Episode 40 Friend or Foe

On the morning of May 20th, Xiang Xiaoqiang summoned all his henchmen.

At this meeting, he intends to explain his plans to these high-level officials within the People's Guard. That is, to plan the Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Present at the meeting were: Li Gensheng, commander of the mobile team, Du Teng, commander of the security team, Shishige Gege, deputy commander of the security team, Snail, Song Ruhai, commander of the political work team, Sun Jiye, deputy commander of the political work team, Wang Hexiang, director of the equipment and training department, and Li Changgui, commander of the Praetorian Guard.

Qiu Yu and Xiuxiu also attended the meeting and were in charge of meeting assistants.

Xiang Xiaoqiang made a gesture, Xiuxiu pulled the slide rail with a "whoosh", and a large map board appeared at the end of the conference room.

It was a map of the whole of northern China.

Those of you couldn't help but have some small surprises. Because in the past, military meetings were generally used to make plans and assign tasks, but generally to use detailed drawings of a specific piece. For example, if you study the airdrop Taihang Mountain, you will pull out a detailed map of Zhili and Shanxi, and if you study how to enter the Bohai Sea, you will only pull out a detailed map of the Bohai Sea, Liaodong Peninsula, and Beijing-Tianjin region.

However, it seems to be the first time that a whole map of the Northern Qing Dynasty has suddenly been shown like today.

Several people looked at each other, some smiled slightly, and glanced at Xiuxiu. They all think that this always meticulous Mrs. Shang, Adjutant Shang, and the henchman in the adult's heart finally made a small mistake today.

But Xiang Xiaoqiang's reaction was obviously right. He glanced at the map, turned to the group, and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to do something. A big deal. How big is it? …… Well, it's huge. ”

Several of the old lads below laughed.

Xiang Xiaoqiang took the command rod, drew a circle on the entire Beiqing, knocked it twice, and said:

"It's that big."

The people below gradually stopped laughing. Although they still didn't understand what was going on, several of them had some hunches. There was only one person: Fourteen Gege, who sat there with her head bowed, her face expressionless, but as if she was confident.

Qiu Yu and Xiuxiu already know. Qiu Yu sat at the conference table and was in charge of recording, and at this time he also raised his head and looked at Xiao Qiang with some concern. But Xiuxiu stood by the map, her expression was natural, and she didn't see anything unusual at all.

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked around at everyone and continued:

"It's a big deal, and it might even be a little appalling. But the people sitting in this room today are my most trusted people. You see, today even the minutes are none other than that. ”

Everyone subconsciously looked at Qiu Yu. Generally speaking, Qiu Yu doesn't participate in this kind of confidential meeting, and only Xiuxiu usually participates. But today, Lord Xiang even used Qiu Yu to replace the little girl who took the minutes of the previous meeting.

Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"I've been brewing this for a long time, and I've been silently making some preparations in the early stage. But by this time, it's time to take it out and put it on the agenda. In other words, it's time for me to finish the stage of brewing on my own. It's time to share it with you and ask you to help me. …… I can't do this myself, and we can't say that we, the People's Guard, can't do it either. To do this, it is necessary to bring in His Majesty, bring in the Cabinet, bring in the Army, bring in the Navy. Also, bring the people of Daming in. This thing ......"

He paused, took a deep breath, and said slowly:

"It is the Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the unification of China."

The people below were stunned and looked at Xiaoqiang. They wondered if it was a joke. Then, with a stomachache, he subconsciously turned his face to look at Fourteen Gege. Immediately everyone looked at Fourteen Grids.

Xiang Xiaoqiang raised his voice and said:

"You don't have to think about it, I have already told Princess Liaoyang in advance, and Princess Liaoyang is completely on our side."

Fourteen Gege also smiled at the crowd and nodded.

"But......" The stomach hurt and looked at the people on both sides, wanting to say but not knowing what to say, "but ......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"But why? Or can't we do it? ”

Swallowing his saliva with a stomachache, he hesitated:

"But why?"

"Why?" Xiang Xiaoqiang asked rhetorically and said, "Because the last year or two is a very good time." We are already ahead of the Manchus in air power across the board. In the next year, this gap will gradually widen, and if there is a war, we will have total air supremacy. But the Qing Emperor Guangwu had now learned from the pain and made up his mind to develop their aviation industry. In two years, or two and a half years later, the Qing army's aviation industry may catch up. The air power gap between the two sides will begin to narrow until we are caught up by the Qing army, and we are back in a comprehensive disadvantage. ”

Li Gensheng only reacted now and interjected:

"Your Excellency, you're not real, are you?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang made a straight face:

"How not?"

