The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 594: The Method of Observing the Enemy
The general's fox fur is not warm when lying down, and the treasured sword of the guard is frozen to break.

It was when the snow fell on the Tianshan Mountains that I sent you back to the capital on horseback.

——Excerpt from "Tianshan Snow Song Sends Xiao Zhi Back to Beijing" by Cen Shen (Tang Dynasty)
……

As the saying goes, there are three fires for a new official to take office.Everyone is waiting to see how Bai Fu will burn these three fires?

According to the usual practice, it is nothing more than a few routines:
First, kill chickens to make an example of monkeys, purge officials, and rectify military discipline;
Second, adjust the military system, select elites, and eliminate redundancy;
Third, prepare your troops for war.

Everyone is an old Jianghu, and they all know that the new official will definitely come down when he takes office, so everyone warns their subordinates to be vigilant about their words and deeds, and not to find excuses and excuses for Bai Fu.

If there is any dissatisfaction, don't leave an excuse on the public face, just make trouble in private.The generals are ready to deal with Bai Fu.

But unexpectedly, Bai Fu did not follow these three routines.

Every day, Bai Fu took one or two soldiers and marching Sima, and went around the camps.

See which battalion is short of clothes and clothes, and send some military supplies such as food, blankets, tents; which battalion's armor needs to be repaired, and exchange old ones for new ones, and replace them with brand new weapons and equipment.

Coming and going, he didn't look like a general leading troops to fight, but rather like an imperial envoy who came to reward the three armies.

If he still has free time, Bai Fu will have a few big drinks with Wei Zhi who stayed behind in Luoyang, Henan Yin Li Ruoyou, Wei Boyu, Li Zhongchen and others, and he will not return until he is not drunk.

In the three months since he came here, Bai Fu has never heard a single report from the battalion chiefs, never practiced a single soldier, never adjusted a single general, let alone beheaded a single person or killed a single general.

……

On this day, Hengmu entered the tent and whispered to another manager, Shi Taiqing.

"Brother Qing, what do you think this little general Bai is singing?
It's understandable that he didn't kill chickens and monkeys, but set up a show of power, because no one committed crimes against him, and he couldn't find a reason.

As far as the adjustment of the military system is concerned, the Anxi Army has already been dismantled, and the current camp in the Northwest Court of Anxi is no longer what Li Siye used to be.

How does he know the strength of each battalion and the ability of each general in these nineteen battalions? "

Shi Taiqing was scheming and said: "Could it be that someone secretly played to him secretly?"

Heng Mu shook his head and said: "Probably not. I selected and arranged all the soldiers around him one by one. If he wants to meet someone, I will know immediately."

Shi Taiqing's face darkened, and he said: "Brother Mu, you are too courageous, if he finds out, how can you save your life?"

Heng Mu sneered, and said: "Don't say he can't find out, even if he accidentally finds out that I am a member of General Boyu, forgive him and dare not do anything."

Shi Taiqing pondered for a moment, then said: "I also can't figure out what kind of medicine he sells in the gourd, but it's better to be careful, after all, he has General Guangbi backing him.

If you really fall out, even though he doesn't dare to do anything to you, he won't look good on his face.After all, he is the coach, so you can't let your temper go too much. "

Hengmu smiled proudly, and said: "Brother Qing, don't worry, I will do everything on the surface, be respectful, and do it myself. You don't know my skills yet, so you won't let him get caught."

Shi Taiqing nodded and said: "This little general Bai can't see through it. It is said that he has won the three armies bravely and has a lot of strategy. But judging from his appearance in the past three months, he obviously has no experience in leading an army alone.

It can be seen that marching and fighting is one thing, but being a general is another.

Let's observe for a while, as long as he does not violate the river, we should not be too harsh, and we still have to try our best to cooperate.

If the Qingguadanzi is driven away, and the imperial court sends back Duan Xiushi, Li Feiyuanli and the old Anxi generals, all the hard work we did back then will be in vain. "

Heng Mu's expression turned cold, and he said, "Thank you, brother Qing, for reminding me, I almost forgot about this."

……

While the generals were speculating about Bai Fu, Bai Fu had already made plans.

The three-month visits to the camps were not simply rewards and condolences.

The reason why Heng Mu was puzzled was because he couldn't see through Bai Fu's tricks.

In Bai Fu's view, the strength of the nineteen battalions, their morale high or not; to find out.

Bai Fu walked into each battalion and looked at the planning of the functional divisions of the camps, the distribution of roads in the camps, the sanitation of the canteen and kitchen, and the epidemic prevention construction of sewage facilities such as bathrooms and toilets, and he knew the level of the camp owners.

To put it bluntly, if you go to the latrine for nothing, you can know the management level of the battalion from the cleanliness of the latrine.

