With the development of technology and the large-scale application of guns and artillery, the material consumption level of an army with the same number of people has increased accordingly. If it is the cold weapon era, it only needs to provide basic survival materials such as food and clothing.
It supplies arrows, replacement swords and other cold weapons, and many of these materials can be obtained locally and eaten by the enemy.
But in the age of firearms, the consumption level of materials has increased significantly. The ammunition required for guns and cannons is a huge number, and cannonballs are still made of iron and are very heavy.
Moreover, guns, ammunition, and other items cannot be obtained locally and need to be transported from far behind.
If transportation technology had not been developed accordingly, in fact, the higher the level of firearms, the lower the mobility capabilities of modern armies.
This is also the reason why a series of battles launched by the Tang Army, especially large-scale battles, were often conducted along rivers. It was not that they were willing to go along the waterway, but that logistical pressure forced them to not go too far away from the waterway.
However, the Ming army naturally did not feel much about this, because they were all engaged in defensive operations, and logistical problems were not a big problem for them. They often hoarded a large amount of food in advance in the cities they planned to defend.
and ammunition, there is no need for temporary transportation at all.
Therefore, when they discovered that the puppet Tang rebel army had sent an army of 5,000 people heading northwest, they did not immediately consider whether the logistic supply capabilities of the puppet Tang rebel army could support this army's long-distance march.
What they considered about the long distance attack was that this pseudo-Tang bandit army was headed for Fuzhou.
Wouldn't it be very bad if the puppet Tang bandits attacked Fuzhou?
In an instant, they dispatched fast horses to convey urgent military information to the rear, so that friendly forces in the direction of Fuzhou could prepare themselves.
As for sending a large army to intercept?
Sorry, they never thought about this from the beginning!
How many people do they need to send to intercept the 5,000-strong army of the puppet Tang rebels? For local guards, sending 20,000 to 30,000 troops is probably not enough. As for the governor and border troops, it will not work if they send less.
There are too many, so Ji'an is no longer needed. You must know that Taihe, not far away, still has tens of thousands of people as the main force of the puppet Tang thief army.
Five thousand Dubiao and three thousand border troops are their confidence to defend Ji'an, and they must not be used easily!
Once used, Ji'an will be in danger, and if Ji'an is lost, if the main force of the puppet Tang rebel army moves north, Nanchang may be able to hold on, but Fuzhou will definitely be doomed.
Once Fuzhou is over, then South Zhili will also be in danger.
Needless to say, the importance of Southern Zhili to the Ming Dynasty. The puppet Tang bandits occupied Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, and entered southern Huguang and Jiangxi. Although these were uncomfortable, they would not destroy the foundation of the puppet Ming Dynasty at once.
However, if the puppet Tang thief army is allowed to enter South Zhili, even if the puppet Tang thief army cannot completely occupy South Zhili, as long as there is trouble in South Zhili, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's rule will be completely shaken.
For the Ming Dynasty, Ji'an was even more important than Nanchang!
As long as Ji'an is not lost, then Nanchang will be safe, and Fuzhou will also be safe. After all, the puppet Tang rebel army cannot turn a blind eye to Ji'an's 50,000 to 60,000 Ming troops and directly go around to attack Fuzhou or Nanchang.
If the puppet Tang rebel army really did this, then they wouldn't mind a flanking attack from both front and rear!
Several fortified cities were defended and supported each other, thereby suppressing the attack of the puppet Tang rebels, and were defeated one by one. This was already proven feasible by Zhang Yue in Changsha and Hengyang.
In July, the puppet Tang rebel army also wanted to lead the main force to bypass Hengyang and attack Changsha. However, the Ming army in Hengyang City attacked decisively at that time, preparing for a front and rear flank attack with the Changsha defenders. In the end, the leader of the rebel army, Hao Bainian, also
Instead of retreating obediently, he fled back to Shaoyang in embarrassment.
These Ming troops believed that such a successful strategy could also be replicated in Jiangxi!
Although this tactic sounds a bit silly and very passive, it was also a helpless choice made by the Ming army when faced with the powerful combat effectiveness of the puppet Tang rebel army, especially its powerful field combat capabilities.
As long as they persist like this for a few years, when they have built enough guns and trained a large number of new firearms armies, it will be time to launch a massive counterattack, sweep across three provinces, and wipe out the puppet Tang Dynasty.
Zhang Yue and a group of high-level civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty were convinced of this!
The difficulties now are only temporary, but the future is bright!
How dare a mere bandit from the ravine dare to compete with me, the Ming Dynasty? I am so impatient!
Even if the pseudo-Tang Dynasty took advantage of the power of firearms to run rampant for a while, as long as I give the Ming Dynasty a few years, I can still easily destroy them!
But they still don't know that now the puppet Tang rebels have got a new toy, and it's an oversized toy 'heavy howitzer', commonly known as: mortar.
When the Fourth Mixed Regiment marched toward the northeast, the main force of the Second Army in Taihe City was also dispatched. Not only was the first infantry division in the Tang Dynasty to complete reorganization: the Fifth Infantry Division, there were also troops drawn from the rear.
