Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 71: Will spreading the beans lead to an army? (12)

The group of people galloped on horseback to the gate of the Qing army camp outside Guilin City, with the sound of horse hooves rumbling.

The green battalion soldiers on duty outside the camp knelt on one knee and lowered their heads to welcome the Admiral.

But Gao Sheng did not stop at all, and ran straight through the camp gate and into the Qing army camp.

Today, Gao Sheng is wearing a powerful and thick dark cotton armor, and the tall lightning rod makes him even more imposing.

Under the gaze of more than [-] Guangxi Green Camp soldiers, Gao Sheng strode onto the general platform with his head held high.

Under the general stage, there was a large, dark mass of soldiers and horses.

The combined number of horses and infantry was over ten thousand, and it was as far as the eye could see.

Gao Sheng looked around, looking at the green battalion soldiers under the general stage, and there seemed to be blood stirring in his chest.

Once there are more than [-] people, there is no limit!
Now the Qing army in Guangxi before him has boundless momentum.

But this huge army is now under his control.

He is about to lead this mighty and majestic army in front of him to make great achievements, to equalize thieves and bandits for the imperial court, and to earn a wife and son for himself!
Gao Sheng took a deep breath, glanced around with piercing eyes, and raised his arms and shouted.

"Send troops to defeat the thieves and serve the Qing Dynasty. Long live the Emperor!"

The voice reached Dian Jiangtai, and the Qing troops in the audience began to respond loudly.

"Send troops to defeat the thieves and serve the Qing Dynasty. Long live the Emperor!"

"Send troops to defeat the thieves and serve the Qing Dynasty. Long live the Emperor!"

"..."

As the Guangxi feudal dynasty released the departure fees that should be paid to them, the originally sluggish morale of the Qing army also recovered a little.

Coupled with the delicious food and drinks provided by the Guilin government during this period, the morale of the Qing army, which was originally very resentful, is now pretty good.

Seeing this, Gao Sheng nodded with satisfaction and spoke again.

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Putting down the bandits, we will never return until we win!"

"..."

As the Guangxi Admiral's order to move out was issued, the Qing army began to quickly move out of the camp and headed south along the official road.

This time, the Guangxi government carefully selected soldiers and sent out a green camp of 5000 soldiers. Ten thousand civilians accompanied the army. It was known to the outside world as a hundred thousand troops and marched south to fight against the thieves.

Among them, the actual number of Green Camp soldiers is about [-], and the proportion of Guangxi Green Camp soldiers who have empty pay is about one-third.

Among the actual number of ten thousand people, the proportion of strong soldiers is about [-]%, which means that out of ten people, there are two soldiers who dare to fight and charge.

The most others can do when they go to the battlefield is wave the flag and shout.

This is the current situation of the Qing army in this era!
how to say?

You must know that the predecessors of the Green Camp Soldiers were those Ming troops who surrendered to the Qing court in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

In addition, what they are practicing now is still the world military system of the pre-Ming Dynasty, that is, the father dies and the son succeeds in serving as soldiers.

One can imagine the combat effectiveness of such a Qing army.

Fortunately, Guangxi is a borderland, and Vietnam, which has never been very peaceful, is right under our noses.

In addition, the old cousins ​​in Guangxi who rebelled are also good players.

In order to ensure the stability of Guangxi, the Qing government has always been tight on the armaments of the Qing army in Guangxi.

As a result, the quality of Guangxi Green Camp Soldiers is still good.

With a one-third free pay rate and a [-]% combat soldier ratio, it is not as good as the elite Gansu and Shaanxi green battalions of the Qing court.

But looking at the entire south, Guangxi Green Camp is definitely unique.

Compared with the Jiangnan Lvying, which had been enjoying peace for a long time in the rich and powerful nest, its military equipment was extremely lax, and even more than half of it was empty pay.

It is not an exaggeration to call Guangxi Lvying elite now.

The huge Guangxi green battalion procession meandered along the official road, with the procession twisting and turning as far as the eye could see.

The infantry carried spears and shotguns.

The cavalry soldiers rode war horses, carrying bows, arrows and sabers on their waists, and they also looked majestic.

In the huge ranks, only a few people, such as the general's bodyguards and middle-level officers, can wear armor.

Most of the remaining ordinary soldiers only have one uniform.

Even low-level officers don’t have armor and equipment!
But even so, when more than ten thousand uniformly dressed soldiers appear in front of you, the sense of oppression it can bring is still quite huge.

……

Soon, the Ming Dynasty received news that the Qing army had sent [-] troops to go south to fight against the thieves.

Upon receiving the news, Daming was obviously a little panicked.

10 million people!
That's an army of [-]!

