The great hero of the Silk Road, starting from a farm farmer

Chapter 250 Can a sheepskin raft support a grand strategy?

"If we want to send troops to assist the Guining Army and cut off the Xiang Army's retreat, the transportation of military supplies is the key. I have made preliminary calculations. If a thousand soldiers and horses are sent to fight, the food and grass that will be consumed in one month will be thousands of stones, plus ammunition. The consumption and the required logistics capacity are still five thousand stones. In terms of quantity, it is not a big problem. The key is the distance and movement speed.

The Beixiang attack returned to the rear of Ning's army, which was more than 400 miles away from our army and across the Yellow River.The tactics our army will use in this battle is to advance quickly and attack quickly. The logistics team needs to follow the main battle troops at all times to provide support, which is very difficult.Furthermore, Xiang Jun also has artillery now. If the caliber of the artillery brought by our army is too small, it will be difficult to suppress the enemy on the local battlefield. But if the artillery is too heavy, the mules and horses cannot carry it. If it is transported by artillery carts, The marching route is greatly restricted, and the speed will also be greatly affected.The staff department must fully take these factors into consideration when formulating operational plans. "

The war has not yet begun, but combat mobilization and pre-war planning must be prepared early.While forming the Lancer Battalion, Lieutenant General Song Yingkui convened a military information meeting and assigned relevant combat tasks to the generals.

"Commander, in view of my humble position, the logistics support of this battle can march separately from the soldiers and meet up at Pingchuan." After listening to Song Yingkui's arrangement, Wei Dadao, who attended the meeting, pondered for a long time before speaking out his thoughts.

"Is it inappropriate for the logistics team to separate from the soldiers? After leaving the official camp, it is the enemy's battle zone. Without the protection of the soldiers, the logistics team can easily be blocked by the enemy's cavalry." Song Yingkui disagreed with Wei Dadao's speech. This is not fighting in the hinterland. Once the logistics team with weak combat effectiveness is attacked, it will deliver food to Xiang Jun.They don't need many soldiers and horses. With only 500 people, the logistics team can be wiped out.

"Commander, if we take the land route, it is indeed easy to be attacked. But we can take the water route! Take a raft from Imjin Ferry and you can reach Pingchuan in three or four days. Put all the main military supplies on the water route and carry out the main battle Soldiers and horses only need to carry a small amount of combat supplies, ride forward lightly, and come and go like the wind, and they will surely be able to bring down magical troops from the sky."

waterway?Did Wei Dadao mean to use sheepskin rafts to travel along the Yellow River waterway to transport and support military supplies?

Is this opinion reliable?In Song Yingkui's mind, the main purpose of sheepskin rafts is to cross rivers, not for long-distance transportation.Linjin Ferry in Hezhou is several hundred miles away from the Yellow River Ferry in Pingchuan, and there are many dangerous gorges in it. It would be too risky to rely on this thing to transport military supplies.

"Captain Wei, the distance between Linjin and Pingchuan is not short, and there are many rapids and dangerous places in the waterway. Can it be navigated smoothly?"

"The commander may not know that Weijiachuan is close to the river, and I have seen many river rafters on weekdays. As long as experienced rafters have basically never heard of any accidents. Although this section of the waterway is a bit dangerous, it is not as dangerous as it looks. , the rafters are sure of it." Unlike Song Yingkui, who had never seen water transportation on the Yellow River, Wei Dadao, who was born on the edge of the Yellow River, had been dealing with rafters since he was a child. He knew the abilities of rafters very well, and he did not feel that he had to leave. How risky can waterways be.

"Let's see. Battalion Commander Wei took the lead in setting up the Water Transport Department of the headquarters and rushed to Linjin today to organize raft passengers to conduct a waterway inspection and small-scale trial navigation from Linjin to Pingchuan to confirm whether the Yellow River waterway is usable. In addition, the Logistics Department Prepare two copies of military supplies for this battle, one to be assembled at the official camp and the other to be assembled at Imjin Ferry. If it is assessed that water transportation is indeed feasible, use the military supplies assembled in Linjin. If it is finally confirmed that water transportation is not feasible, Linjin The military resources assembled in Tianjin are specially allocated for the use of the Hehuang garrison. The organization of the transportation team on the official camp side must not be neglected, and active preparations must be made. The two grain transportation teams serve as backup for each other."

Even with Wei Dadao's conclusive evidence, Song Yingkui was still worried about whether the Yellow River water transportation could be used.The last solution that came to mind was a red heart and two hands prepared.In Guanying Town and Linjin Ferry, both land and water routes were prepared at the same time.

Speaking from the heart, Song Yingkui certainly hopes that the Yellow River water transportation plan proposed by Wei Dadao can be used.It would be of great significance if sheepskin rafts could really be reliably transported down the river from Imjin Ferry to Pingchuan Ferry.Not only is it related to the battle to stop Beixiang's attack on the Guining Army, you must know that Yinzhou, the capital of Beixiang, is also on the bank of the Yellow River.With the logistical support of water transportation, the Yungu Army could even use Hezhou as its general logistics base and organize troops to attack Huanglong.

Although this idea is a bit too bold, and Yungu Army does not have the ability to carry it out at this stage, it at least provides an idea and feasibility.

Let’s not talk about the Northern Expedition to Yinzhou and the difficult task of attacking Xiang Jun’s home base. Let’s just say that if the Yellow River waterway is really available, it will be possible to revitalize the Wazhou line, which was previously regarded as a useless area, in a short time.

Wazhou is the center of the original Xisu Province and one of the most privileged places in the entire Xisu region.It was only because it was so damaged by the war that the people were wiped out, and it was reduced to a wasteland.Without water transportation, if the Yungu Army wants to control this area for a long time, the cost will be too great, and it will be unable to make ends meet for at least three to five years.With Lintao as the hinterland, it is really not enough to support the consumption of rebuilding Wazhou.

But if there is water transportation, the Yellow River can be used as a line to control key cities such as Wazhou first, and then gradually radiate to surrounding areas.Starting from one point to another and with the transportation line as the central axis, the reconstruction of Wazhou was quickly launched.

Thinking about the various benefits of the opening of the water transport line, Song Yingkui couldn't wait to start the work of building rafts. There was a saying in later generations about sheepskin rafts: sheepskin rafts race warships. For Song Yingkui now, this thing may really function as a warship. .

But when he thought of the actual appearance of the thin and crude sheepskin raft, Song Yingkui's suspicion arose again.Can such crude equipment really be relied on?Can a simple sheepskin raft really support the grand strategy of rebuilding Wazhou, even severely damaging Beixiang, and going straight to Yinzhou?I'm afraid it's a little too taken for granted!

Whether it works or not, let’s give it a try first, just in case a miracle happens.

After deciding to let Wei Dadao rush to Linjin to conduct water transportation trials, the military council on that day also decided on the candidates for the chief and deputy generals to assist the Guining Army.

This battle poses too great a challenge to the Yungu Army. Song Yingkui is prepared to personally take command as the commander-in-chief, and his distant cousin Song Yingqing will serve as deputy.

Yang Shunan was in charge of the official camp and was responsible for logistical support. During this period, his second uncle served as the chief left-behind officer and shouldered all the military and political affairs within the territory.

Due to changes in the external situation, the previously planned reorganization of the Sunan grassland can only be postponed until the Beixiang side is sorted out before talking about the Sunan matter.If this battle goes well, the constraints on reorganizing and purging the Southern Fan tribe will be much smaller, the process will be faster, and it won’t be too much of a delay!
(End of this chapter)