While Emperor Zhengde was sitting in Shandong, trying to save the situation through a last-ditch effort, Li Xuan held a new round of promotion ceremony in Jinling City.
With the capture of Anqing, the Battle of Jiangbei can be said to have come to an end, while the Huguang side, according to the strategic concept formulated by the Privy Council, should slow down for the first time.
Zhang Yue's command in the direction of Huguang and Sichuan is too strong. With a main force of more than 100,000, even the confident Tang Army has to act with caution. According to the Privy Council's inference, if they want to capture northern Huguang
, to defeat Zhang Yue's main force in Hanyang and other places, at least one hundred thousand troops must be raised.
Moreover, this does not ensure the complete annihilation of Zhang Yue's troops, because Zhang Yue's troops can retreat to Sichuan, Shaanxi and other places at any time.
It would be very difficult to encircle and annihilate Zhang Yue's hundreds of thousands of troops in northern Huguang.
Therefore, after consideration, the Privy Council decided to slow down the offensive in northern Huguang. Anyway, as long as Anqing is captured, and then Jiujiang and Wuchang cooperate, it is enough to contain and contain the eastward advance of Zhang Yue's troops in Huguang. And this
The force used does not need to be too large.
Of course, another very important issue is that if you want to march to the north of Huguang, you will definitely have to continue north to Henan and Shaanxi, and you will not be able to use river transportation. Now the Datang Army lacks cavalry strength and faces cavalry attacks.
, logistics cannot be guaranteed, and the four-wheeled carriage planned by the logistics department has just begun to be implemented, and it will take a certain amount of time to prepare and improve.
At the same time, in the Yellow River, Huaihe River, and canal basins, the Tang Army could use river transportation to solve the long-standing problem of logistics.
In addition to logistical problems, there are also political problems! At the same time, the news of Zhengde's personal expedition has spread throughout the world. The Ming army has gathered heavy troops in Shandong and Henan. In addition, the news of Anda Khan sending troops south has attracted the attention of the Privy Council.
Therefore, in the latest strategic plan of the Privy Council, the Western Front still focuses on confrontation and strategic defense, with Wuchang, Jiujiang, and Anqing as important strategic support points, and the Huguang Zhang Yue Department is locked in the cage of Huguang and Sichuan, while the Great
The main force of the Tang army was freed up to prepare to march north to Shandong to defeat the last stubborn resistance of the northern Ming army. It would be best to capture or kill Emperor Zhengde and completely send the Ming Dynasty into the garbage heap of history.
As the saying goes, one battle will determine the world!
Under such a strategic concept, starting from late January of the sixth year of Xuanping, the Tang Army had stopped its comprehensive strategic offensive and began a new round of reorganization of troops, hoarding supplies, and preparing to wait for the severe cold weather in the north to pass in the early spring.
However, when the rainy season has not yet arrived, generally a round of fierce attacks will be launched from March, April to June, targeting various places in Shandong along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and in addition to various places in Henan in the Huaihe and Yellow River basins.
In short, just continue to launch an onslaught along the river!
After the northern rainy season begins in July and August, it will be a period of rest and recuperation. Wait until autumn and winter, but before the severe cold weather arrives, and launch another round of fierce attacks, striving to break into the Forbidden City this year.
Of course, this is just an ideal plan drawn up on the map by the staff of the Privy Council. In fact, after the war starts, many surprises will always occur, and then the situation of the war will change as the staff of the Privy Council expected.
Completely different.
Last year, the Privy Council's plan was to capture Yangzhou and Huai'an first, then Anqing, and then Hanyang. However, there was the expectation that Zhengde would personally conquer it, and Anda Khan would go south. No, now the plan has been revised.
.
Before launching a new round of northern offensive, Li Xuan prepared a promotion ceremony to boost military morale.
And in this promotion ceremony, Li Xuan will also award medals to meritorious officers.
Military Medal, this is a rare thing for many soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, because although the Tang Dynasty established the Dragon Sword Medal very early, and when it was first issued, 300 medals were issued, and then there were
About two hundred pieces were distributed one after another.
However, the total number of medals is only 500, which is already very rare for the Tang Dynasty navy and army, which has a total strength of more than 200,000. Let alone ordinary soldiers, it is difficult for even officers to get one.
Dragon Sword Medal.
In order to prevent the medal system from being reduced to an ornamental object, Li Xuan began to formulate a more detailed medal plan and began to grade the medals.
When dividing the Dragon Sword Medal, the basic pattern is still the picture of a dragon holding a sword, but it is divided into three levels. The third level is the red dragon, the second level is the green dragon, and the third level is the black dragon.
Generally speaking, they are the Red Dragon Sword-holding Medal, the Blue Dragon Sword-holding Medal, and the Black Dragon Sword-holding Medal.
In addition, a special Royal Medal of Honor was established, the pattern of which is a picture of a yellow dragon holding a sword.
Although the above-mentioned Concentrated Sword Holding Medal is divided into several levels, it is still a high-level medal, and it is almost difficult for ordinary officers and soldiers to obtain it.
In order to allow ordinary officers and soldiers to receive medals and stimulate their sense of honor, Li Xuan established the Double Swords Medal under the Sword-bearing Medal. The pattern is two crossed swords. The awarding standards of this Double Swords Medal have been greatly reduced.
, officers and personnel who have performed meritorious services can be obtained relatively easily.