For the current Ming army, it is definitely an unbearable burden.

Zhu Jianzhuo immediately ordered to summon Zhu Jing'an and others to his imperial study room to discuss matters.

"The Qing army sent [-] troops and rushed south to kill. Do you have any ideas on how to deal with this?"

Zhu Jianzhuo asked.

But when he asked this question, his face was obviously anxious and uneasy.

He originally thought that even if the Qing army really sent troops to encircle and suppress the Ming Dynasty this time, it would be overwhelming if they could number tens of thousands.

Unexpectedly, 10 people showed up at once.

Zhu Jiazhuo now has a feeling that a catastrophe is about to happen.

When the generals heard this, their faces darkened one after another, and they all frowned.

Only the expression on Zhu Jing'an's face did not change much, and his tone remained calm as he spoke.

"Father, you are too worried."

"It is impossible to say that the Qing army in Guangxi mobilized 10 people to encircle and suppress the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Jianzhuo's expression improved slightly after hearing this, but he still asked.

"Why did my son say this?"

Although he was asking, there was a hint of expectation in his tone.

He couldn't wait to get an answer from Zhu Jing'an that would comfort him.

Seeing this, Zhu Jing'an said with a smile.

"Father, you need to know that there are no Eight Banners troops stationed in Guangxi, and the total number of Green Camp troops in Guangxi is only 500."

"This is a quota!"

"Even if we count the 3 soldiers in the hands of governors, admirals, and others, this is still the total strength of the Qing army without excluding those who have been depleted of pay."

"If you exclude the soldiers who were depleted of pay, the Qing government's military strength in Guangxi would be 2 at most, and there could be no more."

"Guangxi only has a total of 2 troops. Where did the Qing government get 10 troops to attack the Ming Dynasty?"

"Does spreading the beans lead to an army?"

As soon as Zhu Jing'an said this, the expressions on the faces of the Ming army generals became obviously much more relaxed.

Then there was a burst of laughter. It was obvious that they were all amused by Zhu Jing'an's last sentence.

The expression on Zhu Jianzhuo's face relaxed, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he asked Zhu Jing'an.

"Then according to my son, how many troops will the Qing army send when they go south to invade our country, the Ming Dynasty?"

When Zhu Jing'an heard the words, he pondered for a while and then spoke.

"Up to ten thousand people!"

"The actual number of troops that the Qing court in Guangxi can mobilize is only about [-]. Unless Guilin can be ruthless, other places will come to suppress the Ming Dynasty."

"Otherwise, ten thousand people is the maximum force that the Qing army can mobilize for this battle." Hearing this, Zeng Yao stood up and questioned.

"Grand Governor, what if the Qing government mobilizes troops from other provinces?"

Zhu Jing'an shook his head.

"No, because there's not enough time!"

"In order to prevent local Han warlords from becoming bigger and threatening their rule, the Qing government strictly prohibited the collapse of provinces and the deployment of troops."

"If Guilin wants to mobilize troops from other provinces to fight in Guangxi, it must first submit a letter to the central government and obtain approval from the Military Aircraft Department before the troops can be mobilized."

"And from Guangdong and Guangxi to the capital, it takes twenty days to go back and forth. Adding in the time required for discussions with the Military Aircraft Department, one month is enough."

"If you add in the time required for each province to argue with each other after receiving the order, prepare food and fodder, mobilize troops, and recruit civilians, it will take at least three or four months to prepare."

"It is naturally impossible for Guilin to send troops so soon."

Hearing this, Zeng Yao bowed down and worshiped.

"The Commander-in-Chief is so wise that I will always admire him."

Zhu Jing'an was not proud when he heard this, but nodded slightly.

Han Sigu on the side asked again.

"Grand Governor, even if the invading Qing army only has ten thousand people, it is still a formidable enemy to Ming Dynasty that cannot be underestimated."

"How do you think our army should fight this battle?"

Although the invading Qing army only had 7000 troops this time, the current Ming army had just expanded to [-] troops.

Excluding the need to leave 2000 people to take charge of the defense of Bauhinia Mountain, Zhu Jing'an could only mobilize 5000 troops to participate in the war.

In terms of military strength, it was only half of the Qing army.

And among the 5000 people in the Ming army, almost [-]% to [-]% were recruits with no combat experience.

This battle was definitely a very severe test for Daming.

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, he couldn't help but lower his head and began to think deeply. It was obvious that he couldn't make up his mind for a while.

After a moment, Zhu Jing'an raised his head and said.

"If the Qing army wants to go south, they must go through Yangshuo, Lipu, and Yong'an Prefecture. From the map, this official road just passes between the Datong River and Dawei Mountain."

