Ma Huaide stood at the head of the city, holding a telescope, wiping his eyes from time to time, looking at the Xie Chi military camp five miles away. What Ma Huaide saw was actually a blur, and he couldn't see it clearly at all. But he didn't dare to put the telescope down for a moment, as if he could see.

Yang Tu said: "Taiwei, look at the time, Xie Chi should be guarded." If you can't hold it, you should retreat to the city gate. ”

Ma Huaide said: "Where can I say clearly? It is also possible that the two sides fought fiercely and won or lost in the end, but it is difficult to say. By the way, you send people to guard the city gates, don't be careless! If we lose the Qianning Army, we will all be severely punished by the imperial court! ”

Yang Tu forked his hand and said. There are a lot of artillery pieces at the head of the Qianning army, more than 3,000 people, and a lot of materials in the city, so it is not easy for the Khitans to attack.

After looking at it for a while, Ma Huaide said again: "Also, inform the few regiment leaders outside the city, if they can't resist the Khitans, go around the city to the south of the city, and don't retreat into the city rashly, in case they are taken advantage of by the Khitans." We have tens of thousands of troops, gathered in one place, and the Khitans are not easy to win! ”

Without waiting for Yang Tu to promise, there were rangers galloping under the city. When he arrived at the city gate, he shouted: "Lord Xie defeated the Khitans!" Captain, a great victory ahead! The three regiments have gathered in the main camp of the Xie regiment, and the Khitans have retreated! ”

Hearing this, Ma Huaide was stunned for a while at the head of the city. Gently put down the binoculars and let out a long breath: "Thank God, it can be regarded as repelling the Khitans!" This time it's so dangerous! ”

After speaking, he took a few steps back and forth on the city wall, and said: "Each regiment is stationed separately, and it seems that there is a big flaw. Immediately ordered several regiment leaders outside the city to enter the city immediately to discuss the next battle. The Khitan army has crossed the river, and the next battle will inevitably continue! ”

The soldiers on one side shouted a promise and ran down the city.

With a sigh, Ma Huaide put away his binoculars and went down the city wall with Yang Tu. On the way back to the official office, Ma Huaide suddenly said: "Now that the war is urgent, I wanted to slowly establish my own military-level commander, but it seems that it will not work." If the commander is not built, each regiment will fight separately, how can it stop the Khitan army? Today, it seems that if the Khitans can seize the opportunity, it will not be difficult to break through a group. ”

Yang Tu said: "That's nature. There are only more than 3,000 people in a regiment, and if tens of thousands of Khitan troops come to attack, it will be difficult to resist without geographical advantages. ”

Ma Huaide nodded: "Yes, that's the truth." I didn't expect that the Khitans would cross the river with so many people overnight, and they would seize the opportunity. After this battle, the regiments should not be too far away and should take care of each other. ”

Yang Tu hesitated slightly, and said: "Captain, when I was in the military academy before, I remember how to arrange this situation and how to defend it. If it is defensive, there must be places that have to be defended, and there will be main forces stationed there. Those who help with the main force will send troops and horses. The commander should have enough reserves in his hands to be able to deal with unexpected events. ”

Ma Huaide was stunned for a moment and said, "Have you ever studied it?" How come I don't remember? ”

Yang Tu shook his head slightly and did not speak. Ma Huaide was originally the governor of Xiongzhou, but he only went to the military academy for a short time to feel the atmosphere, and then brought the textbooks back to read for himself. It's hard to say how much he's learned. Because of his high official position and his outstanding performance in the forbidden army, he became the commander of this new army. Of course, it is also because of the fact that there are no suitable candidates for the forbidden army officers who have studied in military schools.

As a commander, defending a city like this, of course, was taught in the military academy. It won't be very detailed, and it's not rigid, but the general principles, how to use the terrain, how to reconnoitre, how to fight in the face of the enemy, are all taught. Ma Huaide only thinks about his lack of people, where can he think of these? Moreover, he regarded the textbooks as the previous military books, and it was difficult to learn them without a teacher to teach them.

Back in Shuaisi, Ma Huaide sat down and took tea there. He has been in the military for a long time, and he will not be frightened by today's defeat. He now wondered what he had done wrong. Why did the other Song troops, since Du Zhongxiao rescued Tanglong Town, never lost in the battle with the Khitan, and they encountered defeat as soon as they came? What is the difference between the other forbidden armies after the training and their own army?

It is not right to say that there are not enough officers, and the Khitan people have a large number of troops is not an excuse, and there are many things that they have overlooked. The most important thing is that I actually don't agree with what the Hejian Military Academy teaches. Although I read the textbook, I didn't study it carefully. Even when you learn, some places will subconsciously feel that the textbook is wrong. Today's battle really woke up Ma Huaide.

At the end of the day, the leaders of the regiments entered the city one after another to see Ma Huaide.

