Tong Guan's last sentence was not to scare Sun Tu, but it was the fact that the Song Army's morale and morale were far from being revived from the setback of the previous defeat. The Western Army was also about to be defeated. Even if it was Even if Tong Guan took the initiative to give the order, not many soldiers would dare to attack, let alone the decision he made after being coerced.
After Sun Tu glanced to the side, he found that the generals took a few steps back again, their eyes shrank, and they did not dare to touch him. They were obviously timid. In fact, this is reasonable. If not for this, Tong Guan would not have been resisting the pressure of the court and refused to launch troops for a decisive battle. He really had no confidence.
After seeing the confusion and panic of the generals, Sun Tu couldn't help but curl his lips and smile. So, maybe this is called self-inflicted suffering, right? The Song Dynasty has been blindly suppressing military generals since the founding of the country. After a hundred years, the wishes of those short-sighted guys were finally fulfilled. Military generals can no longer compete with civilian officials, let alone the separatism of vassals and towns like in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Even the famous generals have already There are only a handful of them.
But at the same time, this practice of abandoning food due to choking finally caused the greatest disaster. The army of the Song Dynasty was completely corrupted. Not to mention the Xiang troops who only knew how to eat food, even the pillars of the Forbidden Army and the Border Army who protected the country and the country were also destroyed. It has lost the temperament that an army should have. Especially those who are generals are greedy and afraid of death. They only regard flattery and dealing with favors as their own business. As for leading troops to fight, it has nothing to do with them.
So when the army moved to the north and fought with the Liao army several times, they only thought about protecting themselves. More than 80% of the lieutenant generals of the Song Dynasty have turned into cowardly wine sacks and rice sacks, and they are really useless! Perhaps only the Western Army, which has been under the leadership of the Zhong family and has been at war with Xixia, can maintain a certain combat effectiveness. But now that they are in a position of defeat, these generals are naturally afraid to send troops.
Sun Tu exhaled a breath of thick air, but his eyes moved away from these generals, and then glanced at the densely packed ordinary soldiers and middle- and low-level officers in front of him. At this moment, he saw something different in the eyes of these people. They were not hostile to him, and they even had a hint of expectation!
What the two elders of the Zhong family said to him that day came to Sun Tu's mind again: "Qianli, you may not know how much prestige you have in the hearts of our Song Dynasty soldiers. Maybe as long as you raise your arms, you can make countless soldiers Look forward to the scenery! This is the reason why we want to join forces with you, and it is also the key to our victory in the Song Dynasty!"
He smiled because he already believed the judgment of the two old generals. Without the slightest hesitation, Sun Tu shouted loudly: "Soldiers, in front, our soldiers are fighting in a bloody battle! Behind us, there is our country, the Song Dynasty, and the Central Plains. This battle is not only about our life and death. Honor and disgrace will have a life-and-death impact on our Song Dynasty and countless people in the world.
"If we win this battle, our army can take Youzhou directly. From now on, the Central Plains will have another barrier. Our shortage of horses will be fully replenished in the near future, and the army will no longer be associated with the term "weak". , we will become heroes who save the world from collapse, and will be praised by all generations!
"And once defeated, the Central Plains will be completely lost! Even today
The Japanese and Liao troops took the initiative to retreat due to the chaos behind them, and there was no guarantee that they would not retaliate against incoming attacks in the future. What's more, there is a new Jurchen Jin Kingdom rising in the north, which can actually sweep the Liao Army in a short period of time! After they break the Liao Dynasty, will they really be satisfied with this and no longer covet the great country and infinite wealth of the Central Plains? No, the desire is hard to satisfy. The ferocious people like those who only know the power and plunder cannot be satisfied with this. They will take advantage of the situation and go south, and then the Central Plains will be truly doomed.
"Our families, our friends, and the innocent people... Think about it, they grew the food we eat, our clothes and armor were made by them, and even our weapons were made by them. They fought hard! But now, as soldiers of the Song Dynasty, we cannot guarantee their safety. Can you and I really feel at ease
"Today's battle, we are not fighting for any king, but for the common people of the world, for my Han family, for our own family, wife and children! We are also fighting for our integrity and honor as a soldier! We have done enough, If you still think you are a man, then go out with me and fight side by side to defeat the enemy and save your country!"
When Sun Tu first started speaking, the faces of the generals around him were still full of disdain. Such words could not move them at all, who had already become selfish. But as the words deepened, the expressions of these people finally changed, not because they had any conscience, but because they saw that the expressions of the soldiers around them had changed. They were no longer as confused as before, but all of them were in high spirits. Got excited. Obviously, these ordinary soldiers had been moved by Sun Tu's words.
