Daqin Engineering Corps

Wang Ben objected:

"If the Yue clan had [-] soldiers, how could they be driven to Shazhou by the Huns' more than [-] troops?"

"If the Huns can win with more than [-] troops, how can our army be invincible with [-] troops?"

Although Wang Ben's reasoning is correct, Shen Bing feels that the situation cannot be compared so simply.

The reason why the Huns were able to expel the Yuezhi forces from the Hexi Corridor with more than [-] troops in the Hexi area was largely because the Xiongnu attacked the Yuezhi on both sides, making it impossible for the Yuezhi to take care of both ends.

on the other hand……

Yang Duanhe sighed and cupped his hands towards Wang Ben and said:

"The captain doesn't know something."

"The Hexi Corridor is full of grasslands suitable for the Xiongnu cavalry to march, and they burn, kill and loot all the way to support the war without worrying about supplies."

"At this time, our army's operation in Hexi has just started, and the camps along the way are still insufficient to provide supplies for merchants and brigades. How can we provide enough for the army to fight against the Yuezhi and Xiongnu allied forces?"

When Yang Duanhe said this, everyone fell silent.

Supplies are always a big problem.

Li Yan set off from Wuyuan with 5 people, and left troops to set up camps, suppress bandits, and guard villages along the way. When he arrived in Suzhou, there were only [-] left.

The supplies for these [-] soldiers were mainly supplied from Yuezhi.

To be precise, it cannot be regarded as the supply of the Yuezhi, but the silk and cloth brought with the army and exchanged for military rations.

Now that the Yuezhi has turned their backs and banned business travel, even the supply of the [-] soldiers is difficult, let alone sending an additional army to conquer the Yuezhi.

Yang Duanhe went on to say:

"That's right, this subordinate thinks that we should stay safe and not get bored."

"At the moment, we should focus on defense."

"As long as our army guards Suzhou and cultivates the fields, next year's harvest will be the day when King Yuezhi confers the head!"

Wei Wei agreed:

"The subordinates think what General Yang said is very true."

"Besides, the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu were an alliance for a while. If I wait patiently for a few months, I'm afraid the two countries will start a war again."

Wang Ben objected:

"Because of this, we have to fight fast and slow to win."

"Otherwise, how can the [-] soldiers of our army survive in the future?"

"Is it impossible to transport grain all the way from the Central Plains?"

"But if our army defeats the Yuezhi, it will not only solve the supply problem, but also deter all countries in the Western Regions!"

For a while, the generals talked a lot, and the main attacking and defending factions were arguing endlessly.

Shen Bing pondered for a while and asked Yang Duanhe:

"Is there a city in Shazhou?"

Because Yang Duanhe was in charge of the Hexi garrison, he knew these things better.

Yang Duanhe replied:

"Back to the general, there is no city!"

The ancient city of Dunhuang was built by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who defeated the Xiongnu and Zhao Punu who conquered Loulan. The Yuezhi and Wusun were nomadic peoples, so of course they would not spend effort to build the city.

Shen Bing asked again:

"Then, the Yue clan has an army of [-], how can they block the attack of our army's [-] Heinei soldiers?"

Yang Duanhe hurriedly presented a map and said:

"The general doesn't know anything."

"There are Sanwei Mountains in the east of Shazhou, Mingsha Mountain in the south, Gobi in the north and the Tianshan Mountains, and a desert in the west."

"That is to say, there are dangers on the three sides facing us. Not only is the terrain dangerous and there is no way to go, but most of them lack water and cannot cross."

"Even if there is no city, it is extremely difficult to capture."

Shen Bing let out an "oh".

In other words, most of them are mountainous areas that are easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Chapter 391

Shen Bing also considered the suggestions of Wei Wei and Yang Duanhe.

Objectively speaking, the suggestions of these two veterans still make sense.

The problem is that the loss of the Qin army will be too great... Not only is the Silk Road impassable, it will not be able to exchange enough food, but a large amount of food will be transported to feed Li Yan's [-] troops, and at least it will last until Harvest next year.

How much food do [-] troops need to consume?

It sounds like a lot to get more than 5 sheep from Tuoba's "exploitation" before, but it is really going to be sent to the [-] troops as rations... On average, each person has less than two sheep, and how many days can they eat?

If it is to transport food, it will be even more troublesome:

At this time, Hetao did not produce grain, and the grain had to go from Yanmen County or even further away, and then go around the Hetao through Yunzhong, Jiuyuan, Wuyuan, and then go to Xitao, cross Hexi, and then go to Suzhou. .The total length of the route is at least five or six thousand miles.

This is almost an impossible task, unless the Hetao area is not developed and everyone is invested in transportation.

In addition, there are arrows, equipment, horses and other materials needed for the 3 people to fight.

Therefore, if the strategy of Yang Duanhe and Wei Wei is adopted, the garrison in Suzhou will inevitably be reduced.

