He returned to his uncle's main camp and reported what he had seen. Uncle Ma Chao let us sit in the big tent and continued to tell us about the current situation.
"Ji City has a circumference of more than four miles and a height of twenty feet. There was a gate in each direction, with a suspension bridge in front and a barbican behind the gate. The moat was 20 feet wide and about 5 feet deep, but now that the moat was almost filled, the soldiers could easily wade through. The city originally had a population of over 30,000. Wei Kang had brought along more than 5000 defeated soldiers and original guards, but Wei Kang had recruited the young and strong people in the city to defend the city. In reality, there should be more than 10,000 people. The total number of troops that our main camp can send out is about 4000. Cheligu can send out 3000, Yadan Yueji can send out 2000, and the other leaders have a total of 5000. Yang Ang has 5000, so they can still defend the camp, but they can't be counted on to attack Ji City. Infantry is the main force of the siege, but our main force is cavalry. We can't ride horses up the city wall, so most of us can only dismount and attack. But in the end, we're not infantrymen, so we have 23,000 casualties now. We've been besieging Jicheng for more than five months, but we still can't take it down.”
Uncle Ma Dai also added,
"Tong 'er, we've lost so many soldiers, and we're still surrounding Ji City. We want to use up all the provisions in the city and force them to surrender. However, we have gathered all the young and strong people from all the tribes here. There is no one to graze and produce in the rear. We can't stand it either. If it wasn't for Yang Ang bringing some rations, we probably wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. Zhang Lu said that he could still send some more rations over, but the cost of supporting the army here was definitely not a small amount. Zhang Lu would cut off the supply sooner or later. Cao Cao might have already received the news that Ji City is trapped. If he is free, he will send reinforcements to rescue Ji City. If that is the case, we will be in danger. Therefore, your uncle and I are worried that Ji City has not been conquered yet.”
I now understand the situation in Ji City. It's already May. In history, Xiahou Yuan will lead his troops to help in August. Now, there are only two months left. We have to take down Ji City so that we can free up our hands to defeat Xiahou Yuan. Otherwise, we will be attacked from both sides, and there will be people secretly colluding with the Cao army. If that day really comes, the consequences will be unimaginable.
"Uncle, when I was patrolling the camp just now, I saw a wounded soldier standing alone in a camp. There was almost no one to take care of him. He was on his own. If this continues, who would dare to lead the charge and cause injuries? In the long run, morale would be greatly affected.”
Zhang Bao and the others nodded and watched how their uncle would answer. Uncle Ma Chao looked at me and agreed.
"Tong 'er, I don't have any good ideas in this aspect. The reason why the tribes didn't want to fight with all their might was to preserve their strength. After all, if one person was injured, one person might be lost. Now that the population of the tribes was not as good as before, they couldn't afford to suffer anymore. I also knew this, so I didn't use all my strength to force the leaders to prevent a mutiny. This time, you sent me a lot of medicine. That's why I wanted the tribal leaders to attack boldly.”
"Uncle, if I take in those wounded soldiers, can the tribal leaders still ask me for those people?”
"They all think that these wounded soldiers are gone. No one will ask you for them.”
"Alright, starting from tomorrow, I will take over the wounded soldiers camp. All the wounded soldiers that have been cured will be mine. In addition, Uncle, find a way to give me 1000 men. I want to have the right to dispose of these 1000 men. After a month, I will help you break through Ji City. Then, you will command the army to take over the entire Ji City.”
Uncle stared at me in disbelief.
"Is that true?"
"Really? As long as you provide me with some weapons and things as I requested, we brothers will definitely be able to break through Ji City for you.”
"Alright, Tong 'er, I'll get the tribes to select soldiers and send them to you in the afternoon. You'll be in charge of the wounded soldiers camp.”
