afterglow

Chapter 251 The ancient Japanese conquest plan; what if you don't fight head-on?
War is an act of violence that forces the enemy to submit to our will. It is a continuation of politics. The key lies in whether intelligence and logistics are in place, followed by the quality of specific combat strategies, and then the quality of weapons and equipment.

"Soldiers, the important affairs of the country, the place of life and death, the way of survival, must be investigated."

The emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty are obviously well versed in the principles explained by the ancestors, so any link of the upcoming military operations is very clear.

In terms of behavior, it is to expel Western forces and support pro-Ming forces;
In terms of purpose, it is to eliminate the military presence of Western countries in Asia, reduce their influence, and use the archipelago as a solid line of defense to protect the east of Ming Dynasty;

In terms of long-term strategic layout, it should continue to maintain the current fragmented situation, so as to cut off the possible threats after its reunification;
From the perspective of campaign planning, it is necessary to send one or two divisions to the feudal towns supported by Western countries to take over forcibly, and at the same time send two divisions to Tokyo to occupy them.

From last year to the beginning of this year, the military department has been planning to adopt the "A Zi/[-]/No. [-]/Change to [-]" plan, but due to the smooth progress of secret negotiations and the optimistic judgment of the current situation, the military department changed to The plan of "Zi A/[-]/Number One/Changed to Three" was used.

This is why the First Marine Regiment originally went to Fushan Mansion to prepare for the landing exercise, but now it has to turn around and go to Haizhou.

Like the [-]st Marine Regiment, four divisions and a brigade also received the same order halfway through their departure.

The other three infantry divisions in the north were originally going to Jinzhou, but now they went directly to Ulsan County, North Korea.

February 27, at dawn.

The fish belly exposed in the east is getting bigger and bigger, and as the fiery red sun slowly emerges from the horizon, it casts a radiance to the world.

Zhou Changfeng, who was covered with a blanket, sat on the seat and dozed off, leaning his head against the window that was foggy due to the temperature difference between inside and outside.Because the curtains were not drawn down, the late winter and early spring sunshine shone on his face, bringing only a hint of warmth.

"Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" the officers and soldiers that carried on board was awakened.

Zhou Changfeng, who woke up in a daze, froze for a few seconds before his eyes recovered.

It is naturally more uncomfortable to stay overnight like this, and the body is a little stiff.He rubbed his eyes, took two mouthfuls of hot strong tea from the aluminum teacup, then got up and moved around, finally feeling physically and mentally revived.

"Report, the headquarters has arrived in Haizhou." Zhao Hanfeng raised his hand and glanced at his watch, and continued to state: "It is now [-]:[-] in the morning."

"All ministries unload the trucks, prepare breakfast, and start dinner after assembly."

"Order."

Considering that Haizhou is an important port for the Ming Navy, the railway transportation here is quite good. There are several two-way railways. In addition to the three passenger platforms for loading and unloading people, there are also two freight platforms.

The supporting equipment of the train station is very complete. There are several types of cranes of different tonnages. After all, some parts and equipment needed by warships often weigh hundreds of tons.

The [-]st Marine Regiment was not the first to arrive. The [-]th Division of the Army had already arrived at noon yesterday, and they were all stationed at this moment.

No more than a mixed brigade or an infantry division, the First Marine Regiment had much fewer vehicles and heavy weapons, so the unloading speed was very fast, and in less than a quarter of an hour, everyone had already assembled by the train station.

The whole regiment is arranged in a square, which looks like a dozen blue-green squares from a distance.

The officers in charge of catering knew that it would be too late to make breakfast, so they had sent people to nearby vendors and shops to buy steamed buns.

Now when everyone is assembled, the truck full of steamed buns will just arrive.

The thick white cloth covering the bamboo basket was lifted, and the rising heat could be seen with the naked eye, and the big and white steamed buns were full of fragrance.

As for the cooking units of each battalion and team, although there is no time to make breakfast, there is still time to boil water to make soup. Boil a few large pots of boiling water, add dozens of eggs, sprinkle a few spoonfuls of salt, and the simple egg drop soup is done.

The officers of the regiment headquarters had nothing to do at the moment, but gathered together to eat, drink, and smoke a few cigarettes.

Yao Liangchuan came over with "Wanli Zoushu Jilu-Volume 83" in his hand, pointed to one of the pages and said: "Before I heard that the proposal to conquer Japan was mentioned hundreds of years ago, I borrowed the book to check it out. , It really does exist, I just found it today.”

"Didn't you aid Korea during the Wanli period?" Xie Wancheng, who was gnawing on a steamed bun, said vaguely, "Is it a mistake?"

