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Chapter 1029: Zhuge Liang after the War

"I did suffer a lot in the past. I fought desperately in the front, but I couldn't stop the military supervisor's secret report. Even if I could please the military supervisor, I would still be misunderstood by the general, the governor and the ministers in the court.

Sometimes, although they had clearly won, they were considered defeated because they had given up one or two forts. Sometimes, although they had clearly lost many soldiers and generals, they were rewarded for occupying an insignificant pass.

As Your Majesty said, such strange results are usually not caused by false reporting of military intelligence from the front line, but by the ministers in the court who do not understand the battlefield situation. It is often impossible to get a glimpse of the full picture based on a piece of document and they can only make assumptions.

Your Majesty, this time the army is going to march across the desert and the Tianshan Mountains in winter, and the number of pack horses, weapons, food, and civilians required is several times that of the past. The Army General Staff has a heavy responsibility on its shoulders, and all parties have planned in an orderly manner, which is commendable. Although there were some omissions in the post-war assessment, they should have been unintentional mistakes. "

As an old partner in the army for more than ten years, Li Ruzhang still had feelings for Ding Shun. When he heard that the emperor wanted him to recount the past events of the previous dynasty, he knew that it was going to be bad, and he couldn't help but say a few good words for him in the end.

"Master Li, I haven't said who I'm going to punish yet, so don't rush to plead. Ding Shun, regardless of whether this post-war judgment is inconsistent with the facts, the Army General Staff from top to bottom needs to be vigilant. I don't want to see you treat the bad habits that you fought so hard against back then as a routine.

Reviewing the war is not just to assess the gains and losses of a particular officer, but more to summarize the experience and accumulate enough lessons for the younger generations in the Royal Academy so that they can avoid detours.

Now, let's get back to the point, Yuan Datou, why did you choose to take the initiative to attack, instead of following the conventional practice of building fortifications and waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out?"

Regardless of whether Li Ruzhang intercedes for him or not, Hong Tao will not punish Ding Shun immediately. However, he has already made a heavy note of him in his heart and put him on the list of key focus persons. He will be handed over to the advisory office for strict investigation afterwards.

If he has no intention of repenting, or even complains or is lazy, then in the near future he will definitely be replaced for some reason that sounds more reasonable.

However, as long as he does not do anything overly extreme, his rank will still rise and his career will not be interrupted. He will most likely become the deputy chief of the General Staff, doing mostly civilian work, which can be regarded as compensation for his half-life contribution to the army.

"Your Majesty, there are two reasons. One is the weather. Although there are grasslands in the northern desert, they are not exactly the same as those in the southern desert. Instead, they are more like some places in the Western Regions, where the ground is mainly sand and gravel. When it is cold and frozen, it is hard to dig.

The students tried it themselves and found that no matter how hard they chopped with a shovel, they could not advance even a foot. Only the engineers could succeed with a steel pick. However, the number of engineers was limited, and even if they worked day and night, they could not meet the demand.

The second is logistics. If we defend in place and wait for the enemy to come, the students are afraid that the enemy will surround us without attacking and send another division to harass the military camps in the rear. From Tumote City to Uliastai, there are more than 2000 miles, and there are hundreds of military camps storing supplies along the way. It is difficult to protect them all with only the 10th Guard and half a guard of Inner Mongolian cavalry.

After much deliberation, the students decided that it would be better to attack proactively. The Emperor had said in class that offense is the best defense.

Although the enemy has more than twice the number of our troops, they have few muskets and artillery. Since its establishment, the army has never been afraid of fighting in an open area. Even if there are no fortifications, the students think they can still fight... but... but..."

Although Ding Shun was reprimanded and the results of the Army Staff's review were unlikely to count, Yuan Datou still felt that the original choice was inappropriate. If the emperor were present, he would definitely be able to come up with a better solution. "It's nothing, it's just that being able to assess the situation and fully consider all conditions before making a decision is already the best choice. There is no immortality in war, and muskets and field artillery are not magical weapons. I have never found a general in history books who can make his soldiers immortal.

This time you personally led the army to Mobei. The natural environment is very harsh. Did you find any defects in the weapons, equipment and tools used by the soldiers? It's not too small. Think carefully and write it down and submit it to the General Staff.

The northern part of the empire will be the key defense direction in the future, and the most important factor affecting combat effectiveness is not the commander but the equipment. How to overcome the cold winter, snow, mud, and mosquitoes is a key project that the General Staff will focus on in the future.

Ding Shun, now it's the Army Staff's turn to hand in your work. What have you discovered through this operation? What problems do you have? Please bring them up one by one. I will arrange for those that can be solved immediately, and I will also help you think of solutions for those that cannot be solved immediately."

Although I just criticized Ding Shun's bureaucracy, as the direct command organization of the Imperial Army, it must have a say in this battle. The observation angle of the commander on the front line is often different from that of the commander in the rear, and sometimes the bystander sees it more comprehensively.

“Reporting to His Majesty, during this battle, we found that the enemy used some muzzle-loading artillery and flintlock muskets. Although the number was not too large, it caused damage to our army.

The Army General Staff believes that in future operations, commanders of each guard should be more cautious, not ignore the enemy's firepower, and try to find ways to reduce casualties in this area when conditions permit.

Another issue is the cavalry. In the desert Gobi, the mobility of the Inner Mongolian cavalry is much stronger than that of the army, and the mobility of the Outer Khalkha Mongol and Oirat Mongol cavalry is stronger than that of the Inner Mongolian cavalry.

The Army General Staff wants to build a cavalry unit that can use muskets, at least to the level of the Inner Mongolian cavalry, which may play a big role in future battles. "

Ding Shun did not feel resentful about being scolded. He picked up the report materials again and put them on the table. Without waiting for Wang Chengen to take them away, he began to introduce the main contents.

"Well, these two suggestions are very good! The power of muskets and artillery will soon be known to all countries, and they will follow suit. In the future, the enemies faced by the Imperial Army may also be fully equipped with muskets and artillery.

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If we always hold on to the attitude of using a musket to fight a bow and arrow, we will definitely suffer a great loss, and it will be too passive to change at that time. In this way, the Army General Staff will make a detailed regulation and formally put the project of hot weapons combat into the training outline, and recruits will be familiar with it from the beginning.

As for the cavalry... can we mix the existing army with the Inner Mongolian cavalry? Wouldn't it be faster to form combat effectiveness this way?"

After listening to Ding Shun's suggestion, Hong Tao nodded continuously, and his dissatisfaction with him immediately reduced a lot. Long military service is not all bad, it will make you more professional in some aspects.

However, as an emperor, he was not on the same level as the generals and ministers when considering issues. The idea of ​​equipping the cavalry with muskets and artillery had been conceived ten years ago, but after much deliberation, it was abandoned for two reasons: cost and risk.

(End of this chapter)