"The convoy from Datong has arrived." Zhang Hong, who was covering his hands, said, "I just arrived when I inspected the fort wall. Now I have entered the fort. I brought the cargo list over."
As he spoke, he stood up, put a list of goods and a document from his arms on the table, and then returned to the stove to warm himself.
Li Shuheng picked up the list and read it line by line.
After putting down the list, he said: "Several large carts of pulverized coal have been delivered. It will be up to you to arrange for people to make briquettes from these pulverized coal."
He also picked up the paperwork on the table, opened it, and began to read the contents inside.
"Okay." Zhang Hong nodded.
The briquettes used in the Dunbao are all made by soldiers from his battalion. This kind of thing is not a big deal to him. Soldiers have to train less in winter. If they don't find more things to do, people will become lazy. .
Li Shuheng added: "A supply camp will be stationed here soon. You can arrange for people to prepare some barracks in the past two days to accommodate the upcoming supply camp."
"There is no shortage of barracks. The barracks in the Seventh Soldier Camp are still empty. I will take people to clean them in the past two days and we can move in directly." Zhang Hong said.
There were several teapots placed nearby. He reached for one, then lifted the kettle on the stove and poured some water into the teapot.
Li Shuheng said: "It also said that this supply camp has not been established for a long time. It needs training at ordinary times, and it is also the responsibility of your third combat soldier battalion. It must be trained into an army before the spring of next year."
"This is easy. It's not like the Third Soldier Camp has not trained new recruits. One winter is enough for the recruits to transform themselves. As long as they experience a battle, they are guaranteed to be elites." Zhang Hong said, patting his chest.
As a senior officer at the battalion level, he knew clearly that he was originally planning to fight the Tumut Mongols this year. Unfortunately, during the process of building the fort, he found that the troops were insufficient and there were more than enough to defend the fort. He wanted to counterattack the Tumut Mongols. With some difficulty, the decisive battle was postponed to the next year.
Li Shuheng said: "A batch of armaments will be delivered in a while. You can receive it later. This batch of armaments is prepared for the coming year. There are also many cannons in it. You can add some to replace those old Frankies. gun."
"It's great. With these additional cannons, it will be easier to fight against Mongolian soldiers and horses in the future." Zhang Hong said with a smile, and then picked up the teapot and took a sip of the water in it.
Li Shuheng put down the documents in his hand and said, "That's all for now."
"Nothing else?" Zhang Hong frowned.
Li Shuheng shook his head and said, "No, that's it, or do you want something else?"
"It's not that I think about it, it's just that I heard that your Excellency plans to upgrade the combat barracks. I'm curious about which combat barracks you will expand."
Hearing this, Li Shuheng smiled and said, "I think you are not curious about which combat battalion will be expanded, but you are curious about whether your battalion will be promoted."
"No, I definitely don't mean that. I'm just curious. Now our Tiger Banner has seven combat barracks, with a total of nearly 30,000 people. Now there are also supply battalions being continuously formed. With such a huge force, the battalions are in full swing. This level is no longer enough. A higher level is needed to better command operations. Not every battalion commander is as experienced as Chen Yingzheng." Zhang Hong expressed his worries.
After commanding a large battalion of soldiers and horses for so long, he was no longer the Wu Xia Amen he once was. He knew clearly in his heart that the soldiers and horses of the Tiger Character Banner needed a higher-level leader.
There will be a decisive battle with Tumut Mongolia next year, and there will be more military battalions participating in this battle. Without higher-level commanders and fighters, it will be very inconvenient to mobilize the army, especially with so many battalions at the same level. Not a good thing for large-scale operations.
Li Shuheng said with a smile: "Don't worry, your Excellency has already considered it. There will no longer be a matter of the battalion being commanded by the battalion. There will be a new war division. The confirmed commander of the war division is Chen Xunping. Of course, the war division will There is more than one military division and more than one division commander."
"How big is this war division?" Zhang Hong asked curiously.
Li Shuheng said: "A combat division consists of four to five combat battalions, with a number of between 15,000 and 20,000 people."
"How many combat divisions will there be?" Zhang Hong asked again.
Li Shuheng shook his head slightly and said: "It's not clear yet. Your Majesty means to see how many supply battalions will be formed. However, Chen Xunping's combat division will start to be formed soon."
"I don't know which military camp the next combat division will have." Zhang Hong said with envy.
There are as many as 10,000 to 20,000 people in a combat division. The Tiger-Character Banner soldiers and horses that had previously fought the decisive battle with Tumut's army did not have so many people.
Li Shuheng glanced at Zhang Hong and knew what he was thinking, and said, "Don't worry, you have led the Third Battalion to stay in the grassland for so long. Your Excellency will not forget your contribution."
"That's not what I meant." There was a hint of embarrassment on Zhang Hong's face, and he said immediately, "I was wondering whether my military battalion would join Chen Yingzheng's military division."
"No." Li Shuheng told him bluntly.
Zhang Hong paused for a moment, then said immediately: "There are only three supply battalions on the grassland now, and one of them has not arrived yet. The newly established combat division will certainly not all be composed of supply battalions. There will definitely be a combat battalion." Incorporate it, otherwise the combat effectiveness cannot be guaranteed."
"You are right. The newly established combat division consists of two combat battalions and two supply battalions. The two combat battalions are the first and seventh combat battalions. Your third combat battalion will not add new ones. War Soldier Division." Li Shuheng introduced.
Zhang Hong nodded thoughtfully, and then said: "The two heavy supply battalions that formed the combat division must have been taken from the troops stationed in the fort. This will weaken the strength of the garrison in the fort."
There are only a limited number of soldiers and horses stationed in each fort. If some of them are removed, the number of troops stationed will naturally be reduced.
"It seems that you have forgotten that it is already winter." Li Shuheng reminded with a smile.
After hearing this, Zhang Hong slapped his forehead and suddenly realized: "I almost forgot that the Mongols have already spent the winter in their own pastures, so it is difficult to assemble an army to deal with our forts on the grassland."
"Not only that, the newly established combat divisions will also be stationed in the forts. It is just a simple deployment of personnel. The number of people in each fort will not be much less. And once there is a newly established supply camp, They will be sent to the grassland immediately to fill the vacancies," Li Shuheng said.
Zhang Hong grinned and said, "Your Excellency must have calculated everything, and I'm still worrying here."
"I think you are not just worried. You want your third combat battalion to also form a combat division." Li Shuheng smiled and nodded Zhang Hong in front of him with his hand.
Zhang Hong scratched the back of his head with his hand and said: "The next year will be the final decisive battle with the Tumut Mongols. The Third War Soldier Battalion has been stationed in the grassland for so long. I really don't want to miss this battle."
"The task of the Third Army Battalion stationed here is not light." Li Shuheng said, "These forts built by our Tiger Banner on the grassland are the supply lines of the army. Once problems arise, we will have to fight against the Tumote Mongols. There’s going to be a problem.”
Zhang Hong nodded.
He understood that the forts built all the way from Xinpingbao towards the Dahei River were preparations for the decisive battle with the Tumed Mongols.
