The author said: Continue to update and tell stories to everyone.
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Since the Tianzun Sect broke out, it has swept across Henan and has the potential to spread all over the country. This is because the local government and army have no ability to contain it, which also shows the major shortcomings of the Han military.
After Emperor Taizu Gao unified the empire, he immediately disbanded all armies in order to protect people's livelihood and set the number at 500,000. Among them, there are 100,000 Imperial Guards, commanded by four generals at the front, rear, left and right, stationed near Luoyang, and are the world's elite. The remaining 400,000 Jiedu troops are stationed in ten provinces and are commanded by each Taoist envoy. There are also Imperial Forest troops who are not included in the quota. Under the personal control of the emperor, they are the best of the best. Taizu was very particular about this military system. In terms of internal affairs, the Guannai Dao, together with the Yulin Army, Imperial Guards and Jiedu Army, has more than 200,000 troops, and most of them are elite soldiers. Even if several forces in the world suddenly attack, they can easily resist it; if something happens in the court, the emperor will When hunting outside, you can summon the best soldiers from all over the world to serve the king, and your troops will be far superior to the imperial army, enough to wipe out the traitors.
However, as the Han Dynasty spread for more than two hundred years, the situation has changed drastically.
First of all, the number of troops in the army was greatly increased. Emperor Taizong was able to maintain the 500,000 troops initially set by Taizu; Emperor Shengzu Wu increased the number of troops to one million for the northern attack on the Tatars, and could even send more than 400,000 troops in a single Northern Expedition; Emperor Zhongzong lost his moral integrity in his later years and revolted everywhere, adding 500,000 more troops to suppress the rebellion. Emperor Chengzong was stupid and all the land outside the pass was seized by the Turks. At this point, the number of people in the world has already exceeded two million, and more than two-thirds of the Han Dynasty's annual income is used to support the army. The court is in dire straits and cannot reduce a single soldier.
Secondly, there was a change in the structure of the military. Emperor Wu was well versed in the use of troops, so he combined the power of the imperial guards and imperial guards into one body. Although they were restructured several times, the two armies were finally merged into one; today's emperor is too weak and can no longer control it personally. In the imperial army, the emperor did not have a single soldier at his disposal. However, the two emperor's younger brothers were extremely brave and shouldered the important task of fighting against the Turks and Shanyue. They established separate shogunate offices, each with more than 100,000 troops, and they were well-prepared and could not survive in a day. underestimate.
Finally, the army's combat power declined greatly. The world was at peace for a long time. Arms in various places were lax. Officers were underpaid and occupied farmland. The local military forces were already unable to fight. There were only 500,000 forbidden troops and Youyan soldiers in the world. The pro-army forces of the two princes of Lingnan and Lingnan are quite powerful. Among them, the Youyan palace has resisted the Turks for a long time and is the strongest in the world.
Therefore, although the Tianzun Sect relies on its great power to run rampant in Henan, it is no match for Youyan's elite. Although it is not easy to win this time south, as long as they fight steadily, they will be invincible. But if Zheng Xin returns to command the battle independently, can he return with a complete victory? Zheng Sen is too violent, does he know how to attack his heart first? Zheng Miao's kindness and weakness will hinder the two generals from using troops? Qiu Yi's battle at Mantou Mountain showed his military talent, but was it just a fluke? All kinds of questions can't help but crowd the mind of Youyan King Zheng Rong, but since he wants his sons to experience it personally, how can he pamper him more because of this little uneasiness? Today, the Holy Emperor is dim, the situation in the DPRK is unclear, and the world is about to be in chaos. If his four sons are just flashy dandies, it will not be easy to even protect themselves. How can they help the government and appease the world
So Zheng Rongte, who had never been extravagant, chose the auspicious day of the Dragon Boat Festival, set up a general station at the south gate of Guangyang City, killed a black cow and a white horse to sacrifice the flag, personally taught the talisman and arrows, and sent two troops and horse commanders to march south.
Although the status of the two princes is respected in the army, Zheng Miao and Qiu Yizhi's trip was only to learn military affairs. According to the order of Youyan King Zheng Rong, they were only responsible for the discipline of the army, and each led 300 personal soldiers for protection. use.
