According to the previously formulated combat plan against the Eastern Lu, Zhang Huangyan organized the three armies attacking to the west into the First, Second and Third Armies, and the troops attacking towards the Kalmyk grassland were organized into the Fourth Army.
The "brigade" was the largest combat unit of the Ming Empire in peacetime. Emperor Haojing's purpose of doing this was to prevent someone from relying on his own troops.
After reorganizing the Ming army in this way, even if someone has evil intentions, they will only have 5,000 men at most. Once a rebellion breaks out, it will be easily wiped out.
Before the war, the brigades of various arms can be organized into military-level units by the theater commander, such as the expeditionary force going to fight in North America.
Each of the First, Second, and Third Armies has three armored brigades, two mechanized brigades, three cavalry brigades, and four infantry brigades.
Each army is equipped with nearly 1,700 tanks, more than 2,100 infantry fighting vehicles, more than 200 171mm breech-loaded heavy artillery, and 750 tactical missiles.
It can also be covered by 500 "Albatross" fighter jets, 100 "Hercules" bombers, and 30 "Blackfoot Albatross" attack aircraft.
Zhang Huangyan believed that after such an arrangement, everyone under his command would become unstoppable, and the actual situation was indeed as smooth as Zhang Huangyan had expected.
The goal of the Northern Route Army is to reach "Shengjing", the puppet capital of the Braided Kingdom, as soon as possible. The city's previous name was "Kiev"!
In less than five days, the Northern Route Army arrived at the outskirts of Shengjing and immediately began shelling the city.
The person commanding the Northern Route Army is none other than veteran Yang Zhan!
Zhang Huangyan originally wanted to arrange for this old man to sit in Moscow and help him arrange grain and equipment.
However, Yang Zhan thought that it was his turn to charge into battle after he had been doing errands for many years.
Among other things, he led his troops from the west coast of the Pacific all the way to Moscow.
In this battle to destroy the Tartars, it would be too uninteresting if Zhang Huangyan didn't take him with him.
Yang Zhan not only has to command operations on the front line, but also commands the Northern Route Army, which has the largest tactical target, the First Army.
The goal of the First Army is to take Shengjing directly, or the "braided capital"!
In order to let his men who died on the Western Expedition rest in peace, Yang Zhan would rather die on the battlefield this time than capture the city.
Due to the investment in new weapons from the Ming Dynasty, senior generals could only die in battle because they underestimated the enemy.
As a veteran with extremely rich experience in fighting Donglu and Rakshasa, Yang Zhan would certainly not make such a stupid mistake.
Not only must he not die, but he must also reduce the casualties of his troops and try to allow the soldiers to return in triumph.
Therefore, before launching a strong attack on Zhudu, the capital of the Dog Tatars should be blown to pieces first.
Without fighting in the field, all the large-caliber artillery shells carried by the troops can be used on the city.
Shengjing straddles the Dnieper River, but both sides have been fortified. Not only have rammed earth walls been built, but two circles of trenches have been dug around the perimeter.
After the river water was introduced, two moats five feet wide and two feet deep were formed. The city could only be entered and exited through the reserved passages.
More importantly, the shipbuilding craftsmen brought over by Shunji spent some time building many wooden warships.
Although it is completely incomparable to an ironclad ship, it cannot even defeat a small ironclad ship of several hundred tons.
However, in the waters of the Dnieper River where there are no enemy ships, especially the Shengjing River section, this can be regarded as the most sharp protector of the city.
According to aircraft reconnaissance, there are no less than a hundred Tatar ships on the water. It seems that the other party is indeed prepared.
Yang Zhan indeed planned to destroy these obstructions first and then attack the city. However, the opponent was also very cunning and did not get close to the shore at all.
As long as the opponent sees the Ming army's heavy artillery and missiles deployed to the shore, they will leave early and keep a safe distance.
Seeing that the dog Tatars were not fooled, Yang Zhan could only do the next best thing and ordered the bombardment of the enemy at the top of the city.
The moat thing is very simple, just let the bulldozers fill it in directly.
It was left to the Air Force to clean up the enemy ships on the river. No matter how far those Tatar ships ran, they could not escape the hands of the Air Force.
Yang Zhan also deliberately fought against the opponent. Since the defenders insisted on shrinking their defenses and staying in the city, he had the confidence to build a field airport outside the city.
Although the catapult is good, its efficiency is relatively low, and a field airport is more practical. This is also Yang Zhan's plan for a long-term siege of the city.
On the day the airport was repaired, hundreds of "Albatross" fighter jets and more than a dozen "Blackfoot Albatross" attack aircraft were stationed at the airport.
The "Black Hawk" armed helicopters of the Army Aviation Battalion no longer need to find a place by themselves, and directly occupy part of the apron next to the airport.
