Chapter 143: Dividing the Forces to Lure the Enemy
Behind the Miga army, Zhang Liao was leading 10,000 cavalrymen, following behind slowly.
Zhang Liao, who was once a little immature, has now become majestic and mature, like a sword in its sheath.
In the strong wind, his eyes were firm and deep, as if they could penetrate the endless grassland. His brows were full of confidence and courage, as well as the calmness that came from experiencing countless life and death experiences.
The fighting on the grassland over the past year or so has brought him great rewards.
In a rapidly changing battlefield like the grassland, commanding tens of thousands of elite cavalry to fight is a huge test of strategic vision, tactical command, logistics management, and contingency decision-making, which is far beyond what ordinary people can endure.
Sometimes when facing a major battle, Zhang Liao would need to stay up for days to plan and encircle the enemy to ensure that they were completely annihilated and captured, rather than having the enemy defeated and dispersed.
Fortunately, with the cooperation of Zhang He and others, and the assistance of Tian Ze's talent, Zhang Liao quickly got the hang of it, and now he is able to handle it with ease.
Today, he is already among the top five in the world in terms of large-scale military operations. He is also firmly in the forefront in terms of cavalry operations.
Suddenly, a scout appeared and reported to Zhang Liao: "General, Mijia has rushed out of Zongma Valley. General Zhang He asked me to ask you if we should build a defense line now?"
Zhang Liao nodded and said, "Tell Zhang He to build a defense line as soon as possible and deploy more chevaux de frise. Don't be careless. After we rush out, immediately seal off the Zongma Valley and don't let any Hu cavalry pass through."
"promise!"
Zhang Liao breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that things were going as he had planned.
The "small map" around the Northeast Plain in my mind finally no longer has a red dot. The initial goal has been achieved. Now it depends on what choices the Central Xianbei and Western Xianbei will make.
Although he occupied the Daxianbei Mountain, Zhang Liao still felt unsafe.
The Xianbei were at the peak of their power at this time, although they began to decline and fall apart due to the death of Tan Shihuai.
However, with such a powerful external enemy around, there were signs of unity under such heavy pressure.
He vaguely discovered this during his process of suppressing the Eastern Xianbei.
When Zhang Liao learned from the intelligence sent by Jia Xu that the Central Xianbei and the Western Xianbei were gathering troops, apparently in preparation for the support of the Miga army, he began to plan in his mind.
It is not difficult to wipe out the Migai army before the enemy reinforcements arrive. After all, Zhang He is now lying in ambush at the entrance of the valley. If attacked from both sides, the Migai army will inevitably suffer a crushing defeat.
But Zhang Liao did not want to just destroy the Miga army at this time.
A group of weak and cowardly troops no longer posed a threat. In comparison, the Central and Western Xianbei, who were secretly gathering together, were the real enemies.
Rather than continuing to play hide-and-seek with this group of people on the grassland in the future, or relying on the Great Xianbei Mountain to launch various counter-harassment battles against them, it is better to take this opportunity to fight a head-on battle.
After all, compared to fighting with the Xianbei, the most difficult thing is how to catch up with these talents.
As long as we can defeat the main force of these people in one battle and make them dare not covet the Northeast Plain, we can completely reverse the offensive and defensive situation.
After calculating the marching routes of the Eastern Xianbei and Western Xianbei and the time of their meeting with Mijia, Zhang Liao ordered, "All troops, speed up! Don't spare your horses. We must hold on to the Mijia army in the next two days."
"promise!"
Long-distance, large-scale, and cavalry combat, these three words all represent enormous pressure. When combined, they place extremely high demands on the commander-in-chief's command.
Zhang Liao needs to consider logistical losses, horse losses, enemy and friendly situations, soldier conditions, astronomical phenomena and terrain, etc.
After more than a year of war, nearly 10,000 soldiers were killed or wounded, no less than 100,000 horses were lost, more than 100,000 civilians were mobilized, millions of food and fodder were lost, and countless military equipment and money were also lost. It also had a significant impact on production in the rear.
The long battle line and the difficult logistical supply meant that Zhang Liao had to make one difficult decision after another in every battle and had to think over and over again.
