Song Yi

Chapter 408 Criteria for Winning and Losing

Du Wenhao was thinking in his head: She knew Tang poetry and Song Ci before the Northern Song Dynasty, but only those who memorized the Southern Song Dynasty, there were many famous poets in the Southern Song Dynasty, such as Li Qingzhao, Lu You, Xin Qiji, Jiang Kui, Wen Tianxiang, etc. Fortunately, I My uncle is not only proficient in Chinese medicine, but also very fond of ancient poems. When I was a child, I often asked myself to recite them, and I still remembered some in my stomach. If I really have to deal with a few poems, it is not a problem.He said: "Well, I'd rather be respectful than obedient. But speaking of it, I'm really not very good at reciting poems and composing Fu, so don't make it too difficult for me. I can't do it and you can't laugh at me."

Gao Taotao clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Well! Let's make a deal, don't play tricks!"

"That's natural. When a gentleman says something, he whips the horse."

"Okay, you still have to play the piano with me!" Gao Taotao excitedly raised his pretty face.

"Play the piano? I don't know how to play the zither, the qin, or the pipa... Maybe it's okay to play cotton!"

"Who asked you to play the piano!" Gao Tao laughed, grabbed the sword at his waist, pressed the spring, pulled out half of it with a clang, and returned it to the sheath with a flash of cold light: "I play the piano, you Sword dance!"

"Sword dance?"

"You are a dignified general, don't tell me you can't dance sword?"

Du Wenhao really hadn't learned swordsmanship, so he learned a set of grapples from Lin Qingdai.However, with Lin Qingdai, a master of martial arts, taking the time to learn one or two sets and practice for fun, there should be no problem.Thinking of the scene in the movie "Terracotta Warriors", under the falling leaves, the beautiful woman plays the piano, and the general dances the sword, I feel hot in my heart, and nodded: "Okay! You play the piano, and I will dance the sword to help!"

"Okay, okay!" Gao Taotao excitedly said three good times, "It's a pity that it's dark now, otherwise, I really want to start right away!"

"Hehe, we need to build a Tingyu Pavilion first. Only with a good view can we have a good mood. I really like the feeling of listening to the rain. In the quiet evening, there is a light rain, and plantains are sprinkled on the water. On the beach, there are splashes of water, waves of ripples, a small boat, slowly rippling on the water, wearing a bamboo hat and coir raincoat, sitting on the bedside fishing, warming a pot of wine , a few dishes of side dishes, cuddling with the lovely you, savoring the tranquility and poetic charm."

"The scenery you described really moved my heart, it is so beautiful, I must realize it! I will let them start the construction tomorrow, and it will be completed within half a month!"

"Um, okay."

Gao Taotao saw that the sky was getting dark gradually, the scenery outside the pavilion could not be seen clearly, and the rain was getting heavier.It was completely dark.There was only the sound of pattering rain all around.

Gao Taotao said: "Last time I said, we're done with the funeral, find some time to go out and have a good rest for a few days. Where do you think we should go?"

"You decide, I will accompany you wherever you want to go." Du Wenhao said.

"Well, let me think about it..., alas! I'm afraid I can't go now"

"what happened?"

"Previously Prime Minister Wang Gui said that there are a lot of memorials that have been backlogged for more than a month, waiting for my review and decision. I just ran out to play when I was in charge of politics. Let’s talk about it later, okay?”

"Okay, I'm very happy that you can put the country's affairs first. In the future, the Song Dynasty will be in your palm, and you can put the country's affairs first in everything. You can only let go of the love of your children."

"I don't!" Gao Taotao said coquettishly: "I have to deal with state affairs, and I also want to have a long relationship with your children. I also need you to accompany me when I am reviewing the memorial. You are not allowed to leave me anyway!"

Du Wenhao: "Okay! I am also reluctant to leave you. If you don't let me leave, then I will stay with you all day, okay?"

"Yeah!" Gao Taotao sighed softly again: "However, you are inspected in all three government offices, and you are responsible for the whole country's army. There are also many things to deal with. I'm afraid you don't have so much time to accompany me."

"That's okay, isn't there a deputy job? I can do it alone, and I can't finish it..."

Gao Tao said angrily: "From now on, don't talk nonsense about death and life!"

