Section 65 Strategy

"The Fubo Army is not inherited from a mature military system." He Ming seemed to be a little unsure of how to express it, "This is an army with no tradition and no history. Missing ......," he muttered for a moment, "soul." ”

"I think Xiao Wei's political education is still doing well......"

"This has nothing to do with political education, that's not what I'm talking about." He Ming shook his head, "You have also been a soldier." Should know what I mean. The organizational model and tactics of the Fubo Army, including Wei Aiwen's political education, were all copied by us. No matter how well it is trained, it is just an 'armed force'. Only the army that has seen blood on the battlefield and fought with real swords and guns will have its own soul. ”

"You're worrying too much."

"Hehe, in the past three years, everyone has accumulated little by little from scratch and all the capital has been handed over to me, can I not be afraid?" He Ming said.

It is a matter of course to win this battle - the advantage of Jishu and the advantage of the times are so great. In case of the slightest setback, public opinion in the Senate would be very unfavorable to him. Wude understood what he was thinking.

"The question is, will the roads be renovated when there is a real war?"

"Of course I can't finish it. The road can be built as long as it can be repaired, even if it is extended to Qiongshan County by one meter more, it also reduces the logistical pressure for us. The ultimate goal of building roads is to rule," He Ming said.

"If the enemy is really as some people speculate: the Ming army will not launch an offensive until October, maybe this road will be repaired to the county seat of Qiongshan."

"The Ming army may not come so late. It is still necessary to overestimate the enemy as much as possible. He Ming said.

The Planning Institute evaluated the plan for cross-border road construction. According to the estimation of the General Staff and the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, Chengmai itself did not resist the cross-border construction of roads, but only renovated the post roads, and there was no attack on the local people and no conflicts of interests. Conversely, road construction teams can expand their influence by hiring local labor to buy supplies.

The officials of Chengmai County would not welcome such a thing, but they would not organize their own men and horses to attack - everyone knew that leading hundreds of village guards to attack the Australians would be self-defeating. Local officials in Chengmai will only turn a blind eye to the road construction project except for Xiangshang emergencies -- unless it is not true, it cannot be true.

If any local tyrant and inferior gentry don't open their eyes and take the initiative to send it to the door, they can also directly destroy Liwei.

The problem is the materials and manpower for road construction. Wude thought to himself after a long day of thinking in the office. It is about 100 kilometers from Lingao to Qiongshan. Even if the road is built according to the standard of building a simple road, it will take at least two years to build it without the use of machinery and manpower. If machinery and equipment are used, it will take more than six months. I am afraid that I can't wait for the war.

Of course, roads weren't built just for war. Since it is necessary to actually control the whole island, this road must always be repaired, and it is better to repair it later than to repair it early. Only when roads are built can we speak of control over the place. The road construction effect is particularly obvious in Lingao. Wherever the road through the government goes, the issuance of government decrees is particularly smooth.

Today is the Dragon Boat Festival in May, which is the day of dragon boat racing on the Pearl River. Inside and outside the city, it is very lively. In Guangzhou during the Xiaoice River period, you can still wear jackets in the weather of the Dragon Boat Festival.

The governor's yamen in the city was heavily guarded. Governor Li Fengjie's sedan chair first entered the governor's yamen through the side door, and then many civil and military officials, including the chief soldier He Rubin, the governor of the imperial Shi Gao Shunqin, the political envoy of Guangdong, the Haibei branch guarded the road, the Hainan branch guarded the road, and the Guangzhou prefect came one after another.

Behind the lobby of the governor's yamen, as soon as you enter the courtyard, there is the second hall. In addition to the middle hall, there are warm pavilions on both sides of the second hall, which is a place for meetings and deliberations.

Wang Zunde was in the Xinuan Pavilion of the Second Hall and the main civil and military officials of Guangdong to discuss the military. It takes the power of the whole province to crack down on the thieves, which is already the consensus of everyone.

After the main officials arrived. Wang Zunde presided over the meeting. After he made up his mind to use force, he had several private meetings with officials in the provincial capital, and a general consensus was reached.

The political envoy of Guangdong has promised to allocate 200,000 taels of silver in advance for the army's repair of weapons and ships and for the purpose of repairing weapons and ships, and for other funds, and then find ways to raise them.

