Chapter 60 Battle Plan
"So he will deal with Liu Xiang soon. [Read the full text]"
"Fortunately, we have Liu Xiang as a buffer, otherwise it would be really difficult for us to deal with this giant Zheng Zhilong."
But in this way, it can basically be confirmed that Zheng Zhilong will not provide assistance to Wang Zunde's campaign of suppression. Guangdong can only rely on its own troops for operations, and the military pressure faced by Lingao is greatly reduced.
"These are several military intelligence reference booklets compiled by the Foreign Intelligence Service based on existing information for your reference."
Wang Ding subsequently distributed these pamphlets. They are "Guangdong Ming Army Numbers and Garrison Distribution", "Guangdong Ming Army Officers Directory and above", "Ming Army Weapons and Equipment Atlas and Main Performance? 6 (Navy Branch", "Ming Army Concise Organization" and "Ming Army Tactical Characteristics".
These pamphlets are partly compiled based on historical records and research materials from past dynasties, and partly based on sporadic information collected from various channels after D-Day. The latter comes from a wide range of sources, including military intelligence collected from Guangzhou and Leizhou Stations; and some extracted from the daily reports of the Qiwei Escort Bureau. The most valuable among them are the records of interviews with the Ming army's surrender, the secretary's office in the county government barracks, and the barracks files in the county government's library, which contain many formal first-hand information.
Wang Ding and others took the trouble to visit Lin Shenhe. In the warehouse of the Ordnance Research Institute, the samples of various hot and cold weapons used by the Ming army and pirates are piled up in different categories. From the beginning, Lin Shenhe consciously rescued many captured Ming Dynasty weapons from the steel mill. Clean and oil and store. He also wrote to the Executive Committee and set up a testing ground to test the power of captured Ming Dynasty weapons.
This power test not only tests firearms, but also cold weapons such as spears, bows and swords. It also tests the damage to personnel wearing armor and without protection.
Lin Shenhe's only regret is that there is no ballistic gel. As for using livestock as targets, the cafeteria will definitely not agree. No one likes meat that is smashed and smells of rust. I had to use something like clay instead.
Without these field-tested data, it would have been impossible to compile a booklet on the performance of the Ming army's weapons simply by relying on contradictory or even completely inconsistent narratives in historical records.
Everyone found it very convenient after getting it. Especially officers who have served in pla are no strangers to this kind of pamphlet. It is a simple and effective way to understand the enemy.
"This pamphlet is very good. You have done a good thing." He Ming nodded in affirmation.
Seeing the smiles on the faces of He Ming, Chen Haiyang and others, Wang Ding knew that the overnight work of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau in recent days was not in vain. At least the military has some recognition for their intelligence work.
"Okay, let's speculate on the specific military actions of the Ming army." He Ming said, "Let's make a few more plans."
Dongmen Chuiyu stood up with a spring breeze on his face. After he was transferred to the General Staff, he quickly became the Secretary-General and was responsible for presiding over the daily work of the General Staff. The position of Chief of the General Staff was too important to be appointed, so now he simply left it unfilled.
Dongmen Chuiyu originally wanted to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but this position seemed too prestigious, so he became the secretary-general instead and presided over the joint meeting. It is also a de facto position of staff officer.
"Everyone, if the Ming army wants to launch a military attack on Lingao, it is most likely to adopt a simultaneous attack mode from Hainan and Hainan." He opened the map curtain behind him, revealing a large-scale map of northern Hainan.
Judging from the level of training and equipment of the Ming army, to dispatch tens of thousands of troops, they had to carry a large amount of weapons and baggage - not to mention in the 17th century, even in the 20th century, it was very difficult to organize a large number of troops to carry baggage in front of the enemy. High, very risky thing. Judging from the organizational level and fighting will of the Ming army, things like the entire army breaking into Bopu and attacking Denglu would definitely not happen.
People from all walks of life crossed the sea in batches to Qiongshan County to gather troops. After the troops were assembled and rested, the main force was launched to advance along the coast. The navy sails along the coast, and the water moves side by side to support each other. This is the safest and most likely method. No matter who directs the attack this time, it will generally follow this routine.