As soon as Wu Cheng and Zhang Gan entered the Shuaisi, they knelt in front of Ma Huaide and said together: "Tai Lieutenant, today the Khitan suddenly crossed the river and attacked, and the last general fought ineffectively, and retreated in defeat, please punish him!" ”

Ma Huaide helped the two of them up and said, "The Khitan people came suddenly, who would have thought that? Victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, and you don't have to worry about it. As long as the back is uplifted, you will definitely be able to defeat the Khitans with today's shame! ”

The two stood up, saw Ma Huaide's sincere expression, and hurriedly thanked them together.

Ordering the leaders of each regiment to sit down, Ma Huaide said: "Last night, the Khitans suddenly crossed the river, and in the early hours of this morning, they attacked the Wucheng military camp. Although Wu Cheng led his troops to fight to the death with the Khitan, there were too many Khitans who came, so he had to retreat to Zhang Gan's camp. It's a pity that it disrupted Zhang Gan's army formation, and was taken down by the Khitans. This battle was caused by our army's carelessness, and the two of them don't have to worry too much. Go back and reorganize the soldiers of the headquarters, get ready, and fight back in the coming day. ”

Wu Cheng and Zhang Gan promised together. Listening to Ma Huaide, he didn't blame, he felt lucky, and he was a little embarrassed.

Ordering the two to sit down, Ma Huaide said again: "According to the report of the rangers, there are no less than 50,000 Khitans who came. We have nine regiments of men and horses, less than 30,000, and we are at a disadvantage compared to the Khitans. However, our army has guns and cannons, and there are strong cities to defend, so there is no need to be afraid of the Khitans. Each regiment used its life to fight with the Khitan under the Qianning Military City! I don't believe that other armies can win the Khitan, but we can't! ”

All the group leaders crossed their hands together and said loudly: "Taiwei, it's just a small defeat, why be afraid of them!" ”

Meng Xuezhi stepped in, looking at the appearance of everyone, and felt a little uneasy in his heart. Defeat is nothing, the key is to sum up the experience and figure out why you lost. Only by understanding the cause of defeat can we change it later and win the battle.

Now Ma Huaide does not pursue Wu Cheng and Zhang Gan, which is understandable to boost everyone's morale. When the enemy is outside, we should first unite the people's hearts and minds, and we should not put heavy pressure on our subordinates as soon as they come up. Otherwise, each regiment leader has his own thoughts, and this battle will not be fought. In fact, guessing that the Khitan would cross the river at night, Meng Xuexue's rangers patrolled at night, discovered the Khitans early, and reported to Wucheng. Wucheng, as the northernmost army, did not send rangers at night, resulting in a sudden attack by the Khitans, and the responsibility could not be escaped. As for Zhang Gan, he was rushed by the defeated army of Wucheng, but he really couldn't complain about him.

In this battle, Wu Cheng's headquarters lost more than 1,000 people, as well as all the military food and grass. Zhang Gan lost more than 200 men, and the military camp was also lost. In terms of numbers alone, the Khitans actually didn't take advantage of anything, but they lost two military camps, and of course they were defeated.

Ma Huaide looked at everyone and said, "Now it seems that each regiment is stationed separately and fights separately, which is very unfavorable to the Khitan. There is a shortage of officers in my commandery, and the delay in building it will inevitably affect the operation. Everyone go back, select suitable officers from the regiment, and go to the commander to do things. In extraordinary times, it can only be like this. The rest of the regiment can only work harder. ”

Bi Deying arched his hand: "I don't know what kind of officers the captain wants?" We are a regiment, and many of the commanders want to use them, but there are no people in the regiment. ”

Ma Huaide said: "There is no urgency in this matter, I will write down who needs and how much each group will give you." This is a big deal, and you can't be sloppy. At present, there is a lack of divisional level in the army, and although there are few officers, it is still built first. The three regiments in the north of the city, with Xie Chi as the division leader, governed the two regiments of Wucheng and Zhanggan. In the south of the city, Meng Dang was the master of the division, and he had jurisdiction over the two regiments of Zhou Zhenghai and Shao Hai. The remaining three regiments were under the jurisdiction of Yang Tu as the master. ”

Although several group leaders had doubts in their hearts, they still surrendered their hands together. This division commander is only an empty name, and he has no rank, no corresponding organization, and no direct subordinate unit allocation, and it is obviously only conducive to coordination. Compared with the real master, who can take charge of himself, it is really far behind.

Of the three masters, Xie Chi is because he is the only one who defended today, Yang Tu is a veteran, Meng Xuexue won a few days ago, and the rest have nothing to say. Now it seems that the Ninth Regiment is fighting on its own, and it is really impossible to command.

Meng Xuexue's face was expressionless. Now that I have been promoted to an official, I am not happy, but I feel a sense of responsibility. This division master is only set up temporarily, will the other two armies obey their own command? It's hard to say.