frightfiction Chapter 479 The surprise came too suddenly
Chapter 479 The surprise came too suddenly
Of course, most of the generals present wanted to withdraw their troops in time. After all, it would be too risky to continue advancing towards the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
I was afraid that on the way back, the grassland would be burned to a barren state by Tai'aru, and there would not even be any hay left. I couldn't let the war horses chase us on an empty stomach.
Moreover, Daqing is now reporting victories one after another, and everyone has made military achievements.
If they retreat now, they are forced to do so. The King of Yan will not blame them. However, if they take the risk of advancing further and turning victory into defeat, it will not only be futile, but will also cause heavy losses to the Fu family army. By then, they will probably regret it.
But there were also some who were unwilling to do so. For example, Zhou Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "But now our side is doing very well, and we are unwilling to withdraw our troops like this!"
Fu Huaian also disagreed with retreating. His reason was simple: "If we cannot completely defeat the Northern Yuan Dynasty, we will double the losses suffered by the Northern Yuan Dynasty today and take them back from the people on the border.
Moreover, if we retreat this time and let the Northern Yuan Dynasty think that the Liaoyuan strategy is useful, then Daqing will never be able to defeat the Northern Yuan Dynasty. After all, this method can be used once, and it can also be used countless times. "
Everyone agreed with this statement. It was conceivable that with the lesson learned this time, the enemy would definitely continue to use this tactic even if they marched north again in the spring of next year.
Fu Changzhou also agreed with his son's opinion and said:
"If we choose to attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty again next spring, we will still face the same situation as today. It would be better for us to continue the pursuit. However, the most critical issue is the supply of food and fodder."
In fact, there is another way, which can ensure a more secure victory if time is not insufficient.
That is to attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty every spring and summer!
The Northern Yuan Dynasty basically relied on animal husbandry for its survival, so they would wait until spring and summer when the grass and water were lush to attack, even if the enemy chose to set fire to the prairie again, they would be blocked.
If the harassment continues, within five years the Northern Yuan Dynasty will be destroyed without a fight due to lack of pasture.
Although this method is stable and effective, it takes too long. Who knows how many years the King of Yan's health can withstand now? If we can't cut the Gordian knot quickly, if something happens to the King of Yan, the northern border will be attacked from both sides.
Moreover, there are disadvantages to doing so. As the saying goes, a trapped beast will still fight, and the result will definitely be tragic!
If the Northern Yuan Dynasty was really forced to that point, I believe that given the Northern Yuan people's brave and aggressive character, the counterattack would only be more fierce.
By then, even if Beiyan could win, it would be a residual victory!
The most important thing is that by the time they have recovered from this and think of counterattacking and retaliating, the people living on the border will certainly suffer heavy losses this year.
When it comes to war, although it is more convenient to supply when fighting on one's own territory, fighting a local war will cause irreversible losses even if you win, and the border will be devastated.
Moreover, the army suffered huge losses in the war, so it took five or six years for the army of more than 100,000 to fight against the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
The huge military expenditure alone is something the imperial court cannot afford. If the South attacks again at that time, they will probably have no choice but to hand over the country.
Knowing these reasons, everyone present, even those who agreed with the withdrawal, felt very unwilling.
But Fu Huaian thought that the burning of the grassland by the Northern Yuan Dynasty might be an opportunity for them.
"Although the Northern Yuan may cause us difficulties in marching this time, a lot of grasslands have been burned after this fire. Although we are short of food and grass, the Northern Yuan is also short of food and grass.
Moreover, the Northern Yuan had countless cattle, horses and sheep, and would need even more food and fodder.
Therefore, if we advance further at this time, no matter whether the enemy chooses to block or retreat, they will most likely disperse in order to reduce the pressure on forage for the army.
This may seem to confuse our spies, but there is indeed a fatal mistake.
That is, the enemy has more troops than us. If we mobilize everyone and fight them head-on, we may not necessarily win.
But if the Northern Yuan court chooses to disperse, this vast grassland is so vast that perhaps we can dismember the enemy one by one."
Suddenly, everyone's eyes lit up: "Dismember the Northern Yuan Army?"
Fu Changzhou actually thought about it, but he still had many concerns, so he didn't express his opinion for the time being.
To be honest, if the 500,000 Northern Yuan troops fought against the 150,000 Fu family troops, even if they won by chance, they would definitely suffer heavy losses. In fact, many people thought that the chances of winning were slim.
The Prince of Yan dared to do this because he trusted Duke Fu. Of course, the biggest reason was that he was forced by the situation.
But if the Northern Yuan army could really be broken up into small tribes of tens of thousands of people each, that would be a different matter.
However, it is too early to say this now. Now, while the fire has not yet spread, we should quickly call the messenger to report to the court and Jingmen Pass first, and harvest as much grass as possible on the grassland inside the pass for transportation to the front.
The war horses also tried to feed the ready-made weeds as quickly as possible, otherwise it would be difficult to eat as much as they wanted after the fire was over.
As the news spread at full speed, the Fu family army had no choice but to set up camp on the spot.
But in order to save food, the soldiers had started to eat two meals a day on days when there was no fighting.
It’s not that there is not enough food and grass now, this is also to prepare for emergencies.
