Three Kingdoms: Rebirth of Liu Bei, the Zhaolie

Scouts, also known as "scouting horses" or "scouts".

Scouts already existed as early as the pre-Qin period.

In the later Tang Dynasty, the leader of the scouts was called "Youyi Shi".

In the Song Dynasty, it was called "Chihou".

Their main responsibilities included reconnaissance of enemy positions, intelligence gathering, providing various battlefield information, and reporting to the commander-in-chief at each level during marches and operations.

As the commander-in-chief, Liu Bei often made decisions based on military intelligence provided by scouts.

However, he would not listen to just one person's opinion.

Therefore, he would often send out several waves of scouts.

These waves of scouts were unaware of each other's activities.

After each of them went out to scout ahead, they would report the intelligence they obtained to their commander-in-chief, Liu Bei, in great detail.

Next.

Liu Bei would gather all the intelligence provided by these waves of scouts, compare them one by one, conduct a detailed analysis, and then make his own judgment.

After all, "War is a matter of vital importance to the state; it is a matter of life and death, a road to survival or ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected."

In an army, those who can become scouts are often elite soldiers.

Not only must one be proficient in fist and weaponry, archery and horsemanship, and skilled in combat, but one must also be versatile and possess abilities that ordinary people do not have.

such as:

Fluent in foreign languages, skilled in disguise, adept at concealment, and possesses formidable wilderness survival abilities;

They can read the terrain, have a photographic memory of the roads they have traveled, and can observe celestial phenomena to predict the weather.

Can write and draw, has exceptional hearing, superb eyesight, and is sensitive to smell;

It can identify enemy bait, traps, and ambushes, and quickly calculate the number of enemy troops and determine the direction of enemy march.

When encountering small groups of enemy scouts, they can be quickly dealt with by force in the shortest possible time.

Bold and meticulous, they were able to silently cross enemy lines and even infiltrate enemy rear areas to spy on troop deployments and movements.

When necessary, they can also spread rumors, incite the enemy's morale, create chaos, sow discord among the enemy, commit murder and arson, and finally escape unscathed.

and many more.

Their level of excellence is similar to that of a reconnaissance soldier in a modern army.

As the eyes and ears of the commander-in-chief, experienced scouts can often provide the commander-in-chief with timely and accurate intelligence, and can even discover the enemy's movements and weaknesses in advance.

This provides strong intelligence support for the coach's decision-making.

The effectiveness of scout reconnaissance can even directly affect the entire battle situation.

Military strategy says:

"Warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when you are capable, make it appear that you are incapable; when you are active, make it appear that you are not active; when you are near, make it appear that you are far away; when you are far away, make it appear that you are near."

An excellent general must not only be good at cultivating and using scouts, but also be adept at analyzing the military intelligence they provide, and skillfully analyze the enemy's intentions hidden behind the intelligence.

Xu Wushan's 28 elite cavalrymen were scouts carefully trained by Liu Bei.

Although twenty-five of them have now been relegated to the light cavalry as centurions, Liu Bei still selected five of them to serve as scout chiefs, or simply "scout chiefs".

In other words, these five men were both centurions and lieutenants. They were usually addressed as centurions, but only their subordinates called them lieutenants.

The five hundred light cavalrymen they led were carefully selected and capable of scout missions.

The five hundred men led by these five captains were Liu Bei's elite "scouts".

As people he trusted, Liu Bei was very familiar with the personalities of the five centurions.

This time, he dispatched two teams of a hundred men each to the Helan Mountains area. Each team was sent out in three waves, with thirty men in each wave, and the distance between them varied from ten to several tens of miles.

The mission of these two hundred-man teams was to conduct thorough cross-reconnaissance of the area east and west of the Helan Mountains, which run north-south, to ascertain the movements of the Luoluo tribe, while ensuring that they did not alert the enemy.

As for the other three hundred-man teams, Liu Bei ordered them to split into three groups, which would also be used to investigate the troop movements of the Zhijian tribe in Juyan Lake and its surrounding areas in waves.

Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle.

Although these Xianbei tribes were relatively simple and primitive, unlike the Han people who were intelligent and clever, Liu Bei still had to be cautious and strive for complete safety, daring not to relax in the slightest.

When he last marched from Gaoque Mountain to the Langshan area, in order to achieve the effect of a surprise attack, he rested during the day and marched at night, leaving his soldiers exhausted.

This time, however, he marched at a moderate pace, steadily advancing towards the Juyan Lake area.

that's it.

By noon on the second day.

