Zhu Yulu's envoy group waited at Moling Pass for half a month, and was finally allowed to leave and go to the front line with Xi Baotian's subordinates.

With the continuous escalation of the Battle of Ningzhen, the strategic focus of the Ming army shifted to Nanjing, and most of the second-line defense area of the Chu army was taken over by friendly forces, and the follow-up troops continued to enter the battlefield.

Traveling with Zhu Yulu, in addition to Xi Baotian's department, there were also the Ji'an battalion that had just been transferred from Quzhou Prefecture, as well as the Pingjiang battalion and the Dongguan battalion that were originally stationed in Dangtu...... In addition to the Tongcheng battalion, the Yuezhou battalion, the Tongshan battalion and the Chuang battalion, more than half of the Chu army was successively engaged in the battle of Ningzhen.

But this is also all Wang Kefan's bargaining chips, the Tongcheng camp guards the Xianxia Ancient Road, the Yuezhou camp and the Tongshan camp watch the hometown of Hunan, and the camp stares at Kong Youde, which is very important, and none of them can be moved, he has already taken out the last copper plate on his body, and the battle of Ningzhen can be won, and success or failure is in one fell swoop.

The supply line of 700 miles from Jiangxi to the mountainous area of Ningzhen is now guarded by nearly 20,000 Ming troops, most of whom are the troops of Jin Shenghuan, Fu Dingquan and Bu Congshan, while the infantry of the Chu army all entered the mountains, and only the Xicai Battalion and the Jiangcai Battalion were stationed in Dangtu and Dongzhi County, using the mobility of the cavalry to act as firefighters.

Ten days ago, the Western Cavalry Battalion fought a battle with Li Chengdong's subordinate general Ma Bao and defeated him, Li Chengdong lost his troops one after another, and his subordinates had less than 3,000 soldiers left, and they did not dare to rise again in Quzhou Mansion.

The good news of the Western Cavalry Battalion has just arrived. The Jiang cavalry battalion also immediately won a battle, and after the Manchu Dynasty surrendered to Wu Yipin, the prefect of Tu. secretly arranged internal response and cooperated with the Jiang cavalry battalion to launch a surprise attack. Capture Gaochun County in one fell swoop. Gaochun County is located in the southwest of Lishui County, after the Chu army occupied here, it opened up a road into the mountainous area of Ningzhen, and the grain and straw can go to Moling Pass and Gaochun County, and the logistics transportation has become smoother.

After Zhu Yulu and his entourage entered the mountains, it was as if they had dissolved into a great river that flowed endlessly, carrying grain, straw, baggage, weapons and ammunition from the rear, and wounded soldiers and prisoners from the front line. Coupled with the movement of troops back and forth, it was a busy scene from morning to night, and after nightfall, there were often heavy troops carrying torches to continue to advance.

"It's much easier to walk now!"

The guide who led the way introduced: "The road in the mountains is too narrow, a card is two or three hours anywhere, and it used to be good to be able to walk more than ten miles a day, but now with the blessing of the prince, you can walk more than 20 miles a day." ”

"Can only walk a dozen miles a day? That's too slow, isn't it? Zhu Yulu was stunned.

"It's not slow." Zhang Hanru, the head of the household department, shook his head and showed a complicated smile: "It is not easy to run the heavy grain and straw, and it is especially difficult after entering the mountain. It's good to be able to walk more than 10 miles a day, but it's even more amazing to be able to walk more than 20 miles......"

In the eyes of a layman like Zhu Yulu, the logistics and transportation of the Chu army were very busy and inefficient. However, in the eyes of an expert like Zhang Hanru, the logistics and transportation of the Chu army were busy but not chaotic, and seemed to be slow and fast.

to a large-scale battle of the level of the Battle of Ningzhen. What the two warring sides compete for is all-round comprehensive strength, except for the brave fighting of the officers and men of the three armies. Logistics and transportation are also the key factors in determining victory or defeat, and you have more soldiers, supplies, weapons and ammunition. It is useless to not be able to transport them, and it is even more important to deliver supplies to the front line in time than to win one or two local battles...... In the sparsely populated mountainous area of Ningzhen, it was impossible for Zierharang to feed the war with war, and the Ming and Qing armies returned to the same starting line.

(One of the reasons why the Eight Banners were able to be invincible before and after entering the customs was that they fed the war with war, and relied on looting the rich Central Plains to maintain supplies, and were not dragged down by logistical burdens at all.) After the Central Plains was established, the Eight Banners lost this advantage, and the results were miserable, such as Kangxi's three expeditions to Galdan and almost died of exhaustion. ）

Zhang Hanru is the head of the household department, and has similar experience in logistics organization, so he has a deep sense of the difficulty.

"When the students first heard about the 'logistics department' of the Chu army, they were very unimpressed. I used the troops in the Ming Dynasty, and the grain and straw baggage have always been jointly raised and transferred by the household department, the military department, the grain department, and the officers of the various armies...... Now it seems that the logistics department of the Chu army is in charge of everything, and the grain and straw are arranged in an orderly manner, which is amazing! It's remarkable! ”

"What, is it better than the imperial court?" Zhu Yulu was surprised.

In his impression, the army is full of illiterate old men and coarse people, who can't even settle accounts, and there is no comparison with the "professionals" of the household department, the military department, and the grain and highway department.

