Chapter 931 Break up the agreement and fight directly
(It’s not easy to divide it into chapters, so I’ll post the two-in-one chapters directly)
Whether it is to attack Liaodong first and deal with King Hui’s and Chahar’s troops, or to directly continue the fight with Anda Khan, and then defeat Anda Khan and then fight with King Hui’s and Chahar’s troops, here is the end
It’s all inseparable from the Army!
The key to whether to go east or north is not what the civil servants think, but what the army thinks, or the army's capabilities.
Then Li Xuan will consider various conditions and make the optimal decision!
At this time, the person who can speak on behalf of the army is naturally Army Lieutenant General Lei Wan, director of the Privy Council's Operations Department and minister on duty in the Imperial Study Room.
Seeing that the Holy Emperor turned his attention to him, Lieutenant General Lei Wan organized his words a little, and then Lang Lang said: "Whether we unite with An Da Khan to attack the puppet Minghui King's and Chahar's troops first, or continue to fight with
Anda Khan will continue to fight and defeat Anda Khan first, and then free up his hands to take care of King Hui’s troops and Chahar’s troops. The army has not yet considered this matter!”
When he said this, Lieutenant General Lei Wen followed his usual speaking habits, paused, raised his voice slightly, and continued: "But!"
"In the northern concept formulated by our colleagues in the Operation Department, the strategy for the North China region in the next few years will mainly rely on the Shanhaiguan, Youzhou, Xuanfu, and Datong Great Wall defense lines to defend the northern defense line, focusing on strategic defense, and then on solid defense
On the basis of the Great Wall defense line, advance eastward to Liaodong Dusi, control the Liaohetao area, and deter the Jurchen tribes, Chahar tribe, Duoyan Sanwei and many other tribes in the northeast.
To the north, we will seize naturalization and continue to advance along the Yellow River. We plan to build three to five military fortresses in the Hetao area to defend the Hetao area and even the entire area south of the Yellow River!"
Lieutenant General Lei Wen continued: "In other words, before and now our army has strategic concepts heading east and north.
In addition, our army's Military Intelligence Department has already reported on the remnant troops of the puppet Ming Dynasty in Liaodong contacting the Mongolian and Jurchen tribes. Although the scale was larger than we expected, strictly speaking, it did not deviate from our expectations.
However, our army does not believe that the remnants of the puppet Ming Dynasty's Liaodong troops united with the Chahar troops will have a decisive impact on Hebei's strategic security!
Even if they unite, our army has deployed an entire Third Army in the Hebei area. There are tens of thousands of troops in Shanhaiguan Pass, and hundreds to thousands of troops are also stationed in other major border towns. Based on the battle of our army
If you take the initiative to attack with strength, it will be more difficult due to lack of horses and mobility, but defending is not a big problem!
No matter how many fake King Minghui there are, the alliance with foreign tribes is temporary at best, and it is impossible for the Duoyan Sanwei, Chahar tribe and other tribes to cooperate with the fake King Minghui sincerely.
Union may be possible in a short period of time, but as time goes by, conflicts will inevitably break out again.
In addition, our army has another strategic concept, which is to bypass Shanhaiguan, use the absolute advantage of sea power, land directly on the Liaodong Peninsula, and directly destroy the foundation of the puppet Minghui King in the Liaodong region!
I would like to ask, under such circumstances, how can the fake King Minghui pose a threat to the Tang Dynasty?"
"On the contrary, our army believes that Anda Khan poses a greater threat. According to the intelligence of our Military Intelligence Department, although Anda Khan failed to go south, which had a certain negative impact on his prestige, he was suppressed forcefully.
Opposition from other tribes, and intelligence shows that in order to divert internal conflicts and recover from the negative impact of the defeat in the south, Anda Khan will restart large-scale expansion in a short time. As for targeting the Chahar tribe,
Wala, this needs further confirmation!"
"If Anda Khan completely defeats the Chahar tribe or Oara, it will truly unify the entire grassland. Then, what we will face by then will be a unified grassland, and hundreds of thousands of cavalry will become
The sharp blade hanging above our heads will fall at any time!"
When Lieutenant General Lei Wan said this, he basically made it clear that the army's opinion was that the army did not agree to join forces with Anda Khan in order to eliminate or defend against King Hui.
The Army did not object to a truce and mutual trade, but to cooperate militarily, and even sit back and watch Anta Khan defeat and annex Chahar and Oara, the Army firmly opposed it!
