After hearing what Xu Zhixian said, Luo Zhixue nodded slightly, but he did not immediately comment on Xu Zhixian's words. Instead, he turned to look at Huang Dingquan: "If you go out of the city to fight head-on, then when you engage in the battle, your first The first infantry brigade will be the mainstay. How sure is the first infantry brigade that it can withstand the impact of the enemy's main infantry force?"
Huang Dingquan was very cautious and did not speak out loudly, but cautiously said: "Our brigade has only two thousand soldiers, so it is possible to block the enemy's three or four thousand soldiers. However, if the enemy ignores the losses and directly deploys a large number of troops to besiege our brigade, I am afraid that It’s hard for a good man to defeat random punches.”
"However, if other friendly forces can cover the flanks of our brigade and prevent our flanks from being exposed and besieged, our First Infantry Brigade has absolute confidence to block the enemy's attack. If the artillery unit can also cause certain damage to the enemy's infantry phalanx through shelling, If they kill and injure their troops and shake their morale, then our brigade can launch a counterattack and flatten the entire battlefield with less and more attacks!"
Luo Zhixue turned his attention to Dong Mingjie, commander of the Fifth Mixed Brigade: "How is the reorganization of the Fifth Mixed Brigade going? Can this war be pulled out?"
Dong Mingjie said: "Although our Fifth Mixed Brigade is currently undergoing adaptive training, we can directly go into battle if necessary!"
"Because when our brigade mobilized troops, it tried its best to mobilize the soldiers who were surrendering, and retained the grassroots establishment at the corps and junior levels as much as possible. At the same time, the establishment, tactics and equipment all used the traditional equipment and equipment that these surrendered soldiers were familiar with before. Tactics, and our army is well-paid, everyone has enough to eat, and the morale of the surrendered soldiers is relatively high, so the basic combat effectiveness is still there."
"The general combat strength should be comparable to the ordinary combat troops in the Ming Army Guards. How specific it is, I'm afraid we still have to fight to know."
Luo Zhixue nodded slightly, and finally raised his head and looked around everyone: "Since everyone is confident, there is no need to talk nonsense. The staff should make a plan to take the initiative to go out of the city to fight."
"All ministries immediately entered a state of combat readiness."
"The logistics department must prepare enough food, grass and ammunition."
After Luo Zhixue made the final decision, the decision for the Baoxiang Army to take the initiative to fight against Lu Xiangsheng's troops was finalized. Next, the Baoxiang Army in Xiangyang City will enter a state of full combat readiness and make various preparations for the start of the war.
And while Luo Zhixue and the others were making various preparations for a big battle, Lu Xiangsheng also led his army to a place not far from Junzhou City.
They set off from Yunyang on May 9th, and now it is May 11th. It took them three full days to cover more than 40 kilometers.
It only took three days to cover such a small distance. If this marching speed were on the side of the Baoxiang Army, I am afraid that the leader of the team would have been scolded by Luo Zhixue.
When the Baoxiang Army marched south from Nanyang City and made a long-distance attack on Xiangyang, they walked an average of at least thirty kilometers a day.
Of course, the terrain is flat and the roads are smooth. At the same time, there are a large number of mules, horses and carriages in the army to protect the countryside.
But the foundation of all this is based on the abundant physical fitness of the soldiers of the Baoxiang Army.
However, the Ming army did not have such good physical fitness and did not have so many mules and horses. Under such circumstances, he could walk more than ten kilometers a day with a large amount of luggage south. This was already considered a good command of Lu Xiangsheng's army.
This is also the courage that Luo Zhixue dared to take Xiangyang City, and now plans to take the initiative to fight against Lu Xiangsheng.
No matter how strong Lu Xiangsheng's personal military talent is, it cannot change the fact that his army is a bunch of weaklings.
——
Luo Zhixue also soon learned that Lu Xiangsheng's troops were not going south very quickly.
The spies from the Intelligence Section followed Lu Xiangsheng's headquarters all the way from Yunyang. Although they would not get too close, they could still monitor the general movements of Lu Xiangsheng's headquarters.
After all, it was an army of tens of thousands of people, carrying a large amount of baggage, and even the number of civilians accompanying the army was several thousand, which added up to at least 17,000 to 8,000 people.
This can be called an army of 20,000, and even if you are shameless, you can brag that it is an army of 50,000.
In fact, when Lu Xiangsheng went south, he really claimed to have an army of 20,000 in order to build momentum. After joining the Ming army in Junzhou, Gucheng and other places, he would also claim to have an army of 50,000.
But, the so-called tens of thousands of troops are useless. The Hometown Protection Army will never include civilians in the number of troops, even if these civilians are incorporated into the transportation camp under the jurisdiction of the Logistics Department.
Lu Xiangsheng led the army southward at a high speed in the eyes of the Ming army and a low speed in the eyes of the Baoxiang army. This undoubtedly gave the Baoxiang army more time to prepare.
Before Lu Xiangsheng and the others arrived, the Logistics Department rushed through Baihe and transferred food from the Nanyang Prefecture area to Xiangyang City. At the same time, a batch of ammunition arrived.
The 7th Infantry Battalion, which was originally far north of Dengzhou, also received an order to bypass Dengzhou and move south urgently.
According to the speed of the 7th Infantry Battalion, they would definitely be able to arrive at Xiangyang City earlier than Lu Xiangsheng and the others, even several days in advance.
With the addition of the 7th Infantry Battalion, the Baoxiang Army's strength in the Xiangyang City area will be more than 500. This is not 500 miscellaneous soldiers, but 500 fully equipped with heavy armor. A new infantry battalion of spearmen and musketeers.
At that time, the pressure on the First Infantry Brigade can be greatly relieved.
