My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 515 Feng Ge's Dialogue
This was due to Liu Feng's personality. Even though he possessed knowledge and historical experience from later generations, he would not use it rashly because he always kept in mind that for professional matters, it was necessary to consult professionals.

Although Liu Feng is currently considered a renowned general with a hundred battles under his belt, even top warlords like Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in the Eastern Han Empire wouldn't dare say they could easily defeat him.

But Liu Feng himself knew that his undefeated record was entirely due to his strategic crushing of others.

I've really learned your strategy. As long as you just go straight for the enemy, they'll be defeated.

Even when employing extraordinary tactics, such as the raid on Shouchun, the landing at Qiantang, and the great victory at Zhouling, he carefully consulted with top cavalry generals like Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang, as well as top naval generals like Dong Xi, Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin, before implementing them.

Therefore, after compiling this cavalry tactics document, Liu Feng did not force its promotion. Instead, he first distributed it to Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and others to review, wanting to hear their opinions.

Only when they truly approve of it will Liu Feng feel confident and bold enough to promote it throughout the entire army.

Liu Feng's cavalry tactics manual is mainly divided into several categories.

The first category is the combat style of the Mongol cavalry, the core of which is the angle-cutting tactic. This tactic was used in the conventional tactics of cavalry and infantry. Given sufficient time, it could defeat the infantry with minimal casualties.

The second category is the Jin Dynasty's cavalry charge tactics, which is further divided into two subcategories.

Sub-category A is the Eastern Han Dynasty version of the Iron Pagoda, which, at crucial and necessary moments, spared no expense in launching heavy cavalry assaults to break through enemy lines and achieve tactical breakthroughs.

Sub-category B refers to the tactics of the Later Jin, also known as Wild Boarskin. This involved heavily armored knights charging to within tens of meters of the enemy infantry formation, dismounting, and then unleashing a barrage of powerful arrows to inflict heavy damage on the enemy's frontal armored soldiers. Only when the enemy's morale was severely damaged or even on the verge of collapse would the heavily armored knights remount and charge into battle to break through the enemy lines.

While this tactic may not be as thrilling or exciting as the A-level classification, it is superior in terms of casualty rate and cost-effectiveness. However, this tactic also has a problem: it requires a lot of time.

When you encounter a tough infantry formation, it's not something you can break through with one or two volleys of arrows. It's quite possible that you might not be able to break through even after seven or eight volleys.

Therefore, both tactics in this category should be learned so that they can be used according to different situations.

The third category is charge tactics, which are mainly divided into three types. The first is the Mongolian charge, also known as skirmish charge, which is highly flexible and mobile, suitable for mobile warfare, raids, and harassment warfare, but lacks the ability to make a decisive breakthrough.

The second is the wedge charge, which has been maintained since the Qin and Han dynasties. It has the strongest breakthrough point, but its flanks are very vulnerable and require protection from other units.

The last one, which Liu Feng particularly emphasized, is the most scientific and effective cavalry charge tactic in history, which has been proven to be extremely effective on numerous occasions – the wall charge.

Without a doubt, the wall charge is the most cost-effective, efficient, and scientific cavalry charge method.

Although there are terrain limitations, the Central Plains is the largest plain of the Eastern Han Empire. As long as you don't charge into swamps or forests, you will be invincible.

The last category is some cavalry hygiene knowledge that Liu Feng knew, mainly daily care, including cleaning horses, hooves, manes, and saddle-covered areas; ensuring the cleanliness and quality of feed; ensuring clean drinking water; feeding multiple meals; and preventing infectious diseases in warhorses.

These silk manuscripts contain hundreds of words, and this is a simplified version. They only introduce the categories, and each category is only briefly described in one or two sentences.

However, generals such as Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang, who were skilled in cavalry warfare, were all greatly shocked after seeing it.

Upon inspection, they immediately recognized the immense value of the contents recorded on these silk scrolls. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, these were considered closely guarded family secrets, comparable to the classical learning of renowned families of military and powerful figures.

With these silk manuscripts, it would be possible to systematically train cavalry generals.

While these cavalry commanders may not reach the level of generals like Taishi, Zhang, Xu, Cheng, and Han, they are at least above average, with a few reaching excellent levels. If the number of trainees increases significantly, it's not impossible for top-tier cavalry commanders of the aforementioned caliber to emerge.

“These…the things recorded in these silk scrolls are things we have never seen before.”

Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and the others exchanged glances and couldn't help but ask, "We wonder where our lord obtained this knowledge. Could it be that he has found some lost military strategy?"

Throughout Chinese history, the Chinese people have always valued three great achievements, one of which is writing books and establishing biographies.

However, due to improper storage, these skills are easily lost in the event of war or political upheaval, which is why Taishi Ci and others inquired about them in this way.

