Yi Jing, Fengwu Army Staff Headquarters
"Currently, in the Yunbin area, the enemy has assembled more than 70,000 troops, including more than 10,000 Longxiang Army cavalry. They are the elite of the Luo'an Forbidden Army and the direct troops of Shangguan Hongyuan. They are very well equipped. , according to the information from the Coordination Office, they have all been equipped with the latest Shenwu fire guns..."
Standing in front of Ye Mingsheng and other senior officials of the Fengwu Army, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhao Han stood in front of the sand table and introduced:
"In addition to the cavalry of the Longxiang Army who have appeared, there is also news from Luo'an that the 50,000 soldiers and horses of the original Liang Army are also on their way to aid Yunbin. The commander of this army is Ma Delu, the commander of the Liang Army. This person is a veteran of the Liang Army. He has served in the Liang Army for more than 30 years and has a lot of seniority. However, this person has not made any great achievements since joining the army, and he has a reputation as a mediocre person in the Liang Army!"
"A few months ago, Shangguan Hongyuan began to attack Yongliang. Ma Delu was also one of the first people to join Shangguan Hongyuan. Therefore, after Shangguan Hongyuan took control of the Liang Army, Ma Delu was directly appointed as the commander of the Liang Army. , but although this person is called the commander, according to the news from Luo'an, the actual controller of the Liang Army should be Wang Muzhi, the former commander of the Xuanwu Forbidden Army and the current commander of the Liang Army!"
When he heard the name "Wang Muzhi", Ye Mingsheng didn't react at first. He just felt that the name was very familiar. After a few seconds, he realized who the other party was. In the battle of Liaoyang, although he was a big man, He won a complete victory, but Wang Muzhi crossed the river and ran to Qilu, narrowly escaping with his life. At that time, Ye Mingsheng had a premonition that he would stand on his opposite side in the future, but he never imagined that it would come true on the Yunbin battlefield. ···························
With a faint smile on his face, Ye Mingsheng asked Zhao Han:
"Liang Jun now has Wang Muzhi in charge?"
Facing Ye Mingsheng's inquiry, Zhao Han nodded and said affirmatively:
"Yes, although Wang Muzhi was defeated by our army in the Battle of Liaoyang, he was Shangguan Hongyuan's confidant. After escaping to Qilu, Wang Muzhi originally wanted to gather the remaining troops and reopen the situation in Qilu, but But it was in vain, and later Shangguan Hongyuan attacked Sichuan and Shu. Due to lack of manpower, Wang Muzhi was called back."
"After returning to Luo'an, Wang Muzhi served as the commander of the reorganized Xuanwu Forbidden Army, and participated in the Battle of Sichuan and Sichuan, and made many military exploits. The first one to attack the Jianmen was Wang Muzhi's troops, Sichuan After the Battle of Shu, some people in the Luo'an Forbidden Army speculated that Wang Muzhi would most likely be promoted to the commanding officer based on his military exploits, and would take over as the commander of the Xuanwu Army a few years later."
"Just a month ago, Wang Muzhi was suddenly transferred to the Liang Army by Shangguan Hongyuan and served as commander and deputy to Ma Delu. Therefore, our staff believes that Ma Delu is probably just a decoration!"
"The reason why Shangguan Hongyuan asked him to serve as the commander of the Liang Army may be to reward him with the earliest portrait. On the other hand, he may also be worried that if Wang Mu is directly appointed, it will cause internal strife within the Liang Army. Strong backlash!”
"So letting Wang Muzhi become the commander's associate is a compromise. According to the news from Luo'an, Wang Muzhi did not enter the Liang Army alone. He also brought many close followers from the Xuanwu Forbidden Army. Shangguan Hongyuan also I also gave all the military pay of the Liang Army to Wang Muzhi..."
"The Liang Army is expected to arrive in Jinyang within half a month at the earliest. However, due to the weather, we do not expect them to launch large-scale military operations. However, small-scale raids and harassment are unavoidable!"
Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he heard this and then ordered:
"Tell me about the situation with Lin Huaiwu!"
Zhao Han introduced without hesitation:
"The Second Army is currently under great pressure in central Jinxi, especially in Dagu County. The enemy has concentrated more than 20,000 troops in an attempt to capture this strategic location before the heavy snow closes the city. In addition to Dagu County, the enemy The army also relied on the strong mobility of the cavalry to try to tear apart the counties outside Jinzhong from Jinzhong!"
