Chapter 176 Victory is certain
After the battle, the Yan army began to clean up the battlefield.

In this battle, only cavalry were mobilized, including Chang Yanheng and Wang Tong, who each lost more than a hundred cavalrymen, and dozens of heavy cavalrymen were also killed or wounded.

This made Li Yuanhui feel a little painful.

The heavy cavalry under his command numbered no more than 300 men, almost all of whom were warriors from the border areas of Youzhou. They were tall, had strong arms and were good at shooting and riding, and there were quite a few Xianbei people among them.

After the founding of the Great Yan, a large number of Xianbei people moved inland, especially to Hebei, Zhongyuan, Guanzhong, and Hedong. Therefore, these places also became the main source of soldiers for the Great Yan army.

In addition to the heavy cavalry battalion led by Liu Xuanji himself, there were also Wang Tong's Yue cavalry battalion and Ma Deyi's Xiao cavalry battalion, which contained a large number of Xianbei people.

These Xianbei people didn't care whether the commander was a Xianbei or a Han Chinese.

Even in today's world, there is no contradiction between Xianbei people and Han people. When the late emperor Murong Ying sent millions of troops to Liaodong to die, did he care whether you were Xianbei or Han?
Not will.

As a result, Xianbei people actually joined the rebel forces in various places. The slogan of the rebel forces was never to expel the Xianbei Murong, but to tyrannize the tyrants and the extravagance of the rich and powerful.
The hardship of life at the bottom of society has nothing to do with whether you are Han or Xianbei.

The Han nobles still held high office and rode fine horses, while the poor Xianbei people were still slaves.

Whether or not one can gain the support of the soldiers depends entirely on the ability of the commander.

At least, the Jianghuai Army was quite satisfied with Li Yuanhui.

First of all, Li Yuanhui came from a high family. Although he was young, he had enough fighting ability to convince the people, and he also had the mental skills to control the warriors and was fair in his dealings.

Secondly, as a commander-in-chief, although he did not love his soldiers as his own sons, he never lacked food and wages, and was able to ensure that the soldiers had basic food and clothing, and occasionally they could even eat meat.

Don't underestimate this point. It is not easy to achieve this in troubled times.

For example, after this great victory, Li Yuanhui directly ordered to reward the combat troops and kill pigs and eat meat.

Several infantry camps adjacent to the cavalry camps were so greedy when they smelled the fragrance wafting from the neighboring camp.

But there was no need to argue. After all, the achievement was made by others. It didn't make sense for me to have to fight with them just to watch the battle for a whole day, right?

After all, as the commander-in-chief, Li Yuanhui treated his troops well but also had very strict requirements.

The first thing is absolute obedience to military orders.

Since you are in the military, you have no self and no personal thoughts.

If you are asked to advance, you advance; if you are asked to retreat, you retreat; if you are asked to live, you live; if you are asked to die, you must die.

Second, it is the proficiency in various combat regulations.

Everything from the use and maintenance tips of various military weapons, the coordination of various arms, the means of dealing with various types of enemies, the different rhythms of drums and gongs, the different meanings represented by flags of various colors waving in various ways... Only by mastering all of these and becoming proficient in them can you kill the enemy and protect yourself on the battlefield.

The battalions below also need to be proficient in using various formations. In addition to the most basic formations such as square, circle, cone, goose, hook, and Xuanxiang, there are also special formations for different terrains, different arms, and different combat purposes.

There were also very detailed and trivial requirements for marching, camping, night patrols, military appearance and discipline, military systems, etc. Many new soldiers did not understand these regulations and systems before, and they complained about their implementation, but after a big battle, they all understood them.

It turns out that the enemy really does attack at night.
Although there was plenty of meat to eat, each person was only given one pound of wine.

Li Yuanhui also personally visited the three battalions of Yueqi, Huaiyuan and Tuqi, encouraged the soldiers who had made contributions in this battle, drank a bowl of wine with them and talked a few words.

These are undoubtedly aimed at increasing military morale and building the overall cohesion of the Jianghuai Army.

Li Yuanhui’s greatest confidence now is not that he is born into the Longxi Li family, nor is he the legitimate son of a duke, nor is he the husband of a princess, but that he has the Jianghuai area and tens of thousands of troops under his command.

Although the composition of the Jianghuai Army was complex, it was undoubtedly gathered together and had formed a military interest group.

To gain the recognition of so many elite soldiers and counselors, four things are indispensable: ability, background, luck and opportunity.

He walked around the three cavalry camps and drank a lot of wine, but because the alcohol content of the wine in the army was not high, although Li Yuanhui's face was a little red, it did not affect his judgment and thinking.

After returning to Wucheng, he immediately took the guard Xiao Shizhi, the military advisor Li Qinglian, and the secretary Xie Xun to discuss the matter.

"Today's victory in the first battle is a good sign, but the Wei army's offensive will be more fierce. I have five cavalry battalions, but only a few thousand people. Next, the Wei army may have to land at multiple locations at the same time to consume my cavalry. The infantry has a large number of new recruits. Although they have been trained for several months, the time is still short and they are not ready yet. If you have any concerns, please tell me."

Xie Xun said, "Why not let them go ashore and attack the camp. There are now thousands of strong bows and crossbows in Ruxu Fort, and each camp has built fortifications according to your request, with high trenches and deep moats. Even new soldiers are enough to defend the city and the camp."

Xiao Shizhi also said, "General Xie is right. The new soldiers have seen blood in the fortress and experienced battles. When the time comes to counterattack, they will be full of confidence. If the Eastern Wei army cannot take the city after a long siege, their morale will be completely lost. We can take advantage of the situation and defeat them in one fell swoop."

Li Qinglian nodded in agreement, and Li Yuanhui thought about it seriously.

"Okay, then let them go ashore, but in this case, the cavalry can't be kept here. General Xie, go back tonight and draft a military order, ordering all cavalry units to set out tomorrow and retreat to the foot of Ruxu Mountain to set up camp."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xun immediately understood that Li Yuanhui was planning to have the cavalry wait for an opportunity on the periphery and take advantage of their high mobility.

After all, if the cavalry were in the camp, the Eastern Wei army would definitely try every means to block the cavalry in the camp and prevent them from leaving, such as digging pits, setting up military formations for defense, or even building deer antlers to block the way. There are many ways.

We cannot leave the camp at any time, otherwise we will lose the advantage of cavalry.

Therefore, Li Yuanhui planned to let Liu Xuanji lead four battalions of cavalry to station in the Ruxu Mountain area, looking for opportunities to fight and wait for the right moment to act.

After all, Cao Yuanjing had suffered this loss, so he would definitely prioritize the defense against the Yan cavalry and deploy a large number of elite troops for this purpose. In this way, he would not be able to concentrate all his energy on attacking the Yan army's Ruxuwu and the camps along the Ruxu River.

Could the Wei army's miscellaneous soldiers armed with spears without iron blades break through the camp defenses that Li Yuanhui had improved according to the key points of the art of war?

Every one of those present felt that the possibility of this happening was almost non-existent.

It seems that in this war, the Eastern Wei army, which had an advantage in military strength, found it difficult to compete with the Yan army, which had a geographical advantage.

Although he felt that victory was certain, Li Yuanhui still felt that he could not let his guard down. Before the real victory came, any carelessness could give the enemy an opportunity.

(End of this chapter)