Of course, beneath the calm surface, there is already hidden turbulence, and the brewing undercurrent will form a stormy wave just waiting to be stimulated, encompassing both Han and Liao in the entire Northeast.
Liaodong is the main direction of attack, and the Eastern Route Army is the main force of the Northern Expedition. It has the most elite soldiers, the most generals, and the strongest strength. However, the mobilization of troops and horses is not slow. Not long after the prince's arrival in Youzhou, they were all assembled.
Of course, it is precisely because of the large number of people that the overall coordination is not as flexible as that of the Zhongxi Road. Moreover, the composition of the army is complex. The horse infantry army and the forbidden border army include local troops, auxiliary soldiers, local braves, and even strong men who serve in front of the army.
It is not easy to integrate people from such different sources together. It requires certain integration training to facilitate command and dispatch.
Although it was the first time for Zhao Kuangyin to command such a large army in battle, his commanding attributes were very high. He had experienced hundreds of battles and was good at controlling generals. Naturally, he knew the joints and would not act rashly.
Therefore, even if many generals could not restrain themselves and asked for battle several times, they were suppressed by him. Even if they went to the prince's side, it was of no use.
For Zhao Kuangyin, the first big test since he went to war as a commander-in-chief is the dispute between generals. As the Duke of the country, and as the former commander of the Forbidden Army, Zhao Kuangyin's prestige in the army is not small, but it is not absolute. It seems that
Generals such as Ma Renyu and Li Hanqiong were not so convinced.
When a group of generals came to him to ask for a battle, an opportunity appeared in front of him to intervene in the decision-making of the army. His position as prince and status as generalissimo allowed him to easily interfere with the army.
Fortunately, his temper did not fluctuate. He was solemn and walked on thin ice. He always kept Emperor Liu's instructions in mind and refused the generals who were eager to attack and make achievements.
At the same time, Mao Zedong also discovered his first significance as the nominal commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, and gradually found his position, which was to coordinate the relationship between generals. On the one hand, he fully supported Zhao Kuangyin's decision-making, and on the other hand, he supported the generals below.
To appease and stabilize military morale.
No one dared not give face to the Crown Prince, the battle for the march was settled, and Zhao Kuangyin, with the support of the emperor, steadily pushed forward at his own pace.
During the more than half a month when the army was assembled, they devoted themselves to the training and morale boosting of the various armies, and accumulated large amounts of food, grass, ordnance. At the same time, they discussed the military strategy with Gao Huaide, Wang Yanchao and other senior generals who participated in the Northern Expedition.
The attack on Liaodong was a strategy formulated by the Privy Council, but in terms of specific implementation, as in the previous style, the frontline generals were given full autonomy. The specific method of entering the army was naturally a key consideration for Zhao Kuangyin and others.
Of course, in this process, the deployment of troops has also been spread out. In the long and narrow Western Liaoning Corridor, the detective activities of both the Han and Liao sides were frequent and intense. The fighting and fighting between the waiting cavalry never subsided. People died every day.
There are all kinds of true and false military information coming.
Yuguan is the base for marching into western Liaoning, and Youzhou is the rear of the Northern Expedition. Together with the auxiliary soldiers and strong men, a total of 240,000 people have gathered here. The camps are laid out and stretch for dozens of miles. The momentum is huge.
Of course, to the people of Youyan who had experienced the previous Northern Expedition, this small battle was nothing. After seeing it once, seeing it again would not be so shocking.
However, as a front-line Daozhou, when war comes, the need for support is the highest and the impact will be the greatest.
For Prince **, it was also a brand new experience. He had not experienced so many troops before. During the Pingnan period, he was ordered to go to Jinling to reward the troops, which was a similar situation.
However, that time he was just serving as an envoy of the emperor and the court, carrying out reward activities, but this time, he is the commander-in-chief, a legitimate commander-in-chief, and he needs to be responsible for the Northern Expedition army.
Although he was in Youzhou, he declined the invitation from Youzhou Prefecture and did not stay comfortably in the city. Instead, he chose to live in the military camp. Sharing joys and sorrows was out of the question, but at least he stayed with the soldiers.
Accompanied by Ma Huaiyu, he strolled in the supply camp. During this period, in addition to listening to the generals' plans and learning how to command in the camp, he spent most of the rest inspecting the military camp. If he wants to run the army, he must first
You have to understand the soldiers.
This is a relatively new and special experience for **. In the past, he lived in a temple and basically had contact with ministers. Now, he has to learn to deal with generals and soldiers who do not have enough self-cultivation.
The whole camp was not that lively. This was because during wartime, under the strict military discipline, all the troops stayed in the camp peacefully and did not dare to do anything beyond the rules except for training.