"That's why the governor's opinion is that we, the Ming Dynasty, can take the initiative and deploy defenses in the Datong River and Dawei Mountain areas to block the Qing army..."

In order to protect the enemy from the outside, in order to prevent the Qing army from threatening the Ming army's base area, the Ming army's rear area could have a stable environment for farming and development.

Zhu Jing'an decisively made the decision for the Ming army to take the initiative and block the invading Qing army.

Hearing this, Zhu Jianzhuo nodded in agreement.

He spoke immediately.

"Pass down the order, the whole army is ready for war!"

"All ministries in the DPRK and the Central Committee must fully cooperate to make preparations before the army departs. Money, food, ordnance, medicine and other materials must be allocated in advance to ensure that there are no problems with the supply of the army."

"Also, the navy must also prepare to attack with the army..."

"This battle can only be won, not defeated!"

"If we win, our Ming Dynasty can annex Guangxi in a short time, occupy the two Guangxi provinces, and have a bright future."

"If we fail, we will all die without a burial place!"

Zhu Jianzhuo stood up and said in a serious tone.

After hearing this, the generals of the Ming army responded one after another.

"I understand that we must do our best in this battle, just to defeat the Qing captives, restore the Ming Dynasty, and no longer have the high hopes of the supervisor."

"..."

Zhu Jing'an also nodded vigorously.

"Father, don't worry, my Ming Dynasty will win this battle!"

Although Zhu Jing'an was beating the drum in his heart now, he also knew that as the commander-in-chief of the Ming Army, he must not show any weakness or fear now.

Only when he, the general, is confident enough can the entire Ming army be confident in this battle.

Only when everyone is confident in this battle can the Ming army achieve final victory in this battle.

……

After the discussion, Zhu Jing'an went straight to the military camp again to inspect the Ming army's armaments.

All the generals of the Ming army followed him and accompanied him on the inspection.

The weapons warehouse was opened, and a named soldier began to line up to receive weapons.

After receiving their weapons, these Ming soldiers were taken to the training ground for final running-in training.

Inside the Ming Army camp, there was a busy scene everywhere.

Zhu Jing'an led people to stand outside the weapons warehouse. As the door of the warehouse opened, the scene inside the warehouse was revealed to everyone.

It was a set of single-sided breastplates.

The Ming army officer who was supporting the warehouse management saw this and said.

"To inform the Grand Governor, there are a total of 200 sets of steel single-sided breastplates and [-] steel dome flying saucer helmets here, which can be issued to the troops at any time."

"Please ask the chief inspector to inspect it!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jing'an led people into the warehouse.

He picked up one casually and knocked on it, listening to the crisp sound and feeling the hardness of the helmet. After a moment, he nodded with satisfaction.

He randomly checked several breastplates and helmets one after another, and the final results made him quite satisfied.

The quality of these breastplates and helmets is pretty good.

Although the breastplates and helmets of the Ming army are relatively simple, being simple does not mean that the defense capability is poor.

In particular, the steel flying saucer helmet has excellent protection against arrows falling from the sky.

The breastplate also has a very good protective effect against long-distance musket and bow shooting.

At a distance of 50 meters, neither muskets nor bows can penetrate the armor.

Within a range of 30 meters, the bows, arrows and shotguns equipped by the Qing army could barely break through the armor.

But at this distance, even if bows and arrows and shotguns can barely break through the armor, the kinetic energy carried by the arrows and projectiles is almost absorbed by the armor.

Arrows and projectiles that penetrate armor are difficult to cause effective damage to targets.

Only when the distance is shortened to 20 meters, the large-scale bows, arrows and muskets currently equipped by the Qing army can effectively kill targets.

This is the conclusion reached by the Ming army after several tests on the shooting range.

Once the Ming army is equipped with breastplates and helmets on a large scale, it will definitely affect the final direction of the battle to a certain extent.

"I wonder how the Grand Governor plans to allocate the use rights of these armors to various departments?"

Zhang Hu on the side couldn't help but ask.

Looking at the armor in front of him that was painted red with paint and brushed with tung oil for maintenance, his eyes couldn't help but look a little eager.

I couldn't help but imagine how majestic it would be if I could wear these armors!
When Zhu Jing'an heard this, he spoke without any hesitation.

"No distribution!"

"But it needs to be used intensively. Whichever unit is the forward or the main force, these armors should be equipped to him first and used intensively."

"So that our army can take advantage of armor and open up situations on the battlefield."

Rather than spreading the already scarce weapons, distribute them equally among the troops.

Zhu Jing'an prefers to concentrate resources and quickly form a few elites who dare to fight hard and can overcome difficulties.

(End of this chapter)