The second sister and the others naturally didn't listen to new terms such as fortress warfare in Du Nuhao's words.

Look at him bewilderedly.

Cai said: "General Du, if the war is fought, we will suffer too many casualties, I am afraid" The Empress Dowager will not agree. ”

Du Wenhao said: "Of course, we are not afraid of falling into war, but we must avoid falling into war as much as possible."

Because we are not sure of victory at present, it is not appropriate to expand the war, but to force peace with war, that is, at the same time as fighting, if they propose peace talks, they can negotiate on the border, and at the same time, use victory on the battlefield to force them to make concessions, which is called forcing peace with war. ”

Du Wenhao's trick was naturally learned from the Korean War.

Everyone nodded slowly.

Han Jin stroked his beard and said, "General Du."

The first two items you mentioned were also used by our army in the past battles with Western Xia and Daliao, but you should know that the results were not satisfactory after studying previous war examples. ”

"That's because there's no third!" Du Wenhao smiled, "We used to use the tactics of clearing the wilderness with strong walls, and we also emphasized long-term and protracted warfare in our thinking, but.

Once the war began.

The generals who led the troops were full of confidence before sending out the troops, and when they divided their troops to attack, they were greedy for merit and rash forward, and when they saw that the enemy army was about to collapse at the first touch, they showed off their might, thinking that they were invincible in the world.

led the army commander to drive straight in, not knowing that the enemy was luring the enemy deep.

As a result, the enemy's concentrated superior forces were completely annihilated in one fell swoop! The most critical part of my tactics is the third one! Only when the third article is properly implemented and implemented can the fortified walls and clear the wilderness be effective. ”

Lin Xi, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, said: "General Du, the first two points are easy for us to understand, and the last point is the last point, what does it mean to be greedy for silkworms, and what does it mean to be a fortress."

Can you elaborate on how this can be implemented? "The protracted war and the encroachment war of the fortress were learned by Du Wenhao from the successful tactics of the fifth encirclement and suppression of the Soviet area by the Kuomintang during the Agrarian Revolutionary War.

In the first four anti-encirclement and suppression campaigns in the Soviet area that year, guerrilla warfare and movement warfare were adopted, leading the enemy by the nose, and successfully smashing the first four encirclement and suppression.

In the fifth encirclement and suppression, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 500,000 troops, almost three times the strength of the Soviet army.

The tactics adopted are to take defense as offense under the guidance of the idea of protracted warfare.

Step by step, every time they pushed forward, they repaired pillboxes and built artillery towers to encroach on and encircle the Soviet area.

The operation lasted for a year, and the Red Army failed to smash the encirclement and suppression, and was finally forced to abandon the Long March.

The success of the Kuomintang's fifth anti-encirclement and suppression campaign should be attributed to the correctness of its tactics, and secondly, because of the mistake in the command of the Bogu three-man regiment.

When Du Wenhao studied the experience and teaching of the Western Xia operations, he repeatedly thought about how to formulate strategies and tactics if he commanded the Western Xia battles.

Now that he has finally entered the Zaizhi and has the right to decide, he will naturally not be humble.

He was determined to use this local war to test whether his strategic thinking would work and prepare for the next step of organizing a larger-scale campaign.

He continued: "At the same time as clearing the wilderness, build a war village on the border, each war fortress is stationed with a capital of men and horses (each of the Song military system is a hundred people), use horse rejection guns and other fences to enclose the war village, and dig fortifications such as the horse ditch around it.

The battle stoppers should be distributed in a zigzag shape, relying on each other, and the two war stoppers should gather 500 paces together, because the firing range of our god arm bow is about 250 steps (about 380 meters) so that the enemy army can enter the firing range and use crossfire to destroy the enemy, Huang Lu asked: "I'm afraid that this is not appropriate, the enemy army can use trebuchets to attack the battle village from a distance, or concentrate forces to attack the war wall?" What then? "Don't worry, I'm not done yet.

Our large army was deployed not far from the first-line battle village, and the cavalry team was deployed in front.

Those who can quickly respond to the attack will be followed by a large army.

In this way, there is an enemy situation in the battle village, and the beacon tower is lit with wolf smoke as a signal.

The rear army was immediately reinforced and fought a decisive battle with the enemy.

It should be noted that our rear army can no longer divide troops.

We must concentrate superior forces in one place, and we must not make the mistake of dividing our troops and advancing rashly.