When Bai Fu was distributing military supplies and having dinner with the soldiers, he chatted and chatted with the soldiers. It seemed to be chatting and putting on a show, but through the look of the soldiers and their comrades, one could tell whether the general in the camp had deducted military pay or not. Form cliques and cronyism.

The Art of War says: "Whoever stands with a stick is hungry; whoever drains and drinks first is thirsty;

Bai Fu checked the status of each battalion one by one according to the 32 enemy observation methods passed down by Wang Zhongsi.

Bai Fu lightly drove to the camp, and if he saw soldiers leaning on spears from a distance, it meant that they were hungry and tired, and their food supplies were short.At this moment, even though the food in the camp seemed to be good, Bai Fu knew that it was deliberately shown to him, and the chief general would definitely withhold the rations.

If you see soldiers coming out of the camp to fetch water, and drink the water first, it proves that there is no water in the camp, and the soldiers are too thirsty.There is even a shortage of drinking water, which shows that there must be major loopholes in the daily management of the army.

If the soldiers report that there will be disturbances in the army from time to time, it means that the general behaves frivolously, has no prestige, and is not stable.

If the soldiers reported it, the small officials in the army often vented their anger on the subordinates and got angry for no reason.It shows that the general has no command, the government orders are inconsistent, or the rewards and punishments are uneven, and everyone is resentful.Such a team has lost the morale of the army. Once a battle starts, the soldiers will hope that their side will fail in order to take revenge on the general.

In other military camps, soldiers always gather together from time to time, talking secretly, and when they see the general approaching, they immediately disperse, pretending to be indifferent.

Bai Fu could tell at a glance that the soldiers were slandering their chief general.

In addition to the above, Bai Fu wandered around the camp and found some other situations:
Wei Zhi and Li Ruo secretly recruited several battalions of troops.

Thanks to the support of the famous family and Li Tang's clan, the chief generals of these battalions not only did not withhold military pay, but instead desperately rewarded the soldiers, expecting that there will be brave men under heavy rewards.

However, although they took out all their wealth, the soldiers still couldn't command, and they didn't have any respect for the general. At critical moments, they couldn't shout at anyone.It can be seen that the chief general is in distress.

Hengmu and Shitaiqing should be Wei Boyu's confidantes, but these battalions of soldiers and horses are in another situation:
In Shi Taiqing's battalion, "those who count punishments will be trapped."

Shi Taiqing was strict and harsh, and the punishment was not only heavy, but also numerous.The officers and soldiers suffered from disadvantages and were not afraid of punishment. They would rather be punished than do it.

Shi Taiqing had to increase punishment to coerce the soldiers, but the result was counterproductive.Once the critical moment comes, the soldiers may risk mutiny and kill the commander.

The problem here in Hengmu is even more serious, and it has made the mistake of "violent first and then fear the crowd, it is not good enough".

As the chief general, Hengmu failed to take responsibility first of all, the edicts were not clear, the soldiers lacked training, and their combat power was not enough.

At this time, Hengmu was neither carefully planning nor coaching the soldiers to solve problems, but insisted that his soldiers complete the set goals.If you can't do it, your subordinates will be severely punished.

The soldiers under his command naturally refused to accept it.

Seeing that Hengmu was stern and timid, a few bold generals took the lead in launching an attack.

Seeing that his subordinates did not listen to him, Heng Mu worried that he would not be able to hold back the battle and was blamed by Wei Boyu.As soon as Hengmu was afraid, he immediately turned around and started to win over the soldiers again.

In Bai Fu's view, the chief general is rough and strict at first, and then fears his subordinates. This is the least shrewd general, and even the most cowardly general.

Bai Fu shook his head, these few battalions, not only the commanders are incompetent, but also the soldiers in the battalions are like rotten wood, impossible to carve...

　The snow clouds in the Tianshan Mountains often do not open, and the snow in thousands of peaks and mountains is Cuiwei.

　　The north wind blows at Chitingkou at night, and the snow in the Tianshan Mountains becomes thicker overnight.

　　It can also shine on the silver mountain of the Han moon, and chase Hu Feng through the iron pass.

　　Birds fly by the edge of Jiaohe City, and horseshoes slippery on Luntai Road.

　　The dark mist is cold and the atmosphere is condensed for thousands of miles, and the cliffs are thousands of feet cold.

　　The general's fox fur is not warm when lying down, and the treasured sword of the guard is frozen to break.

　　It was when the snow fell on the Tianshan Mountains that I sent you back to the capital on horseback.

　　How can I give you a farewell in the snow, only the green pine branches.

　　——"Tianshan Snow Song Sends Xiao Zhi Back to Beijing" Cen Shen (Tang Dynasty)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)