On April 25, the sixth year of Chengshun, Zuo Yingzhe led the senior generals of the group army and continued to march eastward with the large army.
Behind Zuo Yingzhe and others were tens of thousands of troops of the Ninth Army and Army Group directly affiliated with them in gray military uniforms.
A large number of infantrymen lined up in long queues, marching in the wilderness under the leadership of officers at all levels!
From time to time, among the infantry ranks, there would be messengers galloping on war horses, delivering different orders to each unit.
Among the infantry formations, there are hundreds of large and small artillery pieces and thousands of four-wheeled or two-wheeled carriages.
They were led by many mules and horses and followed the infantry queue. The official road could no longer accommodate such a large convoy, and many lighter artillery and even two-wheeled carriages had to march directly on the wilderness.
In front of the huge convoy, numerous engineering troops were working on the spot, smoothing roads and building temporary bridges to allow the convoy behind to pass.
Even so, there are still a large number of artillery or carriages stuck in the mud. No matter how much the draft horses drag them, they cannot be fought over. The only way to move forward is to send a large number of people to push directly or even directly carry them.
Tens of thousands of troops marched, and the scene was so majestic that it was impossible to see the end. It seemed that the mountains and fields were filled with gray soldiers.
On the periphery of the huge marching queues of infantry, artillery, baggage and other troops, there were also groups of cavalry wandering around. These were the cavalry of each division responsible for peripheral security.
Although these divisional cavalry are not very effective in combat, they are still mounted on horses. They are used as perimeter guards to search for and evade some East Riding reconnaissance cavalry intercepted by the First Cavalry Army. There is no big problem.
If you can't beat one on one, you can still beat ten on one!
Anyway, there are only a few Dongli scouts and they come from a long distance. As long as they are found, the next thing will be easy to handle.
——
Zuo Yingzhe led his troops up a hill at noon and observed the march of his troops.
Then he set his sights on the East!
Just four kilometers ahead is Guangning Zhongqiansuo!
That is the first strategic goal of their Third Army's eastward advance!
Capturing the city and annihilating the tens of thousands of enemy troops in the city will not only gain an important base for advancing out of the city, but also further weaken the enemy's strength.
Even if it cannot be annihilated, it is still good as long as it can defeat the opponent.
However, it is not that easy to attack the city.
News has just arrived from the First Cavalry Army in front that the enemy troops at Guangning Zhongqian Post have been on guard. Based on previous intelligence investigations and battlefield reconnaissance in the past two days, it can be confirmed that the enemy troops at Guang Ning Zhong Qian Post are on guard. The enemy troops did not flee, but had been actively preparing for war since yesterday.
At the same time, the four to five thousand cavalry originally in Guangning's central front post had left the city early this morning and merged with the three thousand elite enemy cavalry who had withdrawn from Balipu.
At this time, these eight thousand Dongfeng cavalry were three kilometers away due north of the Guangning Central Front Post!
This distance is very clever. If the main force of the Chu army's infantry and artillery wants to attack the central front position, they can kill them at any time during the critical moment of the battle.
At the same time, they were able to intercept the Chu army's troops and bypass the Zhongqian Fortress, strategically encircle the entire Zhongqian Fortress, and cut off the reinforcements from the East.
According to the reconnaissance cavalry report, the Dongjiu people in Guangning's former garrison city have been mobilized urgently. Starting this morning, a group of cavalry has left the city and gone straight to the Zhongqian Post.
As early as this evening, or at the latest tomorrow morning, thousands of Dongfeng cavalry will be able to reinforce the Zhongqian post.
Obviously, judging from the movements of the Dongji people, they did not intend to give up the Guangning Zhongqian Fortress easily. Instead, they wanted to rely on this place to serve as a core fortress, and then use the superiority of cavalry to defeat the Chu army or force the Chu army to withdraw.
This means that if the Chu army wants to continue to attack Zhongqian, it must block the enemy cavalry.
At least they cannot be allowed to directly send a large number of cavalry to kill them when their own infantry and artillery are attacking the city. That would definitely be a disaster.
"Tell Zhu Xingfa that no matter what, we must block the enemy's cavalry outside. I will coordinate with the Guards and ask their three cavalry regiments to come over to support!"
At noon, Zuo Yingzhe had received news that the Third Division of the Guards had captured Tieyang Fort after a morning of fighting.
The enemy troops in Tieyang Fort did not put up a stubborn resistance as expected. They simply resisted for more than an hour and then declared their surrender.
At first, the Guards thought that their own artillery fire was too strong and that the other party could not withstand it in just a few hours.
