Liu Cheng's job is not as simple as cleaning.
There is a core contradiction in this work. On the one hand, corpses must be buried quickly and intensively; on the other hand, many corpses are involved in the determination of military merits at the most basic level... Liu Cheng, as the celebrity in front of Huan Wen and the newly released Protector-General, said that he wanted to avoid the big trouble of military merits, but he still took on a lot of tasks of judging military merits at the lowest level.
It can only be said that fortunately, he quickly got rid of his previous pretentious mentality and recovered a lot of his condition, so things went well.
Military merit adjudication, especially military merit adjudication at the grassroots level, is actually very simple.
If you have evidence, look at the evidence, but if you don't, look at witnesses. If you're confused, it's easy to deal with it. Try to be careful first, and everyone will make dumplings and share them equally. If you really don't accept it, try to find a way to let them settle the lawsuit... The so-called settlement means to strengthen the strength of both parties.
Whoever insists on taking the credit alone will transfer Left Branch of the Ba River to serve as a scout and cross the swamps to conduct reconnaissance on the opposite side.
Do you dare to go? The one who dares to go will get the credit!
Neither dared to go, so we divided the money equally.
It seems unreasonable, but in fact, the military really can't give you that fairness and justice... The corpse must be buried quickly, otherwise there will be a plague, and the troops are about to leave. Who will give you time to be Conan here?
Implementing military merit quickly and decisively is, in a sense, the greatest justice in grassroots military merit.
As for Di people's thirty thousand soldiers, as soon as it came out, Liu Cheng immediately had his own conjecture and wrote a letter to the Central Army to express his opinion. But that's it, There are many sentry riders in Huan Wen, and at this time, it is said that there are already many "Guanzhong Heroes" and "Guanzhong Elders" who are going to Bashang in front of them to "eat the pot of pulp". This matter should be revealed soon, and there is no need to mix it up by yourself.
Just finish the simple but practical project at hand first.
July 15, Central Army of Huan Wen broke camp on time and went to Bashang... Before that, Huan Qian's cavalry had already set off, but Lantian, as an important node in the march, had to divide up another three thousand troops, which were theoretically commanded by Protector-General Liu Cheng.
Of course, this is just a theory. In fact, Lantian is on a smooth road from Bashang. At a distance of dozens of miles, Huan Wen can be directly controlled.
And Zhu Tao? will also leave Lantian Pass, which has lost military risk, and move to and take over Lantian after Huan Wen stabilizes the entire Ba River Narrows E will still act as Rear Army. When the time comes, Liu Cheng can continue to join Bashang Central Army.
However, before Zhu Tao arrived, Liu Cheng Liu Duhu first waited for another Protector-General.
July 18, slightly Autumn Rain, Xi Chao arrived. After he arrived at Qingni City and established a logistics line, he immediately came to Lantian along with a convoy carrying the remains of the dead and wounded.
When the two met, they first supervised the burial of the victims together, and then rushed into Lantian County. Along the way, Liu Cheng mainly talked about the battle situation that day, and Xi Chao heard about it. The battlefield was so brutal, especially when Liu Hong, Ying Dan, Fu Sheng, and Fu Shuo died so simply, their faces never looked good.
Entering the city and coming to the main room, the two of them sat on the same couch again...Huan Wen was not here, so Liu Duhu could naturally occupy Huan Wen's couch, and lie down on it whenever he wanted... It was only at this time that the two began to exchange some sensitive information.
"How many people were killed in the battle?" Although there was the sound of rain and some noise outside the hall, Xi Chao still chose to ask in a low voice.
"Not counting what you brought today, Imperial Army killed about 2,400 to 5,000 people, and Di people dumped seven or eight thousand corpses." Liu Cheng responded in a low voice. "The seizures of armor, armor, and horse armor were also very large, at least two or three times the loss."
Xi Chao's face still looked ugly. "I counted the wounded at Qingni City, and there were five to six thousand wounded... and half of them will not be able to resume fighting before winter. I am thinking of sending them back to Jingzhou to save food."
"Based on this, in addition to the winter time limit, there is also the problem of insufficient troops?" Liu Cheng immediately understood what the other party meant.
"Isn't that right?" Xi Chao sighed slightly.
