Moreover, the scope of the campaign was very wide, starting from the northeastern region of Hebei, then to Liaoxi Province, Liaodong Province, Northeastern Province, and almost the entire Northeastern region.
Without a real military boss, a general-level boss, it would be impossible to command so many troops and conduct such a wide range of operations.
Li Xuan had been considering the candidate for the commander of the Northeast Expedition since last winter, and it was not until now after the Lantern Festival in the 18th year of Xuanping that he decided.
This person is Fang Xitong. Outsiders scornfully call him General Tongjun in the Army of the Tang Dynasty. They paraphrase Tong Jinshi and say that Fang Xitong is not an army general at all, at most he is just a general Tongjun...
Frankly speaking, this person's military talent is not very good, at least not in the Tang Army, which is full of talents!
But there is one thing about this person that Li Xuan admires, and that is that this person is very loyal. His loyalty can even be said to be the kind of foolish loyalty. He will do whatever Li Xuan asks him to do, so...
This would wipe out an army of 100,000 people, and he wouldn't even frown!
This kind of almost pathological stupid loyalty also allowed him to maintain his position in the talented Tang Army!
When the Tang Dynasty was still settled in Guizhou and Guangxi provinces, he was the major general commander of the Second Infantry Brigade of the main force, and then the commander of the Second Army, one of the earliest army commanders.
They were also among the first batch of military commanders to be promoted to lieutenant general.
His career in the army was not commendable in terms of performance. He was far less dazzling than Hao Bainian, Li Chunjing, Chen Keqiao and others. However, he had been serving in the field army and was a hand-picker from beginning to end.
Take military power.
Although his military rank has not changed in more than ten years and has always been lieutenant general, he has served as commander of five armies. Even in the past few years, his military rank cannot be suppressed. Li Xuan
After he was promoted to general, he was still not transferred back to the Gyeonggi Privy Council. Instead, as an army general, he concurrently served as the commander of the First Army.
Take control of an army of more than 100,000 soldiers on the Fourth Road of Zhili, and become the commander who controls the outer defense line of the Gyeonggi region of the Tang Empire!
This man was not outstanding in terms of military record. Even many outsiders did not know that there was an Army General like Fang Xitong in the Tang Army!
But in Li Xuan's heart, this person was no less important than Hao Bainian, or even more important than Hao Bainian.
Most of the other top military officials are aware of Fang Xitong's special nature, so over the years, many army generals have actually complained about Fang Xitong. This man has no abilities and has not won many battles, but he has
He has always been in control of the entire army. In recent years, he has made an exception as an army general and concurrently serves as the commander of the First Army.
Not even Hao Bainian has received this kind of treatment!
Since the empire completely unified China, Hao Bainian has basically not controlled the actual military power. He has lived idle in Jinling City for seven or eight years. It was only in the past two years that he became the minister on duty, and then regained power.
And Li Chunjing, Chen Keqiao and other generals who were frightened by the former Ming emperors and ministers, now they can only grow flowers and raise birds in Jinling City. They are called the Holy Emperor who treats his heroes well, so that
They enjoy glory and wealth, but in the conscience of heaven and earth, they are all still around forty years old, which is the golden age of a general.
But there is no way, this is reality!
In today's imperial military circles, with the exception of Fang Xitong, the other field army commanders are all lieutenant generals, and the division commanders and brigade commanders are all major generals. There is no general at the level of general leading troops outside.
After the unification of China, Li Xuan recalled most of the senior heroes and generals to Jinling City, and awarded them the military rank of Army General, either as ministers of various ministries, or as deputy envoy to the Privy Council, with titles ranging from marquis to duke.
There are several of them, but that's all. It's impossible to continue leading troops.
If any of the three men, Hao Bainian, Li Chunjing, and Chen Keqiao, were allowed to lead the troops outside, to be honest, Li Xuan would have to worry about them leading troops to Jinling City that day.
If they lead troops to rebel, there really won't be many generals in the Tang Army who can compete with them!
For example, Li Chunjing, this man is as cunning as a fox in his military tactics, and ordinary people cannot keep up with his thinking.
Back then, the Ming army was tricked by him. If one day he led the troops to rebel, Li Xuan would probably be on tenterhooks. If he sent a general like Fang Xitong to fight Li Chunjing, I'm afraid Fang Xitong would destroy the whole army and himself.
I don’t know how I lost!
Therefore, Li Xuan felt that it would be better for powerful men like Hao Bainian, Li Chunjing, and Chen Keqiao to stay in Jinling City, planting flowers and raising birds. At most, like Hao Bainian, they could participate in government affairs and transform from generals to politicians.
As for leading troops to fight, as long as there is no major change, such as a crisis of national annihilation, they can't expect to be able to lead troops to fight.
