This sudden statement that was contrary to everyone's opinions was surprising enough, but when the generals in the tent followed the voice of the speaker, they were even more surprised. Some of them even immediately rebuked: "Bold, I When will it be the turn of a bodyguard like you to intervene when discussing military affairs?"
The young man who suddenly spoke out against what everyone said was a tall, muscular young man with a green face, wearing an ordinary school captain's uniform. He was actually just a private school captain who was standing in the audience to listen! This is indeed too unexpected, and it is something that cannot be accepted by military generals who are extremely particular about the distinction between superior and inferior.
In fact, the army of the Song Dynasty is not much different from the official court. The same comparison is age, seniority and status. Only people like Sun Tu who have such a great reputation and who have real power and military merit in their hands are qualified to become an outlier. Others want to Interrupting in such a military meeting will naturally lead to rebuke from other generals.
But to their surprise, even though he was scolded by so many people, the young captain did not show any signs of guilt or panic. He even had a lazy smile on his face: "Generals, please forgive me, little one." It’s just that I can’t bear to see our army miss this opportunity to defeat the enemy. I dare to say that if everyone doesn’t listen to General Sun’s orders this time because of some prejudices, they will definitely regret it in the future!”
"How outrageous! Come here, drag him down and give him thirty army sticks!" Seeing that he dared to speak so brazenly, a general finally got angry and immediately shouted an order. But just as the other guards on the left and right hesitated to step forward, one of them stood up first and said, "Wait a minute! My gentlemen, generals, why don't you listen to what he has to say first, and then decide whether he is guilty or not?" "
The man who offered to help the young captain was also a young man, but when he spoke, it was difficult for other generals to interrupt him, simply because he was a rising star in the Zhong family and the youngest and most promising general in the Western Army. Regarding this, both Zhongshi Dao and Zhongshizhong remained silent, obviously acquiescing to his statement.
A hint of gratitude flashed in the young captain's eyes, and he fisted his fists before saying, "My dear sirs, generals, I do not have any experience in leading troops in combat, but I can still see some things. Understandably, General Sun’s approach is a sign of long-term vision.”
"Hmph, it's ridiculous. We were supposed to join forces with the Jin people to defeat the Liao Dynasty, but now he suddenly asked us to go back on our word and join forces with the Liao Dynasty to fight against the Jin Dynasty. What kind of long-term vision is this? Aren't you afraid of being ridiculed and regarded as untrustworthy people?" Someone immediately said refuted with a sneer.
"General, I dare to ask you, is this false reputation more important, or is it more important to eliminate the dangers from the north and protect the peace of our Song Dynasty border?" The young man suddenly looked back and asked such a question. This left the general speechless for a moment, but someone next to him said, "Are you making alarmist remarks and changing the subject?"
"No, this is exactly the crux of the problem." The young man was fearless and shook his head and said: "Haven't you seen the terror of the Jin people from the successive defeats of the Liao people? Even the people who have always been regarded as our formidable enemies have The Liao army was completely killed by the Jin army and was unable to fight back. They were even able to capture the Liao capital and the capital in a short time. If they attack us, how sure are you that they can hold the border?"
This is a pause
When Shi asked, everyone was silent for a while. No matter how arrogant he was, he would not dare to pat his chest and say that his army could block the Jin people's attack. Although they did not fight with them, as long as they look at the Liao army in front of them and the miserable situation of the Liao people, they can know what the result will be if the Jin people invade their own country.
"But, the Jin people have made an alliance with me, how could they..." Some people still hesitated to ask questions, but the young man did not wait for him to finish speaking, and loudly said: "Can you trust someone who is not of my race? Who can believe it? Can we guarantee that they will only be satisfied with destroying the Liao Kingdom and not covet the territory of the Song Dynasty? What's more, the alliance we formed with the Jin people is only to destroy the Liao Kingdom. Once the Liao Kingdom is destroyed, the so-called alliance will end. When they can find various reasons to send troops to attack me, do we have to wait until then and rush to meet the enemy instead of preparing as early as possible? Generals, in my opinion, there is little trust between the two countries, and some are just Interests. Especially when it comes to the use of troops, we must strike first and gain the upper hand. The threat must be eradicated as soon as possible to ensure our safety."
After these long words, many generals really looked thoughtful. They are all people who fought in battles, so naturally they cannot be like those rotten scholars who only know how to defend themselves with clichés such as morality. Before, I was just so blinded by the victory that I ignored the danger, but now I finally woke up.
Seeing this, Zhong Jing also followed up and said: "Well said, what you see coincides with mine. By the way, what is your name?"
"Han Shizhong, who holds a humble position, is now a personal soldier school lieutenant under Mr. Xiaozhong." The young man said with his chest raised.