Very soon, in the afternoon, the various tribes sent me 1000 men and horses. Those who were on good terms with my uncle sent me slightly better men and horses, so it was reasonable. As for the three tribes, more than half of them sent me young soldiers who had just joined the army and some veterans who were over 40 years old. From their intentions, they were basically treating them as abandoned children and pretending that they did not have these soldiers. After taking over these people, I ordered them to familiarize themselves with each other within a day and report their strengths. Ping Wang will be in charge of the assessment. I've arranged for Guan Xing to bring his men to count the wounded soldiers. There are still 2200 of them, and the rest are dead. Among them, there are more than 600 people with broken arms and short legs. The remaining 1600 people will be able to return to the battlefield after I treat them. Most of these 1600 people were soldiers who had fought for many years. Most of them were injured because they had charged at the front. I personally treated the wounds of the injured soldiers in the casualty camp. I also selected 50 soldiers who had just joined the army and seemed weak to teach them the techniques of wound treatment and bandaging. I prepared these people to be responsible for the care of the injured soldiers after they were familiar with the training. At the same time, I specially arranged for the chefs to prepare meals for the injured so that they can recover as soon as possible. At the same time, I announce that I will arrange suitable jobs for the existing disabled people or their families according to the situation to solve their future life problems. For example, I will build a branch of the Jishi Hall in the northwest, and I can recruit these people as employees. For those who could return to the battlefield after treatment, I would also take care of their family members 'living needs based on their performance and military merits. Everyone's military merits would directly affect their basic treatment. The moment this announcement was made, the wounded soldiers were all in high spirits. To them, this was a free lunch that had fallen from the sky. They could now say that as long as I gave the order, even if there was a mountain of blades and a sea of flames in front of them, they would not even frown.
I know Zhang Bao and Guan Xing better. Zhang Bao will lead cavalry while Guan Xing will lead infantry. I also found that the new Wang Ping is very good at guarding. The three of them had different characteristics. I selected the 900 soldiers. Those who were over 40 years old were all lined up separately. They were usually used as logistics troops and were used as archers during wartime. Wasn't there a saying that war was about logistics? If you don't have enough to eat, don't have warm clothes, don't have fast knives, and don't have good guns, what right do you have to fight against others? With this, there were 200 logisticians. There were still 700 left, 200 for Zhang Bao to ride on the cavalry. There was no shortage of horses here, so everyone had two horses. They were all skilled archers, and other skills were secondary. Guan Xing led 600 soldiers and Wang Ping was the deputy. These infantrymen are based on the mandarin duck formation of the later generations. There are 12 people in a team. The leader is the captain. The second two people hold a long card and a rattan card. The long card holds a long shield to block the enemy's heavy arrows and spears. The rattan card holds a light rattan shield with javelins and waist knives. The long card player and the rattan card player are mainly used to cover the rear team. The rattan card player can also fight the enemy in close combat. The other two were the Long Knifters. They used double-edged long knives, each about three meters long. The Long Knifters used the sharp blades at the front of the long knives to stab the enemy to cover the advance of the shieldbearers and the advance of the pikemen behind them. Then, there were four spearmen with long spears, two on each side, taking care of the shield-wielding and longsword-wielding soldiers on the left and right respectively. Then, the short-armed soldier who used a short knife followed. If the long-armed soldier did not stab the enemy, the short-armed soldier would charge forward with a short knife to kill the enemy. The last one was an archer, who was nimble in setting up traps for the enemy. This way, not only did the spear and shield, long and short, closely combine, giving full play to the effectiveness of various weapons, but the formation also changed flexibly. According to the situation and the needs of the battle, the column could be changed into a horizontal formation, and the formation could be changed into two small formations on the left and right or three small formations on the left, middle, and right. When it became two small formations, it was called "Two Talents Formation". The left and right shield-bearers followed the left and right wolf-wielding, spear-wielding, and short-wielding soldiers respectively to protect their attacks. When it became a three small formation, it was called the "Three Talents Formation". At this time, the long blade hand, the long spear hand, the short weapon hand, and the crossbowman were in the middle. The shieldbearers guarded on both sides. At the same time, with these small formations as the foundation, they could form the Big Mandarin Duck Formation and other formations to attack flexibly.
