In addition to the 1st Supplementary Brigade, which can free up the 1st Infantry Division, the same can be said for the 2nd Supplementary Brigade in the Liping and Xingquan areas. The 2nd Infantry Division can also be freed from the heavy tasks of maintaining rear security and supply lines.
Come and focus on fighting the main force of the Ming army.
The 3rd Supplementary Brigade can also free up the 4th Infantry Division to focus on fighting in Yunnan and western Guizhou.
Therefore, although these three supplementary brigades are not yet able to go to the battlefield, they can free more main troops to go to the battlefield, so their value far exceeds that of a few recruit battalions, and this is why Li Xuan wants to
One of the main reasons for replenishing the brigade.
However, although Li Xuan had high hopes for the supplementary brigade, the army's senior officials were not very optimistic about the supplementary brigade. In their view, to expand the army, it would be best to follow the model of two mixed regiments and directly recruit the main force from the main force.
A part of the troops will be transferred into the organic system, and then a part of the new soldiers will be added. By using the old to lead the new, they can be directly brought to the battlefield. After fighting a few battles, the new soldiers will naturally become veterans.
The old troops that have transferred veterans can also directly replenish new recruits. Although it will temporarily affect the combat effectiveness of the old troops, the actual impact is not significant.
Nowadays, this kind of supplementary brigade is simply unnecessary!
Li Xuan was speechless. The main purpose of this supplementary brigade was not to expand the army, but mainly to train new soldiers. Army expansion was just a side effect. If it was just to free up the main force, he might as well directly establish a second-line force, such as
It used to be a garrison, a bandit camp and the like.
Moreover, there is a huge difference between the cost of the main force and the cost of the supplementary brigade, whether it is personnel salaries or equipment costs. The equipment used by the supplementary brigade is the equipment that has been eliminated by the main force and is no longer used. Basically, there is no need to spend money to purchase additional ones.
This can also save a lot of expenses.
Secondly, there is personnel salary. The soldiers in the supplementary brigade are all new recruits, and their military rank is only the lowest rank of private. There are not many non-commissioned officers, and they are all transferred from the main force to serve as instructors. Most of the officers are rookies who have just graduated from the martial arts school.
Mainly officers, warrant officers, and second lieutenants, while mid-level and senior officers, like non-commissioned officers, are mainly responsible for teaching.
Therefore, the number of high-level soldiers in the supplementary brigade is far lower than that of the regular army, which can save a lot of personnel salary expenses. Although the first-class soldiers, second-class soldiers, and non-commissioned officers at all levels are all of the same rank as soldiers, there is no difference between them.
There is a huge difference in salaries.
After the reorganization and reform of the Army of the Tang Dynasty, a second-class soldier's monthly salary was one to two eight yuan. They could get all of this money. As for his other living expenses in the army, including food, uniforms, and combat expenses
Tools, etc., but the troops are all covered. If these are taken into account, the expenditure provided by the Tang Army for each soldier can basically be about four taels of silver.
Well, the bulk of it is food!
The salary of a first-class soldier can be increased to two taels of silver per month. As for the salary of a non-commissioned officer, it is higher, and a corporal needs four taels of silver.
In the regular army, the proportion of first-class soldiers is very high. After basically completing recruit training and participating in a battle in the army, you can basically be promoted from second-class soldiers to first-class soldiers.
Even the proportion of non-commissioned officers is very high. For example, in an infantry platoon, there will also be more than one non-commissioned officer, and some may have two non-commissioned officers.
As for the technical arms, such as artillery, the proportion of non-commissioned officers is higher. As for the cavalry, they are all non-commissioned officers. At present, a qualified regular cavalry in the Tang Dynasty has the lowest rank of non-commissioned officer, while the ranks of private and first class are,
It is usually the rank of cavalry in the training stage of new recruits. After officially entering the regular cavalry battalion, they basically start as corporals.
The supplementary brigade model will undoubtedly save a lot of military expenses compared to the regular army. This is why Li Xuan established a supplementary brigade.
With the supplementary brigade as a supplement, several main infantry divisions on the front line have successively got rid of their original messy tasks, began to assemble on a large scale, and prepared for this winter's large-scale offensive!
In late November of the second year of Xuanping, although Zhaoqing and Guangzhou were still as warm as autumn, Shaozhou Prefecture, especially the northernmost part near Shaozhou Prefecture and the frontline confrontation area near Yichang, Huguang, was already relatively cold.
Both the people and the soldiers of the Imperial Army of the Tang Dynasty stationed here have already put on winter clothes.
At the gate of Shaozhou Prefecture, Hao Bainian looked at the gloomy sky, then tightened his black satin military coat, looked back at Shaozhou Prefecture, and then decisively turned back and said: "Let's go!"
As he took steps to get on his horse, a group of officers behind him also got on their horses, and more soldiers were already carrying their muskets and spears and started heading north on both sides of the road.
