Outside the wooden wheels creaked as they turned.
Li Chuyun said: Your Majesty, according to the current strategy of the Privy Council, this battle is actually a surprise attack.
Guo Shao immediately turned to look at him, and looked at Li Chuyun's face with encouraging eyes.
Li Chuyun continued: "It's not that there is no chance for a surprise attack. After recovering Hedong, the Great Zhou army returned to the capital. At this time, the Great Zhou and the Liao Kingdom had not yet negotiated peace. The Liao Kingdom might guess that our dynasty intends to use military force. But they don't know when we will use military force."
It could happen this year, next year, or the year after next; it could happen in spring, summer, or winter. In autumn, when the horses on the grasslands are fat, it is actually disadvantageous to the Central Plains dynasty.
Wang Shijun and others have suggested that we have a chance of winning if we capture Youzhou City, and I have no objection. However, we must capture Youzhou within one and a half to two months, otherwise there will be no chance for a surprise attack.
From Shangjing and other places to Youzhou, it is more than 1,300 miles, and the Liao army cavalry only needs half a month to travel. As long as the Liao people respond quickly, we can't avoid this reinforcement. And it will take at least one month for the Liao Kingdom to gather troops from all over the place.
Guo Shao nodded in agreement. Li Chuyun was cautious in his words and actions, but he seemed to have his own opinions on everything.
Li Chuyun bowed and said: This battle will be a surprise attack, and I would like to make some suggestions.
First of all, we must not leak military secrets and must not let the Liao people know before the war. Otherwise, the Liao army will gather its main force in advance, and when we arrive in Youzhou, we will soon face the threat of a large army, and there will be no chance for a surprise attack on Youzhou.
Secondly, once the intentions of the Great Zhou army were exposed, they would quickly approach Youzhou; just like the Battle of Jinyang, the main force of the imperial army soon arrived at the city. Speed is the key to a surprise attack, so don't delay the journey halfway to give the Liao army a chance to prepare.
If these two points can be achieved, I also advocate a surprise attack on Youzhou, which is indeed worth a try.
After hearing this, Guo Shao praised: General Li's words make sense.
Li Chuyun's suggestion was adopted, and he could not help but say: If our dynasty makes a mistake halfway, we should immediately abandon the general strategy and choose another opportunity. At this time, Liao is on the defensive and Zhou is on the offensive, so we can take the initiative to find the right opportunity to fight.
Guo Shao nodded and said: So far, the scouts have reported that all the cities in southern Youzhou are under the control of Han generals. We don't need to persuade them to surrender, so as not to alert the enemy. As long as the army arrives, those Han generals should surrender their cities temporarily.
Li Chuyun said: This is the advantage of the Great Zhou in Youzhou. There are many Han people in Youzhou, and their hearts are towards the Great Zhou.
At this time, the convoy arrived at the northwest training ground. Guo Shao heard the noise outside and lifted the bamboo curtain to take a look. He was in high spirits at this time, so he simply got off the car, abandoned the car, mounted the horse, and led a group of people to the training ground to ride horses, so that the view would be wider.
Soon the generals found out that Guo Shao had come to inspect in person, and they gathered on horseback from all over to greet him. There was a sudden uproar in the army, and everyone shouted over here.
Guo Shao, riding on his horse, raised his hand and waved to the crowd. Immediately, the shouting became louder, and people raised their swords and guns and shouted "Long live!" The momentum was so great that it shook the earth.
He truly felt his prestige in the army. Under such circumstances, he firmly believed that he could continue to wage war and still maintain the morale of the Zhou army.
Guo Shao slowly moved his eyes and looked at his own men and horses. At this time, he saw a soldier washing the horse in the distance, but he seemed to be unaffected and was still concentrating on his own work.
Guo Shao certainly wouldn't care about the attitudes of one or two soldiers, and he wouldn't even directly interfere in the specific military affairs in the barracks.
The soldier who cleaned the horse was an old man in his forties or fifties. Normally, he was not considered an old man at this age, but warriors were exposed to the wind and sun all year round, and their faces were frosted when they got older. Everyone called him Old Man Li. Yao Erniu was very familiar with Old Man Li.
Old Man Li was born in an era of war and has fought in wars all his life. He has extremely rich experience in battles, so he can still stay in the Huben Army at this age. He works as a cook and a miscellaneous soldier, and does whatever his superiors assign him to do. Almost all the soldiers in the Huben Army are young and strong, and people like Old Man Li are relatively rare.
He finally finished wiping the horse's body and looked up at the emperor's procession, but the emperor was already leaving with his cavalry.
Unexpectedly, a man suddenly rushed in front of him with great momentum. Old Man Li was frightened and turned around to see that it was the captain. The captain looked angry and suddenly waved his whip.
Old man Li hurriedly raised his arm to block it. He knew very well what would happen if the whip hit his face, which would immediately tear his skin apart.
The captain seemed to see that his hair was all gray, so he didn't whip him. He said angrily: Should I reward you? This little effort can delay your work.
Old man Li felt unhappy because this kid was not even older than his son, yet he fell in front of him and called himself his father.
But the other party was a military commander, and Old Man Li was just a soldier, so the hierarchy was obvious. He remembered that he would be paid today, so he quickly bent down and said timidly: I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong.
The chief said coldly: Are you in good health
Old man Li moved his arms and said nervously: "I am still very strong and can do as much work as others. General, please spare me this time. I have fought in many battles and can work hard. Sometimes I can even serve as a soldier by picking up a sword or a gun."
The captain snorted and was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore.
When Old Man Li saw him leave, he heaved a sigh of relief. A soldier next to him turned around and looked at him. Old Man Li was no longer as pretentious as before. He said as if nothing had happened: "As long as you don't make small mistakes and don't challenge the prestige of the general, you will generally be fine."
After hearing this, the soldier said hurriedly:
After finishing their work, the soldiers found a less spacious place to relax. The young man who came up just now asked: "Does Old Man Li have a son?"
Old man Li said with a smile: "My son is older than you. Our land is in Kaifeng Prefecture, and both sons are farming at home."
The man shook his head and said: Why don’t you ask your son to join the army? Old Man Li can go home and live a leisurely life.
Most of these young warriors were simple-minded and would ask whatever they could. Old Man Li did not care and said with a smile: "I just don't allow my son to join the army, so I came here by myself."
Why do I think there is nothing wrong with joining the army
He glanced at the young soldier and said, "You didn't go when we climbed the city wall in Jinyang last time.
You didn't go either. We stayed at Shiling Pass to wait for the Liao army.
Old man Li looked him up and down and said: If you go there once, you won’t ask me here again.
They spent noon, then heard someone say it was time for them to collect their military pay. Old Man Li hurried to the barracks with the others, and after asking around, they found not only copper coins and wheat flour, but also salt.
Salt is also popular among soldiers. It is very expensive in the market. Not only can they use it at home, but they can also sell it to neighbors. As long as it is a little cheaper, it is easy to sell. It is issued by the court, and it is not considered selling private salt. In addition, the Palace Front Office often distributes salt, which they transfer directly from the government. Salt itself is not a valuable thing.
Every time this happened, Old Man Li felt that everything was worth it. Besides taking most of the money home, he could also buy some wine. For many years, it was great that he could not only feed and clothe his family, but also have wine to drink.