The Ming army must concentrate its forces in Qiongshan County, which not only has a large port to facilitate military navigation, but is also the main garrison base and administrative center of the Ming government in Hainan, making coordination in all aspects more convenient.
"Will the enemy come from the direction of Danzhou? Ming Dynasty likes to attack in separate ways."
"There is a possibility." Dongmen Chuiyu said, "Danzhou has an official warehouse of the Ming government in Hainan. If we send troops from here, we can reduce the amount of grain and reduce the logistical pressure."
When fighting in ancient times, armies often used tactics of dividing their forces to attack together and advancing simultaneously. This is not only a strategic and tactical consideration, but also to a large extent to reduce the difficulty of organizing and supplying the march.
"In addition, Lingao pays more than 2,000 dan to Danzhou every year, which shows that Danzhou still maintains a considerable number of military households in the garrison and has a certain fighting capacity." Wang Ding reminded everyone, "We must consider the possibility of the Ming army. We will mobilize the Danzhou health center to a certain extent to expand the number of troops along the Danzhou route."
"Well, so we still have to deal with the enemies in the Danzhou direction. There is only one guard company and one fortress artillery company in the Gaoshanling area," He Ming flipped through his notebook, "Approximately how many people can the enemies in the Danzhou direction dispatch?"
Dongmen Chuiyu said: "It depends on how many Guangdong troops the government plans to sail to Danzhou. If we only recruit local households, the number will be at most 500."
"If the generals of the Ming Dynasty wanted to eat, then the number of troops sailing to Danzhou would not be too small." He Ming said, "According to the intelligence department, the Ming Dynasty would dispatch 20,000 to 30,000 troops to sail to Danzhou." There must be at least three to four thousand people going to the state."
Including the locally mobilized garrison troops, the number is calculated at 5,000. This road of people and horses driving all the way is enough to make people jump all over the place. The crossing group has to take a fighting stance in two directions, so its military strength is a bit stretched.
Dongmen Chuiyu said: "I propose that the navy establish a blockade to directly intercept these troops. If the Guangdong army wants to sail to Danzhou, it must pass through the Qiongzhou Strait. We don't even need to go to Lingaojiang to implement it in the waters of Lantern Point. Intercept. Directly capture all these troops."
"This matter will be implemented by the Navy." He Ming recorded something in his notebook and asked Chen Haiyang, "Does the Navy have any difficulties?"
"No, but the navy cannot guarantee that all enemies will be captured. If the enemy is disobedient, they will have to sink a few ships to demonstrate."
"Where is the blockade?"
"Located on the ocean from the west of Leizhou Peninsula to Danzhou, two squadrons of spy boats need to be deployed for day and night patrols. There is also a clipper patrol squadron on standby in the port for reinforcement at any time." Chen Haiyang said, "You can't just cruise near Lantern Point. , the Ming army may also march to Leizhou and board the ship in Leizhou - so more ships will be used." He studied the map carefully, "It would be much easier if Leizhou could provide ferry information - ―We directly block the port.”
"I think there is no problem with this. Our local system in Leizhou should be able to do it." Li Yan said.
Bei Wei said: "Let's leave this matter to the special reconnaissance team - originally this is a military investigation mission, our profession. The special reconnaissance team guarantees to complete the task."
"The enemies along the Danzhou route can only be said to be possible." He Ming said, "This threat will be left to the navy and special reconnaissance team."
The following is a discussion of an issue that has been hotly debated in the Senate, whether to go abroad and take the initiative or to defend and counterattack from preset positions.
On this issue, not only are there clear divisions within the Senate, but there are also different opinions within the military.
Most people advocate conducting defensive operations on preset positions. Their main reasons are:
The highest-ranking officer in the 6th Army was only the company commander of Pla. No one has ever faced a war of this scale. There will definitely be many problems in command and dispatch. Defense is easier than offense.
