Chapter 308 Bluff
In the first phase of the Northwest Campaign launched in the spring of the sixth year of Jianyan, the Song Dynasty gained every advantage.
Almost all the city and land that had been taken away by Western Xia after the Jingkang Incident were recaptured in an orderly manner, and Yan'an was gradually surrounded on both sides... This was understandable, because Western Xia itself could not make an effective defense outside the traditional defense line. At the same time, the Jurchens, the real military bargaining chips, were slow to take on heavy responsibilities in the war.
What happened to the Tanguts? What happened to the Jurchens? It's very simple... it's a medieval military problem of attack and defense.
To be precise, it is a question of the cost of attack and defense.
When both sides have mature artillery technology, it is ridiculous to use the ancient saying of "surround the enemy with ten" as a standard. But the problem is that even so, if the attacking side wants to defeat the defending side, it still needs to create an advantage in combat power, manpower and logistical reserves of the defending side by multiples before it can take action.
In this case, when the combat power of the two sides is not much different, the attacking side will inevitably suffer more setbacks overall, while the defending side will have a greater chance of success overall, and the so-called strategic confrontation will naturally form at this time. If there is a geographical barrier between the two sides that naturally increases military costs, such as the Yellow River, the Yellow River, and the Yellow River, then this confrontation will be further strengthened.
Therefore, the key does not lie in Wanyan Wushu's speed of judgment, not in Li Ganshun's decision-making direction, not in the combat effectiveness of the Jin army, not in the number of Western Xia troops, not in the Song army's deliberate planning and the incoordination between the two sides after Jin and Western Xia were forced to fight, but in the fact that as the war progressed to this year, a strategic balance was reached between the Song and Jin-Western Xia.
At this time, anyone who gives up defense to attack will always seem to lose more than the gain in terms of theoretical expectations.
Of course, this raises a natural question, a question that Li Ganshun kept probing and Wanyan Wushu kept doubting - if this was the case, how could the Song army be able to launch an offensive? Even in Yan'an on the other side of the Yellow River? How could the Song people store so much food and military supplies in just one year? Why were the Zhao Song officials so determined?
Was it the easy pacification of the South and the easy recovery of Jingdong after Yaoshan that made him so proud that he lost his true judgment?
If that's the case, then it's naturally a good thing, but even so, the same thing still applies: no one dares to gamble!
"We don't have the ability to attack, at least we can't really have a big decisive battle in the Hengshan-Yan'an battlefield." Zhao Jiu stood in front of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum on Qiaoshan Mountain in the north of Fangzhou City, looking at the mausoleum with his hands behind his back, and listened to the military summary and suggestions of the two generals, and gave a direct answer. "Because if we really attack now, it will be a battle of at least 100,000 people. A battle of 100,000 people, if the enemy holds on for two months without fighting, it will be enough to drag down our logistics, and naturally we will be defeated without a fight... Therefore, we are not allowed to expand the scale of the war at will without orders."
Han Shizhong and Wu Jie, who came back from the east and north to report on the battle situation, looked at each other and just bowed in agreement.
That being said, this is the benefit of having an emperor in charge, or this is the reason why although Zhao Jiu will not go to the front line, he must come behind the front line to keep an eye on it... Don't treat these "famous generals of ancient times" as little sheep. In fact, if he hadn't been here, Wu Jie and Han Shizhong would probably follow the trend of the war and attack Yan'an directly. Yuwen Xuzhong couldn't stop them at all, and Hu Yin might be able to hold them back, but it might not be so easy.
In fact, if these military leaders had anticipated Hu Yin's attitude, they would have taken action directly while soliciting opinions. By then, it would have been a fait accompli, and Yuwen Xuzhong and Hu Yin would have had to clean up their messes.
But since the emperor was here, they didn't dare to do so. They could only come here to ask for instructions first, and they had to get two people together to ask for instructions... Unexpectedly, the emperor could make them give up their previous intentions with just one sentence.
"But we have to fight... The only key to this battle is to ensure that the main force of the Western Xia field forces behind Hengshan cannot retreat." Zhao Jiu turned around and spoke on the steps in front of the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor.
"We can't let Xixia panic to the point of mobilizing the whole country." Hu Yin took a half step forward and crossed his arms before Han Shizhong could respond. "Under normal circumstances, we would naturally hope that Xixia would mobilize the whole country. In this way, we could drag Xixia to death after several delays... But now, according to the information sent by Minister Hu, the Khitans sent people back to Western Liao in early March to inform Yelu Dashi to send troops. We don't know when the 30,000 Khitan troops will arrive. That is the real key."
"That's right." Zhao Jiu nodded with his back to the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum. "Western Liao is the key."
Western Liao... After knowing that Yelu Dashi's core ruling area had been transferred to the Western Regions and that he had more than 30,000 troops, the civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty unconsciously changed the name. It was no longer Northern Liao, nor was it the remnants. Instead, it used a more appropriate name, which was Western Liao.
"I understand." Han Shizhong also responded immediately. "As long as it's bluffing..."
"Yes, it's just bluffing." Zhao Jiu nodded again.
"It's just the emperor." The yellow-faced Wu Jie suddenly frowned and interrupted. "Is the Western Liao really reliable?"
"I didn't expect to destroy Xixia in one battle." Zhao Jiu also frowned. "As long as the Hexi Corridor is opened, it will be considered a success. Once the Hexi Corridor is opened, first, the arm of Xixia will be cut off, second, the Western Liao will be brought in to suppress Xixia, and third, the Western Regions will be connected, so that the country will no longer lack horses... And Yelu Dashi has been defeated many times and has risen again and again. He has become more and more courageous over the past ten years. Such a person has a deliberate plan and leads 30,000 troops to attack with Pengju's 30,000 troops. How could he not be able to take the empty six counties of Hexi?"
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