In charge of commanding the battle was Army General Zhang Kaishan, who was also the commander-in-chief of the Ming Army in Vietnam, and he considered the battle to be crucial, so he decided to take command himself. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The reason why he was the chief soldier was because after the war with Japan, he was sent to France by the Ministry of War to serve as a military attache for several years, and he knew the most about the recent situation of the French army, but he did not study in France at the beginning, but in Denmark.

After the war with Japan, the Ming army also introduced the military rank system, although the military department sent out a group of young Zhuang officers such as Wen Yuan, but no one was awarded a high military rank, Wen Yuan, Zhang Kaishan, Chen Jishi and Deng Shicai were all generals. At the same time, the military department abolished the military region system, and there was no general army of each military region, and the general army was changed to a non-permanent position, returning to the era of Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty.

The standing army is no longer divided into military regions, but is under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, and each province has military towns, which are only used as reserve army institutions.

The standing army is based on the army, no longer named after the name of the place, but by number, from the first army to the sixtieth army as the standing army, and the source of soldiers is no longer based on the local unit, but by the new recruits to draw lots to determine the ownership. The number of the Reserve Army is the same as that of the Standing Army, from the 1st Reserve Army to the 60th Reserve Army.

The normal establishment of the standing army is 10,000 and the reserve army is 20,000, and the main purpose of the reserve army is not to fight, but to replenish the standing army.

Through this restructuring, the Ministry of War dismantled the small groups and local forces in the army, which was obviously their original intention, similar to the rotation system of the Song Dynasty military districts, the purpose was to prevent the army from becoming warlordized.

This kind of restructuring idea may be something that civilian officials can come up with, but in terms of specific technical operations, it is obvious that a professional must have handled it, and the main person responsible for its implementation was the General Staff Headquarters, which was more subordinate to the management of the military department, and at the same time, among the generals of the army, it was Deng Shicai, a veteran, who was cooperating.

As for the other meanings that should be known, what to say about officers, adjust ranks, etc., almost the entire military structure has been refurbished, with only one purpose, that is, to limit the power of military generals.

And the officer group must not be satisfied, Deng Shicai carried this black cauldron, and was regarded as a traitor by the entire army young Zhuang faction, and for a time everyone rebelled and left, but the military department gave him a good position, and the military department set up the head of the army department, with the rank of waiter, obviously he has changed from the military to the civilian, and the military department also hopes that through him, the army will be more firmly controlled, and the civilian officer of the military department needs an insider.

The major restructuring of the army made Zhu Jinglun worried, worried about the combat effectiveness of the influence army, an army that was completely suppressed by Wenchen often had little combat effectiveness in Chinese history, and the army of the Song Dynasty and the army of the middle and late Ming Dynasty were all like this.

However, the attitude of the military department was very resolute, and they believed that without changing this military system based on local units, it would be impossible to suppress the army's self-reliance, and they believed that the military region system was the biggest hidden worry, and Zhu Jinglun was also worried about the militarization of the army, so he finally had no choice but to agree.

Whether or not the current army still has the combat strength it had at the beginning depends on this battle, and so far, the army has performed well and has not made any major mistakes. After all, the army at the grassroots level has not changed, but has only been renamed, so that the officers have been adjusted on a large scale, and theoretically speaking, when the officers are professional officers and the soldiers are professional soldiers, it should not affect the combat effectiveness. As for why the soldiers of the Song Dynasty were weakened, I am afraid there are other reasons.

Due to the breaking of the military region system, it also disintegrated the large army that Wen Yuan and they had built at the beginning, and in large-scale battles, it was necessary to carry out temporary reorganization, and two armies or more formed a temporary corps, and set up a temporary post general army to take charge, but it is really difficult to predict how much combat effectiveness this kind of large corps that has lacked cooperation for a long time can exert itself.

At present, the French did not show a decline in the battle, and it has a lot to do with the full preparation before, because during the preparation period, the troops into Vietnam were formed, and under the command of Zhang Kaishan, after many cooperative exercises, if this method is effective, it will become a regular rule, the only thing to worry about is whether the temporary outbreak of war will catch the army off guard, such as a sneak invasion by foreign enemies.

These situations have to continue to be explored, and the style of an army is not formed overnight.

Zhang Kaishan commanded 30 armies into the Vietnamese army, all of which were organized according to wartime, and an army was expanded to 20,000 people, with a total strength of 600,000 people, and after entering Vietnam, 300,000 people were ordered to go south under the leadership of Chen Jishi, who had studied in France, and Zhang Kaishan led the other 300,000 people to fight in Beiqi.

Chen Jishi will focus on defense and wait for the main force to move south. Here in Zhang Kaishan, the coastal defense campaign was to be carried out, completely driving the French army out of the entire Beiqi region and recovering the entire northern Vietnam.

