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

"The city of Shaanzhou is broken, and Tongguan will face the enemy! Li Zhongcheng wants to gather all the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong to fight the Mongolian army in Guanzhong, instead of sticking to Tongguan and waiting for the changes. The governor is not very optimistic about this battle. I, Anxi The army must be fully prepared.

In view of the current situation, the governor is preparing to assemble troops and horses in Pingliang and Qinzhou. Once the Western Army loses in Guanzhong, the troops and horses in Pingliang and Qinzhou must enter Shaanxi as soon as possible, and take advantage of the Mongolian army's unstable foothold to retake Guanzhong and consolidate it. Current situation!

According to the estimated combat strength of both the enemy and ours, after our army enters Shaanxi, there will be between 20,000 and 30,000 people on the frontal battlefield, which is enough to deal with the Mongolian army's front. However, the Mongolian army has a large number of roving troops. With only 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses, it is impossible to clear out the roving troops in Shaanxi, and it is difficult to stabilize the place. However, no matter how large-scale the recruitment and expansion of the army is, even if we occupy Shaanxi, we may not have the financial resources to support such a large stall! This is a difficult point. Let's all think about it and see if there is a better way that can allow our army to defend the ground and save some money! "

The fall of Shaanzhou and the intervention of the Anxi Army in the Guanzhong battlefield were almost inevitable. What gave Song Yingkui a headache was not the head-on confrontation with the Mongol army. To be honest, with the current equipment of the Anxi Army, if it cannot defeat an army like the Mongol Army that was born out of tribal armed forces on a frontal battlefield, it should be killed by a pile of cotton.

However, the high mobility of the Mi Meng army left people a little helpless. Once they break up, the Anxi Army will fall into a quagmire of constant harassment, and Shaanxi will not be able to restore peace for a while! Regardless of time and space, no matter how advanced the equipment is, protracted harassment warfare is the most difficult thing to deal with.

In the face of asymmetric warfare such as harassment warfare, the burden on people's livelihood is quite fatal. It is conceivable that for a long time to come, Shaanxi will be a burden rather than a hinterland for the Anxi Army. The purpose of Song Yingkui's convening of Anxi's military and political officials for a situation study and assessment meeting was to prepare everyone psychologically for the difficulty of the situation. Don't think that after intervening in Shaanxi or even controlling Shaanxi, Anxi's power has greatly expanded and the situation will be great. The real challenge has just begun!
The situation analysis meeting that day did not discuss any specific plan for Song Yingkui's actual concerns. Without actually facing this thing, who can come up with a solution out of thin air? In fact, among the people attending the meeting, except for Song Yingkui who had this concern, no one else even took it seriously in their hearts. They feel that what they should be most worried about now is the head-on battle between the army and the Mongol army after entering Shaanxi.

As long as the Mongol army is defeated by soldiers and generals, will Anjing still have the worry of a hammer? This is what Governor Song is worrying about in vain!
When sending troops to Shaanxi, there was another thorny issue for Song Yingkui: who should he use as the leading general? You can't lead the troops to fight by yourself, can you?

Theoretically speaking, such a big war does require Song Yingkui, the commander-in-chief of the first army, to personally direct it. However, in Song Yingkui's view, local construction is more important than the war. Once he focuses his main energy on combat, there will be no France worries about economic construction. Judging from Anxi's current personnel structure, when it comes to the economy, no one can replace him. Others are just confused in this regard.

As the stalls get bigger and bigger, the supporting role of economic construction becomes more obvious. To put it bluntly, with the current size of the Anxi Army, even if it loses a few battles, the impact will not be fatal. However, if there is a problem with the basic management, the situation will take a turn for the worse. Song Yingkui can still weigh clearly what is more serious and which is less important.

For this reason, the coach who enters the Shaanxi battle must send someone else, not himself.

Which one is more suitable? To be honest, it would be more appropriate to have three people among the short ones and the tall ones. Apart from the third uncle Song Xueliang, Wei Dadao who independently commanded the war in Hexi, and Liang Huonv who was still on the front line in Ningxi, there was no one else in the Anxi Army who was suitable to be the commander-in-chief of the army.

However, these three people also have their own shortcomings, and they are not perfect candidates.

The third uncle, Song Xueliang, has the highest prestige in the Anxi army and is the unrivaled number two figure in the army. In terms of qualifications, it is most suitable for him to serve as the head coach for the battle in Shaanxi. But Song Xueliang's ability to command wars is not outstanding, so it is difficult to reassure people that he is allowed to fight such a large war.

Wei Dadao's situation was similar to that of his third uncle. He lacked the experience and ability to command large armies in battle. It was really risky to suddenly hand over tens of thousands of troops to him.

In terms of ability and experience, Liang Huonv may be the most suitable candidate. The problem is that there is a problem with Liang Huonv’s identity! Forget it, let’s put this matter aside for the time being, and let’s make preparations for entering Shaanxi first. Let’s talk about who to appoint as the commander then! there's always a solution to any problem.

"Qianniang, how is the development of the steam engine going?" Faced with all the chaos, Song Yingkui couldn't fully think about it for a while, so he decided to change his mind and ask Li Guoqian to find out about the really important thing - the steam engine. research and development work.

Indeed, compared to other matters, the steam engine is the fundamental solution to all problems. If the steam engine is made, what about the Mongol cavalry and the Dazheng, will it still matter?

The biggest disadvantage in the hinterland controlled by the Anxi Army is transportation. Once steam trains and railways are available, the problems of insufficient troops and high management costs will be easily solved.

"Sir, the research institute has recently produced two water boilers. If you have some time, why don't you go and take a look?"

"Has the steam mechanism come out? Your research and development institute is very capable. I will go and have a look tomorrow." Li Guoqian's answer made Song Yingkui very excited. It is really surprising that a steam car can be built so quickly.

Early the next morning, Song Yingkui rushed to the R&D branch in Wazhou to see what the steam engine made by the craftsmen looked like.

When I arrived at the scene, I saw this steam engine? Aren't they just two big copper pots for boiling water?

To say it is a pot for boiling water seems to be a bit low-end. After all, this thing can reciprocate with a hammer! But other than that, the so-called steam engine developed seems to be very different from the tall steam engine Song Yingkui imagined.

"Well! Your work has made a breakthrough. At least it proves that burning steam can power machinery. It proves that in addition to manpower, animal power, water power, and wind power, firepower can also make the flywheel rotate. For example, what we are doing now With this kind of steam engine, you can use a sledgehammer in the workshop to make some iron workpieces! As long as we continue to improve in this direction, the steam engine will definitely be of great use in the future." Walking around two rough steam boilers After several rounds, Song Yingkui finally recognized the hard work of the craftsmen at the research and development institute.

Although from the bottom of my heart, this inspection trip was a big disappointment and a waste of joy! But then again, everything is difficult at the beginning. Isn’t the end of science just boiling water? If you can boil water and swing a sledgehammer today, you can boil water and run a train in the future!

(End of this chapter)