Looking at the battalion commander's more than ten men with bare heads, wearing slim-fitting uniforms very similar to modern military uniforms, and also wearing collar badges and epaulettes, Luo Zhixue felt somewhat delusional.
At first glance, I thought I was leading a group of modern generals to fight.
But in fact, these people were serious Ming Dynasty people, and they did not even fight in a smooth line up to be shot.
In actual battles, these people are not seen wearing these beautiful military uniforms, but all of them are wearing armor.
After everyone arrived one after another, Luo Zhixue looked around and said: "Everyone is here, hurry up and have a meeting. We have been walking for a day and everyone is tired. Please finalize the battle plan and go to bed early."
After that, Luo Zhixue glanced at Huang Guangmao, who immediately stood up and said: "According to the instructions of the general, my staff office has formulated a detailed battle plan for Xiangyang City."
"Before describing the detailed combat plan, I will first describe the deployment of our and the enemy's forces to the general and colleagues."
Immediately afterwards, he stood up and took two steps with a small wooden stick. He walked to a large map attached to a large wooden shelf next to him. He pointed at the map with the small wooden stick and said: "According to the information gathered by various spies, We have found out the approximate strength of the Ming army in the surrounding areas."
"Currently, there are about 6,000 enemy troops in Xiangyang City. There are about 30 artillery pieces of various sizes deployed at the top of the city. However, there are no long-barreled heavy artillery, but some short-barreled artillery or Franco machine artillery."
"The above-mentioned Ming army defending the city is divided into four groups, large and small. There are troops sent by Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Yunyang, and troops sent by the governor of Huguang to assist in the defense. There are also soldiers from the local guard station of Xiangyang Prefecture."
"We don't yet know the exact number of soldiers in the camp and guard post. According to calculations, it should be about a thousand people."
"As for Fancheng, which is separated from Xiangyang by the Han River and located on the north bank of the Han River, it is estimated that there are 2,000 enemy troops, about 500 combat soldiers, and about ten light cannons at the top of the city."
"There are a total of 8,000 enemy troops in the two cities mentioned above, and the total number of combat troops is about 1,500. This is similar to our previous estimate."
"Beyond Xiangyang City and Fan City, there are about a thousand enemy troops in Gucheng in the northwest area of Xiangyang City, and there are a thousand enemy troops in Guanghua. They are all local guardsmen, and there are not many combat soldiers among them."
"We don't have much information about Nanzhang and Yicheng in the south of Xiangyang City, but the local troops are not expected to be too many. Only some local guards are stationed there."
"Zaoyang and Suizhou in the east of Xiangyang City have slightly more troops. Zaoyang is expected to have about 2,000 troops, and Suizhou has about 2,000 troops."
"It is worth noting that according to various sources, Lu Xiangsheng's main force is stationed in Yunyang and Junzhou. The combined strength of the two places is at least 10,000. The specific equipment level and the number of soldiers are still unclear. ."
"If nothing else happens, Lu Xiangsheng's unit will be our biggest opponent this time when we go south."
"The above places are all enemies we may encounter in the near future!"
"As for the main force of our army heading south, it consists of the First Infantry Brigade, Cavalry Brigade, Artillery Brigade, Baggage Battalion, and Guards Battalion, totaling 3,500 people."
"In addition, there are two military transport battalions affiliated with the Logistics Department, with 1,200 people."
"Behind our rear, there are also transportation battalions affiliated with the Logistics Department, totaling more than 3,000 people, who continue to transport grain, grass, ammunition and other baggage south for our army."
"However, transport battalions dominated by civilians do not have combat effectiveness, so they cannot be included in the combat plan."
"Three thousand five hundred people, this is all the troops we can use to attack Xiangyang City in the south!"
"It will be very difficult to attack Xiangyang City with this small force. After all, the moat of Xiangyang City is too big. The widest part can reach 80 to 90 feet, and the narrow part is 40 to 50 feet. It will be very difficult to cross the moat and attack by force. "
"That's why the battle plan we formulated focuses on surprise attacks!"
"The army moved south quickly. It arrived at Xiangyang City before the surrounding cities, especially Lu Xiangsheng of Yunyang, could react. With the cooperation of our troops who had sneaked into Xiangyang City in advance, they made a surprise attack on Xiangyang City."
"In order to achieve a surprise effect, our staff office believes that the main force should bypass Fancheng, cross the Han River about dozens of miles northwest of Xiangyang City, go straight to Xiangyang City, and attack directly before the enemy forces in the city are fully mobilized. The city.”
"With the cooperation of internal agents to seize the city gate, our army's plan to surprise Xiangyang City is at least 70% certain."
"After Xiangyang City is captured in a surprise attack, we can then recruit ships to cross the river again and capture Fan City."
"Following up, we will take the initiative to attack according to the enemy's movements and use the full physical fitness and better mobility of our soldiers to beat the time difference. We will use our army's more powerful field firepower to annihilate the enemy troops attacking Xiangyang one by one."
At this time, Huang Guangmao paused and then said: "If the surprise attack does not go smoothly and we fail to seize the city gate and enter the city at the first time, then our army will quickly retreat, cross the river again and return to the north bank to attack Fancheng, and then use mobile operations to eliminate possible dangers. The various enemy forces laid the foundation for the subsequent attack on Xiangyang City."
After Huang Guangmao introduced the situation, he said: "The detailed combat plan will be sent to various ministries for review later."