This tactic is to take the camp step by step, using the battle fortress as the tentacles, both to attack the fortress and to explore the outpost at the front.

At the same time, with the infantry of the large corps with superior numbers as the backing, the whole line attacked little by little, and advanced step by step.

The enemy had no choice but to engage in a frontal battle with us, taking advantage of our army's large number of generals and a wide range of generals, so as to fight more and fight less.

If the enemy flees, we must not pursue, because we are advancing step by step, and those who are greedy for merit, regardless of whether they have made meritorious service or not, will be punished for disobeying military orders! They had never heard of this kind of tactic, and Lin Xi asked, "Then how to move forward and encroach?" Du Wenhao was simply big: "It's simple."

The battle wall is not a city, but a temporary wallade composed of obstacles such as horse guns and other obstacles, which can be moved.

The zigzag front is divided into three rows.

When the front row is in place, the rear row begins to be dismantled, moved to the front with less than twice the range of the bow arm, and at the same time, the large army camp stationed in the rear is to move forward.

And so on alternately and forward.

That's cannibalization. ”

Cai Bian smiled: "One, the battle fortress is a hundred people, that is, a hundred people, and a battle village is set up five hundred steps apart, may I ask General Du, how many troops are the generals ready to invest in the border between my Great Song Dynasty and Western Xia stretching for thousands of miles?" I'm afraid that a million won't be enough, right? "Hehe, Qin Shi Huang built the Great Wall, and he didn't surround the whole of China! Only Shannu set up the right in key parts and key areas to make a place the most appropriate: Zhen Jinglu Division three lines! Du Wenhao has been studying the previous battles with the Western Xia during this time, so he is already familiar with the main strategic points of the enemy and us on the border, and ordered his troops to transfer the map of the Songxia border and bring a table.

After spreading out the map, he pointed to the area around Huanzhou and said: "This is the main battlefield of our army fighting with Western Xia, and it is the closest place to the capital of Western Xia."

It is only hundreds of miles away from Xingqing Mansion in the capital of Xixia, and you can get to the city of Xixia in two or three days! Therefore, with Huanzhou as the general logistics base, the Ministry of War Readiness and Funds is concentrated here, and the troops are mainly concentrated in this area. ”

Han Zhen asked, "If you advance to the enemy town."

How? "Force them to abandon the city!" Everyone looked at each other, and Lin Xi asked, "If you force it?" "Surround the city on three sides first, leave only the northern retreat, and bombard it with siege artillery and other weapons, but do not force the siege.

The rest of the country continues to move forward.

If the enemy brings troops to help, it is just right to encircle the point and send reinforcements.

If the enemy retreats, remember not to pursue and continue to advance according to the deployment of our army.

Seeing that the defending city is about to fall into siege, most of them will abandon the city and flee, if not.

It is enough to besiege it on all sides, and not to storm the city.

Eventually, the enemy may be forced out of the city to fight.

Or surrender.

Then the city can be broken. ”

Han Jin thought for a moment and nodded: "In the case of steady progress, I think this plan will be made." ”

Du Wenhao said again: "Our army's battle line is advancing step by step, and every time we push forward, we will take a step closer to the heart of the enemy's capital, and Western Xia will be one step nervous, and sooner or later it will be forced to fight a decisive battle with our army."

And a large-scale frontal battle will be able to wield the numerical superiority of our army.

Once most of the enemy army is annihilated, or the capital of Western Xia is captured, the Western Xia will collapse on all fronts! Cai Cheng said: "General Du's battle plan seven sounds quite tempting, hehe, it's just that our army has never implemented this kind of tactic, so I don't know how effective it is." ”

Wang said: "I think it is feasible! Step by step, steady and steady, fortress warfare plus encroachment warfare.

This can be done slowly, step by step.

At least it is more reliable than mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops to attack on a large scale.

I'm in favor of this tactic! Wang Fa was the prime minister, he expressed his approval, and other people began to weigh it in their hearts.

Although Du Wenhao's tactics were all heard of for the first time.

However, the basic idea of this tactic is to take defense as an offense, step by step, and advance slowly, which is consistent with the Song army's traditional defensive warfare thinking.

It can also fully exploit the traditional advantages of the Song army's defense, which is naturally easy to be accepted by them.

They all nodded slowly.

Cai Qu smiled and said, "This tactic is so novel.

