noffsinger Chapter 277 The roles are in place
Chapter 277 The roles are in place
The bustle of Hebei East and West Second Roads is their own "happiness," or rather, it's Han's own happiness. (*^▽^*)
In Daizhou on Hedong Road, a different kind of "bustle" slowly unfolded in Mount Wutai.
The two protagonists of the Wutai Mountain stage are all in place. They are: the Southwest Recruiting Army of the Liao Kingdom headed by Xiao Yi VS the Song Dynasty's Tianwu Army headed by Di Liang and Di Zi.
This war, which had been brewing for the longest time in Han's plan, was finally handed over to the Sun-Bonding Tianwu Army, one of the four strongest armies in the Central Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty.
Di Liang was appointed commander-in-chief of the Bongri Army, and Di Zi was appointed commander-in-chief of the Tianwu Army.
The Bongri Army was organized into the Imperial Guards Cavalry, under the command of the Palace Front Commandery, and was the main force of the Palace Front Cavalry.
The Tianwu Army was an infantry unit of the imperial guards, under the command of the Palace Front Commander-in-Chief, and was the main force of the Palace Front Commander's infantry units.
According to the regular organization of 500 men to one command, five commanders to one army, and ten armies to one wing, each wing should have 25,000 men.
Since the four armies of Pengyue, Tianwu, Longwei and Shenwei each have a left and right wing, each of the four armies should have 50,000 people, totaling 200,000 people.
However, in reality, the strength of the Upper Fourth Army was obviously much smaller than this number.
During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, it was stipulated that the four upper armies should have "three armies in each wing, and five commanders in each army", while each commander of the Bongri Army and the Dragon Guard Army had only 300 or 250 people.
If the Tianwu Army and the Shenwei Army each commanded the same number of troops as the previous two armies, then each wing of the Pengri Army and the Tianwu Army would only have 4,500 people, and the four wings would have about 18,000 people. Each wing of the Longwei Army and the Shenwei Army would only have 3,750 people, and the four wings would have about 15,000 people.
Including the four armies, the total number is only about 33,000, which is a huge difference from the initial configuration of 200,000.
Since it is the flagship force of the Song Dynasty, it cannot have such a small number of troops. In the military reform plan submitted by Han Ming, there is a suggestion to restart the "initial configuration of the upper four armies."
The result was directly rejected by the six highest military, political and financial decision-makers and departments of the Song Dynasty, including Emperor Yingzong, the Secretariat, the Privy Council, the Three Departments, the Palace Front Department and the Imperial Guard Department.
Although the six parties had their own ideas and opinions, they ultimately came down to two key issues: First, if the Upper Four Armies were to be expanded to 200,000 men, what would happen to the remaining armies?
Should we also configure it according to the configuration at the time of the founding of the country? Then at least one million people would be unstoppable.
Secondly, if the Fourth Army is suddenly expanded to more than 100,000 people, where will the military supplies and equipment and the huge military expenditure come from?
The Sansi Yamen is the financial department? They are not happy about it. The taxes they collected with great effort are used to coordinate the people's livelihood. There is no extra money for military expenditure.
Ministry of Revenue? Ministry of Revenue: Damn it, I became a nominal department a hundred years ago, there’s no point in stalking me!
Ministry of War? Ministry of War: I have the same question as the guy above!
Finally, he looked at the Privy Council, the highest military institution: Sorry, we only have the power to mobilize troops. If you want money, you should go to the Sansi Yamen!
It all comes down to one thing: there is no money to expand the armaments and manpower!
This made Han Ming furious. Wasn't it obvious that they were not going to provide any configuration?!
In the end, Emperor Yingzong was magnanimous and simply waved his hand to increase the total number of the four armies to 40,000.
To balance it out, the eight wings on the left and right of the Fourth Army were expanded by about 800 people each.
Han received a critical hit of 10,000 points directly from Emperor Yingzong, and in the end he could only take the imperial edict to lead the expansion of the army.
In order not to arouse the envy and jealousy of the rest of the army, these nearly 7,000 additional people must also be recruited from the rest of the troops.
Inside and outside, it means jumping from the lower slot to the upper slot, or it is a small-scale transfer within the Song army.
Han really had no other choice but to leave it all to the brothers Di Liang and Di Zi, and go somewhere else to brood. (＃￣～￣＃)
After the military reform, the Upper Fourth Army officially changed its uniforms at the end of the second year of Zhiping. Just after the fifth day of the first lunar month of the third year of Zhiping, it received the military order from the Privy Council and headed north to Hedong Road to launch the first wave of confrontation with the Liao army.
Marching in the freezing cold of the first month of the year was a huge test for the Tianwu Army, which had just completed the military reform.
However, compared to its previous sloppy and lagging image, the Central Imperial Guards have now been completely transformed and reached the "elite" level.
From leaving Tokyo Prefecture on the fifth day to entering Taiyuan Prefecture around the fifteenth, it was a full ten days and nights of alternating forced marches, which was extremely fast.
In the past, a three-day forced march would probably have caused these old hands and new recruits to complain collectively.
