Sun Kai's joke of 'clever plan' caused a series of ripples in Zhao Hao's heart, making him fall into contemplation. First of all, this 'trick' really existed in ancient command operations as I knew, and it was not original to Zhuge Liang, at least his contemporary, Cao Cao. At that time, Sun Quan led an army to attack Hefei. When Cao Cao set out to conquer Zhanglu, he sent a letter to Hefei and wrote "The thief is to Naifa". So the guard general Zhang Liao and others opened Cao Cao's letter, and it was written, "Sun Quanzhi, Zhang Liao, and Li Dian went to war, and they were happy to defend the city." "The generals acted according to it, and they really defeated Sun Quan.

From the perspective of military science, the so-called "clever plans" are actually all kinds of operational plans, and with the improvement of the staff system, there are more and more operational plans, and this is even more true in modern times. So, is the ancient "clever plan" or battle plan really as easy to use as in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"?

In Zhao Hao's view, it may not be. First of all, it is impossible to precisely control every step of combat operations with "tricks". Commanding operations should be as timely, sufficient, and accurate as possible to grasp the front-line information, and in ancient times, there were very few means of obtaining intelligence, except for reporting from level to level, the rest relied on scouts, that is, scouts. The speed of the scout is very limited, and once the distance between the battlefield is relatively wide, the scout will not be able to send back information in the first place.

In the battle of the East and West Wei River Bridge, Yu Wentai, the prime minister of the Western Wei Dynasty, led the main force to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. It was inconvenient for scouts to travel between the Western Wei arrays, and there was a serious delay in information reporting. The left, center, and right armies of the Western Wei army could not grasp the battle situation of the friendly forces, so that when the battle reached the most critical moment, the main general of the left army mistakenly thought that the Chinese army had been defeated and retreated, which led to the general collapse of the entire Western Wei army. The manager is on the front line himself, and he can't be sure to have an accurate grasp of the situation, let alone when the manager is away from the front.

Zhenguan four years of the Tang army to destroy the Turkic war, the famous general Li Jing while the light army marched forward, while capturing the Turkic scouts along the road, when the army arrived at Yinshan, "encountered its (Turkic) scouts more than 1,000 tents, all captured to accompany the army." This move made Jieli Khan completely lose control of the front line, so that Li Jing's army advanced to the Khan's tent fifteen miles, and Jieli was shocked to find the enemy. This also means that we cannot generalize that all scouts are unable to provide accurate information. However, the scouts at critical moments are often unreliable, and the commander-in-chief does not dare to give precise orders to the front-line generals willfully. If the situation is not accurate, will it not harm the front-line army?

Liu Yilong, Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, was such a commander. As the emperor, he commanded the war, and often commanded the remote control of the prefabricated strategy, ordering the generals to act strictly according to the plan, and some orders even specified how to attack each city. During the Northern Expedition of Yuanjia several times, the generals had a headache about Emperor Wen's "clever plan", but they did not dare to act in accordance with the order. The Song army and the Wei army failed repeatedly, and Emperor Wen's blind command was to blame.

Secondly, the kind of "tricks" in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" may not really work. Most of the tricks described in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are used to win by surprise. Whether the tricks that surprisingly win in actual combat are useful or not is between the two. If the number of victories and defeats between the enemy and the enemy at the campaign level is decided, no amount of tactical ingenuity will be enough to turn the disadvantage into an advantage.

During the battle of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty to destroy Qi, he also played a "trick plan". After the Northern Zhou army captured Jinzhou, an important town in the Northern Qi Dynasty, the first phase of the operation ended, and Emperor Wu took into account the fatigue of the army, and ordered the main force to retreat to Guanzhong for temporary rest, and the general Liang Shiyan stayed in Jinzhou. Before retreating, Emperor Wu of Zhou gave him a plan, saying that the Northern Qi would definitely counterattack Jinzhou with heavy troops, and then Liang Shiyan must hold on to the city to consume the vitality of the Northern Qi army.

Later, as expected by Emperor Wu, the Northern Qi Dynasty besieged Jinzhou City with an army of more than 100,000 troops. However, the situation of depleting the enemy's vital forces expected by Emperor Wu did not appear, but Liang Shiyan could hardly withstand the attack of the Northern Qi and almost lost Jinzhou. At the critical juncture, Emperor Wu had to give up the established "clever plan" and urgently dispatched the main force to help barely stabilize the situation. The reason why Emperor Wu almost got away with it was precisely because he miscalculated the situation on the battlefield and formulated tactical measures with too high expectations.

In the end, real "tricks" can only appear at the level of strategic battles. Let's take two of the most famous tips as examples. For example, Cao Cao's letter in the Battle of Hefei is quite similar to the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"-style tips. However, looking closely at the situation of the Battle of Xiaoyaojin, Cao Cao and Zhang Liaozhu had reached a consensus at the campaign level before the war, that is, to hold on to the city and attack the enemy first.

