The cavalry units of the various subordinate units of the Third Army were still assembled and used as in the past, and were organized into the Third Cavalry Detachment, and in last year's northward operation, the cavalry units of the Third Army did not suffer much losses, and at the same time, in the past few months, about 300 cavalry units have been added and replenished, and they have been organized into an independent cavalry battalion.

Thus the present Third Cavalry Detachment had four cavalry battalions and two cavalry corps, with a total of about 1,800 cavalry.

This cavalry unit is already the most powerful cavalry unit on the side of the Tang Army, but it is nothing compared to the Ming army.

According to intelligence reality, in Shandong alone, the total number of cavalry of the Ming army was no less than 8,000!

Not to mention that in the nearby Daimyo area, there were also a large number of Tatar cavalry heading south, which was a huge cavalry corps with a total of more than 50,000 cavalry.

Compared with the enemy's huge cavalry troops, the number of cavalry units of the Third Army was too small to be worth mentioning compared to the enemy.

Therefore, when fighting in the north, the main combat mission of the cavalry units of the Tang Army was actually not to engage in a hard-to-head battle with the main cavalry force of the enemy, but to focus on reconnaissance, surveillance, and vigilance.

This time to the north, the infantry and artillery were the core, and the cavalry was only an auxiliary force.

When formulating the northward battle plan, the enemy's cavalry threat was also taken into account in advance, which is why the Tang Army's northward battle plan firmly revolved around the river, because even if the enemy's cavalry was strong, it could not use the Datang logistics supply line transported by the river in stages.

Then force the enemy infantry and cavalry to engage your side head-to-head along the river, preventing the enemy's cavalry from attacking your own logistics supply lines.

As long as their cavalry dares to give up mobility and instead plan to dismount and cut off a certain section of the canal, then the many naval guns on the navy's canal fleet can teach them how to behave without the Tang Army selling.

If you want to say that the artillery power is the most powerful, it is not the Datang Army, but the Datang Navy!

Although it is said that the Datang Army is also known for its sharp guns, the Datang Navy really relies on artillery to eat, and any ocean-going capital ship is equipped with more than 20 guns.

This time, it was the first detachment of the Canal Fleet that supported the Third Army's operations, which had more than 60 civil war warships of all kinds, more than 10 9-pound naval guns, more than 80 5-pound naval guns, and 150 2-pound and 3-pound shotguns.

The firepower of the more than 60 river warships of this first detachment combined far exceeded that of an artillery regiment of the army.

The first detachment was enough to secure the canal's supply line.

If the enemy's cavalry acted on a large scale, and then tens of thousands of cavalry were dispatched to directly turn the cavalry into infantry to cut off and hold a certain section of the canal, then this was also in the hands of the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty King is not afraid that you will stop and guard a certain place, but he is afraid that you will run up and attack everywhere.

As long as the cavalry of the Ming army stopped, then the Tang Army would quickly be able to pounce on it through the river transport, and then it would still evolve into a head-to-head duel that the Tang Army expected.

Of course, for such a large-scale operation, all logistics supply lines cannot completely rely on river transportation, after all, not all places have rivers, and some places always need to use land transportation, and these land transportation will inevitably be threatened.

For this reason, the Privy Council also learned the lessons of the Anqing Campaign, and had already prepared nearly 1,000 four-wheeled freight carriages in advance, and if the horses were not enough, they were replaced by mules and donkeys.

These four-wheeled freight carriages, although they need to use a lot of animal power, the requirements for the road are relatively high, but the safety of transportation is improved a lot, the Tang Army believes that although the cost of use is a bit high, but for the safety of land transportation and supplies, it is still worth it.

In addition, even if it is land transportation, not every section of the road is so dangerous, and some non-dangerous locations will still use more traditional land transportation methods, that is, large-scale use of manpower and wheelbarrows.

Only in danger areas close to the front line are these specially prepared four-wheeled wagons used, and they are usually escorted by special baggage troops.

Numerous preparations made Hao Bonian, although he found that the Tatar cavalry suddenly went south, but he did not think much of it.

This time I went north, and sooner or later I had to fight with the Tatars!

Besides, this time it's not just his Third Army that is going north, but also the Second Army!

The Second Army, which was stationed in northern Anhui, had already followed the pace of the Third Army and began to continue to move north!

The strength of the Second Army, consisting of about two infantry divisions and two mixed regiments, with a total strength of about 40,000 men, would follow the many tributaries of the Huai River, first into the southeastern part of Henan, and then anticipate the capture of the two important strategic support points of Guide and Kaifeng along the Yellow River.

In this way, the Second Army was able to obtain strategic cooperation with the Third Army, and then march north in unison with the east and the west, and finally converge at Shandong and Beizhili, and fight a decisive battle with the Ming army and the main Tatar forces.

The Tang Dynasty did not expect that Hao Bonian's Third Army alone would be able to fight all the way to Youzhou.

