Intelligence is the first difficulty in marching operations. The Julu Army sent out a large number of scouts in all directions. After integrating the information sent back by the scouts, it became clear that the enemy army was likely to retreat all the way north.

When the enemy retreats, it is natural to pursue them, but it would be awkward to pursue them. Most of the enemy troops are cavalry, and the main force of the Julu Army is almost all infantry. How can they catch up with the cavalry if they are pursued by infantry?

Li Mengxi wanted to fight the enemy fiercely with many troops and sufficient food. However, after a few days, he was in a hurry and could not even see the shadow of the enemy. This was like punching the cotton.

Feeling powerless, Li Mengxi was extremely depressed.

The situation in Bohai County is clear. If we continue to pursue them like this, we will probably be able to chase them out of Bohai County.

A few days have passed.

In order to catch up with the enemy, the marching speed had to be accelerated. After days of hurried marching, the whole army was exhausted from running up and down. After eating ashes for a few days, Li Mengxi felt resentful. He truly felt the helplessness of the Song army. The few people in the Song Dynasty

Horses, and the opponent's cavalry troops are each more elite than the last. This means that even if they can beat the opponent on the battlefield, they are unable to pursue them, allowing the opponent to escape again and again.

Just like this time, if the main force of the rebel army is infantry, then by the time the reinforcements arrive at Nanpi City, the rebel army will not be able to escape even if they want to, and they will definitely be wiped out.

The Han Dynasty is different from the Song Dynasty. The Han Dynasty has a rich stock of war horses. The rich stock of war horses means that all opponents encountered in the Han Dynasty basically have large-scale cavalry troops. This means that one's own side should also have a certain number of cavalry as a check and balance.

The Julu Army has more than 2,000 cavalry. The two thousand cavalry combined in one place are enough. But this time, part of the cavalry stayed in Julu, and part went with the army. Then Guan and Zhang led their cavalry to help the counties.

, there was almost not much cavalry left for the main force.

Forming a cavalry unit involves a question: What should be the proportion of cavalry?

Li Mengxi thought carefully about the military systems of the past dynasties. Not to mention the nomadic people, almost all the Hu people were cavalry. The proportion of cavalry in the Han Dynasty varied under different circumstances. The 800 people led by Huo Qubing in the northern attack on the Xiongnu were all cavalry, while the 800 people led by Li Ling were all cavalry.

The 5,000 men in the Tang Dynasty were all infantry. Later, in the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, the national power was strong. The cavalry was not only of high quality, but also in quantity. The proportion of cavalry was the highest in the history. Needless to say, the Song Dynasty had very few cavalry troops.

For reference value, as for the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, as firearms began to appear, the battlefield environment began to change, and the proportion of cavalry fluctuated. In short, the proportion of cavalry in each dynasty was different due to the battlefield environment, dynasty system and other factors.

Based on the current situation of the Julu Army, a foreseeable future is that the Julu Army has enough wealth to form a cavalry unit, and the higher the proportion of cavalry, the better.

At midday, the sun was shining, and the soldiers who had been marching for a long time were exhausted. In order to avoid the midday sun when the sun was the strongest, and to allow the soldiers to rest and restore their strength, the march was temporarily stopped, and the soldiers began to rest on the spot.

In general, when the army is resting, if there is a water source nearby, the soldiers will fetch water to quench their thirst. In other cases, some armies have strict discipline and are afraid that soldiers walking around will cause chaos. They would rather let the soldiers be thirsty than to

Let the soldiers move around.

The Julu Army is different from the general army. It has strict discipline and a complete logistics support system. While the soldiers were resting on the ground, the logistics team came with a water tanker.

The water in the water truck is drinking water that has been boiled after removing impurities with activated carbon. What is the difference between the water provided by the logistics team and a random bowl of water from the river? One is the quality of the water treated by the logistics team.

It is clear, the other is that there is less odor, and the third is that some herbs or other things are often added to the drinking water, which makes it drink much better than plain water.

For example, today, considering the serious loss of salt due to sweating during the march, Li Mengxi ordered the cooks to add salt to the water. When the soldiers drank it, the water with a slightly salty taste was very delicious.

When the cooks were distributing water, Li Mengxi and Liu Bei were inspecting the team. During the inspection, Li Mengxi saw some rural soldiers laughing and playing, which was not serious. He immediately went over to reprimand him, but Liu Bei immediately stopped him. Liu Bei said, "It's so tiring to travel."

, it doesn’t hurt to have a little laugh to relax your mind.”

Li Mengxi then gave up the idea of ​​serious military discipline.

Li Mengxi felt that Liu Bei was right. In addition to physical recovery, rest should also relax mentally.

