Chapter 2188: Run three thousand miles

Chapter 2188: Running three thousand miles

Chapter 2184: Running three thousand miles

When Li Tangcai withdrew from Sizhou, the total strength of the Qin army in Sizhou was 283,000.

 Except for the unavailable troops stationed at various checkpoints, the number of available troops is as many as 260,000.

 Subsequently, Han Xin's 70,000 infantry and Zhao Yun's 30,000 Hetao cavalry, a total of 100,000 troops, went south to support Jingbei.

Yue Fei of Jingbei originally had a mixed army of 160,000 old and new, but in the battle with the Shu-Chu coalition, only 110,000 were left.

After adding Han Xin and Zhao Yun's 100,000 troops, the total strength of the Qin army in northern Jing reached 210,000, facing an army of 260,000 from Shu and Chu.

Without the 100,000 troops of Han and Zhao, Sizhou only had 160,000 available troops. 130,000 of them were led by Zhang Liao to the western front to confront Li Shimin at Tongguan, and the remaining 30,000 were personally visited by Li Jing. Sneak attack on Wuguan.

In the surprise attack on Wuguan, the Qin army lost 20,000 troops, so the total strength of the Western Front dropped to 140,000.

Sizhou has 140,000 troops and Jingbei has 210,000 troops, totaling 350,000 troops. This is the total strength of the Qin army in Si Jing.

After Li Tang experienced the defeat of Sizhou, the regular army was reduced to 160,000, but with the addition of miscellaneous troops and new recruits, the total strength was still nearly 300,000.

If you want to take away the 800 miles of Guanzhong from the Tang State, which has nearly 300,000 troops, it is obviously not enough to rely solely on the 140,000 Qin troops on the western front.

Li Jing's army is just Qin Hao's first move. The real trump card is still behind.

"Now that Youzhou has been unified, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties have fallen into internal strife. Aguda and Dorgon are attacking each other. The situation in Youzhou has stabilized. It will not be in Qizhan in the short term, so naturally there is no need for so many troops to guard it. ." Qin Hao said.

The Qin army's current distribution of troops is extremely chaotic. The two prefectures of Sizhou and Jingbei where the war is breaking out have a total strength of 350,000, but Youzhou, where the war has ceased, also has an army of 350,000.

A full 700,000 Qin troops were concentrated in the three prefectures of Sijingyou and Hebei, while the combined strength of the four prefectures of Hebei and Qinghe was only 200,000. Obviously, these four and four prefectures were already very empty.

If we follow this kind of troop allocation, something will definitely happen if things go on like this in the long run, so it has reached a point where adjustments are necessary.

"It is enough to leave 150,000 garrison troops in Youzhou. As for the remaining 200,000 troops..."

After Qin Hao thought for a while, he assigned: "Deploy 70,000 iron cavalry to pass through Bingzhou to Hetao, detour to Liangzhou, and attack Guanzhong from the rear.

As for the Sui King Yang Guang of Liangzhou, he is currently busy dealing with Ma Chao, and presumably does not have the energy to support Li Shimin. "

"My lord, you must be careful when choosing the leader of these 70,000 cavalry. Only those who are familiar with cavalry warfare cannot be appointed." Jia Xu said seriously. After all, these are 70,000 cavalry, accounting for almost half of the total cavalry of the Qin army. They must be treated with caution.

“The king has already made up his mind about the candidate, so I’ll leave it to Huo Qubing, and Wei Qing will be the deputy general.”

As he spoke, Qin Hao showed a smile on his face and said: "During the battle in Youbeiping, Wei and Huo cooperated very well and were able to shoulder this important task."

Youzhou’s 70,000 cavalry are currently the only army that can participate in the Guanzhong battle.

The rest of the army either cannot be mobilized easily or is too far away from Guanzhong. Before they reach the battlefield, the Qin army may have exhausted its food and grass. The branch lines from Youzhou to Guanzhong are more than a thousand miles away. If we take the Bingzhou and Hetao lines to go around to Liangzhou and enter Guanzhong, we may have to march more than three thousand miles to get there. Only the speed and mobility of the cavalry can reach the battlefield in time.