However, after the other party surrendered and asked about it, they discovered that the main force of the Eastern Route Army stationed in Tieyang Fort was part of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty. To be precise, it was a group of people under Wu Sangui.
They first followed Wu Sangui and surrendered to the East, but soon Wu Sangui and Zu Dashou were killed by Huang Taiji. Then Wu Sangui's troops and Zu Dashou's troops were integrated into the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty.
Although the troops were led by Dongji generals, the middle and lower-level generals and ordinary soldiers were all former Guangning troops. In addition, Wu Sangui's death made them very dissatisfied, but in the past, they were hindered by the Dongji people. It's just that I can't resist the strong suppression.
Now the Chu army came over. They wanted to retreat under the leadership of the Dongji people at first, but they were forced back by the Chu army's cavalry.
That night, they had a quarrel over their stubborn defense and breakout operations. The Dongjiu generals clamored to defend Tieyang Fort and wait for reinforcements from the rear, while the original Guanning generals wanted to organize a second breakout.
When a dispute broke out, the Dongli generals beheaded several former Liaoxi Army generals on the spot in the name of shaking the morale of the army.
Although it was temporarily suppressed, it also caused a greater conflict.
So, when the Chu army attacked the city this morning, these Guan Ning troops began to think about finding another way out for themselves...
After thinking about it, I surrendered directly...
After some of them surrendered, they led the Chu army to round up the Dong captives in the city.
Tieyang Fort, this nail planted by the Eastern Captives in the northeast of Shanhaiguan, could threaten the Chu army's flanks at any time when the Chu army advanced eastward. It was directly pulled out by the Guards.
Under such circumstances, the Guards has completed its first phase of main tasks, and will continue to advance eastward and support the Ninth Army in operations.
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The three cavalry regiments under his command were the first to reinforce the First Cavalry Army to prevent the First Cavalry Army from losing its strategic initiative.
For these three cavalry regiments of the Guards, whether it is General Zuo Yingzhe, commander of the Third Group Army, or Lieutenant General Zhu Xingfa, commander of the First Cavalry Army, they all have certain expectations.
Because these three cavalry regiments are new cavalry developed in the Chu Empire, and they have been trained strictly according to the new cavalry from the beginning.
The 2nd Hussars, 3rd Hussars and 4th Cuirassiers are all equipped with Central Asian horses. The horses attached to the two hussars have an average shoulder height of 1.35 meters, while the 4th Cuirassiers The average shoulder height of the regiment's horses reached 1.4 meters.
The combat capabilities of these three cavalry regiments are much stronger than the half-baked dragoons, and also stronger than the traditional cavalry.
If there is a subsequent large-scale battle between the Chu cavalry and the Dongdu cavalry, the energy exerted by these three cavalry regiments will exceed that of an entire cavalry division.
——
The three cavalry regiments of the Guards arrived very quickly, and in the afternoon they had arrived at the First Cavalry Corps station a few kilometers northwest of Nakazenso.
The leader of the team was Guards Major General Sheng Yushu, director of the Cavalry Department of the Guards.
The command system of the Guards is somewhat different from that of the Army.
Because the army has a large number of troops, it has an obvious command hierarchy. Above the division is the corps, and above the corps is the group army. For example, the Northeast Campaign is the responsibility of the Third Army. The four major headquarters and two directors above did not send additional people.
However, the Guards has only a small number of troops, with only three infantry divisions and several independent regiments. Therefore, there is no need to establish an additional military-level command structure.
Normally, the Guards is basically a brigade or division and is sent directly to fight.
But this time the Northeast Campaign is different. Because the Army's troops are tight, it is difficult to concentrate more troops on the Northeast Front. At the same time, there are also a group of officers and generals in the Guards who are waiting for military merit and promotion...
Therefore, in this Northeastern campaign, in addition to dispatching the 3rd Guards Division, the Guards also dispatched a mixed regiment of the 2nd Guards Division and the divisional cavalry regiment of the 2nd Guards Division, which was the 2nd Hussars Regiment. , in addition to a heavy field artillery regiment.
Finally, there is the independent 4th Cuirassier Regiment.
The total number of troops totaled more than 25,000.
It might not be appropriate for the commander of the 3rd Guards Division to take direct command with the rank of Major General of the Guards, so Guards Lieutenant General Qian Tai, the Chief of Operations Department of the Guards, was dispatched to take command.
In addition to Guards Lieutenant General Qian Tai, the Guards also dispatched Guards Major General Sheng Yushu, Director of the Guards Cavalry Department, to coordinate and command the three cavalry regiments in the Guards.
