Eight hundred and sixty-four chapters of the ancient sages personally expedition
The cavalry units of the various units under the Third Army were gathered together and used as before to form the Third Cavalry Detachment. In last year's northward campaign, the various cavalry units of the Third Army did not suffer too much losses.
At the same time, in the past few months, about 300 cavalry have been added and organized into an independent cavalry battalion.
Therefore, the current Third Cavalry Detachment has a total of four cavalry battalions and two cavalry teams, with a total of approximately 1,800 cavalry.
This cavalry unit is already considered the most powerful cavalry unit in the Tang Army, but it is nothing compared to the Ming Army.
According to intelligence, the total number of Ming army cavalry in Shandong alone is no less than 8,000!
Not to mention that in the nearby Damingfu area, there are also a large number of Tatar cavalry going south, which is a huge cavalry regiment with a total of more than 50,000 cavalry.
Compared with the enemy's huge cavalry troops, the number of cavalry troops in the Third Army was really too small, and was not worth mentioning compared with the enemy.
Therefore, when fighting north, the main combat mission of the Tang Army's cavalry units was actually not to engage in head-to-head combat with the enemy's main cavalry force, but rather to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, and vigilance.
This time we went north, infantry and artillery were still the core, and cavalry was only an auxiliary force.
When formulating the plan to go north, the enemy's cavalry threat was also considered in advance. This is why the Tang Army's plan to go north was firmly centered on the river, because even if the enemy's cavalry is powerful, it cannot phase it out.
Datang's logistics supply line using river transport.
Then force the enemy's infantry and cavalry to engage in a head-on confrontation with our own along the river to prevent the enemy's cavalry from attacking our own logistics supply lines.
As long as their cavalry dares to give up mobility and instead intends to dismount and cut off a certain section of the canal, then the numerous naval guns on the navy's canal fleet can teach them how to behave without having to sell it to the Tang Army.
To say that the most powerful artillery force is not the Army of the Tang Dynasty, but the Navy of the Tang Dynasty!
Although the Army of the Tang Dynasty is also known for its sharp guns, the Navy of the Tang Dynasty really relies on artillery. Any ocean-going battleship is equipped with more than 20 artillery pieces.
Even the inland warships fighting in the inland rivers are equipped with artillery. This time, the one supporting the Third Army in the operation is the first detachment of the canal fleet, which has more than 60 various civil war warships, carrying nine-pound warships.
There are more than ten cannons, more than 80 five-pound naval guns, and one hundred and fifty two-pound and three-pound shotguns.
The total firepower of the more than sixty river warships of this first detachment far exceeds that of an artillery regiment of the Army.
The first detachment is escorted, which is enough to ensure the safety of the canal supply line.
If the enemy's cavalry moves on a large scale, and then tens of thousands of cavalry are dispatched, and the cavalry is directly turned into infantry to cut off and guard a certain section of the canal, then this is playing into the plans of the King of the Tang Dynasty.
The King of the Tang Dynasty is not afraid that you will stop and guard a certain place, but he is afraid that you will run around and harass you.
As long as the Ming army's cavalry stops, the Tang army can quickly pounce on them through the river, and then it will turn into the head-on confrontation that the Tang army expected.
Of course, for such a large-scale operation, all logistical supply lines cannot completely rely on river transportation. After all, not all places have rivers. Some places always require land transportation. These land transportations will inevitably encounter certain threats.
For this reason, the Privy Council also learned the lesson from the Battle of Anqing and had already prepared nearly a thousand four-wheeled freight carriages in advance. If the draft horses were not enough, mules and donkeys were used instead.
Although these four-wheeled freight carriages require a lot of animal power and have relatively high requirements on roads, the safety of transportation has been greatly improved. The Tang Army believes that although the cost of use is a bit high, for land transportation
The safety of supplies is worth it.
Besides, even for land transportation, not every section of the road is so dangerous. In some non-dangerous locations, more traditional land transportation methods are still used, that is, large-scale use of manpower and wheelbarrows.
Only in dangerous areas close to the front line will such specially prepared four-wheeled freight carriages be used, and they will usually be escorted by specialized baggage troops.
Numerous preparations made it possible for Hao Bainian not to think much of it when he discovered that the Tatar cavalry suddenly moved south.
This time when we go north, sooner or later we will have to fight the Tatars!
Besides, it’s not just his Third Army heading north this time, there’s also the Second Army!
The Second Army stationed in the northern Anhui region has followed the Third Army and begun its continuous march northward!
The strength of the Second Army is about two infantry divisions and two mixed regiments, with a total strength of about 40,000. They will follow the many tributaries of the Huai River, first enter the southeastern area of Henan, and then are expected to capture Guide along the Yellow River.
Kaifeng is two important strategic support points.
In this way, the Second Army will be able to achieve strategic cooperation with the Third Army, and then advance northward in parallel from east to west, and finally join forces in Shandong and North Zhili, and engage in a decisive battle with the Ming Army and the main Tatar force.
The Tang Dynasty did not expect to be able to fight all the way to Youzhou with Hao Bainian's Third Army alone.