Judging from the reactions of Zhang Liao, Li Dian, Le Jin and others after opening the letter, Cao Cao's order did not exceed their expectations. From this point of view, the main purpose of Cao Cao's sending such an innocuous "bag" from thousands of miles away was only to reconcile the contradictions between Zhang Liao and Li Dian, and to once again strengthen the battle consensus between the commander-in-chief and the front-line generals.

In the eighth year of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Taiwei Liu Yu sent troops to Pingshu, and also sent a secret letter to the front-line generals. Due to the failure of the Jin army's attack on Shu five years ago, there was a debate among the high-level leaders of the Eastern Jin Dynasty about the route of the army. There are three routes to choose from, the first is the closest way from Dianjiang to the north along the Neishui, but this road was defeated by the Shu army five years ago; The second route from Anle to the north along the middle water is moderate, and the third from Qianwei is the most detour along the northward flow of the outer water. Liu Yu made a predetermined plan that the main force would detour to the outer water, and the suspicious soldiers would go out of the inner water and the middle water to contain it.

However, Liu Yu was afraid that the news would be revealed, and the Shu army would be on guard in advance, so he set up a suspicious array and gave Zhu Lingshi, the commander of the expedition to Shu, a secret letter, which contained the final version of the marching route, and the inscription on the side of the letter was "To the White Emperor Naikai". The Jin army didn't know how to advance, and the Shu army couldn't defend it in a targeted manner, so they had to focus on guarding the direction of the internal water. Zhu Lingshi arrived at the White Emperor City to open the book and take a look, it turned out that Liu Yu still ordered to attack from the outside water, and the armies marched in accordance with the law, and finally won the victory. In essence, the essence of Liu Yu's "tips" is just a smokescreen......

"I'm concerned about it!" Zhao Yu realized that his participation in the formulation of a specific battle plan was not only suspected of interfering with the command, but also that this practice was harmful and unprofitable, and it was also as the former queen Wu Xi said that he was not putting himself in a correct position.

Think that it is time for me to stick to a corner of Qiongzhou, when I only have a place and a population of less than a million. said that he was the emperor, but in fact, he was doing the work of a prefect, and he was just a small warlord who was divided into a place. I have asked about everything, and even 'pro-Zheng' said in the past, but now I have occupied most of the area south of the Yangtze River, managing tens of millions of people, and I can be considered an emperor in modestly.

However, he still continued his previous management style, and he still wanted to ask about all the big and small things. It's so hard to say that it sounds good is a matter of dedication, and if it's hard to hear, it doesn't want to give up power and wants to be a dictator. This not only made Zhao Hao feel very tired and annoying, but also often felt overwhelmed. The Queen Mother also persuaded him to hand over some things to the people below to do, and the Queen even held a 'criticism meeting' for him, but although he agreed, he was not convinced in his heart, and he remained the same.

It wasn't until Sun Kai's unintentional joke just now that Zhao Hao suddenly woke up. It is understood that most of the "tips" are things that the drunkard does not want to drink, and they can play a role in the end, which is inseparable from the correct prediction at the level of strategic battles, and in fact, they all play the role of calculating victory and defeat before fighting. However, under ancient conditions, such predictions were sketchy, directional, and campaign-level, and did not involve the arrangement of specific combat operations, and only then did they play a positive role.

And that kind of "tricks" of commanding everything in every detail have actually surpassed the current technical ability, and belong to the brains of people who do not understand military affairs. A wise commander or general generally does not interfere too much with front-line operations, but after formulating the general direction, he authorizes the front-line generals to command on the spot, and "the general will not be subject to the orders of the monarch abroad" It is precisely the embodiment of the personal experience of the emperors of the past dynasties.

In the same way, dealing with government affairs is the same, the political situation and public sentiment are different in various places, and Zhao Yu, who is far away, thousands of miles, and thousands of miles away, naturally cannot fully understand the details of each incident, and can make targeted treatment plans. Magistrates, on the other hand, are able to confront the incident head-on and understand the whole story, so that they can take appropriate action in a timely manner according to the evolution of the incident.

Zhao Yu also broke out in a cold sweat after realizing that his working methods were wrong, and if he continued like this, he would also embark on the old road of blind command of the general who went out on the expedition and was awarded the 'formation map' by the emperor. So he categorically withdrew from the meeting and Han Zhen presided over the meeting, but the content only involved the strategic direction and policy, and formulated corresponding plans for possible strategic problems. As for the specific battle plan, Zhao Hao authorized Zhao Mengjin to formulate and implement it, and the tactical issues were delegated to the army and division, and he only wanted the result.