After observing carefully for a while, Li Mengxi found that when the village soldiers were talking and laughing, their faces were relaxed and cheerful. Li Mengxi realized that this was absolutely right. Since talking, laughing and relaxing can help soothe the spirit, why not treat this

Let's continue digging deeper.

If I want to relax mentally, I usually put on some music, watch some dancing, read a comic or something.

Then music and dance, as well as picture books for entertainment, these are enough. In view of the fact that logistical load is a big problem, changes that increase logistical drag outweigh the benefits. It is not a good idea to equip picture books for entertainment, which will increase excess load.

.

Seeing the village soldiers chatting and laughing so happily, Li Mengxi couldn't help but think that it would be great if there were artists who could speak cross talk. Music must have musical instruments, and dance must have musical instruments and clothes to look good. The art of independent cross talk only requires

One mouth is enough.

In the Han Dynasty, the art of cross talk did not exist, but there were many actors who specialized in making people laugh. Actors could completely replace the role of entertainers accompanying the army.

Where is the easiest place to find actors in the world? There is no doubt that Luoyang is the place.

Li Mengxi thought that he had just summoned a large number of craftsmen from Luoyang, but there were no actors among them. It seemed that he had to seek talents from Luoyang again.

——

While the troops were resting, some incidents happened occasionally. A fishing team happened to catch up and bring back the fish. Seeing the fish coming back, the village soldiers asked happily, "How many fish were caught? Is there a lot of fish?"

When the fishing team picked up a large grass carp that weighed perhaps twenty or thirty kilograms from the car and showed it to the village soldiers, the village soldiers were amazed.

All the reactions of the soldiers were in Li Mengxi's eyes. The soldiers almost burst into joy when they saw the big fish, which immediately reminded Li Mengxi of his previous idea.

Previously, the fishing team dug up lotus roots. They were not easy to preserve, and there was too much water in the lotus roots and they were too heavy to transport. In addition, the weather was hot, so lotus roots were perfect for quenching thirst. After spreading the lotus roots, I unexpectedly found that although one person could not get a piece of the lotus root, all the lotus roots were there.

The morale of the army suddenly improved due to this piece of water lotus root.

It can be concluded from this that giving out fruits, cakes and the like to the soldiers from time to time during the march can effectively improve morale.

Now he saw that the village soldiers were happy to see the fish. This inspired Li Mengxi to distribute melons, fruits, pastries and other food to the soldiers to improve their morale. This is the first one. The second one is the fish caught and the wild vegetables dug.

, hunted beasts, although these things are difficult to distribute, they can still boost morale.

There is a story about a general who was lost in the desert during a war. He took out a heavy water bag and told his subordinates that this was the last bag of water left. He must not drink it until the most critical moment. That's it.

When the soldiers were at their most desperate, they stared at the water bags. Seeing the bulging water bags, they kept hope in their hearts. Soon, when the army walked out of the desert and escaped, the general opened the water bags to the soldiers.

Look, the soldiers discovered at this time that there was not a drop of water in the water bag, and it was full of sand.

From this story, different people can see different meanings. Most people see hope, faith and so on. What Li Mengxi saw in this story is a way to inspire morale.

Among the establishment of the Julu Army, roosters are included in the establishment. When marching and fighting, they carry ten or dozens of roosters with them as backup. The functions of roosters include: roosters can crow, which is an excellent biological clock, and roosters can detect miasma and poisonous gases.

, the rooster can be used to test water sources, these and other functions were discovered later, and the role of the rooster at the beginning was just to boost morale.

When the army is out of food, how should the commander boost morale? There is a useful method, just like the general who lost his way into the desert. It can create an illusion for all the soldiers that there is still food in the army to maintain morale.

There are many ways to create the illusion that there is still plenty of food. One way is to lead the last pig left in the army from east to west and from west to east, so that all the soldiers know that there is still one pig left in the army.

, the soldiers know that there are still pigs and grain in the army, so they can maintain a minimum level of morale.

It is certainly useful to lead a pig or carry a bag of grain around, but it is very cumbersome to operate.

Roosters have a unique role in creating illusions. Roosters have special habits that are very different from other animals. Roosters must crow without interruption every day. Thanks to this habit of roosters, there is only one chicken in the camp.

At dawn, the rooster crows and can be heard throughout the camp.

If you have a rooster, you don't have to lead the pigs around the camp. The rooster is an "automatic morale boosting machine".

Just like the use of roosters to boost morale, in the same way, the caught fish, dug wild vegetables, and captured prey were deliberately displayed to all the soldiers. The soldiers saw a cart full of wild vegetables and a cart full of wild animals passing by.

