"...If the last trick fails, the shortage of food in the city will soon cause our army to be in short supply and eventually be forced to withdraw. In my opinion, this trick of food transportation is probably the spy who told Xiong Wencan that we rely heavily on logistics , and then some vicious aide under Xiong Wencan came up with it."
Zhu Mingxia nodded to Xu Xu, Xu Xu finished his speech, lowered his head and took a few more sips of tea. Next is the second agenda item of the meeting, which is to discuss subsequent battle strategies based on the intelligence analysis results.
The second agenda item is undoubtedly for Zhu Mingxia to be the protagonist. As the de facto commander of the Wuzhou Campaign, Zhu Mingxia had discretion over how to fight, when to fight, and to what extent.
He was a little uncomfortable at this moment. He was obviously a dictator who insisted on speaking his mind, but he still wanted to take care of the democratic sentiments of the elders here. Of course, no matter what decision you make, no one will object, but formal democracy still needs to be implemented.
The combat plan had already been decided, and since the reconnaissance report was delivered to him a few hours ago, he had determined that the original combat plan would remain unchanged. Even if the latest pieces of information suddenly appeared now, it would have no impact on his battle plan. You have to fight no matter how you fight. No general will change his battle plan based on just a few pieces of intelligence. It is the commander's decision that determines victory or defeat on the battlefield, and intelligence is only a basis for the commander's decision.
There was another moment of silence. Obviously, everyone wanted Zhu Mingxia, the military chief, to speak first.
Zhu Mingxia naturally knew this, but he did not intend to state his battle plan straight to the point, so he ordered Zhang Dapao: "Xiao Zhang, go get the map."
Although Zhang Dapao is about the same age as Ruan Xiaowu, after all, his qualifications are much lower than Ruan Xiaowu. It is really difficult for Zhu Mingxia to let him attend the meeting, but in order to maintain the comparison of navy and army personnel among the participants, First, after much deliberation, let’s call him over!
A large-scale military map of Wuzhou and its surroundings was spread out on the table. Zhu Mingxia drank tea and rinsed his mouth. Then he gestured with his hands and said: "In order to find out the defense situation of the Ming army, I sent out troops the night before yesterday. A reconnaissance team conducted a reconnaissance around Wuzhou City. These young men just returned to the team a few hours ago and a few were injured. I will report the reconnaissance situation to everyone now. "
"First of all, there is the situation in the south of the city. Dezheng, Nanxun, and Yangming gates have all been closed, and the bridges on the moat have been demolished. No Ming troops have been found in the shantytowns in the south of the city, not even Xiangyong and Shuiyong; in the east of the city, A small number of Ming troops were stationed on the North Mountain of the city, with few firearms and mainly cold weapons. A large number of fortifications were built around Dayunmen in the north of the city, mainly circular trenches, with a total of three layers connected to each other. There were artillery forts and Buddhas arranged during the period. The number of Ming troops stationed in the small artillery such as Langji is unknown. It is estimated that there are about five or six hundred people. The weapons used are mainly long-range weapons such as bows and arrows. There are Ming troops patrolling in the west of the city, and Xijiang Gate is the only one that remains open. City Gate, according to observations, grain ships coming from the upper reaches of the Guijiang River will unload grain outside the Xijiang Gate."
"Didn't Lone Wolf say that most of the food in the city is shipped out?" Xu Xu asked.
"This is not a contradiction. The reconnaissance report shows that there are not many grain ships. Visual inspection can only barely maintain the supply of the defenders in the city. It is obvious that the Ming army did not interrupt the long-term persistence. Xiong Wencan's ultimate goal may still be to let us eat. Then we will give up Wuzhou City. Then as the intelligence shows, burn Wuzhou City, or in turn trap us in Wuzhou City and starve us."
"Trapped us in Wuzhou City? Is this useful?" Mond asked.
Zhu Mingxia smiled and said, "I think Xiong Wencan's final thought is to appease him, but he knows that he doesn't have the ability or the confidence now. He, Xiong Wencan, will definitely lose, but if his undefeat is so ugly, he, Xiong Wencan, will have confidence."
"Then let's attack Xiong Wencan's self-confidence first. Since there are grain ships entering the city, there must be a grain storage point upstream. I suggest that we divide our troops to search upstream and remove this grain storage point." Zhu Quanxing suggested.
"It's not necessary. Not to mention whether these food stations really exist, what if the food is transported directly from Guilin? Do we really need to divide our troops and fight all the way to Guilin? And maybe this is what the Ming army gave us The enchantment array set up lured us to divide our troops and weaken our siege power. It is difficult to say whether a Ming army has been ambushed in the upper reaches of the Guijiang River. Maybe it was the elite Xiong Wencan had at hand. The mobilization ability of the Ming army is not worth overestimating, but it is also It cannot be taken lightly.”