Li Gen was usually very careful in his life and did not bump into Xiaoqiang. But now I'm a little anxious, and I said directly:

"My lord, is that your basis for 'air supremacy'? My lord, it is the infantry, artillery, and tanks that win the war with real swords and guns...... Yes, we have a few more planes than the Northern Qing, but how useful is that? Wars are not won by airplanes. ”

"Gensheng, let me tell you, wars are won by airplanes. …… At least future wars will be won by airplanes. Without air superiority, nothing can be won. The battlefield on the ground is at the mercy of others, and the battlefield on the sea is also at the mercy of others. From now on, it will be an era when the air force and the ground and sea arms will cooperate in combat. ”

Li Gensheng looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang in surprise. Then look around with some hesitation.

waved his hand to Xiaoqiang and said:

"You don't have to worry about roots. There are no outsiders here, say everything you want to say. There are other people too, who say anything they want to say or disagree with. This is the purpose of today's meeting, and first of all, we must fully collide with our internal opinions. After that, I can talk to outsiders. ”

Li Gensheng was heartbroken, nodded, and said:

"My lord, I know that you are a 'Duhei' and a great advocate of air supremacy. My lord, I have also read Du Hei's book "Air Supremacy", and to be honest, I also partially agree with Du Hei's point of view. But his views were too far ahead of his time, believing that a war could be won and a country brought to its knees by air power alone. My lord...... I'm not saying he's wrong, I mean, that's at least thirty or fifty years from now. In the present era. Air power can only play a supporting role, and ground forces must be relied on to fight a war. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang closed his eyes and pondered what to say. Li Gensheng actually misunderstood that he was a Duhei, which made him very depressed. What is the concept of Duhei? Italian military theorist, the earliest proposer of air supremacy, and a crazy advocate of air power. His main book is Air Supremacy. This monograph, written in the twenties, contains many bold predictions about future air warfare. Many prophecies that he said would come true in 10 or 20 years have not been fulfilled until the 21st century.

The most important characteristic of the Duheitists is their fanatical admiration for air power, the belief that air power alone can win wars, and that air power can replace everything, even ground forces. That's crazy enough.

Although Xiang Xiaoqiang admires air power, he doesn't think he's a Duhei. He knew that air power could help ground forces win wars, but he never thought that air power could completely replace ground forces.

In other words, it is certainly impossible to win a war without air supremacy, or to put it further: if the gap in other aspects is not very large, it is possible to win the war with air supremacy. But by no means does it mean that the war can be won by relying on air power alone.

This is the most crucial difference.

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang pondered for a moment and said:

"Well, I believe that many people have this concern. Now let's put it aside and leave it at that. Later, I may organize a drill, the theme of which is to test how the air-ground coordinated battle should be fought. I believe that the exercise can expose a lot of problems, but it can also solve a lot of problems. Now, I would like to present to you my second reason for advocating the Northern Expedition to the Manchus. Your Royal Highness, please tell us about it for all of us. ”

Everyone looked at Fourteen Grids. Fourteen Gege stood up, smiled and nodded, looking very natural. She walked quickly to the map, took the command pole, pointed to the map, and said:

"The Manchus ruled a vast multi-ethnic territory. The population was large and the social classes were complex, with the Manchus, Mongolians, Hui, Tibetans, and Han all having their own armed forces. This led to the complication of the hierarchy of the Army. The original purpose was to organize troops of various specifications to carry out various missions, but on the surface, the huge army actually has very few troops that can actually fight.

"The Manchu army can be divided into the following categories: the Imperial Forest Army, the Manchu Eight Banner Division, the Mongolian Eight Banner Division, the Han New Army Division, the Han Army Division, the Hui Tibetan Nationality Division, the Local Garrison Division, the Shelf Division, and the National Division, in fact, it is also the Xiangyong. First of all, the Imperial Guards had five divisions. They are called the Forward Division, the Horse Rider, the Sharp Sword Division, the Good Fighting Division, and the Divine Mechanic.