Liu Feng waved his hand: "These are all my writings, which can be considered as working behind closed doors. I'm bringing them out now so that I can compare them with yours."

Taishi Ci and the others suddenly realized what was happening, but their shock only increased.

Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and other generals were not only shocked by what was recorded in these silk scrolls, but also by how Liu Feng was able to compile these contents.

Even though Liu Feng had guessed that Taishi Ci and the others would be shocked and develop admiration for him, he still did not expect that the shock these silk scrolls would have on Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and the others would be even greater than he had anticipated. They were truly astonishing.

In the following period, Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Cheng Pu, Han Dang and others visited Liu Feng one after another to discuss in detail the records on the cavalry silk scroll.

After obtaining more detailed silk manuscripts from Liu Feng and carefully reading their contents, Taishi, Zhang, Xu, Cheng, Han, and others, through intense discussions and diligent verification, compiled these silk manuscripts into a book for Liu Feng, which they named "Essentials of Riding Classics," and finally presented it to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng smiled bitterly and remained silent, feeling quite helpless about Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and others' attempts to claim credit for the work.

However, if he were in Liu Feng's shoes, he would probably make the same decision, since the core ideas and specific classification details of this book, "Essentials of Riding Classics," were all proposed by Liu Feng alone.

Taishi Ci and his associates merely modified some common-sense content that conflicted with the Eastern Han Dynasty; how could they dare to embellish the emperor's glory and achievements?

After entrusting the construction and training of the Cuifeng and Wanlan armies and the new army to generals such as Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang, it was already mid-October.

At this time, Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, and Pang Tong also received orders from Liu Feng to come to Shouchun to meet him.

Liu Feng also summoned Taishi Ci, Chen Deng, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and others to hold a secret military meeting with Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, and Pang Tong, who had just returned to Shouchun.

The focus of the meeting was Hanoi.

Contrary to his usual behavior, Liu Feng did not first listen to the opinions of others, but instead expressed his own thoughts directly. Liu Feng's fundamental reason for wanting Hanoi was only one: to sever the connection between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao's connection with Yuan Shao is now quite extensive, relying on the Yellow River and stretching for thousands of miles across the two prefectures of Heluo and Yanzhou.

However, upon closer analysis, this long list can be divided into two main parts: Yanzhou and Hanoi.

Although Yanzhou is vast, it is easily cut off.

This was not only because of Liu Feng's naval advantage, but also because Yanzhou was flat and indefensible, and it was a vast plain. Even if there were fortified cities that were difficult to capture, it was easy to bypass them.

The reason Cao Cao fought the Battle of Guandu in history was simply because Guandu was the most strategically advantageous location for defense. Other places were clearly in a much worse position and couldn't possibly hold back Yuan Shao's hundreds of thousands of elite troops advancing south.

Therefore, Yanzhou never came into Liu Feng's sights.

Hanoi is different. Here, the Yellow River narrows and the current is not rapid. Not counting the excellent ferry crossings such as Mengjin, Wushejin, and Binh Duong, a pontoon bridge can even be built in Ha Duong to connect the two banks.

Most importantly, although the three cities of Heyang were not built, the islands on which the buildings were built still stood there.

Once the three cities of Heyang are established, even with the help of Liu Feng's navy, it will be difficult to conquer them.

If Yuan Shao and Cao Cao join forces, Hanoi will be their core and key territory, and will also become a major threat to Liu Feng.

If Cao Cao and Yuan Shao could have taken control of Hanoi in advance, they would have been completely divided. Moreover, with Hanoi in hand, it would have been extremely difficult for Cao Cao to gain a foothold in Luoyang.

This is not only Liu Feng's personal strategic vision, but also backed by historical facts.

The period known as the post-Three Kingdoms era, marked by the rivalry between the Western and Eastern Wei dynasties, saw the Yuwen family fight their way from the Western Wei to the Western Zhou. However, due to the control of the three cities of Hanoi and Heyang, they were unable to hold their ground in Luoyang. Although they almost always managed to capture Luoyang each time they launched an attack, they ultimately had to abandon Luoyang and retreat in disgrace back to Guanzhong.

This shows just how important Hanoi is.

Another point is that if Liu Feng can occupy Henan and Heyang, Luoyang will become easy to attack but difficult to defend. He can take the waterway to bypass the key passes such as Sishui Pass, Yique Pass, Guangcheng Pass, Dagu Pass, and Huanyuan Pass, and directly take Mengjin.

However, everything has two sides. Hanoi is indeed good in many ways, but it also has a fatal flaw: it is too dangerous.

The road from Hanoi to Ye City is wide open, making it easy to attack but difficult to defend. At the same time, it is isolated and like an enclave.

Once Cao Cao makes the first move, precisely because of the importance of Hanoi and its ability to sever the connection between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, he will inevitably face enormous pressure from both sides.

