bookrandom Chapter 1061 I have three strategies: good, medium and bad
Chapter 1061 I have three strategies: good, medium and bad
Chapter 1061 I have three strategies: good, medium and bad
He immediately went to the main hall of Chongzheng Hall with Zhang Yue.
Zhang Yue was very familiar with the Chongzheng Hall. In the past, this hall was called the Jiangwu Hall, but it was later renamed for the sake of political correctness.
During the palace examination that year, I answered the questions in the two corridors of this hall. Later, the names of the palace examination and the imperial examination were also called out here.
Zhang Yue's first official position after entering the officialdom was as a storyteller in Chongzheng Hall, and it was from this that he benefited.
Today, the familiar map of the five routes of Shaanxi is hung on the main hall of Chongzheng Hall.
This map also represents the government's determination. Originally, this map was not placed here, but it has been placed here since the ninth year of Xining.
The palace examinations and other occasions were moved to other halls, and the Chongzheng Hall was only used to discuss military affairs with the prime ministers, thus restoring the original function of the "Jiaowu Hall".
This map of the five routes in Shaanxi represents what the emperor is thinking about.
Now, the government, who is crazy about painting blocks of color, has almost painted all the blocks on the side of Xihe Road and Qinfeng Road, and the most conspicuous area in the center is the Xingling heartland of Western Xia.
From north to south they are Hedong Road, Fuyan Road, Huanqing Road, and Jingyuan Road of the Song Dynasty.
Zhang Yue held a wooden staff in his hand and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, please look, there are two military governors to the right of Xia State, and four military governors to the left of Xia State."
There is a reason why there are five Jinglüe Routes, not three, four, six or seven.
Because each military governor's route corresponds to a direction of attack by Western Xia against the Song Dynasty.
So theoretically, the Song Dynasty had five directions of attack against Xia, namely Hedong Road, Fuyan Road, Huanqing Road, and Jingyuan Road. In the past, there was also Qinfeng Road, but with Zhang Yue's advance on Xihe Road, Qinfeng Road is now included in Xihe Road and no longer borders Western Xia.
Therefore, the six military governors correspond to the five attack directions of the Western Xia against the Song Dynasty, or the attack directions of the Song Dynasty against the Western Xia.
"The original Shaanxi Road was a broken terrain with gullies crisscrossing, and the only way to get around was through river valleys and streams. Fuyan Road was along the Luo River, Huanqing Road was along the Maling River, Jingyuan Road was along the Jing River, and Qinfeng Road was along the Wei River."
"There are mountains and rivers blocking each road. For example, the Ziwu Mountains block the Fuyan Road and Huanqing Road, and the Liupan Mountains and Long Mountains block the Jingyuan Road and Qinfeng Road. Only the Huanqing Road and Jingyuan Road are slightly more convenient. Because the roads of the governors of Shaanxi are all built along the river valleys, they are long strips."
After hearing Zhang Yue's words, the official couldn't help but sigh at what it meant for professionals to do professional things.
Shaanxi and Hedong were like the palm of his hand. Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, the map must not be viewed this way. Only by drawing a sand table and simulating the height difference in proportion can you see it clearly."
The four-route military map of Shaanxi must be viewed on a sand table. There are two points on the map that are less than a mile apart, but you need to walk dozens of miles around a river valley to reach them.
Therefore, the overall situation between Shaanxi and Western Xia is one of one horizontal and several vertical. The horizontal refers to the Hengshan Mountains, and the vertical refers to the various military routes divided by river valleys and mountains.
Once Western Xia sent troops, each military governor could only respond on their own. Among them, Fuyan Road was under the greatest pressure and was also an area heavily defended by the Song army.
Therefore, the Song army's long-term idea was to seize Hengshan and connect the vertical routes to avoid being defeated by the Western Xia. In this way, they could attack or defend, and the Western Xia would no longer be a threat.
Zhang Yue’s analysis here is almost the same.
Zhang Yue said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I think there are three strategies for attacking Xia now!"
Ancient counselors all liked to offer their best, average and worst strategies. There are 29 such records in history books.