Before coming, Liu Cheng and Xi Chao discussed the situation of Northern Expedition countless times, from the rebellion in Shuzhong that had not subsided for four to five years and the political threat of Lower Reaches, to the situation that Guanzhong might encounter... On the way to the march, although time was always tight, they still discussed related issues many times.
But by that time, the factors that need to be calculated are no longer macroscopic things.
At that time, not only Liu and Xi, but almost everyone believed that the biggest hidden danger of Northern Expedition was time, that is, whether Huan Wen could defeat the main force of Di people before winter and seize Chang'an. But now, another problem has clearly emerged, which is the problem of troop strength that both of them realized.
Huan Wen's soldiers are the most royal kind of soldiers. Set up Military Command, Military Command recruit and build Reserve Forces in the source of soldiers, and then select them for training, understand and learn the flag, and adapt to good equipment... This kind of soldiers are good soldiers in the cold weapon era, they are elites.
In any era, you are qualified to fight with enemies of the same military and technological level.
Including the fact that Ying Dan was still able to complete military orders even after his death, and continued to successfully outflank Di people Armored Cavalry, which is also the best proof.
However, this military service system is destined to be unable to avoid the traditional shortcomings of the Elite Troops strategy - it is difficult to replenish troops and the size of the army is limited.
In this battle, Huan Wen pulled out 45,000 soldiers in one breath, which was really powerful, but I didn't expect that Di people's defeat would also cause such a level of attrition and replacement, which really makes people feel guilty. If there is another such a big victory, it will literally reduce the number of troops by more than half, so who would dare to fight?
Can you still defend Chang'an after beating it?
Or to take it a step further, if Guanzhong is a complete game of chess, does Huan Wen dare to continue fighting at the expense of half of its troops? Will it worry about the follow-up threats of Lower Reaches, Yi Province, Hanzhong, Liangzhou, and even Murong Xianbei, and then directly shrink back?
This topic is a bit sensitive. Not only should the two of them not speculate on Huan Wen's attitude in private, but they should directly ask questions about the relationship between monarch and minister... Just Liu Acheng and Xi Jiabin, I don't know how many times they have speculated in private about Huan Wen, including Sima Yu, Chu Suanzi, even Murong Jun and Fu Jian are not immune... In fact, a more important and sensitive point is that Liu Cheng and Xi Chao have long realized that they are undoubtedly impeccable friends, but they are not impeccable political colleagues.
You will know this when you think about it.
Xi Chao is the eldest son of the third generation of Gaoping Xis. Liu Cheng is Northern Migrants rabble. As soon as Northern Migrants rabble disappeared, the political focus of Xi Chao is naturally the same as that of Huan Wen Like, he prefers Jiankang, and Liu Cheng... at least he behaves as if his political focus has always been on Northern Expedition.
In other words, when it comes to the issue of Northern Expedition, these two people really do not advance and retreat in unison. On the contrary, Huan Wen and Xi Chao are closer.
Of course, before this, this difference did not have too much impact. The reason why the two people became close friends, including Huan Wen being able to vigorously promote Liu Cheng and Xi Chao in recent years, speaks for itself... at least the three people's political attitudes towards Jiankang are somewhat similar.
The necessity of Northern Expedition is also relatively recognized.
However, neither of them expected, and probably Huan Wen also didn't expect, that Northern Expedition would be so difficult, and the difficulty would come so quickly, that it would test three people so quickly.
"Di people What's going on with those 30,000 soldiers?" The two of them stopped in unison, looked at the rain outside for a while, and then Xi Chao broke the silence.
"I haven't asked yet, but I have a guess." Liu Cheng said seriously. "I heard that after the defeat that day, when we arrived on the other side of the Ba River, it was not 30,000 reinforcements that came directly, but Grand Commandant Lei Ruo'er disappeared for a while, and then appeared with the 30,000 soldiers... I suspect it was Guanzhong New Di, and maybe some Qiang people."
"New Di?"
