According to Hao Bainian's original plan, he just hoped that some Ming troops from Yizhang or Chenzhou would come out to attack his own logistics supply line, and then let the hidden First Infantry Regiment cooperate with the cavalry troops to eat up some of the Ming troops who dared to come out.
After weakening the Ming army in the direction of Yizhang or Chenzhou City, he would lead the main force of the First Infantry Division to turn back, then attack and capture Yizhang or Chenzhou City, and finally capture the entire Chenzhou.
He never expected that his march north would be able to mobilize nearly 100,000 Ming troops from almost all of the southern Huguang area!
If he had been told, he would have been greatly surprised. What surprised him was not the determination of the Ming army, but the fact that the Ming army's poor command system was able to complete an army of more than 100,000 people, and it was also a coordinated operation in multiple directions at the same time.
Fight? Even I can't handle such a large-scale tactical mobilization!
This kind of ultra-large-scale tactical mobilization has very high requirements for the command system, and it also requires an efficient communication system. Otherwise, the various units will not be able to effectively cooperate and achieve coordinated operations.
Therefore, Hao Bainian never imagined that the Ming army would rely on the backward and traditional method of fast horses to transmit information, and was preparing to launch a battle involving 100,000 people and operating in multiple directions at the same time.
Today, he is still focused on the Ming army in the direction of Yizhang and Chenzhou!
Although he continued to move north with the main force of the 1st Infantry Division, the speed of moving north was not very fast. This was so that he could return south to Chenzhou and Yizhang at any time.
As for the First Infantry Regiment and the First Cavalry Battalion, they had already hid in a small village with hidden terrain shortly after bypassing Yizhang. At the same time, they sent a large number of reconnaissance cavalry to monitor Yizhang at any time.
And the Ming army in the direction of Chenzhou.
On the eighth day of December, just a few days ago, southern Huguang ushered in a sudden cold wave, which caused a significant cooling in southern Huguang. Although southern Huguang is in the south, it is not as snowy as in the north, but
The wind was also biting. If they had only worn thin autumn clothes, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty fighting in southern Huguang would have suffered a large number of non-combat casualties due to the severe cold.
However, the Tang Army had been planning this battle since the first half of the year, and naturally took into consideration the issue of winter operations. The relevant troops had already received winter uniforms before they officially went north to fight.
The winter military uniforms of the Tang Dynasty Army are basically similar in style to the summer military uniforms, but they are mainly cotton-padded jackets, with the same blue tops and red trousers. Some of these military uniforms were produced in Zhaoqing, Wuzhou, Liuzhou and even Foshan, Guangzhou and other places.
They are produced by small garment factories directly under the Ministry of Home Industry, but most of them are produced by private workshops in various cities.
These private workshops cooperate with the garment factories of the Ministry of Industry. After receiving the raw materials, they process them according to a unified standard and then restock them, thereby earning processing fees that are not too high.
In fact, not only army uniforms, but also many other uniforms in the Tang Dynasty were produced by private workshops in this way, including navy uniforms, uniforms of patrol police everywhere, and uniforms of tax inspection teams.
Even in major factories, most of the clothes for workers in the mining areas and the clothes for the soldiers in the settlement regiments are produced in this way.
Because it is a large-scale production and the raw materials are directly produced by the textile factory of the Ministry of Industry, the cost of cotton yarn is much lower than that of cotton yarn spun by folk women. Compared with the cost of cloth produced by large-scale looms, the cost is also lower.
The cost of raw materials is relatively low, and because it is produced on a large scale, even if it is hand-sewn, the price of the garment is still much cheaper than the price of garments of the same quality on the market.
This was originally a production model thought up by the Tang Dynasty in order to save money on linens, but in Li Xuan's opinion, it was a mistake that created the modern textile industry.
Although now, whether it is a yarn factory or a weaving factory, its craftsmanship is still stuck at the average level of this era. In Li Xuan's view, it is extremely backward. Steam power is not introduced, but the most primitive accumulation of energy and even manpower are used. But even
In this way, the cost of integrated large-scale production is still incomparable to that of ordinary families and small workshops.
When you have a cost advantage, you can have a market. Once you have a market, you will naturally be able to make profits and spur a new step in the development of technology.
Even though Li Xuan, a later generation, did not systematically study the development of modern industry, he still knew that modern industry began with the textile industry.
Owning the textile industry is equivalent to owning the beginning of industrialization!
Today, the military uniforms worn by the soldiers heading north to Huguang are the fruits of the initial industrialization of the Tang Dynasty!
In fact, if it were not for the factories of the Ministry of Industry to reduce costs, just equipping nearly 100,000 army and navy officers with uniforms would be a huge expense.
However, the soldiers' uniforms are provided directly by the military for free, but the officers' uniforms need to be paid for out of their own pockets.
On the one hand, officers have more military uniforms, which are divided into combat uniforms, formal dress, court uniforms, etc., as well as summer and winter uniforms. On the other hand, the fabrics used are also relatively good. For example, school officers and general officers like to wear them.
