Qingzhou.
The buffer zone between the Han Army and the Taiping Army.
The scout team of the Black Mountain Taiping Army is collecting intelligence on the movements of the Han army.
This isn't the first time.
Since the cessation of the Han army's offensive, the first-line teams located behind the buffer zone have each sent their own scout teams.
And they are all direct descendants of each Qushuai.
Although the Taiping Army now has millions of people, and may even exceed one million, the main military force of the Taiping Army is still the original Taiping Army of the 36th Route led by Qu Shuai of the 36th Route.
The number of people varies, and the total is only one-third of the millions, but their weapons are far superior to the others.
It's not that others are untrustworthy, but that except for the thirty-sixth original Taiping Army, the others are really just ordinary farmers.
The training period was too short, and if they were released, they would only add military merit to the Han army.
Fortunately, during these days, the Han army stopped attacking due to the change of generals, and the commanders of various channels also had enough energy to practice. It does not take long. In a few dozen days, these millions of people will be able to have a basic training. The rest of the combat effectiveness depends on how to survive on the battlefield.
As long as you can survive, you are an elite soldier.
Not to mention the support from the Zhengxuan team from Liaoning, organized criticism, recalling the sufferings experienced in the past, enjoying more than ten acres of land in the future can feed the whole family, and have spare money to buy new ones for the family every New Year. Clothes, just these simple expectations can give these people a high desire to fight.
Because there will be no worse ending, they are already at the bottom, no matter what they do, they will go up.
Today is the seventeenth day since the Han army stopped attacking.
The 5,000 propaganda teams supported from Liaoning have been dispersed among these millions of people, ensuring that every two hundred people have one person who is capable of doing the work of authenticity.
Clarify the goal of fighting, increase fighting enthusiasm, know why you are fighting, and strengthen your beliefs.
Of course, the role of the Zhengxuan team is not limited to war. They will also relieve everyone's emotions, teach everyone culture, and enrich their spiritual world.
Relying on the prestige of various commanders, Qingzhou's Zhengzhi team was also formed, getting rid of the initial situation of being harmonious but also scattered and powerful.
Naturally, with so many people in the Taiping Army, it is impossible for all of them to be young and strong men.
Therefore, the first thing that the Zhengzhi team did when they were formed was to select the old, weak, women and children among the millions of people from the ranks of soldiers.
With this challenge, there were only about 300,000 warriors left in the million-dollar Taiping Army who seemed to still want to do that.
This is based on the selection of men under the age of fifty. If the age is stuck at forty, the number of Taiping soldiers will have to be reduced by half.
Although the number of combatants has been reduced, the combat effectiveness of the team has been improved. The old, weak, women and children have been properly accommodated, and the soldiers do not have to devote extra energy to taking care of their families during the battle.
Linzi.
After arriving in Qingzhou, the first county town captured by the Taiping Army is now one of the main areas controlled by the Taiping Army.
All the county's defenders and officials have been put into prison, but the Taiping soldiers did not oppress the people in the city. This was a death order issued by the 36th Route Commander. Anyone who oppresses others at will will be punished according to military law.
So currently, Linzi City can be considered peaceful.
Government office.
A group of Qu commanders and Hu Bajiu, who had come to support from Liaoning and was now acting as the governor of Qingzhou, gathered together.
There were also some other officials in the hall, as well as some generals sent by the commander-in-chief to attend the meeting because they were too busy with trivial matters to come.
"Okay, I won't talk about all the trivial matters. The main thing now is that the opportunity I have been waiting for has finally arrived."
At one end of the round table, Hu Bajiu's voice echoed through the entire office from the tin microphone.
Everyone heard it clearly and couldn't help but nod.
"The news from Junzhang is that the Han Dynasty has changed its generals. Those Yulin Lang who were good at attacking have now gone north to get involved with the border counties of Liao. What we are facing now are the famous generals of the Han Dynasty who have not yet arrived. Cheng Bushi ."
"Many people may not have heard of him, so I will introduce him here to give you a general understanding of him. Cheng Bushi, the former prefect of Yanmen, guarded Yanmen Pass for more than ten years. Not a single Huns went south, and he won every battle. There’s no defeat, that’s what he’s about.”
"But it is a good opportunity for us to strengthen ourselves, because he has the same problem as many Han generals. He is good at defense but not good at offense. According to the information collected by the spies, if this general has a foreign war, he will usually end up in the end. He can't even show his face on the battlefield, his marching speed is too slow."
"It is also because of this that although he has military exploits, he rarely gets promoted."
"Everyone brainstorms and thinks about our next move? It's rare that the Han army has given us a chance."
Hu Bajiu glanced at everyone.
While everyone was thinking, He Jin, the commander of Wolongshan Canal, stood up and spoke.
"This is indeed a good opportunity. We are entrenched in Qingzhou, but we only control a small half of the territory. The defenders in Qingzhou counties are still eyeing us. If the Han army attacks, they will inevitably become trouble."
"Prefect Hu, I think it is possible to request a batch of siege equipment from your Majesty for support, and work together to expand the control area of Qingzhou before Cheng Bu Shi arrives. When Cheng Bu Shi arrives, the Taiping Army needs to allocate half of its troops to confront the Han Army. I won’t have such a good opportunity when I wait.”
He Jin's speech made all the commanders and generals nod.
Hu Bajiu also nodded and said to a secretary beside him: "Draft a document and report it to your Majesty. Qingzhou needs a batch of siege equipment support. I hope it can be shipped together with the next supply delivery."
The clerk nodded and drafted a document.
"Do you still have some wonderful ideas?"
Everyone started talking.
After a while, a general stood up.
"Prefect, the scouts from Gaowan reported that the Han army is extremely short of war horses. I wonder if this can also be an opportunity?"
"War horses. Rare."
Hu Bajiu thought.
This is consistent with the intelligence collected by spies from various places.
The Han army was short of horses.
This is inevitable.
Although Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing built a horse park and Liu Che owned 360,000 war horses, Liu Che, a prodigal, was really spending a lot of money.
War horses are consumables, especially in the era before horseshoes. After a big battle, the number of war horses would often be reduced by 90% or more.
And Liu Che twice. Oh no, plus the siege of Mayi, a total of more than 200,000 to 300,000 troops were gathered three times. The war horses accumulated during Wenjing's rule have already been used up.
Based on Zhang Qi's understanding of history, he also guessed the lack of war horses faced by the Han Dynasty after several battles with the Xiongnu.
This can be seen from the original history.
Why should we attack Dawan? Is it because Liu Che is greedy for cantaloupe?
Of course not. The purpose of attacking Dawan was probably that the horse administration of the Han Dynasty was already in danger at that time. War horses needed to be castrated. This meant that horses with excellent bloodlines were selected as war horses, and the war horses were consumed. Han Dynasty The quality of Chao's horses had dropped to the bottom, so they had to attack Dawan.
Because Dawan at that time had stallions with excellent bloodlines such as Dawan horses.
Hu Bajiu thought for a while and raised his head.
"Well, your Majesty also said that the Han Dynasty is facing a difficult situation with horses. This may also be an opportunity."
"Draw up a document and request Liao to support a group of war horses. It would be better if there are knights."
(End of chapter)