To talk about movement, it must belong to the Baggage Camp, which is also the place with the largest area and the largest number of people. The camp's food envoy is Han Hui, the son of Han Tong, the Duke of Hanoi, who had already served as the Minister of Household Affairs.
During the Northern Expedition, he served in the army and made great contributions in the Battle of Nankou. From then on, he was appreciated by the Emperor Liu and promoted step by step, holding many important positions in the fields of military, law, finance, etc., until he was the head of the ministry.
This time, for the great cause of the Northern Expedition, Emperor Liu not only sent out elite soldiers and generals, but also focused on talented personnel in logistics. Zhang Mei was responsible for the transportation and supply of the entire army in the rear, and Han Hui was in charge of the front line.
Even now, a large amount of military supplies are still transferred from the south to fill the military warehouses, and at the same time, a lot of them are transported to Yuguan. The official warehouses in Youzhou City are already full.
Looking at the vehicles coming and going, the granaries everywhere, the officials shouting, and the strong men coming in and out, I can really feel the cumbersomeness and complexity of war. It is not an easy task just to maintain the orderly operation of this supply camp.
, not to mention commanding a large army to fight, and these trivial details are things that ** has never experienced before.
In the past, dealing with the complicated official affairs of memorials, which only required reviewing and signing, seemed complicated. Now it seems that the specific execution of the orders is the real test of ability.
Deeply influenced by Emperor Liu, he took the principle of providing food and grass first before troops and horses were used. He took it to heart and paid great attention to logistics work. He had already inspected the food and arsenal in Youzhou City twice.
The camp has also come several times, and more attention must be paid to the storage and protection of grain and equipment outside the city.
"I see His Highness the Crown Prince!" After learning that the Crown Prince was here again, the grain envoy who was arranging a batch of grain to be put into the warehouse hurriedly came to greet him, his steps hurried.
The weather in early summer was not too hot, but the man's forehead was covered with sweat. I don't know whether he was tired or busy. He noticed that the man was covered in dust and dirt, and he was obviously very devoted to his work. He asked with satisfaction: "Now
How much rations are there in the camp?"
"Back to Your Highness, the grain and rice have now increased to 270,000 shi. Today and tomorrow, we can make up for 300,000 shi! There are 90,000 shi of grain and rice, and Yanshan Road can supply another 10,000 shi!" The grain envoy hurriedly said.
He replied: "There are also 70,000 stones of fodder, which are stationed on the southeast side of the camp..."
"There seems to be some shortage of fodder?" ** frowned and said: "There are many livestock in the army, 70,000 dan, which may support consumption!"
Hearing this, the grain envoy hurriedly explained: "Back to Your Highness, in the past four days, another 50,000 stones have been transported to Yuguan for use!"
After hearing this, ** finally understood and instructed, "Be sure to prevent rain, moisture, and fire!"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, Han Shangshu also gave strict instructions, and I don't dare to neglect them!"
"Where is Han Shangshu? Is he in the camp?" ** asked.
"A batch of grain arrived at Wuqing Port by sea, and Han Shangshu went to check and receive it in person!" the grain envoy responded.
After hearing this, ** nodded and sighed: "Han Shangshu is so hands-on that he deserves praise!"
"Have you ever prepared enough healing herbs?"
"Puyin is doing its best to supply the camp, and the imperial court is also deploying supplies from Gyeonggi and Henan!"
Puyin, Hebei Province, is a famous medicine capital in the Han Dynasty.
"It is absolutely indispensable for healing purposes. We must step up preparations!" ** said.
After looking at the busy scene in the baggage camp, no one stopped, and he continued to ask: "Are the manpower sufficient?"
Upon hearing this, the food envoy smiled bitterly and replied: "How can we not be short? Nowadays, there is a shortage of manpower everywhere. Now there are more than 40,000 auxiliary soldiers in the camp alone, but I still feel that it is not enough!"
"I will discuss with Chu Shijun (Chu Zhaofu, the chief envoy of Yanshan) to see if we can recruit more people!" ** sighed.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" the food envoy replied with a happy face.
He reached out and patted his shoulder, and said solemnly: "Thank you for your hard work! However, His Majesty has said more than once that the war is fought for food, grass, ordnance, and the battle is for national strength. Only when the military supplies are sufficient can the soldiers have no worries.
Fight on the ground, let go and kill the enemy!
We haven't launched a large-scale army yet, so we are still planning our preparations. When the army moves eastward, we will be even busier, so we must hurry up! Your mission is very important!"
"Yes! I will definitely do my best and don't dare to slack off!" the grain envoy said solemnly with a solemn look on his face.
"Okay! Very good! You go and deal with things, I'll take a look at the camp..."