He also set up 17 prohibitions and 54 beheading laws, requiring every soldier to be able to recite them backwards:
The first is that when the drum is heard, the soldiers do not advance, when the gold is heard, the flag is raised, the flag is pressed, and the flag is not lowered. This is called a rebellious army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
The second is that the army does not respond to the call of the name, does not arrive at the appointed time, does not arrive at the appointed time, and changes the law of the division at will. This is called a slow army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
Third, at night, when the soldiers are busy fighting, they are lazy and do not report, change their plans and do not obey orders, and their voices are unclear. This is called slacking off the army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
The fourth is to complain too much, to anger the general, to disobey the order, to change the order, and to be difficult to control. This is called building an army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
Fifthly, it is called a light army to raise one's voice and laugh, to despise the ban, and to charge at the gate of the army. Those who violate it will be beheaded.
Sixthly, the weapons used are: bows and crossbows with broken strings, arrows without feathers and arrowheads, swords and halberds with poor performance, and flags with withered flags. This is called deceiving the army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
Seventh: Rumors and lies, fabricated ghosts and gods, pretending to be in a dream, wantonly heresy, bewitching soldiers, this is called obscene army, violators will be beheaded.
The eighth is to have a sharp tongue and sharp teeth, to do evil things, to allocate soldiers, and to make them discord. This is called slander, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
The ninth: Wherever he goes, he will abuse the people and force women to commit adultery. This is called a traitor's army. Those who violate it will be beheaded.
The tenth is to steal other people's property for personal gain, and to take other people's heads for personal gain. This is called a thief army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
The eleventh: The army and the people gather together to discuss matters, enter the tent without permission, and inquire about military aircraft. This is called reconnaissance, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
The twelfth: If someone hears of the plan, or hears of the order, and divulges it to the outside world, so that the enemy knows, this is called betraying the army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
The thirteenth: When the army is called into action, they are tongue-tied, do not respond, bow their heads, and look embarrassed. This is called a ruthless army. Those who violate it will be beheaded.
Fourteenth: When you go out of the army to cross the ranks, help the front and the back, talk loudly and disobey the ban. This is called a disorderly army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
Fifteenth: Pretending to be injured and sick, in order to avoid the expedition, or pretending to die because of injury, so as to escape, this is called false army, violators will be beheaded.
Sixteenth: The monarch is in charge of money and food. When giving rewards, he favours those close to him and makes the soldiers hate each other. This is called a corrupt army. Those who violate it will be beheaded.
Seventeen: observe the enemy without careful consideration, detect the enemy without knowing the details, arrive without saying that the enemy has arrived, say less when the enemy is more, and say more when the enemy is less, this is a mistake in the army, and those who violate it will be beheaded.
At the same time, I gathered the soldiers and announced,"
"From today onwards, I will train with my brothers. Every morning, every brother had enough rations, but only 90% of the brothers could enjoy lunch. Only 80% of the brothers could use dinner. These brothers could only eat after they had passed the assessment after training. As for the brothers who had not passed the assessment, they could only starve first and wait for the next day to train properly. The current captain was a temporary captain. After the training was over, each team would elect their own captain. On the battlefield, everyone was a life-and-death brother. They could entrust their lives to each other. They would never ignore their comrades and only care about running for their lives. In addition, I hate people who stab their own people in the back the most. If someone dares to stab their own brother in the back, I will punish them with the most severe punishment and make them regret that their parents gave birth to them. As long as everyone was willing to fight with all their might, they would receive the same treatment after the battle according to their military merits.”
The morale of the soldiers was roused. Zhang Bao and the others also put in all their effort to train these hundreds of soldiers into elite soldiers. After training, they would practice the formation. No one was willing to fall behind. This elimination system was strictly enforced by them. On the first day, as expected, eighty percent of the soldiers did not have dinner. On the second day, everyone's enthusiasm for training was obviously high. On the third day, it was even better. Uncle was also overjoyed when he saw this and gave me a thumbs up.
During the breaks in training, I built the future expansion training camp and pulled all the soldiers to this training ground. They formed the spirit of cooperation and formed the habit of entrusting their backs to their comrades in team combat.
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