The war in the north is still going on, although the news that is coming now is a small and medium-sized war, the main forces of the two sides have not yet contacted, and the Armageddon has not broken out, but anyone knows that the Armageddon between the two sides is already on the verge of breaking out, and it will not take long to completely break out, and when the time comes, this Armageddon will directly determine the ownership of the whole world.

If the more than 100,000 Tang troops in the north are finished in the decisive battle, then the blow to the Tang Dynasty will be absolutely devastating, and the Tang Dynasty will probably have to switch from strategic offensive to strategic defense, relying on the newly established Fourth Army and the Guards Army to carry out defensive operations, and maintaining Jiangbei is the greatest luxury.

But if the Tang army in the north wins, annihilates the more than 100,000 Ming troops in Shandong, Henan and other places, and then takes down the 50,000 cavalry of the Tatars, then from the moment the decisive battle is won, the Tang Dynasty can proudly claim that the Tang Dynasty has become the new master of the Chinese land.

It was so important to go north to fight, especially when he heard that the Tatars were also going south on a large scale, and it was not the scale of 20,000 people as previously estimated, but the scale of 50,000 people, Li Xuan, who was in Jinling City, couldn't sit still.

In just one day, he summoned Lei Wan and many other army generals in a row, and at the same time he also talked to Liu Bagou and other high-level cabinet officials, and what he revealed was that the war in the north was so important, and he was not at ease in the future!

And the meaning of this is that Li Xuan is planning to recruit in person again.

The capital is Jinling, and Li Xuan plans to recruit in person, which will naturally attract a large number of opposition. His Majesty's words like thinking twice were said by everyone, but Li Xuan was still unmoved.

And with Li Xuan's current prestige, no one dared to oppose his decision, so Li Xuan's personal expedition to the north was quickly determined, and then only two days later, Li Xuan directly took the Guards and part of the main force of the Fourth Army to the north!

Li Xuan wanted to recruit in person, but also with his own considerations, on the one hand, it was to boost the morale of the front-line troops and let them know that their emperor, the Eternal Sage Monarch who was greater than the sun, would fight with them on the front line!

However, boosting morale is also secondary, and more importantly, Li Xuan is to reinforce the northern troops, strive for a greater grasp of the victory of the first battle, and completely defeat the Zhengde army.

If he does not personally conscript, then the war in the north can only rely on the second and third armies, but if he goes north to fight, then the number of troops participating in the northern war can at least be more than 30,000, and these 30,000 people are still the main force.

Why?

Because if he personally recruited, then the Guards would definitely have to take it with him, except for the temporary brigade of the Guards who had already gone north before, Li Xuan would at least bring a full 10,000 Guards to the north.

In addition, if Li Xuan personally recruited, then the Fourth Army, as a strategic reserve, would definitely need to transfer some troops to the north.

The Fourth Army now has three infantry divisions, leaving one division to garrison northern Anhui, and the remaining two divisions can be taken north with him.

As for the defense of Jiangnan, Jiangbei, Jiangxi, and other places, mixed regiments from various places are responsible, and security can still be guaranteed.

The expansion of the Tang Army is not only to expand the infantry divisions, but also to expand the mixed regiments in large quantities, and the newly formed mixed regiments have gradually changed from the previous first-line main force to the second-line troops stationed in the localities.

At present, the Datang Army has been organized into 18 mixed regiments, and from the end of last year to the beginning of this year alone, the Datang Army was organized into five mixed regiments in one go.

Nowadays, basically every province has a mixed regiment garrison, and important areas will also have a mixed regiment garrison.

And the mixed regiments that really participated in the front-line battles were actually just a few mixed regiments in the early days, and these early mixed regiments were different from the mixed regiments formed later.

In the early days, the mixed regiments were all built according to the main forces of the front line, and there was no shortage of artillery and cavalry, but the mixed regiments formed later, especially the eight mixed regiments from the 11th to the 18th, had no cavalry, and there was a serious shortage of artillery, and even the artillery was second-hand replaced by the front-line troops.

Recently, there has also been an argument within the Tang Army that it is necessary to upgrade and reorganize several mixed regiments in the early days, 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, the fourth mixed regiment and the fifth mixed regiment attached to the Third Army, and the seventh mixed regiment responsible for the Sichuan operation.

However, in addition to these five mixed regiments, there are also several mixed regiments whose combat effectiveness is relatively ordinary, such as the 2nd Mixed Regiment stationed in Guangdong, the 6th Mixed Regiment stationed in Guizhou, and then the 3rd Mixed Regiment and the 10th Mixed Regiment on the side of the First Army.

In addition to these nine mixed regiments, the remaining nine mixed regiments are all newly organized, and a few of them are directly reorganized from the supplementary brigades, most of them have not participated in large-scale battles, and their soldiers lack combat experience, and they are also relatively lacking in guns and artillery, and their combat effectiveness cannot be said to be average, it should be said that they are relatively poor.

However, although the combat effectiveness of these mixed regiments is somewhat poor, it is precisely because of these mixed regiments stationed in various places that the Datang Army can draw more main forces to participate in front-line operations.