This place is the headquarters of the First Army, but this place is not the core command center of this southwest battle. The core command center of this battle is Jiujiang!
Because Jiujiang is where the Southwest Campaign Headquarters newly established by the Privy Council this time is located.
Because of the huge scale of the Southwest Campaign, the number of troops participating in the battle reached three armies and several other units, with a total strength of more than 150,000. As in the past, we could not simply rely on the actions of each army and division to complete the campaign, but
A higher-level headquarters is needed to direct detailed war operations.
This kind of thing was actually the same in the previous Northern Expedition. At that time, there were not so many troops participating in the Northern Expedition, but Li Xuan still brought almost half of the Privy Council north to coordinate the operations of various troops.
The scale of the Southwest Campaign was even larger. Li Xuan originally didn't want to fight in person again. It was tiring to run around, but he really couldn't rest assured. Moreover, a battle of such a large scale was, to be honest, the same in the Tang Dynasty.
A suitable candidate could not be found to serve as commander-in-chief of the Southwest Campaign.
Hao Bainian was suitable in terms of ability and prestige, but out of balance considerations, after Hao Bainian made great contributions during the Northern Expedition, it was impossible for Li Xuan to let him serve as the commander-in-chief of the Southwest Campaign.
The talent and ability of the First Army Commander Li Chunjing are also extremely outstanding, but his combat style is too radical. The Southwest Campaign is very important in the series of strategic concepts of the Tang Dynasty, and it occupies all aspects.
Having gained the advantage, the Privy Council did not intend to take risks, but prepared to fight steadily. If Li Chunjing was allowed to take command, he would most likely achieve a super victory, but he would also most likely suffer a disastrous defeat!
This is unacceptable to Li Xuan!
As for Fang Xitong, his prestige and ability are somewhat inferior after all. Although he is loyal, loyalty cannot completely replace his ability.
As for Wang Chaohong and Chen Keqiao, both of them lack prestige and qualifications. It is unrealistic for them to direct Li Chunjing's battles because they have both fought under Li Chunjing before.
Not to mention Lei Wan, sitting in the Privy Council is fine, but commanding hundreds of thousands of troops to fight, many people will not be convinced!
Zeng Ziwen has already withdrawn from the front line. Although he is the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, he has basically no longer held actual duties, and Li Xuan has no intention of reactivating him. Even if he is activated, this person's ability is not enough to command hundreds of thousands of people.
, fighting spread to several provinces.
In the end, Li Xuan had no choice but to once again wear military uniform and prepare to fight in person!
When he can't find a suitable candidate, he can't just watch hundreds of thousands of troops fighting on their own, which will eventually lead to a situation where the ship capsizes in the gutter!
However, this time Li Xuan did not intend to go to the front line in person. This Southwest Campaign, unlike the Anping Battle in the Northern Expedition, is unlikely to have a large-scale decisive battle to determine the outcome. It is most likely to be determined through a series of hits.
Large-scale battles to achieve victory.
Therefore, Li Xuan's focus is not only on the First Army, but also on the Second Army, the Fifth Army, even the Fourth Infantry Division, the Seventh Mixed Regiment and other units, as well as logistics matters.
In this battle, what Li Xuan had to do was to act as a flag, suppress the arrogant soldiers below, and make them obey the orders of the Privy Council Operations Department to fight.
Yes, the actual commander of this southwest battle will not be him Li Xuan, nor Li Chunjing and other generals leading the army outside, but will be the Minister on Duty in the Imperial Study Room, Minister of the Privy Council Operations Department, Army Lieutenant General Lei Wan!
Or to be more precise, Lei Wan is only a person on the surface, and those who actually instigate and direct specific battles will be dozens of combat staff officers in the operations department!
Just like many large-scale battles that the Tang Dynasty experienced in the past, the Privy Council Operations Department will play a decisive role in the battle!
In his early years, Li Xuan established a staff system in order to solve the problem of middle and senior generals being too young, inexperienced, and limited in ability. In fact, his original intention at the beginning was not to establish a complete staff system like that of later generations. He just wanted to make the middle and senior generals more capable.
Senior generals can only get more tactical advice.
But with so many years of development, the staff system of the Tang Dynasty Royal Division has become increasingly perfect, especially the combat staff in the Privy Council Operations Department. It can be said that they are responsible for all large-scale campaign planning and strategic command of the Tang Dynasty!
And this also makes the combat staff in the combat department become more and more valuable. These combat staff are all the best officers selected from the entire army, and they all come from the Royal Academy.
Under the Operations Department, there are various departments, the most critical of which is the Staff Department. The Staff Department is usually concurrently held by the Deputy Minister of the Operations Department, that is, the Deputy Minister of Operations and the Executive Deputy Minister are two different concepts.
The Deputy Chief of Operations, with the rank of Army Major General, is usually held by someone who has served as the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Commander of the Infantry Division. The staff officers in the Staff Department include senior combat staff officers, usually school officers, and most of them have served in field forces.