"Today, everyone is discussing the matter of suppressing bandits, and it is very tight. The thieves occupied the shop, opened the commercial port privately, built the city and forts, and recruited local traitors as soldiers. The momentum is already great. I heard that the thieves had iron ships and fast guns, and their firearms were sharp. In the long run, it will surely become a major disaster for our Guangdong province. Please express your opinions, how to expel the thieves from Qiongzhou? ”

The crowd looked at each other. The matter of thieves or Australians in Lingao, they already know more or less. As for the reputation of the Australians for firearms and iron ships, everyone has also heard of it. Generally speaking, except for Gao Xunzhu and He Zongbing, everyone is not enthusiastic about meeting the Australians.

Australians have not done anything to give everyone a headache along the coast of Guangdong, do not kill, do not rob, do not set fire, do business in a proper manner, several in Guangzhou City also know the rules, the rules of the three festivals and two respects are never short, from time to time will also be filial piety to some Australian fresh gadgets, as for Ziming Building, it is a good place for many people to enjoy the "Australian secret play".

Now that they are going to be expelled and exterminated, some people still feel a little reluctant. Moreover, some people think that Governor Wang is making a provocation -- the officers and soldiers may not be the opponents of the Australians, and they will not be able to defeat the battle, but will provoke the Australians to anger, and from then on they will cause trouble along the coast.

But since Governor Wang has made up his mind, it is naturally inconvenient for everyone to refute it. Some are already thinking about what will happen to the legacy of Australians once they are evicted.

You must know that Australians not only have three industries in Guangzhou, I heard that many Australian goods are manufactured in Lingao, and they also open a private commercial port in Bopu, so I don't know how many Australian goods there are in Lingao

After a war, when the Australians flee, they can't take all the family with them, and everyone is benefited.

Gao Shunqin was the most in favor of the governor's decision. He originally hated these overseas visitors. The Portuguese were wanted to be expelled, let alone the Australians of unknown origin.

I only heard him cough and said: "The so-called Australians, they don't see the tributes of previous years, and they are not Western and Oriental Zhuyi, and even the red hair and the Francois don't know their origins." The ones sold are all miraculous and ingenious things, which corrupt the hearts of the people and the people. This kind of ugliness is faintly a disease of the heart of Guangdong."

The crowd chimed in. But everyone has no idea how to expel Australians.

What is the specific situation of the Australians in Lingao, in addition to a few Tang newspapers sent by Tang Yunwen, the general of Qiongya, everyone knows some scattered rumors: for example, they claim to be descendants of the Yashan Song people; Australian ingenuity and skill, etc. Even General Tang's Tang newspaper only said: The Australians have built forts and huge cannons in Bopu; There are iron clippers that walk like flying without sails and oars. In addition, many "Fujian and Guangdong traitors" cast "wigs" as their precursors.

In addition, no one knows how many people there are in Lingao, how many cannons, how the big iron ship moves, etc. It's not even clear how many people are in the wigs.

However, Wang Zunde has a Tang newspaper from the coast of Fujian and Guangdong, and knows that after the defeat of Zhucai Lao, a group of people and ships were thrown into Lingao, and then there were scattered people and ships from all walks of life who were thrown to Lingao. There should be tens of thousands of people before and after.

"There are always tens of thousands of true and false masticles in Lingao." He Rubin said, "There are artillery and iron ships, and it is not easy to suppress them." ”

He Rubin is a military general, and he only has the right to make suggestions on the strategy of the battle. But after all, he is the one who specifically carries out combat operations, and his ideas are also very important.

Lu Yizhong hurriedly said: "The wig is just a small profit for the thief, as long as Lord Futai issues an edict to inform him of the interests of the thief, the court soldiers will move again, and the wigs will naturally disperse." Not a problem. ”

"Hmph, this matter may not be as easy as praise painting." He Rubin said, "Most of the fakes are the remnants of the sea bandits such as Zhu Yang, who were originally outlaws on the sea, and now they are co-operating with the thieves, and the thieves can drive the iron ship through the waves for thousands of miles, and they must be the ones who are long and the boat." The two are embarrassed, if they can't be annihilated in one drum and dispersed, there will be no peace in the ocean of Guangdong."

"Thieves are no more than ordinary pirates, and ordinary pirates can't get money. Australians claim to be of Chinese Miao descent, come to the Ming Dynasty, neither send envoys to the court, nor attach the book, privately build a city in a corner of the high ground, recruit exiles, and really have a heart of disobedience" He said loudly, and put on a big hat for the Australians.

"General Yinzhi."