Of course, the medals awarded at the promotion ceremony will all be high-level sword-holding medals, while the ordinary double-sword medals will begin to be awarded on a large scale throughout the army, with an initial plan of three thousand medals.
, and it is specifically aimed at ordinary soldiers, lieutenant-level officers, and in principle, this kind of Double Swords Medal is not awarded to those above the rank of colonel.
The issuance of medals is just a small bonus in the promotion ceremony. People pay more attention to the main body of the promotion ceremony.
Because news has spread, this promotion ceremony will be the largest promotion ceremony since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. At least more than twenty major generals will be promoted, and it is said that there will be several lieutenant generals.
On this day, in the main hall of the Royal Villa, a large number of military generals appeared here wearing standard military uniforms. In addition, many civil servants also appeared and watched the ceremony.
Emperor Li Xuan was also wearing a military uniform and sitting on the dragon throne. The previous investiture ceremony had officially ended, and now it was the highlight of the day. The bachelor of the Hanlin Academy on the side had already begun to read out a new round of readings.
's been promoted.
Naturally, it starts with the same words of God's destiny and the emperor's pardon, followed by a variety of superlative words with gorgeous rhetoric, and then comes the key point, which is to announce the names of the twenty-six generals who have won the rank of major general this time.
Every time someone's name is called, a general will stand out from the crowd of generals standing below. Most of these people are brigadiers, and a few are colonels. Those who were originally colonels have naturally been promoted.
These newly promoted major generals are all generals who have achieved meritorious service in the past period of combat. Some are commanders of main regiments, some are commanders of mixed regiments, some are deputy division commanders and chiefs of staff, and some are in the military.
Served in the Privy Council.
After today, they will get a new starting point and hold higher positions.
In today's Tang Dynasty, major generals are already veritable senior generals. In field troops, they are usually division commanders and chiefs of staff of an army. In the Privy Council, they are usually deputy ministers of various ministries.
However, the promotion of major general still failed to attract people's attention. Their focus was on lieutenant general!
Because in today's Tang Dynasty, lieutenant general is the top military rank worthy of the name. As for general, don't count on it for the time being. Li Xuan personally said that if China is not unified, this general will remain vacant.
Lieutenant general, in the Tang Army, was usually the military commander or the minister of the Privy Council.
And today's promotion ceremony means that there will be several new generals who will enter the top ranks of the Tang Dynasty.
After the imperial edict was announced, candidates for lieutenant generals also began to appear. There was only one person in the navy, Luo Bingyi, the chief of naval operations, who became the fourth lieutenant general of the navy.
However, there are four in the army, namely Fang Xitong, the new commander of the Fourth Army. Fang Xitong is also a veteran senior general in the Tang Army. Although his reputation is not very great, he has always regarded himself as a loyal minister.
brag.
He was one of the three most famous generals in the early days along with Hao Bainian and Li Chunjing. He previously served as the commander of the Second Infantry Brigade, the commander of the Second Army before the military reform, and the commander of the Second Infantry Division after the reform. He was responsible for the Guizhou region for a long time.
During the war, he was transferred to the Privy Council as Minister of Logistics last year, and at the end of last year he was transferred to Commander of the newly established Fourth Army.
Although the Fourth Army has not yet officially formed an army, he should be given the rank of Army Lieutenant General, otherwise the name would be unfair.
The second Army Lieutenant General is Chen Keqiao. If this person can be promoted to Lieutenant General, he will naturally have good military exploits and qualifications. He previously served as the commander of the Third Infantry Brigade and the Fourth Army before the military reform.
He was the commander of the reorganized 3rd Infantry Division during the Jiangnan Campaign and the 5th Infantry Division during the Jiangbei Campaign at the end of last year. He was one of the main contributors to the Northern Expedition across the Yangtze River.
After the Battle of Jiangbei, he succeeded Zeng Ziwen, who had been the Minister of Operations for a long time, and became the Minister of Operations of the Privy Council. He was promoted to Army Lieutenant General, and everyone was naturally convinced.
The third army lieutenant general is Xie Ziwei, who was born in the artillery. He was the earliest artillery officer in the Tang Dynasty. In the early days, he served as the battalion commander and regimental commander of the artillery unit, the artillery commander of the First Army, and the artillery director.
For career advancement, he transferred to the infantry and served as the commander of the infantry regiment, and later as the division commander of the 6th Infantry Division.
During the Northern Expedition across the Yangtze River, he returned to his old profession and became the new Director of Artillery in the Privy Council. Today's Director of Artillery in the Privy Council is completely different from before. Instead, he has become a real commander-in-chief of artillery. At this time, he was promoted to
Although Lieutenant General of the Army is a bit surprising, considering the many artillery in the Tang Dynasty Army and the importance of artillery today, it is not too much to give him a Lieutenant General of the Army.
But if the above three people are considered justified, then the fourth Army Lieutenant General was unexpected by many people.
This person is Lei Wan, the former deputy director of the Privy Council Operations Department and current director of the Strategy Department!
The Strategy Department of the Privy Council is a new organization established by Li Xuan only four years ago. It is mainly responsible for the strategic affairs of the Tang Army. However, this organization is mostly a research organization and does not have any weight in the Privy Council. Lei Wan was originally engaged in combat.
When the deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance was transferred to the Strategy Department, in the eyes of many people, he was actually promoted and demoted secretly.
But I didn't expect that among the four places for promotion to Army Lieutenant General today, he would be among them!
When everyone was confused, only Zeng Ziwen sighed secretly!