"Okay!" Du Wenhao said: "However, life, old age, sickness and death are the laws of nature. As a general, once the flames of war ignite in the future, I have to lead the army. As the saying goes, a general dies in a hundred battles..."

"I told you not to say it, and you still say it! If you say it again, I will punish you!" Gao Tao said: "Besides, I won't let you leave me, and I won't let you lead the army. It's all right, right? "

Du Wenhao said with a smile: "Okay, anyway, I don't know the art of war. If you lead the army to go out, you will lose face in nine out of ten battles."

"Why don't you know the art of war? The late emperor praised you for being a good leader and familiar with the art of war. In the battle against Tubo Xishan, you won more with less, and you fought beautifully. In the future, you will lead the army. You must be a victorious general!"

Du Wenhao laughed and shook his head: "Taotao, to be honest, I have been in Sanya for so many days, and I have a little understanding of the situation in Sanya. Just like our Song army is like now, if we want to win the battle, we must defeat Xixia and Liao Kingdom, it’s really not easy.”

Gao Taotao had been living in the harem before, never asked about political affairs, did not understand the army, let alone the art of war.Now the little emperor is only ten years old, and there are still seven or eight years before he becomes an adult. Poor, it is difficult to win the battle, so I was surprised: "Really? Are our troops not as powerful as Liao and Xixia?"

Du Wenhao smiled wryly: "In terms of military strength, our Great Song Dynasty is superior. Even after the first emperor reduced the number of troops, we still have 61 forbidden soldiers. This is a conventional combat force that we can fight. The local army has 22 troops. There are tens of thousands of Xiang troops near the capital. These are miscellaneous soldiers with little combat effectiveness and cannot be directly engaged in combat. If the Xiang army is added, our total strength is close to 90! In addition, there are also an undetermined number of civilian soldiers, the Qiang Fanbing from ethnic minorities, as well as soldiers and archers belonging to local yamen."

Gao Taotao said happily: "There are so many soldiers, how is that compared to Liao and Xixia?"

"The army of the Liao Kingdom consists of five parts: the Palace Tent Army, the Great Leader's Tribal Army, the Tribal Army, the Wujing Township Ding and the National Army. Their Palace Tent Army is equivalent to our imperial army. It is the main elite force of the Liao Kingdom. About 10 people. The leader’s deployment army is actually the guard of the princes and ministers of the Liao Kingdom. The number of troops ranges from thousands to hundreds, and the total number is about 3. The tribal army is a military-civilian combination of tribes. The military system is not a regular army. It is for the people in peacetime and soldiers in wartime. It is mainly responsible for protecting the hinterland and the capital of the Liao Kingdom. It is generally not involved in border warfare, so it is not counted in the number of regular troops. Wujing Township Ding is very similar to our township soldiers. Similar, the function is similar to our Xiang army, which is also a miscellaneous soldier and does not directly go into battle."

Gao Tao said: "How many soldiers does the Liao Kingdom have?"

"No more than 20 regular troops can be directly engaged in combat, and the total number will not exceed 30 if the miscellaneous soldiers and local armed forces are included."

"So little?" Gao Tao said happily, "It's only equivalent to [-]% of ours. What about Xixia? How many soldiers are there?"

"The Xixia Army consists of three parts: the Central Guard Army, the Capture Army, and the Local Army. Their Central Guard Army includes the 5000-strong Yulin 'Proton Army', 3000 the emperor's personal heavy cavalry, and 5000 10 soldiers in the capital. Their regular elite troops, the "Qisheng Army", have about 15 people. This is his regular army, with a total of no more than 50 people. Since both Xixia and Daliao are soldiers of the whole people Regarding the military system, although his local army has 65 troops, it is not out of production and cannot be counted as a regular army. Of course, if this part is added, his total strength can reach [-] people.”

Gao Taotao said happily: "That is much worse than ours. Besides, their regular army is only 15, while our forbidden army has 61. We have more troops than them. Even if the forces of Liao and Xixia are combined, We just managed to catch up with us, so we split up and we're sure to win!"

Du Wenhao shook his head and smiled wryly: "However, we can't beat them, or to be more precise, in the battle against Daliao and Xixia, we lost more than we won."

