The officers present were silent. It was easy to understand why they were attacking in the east and in the west. Now they could infer that the east where the enemy wanted to "make noise" was Yunan County. So where was this "west"?
Looking at the map, there are more than a dozen county towns and important fortification nodes along the Xijiang River. Each node is defended by at least one squadron of the National Army - these National Army were mobilized in the first batch, and are not on the same level as the second batch of National Army mobilized in an emergency manner, both in terms of equipment and training. ——No one is easy to chew. It is impossible to capture these nodes without concentrating five or six times the strength of the defenders and equipping them with a considerable number of firearms.
The Fubo Army implemented a fragmented contract system on the Xijiang River. If a certain area was besieged or a large group of enemies gathered in a certain area, troops would be dispatched from various strongholds in the area to fight. Troops in other areas generally do not join the battle unless they are mobilized by the headquarters.
Therefore, if the enemy Shengdong's target is Yunan County, then his real target should be the upstream and downstream strongholds centered on Yunan County.
Among these strongholds, Fengchuan County is the most tempting target. This is the transportation node to Hejiang. Lianqin has a military depot and hospital here, and has a large amount of supplies stored. But this place is obviously a tough place. Not to mention the bandits gathered in Wuhewa, even the serious Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers can't get rid of it.
Among the counties downstream of Yunan County, Zhaoqing is the most valuable, but Zhaoqing is a harder bone than Fengchuan, as the front finger of western Guangdong and the location of the First Brigade Headquarters.
"Since the enemy wants to concentrate their forces and carry out a strategy of 'attacking in the east and attacking in the west', it is obvious that they will not aim at capturing a small stronghold or an unknown county. Moreover, their strategy is to incite bandits - Yunan County is just A bait to attract bandits to work for their lives." Mi Longtao expressed his reasoning.
"What the officer said is absolutely true!" Zhu Si quickly agreed.
Li Shenggang did not express any objection. In his opinion, this was just correct nonsense in the "opening statement". He nodded slightly.
"But based on the military quality and operational capabilities of the bandits, this point cannot be Zhaoqing, nor can it seal Sichuan," Mi Longtao said. "I personally speculate that the most likely place is Wuzhou!"
As soon as the word Wuzhou was spoken, Zhu Si immediately shuddered.
Wuzhou is located at the forefront, close to the Ming army retreating to Guangxi. Once the defenders are mobilized by the bandits and the interior is empty, it is not impossible for the Ming army to gather heavy troops for a counterattack - and Xiong Wencan is also in urgent need of a big victory: recovery Wuzhou is better than recovering Yunan County.
"So, our squadron should return to defend Wuzhou as soon as possible..." Zhu Si was slightly afraid of this increasingly dangerous situation. Here, the Wuzhou Integrated Squadron often has to operate independently under field conditions, which puts too much pressure on him - he often feels "overwhelmed".
Back in Wuzhou, with the backbone of having more money, he doesn't have to take any responsibility. He didn't believe that the Ming army could capture Wuzhou at all - Wuzhou was the largest city in western Guangdong. Not only was there a lot of money in the city, but there was also a battalion of Fubo troops led by Zhu Quanxing outside the city. It's not far away. Even though it's on the front line, the safety factor is very high.
"In my opinion, Yunan County is not just 'Shengdong', it is probably under real siege." Li Shenggang spoke. Unlike Mi Longtao, he had a very serious expression and basically did not chat with others. Powerful, "The Ming army's plan is probably to use bandits as cannon fodder to attract our troops - after all, the greater the pressure on Yunan County, the greater the possibility that the front finger will draw reinforcements from Wuzhou and other places, so the enemy must We will use considerable force to attack Yunan County. The pressure we face will not be small at all. It is not appropriate to divide our troops yet."
Mi Longtao agreed.
Zhu Si was speechless and had no choice but to "resolutely obey the distribution."
The meeting decided that the entire army would return to Fengchuan the next day, and half of the Wuzhou Squadron would be temporarily stationed in Xugang for a few days to be responsible for training the local militia. Some of the captured firearms and weapons were also left for the local area - this glorious and troublesome task naturally fell on Li Dong.
"Xugang is a larger village in this area, with a large population, and now many people from other places have taken refuge. You have to take this opportunity to establish a militia - there are only members of the Xu family here, so that won't work."
Zhu Si understood in his heart that the chief was the most taboo about clan influence. At present, the Xu family is a force that maintains social stability and must be fully utilized, but the "slowly plan" thing can be done. Naturally, it is not easy to do this. Fortunately, it has been decided that Li Dong will stay, so he can do it easily.
The next day, after leaving fifty soldiers and various firearms from the right detachment of the Wuzhou Squadron commanded by Li Dong in Xu Gang, the rest of the team left Xu Gang and returned to Fengchuan County.
"This is obviously Yunan County, why are we stationed here?" Luo Mao couldn't help but complain as he looked at the black smoke that dissipated as the fleet gradually moved away.
