[Chapter 411] The strategy of the White Army, Fang Congzhe's reaction

(0411)

It seems that troops like the Shooting Army have fought with the Tartar cavalry, and veterans have experience. They should do what they should and should not do, clearly. All the unknown veterans are dead. The new recruits just follow the veterans. Of course, you can not follow them. But the unlucky one must be you. If you want to survive, do it obediently. The experience they get is exchanged for blood, which is hard to come by!

In addition to combat experience, mentality is also very important. Forces that have not experienced cruel actual combat will be at all unsteady when facing the enemy. Panic is inevitable. People are afraid of death. Without the severe suppression of officers, they may collapse. However, for troops who have experienced many battles, encountering enemies is just like a common occurrence. There is no need to panic at all, and they should do whatever they should do.

Compared with the two, once the troops with practical experience meet, they will immediately argue. The White Army has already prepared all the battles, and the Ming army on the opposite side has not yet arranged an array. Just for this, their fate is destined. Some Ming army, who feels that something is wrong, have quietly looked at their rear and are ready to retreat.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Fierce gunfire sounded, and smoke filled the red castle.

Under Chi Hu's command, the 600 musketeers of the Shooting Army took turns to shoot, oppressing the Ming army on the opposite side step by step. Their speed was not very fast. After a rogue of guns, they advanced about ten steps forward, followed by another rogue of guns. This is the most standard way to advance in line to kill, and even soldiers who have just joined the army can master it.

The Ming army teams on the opposite side were very dense, especially in the front rows. The purpose of this was of course to ensure the density of the muskets. The flying bird guns, thunder guns, three-eyed guns and so on they used were all smoothbore guns. The density of the muskets must be guaranteed to have a certain lethality. As a result, when they were hit by Minnie bullets, they immediately became tragedy. The third and fourth rows in the front kept falling down, and the ones behind retreated.

The person in charge of commanding the Ming army was a general. His own private servant was still somewhat combat-effective. He shouted at his own servants and killed more than a dozen Ming troops trying to escape before stabilizing the team again. However, the white-clothed army's muskets were too lethal, and the Ming army in front could not resist and continued to retreat. The general realized that the situation was hopeless, so he had to deal with his own private servants and evacuate from the battlefield in a hurry.

"Run!"

"The white-clothed army is too cruel!"

"The generals have run away, why don't we run away?"

Without the supreme commander, the leaderless army was in a mess. The Ming army who came to reinforce the Red Castle was immediately dispersed. In front of the muskets of the White-Clothed Army, they left three or four hundred corpses, and the others were all dispersed. They did not understand the situation at all. They came to reinforce the Red Castle, but they did not expect that the White-Clothed Army had actually arrived near the Red Castle. Without the cover of the castle, they did not even know how to fight. Some Ming army even became confused and ran towards Xu Xingxia.

Liu Chuang was watching from behind and was ready to go. Unfortunately, the hunting cavalry wanted to protect Xu Xingxia's safety and had no way to participate in the war. Seeing the dispersed Ming army rushing towards this side in a daze, he immediately found an opportunity and shouted: "These bastards are looking for death! Brothers, rush and kill them!"

He immediately rushed towards the Ming army's defeated soldiers with his hunting cavalry.

The Hunter is a newly established unit. There were originally five squadrons and 1,250 soldiers. With the officers, there were about 1,500 people. However, 1,000 of them were recruits, and only 250 were veterans. At this moment, the recruits were all training in the Heishan Camp, and there were only one veteran of the squadron, following Xu Xingxia. Together with officers at all levels, there were about 300 people. However, it was enough to have 300 people in hand.

"Listen to my order!"

"preparation!"

"put!"

Liu Chuang waved his machete and shouted loudly.

His mind was indeed not very clear, which was the main reason why he was unable to stand alone. However, when he was fighting, he was very fierce. Even guys from Chi Hu, Wang Xia, Mao Shisan, etc. dared not fight with him in close combat. They were all normal people, but Liu Chuang was a madman. Can normal people fight for their lives? Liu Chuang's subordinates were all musketeers, but he used a madman himself. The alternative of this madman was like Xu Xingxia's bow and arrow.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Puff puff puff!"

The first volley of the hunting cavalry scared the Ming army's defeated soldiers. The distance between the two sides was very close, only about thirty feet, and the hit rate of the Sun and Moon guns was very high. Minni bullets roared away, bringing greetings from the god of death. The Ming army's defeated soldiers who rushed in the front were almost all tragic. Blood flowers burst out, and their owners fell to the ground. The remaining people were so scared that they all fell down, holding their heads and huddled on the ground without daring to move.