, how could you turn a blind eye.

Li Mengxi gave a temporary order. He ordered the fishing team to take out all the fish and put them in an open place, and walked with the fish from the back to the front of the team.

The fishing team obeyed Li Mengxi's order and did as ordered.

The fishing team caught no fish. To be more precise, according to the new supply method, the supply line was stretched. After the fishing team caught a sufficient number of fish, they would cook the fish in a pot on the spot and then transport it to the fishing team.

There was only one complete fish left, only the big grass carp weighing dozens of kilograms.

The purpose of keeping this fish was to gain favor in front of Li Mengxi, but Li Mengxi was not aware of the fishing team's intentions at all.

The fishing team pulled a cart, and the cart contained a large bucket filled with thick fish porridge that was about to turn into a paste. At the front of the cart, there was a long pole, and a rare and huge fish was hung high on the long pole.

Incomparably large grass carp.

The fishing team swaggered by with this super big fish, attracting countless eyes.

The soldiers were extremely surprised when they saw such a big fish. They were surprised and filled with joy from the bottom of their hearts. Fish is the army's ration, and the army's ration will go into their stomachs. The fact that the fish is so big means that they can eat more.

The fishing team led the big fish all the way forward. Almost every few steps someone would ask, "How much does the fish weigh? Where did you catch it?"

Everyone in the fishing team answered every inquiry with a smile, and accepted every compliment with a smile. Amidst the flood of compliments, everyone in the fishing team felt so proud that they even walked with a sense of sway.

Soon after, the sun went down a little, and the scouts reported back new enemy movements. "Every unit is ready! Get ready to go!" the messengers shouted along the road to convey the marching order.

The soldiers who were sitting on the ground got up from the ground. They patted the ashes on their buttocks, put on their straw sandals, picked up their weapons, and consciously stood in line. After a moment of rectification, the team gathered again, the marching line was ready, and the army once again

Set off.

On the march, the soldiers talked about the big fish with great interest. They discussed how heavy the fish was, how many years it would take for a fish to grow so big, how big the bones of such a big fish were, and how long it would take for such a big fish to grow.

I don't know if it tastes good or not.

Li Mengxi's inspection team patrolled from the back to the front. The topic of big fish was discussed along the way. This shows how much showing off the fish catch can improve morale.

Li Mengxi went to Liu Bei and discussed with Liu Bei that in the future, military supplies, including food and weapons, should be clearly disclosed to the soldiers at all times.

When the soldiers see that the carts are full of food and fodder, their morale will be at ease; when the soldiers see that there are bundles of swords and armor and the carts are piled with them, their courage will naturally arise.

An army of tens of thousands means that there are tens of thousands of people in the army, and tens of thousands of people are considered huge.

Whether it is catching fish, gathering wild vegetables, or hunting, the efficiency of obtaining materials is actually not high, and can even be considered extremely low. However, in the face of a manpower of ten thousand people, when a small amount becomes a large amount, the total amount is extremely high.

To be considerable.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Assume that the efficiency of collecting wild vegetables is that an average of ten soldiers can collect one wild vegetable, and an army of 10,000 people can collect thousands of wild vegetables.

A thousand wild vegetables placed in front of an army of ten thousand people is certainly not enough to see, but when one thousand wild vegetables are gathered together, from a personal perspective, it is undoubtedly a lot.

There is also fishing. The entire fishing team combined can only catch a thousand catties of fish in one day. When a thousand catties of fish are gathered together, from a personal perspective, there are a lot of them.

When hunting and setting up camp, the soldiers hunted wild animals around the camp. Only one in a hundred wild animals could be caught. But if all the wild animals caught were gathered together, there would be at least dozens of birds and animals of all sizes.

Only, and similarly, dozens of birds and animals gathered together to watch, which can be called a luxury.

It is a good method to show the harvest of wild vegetables, wild animals, and fish to everyone to increase the confidence and morale of the soldiers. The only problem is that the fish is processed today by directly boiling the fish into fish porridge for easier storage.

Only whole fish can boost morale, not fish porridge.

A dilemma arises. Either boil the fish into minced meat, or leave the whole fish unprocessed. The minced meat cannot boost morale, and the whole fish cannot be preserved. The best way to combine the two methods is to select from the catch after catching the fish.

The largest and fattest part is salted, and the rest is boiled into minced meat.

In this way, most of the fish becomes minced meat and can be stored for a long time, while the largest and fattest fish has a strong visual impact and can be used to boost morale.

Combined with logistical methods, in order to pickle raw fish, you have to carry salt. You only need to pickle a few large fish, which does not require much salt. Bringing a packet of salt is enough.
Chapter completed!