I'm afraid that someone else will not be able to implement the essentials, and this minister recommends General Du as the generalissimo of the soldiers and horses, unified command, what do you think? Naturally, everyone echoed in unison.

Including the king hanging.

They all nodded and said, "General Du is fully responsible."

Only then can we ensure that this method of war is not out of shape. ”

Du Wenhao arched his hand and said: "Thank you for your trust, and it is better to be respectful than to obey your orders, and serve as the generalissimo of this battle."

It's just that the Empress Dowager has already said that she will be responsible for rectifying the army, so she will definitely not be able to go to the front line to directly command the battle, and besides, the lowly post is honestly not familiar with the art of war, and she is afraid that it will not be easy to win the battle directly.

It is also the appointment of a former enemy commander-in-chief who is specifically responsible for directing operations at the front. ”

Cai said: "This", I am afraid that others will find it difficult to understand the general's operational thinking, and it will not be good if something goes wrong at that time. ”

Du Wenhao said with a smile: "As long as the former commander-in-chief of the enemy deploys the battle completely according to my arrangement, because the operational idea has been finalized, first fortify the walls and clear the fields within a hundred miles of the border, and then build a war fortress on the front line, resist the enemy with a strong crossbow, and warn with beacon smoke; Cavalry was deployed on the second line.

Respond quickly, and deploy superior infantry on three fronts.

to prepare for battle with the enemy.

That's it.

The work of the commander-in-chief of the former enemy is where to deploy and build the battle wall, organize the deployment of troops on the second and third lines, and how to respond to the enemy's attack.

Keep one thing in mind, that is, you can only push the battle plug forward steadily, and you can only passively defend on the whole line, and you are not allowed to take the initiative to attack.

Anyone who is presumptuous.

Even if you defeat and annihilate the enemy army.

They will also be beheaded! This is iron discipline.

In this kind of operation, the combat mission of the former enemy's commander-in-chief was relatively simple.

Generally don't make big mistakes.

What do you think? Wang Hang has agreed with Du Wenhao on the sixth day of the next month.

is still waiting to marry his daughter, naturally he will not let Du Wenhao go to the front line to command the battle at this time, and nodded at the moment: "What General Du said is extremely true.

General Du was in charge of the overall reorganization of the army.

This is a major event, and it is what the Empress Dowager is most concerned about.

This set of tactics is characterized by step-by-step, steady progress, and does not involve complicated tactics, and ordinary generals can be competent.

However, it is necessary to supervise the generals not to rush in, so as not to be surrounded by enemy troops. ”

Cai said: "Then who should be the commander-in-chief of the former enemy?" Wang Fa thought for a while and said, "It will be a senior scholar of the university, and the imperial history of Chenglu Gongshu will serve as this," the former enemy commander-in-chief, and Li Xian, the envoy of Xuanqing, was appointed as the supervising army. ”

Du Wenhao arched his hand and asked: "Prime Minister, dare to ask whether Lu Gongzhu is a civil minister or a military general?" "Wen Yue" "What about this Li Xian?" Have you ever brought soldiers? "Count it over, when I first fought in Western Xia.

He used to serve as a prison guard. ”

Du Wenhao thought about it and tried to choose the wording as well.

He bowed down and said: "I think that I think I will use troops against the enemy."

It's better to be led by a general.

After all, to lead a battle, it is necessary to be familiar with military affairs, familiar with the art of war, and know how to lead troops. ”

Wang Fa and Cai Qu glanced at each other, and Cai Qu said: "General Du, the civilian official leads the troops, this is the ancestor."

It has always been like this, "Du Wenhao carefully studied the gains and losses of the Song Dynasty's battles with the Great Liao and Western Xia, and knew very well that one of the reasons for the repeated defeats of the Song army was that most of the battles were led by civilian officials who did not understand military affairs.

However, if he said so bluntly, he would definitely offend these deacons, and he would be a new deacon.

I don't want to offend too many people, after all, the ruling decides things, and the principle is that the minority obeys the majority.

Just now, these people had already backed down and agreed with his suggestion to use troops.

He also agreed with his battle plan, this Shunfeng flag has been pulled enough, and the relationship cannot be stiffened again in this matter.

And this suggestion was put forward by the future father-in-law Wang Jia.

It's even harder to argue, so I can only solve this problem in a curve, find the Queen Mother, and let her change her decision.

