September 22nd, early morning.
Under the night sky, two camps as bright as a sea of stars, located east of Fucheng, Changsha, Hunan, between the Laodao River and Liuyang River, one after another, gradually became noisy. Zhou Jun and Ming Jun both started to get up and have breakfast.
Although these two armies are hostile, they are similar in many ways. For example, in terms of "republican content", the two armies are quite close! Although Wu Sangui does not agree with the republic now and is not willing to be the "original monarch", before he wore the yellow robe, he also regarded "The World is Public", "Mingyi Waiting for Visits" and "The Land and Acre System of the Celestial Dynasty" as his theories of rebellion.
Otherwise, what's the reason for him to rebel against the Qing Dynasty? Why should he ignore Prince Zhu? How can he establish his own grassroots governance?
In the original history, Wu Sangui was a traditional warlord and rebel who only knew "What kind of emperor would you rather have? He who has strong soldiers and horses will do it." They are the kind of junior rebels who have not gotten rid of their vulgar tastes and only know how to conquer the world for one family. They do not know or want to carry out extensive mobilization.
But this time, someone directly exported to him advanced rebellion theories that were ready-made and proved to be quite effective after extensive practice. He also chose the one that was beneficial to him (which was beneficial to himself) and followed it.
For example, his army is actually the "Chinese People's Army"! Although the "Chinese people" of Wu Zhou are not as loudly advertised as the "Chinese people" of Ming Dynasty, the treatment of the two is actually about the same! People from the Ming Dynasty had it, and people from the Wu and Zhou Dynasties also had it. For example, when dividing the fields, Wu Zhou did not have any, but he had plenty of fields. The entire Sichuan Land of Abundance was emptied out!
Even if Wu Zhou's soldiers cannot go to Sichuan to farm for the time being, the "grange deed" has been given to them - when the world is a little more peaceful, they can take the farm deed and bring their families, tools, cattle, seeds, Weapons, and then formed a reclamation regiment according to the organization of Zhechong Mansion to go to Sichuan for reclamation.
In addition, many Wu and Zhou soldiers were assigned to farms in the territories of Huguang, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Shaanxi and Gansu in recent years. Although Wu Sangui himself was unwilling to deprive the landlords and gentry of their land in principle, his regime was actually composed of four warlord groups (himself, Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shifan, Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong, Wu Guogui and Wu Shijue).
Of course, the leaders of the four major military groups must give priority to the interests of the basic soldiers under their groups, so they will still try their best to deprive the landlord class of their land in the area and grant it to their soldiers and generals.
After the implementation of the system of dividing fields and soldiers, the grassroots governance of the Wu and Zhou regimes will inevitably have a trend of "national gentry" because dividing fields and soldiers is not just as simple as dividing fields for soldiers, but also involves the control of grassroots political power. transformation.
The main method of transformation in the Ming Dynasty was to transform state officials into officials and officials, while in the Wu and Zhou Dynasties, a two-level military and political system of "Wei" and "Zhe Chongfu" was established, bringing all the military and military households under their jurisdiction. The Zhechong Mansion located at the local level is a government office at the same level as the county. It is not under the jurisdiction of the state government, but is directly under the jurisdiction of the Wei above.
The civil officials and clerks who served in the Wei and Zhechong Mansion were all scholars with military status (Fu Bing Ji), that is, Fu Bing who could read and write.
These civil officials from the Wei and Zhe Chong Mansion could serve as civil servants and officials in the Zhou Dynasty and local governments, and their official salary was higher than that of civil officials from the imperial examination. After all, the military leaders of Wu and Zhou would treat these military officials If you regard civil servants as your own, you can rest assured and it will be easy to promote them.
Therefore, the difference between Wu Zhou's soldiers and the Ming Dynasty's citizens and scholars can be said to be very small. They are basically the same type of people - they are all "minor shareholders" of the country. They are all Chinese!
Both the Ming Dynasty and Wu Zhou regarded them as human beings, their own people, and the pillars of the country!
Some clues about this can be seen from the "last breakfast" they were enjoying.
The current soldiers of the Ming Dynasty and the soldiers of the Zhou Dynasty were generally full or even well fed when they served in the army.