But how much should the garrison be reduced?

Reduced to [-] or even less?

When the Yuezhi army and the Xiongnu army were staring at each other for a long time, the Qin army not only did not increase its troops on the front line, but wanted to withdraw its troops?

To do so is to "grow others' morale and destroy one's own prestige", which is almost the same as giving up Suzhou.

But once you give up Suzhou at this time, it will not be so easy to come back in the future.

Therefore, defending is actually unrealistic, and its difficulty and risk are no less than offense.

Thinking of this, Shen Bing didn't think too much:

"In this battle, we actually have only two choices, either to attack or withdraw our troops. There is no such thing as defending Suzhou and waiting for another attack next year."

The generals acquiesced to Shen Bing's statement.

This is true if the difficulty of supply is considered.

Then Shen Bing said:

"As for the attack and withdrawal, I think our army should attack more."

Yang Duanhe hurriedly said:

"But General, we only have [-] troops, while the enemy has more than [-]."

"In particular, the enemy army has no worries about supplies, but our army is only allowed to win but not to lose."

"Once the battle fails to capture the Yuezhi and the food and grass cannot keep up, the consequences will be disastrous."

"I hope the general will think twice!"

Shen Bing asked Yang Duanhe:

"How long can Suzhou grain and grass last?"

Yang Duanhe replied:

"Because of the previous trading and storage of grain, the grain and grass can last for two months!"

It would be very dangerous if it could only last for two months, because it would take a month for the army to return to Xitao from Suzhou.

If you choose to fight...

Yang Duanhe added:

"And if our army attacks Yuezhi, we can only attack from the east and north."

"Attacking from the east will be blocked by the three dangerous mountains. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It must be able to go down in a month."

"The north is the Gobi without water and grass, and our army has no danger to defend when entering the Gobi, and is surrounded by the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu..."

Shen Bing interrupted Yang Duanhe's words:

"We will attack Sanwei Mountain from the front."

Yang Duanhe wanted to say something, but was stopped by Shen Bing.

"Ok, deal."

"Hetao will be taken care of by General Yang, and Shen Bing will personally lead the troops to Suzhou to command."

This made everyone anxious, Wang Ben got up and said:

"No, the general. The journey to Suzhou is long and unpredictable. Wang Ben can lead his troops there!"

Yang Duanhe also said:

"Suzhou's troops are subordinate Hanoi soldiers. If you must attack, your subordinates should go there in person!"

Even Fusu stood up nervously:

"Hetao still needs a general to take charge of the overall situation. Fusu thinks that the general should not be taken lightly!"

……

Shen Bing didn't want to be a hero or did it rashly.

Rather, the strategy he had planned to deal with the Yueshi was that the military action was dangerous and must not be revealed.

In order to keep it secret to ensure the suddenness of the battle, Shen Bing had to come to command in person and only he knew... Once the secret was leaked, not only would this battle be lost, but Li Yan's 3 people might not be able to return.

So Shen Bing had to be careful.

So Shen Bing cupped his hands towards Fusu and said:

"My lord, don't worry, Shen Bing has his own measure."

"And even if the battle is defeated at that time...it will not be difficult for Shen Bing to retreat completely."

Seeing Shen Bing's resolute attitude, Fusu could only sigh and nod:

"The general must be careful when he goes here, and he must not force himself to do what he wants!"

After Shen Bing thanked him, he took Wang Ben to Xitao.

After rushing to Xitao, Shen Bing didn't say much.

On the one hand, he ordered the cavalry led by Ji to stand by in Suzhou... The [-] cavalry and more than [-] herdsmen led by Ji from the Western Regions were already on their way back.

There is no need for Shen Bing to worry about the supplies of this team.

As I said before, they are nomads, and they take their cattle and sheep with them wherever they go, and as long as they have water and grass, they will not starve to death.

Another advantage of the cavalry in the Western Regions is the high rate of conscription.

Since the Qin army has been fighting for many years, there are more women than men, so it is not bad for one out of five people to serve in the military.

However, this is also related to the Qin army's system of taking turns to serve more... After one person has served in the military, the family still needs to have labor to farm.

Herdsmen in the Western Regions are different.

Two out of five of them can serve in the military... The family does not need labor, and the women also need to pound rice and not weave, let alone plow the fields, as long as they can milk cows and kill sheep.

Therefore, [-] cavalry correspond to no more than [-] people, so the burden is much less.

Shen Bing ordered [-] cavalry to drive the accompanying sheep to Suzhou, while the common people continued to return to Xitao with a small number of sheep.

On the other hand, Shen Bing organized a support army in Xitao.

This support army consists of three thousand Shenwu troops and one thousand mountain troops heading to Lishi.

In fact, there are no three thousand martial arts soldiers, because one thousand of them are Shen Bing's personal guards.