After hearing this, Li Xuan nodded slightly. As for the situation in the north, although the fake King Hui of Ming Dynasty was very powerful, it was far from being a nuisance. It was impossible for King Hui to truly unite the Northeast and the grasslands.
of the various ministries, because the entanglement of interests between them is also very complicated, unless King Hui can completely defeat the other ministries, but this possibility is very small.
From this point of view, the fake King Minghui is nothing!
However, if Anda Khan is allowed to annex Chahar and Oara, then Anda Khan will have a great possibility of truly unifying the northern grasslands. By then, a unified Mongolia will have a major impact on the Tang Dynasty.
threaten.
There must never be another overlord on the grassland!
After thinking about this, Li Xuan also made his decision: "Since the Tatars want to become vassals and pay tribute, they can accept it, and they can also negotiate a truce for peace, as long as they bring out their horses!"
Immediately, he looked at Lieutenant General Lei Wan again, and then said: "In order to prevent the Tumut tribe from completely unifying the grassland, the army must be prepared now. If necessary, I need to see the army march towards the naturalization."
"There is also the matter of Liaodong. We cannot delay it for too long. We must start preparations for landing on the Liaodong Peninsula now. I hope that the King of the Tang Dynasty will appear in the Liaodong area next year!"
"Regarding the situation in the north, we need to grasp Liaodong with one hand and the grassland with the other. We must grasp it with both hands, and we must be tough with both hands!
Li Xuan's words basically declared that the negotiations with the Tatars could only be frivolous. They were all going to fight anyway. It didn't matter if they agreed to some insignificant conditions. They could even confuse the Tatars.
Make certain concessions.
The key is to exchange for horses to lay the foundation for subsequent operations in the grasslands. If there are no horses, then forget about it.
As for what to do if we start a war after signing an agreement, what else can we do? Just tear up the agreement and start a war!
No matter what the agreement is, it will not be more important to the empire than a piece of papyrus. This is what Li Xuan thinks, and the officials of the Tang Dynasty also think so: You barbarians also want us to make the Tang Dynasty
Keep the deal, just kidding!
Li Xuan made a decision, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly re-opened negotiations with Tagli!
Except for artillery, as long as there are horses, everything else is easy to discuss!
The Tang Dynasty's attitude softened rapidly. In Tagli's view, this was because of the changes in the situation in Liaodong. The Tang Dynasty was afraid that the pseudo-King Minghui and the Chahar tribe would unite, but what he didn't know was that,
The senior staff officers in the Privy Council have already begun to formulate relevant war plans for the attack on Anta Khan!
The core content of the plan is not to seize certain areas. Although the areas to be attacked are Guihua and Hetao areas, the real core purpose is to destroy the unified grassland of Anda Khan. As long as Anda Khan dares to send troops to Chahar or Oara
, the Tang Dynasty will stab him in the back at any time!
Li Xuan didn't believe it anymore. When Anda Khan went to conquer Chahar or Oara, and tens of thousands of troops from the Tang Dynasty army went north to naturalize and seize Hetao, he could still sit still.
If he could just sit still and let the Tang Dynasty seize Hetao and even the entire Monan, and then continue to attack Chahar and Wala on his own, Li Xuan could only say that you are awesome!
In addition, the army and navy also temporarily formed a staff group to jointly negotiate the landing in Liaodong!
The navy actually has no feelings about the landing in Liaodong. Anyway, the Bohai Sea and even the entire northern sea area are now under the control of the Tang Navy. If you want to land, you can land there. All you need to do is to take charge of the sea.
It's just transportation, it doesn't matter.
On the other hand, it is quite difficult for the Army to launch a cross-sea landing!
However, the Army does not expect to deploy tens of thousands of troops for a landing at once. That is unrealistic. Let alone whether it can organize tens of thousands of troops for a landing, the Army cannot mobilize tens of thousands of troops.
Although the strength of the Army is increasing day by day, there are more and more places where troops are needed. A large number of troops are needed in the north, northwest, and southwest, and the defense tasks in the interior are not light. If you dare to use them today,
If all the regular troops stationed in a certain province are emptied out, the local careerists will rebel in minutes and you will see!
Besides, the southwest is now the strategic center of gravity of the Tang Dynasty. Attacking Hubei, seizing Sichuan, and completing the basic unification are the most important tasks of the Tang Dynasty at present. It is impossible to say that it is because of some threats from border towns.