Especially those who have served as battalion commanders and regimental commanders, and mid-level combat staff officers are lieutenants, usually new graduates of the Royal Academy. Of course, even new graduates, most of them have served as captains and deputy battalion commanders before.
Long-term positions.
In other words, the people in the Staff Department of the Operations Department all came from field troops and had experience as army commanders. They were also from the Royal Academy and received a relatively complete military education. In terms of comprehensive quality, they are definitely among the best in the entire army.
Among the middle and low-level officers within the scope, they are also at the top.
With such a group of people working together to make plans, it may not be possible to make an amazing battle plan, but the chance of making mistakes is also very small.
Before Li Xuan officially set off for Jiujiang, Major General Chen Xiong, the Deputy Chief of Operations of the Department of Operations, had already arrived in Jiujiang with more than a dozen operational staff officers from the Staff Department and personnel from several other departments of the Privy Council. They would be there
This forms the initial composition of the Southwest Campaign Command!
At the same time, in Jinling City, Li Xuan was also preparing for another personal expedition. The preparations for this personal expedition were simpler than the previous Northern Expedition, because Li Xuan only planned to go to Jiujiang to sit in the garrison, not to go to the battlefield to command the battle.
Therefore, although the Guards will also go together, there will only be one temporary brigade of the Guards actually participating in the battle.
Li Xuan himself planned to take 10,000 Guards troops with two Guards infantry regiments as the core to Jiujiang, and left behind 5,000 Guards troops with one Guards infantry regiment as the core to guard Jinling City.
If nothing unexpected happens, the 10,000 Guardsmen brought by Li Xuan will not have a chance to participate in the battle. Their existence is only for the personal safety of point guard Li Xuan.
Except for the Guards, other things are even simpler!
The ministers of the Tang Dynasty have become accustomed to the personal conquests of the Eternal Saint King. They have experienced it many times. A few years ago, they would say something like "Your Majesty, think twice", but now, it is basically nothing. People said that Li Xuan said he wanted to prepare for a personal expedition, but the ministers didn't ask why and just went to prepare.
It seemed that this was as common as eating and drinking. This made Li Xuan sigh. The Tang Dynasty he created was a little abnormal from top to bottom. Everyone thought about fighting every day, even if it was Although civil servants have many contradictions and conflicts with the military, they still welcome war.
In particular, the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Taxation are very supportive of the war effort to expand territory and open up the trade market.
For example, the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, although it is said that most of its activities are in the defense industry, in the end it still runs enterprises, which naturally requires industrial raw materials and markets.
The same is true for the Ministry of Commerce. If you want to develop domestic industry and commerce, you cannot lack industrial raw materials and markets.
The Ministry of Agriculture did not support it very much before, but recently they have added an Immigration and Reclamation Department. What is this department used for? It is used for immigration. Domestic immigration and foreign immigration are all their business.
If they don't expand or occupy new territories, how can they immigrate there to solve the problem of too many people and too little land in some areas of the country?
Not to mention the tax department, they don’t care how the country spends money. Anyway, as long as Li Xuan agrees, they will give the money!
But they have no control over how to collect money. Nowadays, with the development of industry and commerce, maritime trade is becoming more and more prosperous. Various commercial taxes and tariffs continue to increase significantly, and this is also inseparable from industrial raw materials. and market.
Of course, some other departments in the cabinet are not very supportive, especially those whose external expansion cannot bring obvious benefits to them. For example, the Ministry of Rites, no matter how much external expansion it does, it will be of no use to them. They are mainly engaged in education. And those who engage in rituals, the most they can do is promote Chinese culture to overseas barbarians!
However, overall, the cabinet still maintains a supportive attitude towards expansion, not to mention the unification of the country.
The cabinet prepared very quickly, and soon the Northern Expedition was preceded by the fire. The cabinet was basically divided into two, and the ministers on duty and walking ministers in the imperial study were also divided into two.
Some of them will go to Jiujiang with the car, and some will stay in Jinling.
The main person in charge of staying in Jinling will still be the Minister on duty in the Royal Study Room, the Grand Bachelor of Jianji Palace, and the Minister of Household Affairs Liu Bagou, and one of the three great scholars of the Tang Dynasty, Army Army, who is also the Minister on duty in the Imperial Study Room. Minister Qian Mengjiu will accompany him.
The rest of the people are not so important, some accompany him, and some stay behind in Jinling. But no matter what the situation, if the Minister of a department stays behind, then Zuo Shilang will definitely accompany him, and if the Minister goes with him, Zuo Shilang will definitely accompany him. Stay behind.
After all, Shangshu and Zuo Shilang are the main and secondary leaders of an organization. Shangshu and Zuo Shilang are separated, and one person is responsible for one side.
After everything was prepared, Li Xuan reluctantly paused his work of coaching the palace dance troupe in various dance styles, and once again embarked on the road of personal expedition!