Secondly, soldiers have a lot of training but little actual combat experience. It needs to be tested by fire. When facing an enemy with a numerical advantage, the defending side has an easier time organizing the battle, and the psychological pressure on the soldiers is much less. More importantly, use defensive victories to boost your soldiers' confidence.
After the defense is successful, the pursuit begins, and the order in the rear is easy to maintain - the victory of the defense will greatly encourage the people who are biased towards the Traversing Army, deter the hostile elements, and make the people who are waiting to side with the Traversing Army.
In the end, the strategy of defending first and then counterattack is in line with China's consistent thinking mode of "not firing the first shot", "it is not up to me to start a provocation", and "what can't be tolerated is intolerable". Gain moral advantage by traveling through congregations. In terms of publicity, it can be vigorously promoted that what Chuan Zhong did in Lingao was not like those pirates who harmed one side, but on the contrary, he attacked pirates and evil gentry, developed production, accommodated refugees and stabilized the society. It can be said that he was a model of gentry. It is unreasonable to be surrounded and suppressed in this way. This will lay a good foundation for expanding one's power in the future.
"Given the size and organization of the Ming army and the road conditions in Hainan, the enemy's advance route can only be along the Yi Road, county by county. In this way, they can more easily obtain supplies along the way. Marching is also more convenient - After all, the Ming army has to carry a large amount of heavy equipment and firearms, and has certain requirements for roads." Dongmen Chuiyu pointed at the big map, "We have the advantage of being able to choose the battlefield at will. As long as we are in Qiongshan-Lingao Station At any point on the road, we can choose to deploy our troops on terrain where our weapons have an advantage. We can even carry out battlefield construction in advance, dig trenches, build bastions, and even transport heavier artillery to the position. The advantages are very obvious."
Unexpectedly, Dongmen Chuiyu's high-pitched remarks were immediately refuted by Bai Yu, director of the armored forces. Not only did he refute it, he also gave Dongmen the label of capitulationism.
"We know the route that the Ming army will attack, and we have the advantage of radio and map. We should use our mobility advantage to concentrate our forces to defeat the enemy one by one. Some can even defeat them at the mouth of the Pearl River, which fully demonstrates the technical superiority of our army; It is true that our army has no battle experience, but our soldiers are well-trained, well-fed, and commanded by modern military talents. Defensive warfare may not be easy. The enemy is more than five times our number. Blind defense will only lower our morale. Finally, "Crack down on pirates and evil gentry, expand production, and accommodate refugees to stabilize society." This is evidence of rebellion - this is called "bribing people's hearts," and it is more abominable to the Ming government than burning, killing, and raping women.
His argument is: The side with the absolute advantage of the crossing group must take the initiative to attack to seize the initiative on the battlefield. In a situation where there is a serious disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, it is more important to seize the initiative; defensive operations are actually passive operations on the weaker side, which places higher demands on soldiers and puts greater pressure on soldiers than offensive operations.
Not taking the initiative to attack and waiting for the enemy to attack is not a moral advantage but weakness. Lingao can take care of the interests of the vast majority of people under its rule. This is the greatest moral advantage. The Crossing Group must show its toughness and ability and determination to protect the people under its rule in order to lay a good foundation for future development.
Finally, he strongly requested to bombard the city of Guangzhou after annihilating the Ming army. If there were enough explosives, it would be best to blow up a city wall to give the officials and gentry enough shock.
The two sides held a series of debates on this issue, ranging from military tactics to political and economic construction.
Those who favor going abroad to defend against the enemy have another concern: Defensive counterattacks are certainly safe, but what about the infrastructure facilities that have been built in Lingao? Farmland, water conservancy, roads and telephone poles cannot be defended. If the government troops first carry out large-scale damage to various infrastructures during the advance, not to mention the loss of facilities and materials - people's hearts and minds may be unstable, which will be extremely detrimental to post-war reconstruction.