"I can't hide it from Your Highness, the logistics department of the Chu army is far superior to the various offices of the imperial court, in fact...... In fact, it should not be compared, just on the method of transporting grain and military funds, there is a difference between high and low! Zhang Hanru sighed: "Our dynasty has always used literature to control martial arts, and there are some tenons between civil ministers and military generals, and it is difficult to work together to transport grain." Moreover, the generals of all armies and battalions do not know the soldiers, the soldiers do not know the generals, and they can't even do the confidant who 'knows themselves and the enemy', so how can they 'win a hundred battles'? ”

The logistics and transportation of a large-scale campaign is a complex system engineering, and there is too much organizational work to be done, Zhang Hanru has carefully observed these days, and the logistics department of the Chu army has established a complete set of relevant processes, and every detail can be quantified and standardized in order to achieve this efficient logistics and transportation.

For example, the logistics materials of the Chu army have been managed on a base basis, and Zhang Tianlu could not understand the words "base number of combat materials" and "base number of ammunition" for the first time, but later found out that they were all-encompassing, and each combat unit had accurate quantitative regulations on all kinds of consumable materials used in a battle, such as bullets, shells, medicines, arrows, gunpowder, and food...... As large as a full-fledged battalion outpost or as small as an ordinary soldier, they are distributed according to the prescribed base number in the supply.

Stipulating the base number of supply materials, a more efficient guarantee system can be realized, from statistics to reserves, to transportation and replenishment, logistics supply has completed standardized management, and it is also convenient for calculation, communication and confidentiality. The same "ammunition base" has one meaning for an ordinary musketeer, and another meaning for an artillery team of several hundred people.

(In the logistics support of modern warfare, the "base number" is the basic unit of calculation of materials, in addition to the base of ammunition, the base of oil and the base of combat materials are also often used, and they are all confidential information in the army.) ）

Zhang Hanru's explanation was too professional, and Zhu Yulu seemed to understand it, but he seemed to be very interested in this kind of thing, and he kept asking Zhang Hanru, and then asked too carefully, and Zhang Hanru, who didn't know much, couldn't say it clearly.

"This trip to Nanjing was really an eye-opener!" Zhu Yulu said with emotion: "The lonely king originally thought that the battle was ordered by the general, and the small soldiers rushed up to fight, at most they lined up an array, and the order could be won as soon as the order was carried out. ”

"The Chu army not only does a good job in logistics, but also collects military information the most, and the scouts are meticulous and pervasive, worthy of being a division that knows oneself and knows the other, and wins a hundred battles!" Ma Jixiang is the head of the secret service, and he has the most say in intelligence work: "I saw a map in Xi Baotian, which shows the geography of the mountains and rivers around Nanjing, and the mountains and rivers of Ningzhen are all in it. ”

Everyone was intrigued and talked about the battle situation. The morale of the Chu army was high, the logistics were effective, the intelligence was accurate, and the preparations were well...... However, the Qing army has strong troops and strong combat effectiveness, and everyone is arguing about who can win this battle.

Zhang Hanru asked Ma Jixiang: "The battle of Maoshan is in a stalemate, if you are Wang Kefan, what strategy should you use to break the enemy?" ”

Ma Jixiang thought for a while and replied: "At present, the Chu army should first take Yanling Town, and after destroying Jumala and Mulima, then turn back and fight a decisive battle with Zilharang. ”

"I'm afraid that's not right." Zhang Hanru said: "Attacking Yanling Town first, although it can annihilate Jumala and Mulima, but there is a suspicion of startling the snake, Jierharang turned around and retreated to Danyang County, isn't it like a bird out of a cage and a fish into the sea?" ”

"Of course, you can't let him run away so lightly, Wang Junmen must have made arrangements."

"Arrangement? How is it arranged? The Chu army wants to defend Danyang and attack Yanling Town, which is already stumbling on the left and right, can it still transfer another army and horses to block the back road of Jierharang? Zhang Hanru said: "Although the Chu army is good at fighting, the Eight Banners are even more brave, with only three or five thousand soldiers and horses, they can't stop Jierharang's 60,000 army." ”

"This ......" Ma Jixiang also ran out of ideas.

It's an endless loop with no solution. If Yanling Town is attacked first, Jierharang will run away, and if the door is closed and the dogs are closed now, and the troops are divided to block Jierharang's back road, the strength of the Chu army is not enough...... Zilharang plus Mulima and Jumala, a total of 60,000 or 70,000 Qing troops, there are more than 20,000 Qing troops on the periphery of the Ningzhen Mountains, and more than 40,000 Chu troops are likely to be pierced by the Qing army if they hold up two encirclements.

In short, the Battle of Ningzhen has been fought until now, although the Chu army has always occupied the initiative, but the Qing army has too many troops, and they are all elite troops...... If you can't eat it, if you can't digest it, you'll die of yourself.

"Hey——, don't worry!" Zhu Yulu said: "King Gu has sent people to Xiamen to transfer Zhu Chenggong's sailors into the mouth of the Yangtze River to help in the battle, blocking Jierharang's retreat. ”

"Your Highness has strategized, this battle will be won!" Ma Jixiang bowed and saluted.

Zhang Hanru watched coldly, secretly despising in his heart, Tang King Zhu Yulu just said some layman's words, but Ma Jixiang blindly catered to the horse, and his character was too inferior...... If Jierharang withdraws from the mountains of Ningzhen, it is a big deal to hide in Nanjing City, and the Chu army can no longer do anything about him, is it useful to transfer Zheng Chenggong's sailors up? (To be continued......)