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Chapter 585 Food and grass first 2
"Even though we are familiar with naval battles and have made some achievements, we have never had a confrontation with a powerful enemy on land. Our minds are blank. Even if I do go on an expedition, I have no confidence.

In the past few years, the Marine Guards used North Korea to go deep into Liaodong and had small-scale contact with Jurchen soldiers. The details are recorded in the files of the General Staff. General Shen can go and take a look when he has time. If it weren't for the sharpness of the muskets and the unexpected advantage, the losses on both sides would probably be even.

Even if a small group ambush is like this, if a large army confronts the enemy in the enemy's territory, without the right time, place and people, I really don't know how to win, let alone win with a small number and not lose strength. "

Faced with the praise from his subordinates, Yuan Keli just smiled lightly and remained unmoved. As someone who has personally created the Marine Guard from scratch and watched it for several years, he must have a rough judgment in his mind about the strength of the Marine Guard.

However, no matter how the staff drilled and calculated, they were not very sure about crossing Shanhaiguan and entering the hinterland of Liaodong to fight the enemy decisively, and the chance of victory never exceeded 40%. This is still the result of talking on paper and not taking into account many disadvantages such as climate.

Although it was already the early spring season inside the pass when the earth was warming up and everything was recovering, outside the pass it was still a land of ice and snow. I wonder if the emperor had a special motive for choosing this time to go on an expedition.

"So your Majesty must have a clever plan to defeat the enemy?" Hearing Yuan Keli's cautious words, Shen Yourong couldn't help but frown, feeling worried about this personal expedition.

"General Shen, just keep your heart in your stomach. Your Majesty is not a man who loves great achievements. He likes to make plans and act before doing things. Since he has made up his mind to lead a personal expedition, there must be a reason. We can just hold on to our business and wait for the victory of the army. "

At this point, Yuan Keli was speechless. A few days ago, he was admitted to the Yangxin Hall to attend the imperial meeting. Although eight of the eleven general staff members voted in favor, they were in favor of letting the army go into battle, but they unanimously opposed the emperor. The imperial driver personally conquered.

But the emperor was resolute and gave reasons that no one could refute. The army's combat training procedures and weapons and equipment were all taught by him personally. This battle was the first battle after the founding of the army. If the emperor did not lead the army himself, who could take his place?
In other words, the emperor is asking who knows all the tactical characteristics and needs of the army. If so, please step forward and can go out on your behalf. But there is a prerequisite, not only to win but also to make a profit, and the loss cannot exceed 30%.

As soon as these words came out, the remaining eleven general staff officers and three staff officers all looked at each other and were speechless. Even Army Governor Li Ruzhang lowered his head to his chest and did not dare to look up.

It's so embarrassing. After several years of training in the Marine Guards and several years of building a new army from scratch, I still don't dare to boast like this. There is an 80% certainty of victory in the battle. If you add that the loss does not exceed 30%, you are still half sure. You still have to make a profit... the half sureness is gone.

While he was talking, a horse galloped from the south path. The rider was wearing a navy uniform. He was stopped by the sentry at a distance. After a brief exchange of words, he was let go. He stopped riding the horse and trotted all the way to the front. Before he could catch his breath, he leaned into Yuan Keli's ear and whispered in Yuan Keli's ear, looking extremely anxious.

"Everyone, get on your horses and go to the south gate!" Yuan Keli's brows became tighter and tighter as he listened. He turned on his saddle and picked up his stirrups and said a few words. He whipped his horse and galloped away before the people who were waiting for him could react.

"Wait a minute, what happened?" The generals and staff of the navy and army were all confused. They all mounted their horses and gave chase. Shen Yourong was the closest, grabbing the chief naval officer who came to deliver the message and asking in a low voice. .

"A rail carriage came from the south gate. It was stopped by the factory protection team for interrogation. It was found that there was no governor's handwriting and it was not on the release list. It was temporarily detained according to the regulations. I saw that two of them looked familiar. I was afraid that I would miss something important, so I came over quickly. Report." "You look familiar...who is it?" Shen Yourong didn't hear anything valuable, but Yuan Keli ran away as if he couldn't wait. He definitely wasn't going to issue a pass for the rail carriage. There must be something fishy.

"It seems to be His Majesty the Emperor and the young father-in-law beside him. I have only seen him once on a battleship, so I am not sure..." The chief grinned, feeling very flustered. He had already begun to pray that he had made a mistake, but from the Governor Guessing from his reaction, he must have read it right.

"Those bastards from the factory guard team! Get on your horse and lead the way!" When the words emperor, young father-in-law, south gate, and track carriage were combined together, Shen Yourong suddenly trembled all over.

Since the wooden track from Chaoyangmen to Tongzhou was officially opened early last year, Monk Xiong Sanba, who was appointed by the emperor as the manager of the track company, has been wandering between Tongzhou and Tianjin Wei all day long like a winded chiming bell. Planning a second wooden track.

This distance is more than twice as long as the first track, and there are many rivers and ditches along the way, doubling the difficulty. However, the completion time did not extend too much. By November, the construction had reached outside the south gate of the Navy Depot, and more than half of the stations along the way were open to traffic.

Why was it so fast? In addition to Xiong Sanba's conscientious design and clever use of several bridges along the way, the most important thing was the strong support of the emperor.

Whether it is building roads or wooden tracks, a lot of labor is required, but there are almost no refugees in the Shuntian and Hejian areas, and all the idle labor from farmers' families has been absorbed by the factories.

If the local state government had not strictly inspected farmers' farmland and was not allowed to abandon it, it is estimated that less than half of the farmers would have gone to work in factories. Compared with farming, where you have to look at God's eyes with your back to the sky, even the hardest work in the factory seems relatively easy.

Xiong Sanba was not eligible for forced labor, but he didn't have to worry about having no one available. When the construction of the second wooden track started, he didn't know where thousands of people came out, many of them were still young and strong, and the maximum number reached 20,000.

The answer is a bit unexpected. The laborers are all soldiers, former soldiers of the three major battalions of the capital. They have been imprisoned in Changping Palace since the defeat at Chaoyang Gate in the ninth year of Jingyang. Except for a few generals who were convicted, most of the soldiers are still in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.

This time, the Ministry of Industry came forward and signed a contract with the soldiers who voluntarily joined the Orbital Company. They retained their military status, but they no longer went into battle to kill the enemy and guard the border fortress. Instead, they built bridges and paved roads. All food and drink expenses were borne by the company. , the monthly salary is twice as high as that of the three camps.

The soldiers who originally thought their future was hopeless faced such a strange and attractive opportunity. Some hesitated, while others decisively seized it. As a result, the Orbital Company instantly transformed from an empty frame to a behemoth with tens of thousands of soldiers, and was temporarily placed under the name of the General Staff.

(End of this chapter)