The Qin army's cavalry all ride two horses. They can march at a speed of up to a hundred miles a day and need to march continuously for a month. With the addition of Wei Huo's skills, the march time can be shortened to half a month.

With this thought, Qin Hao couldn't help but look forward to half a month later. After all, Li Shimin certainly didn't expect that he would sacrifice the near for the distant and send troops all the way from Youzhou to raid Guanzhong. By the time he reacted, it was already too late.

Li Jing's 140,000 troops mainly attacked the frontal battlefield, while Huo Qubing and Wei Qing's 70,000 cavalry raided the rear, which was enough to give the unprepared Tang army a drink.

I have to say that Qin Hao's strategy is gradually approaching Jia Xu's, becoming more and more vicious.

Youzhou's 200,000-strong army was directly transferred by Qin Hao with 70,000 cavalry. The remaining 130,000-strong army had to be arranged. Of course, it would be too late to join the battle.

 "Send a total of 50,000 elite troops from the Huwei Camp, Tiewei Camp, and Pojun Camp back to Sizhou. As for the other 80,000 troops, 50,000 will guard Jizhou and 30,000 will guard Qingbei."

 It would be too wasteful for the elite battalion to continue to stay in Youzhou. Only by returning to Sizhou can the value be maximized.

Under Qin Hao's arrangement, Youzhou's military strength will be reduced to 150,000, Jizhou's will be increased to 120,000, Qingbei's navy and land army will be 80,000, and the total strength of the three states will also reach 350,000.

This 350,000-strong army is enough to ensure that the three states are not lost, and to prevent powerful enemies from all directions from coveting the three states. After all, the three states can support each other.

There are only 80,000 defenders left in Bingzhou and Hetao, which can be said to be extremely empty. Unless urgent military expansion is carried out, there is no way to mobilize troops to participate in the war, and they can only protect themselves.

Qin Hao obviously did not interrupt the expansion of the army. After all, he had already ordered an emergency expansion of the army, and now he could not afford the money and food for the expansion.

Although Bingzhou and Hetao cannot send troops to participate in the Guanzhong War, they can provide food and grass support to the Qin army participating in the war.

The food and fodder for Huo Qubing and Wei Qing's 70,000 cavalry must be borne by Binghe.

Sizhou's harvest this year has been greatly reduced, and disaster relief is still needed. The remaining grain and grass may not be able to support the Western Front army for too long.

 Hence, if the Battle of Guanzhong is to continue, it is still necessary to transport food from the river for emergencies.

 Qin Hao used the grain and grass from Hebin to conquer Hebei. Now he still needs to bleed blood from Hebin to attack Guanzhong. Even if Hetao is the granary of the Qin army, it cannot sustain such consumption.

It is not difficult for Qin Hao to imagine the scene of the Hetao granary being emptied after this battle, but it doesn't matter.

 Eight major granaries: Sichuan, Jiangdong, Jingxiang, Jianghuai, Hetao, Shandong, Heluo, and Liaodong. Qin Hao’s family accounts for four and a half.

 In the near future, the Qin army will no longer have to worry about food and grass.

 The theory of the Eight Granaries was evaluated by famous experts based on the amount of grain produced in each region, so there will naturally be changes and fluctuations. Now the Eight Granaries have become the Nine Granaries, with an additional Guanzhong.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, Guanzhong had long been lonely and was far less wealthy than in the pre-Qin period. However, under the governance of Li Shimin, Guanzhong ushered in great rule and gradually restored its former glory. It produced more and more grain, and gradually caught up with the other eight major cities. The granary was rated as the ninth largest grain store by famous experts.

 Among the nine major granaries, Li Shimin's family owned Guanzhong, and the part of Hanzhong belonging to Sichuan and Shu was equivalent to owning one and a half granaries, so they could easily feed an army of 300,000 people.

 (End of this chapter)