As expected, Youyan's army was well-trained. The army and horses were arranged in four rows, led by the elite of the army and at the rear. The baggage and supplies were all pulled by pack horses in the middle. The four generals each occupied key positions, and the cavalry on both sides patrolled and sent messages from time to time. Twenty thousand horses stretched for three to four miles along the broad and flat official road of Youyan Road, sometimes singing military songs. In just two or three days, they reached the edge of the Hutuo River. Crossing this river is the territory of Bianzhou in Henan Province.
As soon as we entered Henan, the situation everywhere had changed drastically. Not to mention anything else, the official road alone was half narrower than that of Youyan. And because of the lack of people to take care of it, it had long become bumpy and dusty, and it was almost gone. Integrated with the red land on both sides. General Wei Hu was always cautious. He knew that this time he was fighting in the hinterland of the Central Plains. It was different from defending a city and fighting in the desert. Countless eyes of the court were watching, and he was not careful at all, so he discussed it with Cui Nan and the two princes. , it is better to set up camp on the spot.
So after giving the order, the team coiled up like a long snake and gathered together. There were officers and men in the team who were specifically responsible for building bridges, roads, construction and repairs. In just one hour, a well-organized camp was built. Moreover, General Wei Hu lived up to his reputation as a good defender. The military tents, deer villages, and fences in the camp were all in good order. He also arranged for generals to inspect and arrange patrols everywhere, making the military camp truly impregnable.
Zheng Miao and Qiu Yizhi followed their father's order to study military affairs with the army, and followed Wei Hu and Cui Nan to manage the establishment of the camp. Zheng Miao has a gentle and gentle temperament, so naturally he will not act like a prince and point fingers in front of heroes and generals. Yi Zhi, on the other hand, had other ambitions. He thought that he had gone on several expeditions with King Youyan, and had read a lot of military books from Zhongli Kuang. He always wanted to find out some shortcomings in the camp and criticize and rectify them. Let others not dare to look down upon him, a man who lives like a king. Unexpectedly, after inspecting half of the military camp, there was nothing out of order up and down. Not to mention the peasants and hungry people who were struggling with the Tianzun Sect, even the Turks had assembled 50,000 elites and formulated a perfect strategy to attack. It could not be done overnight. Yi Zhi couldn't help but ask: "The Tianzun Cult bandits are just a bunch of people who deceive the villagers in the countryside. Our Youyan army is well-equipped and well-trained. When setting up camp, we only need to take advantage of the situation and set up more patrol posts to prevent sneak attacks." That’s all, so why waste your energy on this?”
"Don't blame the villain for being disrespectful. The prince doesn't know about this. The general is also a farmer. He was captured by the court as a young man, so he joined the army. Fortunately, he followed King Youyan. Thanks to the prince, he doesn't think that the general is vulgar. He promoted me to a general. I dare not say that Prince Youyan is not good at understanding people. The general is somewhat capable, but he learned it from the prince. "Wei Hu is one of the best among Qiu Ba. He is eloquent and speaks eloquently once he opens his mouth. "The prince often said: The way to use military force is to use righteousness to win, and to win by surprise. There is no difference between the right and wrong. If you use your troops to be righteous, you can maintain an invincible trend." This is the reason why a good defender will never be defeated. On the other hand, if you only seek surprises, you will often make mistakes.”
Cui Nan glanced at Wei Hu. They were a pair of famous generals, each known for being good at attacking and defending. They were also very good friends in private. Their cooperation in marching and fighting was perfect. But Cui Nan has always been good at attacking, and is responsible for charging into battles and destroying cities. After a battle, his merits are often higher than those of Wei Hu. Youyan King Zheng Rong was well versed in the art of war and had always treated Cui Wei equally, but Wei Hu was secretly unhappy after all. Cui Nan already knew this. Fortunately, he was born in the general family and was very generous. He smiled and said nothing and allowed Wei Hu to continue:
"Of course these military techniques that the prince talks about are unfathomable. Unfortunately, after so many years of fighting, I still seem to understand them. However, when I was a soldier, there is a story that I can tell your two highnesses."
Zheng Miao knew that Wei Hu was going to talk endlessly, so she smiled slightly and said, "I would like to hear the details."
