Chapter 707 Luo Yan Offers Advice
The Hebei Army fought with the Youzhou Army for half a day, and the Youzhou Army retreated three miles.
The front of the Hebei Army went down the river, and the central army also built a pontoon bridge to cross and set up camp on the opposite bank.
In the main tent of the Hebei Army, generals such as Qu Yi were still covered in blood.
Yuan Shao looked at his advisers and generals and said in a deep voice: "The Youzhou army is brave.
How to break the deadlock next, please work together."
As a frontier army, the Youzhou soldiers are undoubtedly elite.
Shen Pei, who was in charge of military affairs, said in a deep voice: "My lord.
Although the Youzhou army is brave, it is inferior to our Hebei army.
This is evident from the fact that the Youzhou Army’s front line was shaky during today’s battle.”
After hearing what Shen Pei said, Qu Yi said directly and proudly: "My lord.
I ordered the four pillars to assist me, and Yi led the vanguard of the halberd soldiers to break through the Youzhou army's formation.
Even if I have to risk my life, I will kill Gongsun Zan and seize Youzhou!"
His body was covered in blood, his eyes were red, and he looked murderous.
The entire central military camp was chilly cold, which made people look sideways.
Qu Yi was a man with too much murderous aura. The reason why he was so strong as the first soldier to carry the great halberd was not only because of his fighting ability, but also because he charged into the army in every battle.
Yuan Shao's eyelids twitched when he heard this. Qu Yi was always ready to fight to the death. He was really unbearable.
He hastily comforted him, "Don't worry, Gongsun Zan is not worthy of sacrificing one of my generals in order to capture Youzhou.
When we meet Cao and Liu in the Central Plains in the future, that will be the day when we can truly shock the whole of China!"
Luo Yan sat upright on the seat, looking into the tent and frowning slightly.
He suddenly realized that the Hebei Army had a big problem.
That is the lack of a super commander who can command large-scale military operations.
Among the sons of the Luo family, his eldest uncle Luo Xiao needs no introduction, he is perfect.
Third uncle Luo Kong is able to lead an army of 100,000, and is also a great general.
Fourth uncle Luo Xing is similar to third uncle Luo Kong, but his fighting power is higher than Luo Kong's.
This is the one among the three Luo clan members who can lead a large army in battle.
In such a big province like Hebei, there are no talents in this area.
Qu Yi is indeed the best general in Hebei, but at present it seems that he can only command tens of thousands of people.
Leaving aside the logistics and auxiliary troops, the only troops he could lead were his own troops.
Not to mention Yan Liang and Wen Chou. In terms of martial arts, these two are the ceiling of Hebei, and they are capable of fighting against thousands of enemies who have experienced life and death.
But both of them are brave men.
In Luo Yan's opinion, these two men were capable of leading thousands of people to charge into the formation, but that was all.
The strength of Zhang He and Gao Lan is not yet apparent because they are both generals from Hebei. For the sake of balance, Yuan Shao has not allowed them to command more than 10,000 troops.
The result is what we have now.
The family has long drawn out a set of theories from countless historical experiences, the so-called three necessary factors for conquering the world.
First, in terms of governance, there are people like Duke Wen and Duke Xuan, Guan Zhong, and Xiao He.
Of course, the territory is too large and the foundation is too strong, so the second-rate ministers are able to use their natural advantages to drag down the opponent's more outstanding ministers.
The second strategy is people like Duke Wen and Duke Xuan, Marquis Ying, and Zhang Liang.
Make strategic plans for the entire force and be able to keenly find solutions when faced with various complex situations.
Hebei has both of these. There is no shortage of wise and resourceful people in Hebei, but there are many of them. Now it's time for them to compete with each other.
But the third commander is someone like Han Xin.
Without a top commander, no matter how much money and food, or how many soldiers, can you survive defeat once, five times, or ten times?
No matter how powerful a country or dynasty is, it cannot withstand the loss of millions of elite soldiers and the repeated waste of money and food.
Luo Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "My lord, everyone.
In the past, Han Wumu led a large army to defeat Zhao, and then conquer Yan and Dai, which took only one year.
It has been seven years since the war with Youzhou after Dong Zhuo's rebellion, and several years since the Battle of Jie Bridge.
Even though Han Wumu was a man of extraordinary talent, the soldiers he led were all new recruits. To have such a record was the result of his unconventional approach.
It is said that it is better to use wisdom than courage.
Since we don't have Xiang Yu's courage to break through everything, fighting hard like this is definitely not a good idea.
Since ancient times, those who have defeated the enemy in battles, no matter what the situation was, ultimately fell into the following categories.
One is the lack of food!
Food is the courage of the army. Without food, even the temple army and brave warriors will be powerless.
In the past, Bai Qi of the Qin State always annihilated the armies of various countries by using the strategy of food and fodder.
In the end, he was defeated by my ancestor Duke Wu because he was able to unite the various countries and get countless food and grass. Bai Qi's strategy of tiring the enemy failed and he had to retreat.
The second is counter-espionage!
There is no fortified city in this world that will never fall. Even the Hangu Pass, which was once able to withstand the armies of many countries, will eventually be breached.
During the Warring States Period, two famous generals, Li Mu and Lian Po, were killed by a counter-espionage plot. The prejudice and suspicion in people's hearts is a mountain that will never be eliminated.
The Youzhou army was extremely brave, but they were unable to win a decisive victory.
But you must know that an army depends on its general, not its soldiers; a country depends on its ruler, not its ministers.
No matter how brave the soldiers are, if their commander is incompetent, they will still die.
