cavalry. Their commander is an old acquaintance: Lieutenant Liu Qia of the Donghai Kingdom.

Liu Yu also smiled, then looked at the backs of the Silver Spear Army and asked, "With such a strong army, the enemy will surely lose their courage. I wonder if we can lead the troops eastward to serve as the vanguard of the army?"

"The troops are not yet assembled, and we are going to attack now?" Shao Xun asked curiously.

Feng Song, the governor of Wei County, was defeated by Ji Sang and had only a few hundred defeated soldiers. After Ji Sang fled east, he was unable to recapture Yecheng. He just ran around the countryside, using his prestige as a governor to solicit sponsorship from various families and slowly expand his army.

Sima Yue allowed him to make amends for his crime, perhaps because he had once defeated Shi Le and Sima Yue still had hope for him.

Henei Governor Pei Zheng sent his general Guo Mo to lead an army of 3,000 eastwards, but they still have several days to go and have not yet arrived.

The Ji County soldiers were ready, led by Sima Yao Yuan, a separate army officer, with a total of 3,000 men, half of whom were combat soldiers and half were able-bodied men. To be honest, Yu Chen was quite nice to Yao Yuan. He managed to get him, an outsider with no background (from Guanzhong), a ninth-rank official position. This was a huge favor, and even had a sense of personal dependence.

"With officer Shao Cai here, why do we need county soldiers to make up the numbers?" Wang Jun came up and said.

Shao Xun ignored him and asked, "Do you have the right to speak here?"
Wang Jun was disappointed and was secretly annoyed: I don't know how many people in the shogunate are eyeing Jingu Garden. Some people even lamented that Shao Xun had turned it into farmland, orchards, and fish ponds, and were eager to try to seize it. Just wait, you will suffer!
"What does the commander-in-chief want?" Shao Xun asked in a deep voice, "If there is an order, I can lead the troops first."

Liu Yu nodded and said, "The military situation is urgent, and speed is of the essence. Why wait for the army to arrive? Officer Shao Cai can lead the troops first, and I will lead the army as a backup. Don't worry."

Shao Xun glanced at him and said, "Yes."

Liu Yu was the commander-in-chief, so he had to obey the military orders. But he always felt that these people were not good people, and perhaps they were planning to make him and Ji Sang consume each other.

With only a few thousand men, if they were to face Ji Sang's main force and be surrounded by tens of thousands of people, would Liu Yu come to rescue them? Not necessarily.

This was an open conspiracy, taking advantage of the general trend to squeeze and continuously consume Shao Xun's capital, but no one knew whose idea it was.

(End of this chapter)