Fu Shanhe

Chapter 128 Steady Command
Capital.

The Northern Barbarians took the initiative to start the war, disrupting many people's plans.

It doesn't matter whether to fight or make peace. As the passive party, Dayu can only choose to fight.

In an emergency, Emperor Tianyuan showed decisiveness and made timely emergency deployments.

However, the situation on the front line is still not optimistic.

The border troops tried to attack several times but were beaten back by the northern barbarians. Now they can only defend the city.

"Beijing Camp, when can we set out?"

Emperor Tianyuan asked with concern.

As a capable leader, he could not tolerate the front line being passively beaten.

In order to recover the lost territory in Liaodong, he had been making preparations since the great defeat last year.

“Your Majesty, the Three Thousand Battalion and the Divine Machine Battalion just completed their personnel replenishment two months ago, and the troops are currently in training.

According to previous plans, combat effectiveness will not be achieved until the end of the year.

If troops were to be dispatched at this time, the Shenji Battalion, the Three Thousand Battalion, and the Five Army Battalion would only have 30,000 troops that could be mobilized.

Taking the safety of the capital into consideration, a maximum of 30,000 troops were drawn from the Twelve Regiments.

The entire Beijing camp can mobilize a total of 60,000 troops, which is still a long way from the 100,000 you requested.

The Grand Military Governor's Office plans to draw elite troops from various places, but this will take some time."

Jing Guoliang said with an embarrassed look on his face.

The bad habit of collecting empty salaries was prevalent throughout Dayu, and the Beijing Army was no exception.

Nominally, the Beijing Camp had an army of 250,000, but its actual strength was 70% less.

Among them, the combat-capable soldiers will be discounted by another 40%.

In peacetime, it is no big deal to falsely report some military personnel.

But now is a time of war, and falsely reporting the number of soldiers on the battlefield could be fatal.

Emperor Tianyuan asked the Beijing Camp to send out 100,000 troops, which was a huge pressure for the Beijing Camp.

“Why is it just this little?
Didn’t I order the rectification of the Beijing Camp? This is the result you have delivered! "

Emperor Tianyuan scolded in dissatisfaction.

Since he ascended the throne, he has reorganized the Beijing camp several times.

Compared with the previous emperor's dynasty, the court's military expenditure on the Beijing camp has increased significantly.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent!"

Jing Guoliang immediately apologized.

The problem of the Beijing Army is a historical legacy.

During the previous emperor's reign, only 60% of the troops in the capital camp remained, and less than half of them were capable of combat.

The ability to recover to the current level is the result of several rectifications.

Unless the problem of "lost" military pay can be completely solved, the current level is the limit of what can be achieved.

"enough!
There are so many people asking for forgiveness every day, I don’t want to listen to these useless nonsense.

The Northern Tartars joined forces with the Guifang to invade, and the border troops could only defend the city, and reinforcements were needed on the front line.

I don't like the tactic of adding fuel to the fire. The Grand Marshal's Office and the Ministry of War must come up with a battle plan as soon as possible.

This time we must inflict pain and misery on the enemy!"

Emperor Tianyuan said in an unquestionable tone.

Judging from his physical condition, this is the last battle of his life.

Victory or defeat is directly related to the stability of the empire.

If they suffer another major defeat, the decline that Dayu had finally stopped would accelerate again.

“Your Majesty, rest assured. Liaodong Commander Bao Zhiyong is well versed in military tactics and has led the army to defeat Guifang and Wala several times.

This man is the most prudent in his use of troops, and has never suffered a defeat in his life!"

Minister of War Yi Chuanliang spoke immediately.

After Duan Wenhong died for his country, the most capable fighter among the civil servants was Bao Zhiyong.

Although this man has been fighting on the defensive all his life and has taken the initiative to attack only a few times, he has never been defeated.

It is not easy to find a talented person among the civil servants.

It is not easy to reach such a level.

If we don't support them, the emperor might ask the nobles to lead the troops.

Even though in their mouths, the nobles were all a bunch of good-for-nothings.

But we have to admit that the overall military quality of the nobles is still better than that of these civil servants.

Without outstanding achievements, there will be no opportunity to show your abilities.

After Emperor Tianyuan came to power, the nobles fought well in the several wars to suppress rebellions.

Although there is suspicion of bullying the rookies, a win is a win.

If we really give these people a chance, it would be fine if they lose.

If the nobles were to win, the group of military generals that had been suppressed by them for a long time might rise up again in the court.

Compared with other political groups, the military generals who have been freed from the shackles are their biggest competitors.

The phrase "become a general or a prime minister" is enough to motivate countless people to follow suit.

"You guys discuss it, I'm tired!"

Emperor Tianyuan waved his hand and said.

His poor health did not allow him to handle state affairs for a long time, and general government affairs had long been handed over to the Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department.

If the battle on the front line was not of great importance, he would not have personally intervened.

Just show up and exert some pressure, that's enough.

It is not a good thing for him, the emperor, to meddle too much.

In terms of military capabilities, the ministers in front of him are much stronger than him.

Emperor Tianyuan recognized Bao Zhiyong's ability to lead troops.

Victory once may be due to luck, but winning every time can only be due to ability.

From the situation on the front line, it can be seen that under the command of General Bao, the border troops defended the city impeccably.

Even though they were attacked by the enemy, no important city was lost.

……

Nantong Prefecture.

Just after returning from the celebration banquet, Li Mu received a letter from Beijing.

The Liaodong War broke out suddenly, which was not beyond his expectations.

The imperial court was preparing for war in full swing, and almost everyone in the world knew about it. As long as the northern barbarians were not stupid, they would not sit there and wait for death.

Once Dayu is ready, with Beilu's current strength, the probability of winning is almost zero.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of Dayu training new soldiers and joining forces with Guifang to provoke a war in advance is the best strategic choice.