Why do counselors like to offer three strategies?
There is a joke on the Internet that says the best option is the recommended configuration, the middle option is the minimum configuration, and the worst option is if you must do this. Here is a risk waiver agreement for you to sign first.
History tells us that those who accept advice often do not choose the best option, most of them choose the worst option, that is, "ignore the risks and continue to install" (you know).
Of course, the emperor must know what the three strategies are: upper, middle and lower. Pang Tong planned for West Sichuan for Liu Bei, Sima Yi made plans for Gongsun Yuan, and Li Mi advised Yang Xuangan, all of which were these three strategies.
At this time, the emperor said, "According to your opinion, I order five military governors to attack Xia from different directions, so that Xixia will be unable to take care of itself. What do you think?"
Zhang Yue said directly to the emperor: "Your Majesty, this is the worst possible strategy!"
Why does the strategy of war always emphasize dividing and attacking together, rather than pushing forward all at once, in order to avoid the dilemma of "I don't care how many directions you come from, I'll only go one way".
It's a very simple truth. The logistical supply pressure of the divided and coordinated attack is the smallest.
The logistical supply pressure of an army of 500,000 marching in one route versus an army of 100,000 marching in five routes is several times that of the latter, and it is growing exponentially.
In history, the five-pronged attack on Xia was carried out in this way, with all five routes attacking at the same time.
Zhang Yue directly denied the government's historical decisions, saying that this was the worst possible strategy and that even the worst possible strategy was not even under consideration.
The emperor was embarrassed when he heard this, and finally said: "Among all the officials, you are the most familiar with military strategy, please tell me everything!"
Zhang Yue said: "My best strategy is to leave Xihe, contact Qingtang and Lanzhou Uighurs, seize Lanzhou and Liangzhou, and then intercept the westerners' trade to benefit our trade."
"This move will hit the Westerners from behind and put their economy in jeopardy. Within a few years, the Western bandits will be in chaos."
The official shook his head and said, "This method is too slow. What is the fastest way?"
Zhang Yue said: "The fastest is the worst option. We should conquer Hengshan, first build a city in Yinzhou, then in Youzhou, then in Xiazhou, and then in Yanzhou in the north. We will take the salt profits from Wu and Bai pools, and then advance gradually."
The official said, "Does this method seem feasible?"
Zhang Yue said: "If we send troops from Hedong Road, Fuyan Road, and Huanqing Road to attack Xia, we have to pass through the vast dry sea and uninhabited areas, so it is extremely difficult to get supplies."
"Even if we conquer it, we cannot defend it. Even if we build a fortress, the journey is extremely long. Not only do we have to recruit a lot of laborers, but there is also the risk of the grain route being looted. If we transport grain to the inner line, the grain route and the laborers are safe. If we transport grain to the outer line, we need to station soldiers along the way, which is difficult to take care of. Not only do we need heavy troops to guard it, but we also need to set up forts and stations to deliver it, which is extremely labor-intensive, material and financial."
The failure of the five-route attack on Xia in history was due to the poor logistical supply of the Hedong, Fuyan and Huanqing routes, which also led to the collapse of the Jingyuan route.
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, I have observed that since the Qingli period, the royal army has fought dozens of battles with the Tanguts. As long as we fought on the inner front, we won more, but when we fought on the outer front, we won less."
"Why did Zhang Yu win the Taoshui victory? Because the Song army was fighting on the interior. Therefore, the royal army was able to win if there were no problems with the supply line and logistics."
Looking at the wars between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia, the Song Dynasty won more battles than it lost, which shows that the Dangxiang soldiers were not that strong.
However, the Song army suffered several major defeats in external battles.
The worst plan Zhang Yue proposed was to build along the Hengshan line.
The official asked, "What about the middle strategy?"
Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, among all the routes, only Jingyuan Road and Xihe Road are a little slower. Jingyuan Road is a key place connecting Qinfeng Road and Huanqing Road. The cities in the state are distributed along the Jing River, and the tribes are thriving. This route goes west from the Marshal's Mansion Weizhou to Zhenrongjun. This place was Pingliang County in the past, and it was a key place for fighting with Xixia."