On the fifth day after the news came out, the sentry suddenly brought news that a team carrying supplies from the imperial court had arrived.
At this time, Fu Changzhou, like in the past, brought all the generals to discuss matters in the big tent.
Originally, the Marshal didn't need to go there in person, but the sentry said that the chief eunuch of Prince Yan's entourage would also come with an oral order.
Fu Changzhou had no choice but to lead the generals to greet them outside the camp.
But as the team escorting supplies got closer and closer, the generals and soldiers outside the camp were all stunned: "Isn't this team of supplies a little too long?"
There was almost no end to the convoy, and the colorful flags flying were a spectacular sight.
Even many soldiers in the camp ran out to watch the excitement, but the military camp has its own rules. Even those who came out to watch the excitement would stand in two rows at the gate of the camp.
As the team got closer and closer, until the eunuch in charge, dressed in eunuch clothing, got off the carriage at the front of the team,
Even Fu Changzhou spoke politely: "Thank you for your hard work along the way."
But the eunuch did not dare to act rashly. He bowed and kowtowed repeatedly, saying he dared not: "Duke, I have never fought as hard as you!"
After the two of them exchanged greetings, all the soldiers' eyes turned red!
As for why, it was because they finally understood why the team escorting supplies was so long.
Because the eunuch said that this was not only the supply team from the imperial court, but also supplies voluntarily donated by various prefectures and counties in the northern border.
When another eunuch held up a long list of documents and shouted loudly:
"The people of Shuntian Prefecture donated 70,000 shi of grain and fodder!"
"The people of An County, Shuntian Prefecture, donated 20,000 shi of grain and fodder!"
"The people of Liang County donated 20,000 shi of grain and fodder!"
"..."
"The people of Fang County, Shuntian Prefecture, donated 20,000 shi of grain and fodder."
But it was not over yet, the eunuch continued to sing: "Tangjia Village in Fang County donated 10,000 bags of compressed dry food, 5,000 bags of luncheon meat, and 10,000 bags of meat stew..."
Fu Huaian's eyebrows twitched when he heard this, and A Chi grinned.
Seeing this scene, it is no wonder that many soldiers couldn't help sobbing.
It's so touching. In the past, soldiers always felt that many civilians were afraid of soldiers and were unwilling to serve in the army. Even words like "soldier ruffians" were always used to describe them.
But at this time, seeing so many people from the prefectures and counties voluntarily donating supplies, how could they not be moved?
You know, these days, because there was no fighting and the prairie fire could not move forward, they only had two meals a day.
To be honest, these veterans who have served in the military camp know too well what this means.
They knew the marshal would not retreat without the marshal's orders, so they had to save as much food as possible even when there was plenty of food in the barracks.
But now, listening to the eunuchs shouting out the names of these prefectures and counties, as well as the grain they donated, they felt that no matter how much hardship they had to endure or how much blood they had shed, it was all worth it!
The line was a bit long, and by the time all the names were read out, it took more than an hour.
The chief eunuch finally conveyed the King of Yan's oral instructions: "Soldiers, you should eat well and fight bravely in the front. The people of Northern Yan are your solid backing!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Although it wasn't flowery or lengthy, it was so heartwarming to all the soldiers listening to it.
Ah Chi was very happy because when he was talking about Tangjia Village, he was looking around and there was no sign of Tangjia Village's food supply team.
"Master, what did Mr. Shen donate? I've never heard of it. How come there is meat?"
At this time, Fu Huaian finally returned to his body. He was too surprised: "You will know if you go and see for yourself."
But at this time, before A Chi could find the escort team of Fang County, the manager in charge of escort in Fang County came to the door himself.
He said he was asked by someone to see Fu Huaian.
Fu Huaian and his servant knew without hesitation that it must be Shen Zhiqiu. Without any hesitation, they directly summoned the man forward.
This person in charge did not come alone. He was pulling a special supply truck behind him, with a flag on it that read: "Tangjia Village, Fang County!"
The person in charge handed the letter to Fu Huaian. After he finished reading the letter, he completely understood that this car was specially for him, A Chi and his father.
It is not included in the materials donated by Tangjia Village.
"Hey, Master, look, there's really meat in here."
Fu Huaian disliked his fussing: "Why are you howling? Have I treated you badly recently and asked you to eat less roasted yellow sheep?"
But I heard Ah Chi's more excited voice:
"Master, this meat looks like cooked food, and it seems like it can be eaten directly. Do you think Mr. Shen and his family cooked it specially for us because they were afraid that we would miss the food in their village?"
Fu Huai'an felt that he was even more stupid: "Use your pig brain, if this was really a cooked dish, it would have gone bad along the way."
"They look very fresh. They are all packed in plastic bags. How about I open a bag and take a look?"
After hearing this, not only Fu Huaian, but many generals were curious. What kind of food could be kept for so long without going bad?
It was the chief eunuch who kindly explained to them, "To be honest with you, generals, these are new types of military rations developed by the loyal and righteous people of Tangjia Village."
As he spoke, he also explained to everyone the compressed dry food, stewed meat, luncheon meat, and soy milk powder.
Did it make the people around you stunned?
What? This meat can be kept for half a year?
A small piece of this dry food can keep a soldier from going hungry for a whole day?