A random decision of his could result in the loss of thousands of war horses and hundreds of thousands of grains of food, which was much higher than the cost of fighting in the Central Plains.
If it weren't for Tian Ze's strong family background and his unreserved support, Zhang Liao would not have dared to fight this battle. This was a victory entirely built on money and food.
Cheng Yu and Chen Gong, who were in charge of logistics in the rear, had long been numb. At the beginning of the war, they had already made psychological preparations.
Think about the situation during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han when he conquered the Xiongnu in the north. It was clear that the wealth of the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing was completely wiped out. The First World War cost the country several years of tax revenue, and Emperor Wu of Han survived by selling everything he had and cheating people.
Although they had already laid out in advance, surrounded the Northeast Plain, and had a certain geographical advantage. Moreover, the Northeast Plain was not too far from Liaodong, and they also had advantages such as Guanhai, "small map", vehicles, dried meat, and segmented transportation.
The losses in this battle were definitely not a small number.
To this end, they are all prepared to use the next year's tax revenue as a budget.
As a result, by this time, the budget had been overspent, and this did not include a series of tasks such as rewards and resettlement after the war.
If these were taken into account, I'm afraid most of the Ministry of Finance's treasury would have to be used up.
After all, the construction of various states and the resettlement of a large number of refugees in recent years have required money and food, and no matter how rich the family is, it cannot withstand such a toss.
Chen Gong had to sigh at Tian Ze's foresight. It was thanks to Tian Ze's early layout of paper money and money houses. Although it took some time and energy, it was very helpful in this urgent need.
Tian Ze always likes to be a few steps ahead and do more when planning for the people under his rule. Although they sometimes feel that it is unnecessary and some secret tricks will not be used in the end, they agree to it because it does not cost much and does not bring any harm.
Now it seems that Tian Ze was thinking long-term. Although each step may not be helpful at the time, it can lay a solid foundation for the layout in several years or even longer.
Zhang He was arranged to close the net and establish a defense line, Zhou Tai settled the Hu people in the northeastern plain, and Taishi Ci was on the side to assist. Now Zhang Liao was only accompanied by himself, Zhao Yun and Qu Yi, less than 20,000 cavalry and 1,000 vanguard soldiers.
The number of Xianbei cavalry that arrived this time was probably as many as 40,000 to 50,000.
"With so many troops, I'm afraid nearly half of the main forces of the Central Xianbei and Western Xianbei are here." Zhao Yun said in a deep voice.
"It's a good thing you came. I was just afraid they would flee without a fight." Qu Yi said with a little excitement.
After more than a year of fighting, the vanguard soldiers have accumulated enough experience, and now they have no interest in cavalry of less than 10,000 people.
Zhang Liao glanced back at the mighty cavalry under his command and frowned slightly: "I'm afraid they will be scared and really run away."
"Wenyuan, what do you mean?" Zhao Yun asked.
"Split the troops!"
"If we are too strong, the Xianbei cavalry will not easily engage us without absolute certainty."
Zhang Liao knew very well that the Xianbei were not fools. After fighting the Han Dynasty for so many years, they had mastered guerrilla tactics to perfection.
With only a two or three times advantage in troop strength, and facing Zhang Liao's army which had an outstanding record of military success, they might not dare to fight, and the war might turn into a guerrilla war of attrition.
Therefore, some risks must be taken.
"Zilong, the nearly 10,000 light cavalry under your command are fast. Go north and take a detour to the rear of the enemy. Don't reveal your whereabouts for the time being. Keep a distance. When I have a decisive battle with the Xianbei, I will send scouts to inform you."
"When the time comes, you must rush here as quickly as possible, block the Xianbei's retreat, and then chase and kill them."
Hearing Zhang Liao's words full of determination and confidence, Zhao Yun nodded without hesitation although he was a little worried.
During this period, he witnessed Zhang Liao's command ability with his own eyes and admired him from the bottom of his heart, so he believed in Zhang Liao's ability and judgment.
Zhang Liao then looked at Qu Yi, and once again revealed a hint of arrogance: "Yuan Tai, are you willing to join me in defeating these 50,000 Hu cavalry head-on?"
Qu Yi's face was full of excitement: "It's what you wish for!"
(End of this chapter)