Because the French army occupied all the strategic points and high points, the army could not even find an observation post in a good position, but Zhang Kaishan was very serious and decided to personally reconnoiter the battlefield, and without the commanding heights, he could only fly into the sky.

The balloon soldiers set up in Europe during the Napoleonic era, it was impossible for the Ming army not to introduce them, and the materials used for the production were mainly silk, silk fabrics with a tight texture, and the sealing effect should be regarded as the best quality material before the popularization of rubber products.

Zhang Kaishan did not go on the balloon alone to reconnoitre, and there was an officer with him, wearing a sky blue military shirt and black military pants.

This is clearly not an army uniform, but a navy uniform. The main officers of the navy studied in the United Kingdom, and still sent students to the West on a large scale every year, and the navy inherited the offensive concept, combat methods and ideas of the British army, but they could not accept the British white military uniform, and they wore white clothes for funerals, which was too unlucky.

The army uniform is a dark blue military uniform, red pants, this era has not yet risen the concept of camouflage, most of the military uniforms of various countries pay attention to distinctiveness, that is, to make people recognize at a glance, that the bright color, can improve the morale of soldiers, stimulate a sense of honor. As for being discovered in advance by the enemy, in this age of chivalry, sneak attacks are despised.

"How? Can you guarantee to block the French Navy? ”

Putting down the binoculars, Zhang Kaishan asked the naval officer beside him, the balloon is not big, and the two of them can only operate it by themselves when they are on the balloon.

The naval officer said: "It is not difficult to block the French Navy, our army can line up between Tushan and Cat Ba Island, and the other party can only fight a decisive battle with me at the mouth of the Baiteng River." However, if the army cannot control the Tushan fortress in advance, and the opponent's fleet is superior in numbers, even if our army can defeat the French army, it will be difficult to completely annihilate it. Once the other party breaks through, it will be difficult to trap them again. ”

Zhang Kaishan said: "Can't the navy block it in advance?" ”

The naval officer shook his head: "The mouth of the Baiteng River is not a closed bay, once the other party discovers the blockade of our army, it can still go to sea from the side of Halong Bay." Our fleet is already smaller than the other side, and if it is blocked separately, there is no chance of victory. ”

Zhang Kaishan said again: "What about the port jam, blocking the other party in the port?" ”

The naval officer said: "The harbor here is wide and the water is deep, and it can't be stopped." ”

The Navy apparently has already reconnoitred it.

Zhang Kaishan nodded: "In this way, it can only be when our army attacks Tushan, because the opponent's navy comes to support, or escapes in advance, can we create opportunities for the navy!" ”

The naval officer said, "Yes." If the army can threaten Tushan, the opposing navy will either go out of port to provide naval artillery support, or choose to abandon coastal defense, and the best shipping route is the mouth of the Baiteng River. Our side can intercept here, and if the army can capture the fortress in time, the army artillery fire and our navy will work together, and it is expected to inflict heavy damage and even annihilate the main force of the French navy. If the other side is cautious and goes north to detour Halong Bay, where there are many islands and the waterways that can accommodate the navigability of the large fleet are limited, it will be more convenient for our army to intercept. Moreover, once intercepted by our army, the opponent could not even adjust the formation for a while, and could only be beaten passively. ”

Zhang Kaishan said: "Our army has taken Hongji, and the area around Halong Bay is no longer under the control of the French army, and they will not rest assured when they go to Halong Bay." Therefore, as long as our army attacks Tushan, the other side will have to leave only one way from the mouth of the Baiteng River. ”

The naval officer said, "That's right. Once the army attacks Tushan, the opposing warships will respond. Our navy will respond, and as for the result, it depends on whether the army can take Tushan in time. One step earlier, one step later, it is impossible to annihilate the main forces of the French Navy. ”

Zhang Kaishan nodded: "We understand, according to the set time, our army will attack as scheduled." ”

The two armies had already agreed on the time, the time for the army to launch an attack and conquer Tushan, and the navy to calculate the time to take it, and calculated that it would be able to arrive at a certain point in time, and then the sea and land would cooperate to catch the opponent off guard.

Although he confirmed with the liaison officer of the navy again, Zhang Kaishan was actually not optimistic about the navy's joint operation plan at all, but in this war, they did not need to offend the navy, the navy had been pressed too badly by the army in recent years, and they had long been trying to fight a turnaround battle, and they couldn't find it uncomfortable at this time.

Officialdom thought that the army had a hard time in the past few years, hundreds of middle and senior officers were suppressed by the military department, and even the veteran Wen Yuan and three others had to go abroad to serve as military attachés, while Deng Shicai was scolded by the entire army as a traitor. But no one will know that the things behind the scenes are complicated.