The fifth mixed regiment also has the first heavy artillery battalion and other corresponding auxiliary forces.
In addition to the army, the navy's Ganjiang Squadron is also out in force. More than thirty small and medium-sized river warships will assist the army in launching the Ji'an Campaign.
The main force of the Second Army moved, and the Ming Army spies who had been monitoring the movements of the main force of the Second Army immediately reported the situation to the Ming Army generals in Ji'an Prefecture.
Under such circumstances, they did not dare to act rashly. Even when they learned that the 5,000 puppet Tang rebel army in the northeast had attacked Yongfeng and captured Yongfeng in just one day, they just
Let the tens of thousands of Ming troops in the Jishui direction strengthen their defenses, but strictly order them not to attack.
Taihe was not long away from Luling City, the prefectural city of Ji'an. Although the main movement of the Second Army was limited by the large amount of baggage and the heavy artillery, which made it difficult to march quickly, it took three days to reach the foot of Ji'an City!
In the afternoon of that day, Li Chunjing led a group of middle and high-level generals from the Second Army to the front line to observe the city ahead.
"It seems that the puppet Ming rebels are not lazy. The city's fortifications are really well done!" Li Chunjing used a telescope with great interest to look at Luling City a thousand meters away.
"It doesn't matter how strong this city defense is. It can only withstand a few more rounds of shelling from our siege guns. In this battle, our army will definitely be able to pry open this turtle shell!" Wang Shanxu said confidently on the side.
In the first half of the year, Wang Shanxu led the Fifth Infantry Division and stopped at Luling City. At that time, because the soldiers were tired, they were a step late. By the time they arrived at Luling City, the Ming army had already garrisoned tens of thousands of people in the city.
, he gave up the plan of attacking by force after some testing attacks.
In the following months, he almost watched with his own eyes as the Ming army requisitioned a large number of civilians to reinforce and thicken the city, and also deployed a large number of fortifications outside the city. Needless to say, the moat alone was widened several times.
meters, and also built a large number of obstacles composed of sharpened trees and bamboo pieces.
Numerous artillery pieces were mounted on the top of the city, many of which were large and long-barreled artillery pieces. It was immediately obvious that these artillery pieces were imitated by the Ming Army from the Tang Army's five-pound or even seven-level artillery pieces.
In the past year or two, the Ming Dynasty has used its huge resources to imitate the Tang army's firearms on a large scale. It is said that tens of thousands of muskets have been made, and there are also many imitation five-pound and seven-pound cannons.
These firearms made by the Ming army also made it more difficult for the Tang army to attack the strong city, which directly led to the failure of last autumn and winter offensive!
In this year's autumn and winter offensive, the Tang army faced the same or even greater troubles. Just relying on the numerous artillery on top of Luling City and the looming musketeers, even Li Chunjing felt a little headache.
If there is no heavy siege artillery to rely on, to be honest, he will not come to bite this hard nut anyway.
But now, with heavy siege artillery, especially explosive grenades, Li Chunjing has the confidence to take over this city!
After the inspection, Li Chunjing issued multiple orders in succession. He ordered the fifth mixed regiment to immediately move eastward to Jishui, and cooperate with the fourth mixed regiment to seize Jishui.
In order to defeat the hard nut of Luling City, we must first eliminate the unsightly Ming troops around us, and at the same time we must prevent reinforcements from the Ming troops in the direction of Fuzhou and Nanchang. In this case, seizing Jishui is a must.
The strategic plan of the Second Army has long been determined, because at the same time, the Fourth Mixed Regiment in Yongfeng has begun to turn around. Brigadier General Gu Shizhong has already received the order to march into Jishui today after taking Yongfeng.
Based on time calculation, the fourth mixed group and the fifth mixed group will arrive at Jishui at the same time.
These two mixed groups attack a mere Jishui together, so it’s not a big problem!
It is not a big problem to leave the Fifth Infantry Division and the military auxiliary troops stationed outside Luling City. Anyway, the puppet Ming rebels dare not come out. If they dare to come out and engage in a decisive battle with the Fifth Infantry Division,
Li Chunjing can wake up from his dreams with laughter!
A reorganized Fifth Infantry Division has a huge force of 14,000 people. The total number of ordinary musketeers reaches more than 3,000. In addition, there are more than 300 grenadiers, as well as three auxiliary musketeers in the baggage and artillery.
Hundreds of people, equipped with almost four thousand muskets alone!
More importantly, they also have 54 field guns of five-pound, seven-pound, and twelve-pound divisions, and thirty-six two-pound and three-pound shotguns.
There is also a cavalry battalion with more than 400 men!
There is also a heavy artillery battalion to assist!
At this time, outside Luling City, the total strength of the Second Army reached 18,000 men, and more than a hundred large and small artillery pieces!
If the Ming army dares to come out, Li Chunjing is confident that he will completely defeat or even annihilate the enemy in the field!