The Yuezhou battalion was to be downsized, and Tan Xiao had already been mentally prepared.

As early as the beginning of the establishment of the Chu army, Wang Kefan clearly announced that if the army was disabled, it must be downsized.

The cavalry can tolerate a certain amount of attrition because of its flexible combat methods, but the infantry has to fight in formation, and the musketeers and archers also have to improve the hit rate through a dense formation...... Even if you barely complete the formation formation, it will be scattered and chaotic because of the sparse formation, and the combat effectiveness of the guide will be greatly reduced.

It is for this reason that after more than a certain percentage of infantry casualties, a collapse will inevitably occur.

As long as the speed of replenishment cannot keep up with the consumption, the formation will loosen, and after the formation is loosened, the combat effectiveness will also drop sharply, and the casualties will increase rapidly. In the battle that was still evenly matched just now, the shape suddenly deteriorated, and even the bravest soldiers would have the thought of "can't stand it" and turn around and run away.

The Yuezhou battalion suffered 3,000 casualties this time, and it could no longer support the establishment of three small battalions, and the whole battalion knew that it was going to be downsized, and there was no great resistance...... As long as the Yuezhou battalion is still in strength, it will not be difficult to win two battles in the future and expand it into three small battalions.

"Don't worry about PTZ, can you only be promoted and not demoted? My soldiers are not so delicate, and besides, I have been demoted to lieutenant general this time, and no one dares to complain. Tan Xiao sighed lightly and said, "This is actually a good thing, the Yuezhou camp should be tempered well, I am used to them not being presentable......"

"Ci is not in charge of the troops, and the soldiers must remember to give both grace and might. First Might, then Grace...... You are a bold and righteous temperament in your bones, and you are not rigorous in the details, which is not a problem for ordinary people. It is taboo to lead troops as generals, and what songs to sing on what mountain......"

Tan Xiao's character is a very good friend in life, but as the commander of the first army, it is not suitable, Wang Kefan is heartfelt and does not shy away from his shortcomings. Eat a trench and grow a wisdom, and the Yuezhou camp suffered a big loss this time. touched Tan Xiao a lot, this heel will not fall in vain.

Not only Tan Xiao, but also other senior generals of the Chu army. All have shortcomings of one kind or another.

Wang Sheng is steady and meticulous, but he is a little less talented, and in the past few years since joining the Chu army, his military command ability has improved little by little. For the time being, it can only be regarded as an upper-middle level. It is long in military management and short in scheming and adapting...... His character is destined to be a late bloomer, and he should become a generation of famous generals in time, but before that, there must be a process of accumulation.

Zhou Guodong is strict in governing the army and brave in battle, but his personality is exposed, and he is proud and arrogant. There is also a bookish paranoia. will be the soul of the soldier, and his Tongshan battalion is also very proud. The boss of the Gongyi battalion, they are the second in the Tongshan battalion, and they have the most contradictions with other troops.

Because he was born in poverty and can share weal and butter with the soldiers, he is deeply loved by the officers and soldiers of the Puqi battalion, but he is a little small-minded, lacks a sense of the overall situation, and sometimes loves to be impulsive, not calm and profound.

Teng Shuanglin is well-trained, considers the problem more comprehensively, is the first wise general in the Chu army, is the best at grasping the enemy's weaknesses, never suffers losses when fighting, but the abacus is too fine, at the critical moment there is less momentum, less desperate ruthlessness, Tongcheng Battalion This unit always feels that the toughness is a little insufficient.

Zhang Jiayu is an all-round talent in literature and martial arts, scriptures, poetry, calligraphy and painting, swordsmanship, etc., a gentleman is proficient in all six arts, has been a jinshi, and has made a wide range of friends, and he is reckless in the rivers and lakes, and has raised a volunteer army of more than 10,000 people in Guangdong, which fully explains his organizational ability and personality charm. However, after joining the Chu army, the Dongguan battalion has never fought an independent hard battle, Zhang Jiayu's military experience is still insufficient, and the actual combat command ability needs to be improved.

Wang Ding was born in a family of eunuchs, and in his early years, he was a man in the army, and after a few years of military career, he became a lot rougher in speaking and doing things, but he was still a traditional Confucian intellectual in his bones, and he took it as his responsibility to govern the country and level the world with the Qi family. Among the senior generals of the Chu army, Wang Ding's military level was relatively the worst, mainly responsible for the management of the Ji'an battalion, and basically relied on Gu Zongfu when commanding operations.

Gu Zongfu is a veteran of the Nine Sides, with rich experience, and he can take charge of himself when fighting, and he can rest assured that any task is entrusted to him. But he has been in the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and he has been contaminated with a lot of warlord habits, plus he is a natural stinky mouth, and his popularity among the senior generals of the Chu army is very bad, only the bold and righteous Tan Xiao has a good relationship with him.

In general, among the senior generals of the old eighth battalion of the Chu army, several of the main generals of the infantry battalion are still inexperienced and appear a little immature, and their shortcomings and advantages are equally obvious, but the main generals of the two cavalry battalions are better...... Ti Zhaorong has been a middle and low-level officer for a long time, and his mentality is very correct after joining the Chu army, although Wang Meng is young, he is also a battle-hardened general in the peasant army, and the two of them have brought the West Cavalry Battalion and the Jiang Cavalry Battalion well.