Chen Haiyang is also not enthusiastic about decisive battles abroad. He said:
"I doubt our military's ability to conduct decisive battles overseas: the navy lacks enough large ships and lacks the ability to carry out long-range attacks and launch. If the Ming army's assembly point on the continent is in the Pearl River Delta area, rather than Leizhou Peninsula or Hainan Island Although the troops we send can kill a large number of enemies, unless we send troops to rob the surrounding areas, our personnel capture and material seizure will be relatively limited. This is the first problem.
"Secondly, fighting on the mainland has higher requirements on our intelligence, logistics and military organization. This is our first large-scale operation. It is not a bad idea to be a little more conservative and let them land on the mainland in Hainan, and then completely eliminate the invading enemies."
He pointed to the drawing board:
"I think the Ming army will set up the assembly point in the Qiongzhou Fucheng area after considering all aspects - this is also what the General Staff just speculated in the battle plan. In this case, we don't have to let the enemy enter Lingao, but take advantage of them When Qiongshan was fully assembled, the naval and naval armies attacked at the same time and annihilated them in one go. As for whether to take the initiative to attack the city, or to set up positions outside Qiongshan County to lure the enemy into attacking, it would be easy.
"When the Ming army gathers in Qiongshan County, they will definitely harass the local area. However, they are still official soldiers after all, and they will not commit crimes such as burning, killing, and raping. The damage to the local area will not be too great. We will take over later. There is no need to carry out large-scale clean-up work, and it can still gain a point in public opinion. In addition," he said, "I personally prefer to take the initiative to attack, rather than setting up defenses to wait for the enemy - waiting for the Ming army to approach the city and see the black pressure. If the overwhelming army has no way to retreat, the pressure on the soldiers will be even greater. If you let them take the initiative to attack, the pressure will be much less. As long as you fight a battle and see that the other party is a chicken and a dog, the pressure will naturally disappear. .”
Chen Haiyang's proposal was approved by most people. The final combat plan was: the navy set up a blockade in the Qiongzhou Strait to prevent the enemy from entering the Lingao sea and prevent them from directly boarding the 6 troops in Lingao to conduct harassment operations.
The Sixth Army dispatched a small group of troops and a special reconnaissance team to launch interdiction operations in the direction of Qiongshan. Prevent enemy reconnaissance cavalry and small groups of troops from entering the area near Lingao.
After the enemy's main force assembled and left Qiongzhou, the navy first destroyed the Ming Navy and cut off the connection between the Qiongzhou Strait and the mainland. making it impossible to retreat from the sea. The Sixth Army looks for opportunities in the wild to engage in a decisive battle with the enemy's main force. If necessary, it can use Navy warships to maneuver. After destroying the enemy troops, they took advantage of the victory and captured the capital city of Qiongzhou.
Wei Aiwen stood up at this time and said: "I have no objection to the battle plan itself. But I hope that the planned battle will be an upright battle: a beautiful battle at the time and place of our choice - and the whole process will be filmed. Come down and play it repeatedly in the future - this is a political battle, we need to let everyone understand our power. Especially for our soldiers - many of them still don't understand the meaning of the weapons in their hands. Yes. Thousands of years of habit will make them think that the people cannot fight against the officials. Even if the weapons are powerful, if they really practice it, they will have a huge change in their consciousness. "
After the combat plan was formulated, the General Staff Headquarters and the Foreign Intelligence Service held consultations, and the two sides decided to send two joint military reconnaissance teams for a staff trip. The focus is to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the topography, pass arteries, town offices and garrisons along the Qiongshan-Lingao line. This information has been collected in the past, and this time it is a review.
In addition, the reconnaissance team will conduct a comprehensive survey and assessment of possible gathering places for the Ming army and possible battle locations. Make relevant plans. At the same time, in order to find out how many ports along the Qiongshan-Lingao line where ships can dock and measure hydrological conditions, naval intelligence personnel will lead another reconnaissance team to conduct surveys.
"In addition, we need to replenish the existing troops." He Ming said, "Currently, the Sixth Army has many vacancies. Many auxiliary units are not full, and the artillery has even more vacancies, so we need to temporarily recruit personnel to supplement them. But this Issues involving mobilization must be coordinated with the Government Affairs Council." a! ~!