Wei Hu swallowed his saliva and said: "At the end of that year, the general had just become a top soldier. He was about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was not as tall as the two highnesses. He was an old man named Zhang. I don't remember who he beat. Incredible. I remember it was autumn and it was already so cold that my bones ached. The army had been walking for a whole day, but before it got dark, it was so cold that even the general couldn't walk, so he ordered to set up camp. He made it clear who should be stationed where. At that time, he found a mound with a creek next to it. He occupied the top of the mound and set up a large tent. He drew a circle around the ground and erected a fence, leaving everyone to their own devices. Find a place to camp, as long as you don't disrupt the organization. The soldiers were freezing all the way and trying to save energy, they all rushed to set up their tents in the sunny place under the mound, but this old soldier happened to be on the waist of the mound. , I chose a big rock to stay. This poor place was far away from the water source, and the northwest wind blew hard into the tent. Because it was close to the tent, I was woken up by the general’s entourage several times in the middle of the night. At that time, I was very angry. But he didn’t dare to scold this commander. Unexpectedly, the enemy troops came upon him at dawn... "
"Oh, since the enemy came to steal the camp, they must be prepared. If they set up camp like this, I'm afraid the entire army will be annihilated." Qiu Yizhi answered.
Wei Hu sighed and said: "It's true to steal the camp, and it's not like the whole army is annihilated. But this general is not an incompetent person. The enemy's troops are not enough for a sneak attack. All the troops share the same hatred and actually drove them away." . But before our army could recover and escape, it was surrounded by the enemy's main force again. Seeing that the enemy's troops were numerous, the general had no choice but to send light cavalry to break out and report the news, and at the same time asked the sergeants to lay down the earth and build a wall, preparing for a long time. Resistance. The enemy didn't seem to want to attack, and they set up camp around our camp... "
"If I were the enemy, I could simply cut off the water source upstream or poison the water, and I would be able to capture it without spending a single soldier." Yi Zhidao.
"Thinking about it now, it seems that they wanted to surround the area and call for reinforcements. But at that time, the general could not think of this level. He only thought of living one more day. There was no shortage of water, but it started raining the next day. It rained non-stop for seven or eight days. The clever soldiers moved their tents to the mountainside early, and those who couldn't get a higher position could only soak in the water, and their feet were soaked. Those who went to the mountainside would sleep and lie in the wet mud, and over time they would develop rashes all over their bodies.”
Zheng Miao suddenly realized: "This veteran is also quite knowledgeable about astronomy, and he chose a good place. Unfortunately, it's a bit cold."
"It is indeed cold, but it is much better than losing your life. Fortunately, Shi Chang chose a good place. After about ten days, reinforcements arrived. We worked together inside and outside to break out of the encirclement. It took a lot of effort to break out of the encirclement. "It's a pity that those brothers whose legs are broken from running away can't even stand still, let alone run away, so they have to resign themselves to their fate, alas~" Wei Hu couldn't help but sigh when he talked about the past.
After hearing this, Yi Zhi couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "The war is fierce and dangerous, and the ancients are honest and don't bully me. I don't want to be so particular about setting up camp. Yi Zhi has made a lot of money today. Thank you General Wei for your teaching!" After that! He raised his hands and bowed deeply to Wei Hu.
Wei Hu quickly helped Qiu Yizhi and said with an apologetic smile: "How can I dare to give you even a few words of advice? It's just that I have talked too much today. However, I have always been so wordy, and I believe His Highness will not blame him."
"Where's the old soldier named Zhang?" Zheng Miao asked with the most thoughtful mind.
Wei Hu was silent for a long time, then sighed and said: "Zhang Shichang later led me to fight several more battles, and finally captured three heads, saved more than ten taels of silver reward, and wanted to return to my hometown to buy a few acres of land to raise my grandson. But he was robbed by bandits on the way, so he had to go back to serve as a soldier. Later, the imperial court sent troops to fight against the Turks. After the battle, he was shot like a hedgehog and died in the north of Guangyang City. He inserted an arrow, lay on the ground and pretended to be dead, and then came back alive..."
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PS. This chapter tells a story within a story. I originally wanted to change the perspective of observation, and see the wisdom, struggle and ultimate abandonment of the little people in the war. However, the author's writing style is still a little immature, and he does not express this helplessness and despair well, alas! (To be continued)