Is it really invincible?
There are many factors that determine the combat effectiveness of an army. Aside from factors beyond human control such as weather and geographical location, nothing can have an important impact on the strength of an army, but the scale, fighting will, technical and tactical level, record and historical evaluation also reflect the combat effectiveness of an army to a great extent. ?
Therefore, we might as well start from these aspects to discuss Yue Jiajun's fine geometry. ?
Regardless of the cold weapon era or the hot weapon era, even today when information technology dominates the war, the size of troops is an important part of combat effectiveness from beginning to end. Otherwise, all saints at all times and all over the world will not take "more is better" and "concentrating superior forces" as the criterion.
In the third year of Yan Kaiguo's founding (1 129), Yue Fei became the commander of the left-behind department in Tokyo and began to form an independent army. The initial number of "Yuejiajun" always hovered around 10,000, and it was not until the defeat of Yang Yaoyi Army in Shaoxing five years (1 135) that "it was able to reach 50,000 to 60,000".
Since then, in the eleventh year of Shaoxing (1 14 1), Yue Jiajun absorbed new forces several times, but due to the consumption caused by years of war, its scale was basically maintained at around100000.
In the sixth year of Shaoxing, Song Ting formally established a military protection system for the sake of war arrangement. At this time, there were 80,000 guards in front of Han Shizhong camp, 80,000 guards in Zhang camp, 52,000 left guards in Liu Guangshi camp and 70,000 right guards in Wu camp. In addition, Yang Yizhong also commanded thirty thousand military forces in front of the temple, and Liu Kun commanded twenty thousand figure-eight troops. In contrast, Yue Jiajun (officially named Houying Army) has a scale of100000, which is undoubtedly the largest among the ministries of the Song army. Therefore, in terms of quantity, Yue Jiajun was a well-deserved first army in the early Song Dynasty.
As the saying goes, it is difficult to bring a team with many people. If an army of 100,000 people can't be effectively controlled, no matter how many people are, they are just a rabble. However, it happened that Yue Fei was a wizard with an army and soldiers. Under his command, such a "miscellaneous army" with diverse sources and divided into 12 different troops was forged into an invincible tiger and wolf division.
Historical records record that he "stopped fighting and rested, learned his skills, and did the rest carefully, so that he could not enter his door" (volume 9 of Continued Records of Jinzhou, Hubei). In other words, Yue Fei never allowed officers and men to herd sheep. As long as he has time, he will organize everyone to carry out training, even focusing on passing by the house, which is quite a wind of Dayu. ?
In training, soldiers, big and small, "such as pouring slopes and jumping trenches, all pay attention to armour and are good at learning" (Volume 9 of Etuo Continuation). In daily training, soldiers should be fully armed according to actual combat standards. In this way, in actual combat, everyone will not be weakened by the burden of equipment, thus ensuring combat effectiveness.
Secondly, Yue Fei attaches great importance to the discipline of officers and men.
The famous saying "freeze to death without demolishing houses, starve to death without plundering" (a mirror of continuous capital management) is the best portrayal of this. Wherever the army went, he "would ride around the calendar from a dozen or so, lest one of them would be undisciplined", and "whoever took money from others would be beheaded" (Du Xing magazine).
Under the strict discipline, Yue Jiajun developed a military style of forbidding and being resolute. In wartime, people who align themselves up and down without warning or give up in difficulties "repeatedly break the thief's front" (Volume 4 of Continued Jinzhou, Hubei). In contrast, Liu Guangshi Army is "greedy for money and lust, indulging in excesses and not running state affairs" (collected works of Zhu Wen officials), while Zhang Jun and his subordinates are "prepared for danger in times of peace, never studied, and even killed people in the daytime to seize their wealth" (compiled by the North League of Three Dynasties).
Therefore, their troops were all defeated in the face of the 8 Jin Army, which was very embarrassing and very useful. "Everyone is disappointed" ("Three Dynasties North Alliance").
Again, although Yue Fei is a general, he will take the lead in every battle.
Later, when Xiao Zong discussed posthumous title for him, he also praised him with emotion. "If you pick up a stone in front of the war, you will become an infantry first ... then you don't know who you are." (Wu Mu Yi). As the saying goes, everyone has a heart, and scholars are not greedy for life. When fighting, as a commander, the most important thing to shout is to follow me, not to rush me.
Even Han Shizhong, who is as famous as Yue Fei and also known as "John", is known as the elite of the three armed forces, the former army and the Chinese army, and the rest of the ministries are just "seeking self-protection" in wartime (a mirror for continuing to govern).
Strict training, good discipline, and the fighting will of Qi Xin officers are enough to make Yue Jiajun, whose officers and men come from different sources, an invincible force. Throughout the other ministries in Song Jun in the same period, Wu Jun and Wu Lin were good at defense, Han Shizhong was good at ambush and water warfare, and Yang Yizhong and Wang De were good at advancing, each with its own strengths but also its own shortcomings.
Although Wu Jiajun won on the battlefield, he was also defeated by Deshun. On the whole, he has more than enough defense and failed to expand Song Jun's space in Shaanxi. Han Jiajun had a brilliant victory in Dayi Town, but he was also defeated by Huaiyang Army (now Suining, Jiangsu Province) (30,000 to 6,000), and was even expelled when he attacked the city.
In the last battle before Han Shizhong was deposed from military power, Han Jiajun came back in vain at the gates of Haozhou, showing his powerlessness in tackling difficulties. Although Liu Yongbu was a great force in the battle of Shunchang, it was the only battle in his life. Later, when Yan Hongliang invaded the south, Liu Kun, who had high hopes, retreated to the south of the Yangtze River, and his reputation plummeted.
On the other hand, Yue Jiajun, in the field, once faced the Nuzhen fighters under Wan Yanzong Bi (Wu Shu), the first general of 8 Jin Army, with inferior forces, and won Yancheng and Yingchang twice in succession, destroying the most proud "iron tower" of 8 Jin Army (the heavily armored cavalry unit) and killing Zong Bi, who has always been famous for his long blood slot and strong fighting ability. (Yang Zaixing's 300 riders were wiped out in Xiaoshangqiao, but killed more than 2,000 enemy soldiers. This ratio of 1:7 was unprecedented in the 300-year foreign war in the Song Dynasty. ?
Offensively, when the six counties in Xiangyang were recovered, Yue Fei fought Li Cheng's 90,000-gold (pseudo-) allied forces with 28,000 men, winning seven out of seven wars and seven before and after, killing Li as "one army". Because of this, Yue Jiajun's soldiers were praised as "without exception" at that time (Collected Works of Mr. Heshan).
Not only that, Zhang Zongyuan, assistant minister of the Ministry of War who had great prejudice against Yue Fei, immediately told the court that Yue Jiajun was an "elite soldier". . On the one hand, people who are loyal and filial, and on the other hand, people who practice martial arts, are both wise and brave. "("Ewan ")
Having said that, I think everyone can draw a conclusion: Yue Jiajun was the most famous and had the highest military accomplishment in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty.
In the civil and foreign wars at that time, its role as the core and pillar of Song Jun was beyond doubt. Although the description of Yue Jiajun's fighting capacity in storytelling novels is more or less exaggerated, this artistic treatment has its corresponding historical basis. We must never deny the historical position of this iron army because of the romance of later generations. ?
Times have changed, and the strong teams such as Han Jiajun, Wu Jiajun and Jurchen warriors who once competed with them have long been forgotten. But only Yue Jiajun has been passed down through the ages and enjoyed a unique reputation. I'm afraid this is not only a historical choice, but also a people's choice!