They had no idea that there were more white-clothed troops in front of them. Some Ming troops thought they were trapped in the encirclement of the white-clothed troops and ran around blindly, but were killed by the hunting cavalry. After leaving dozens of corpses, the few remaining Ming troops hurriedly turned around and ran back. Liu Chuang chased after the hunting cavalry for three or four miles, worried about Xu Xingxia's safety, so he did not dare to chase them too far, and retreated.

Soon, the Ming army who came to reinforce the Red Castle were all dispersed. A brief count of the results of the battle, as soon as the two sides contacted, the White-Clothed Army killed and injured five or six hundred people. The White-Clothed Army itself was injured, all of which were injured and injured, and there was nothing serious. It is estimated that this contact would give the Ming army in Guyuan Town a deep understanding of the combat effectiveness of the White-Clothed Army. Next time, when they wanted to enter Ningxia Town, they would definitely wake up their spirits. Unless they wanted to die.

The battle ended so quickly, Chi Hu felt unsatisfied, and the soldiers of the Shooting Army felt unsatisfied. Before they got excited, the battle ended. If they were facing the Tartars of three or four thousand, they probably wouldn't be so relaxed. Liu Chuang and his hunting cavalry also felt unsatisfied. The nature of the hunting cavalry was originally a guard force, and it was rare to have the opportunity to participate in actual combat. This accidental encounter was also God's will. Unfortunately, the enemy was defeated without fighting. Liu Chuang asked expectantly: "Sir, do you want to take down the Red Castle?"

Xu Xingxia shook her head and said in a deep voice: "Forget it, there is no need."

After taking down the fortress like Red Castle, troops will be sent to garrison. If the fortress is not sent to garrison, the meaning of the fortress will be lost. However, in this ghost place, when sending troops to garrison, you have to consider the logistics issue. To be honest, Ningxia City is too far from Red Castle, and logistics is not easy to guarantee. Look at these winding mountain roads, transporting food is a troublesome. The current logistics supply capacity of the White Army is actually very weak and cannot afford it!

On the contrary, if the White Army gave up the Red Castle and gave up this fortress, the Ming army would definitely defend it tightly. They should pay great attention to this fortress. As long as they value it, it would be easy. Chi Hu brought his troops to greet him every few days. As long as he found the reinforcements of the Ming army, he would directly deal with them in the field. After several battles, it was estimated that the Ming army in Guyuan Town had almost been consumed.

"Chi Hu, come and sit down!" Xu Xingxia looked around, found a relatively flat place, turned over and dismounted, sat down, and discussed the entire defense system in the south with Chi Hu. The battle at Red Castle is only part of the entire southern defense system. In the south of Ningxia Town, there are many places, many major transportation routes, and the white-clothed army must control it.

The White Army is preparing to implement an active defensive strategy. What is an active defensive strategy? That is to say, if you show signs of hitting me, I will be the first to beat you. The purpose of beating you is to make you lose the motivation to hit me. Therefore, robbing the enemy's resources and dismantling the enemy's vitality is the first priority. Specifically, the White Army will establish guerrilla areas in multiple areas in the south of Ningxia Town. All the population in this area will be moved away, and the troops led by Chi Hu will be active here and take the initiative to attack the enemy.

Their purpose is to intercept, stagnate, harass, and fatigue the enemy's attack. They are absolutely not stationed in a certain place, and they will not appear in a certain place for a long time. They will not give the enemy a chance to surround them, nor will they give the enemy a chance to attack. They are like wild wolves walking alone thousands of miles, staring at their enemies all the time, no matter where they are. No matter what methods or means they are used, as long as they are eliminated, they will win. Or, making the enemy unable to reach the line of Ningxia City is victory.

Xu Xingxia estimated that the Ming Dynasty's ability to withstand was limited. After more than two hundred years of development, the Ming Dynasty was already terminally ill by the late Wanli period and was difficult to recover. The most prominent disadvantage was that the wealth was exhausted and the income was not enough. War required money and food, and the court's money and food could not be much. In other words, the war could not last for a long time. The longer the war lasted, the greater the expenses of the court. If the court could not defeat it, it had to recruit peace. They also used this trick to Li Zicheng. Xiong Wencan had successfully recruited many people.

If the court recruits peace, it means that the large-scale war will end. Xu Xingxia certainly would not believe that the court would really let him go. In history, as long as he embarked on the road of rebellion, he would basically not have a good end unless he was the emperor in the end. However, this is beneficial to the overall strategy of the White-Clothed Army. If the White-Clothed Army wants to expand externally, it cannot continue to use too much force to internal struggles. After all, the Tatar cavalry with hundreds of thousands of people is not a joke. The White-Clothed Army must concentrate its troops to win the battle.

