Now the people in Chang'an City are also talking, they want to escape from the city, they know that with the current strength of Chang'an, it is easy to capture, and it is not so underestimated, why? Because the Song Dynasty has always won less and lost more since the Khitan Emperor Yelu Longxu ascended the throne for a year, Yelu Longxu's cavalry is unparalleled in the world, and the saddle iron armor is on the horse's body, and their infantry is also unparalleled in the world. The Song Dynasty didn't dare to give them a hard time, in fact, the Song Dynasty still had fire-breathing bombs, but they were not easy to use, because the emperor said that it was impossible to use them if it was not necessary, so they took out fire-breathing bombs just to create a feeling that the soldiers were coming to the city.

At this moment, although they had not seen the terrible Liao State, they heard the sudden arrival of the Liao State and realized that it was terrible. There will always be people who will perish because of the war, and the war will bring destruction, which is expected by the common people all over the world. In the pre-Qin period, although the discussion of the causes and nature of war was still quite superficial and even one-sided, it was after all involved the fundamental issue of war. He believes that the victory or defeat of war is not only a contest of material strength, but also a struggle of politics and people's hearts. Therefore, the victory or defeat of a war involves many important factors.

(1) All battles must be based on political victory

Zhou Yi said: "Shizhen, Zhangren, Ji is not to blame." ("Zhou Yi Division Seventh"), it is in line with justice to say that the soldiers are fighting wars, and there are people with high morality and dignity in command, even if the material strength is insufficient, they can finally win without blame. Why? Because "the teacher is straight for the strong, and the song is for the old." ("The Twenty-Eighth Year of the Duke of Zuo"), a righteous teacher, righteous and high-spirited. On the contrary, the reason for the loss of morale and the low morale of the fighting spirit is the fundamental reason why the just war has the strength and finally defeats the enemy. "The Book of Shang Jun" bluntly said, "All tactics must be based on political victory" ("Shang Junshu - Tactics Tenth"), and "Huainanzi Military Strategy Training" also said, "The victory or defeat of soldiers lies in politics." If the government wins over the people, and the subordinates are attached to the top, the soldiers will be strong; The people are victorious over the government, and the army is weak at the bottom." Stressing that the principles guiding war must be based on politics and premise, and political superiority is the most important victory and the most fundamental condition for defeating the enemy. If political rule can control the people, and the subordinates support the monarch, then the military power is strong. When the people resist political rule and their subjects oppose the monarch, the military is weak. It is a universal historical law that the government will prevail if the government prospers, and if the government declines, the country will perish. Because the government can have the same desires from top to bottom, the soldiers and the people are the same, the same hatred of the enemy, and the common enemy; Political decline is like a plate of scattered sand, the people's morale is weakened, and not only can they not be united in their opposition to the enemy, but may even lead to civil strife and defection. Therefore, "the land is not large enough to be strong; Strong armor is not enough to win; The high city and deep pond are not enough to solidify; Strict punishment is not enough to determine. For those who survive, although they are small, they must survive; For those who die in government, although they are great, they will perish. (Huainanzi, Volume 15, Military Training). The Book of Shang Jun goes a step further and asserts: "Those who have been winning for a long time will be strong to the king" (Shang Jun Shu: The Tenth Law of War). Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to "the army rises up and the enemy is defeated, and those who are not good at politics should not fight" (ibid.).

Sima Qian said, for example: "If you are not strong, you are not strong, you are not virtuous, the Yellow Emperor, Tang, and Wu are prosperous, and the Jie, Xu, and II are collapsed, can you be careful?" ("Taishi Gong's Self-Introduction"). A country would not be strong without an army, and a country would not be prosperous without benevolent government. The Yellow Emperor, Shang Tang, and King Wu of Zhou prospered because of these two conditions, while the reason why Xia Wei, King Shang, and Qin II perished was mainly because they lost popular hearts politically. No soldier is not strong, and a soldier is a symbol of strength. However, it is not enough to have soldiers, and the prosperity of the country also requires political ethics, which is the basic premise and solid foundation for a strong army. "Hundred Battles and Strange Methods: Life Battles" pointed out: "If you fight against rebellion with shun, fight with straight, and fight foolishness with virtue, there is no doubt that "soldiers are righteous, attacking can also be attacked, and salvation can also be saved." If the soldiers are unjust, they cannot attack or defend. ("Lü's Spring and Autumn Period, Volume 7, Meng Qiuji, Forbidden Stopper"). The reason is that "the husband punishes the unrighteous with righteousness, and if the river is broken and the fire is irrigated, and the unexpected situation is crowded, it will be defeated." ("Three Strategies, Lower Strategies"). The side of a just war against the side of an unjust war is like drowning a weak torch with the waters of a broken river, pushing down a crumbling man on the shore of the abyss, its strength is strong, and victory is inevitable.