Tan Xiao, Zhou Guodong and others also know that they lack experience, they have been working hard, and they have been growing and improving, but the speed of Chu Jun's development is too fast, and new challenges are constantly emerging, and their growth speed is a little unable to keep up.

This is something that can't be helped, Wang Kefan had limited conditions when he raised the army, just like Hu Chuankui in the model drama "Shajiabang", "Lao Tzu's team has just opened, more than a dozen people, seven or eight guns." "There are no ready-made high-quality talents under him, so he can only pull up such a team...... Wang Sheng and several of them originally did not understand military affairs, but they became monks halfway through, and showed off their ability to lead the troops, although after four or five years of training, their ability level has improved a lot, but compared with the real good generals, there is still a certain gap.

Taking advantage of the lessons of the Battle of Nanchang, Wang Kefan talked with them one by one.

The heart-to-heart talk is open, in addition to the communication between superiors and subordinates, there are also sincere exchanges between comrades-in-arms and friends, and the topics cover a wide range of topics, often spontaneously, and the atmosphere is cordial and sincere. In addition to military issues such as army building, the current anti-Qing Dynasty situation, the national economy and people's livelihood, the political situation of the imperial court, the new policy of "land reform", character evaluation, and even their personal problems...... It's all within the scope of the conversation.

As for their shortcomings, Wang Kefan earnestly admonished them and must correct them.

As a general who is in charge of his own affairs, he is not necessarily a stunning military genius, his comprehensive talent is the most important, and his EQ, IQ and abilities in all aspects must not have obvious shortcomings. Compared with the generals who broke into the camp, although they are still more tender, they are more malleable and have more room for growth and improvement.

The purpose of discussing political issues such as the national economy and the people's livelihood is to unify thinking.

When there is a contradiction between people, the conflict of personality is relatively low-end and easy to solve, and the conflict of interests is relatively complex, but it can also be coordinated, mutual understanding and mutual concession, only the conflict of political ideas and values cannot be reconciled, and once the contradiction occurs, there will inevitably be a rupture.

Wang Kefan is not a loyal and filial son, and he has gone farther and farther, the Chu army is his biggest reliance and foundation, especially the old eighth battalion of the Chu army, which is the descendant, must be absolutely loyal to him...... With the development of the Chu army and the Chu Xun group, the status of the senior generals of the Chu army is getting higher and higher, and the power is getting bigger and bigger.

In addition to official affairs, Wang Kefan is also very concerned about their personal problems.

Teng Shuanglin's mother has just died, Lu Renqing's parents are also old and sick, Wang Meng only got married during the Chinese New Year, and most of the others are still single......

In the past few years, the Chu army has fought in the south and the north, and the battalion owners have rarely gone home several times a year, basically they have not yet married, they are all young people in their twenties, but they are standard older young people in this era...... Not only Tan Xiao, these senior generals, but also the veterans in the Chu army also have this problem, there are more than 40,000 people in the old eighth battalion of the Chu army, and 30,000 people are still fighting singles.

Tens of thousands of soldiers can't take care of it for the time being, but Tan Xiao and a few of them must care about it......

The most talked about is the crusade that is close at hand.

Although this crusade was an opportunity not to be lost, it also had obvious difficulties.

The Chu army fought several major battles in a row, and although there was a period of rest and recuperation for more than two months, the newly replenished recruits had not yet formed combat effectiveness, and all kinds of ordnance and materials were not enough.

The shortage of troops is secondary, and the most troublesome problem is the problem of logistics and supply. Offensive warfare and defensive warfare are completely different, after leaving their home field, it is much more difficult to raise military rations, and the placement of wounded soldiers is also a big trouble, according to Wang Kefan's plan, the Chu army will move to Nanzhili and Zhejiang, and run thousands of miles to attack Hangzhou, and the long supply line may be cut off by the enemy at any time.

The unfamiliar terrain and inconvenient transportation are also difficulties that must be taken into account. Unlike Jiangxi, which is full of mountainous areas, Nanzhili and northern Zhejiang are basically plain water towns, and the Chu army does not have much room to advance or retreat, in case of a defeat and is blocked in the water network area between the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake, even if the Chu army is strong in combat, there will be a certain risk.

There is also the question of what kind of enemy policy should be implemented after entering the occupied areas occupied by the Qing army, how to deal with the common people and gentry in the occupied areas, and how to deal with traitors and prisoners of war......

After a series of discussions and studies, the battle plan of the Chu army finally took shape, and Wang Kefan, in the name of the commander of the Eastern Expedition, summoned Jin Shenghuan, Wan Yuanji, and representatives of Huguang and Guangdong to make a pre-war deployment meeting.

The Longwu court also sent two troops to help in the war, one was Chen Bangfu's 10,000 Guangxi soldiers, and the other was Zhao Yinxuan and Hu Yiqing's 5,000 Yunnan troops. (To be continued......)