Please ask me to be the emperor

If we look at numbers alone, Zhang Shun currently has 100,000 men and horses. What can the Ming army do if they send 5,000 fine cavalry?

However, real wars in ancient times did not involve calculating the outcome like this.

Although the rebels have many troops, there is no guarantee that they will all be delivered to one place at a certain point in time.

After all, real war is not like the games played by Zhang Shun in his previous life. With one click of the mouse, hundreds of thousands of people can be attracted, and the opponent can be overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.

In a real war, people and livestock need to eat, drink, and defecate, the movement of armies requires roads and spaces to be stationed, and command orders require golden drums, flags, and Tangqi messengers to deliver them.

All of this requires a certain venue and space, which gives rise to the concept of battlefield capacity.

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu says: "The art of war: the first is measuring, the second is measuring, the third is counting, the fourth is weighing, and the fifth is winning."

"Earth produces degree, degree produces quantity, quantity produces number, number produces name, and name produces victory."

Among them, "degree" means estimation, "quantity" means calculation, and "number" means quantity.

That is to say, the commander can evaluate and calculate the number of military personnel that can be accommodated based on the terrain of the battlefield.

However, based on these "quantities" and comparison with actual situations, we can determine how much effort both sides need to invest in a decisive victory.

The end result is naturally that the party that invests the appropriate amount will win, and the party that invests the unsuitable force will fail miserably.

If we fight near Huozhou, how many people can be accommodated?

It is said that Huozhou "Taiyue town is to the east, Fen River flows to the west, and it is the key point based on the mountains and rivers. It competes with Taiyuan and Pingyang. There is no one who does not regard the state as a channel."

What does that mean?

That is to say, Taiyue Mountain is to the east, Fenhe River is to the west, and Huozhou occupies the prosperous place of mountains and rivers, guarding the key points, and is the "channel" between Taiyuan and Yangyang.

Based on Zhang Shun's many years of marching combat experience, he knew that this was an important place with narrow terrain just from the description of the terrain.

Its battlefield capacity should be about 10,000 people, and it can reach 15,000 people at the top. It is impossible to reach 20,000 people.

If Huozhou is occupied by the Ming army's 5,000 elite cavalry, because the war horses consume more resources, it basically means that the entire vicinity of Huozhou City will be filled with the Ming army.

By then, even if the rebels have a hundred thousand troops, they will probably be able to hold their troops under the fortified city. They can only rely on Hongyi cannons to gnaw at Huozhou's city wall bit by bit, and then use elite dead soldiers to climb the city and fight hand-to-hand again and again.

If things really come to this point, this place may become a nightmare for the rebels.

The Art of War says: Therefore, you roll up your armor and rush forward, staying at home day and night, marching twice as long as you can, and striving for profit within a hundred miles. Then you can capture the three generals. The strong ones go first, and the tired ones follow. The method is eleven.

Now Pingyang is one hundred and forty-five miles away from Huozhou, with Hongdong and Zhaocheng counties in the middle.

Nowadays, the combat effectiveness of the three battalions of Zhang Tianlin, Zhang Rukui and Dang Shousu is worrying. The two battalions of Zhang Damou and Li Wanqing, who originally planned to launch the second stage of the attack after the fall of Pingyang, have not had time to arrive at Pingyang.

Even if the rebels move quickly this time and take advantage of the Fenhe River's water transportation, they may not be able to arrive within two days.

So what should we do?

Zhang Shun suddenly had a headache and racked his brains not knowing what to do.

At this moment, someone suddenly opened the door and walked in in a hurry.

Zhang Shun looked up and saw that it was none other than Sun Chuanting, who had just been assigned the task of admonishing the commander Tang Yao.

"Sir, you came here in a hurry. I don't know what's going on?" Zhang Shun couldn't help but ask.

It turned out that although Tang Yao's servant provided key intelligence to the rebels, he refused to surrender and claimed to return to the mountains and forests.

To be honest, Zhang Shun didn't understand his "snake and mouse" behavior, and didn't know whether he was taking the opportunity to ask for a price, or whether he really wanted to retreat to the mountains and forests.