The winter coat is made of satin and is not cheap.
Another very important point is that the salaries of officers are relatively high. In the Tang Dynasty Army, the basic monthly salary of a second lieutenant is twenty-five taels. In addition, during combat, there is also a combat allowance of ten taels, which means
, even if he is not fighting, the monthly salary of a second lieutenant is twenty-five taels of silver. If he is performing combat missions, then he will have thirty-five taels of silver every month.
This number is not a small number!
After paying relatively high salaries to officers, the military will naturally not take advantage of them. Therefore, officers' uniforms and even extra meals will require additional expenditures.
At this time, Colonel Sun Shuangxi, the commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment, was wearing the satin military coat worn by many colonel officers, and was discussing with several other officers.
"The reconnaissance cavalry has reported that the Ming army in the direction of Yizhang has begun to leave the city, and there are a lot of Ming troops leaving the city, more than 8,000 people. Judging from their direction, there is no doubt that they are going to intercept
Our army’s logistics supply line!”
"However, we have informed the Fourth Transportation Regiment of the Logistics Department in advance that they will evade in advance. If nothing else happens, they should not come into contact with the Ming Army's attacking troops. However, before we defeat these Ming Army, the first
The Eighth Transport Group will definitely not be able to move forward!"
Although the Fourth Transportation Regiment bears the name of a regiment, it is actually not a standing force of the military, but a civilian army directly affiliated with the Logistics Department. Except for a few people in it, they are civilian officers and extremely important personnel from the Logistics Department.
Except for a few escorting soldiers, most of them were civilians recruited temporarily.
In order to provide logistics transportation to the frontline troops, the Logistics Department has established a large-scale logistics transportation team. Just to supply the First Infantry Division of the First Army, the fourth regiment was temporarily organized to fight. The Logistics Department organized a total of eight
Transportation groups, each group is about a thousand people in size, and are responsible for the transportation of one section of the route, and carry out transportation in a relay manner.
On other fronts, the Logistics Department has also organized a large number of transportation groups. However, the number of these transportation groups varies. The specific number depends on how many troops they need to supply supplies, because the transportation group is not mobile, but is only responsible for one section.
route, so the size of some transportation groups reaches more than a thousand people, and may even exceed more than two thousand people, but some only have two or three hundred people.
The civilian laborers in these transportation units are not unified, but are recruited directly from neighboring areas on a temporary basis. They need to bring their own tools such as poles and baskets. The logistics department will also provide wheelbarrows and other tools. They are not paid, but they will be given rations.
These days, it is not easy for people to have enough to eat. In addition, the transportation team only transports baggage in the rear and will not directly go deep into the front line. The transportation of materials near the front line is the task of the baggage troops in each combat unit. Therefore, the civilian husbands
safety can still be guaranteed.
Being able to have enough to eat, and being safe and secure, it is relatively easy to recruit civilian laborers, especially during slack times.
However, the recruitment period cannot last too long. After all, they are all farmers. If the busy farming season comes, they will need to go home to farm, so the mobility of civilians in these transportation units will also be very high.
Of course, even during the busy farming season, if the troops have combat missions, the military will not let them go easily, but will also provide certain subsidies to reduce their resistance.
The Fourth Transportation Regiment is the transportation unit responsible for the Yizhang section. Because this section is relatively dangerous, a team of soldiers is assigned to protect it.
However, a mere team of soldiers was naturally unable to resist the Ming army's attacking force of 8,000 people.
At this time, it is time for the First Infantry Regiment to appear.
And this is also the goal of Hao Bainian and many other generals. They go around in such a big circle just to annihilate the eight thousand Ming troops coming out of Yizhang. As long as these eight thousand people are killed, the Ming troops in Yizhang City will at most be defeated.
There are only a few thousand people left. When the army comes together, it will take a matter of minutes to capture Yizhang.
Therefore, after the First Infantry Regiment received the Yizhang Ming Army's attack, they set out without hesitation. They would quickly pounce on the eight thousand Ming Army and eat them.
But at this time, the soldiers of the First Infantry Regiment did not know, nor did Hao Bainian, that the Ming troops from Chenzhou City, Linwu and other directions had all attacked, and even the Ming troops from the direction of Guiyang Prefecture, Hengzhou Prefecture, had also attacked.
At this time, the Ming army in the direction of Linwu was galloping towards Yizhang!
There were about 10,000 Ming troops from the direction of Guiyang Prefecture in Hengzhou Prefecture, and they rushed directly to the rear of the main force of the 1st Infantry Division!
The Ming army in the direction of Chenzhou, together with more than 10,000 Ming troops in Chenzhou City and nearby areas, rushed towards the temporary fourth regiment!
Even the Ming army in Hengzhou Prefecture took the initiative and advanced towards the First Infantry Division!
For a time, the Ming army gathered a large number of troops from multiple directions to attack, in order to cut off the supply line of the Tang rebels heading north, and then surround the 1st Infantry Division, the main force of the puppet Tang rebel army.