Gao Taotao was stunned: "No way?"

"Why not, I'll count my fingers for you, and you will know. Now, let's talk about the Song-Liao war first, Emperor Taizu..."

"Wait!" Gao Taotao interrupted him, "I'm a little hungry, I'll send a meal, let's talk while eating, okay?"

Du Wenhao kissed her: "You are confused, Tao Tao, don't forget that you are the empress dowager and the emperor, and I am just a courtier, how can a courtier eat at the same table with the emperor, you look pleasing to the eye, at worst, you will be rewarded." It will be a big deal if I take the big plate of meals back to eat."

Gao Taotao smiled: "I don't! I want to eat with you."

"If the admonishers at Yushitai know about it and give me a copy, I can't stand it."

"What are you afraid of, just don't let them know! After the meal is delivered later, let them back down and not let them wait on the sidelines. You only need to send a few plates of exquisite dishes and a jug of good wine. Let's Drink by yourself, listen to the rain while listening to you talk about military affairs, the admonisher won’t know. ——I want you to spend more time with me, okay?”

Du Wenhao is also a stupefied youth, and he has not been influenced by the feudal ethics, and he doesn't care much about the etiquette of the monarch and his ministers, so he nodded and agreed.

Gao Taotao happily walked to the gazebo, and shouted in the direction of the distant arch: "Little Jiaozi!"

"Hey! Here we come!" Gao Taotao just yelled, and Eunuch Jiao agreed from a distance, and ran over in the rain with a red oilcloth umbrella with a bamboo frame, bowed and said: "The Empress Dowager What are your orders?"

"Chuan Shan! Choose a few exquisite side dishes and a pot of good wine and send them!"

"Yes!" Eunuch Jiao turned around and ran out to deliver the meal.

Gao Taotao went to the railing and sat down, beckoned Du Wenhao to sit beside him, and said, "Wen Hao, I never expected you to know everything about the Daliao and Xixia military."

Du Wenhao smiled and said: "If you know it well, it's not enough. I was very concerned about this knowledge after I was in Chengdu Fulu and the Tubo Xishan Tribal Army last time, and you asked me to take over their military power a few days ago. After appointing me as the commander of the Sanya capital, I thought, since I have been in the military industry, I should treat it well and not understand everything. The so-called know yourself and the enemy and you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles. Those who came to my Song Dynasty also read the military materials of Daliao and Xixia. In addition, I also looked up the detailed military information of my previous foreign wars since the founding of the Song Dynasty. It happened that you asked, so I can answer it. And, I There are some soldiers who fought against Xixia back then, and they usually tell me about the situation of fighting against Xixia. I have nothing to ask them."

Gao Taotao said happily: "You really put your heart into it. It seems that it is right to use you to do all three checks."

"It's wrong, it's hard to say now, anyway, I'm doing it with my heart."

"Okay then, go on with what you just said. I want to hear it. I don't know anything about it. You need to tell me more. Why do we have more troops than Xixia and Liao, but we lose more and win less?"

Du Wenhao said: "First of all, we must clarify a concept, what is victory and what is defeat. That is, what is the standard of victory or defeat? Because both sides of the war often claim to have won the victory after the war, but whoever wins and who loses has to have a Only by measuring with more objective standards can we draw more objective conclusions.”

Gao Taotao nodded and said: "Yes, what you said is very reasonable, what is the criterion for winning or losing?"

"I am not a military strategist either, but I have discussed this issue with Sima Guang before. He wrote a book named "Zizhi Tongjian" by the first emperor, which is a historical evaluation of more than 1000 years from the Zhou Dynasty to the Five Dynasties. A considerable amount of content involves military warfare. This book was highly praised by the late emperor. I asked him about the criteria for judging the outcome of the book, and he said that the most important criterion is whether the purpose of launching a war is achieved. This is the most important. There are many purposes of war, such as siege and plunder, encircling Wei and saving Zhao for help, punitive attack, forced defense and resistance, etc. Regardless of the purpose, generally speaking, as long as the purpose of combat is achieved, it is considered a victory, and the casualties of one's side are higher than that of the enemy. Generally speaking, if there are many opponents, it can be considered a victory. But if the goal is not achieved, even if the number of enemies killed exceeds the number of casualties, generally speaking, it cannot be regarded as a victory, and of course it is not good to be regarded as a defeat. In other words, Sima Guang emphasized Yu analyzed the outcome of the war from the perspective of victory. As for the comparison of casualties between the two sides in the battle, and the situation of territory gains and losses, he didn’t pay much attention to it.”