"The Zhenrong army will go down along the Huluchuan River, pass Xiaoguan and reach Mingsha on the south bank of the Yellow River. When the Yellow River freezes, go northeast for more than a hundred miles to Lingzhou to cover the enemy's lair. Although this road is a little far, the river is wide and flat, with abundant grass and beautiful water."
"My central strategy is to support Jingyuan Road with money, silk, and fodder, and then launch an attack from Hedong, Fuyan, Huanqing, and Xihe. Each route will send out more than 10,000 infantry and 6,000 to 7,000 cavalry, which will be enough to harass the enemy without harming their baggage. Finally, we will gather our heavy troops at Jingyuan Road, cross the Yellow River, and attack their lair."
The official heard this and asked, "How much money and food do we need for this journey?"
"This route also requires the construction of at least fifteen cities. The manpower and material resources mobilized are no less than those for building Hengshan, but the risk is smaller."
This is Zhang Yue’s middle strategy, or the ‘minimum configuration’.
The best strategy is to take Liangzhou and Lanzhou, and to force the enemy to retreat, just like strangling Xixia's throat and making them die bit by bit. This was also my original plan.
The worst option is to build Hengshan. I have explained the risks to you, but I strongly do not recommend it.
But it sounds like this to the emperor at this moment. He will definitely not accept the best strategy, so the only strategies he can implement are the middle and worst strategies.
In fact, Zhang Yue’s suggestion is a moderate strategy.
When sending troops from Hedong Road, Fuyan Road, and Huanqing Road to attack Xingling Prefectures, we have to consider the fact that the supply lines are too long and have to pass through barren lands.
Although we need to build strongholds and forts along the road out of Jingyuan, the supply line is relatively short and passes through areas with abundant water and grass. We can also recruit local tribes to serve our purposes.
The middle strategy was of course to attack Xia from five directions, but instead of attacking everything at once, it was changed to a main attack from one direction and a feint attack from the other four directions. The main force of the Song army went out from Jingyuan Road.
After the five routes to attack the Xia Dynasty failed, Li Xian suggested that the army be sent from this route, but the emperor did not listen and chose to build Yongle City in the direction of Hengshan. In the fourth year of Shaosheng, when Zhang Yu was the governor of Jingyuan Road, he sent troops from the Zhenrong Army to build Pingxia City near Huluchuan River, using it as a center to attack the Western Xia.
This move shocked the Xixia people, who said that their jobs were being taken away and their lands were being occupied by the Han people.
So Empress Dowager Liang brought her son and led the army to capture Pingxia City, which led to the Song Dynasty's greatest victory over Western Xia, the Battle of Pingxia City.
After this battle, the Song army completely occupied Tiandu Mountain and Huluchuan. The Western Xia could no longer fight and begged the Liao Kingdom for mediation. Zhang Dun, the prime minister at the time, advocated taking advantage of the situation to destroy the Xia, but the Song Dynasty was afraid of the threat from the Liao Kingdom and had to withdraw its troops.
Facts have proved that the Song army could defeat the Western Xia in terms of logistics.
Zhang Yue originally planned to capture Liang and Lan states, and then send troops from Jingyuan Road to fight a decisive battle with Western Xia, but the government's bad strategies forced him to put forward this immature idea in advance.
Therefore, since there is no way to implement the best strategy, and I do not accept the worst strategy, the middle strategy of sending troops from Jingyuan Road is the lowest configuration.
Wang Anshi was a stubborn prime minister. After he became prime minister, he forced the officials to accept his suggestions, otherwise he would threaten to resign.
But Zhang Yue is not like this when it comes to governing. If the government really doesn't want to use my advice, I won't part ways with you.
Of course, Zhang Yue could rely on his proposal to oppose the five-way invasion of Xia, and then turn around and prove that he was right after the defeat of the Song army. It's like Sima Guang did nothing, but in the end he was politically correct all the way and became the biggest winner after Xining and Yuanfeng.
This move is most beneficial to oneself, but least beneficial to the country.
(End of this chapter)