"Di people and Qiang people were originally the natives of Guanzhong. They were corrupted by the Jin Dynasty. They started with Guanzhong, and Guanzhong The Rebellion started from Tufa Shujineng's Hexi Xianbei Rebellion. Di, Qiang, and Xiongnu came and went in turn to establish businesses in Guanzhong, even Xianbei was suppressed, Xiongnu was destroyed, and Di people and Qiang people were relocated, but all ethnic groups are still widely distributed in Guanzhong, and most of these people are relatives." Liu Cheng explained briefly. "After Fu Jian comes back to occupy Guanzhong, he will definitely screen these people for their kinship..."
"The one with the surname Fu is on one level, and those who have been together for decades in Fangtou are on another level, and then these Old Guanzhong Kinsmen, then Xiongnu people, Xianbei people, Han people." Xi Chao understands. "These people must be the Di and Qiang who stayed in Guanzhong. Because of their relatives and ethnic groups, they have long been attached in name but have not actually integrated in?"
"Yes, if we don't come, Fu Jian will definitely use both kindness and power to slowly annex them layer by layer from the outermost layer. They may rebel and fight among themselves. Even if we come, Fu Jian will not dare to use these people in the decisive battle. He knew that he couldn't command at all." Liu Cheng nodded in approval. "But we won in one battle, Fangtou Lao Di was killed and wounded in this way, these people became a little bit cold-blooded, and it was extremely unusual to be mobilized."
"That's it." Xi Chao said quietly. "If these 30,000 people were gathered together like this, it would be much more convenient, but it is still a trouble."
"Actually, Di people is really not that united. Even the Fu family is divided into layers." Liu Cheng nodded, but recounted his previous mission experience again, and finally made a brief summary. "Fu Jian and Fu Xiong must have something to say... Fu Xiong is the master of great achievements. Including because of his age, Fu Jing, the son of his eldest brother who died young, is also unique. I heard that Fu Huangmei was also transferred from Chang'an this time. He should be Fu Jing's younger brother to replace Fu Sheng."
Xi Chao hesitated for a moment and asked the question, "So, if we relax a little at this time, Di people might be the same as the second son Yuan Shao after Battle of Guandu?"
"It is very possible that one battle will destroy more than half of the old foundation. The main branch cannot suppress the other branches, Fu Clan cannot suppress the foreign surname, and Fangtou Lao Di cannot suppress New Di." Liu Cheng said with a smile. "It would be weird not to have civil strife. Not only that, if we oppress too much at this time, we will force them to unite, just like when Fu Hong died, all branches united to make progress Guanzhong."
"So..." Xi Chao verified his guess almost instantly and knew the other party's true attitude. "Are you still opposed to slowing down?"
"That's right." Liu Cheng said solemnly. "Because there is a problem here. Let's take the example you gave... When Emperor Wu of Wei took Yecheng after Guandu, he was joined by the two sons of the Yuan Clan. They were never able to make progress. In essence, it was to take first. Yecheng only formed an alliance with Yuan Tan, and finally captured Yecheng, and finally dominated Hebei... Then let me ask you, Jiabin, do you think Duke Huan should take 'Yecheng' now?"
"You are right. We will win in one battle. Chang'an is right in front of us. If it is as you expected, those 30,000 people are all Guanzhong New Di. Why not take Chang'an?" Xi Chao simply agreed. "Once you get into Chang'an, let's talk about other things! If you really can't get in, you will suffer a setback in the battle, so you can go back and consider these things."
"I'm just afraid Duke Huan..."
Liu Cheng was about to speak, but stopped because Fu Hong appeared outside the hall. The latter happened to be working under Liu Cheng due to his previous assignment in front of the battle.
"Yesterday's batch of Military Weapons has been counted." Fu Hong, who was usually quite elegant, had sunken eye sockets and a dry tone. With the rain on his body and face, he looked even more embarrassed. At this time, he only took out a form from his wallet.
Liu Cheng Take it and take a look.
Xi Chao, on the other hand, couldn't help but ask, "What other Military Weapons are there now? Has Military Weapons not been collected yet?"
"The surrounding villagers stripped many corpses of their clothes and armor after the war that day, seized many equipment, and even took in the defeated soldiers, intercepted them and captured the armor." Fu Hong explained briefly. "I'm going to do this."
Xi Chao suddenly realized.
Liu Cheng, on the other hand, had just finished reading it and was not in a hurry to sign. He only asked seriously, "Huaizhi, this matter is almost settled and it's time for us to leave. Do you want to go to Jiabin? Or do you want to return it to the Central Army? If you want to go to Jiabin, I will make a document for you."