Of course, his words could not spread throughout the entire military camp, but of course some soldiers who understood him would automatically convey similar words to their comrades behind him. So after Sun Tu finished speaking this long paragraph, his declining morale actually cheered up.
After a while, howling sounds spread from the center to all directions, first a few, then spread to hundreds, thousands, and countless people began to roar: "We are willing to follow General Sun into battle to kill the enemy and avenge a hundred years of revenge. , wipe out the Liao army and recapture Youzhou!"
In the end, almost the entire military camp, with more than 100,000 soldiers, roared at the same time. When this uniform roar resounded throughout the world, it almost completely covered up the killing sounds in front, and also stunned the generals who wanted to see the joke. How could things change like this
Tong Guan, on the other hand, looked around in disbelief. Is this still the Song Dynasty army that I am familiar with? He has never seen such a display of fighting spirit among these soldiers! Is this because Sun Tu's eloquence is so good that he can persuade hundreds of thousands of soldiers with just a few words
No, this is obviously not possible. The only explanation is that Sun Tu's influence in the army has actually surpassed his own and all the generals in the Song Dynasty, but no one knows it, or no one wants to think or believe it! As early as a few years ago, Sun Tu was already a legend in the military. His fame and prestige had already surpassed all the generals in the world.
After a lot of accumulation, today, Sun Tu finally revealed the truth with his own hands!
A hundred years of oppression, a hundred years of humiliation, these soldiers have long been oppressed.
Ultimately, they desperately need a hero to lead them out of this predicament. Over the years, some people originally had this opportunity, such as Di Qing, such as the Zhong family... but they all missed the opportunity that was right in front of them due to various reasons, and missed the opportunity to change themselves and the fate of the entire Song Dynasty.
Then there was Sun Tu today. He used his victories one after another and the heads of civilian officials to build up his reputation in the military, and unknowingly made it blossom and bear fruit. Today is the time to pick!
Unlike his predecessors, Sun Tu had no thoughts of loyalty or any worries. Now that the opportunity is in front of him, he can't let it go. I saw him bending down slightly and picking this sweet fruit that could overturn the current structure of the court into his own hands!
Just listen to him shouting loudly: "Pass my military order, open the gate of the village, soldiers of the Northern Army, follow me to kill the enemy! Forbidden soldiers and others, stay in the camp first to prevent the Liao army from dividing their troops, and protect Tong Shuai and related people!"
The incident happened so suddenly that even Sun Tu had no time to make more detailed arrangements, so he could only issue general military orders. What responded to him was the word "Hey" like a roaring mountain and a tsunami!
At this time, Sun Tu no longer had any worries and immediately pushed Tong Guan away, who was no different from wood. Completely ignoring the many people surrounding him, he strode forward. The cronies of the Qingzhou Army hurriedly followed him, and others brought horses and spears for him. While he was straddling the horse and carrying the spear, many soldiers lined up in formation, shouting, and followed him, rushing forward. .
The gate of the village that had been closed suddenly opened, and the countless soldiers of the Northern Army who were supposed to be guarding the wall of the Gaogao village all went down to the city without hesitation. When Sun Tu stepped out of the village, everyone followed him. Afterwards, the flag is raised high, the drums are blasting, speed up, and charge forward!
In just a short moment, tens of thousands of people rushed out of the camp. Behind them, there were more soldiers of the Northern Army shouting and cheering, and followed them out. On the left and right, there were even more cavalry guards, none of whom had been specially ordered by Sun Tu. These soldiers with rich combat experience had formed the most conducive formation for charging, and rushed straight to the battlefield to the north.
The generals were completely stunned at this moment. The big-headed soldiers who were supposed to be obedient to him and didn't even dare to say a word of silence actually went out after a few words from Sun Tu, completely ignoring military orders? Did he lose control of the army in an instant
Tong Guan's face turned as white as paper, and his body began to tremble violently. He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time - it turned out that all his years of hard work were not as good as Sun Tu's words. At this time, he couldn't even think of revenge against Sun Tu, because he knew very well that if he really had such intention, he would only be the one who died faster.
Then, another deep feeling of fear came over me - Sun Tu actually had such a strong appeal in the army? If after this victory, his reputation reaches an unprecedented height, will anyone in the world be able to control him
At this moment, he was more entangled than before. Should he hope to win, or should the army ultimately be defeated
It's just that this battle cannot be changed by his will after all. The victory or defeat can only be determined by the final battle between the two sides!