"You bastards, you know you haven't trained well lately, and your skills have been wasted, right? Why, when you come to the flower world of Guangzhou, you are all confused? On a wasteland in the wilderness of Xiangshan County, an officer looked at the cavalry galloping in front of him and said with a smile.

This is a cavalry training ground, and some cavalry from the Fifth Division of the Zhejiang New Army are training in cavalry archery. The training prop is a wooden figure carved in the shape of a rabbit, and everyone rides through in turn, shooting as they run, with the winner winning the first to win, the loser dismounts and kneels to drink, and the winner rides on the horse to drink.

The reason why in this era when hot weapons have become popular, still train this kind of stunt riding and archery in the era of cold weapons, is to say that it is not to waste the craftsmanship of these people. Yes, that's right, these cavalry are mainly Mongols from the outer northeast and some nomadic Tunguska, who grew up on horseback since childhood, and this riding skill is naturally very skillful. Moreover, in the harsh land of the Outer Northeast, archery is one of the most important skills that every adult man needs to master, so their archery skills are not bad, especially when they use a bow for riding and arching.

Considering that the cavalry regiments of several new army divisions were full of such herdsmen from the steppe, the higher authorities stipulated that mounted archery was still one of the assessment items for cavalry, but it was limited to these Mongols or Tungusic people who were scheduled to "serve in the army with art", and the Han cavalry recruited in Shandong did not need to be assessed for these items, and they needed to practice the skills of chopping and riding spears - although the cavalry on the east coast was never the main force in the field, and they did not need to rush into battle in groups like the Polish hussars. But some basic skills still need to be practiced, even if they are not usually used.

"Okay, this round is Mozhigen won, wine!" The tall company commander jumped off the earthen platform and beckoned several soldiers next to him to bring a load of wine, which was dogwood wine and chrysanthemum wine transported from the north, which was one of the favorite drinks of the soldiers in the army, and it has always been the best prize for the warriors.

Mo Rigen, a Mongolian man, immediately grinned when he heard this, only to see him happily take the wine bowl handed by others, and only after a few mouthfuls of dry mouthfuls did he reluctantly return it. However, he soon found a new pleasure, that is, laughing loudly at the comrades who knelt on his horse and drinking, making those rough embryos grit their teeth one by one, and swore that they must regain the first place next time, and not let this fool be predominant.

"You rammers crawling on the ground, don't be faceless and skinless with me, spare you this time, if you are still like this bear next time, Lao Tzu will have to give you a whip." The company commander walked off the field, kicking and beating the cavalrymen who were kneeling on the ground and drinking, and scolded: "I think that when I attacked Xinchang County back then, Lao Tzu and I couldn't hold down the grandchildren at the head of the city with one bow. Now it's so virtuous to let you shoot a fake rabbit that can't move, and you can really shoot a few people on the battlefield. Yes, many archers in the Qing and Shun kingdoms are worse than you, but so what? Lao Tzu's requirements for you are higher than theirs, what's the matter, is anyone dissatisfied? ”

While the company commander and the soldiers under his command were conducting daily training, Army Major Tang Moyu, who was in charge of the affairs of the entire Guangzhou Bay area, was also visiting from a distance with a group of entourage. After seeing the training scenes of these cavalry from the north, he was very satisfied, and turned his head to Lu Xiaozhong, a naval officer who came to visit together, and said: "On cavalry shooting, you still have to come from the men on the grassland, and on the charge battle, you have to look at the ironclad heavy cavalry with a big nose in Poland, but our cavalry is mainly used to chase the dead and chase the north, and it is used for rapid maneuvering, and it is not required to rush into battle, so they are very good." ”

In fact, as Major Tang Moyu said just now, because of the differences in military thinking between the East and the West, the East Coast's understanding of cavalry is the traditional "clutch soldier", and it is believed that the greatest characteristic and advantage of cavalry is its mobility, rather than impact or anything else. This may have something to do with the culture since ancient times, the West is politically divided, there are many princes, and there are many nobles who own small plots of land, so if two nobles go to war, if they don't want to get into trouble, then they can only fight in a small area. In this way, the two sides can only face each other in a dignified formation and fight head-on, so the cavalry is mostly heavy cavalry.

