The strategy that Zhao Beiwang said was carefully discussed with the generals of the Yanmen army, especially after many days of deduction by Wang Rouhua, a military advisor, Zhao Xuanji couldn't find anything wrong with it at this time.

"At present, we don't know how many troops Tianyuan and Khitan may send to Fengming Mountain and Hongye Plain. But in this battle, even if the two are exhausted, there are only more than 400,000 soldiers and horses at most.

"Except for the part that attacked the Dadan Royal Court, there will never be more than 200,000 that can be used to intercept us.

"In the absence of an absolute superiority in their forces, even if they have terrain to help them, it would be wishful thinking to stop us. ”

Zhao Xuanji touched his chin, just groaned slightly, and then agreed to Zhao Beiwang's marching strategy, "My 160,000 Yanmen army, even if I leave 20,000 or 30,000 soldiers to guard the pass, the main force is enough to march forward bravely and eliminate all enemies who stand in the way." ”

Zhao Beiwang nodded and said, "That's right." ”

Zhao Xuanji looked at him:

"The steppe army has always been undisciplined, if the war goes well, they can sweep thousands of miles in a short time, and the invasion is like fire, but if the war is not smooth, they definitely have no resilience to fight hard, and it is easy to disperse in a hurry.

"So the first battle is very important. The actions of the vanguard army must have the momentum of thunder, which can quickly break through the opponent's formation, tear through the opponent's defense, achieve rich results, and crush the opponent's morale.

"The victory in the first battle awakens the fear of the grassland army against the Yanmen army, and the subsequent war will be very smooth, if they do not win the first battle, their arrogance will be more arrogant, and the war will be delayed.

"The pioneer general has a long way to go, who can do it?"

Before this, Zhao Beiwang had already chosen the pioneer, but now that Zhao Xuanji has arrived at Yanmen Pass, this candidate can be changed.

"Metropolitan Governor, the last general, please be the vanguard!" Zhao Beiwang saluted directly, with a resolute attitude.

For the children of the generals, there is nothing more bloody and moving than leading 100,000 troops and crisscrossing the battlefield. For Zhao Beiwang personally, what he has learned all his life is to charge into battle, and if he really wants to strategize, he is not as good as Wang Rouhua.

This time, Zhao Xuanji was in charge of the Chinese army, and he just had his hands free, and he had no scruples to show his life's ambitions.

Zhao Xuanji and Zhao Zhenzhong glanced at each other and agreed to Zhao Beiwang's request.

In the end, Zhao Xuanji and others decided to choose Fengming Mountain as the direction of the main force of the Yanmen Army. The reason is that from Fengming Mountain to the north to Dadan Wangting, the route is straighter and the distance is closer, which can save a lot of time.

Although the terrain of Momijiyuan is relatively flat, there are many water bubbles - similar to lakes, the terrain is dense with low-lying wetlands, which is not conducive to the deployment of troops and large-scale battles, and it is also relatively close to the Khitan hinterland.

Although Fengming Mountain is mountainous, it is located in the grassland after all, not a mountainous terrain, and the mountain is gentle, mostly hilly-like grassy slopes.

There are only a few areas that really deserve the evaluation of "lofty mountains and mountains", and they cannot constitute much of an obstacle.

Zhao Ning expressed a different opinion at this time.

He agreed with the march from Fengming Mountain, but thought that he should not go directly, and it was best for the army to make the illusion of marching to the east of Hongyeyuan, and mobilize the forces of Tianyuan and Khitan. When the two armies were deployed to the east, the defensive strength of Fengming Mountain was weak, and it was not difficult for the vanguard of the Yanmen Army to rush over in one fell swoop.

At this time, the armies of Tianyuan and Khitan did not know which path the Yanmen army would take.

They could only deploy troops in Fengming Mountain and Hongye Plain, and then put a large force of cavalry in the middle, ready to support left and right at any time.

The main force of the Yanmen army can first march towards Hongyeyuan to attract the attention of the other party, and when the time is right, let Zhao Beiwang lead the elite cavalry and assault westward halfway, so that the goal can be successfully achieved.

However, Zhao Ning's suggestion was not adopted.

Everyone unanimously agreed that there was no need to bend around in battle with the grassland army, and the Yanmen army had an absolute superiority in combat power - whether it was weapons and equipment or the strength of cultivators, they all had an overwhelming upper hand.

Therefore, the most effective strategy is to attack the most simple and direct way, and defeat the opponent from the front. In this way, you can not only make progress in the battle, but also kill and injure the opponent's living force, and also break down the opponent's psychological defense.

It's like a strong man competing with a teenager, since he has the absolute advantage of strength, he just needs to punch over and knock down the opponent as soon as possible. There is no need to go around and use any martial arts routines with the other party.

That's giving the other person a chance.

Zhao Xuanji patted Zhao Ning on the shoulder, half admonishing and half reluctantly: "When the two armies fight, combat power is always the biggest factor in determining victory or defeat.

