Song Xiu

Chapter 72 Don't Let Yourself Be Led by the Nose

Liu Jiye was quick to act.

After arranging the subsequent departure of the army, Liu Jiye personally led several thousand elite Northern Han troops south overnight.

Liu Jiye thought his actions were quite secretive, but little did he know that almost simultaneously after he led his troops out of the camp, a Song scout left from outside Shiti Mountain and rushed towards Huguan.

When the scorching heat of June suddenly struck, Zhao Dexiu, who was in Huguan, received the latest news about the Northern Han army.

Upon hearing that Liu Jiye had personally led his vanguard south, Zhao Dexiu had a guess in his mind.

While pondering the need for further intelligence verification, Tian Chongjin led several officers to Zhao Dexiu.

“After the city gates of Shangdang had been closed for many days, grain transport teams finally set off.”

Upon hearing this military intelligence, Zhao Dexiu first ordered Lu Duoxun to place the map of Luzhou on the ground, while he and several generals sat down around the map.

This arrangement will make the subsequent discussions much more three-dimensional.

Sitting in the center, Zhao Dexiu, following the military intelligence handed to him by Tian Chongjin, drew a line on the map with his finger.

"Please take a look, everyone."

Ordinary grain transport routes follow waterways, which can save a lot of manpower and resources.

The Zhang River flows just outside Shangdang City. The rebels abandoned the Zhang River and instead took a detour from the north. Combined with intelligence that Liu Jiye had led his elite troops ahead, one thing is not hard to guess:

This grain transport convoy was bait thrown to our army by Liu Jiye!

Logically speaking, given that Huguan was in the hands of the Song army, it was not impossible for the rebels to change the supply route, first heading north and then detouring south to protect their grain supplies.

That's why Liu Jiye contacted Li Shoujie to ask him to change the route of the grain transport team.

What Liu Jiye didn't know was that Zhao Dexiu had secretly tracked his movements.

Based on this, once he led his army south, Zhao Dexiu would be able to see through his tactical intentions.

Looking at the finger marks on the map, all the generals agreed with Zhao Dexiu's deduction.

Having learned of Liu Jiye's purpose, one of the generals suggested, "Could our army take this opportunity to launch a preemptive strike and break through the vanguard of the Northern Han army?"

The vanguard is the source of an army's courage; defeating the Northern Han army's vanguard would deal a significant blow to the Northern Han army's morale.

If this can be achieved, the Song army will have a much easier time fighting later on.

Zhao Dexiu had considered this general's strategy, but he believed it was not feasible.

"According to scouts, the vanguard of the Northern Han army is no less powerful than ours."

If our army leaves the city to launch an attack, it will inevitably have to leave troops behind to defend the city, which will put our army at a disadvantage.

The Northern Han army was not composed of weak and old soldiers, and Liu Jiye was no ordinary general. Given our inferior troop strength, if we wanted to defeat the vanguard of the Northern Han army, we had to take advantage of the terrain.

We cannot currently ambush them in the valleys or strike them while they are crossing the river.

Without the advantage of terrain, a hasty attack by our army would be fraught with too many variables and could actually put us in a disadvantageous position.

The main reason we can't do it is because there isn't enough time.

Although the Song army knew of the Northern Han army's intention to lure them in, they did not know where the Northern Han army intended to ambush them, or even the specific route the Northern Han army was taking.

At that time, there was no such function as "sharing real-time itineraries," and it took time for Song army scouts to report intelligence.

After listening to Zhao Dexiu's words, Tian Chongjin looked at him and asked:

"Even if our army understands Liu Jiye's intentions, is there still no use for our troops?"

Tian Chongjin's voice was filled with resentment.

Faced with Tian Chongjin's unwillingness, Zhao Dexiu waved his hand and said:

"Of course it's useful, everyone, please take another look!"

As soon as Zhao Dexiu finished speaking, all the generals present looked at his hands.

Zhao Dexiu drew a large circle with his finger north of Luzhou.

"The northern border of Luzhou is mountainous, and our army does not know where the Northern Han army will ambush us."

But think about it, why would our army need to know this?
No matter where he sets up an ambush, I will not fall for his bait, nor will I lead my troops north. Even if Liu Jiye devises an ambush from all sides, what harm can it do to our army!