But not long after the 7th Infantry Battalion bypassed Dengzhou, Li Duo, deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade and commander of the 7th Infantry Battalion, who led the battalion southward, learned an extremely important strategic news: a large number of troops were discovered in the southwest. The Ming army numbered at least three thousand.
Li Duo was confused after receiving the news!
"Why are there so many Ming troops ahead? Is the main force of the Ming army going south along the Han River to Xiangyang City?"
Li Duo also received news from Xiangyang City before. He was told that Lu Xiangsheng was going south with tens of thousands of troops. In the future, the Ming army from Junzhou and Gucheng might be gathered to go south to Xiangyang City. He was asked to urgently lead troops south to Xiangyang City to reinforce the first army. Infantry brigade and other departments.
But what's going on now?
How come the Ming army that was supposed to go south to Xiangyang City appeared between Guanghua and Dengzhou?
Intuition told Li Duo that this was not normal!
"Immediately send more reconnaissance cavalry to the surrounding area and conduct deep reconnaissance behind the enemy's rear. Be sure to find out the surrounding situation and see if there are more enemy forces!"
Now that such an abnormal thing has happened, Li Duo will wonder if these Ming troops came directly.
When Li Duo discovered that there were at least 3,000 Ming troops in the area between Guanghua and Dengzhou, he left Junzhou with his army. Lu Xiangsheng, who had arrived in the Yangpitan area, also looked to the east.
At this time, a general under his command, Deputy General Yu Yuanhua, stepped forward and said: "Ask Qian Xian, Mr. Sun has sent someone to report that he has mobilized 3,000 troops from Gucheng and Guanghua to attack. It is expected that they will be ready in three days." Arriving in Dengzhou!"
Lu Xiangsheng nodded slightly and said: "Well, write back to Sun Hongcai and ask him to gather the troops of Dengzhou and capture Xinye City quickly. Our troops will go there afterwards."
Yu Yuanhua immediately said: "Yes, I will reply right away!"
But after saying that, the thick-browed Yu Yuanhua was a little hesitant. He hesitated and said: "Qian Xian, let's just cross the river and go north. What should we do over there in Xiangyang City?"
Lu Xiangsheng laughed and said: "Xiangyang City is a strong city in the world. It is not easy to attack it by force."
"Moreover, there have been reports in recent days that the bandit army has sharp guns, heavy armor, and hundreds of fine cavalry. Under such circumstances, it is no longer wise for our army to attack Xiangyang City."
"However, the Bao thieves have occupied Nanyang and Xiangyang, and their strength is divided into two. Dengzhou reported before that the number of thieves who have occupied Xinye City is only five or six hundred. If our army can regain Xinye, it will be enough to stop the Bao thieves from Xiangyang Prefecture and Nanyang Prefecture. And break."
"It doesn't matter if we let them occupy Xiangyang City for a little longer. After our army regains the new territory and cuts off the contact between the two places to protect the thieves, we can retreat to the south and besiege the enemy in Xiangyang, and then we can advance..."
At this point, Lu Xiangsheng raised his head and looked north: "If we advance, we can recapture Nanyang. We can cooperate with Hong Duxian's southward army to attack from the north and south, and then gather the thousands of rebel soldiers in Nanyang Mansion to annihilate them. Then we can turn around and go south. By then, Nanyang will be lost." Even if the thieves in the hinterland can trap Xiangyang City, how long can they hold it?"
Yu Yuanhua was still worried: "If the bandit army sees a bad opportunity and abandons Xiangyang and goes south to Jianghan, the guards at Huguang are still weak. I'm afraid they won't be able to stop the thousands of elite guards. In this case, , I am afraid that the cities in northern Chu will encounter military disasters!"
Lu Xiangsheng lowered his head and glanced at him, then snorted coldly and said: "If the bandits abandon Xiangyang City and go south, they will be in a flat area, but there will be no more land to defend. By then, our army will pursue them all the way south. How can they besiege others?" The city has time, and they can only flee around the city.”
"And by the time they escape to the Yangtze River, the entire army will be wiped out!"
Lu Xiangsheng raised his head again, did not look at his men, but said to himself: "No matter what, they are all dead!"
"Hurry up and get ready to cross the river. We will cross the river tomorrow and catch up with the forward army in time to avoid the forward force being surrounded by the enemy."
——
Just as Lu Xiangsheng was preparing to cross the river with his army, his general Sun Hongcai was leading an army of three thousand towards Dengzhou.
Luo Zhixue in Xiangyang City had just learned that the Ming army had moved in the Gucheng and Guanghua areas. Before the main force of Lu Xiangsheng's headquarters in Yunyang arrived, the Ming army in this area was heading northeast under the leadership of General Sun Hongcai. And go.
Look at the marching direction of the Ming army marked on the map.
Luo Zhixue frowned:
"Did they discover the 7th Infantry Battalion's emergency move south and then move south?"
"No, based on time, when they sent out troops, the 7th Infantry Battalion was still north of Dengzhou. It was impossible for them to know so early that the 7th Infantry Battalion's reinforcements were heading south. It was impossible to predict it at least two days in advance. Just go north to Dengzhou."
"Are they really going to Dengzhou?"
"but why?"
"Don't they wait for Lu Xiangsheng's army to come to Xiangyang City together? Or is Lu Xiangsheng confident that he can take Xiangyang City with just ten thousand people?"
Luo Zhixue stared at the map repeatedly, and dug out various intelligence documents that had been sent back from the front line in the past few days.
After flipping through several documents in succession, he finally landed on one of the ordinary war briefings.
More than ten seconds later, I heard him say loudly: "Send an order to convene an emergency military meeting!"
