Chapter 82 Fu Youde’s helplessness
Although Fu Youde has been training the new army during this period of time, he has been affected and restricted by various aspects.
Not much progress.
The reason why Sheng Yong and these new armies were able to successfully organize and train was actually partly due to Xu Da's reputation. Xu Da doesn't need to say anything. He just needs to show up to make many things easier.
But now Xu Da is no longer here.
Fu Youde's face is not as useful as Xu Da's.
Of course, there were also financial problems with the Nanjing court.
The finances of the Nanjing imperial court are not stretched, but they cannot be lavish. After all, Beijing has the means to deal with the deficit, but Nanjing does not. Once Nanjing has no money, it can only owe wages and salaries. Needless to say how bad such a thing is.
Especially during a civil war, once the frontline is in large-scale arrears of pay, there may be a large-scale defection of frontline troops.
After all, both sides have the surname Zhu.
No big deal either.
For large-scale expenditures, there are naturally one or two restrictions. Expanding the firearms army is itself a costly matter. And what Fu Youde was worried about back then has become a reality. That is, Ryukyu, Taiwan, and Japan are not in Nanjing's hands.
The cost of saltpeter and sulfur suddenly increased a lot.
The cost of gunpowder in Nanjing is much higher than that in Beijing.
Now many people in Japan make a living by selling sulfur and saltpeter, and Beijing only needs to have a lot of industrial products in exchange for a lot of cheap raw materials. Even issued banknotes can be exchanged.
But Nanjing is different.
If Nanjing wants to get these things, it can only smuggle them. In other respects, smuggling is very casual and even supported by Beijing. But these military supplies are not that easy.
At least add money.
Or get sulfur and saltpeter from other places in the south. It’s not like the South doesn’t produce these things at all. But it also costs a lot.
In a word.
Sheng Yong's unit will probably be the only one in the Southern Army for a long time to come.
Naturally, there is no room for error.
Fu Youde did not care about the failure of one or two battles, but if Sheng Yong's troops were completely wiped out. So rebuilding a Shengyong Department is a very difficult task. What's more, if the financial problem is solved in the future.
So when there is a large-scale military expansion, there must be enough qualified officers.
Among the Southern Army, only the Sheng Yong Department could provide it.
Therefore, Fu Youde made the most conservative decision. When he was in Kaifeng, it didn't matter how Huaiqing fought. Because he can send out his army at any time to put pressure on Ye Chen.
Ye Chen didn't dare to go too far, coupled with the pressure from Shanxi.
It is not a problem for Sheng Yong to withdraw. No matter what the beating looks like.
But once he left, it would be hard to say anything about Sheng Yong.
No matter how unwilling Sheng Yong was, he could only let it go. He immediately arranged for the troops to evacuate. After safely crossing the Yellow River. He immediately rushed to Kaifeng Mansion.
When he arrived at Kaifeng Mansion, he already found that the army had already set off.
The mighty army of tens of thousands passed through the Yellow River and Zhuxian Town and headed east.
Needless to say about the Yellow River. As mentioned earlier, although the Yellow River always floods, it is still navigable, unlike the Yellow River in later generations. Although this Yellow River is far worse than the canal, because there is a lot of sand, the water conditions are unclear, and accidents are easy to happen. But it is a waterway after all. It is very convenient to mobilize people and horses.
Zhuxian Town, as a very famous town, was even called one of the four famous towns in China, not because there are woodblock New Year paintings here, but because it is a transportation hub in the Central Plains. From Zhuxian Town, you can go to the Yellow River by land. . It leads west to the Jialu River and reaches Zhengzhou. To the southeast, you can pass the Huaihe River to the canal, directly connected to the Yangtze River waterway. Jialu is relatively shallow and was once unnavigable. In other words, if you go northwest and take the waterway, you will reach Zhuxian Town. It is estimated that we will have to switch to land route.
In short, it is very prosperous, almost equal to Zhengzhou in the railway era.
But Sheng Yong didn't expect that after he arrived in Kaifeng, Fu You
De has not left yet.
He immediately went to see Fu Youde.
Fu Youde saw him coming and said, "You came just in time, I'm waiting for you."
Sheng Yong immediately saluted and said, "The general has let the Duke down."