"So what if we go to Jiabin?" Fu Hong shook his head repeatedly. "There are thousands of injured people there, and it's unbearable to stay here all day. It's better to go to the Central Army. Just do whatever you want. You can't avoid this kind of thing... I feel a little weird about myself. I am obviously from Northern Migrants, but I have such a big reaction."
Liu Cheng remained silent, only signed his name on the document, used Chief Secretary's seal, and then handed it back to the other party.
Fu Hong took it, turned around and left in the rain without saying a word, and continued working.
However, after such an interruption, both Liu and Xi seemed to have forgotten the previous topic. They listened to the rain together for a while, and it was Xi Chao who took the initiative to say, "I want to send food and grass down from the Ba River, and I happened to meet Duke Huan. Let's find out what he thinks first."
Liu Acheng could only nod.
Liu Duhu only left Lantian County on July 25th. A slight accident occurred in the middle. To put it simply, Lantian County encountered a surprise attack here.
The raid itself was not successful, because Liu Acheng, after burying the bodies and collecting Military Weapons, naturally shrank back to the county seat and made some repairs... This made the raiding force, which should be small, really have no advantage when facing a standard city despite its low walls.
So before dawn, the raiding team escaped. I don't know how many soldiers there were. I only know that the leader called himself Fu Huangmei because he shouted loudly under the city.
Liu Cheng, who had experienced the bloody battle of Right Wing that day, was too lazy to pay attention to this person, let alone regard the matter itself.
But what I have to admit is that this incident has greatly shocked Jingzhou Army as a whole.
In order to ensure a retreat, Huan Wen had to slightly adjust its military configuration. Huan Chong, the most complete unit since the beginning of the war, was slightly moved back to ensure that the other party could take care of Lantian County. At the same time, it increased the patrol intensity of the Left Branch of the Ba River, which was later Chan River.
After a lot of trouble, Liu Acheng just escaped and came to Bashang to make a report and handover with Huan Wen.
At this time, everyone in the army had a definite understanding of the 30,000 reinforcements on the other side. They were New Di people relative to the Fangtou group, or conversely, they were Old Di of Guanzhong.
The core components are almost all known. Yu, Mao, Lei, Liang, Qiang, Yang... each surname is a typical surname of Di people and Qiang people. In order to maintain this army, Fu Jian had to use veterans with foreign surnames within his Fangtou group to act as bridges.
The flags of Yu Zun, Mao Gui, Lei Ruo'er, Liang An, Liang Leng, and Qiang Ping all appeared in the army on the other side, and even the flags of Wang Duo and Zhang Yu Various Han people were also appointed, and either Grand Commandant or Minister of Works, either General of the Left or General of Chariots and Cavalry, plus the original Zhufu, calculated, there is one prince, king, minister, and high official for every two thousand people, almost as much as Banner Chief.
However, there is not no good news.
As the results of the previous battle spread, and these Guanzhong Di people gathered in the Ba River area, "heroes" from all over the country rose up to respond to Huan Wen, from Ba City's Huyan Du, to Hu County's Liu Zhen, Xiahou Xian, to Sizhu's Hu Yangchi, Chiyang's Kong Te, and even Yongcheng's Qiao Bing, all raising the banner of Huan Wen.
There was even a Former Zhao legacy warlord, Wang Zhuo, who had been in contact with Huan Wen for a long time. Starting from Longxi, which he had divided, he directly conquered Chencang and killed Di people's Administrator of Fufeng Mao Nan.
And Liu Cheng also asked Huan Wen clearly about his plans.
"Ming Gong means that when those Xiongnu and Xianbei heroes begin to attack the city, these Di people will definitely not be able to hold up?" Liu Cheng hesitated slightly.
"Do you think we should call Chang'an directly?" Huan Wen seems to have expected Liu Cheng's attitude. Obviously, Xi Chao really said it before.
"Yes." Liu Cheng said simply.
"But what if we are attacked halfway and lose so many people?" Huan Wen asked rhetorically. "Or if Fu Jian defends Small City of Chang'an and we cannot attack for a long time, what should we do if we are attacked by these 30,000 people?"
