When Sun Tu took the imperial edict and another scroll from the eunuch who came to announce the edict, the expression on his face looked quite strange. After a long while, he forced a smile and said: "The fact that the officials are so concerned about me and conquering the bandits really frightens me. However, I still have something to report. Now that the army is running out of food and grass, I hope the court can dispatch some as soon as possible to relieve me. The army is in urgent need."
The middle-aged eunuch in front of him just responded vaguely after hearing this: "Someone from the court will arrange this matter, so it's not for us to comment. But Sun Dujian, the official's intention is already very clear, and I hope you will do your best." Snapshot the will and the formation plan to use troops, after defeating the thief in this way, your contribution will not be missing."
"Yes, yes, I will obey your orders." Sun Tu nodded humbly, and then ordered people to take him down first to entertain him and rest. It wasn't until the eunuch left that Qi Desheng and several other generals couldn't help but come up to him and say, "Captain, what's going on with the so-called formation map in the decree?"
The content of the imperial edict that was suddenly conveyed today is actually very simple. On the one hand, it encourages Sun Tu to lead his army to defeat the bandits in Liangshan as soon as possible. On the other hand, it is to give Sun Tu a portion of the imperial edict obtained after many days of discussions with many officials in the capital to help Sun Tu defeat the mountain. The defeated enemy's formation map was sent over, and Sun Tu was asked to lead his army to arrange the formation accordingly.
Sun Tu had previously thought that it was a joke that the Emperor of the Song Dynasty liked to interfere in frontline battles and was always used to giving blind orders and sending plans to defeat the enemy's formations to frontline generals. But now he realized that all this was true. Even Zhao Ji, a literary and middle-aged emperor, actually started to intervene in the war here. It really caught people off guard and made them laugh and cry.
The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. Let alone the monarchs and ministers thousands of miles away in the capital who only rely on a temporary terrain map to formulate strategies, even being on the battlefield can sometimes cause people to make wrong decisions. But the emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty actually took it as a matter of course. Over the years, almost no one dared to violate this absurd approach, let alone raise objections.
The fundamental reason is that in addition to the fact that military generals have low status and are suppressed by the imperial court, they cannot make decisions on many things and can only follow the crowd. More importantly, they are smart people who protect their own safety and know that in this way, their responsibilities can be fulfilled. to the lightest.
Because if you arrange your troops according to the emperor's formation map and you win, the credit will naturally belong to you. After all, the emperor will not compete with his ministers for credit. At most, he will just pay tribute to the official saints a few times afterwards, and he will not receive half of the money and title. There will be less. And once defeated, in this case, the voices of criticism and criticism from the DPRK and China will be much less, and the final punishment will be imposed. It can be regarded as a huge profit without compensation, which is the most insurance.
But what if you make your own decisions and don't follow the formation diagram? Even if you win, you will be accused of deceiving the emperor, and the rewards will be greatly reduced. But once you lose, it will be added to the crime, and it is very possible to lose your official position or even your life.
Comparing the two sides, smart people will naturally seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and strictly follow the formation diagram. As for how many times they were defeated by the enemy and how many innocent soldiers died in vain, they did not care. The Song Dynasty was not well prepared for military affairs and suffered more defeats and fewer wins in battles with the northern countries. In a sense, this was also the key.
And now, the imperial court has sent such a thing to Sun Tu.
, he only opened it and took a look, and his brows furrowed deeply. This formation map is very straightforward and clear. It even clearly states how several armies will attack the mountain and when and where they will launch the attack. It seems that as long as Sun Tu follows what is written on it, Liangshan Po will be defeated. But it will be decided in one battle.
After seeing what was above, Sun Tu even suspected that the monarchs and ministers in the capital were all time-travelers like himself. They were playing this battle as a real-time strategy game, and actually wanted to command a war remotely. Do they really think they are facing a group of AI with low intelligence and easy difficulty
"They actually asked us to attack the mountain from the west, and they chose it at noon... Do they think our soldiers can march on water?" Yang Zhi only came up to take a look, and Yang Zhi couldn't help but shook his head and sighed: "This is simply nonsense. .”
"Not only that, look here, our whole army is actually allowed to attack Liangshan together. If this is the case, I'm afraid our thousands of soldiers and horses will be completely lost here!" Qi Desheng also said with a dark face.
Then, everyone turned their attention to Sun Tu: "Captain, what should we do?"
Yes, what choice should we make? This is the decree issued by the emperor. If they don't launch an attack according to this formation plan, what will they do if someone finds fault with them? Because logically speaking, the eunuch who passed the order would always stay in the army as a supervisor, urging Sun Tu to act according to the formation plan.