Now, apart from silently lowering their heads and sprinting forward, no one had any complaints. Such "elite" performance made Di Liang and Di Zi very satisfied.
On the 18th, the Bongri Tianwu Army passed through Taiyuan Prefecture and entered Xinzhou.
On the 21st, we entered the southern area of Daizhou.
On the 23rd, the same day that Xiao Yi led his troops south, Di Liang and Di Zi stationed in Yuanping area.
After five days of good rest, on the 28th, more than 20,000 elite soldiers from the Pengri and Tianwu armies entered the dangerous Mount Wutai.
A few days later, the news that Xiao Yi had broken through Yanmen Pass and swept across the northwest of Daizhou reached the Bongri Tianwu Army which had been lying in ambush long ago.
At the same time, there was news that Guo Kui led the Western Army northward along the Inner Great Wall to attack Yunzhou Datong Prefecture.
All is ready except for the opportunity!
. . . . . .
In early February, Xiao Yi's army finally completed the attack on the northwest and central parts of Daizhou, including but not limited to: Xijingzhai, Yanmenzhai, Tutangzhai, Huguzhai, Daixian, Gangxian, Fanzhi and other places.
As for the major military camps in the north and northwest, there was no movement at all. In Xiao Yi's opinion, they were completely frightened by his own military power and dared not show up.
Therefore, the Liao Kingdom's Western Army began to prepare to cross Yuanping and Wutai Mountain, completely enter the central part of Hedong Road, and wreak havoc.
Looking at the narrow passage not far away, Xiao Yi frowned and kept discussing the situation here with the lieutenant general beside him.
"The entrance and exit of this place are narrow, but the interior is very wide, like the mouth of a gourd. It can be said to be a place with natural dangers."
Lieutenant General Shi Mochage took the intelligence from the spy, looked at it carefully, and sighed.
"If that Song Dynasty envoy named Wu Xun arranges for troops to garrison here, I'm afraid we will be in great trouble!"
Xiao Yi had a wisp of goatee on his chin, and he looked mature with a hint of cunning and shrewdness.
"General, you're joking. If the Song State had such capabilities, it wouldn't have been defeated so repeatedly by the Liao State."
"You know, the Song Dynasty couldn't even defeat the salt merchants from Xixia!"
Shi Mochago spoke with a tone full of ridicule and disdain.
"Times are different now. The Song Dynasty has produced some legendary military genius who has defeated several Western Xia armies and recaptured the horse breeding lands in the Hengshan area."
"If this continues, the gap in military strength between Liao and Song will narrow significantly. I guess Your Majesty has seen this and has repeatedly invaded Song."
Xiao Yi could understand Yelu Hongji's thoughts, but his understanding was not thorough enough.
Yelu Hongji was never worried about whether the Song Dynasty would rise. He was only worried about one person, that is Han Ming, whom he called the "Military God".
"In fact, I just can't understand why, considering the Song army's combat capabilities, Your Majesty and General Boyu, known as 'Han Xin's talent,' couldn't break through the defenses?"
Although Shi Mocha Ge was confused, he was actually trying to sow discord between Xiao Boyu and Xiao Yi.
As two great generals who defended the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia, and as they were from the same family, they have always been compared with each other.
However, compared to Xiao Boyu who made his debut as a close attendant in Yelu Hongji's palace, Xiao Yi has reached where he is today purely relying on his family and his own efforts.
He felt that his talent was no less than Xiao Boyu's, but Xiao Boyu's record was indeed better than his.
Although the phrase "Han Xin's talent" is a bit exaggerated, he actually has considerable abilities.
Xiao Yi also knew the ins and outs of this matter. He was not pleased by his subordinates' subtle flattery, but instead began to worry.
"Being able to stop His Majesty and Xiao Boyu, perhaps the Marquis of Anyang is not as bad as we imagined."
"Zhang Yuan of Western Xia was known as 'Zhang Liang's Plan', yet he was still killed by Han Jingyuan. This shows he still has some skills."
Although Xiao Yi looked down on Da Song and Han Ming, he did not go to the point of being arrogant.
In his eyes, it is very important to despise the enemy strategically and take the enemy seriously tactically.
Like Mr. Han, whom he is obsessed with, they are all people who have deeply grasped the essence of it.
"So, does the General have any plans?"
Seeing that Xiao Yi did not slander Xiao Boyu according to his own ideas, Shi Mocha could only bow and ask about the next plan.
"Don't worry for now. After we have completely eliminated the Hedong Army, we can try to take a detour through the eastern Hebei Road and launch a surprise attack from behind on the Song Army."
"When the time comes, we will join forces with Your Majesty to attack from both the north and the south. We won't have to worry about breaking through the Song army's defenses."
Xiao Yi also has his own ambitions and ideas. If he can help the Eastern Army break into the Song territory, the situation will become completely clear, and he will become a hero of the Liao Dynasty!
However, Xiao Yi just forgot that he was facing a man named Han who would not be comfortable without conspiracy and intrigue.
If he really succeeds in his plan, Han would really want to find a rock to hit himself to death.
Xiao Yi looked at the mighty Liao army slowly walking into the narrow mountain road, and couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his heart.
Now is the time to achieve success!