Zhao Dexiu's words slowly opened a new door to the thinking of the generals present.

Previously, all the generals were focused on how to prevent or even counter Liu Jiye's strategy, but Zhao Dexiu had a different idea: "Don't let the Northern Han army lead you by the nose!"
In warfare, the number of troops is not the key to victory; the key is to firmly grasp the initiative on the battlefield!

Our forces are already insufficient; if we continue to follow the Northern Han army's intentions and act belatedly, we will have no chance of winning this battle.

Seemingly having grasped something, Tian Chongjin asked somewhat excitedly, "May I ask, Your Excellency, how should our army seize the initiative on the battlefield?"

Seeing that Tian Chongjin had asked the crucial question, Zhao Dexiu smiled and said:

Have you forgotten why the Northern Han army came?

How could I forget?

The arrival of the Northern Han army was due to the Song army's psychological warfare strategy taking effect, leaving Li Jun with no other choice but to bring in this powerful ally.

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on the faces of the generals, Zhao Dexiu said:

"In the past, our army was able to attack Li Shoujie's heart. Why can't we attack Liu Jiye's heart today?"
The Northern Han army was willing to put aside past grievances with Li Jun, presumably because they coveted the five prefectures in Li Jun's hands.

Of the five prefectures, Luzhou was far more important and prosperous than the others, making it the foundation of Liu Jiye's plans.

Their weakness is our weapon!

While Liu Jiye is still focused on the northern border of Luzhou, our army should launch a surprise attack on the counties south of Luzhou.

The county troops were weak, and our army had previously intimidated them with its military might, so taking them down would not be difficult.

After capturing each county, our army would relocate the people; this was a tactic to cut off their lifeline.

Luzhou is nothing to our Great Song Dynasty, but what about the poor and weak Northern Han?

If our army moves away the people and grain supplies, what use will Liu Jiye have for a devastated Luzhou?
How will he explain this to Liu Jun in the future?
Imagine, once Liu Jiye discovers our army's intentions, will he still be in the mood to calmly set up an ambush in the north?

The ancients knew long ago that "people are the primary productive force".

Therefore, in times of chaos, it was common for generals to migrate and plunder the border population.

What's even more outrageous is that after all the people were relocated, some generals were forced to become arsonists.

They turned what was once a prosperous place into scorched earth, so that the enemy would get nothing.

Although Zhao Dexiu wouldn't actually go that far, he would make Liu Jiye believe that he could.

Liu Jiye, who had long considered Luzhou as his own, would not allow Zhao Dexiu to do such a thing.

Upon hearing Zhao Dexiu mention this, Tian Chongjin smiled and said:

"If Liu Jiye holds a strong army and sits by while our army overthrows Luzhou, how could Liu Jun let him off easily when he leads his troops back to the capital in the future?"

This drastic measure was enough to make Liu Jiye restless. All he could do was lead his troops to Huguan as soon as possible to stop our army from acting recklessly.

In this way, he's essentially being led by the nose by our army!

"not only that."

After Tian Chongjin finished speaking, Zhao Dexiu revealed his deeper thoughts.

"What I am worried about is that the Northern Han army is hiding in the shadows, taking advantage of the opportune time, the terrain, and the people. Our army does not know when or how they will make their move."

If this situation continues to develop, our army will become increasingly passive in the situation.

You can guard against thieves for a thousand days, but in the end, you can't guard against them at all.

Once the Northern Han army is lured to the walls of Huguan, the initiative on the battlefield will no longer be in the hands of the Northern Han army, and only then will our army have a chance of victory.

Zhao Dexiu's words reminded Tian Chongjin of a passage from "The Art of War":

"First make yourself invincible, then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable. Invincibility lies in yourself, vulnerability lies in the enemy."

Which of the generals present does not know this saying?
Only the Marquis of the Prefecture truly grasped the essence and applied it flexibly.

This battle could actually be won.

Thinking of this, Tian Chongjin led his generals to rise and bow to Zhao Dexiu, saying:

"Please remain seated, Your Excellency. We, the officials of the county, will pursue this matter on your behalf!"

Looking at the generals standing in front of him, whose faces already showed confidence, Zhao Dexiu smiled.

The morale of the army is now high!
(End of this chapter)