"Well, he is indeed a talented person in our Western Army. My two ministers, the last general also thinks that General Sun's idea is the most beneficial to our Song Dynasty, because if the Jin people are not eliminated early, they will definitely cause a great disaster." Zhong Jing glanced at Han Shizhong appreciatively, and then added: "Don't forget, everyone, in fact, it was the Song Dynasty that took the initiative to use troops against the Liao this time, but the Liao people have not thought about invading the south for many years. But this The newly rising Jurchen Jin people are greedy and ferocious, and they continue to invade the Liao Dynasty from the south. And judging from their character, are they really only satisfied with destroying the Liao Kingdom
"It's like a full tiger or a pack of hungry wolves in the wilderness. Who do you think poses a greater threat to us? This tiger is old and full, and we are very familiar with it. We have various ways to deal with it. What's more, after this battle, its vitality has been severely damaged, and it will no longer be a threat to our Song Dynasty for at least a few decades. On the contrary, those hungry wolves are extremely hungry and ferocious. Once they become neighbors, they will be our Song Dynasty. The biggest threat. Now if we can unite with the tigers to kill the wolves, we can eliminate the threat and there will be no more worries!"
"What Zhong Jing said is exactly what I want!" While everyone was still thinking and hesitating, Zhong Shidao finally spoke and came to a conclusion on the matter: "Everything we do for the general should be regarded as killing foreign enemies and protecting the country. We are the people of the country. Since the Jin people are likely to become the biggest scourge of the Song Dynasty, we should eradicate them when we have the opportunity. As for joining forces with the Liao people, it is just a stopgap measure. At least we will not suffer any loss. After all, You The state is already in my hands, and the Liao soldiers in other cities are already empty. We just wait for our army to arrive and we can successfully capture it!"
"But after all, this is just a little guess on our part. Maybe the depositor has no intention of being an enemy of us..."
Hearing this question, even the masters laughed: "On the battlefield, if there is even a slight chance, you must go all out. It is better to kill the wrong one than let it go!"
His opening finally settled the matter. After all, the two ministers of the Zhong family supported Lian Liao to break the gold. Do the other generals dare to go against their wishes
However, many people still felt a little uncomfortable. After all, the person who started this incident was actually an unknown and extremely low-status pro-military captain. It was as if they had been given orders by such a little person. However, after meeting the two old generals' cold, dagger-like gazes, they did not dare to think of him again, and could only cross their arms and promise: "The generals will be at your mercy, and we will definitely be able to defeat the Jin army this time and maintain peace." !”
"Okay, next, we will find an opportunity to have some contact with the Liao people tomorrow to see what their thoughts are." Zhong Shidao was even more energetic and immediately ordered: "Also, order the entire army to prepare to set off. Since we want to The gold killer was caught off guard, so we should have been on the road earlier."
By the next day, there was no need for the Song Army to specially send someone to contact them. The Liao Army, which had retreated ten miles last night, had already sent someone to contact them. When they learned from the Liao envoy that the Liao army had decided to join forces with the Song army to deal with the Jin army, the Song army was even more happy, and even their last worries were eliminated.
At this point, both Song and Liao were no longer hostile to each other, but began to slowly move their troops northward. Of course, during this period, the two sides were still wary of each other, for fear that they would encounter a sneak attack from this enemy on the way forward. This made the progress of the two armies not as fast as expected. From this point of view, , without more than half a month, I'm afraid it would be impossible to reach Youzhou and join Sun Tu's troops.
While the two armies were slowly marching north, the elite Shandong Army, which had rested in Zhuozhou before, had already arrived in Youzhou early.
When Song Jiang led his army to Youzhou and knew what Sun Tu had done in a short period of time, he was filled with admiration. Originally, some of the soldiers who were recruited into the army only had respect for Sun Tu because of his status. But now, seeing that they could conquer two big cities in ten months by following him, the soldiers were completely convinced. I was convinced and returned home.
At this moment, Sun Tu's reputation in the Shandong Army and even the entire Song Army has reached a new high. Even the Liao Army would be frightened by hearing Sun Tu's name. If it weren't for the fact that there were no women and children in the army. , I'm afraid his name can be used to stop children crying at night.
And with the arrival of his troops, and the news that the Song and Liao armies from behind had also set off, Sun Tu became more confident about the next battle, and decided to make the next arrangement -
If you want to completely annihilate the Jin Army, relying solely on head-on combat has a good chance of winning, but it is ultimately extremely risky. You must know that the Jin army has now conquered dozens of cities in the Liao Kingdom. Its morale is much higher than that of the Song and Liao armies, and they are known for being good at fighting tough battles. However, the Song and Liao armies may not be able to fight hard if they encounter a hard battle. Sincerely cooperate. Therefore, if you want to win a battle, it is not enough to combine the strength of the two armies. You must also use a strategy to lead the Jin army into an encirclement where it will inevitably lose.
And to do this, the Song people need to lure him here as an ally!