However, in China, because of the vast territory and political unity, it became possible for cavalry to maneuver in a large area, intercepting grain routes, raiding the rear, marching quickly, and so on, each of which was a strategic role, rather than limited to a tactical battle.

The cavalry tactics of the people on the east coast were mixed with the ideas of the ancient Chinese clutch soldiers, and because the early cavalry was mostly Cossack light cavalry, it also absorbed the tactics of many steppe men, so it was a pure light cavalry tactic in terms of style. The main force of the army in field warfare has always been artillerymen, and then musketeers, and the main role of cavalry in field battles is to chase and cut down the defeated enemy, because the infantry has to maintain a formation, it is impossible to run fast, and the pursuit of the north is still handed over to the four-legged cavalry.

Of course, the East Coast itself is not without the presence of heavy cavalry. In the two independent cavalry battalions commanded by Major Pei Dade, there were two companies of heavy cavalry, and the horses they rode were Chubut horses (that is, horses bred and raised in the Chubut River Basin) that had been bred in the local area for many years. As for the most crucial tactics, they were taught by the best of the Polish heavy cavalry prisoners of war who had been trafficked, and after they were granted official status and received a high salary, their enthusiasm was rekindled, and a lot of effort was poured into the seedlings of the heavy cavalry of these two companies, so that they had a rough appearance.

"There are few horses in the south, and if the cavalry is used well, it can often play a role that it does not expect." Although Tang Moyu was born in infantry, he still had a very deep understanding of the role of cavalry, so he continued: "However, most of our war horses come from the north, and it is difficult to adapt to the southern environment, and the mortality rate is estimated to be not very low, so we have to use some brains at this point." War horses are very expensive, and it is a lot of money to die, if it dies in batches, I think the face of Commander Liu of Shandong will be ugly. ”

"Now there is a battalion of cavalry here, with more than 300 horsemen and more than 460 war horses, all of which were transported with great difficulty. For this reason, Commander Ma of Yin County and Commander Liu of Denglai jointly spent a huge amount of military spending, and if something happens, it is indeed difficult for people to accept. Lu Xiaozhong echoed and said. Although he himself is a naval officer, he also has a war horse as a means of transportation on the shore, two of which have died in the past three years, both of which have died of illness and illness due to the local climate, and the horse is indeed a delicate creature, so he is also very worried.

"There are two battalions in the back, the entire Fifth Cavalry Regiment is coming, and there is also a cavalry company of the First Mixed Battalion, and it is even more difficult for those capital masters to serve. There are more than 1,100 cavalry, more than 2,000 war horses, and if you count the horses, there are 3,000 horses, and other draft animals such as donkeys and mules. Tang Moyu shook his head and said with some concern: "My Haizhu Island Trading Station needs to prepare more supplies, especially medicinal materials. The number of veterinarians who came with the army must also be insufficient, and some need to be recruited, and I don't know if they will treat the horses' diseases, so I hope they can. ”

"Hey, that's. The Portuguese in Macau also have a certain number of horses, and after so many years, they must have some experience, so they can ask them to help, and these guys dare not disobey anyway. "Lu Hsiao-chung's warships often wander around the mouth of the Pearl River, so the Portuguese in Macao have always been very respectful to the east coast, so if they were asked to help, they should not refuse if they were in their right minds.

"Yes, you reminded me that this must be done as soon as possible. These more than 1,000 cavalrymen will play a decisive role on many occasions in the possible Guangdong rebellion in the future, so there is no room for error. When Tang Moyu heard this, he said: "Especially if the enemy is not prepared to quickly seize strategic points or something, it will not work without them." ”

In other words, the current situation in Guangdong is really very tense, because Li Chengdong has not appeared in front of everyone for more than a month, and only a few old ministers such as Xintaihou were allowed to enter the palace to meet for a meeting, and they were silent after they came out. At this point, everyone understands that Li Chengdong's death is probably just around this time, this butcher-like figure who has created countless murders on the land of China in the original history (this time and space has not killed less), in this time and space of the East Coast people, his luck is quite good, he lived to the day of his death, and he has been happy in the world of flowers in Guangdong for many years, and there are not too many regrets in life!