As long as you stay away from the runway and do a good job in management and planning of each unit, the presence of the helicopter will not affect the safety of other aircraft taking off and landing.
The birth of the airport means that the Qing warships on the river will face daily beatings, because the loading and maintenance of Ming warplanes will become very convenient.
As long as a fighter plane does not require major repairs, it can launch up to four to six attacks a day on targets on the river.
Especially the "Blackfoot Albatross" attack aircraft, the rear row is equipped with parallel machine guns, that is, two machine guns. Its firepower is twice as high as that of the "Albatross", and its ammunition load and charging time greatly exceed the latter.
When circling at low speed, a "Black-footed Albatross" can stay in the air for more than three hours, so much so that the Air Force nicknamed it "Flying Gunship"!
How does it feel to be besieged by more than a dozen Black-footed Albatross for three hours?
Just ask the Qing sailors on the river!
The fatal flaw of the sail battleship is that the presence of sails, even hard sails, will greatly reduce the range of anti-aircraft guns.
Many times, the Qing gunners were almost on target, but because of the obstruction of the sails on the battleships, they lost the chance to achieve victory.
Of course, there are some gunners who will not give up because of this.
Driven by instinct, he directly destroyed the sails on his own battleship...
There is another method of air defense, which is to drop the sails and then attack.
The advantages are obvious. Anti-aircraft guns don't have to worry about sails.
The disadvantages are also obvious. Dropping the sail means that the battleship will lose speed.
Once the mobility is greatly reduced, it will become a living target for the opponent.
This also means that the bombing hit rate of Ming army fighter planes will be improved. After all, fixed targets are much easier to hit than moving targets.
Compared with the speed of fighter planes, sail warships are inherently slower, and not many Qing generals would use the method of lowering sails for air defense.
In fact, whether the sails are raised or sails are lowered, the consequences for the Qing warships are not much different.
It's just the difference between being beaten while squatting or being beaten while lying down, that's all.
If you want to stand up, even change hands, and defeat your opponent, it is simply impossible.
The pilots of the Ming Air Force would not be so stupid as to attack an enemy ship with one plane. Usually, more than a dozen of them would swarm a certain target.
After the sinking, everyone will share the bonus equally. This is the most fair and reasonable way, and no one will have to feel unbalanced.
Unless someone is lucky enough to detonate the ammunition on the enemy ship with a single bomb drop, sending it directly to the river god.
The tactic of concentrated firepower was very effective. Every half hour or so, a Qing warship would form a honeycomb and slowly sink.
The price is that the efficiency is relatively low. It is impossible to clean up all the Qing warships on the river within a day or two. It will take about a week anyway.
Yang Zhan naturally had plenty of time to wait. Anyway, it was impossible to break into the city within a day or two. The one who was anxious and angry should be the Emperor of the Dog-Tatars!
Emperor Baocheng was really angry in recent days, and he became even more angry after seeing the letter sent by his fourth brother Yinzhen.
First, he angrily rebuked Aung Bang Zhang Kyung Tao Dai of the Zhenglan Banner and Aung Bang Zhang Kyung Ashan of the Xiang Lan Banner, who were disadvantaged in the battle, and then quickly wrote back to the fourth brother, ordering him to stick to the Dnieper River defense line and not to retreat again.
As for the Western Expedition that had started this spring, we could only cancel it immediately and send people over to order Tsani to bring back the army to resist the dog Tatars heading south.
In addition, there is another question, that is, can Shengjing still be able to hold on?
Originally, this issue did not need to be discussed at all, but the dog Tatars came to the city in five days.
This was something that the Qing Dynasty had never expected, and something critical to the Qing Dynasty's country and the country was about to happen.
Decades ago, the Qing Imperial Army took the initiative to abandon Shenyang and ensured that the main force was withdrawn to the Blackwater line, gaining a precious respite.
Now facing a similar situation, Emperor Baocheng didn't know where to go. He still needed his ministers to brainstorm before he could make a decision.
As a result, all the bachelors kept silent, for fear of saying something wrong and causing dissatisfaction with the Holy Emperor.
"Suo'etu, what do you think we should do?"
The monarch and his ministers faced each other in tacit agreement for a moment, and when Emperor Baocheng saw this, he could only name them directly.
"Your Majesty, I think that if the army from the Western Expedition returns soon, the king's army in the city will be screened by the river and the fleet, so they may be able to hold on and wait for reinforcements!"
Suo'etu did not dare to let the emperor abandon the city and flee easily, so he became the scapegoat for thousands of people.
"Mingzhu, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, I agree with the plan to ask for the forehead map. Today's situation is actually caused by the Man Ming's sneak attack on our Qing Dynasty. We still have millions of Qing soldiers. If we can cooperate internally and externally, we will be able to turn the tide and defeat Shengjing City. A wise and arrogant master!"
