According to what Li Xiang had told them before, as generals in the army, you must carefully consider the surrounding crises whenever you arrive at a place. Although you are not necessarily required to lead your soldiers to attack, as long as there is such a possibility, you must be prepared.
The soldiers come here specifically to fight. Their only idea is to improve their own combat skills. They don't need to do other things. But you are all generals. You are different from ordinary soldiers. You have a lot to consider. If you can't expand your thinking, then you are not a qualified general.
After Zhang Jiuli finished speaking, the two men immediately pulled him to the front of the sand table. There were a total of twelve routes into the mountains. Among these twelve routes, almost every route had a stronghold, but nine of the strongholds had only a dozen people. Even if they were taken down, they would not be able to intimidate the chieftains on the mountain.
The troops in the three strongholds exceeded one thousand men, and the largest one had more than five thousand men, which was also the biggest attack point they had to face.
After listening to Qin Huaiyu's attack plan, Zhang Jiuli didn't know what to say. He thought that after he said it, the two people in front of him would definitely complain, and then make various demands, and he would have to let his subordinates investigate the surrounding area. It is very likely that this matter will not be completed in half a month.
The Sichuan-Shu army that Zhang Jiuli had faced before was basically like this. As long as the people in the army took action, it would definitely be dragged on indefinitely. When you give them some money or make up the previous military pay, then these people will start to do their work. Zhang Jiuli had never dreamed of the efficiency of the actions of people like Qin Huaiyu.
"Master Zhang?"
While Zhang Jiuli was still in a daze, Qin Huaiyu knocked on the table next to him with his scabbard. "We're having a military meeting here. How can a deputy governor like you be distracted?" Although you've been convicted, His Highness hasn't dismissed you, so it's okay to call you that.
"Excuse me, Generals, but I've thought of something else. According to your plan, we can attack this stronghold with 5,000 men, but do we have enough troops to attack the other surrounding strongholds? As far as I know, most of the troops right now are new recruits, and they don't have the strength to attack. How can you, Generals, capture the remaining eleven strongholds with only 4,000 men?"
Zhang Jiuli raised his own question. According to what Qin Huaiyu said just now, neither the new recruits nor the local army will participate in this operation. So there are only the 4,000 people that Li Xiang brought out from the capital. It is really too difficult to rely on these 4,000 people alone to capture the enemy's 12 strongholds.
"Also, I'd like to add that in order to achieve the desired effect, we must take them down simultaneously. The time between them cannot exceed one day. In other words, if we launch a surprise attack at night, we must take them down before dawn."
Zhang Jiuli was afraid that the two of them didn't understand, so he made some supplementary remarks in the middle, but Qin Huaiyu and Su Dingfang looked at each other and looked at Zhang Jiuli as if he were a fool.
But soon, Su Dingfang patted Qin Huaiyu on the shoulder and gave him a look, and Qin Huaiyu also understood that there was a problem in our mutual understanding. We have all led His Highness's army and naturally know the combat effectiveness and execution ability of His Highness's army.
But Zhang Jiuli is different. How can he know the combat effectiveness of His Highness's army? He can only infer it based on the combat effectiveness of the ordinary Tang Dynasty army. Even if he knows that Li Xiang's army is slightly stronger, then doubling yours is enough, right?
But even if you double the number, you use 4,000 troops to attack 12 strongholds, and the distance between these 12 strongholds is very far. As long as the troops are sent out, there will definitely be no way for them to support each other. The garrison in one of the strongholds is more than 5,000 people, and the garrison in the two secondary strongholds is more than 1,000 people. Together, the total number of their troops is about 9,000. You only have 4,000 people. How can you kill your way in?
"Don't worry, Master Zhang. Give us two days to prepare, and I'll give you a definitive answer within two days. No matter when you order us, as long as the weather is suitable, we can take it within a day. If we're lucky, maybe half a day is enough. Furthermore, we won't attack at night, we'll attack during the day, when it's not raining."
Su Dingfang patted his chest and made a promise. Zhang Jiuli felt a little breathless. "You guys, don't you think before you speak? You think this is your kang? You're facing 9,000 Tusi troops, and you're on their territory, and you're so careless that you can take it down in a morning? Do you really think I have a problem with my IQ?"
Of course, Zhang Jiuli thought so in his heart, but he could never say it out loud. Everyone knew that Su Dingfang was Li Xiang's favorite general and he would take him wherever he went.
Unless Zhang Jiuli is a fool, he would never say what is in his heart. If he really said that, the soldiers outside the tent would probably not let him go out today. You insult our commander, which is an insult to our entire army.
"The general is brave and skilled in battle, and his troops are naturally exceptionally brave as well. I've heard this from others, and I believe it wholeheartedly. However, the local situation is different from that in other places, especially since they live in the mountains. The general must have fought on grasslands and plains before, and mountain warfare is different from those places. They are extremely familiar with the local conditions, and there are also some traps..."
Zhang Jiuli's words sounded nice, but they actually revealed a problem: you guys are just bragging. We simply don't believe what you're saying. If it were really as you say, would the people on the mountain still be so difficult to defeat? Do you know how long they've been ruling the mountain?
"Master Zhang..."
"General, calm down. General, calm down."
Seeing that Su Dingfang was unhappy, the people in the army were unhappy and could do anything. Qian Ping couldn't just stand by and watch all this happen...