, just stop the southwest strategy.
Therefore, many of the war resources of the Tang Dynasty are still concentrated in the southwest direction. On the Yangtze River, ships go up the river every day, sending large amounts of strategic materials and soldiers to Anqing, Jiujiang, and Wuchang.
In order to launch the Southwest Campaign, the Army plans to concentrate at least 150,000 troops in this area!
The main forces are the First Army and the Second Army. The First Army mainly launches attacks from the direction of Hunan, while the Second Army launches attacks from the direction of Northern Anhui.
The Fourth Infantry Division in Yunnan and the Seventh Mixed Regiment in western Guizhou will also launch offensives one after another.
Several reserve divisions in northern Anhui, Henan, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi and other regions will also carry out coordinated operations, mainly to maintain logistics supply lines and participate in auxiliary battles on some secondary fronts.
The Strategic Reserve is the newly formed Fifth Army!
The Fifth Army has jurisdiction over the 11th Infantry Division, the 12th Infantry Division, and several independent heavy artillery regiments, assault battalions and other auxiliary units. This Fifth Army is a brand-new unit. It has just been formed and its combat effectiveness is worrying, so it can only be
Placed at the rear to serve as a strategic reserve.
After the Fifth Army is transferred to the southwest front, the defense of the Jiangnan area will be handed over to the newly established Sixth Army. The Sixth Army also has two newly formed infantry divisions, namely the 10th.
The 3rd Infantry Division and the 14th Infantry Division, however, these two infantry divisions only have new recruits in place, and the training is not yet in place. They can only continue training in the rear while acting as garrison troops to suppress the local area.
As for the Guards, they are still the same as before. If Li Xuan doesn't march in person, their main force will not be dispatched. Most of the troops are stationed in Jinling City and surrounding areas.
However, in the wave of army expansion, the Guards also took the opportunity to expand an infantry regiment and an artillery battalion.
This also allowed the Guards to increase to four infantry regiments, a baggage regiment, a four-battalion system, a Guards artillery regiment with 72 field guns, and a large battalion with 24 heavy-duty guns.
The heavy howitzer battalion of the Guards of Short-barreled Howitzers is a large cavalry regiment with six cavalry teams, each with 150 cavalry, and a total of nearly 1,000 cavalry.
The total strength reaches 23,000 people!
In the Southwest Campaign, the Guards will follow past practice and send a temporary brigade to participate in the battle. It has an infantry regiment with three thousand-man infantry battalions, a field artillery battalion, a baggage battalion, and two cavalry.
The brigade has a total strength of about 5,000 people. Also according to tradition, one of the deputy chiefs of staff of the Guards Military Command Department, Major General Tian Songwei of the Guards, serves as the temporary brigade commander.
The above-mentioned First Army, Second Army, Fifth Army, Fifth Infantry Division, Seventh Mixed Regiment, and Temporary Guards Brigade have a combined total strength of 120,000!
If you include the reserve divisions in surrounding provinces that cooperate with the main force, then the total number of troops prepared by the Privy Council to launch the southwest campaign is definitely more than 150,000!
In the past, the Tang Dynasty had few troops, so it never had an advantage in terms of military strength, regardless of big or small battles. Basically, every battle was fought with fewer troops.
This time, the strength prepared by the Privy Council cannot be said to give the Tang Army a strength advantage. It cannot even achieve the same strength, but at least it will not be much less. On certain key fronts, through strategic and tactical adjustments,
If we cooperate, we may be able to gain some strength advantage.
Even if it can only occupy a certain strength advantage on certain fronts, this is an unprecedented first time for the Tang Army!
Compared with the large-scale and influential Southwest Campaign, the events in Liaodong and the grasslands are nothing more than trivial matters!
But even if it is small, the army and navy will not relax, because His Majesty said that the situation in the north must be grasped by both hands, and large-scale battles will not be fought for a while, because the current Tang Army is still busy with the southwest campaign.
But small-scale battles can be fought.
For example, let's first land on the Liaodong Peninsula to check the situation. Since the Tang Navy is here, even if the situation is not good after landing, we can just board the ship and leave.
So after discussion, the army and navy decided to first dispatch a thousand people to land to see the situation. The army would send out an infantry battalion. As for the artillery, the navy would directly move the naval guns ashore to make up the number, and then the navy would send out two more.
Marine Corps.
So, not long after, a small fleet set off from Dengzhou and headed towards the Liaodong Peninsula!