What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Modern warfare advocates science and technology, and fighting a war is about fighting for who has better equipment and who has more military expenses. In the era of cold weapons, the two armies fought against each other and many times it was only the number of people who decided the direction of the war, although there were cases of winning more with less, and most of the time they occupied an absolute superiority in numbers, and the greater the chance of victory in the war.
In ancient times, there was a saying, "The soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass have gone first", and indeed this is true, large-scale wars are as few as hundreds of thousands, and as many as millions of people are pulled out, local operations are better to say, and it is a huge test for logistics personnel to feed so many people in foreign countries.
In the modern Huaihai Campaign, the total number of troops participating in the war was 600,000, but there were as many as 5 million logisticians, who used the most primitive trolleys to deliver materials and ammunition to the army, which shows that the key to winning the war lies in logistics supplies.
In 224 BC, Wang Qi led a large army to travel more than a thousand kilometers to the Chu state, and what awaited them was half a million elite Chu people who had already laid a net of heaven and earth.
The Battle of Huaihai lasted only two months, but the Qin army maintained its own logistics supply for two years, how did the Qin army ensure its own logistical supplies?
Historical records record that the Qin army claimed to be 600,000, this number is not malicious exaggeration, is the number discussed by the generals within the Qin State, in fact, these 600,000 troops are included in the logistics force, according to the proportion of five people to support a soldier, the approximate number of combat personnel is only 100,000 people.
100,000 troops, against the Chu State of 500,000, the victory was not easy to come by, indicating that the Qin army is very powerful.
The territory of the Chu State is vast, roughly including the current Hunan Hubei, Jiangsu and other places, 100,000 soldiers and horses want to swallow such a large piece of land is extremely difficult, these 600,000 should be the smallest troops they give after careful consideration.
Wang Zhao's policy was clearly to die, the confrontation lasted for more than a year, there was no army, And King Qin Zhao, when he fought against the Zhao State, he had collected grain nearby, and even offered a heavy reward for the brave knighthood, and many people actively participated in it, but this time, Chu Chu could not continue to implement such a policy.
The State of Qin was simply unable to attack the State of Chu with the soldiers of other countries, and could only use its own soldiers to eat its own grain, and you can imagine how troublesome the logistics supply is.
The Book of Song records that on average, each soldier needs to consume six liters of grain per day, which is equivalent to two catties, and 600,000 people need 1.2 million catties per day.
The Mengxi Pen Talk records that each civilian husband carries six buckets of rice, the soldier carries five days' rations, and a civilian husband can support a soldier for about ten days, and if he needs food, he must let the people return and start again.
It can be seen that fighting a war is consumption, there is no need to worry about how much grain everyone can eat every day, the focus is that there was no advanced means of transport in ancient times, it was very difficult to fight a war, and it was even more difficult to transport grain.
It is precisely for this reason that the army will never provide idle people, and a soldier needs the payment of five people, and the cost is very large. Therefore, those who join the army and fight in the war all hold the belief of victory and cannot live up to the cultivation of the state.
Some people have said, why can't there be livestock transportation? It is true that livestock transportation will reduce labor costs, and at the same time can carry more materials, but livestock also have to eat grass, if you can't find a place to graze, just rely on the forage you carry, you may have to starve to death halfway, or you have to use people.
After the Shang martingale reform law, the Qin state built granaries, stored materials, and peasant households throughout the country had to work in accordance with the laws and regulations, stipulating strict protection of cultivated cattle, and the status was just like the current state-level protected animals.
When fighting, each piece of land is conquered and a granary is built nearby, and domestic criminals or prisoners are pledged to be sent here to cultivate land and generate income.
Relying on this method, the Qin state built many large granaries in Xianyang and Hanzhong in a short period of time, and after the qin annihilation, these granaries continued to support Liu Bang's army, which shows that the Qin state really had foresight.
In addition, in order to better march, the Qin state while fighting while building roads, in addition to unimpeded road traffic, in the Yellow River, Wei River docked a large number of ships, once the war began, will use tens of thousands of ships for transportation, land transportation has also made great progress, the late Warring States period, the Qin state made a lot of vehicles, the quality is quite good.
After a thousand years, the West still uses the driving style of the Qin people, and the reason why the Qin army is powerful is not only because the army is well-trained and invincible, nor is it the wealth and strength brought about by the Shang martingale transformation method, nor is it the nature of the Qin people to advocate force, nor is it an excellent diplomatic means of "long-distance and close-range attack". It's more about their perfect preparation before they go to war.
Formally possessing these factors, the Qin people dared to swing hundreds of thousands of long-distance raids at every turn, because in their view, the most important link in the war, supply, no country can be compared with themselves, so that Wang Qibing came to the city and confronted for a long time without worrying about eating.
The unification of the Qin state is not without reason, the country is rich and strong, the soldiers are outstanding, and all aspects have been achieved to the extreme.