Killing ten thousand people is not as effective as killing one word.
Since it is not easy to achieve a great victory on the battlefield, you should think of a good strategy to create discord within Youzhou and cause it to collapse.
By then our army will march in unison and conquer Youzhou."
As soon as Luo Yan finished speaking, everyone knew what he meant.
Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu were on guard, and a head-on attack might cause too much loss, so they used an alternative strategy.
Who says that you have to use real guns and swords to conquer the world?
After thinking it over for a while, Ju Su and the other two said, "My lord, the food and grass that our army has prepared for the attack on Youzhou is enough to support an army of 200,000 for half a year.
Hebei has a good harvest this year, and after the autumn harvest, there will be more food and fodder available.
With the output of Youzhou, it is absolutely impossible to compare the food and fodder of our army.
Don’t think that Youzhou only has 100,000 troops; it is definitely the Youzhou army that runs out of food and grass first.
Then, it will be the right time to attack."
Xun Chen frowned slightly and said, "You can't calculate it this way.
Although our army had plenty of food and fodder, we had come from a long distance after all, and the losses were considerable due to the food and fodder we had to eat along the way.
With Jicheng in Youzhou right behind them, it would be easier to replenish food and grass. Moreover, the big families in Youzhou were also quite wealthy and should not be underestimated.
It would be unwise to fight until the moment when the food and fodder are exhausted."
Ju Su was prepared to use his own capital to injure people and to use Hebei's money and grain to drag Youzhou to death.
What Xun Chen said is a typical conservative suggestion. At present, Hebei may not be able to drag Youzhou to death in the event of an expedition.
The risk of running out of food and fodder is too great, and that is not what Hebei should do now.
What both of them said made sense, the key lies in Yuan Shao's decision.
Yuan Shao thought for a while and said slowly: "First, we will confront Gongsun Zan here, sow discord between Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu, and then contact those Youzhou families who are willing to befriend Hebei.
In this vast Youzhou, there must be heroes who are willing to abandon darkness and join the army of Yuan Shao.
People of insight must be able to see that Gongsun Zan is bound to fail, so the promises should be more generous, and those who surrender first should receive enough benefits.
Everyone, please go down. Ziyan, please stay for a while."
There are two situations during the confrontation. One is to close the city and defend itself, and consume money and food from each other.
The other is that although there is no major war, the troops are divided into small groups, spy on each other, and then cut off all food and information.
Everyone followed the order and walked out of the tent. Yuan Shao asked, "Zi Yan, I saw you frowning just now. Is there any problem with our army?"
Luo Yan then told Yuan Shao the question he had just thought of and explained the theory of the troika to him.
Yuan Shao listened with great interest, but when he thought about Luo Yan's question just now, he felt a headache for a moment.
He couldn't help but sigh: "Hebei has thousands of generals, but there is no commander who can lead them all."
Seeing this, Luo Yan comforted him, "Father-in-law, don't be too anxious for now. There are very few commanders like him in this world.
It is not easy to manage tens of thousands of people.
Qu Yi, Zhang He and Gao Lan all have talents.
As long as he is tempered in the great war in the north, he may be able to take on the role of commander-in-chief."
Yuan Shao asked hesitantly, "Qu Yi is fine, but as for Zhang He and Gao Lan, how about Yan Liang and Wen Chou?"
Luo Yan knew that Yuan Shao was still concerned about Zhang He and Gao Lan's identities.
He pondered for a moment and then said seriously: "Father-in-law, Yan Liang and Wen Chou's leadership talents are too low. If they experience a series of bloody battles, they can also grow into generals of the side army.
But although Hebei is strong now, it is not strong enough to feed two less talented people at the cost of countless losses of money, food and soldiers.
I think that these two can be used as cavalry commanders to kill generals and seize flags, or as guard commanders who lead personal guards to protect your safety.
People should put them in the appropriate positions, which is also a good thing for Yan Liang and Wen Chou.
Otherwise, what will you do when you are defeated?
If one day, Hebei has become extremely powerful, then we can naturally let Generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou follow us to attack and then promote them.
Although Zhang He and Gao Lan are from Hebei gentry, they have been very dedicated to you, their father-in-law.
There is no precedent in this world where one would gain benefits by pushing away one's loyal subjects.
If you don't trust these two people, then betrayal is inevitable when it comes to a critical moment of life and death.
Before you can even wait for the critical day, a wise bird will choose the right tree to roost in, and you don't know when your master will change.
Father-in-law, you were my subject in the past, but you are my master today. Don’t forget the three principles of the king and his subjects!”
The king and his ministers have three views!
Yuan Shao was instantly awed. These three sentences were deeply rooted between the monarch and his subjects.
Over the past 1,300 years, countless great scholars and sages have drawn extrapolations from these three sentences.
The amount of text in it is enough to write a thick explanation of the relationship between rulers and ministers.
Yuan Shao had a solemn expression on his face, and then he slowly said: "It is difficult to distinguish between loyalty and treachery in this world.
If it is Luo's son, with a thousand-year reputation, I am willing to trust him.
But Zhang He had high vision.
My father came from the most powerful aristocratic family, and I knew very well what these aristocrats were pursuing.
Zhang He and Gao Lan are not people of high moral character, I am worried about them."
After saying that, he sighed slightly again and Luo Yan didn't say anything else. These things should be mentioned briefly. Yuan Shao is a powerful leader and naturally has his own judgment. What's more, what he said makes sense.
Political credulity will be an irreparable disaster!
There is one more chapter.
(End of this chapter)
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