In recent times, Luo Zhixue has been paying close attention to the battles of Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other rebel leaders and officers and soldiers.
Combining the battles between the rebels and officers and soldiers, Luo Zhixue discovered that places such as Shaanxi and western Henan had been completely destroyed.
To say that the people in these places are in dire straits is an understatement. Large numbers of rebels and officers and soldiers come and go in tug-of-war in these places. Year after year, these places are stripped of all ten rooms and left with starving people.
It is not that difficult to control and restore production in these places and then turn them into the basis for one's own hegemony.
Not to mention, these places are full of traitors and officers and soldiers. If you finally resume production, the thieves and officers and soldiers come back again, making it difficult to resume production with peace of mind.
After seeing this clearly, Luo Zhixue had no intention of establishing a territory in Shaanxi or the Central Plains.
And if Luo Zhixue doesn't go to these places, where else can Luo Zhixue go?
There was no other place to choose from. If we didn’t want to run into the mountains of Qinling Mountains to hide, we had no choice but to go south.
South of Ruzhou is Nanyang Prefecture, and although Nanyang Prefecture is under the rule of Henan, this place does not belong to the Central Plains, but is part of the Nanyang Basin.
In addition to Nanyang Prefecture, the entire Nanyang Basin also includes Xiangyang Prefecture. The terrain is flat and it is a traditional grain-producing area.
The Nanyang Basin is not only flat in terrain, but also surrounded by mountains!
It is bounded by Funiu Mountain to the north, Tongbai Mountain to the east, Qinling Mountains to the west, the remnant range of Daba Mountain to the south, Dabie Mountain to the southeast, and is connected to the Jianghan Basin through the Suizhou Corridor to the southeast.
From a military point of view, this place is easy to defend and difficult to attack when facing enemies from the north. Even if Nanyang Mansion cannot be defended, there is also the strategic location of Xiangyang. As long as Xiangyang is not lost, the Jianghan Plain in the south and even the entire Yangtze River can be guaranteed. Upstream security.
The Southern Song Dynasty relied on Xiangyang to defend it for decades. After Xiangyang was finally captured by the Yuan army, the Southern Song Dynasty also entered the countdown to the country's subjugation.
Because for the northern army, if they want to go south to the Yangtze River Basin, they must either take the Xuhuai line or the Nanyang Basin.
The northern regime, which has strong infantry and scumbag cavalry, often goes south along the Xuhuai line, attacking cities one by one and chewing through them all the way.
When the northern regime with strong cavalry went south, they often took the Nanyang Basin. After conquering Xiangyang, they followed the river eastward to the south of the Yangtze River.
In turn, the southern regime basically followed these two paths when moving north.
Luo Zhixue comprehensively considered the current battle situation between the rebels and officers and soldiers, as well as the situation in many places, before finalizing the grand strategy of going south.
First go south to Nanzhao County, obtain the bridgehead southward and then conquer Nanyang Mansion, and then turn back to control Luyang Pass, Fangcheng Ancient Road and other passes.
In this way, we can rely on Funiu Mountain to prevent enemies from Henan Prefecture, Ruzhou Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture and other places from moving south, and initially ensure the strategic security of the north.
Subsequently, the rural protection army can move south to attack Xiangyang Prefecture and control the Xiangyang and Dahongshan areas.
By then, the frontline of the Home Guard Army will be close to the Jianghan Plain.
If the Jianghan Plain can be successfully captured in the future, then the strategic base of the Hometown Protection Army will be established.
Luo Zhixue had been pondering this grand strategy for several months. Even when Sun Chengli was still alive, he had pondered the possibility of going south and controlling the Nanyang Basin and Jianghan Plain.
It's just that it was just a matter of speculation before. As for when to implement it, Luo Zhixue had no plan and no confidence.
But now, Luo Zhixue feels that the time is relatively mature.
On the one hand, the strength of the Baoxiang Army continues to increase. It is expected that in more than a month, around April, the Baoxiang Army will be able to completely complete the six battalions and two outposts plan.
The six battalions and two sentries seemed to be a little less, and the total strength was only about 5,000.
But you must know that these five thousand people are all professional soldiers, not the kind of young and strong auxiliary soldiers who wave the flag and shout.
Speaking of soldiers, Chen Yongfu, who was stationed in Nanyang Mansion in the Ming army, did not even have two thousand soldiers.
A total of 5,000 troops from the Sixth Battalion and two sentries were pulled out, especially when there were at least twelve 600-pound artillery pieces. Luo Zhixue was still certain of defeating Chen Yongfu and taking control of Nanyang Mansion.
In addition to the growth of the Baoxiang Army's own strength, there was another important reason that prompted Luo Zhixue to decide to go south.
That is the emptiness of Chubei!
As a large number of the main forces of the rebels moved from Shaanxi to Henan, especially when the rebels continued to advance eastward into the hinterland of Henan and towards the Fengyang Prefecture area in South Zhili, almost all the main forces of the officers and soldiers were attracted by them. look.
Even some officers and soldiers from the northern Chu region were urgently transferred to the Central Plains to encircle and suppress the bandits.
In other words, Chubei is extremely empty today, even more empty than when the rebel army went south to Chubei!
As long as the Baoxiang Army moves quickly enough, it is possible to control the Nanyang Basin before the officers and soldiers react and dispatch a large number of officers and soldiers to encircle and suppress the main force.