For this alone, the "Beggars' Ming Army" in the late Ming Dynasty cannot compare with the Green Camp soldiers of the Qing Dynasty. Probably only the Eight Banners soldiers who had a prosperous life in the early years can compare with them.
Of course, the armies of the Zhou and Ming dynasties were not standardized. There were certain differences in the food standards and military pay standards implemented by troops in different regions.
As far as the Zhou Dynasty is concerned, the best eaters are of course the troops in the Lianghu region. Being raised in a land of plenty, and with China generally having fewer people and more land, Huguang's food supply is naturally relatively loose.
Shaanxi-Gansu is a barren land. Even if the population density is not very high now, it is still very bitter. The sky is dry and the ground is dry. No crops can grow in the soil. There is really nothing that can be done. Even if grain could be transported from Huguang, the cost would be extremely high, and not much could be transported.
This is not because Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong are reluctant to let the soldiers below them eat well, but because they really do not have the conditions.
This time, the Shaanxi-Gansu soldiers who came with Wu Yingqi also enjoyed the food treatment of Wu Guogui's Hunan soldiers. When they were in Shaanxi and Gansu, they usually only had two meals a day, and they could only have three meals a day when they were on missions. After arriving in Huguang, the food standard was immediately improved. Three meals a day were all white rice, and you could see a little bit of meat every day.
This time I went to the front line, and my food was even better. I had two meat meals a day, and I was free to eat white rice!
But today's "last meal" has a higher standard. According to Wu Yingqi's order, all the soldiers will have wine, meat, and enough rice to eat Wu Guogui's food anyway. Wu Yingqi doesn't feel bad at all!
Wu Yingqi walked around the Langli City camp with his son Wu Shicong with his hands behind his back, observing everyone's "last meal" by the way.
The most basic organization of Wu Zhou's army is guards, battalions, and teams. Their guards are equivalent to the Ming Dynasty's brigades, and the battalion and team levels are similar to those of the Ming Dynasty. Recently, larger towns have been set up above the guards, but they are not permanent. It was only improvised before the war began.
The catering unit of Wu Zhou's soldiers is a team of its own, sitting around the field cooker and eating there. The aroma of white rice, broth and rice wine permeated the camp. The soldiers of Wu Zhou enjoyed the food very well, and the morale of the troops seemed to be very high.
Wu Yingqi said to Wu Shicong, who had just returned from the front line of the Western Regions: "Bai Juyi is right, Jiangnan is better! Rice, broth and wine. Eat enough to go to the battlefield. Is it much better than the Western Regions?"
Wu Shicong said with a smile: "The Western Regions are also as good as the Western Regions. The Orchids are beautiful and the food and drink are not bad. Although the products are a little poorer, the good thing is that the land is vast and the people are sparse. By the way, I heard that there are also some in the west of Congling and south of the Snowy Region. It is no less prosperous than the Central Plains. Many of these places are the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties! Father, when we, the Great Zhou Dynasty, rule the world in the future, how about we, the Great Zhou Dynasty, also go on a eldest son's Western Expedition?"
Wu Yingqi looked at his son and nodded with a smile: "Okay! When the time comes, I will let you take Shifan and Shijue with you to create a kingdom for each of them! After all, we are the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the Great Zhou Dynasty is engaged in feudal states."
"Um!"
At this time, Li Fuchen, like Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong, was conducting his last pre-war inspection in the Yong'an City camp - the purpose of his inspection was not only to ensure that the "last meal" of the Chinese soldiers was full and well-fed, but also to In order to let the soldiers below deeply feel that he, the King of the South, cares for them. They must know that King Ying, King Nan, and other kings of the Ming Dynasty regard them as their own! And today's Republic of Ming Dynasty is their own country!
Only by letting them know that Ming Dynasty has their share can they work hard on the battlefield!
Like Wu Zhoujun opposite, the "last meal" of the Ming army was also relatively sumptuous. It also had enough rice, wine and meat, but the meat was marinated bacon - all transported thousands of miles away. , the fresh meat must be smelly. The wine of the Ming army was distilled liquor, which was also for the convenience of transportation.
After finishing the meal, the cooks from each team distributed the prepared dry food to the soldiers. The dry food is big steamed buns stuffed with bacon, which not only keeps you full but also adds salt, which is quite thoughtful.