"Pity!

Originally, he was thinking of using pirates to plunder the salt fields and taking the opportunity to increase the establishment of a thousand cavalry households.

Now the battle is underway, and the court's resources are urgently needed on the front lines, so we can only wait until next time."

Li Mu's sigh made all the generals silent.

You should know that some time ago, the imperial court allocated a thousand war horses to the Yangzhou camp, allowing the cavalry to complete its full strength.

The troops were still in training, and he began to think about the organization of the second cavalry captain.

It was not so bad for the generals who came from noble families, as they were all related to each other and were not surprised by this kind of preferential treatment.

Compared to ordinary people, they know more information.

The salt fields in the Lianghuai region were all sold to the powerful officials in the court.

The existence of Yangzhou Camp, to a certain extent, is also to protect them.

If there hadn't been any pirate invasion, they might not have felt it yet.

After this happened, everyone will definitely realize the importance of Yangzhou Camp.

By increasing the mobile force of the Yangzhou Camp, they will all beneficiaries and have the motivation to push forward.

If the Liaodong War had not broken out, Li Mu would have contacted all parties privately and the matter would have been almost settled.

The same words would sound completely different if heard by grassroots generals.

There were only a handful of fully staffed troops in the Dayu Dynasty, and the Yangzhou Camp was a complete freak.

A fully-strength infantry battalion plus a fully-strength cavalry unit, totaling nearly 7,000 combat soldiers.

Such military strength exceeds that of two-thirds of the generals of the Dayu Dynasty.

Shu Zhongyi felt it the most deeply. Even on the Liaodong front, the cavalry's strength was calculated as "people + animals".

Like many cavalrymen of Dayu, the Yangzhou camp was also composed of semi-armored light cavalry, with each soldier equipped with a war horse and a crossbow horse.

In name, it is one thousand households with full staff, but in external terms, it is equivalent to three thousand households with full staff.

The cavalry captain in his Yangzhou camp has more soldiers than some guerrilla generals outside.

A general like Li Mu, who has 7,000 soldiers under his command, can be considered a top figure among the nine frontier generals.

"Commander-in-Chief, will we go to the battlefield?"

Shu Zhongyi asked eagerly.

In his opinion, his lieutenant general must have trained so many troops in order to show his prowess on the front line.

Although the Liaodong front is dangerous, it also has its own prosperity and wealth.

It's hard for a grassroots like him to make a name for himself there, but that doesn't mean the children of nobles can't either.

Looking at the officer configuration of the Yangzhou Camp, we can tell that, except for him, a cavalry captain who was a military scholar, the other five captains are all sons of noble families.

More than half of the centurions below are children of noble families.

If you follow such troops into the battlefield, you will definitely not suffer any loss.

He was not very clear about the specific combat effectiveness of the Yangzhou Battalion, but he knew the intensity of its training.

Even the border troops do not dare to train like this.

I practice every day, and it’s all built up with money.

If the soldiers had not been paid enough and had not been given three meals a day with meat, they would have rebelled long ago.

Live-ammunition shooting is carried out every now and then, as if ammunition is free.

"Why are you asking so many questions? All you need to do is train your cavalry well.

If we really encounter the Northern Tartars, our infantry are not afraid, but how can our cavalry be their opponent!"

Li Mu scolded angrily.

During the Liaodong battle, there was no time to hide, and some people even wanted to jump in.

It’s not that we can’t fight the Northern Barbarians, but we can’t follow the orders of the civil officials and go fight the Northern Barbarians.

These were bloody lessons, and the generals of Dayu did not feel them deeply.

But Li Mu is different. He has too many negative examples in his memory.

The war was clearly winnable, but ended up being a miserably failed one under the command of a group of armchair strategists.

People think the people of the grassland are powerful, that’s because the system of using civil power to control military power was established.

Previously, when the general was the commander-in-chief, Dayu had always been suppressing the enemy.

Not to mention Fenglangjuxu, at least within a hundred miles outside the border, there is no trace of the grassland tribes.

Whether it was the Northern Barbarians or the Guifang, all of them prostrated themselves before Dayu and paid tribute.

"General, we cannot increase the number of cavalry, nor can we increase the number of infantry.

Salt fields in various places are suffering from the threat of pirates, and the Yangzhou Guard is no longer sufficient, so they can only rely on our Yangzhou Camp.

In order to ensure the salt tax of the imperial court, it was imperative to garrison troops in various places.

Taking Nantong Prefecture as an example, I need to deploy troops in Chongming Island, Haimen County and the prefecture capital at the same time.

Without three thousand soldiers, it would be impossible to defend.

If we take other areas into account, even more troops will be needed.”

Yun Qianhu suggested.

Increasing the staff means increasing opportunities.

For military generals, no one complains about having too many soldiers under their command.

“Okay, unless you want to go to the Liaodong front to reinforce.

Otherwise, don’t even think about such a good thing for the time being.

What we need to do now is to reduce the presence of Yangzhou Camp as much as possible, so as to avoid being targeted by the Ministry of War and being sent to Liaodong with a transfer order.

You should know that most of the soldiers under our command are from Yangzhou.

If we really reach the north, the number of non-combat casualties alone will be terrifying.

Before adapting to the northern climate, the combat effectiveness can only be exerted at 4 or 5 points out of 10.

The Northern Tartars and the Guifang were able to overwhelm the border troops, so there is no doubt about their combat effectiveness.

With only 40% or 50% of your combat power, you will suffer a great loss when facing these guys!"

Li Mu refused on the spot.

There is a time limit for making requests.

The Liaodong front was short of soldiers and major generals, so going there now was to tell the Ministry of War that there was still a Yangzhou battalion available.

(End of this chapter)