At this time, Huang Dingquan stood up and said: "A surprise attack on Xiangyang without attacking Fancheng? If our surprise attack fails, will our retreat be cut off by the enemy?"
At this time, Xu Zhixian, deputy director of the Staff Office, said: "When our army moves south, the personal barracks and artillery brigade will stay on the north bank to guard against the enemy forces in Fancheng on the north bank and protect the north bank ferry."
"There will also be a baggage camp stationed at the ferry on the south bank to guard against possible enemies in Gucheng and Nanzhang."
"With the artillery brigade, guard battalions, and supply battalions here, the First Infantry Brigade has no worries about its retreat!"
Huang Dingquan sat down again: "I have no objection."
Zhang Malin said: "If our artillery brigade stays on the north bank, the 1st Infantry Brigade and Cavalry Brigade that surprise Xiangyang City will not have artillery support."
Xu Zhixian once again answered: "To seize Xiangyang City is to catch it by surprise. What is needed is to seize the city gate as soon as possible with the cooperation of the internal forces. The lack of long-range artillery will not have a big impact. After entering the city, we will deal with some stubborn enemy forces. A light rifle is enough."
"In addition, our army's field artillery is too heavy and cannot be transported across the river with emergency boats and rafts. And if the pontoon bridge is built, it may take at least two days."
At this time, Huang Dingquan also said: "As long as we can seize the city gate as soon as possible, with the combat power of my First Infantry Brigade, we will not have much trouble sweeping away the stubborn enemies in the city."
Blind Wang also spoke: "As long as the internal forces cooperate properly, I can lead the cavalry to charge directly to seize the city gate."
Huang Dingquan, the commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade who was specifically responsible for the surprise attack on Xiangyang City, and Wang Xiazi, the commander of the Cavalry Brigade who was responsible for seizing the city gate, both said this. Naturally, others would not have any objections.
After seeing everyone discussing one after another and no new problems emerged, Luo Zhixue said: "Since there is no problem, then we will implement this plan. Tomorrow we will continue to march at a high speed, and the day after tomorrow we will arrive at Hanshui River and... Cross the river.”
"People must be sent in advance to prepare ships, rafts and other objects for crossing the river. While the troops crossing the river first use rafts and other objects to cross the river, they must also build pontoons for subsequent transportation of supplies and even rapid retreat."
This combat plan was not proposed on the first day. In fact, they have been discussing how to formulate a combat plan in the past two days.
The tone of the surprise attack has been set long ago, but how to carry out the surprise attack, where to cross the river, what to do after crossing the river, and how to protect the logistics line and retreat route all need to be gradually improved, and more detailed intelligence is also needed to support it.
In the past two days, they collected complete information and finally formulated the plan. Before the formal meeting, Luo Zhixue had repeatedly discussed with Huang Guangmao and Xu Zhixian from the Staff Office to finalize the plan.
Tonight's meeting was said to be a discussion, but it was actually just announcing the battle plan and issuing tasks.
After the meeting, Luo Zhixue still didn't sleep, but continued to discuss with Huang Guangmao and Xu Zhixian, but what they discussed was not the combat plan, but the formation plan of the fifth mixed brigade and even the sixth mixed brigade.
After being busy until midnight, Luo Zhixue finished all the work for the day and fell asleep.
The next day, more than 3,000 troops of the rural protection army marched southward and continued to march at a high speed until late in the evening when they finally reached the bank of the Han River about forty miles northwest of Xiangyang City.
Looking at the wide river opposite, Luo Zhixue did not sigh. Instead, he directly ordered the craftsmen of the engineering office to start building a large number of simple rafts overnight with the help of many soldiers.
At the same time, Wang Xiazi was ordered to lead the cavalry to go out, not only to guard the surroundings, but also to prevent enemy sentries from approaching, with the purpose of blocking the news as much as possible.
They moved south quickly. If nothing else happened, the Ming army in Xiangyang City probably didn't even know that the Baoxiang Army had reached the edge of the Han River.
At the same time, the pro-military camp was ordered to block the waterway, intercept, detain, and requisition all ships passing through the area.
This was also to block the news and to requisition some ships for crossing the river.
After spending an evening and a night urgently making rafts and other simple tools for crossing the river, the 1st Infantry Brigade took the lead in crossing the river early the next morning.
Subsequently, the cavalry brigade also crossed the river on a batch of large simple rafts and temporarily requisitioned boats.
When the troops crossed the river in large numbers, Luo Zhixue summoned Wang Xiazi, Huang Dingquan, and Xu Zhixian in the simple headquarters tent.
"This surprise attack on Xiangyang City is led by Blind Man, assisted by Ding Quan, and planned by Zhixian. You must cooperate well to successfully capture Xiangyang City."
"You don't have to worry about the internal response. Yesterday, I received news from the Intelligence Section. Li Dongshao has successfully sneaked into Xiangyang City with his people. The more than seventy people Li Dongshao led are all the most elite soldiers in the barracks. And the Intelligence Section Twenty or thirty people can help you, and there will be hundreds of people who will cooperate with you to seize the city gate."
"What you have to do is, with the cooperation of the internal forces, attack the city as soon as possible without giving the defenders in the city any time to react."
At this point, Luo Zhixue glanced at the three people again and said seriously: "If things cannot be done, there is no need to fight. As long as the city gate cannot be captured immediately, then we must retreat decisively and return here."