Since he didn't understand, he found someone who could understand to help, so this important task fell on Sun Chuanting, the former governor of Shanxi.

Zhang Shun also said that Sun Chuanting's hurried arrival was related to Tang Yao's incident, but Sun Chuanting said: "Tang Yao just provided important news that a battalion of rebels appeared in Yueyang."

"According to the original plan, it was supposed to be Li Xin's subordinates, but I don't know who led the troops. What is the current situation of the battle?"

"It's just an urgent military situation. I'll report it to King Shun immediately for details."

"Okay!" Zhang Shun couldn't help but perked up after hearing this, and asked, "How far is Yueyang from here, and how far is it from Huozhou?"

Sun Chuanting didn't understand Zhang Shun's intention, so he couldn't help but report: "Yueyang is ninety miles away from Pingyang and a hundred miles away from Huozhou."

It turns out that Yueyang County is in the northeast of Pingyang Prefecture, while Huozhou is in the northwest of Yueyang County.

After turning half a circle in this way, we still have an extra fifty-five miles to travel.

"In this way, immediately send soldiers, one person and three horses, to rotate back and forth. Send military orders to the Yueyang Rebel Army overnight, and ask them to travel lightly and rush to Huozhou City within two days!" Zhang Shun couldn't help but order.

"Zhang Damou, who is looking at the sky full of stars, and Li Wanqing, who is shooting down the sky, will set off immediately. Regardless of Hongdong and Zhaocheng, they will attack Huozhou at all costs!"

"Speed ​​up the advance with other teams that haven't had time to arrive!"

"The risk in this is too great, isn't it?" Sun Chuanting couldn't help but hesitate after hearing this.

Sun Tzu said: If you know yourself and your enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger.

In fact, Zhang Shun's behavior this time belonged to the taboo behavior of military strategists: "the soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the soldiers". It was really too risky.

"I will benefit, and Peter will also benefit, because we are fighting for land!" Zhang Shun shook his head slightly and said, "Just fighting for this will save a lot of effort."

"Li Xin is a cautious man, and the generals he sends must be honest and reliable people."

"Even if we fail to fight for land this time, we can still retreat to Zhao City, but there is no danger."

Sun Chuanting thought about it carefully. Although the Ming army sent cavalry, the number was far lower than that of the rebels.

If Huozhou City was occupied by the Ming army, the Ming army generals would definitely not take the huge risk of losing Huozhou to pursue the rebels.

So this thing is really "low risk, high reward" and totally worth a try.

"Then does King Shun still plan to do it himself this time?" Sun Chuanting hesitated and asked again.

"No, this time you go for me, I will stabilize Pingyang and then worry about it." "Before you think about victory, think about defeat first; before thinking about gains, think about losses first." Zhang Shun knew the risks of fighting for Huozhou. The situation is huge, so I am prepared with both hands and want to personally secure Pingyang City that I have already occupied.

Sun Chuanting was stunned when he heard this. He never thought that he would have the opportunity to lead the army.

He couldn't help but take a serious look at Zhang Shun, and found that he was not joking at all. Then he bowed deeply three times and said sincerely: "People often say that King Shun is magnanimous, knows people well, and is well-known today."

He dared to use "trailing thief", he dared to use "surrendering general", he dared to use "breaking general", he also dared to use Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting, he was indeed worthy of the name of King Shun.

Zhang Shun smiled complacently upon hearing this, looking confident, but in fact he was smiling bitterly in his heart.

Do you think he doesn't want to use his own people?

However, under his leadership, the rebel army is developing in full swing. I don't know how many capable people and strangers in the world can't keep up with his footsteps. What can I do?

Although Zhang Shenyan and Lu Weiqi are quite talented, Henan and Shaanxi are the foundation of the rebel army and cannot easily move.

Chen Changzhen and Xiao Qinhu were both brave and resourceful, but they were still far from leading a large corps in combat.

Therefore, he had to boldly demote officials and generals in order to unify the north as soon as possible, completely overpowering the Ming and Jin countries in terms of overall strength, and making the final preparations for the unification of the world.