Hao Bainian, the former commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade and commander of the 1st Army, did not change his position much after the army reorganization in the second half of this year. He changed from the 1st Infantry Brigade to the commander of the 1st Infantry Division.
, In addition, he is still the commander of the First Army.
However, the current First Army is different from the previous First Army. Naturally, the current First Army does not have a messy garrison. There is only one First Infantry Division. In addition, the Third Infantry Division under Major General Chen Keqiao is also direct.
It is under the jurisdiction of the First Army. In addition to these two main infantry divisions, the First Army also has the temporary first regiment and the temporary fourth regiment.
With two full divisions and two temporary regiments, the main force commanded by Hao Bainian had an unprecedented number of more than 30,000 people. Among them, the two infantry divisions had a full strength of 25,000 people, plus two more
There are nearly 3,000 people in a temporary regiment, and the total strength is not too much or too little, just 31,000 people!
The First Army, with its two divisions and two temporary regiments, was the main force heading north to Huguang.
This is also a force that he, Hao Bainian, can command. He knows very well that although the Tang Army has many troops, there are more places where troops are needed. There are many troops that need to be stationed in almost all directions, even if there are other troops heading north as a whole.
troops, but he knew that whether he could capture southern Huguang and create a new situation would depend on his First Army.
Secondly, the Second Infantry Division will participate in the Huguang operation. However, this Second Infantry Division is not under the control of the First Army for the time being, but operates independently. The front lines responsible for the Second Infantry Division will include northeastern Guizhou, Hunan
The southern region of Guangxi mainly cooperates with the First Army.
In other words, the Tang Dynasty Army had a total of three divisions plus two temporary regiments prepared to participate in the Huguang Operation, with a total strength of about 43,000 people.
As for other directions, there are not too many troops deployed. The Sixth Infantry Division is still stationed in the entire Pearl River Delta region. Until the threat of the Ming Navy is gone, the Tang Dynasty must be in the Pearl River Delta at all times.
Heavy troops are deployed in the triangle area.
The 5th Infantry Division, which had just formed an army, finally went into battle for the first time after more than half a year of training. Their combat direction was towards the northeastern part of Guangdong, that is, the northern area of Huizhou Prefecture.
The main direction of subsequent operations is Jiangxi. From a strategic perspective, the Fifth Infantry Division is still fighting to cooperate with the First Army.
The First Mixed Regiment, after being replenished, continued to garrison the Chaozhou area and confront the Ming army from Nan'ao Island and Fujian direction. Their main task was not to attack Fujian or Nan'ao Island, but to prevent the Ming army from coming from here.
direction, so their mission is actually strategic defense. In addition, there is a temporary fifth regiment to cooperate with them.
The defense area of the Fourth Infantry Division in the Guangxi direction has become relatively large. The entire Guangxi, as well as part of Yunnan and the southwestern areas of Guizhou belong to the Fourth Infantry Division's defense area. Because the control area is too large,
It is already difficult for the Fourth Infantry Division to concentrate now. There is often a battalion in one place and a battalion in that place. It is difficult to even concentrate the strength of an infantry regiment.
However, the Ming army on the western front was originally small and relatively scattered, so the impact was not too great.
In order to cooperate with the Fourth Infantry Division's garrison in Guangxi and southwestern Guizhou, and at the same time to free up its troops to continue attacking Yunnan and even Sichuan, there are more temporary regiments in this direction, and the second regiment is temporarily organized.
, the temporary third group is here.
It is worth mentioning that Guiyang, which had been besieged for many months, finally couldn't hold on anymore and was captured by the Tang Dynasty King's Army in October.
The last temporary fifth regiment is the Lianzhou Prefecture stationed in the Beibu Gulf. Its main response direction is Vietnam. Its main task is to cooperate with the second mixed regiment to consolidate the defense of the area surrounding the Beibu Gulf.
The above-mentioned units, including the Sixth Infantry Division, the Third Infantry Division, and two mixed regiments and temporary regiments, also need to assume the task of the strategic reserve of the Datang King Division.
As for the Guards in the King's Division of the Tang Dynasty, they have never participated in the deployment of the army. Although the Guards has reached more than 6,000 people and is still increasing, there are no surprises with this Guards.
If so, they should always be stationed in Zhaoqing City. Unless Li Xuan leads his army to conquer again, he will go to the front line again.
On November 28, Hao Bainian, who arrived at the Yichang front line, accepted the angel's edict and decisively issued the order for the First Infantry Division to attack.
Due to the poor communication capabilities these days, Li Xuan wrote a secret order in advance to capture southern Huguang and seize Changsha as the core goal, and sent special envoys to carry them to various places, mainly to bring the order to Hao Bainian.
Xi Tong, Chen Keqiao and other senior generals agreed to launch an attack at the same time on November 28.
So today, not only the 1st Infantry Division launched an attack, the 2nd Infantry Division, the 3rd Infantry Division and two temporary regiments all launched a fierce attack on the Ming army in front of them on the same day!
One day, just one day, the Huguang Ming Army declared an emergency across the board!