While the Arab Empire's army was still in shock, the Tang Dynasty's army was counting their results of the battle. This time, Chang Sun Ze also realized that since we have adopted different tactics, there is no need to rush. In the past, the emphasis was on speed, but now it is the number of casualties that matters.
His Highness's order has come down, praising our change of tactics. After all, we killed more than 7,000 soldiers from the Arab Empire in the battle last night, and another 12,000 entered our prisoner-of-war camp. To put it bluntly, we eliminated at least a quarter of them.
Although compared with the previous results, it may be inferior and not glorious enough, but we need to analyze the specific situation. We only have less than 10,000 people in such a large army, and we don’t know much about the enemy’s situation. Therefore, in order to ensure our safety, we can only launch a tentative attack.
Of course, there is also a major problem. At the end of the war, many artillery pieces had run out of ammunition. In this situation, it is quite difficult for us to achieve such a result. If we still ask for too much, it would be a bit harsh.
"His Highness has replied to our letter, initially approving of our tactics. The army has rested for nearly two days, and a batch of artillery shells has arrived. I think we can't just sit there idle. We need to get these people moving. They don't have the energy to run far. This is the pursuit route I've designed. We'll be on the left and the right, and we'll only chase them for 120 miles today."
Chang Sunze marked the location on the sand table. Although they did not go out to fight in the past two days, the reconnaissance team has not been idle. The enemies outside are short of food and water, and they run slowly. It is unknown how many people have fallen behind along the way. So in this case, we don’t need to chase too far, just one hundred and twenty miles, then a large number of their people will fall behind.
"What the General said is correct. It turns out that we can still achieve brilliant results even without using all our fighting power. I used to only think about the fighting on the battlefield, but now I understand how ridiculous I was. If I had followed the General earlier, my stupid head would have blossomed sooner."
General Sima's words amused everyone around him, especially some of his subordinates, but everyone agreed with what he said.
Chang Sun Ze is worthy of being a general beside Li Xiang. He knows more about many things than we do. Of course, this is also because he has been through many battles. Compared with him, the gap between us is really too big. If we could fight more wars, I am afraid that the situation would not be like this.
"You have also performed very well. You should know that your troops contain many new recruits, and they cannot be compared with His Highness's elite. The least they have seen in battle is at least two. We are fighting conservatively now because we have only suffered less than ninety casualties since the start of the war."
Chang Sunze knew very well that many of his men thought that our battle results were not very good. When Chang Sunze announced the results, some people showed sneering expressions on their faces. Chang Sunze certainly understood what they were thinking. Compared with previous large-scale battles, we were indeed conservative this time. However, when the casualty figures were announced, these people shut their mouths.
Li Xiang had two criteria for assessing battle victory. One criterion was understood by everyone: the number of enemies killed and the number of prisoners captured on the battlefield. Everyone knew the importance of this.
But there is another criterion that some people may not be used to, and that is to look at the number of casualties under your command. In the past, everyone said that killing one thousand enemies would result in eight hundred casualties of your own, but after Li Xiang came to power, this statement became less and less applicable. If you are still thinking about similar things, then you are destined to not be able to climb higher.
If you want to climb higher under Li Xiang, you must understand one thing, that is, the more enemies you kill, the better, but the fewer casualties among your own people, the better. Even if you kill 100,000 enemies but lose more than 10,000 of your own people, then this war is not considered a victory. If you are talking about merit, then I'm afraid you will have to go to the back, unless it is a recognized terrain problem or some other irresistible problem, your losses are so great that the court will not hold you responsible.
Li Xiang always told his men that every soldier is a family. If you ignore their families, then you are not worthy of being a qualified general of the Tang Dynasty. We not only have to win on the battlefield, but also bring more brothers back and take them back to where they came from. We must also ensure that they live a happy life and have enough money in their pockets. This is the responsibility of every general.
"General, you are right. We have such a small number of casualties, and considering the results of the battle, this is already quite an achievement. I admire you for this matter."
General Sima knelt on one knee on the ground, and the others followed suit. Everyone was amazed at the small losses. They originally thought that these people were not very strong in combat, so we should take care of them all in one night, but they did not expect that their strength was still good.
In fact, Chang Sunze has analyzed that in addition to our unwillingness to go deep into the enemy to kill, there is another important reason, that is, these people are too good at escaping. When the first shell fell, many people had already found their own way. They were not resisting the Tang army, but trying to escape first.
Just think about it, they have experienced so much along the way, and the whole country has suffered defeats and lost so much. If they still don't want to escape, then they are simply crazy.
"Stop flattering me and hurry up to prepare for today's military operation. In half an hour, we will split into two groups and set out. Remember, we can only advance 120 miles."
Chang Sun Ze emphasized this number again. Some people may not understand it very well, but General Sima is very clear about it. More than 50% of the logistics generals were called over yesterday. Chang Sun Ze asked them a question, that is, if you continue to extend forward, how much more can you follow up?
The Tang army is an army that relies heavily on logistics, and many tasks are done around logistics, so this 120-mile area should be the maximum amount of forward movement of the Tang army.
