Zhang Rui doesn't know whether it's a treasure or not. At this time, he was worrying in the general's mansion.
Since the bandit suppression army launched its troops, they have mostly relied on the power of firearms to quickly conquer this territory. It is precisely because of this that the gunpowder consumption of the bandit suppression army has always been very high.
Although Zhang Rui noticed this problem before the bandit suppression army launched troops, Zhang Rui also continued to invest a lot of manpower and material resources in Zhilian Mountain to produce gunpowder. However, as the war continues to expand, the gunpowder currently produced by the bandit suppressing army alone can no longer keep up with the consumption rate of the war.
If it weren't for the fact that the places attacked by the bandit suppressing army were all prosperous places in the south of the Yangtze River, and there were many fireworks and firecracker workshops with sufficient gunpowder, so the bandit suppressing army captured a lot of gunpowder, I am afraid that the bandit suppressing army's gunpowder would have been unable to support it long ago.
However, even with the large number of seizures, the gunpowder inventory had really bottomed out after the bandit suppression army finished the Battle of Nanjing City.
If the bandit-suppressing army could have a truce with the Manchus for a year and a half, and slow down the time, the bandit-suppressing army could go all out to produce gunpowder to make up for the current gap.
However, the biggest problem now is that there is not much time.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty could not allow the bandit suppressing army to occupy the fertile land south of the Yangtze River unless the bandit suppressing army could repeatedly inflict heavy losses on the incoming Qing troops.
Although the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were also at war on two fronts at this time, due to the rise of the bandit suppressing army, Wuya Zhaohui, who historically would not have been reused until next year, was appointed by Qianlong in advance to pacify Erut in northwest Mongolia.
Although Zhang Rui had already sent people to the Khalkha Mongolian grassland to break the news that Qianlong would carry out a massacre of Erut. But judging from the news coming from the northwest, the tribes of Khalkha Mongolia seem to be united, but in fact they are just looking out for their own interests. Wuya Zhaohui's victory over Erut should be a certainty. .
Once the Manchus and Qing pacified Zhungeer in the northwest, the Qing army, which was originally fighting on two fronts, could be free to deal with the bandit suppression army. By then, the pressure on the bandit suppression army would increase exponentially.
"Now it seems that there is no use in informing the Mongols in Erut in advance that the Qing Dynasty will massacre them. I really hope that Qinggun Zabu and Zhungar Amursana can use their skills to give I'll hold on a little longer." Zhang Rui said in a pleading tone.
The north is cold, so northerners are generally taller and stronger than southerners. If this were the age of firearms, these differences would have no impact. But in this era of cold weapons competition, southerners suffer a lot due to physical differences.
Although the bandit suppression army has always emphasized training, it was formed relatively early and there are not many old troops. Many sergeants were directly transferred from the Green Camp of the Qing Dynasty and did not have time to train. Their level is not necessarily much better than that of the Green Camp in other places.
During the battle between the bandit suppressing army and the Qing army outside Nanjing, most firearms units were unable to participate in the battle due to a lack of gunpowder. The bandit suppressing army could only engage in melee combat with the Qing army, resulting in a lot of casualties in vain. Especially in the battle with Shaanxi Green Camp, this difference in size caused more obvious casualties.
After the First World War outside Nanjing, both the Qing army and the bandit suppressing army suffered heavy casualties. During the truce between the Qing army, the bandit suppressing army also stopped advancing and stopped in front of the Yangtze River.
In fact, it’s not that Zhang Rui doesn’t want to cross the Yangtze River in one go, and Wu Sangui’s lessons learned from his mistakes are there. But now, the seemingly great bandit-suppression army has actually reached the end of its strength. If there is no time to organize the military affairs and recuperate, it may not be a good thing to continue fighting.
Most of the current troops of the bandit suppression army are not well trained, and gunpowder is also seriously insufficient. Officials in various local government affairs offices are not fully staffed. It won't have much impact in a short period of time, but if this happens for a long time, it will definitely cause local unrest.
Looking at the history of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it has always been a matter of luck. Just a few days ago, Zhang Rui received military information from Guangxi:
When the small country of Annan saw the battle between the bandit suppressing army and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the leader of Annan, Ruan Guangping, thought it was an opportunity and found an excuse to cause trouble and invade Guangxi.
Although the local chieftains in Guangxi were good at fighting, they were not united and retreated when faced with attacks by the Annan army. Zheng Yuanzhen, the governor of Guangxi under the puppet Qing Dynasty, was unable to organize his troops to launch a powerful counterattack, causing Annan's army to start burning, killing and looting as soon as they entered Guangxi.
In order to avoid the flames of war, many helpless people moved eastward to seek shelter where the bandit suppressing troops were located. Seeing this, Zheng Yuanzhen, the governor of Guangxi in the puppet Qing Dynasty, led his troops to surrender at the request of many chieftains, in order to ask the bandit army to send more troops to counterattack Annan.
Once the chieftains in Guangxi cannot stop Annan's attack, the area where the bandit suppressing army is located will be affected.
Zhang Rui had to take the matter in Guangxi seriously. Most of the old subordinates of the bandit suppression army are from Guangdong and Guangxi. If Annan's invasion cannot be defeated, it will have a serious impact on the current military morale.
Since Guangxi wants to invest, he has no reason to turn him away. Even if this is a hot potato, Zhang Rui can only chew it. As long as he can eat it, he can slowly play with those toasts. After all, he had some experience of future generations, so Zhang Rui didn't believe that he couldn't defeat them.
Judging from the current situation, Zhang Rui feels that peace talks with the Manchus are imminent. Once the bandit-suppressing army also fights on two fronts, it will be too difficult for the bandit-suppressing army.
Now it is only Annan who is causing trouble. However, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places are also making a fuss at this time, and they might come to help the bandit suppressing army at some time.
Therefore, Zhang Rui had to consider stopping at this moment, sorting out the military affairs, and renewing his strength before fighting the Manchus to the death.
However, any peace talks are based on strength.
Without hurting the Manchus, Qianlong would not be willing to put aside his face and sit down for peace talks.
What the Manchus were most proud of at the moment was the cavalry. Before the advent of heavy machine guns, cavalry had always been a terrifying presence.
The bandit-suppressing army had no more than two thousand cavalry at this time, and the scene of its charge was very spectacular in itself. But compared with the huge Eight Banners cavalry of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the cavalry of the bandit suppression army was really nothing worth mentioning.
Only by personally experiencing the battlefield and feeling the shock brought by the cavalry charge can we truly feel the helplessness of infantry encountering cavalry. It was a kind of oppression that made people feel powerless.
The lack of horses has always been a pain in the South.
Due to the lack of horses and cavalry, the cold war between the north and the south will keep the south in a passive position, and defeat will be common.
Although there is no news yet about Zhang Rui, the Manchu Qing Dynasty will dispatch a large number of cavalry to go south. However, as soon as the news that the bandit suppression army occupied Jiangning Mansion reached Qianlong's ears, he would quickly mobilize a large number of cavalry to join the battle.
Thinking of the disturbing cavalry of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, especially the cavalry that fought all year round on the border, Zhang Rui had to be upset and have a headache.
"It seems it's time to come up with something epoch-making." Zhang Ruinian said.
Note ①: Ruan Guangping was supposed to have come out only after the Annan Battle fought by Qianlong, but now he was asked to come out early.