"But Ming Gong." Liu Cheng asked back. "July is coming to an end now, and there are only two months until winter. If we use this time limit to decide Chang'an's ownership, it will only be these two months. If we even consider withdrawing our troops, we may have to remove another half month... Then there is only one and a half months, one and a half months left. We have our own troops and horses and are riding on a great victory. Do we want to pass the ownership of this Guanzhong to those so-called Guanzhong Heroes? Are those Guanzhong Heroes really usable?"
Huan Wen solemnly asked, "If it is not available, why can Wang Zhuo conquer Chencang? If it is not available, why are these Guanzhong New Di willing to gather on the other side?"
"That's because Guanzhong New Di was originally close to Fangtou Di people, so after the defeat, his lips were broken and his teeth were cold." Liu Cheng also became serious. "And the other Guanzhong Heroes who responded to Ming Gong may not have any trust with Ming Gong. Ren... those who are not ambitious, just want to protect themselves, will not move at all, will only occupy their hometown, and continue to wait and see the situation; while those who are ambitious, will just take the opportunity to repeat, they will naturally attack the city, but in essence they are just to expand their own territory, how can they really do their best for Ming Gong? If Ming Gong really counts on these people, I am afraid that they will drive fish to the Yuan and drive birds to the bush!"
Huan Wen stared at Liu Cheng blankly, as if he did not expect the other party to react so strongly, but still comforted him a little, "Yulong Don't worry, how could I really put Chang'an or even Guanzhong's gains and losses on these people? Before I sent the troops, I had already told Army Provisioning Officer Liangzhou has made arrangements so that he must send troops Ziwu Road at the end of this month. Of course, at that time, he never thought that our previous battle would be so urgent. However, now that he is here, he can just send troops from behind Di people to collect and organize these Guanzhong Heroes for me. When the time comes, I don't believe that these Di people will not leave."
Liu Cheng finally relaxed slightly when he heard this. If Governor of Liangzhou Sima Xun could bring tens of thousands of people out of Hanzhong, it would indeed change Guanzhong immediately. E strategic situation, and he also realized that his reaction just now seemed a bit intense, so he quickly changed the subject. "In that case, I dare to ask Ming Gong, is there a real Guanzhong Heroes coming to pay you a visit these days?"
Huan Wen thought for a moment and shook his head, "There are so many people coming, but there are really none who can be called true heroes right now... But don't worry, once Army Provisioning Officer Liangzhou comes out Hanzhong, I don't believe these heroes will be able to hold back."
"I want to accept this appointment." Liu Cheng handed it over and said, "Accept heroes for Duke Huan."
"I'm afraid you're going to scare these people away with your mouth." Huan Wen waved his hand. "In an emergency, even some fools must be accepted sincerely... Just Central Army, you can take charge of military law for me in the name of Protector-General!"
Protector-General Military law is of course more important than accepting guests, Liu Cheng naturally will not refuse.
------I am the dividing line that will not refuse------
Fu Hong of Niyang, subtitle Huaizhi. Lift Nan Commandery Chief Clerk, turn to Duke Huan screen Under Secretariat, I tried to conquer Guanzhong, and was responsible for searching and suppressing civilian households, intercepting and killing defeated soldiers and seizing armor. Suzhuang In the outer courtyard, the master's wife gave birth at night.
After leaning a little, two officials came to visit his door. They moved toward each other and wanted to retreat, but they said to each other, "The Lord is here." Because they hesitated for a long time. One official said, "The place is fixed, how can we live there?" So he turned forward. Huaizhi bowed, the Prime Minister was about to enter and exit, and they said in parallel, "How old will you be?" One person said, "Three Days."
At dawn, Huaizhi woke up, not recognizing his sleep, and talked to his colleagues. Perhaps he wanted to test what happened, and went to Three Days to see the message about his son, but he died young. He congratulated and said, "You are the father of the king." Huaizhi was very upset. "Why are you so happy about your child's death?"
Hou Hongguo to Three Excellencies.
--"A Sequel to In Search of the Supernatural".Tao Qian of Qi addendum
PS: Thank you to the new leader Lao Lang Long Live for your cuteness, and thank you to the new leader Cube Master for your cuteness. Thank you both, I can't thank you enough.