In fact, Li Xuan originally did not plan to set up a Northeast Expedition Command, but the situation in the Northeast was more complicated, so he had no choice but to temporarily set up one.
What's more, Li Xuan is also preparing to take this opportunity to integrate the current command system of the Army of the Tang Dynasty. There are now seventeen armies in the Tang Dynasty. In theory, each army has a complex direction, but when coordinated operations occur,
But it's even more troublesome.
In the future, as the empire builds troops in Nanyang, the Western Regions and other regions, a larger defense area will inevitably appear. Therefore, it is inevitable to establish a higher-level command structure above the military-level troops.
It is an inevitable development for the army to become a real field army and for higher-level headquarters to replace the functions of today's military-level headquarters.
In addition, this can also arrange more generals at the general level.
What will happen if there are too many generals?
It will share the prestige and power of the more than a dozen active generals and generals.
In other words, when there are too many generals, they will become less valuable, and the influence of Hao Bainian and Li Chunjing will continue to decline.
Although Li Xuan may also grant the rank of marshal in the future, it will definitely be after Li Xuan can completely divide the influence of the existing generals in the army.
By that time, the rank of marshal should also be a purely honorary rank. At most, it will be awarded to generals when they are about to retire and treated as an honorary rank.
Fang Xitong became the commander of the Northeast Expedition without any delay. After handing over the work, he built a ship and headed straight for Liaodong. He was going to take over his 100,000-strong army and launch the Northeast Campaign.
On the fast communication ship of the Army's First Marine Transport Division, Fang Xitong stood on the deck, stroking a nine-pound naval gun while looking at the port ahead.
Now his ship has been traveling on the sea for a long time, and is finally about to arrive in Gaizhou. After disembarking from Gaizhou, he will go directly to Shenyang, the capital of Liaodong Province.
The city used to be a strategic town in the Liaodong region. It was not only a military fortress, but also an important settlement area. After the Tang Dynasty recovered the Liaodong region, it also used this place as its ruling center in Liaodong, and established the provincial capital of Liaodong Province in Here, at the same time, a large number of immigrants migrated to Shenyang from the Guannei area.
On the way to Shenyang, Fang Xitong was always thinking about how to complete the mission assigned by His Majesty!
To completely conquer the Northeastern region, if it is purely a military conquest, it is actually very simple. Under the sweep of a hundred thousand troops, no matter whether it is Chahar, the Duoyan Three Guards, or other chaotic tribes, they will not be able to resist it.
The problem is, after the military conquest, how to completely eliminate the local barbarians and provide a safe living space for the immigrants who are about to arrive on a large scale.
For this reason, Fang Xitong prepared two paths!
On the one hand, it is a pure military strike. The army moves northward to sweep across and deal a devastating blow to the enemy's military power. On the other hand, it is for the reserve divisions behind to follow up and continue the purge mission.
Otherwise, if the army marches north, although it defeats the main force of the barbarians, after these barbarians escape and disperse, they will still seriously threaten the rule of the empire. And after the immigrants arrive, they can only huddle in the city and fortress where the army is garrisoned. But you can't go to the vast wilderness to build villages and colonize.
He must ensure the safety of the immigrants who are following the army for settlement. Therefore, although the military attack in the early stage may be heavy, in fact, what is more important is the clearing task in the later stage.
Any barbarian left behind can threaten the safety of the unarmed immigrants at any time!
After all, although the settlers had militiamen and were equipped with matchlocks and swords, they did not have flintlocks or cannons. The danger when encountering barbarian bows, arrows and swords was still very great.
Therefore, the cleanup task must be decisive and resolute!
On the first day after arriving in Shenyang City, Fang Xitong summoned several reserve division commanders who were expected to be responsible for clearing the rear areas. He said this: "The clearing mission must be decisive and resolute. I don't want any immigrants to be affected." Barbarian intrusion!”
"Don't worry, Mr. Fang, the general will do his best to complete the mission!"
Fang Xitong was also one of the few dukes in the Tang Empire. Although many people criticized him when he was named a duke, he was actually the oldest in the Tang Army. What about the infantry brigade commander and corps commander?
Regarding the answers given by his subordinates, Fang Xitong was still barbaric!
Although the subsequent purge mission is more important, it is too complicated and is not his main task. As the commander-in-chief, his task is to lead the main force and defeat the military forces of many barbarians. Therefore, he can only hand over the purge mission to The subordinate went to do it.
Comrade Fang Xi said: "You all know the importance of the purge mission, so I won't say more. You go back and discuss it!" After sending away the commanders of the preliminary divisions, he called Several division commanders, brigade commanders, and regimental commanders of the main force were gathered together to begin the first formal military meeting.