The three of them did have a conflict with Deng Shicai, but it was not because Deng Shicai cooperated with the Ministry of War to carry out the reform. It was Deng Shicai who refused to join them in a joint attack on Japan before. Deng Shicai told them at the time that collectively putting pressure on the government as military officers was like admonishing soldiers. Not only did they refuse to sign, but they were advised not to do such a thing.

At that time, they were young and vigorous, and they couldn't listen to it at all, everyone was holding back their strength to fight a war, and the government refused to go north to the Central Plains, and it was no problem to fight a small country like Japan, and they didn't feel the seriousness of it.

In the end, they were suppressed by the government. Then, on the surface, it seemed that Deng Shicai cooperated with the Ministry of War and dismantled the military region system of the large corps they once organized. But in fact, Deng Shicai did not cooperate with the Ministry of War, and let those civilian officials toss blindly, which made the army even more demoralized.

Deng Shicai's cooperation, in exchange for Deng Shicai's entry into the Ministry of War, at the same time, the allocation of the army has not been carded in recent years, and the equipment level of the Ming Army has always been closely focused on the level of the mainstream army in Europe. The adults of the military department are playing a balance, because they suppressed the middle and senior officers of the army, so they were given leniency in terms of funding. But the most important thing is the reason for the thinking of the adults in the military department, the Ming Dynasty is a land power country in the final analysis, and the main development direction must be inland, the Northern Expedition rather than overseas expansion.

Since the end of the war, the navy has not added a single new ship in the three years, and it is clear that the government has given priority to the army in the face of financial constraints.

All countries have a dispute between the navy and the army, and what they are fighting for is nothing more than a status, and those with higher status will of course be given priority care, and there will be no shortage of funds and resources.

Obviously, in the Ming Dynasty, the status of the army was higher, although those in the navy were never convinced, and always adhered to the British-style supremacy of sea power. But what is the result, in this war against France, the interests of the navy have always been suppressed. For the sake of political interests, the first-mover advantage of the navy was sacrificed, otherwise the navy would have eliminated the French colonial fleet, of course, the elimination of that small fleet would not be beneficial to the overall situation, but before the arrival of the main force of the French navy, the navy could control the sea, and with the sea supremacy, the variables of this battle would be greater. The army would even have to cooperate with the navy to attack Saigon from the sea, rather than squeezing south from land.

By sea, the army will have to cooperate with the navy, and the navy will dominate the war.

As a result, the civilian officials sacrificed the interests of the navy again and again for the sake of political interests, and until now, the main force of the navy is seriously weaker than that of France. The navy had to include the army in their plan, intending to use the power of the army to help the navy seize sea supremacy.

At this point, the Army was going to help, which would have proved that the Army was more capable than the Navy. In addition, they also have a view of the overall situation, and internal strife is infighting, but everyone knows that in modern warfare, the navy and army must work together, and whoever leaves will not be able to do much.

But if the army cooperates with the navy, can it help the navy reverse the current decline, at least Zhang Kaishan has little confidence.

There is no accident for the army to conquer Tushan, it is nothing more than a question of time or time, whether the navy can block the French army is full of variables, first of all, the enemy has to wait obediently, and secondly, the enemy does not withdraw from other directions, but acts according to the planned route of the navy, any plan, once the enemy needs to cooperate, the outcome will not be too perfect.

In all fairness, the navy can't win this battle, Zhang Kaishan is not happy at all, and he won't gloat, because as long as the navy does not seize sea supremacy, this battle will not be completely won, even if the army pushes to the South China Sea, the French still have France, only when the navy has sea supremacy, the Ming Dynasty has the opportunity to threaten the other side with France on an equal footing, so that the land war in Vietnam will be meaningful.

However, whether the navy can achieve a decisive victory, the army has no confidence in it at all, and even its judgment on this war has begun to tilt towards the conservative side, based on the principle of fighting a perfect war of annihilation on land, and no one has much hope of whether it will go to Europe to threaten France in the future.

The professional soldiers of Daming themselves have no hope that their country will be able to achieve a complete victory, but some people blindly trust the Chinese.

"Chinese it is only a matter of time before the invaders of other races are driven to the wall, and no one of any race can oppose them......"

A middle-aged man in his forties and fifties, in the prime of life, with the spirit of a successful person (nouveau riche) peculiar to the United States, told his companion about his research on the Chinese.

"You say yes, Mr. Maxim?"

Another American, who was slightly younger than him, was worried that he didn't care if the Chinese could drive the alien race over the border wall, he only cared if the Chinese would buy his weapons.

Seeing that his compatriots did not care about his unique views on Chinese history, the middle-aged man lost his interest in talking, and turned to his colleagues to prove the fact that he was really a China expert.

"I'm telling you, Izzy, you're going to love that river, it's even more magical than the Mississippi, and here we're going to go further. Oh yes. You absolutely don't know that building bridges in China is not just a business, the Chinese regard building bridges and roads as merit, well, you can understand it as doing charity! ”