He Rubin quickly stood up, crossed his hands and said, "Don't dare, my lord." ”

"You are not only the worldly commander of the imperial court, but also the rank of the town. The Governor has always relied on you as the Great Wall of Guangdong to suppress the thieves, what is your good plan? ”

He Rubin respectfully bowed and replied: "The last general is foolish: there is... Difficulty.

"What...?"

"There is no difference between a fake hair and a real hair. During the Jiajing period, there were also real and fake Japanese rebels. The true widow is only 12/12, but it has also crisscrossed the sea for decades, which is a great disaster for the imperial court. This is one of them. ”

"Hmm." Wang Zunde nodded.

Second, in the area of Guangdong, the thieves appeased the exiles, bought and sold evenly, did not plunder business travelers, and did not rob ships, which was quite a move to win people's hearts. As soon as our soldiers moved, they had their own thieves, people, and traitors to tell each other. Military aircraft are difficult to secret. ”

"Reasonable."

"Third, the thieves' ships are strong and sharp, and the firearms are sharp, which is difficult for our army to match. In the humble opinion of the last general, I am afraid that it is still above the red-haired and Lan people and the Franco-machine people. ”

Wang Zunde smiled and asked, "What is the general's strategy?" ”

"Don't dare, sir." He became more and more respectful and said, "My lord is clever, so he naturally has a way to calm down. Please make your policy clear. ”

"At today's meeting, there is no end to knowing everything."

"Yes."

He Rubin's strategy is no different from what Lu Yizhong envisioned. The Australians had the advantage of ships and artillery, and it was not enough to force the other side to withdraw by sending a few thousand men and a hundred boats to demonstrate. With this it is necessary to use heavy troops.

An army of 20,000 men was dispatched, including at least 6,000 soldiers. It is also necessary to bring more firearms, especially Hongyi cannons.

"The enemy is often in the boat, and he has collected the remnants of the Haikou from all walks of life. Our soldiers must not fight against the waves of the sea. "He Rubin is not a sailor, but he is very clear about the ability of the sailor in this province, not to mention any big iron ships, iron clippers, even fighting against red-haired plywood boats and speedboats, if you don't use arson boats, you can't fight the enemy at all.

In his strategy, the Guangdong Navy Division only undertook the task of transporting the troops participating in the battle in batches to the Qianhu Institute in Haikou, and the whole army was assembled in Qiongshan County.

"Although the Australians are powerful, they have not been able to trap a county, which shows that they are not good at land warfare.

According to He Rubin's estimate: Most of the wigs are the remnants of Zhucai Lao and other pirates, and the imperial army at sea may not be their opponents, but they fight on land and set up a dignified formation. The other party did not dare to face it head-on. It must be a retreat from Bo Pu to defend it. He personally led a large army to Bopu by land. The thieves and the people of Lingao no longer dared to take the vegetables and meat of the thieves from Jibopu, and as long as the army was surrounded for a few months to half a year, they could be forced to tear down the fortress and leave.

Wang Zunde was quite satisfied with his plan. But according to the rules, the formulation of strategies is not the business of military generals, and it is inconvenient for him to say whether it is good or not, he just smiles.

Li Fengjie, the "army", said, "Only the land division was sent to suppress it, and the thieves still came and went freely at sea, although the local traitors in Lingao could not receive vegetables and meat, but there were many traitors in Fujian and Guangdong who were greedy for heavy profits. I'm afraid I may not be able to do what I want."

"What's my brother's plan?"

"Liu Laoxiang is a trouble for me in Guangdong, if I can follow Cao Lutai's strategy, promise to recruit peace, and attack thieves with thieves, wouldn't it be a great thing."

That's a good word, but who is going to approach this "giant"? Liu Laoxiang had been invading the mouth of the Pearl River, and the officers and local villagers had fought many times with the small grain brigade he had landed, but they never knew where his main force was. The Portuguese tried to eliminate Liu Xiang many times without success - they still wanted to join forces with the Ming to suppress it.

If you want to appease this kind of sea giant, you can't do it without a year or two of contact between you and me. The so-called attacking thieves with thieves is just empty words.

Although Wang Zunde was smiling, he actually didn't think so.

"This matter has to be considered in the long run. If you can be appeased, it will naturally be a great thing. He said, "I don't know which one is Cao Lutai from Guangdong Province?" ”

Cao Lutai, the same acquaintance of Yuegang Coastal Defense, was the main manager of Xiong Wencan's recruitment of Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhilong's affairs after Fu Fu were also handled by him, and the strategy of attacking thieves with thieves was first proposed by Cao Lutai. Wang Zunde felt that there was no such bold and capable official in this province who was very familiar with the "Kou Qing" situation.

