At this time, the Huai'an Army's overall battle losses were close to 20%.
In other words, the loss was almost 20,000 people.
Most of the 20,000 people were not dead, but lost their combat effectiveness.
But after such an intense war, it is not without benefits.
The advantage is obvious, that is, after the battle of Yanzhou, the Huai'an army, which was originally forcibly integrated, is now basically inseparable and inseparable from each other.
In other words, the current Huai'an Army can be called the real Huai'an Army.
Xue Wei's vanguard army was assembled within two days.
This vanguard army originally numbered 25,000 people, but after the Battle of Surabaya, it suffered six to seven thousand casualties. Now some of the wounded have recovered, but only about 20,000 people can go to the battlefield.
After the troops and horses were gathered, Shen Yi personally escorted Xue Wei out of the city. When he was leaving, he patted Xue Wei on the shoulder and told him: "Remember what I said, and be more flexible on the battlefield."
"Use your brain more often when encountering problems."
Mr. Shen thought for a while and continued: "You two thousand people cannot be squeezed into one lump. You must use them flexibly. As I said, do your best to kill and injure the enemy's effective strength."
"This battle will be the prelude to the decisive battle in Shandong."
Shen Yi said in a deep voice: "You need to show off your momentum for me."
At this time, on the Shandong battlefield, a large-scale battle between large armies was basically inevitable.
Even a layman can see that in the vast land of Shandong, there will definitely be a war in the near future.
This is a battle that can determine the ownership of the entire land of Qilu, and even determine the direction of the entire war.
And now, the vanguard army taking the initiative is the beginning of this battle.
Xue Wei clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Mr. Shen, I have been with you for so many years. I have learned some skills from you, so there will be no problems."
Shen Yi nodded, suddenly remembered something important, and said: "That's right."
"This time is neither a siege nor a defensive battle. It is very likely that we will encounter the Qi people's cavalry."
"Our Huai'an army has no experience in dealing with Qi cavalry."
"Be careful."
Seventy years ago, the Qi people who entered the Pass relied on their powerful cavalry to sweep through Chen Ting, and almost swept the world.
Although sixty or seventy years have passed, the current Northern Qi may not have as powerful cavalry as it did back then. However, the Qi people occupy the north and have many natural horse farms. They are far better than Chen in domesticating horses.
Therefore, no matter how weak they are, the cavalry cannot be underestimated.
Xue Wei clasped his fists respectfully: "The general will understand."
"The last few days, I have read in detail many ways to deal with cavalry. When I asked General Su, General Su said that the previous dynasty had a horizontal sword battle formation that could resist cavalry, and could resist cavalry head-on."
"The general has not trained the infantry formations that can resist the war horses, but the general feels that our former wolf warriors who fought against the Japanese army can be reorganized to deal with the charge of the Qi cavalry."
Mr. Shen was startled, but then he understood.
In his early years, in order to deal with Japanese pirates, he learned a strange weapon like the Langzhen from General Qi.
This thing is long and heavy, very suitable for dealing with short-handed Japanese pirates.
And precisely because of the weight of this thing, in the early anti-Japanese army, those who could become Langzhen soldiers were all strong men with thick and powerful lower limbs and strong bodies.
If the wolf sword soldiers can be used on the plain battlefield to deal with the rushing Qi people, firstly, the wolf sword is very long, and secondly, the foot of these people is stable enough, maybe it can really have a miraculous effect.
After thinking for a while, Mr. Shen replied: "You can decide these specific tactics yourself."
"but…"
Mr. Shen said: "The Qi people have very few heavy cavalry that are actually used to charge into the formation. Most of them are light cavalry that are used to harass the flanks. You need to be careful."
Real cavalry rarely rushes into battle.
Those who can charge into the formation, but those heavy cavalry that not only have knights covered with armor, but also their horses are covered in armor. If there are hundreds or even thousands of these heavy cavalry charging down, very few people can stop them.
However, the price-performance ratio for heavy riding is really not high.
Not only is it expensive to raise, but its applicable situations are too limited.
After Shen Yi and Xue Wei talked a lot about what happened on the battlefield, they let him leave and watched Xue Wei lead the vanguard farther and farther away.
At this time, Shen Yi's left army and right army each also had part of their forces leaving Yanzhou to cover the left and right sides of the vanguard army.
Mr. Shen stood at the gate of the city, watching the vanguard march north, and did not recover for a long time.