"Since the Wuxu Reform, Emperor Guangxu first expanded the five battalions of the original royal guards, including Xiaocai, Sharp Sword, Forward, Shanpu, and Shenji, into five Praetorian Guard divisions. These five divisions have remained in place until now, and have always been responsible for the protection and ceremonial work of the royal family, and have always been the best equipped and most loyal to the royal family. These five Imperial Guards can be said to be the emperor's personal armies, and they do not participate in ordinary combat operations at all, and are specifically responsible for the guarding of Gyeonggi.

"These five divisions were deployed separately, the Xiao Rider Division was deployed in Dagukou, the Forward Division was deployed in Chengde, the Divine Mechanic Division was deployed in Miyun, the Shanpu Division was deployed in the Forbidden City, and only the Sharp Sword Division was deployed in Fengtian, the ancestral holy land of the Qing Dynasty. In terms of establishment, these five divisions are all disproportionately large, with an average of nearly 30,000 men in each division. But the actual situation is that most of these top divisions are arranged for the children of lower-level nobles and banner men with a little 'ability'. Although they are well-equipped and the quality of their personnel is higher than that of other units, I can tell you: first of all, these top divisions are already out-and-out goods. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang stood aside with satisfaction, looking at the subordinates below with a slightly surprised look. In the Ming military circles, even the intelligence department, they have always known who the five Praetorian Guard divisions of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were composed of, and they also knew that they basically did not fight. However, because these divisions have always had the most important tasks, the best equipment, and the highest quality personnel, both the Ming army and the Ming army's intelligence organizations still regard them as the elite of the Qing army. No matter how you say it, you never dare to see them as "shelf goods".

But now the fourteen grids are amazing. Fourteen Gege's identity, or "former identity", made those present dare not doubt what she said. Even if the Dongchang Factory Governor was sitting here, he knew that he was completely unqualified to doubt Fourteen Gege's judgment of the Qing army.

……

Fourteen Gege looked around at the crowd, smiled slightly, and continued:

"The next stronger one is the Eight Banners Division. We are familiar with the Eight Banners Division, and our People's Guard has fought with it twice. Of course, both times we won.

"The Eight Banners Division is divided into the Manchurian Eight Banners Division and the Mongolian Eight Banners Division. Full Eight Banner Divisions: Three divisions in each of the Eight Banners, a total of twenty-four divisions. The establishment of this middle division is also very large, with nearly 24,000 to 18,000 people, and it can be said that it is the most important force in the Qing army. In fact, the Eight Banners Division has been in existence since before the Wuxu Reform, but it was only after the Reform that it was modernized. Since the close contacts between the Qing Dynasty and Japan in the mid-20s, the Eighth Banner Division, the most important and combat-effective armed force of the Qing Empire, began to reequip a large number of Japanese-style equipment, appoint Japanese instructors and advisers, and adopt a similar establishment system of the Japanese Army.

"Its combat effectiveness can be said to be the highest in the Qing army, and it is also the best in the general army in terms of treatment, second only to the Praetorian Guard Division. Not only is it well-equipped and well-fed, but even the holidays and stations are the most generous. Of course, the richer the place, the better it is to loot. The original Eight Banners Division should have been composed entirely of Manchus, but the current Eight Banners Division also has a small number of Han Chinese. Because there are many Manchus who are reluctant to join the army. However, the officers and senior officers of the Eighth Banner Division must have been held by Manchurians.

"In addition to the Manchurian Eight Banners Division, there is also the Mengbaqi Division. There are four divisions in each of the Mongolian Eight Banners, a total of 32 divisions. The Mongol army was the most important armed force of the Qing Dynasty in addition to the bannermen's own army. Like the Manchu Eight Banners, they are also the elite of the country, and they, like the Manchu Eight Banners, also adopt a Japanese-style training system. Unlike the Manchurian Eight Banner Division, the ethnic groups of the Mongolian Eight Banner Divisions are all relatively pure Mongolian ethnic groups.

However, they and part of the Manchu Eight Banners Division, as well as some Han troops, were deployed to the north. The reason for this is that there is also a Soviet Union in the north that looks like a god and hides murderous intentions. The Soviet Union deployed hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the Soviet-Qingdao border. Originally, the relationship between the Qing and the Soviet Union was normal, but since Japan and the Qing Dynasty got closer, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the Qing Union quickly drifted apart. The Soviet Union, which used to regularly export weapons to the Qing Dynasty, has now gone against the grain and has begun to adopt a cold and hostile attitude. In this way, the Qing Dynasty had to arrange a large number of troops in the north to guard against the Soviet Union. ”

……