Chapter 1092 Determined to Kill the Enemy

When Li Tai first came to the Western Wei Dynasty, the titles of General of the Cavalry and Kaifu were still exclusive to the highest-level generals. However, in recent years, with the gradual improvement of the Western Wei military system and the increase in the number of titles and grants, the establishment and value of this level of official positions have gradually declined.

When Li Tai first established the Bafu, he also built various Cavalry Palaces, which were led by various Generals of the Cavalry. However, as more and more generals reached this level in the country, and a considerable number of them were children of nobles who had never even been on the battlefield, the majesty and solemnity of this official position became increasingly difficult to reflect.

Therefore, not long ago, the Western Wei Dynasty made adjustments. The heads of various Cavalry Palaces were all given the titles of General of the Cavalry and Kaifu, and the rest of the Cavalry were all Kaifu, while the Cavalry granted by the emperor were not given Kaifu. Although the title of General of the Cavalry was retained and still in common use, the important authority symbol was transferred to whether or not to open a palace.

In the current Western Wei army, the chief of the government usually serves as the commander of an army, and the commanders are divided into the commander of the cavalry, the commander of the government soldiers, the commander of the local soldiers, and so on.

The cavalry is a more selected group of land-granting meritorious men on the basis of the original government soldiers. The government soldiers refer to the Guanxi nobles who have been recruited as soldiers since the ninth year of Datong, and the local soldiers are the armed forces of the prefectures and counties. In fact, all three belong to the government soldiers, but their organization is different. The cavalry has the highest organization and combat effectiveness, while the local soldiers are relatively inferior, and the powerful troops have a stronger private nature.

This time, Li Tai made a big move in the country to recruit troops to attack the Northern Qi, and the three types of government soldiers were naturally included in the recruitment. There are more than 80,000 troops coming from Pingyang to the east, and now there are more than 60,000 troops arriving at the Wusu front line, and the others are still staying on important routes such as the Qinshui River Valley and Jiashi Ridge Road.

The number of troops commanded by the army chiefs also varies, generally between two and five thousand. Usually, the army chief of the Cavalry Mansion has a more rigorous organization and the number of troops under his command is basically maintained at about three thousand, while the army chief of the rural soldiers usually serves as the governor of the state. Some states are large states with a large population and a large territory, while others are only governed by a city, so the number of troops varies.

The army chiefs are mainly responsible for executing the military orders of the Bafu. Unless Tang Gong specially summons them to ask questions, they will basically not participate in military discussions and decisions.

Since the war against Northern Qi, this is the first time that Li Tai has gathered the army chiefs in the big tent to discuss military strategies. After receiving this order, the army chiefs did not dare to neglect it. Except for those who were in important positions and could not leave, all others rushed to the central army tent as soon as possible. Soon, the number of generals gathered in the big tent reached nearly twenty people.

These generals include his confidants who have always followed Li Tai, as well as the garrison troops and Guanzhong tyrants in the original Yuwen Tai's system. Of course, there are also warriors who have successively transferred from the east in recent years and joined in the process of expanding territory.

Li Tai rarely deliberately emphasized the elements of region and faction in the army. In addition, he himself had a high prestige in the Western Wei army. Therefore, the generals may be close or distant for various reasons, but there is no obvious faction. At least they dare not reveal it in front of Li Tai and in such an important expedition.

"I met the bandit leader across the river at Tongdi River before, and agreed to gather all the troops to fight in that territory tomorrow!"

When the generals arrived, Li Tai first told everyone about this matter.

After hearing this, the generals had different reactions. Some of the war-loving and merit-hungry people couldn't help but smile. He Ruo Dun said directly: "The army has been fighting for many days. Although we have made many victories and our morale is high, we have not been able to win the battle with the enemy.

The strength of the Eastern Bandits lies in their Jinyang Division. If we cannot severely suppress their army, no matter how many cities we conquer, we will inevitably have the worry of repeated gains and losses. Only by taking advantage of the strong momentum of our divisions to suppress the enemy army, making them timid and weak, can we keep our gains for a long time!"

Although this guy is often unpopular because of his foul mouth, many generals nodded in agreement after hearing his words about seizing the opportunity to eliminate as many enemy forces as possible.

But some people hold different views. General Wang Yue, who led the Yongzhou local soldiers to participate in the war, said: "The army has been on the eastern expedition for more than a month. Although we have made many gains in the continuous battles, the soldiers are also exhausted. This time we have conquered Wusu, which is really a great joy. The enemy's way to the west is blocked, and Shangdang and other places are also threatened by our army.