Li Dong couldn't understand either. He said: "Stop complaining. This is an order. If you are told to garrison, you will garrison. Let's go and check the defense first."
As soon as Mi Longtao's ship docked, the deputy company commander who stayed here brought him shocking news.
Bei Wei is coming to Fengchuan!
It's not unusual for Fengchuan County to have veterans in this place. The joint logistics, navy, general reconnaissance bureau, intelligence bureau... there is a constant flow. Some are passing by temporarily, some are here for inspection, some are specifically here to perform a certain task, and some are always working locally - for example, the veterans of the health clinic take turns to work at the field hospital in Fengchuan County.
Bei Wei, who is the security commander of the Guangdong Region and the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong Region of the National Army, has been here more than once to coordinate the security mechanism of the occupied area. After the Yao Rebellion and the general uprising of bandits along the river, he came here more often.
But the visit of the elders this time was quite different. The deputy company commander said that in addition to Bei Wei, there were seven or eight elders who came with him, some in military uniforms and some in civilian clothes.
"...The leaders came by gunboat at night. After arriving, they moved directly into the headquarters. It seemed that they didn't want anyone to notice their arrival." The deputy company commander said in a low voice.
"What instructions do the leaders have?" Mi Longtao asked quickly.
"Major General Bei Wei asked you to meet him as soon as you come back."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Mi Longtao and Li Shenggang went to the Chongqing Garrison Headquarters together. The area here is very large, and several Eight Immortals tables are put together to form a map table. Bei Wei is standing next to the map at the moment, thinking about it. In addition to him, there is also a veteran in civilian clothes-Mi Longtao knows: This is Chief Xu of the Intelligence Bureau.
This Chief Xu is very mysterious. Sometimes he arrives quietly and then leaves quietly. Sometimes he is summoned to ask about some situations, and sometimes he holds meetings with soldiers, cadres and local people.
He rarely speaks and mainly listens to what everyone has to say. Then ask various questions in a targeted manner. Milongtao never thought of the use of asking some questions without him. However, he adheres to the principle of "don't ask what you shouldn't ask" and never asks, but only reports according to his requirements.
Looking closer, he saw several reed mats spread out on the ground of the headquarters, and various weapons listed at the door. Mi Longtao could tell at a glance that these were the enemy's weapons they had captured in yesterday's battle, including a swarm of bees and wood. There are guns.
Investigating captured enemy weapons was Chief Xu's usual job, so Mi Longtao didn't find it too strange.
"Report—" Mi Longtao had just shouted. Bei Wei had already seen them. He nodded slightly and motioned for them to come over.
"Please report yesterday's battle situation first." Bei Wei said, "Let's start from the beginning."
"The earliest situation occurred during the ferry flight of the Wuzhou Integrated Squadron. It would be more appropriate to ask Lieutenant Zhu to report first." Mi Longtao said.
Bei Wei nodded and turned his attention to Zhu Si.
Zhu Si saluted neatly and began to report on the battle situation since leaving Wuzhou City. He had served as a soldier in a garrison camp for many years and had close contact with many elders while on duty. Therefore, he did not feel nervous and restrained like ordinary naturalized civilian soldiers when meeting elders for the first time. Not only did he speak fluently, but his reports were concise and to the point. Bei Wei was very satisfied after hearing this.
"That's a good report." Bei Wei looked at the National Army lieutenant standing upright in front of him. "You speak English very well. Where did you learn it?"
"Reporting to Comrade Major General, we are at the Lingao Security Camp!"
Bei Wei thought to himself, no wonder his military appearance and conduct were so standard! The report just now won his favor. I also asked him what year he was a soldier and his resume after joining the army. It was with regret that he had less combat experience!
However, judging from the report just now, his on-the-spot command was not very good. Moreover, Mi Longtao did not show an "otherwise" expression when he reported. Perhaps it should be said that he still had an "approval" expression.
He seems to be a talented person. Bei Wei thought. However, he still had too little experience, and entrusting him with the post of captain of the Wuzhou Brigade was indeed a bit too radical. This bandit suppression operation could fully train him, and now he was basically determined to join the battle with Mi Longtao yesterday. The determination to form a mobile detachment with the army as the core.
Then Mi Longtao and Li Shenggang reported yesterday's battle situation and the situation along the way one by one. And the locations where relevant battles took place are marked one by one on the glass panels on the map.
"It seems that the enemy is indeed making big moves in Yunan County." Bei Wei said to Xu Xu.
The intelligence that the bandits were going to "make big trouble" in Yunan County was sent out by permission. Of course, he did not have spies lurking among the bandits, officers and soldiers, or Yao villages. He came to this conclusion mainly based on the relevant battle reports collected, the confessions of prisoners and the traces of enemy activities.
"The bandits you encountered are very capable in fighting." Xu Xu pointed at the various weapons on the reed mat. "These are not weapons that the bandits can afford. The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are no more than that!"
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 370