Gao Taotao didn't seem to be very interested in Sima Guang's views on war. He looked at Du Wenhao and said, "Don't talk about him, just talk about yours. What do you think?"

"I, I think that the criteria for winning or losing a war are different for military leaders and politicians...ahem, for the generals who lead the army and the decision-making emperors, the criteria for judging are not exactly the same, and sometimes even the opposite."

Gao Taotao, as someone who listens behind the curtain, is of course concerned about the latter's standards, and asked, "How does the emperor judge the outcome of the war?"

"The emperor judged the outcome more from a political point of view, that is, the judgment of the situation before and after the war, and the judgment of the gains and losses before and after the war. The war was won, but the country did not gain in the end, and even faced a more severe situation. , for the emperor, such a war cannot be said to be won."

Gao Taotao seemed to understand and nodded: "What about the general who leads the army?"

"For generals, the criteria for winning or losing are relative, because what we call war can actually be divided into three levels: the first level is the overall victory or defeat of the entire war from the beginning to the end; the second level is the general situation. The third level is the victory or defeat of a single battle. As a senior military general, one should value the first level, that is, the victory of the entire war. Some small battles are lost and won."

"It makes sense!" Gao Taotao nodded frequently, "What about the outcome of the big battle?"

"This is also very important. A large-scale battle is likely to affect the balance of power between the two sides, and even affect the outcome of the entire battle. Therefore, it is necessary to win as many battles as possible in order to translate into the final victory of the entire war. But this is not absolute, sometimes despite winning a series of battles, the most crucial battle is lost, or even the entire war, the battle between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu in the Western Han Dynasty is the best example.”

Gao Taotao sighed: "That's right, the overlord of Western Chu defeated Liu Bang, but he didn't kill Liu Bang at the Hongmen Banquet. In the end, he was defeated in the next battle and fell short in Wujiang."

"Yes, the victory or defeat of a small battle can be transformed into the victory or defeat of a large battle. However, judging the victory or defeat of a war cannot be limited to individual battles, because individual battles may be deliberately lost for the sake of the overall situation, such as luring the enemy into deep The battle to lure the enemy must be lost. Therefore, the main basis for judging the outcome of the two sides is the big battle and the entire war. This is meaningful."

This is easy to understand, and Gao Taotao understood it: "Then how do you judge?"

As soon as I said this, Eunuch Jiao had already brought the people from the imperial dining room to deliver meals, some exquisite side dishes, plus a pot of high-quality pure palace banquet wine.

After putting it on the stone table, put a dead wind lamp on the stone table, which is not affected by the wind and rain outside.Eunuch Jiao didn't wait for Gao Taotao's order, so he took all the people out of the flower garden door and closed the door.

Outside the pavilion, the drizzle flew obliquely, and fell on the leaves, flowers, and grass, pattering, full of poetic and picturesque.

Gao Taotao pulled Du Wenhao to sit side by side, poured him a glass of wine, filled it up for himself, raised the glass, and smiled sweetly: "Come on, let's drink a glass of wine together, I hope I can live forever Together!"

Du Wenhao also picked up the wine: "You are the boss in the world, as long as you don't hate me and drive me away, no one can drive me away. Hehe."

Gao Taotao smiled: "If you kill me, I won't drive you away!"

"Haha, this time, you're the first to talk about death and life. Fine wine!"

Gao Taotao giggled: "Okay, I accept the punishment!" He drank the wine glass in one gulp.Poured another glass of wine: "Come, let's have a drink together for the love of this life!"

Du Wenhao: "Okay! Also for us to be together in the next life. Cheers!"

"Well, that's right!" Gao Taotao looked at Du Wenhao with joy in his eyes, and slowly drank the wine in his glass.

Du Wenhao also raised his neck and drank the wine in his glass.Putting down the wine glass, picked up the ivory chopsticks, picked up pieces of wine-seared freshwater shrimp and put them into her small mouth.

(End of this chapter)