Han Zhen said again: "How many soldiers is appropriate?" Shang: "General Du said.

This method of operation is to be backed by superior forces.

So I'm afraid that there are fewer soldiers, and I think that there are 50,000 soldiers, what do you think? Han Zhen said: "Draw out the generals of the road?" Cai Bian said: "The war originated from Huanqing Road.

Naturally, the troops of Huanqing Road were withdrawn, and it seems that there are nine generals in the Huanqing army, right, General Du? "Du Wenhao is the three yamen to check, after taking office.

The first thing he needs to understand is how his troops are deployed throughout the country, so after a month, he already knows the deployment of troops from all walks of life, and nodded at the moment: "Lord Cai is right, the army currently deployed on Huanqing Road has a total of nine generals and more than 70,000 people.

There are more than 8,000 war horses.

Merely.

About forty percent of them are van troops.

Another 10% or so were soldiers, local township soldiers and local yamen archers. ”

Emperor Yuanfeng of the Song Dynasty reformed the system, changed the military structure, and implemented the art of war and the method of forming a team.

Its so-called "general" military system is similar to the mixed army in modern society.

Mainly based on the forbidden army.

And the garrison of the local Xiang army, the fan army, the township soldiers, and the local yamen archers were all incorporated into the establishment.

Therefore, the number of troops per army varies from place to place, and the gap is very large, ranging from tens of thousands to thousands.

Han Jin asked, "Then how many of our forbidden troops are there?" "If memory serves, the Huanqing Forbidden Army is less than 40,000 people."

Wang Fa frowned and said, "That's not enough."

You can't transfer all the soldiers of the Quanhuan Qingjing Strategy Division to the front line, right? Du Wenhao arched his hand and said: "In terms of humble duties, this is a protracted war, so we can't expect to solve the problem by just relying on one road of soldiers and horses. ”

Han Zhen was shocked: "How many people are there in these six roads?" Du Wenhao was already familiar with these numbers, and he snapped his fingers and said: "The Huanqing Jingluo Division is the most important frontal battlefield for our army to fight against the Western Xia Army, so the troops deployed in this area account for about thirty to forty percent of the country's troops, and the number is about between 300,000 and 400,000.

The forbidden army that can really fight is around 200,000. ”

Han Zhen said: "Two hundred thousand? That's too much, right? The incursions of the Western Xia army during this period were not more than 10,000 people each time, only about four or five thousand.

We have 200,000 troops to fight, first, to kill chickens with knives, and second, to draw out troops from other places, resulting in an empty force, which will allow the enemy to take advantage of the weakness. ”

Du Wenhao smiled and said: "Our army is deployed along the north of Huanzhou, the closest place to the capital of Western Xia, and every time we push forward, we will approach the enemy's capital one step closer.

If the enemy forces attack and disturb other places.

It is not possible to divide the troops, only continue to invade forward, and when the enemy capital is facing direct danger, he will never dare to draw out the men and horses protecting the capital to attack elsewhere.

Inevitably, his subordinates will be heavily armed to stop us at the front.

Therefore, other places should not be invaded by Western Xia on a large scale, even if there are such signs.

It was just encircling Wei to save Zhao and involving the strength of our army. ”

Han Jin nodded and said, "That's right. ”

Du Wenhao continued: "I mentioned it earlier.

The use of the troops of the Shaanxi Sixth Route Pacification Division into this campaign is not to concentrate all the troops in this place, but to implement a system of rotation operations.

To put it simply, these six ways to pacify the soldiers and horses have to take turns to fight the enemy.

Each time two of these men and horses are removed, the forbidden army that fights directly cannot be less than 50,000 people, and the box army responsible for the stunned can not be limited to this limit, and the time limit for changing is limited to half a year.

In this way, taking turns to fight, firstly, you can avoid the general's fatigue for a long time, and secondly, secondly.

All officers and men of our army can take turns to fight.

Hone combat effectiveness, evaluate soldiers and soldiers, and prepare for large-scale operations in the future. ”

Wang Fa praised: "This is a good idea! Take turns.

Once every six months, 50,000 people in each round will immediately go into battle.

Good! Everyone agreed, and they appreciated the old man's character of protecting his future son-in-law.

And this is not a matter of principle.

The main reason is that this method is also more in line with the needs of protracted warfare, so they all unanimously agreed to Du Wenhao's proposal.