This is the main defense strategy of the White Army on the southern front, which makes the enemy retreat and fearless. Of course, it would be even better if the enemy could retreat and be at a loss. Xu Xingxia believed that Chi Hu's ability could be done. The Shooting Army under his command was the greatest guarantee of confidence. It would be absolutely impossible for the Ming army in Guyuan Town to enter Ningxia Town and suppress the rebellion without spending a significant cost.

As for the eastern front, it is mainly the Ningxia rear guard area. Xu Xingxia is preparing to hand over Gao Yigong and others the responsibility. From this direction, the Ming army in Yansui Town should be very familiar with the Ming army in Yansui Town. With them in the Ciyao Village area, it is probably not that easy for the Ming army in Yansui Town to enter Ningxia Town. Of course, the Ming army in other military towns may also come from this direction. However, if the Ming army in other military towns arrives, the reinforcements of the White-clothed Army will probably also arrive.

To the west, there are naturally the official troops from Gansu Town. Their number is probably not very large. Because there are not many Ming troops in Gansu Town itself. They are limited to the constraints of money and food, and it is impossible to dispatch too many reinforcements. Zhang Yi's scattered cavalry army is responsible for restraining them. From Gansu Town to Ningxia Town, there are thousands of miles away, and just rushing to the road is enough for the Ming army to have a headache.

As the new recruits of the White-Clothing Army gradually matured, the military strength of each unit of the White-Clothing Army would grow rapidly. At that time, any white-Clothing Army could block tens of thousands of Ming troops. How many thousand Ming troops could the imperial court send? In the fight against Japan and aid Korea, the Ming army was dispatched, and there were only tens of thousands of people.

The most important thing is that as the various work in Ningxia City gradually got on the right track, the comprehensive strength of the White-Clothed Army will definitely be further improved. In particular, the production of three iron-smelting blast furnaces has a direct effect on the improvement of the White-Clothed Army's combat effectiveness. The raw materials problem that originally restricted the production of the White-Clothed Army's weapons and equipment has been completely solved. As long as the output of the Sun and Moon guns reaches 100 per day, the White-Clothed Army will not lack weapons.

With an army, territory, food and grass, and the knowledge of time travelers, what should Xu Xingxia worry about? On the contrary, what should be worried about is the court, the cabinet, and the Emperor Wanli! In time, he will definitely defeat them!

...

The capital, the southern part of the Forbidden City, and the Ministry of Personnel.

The sedan chair of Zhou Jiamo of the Minister of War slowly entered the back hall of the Ministry of Personnel. This is his patent. The Ministry of Personnel is the leader of the six ministries, and its majesty is absolutely not to be provoked. Other people's sedan chairs must stop in front of the Ministry of Personnel, with him being the only exception. Because among all the important officials of the court, he is the oldest. This year, he is already seventy-one years old. At this age, he still needs to work on his great power. It can be seen how serious the matter is.

In fact, Zhou Jiamo himself knew the seriousness of the matter. He was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Longqing. His career had experienced the entire Wanli Dynasty. He had witnessed everything that happened in the Wanli Dynasty with his own eyes. In his life experience, such serious things were no more than five times at most. He had never expected what happened in Ningxia Town this time. Subconsciously, Zhou Jiamo felt that the rebellion of Xu Xingxia was even more serious than the Bobai rebellion in the past.

Fang Congzhe personally walked to the sedan chair, opened the curtain for Zhou Jiamo, and asked Zhou Jiamo to get off the sedan chair. Regarding the etiquette of the chief assistant, Zhou Jiamo just nodded gently, which was considered a gift to return. He had such qualifications. After all, his qualifications were really too old. Fang Congzhe was a pure junior in front of him. If Fang Congzhe was not so respectful, countless saliva would fly over behind him and drowned him alive.

This meeting was convened by the Chief Minister Fang Congzhe. He was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and had always been in the Ministry of Personnel. This meeting was naturally also held in the Ministry of Personnel. After Zhou Jiamo arrived, other important officials came one after another. The second one was Zhao Nanxing, the Minister of Rites. The third one was Yang Dongming, the Minister of Revenue. The fourth one was Cui Jingrong, the Minister of Justice. The last one was Sun Wei, the Minister of the Left Censor. This is what Fang Congzhe, as the Chief Minister of the Chief Minister, could find all the important officials of the court who could discuss national affairs.

What? The Minister of the Secretariat can also be regarded as an important minister of the court? Where did the Secretary of the Shang Dynasty go? Sorry, there was no Secretary of the Shang Dynasty! Because of Emperor Wanli's negligence, he deliberately did not appoint and remove officials. In the six ministries of the Ming Dynasty, only the Ministry of War had the Secretary of War, and the other three ministries were all the Ministers. This is actually fine. The worst thing is the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites. There is no Secretary of the Shang Dynasty, and there is no Minister of the Secretariat. Fang Congzhe didn't know who to look for when he had something to do. Fortunately, these two ministries generally have nothing major.

