Chapter seven hundred and seventy third national flag
On February 20, Li Zhi arrived at the Huai'an front line for inspection.
Although Li Zhi now has 100,000 tiger troops, 20,000 are suppressing the newly annexed peninsula in North Korea, 50,000 are handling land verification matters in Henan, and Tianjin needs 10,000 troops to intimidate all parties. The Huai'an front line always has only
There were 20,000 infantrymen of the Tiger Army. Including thousands of artillerymen later supported by the navy, the total number was 28,000.
Previously, there were only 20,000 troops in Huai'an. Later, as the Jiangbei Army continued to equip new rifles and its firepower became more and more fierce, Zheng Kaicheng had to ask Li Zhi for additional troops. Fortunately, the navy is not participating in the war now, and there are more than 10,000 artillerymen on each navy ship.
, Li Zhi mobilized 8,000 people to strengthen Huai'an's defense.
Twenty-eight thousand men guarded the trenches day and night to prevent Jiangbei's army from advancing northward, and the fight was quite difficult.
It wasn't that the Jiangbei Army's attack was unbearable, but that the living conditions in the trenches were too poor.
Of course, after fighting for more than half a year, the current trench environment has improved. The first is the rain shelter, which was built a few days after the trench was dug. Later, it was continuously expanded, and now it can cover the trench during heavy rain. There are still some buildings in the trench.
Rest rooms were built with bricks and cement at regular intervals so that the soldiers could sleep indoors instead of sleeping on the dirt.
But no matter what, the environment in the trench is still very difficult. Because it is underground after all, when it rains, the soil on both sides of the trench will be completely wet, and it will not dry for several days. In addition, there are many mosquitoes in the south,
There are a lot of them underground, and bites and even diseases often occur.
However, the Jiangbei Army was stuck outside Huai'an City like brown candy. The 160,000 Jiangbei Army seemed to realize that the Huben Army was not strong enough and refused to leave.
Li Zhi stood in the trench and used a telescope to observe the Jiangbei Army in the distance.
In fact, Jiangbei Army is also fighting in trenches now.
The Jiangbei Army was not stupid, and they would naturally learn the advanced tactics of trenches when they saw them. Although the Huben Army was unable to counterattack, and the Jiangbei Army was not in danger of being attacked for the time being, Shi Kefa still asked the soldiers to learn from the Tiger Army's trench digging, and let the ten
Sixty thousand soldiers were fighting in the trenches.
Sixteen thousand people surrounded Huai'an City from the south and east. They all hid in trenches, including the cannons.
Both sides are in trenches, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. On weekdays, the infantry of both sides basically does not participate in the battle. The only attack and defense on the battlefield comes from the artillery of both sides. The artillery of the Jiangbei Army fired hundreds of shots at the Huben Army's position from time to time, although there were not many.
A single artillery shell could be fired into the trench, but Jiangbei Army seemed to rely on this to prove its status as an attacker.
The Huben Army will naturally fight back. Although the effect is also not good, being beaten without fighting back will greatly damage morale. The Huben Army's artillery will shoot hundreds of rounds at him from time to time.
Compared with the trench system of the Huben Army, the trenches of the Jiangbei Army did not have iron wires and bunkers, and their defensive power was somewhat inferior. However, the defensive power of the trench system in the era of rifled guns was really high. Even if these facilities were lacking, the defense system of the Jiangbei Army was very strong.
Judging from the situation, even if the Huben Army sends tens of thousands more people, they may not be able to counterattack and defeat the trenches of the Jiangbei Army.
This is also the reason why Jiangbei Army still dared to fight against Li Zhi alone after both Korea and the intruders were defeated by Li Zhi.
Li Zhi used his binoculars to look in the trench for a long time, but could not find any obvious loopholes in Jiangbei's army.
Both Zuo Liangyu and Wu Sangui were famous generals in history, and they did have some skills in war planning. Especially on the eastern front where Wu Sangui was in charge, Wu Sangui even dug trenches into prismatic shapes, which seemed to have the effect of using the prismatic layout.