"General Lin has responded actively to this, recruiting local brave militia groups to resist the enemy's offensive. Judging from the latest battle report from the Second Army, some towns in central Shanxi have already been captured by the enemy. , but the five counties outside Jinzhong are still controlled by our army. However, the pressure faced by the Second Army is also very high. It consumes a lot of soldiers, weapons, armor, firearms and many other aspects, so General Lin also wrote a letter Come and ask for support!”
Ye Mingsheng fell into thinking after hearing this. He had already read Lin Huaiwu's letter. Judging from the description in Lin Huaiwu's letter, the situation on the Yunbin front was indeed difficult. Although the firearms of the Luo'an court were not as good as those of the Fengwu army, they were Faced with the huge strength advantage, the Luoan Forbidden Army still brought great suffering to the Second Army. The Second Army suffered a lot of losses and urgently needed support from all aspects... ·············
However, regarding the situation on the battlefield in Yunbin, Ye Mingsheng also had his own considerations. The Fengwu Army had just ended the Hebei-Henan War. All departments had suffered heavy losses and were resting and recuperating. Many soldiers had already gone home for the holidays to prepare for the New Year. Now It is very difficult to assemble the army to support Yun and even doing so will take a lot of time.
But now it is November, and the weather has become very cold. Using troops at this time is inherently risky. The enemy troops on the Yunbin front are simply because their soldiers and horses are far stronger than the second army. Those who dare to do this, their current strategy is to capture several counties outside Jinzhong before the heavy snow comes, so as to prepare for next year's war. Therefore, as long as there is a heavy snow, the enemy's offensive will inevitably end in vain.
Although the snow in Yunbin this year was delayed by more than half a month, and it was almost December and there was no heavy snowfall, but the time was almost there. If I organized my troops to go to Yunbin at this time, it would be the right time to catch up with the snow. Heavy snow not only can't do anything, but also wastes people and money and affects the rest and reorganization of the army!
After careful consideration, Ye Mingsheng raised his head and looked at He Jingyun and asked:
"How many firearms do we still have in the warehouse?"
Faced with Ye Mingsheng's question, He Jingyun thought for a moment and said:
"I need to go back and verify the specific amount reported to the commander, but there are probably more than two thousand firecrackers of various types and seven or eight red cannons... ·············”
"Why are there only these left?" Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly and asked:
What He Jingyun said was just more than a month's production capacity of the First Ordnance Manufacturing Factory. If he remembered correctly, there were tens of thousands of firecrackers of various types in the Fengwu Army warehouse, as well as dozens of new models of red guns. Clothes cannon.
Facing Ye Mingsheng's inquiry, He Jingyun explained calmly:
"Commander, that's what happened. In the Battle of Jiyu, our army's firearms suffered a lot. About half of the firearms in the warehouse were replenished to them. The other large part was sent from Jiangnan a few days ago. An advance payment of three hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, so we started recruiting troops as planned, and the remaining firearms in the warehouse were distributed to the newly formed troops!"
"The two thousand firecrackers in the warehouse now, as well as these red cannons, are all newly handed over by the First Ordnance Factory!"
After hearing what He Jingyun said, Ye Mingsheng's expression also became solemn. Because of the heavy snowfall, the war in Yunbin would not last long, so he was not prepared to send troops to Yunbin, but Yunbin was in a tight situation, and he had to do something. .
Therefore, Ye Mingsheng plans to send some firearms, armors, and a batch of money to the Yunbin area, and let Lin Huaiwu organize and arm the local militia and Xiangyong. This can relieve Lin Huaiwu's pressure to some extent and survive the rest of this year. , when the main force of the Fengwu Army is rested and reorganized next year, and the newly expanded army is organized, it will be time for the Fengwu Army to counterattack on the Yunbin battlefield... ···········
Ye Mingsheng's idea is good, but the reality is that the firearms in the warehouse are simply not enough. Judging from the current consumption situation of the Second Army, even if all the firearms in the warehouse are transported, it will only replenish the losses. , there are no extra firearms to arm the militia and the Xiangyong.
While Ye Mingsheng was thinking about the solution to the problem, Zhang Dehui, director of the First Manufacturing Bureau, who was sitting at the end of the conference room, stood up and suggested to Ye Mingsheng:
"Commander, our Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau has currently manufactured more than 3,000 Weiyuan guns and more than 20 Tiger squat guns for Jiangnan. Now the Yunbin front is tight. Do you want to send this batch of arms first? Transport it to Yunbin and let the Jiangnan side wait first, they are not in a hurry anyway!"