The five scouts sent out by Liu Bei have all returned to report the military intelligence they have gathered to the five commanders.

The five magistrates then reported the situation to Liu Bei.

Scouts dispatched to the area west of the Helan Mountains discovered:

A force of approximately three thousand Xianbei light cavalrymen is advancing towards the Juyan Lake area. It is highly likely that this is an army sent by the Luoluo tribe to support the Zhijian tribe.

This greatly surprised Liu Bei.

Therefore, Liu Bei quickly summoned his generals to discuss the matter and informed them of this military intelligence:

"It seems that the cautious and kind-hearted Luo Luo has no intention of staying out of this..."

"He must have been persuaded by the remnants of the Yanliyou tribe and has decided to unite with the Zhijian tribe to fight against us. What do you all think?"

Qian Zhao pondered for a moment and said:

"Since Luoluo intends to join forces with Zhijian to besiege our army, why did he only send three thousand light cavalry?"

"The Luoluo tribe has five major settlements, each with 10,000 people, so the five major settlements would have 50,000 people. Therefore, he could at least muster 10,000 light cavalry..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei looked at Tuoba Daxi with a questioning gaze.

Tuoba Daxi immediately said:

"From what I understand, the Xianbei people often decide whether to send troops into battle based on changes in the situation. If they feel there is a chance of a great victory, they will mobilize all their forces, leaving only a small number of troops to guard the main camp."

"If they intend to observe, they will symbolically send out several thousand troops, and then make a decision on whether to participate in the war based on the situation on the battlefield."

"I believe that the Luoluo tribe's decision to send 3,000 light cavalry this time was likely made under duress. Their fighting spirit is low, and they are probably just observing the situation."

Liu Bei listened and nodded silently.

He hesitated, wondering whether he should send an envoy to the Luoluo tribe at the foot of Helan Mountain to persuade them to surrender.

While they were holding a military meeting, another sergeant came to report on the military situation:

"The scouts sent to the Zhijian tribe have quietly approached the tribe where the Zhijian chieftain's headquarters is located near Juyan Lake, but they have not found the main force of the Zhijian tribe. They have only found a light cavalry force of about three thousand men patrolling the outer area of ​​Juyan Lake."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately issued an order:

"Expand the search area and continue to be cautious with scouts."

Upon hearing this military intelligence, Liu Bei felt even more puzzled.

He addressed his generals:

"Zhijian is arrogant and overconfident. He should have led his ten thousand troops to meet the enemy in a grand and imposing manner, which would have shown his heroic nature. Now, he has left his tribe and led his main force into hiding. What is the meaning of this?"

Qian Zhao hurriedly reminded him:

"Commander! Don't forget, some of the remnants of Yanliyou's army have flowed into Zhijian's army."

"These people might persuade Zhijian to bypass our main army and not confront us head-on, but instead circle around to the Langshan area and directly attack Tuoba Qiudun and Tuoba Sihai, so as to retake the Langshan camp."

"This is also a strategy of 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao'!"

Upon hearing Qian Zhao's words, Liu Bei was greatly alarmed.

He underestimated the wisdom and cunning of these Xianbei people, focusing only on sending scouts to the Helan Mountains and Juyan Lake area, forgetting that his own rear—the Langshan Yazhang—was very likely to be attacked by the enemy.

The forces of Tuoba Qiudun and Tuoba Sihai, who were stationed at the Langshan Yazhang, numbered only 2,200, including 800 heavily armored cavalry and 1,400 light cavalry.

If these two veteran Xianbei generals were completely unprepared, they would likely suffer heavy losses, or even be defeated and killed, in a surprise attack by the main force of the Zhijian tribe.

After successfully raiding Liu Bei's base, Zhijian will most likely return to Juyan Lake to attack Liu Bei's army from the rear, and together with the troops left behind by Luoluo and Zhijian, besiege and annihilate Liu Bei's army.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei broke out in a cold sweat.

He hurriedly summoned two captains and ordered one of them to send scouts back to the Wolf Mountain camp to remind Tuoba Qiudun and Tuoba Sihai to prepare for a surprise attack by the Zhijian tribe.

Order another commander to send out three waves of scouts to quickly conduct reconnaissance in the area west, east, and south of Langshan. Do not overlook any clues and be sure to find out the movement of the main force of the Zhijian army.

……

Lure them with profit, seize them when they are in disarray, prepare against them when they are strong, avoid them when they are powerful, provoke them when they are angry, make them arrogant when they are humble, exhaust them when they are at ease, and alienate them when they are close.

—The Art of War by Sun Tzu