Commander Montoban's speech stunned the judges present, and no one spoke for a long time.

Not only did no one speak, but many of the officers lowered their heads desperately, as if they had not heard the plan of Major General Mengtoban, and some of them simply smiled at the corners of their mouths.

Russians...... For the French, especially the French in the Napoleonic era, there was not much feud, so the mobilization of the Crimean War could achieve such a reverberating effect in France, and everyone did not mind cheating the French.

But this can only be said by Mentoban himself, and no one else can afford such a responsibility, and Mentoban's eyes are already red, and he looks at the whole hall trembling under his decision, and he says very decisively: "Yes, the Russians may have some losses, they may lose one or two hundred people or a little more, but their sacrifice is not meaningless, and it will open the door to victory for us." ”

This is not as simple as losing one or two hundred men, according to the combat experience of the last two months, even with the full support of the main French army, the Russians will have to pay losses of as little as tens or more than 100 men, and if they sit back and watch their front-line garrison withstand the siege of the large force of the rainbow army, then they will have to pay the price of at least one infantry battalion.

So the judge's mind was enlivened, and the adjutant of Montoban made his own suggestion: "Then what we need is not just to open the door to victory, but to achieve a decisive victory!" ”

Although it suffered a number of setbacks, it also established the absolute battle of the judges for the decisive battle of the main force, and if the French army and the rainbow army fought evenly in the confrontation at the regimental and battalion level, then in the battle at the division and brigade level, the French army had never been defeated, not to mention that the troops dispatched by Montoban this time would reach the scale of the army level.

It would be the biggest victory since the Crimean War, and the officers who were in high spirits unconsciously stood up, but not one of them asked: "If Russia suffers heavy losses, then who bears the diplomatic responsibility!"

Meng Toban's face became extremely solemn and serious. He took a moment before he said: "I take full responsibility for this battle, and if I fail, I will take full responsibility in a court-martial." ”

If you don't win, you can only go to court-martial. Unknowingly, Mentoban was nostalgic for the scorching Algerian sun.

This is the most painful memory of his life, he wasted years of his youth in the desert, and if it were not for Napoleon III, he would most likely have become an old colonel who recalls the past in tears, and the post of commander of the expeditionary force, whether won or lost, was the last military resume of his life.

So he looked at these French children with relief. Decided to face the anger of St. Petersburg calmly: "All you need is to hunt for as many results as possible, and I will solve the bad feelings of the Russians." ”

Another colonel asked aloud: "Your Excellency, what will be our goal?" ”

For a long time, most of the main French forces were deployed near Jiaxing Mansion, but now Mentoban has changed his mind: "We are marching to Suzhou Mansion, where the rainbow army is weaker!"

The troops stationed in Suzhou Province are the main force of Bao Mei's British Division and the Third Division, and have recently received some infantry battalion support, but compared to the elite of the Rainbow Army concentrated in Jiaxing Province. The strength and combat effectiveness are obviously much inferior, not to mention that after Jin Peilun took office, he sent troops to counterattack the coalition forces several times. Although the results of the battle were not small, their own battle losses were also quite serious.

Therefore, Mentoban's choice was unanimously supported by France, and Suzhou was arguably one of the richest regions in the world, and marching to Suzhou was the most suitable choice, but an officer asked: "What if the enemy does not defend Suzhou and flees in a hurry, you must know that Napoleon also occupied Moscow!"

…,

For a treacherous enemy like the Rainbow Army, this is indeed the most important thing to worry about, for a long time, the French army has been because of the relative avoidance of the Rainbow Army and could not find the opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the opponent. But Meng Toban smiled and said: "In that case, we will attack the city of Suzhou, they can give up individual counties, but they will never give up the city of Suzhou!"

That's right, every prefecture and county in Suzhou Prefecture is the richest area in China, not to mention Suzhou City. What's more, this is not going deep into the territory of Russia, but just advancing dozens of kilometers in a straight line towards Suzhou Prefecture, Meng Toban said in a very resolute tone: "I will create an opportunity for you to let go of the attack, and I also hope that you will prepare everything within a week!"

He had already set the name for this campaign, and that was "Joan of Arc".

……

After Christmas and the Gregorian New Year, the frequency of sorties of the main French army decreased considerably, and even if they did, they were often confined to one or two infantry battalions, and no more than three infantry battalions at most, which obviously attracted the attention of the intelligence department of the Rainbow Army.

You must know that during this period, the strength of the various units of the Rainbow Army entering Shanghai to fight not only did not decrease, but there was a considerable increase, coupled with the information obtained from the Shanghai Concession, the French army was stockpiling supplies and purchasing a large number of mules and horses, and the intelligence of the Rainbow Army had determined that the arrival of the next battle would only be a matter of time.