After everyone had eaten their "last meal" and received two days' worth of dry food, the assembly horn of each battalion rang. The soldiers formed into teams one after another. After the formation was completed, each team's team leader and team leader The deputy began to strictly follow the combat regulations and inspect the soldiers' equipment and dry food one by one. After each inspection, the soldier would be ordered to wear a helmet wrapped in a red scarf.
After all the soldiers in the team put on their helmets, it means that the team is ready for combat and ready to go at any time!
Nowadays, the infantry teams of the Ming Army are still divided into two types: "pure fusilier teams" and "double gun teams". The former are all flintlock muskets, including some rifled flintlock muskets. The latter consists of two fusilier platoons plus two pike platoons, plus a straight platoon, with a total strength of around 200. A battalion consists of four such teams plus a direct battalion team, with a total strength of about one thousand troops. A brigade consists of four such battalions plus one brigade direct battalion, with a strength of approximately 5,000. A town consists of two brigades plus a town mark of 2,000 people, for a total of 12,000 people.
As for corps-level units, they are not currently established permanently. Therefore, there is no fixed number of how many towns there should be under an army and how many directly affiliated troops should be under its jurisdiction.
Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen originally brought a military commander each - including their own soldiers, two artillery commanders, two baggage commanders, and two military commanders. However, in order to allow Li Zhongzheng to take two divisions to carry out roundabout missions, they allowed some people from the two military commanders to form a small military commander and gave them to Li Zhongzheng.
When Li Fuchen finished inspecting the troops and returned to his central army, preparing to finish his breakfast and then lead the team to set off, his second son and immediate boss Li Zhongshan also happened to return.
However, Li Zhongshan did not go to inspect the troops, but sent Li Zhongzheng off. The roundabout force led by Li Zhongzheng went out quietly at night. Li Zhongshan was worried that his brother might have an unstable mentality as he took on a heavy responsibility for the first time, so he started a fight. Early in the morning, I personally sent him off.
"Second brother, how is your third brother? Can you hold on?" Li Fuchen asked Li Zhongshan when he saw him coming in, and then picked up a bun and took a bite.
"It looks okay!" Li Zhongshan said with a smile, "Much better than the third child before, but fighting also depends on talent."
Hearing Li Zhongshan mention Sun Jiqing, Li Fuchen also sighed lightly. He should have been the one leading an army on a roundabout mission today!
Li Zhongshan said again at this time: "With Zhou Chang following us, it should be pretty much the same."
Li Fuchen nodded and asked, "Where are King Li Zhong's 30,000 troops?"
"I crossed the Miluo River in Pingjiang County yesterday." Li Zhongshan said, "It's probably still dozens of miles away from us now. We can arrive there this evening if we hurry up."
As soon as he said this, Yao Qisheng opened the curtain and came in, "General, King Nan, all the towns are ready!"
Li Zhongshan nodded and uttered two words: "Let's go!"
The sky was dimming, trumpets and drums were sounding one after another. Teams of Chinese soldiers in red scarves and red robes flowed out from various gates of the Yongxing City camp like red streams. Thousands of soldiers were in their respective teams. Under the guidance of flags, camp flags and brigade flags, they first formed a broad column for field march, and then marched to the forward position in a mighty manner. Before they set off, the staff officers and formation supervisors sent by each town had used the unique identification flags of each brigade (according to Chinese tradition, usually with the image of a beast) to plot a rough march route in the wilderness.
The cavalry from each town had already moved out earlier. They would arrive at the front battlefield of the formation first to prevent the Ming army from harassing the advancing Zhou cavalry.
Although these cavalry are only equipped with light cavalry and do not have heavy armor, for today's mission, they are equipped with bamboo spears, plus two flintlock pistols per person, so they can still fight against the cavalry of Zhou Dynasty.
In addition, the snipers of Model No. 1 Town also left camp early in the morning. They will cooperate with their own light cavalry to snipe the Zhou cavalry at the forefront!
Of course, Dazhou also has the same configuration!
The battle between the light cavalry and the snipers has now begun. Sporadic gunshots continue to be heard, and sometimes the dying neighing of the war horses can be heard.