The enemy leader hurriedly led the people of Jinyang to the south to fight, which shows his fear of losing land. Now it is the enemy who is eager to fight, not us. Their army is still strong and we should not underestimate the enemy. Moreover, the battle of Jinzhou is not over yet. If we rashly fight the enemy in Wusu, victory is certainly gratifying, but defeat is also worrying! It is better to stick to what we have gained now and wait for the enemy's will to relax before planning to advance."

Wang Yue's words are not unreasonable. After all, the soldiers of the Western Wei Dynasty are not made of iron. After more than a month of fighting, many people have shown signs of fatigue.

Moreover, the current disparity in the strength of the enemy and us is also very large. Without further plans, it is a wise choice to hold on to Wusu and lock in the current battle line and results. If the battle continues, it will be a huge pressure on the physical and mental consumption of the frontline soldiers and the transportation of supplies in the rear. If you are not careful, you are likely to vomit out everything you have swallowed before.

As Wang Yue spoke up, several other generals expressed similar concerns. However, this conservative and prudent opinion naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of other belligerents. For example, He Ruo Dun wanted to mock these people for being cowardly after hearing it, but was stopped by Li Tai with his eyes.

Li Tai knew that no matter how correct a thing was, as long as there were enough people participating in the discussion, different voices would be heard. So if you really want to promote the implementation of something, you don’t need to ask too many people for their opinions. As long as you can achieve results, the doubts will gradually disappear.

But this decisive battle with Northern Qi is different. This matter itself is inevitable, but not everyone agrees with it.

The reason why Li Tai summoned the generals to discuss this matter in the big tent before the war was not so much a discussion as it was to give those who held different opinions an opportunity to express themselves and persuade them to reach a consensus, so that they can abandon those negative views in the next battle and actively participate in the battle.

As several generals expressed the view that it was more appropriate to turn to a stalemate than to seek a decisive battle, another general Gao Lin, who had been stationed in Yubi, Zhengping and other important places along the Fen River, stood up and said: "Although Wang Huqi and others' views are indeed prudent, they are still one-sided. This time, the army was used because the Lord planned and made the enemy tired of responding, so it achieved today's success.

However, the enemy's Jinyang division is brave and aggressive. Even if I wisely stop fighting, the enemy will never agree easily. In the past, our army was stationed in Yubi, Baibi and other cities adjacent to the enemy, and it was still possible to maintain it because of the dangerous position. Now the front line has moved forward a lot, and it is more adjacent to the enemy. If we don't want to give up what we have gained, the pressure on the border defense will be even greater, and most of the country's grain and silk taxes will probably be consumed in these areas.

In addition, the people in these newly expanded territories are all new, and they have not yet been deeply impressed by the Lord's virtues and justice. Once they see that I am hesitant, they may doubt my power If we don't continue, and think of leaving and staying lightly, there will be frequent rebellions and wars. Only by severely attacking the majority of the bandits can we scare them and make them obey our country's laws! "

After Gao Lin finished speaking, before the other generals spoke, Li Tai applauded and praised: "What Juye Gong said is really profound and fundamental. The battle of Wusu today is indeed not what I want, or it can be avoided. The bandits are really strong, like jackals that have just woken up. If we can't hurt or kill them, they will be eaten by them! Even if we want to stop fighting and rest, we must first break their spines and break their canine teeth. "

Gao Lin's understanding and explanation of the inevitability of this battle are very profound. Although it is Northern Qi, not Western Wei, that is eager to fight, but Western Wei cannot fully control the rhythm of the war. Since it has taken the initiative to provoke the incident, it must beat the opponent to at least temporarily lose its combat effectiveness. The Northern Qi at the moment is like a gambler who has lost all his money. It will never allow the winner to leave the gambling table with his gains!

After some discussion, everyone realized the inevitability of this battle. Wang Yue, who had previously proposed to avoid the battle, stood up and said: "I heard what the Lord and Juye Gong said, and I realized that my view was biased. The former's poor plan was due to short-sightedness, not cowardice. Since we must fight the enemy, I will be the vanguard and defeat the enemy's division!"

After hearing this, the other generals also stood up and asked for battle. Li Tai was quite satisfied with this attitude. He had already made up his mind about how to arrange the troops and formations, and naturally would not change it at will. The biggest gain of this pre-war meeting was that everyone could realize that this battle was inevitable and correct their attitudes and unify their ideas.

So next, Li Tai began to arrange the personnel arrangements for the next battle formation. He personally led 30,000 troops as the central army, Gao Le and He Ruo Dun each led 10,000 troops as the left and right armies, and the rest of the troops, led by Han Guo, still guarded the rear of the army in Wusu City.

After receiving their assigned tasks, the generals stood up and said goodbye, left the tent, and returned to their respective camps to reorganize the troops and prepare for the next battle.