Seeing the intention of flanking fire, Li Zhi had to nod.
Zheng Kaicheng asked: "Your Majesty, the Jiangbei Army is dragging us in Huai'an and seems to be using the battle under the city of Huai'an as a training ground. What should we do?"
Li Zhi thought for a while and said: "Just drag it, they can only hold back our 30,000 troops. They train troops, and we train troops too."
"When our tax collectors and police teams are established in Henan, and 50,000 tiger soldiers are mobilized from Henan, it will be time for us to counterattack."
Zheng Kaicheng was stunned and asked: "Wouldn't it take at least another year?"
Li Zhi pursed his lips and said, "I'm afraid it will take a year."
Zheng Kaicheng thought for a long time and said: "Fortunately, there are no casualties in the stalemate under Huai'an City, just one year."
Li Zhi nodded.
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Li Zhi stayed at the front line in Huai'an for a few days and then returned to Tianjin.
The atmosphere in Tianjin and Fanjiazhuang is still very lively.
Last month, I heard that Li Zhi was named the Queen of Tianjin County. People in Fanjiazhuang and Tianjin put up lanterns and streamers, and the atmosphere was even more lively than the Chinese New Year. There were firecrackers and gongs and drums everywhere, and some folk lion and dragon dance teams also spontaneously came out.
Parade. Red lanterns were hung all over the streets and alleys, and the people also put red flags in front of their doors.
This kind of small flag was invented by Li Zhi. It has been printed and produced in large quantities since last month. It is sold cheaply in Tianjin and Shandong for a penny each. There are seven white five-pointed stars painted on it. Six are small stars and one is a big one.
The big star is in the middle of the red flag, symbolizing a town in Tianjin. The six small stars are in a circle surrounding the big star in the middle, symbolizing the six provinces under Li Zhi's command.
This flag is actually the national flag of Li Zhi, which is a bit offensive. However, the Ming Dynasty had little interaction with the West and did not have a national flag system. Therefore, when Li Zhi came up with this flag, people of this era did not feel that this flag was related to the Ming Dynasty.
There was a conflict over national sovereignty, and no one from the emperor's capital to Li Zhi's town or six provinces raised any objections.
Li Zhi promoted this kind of flag in the newspaper to symbolize one town and six provinces, so that everyone could use it widely.
As soon as Li Zhi walked twenty miles south of Tianjin, he saw the welcoming team all holding such small flags.
The first common people held a banner with the slogan "Warmly welcome the prince to return for inspection!". Next to it was another banner that read "Warmly celebrate the prince's canonization as the county king!", and next to it was another banner with the slogan "Warmly welcome the prince to return for inspection!"
It reads "Warmly celebrate the recovery of Henan Province!"
Li Zhi would sometimes hang banners and write slogans outside the city hall, and the people would also follow suit.
The last time Li Zhi came back from the capital after being granted the title of Commander-in-Chief, the people in Tianjin had not prepared banners to welcome Li Zhi. This time it took Li Zhi a month to go out for inspection, but the people had prepared all the things and had them all printed out.
Not only were banners prepared, these people also prepared various things to welcome Li Zhi.
Li Zhi walked in with his bodyguards, and saw many children running out on both sides of the road, scattering picked azalea petals on the bodyguards.
The annexation of North Korea and the recovery of Henan from the invaders this time symbolized the strong strength of the Tianjin system and made the people of Tianjin very proud. After the two major provinces were merged into Li Zhi's system, Li Zhi's laws were implemented, and
The people of Tianjin bring unlimited business opportunities, and these are real benefits.
Maybe not everyone in Tianjin can do business, but they can buy stocks of industrial and commercial enterprises and benefit from it.
Li Zhi walked a little further and saw dozens of folk lion dance teams jumping and dancing on both sides of the road. The people on both sides beat gongs and drums, turning today's welcome into a triumphal ceremony.
Li Zhi smiled and rode forward, all the way into the city of Tianjin, which was decorated with lights and colors.