"……Um!"
Emperor Baocheng was very lucky now, because although Shengjing was across the Dnieper River, the imperial city was located on the west bank of the river, and there were no bridges connecting the two banks, so they all relied on ferries.
As long as the fleet is still there and the defenders can hold on until Chani brings back a million troops, then the Qing Dynasty will naturally be able to turn the corner and defeat its powerful enemy at the foot of the capital.
Emperor Baocheng had already thought about his retreat, but since what the two bachelors said was reasonable and in line with his own ideas, he should continue to hold on to the capital.
"My dear friends, how should we deal with flying evil objects?"
This is a more difficult matter at the moment, because the Qing ships on the river are attacked by such evil creatures every day, which is really intolerable.
"Your Majesty, I think we should build more small Folan machines that can fire cannonballs quickly! In addition, each ship must carry a large amount of smoke-generating objects, and use thick smoke to obscure the sight of flying evil objects, making it difficult for them to attack us. Qing ships.”
Bachelor Esehe was the first to speak. His proposal was not difficult to implement and was actually a feasible strategy.
"I agree with you on your beautiful words!"
"I agree with you on your beautiful words!"
"minister……"
Others mean the same thing, because they really can't find a better way.
It's not impossible to use a musket to kill flying evil objects, but the effect is very little. It is better to try to create a more powerful small Buddha machine.
In addition to making his own artillery, Emperor Baocheng also sent people to the Ottomans, hoping to buy or exchange slaves for a batch of small Folang machines for emergency use.
Although the Qing Dynasty did not form an alliance with the Ottomans, fortunately the two sides had maintained friendly relations for many years and cooperated tacitly on the battlefield. The other side had to consider this aspect.
In fact, Emperor Baocheng very much hoped to form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire.
However, the other party used the excuse that they had already formed an alliance with the Ming Empire and could no longer use two boats.
Ibrahim was worried that the alliance between the old enemies of the Ottoman Empire and the Ming Empire would affect the relationship between the two countries.
Although the Qing Dynasty had millions of soldiers capable of fighting, its national strength and technology were far from those of the Ming Empire.
It was obviously very unwise to offend the Ming Empire because of this matter.
In Europe, especially Central Europe, the Ottomans were still willing to continue to maintain friendly relations with the Qing Dynasty.
As for other places, that's another matter...
Ibrahim deployed only 50,000 people on the border between the Ottomans and the Qing, not because he trusted the other party.
But because if the Ottomans were invaded by the Qing army, I believe the emperor of the Ming Empire would not sit idly by.
This is not a defense of gambling, but Emperor Haojing did promise Ibrahim.
It is impossible for a certain emperor to let the braided army do whatever they want in Central and Eastern Europe. Once it grows rapidly and even does things that harm the Ming'ao Alliance, it is impossible for the 200,000 Ming troops stationed in the area west of the Ural Mountains to continue to watch the fun. .
Emperor Baocheng hoped to purchase two thousand small Folang machines from the Ottomans through purchase and exchange.
Both new and second-hand goods are acceptable, but they must be delivered as soon as possible and the price is negotiable.
If possible, I would also like to ask Osman to send flying evil objects to join the battle.
The price is also easy to negotiate, and the pilot's salary can be three times that of Ottoman.
Emperor Baocheng and a group of his subordinates were almost driven crazy by the battle reports about flying evil objects that were sent to them every day.
If the Ottomans agreed to send pilots and corresponding weapons to fight, he would naturally be grateful.
Of course, Emperor Baocheng didn't have high hopes for this matter. After all, this thing was indeed a powerful weapon for the country.
"Report~! Your Majesty, this morning, the flying evil things from the Ming Dynasty sank twelve warships of our Qing Dynasty again!"
"hiss……"
The ministers in the hall all gasped when they heard this. According to the rate of sinking more than ten or twenty ships a day, I am afraid that in ten days, there will not be a few Qing warships left on the river.
Only at night, when it rains during the day or when the river is foggy, those flying evil objects will not appear. It is really a headache to think about it!
Even so, we must fight when we should fight, and we must defend when we should defend. We cannot abandon the capital just because of the loss of battleships and let the barbarians continue to be arrogant and domineering.
As for the forced crossing of the Ming army in the shallow waters along the Dnieper River, Emperor Baocheng could only hope that Tsarni would lead his troops back as soon as possible.
The defense line along the river was too long. Even if a million-strong army only defended the shoal area, Emperor Baocheng felt that it was somewhat overstretched.
Not to mention that as long as the Qing Dynasty King's Master gathered 8,000 people, they would be discovered by flying evil creatures and immediately be violently attacked.