"How to build a strong army is the primary meaning of the art of war, and it is also the first priority of a militaristic state. Stratagems are supplemented when the strength is not enough. It is only when the army is inferior in combat power that it is necessary to use stratagem.

"Throughout the ages, although there are many examples of the weak defeating the strong, the reason why they are recorded in the history books is because there are few such things, but whenever one appears, it is worth taking out a big book.

"In the normal state of war, the competition is the real combat strength of the two armies. ”

"My Yanmen army is the elite of the dynasty, with strong bows and crossbows, strong armor and soldiers, and its strength is not comparable to that of the grassland army. At this time, the first element of using troops is not to make mistakes, not to show flaws, and not to give the enemy a chance.

"Attacking in a dignified manner may seem stupid, but it is actually the best strategy. ”

Zhao Ning opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Zhao Xuanji's face was straight, and his tone became stern:

"Xiao Ningzi, you have made great contributions to the family by relying on your intelligence and wisdom in the past year, and now no one dares to underestimate you. But you have to remember that you are a disciple of Jiangmen, the pillar of the future Great Qi military!

"Cunning and calculation, at best, can help you succeed for a while, but if you rely too much on these, you will inevitably fail. And in the battlefield battle, once the fighter loses, it is the rout of the whole army!

"You just thought too much, which led to the fact that you are only in the early stage of the Yuan Shen Realm now, otherwise, with your qualifications and the resources provided by your family, if you concentrate on cultivation, how can you lose to that little girl of the Yang family in the realm?

"You have to remember that strength always comes first, the Zhao family and Daqi, they all need you to come to Zhenguo in the future, don't be short-sighted!"

Zhao Xuanji said it to this point, even if Zhao Ning still had a thousand words, he couldn't say it. In fact, the strategy of pretending to march to Hongyeyuan, he had told Zhao Beiwang and Wang Rouhua before, but he was also vetoed by them.

Seeing that Zhao Ning's expression was a little gloomy, Zhao Xuanji showed a kind smile and pressed his shoulder hard:

"Actually, you have done well enough, it's just that the old guys are greedy and want you to go higher and farther, who can say that after five hundred years, my Zhao clan will not have another heavenly and human realm?"

Zhao Ning wanted to say what he thought, but Zhao Xuanji knew his thoughts first, shook his head and said:

"More than 100 years ago, my ancestor of the Zhao clan led the army to conquer the grassland, and the reason why he was able to win seven battles and seven victories, and sweep away the Turkic royal court in one fell swoop, relied on nothing else, it was the unparalleled combat power of the army, and the vertical and horizontal of the masters and the strong were unmatched!

"The world only remembers that on that snowy night, the ancestor himself led 30,000 elite horsemen to successfully raid the Turkic royal court. So, for so many years, everyone has been praising this surprisingly clever stroke.

"But I don't know, if there were no successive battles on the frontal battlefield of the previous army, the momentum was like a rainbow, which disrupted the deployment of the Turkic army, tore apart the opponent's defense line, and made the other party take care of one and the other, how could the 30,000 elite horsemen drive straight into the royal court?"

This truth is indeed true, Zhao Ning sighed secretly, and could only nod.

He didn't mean to say anything more.

In fact, he also knew that at this moment, with the eyes of the Great Qi Generals looking at the grassland army, no matter how hard he tried, it would be impossible for his strategy to be implemented.

The reason why I tried three times and twice was just to do my best.

The Zhao clan, although it is currently the existence of the Great Qi Dynasty with the fullest understanding of the wolf ambitions of the Tianyuan Department, but in the eyes of Zhao Ning, a reborn person, everyone's cognition is far from enough, and the deviation is outrageous.

The most fundamental problem is that everyone feels from the bottom of their hearts that the combat strength of the Qi army is far from being comparable to that of the grassland army.

From ancient times to the present, as long as there is no civil strife in the Central Plains Dynasty, it is impossible for the grassland army to defeat the Central Plains army, and it is basically beaten to the point that it cannot find the north.

This is especially true of this dynasty. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the war laid the foundation for more than 100 years of peace, and also established Daqi's deep-rooted sense of superiority over Beihu.

Of course, the reason is not just that the Central Plains Dynasty is self-aggrandizing.

Although the grassland people are not afraid of death, the grassland army has always had a number of obvious weaknesses.

First, military discipline is lax. The steppe army, in the final analysis, is a coalition of various tribes, large and small, everyone lives separately in peacetime, not to mention that there is no unified training, they are essentially herdsmen, ordinary people, not professional soldiers.

For the people of Lebanon, personal survival and life are always the most fundamental pursuit.

Historically, most of the wars between the grasslands and the Central Plains have been plundering.

This year, the grassland is not good, everyone is living a difficult life, and the tribe is going to die a lot of people in the winter, so they meet together to attack the border of the Central Plains Dynasty, loot some property, and leave after a lot of people.

The scale of such raiding wars varies from large to small. If the royal court came forward, it would be the Khan who led everyone to rob together. After the battle (robbery), everyone went back to their homes and continued to live with the living materials they brought back.