"How can theoretical plans be the same as actual actions?" Yao Liangchuan waved his hand and glanced around the crowd present, "Let me put it this way, the strategy for conquering the Japanese was quite heroic back then. I planned to send [-] troops across the sea for an expedition."

Zhu Yijun lived a long time and reigned for 48 years. The number of memorials accumulated by the Ming Empire in half a century can be imagined.

Yao Liangchuan had nothing to do during the Chinese New Year, so he went to Yingtianfu Library to borrow 35 volumes of "Wanli Zoushu Jilu". After reading it for a month, he really found what was rumored.

Due to the rules of the country not conquered by the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun", people in later generations often think that it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to send troops to Japan.

But the so-called ancestral rules have not always been unbreakable, but it is only necessary to consider whether it is in the interests of the majority.

In fact, during the Wanli period, there was a wave of discussions about the Eastern Expedition between the ruling and the opposition parties of the Ming Dynasty. The plan to send troops to Japan was also approved by the court. It was once put into early preparations, but in the end it was not allowed because the actual situation did not allow it.

The earliest idea appeared as early as the 19th year of Wanli. Liu Jiwen, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, suggested that the Portuguese should be allowed to fight the Japanese, the so-called "borrowing Japanese".This year, the Ming army had not even entered the dynasty.

But as North Korea was beaten to the ground and was in a state of embarrassment, the energy of the Ming Dynasty focused on solving the Japanese invaders first.In the following year, Zhang Wenxi, the Shaoqing of the Taipu Temple, proposed to send 5000 troops from the four provinces of Zhejiang, Nanzhili, Min, and Guangdong, and a total of [-] troops to land in Japan to solve the scourge of Japanese pirates once and for all.

In the next few years, because the war entered a fierce stage, the idea of ​​expedition to Japan was not put into action, but it has been continuously improved.For example, in the 22nd year of Wanli, Xu Fu, the governor of Fujian Province, refuted the "Yuan Dynasty's defeat of the sun" to oppose sending troops. He carefully estimated the military expenditure and strength, built 20 ships and trained [-] troops.Although it is exaggerated, the general framework has been determined.

In the 26th year of Wanli, Xu Zhaokui, the imperial censor, also proposed to conscript the Japanese to destroy nests, and the Ministry of War improved it on the basis of the memorandum, and decided to focus on Zhejiang, Min, and Guangdong.After Zhu Yijun's quasi-playing, the deployment of troops will begin immediately-Guangxi's general army will take over Zhejiang and lead the conquest;

However, as the Japanese pirates invaded the DPRK and suffered repeated defeats, the defeat was certain. Toyotomi Hideyoshi died of illness, and the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty lost interest in crossing the sea and expedition.Because at that time, the Ming Dynasty had spent more than [-] million taels of silver in the six-year war to aid Korea. At the same time, the Yang Yinglong rebellion in Bozhou became more and more rampant, so the plan to conquer the Japanese was terminated.

Zhao Hanfeng shook his head slightly and sighed: "It can be regarded as bad luck. There have been three consecutive conquests in the Wanli year, and the national power is difficult to support."

"It's not what it used to be, and the strategic situation is different." Zhou Changfeng took a big sip from the enamel cup filled with egg drop soup, and said casually, "It was useless to win Japan in ancient times. If you want copper, you can just trade it."

After breakfast and reorganization, the Marine Regiment left the train station and went to the scheduled station.

There are two schools, one large and one small, in the suburbs of Haizhou, which are used by the No.11 Engineer Brigade of the Army and the Sixth Battalion of the Marine Corps stationed in Haizhou.

With the implementation of the plan, the expansion of the stationed area here has become a matter of course, because sooner or later, Haizhou will become an important starting point for troop projection.

And there happened to be an engineering brigade here, so it would be more convenient to expand.

The land was flattened and compacted, and a layer of notoginseng lime soil was laid, which is a building material mixed with slaked lime and clay, and has been widely used throughout the ages.

The living and living barracks, dry toilets, bathhouses, canteens, and entertainment offices are all made of solid nine-layer plywood, while the ammunition material warehouse, kitchen, officer's quarters, and medical hall are built of red bricks.

The recently expanded camp looks brand new, with all the facilities available, and it is planned to accommodate 5 people.

It's really beautiful to move in with your bags.

The two rows of houses hanging on the top of the mountain are the residences of the officers. They are all single rooms. In addition to wooden beds and wooden chairs, electric lights and electric fans are also standard equipment.

"The seventh division can arrive tonight, the No.13 division will probably be tomorrow night, and the fourth division is the slowest, probably the morning after tomorrow."

"Is there nothing else these days?"

"No, but according to the order, we must quickly count the supplies and check the equipment, and there must be no omissions."