"The enemy has recently been supported by two more infantry battalions!" Zhu Jinlei has very skillfully pointed out the deployment of the French army on the map: "And they have completed the build-up of troops, and it is very likely that there will be a big operation in the near future!"

"That's right." Fu Wendao said very skillfully: "There are at least ten infantry battalions of Yi soldiers, nearly 10,000 Qing demons, and maybe some more......"

For the largest scale that the French army can concentrate its forces, the Hong Army can already be described as a good grasp, the French army is about sixteen to eighteen infantry battalions near Shanghai, plus about ten infantry battalions of the Russian army that are not very full, this is the whole strength, and the first-line garrison force must occupy at least eight infantry battalions of the coalition army, and the second-line garrison force occupies four infantry battalions, that is, the limit of the mobile strength of the coalition army is only fifteen infantry battalions.

And these fifteen infantry battalions must have at least two or three infantry battalions as mobile troops for garrison operations in the Shanghai area, that is, the actual limit of use is only twelve infantry battalions, but most of the time, the French army will only dispatch ten infantry battalions, but Zhu Jinlei quickly refuted Fu Wendao's opinion: "There may be twelve to thirteen infantry battalions, and the French have used all their strength to eat milk!"

And Qu Jie on the side was very optimistic: "So what, no matter how great their skills are, the strength that can fight a decisive battle with our army will not exceed eight battalions." ”

This is the reason why the French army is exhausted, once the direction of the main attack of France is determined, the rainbow army immediately launched a major offensive on the flank, forcing the French army to transfer troops, and the French army that can finally be put into the battlefield is often only about half of the original plan, and the huge decisive battle can only become fruitless.

However, Nan Bohang felt that the French would not listen to the deployment of the rainbow army this time: "This time, the strength of the milk has been brought up, and there is news that there are French infantry battalions that have landed, and if these troops are added, the French can dispatch fifteen infantry battalions!"

"Fifteen French infantry battalions?" Qu Jie inhaled a cold air: "In this battle, we can't rely on our first division alone!"

Although the First Division, as the first-class main force of the entire Rainbow Army, has long been known for ignoring other units, the French troops, with 15 infantry battalions as the backbone, and the artillery, engineers, cavalry, and baggage troops that are considered to be transferred, as well as the attached Qing army, are indeed not something that a single infantry division of the First Division can bear alone.

And Liu Chang suddenly added: "Not only can't the first division stand it, but all our troops in Jiaxing Mansion are pressed up, and if you fight head-on, it will be difficult to stand it!" Mentoban is in a hurry!"

…,

Everyone was taken aback by Liu Chang's pessimistic judgment, and Qu Jie asked directly: "What then?" We have nearly 40,000 troops in Jiaxing Mansion, which can't be supported, what is the best way? ”

Liu Chang keenly judged the direction of the main attack of the French army: "What we have to worry about now is not Jiaxing Mansion, but Jin Peilun, Yu Cun and Bao Meiying in Suzhou Mansion!"

Jiaxing Mansion has nearly 40,000 rainbow troops, and although Suzhou Mansion has been reinforced several times, the total strength is nearly 16,000 people, but the combat effectiveness is a lot worse on the Jiaxing Mansion, so Qu Jie immediately proposed the tried and tested method of the Rainbow Army: "Then our defenders in Jiaxing Mansion will attack with all their strength and try to pull Meng Tuoban back!"

"Pull it back?" Nan Bohang interjected and said: "How to pull?" Now they are confronting our army on the border, but the Russian army, if Mengtoban is in a hurry, they may not be willing to return to help. ”

After thinking for a while, everyone agreed, and Qu Jie asked, "What should I do?" If the Suzhou Prefecture is too thin, it will be easily damaged, so do you want to ...... our first division?"

"The 1st Division will not move for the time being." Liu Chang nodded Fu Wendao's name: "Fu Wendao, you have performed very well recently, so I handed over the most difficult task to you, is it available to the Marine Corps now?" ”

When the Marine Regiment retreated from Fengjing Town, the whole regiment could only be temporarily organized into two infantry companies, but after that, it has been training in Jiaxing Mansion, not only the personnel and equipment that have fallen behind have caught up, but a large number of wounded have also returned to the team, and a large number of recruits and new equipment have been received, so the whole regiment has now changed from a light infantry regiment to a first-class hoplite regiment of the Hong Army, Fu Wendao said confidently: "The whole regiment is ready to attack, the morale is high, and it can be dispatched at any time, please rest assured His Royal Highness King Yan!"

"That's good!" Liu Chang immediately replied: "You take the 11th Regiment to Suzhou Mansion, and at the same time tell Bao Meiying and Jin Peilun that you must have the courage and strategy to deal with the French, but also have the determination to give up, and if you can seize the fighters, you will resolutely attack, and if you don't have the opportunity, you will create fighters, I will give them a concession, and you can give up Suzhou City when necessary!" (To be continued)