At this time, the 8th Battalion Commander Yang Zeng, who had been silent, spoke up. He pointed to a hill on the other side of the Gui River in Wuzhou City and said: "Then we will occupy this hilltop, establish an artillery position, and directly cut off the food supply in Wuzhou City. "
"This mountain is called Bangshan. The scouts reported that a Ming army has been stationed on it and trenches have been dug on the mountain. The number of this Ming army is unknown, but the firepower is very fierce, and many of them are obviously made by us. Nanyang-style rifles, our scouts were discovered there, with casualties. Fortunately, the range and power of Nanyang-style rifles are limited, otherwise I might have to kill several of them there."
"Nanyang-style rifle!" Everyone was surprised.
"There is nothing surprising. Nanyang-style rifles are originally exported products. Although they are designated to be sold to only a few customers, there is no guarantee that these customers will hand over the weapons. It is not surprising that some of them ended up in the hands of the Wuzhou garrison. Xiong Wencan said When he was the governor of Fujian, he made a lot of money. He also served as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi for several years. Isn't it normal to buy dozens of Nanyang-style rifles and enough flash caps and bullets for a campaign to equip his servants to deal with us? ? Don’t forget, there is a traitor who is giving him advice."
"Grandma's bear, the enemy is so difficult to deal with this time!" Schneider sighed.
"Dozens of Nanyang rifles won't do much good. But this also shows that Governor Xiong has made money." Zhu Quanxing said, "This is one of his trump cards. There should be other trump cards. We must guard against them." .”
"No matter how strong the enemy is, they will be defeated by the might of Fubo Army! I have decided: tomorrow afternoon the whole army will start attacking! Yang Zeng, you lead the 8th Battalion to capture Bangshan. The enemy has about a thousand troops there. , they must also know the importance of the Guijiang River, and will not give up so easily. Bangshan is not easy to deal with. Come up with some ideas and don’t force yourself. Also, they built a pontoon bridge at the foot of Tea Mountain. If possible, Don't let an enemy retreat from there." Zhu Mingxia began to tell his battle plan.
"Yes!" Yang Zeng stood up, saluted, and accepted the order.
"Xiao Zhang, you lead the siege artillery company to land in the south of the city, clear the firing range, and establish an artillery position."
"yes!"
"Lao Zhu, your battalion has three companies in the south of the city. The remaining one will go back to the east of the city, and the other will go back to the north of the city. Set up a position outside the range of the enemy's artillery fire to confront the Ming army. Just confront, don't fight. "
"Am I acting as a suspect to attract the enemy's attention? Nancheng is obviously weakly defended. Am I preparing to attack Nancheng?" Zhu Quanxing asked.
"No, the North City is the main attack direction. The weak defense of the South City was obviously shown to us by the Ming army, and the intelligence we received also verified this. The enemy obviously wants us to be fooled, tricking us into attacking in the South City, and then breaking the city Then they will be burned by fire. The Ming army will not accompany us to roast pigs in the city. We must first block their retreat, and then compress them in Wuzhou City. If they set fire to it, they will only burn themselves."
"Understood."
"I will order a field artillery company to be deployed in the east and north of the city to support you. But a cannon is always a cannon. It is not easy for the artillerymen to climb the mountain with the cannon. I estimate that it will take at least one day after your troops are in place. .”
"Then what does our navy do?" Mond asked.
"Smash the cannonballs hard on the south wall of Wuzhou to make them think we are really going to attack from the south city! The siege artillery battery will cooperate with you."
Schneider and Ruan Xiaowu didn't say anything, but they couldn't raise any objections to this plan. At present, apart from supporting the Second Mixed Brigade to attack the city, their Pearl River Task Force West Detachment had nothing to do.
So Zhu Mingxia announced the adjournment of the meeting and asked the naturalized civilian officers to go back and rest for a few hours, but the elders stayed and had other important matters to discuss.
The battle plan has been decided. The Ming army will be trapped in Wuzhou City and let them burn themselves to death. But if the fire really breaks out, it is not up to Zhu Mingxia alone to decide how the people of Wuzhou City will deal with it. .
Although there is no concept of humanitarian disaster in this time and space, Wuzhou is also a large city with a population of tens of thousands. Once the city is destroyed and these citizens completely lose their livelihood, then the Senate will be responsible for the rest of the people's livelihood.
Theoretically, the outer positions of the Ming army should be destroyed, they would be trapped in Wuzhou City, and the Ming army would be completely exhausted until they ran out of ammunition and food. In this way, the fire would not burn, and the people of Wuzhou would not die in the flames. But the siege was long-term, and the length of time it took to capture Wuzhou City depended on how quickly the defenders surrendered. By the time the defenders surrendered, the people in Wuzhou City were almost starved to death.
Zhu Mingxia could not let the battle of Wuzhou drag on for too long, and a long-term siege was not among Zhu Mingxia's choices. The Fubo Army's supply system has always been based on fighting to support war, and the logistics problems have never been properly solved. The supplies gathered in the rear are limited. If the delay is too long, I am afraid that the mixed brigade will not be able to eat before the Ming army runs out of food. The elders here are all military officers, so naturally they are quite familiar with this. Xiong Wencan dared to defend the city, and he probably got the reminder from the traitor and grasped the weak spot in the Fubo Army's logistics and supply system.
Tomorrow will update Volume 7 Guangzhou Governance Chapter 302