"What about the battle report? Shouldn't this be issued?"

"Okay, send someone to deliver it later."

After explaining some things, the liaison officer of the General Military Office left.

The so-called General Soldier Department is the military-level headquarters, which is a temporary organization. The basic strategic units of the Ming army are "divisions" and "brigades", and the "army" is temporarily organized by divisions and brigades of variable numbers depending on the situation.

In many cases, it is no problem for the headquarters to directly command a few divisions and brigades. For example, in the border war, the Uzbek Tibetan Governor's Mansion directly commanded the second division and one brigade participating in the war, but this cannot be done when the scale is expanded.

This time, the Ming Dynasty formed two army-level units in order to pacify Japan, namely the Second Army and the Third Army.

The Second Army was assembled in Haizhou, consisting of the Fourth Division, Seventh Division, No.13 Division, and the First Marine Regiment. It was responsible for the Kanto region, Nagano, Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Chiba, which were the sphere of influence of the British.

The Third Army assembled in Ulsan County, North Korea. It consists of the Second Division, Tenth Division, No.11 Division, and the Second Marine Regiment. It is responsible for the northeast of Honshu Island, Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Hokkaido. There are French and Russians. people's sphere of influence.

To this day, Daming has not formed a few armies, and before that, it was only used in large-scale exercises.

But since there were millions of troops in the European War, the Ming army naturally took this situation into consideration. An army can have at most four or five divisions and brigades, with a maximum of 10 people.But if you want to invest millions of troops in one direction, wouldn't you have to form more than a dozen troops?It is not convenient to command, so a larger unit has to be formed.

This unit, which is equivalent to a group army, is called a corps, and the commander is called a supervisor.During the reign of Chongzhen, this was the highest-level military official position, and an additional official title of Minister of the Ministry of War was even required to set off his high status.

However, the "Bingtuan" and "supervisor" have only existed in regulations for more than [-] years and have never been officially used.

Not long after, a bound war report was sent over by the orderly.

Zhu Lishuo snorted, "The Americans are still hanging on, is this really on the line?"

"They don't have the concerns of the British and French, they are safe and sound, and the Kansai region is fairly rich, and they are making a lot of money, so they are naturally unwilling to leave." Yao Liangchuan replied.

"Okay, let's take a look." Zhou Changfeng pointed to the large-scale map hanging on the wall and said, "First of all, we must land directly in Tokyo Bay. As far as intelligence is concerned, the Japanese themselves are too noisy. So not sure if there will be organized resistance. We are definitely looking at the worst case scenario where the Guards Division and the [-]st Division are all on the defensive."

Zhao Hanfeng took over his words, and said frankly: "Because of financial reasons, these two divisions have now been abolished and reformed. Although the main body is the establishment of the Second Brigade and the Fourth Regiment, the number has decreased. Each division is now There are only 11 people, and the total force is about 4000, all of them were drilled by the British, and the exact number...you should be familiar with it.”

Xie Wancheng asked: "How many cannons do they have?"

"How can a poor man play with cannons?" Zhu Lishuo waved his hands with disdain on his face. "Naturally, they are all old 75mm mountain cannons, and there are also some imperial four and a half inches."

Japan has no resources, and its disintegration has exacerbated the barren plight. The cost of maintaining a standing army is enough to put the pressure on the various feudal clans. It is really powerless to build a modern army.

The Guards Division and the [-]st Division, which are in a better financial situation, use self-made [-]-type rifles, namely [-] Dagai, and some Lee-Enfields; Lewis for light machine guns; It was Vickers; the steel helmet was the same Tommy helmet that looked like an iron pot.

Because it is under the control of the British, it is easier to purchase weapons and equipment from British companies, and it is naturally British.

Looking back at history, after the Restoration, the Meiji government, which pursued "enriching the country and strengthening the army", tried its best to build the army, imitating the military system of Western countries, promulgated the "Conscription Order" to implement the conscription system, and established a new type of army.

When it came time to try to gamble on the national luck, the army had seven divisions and 25 reserve troops.After the failure, these seven divisions still exist to this day, but except for the Guards Division and the First Division, the other five divisions are all under the orders of other feudal towns.

In addition, the feudal towns in various places have also established their own armed forces-warlords separatist regimes, the guns are the biggest.

However, due to the lack of funds and industrial systems, the troops in these places are poorly trained, outdated, and lack heavy weapons, and their overall combat effectiveness is very worrying.

"I can't think of any other words to describe it other than the chicken and the dog. In a head-to-head battle, one against ten is not a problem at all." Zhu Lishuo was extremely confident and supercilious.

"Then... what if we don't fight head-on?" Zhou Changfeng said leisurely.

(End of this chapter)