Zhang Jian, the temporary magistrate of Yanzhou who saw him off with Shen Yi, stood silently behind Shen Yi and said with a smile: "Ziheng has been standing here for a long time, why don't you go back to the city?"
Mr. Shen finally came back to his senses, responded quickly, and said, "I was thinking about something, and I felt a little lost."
Zhang Jian put his hands in his sleeves, looked at the direction in which the vanguard army was leaving, and said with a smile: "It's probably you, Zi Heng. You have never left the army, and now you are watching the army go out, do you feel a little uncomfortable?"
In the past, although Shen Yi had never directly led troops, he had never left the front line. For example, when the Huai'an army attacked Yanzhou. Shen Yi followed Su Ding and visited the battlefield almost every day.
Now, he is still in Yanzhou, but the army that went out has already left.
Mr. Shen shook his head and said with a smile: "It's not that we have never fought separately before. I am just thinking about what the Qi people in Shandong will do and where the decisive battle will take place in the future."
Zhang Jian laughed softly and said, "I know this."
Shen Yi looked back at him.
Zhang Fuzun said with a smile: "If we suffer a loss, then the battlefield of the decisive battle will be in Yanzhou Mansion."
Shen Yi smiled hoarsely: "What if we have the upper hand?"
Zhang Jian squinted his eyes and said with a smile: "Of course he is in Jinan Mansion."
Mr. Shen smiled and said nothing, but changed the topic.
"Brother, our Huai'an Army is recruiting new soldiers now. We are going to recruit soldiers from Xuzhou Prefecture. You can write a note later and ask the local officials in Xuzhou to cooperate."
Zhang Jian was a little surprised.
"Aren't you going to recruit troops from our own hometown of Dachen?"
"Senior brother, aren't you narrow-minded?"
Mr. Shen smiled and said: "Xuzhou, isn't it our hometown of Dachen?"
Zhang Jian was startled, then nodded.
"Yes, Xuzhou has established a household system and unified the people. It is already a local area."
He looked up at Shen Yi and suddenly smiled: "Ziheng, I received a letter from my eldest father yesterday."
Shen Yi then looked back at Zhang Jian and asked, "What did the old prime minister say?"
"My eldest father praised me in the letter and said that I have done everything very well in the past few years. He is very satisfied."
Speaking of this, Zhang Fuzun's eyes became a little wet.
"Ziheng may not know that my father has been extremely strict with us brothers since we were young. This is the first time that he has written a letter to praise me."
Hearing this, Shen Yi asked: "Senior brother was selected as a Jinshi, and the old prime minister didn't praise him a few words?"
"No."
Zhang Jian wiped his eyes with his sleeve: "My eldest father rarely praises others."
He looked at Shen Yi and clenched his fists slightly under his sleeves: "Zi Heng, I understand."
Shen Yi was stunned: "Senior brother, what do you want to understand?"
Zhang Jian said in a deep voice: "I have children. My son is nearly ten years old, and I have brothers. My parents and elders at home are taken care of."
"There's nothing to worry about."
He looked at Shen Yi and said, "On this Northern Expedition, you and I will go together as brothers."
"If the Northern Expedition fails in the future and you, Shen Ziheng, are convicted of crimes by the imperial court, my brother will no longer be such a troublesome official!"
Shen Yi felt a little moved, but he still shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "Brother, I can be your civil servant with peace of mind. Senior brother doesn't have to worry about the war."
He clasped his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "Speaking of it, if one day I am convicted, I have to hope that my senior brother will pardon me after he pays homage to the prime minister."
The two senior brothers chatted for a long time at the city gate before saying goodbye and leaving each other.
Zhang Fuzun returned to Yanzhou Magistrate's Yamen, while Shen Yi returned to the study of his temporary official residence.
In the study room, Miss Ye was lowering her head and helping Shen Yi organize the documents.
Seeing Shen Yi walk in, she took out a book from a pile of documents, handed it to Shen Yi, and said, "Master, there is news from Jiankang."
Shen Yi took it casually and asked: "What is so important that you need to show me immediately?"
"Master, you will know after seeing it."
Shen Yi smiled and took the document. After unfolding it, he glanced briefly and the smile on his face disappeared.
The content on the document is very simple.
The Queen has given birth...
Another daughter.
Mr. Shen closed the document, exhaled a breath, and turned to look at Jiankang.