In addition to these two people, the Guards also had a Guards major general on the northeastern front, namely Peng Jingguo, commander of the 3rd Guards Division.
Next up is the deputy commander and chief of staff of the 3rd Guards Division.
The deputy commander of the 2nd Guards Division and three brigadier generals led the mixed regiment of the 2nd Guards Division and the cavalry regiment.
This kind of command system actually seems a bit cumbersome compared to the army. Among more than 20,000 people, there is one lieutenant general, two major generals, and three brigadiers...
If it were the Army, a major general would be able to handle it under special circumstances...
But there is no way. Because of the special nature of the Guards, they have to take turns when they go out to fight. A lot of people are waiting to go to the battlefield to accumulate qualifications and make meritorious service, so they should try to arrange as much as possible.
Major General Sheng Yushu of the Guards rode his horse directly in front of Zhu Xingfa, raised his head and chest, raised his right hand to his eyebrows, and made a military salute with his palm downwards.
Lieutenant General Zhu Xingfa also rode on the horse, raised his head and chest, looked at Sheng Yushu and also raised a military salute.
This military salute was only gradually implemented in the military the year before last. At the beginning, there were no mandatory regulations on military salutes, only a series of prohibitions...
First of all, on the grounds that it was inconvenient for soldiers to kneel down while wearing armor, all kneeling rituals were abolished. At the same time, it was authorized that soldiers wearing military uniforms were not allowed to kneel down before the saints. As a result, the military began to imitate the daily bowing rituals of the literati as military rituals. .
Of course, some people use the ordinary hand-over-hand salute, and there are no unified rules or requirements.
But later Luo Zhixue felt that as imperial soldiers, only the emperor could make them kneel down and bend down. Others were not qualified to make soldiers bend down!
I am the one who owes allegiance to the soldiers of the empire. You ask my soldiers to bend to you. What do you want to do? Want to rebel?
Moreover, they were wearing military uniforms and bent down with their hands in hand. When soldiers saluted each other, they even bent down in return. Whoever had a lower status would bend even lower... He was not afraid of breaking his waist, Luo Zhixue No matter how you look at it, it makes you unhappy!
As a result, Luo Zhixue gave an oral instruction, and overnight the military side banned the action of bending down.
Now all that's left is to give it up...
But to be honest, this hand-over-hand gift is actually very ugly...
Luo Zhifei put all his effort into designing military uniforms, and did not hesitate to make the uniforms slim-fitting. He also distributed woolen uniforms and coats to the officers, just to make his soldiers look brave and handsome.
You give me a hand every day...it's so funny no matter how you look at it!
Later, Luo Zhixue simply promoted the use of the modern hand-raising ceremony.
Don’t worry about whether this kind of hand-raising salute comes from, which country it comes from, etc. The reason why the global military, the five gangsters, a large number of regional powers, and various countries in the future use it is because This kind of raising of hands does have its merits.
Simple and convenient, shows military appearance!
——
When Luo Zhixue was reviewing the troops, he had long used the modern raising of hands salute, and this had been the case since the early Funiu Mountain period.
At first, people regarded this gesture as His Majesty's special gesture, and no one dared to use it... Just like the military uniforms and military coats Luo Zhixue wore back then, the officials below regarded these as exclusive to Luo Zhixue, and no one dared to use them... Dare to use it indiscriminately.
Later, Luo Zhixue directly ordered the promotion of its use. Now the entire army, including the army, the Guards, and the navy, use this raised hand salute as a military salute.
At this time, Zhu Xingfa and Sheng Yushu performed this kind of military salute to each other.
After the salute, Sheng Yushu said loudly: "The three cavalry regiments of the Guards have arrived under orders. According to General Qian Tai's order, our cavalry will cooperate with your First Cavalry Army to jointly resist the Eastern Cavalry."
"Please let General Zhu make it clear how we should cooperate in the future!"
After hearing this, Zhu Xingfa said loudly with a smile on his face: "Welcome to colleagues of the Guards. You three regiments are here, and I, Old Zhu, are relieved. Please cooperate. When you return, you will be under my command directly. No, just follow me." Just discuss it, now, the Dongjiu people are not here either, so you guys need to camp and rest for a while."
As he said that, he took two steps forward and looked at the Guards cavalry behind Sheng Yushu: "Don't worry about the war. Those captives are still far away. They won't be able to get through in a while. Come on, take me there." Look at your hussars!"
"I have seen the 4th Cuirassier Regiment, but I haven't seen your two Hussars Regiment yet!"