Because it is a robbery, the grassland army can fight a smooth battle, and whenever the battle situation is smooth, it will burst out with extremely strong combat power, swarming everywhere, and locusts crossing the border, unstoppable.

But it is precisely because it is a robbery, once the war does not go well and there are too many casualties, everyone sees that the situation is not good, and running away is the first idea that comes to mind. If you can't bring back your belongings, you will be worthless if you die in battle, who wants to?

The grassland royal court was not like the Central Plains court, which had Confucianism to control the minds of the people, so that the people could be willing to die in battle for the concepts of "loyalty to the monarch and serving the country" and "righteousness of the family and country".

Second, he is good at riding and shooting, but he is not good at battle and attacking. The steppe herdsmen have lived on horseback since childhood, and it goes without saying that they are skilled in bow horses, but because of this, they lack foot soldiers and do not know the tactics of the infantry army, so they cannot attack the fortifications.

Third, poor equipment. The weapons of the grassland army are all provided by the herdsmen, and the royal court will not issue them armor and arm them in a unified manner, without that strength and without that need.

The rich tribes have better weapons, and the ordinary small and medium-sized tribes have worse weapons, and there is a huge difference between the top and bottom. There are not even iron arrowheads, and there are countless warriors who can only use wolf's tooth arrows.

No matter how good the archery is, the arrows are not as far as the Daqi soldiers, and the lethality is not as good as the Daqi army, and the fart is not useful.

The armor of the steppe warriors is even more pitiful, basically only belonging to the big tribes, and most of them are leather armor, and there are few iron armors. There is no way, the grasslands are barren, and there are not as many minerals as the Central Plains.

Otherwise, when the grassland army plundered the frontier, they would not even rob iron pots and hoes.

How could such an army confront the elite troops of the Central Plains Dynasty, such as the Yanmen army, and fight in a formation? As long as the infantry of the Yanmen army set up a formation and fired several rounds of salvos with strong bows and crossbows, most of them would have to die on the way to the charge.

Fourth, the grassland is vast and sparsely populated, and there are not as many cultivators as the Central Plains Dynasty.

All these have created the elite army of the Central Plains Dynasty in history, but whenever it fights head-on with the grassland army, the latter will inevitably be defeated.

To tell the truth, if such a grassland army can win the Central Plains army, then it is really a ghost.

This is what Zhao Xuanji said, the biggest basis for the strength of the army to determine the outcome of the war.

The reason why the history of the Civil War lasted for thousands of years was not the question of whether the Central Plains army could win the war, but the fact that the northern border of the imperial dynasty was too long to prevent the attack and harassment of the steppe army.

Therefore, the criterion for judging the strength of the Central Plains Imperial Army is whether it can gallop across the vast grassland, find and seize the main force of the army in the grassland on the premise of ensuring a long supply line, and annihilate them in one fell swoop, so as not to let them run away.

Although the terrain of Fengming Mountain was favorable to the Tianyuan army that went there to fortify first, in the eyes of Zhao Xuanji, Zhao Beiwang and others, even if the Tianyuan and Khitan armies occupied the geographical advantage, they would not fight positional battles.

They have no foot soldiers, they don't know the tactics of the infantry army, and it is not easy to resist the attack of the Yanmen army. Moreover, Fengming Mountain is not a lofty mountain, the terrain is not so dangerous, and there is no such thing as a moat and a majestic pass.

Therefore, Zhao Xuanji and others also hoped that the main forces of the Tianyuan and Khitan armies to intercept the Yanmen army would be concentrated in Fengming Mountain. In this way, it just gave the Yanmen army a chance to defeat them in one fell swoop.

If they were allowed to run away from Fengming Mountain, escape into the vast grassland, and give up attacking the Dadan Royal Court and go around in circles with the Yanmen army, it would be even more difficult for the Yanmen army to chase them.

In the land of the Central Plains, the monks can't run the temple, the city is there, and they control an area when they occupy the city, but in the grassland, there is almost no city.

The royal court said that they were going to migrate, and the herdsmen packed the felt tents, put them on horseback and left.

Once the war drags on, the logistical pressure on the Yanmen army will increase sharply - although the Dadan Department promised to give military rations, the tribe also has a number of cattle and sheep, and it is impossible to raise hundreds of thousands of Yanmen troops for too long.

If in the end, the Yanmen army failed to capture the main force of the Tianyuan army and returned in vain after spending a lot of money and food, then the grassland problem would not be solved, and the military order issued by the emperor to clean up the Tianyuan royal court would not be completed.

Isn't this going to be countered by the civil servants?

The long-awaited war between the Zhao clan and Jiangmen, if it ends up like this, it will be to shoot themselves in the foot.

Therefore, the goal of the battle of Fengming Mountain of Zhao Xuanji and others was to annihilate the living forces of the Tianyuan and Khitan armies, obtain real human heads, and really hit the Tianyuan and Khitan armies.

Zhao Ning understood the thoughts of Zhao Xuanji and the others.

But the point is that the Tian Yuan army is not the kind of steppe army they think they are.