The rise of the prince

Chapter 774 The Knife Behind
In late April, the auxiliary army stationed around Kaiyuan had already started to go northward, and all the soldiers of the Forbidden Army and the New Army were recalled.

Across the river bank, you can see the continuous procession heading north every day, and the common people watch across the river, reluctantly seeing off their loved ones.

For several days in succession, the successive teams continued.

Naturally, such a big move cannot be concealed from others. The news of Jing Guo's dispatch of troops quickly swept across the north and south of the country, inside and outside the customs like a gust of hurricane.

However, at this time, the main army has not yet been dispatched. The so-called three armies have not moved, and the food and grass go first. It means that the corvee must first transport the food and grass to the front of the army, and then the army can start to get food on the spot. Of course, this is within the territory. The approach after the enemy is to grab as much as you can, and the rest will be replenished from the rear.

It seems cruel, but soldiers grabbing food on the spot is a "regular" method recorded in Sun Tzu's Art of War, and it is a method that countless armies have followed since then. They only bring a small amount of food in battle and grab it on the spot when they arrive in the theater. This is the normal state of ancient warfare.

Therefore, most of the people on the frontier are afraid of soldiers. They are afraid of the soldiers of the enemy's country, and they are also afraid of the soldiers of their own country.

Of course, looting alone is not enough for a large-scale dispatch of troops. Food and grass transportation is also necessary. At that time, transportation from the rear will be the mainstay, supplemented by looting.

This time, Li Xingzhou adopted a large-scale land and water supply of food and grass, all of which were supplied by the state, and ordered all armies to strictly enforce military discipline and not plunder the people. Although it took time and effort, it was very popular and could preserve Jingguo's strength.

And in the north of Kaiyuan City, across the bank of the big river, the three major battalions of the Forbidden Army were dispatched by Yang Hongzhao, and they had already begun to organize and assemble.

It takes about six days.

However, the new army moved very quickly. Firstly, there were few people, and secondly, the formation was different.

Now there are five divisions in the New Army Army, and each division has a number of 1 to 1 people, which can already be used as an independent unit to carry out combat tasks.

However, Li Xingzhou, the rest of the Forbidden Army, did not carry out restructuring. To put it simply, the army organization was not changed randomly, but to follow the tactics and tactics.

The tactics used by Li Xingzhou only started to rise after Napoleon. Its rise is the inevitable result of the development of firearms to a certain stage, and it will definitely cause problems if the imperial guards use them mechanically.

In short, both establishments are necessary for the current Jingguo army.

The first division of the new army was commanded by Wei Yubai; the second division was under Yan Shen; the third division was under Liu Ji; the fourth and fifth divisions were directly commanded by Li Xingzhou.

The navy has only one division, commanded by Di Zhi and Shen Lin. This time the navy will be the last to set off, and it will be quietly. The main force is a dozen Dingnan-class ships equipped with nearly [-] guns, and dozens more Ordinary ships for transporting grain, grass and soldiers, plus some supply boats.

The entire fleet has more than 80 ships of various sizes, some of which were bought by the new army, built by the palace, and some smaller ones were requisitioned merchant ships.

In any case, the First Division of the New Army Navy now has 1 combatants and more than 2000 logistics personnel, plus terrifying artillery, it is a force that cannot be underestimated.

Li Xingzhou held on to the railing, and while the wind was blowing on the deck, he stepped on his feet hard. On the wide deck, new army personnel were coming and going, and they were constantly moving shells sealed in wooden boxes to the ship.

Di Zhi and Shen Lin followed behind him in military uniforms. At this moment, a loud bell rang from a tower in the distance, spreading throughout the city. In the setting sun, the surface of the river shimmered, and the orange-red light reflected, and the whole world seemed to be on fire.

The big rivers and mountains under the sky seem to be dyed into one color, like scorching flames, or like churning blood, blood staining the earth, and flames burning the heart.

"I'm afraid this time there will be rivers of blood."

"My lord."

Li Xingzhou raised his hand to stop them and continued: "I knew it already, but I couldn't help but feel emotional after seeing this situation. You don't need to say useless words, I know it."

"Yes!" The two clasped their hands together.

Li Xingzhou looked at the fiery red river: "This time, everyone's eyes will be focused on the ground, especially Datong Mansion and the important towns in the Liaoxi Corridor. As long as there are smart people in these places, they must be staring at them from the beginning."

Di Zhi nodded: "Your Highness, if Datong is lost, the Jin Kingdom on the western front will be untenable. If the Liaodong Corridor is lost, we can go straight to Shangjing. The Jin people in these two places will not be immune."

"Even the new army should not be able to take it down." Li Xingzhou said, "The new artillery is not a panacea, if they had taken precautions, we might be trapped in the western Liaoning area.

When the time comes, the decisive victory will depend on you. "

"Don't worry, my lord, we will never disgrace our mission."

"The army will set off in early May, and try to fight in June. Yang Ye, Zhe Weizhong will probably send troops in the middle and late June, so I estimate that by the beginning of July, most of the soldiers from Jin Kingdom will be attracted to the southwest.

But there is no need to worry, my request to you is to launch an attack before mid-July to cope with the frontal attack. As for where to launch the attack and how to attack, that is the business of the two coaches, and it is up to you to decide. "

"Yes!" Di Zhi arched his hands: "Don't worry, Your Highness, we will definitely break into Liaoyang!"

Li Xingzhou said, "It doesn't matter whether we can enter Liaoyang or not. The important thing is to make the Jin people panic and be attacked. Do you understand my thinking?"

He thought for a while, then explained: "What I mean is that Liaoyang is not important, what is important is strategic thinking. If there are too many Jin people returning to the teacher, you will not be able to defend it. You can do without Liaoyang. First protect yourself, and then continue to attack Jin." People, as for Liaoyang and Liaoyang, keep it if it is beneficial, and not keep it if it is not beneficial, don't get too entangled." Shen Lin frowned, and Di Zhi nodded again and again: "Your Highness is wise, this subordinate understands, and will judge the situation when the time comes. The main purpose is to delay and kill the Jin people, not to attack the city, but to put the Jin people in a state where they cannot advance or retreat."

Li Xingzhou nodded with satisfaction: "That's right, that's the reason."

As he spoke, he patted Di Zhi on the shoulder, "Now the whole world is watching the battle on land, wanting to see whether it is the Jin country or the Jing country, whoever wins this battle will be the master of the world, those small countries Whoever it is.

However, their eyes were all focused on the land, they were all looking at Datong Mansion, and they were all looking at Liaoxi.

But I actually put all my treasures on you. "

Li Xingzhou said solemnly: "The Northern Expedition has been a difficult problem since ancient times. No matter how powerful our artillery is, it can't change the dangers of mountains and rivers, the weather and landforms, so I didn't think about land from the beginning.

Lu Lu is a big cover, at most it is the upper limit to be able to achieve Datong, and you are the knife buried in my back.How many victories this battle can have, how much pain it can make the Jinren, all depends on how deep your knife can be inserted. "

Di Zhi knelt down on one knee solemnly, and said word by word: "Don't worry, Your Highness, this knife is drawn for the prince, as long as you pull it out, you will see blood. If you don't see blood, please ask your Highness to blame me!"

(End of this chapter)