The military columns of Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen also left the Yongxing City camp. Their military columns each include an armored cavalry standard and an artillery standard equipped with 24 6-pound bronze cannons and 12 large-caliber mortars. However, today's battle is a field battle and there is no need for large-caliber mortars, so this The mortar battalion to which the two artillery signs belong will stay in the core fortress of the Yongxing City camp together with other troops such as baggage and engineering troops.
In addition to the 48 6-pound bronze cannons belonging to the two armies, the seven towns participating in the frontal combat of today's battle also have an artillery battalion each, which is equipped with 12 6-pound cannons and 6 mortars. , the mortars were also not dispatched.
In other words, there are only 132 artillery pieces of the Ming Army that will be put into combat. In this regard, the Ming Army has no advantage at all.
The Yongxing City Camp and the Langli City Camp are about twenty miles away from each other. Since there is still a certain amount of space between the lines of the two armies, six or seven miles each is enough.
For the Ming army who had set up the field column, it would take less than half an hour to almost be in place.
However, the horse-drawn artillery did not come up so quickly, so the 24th Battalion of the Sixth Brigade under the three divisions of the Ming Army, which was placed on the front line, began to line up in a line, as if red was the ocean, with dense bayonets and The spears were pointed at the sky, reflecting dazzling light!
According to Li Zhongshan's deployment, today's formation will be divided into left and right wings, with the left wing being the focus, so there are two towns on the left wing's second line, and only one town on the right wing's second line.
According to the plan, Li Zhongshan would later attack the left wing of Wu and Zhou Army, forcing Wu Army to invest its reserves on the left wing, creating conditions for the two towns led by Li Zhongzheng to attack the right wing of Wu Army.
As for the third line, it is the general reserve of the Ming Army. There is only one town, which is the famous Model First Town!
In addition, the cavalry belonging to each town, a total of more than 2,000 people, were formed into two temporary markers, distributed on the left and right sides of the formation, responsible for covering the flanks of the Ming army's front. The two cavalry targets directly under Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen, about 3,000 Guards cavalry, were concentrated at the rear of the formation. Like Model No. 1 Town, they were reserve teams and were personally controlled by Li Fuchen.
Li Zhongshan's own Chinese army was placed in a fairly forward position, occupying a high ground called Caijiapo between the first and second lines.
At dawn, Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong, father and son, also arrived at Huangjiachong, where their forward headquarters was located - it was a quite large village with walls built around it, just like a small castle. There is also a high slope next to Huangjiachong. Climbing up and looking far, the view is quite good.
The Wu family father and son also divided their troops into left and right wings, organized front, middle and rear lines, and also used cavalry to cover the flanks - the deployment of the two sides was almost exactly the same, and you could tell at a glance that they were from the same sect!
However, the Wu army's advantage lies in artillery and cavalry. There are a lot of 6-pound bronze cannons placed at the front of the Wu army's front, 228 in total, which is almost twice as many as the Ming army.
In addition, the size of Wu Jun’s cavalry is also very large! Each guard has one or two battalions of cavalry - that battalion has 1,000 cavalry!
The Wu army on the battlefield today has ten towns and twenty guards, including as many as twenty-eight cavalry battalions, totaling twenty-eight thousand. Some of them are placed on the two wings, and most of them are held by Wu Yingqi as a reserve force.
Although the Wu army has great advantages in terms of cavalry and artillery, they have too few flintlock guns. On average, one guard may not be able to make up a battalion. The number of rifled guns is even rarer, and a total of only one battalion can be made up. Two hundred. If they really have to fight in line to be shot, Wu Zhou still has no chance of winning.
Wu Yingqi and Wu Guogui's plan is to hold on to the front first, and then rely on the 50,000 roundabout troops led by Wu Guogui to double-team Li Fuchen and Li Zhongshan, cut off their retreat in one fell swoop, beat them on the back, and make them vulnerable to enemies from both sides. Perfect, now it depends on the execution!
Thinking of this, Wu Yingqi raised his head and glanced at the east covered by the morning glow, silently muttering in his heart: "Lao San, where are you now?"
At this moment, a thunderous roar suddenly came from the front line!
The Ming army's bronze cannon fired first!
(End of chapter)