As soon as Zhang Dehui said this, the eyes of all the generals in the conference room lit up and they all praised Zhang Dehui's idea. However, Ye Mingsheng didn't think much about it and directly waved his hand to reject it:
"Jiangnan's arms procurement is related to the credibility of our army. Since people trust our army and have sent an advance payment of 350,000 taels of silver, we cannot break their trust!"
Although Zhang Dehui's proposal may be a good way to solve the current difficulties, in the long run, it is likely to plant a bomb for the relationship between Fengwu Army and Jiangnan.
It is foreseeable that the Fengwu Army and the Luo'an Forbidden Army will have a fierce battle in Yunbin next year. Although Ye Mingsheng is very confident in his Fengwu Army, he is also very aware of the opponent's strength, so it is possible to quickly defeat the Luo'an Forbidden Army. The risk is not nonexistent, but it is very small. The war is more likely to fall into a fierce battle. The two sides will be in a stalemate for several months, and finally one side will win... ···········
Judging from the current financial situation of the Fengwu Army, although it has captured the most populous province of Hebei and Yu, the disaster in Henan is very serious. Now the Fengwu Army still needs to invest a lot of money in food and blood transfusions so that it can be self-sufficient next year. It would be good if the Fengwu Army was not allowed to receive blood transfusions. If it were to provide assistance to the Fengwu Army, it would take at least the next year.
Therefore, next year's war will still require the most support from the two provinces of Liaoyang and Youyan. Although these two provinces have undergone Ye Mingsheng's reforms, class conflicts have tended to ease, people's lives have been greatly improved, and the government's fiscal revenue There has also been a great improvement, but after all, the foundation is too weak in a borderland.
A war like the Battle of Jiyu that lasted only two months would have almost wiped out all the wealth. If we fight the Luoan Forbidden Army for three to five months next year, it is very likely that it will be unsustainable. Therefore, in order to support As the war continues, Ye Mingsheng needs Jiangnan's wealth, not only the arms purchase contract worth 1.35 million taels of silver, but also the business cooperation between the two parties. According to the estimates of Dadongsheng Company and the Chief Secretary, if everything goes well If so, next year, combined with military purchases and trade, Fengwu Army is likely to earn two million taels of silver from Jiangnan.
And these two million taels of silver are almost 70% to 80% of the annual fiscal revenue of Liaoyang and Youyan provinces. This is also the basis for Ye Mingsheng to have a fight with Shangguan Hongyuan, the chief minister of the Zhou Dynasty who has dominated the world for decades, next year. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng attaches great importance to business with Jiangnan and does not want anything to adversely affect the cooperation between the two parties...
Now that I haven't shipped the goods, they have shipped 350,000 taels over first. This has already shown a lot of sincerity. According to the contract negotiated by the two parties, 350,000 taels of silver have been delivered. I am the first on my side. The arms shipment should be shipped by ship.
If this batch of arms is misappropriated now and delays the delivery of arms, it will undoubtedly cast a shadow on the cooperation between the two parties and cause Jiangnan to question the credibility and sincerity of Fengwu Army. This will inevitably cause problems between the two parties. cooperation, causing a great negative impact and affecting the future long-term cooperation between both parties.
After hearing Ye Mingsheng's statement, the generals who had been full of praise for Zhang Dehui's idea all closed their mouths, and Zhang Dehui himself sat back in his seat angrily.
After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng finally made a decision in his heart and ordered He Jingyun:
"Collect the firearms distributed to recruits and other troops again, transport them to Jinzhong, and transport all other armors and weapons to Jinzhong, and then ask the Chief Secretary to allocate 150,000 taels of silver to Jinzhong. Let Lin Huaiwu reorganize the militia and Xiangyong there and add them to the second army!"
Hearing Ye Mingsheng's instructions, He Jingyun hesitated to remind him that if the firearms were confiscated again, it would affect the rest of the troops and the reorganization of new recruits.
But looking at Ye Mingsheng's serious expression, He Jingyun suddenly understood that Ye Mingsheng must know this, and now that he has made a decision, he must have considered the consequences. He did not need to remind him. After realizing this, He Jingyun also gave up. What he wanted to say, he turned to Ye Mingsheng and nodded and said:
'I understand, sir, I'll do it right away...'
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