Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2666 The Three Northern Camps Prepare for War Against the Yuan Mongols

The three states in the Central Plains are currently the most stable three states.

It is almost impossible for the troops in the Central Plains to engage in battle again.

Although there is a Yizhou to the east in the south, the troops there number only 30,000 to 40,000. How can the 100,000 Imperial Guards of Yangzhou, plus the 100,000 Yangtze River Navy, pose a threat?

In fact, Zhu Zhanji took more than this number of troops with him from Yangzhou back then.

However, taking so many people away does not mean that we can support so many people!

Therefore, after they arrived in Yizhou, a large number of them turned from soldiers into civilians and went to cultivate wasteland.

The reason is simple: they lacked both sufficient population and productivity to maintain a large army. They had no choice but to sacrifice infantry to preserve the navy's fighting capacity as much as possible.

The number of soldiers they took with them at the time did not mean they could maintain that number of soldiers. The Yizhou region could only provide them with temporary peace; it was impossible for them to accumulate the strength to launch a counterattack against the mainland.

Given the current productivity and development level of Yizhou, if it wants to have the strength to challenge the Central Plains, even if it is very capable, it would first have to cultivate the land peacefully for hundreds of years and accumulate a large enough population.

In addition, they would only see a glimmer of hope if the Central Plains were to once again enter the final years of a dynasty.

This is only possible because the Great Jin Dynasty still existed. If there hadn't been such an external enemy as the Great Jin, Zhu Zhanji and his men would have dared to cut a large portion of the army. There was no other way; this region was simply too poor at that time.

Yizhou poses no real threat to the south; in fact, the Great Jin has already included them in its next operational target.

Although the Kushan Empire was still engaged in localized battles with Bai Qi in western Southeast Asia, they had more than one enemy.

Even excluding the state troops, the South still has 300,000 troops by land and sea, plus the troops of the vassal king of Qiongzhou. They are more than enough to defend themselves and even launch an attack.

Compared to the south, the north is of paramount importance.

The positions of Martial Guard Generals in Ji, You, and Qing provinces will remain with Zhao Yun, Cao Ren, and Liu Heita, respectively. These three have only been in office for a little over a year, so there is no need to replace them.

The main field camp was naturally the northern camp that Xue Rengui was currently adjusting.

The Northern Camp commands 300,000 troops, and the three prefectures of Ji, You, and Qing are all under its jurisdiction. Furthermore, since the Tang dynasty has not yet been destroyed, Xu Cheng's 50,000-strong navy is also temporarily under the command of Xue Rengui.

Since the war in Southeast Asia had ended, Xu Cheng's 50,000-strong navy no longer needed to fight in Southeast Asia, so they were transferred back to Xuzhou.

In addition, Han Shizhong's original Yellow River naval garrison was also moved to Qingzhou.

Han Shizhong and Xu Cheng were tasked with assisting Xue Rengui in his future campaigns against the Tang Dynasty.

As for Qi Jiguang, he returned to the Yangtze River to prepare for the next phase of the campaign against Yizhou. Of course, before that, he needed to restore the strength of the Yangtze River navy.

The battle with the Li Tang navy was a great success in terms of strategic objectives, but the cost was that both sides suffered heavy losses.

Moreover, the previous naval battles in Southeast Asia had already demonstrated Xu Cheng's relative inadequacy compared to Wu Zixu, as he was repeatedly defeated by the enemy with fewer troops.

In other words, although Xu Cheng didn't win the battle, he at least didn't lose his strategic objective. He successfully ensured Chang Yuchun's logistics and helped him transport the grain. Otherwise, another person would have been demoted.

Therefore, the next phase of the campaign against Yizhou should still be entrusted to Qi Jiguang, the top naval commander. Furthermore, although the campaign against Li Tang should be postponed and the focus should be on blockade, a pause on land operations does not mean a pause on naval operations.

While Xue Rengui and Han Xin primarily focused on blockade, Han Shizhong and Xu Cheng would still have to undertake combat missions.

Lockdowns are the primary means of the next phase, but not the only means.

Maritime raids, aimed at disrupting the Li Tang dynasty's domestic economy and production, were also a tactic.

Meanwhile, Han Shizhong and Xu Cheng will continue to travel by water to strike at the remaining naval forces pursuing Li Tang. Most importantly, they must not give the enemy navy a chance to recover.

Li Tang's 50,000-strong navy was reduced to only 10,000, and even the commander-in-chief, Yi Sun-sin, perished in that battle. Meanwhile, Han Shizhong and Xu Cheng's combined navy numbered 80,000. Given this advantage, if they still failed to perform their mission well...

Then Li Xiang should consider whether they are still suitable for this position.

As for the 300,000 troops under the Northern Camp, Li Xiang's current plan is to include 120,000 cavalry and 180,000 infantry to meet the needs of future grassland warfare.

However, the ratio of infantry to cavalry in Xue Rengui's army is far from reaching that level.

Therefore, the next phase of adjustments for the Northern Army will not be easy.

Removing the old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers and retraining some of the surplus infantry into cavalry is not something that can be accomplished in a short period of time.

The positions of Wuwei General in the four prefectures of Bing, He, Yong, and Liang were respectively filled by Wang Jian, Meng Gong, Yang Xuangan, and Li Siyuan.

The Northern Camp was renamed the Northwest Camp. All troops originally belonging to Liangzhou, except for those under the command of the General of the Martial Guard, were placed under the Northern Camp and reorganized. The force was restructured with 60,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry, with Meng Tian as the commander and Aju as the deputy commander.

The newly established Hetao Camp brought together all the troops originally belonging to He and Bingzhou, except for the state troops under the command of the General of the Martial Guard. The rest of the troops were unified under the Hetao Camp, with Yue Fei as the main commander.

It has a force of 200,000 troops, and plans to form 120,000 cavalry and 80,000 infantry.

In addition, Yue Fei, the former Grand General of Liangzhou, was reassigned as the Grand General of the Northern Expedition, and was still appointed as the Grand Protector of the Yuan Dynasty. In times of war, he could command all the troops in the four prefectures of Bing, He, Liang, and Yong.

Like Xue Rengui's northern camp, Yue Fei's Hetao camp also does not currently have such a high ratio of infantry to cavalry, and the subsequent training and reorganization will be a huge task.

Similarly, this is not a task that can be completed in a short time.

In Li Xiang's next phase of reorganization plan, the proportion of cavalry in the three major camps in the northern border prefectures has been significantly increased.

Clearly, in essence, it's all about preparing for future actions against the grasslands.

Furthermore, due to the increased military expenditure caused by the significant increase in the proportion of infantry in the three northern camps, Li Xiang has decided to abolish the Yongzhou Camp, remove the old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers, and disperse its troops to the three northern camps to cooperate with their reorganization.

In short, the troops in the north should be reorganized by eliminating those whose combat effectiveness is insufficient and retaining only the elite.

Next is the Central Imperial Guard, which serves as the central imperial court in the north. Li Xiang did not expand the size of the Central Imperial Guard; it remained at 200,000.

One hundred and fifty thousand infantry and fifty thousand cavalry were assigned as the central government's direct forces.

(End of this chapter)