Fu Youde said: "I am not disappointed. I even think that you played very well. If there was no change in Denglai, I would have won this battle and we could have moved back to the first round."
Thinking of this, Fu Youde also felt a little regretful. ..
In Fu Youde's view, Sheng Yong had already surpassed him in terms of how to fight in the age of firearms.
That's right, Fu Youde didn't want to admit it but had to admit one thing, that is, when people get old, they often cannot turn around. Learning nothing is as good as young people.
Just like when Wu Li was fighting, any new changes in the battle on the front line would be notified to the rear, and many people would watch and learn. Sheng Yong was naturally doing the same thing. After Fu Youde carefully thought about it, he came to this conclusion.
He can understand, but only just. He can understand Sheng Yong's thoughts and ideas every step of the way. But it doesn't mean that he can do what Sheng Yong did.
Moreover, a large battlefield has become a front, and dozens of small battlefields have to be managed and distributed in an integrated manner. A series of problems such as logistical supplies were a bit difficult for Fu Youde to handle.
This forced Fu Youde to face the situation of being eliminated.
The times are so ruthless and will not remind you in advance when they abandon you.
Fu Youde tried hard to follow him for several years, but he had to face the fact that he couldn't catch up.
And Fu Youde felt that Sheng Yong could win, which was no consolation. Because Fu Youde himself has such determination and wants to win a victory in Huaiqing. It does not matter whether he wins more or less, but what is important is to inspire people.
The backup he prepared for Sheng Yong exceeded what Sheng Yong wanted.
War is sometimes so unfair, and the two sides are never fighting equally. There is no such thing as cheating.
Any means can be used.
In the battle of Huaiqing, Fu Youde was even more uncomfortable than Sheng Yong when he lost to his opponent in vain.
Sheng Yong said: "My lord, are you looking for me?"
Fu Youde said: "It's better not to talk about this. I'll leave Henan to you. I will take all the cavalry away. But the others are left to you. Pay attention to Luoyang. Luoyang is different from Huaiqing. There is no room for loss in Luoyang. You are knew."
Sheng Yong said: "Yes."
Although Luoyang is not the provincial capital, and the provincial capital of Henan is in Kaifeng, no one dares to underestimate Luoyang. As one of the most powerful cities in the world, Luoyang's fall into the hands of the Northern Army not only represents the Central Plains Conduit, but also the link between Shandong and Henan with Shaanxi. The road was cut off, which also showed that in a symbolic sense, the Central Plains was no longer owned by Nanjing.
Whatever it is, Beijing cannot get its hands on it.
Sheng Yong said: "My lord, how is the situation in Shandong?"
Fu Youde snorted coldly and said: "Zhang He can be considered a loyal minister. I didn't expect Zhang He's descendants to be so disloyal that they sold out all the Shandong navy. Now all the guards along the Shandong coast are no longer in the hands of the imperial court. Shandong's capital is under attack from all sides. There is even news that , the northern thieves want to harass Zhili. His Majesty has given an order that I must recapture Denglai."
The situation in Shandong collapsed so quickly, almost in the blink of an eye, both Shandong provinces were no longer in Nanjing's hands.
Many people don't even know what's going on.
But one thing is certain, that is, the Zhang family of Zhang family has turned against them. This cannot be hidden if the Zhang family recruits surrenders through their own network, or leads the way for the army as an internal agent.
But why did the Zhang family do this?
It's not clear yet.
Many people think that Beijing has bribed the Zhang family. That's why this situation happened. This made Zhu Yunwen very angry and he would never tolerate it.
If Nanjing does not punish the Zhang family, then so many people will follow the same example in the future.
Punishment is of course necessary, but it should be put later. The most important thing is to recapture Denglai first. Zhu Yunwen still wants to maintain the Yellow River defense line.
As soon as Sheng Yong heard this, he knew that this matter was not easy to handle. He immediately said: "My lord, I am willing to be a pioneer. I will go to Shandong to serve as a front line for my lord."
Sheng Yong did this with good intentions. He could be sure that the only people who could compete with the Northern Army in the field were his subordinates and the Southern Army cavalry. If he doesn't go, Fu Youde will have to send more people, and he may not get any benefits.
In this matter, he did his best.