Even Zeng Kaigan, the supervisor, didn't look very pretty at this time. Although he could only talk on paper, he could also see that this formation diagram was full of errors. As for the reason, he was afraid that someone in the court was deliberately misleading the emperor, so he had such a formation diagram that would surely defeat Sun Tu. But at the same time, he was also a little worried about the consequences of not following the order, so after hesitating for a moment he said: "Sun Dujian, have you thought about the consequences? If you follow this formation, you can still get better even if you lose. But if you don't follow this, I'm afraid..."
"Zeng Jianjun, what you are talking about is just an ordinary situation. Judging from the situation that I have made many enemies in the DPRK, do you think that once I lose, I can really be excused based on this statement?" Sun Tu suddenly asked solemnly. One sentence.
"This..." Zeng Kaiqian was immediately speechless, because what he said was indeed the truth. Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and others all regarded Sun Tu as a thorn in their side, and they must be eliminated quickly. How could they let go of such a good person who was punished? What about opportunities
"I can guarantee that once I actually send troops according to this formation map and I am defeated, those in the DPRK will definitely take the opportunity to accuse me of a serious crime. As for the things on the formation map, it is easy to explain. Suffice it to say that I did not fully follow the formation map during this period. Well, when the time comes, many people will jump out to testify, and I will not be able to defend myself." Sun Tu sneered. He knew very well that the basis for his foothold was the elite soldiers and horses under his command, so how could he desperately push the soldiers to a dead end just to give an explanation to the court
So very quickly, Sun Tu put aside the formation diagram in his hand: "We will not pay any attention to the orders of the foreign emperor. They can say whatever they want. As long as we win in the end, we will It’ll be okay! The top priority now is to recruit grain and nearby ships. By the way, there’s no response from Jeju Prefecture yet?”
All the generals were stunned, and they were really a little confused.
Sun Tu could not change the topic as quickly. After a while, Wei Dingguo, who was in charge of logistics, whispered: "The Jeju government just sent a reply yesterday, saying that the local food supply was not enough, so this time it can only be sent first." Three thousand dendrobium, the things are already being prepared and should be delivered within five days."
"What about the relevant supplies that the imperial court promised us?" Sun Tu asked again. Since this time they were attacking Liangshanbo under the orders of the imperial court, most of the supply of food and salary would naturally need to be allocated by the imperial court, but until now, they have not seen any of these things.
"There is no news from the imperial court, I'm afraid..." Wei Dingguo said with a bitter smile.
Sun Tu snorted lowly. This must be Cai Jing and others' tricks behind the scenes. They wanted to deprive his army of food and grass supplies, thus causing him to be defeated in front of Liangshan. To these guys, the troubles caused by thieves and bandits in Liangshan are nothing at all. Sun Tu is the target they must eliminate!
"How many days can the army's food and grass last?" Sun Tu asked another very critical question.
"It's also five days. It's still under tight use. If it is used widely, the food will be used up in three days." Wei Dingguo reported with a bitter look on his face. He had never been in charge of food before and didn't know how hard it was. Now he knows how frustrating and painful logistics can be. Because the distribution of military rations has been reduced recently, he often hears people cursing behind his back. This is a grievance.
Sun Tu breathed out: "It's five days again... The time marked on the formation map is five days later. The military rations from Jeju Prefecture will be delivered in five days. Even the supply of grain and grass for our army will be cut off in five days... Hey, this Is it a coincidence, or has it been planned by someone for a long time?"
When he mentioned it, everyone reacted suddenly, and they all looked wary: "Captain, could it be that someone had revealed our details early on? Even the Jeju Prefecture actually did this intentionally. for?"
"I'm afraid that's the case in all likelihood. They have already calculated the specific days when we will run out of food based on the food and grass we carried when we set off, so they gave me such a difficult problem. Humph, it's such a good calculation. I want to use it. Use all means to make me lose this battle!" Sun Tu's face has become gloomy, and he has the same idea. Compared with the Liangshan bandits on the mountain ahead, the DPRK, and those in Shandong who want to kill him The guy is his biggest enemy!
"Captain, what should we do? Now the Liangshan bandits are clinging to the pass on the mountain. We're afraid they won't be able to break through it in a short time. Why don't we... withdraw our troops?" Dong Ping suddenly came up with a bold idea.
Indeed, judging from the current situation, withdrawing the troops is the best choice. This way, it will not fail and preserve its own strength to the greatest extent. As for the accountability of the court afterwards, everyone believes that with Sun Tu's courage, he can definitely Withstand pressure.
But Sun Tu shook his head: "Giving up halfway is definitely not my style, Sun Tu. Since I have led the army, I have never done this before retreating without fighting, so Liangshan must be leveled!"
"But in terms of food and grass..."
"Who said we have to wait for them to come to our door if we need food and grass?" Sun Tu said, grinning, showing a mouth of white teeth in a smile, which made everyone feel chilly!