If things go wrong, it could end in utter defeat and the loss of all troops. And because of the importance of Hanoi, the most elite troops under Liu Feng's command would inevitably be wiped out.

If it really comes to that, serious injuries will be the least of our worries. If Yuan Shao and Cao Cao get the upper hand, the situation will become very difficult.

According to Liu Feng and Zhou Yu's calculations, to play a proper role in Hanoi, at least 50,000 to 70,000 troops would be needed, and the best choice would be the Duifeng and Wanlan armies.

At the same time, it is also necessary to ensure that logistical support can keep up and provide a continuous supply to the Hanoi army.

Otherwise, once the supply of food, cloth, medicine, weapons and other materials is lost, even the most elite troops will become exhausted and collapse.

Even if people can persevere through sheer willpower, how can weapons, armor, and warhorses endure?

If the spare weapons, bowstrings, arrows, armor plates, fodder for horses, bean cakes, eggs, etc. are all used up, are we supposed to let the Cui Feng and Wan Lan armies fight the enemy with their bare hands?
As Liu Feng had predicted, after he recounted the whole situation, the generals present immediately split into two factions.

Taishi Ci, Chen Deng, Zhang Liao, Pang Tong and others strongly agreed with the plan and volunteered to fight, while Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun and others held conservative opinions, feeling that the matter was too dangerous.

If Liu Feng's previous ideas were somewhat radical, he hesitated after listening to Zhuge Liang's advice.

Zhuge Liang said, “Although our lord and his son currently control five provinces, their foundation is not yet secure, and the people’s hearts are not yet with them. If there are no major changes, everything will be fine, but if they suffer a major setback, the five provinces may be thrown into turmoil. Moreover, in this campaign, a small victory is nothing to be happy about, but a major defeat would be dangerous.”

In the past, Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Chu, was so powerful that no one in the world could rival him. However, he did not think about consolidating his foundation and started conflicts between the north and the south. This was all because he relied on his strength and became arrogant, and failed to consider the timing, location, and popular support. Later, he underestimated his enemy and advanced recklessly, and finally he was trapped at Gaixia and committed suicide at Wujiang.

Gongsun Zan's power shook Youzhou. In the Battle of Dongguang, he defeated hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban rebels with fewer troops, causing widespread fear. However, he failed to cultivate the You and Ji regions to solidify his foundation, ultimately leading to his defeat at Jieqiao. Now, he has perished in Yijing, his high tower ablaze with fire. Lü Bu, the bravest warrior in the army, assassinated the traitor Dong Zhuo and rebelled in Yanzhou. In the Battle of Puyang, he nearly burned Cao Cao to death. Now, however, he is desperate and, if not for the refuge of his former lord, he would likely have perished in Yanzhou.

The reason these two men met such an end was because they acted rashly and recklessly, without knowing how to be prudent.

My lord, have you not heard that war is a matter of vital importance to the state, a matter of life and death, a path to survival or destruction?

If Your Majesty wishes to establish a kingdom, you should emulate the ancient sage kings and understand the opportunities for advancement, retreat, survival, and destruction.

In the past, King Goujian of Yue was defeated at Kuaiji. He endured hardship and humiliation, spent ten years building up his strength and ten years learning from his mistakes, and finally destroyed the powerful state of Wu. Emperor Gaozu of Yue, when he first entered Guanzhong, established three laws and retreated to Bashu. He nurtured the people and built up his strength, and finally defeated Xiang Yu at Gaixia.

These are all principles of accumulating knowledge and experience before unleashing it, and of using stillness to control movement.

Liu Feng was moved by Zhuge Liang's words, but he remained hesitant on the surface, frowning as he said, "However, Yuan Shao is highly respected throughout the country and his name is known throughout the land; Cao Mengde is resourceful, brave, and decisive. Both of them are heroes of our time, and their power is already established. If we continue to let them grow stronger, won't it be even more difficult to deal with them in the future?"

Zhuge Liang countered, "That's not the case. In the past, Duke Wen of Jin avoided Chu by three stages, not out of cowardice, but by waiting for them to become arrogant and complacent before attacking. Sun Bin reduced the number of cooking fires to lure Pang Juan, not out of weakness, but by waiting for him to underestimate the enemy before capturing him. Now, my lord, you control five provinces, amass vast grain reserves, reform your administration to ensure the people's well-being, simplify laws and reduce punishments, lighten taxes and corvée labor, and allow the people to recuperate. Once the treasury is full and the people's hearts are with you, you should cultivate benevolent governance internally to win their hearts and minds, and unite with heroes externally to weaken the enemy's power."

At that time, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao will be fighting each other, or there will be natural disasters or man-made calamities. At that time, we can seize the opportunity to make a move and settle things in one fell swoop.

If we rush into battle now, victory might be acceptable, but defeat would shake the five continents and render all previous efforts futile!

(End of this chapter)