Since he had to act before the officers and soldiers reacted, it was impossible for Luo Zhixue to delay the situation any longer.
On the second day of March, Luo Zhixue officially led his army back to Songshan Village from Songjiazhuang. Before he led his army back to Songshan Village, a large amount of supplies had been transported back to Songshan Village.
When Luo Zhixue evacuated Songjiazhuang, he also left the Second Infantry Battalion to garrison Songjiazhuang as a military guarantee for controlling large areas of countryside.
After all, the rural protection army had set up a total of four township yamen outside the mountain. Even if the main force of officers and soldiers eventually went south and had to abandon these places, a certain amount of troops would still have to be left to cover the retreat of these personnel.
In addition, the Second Infantry Battalion also has a strategic mission, which is to wait for Luo Zhixue to lead his troops south, and cooperate with the southward army to attack Luyang Pass in front and back, striving to capture this dangerous pass where officers and soldiers are stationed.
After returning to Songshan Village, Luo Zhixue did not stop in Songshan Village, but quickly began preparations to go south.
This time I went south, not that I was going to the entire Nanyang Prefecture, or even to the county seat of Nanzhao County.
The initial goal is to control the rural areas in the northern part of Nanzhao County near the mountains and obtain food and soldiers.
As for when to attack Nanzhao County, Luo Zhixue has not yet made a final decision.
Controlling the countryside is one thing, and attacking county towns is another. The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the two.
Luo Zhixue leads his people to control the countryside in Nanzhao County. Local officials in Nanzhao County may turn a blind eye. Chen Yongfu in Nanyang probably doesn't care too much.
But if Luo Zhixue led his troops to attack Nanzhao County directly, Chen Yongfu would probably lead his troops to kill him immediately.
And this is just the beginning. Even if Luo Zhixue defeats Chen Yongfu, it won't be long before Lu Xiangsheng from the Yunyang area will lead his army to kill him, and the army from the Henan area will also move south...
Therefore, Luo Zhixue will not attack the city easily until his strength has increased to a certain level and he is not confident.
However, even if the rural protection army went south this time to sweep through the countryside in a low-key manner and develop a wave of development, Luo Zhixue had made up his mind.
He has no plans to come back after going south this time.
After going south, they will develop a low-key wave first. When the time is right, they will attack Nanzhao County and even sweep across the entire Nanyang Basin.
This is Luo Zhixue's established plan for himself.
Therefore, when he goes south, he will not only bring a large army south, but also prepare to bring a large number of civilian officials south.
And some craftsmen were also arranged to go south with the army. On the one hand, these craftsmen accompanying the army could repair ordnance for the army. On the other hand, Luo Zhixue also planned to go south into the Nanyang Basin and choose a place to build an arsenal branch in the upper reaches of the Baihe River in the northwest of Nanzhao County. .
Establishing a nearby arsenal branch will not only produce ordnance and ammunition nearby, but also prepare for the subsequent overall relocation of the arsenal to the south.
Luo Zhixue can't let the arsenal stay nestled in the mountains. Transportation alone is a big problem.
Taking a large number of craftsmen southward was something that had never happened before when they left Lushan County. Many people also figured out something about this.
The new director of the Industrial Department, Yuan Gaofeng, was a smart man. When he heard that Luo Zhixue was going south and planned to build a branch of the arsenal in Nanzhao County, he realized that the future development focus of the Baoxiang Army would be in the south.
"I will arrange manpower right away to ensure that the branch factory will be built as soon as possible after we go south."
Luo Zhixue looked at Yuan Gaofeng. He felt very good about this young man who was only in his early twenties. Although the Four Books and Five Classics were not very good, he was not a bookworm. He was organized and flexible at the same time.
"When redeploying manpower, we must be careful not to affect the production of the arsenal because the redeployment of manpower will affect the production of the arsenal. Those battalions are still waiting for muskets, and the second artillery post is still empty, waiting for artillery."
Yuan Gaofeng said: "General, don't worry, my subordinates know what's appropriate. The first priority of the arsenal now is to ensure production, especially the production of the second and third batches of artillery and muskets."
"My subordinates' thinking is that the tasks of the machinery factory and the logistics factory are not that heavy now, and the early stage of establishing a branch factory in the south will mostly require the efforts of the machinery factory and the logistics factory, so I plan to transfer them south first and build the factory and the logistics factory first. Build hydraulic equipment.”
"The White River over there is much stronger than the streams in our mountains. It is more convenient and more useful to build hydraulic machinery!"
"After the factory buildings and hydraulic equipment are completed, I will gradually mobilize craftsmen from the artillery factory and musket factory."
Luo Zhixue nodded and said: "As long as you have a plan, you have to remember that at any time, the first task of the Industrial Department is to ensure the supply of ordnance, especially the supply of guns and ammunition. This is the foundation of our homeland protection army."
There is no way to fight without guns and ammunition!
After Yuan Gaofeng, the director of the Industrial Department, pushed him down, Luo Zhixue summoned Guo Quanshu, the director of the Civil Affairs Department, and asked him to prepare a group of capable civilian officials to go south with the army. When the rural protection army went south and swept through large rural areas, the Civil Affairs Department would be needed. Each township government office was established to control each village.
Luo Zhixue then summoned people from the Grain Recruitment Department, Grain and Rates Department, Commercial and Trade Department and other agencies.
Making final preparations for the official trip south.