The war in the north is still going on. Although the news coming now is all about small and medium-sized wars, the main forces of the two sides have not yet come into contact, and the decisive battle has not yet broken out, but everyone knows that the decisive battle between the two sides is already imminent, and there is no need for it.
How long will it take for it to break out completely, and when the time comes, this decisive battle will directly determine the ownership of the entire world.
If the more than 100,000 Tang troops who marched north were defeated in the decisive battle, the blow to the Tang Dynasty would be absolutely devastating. By then, the Tang Dynasty would probably have no choice but to switch from strategic offense to strategic defense, relying on the newly established
The Fourth Army and the Guards were engaged in defensive operations. Maintaining Jiangbei was the greatest hope.
But if the Tang army that went north won and wiped out more than 100,000 Ming troops in Shandong, Henan and other places, and also killed the 50,000 Tatar cavalry, then when the decisive battle was won the moment
Since then, the Tang Dynasty can proudly claim that Datang has become the new master of the land of China.
It was so important to go north to fight, especially after hearing that the Tatars were also going south on a large scale, and that it was not the 20,000 people they had previously estimated, but 50,000 people. Li Xuan, who was in Jinling City, couldn't sit still.
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In just one day, he summoned Lei Wan and many other army generals, and also met with Liu Bagou and other senior cabinet officials for discussions. The meaning revealed was that the war in the north was so important that he would not be involved later.
rest assured!
What this means is that Li Xuan is planning to conquer it himself.
The capital has been set at Jinling, and Li Xuan plans to conquer it himself, which will naturally arouse a lot of opposition. Everyone has said that your Majesty, think twice, but Li Xuan remains unmoved.
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With Li Xuan's current prestige, no one dared to object to his decision, so Li Xuan's personal expedition to the north was quickly determined, and then just two days later, Li Xuan directly led the Guards and the Fourth Army.
Some of the main forces went north!
Li Xuan had his own reasons for wanting to go on a personal expedition. On the one hand, he wanted to boost the morale of the frontline troops and let them know that their emperor, the Eternal Saint King, who was greater than the sun, was fighting on the frontline with them!
However, boosting morale is secondary. More importantly, Li Xuan wanted to reinforce the northern troops, gain greater certainty in determining the outcome in one battle, and completely defeat the Zhengde army.
If he does not personally fight, then the war in the north will have to rely on the Second Army and the Third Army. But if he goes north to fight, the number of troops participating in the northern war will be at least 30,000 more, and these three
Ten thousand people are still the main force.
Why?
Because if he personally marched, then the Guards would definitely have to be brought along. In addition to the temporary brigades of the Guards that had gone north before, Li Xuan would also bring at least 10,000 Guards troops northward.
In addition, if Li Xuan personally marches, then the Fourth Army, which is a strategic reserve, will definitely need to mobilize some of its troops to go north.
The Fourth Army now has three infantry divisions, leaving one division to garrison in northern Anhui. He can take the remaining two divisions northward with him.
As for the defense of Jiangnan, Jiangbei, Jiangxi and other places, mixed groups from various places are responsible for it, and security can still be guaranteed.
The expansion of the Army of the Tang Dynasty not only expanded the infantry divisions, but also expanded the mixed regiments in large quantities. The newly formed mixed regiments gradually changed from the main front-line force to the second-line force garrisoned in the area.
At present, the Datang Army has been organized into a total of eighteen mixed regiments. From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, the Datang Army was organized into five mixed regiments at once.
Nowadays, basically every province has a mixed regiment garrisoned, and important areas will also have a mixed regiment garrisoned.
The mixed groups that actually participated in front-line battles were actually just a few early mixed groups, and these early mixed groups were two different things from the mixed groups that were formed later.
The early mixed regiments were all built according to the main force of the front line. They had no shortage of artillery and cavalry. However, the later mixed regiments, especially the eight mixed regiments from the 11th to the 18th, had no cavalry.
, there is also a serious shortage of artillery, and even the artillery is second-hand goods replaced by front-line troops.
Recently, there has been talk within the Datang Army that several early mixed regiments, especially those that have participated in front-line battles for a long time, such as the First Mixed Regiment and the Ninth Mixed Regiment attached to the Second Army, will be assigned to the First Mixed Regiment.
The five mixed regiments of the three armies, namely the Fourth Mixed Regiment, the Fifth Mixed Regiment, and the Seventh Mixed Regiment responsible for the Sichuan operation, can be upgraded and reorganized, whether they are reorganized into brigades or directly merged into divisions.
But in addition to these five mixed regiments, there are also several mixed regiments with relatively average combat effectiveness, such as the Second Mixed Regiment stationed in Guangdong, the Sixth Mixed Regiment stationed in Guizhou, and the Third Mixed Group stationed in the First Army.
, the tenth mixed group.
In addition to these nine mixed regiments, the remaining nine mixed regiments are all newly formed, and several are directly adapted from the supplementary brigades. Most of them have not participated in large-scale battles. The soldiers lack combat experience and are relatively lacking in firearms.
Cannons and combat effectiveness cannot be said to be average, it should be said to be relatively poor.
However, although the combat effectiveness of these mixed regiments was somewhat inferior, it was precisely because of these mixed regiments stationed in various places that the Tang Army was able to mobilize more main forces to participate in frontline operations.