However, Li Chengdong left without regret, but he left behind a huge hidden danger, which would ruin Guangdong's good situation in an instant. That is, the battle between his adopted eldest son Li Yuanyin and his biological son Li Yuanhao, which may split Guangdong and even change the sky, must not be careless.

At present, Li Yuanyin, who has a close relationship with the people on the east coast, is still hesitating, hesitating whether to immediately raise troops to attack Li Yuanhao after the death of his adoptive father Li Chengdong. Because according to the rules, he is Li Chengdong's eldest son and the rightful heir to Huiguo's name, but now it seems that Li Chengdong in Guangzhou City wants to pass on the throne to his son, and some old ministers also support Li Yuanhao for various factors, instead of Li Yuanyin, who is more heroic and has a distinctive personality. Therefore, this is the root of the contradiction between the two sides, and if one is not handled carefully, it is a succession war!

The people on the east coast were very worried about the possible outbreak of war in Guangdong, and on the one hand, they sent an envoy to Chaozhou Mansion and had a secret conversation with Li Yuanyin, asking him to exercise restraint and not to use swords and soldiers when Li Chengdong's bones were still cold, which would lose his righteousness. At the same time, they also sent an envoy to Guangzhou urgently, and talked with Li Yuanhao in the name of visiting Li Chengdong. The result is not very optimistic, Li Yuanhao does not seem to be able to tolerate his cheap big brother, it seems likely that after inheriting the throne of Huiguo and obtaining the resources of Guangzhou, Huizhou and other elite areas, he immediately raised troops to crusade against Li Yuanyin and occupied Chaozhou Mansion, so that Li Yuanyin could not even divide one side.

The people on the east coast were not particularly interested in the war between them, but the problem was that they were a little worried when they heard that Guo Shi'an, the envoy of the Jiangxi Jiedu of Shunguo, had sent more than 10,000 elite soldiers to the Ganzhou Mansion. In addition, the Zheng clan in Fujian is not a good bird, and they go back and forth to make a bad move, so they want Guangdong to fight, and then reap the benefits of the fishermen themselves.

Such a situation is naturally unacceptable to the people of the East Coast. Therefore, while using various relations to make a last-ditch diplomatic effort, they began to gather troops and ships in the area of Guangzhou Bay to prepare for the worst-case scenario. At present, there are only such cavalry troops assembled here, but in the next month (October), technical units such as artillery, engineers, and baggage troops will also arrive one after another, and the capital masters of the first mixed battalion will also quietly arrive in Macao City at the end of the month and will not show up for the time being.

In short, with the complete peace between the Southern Pioneer Team and the Qing State, the Denglai Pioneer Team and the Qing State have also made peace, so the people on the east coast can already send a large number of troops south to the area of Guangzhou Bay, and be fully prepared for the changes that may occur in the future. According to the plan, except for a small number of people who appeared and were stationed in public near the Haizhu Island Commercial Station, the rest were temporarily stationed in Macao and Xiangshan, and kept a low profile. It is not until the situation becomes out of control that there will be officials sent by the higher authorities to take charge of the overall situation and launch an action - to put it bluntly, if the intervention fails and the matter is no longer possible, then a large-scale action will be made immediately to occupy the city of Guangzhou and reap the last advantage.

The Southern Pioneer Team had carefully calculated that if it wanted to successfully evacuate Guangzhou City, it would probably need 1-20,000 troops that were relatively capable of fighting. In addition, it may be necessary to recruit some rebels in the local area to help carry people, goods, and food, otherwise it will not be able to be completed - there is no doubt that this is a big project, comparable to the actions of the people on the east coast in Huai'an Province back then. The southern pioneer team should have selected a veteran general who can fight habitually to come and take command of it.

Of course, things may not come to this point, as long as Guangdong Erli can restrain each other, and external forces are not too involved, then the situation is still controllable, but at present it seems that this possibility is relatively low, so the people on the east coast have made some preparations in advance, so as not to be caught off guard when the time comes. You must know that the east coast is still relatively short of population, the local economy is developing rapidly, the land is being reclaimed rapidly, and the population is urgently needed to come and fill the pits, and the population of Guangzhou City can just solve the urgent need.