Li Fengjie already had a small abacus. Someone in his curtain connected with Liu Laoxiang and was persuading him to caress him. From the mouths of his staff, he learned that although Liu Xiang was expanding rapidly for a while, he was extremely worried about Zheng Zhilong's expansion - once Zheng Zhilong eliminated Zhong Bin, he would inevitably go east to Guangdong to eliminate him.

Li Fengjie thinks that since Liu Xiang has such an idea, it is very likely to appease him, so he is stepping up the handling of this matter recently. In order to avoid Wang Zunde's interference, he kept it a secret.

At this time, he proposed that it was not really for the purpose of sending Liu Xiang, but first to ask Wang Zunde to make a statement about appeasing Liu Xiang. Now that the goal has been achieved, he will not say more, but simply say: "I will do my best to do it." ”

Wang Zunde's strategy for attacking and suppressing is:

He Rubin led the whole army and went to sea from Guangzhou to sacrifice the flag. Cross the sea in batches to Qiongzhou Mansion. Assembled in Haikou Thousand Households. 300 sailors were dispatched - the sailors did not have such a large number of ships, and it was too late to build them immediately, so all the shortfall was replenished along the coast by sealing the ships.

The total number of mobilized troops was 15,000 men. With He Rubin's Zhenbiao Zhongying and Jiading as the main force, supplemented by one each of Fubiao and Superintendent - a total of 6,000 soldiers. Qiongya's general Tang Yunwen's department was also subject to its control. In this way, the Ming army that entered and suppressed was 20,000 people on land and water. Wang Zunde also prepared an edict to the Hainan Patrol Road: he was asked to mobilize the Xiangyong of Qiongshan, Chengmai and Lingao to cooperate with the local guards. The food and salary of this part of the people and horses are taken care of by the Qiongzhou government.

After the accumulation of troops is completed, the land division will march along the post road to Lingao, and when the land division surrounds Bopu, the sailor will act according to the situation. Wang Zunde did not have hope for the combat strength of the provincial water divisions, so he did not clarify their tasks.

The matter of using the cannon of the Francoman-man battleship to help suppress it was vigorously opposed by Gao Shunqin. He was about to cut off trade with the Portuguese, but now if he succeeds in using his teacher, the court will regard the Francois as a useful ally, so how can he approve his play?

Therefore, he knew that the big ships and heavy artillery of the Francophone were conducive to suppressing the thieves, but he still held a resolute attitude. Wang Zunde did not want to argue with him, and did not mention the matter again.

Since the officers and soldiers cannot compete with it. Wang Zunde sacrificed the magic weapon of the forbidden sea. He immediately ordered Tang Yunwen, the general of Qiongya, to lead the sailors to cruise near Haikou and prohibit all civilian ships from entering the Qiongzhou Strait.

"My lord, why don't you transfer troops from Guangxi?" After the meeting, Lu Yizhong was surprised that the owner did not summon officials from Guangxi. Guangxi has quite a few Tusi soldiers who dare to fight and are good at fighting. In the past, in several Li rebellions in Hainan, the imperial court transferred native soldiers of various ethnic groups such as Miao, Yao, and Dong from Guangxi to cross the sea to fight.

"This is a Guangdong matter, or is it easy to use the army in Guangdong." Wang Zunde said casually, "Guangxi is barren and poor, so it is better to be less recruited." ”

After a little pondering, Lu Yizhong understood what he meant-"Guangdong is about Guangdong."

"My lord."

"Where." Wang Zunde nodded gracefully. Then he asked Lu Yizhong about the details of the thief in Lingao. Lu Yizhong is equivalent to the "first assistant" in the governor's house, and a summary of all kinds of news, reports, and documents will be summarized in his hands first.

However, the Hainan Tang newspaper received from Guangzhou only a few words that were very unknown -- too little was known about the situation of the thieves in Lingao. Wang Zunde immediately ordered people to go to Qiongzhou Mansion to recruit talents, and recruit people who understand the situation of Lingao thieves and are familiar with the local hydrology and geography. He also ordered He Rubin to send more detailed work to Lingao to investigate.

"There is a man who thinks he can ask."

"Oh? Who is it. ”

"The main hall of Lingao County - Wu Mingjin."

Lu Yizhong reminded him that the county seat of Lingao had not yet fallen. The officials in the county are all living well. The county magistrate should know the thief's situation best, so it is better to send someone to summon him to Guangzhou in the name of reporting on his work.