The fundamental reason why the essence of war is "political victory" rather than "military victory" and "military victory" is that "those who have attained the Tao will be more helpful." There is little help for those who have lost their ways. The widow is helpless, and the relatives are beside them; If you help more, the world will follow it. With the world's obedience, attack the relatives of the side, so the gentleman does not fight, the battle will be won. (Mencius, Volume 4, Gongsun Chouche Sentence II).

Therefore, governing the government is more important than governing the army. Therefore, it is proposed that "good officials are better than good generals, and good governance is better than good war" ("Preparing for the Sea"). Of course, "political victory" does not exclude "military victory," and the two are mutually restrictive, mutually promoting, mutually influencing, and dialectically unified, and are not contradictory. "If you use force, you will win with strength, and if you use literature, you will win with virtue. Victory in civil and military force, what is the enemy's disobedience! ("Lü's Spring and Autumn Period, Volume 15, Trial Overview, Not Wide").

(2) Shi Ke is in and out of the crowd

The ancients emphasized the importance of "harmony" and regarded it as an important factor in victory, pointing out that "the master is in harmony with the public." ("Zuo Chuan: The Eleventh Year of Huan Gong"), emphasizing that "where there is a victory, one of the three armies wins" ("Sima Fa, Yan Rank Fourth"). As a country and an army, if there is no harmony between the top and the bottom, and if the left and right sides cannot be coordinated, it will be difficult for them to win the war, even if they have a large number of people. In any war to win a victory, the three armed forces must unite as if they were one person, think in one place, work hard in one place, support each other, and coordinate closely. ("Pipe Situation No. 2").

To fight a war, we need time, geography, and people, and the three conditions are indispensable, and they are all important factors for victory, but "people" are the most important conditions. "Between heaven and earth, nothing is more precious than man. …… The time and place are favorable, and the people are not allowed to do the three, although there is a victory. ("Sun Bin's Art of War: Moon War"). Emphasize that among the many winning factors, nothing is more important than people. "The time is not as good as the location, and the location is not as good as the people. The city of three miles and the Guo of seven miles are invincible. If the husband attacks it, there will be those who have the right time; However, the invincible is not as good as the time and the place. The city is not high, the pool is not deep, the military revolution is not strong, and the rice millet is not much. (Mencius, Vol. 4, Gongsun Chou Chapter and Sentences). Harmony wins, and disharmony goes, which shows the extreme importance of "harmony". However, people are not utopian but conditional, "soldiers of the Dao,...... Because of the desire of the people, take advantage of the power of the people, and to eliminate the cheap. Therefore, we will die with each other, sympathize with each other, and help each other with the same desire. Move along the way, the world is the direction; Because of the people's concerns, the world is fighting. (Huainanzi, Volume 15, Military Training). Only "soldiers who have attained the Tao" can "die with the same interests, sympathize with each other, and help each other with the same desire" and can "win the victory of the three armies and one person".

Therefore, the size of the army is not necessarily huge, and the more soldiers are not the stronger, that is, "the division does not have to be heavy, but the one who serves the order is glorious" ("Dr. He's Preparation Treatise: Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty"). "The number of soldiers is tired and the number of soldiers is weak", "the number of soldiers is less and then the stronger" ("Shuixin Beiji, Volume 10.12"), "The soldiers are not expensive", "Where there are many defeats, it is not because of the few soldiers, but because of the number of soldiers, there is no distinction between cowardice" ("Jin Shi, Volume 109, Chen Gui Biography"). The army, of course, should have a certain size and quantity, but quality is more important. And the emphasis on quality is mainly the quality of people. If the army is greedy for life and afraid of death and cannot serve its life, if discipline is lax and cannot be effectively restrained, if it is not skilled in martial arts and cannot fight, and if it is backward in equipment and cannot fight, it will not be beneficial to have more.

History is very big for the war, and now the Liao army has been driving straight in, conquering the city one after another, and the land around Chang'an is now besieged by the Liao army, and a big crisis will slowly open in the war.