The Jiangdong battle meeting also ended quickly, and after the military talisman was awarded, the generals returned to their respective stations in full swing. And Zhao Yu soon shouted lucky about his previous decision. In the battle of the Western Expedition, he participated in the formulation of the battle plan, but at the same time, he also granted Wen Tianxiang the right to 'opportune', which could adjust and change the battle plan without asking for instructions at all levels, resulting in the delay of the fighters.

The first hurdle facing the march into Sichuan and Shu is to break through the Three Gorges natural hazards. The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River is located at the junction of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with the Yangtze River waterway flowing out of the east, and the Jingzhou Plain, Jianghan Plain and the land south of the Yangtze River. The northeast is surrounded by the Wu and Ba mountain ranges. In the west, there are the dangers of the Sichuan River and the Jialing River, as well as the wealth of the Chengdu Plain. There is Hanzhong in the north, which can pass through the Central Plains and enter the Guanzhong. At the same time, due to the high mountains and dangerous waters, the deep river valleys, and the dense passes, the Three Gorges also has the conditions of being blocked and closed from the outside world, and it is a battleground for the soldiers of all dynasties to defend and attack against dangers.

The Three Gorges is the general name of the three gorges of Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge. It starts from Baidi City in Fengjie County, Chongqing City in the west, and ends at Nanjin Pass in Yichang City, Hubei Province in the east, spanning Fengjie, Wushan, Badong, Zigui and Yichang five counties and cities, with a total length of about 400 miles. The mountains here are majestic and precipitous, the river is rushing and turbulent, the reefs and beaches in the gorge area are one after another, and the shore peaks are inserted into the clouds, which is a well-known tourist resort. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "Qu Tangxiong, Wuxia Xiu, Xiling Insurance".

The natural geographical location of the Three Gorges region determines that the war mode of water warfare and mountain warfare is usually adopted in this area, and that natural weapons and fortifications such as boats, bows and crossbows, pontoon bridges, forts, and passes are usually used in the area, and that the strategic pattern of the occupants of the Three Gorges region can only be mainly defense. The offensive campaign to be waged in the Three Gorges region is to destroy the military fortifications of the Three Gorges and break through the natural dangers of the Three Gorges.

Since the Three Gorges has a prominent military position, it will inevitably be fortified, and many fortresses have been built on both sides of the canyon in successive dynasties, and cities have been built in dangerous places, and heavy troops have been deployed to defend them. However, after the Mengyuan successively pacified Sichuan, Shu and Jiangnan, these military fortresses lost their military value, and the Mengyuan was not good at attacking fortifications, and was worried that some resisters would use these fortresses to form a separation, so they demolished and scrapped them, and only a small part was retained as a post station.

Meng Yuan's self-abandonment of martial arts could be regarded as a fortunate thing for the Great Song Dynasty's Western Expedition, but after the Great Song Dynasty recovered Jiangnan, especially after capturing Yiling, Jiangling and other cities outside the gorge, Meng Yuan also realized that the Song army might go up the river to conquer Sichuan and Shu. So they tried to restore the military fortress in the canyon, but it was easy to dismantle it, but it was difficult to rebuild, so they could only adopt the strategy of key defense and use the passes in the canyon to block the enemy's westward advance.

The first gorge of the Three Gorges is called Qutang Gorge, also known as Kui Gorge. The Yangtze River suddenly became narrower here, and the narrowest place was only more than 30 zhang. The cliffs on both sides of the bank stand on the cliffs, the mountains are steep, the rolling river water pours into the canyon, the waves roll over, rush and roar. The mouth of the gorge is called Kuimen, known as "Kuimen is the hero of the world", which means that the most majestic place in the world is Kuimen, but it is also the most precipitous place in the Three Gorges, and the rivers and rivers are rapid. The total length of Qutang Gorge is only more than ten miles, if it goes smoothly, people will smoke two cigarettes on the boat, and it will take several days to go up the river at the earliest.

We are familiar with Liu Bei Tuogu's White Emperor City was built at the mouth of Qutang Gorge, where the terrain is dangerous, difficult to attack and easy to defend, Meng Yuan rebuilt the fortress again, and stationed heavy troops. And this is by no means a city, but a complete set of defense facilities, the group of soldiers take advantage of the steep mountain, built by the mountain and stone, self-contained. Each soldier village is like a castle, there is a gate in front of the wall, there are multiple layers of soldiers, trenches under the wall, there is a gate on the wall, there is a stone house in the wall, there are shooting holes, lookout holes, arrow towers, passages around the wall. Between the villages, there are points and lines, there are military roads to connect, there are lookout holes to communicate with each other, forming a complete defense system.

And the boat is here, the speed is slow, the fortress of the river can shoot thousands of arrows, snipe the ships crossing the river with rolling wood and stones, and even release the fire boats upstream, and destroy the entire fleet with huge rafts, but it is even more difficult to capture......