Let’s not talk nonsense yet, Zhao Nanxing and others are also used to this structure. There is no tiger in the mountains, and monkeys call him the king, so it’s better to get used to it. Anyway, you’d better not to expect Emperor Wanli to leave the palace and seriously appoint and remove officials. Because that is simply impossible. If you are angry with the emperor, you probably will be the one who was suffocated to death in the end. Emperor Wanli’s patience is definitely not comparable to anyone present. In order to establish the prince, he fought alone in the entire six departments of the cabinet, and he had been withering for more than ten years without any disadvantage.

There is actually only one issue today, that is, how to deal with the rebellion in Ningxia Town. Huang Kezhang naturally did not dare to hide the news about the rebellion in Ningxia Town. The documents that were expedited thousands of miles were sent to the court a few days ago. Later, several good news were added to explain the situation in detail. After Fang Congzhe read it slowly, he asked Zhou Jiamo and others to circulate it. When everyone felt at ease, he began to convene today's meeting.

To be honest, before that, the important officials of the imperial court here never paid much attention to Ningxia Town. There is no way, Ningxia Town is indeed a bit far from the capital. Moreover, it is a place where Han and Hu are mixed, and the situation is quite complicated. More than 20 years ago, Bobai occupied Ningxia City and rebelled, causing a lot of chaos. After that, in their impression, it should be a barren land. Unexpectedly, there was such a big chaos in the end. Not to mention that this time it was the rebels conquered Ningxia City from outside.

I really don’t know what the defenders of Ningxia City are doing for. Tens of thousands of defenders, with high walls and cannons, were actually captured by the rebels. The Tartars repeatedly went south to invade the border, but they had never heard of conquering Ningxia City. Why did a rebel suddenly come and conquered Ningxia City? Could it be that the combat effectiveness of the rebels is stronger than that of the Tartar cavalry? Are there any other hidden information in this? There is no other information on the Dongchang and the Jinyiwei? No matter how you look at this, you think it is abnormal!

The relevant responsible persons must be held accountable. Li Maohui and Li Guozhen are unforgivable. These two people lost their cities and land and beheaded the lightest, and it is also necessary to confiscate their families and tribes. Huang Kezhang's crimes are subject to later agreement. There is no doubt about sending troops to quell the rebellion. The court cannot tolerate such a major event. It is better to raise a rebellion and conquer the important towns of the nine borders? If this matter is not handled quickly, I wonder what other border towns will react!

But Emperor Wanli didn't care about the matter, and there was no reply to the memorial sent by Fang Congzhe. I don't know if he had read it. Maybe he didn't read it at all. Or maybe he read it, he knew it, but he was too lazy to deal with it and didn't take it seriously. If it were another emperor, it would be impossible. However, Emperor Wanli would be hard to say. He had many quirks. There was no way, so Fang Congzhe had to stop waiting for his approval and was ready to start the action.

Although they were civil officials, they also knew the reason why soldiers were more powerful and fast. They had to take advantage of Xu Xingxia's foothold and launch a counterattack to curb the rebellion as soon as possible. Otherwise, the longer the time delayed, the stronger the rebels would be. The rebels were best at cooping the people, and they knew best. At the beginning, the same was done to quell the Bobai rebellion. If they were waiting for Emperor Wanli's reply, they would be afraid that the daylily would be cold.

However, thinking about doing this is different from whether it is really possible to do this. If things are really as simple as Fang Congzhe imagined, and he only needs a single order to finish the matter, he doesn't need to call up his colleagues to meet and directly order the suppression. The key is, how to raise money and grain? Without enough money and grain, there is no way to mobilize the army, let alone let the army go up and fight against the rebels.

Everyone present knew the financial situation of the court. The current situation is that if Emperor Wanli’s treasury is not used, Taicang silver will not be enough to pay. However, if the treasury needs to be used, Emperor Wanli will definitely be called poor. Yes, it is called poor. To be honest, sometimes they think that Emperor Wanli is simply a slave to protect the wealth. The whole world is from your Zhu family, but they are still so stingy. What is this not a slave to protect the wealth?

Before, a group of senior colleagues went all out to do anything, and finally persuaded Emperor Wanli to take back tax supervision, mining supervision and other things, and not to extend his hand to the people. For this reason, countless colleagues, dismissed from office, retired from retirement, and were beaten to the board, paid an extremely heavy price, and barely achieved some victory.

Now, he needs to use the money from the treasury again. If he doesn't take the opportunity to send tax supervision, mining supervision and other things again, it is definitely not his. What was he doing in his later years? He is trying his best to make money! If he lets go of such a good opportunity, he will not be Emperor Wanli.
Chapter completed!