Chapter 3635
Suffered Enough Losses
...
“Since General Zhang has recognized the weight of life, that’s enough. I have some matters to attend to in Chang’an, so I’ll head back first. Is there anything General Zhang needs to convey to the Imperial Uncle?” Looking at Zhang Fei, who was deep in thought, Lu Min was quite satisfied and then asked with kindness and gentleness.
Everyone has selfish motives, which is understandable. Even Liu Tong himself has his own selfish motives.
Therefore, many people have high expectations for Zhang Fei, and even pay close attention to him. Liu Tong also watched the show.
History has proven that Zhang Fei had the ability and the qualifications, and the people also had such expectations. Given the strength of the Han Empire, choosing Zhang Fei was not unreasonable.
Of course, if Zhang Fei really cannot complete the mission, or if he does not show any growth and fails multiple times, Liu Tong can only think with others to transfer troops from Chang'an to assist Bingzhou, and then coordinate Zhao Yun's army in Bingzhou to crush and clash with the Kushan army with absolute strength.
With so many years of accumulation and training, and relying on local farming and development, Zhao Yun's army stationed in the north, in terms of both army size and combat effectiveness, remained the first echelon of the Han Empire.
Putting aside everything else, the fact that all soldiers could own horses was something that ordinary armies could not match.
Once Pataliputra is captured and the core Brahmanical region is entered, the Ganges Plain, which has been cultivated for many years, will also be suitable for large-scale cavalry warfare.
One hundred thousand northern cavalrymen galloped past; how many could stop them?
However, the logistical burden of bringing so many troops to the front lines is far beyond what the existing roads can handle.
Such a possibility may only become possible after Yizhou is connected to Central and South Asia by road.
After a quick mental calculation, I realized that this kind of thing would take at least four or five years, and at most seven or eight years.
If the navy can successfully defeat the enemy and directly gain territorial dominance, this timeframe can be further reduced.
This world holds too many secrets, too many foundations and myths. In an era when the essence of heaven and earth is gradually becoming active and expanding, Liu Tong also feels a sense of time crisis.
If the delay goes on for too long, the existing empires might actually come up with all sorts of astonishing things.
In order to prevent those miraculous things from appearing in the world, we should proceed steadily and orderly, put pressure on the Kushan Empire, and resolve the issue in the shortest possible time.
"That's all. I will definitely live up to my brother's expectations..." After a long period of contemplation, Zhang Fei looked at Lu Min, who was still standing beside him without any change, and said with a serious attitude through gritted teeth.
For Zhang Fei, many people deserve respect, but the one person who deserves the most respect is only one: his elder brother Liu Bei.
Zhang Fei could respond to other people's advice or reprimands based on his mood and the situation; he might let it go in one ear and out the other, he might just give a perfunctory answer, he might make some minor adjustments, or he might not change anything at all.
Zhang Fei would only listen carefully to Liu Bei's advice and remember it, but often his body would make choices without thinking.
"Then I'll retreat first. Kusroy is very strong, be careful..." After giving this reminder once again, Lu Min packed up and then transferred his mental energy, leaving everything to Zhang Fei. Realizing this, Zhang Fei also began to coordinate and organize the army, continuing their advance towards Rajagriha.
Since the Kushan army was unwilling to defend the city and wait for death, but chose to go out and fight, Zhang Fei naturally had no reason to be afraid of it.
After all, open field battles and skirmishes were also the strengths of the Han army.
However, considering the direction and location of Kusroy's army, Zhang Fei knew that if he were to lead his army to the battlefield, to the battlefield chosen by Kusroy, they would likely be at a disadvantage due to the terrain.
To go even further, Kusroy might very well lead his army to block the way, maintaining an extremely delicate distance—a distance from which launching an attack would inevitably waste a lot of their energy, thus allowing them to wait in comfort for the enemy to tire themselves out.
"The more I think, the more I plan, the stronger my desire for victory becomes. Since that's the case..." Zhang Fei recalled his past war experiences, found similar battles to recreate, and then took corresponding actions.
There's another advantage to engaging in dream simulation battles with people like Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi: after the simulation ends, there's a debriefing session that clearly tells the participants what problems were exposed and what mistakes were made on the battlefield.
As for how to correct and modify mistakes, that's up to the generals themselves. Even Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi didn't provide a clear answer on this matter.
The reason for this is to give full play to the generals' personal initiative and not let dogma restrict their thinking and response methods.
It can be said that there were reviews and corrections, all of which were added at Liu Tong's request after several matches had been played.
Although many officers and generals viewed this practice of reviewing the game and pointing out mistakes afterward as tantamount to killing someone's spirit, it was indeed quite effective in fostering experience.
As for Han Xin, Bai Qi, and others, there was no need for post-battle analysis.
To paraphrase Han Xin, if you encounter an opponent like me on the battlefield, even with such experience in reviewing past battles, you'd most likely still not survive. If you could survive, you wouldn't need any so-called experience in reviewing past battles.
Although he is somewhat confident and arrogant, it is precisely this confidence in his own abilities that makes many people believe him and feel deeply about it.
Having learned from past mistakes, Zhang Fei, based on his existing experience, deployed his troops and then led them to the battlefield chosen by Kusroy.
Only when all actions align with the wishes of the opposing general will they invest more resources. And when the resources invested are substantial enough, even if they want to retreat, they will be caught in hesitation and indecision.
The more you hesitate and agonize, the more costs you will incur. By the time you realize something is wrong and try to cut your losses, it will be too late.
Therefore, in order to deal with the Kushan situation and prevent the enemy from leading their army to flee, Zhang Fei chose this method.
Based on the overall war strength of one's own army, one should deploy and arrange resources according to the enemy's strategy, and finally, through local tactical changes, alter the enemy's battle plan and destroy the foundation of their victory. (End of Chapter)